Master thesis | Crisis and Security Management (MSc)
open access
2023-03-30T00:00:00Z
Twenty-seven years after the swiss military compulsory service officially allowed women to serve in the same position as men, their numbers remain scarce. They officially represent under one per...Show moreTwenty-seven years after the swiss military compulsory service officially allowed women to serve in the same position as men, their numbers remain scarce. They officially represent under one per cent of military forces. Meanwhile, several decision-makers call for a transformation of this balance, either to reach ten per cent of women in the ranks or to include them completely in the draft group. This research finds that women have played a key role in the military in the past 100 years and that they have been systematically invisibilised. The analysis shows that the military and the state in Switzerland is male centred (Peterson, 1992; Sjoberg, 2009), that women were prevented from gaining the status of an actor in the military practice despite filling that role, and that the military is highly dependent on women’s unpaid labour. The analysis of women’s presence and how it is reported to the public show that women comply with gendered norms rather to challenge them to be accepted in the military. Therefore, this research argues that a specific gender-sensitive policy would be necessary to attain the announced goals.Show less
The understanding of life as a complex system is becoming more and more prominent in many academic disciplines. This study applies this systems’ perspective to understand how transitional justice ...Show moreThe understanding of life as a complex system is becoming more and more prominent in many academic disciplines. This study applies this systems’ perspective to understand how transitional justice (TJ) practice contributes to reconciliation. Based on existing literature, a theoretical framework is constructed which theorizes that in the social network of TJ society, there is an emergent process towards reconciliation. This process is based on the value of interconnectedness. TJ practices emerge as part of this process and can serve as a catalysator. This emergent process is impacted by formal TJ structure and the TJ governance network. Consequently, this study applies this theoretical framework to the case of the post-genocide gacaca trials in Rwanda. The findings demonstrate that the model provides insights into the case. However, further research is needed to validate the theoretical framework.Show less
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a series of projects spearheaded by China, aiming to establish a global infrastructural network connecting China and Europe, among others. The EU faces the...Show moreThe Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a series of projects spearheaded by China, aiming to establish a global infrastructural network connecting China and Europe, among others. The EU faces the reality of an externally initiated attempt to integrate the Chinese and European economies, without being asked for permission. China’s strategy has been a bottom up approach, reaching out to individual EU-member states and their publics with ambitions for bilateral agreements and mutual cooperation. Meanwhile, frictions caused by perceived incompatible political differences have been a source of turbulence for Sino-EU relations for decades. The impact of the BRI on these relations remains obscure, warranting research efforts. This thesis asks specifically how the BRI affects EU foreign policy towards China, using the pathways of connection framework to make inferences. The framework, founded in realism, liberalism and constructivism, takes a relational and practitioner-centred approach. To gather data, explaining-outcome process tracing is employed as a method, trying to provide minimally sufficient evidence to explain the occurrence of the phenomenon under study. The study finds that the BRI affects the EU and EU foreign policy in a broad range of categories, as China rigorously pursues its foreign policy interests. It concludes that Chinese efforts are met negatively by the EU, who in return tries to fortify its defences to prevent the BRI from growing roots on the European continent.Show less
The European Union promotes quality of life and happiness among all EU-citizens. This aim is partly pursued through EU-funding for different countries. At the same time, there are rising levels of...Show moreThe European Union promotes quality of life and happiness among all EU-citizens. This aim is partly pursued through EU-funding for different countries. At the same time, there are rising levels of discontent among many EU-countries which raises doubts if the EU actually increases happiness. This paper focuses on the aspect of EU-funding and studies the effect of EU-funding on happiness through the research question: ‘What is the effect of EU-funding towards a country on happiness among EU-citizens?’. This paper is using panel data regressions with fixed effects from 2014 to 2020 over 27 different countries to find results. The results of this paper suggest that there is no general effect of EU-funding on happiness among all EU-countries as insufficient proof of an association is found. This paper does find an interesting result when testing EU-countries which joined the European Union before and from 2004 separately. Different parts of EU-funding have different effects on different EU-countries. For example, some parts of EU-funding have a positive association with countries which joined the European Union from 2004 and a negative association with countries which joined the European Union before 2004. This means that the differences between EU-countries change how their happiness is influenced by different drivers.Show less
