The 2016 Primaries were anything but ordinary: Trump and Cruz represented anti-establishment figures promising to fundamentally alter how the US operated. This thesis investigates the two...Show moreThe 2016 Primaries were anything but ordinary: Trump and Cruz represented anti-establishment figures promising to fundamentally alter how the US operated. This thesis investigates the two forerunners in the Republican Primary and how they utilised different discourses in their bid for The White House. Of particular interest are religious discourses as early commentators discounted Trump’s potential electability among ‘value-voting’ Evangelicals; and populist discourses, as both candidates utilised people’s disaffection with the contemporary system and the discourses surrounding immigrants and other non-American groups to mobilise supporters. To achieve its objectives, this thesis considers twelve speeches by Cruz and Trump that were given during the competitive leg of the 2016 Republican Primary (1st February to the 3rd May). Content and discourse analysis are used, finding that the candidates differed on their use of religious discourse; however, used similar populist discourse. Given the similarity in populist discourses and advantages Cruz had with his religious background the conclusion is drawn that it is not the content that distinguishes Trump, but perhaps his style.Show less
Recognition has been established as a right in political theory, with the argument that it is connected to justice since misrecognition can inflict injury to one’s identity. Meanwhile in political...Show moreRecognition has been established as a right in political theory, with the argument that it is connected to justice since misrecognition can inflict injury to one’s identity. Meanwhile in political theory there is debate about whether recognition drives out redistribution or that redistribution will eventually follow from recognition, however empirical evidence is scarce. One cross-national analysis by Banting et al. (2006) analysed the effect of multicultural recognition policies on redistribution, but concluded that there was no correlation between recognition and redistribution. Nancy Fraser (2000) made a distinction between two different kinds of recognition politics: status and identity politics. She claims that the latter drives out redistribution, while status politics does not. This thesis looks at whether the difference between identity politics and status politics can explain why recognition and redistribution are not correlated in the study by Banting et al., and if identity recognition policies indeed drive out redistribution. The performed cross-national statistical analysis does not support the hypothesis that multicultural identity policies drive out redistribution. However the data does hint in this direction.Show less
Political corruption is a more or less universal phenomenon, but occurs much more frequently in some places than in others. This variation has been attributed to a range of factors on which...Show morePolitical corruption is a more or less universal phenomenon, but occurs much more frequently in some places than in others. This variation has been attributed to a range of factors on which countries perform either poorly or well. Yet, political corruption also occurs in countries that seem to perform well on most known indicators. As this has been an object of little scholarly attention, it remains largely unclear how we can explain the occurrence of political corruption in ‘unlikely places’; countries where such corruption is theoretically least likely to occur. This study explores the contours of an explanation by investigating a particular case in-depth: the case of Jos van Rey. The results suggest four potential explanations, that range from conceptual issues to the possibility that political corruption in unlikely places is to some extent unique, and driven by a distinct set of factors.Show less
This study addresses the harm of humanitarian aid provision in Yemen which suffers from limited sovereignty and various contesting political actors. By using a conceptual approach and a qualitative...Show moreThis study addresses the harm of humanitarian aid provision in Yemen which suffers from limited sovereignty and various contesting political actors. By using a conceptual approach and a qualitative case study of various texts, the study investigates the harm resulting from complex relations between different political actors in Yemen and aid/humanitarian organisations working to improve human lives. The study asks what is the harm posed by aid provision in Yemen? How does this harm manifest in Yemen and, what are the outcomes of this harm? In Yemen, the main harm of aid provision, amidst what I describe as the crisis of sovereignty, is the augmentation of the crisis of sovereignty due to the involvement of aid organisations. The study argues that harm, in the case of Yemen, is an unintended consequence of various institutional and organisational disparities while the outcomes affect the economic and humanitarian situation of the local population. This unintended harm of the augmented crisis of sovereignty in Yemen, I argue, stands in contrast with the morally perceived harm of injustice portrayed in the literature. The result of this study is the conceptual rendering of harm both as an inevitable consequence and non-moral harm.Show less
The link between patriotism and the military service is not as clear as may be expected. Patriotism is not as simple as love for one’s country, rather, it is a multifaceted concept. Looking at...Show moreThe link between patriotism and the military service is not as clear as may be expected. Patriotism is not as simple as love for one’s country, rather, it is a multifaceted concept. Looking at psychological and symbolic patriotism, and professed versus performed patriotism, this study explores Israeli expats’ experiences abroad and their connection to the home state. Looking at Israel’s mandatory military service, this paper focused on the Israeli expats’ decision on whether to return and serve in the IDF at the age of eighteen. Conducting a total of 13 interviews, of which 10 were expatriates residing in Maastricht, the Netherlands, three main arguments were developed in assessing why some choose not to return and serve. The three main arguments are: (i) Israeli expats see themselves as Israeli/Jewish through culture and not religion; (ii) the belief in the existence of a patriotism scale; and (iii) Israeli expats experience adaptation to Western society and attitudes.Show less
