The world food crisis of 2007–2008 reaffirmed the volatility of international commodity markets and led many countries questioning their reliance on food imports. In a quest for new strategies to...Show moreThe world food crisis of 2007–2008 reaffirmed the volatility of international commodity markets and led many countries questioning their reliance on food imports. In a quest for new strategies to ensure food supplies in the future, many richer countries resorted to the large-scale acquisition of foreign land, often referred to as land grabs, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In this thesis, I examine the Saudi Agricultural Investments Abroad initiative and attempt to identify what role this initiative plays within the Kingdom’s larger food security policy. Moreover, against the backdrop of the global climate crisis and the importance of moving towards a sustainable global food system, this thesis examines the sustainability of this strategy in the long term. The research question formulated for this is: What role do Saudi Arabia’s large-scale land investments abroad play in their food security strategy and how sustainable is this strategy? Building on an alternative definition of food security that adopts a food systems approach, this thesis proposes that the use of large-scale land investments as a food security strategy does not fit the sustainable path that is so needed.Show less
This thesis aims to fill the existing gap in the writing of the history of development, i.e. the lack of research on the recipients and their political motives and agency. By using the case of...Show moreThis thesis aims to fill the existing gap in the writing of the history of development, i.e. the lack of research on the recipients and their political motives and agency. By using the case of Afghanistan during the Cold War, the main research question of the thesis thus is: To what extent did the Afghan elite influence the course of the Cold War development projects from 1953-1979? The main finding is that despite adopting and sharing the assumptions of the modernization theory with Americans, the Afghan state elites used developmental aid for the purpose of the Pashtunisation of Afghanistan. Through examining the case of the building of dams in the Helmand and Arghandab Valleys, the student shows that the goal of the Afghan state elites was to attract the Pashtun nomads ‘to settle in Afghanistan, as a Pashtun demographic majority was needed to bolster the legitimacy of the Pashtun government and shape Afghanistan's identity as such’.Show less
This research explores the impact of the return of the Taliban in August 2021 to the sense of belonging of Afghan-Dutch citizens. When refugees or migrants enter their host country, they must...Show moreThis research explores the impact of the return of the Taliban in August 2021 to the sense of belonging of Afghan-Dutch citizens. When refugees or migrants enter their host country, they must develop a balance between the sense of belonging to their host country and their source country. The perception of belonging can be influenced by a multitude of things such as immigration rhetoric in the host country, changes in social-economic circumstances, and conflict in the source country. This research has found that the effects of these conflicts on the sense of belonging for Afghan-Dutch citizens in the Netherlands varies greatly. Some of the Afghan-Dutch population felt a stronger sense of belonging to Afghanistan, as all their memories and connections to the country received extra attention. For others, the sense of belonging to Afghanistan declined, as the return of the Taliban emphasized traumas and the country’s history of conflict. Finally, for some, the feeling of belonging remained unchanged entirely. Furthermore, though the feelings of belonging to the Netherlands were not the main focus in this research, it was noticeable that those feelings did not really change for the Netherlands in general, more in the direction of the Afghan-Dutch diaspora.Show less
This study examines the solidarity alliances of the Armenian, Assyrian and Kurdish communities in Diyarbakir, Turkey. Additionally, it poses the question, whether these alliances challenge a more...Show moreThis study examines the solidarity alliances of the Armenian, Assyrian and Kurdish communities in Diyarbakir, Turkey. Additionally, it poses the question, whether these alliances challenge a more exclusive national identity that is established in the official Turkish discourse. The alliances that are touched upon are the political environment of Diyarbakir; the celebration of Newroz; the commemoration of murder of Hrant Dink; and Armenian and Assyrian Genocide commemorations. I argue that the main manifestation of most of these solidarities is creation of more openness about the Genocides, in especially Kurdish discourse. The alliances depicted in this paper are each different and each form a different degree of challenge to the Turkish national identity. I conclude that the political environment of Diyarbakir forms the greatest threat, which can be perceived in the state’s crackdown of its established institutions and initiatives of cultural practices, as it does not fit the homogenous identity that the Turkish State ascribes to itself.Show less
This research demonstrates the influence of the social environment during the divorce process and the obstacles Muslim women have to overcome while obtaining it. There is no guideline for the women...Show moreThis research demonstrates the influence of the social environment during the divorce process and the obstacles Muslim women have to overcome while obtaining it. There is no guideline for the women to have a “correct” religious divorce which results in an unstable process with a lot of uncertainties.Show less
This research attempts to shed light on the relationship between the Syrian government and the PLO during the period from 1967 until 1985. Key events between the war of 1967 and the Palestinian...Show moreThis research attempts to shed light on the relationship between the Syrian government and the PLO during the period from 1967 until 1985. Key events between the war of 1967 and the Palestinian refugee camp wars of 1985 in Lebanon are taken as focal points of analysis for this research. The hypothesis investigated in this research is the following: The soft power of the PLO contributed to the delegitimization of the power of the Syrian government under Hafez al-Assad. To test the hypothesis a collection of primary and secondary sources is used. The primary sources include archives from the Lebanese newspaper al-Nahar and the Foreign Broadcast Information Service. For secondary sources, the research relies on authoritative literature to understand the interaction between the PLO and the Syrian government under Hafez al-Assad. The significance of this research derives partially from moving away from the dominant realist and rationalist models to explain the politics of the Arab world. Taking Joseph Nye’s notion of soft power, alternatively, enables this research to look into how other forms of power influence the behavior of these actors, and vice-versa. This research concludes that the PLO’s soft power did have a significant effect on the Syrian government’s legitimacy under Hafez al-Assad. However, this soft power has been only one factor among other factors that can be used to account for the legitimacy deficit suffered by the Syrian government. These other factors, as well as limitations of this research, are discussed towards the end of the paper.Show less