In 2015, the Dutch government decided to continue the long standing AOW pension system in favor of a defined contributions pension plan. Employees who were dependent on the system to arrange for...Show moreIn 2015, the Dutch government decided to continue the long standing AOW pension system in favor of a defined contributions pension plan. Employees who were dependent on the system to arrange for their retirement found themselves in need to do it on their own. One key requirement to do so successfully is to be financially literate, which the majority of the population is not. With the existence of many mediums to choose from, financial literacy became widespread, but its effects were contested. This paper aims to measure the effect of financial literacy on the saving behavior of Dutch employee. We formulate an equation to compute the saving rate using the difference in yearly wealth and use a standard regression approach. Our study finds that increasing your stock of knowledge in indexation or risk mitigation by 1 unit leads to 40% increase in the saving rate. The results halve and double for males and females, respectively. Moreover, we find significant presence of the Life Cycle Hypothesis in some of our regressions. The only concept from previous formal and home education that remains significant is budgeting training, although its effect is negative.Show less
As a consequence of the energy crisis that followed the rapid post-pandemic recovery and the conflict in the Ukraine, many households faced increased energy bill. This led to an increased number of...Show moreAs a consequence of the energy crisis that followed the rapid post-pandemic recovery and the conflict in the Ukraine, many households faced increased energy bill. This led to an increased number of households to face energy poverty. With renewable energy sources being known for their relatively low cost, the promotion of a renewable energy industry could push down energy prices and reduce the financial pressure on households. This thesis seeks to explore what role the promotion of renewable energy has in de current energy crisis, or more specifically, this thesis seeks to answer the following research question: ““What role does the promotion of renewable energy, by means of green industrial policy, has in the energy crisis, and thus in the alleviation of energy poverty on household level?”. To answer this question, this thesis follows a grounded theory approach and analyses two cases; the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. To understand relation between policies on energy poverty and the promotion of renewable energy, a body of data was collected and analyzed consisting of expert interviews and documents. The results contribute to an understanding of how (green-) industrial policy could be used to actualize more locally oriented policy goals, such as poverty alleviation. This thesis found that the promotion of renewable energy does have the potential to contribute to energy poverty alleviation. However, due to the way in which the price of energy is set on the wholesale and the retail market for energy, this does not lead to any price reductions on the short term. Only major market reforms would allow consumers to benefit from the relatively low prices of renewables when fossil fuels are more expensive. This is why policymakers will be bound to more traditional ways of alleviating energy poverty. For example through financial compensation or through improving energy efficiency of residencies.Show less
In this thesis, we aim to investigate the impact of an EU crisis on EU news coverage. National mass media has an important democratic role in EU news coverage since it is the primary source of...Show moreIn this thesis, we aim to investigate the impact of an EU crisis on EU news coverage. National mass media has an important democratic role in EU news coverage since it is the primary source of information about the EU for the public, and therefore, can shape the understanding of the public towards the EU. However, mass media does not just transmit information passively, and can frame EU integration in news coverage. We want to analyse what the impact of the Brexit referendum is on the use of a dominant pro-EU, Euroambivalent, or anti-EU integration frame in Dutch mass media. Consequently, we compare EU news coverage in de Volkskrant, NRC Handelsblad, Trouw, and De Telegraaf during the Brexit referendum in 2016, with EU news coverage in 2014. We use a qualitative deductive lens and analyse 372 news articles. In general, we find that an Euroambivalent integration frame is dominant, but both the number of pro-EU and anti-EU news articles increases. Therefore, Dutch mass media fosters a critical public debate on the EU during the Brexit referendum. On top of that, broadsheet newspapers tend to be more supportive of the EU, and tabloid newspaper De Telegraaf tends to be more critical of the EU when an EU crisis is present.Show less
Global environmental assessments assume an increasingly central role in international policymaking. Among them, the IPCC stands out as the authoritative voice of climate science. According to...Show moreGlobal environmental assessments assume an increasingly central role in international policymaking. Among them, the IPCC stands out as the authoritative voice of climate science. According to reputation theory, the maintenance of such a positive reputation requires the communication of organizational strengths to its audiences. The theory predicts patterns of emphasis and change over time, but has yet to be tested in this institutional setting. This thesis contributes to reputational theory through testing and extending its theoretical expectations to the case of the IPCC based on GEA literature. It quantitatively analyses the IPCC outputs and communication material over the course of 1994-2022, and qualitatively investigates the experience of IPCC leadership during that time. The results suggest that the IPCC becomes more reputationally aware over time, but does not diversify its legitimization strategies along hypothesized dimensions to the public - despite leadership commitment to those dimensions – but rather reinforces its technical image.Show less
Masterscriptie over het burgerparticipatietraject bij Winkelcentrum de Kopermolen in de Leidse Merenwijk, waarbij er een koppeling wordt gelegd met interactief beleid.
