This study examines the interpretation of the concept of female empowerment from two perspectives: that of local South Sudanese, both men and women, and that of Europeaid, the EU delegation in...Show moreThis study examines the interpretation of the concept of female empowerment from two perspectives: that of local South Sudanese, both men and women, and that of Europeaid, the EU delegation in charge of a female empowerment project in South Sudan. In order to conduct this research, focus group discussions were held among the local South Sudanese, both men and women, and an in-depth interview was held with Anna Dmitrijewa, the programme manager of Europeaid’s South Sudanese delegation. This research expands the literature on female empowerment, as it is a unique case study conducted in a new nation state struggling with different views on gender roles in national law and customary law. It illustrates the comparability and discrepancy between Europeaid, as an outside party, and the local South Sudanese. All parties indicated that the economic side to female empowerment is relevant, though each group focused on economics differently. The South Sudanese women focused on economic autonomy and rights to property and inheritance, the South Sudanese men focused on making resources available, while both groups stayed cautiously away from social change. Europeaid focused very much on how economics can determine women’s social value and attempts to counter that, directly linking economic and social empowerment. Furthermore, the three parties all agreed that legal empowerment was necessary as a method to defend women’s rights, even though the parties did not have the same view on women’s rights. This research therefore illustrated that female empowerment, the format it should take, and its necessity was viewed differently by each party, particularly social empowerment being viewed as necessary by Europeaid, and unnecessary or even undesirable by the local men and women. Nevertheless, economics remained in the centre position for all parties.Show less
Taglit, also known as Birthright, is a free 10-day trip to Israel offered to all Jews in the world between the ages of 18 and 32. Taglit-Birthright can be understood as a nation-building program,...Show moreTaglit, also known as Birthright, is a free 10-day trip to Israel offered to all Jews in the world between the ages of 18 and 32. Taglit-Birthright can be understood as a nation-building program, which inculcates a nationalistic vision of Jewish peoplehood on participants. This thesis critically analyzes what this nationalistic vision entails through an interpretive study. For that purpose, ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with former Taglit participants from Argentina. Thereby, the thesis analyzes Taglit’s vision of homeland and people, as well as the role of rituals in promoting nationalistic stances. By using Argentinian’s subjective experiences as a “breaching mechanism” to understand Israeli nationalism, the thesis contributes not only to literature on Taglit, but also to literature on nationalism and Zionism. The thesis concludes that Taglit-Birthright promotes a vision of Jewish peoplehood which (1) claims politically contested territory as part of a Jewish homeland and (2) justifies militarism and Jewish statehood by framing it as a necessary response to the Nazi holocaust.Show less
At the thought of corruption, Mexico is one of the main subjects that come to mind. Indeed, it is not a recent phenomenon in Latin America or even all around the world. The normalization of...Show moreAt the thought of corruption, Mexico is one of the main subjects that come to mind. Indeed, it is not a recent phenomenon in Latin America or even all around the world. The normalization of corruption seems a specific phenomenon in Mexico and few other countries. However, the case of Mexico is peculiar since the state still appears to maintain legitimacy. This paper will try to understand the line between illegitimate and legitimate acts of corruption in Mexico, and that how it becomes normalized in Mexico. A survey and interviews were conducted to collect recent and cognitive data to improve the case.Show less
This study shows the effects of unrecognised racism and the ‘unknown’ on identity formations of female Chinese adoptees in the Netherlands through 13 in-depth semistructured interviews. It...Show moreThis study shows the effects of unrecognised racism and the ‘unknown’ on identity formations of female Chinese adoptees in the Netherlands through 13 in-depth semistructured interviews. It contributes to existing literature on adoption, revealing limitation of the usage of Homi Bhabha’s Third Space in adoption literature. A struggle between the superego and the abject hinders identity formation. This research shows how a conflicting attraction and retraction of the unknown, the abject, shapes the search for identity. At the same time this thesis exposes a gap in migration literature. The adoptee, an unusual migrant, is underrepresented in political science literature. This study offers a corrective by introducing post-colonial theory and psycho-analysis to the question of the (unusual) migrant. Three recurring themes among the data were: (i) external identification schemes that cause internal social-psychological struggles; (ii) a conflicting attraction and retraction towards a ‘lost’ identity; (iii) the consequences of a lack of knowing.Show less
This study aims to correct the tendency for consociational and divided society literature to focus solely on institutionally accommodating ethnic division and overlook the agency of the individual....Show moreThis study aims to correct the tendency for consociational and divided society literature to focus solely on institutionally accommodating ethnic division and overlook the agency of the individual. The Good Friday Agreement was intended to uphold and respect two separate, but equal Unionist and Nationalist “communities,” deemed to have intrinsically “diverse identities and traditions” in Northern Ireland (The Agreement, 1998). Twenty-three years later, with the increasing popularity of a ‘Northern Irish’ identity, this study undertakes indepth, interpretive interviews to discover why individuals identify as “Northern Irish,” and how they understand their own belonging in relation to the formal identities recognised within the Good Friday Agreement. Ultimately it seeks to answer: How does the ‘Northern Irish’ identity challenge the boundaries within a deeply divided society? This is answered by utilising the theory of belonging to reveal the fluidity and complexity of self-identification in a post-conflict society. Contrary to divided societies’ literature which is predicated on entrenched, polarised groups, the existence and increasing use of the Northern Irish identity shows the need for a non-combative and unique identifier. It reveals an inflexibility within the literature that results in an inability to recognise a post-conflict social need for change.Show less
While examining the persistence of partition in ethno-nationally divided polities ranging from the Balkans to the Middle East, the two competing logics of partition literature (ethnic spoils;...Show moreWhile examining the persistence of partition in ethno-nationally divided polities ranging from the Balkans to the Middle East, the two competing logics of partition literature (ethnic spoils; ethnic security dilemma) are limited by their sole focus on military/security or economic factors. To overcome such a theoretical limitation, this qualitative study, which employs a Discourse-Historical Approach (DHA), offers an interpretative account of the discursive elements of enduring partition through an investigation of the rhetoric of Greek-Cypriot elites regarding the presence of Turkish settlers/migrants in Northern Cyprus. Previous research on the “settler problem” emphasizes that it is a question of demographics in both public and elite discourse(s). In contrast, by utilizing the middle-way approach to native-settler relations and the Agambenian state of emergency to explain the generative role of partition and its influence on the rhetoric of elite figures, this study finds that, from 2004 (t = 0) to 2017 (t = 1), Greek-Cypriot elites combined the discursive strategies of demographic imbalance, securitization, and racialization to frame the supposed “settler problem”. This discursive inquiry that probes a purposive sample of primary and secondary textual sources (N = 60) provides a new window into the role of enduring partition in generating the discourse of political elites and counters monolithic understandings regarding the presence of Turkish settlers/migrants. Therefore, providing a framework for future studies that aim to understand the influence of partition on the rhetoric of “native” elites about “non-native” groups both in the island of Cyprus and in other socio-politically divided societies.Show less
According to the Council of Europe estimates, there are approximately 265,000 Roma living in Greece. This study examines the perception and interpretation of the notions of home and homeland as...Show moreAccording to the Council of Europe estimates, there are approximately 265,000 Roma living in Greece. This study examines the perception and interpretation of the notions of home and homeland as well as the sense of belonging by the settled Greek Roma in Greece. For this reason, open-ended, semi-structured, in-depth interviews have been conducted with a number of Greek Roma individuals. As expected, the ideas of the subjects of the research about the concept of home revolve around the institution of family. This implies that their interpretation of home befits more the abstract (non-physical) conceptualization of home. In addition, however, to these answers and despite the apparent duality of identity, the interviewees feel as homeland the country they live in and that is because they are essentially Greeks. This finding contrasts a significant part of the literature that suggests that Roma have either no homeland or feel a nostalgic recollection of a distant historical homeland in India.Show less
It is estimated that there are between 62.320 and 113.912 undocumented migrants in The Netherlands (Van de Sande & Muijsenbergh 2017, 649). Undocumented migrants are excluded from the state...Show moreIt is estimated that there are between 62.320 and 113.912 undocumented migrants in The Netherlands (Van de Sande & Muijsenbergh 2017, 649). Undocumented migrants are excluded from the state through the process of illegalization. This means that they have less legal and political rights (Arent 1973; Walzer 1983; Krause 2008) and often become the target of hostile treatment (Khosravi 2007; Halsworth & Lea 2011). This position of structural vulnerability creates obstacles for striving towards autonomy. With the use of ethnographic methods this research aims to get an in-depth understanding of how undocumented migrants in The Netherlands find ways to strive for autonomy. It explores how in spite of being excluded from the state and in spite of facing formal and informal obstacles, undocumented migrants gain autonomy to strive for a certain course of action in their lives. With the help of community and support organizations undocumented migrants find alternative integration mechanisms that enable to live their lives in autonomy. Through describing the lived experience of undocumented migrants, this research aims to offer a critique of the illegalization practices of the state, which in an unnatural manner disadvantages many migrants.Show less
This thesis aims to answer the research questions when does the word immigrant become a salient political issue. Migration and the immigrant have never been a more pressing issue to solve, and with...Show moreThis thesis aims to answer the research questions when does the word immigrant become a salient political issue. Migration and the immigrant have never been a more pressing issue to solve, and with current global trajectories they are likely to become even more central to international politics in the years to come. Academic literature remains adamant on finding the explanatory factor(s) for why and how the immigrant is politicised through political language, and from the perspective of understanding this political polarisation for the sake of preventing the harm to immigrants, this is an important and worthwhile pursuit. But this thesis argues that the Faroe Islands are a deviant case, as it contains all the common quantifiable explanatory metrics, yet immigration is not politicised. This contradicts the common correlative theories and instead connects the politicisation of immigration to the fundamental aspect of being a sovereign state and argues that the duty of discussing the phenomenon of immigration necessitates the words to define the debate, and it is the introduction of these words into the common sphere that sharpens, and therefore politicises, the immigration topic.Show less
This thesis focuses on how Japanese immigrants living in the Netherlands develop a sense of belonging to Dutch society and maintain Japanese identity through interaction with Japanese communities....Show moreThis thesis focuses on how Japanese immigrants living in the Netherlands develop a sense of belonging to Dutch society and maintain Japanese identity through interaction with Japanese communities. This study employs a mixed method of 19 online surveys and eight semi-structured interviews. By asking in the ordinary language, two categories of belonging in society are found. These are: human interaction to create emotional safety and having the right to participate in a social system. The survey result shows that 10 out of 19 respondents have a sense of belonging to Dutch society. Overall, these people tend to have lived in the Netherlands longer than those who do not, such as students. Many of these long stayers are in a relationship or married to a Dutch person and live in the Netherlands with work experience. During the stay in the Netherlands, Japanese immigrants go through identity transformation from the intensification of Japaneseness to identity shifting between Japanese and Dutch cultures. The main role of the Japanese community is to provide emotional and informational support that contributes to maintaining Japanese identity. The opportunity of bridging with locals by Japanese ethnic networks is limited.Show less
In 2020 the monoethnic Perikatan Nasional coalition seized power from the multi-ethnic Pakatan Harapan coalition, resulting in a reversal of societal progress towards a more multicultural Malaysia....Show moreIn 2020 the monoethnic Perikatan Nasional coalition seized power from the multi-ethnic Pakatan Harapan coalition, resulting in a reversal of societal progress towards a more multicultural Malaysia. This development mimics the rise of populism within Europe, and thus warranted investigation to see if current understandings of European populism could explain this phenomenon in Malaysia. This study utilised discourse analysis to examine the coalition manifestos and member-party political rhetoric of the key Malaysian political coalitions from 2015 to 2020, establishing that Pakatan Harapan is the sole populist coalition consisting of non-populist parties. Pakatan Harapan was formed as a response to the widespread corruption of the previous ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, thus once they had gained power the divisions between its member-parties proved too great for the coalition to survive, resulting in the creation of Perikatan Nasional. This study refutes previous research that claimed populism was not feasible within Southeast Asia, providing evidence that such movements are not only possible but exist within the region.Show less
How do homeland tours influence the presumed relation young diasporans have with their ‘homeland’? This research has shown that Birthright has an impact on the Dutch participants’ identity and...Show moreHow do homeland tours influence the presumed relation young diasporans have with their ‘homeland’? This research has shown that Birthright has an impact on the Dutch participants’ identity and feelings of belonging to a Jewish community mainly through the socialization process of the group. Nonetheless, it also showed the limitations of political socialization on a homeland tour. The agency of the participants and other, stronger forms of political socialization are preventing Birthright from establishing a strong connection and support for Israel. On top of that, the in-depth interviews shed light on the complex realm of identity formation, feelings of belonging and attachment, that has been absent from previous survey-based research on the influence of Birthright. It tried to fill the gap left in the literature that has primarily been focused on Jewish-American relations with Israel by examining young Dutch Jews. This research led to more questions and it presents that much more research on Jewish-Dutch relations with Israel is necessary.Show less
