Trust in the European Union is a complex issue with many factors affecting it. Some of the factors that could also be influencing each other. This research focusses on how the relation between...Show moreTrust in the European Union is a complex issue with many factors affecting it. Some of the factors that could also be influencing each other. This research focusses on how the relation between Eastern orthodoxy and trust in the European Parliament is influenced by nationalism. The question central to this thesis is: To what degree does nationalism affect the relation between Eastern orthodox religiousness and an individual's level of trust in the European Union in Bulgaria and Cyprus? The objective of the research is to find how strong the relation is between Eastern orthodoxy and European trust in an environment where the potential link between Eastern orthodoxy and nationalism is at its strongest. Excising literature suggested that in majority Orthodox countries, there seems to be a strong tie between nationalism, a variable with a historic negative relation to European support, and Eastern orthodoxy, a variable that has a historic positive relation with European support. Therefore the expectation is that when excluding nationalism from the analysis, the relation between Eastern orthodoxy and European trust would be more negative compared to the analysis with nationalism included. However, through a multiple regression analysis using the data from the European Social Survey, this hypothesis finds no supporting evidence for the supposed relation between Eastern orthodoxy and European trust. The inclusion of nationalism into the regression does not make a significant change to this result. Instead, nationalism seems to be a strong predictor for European trust without heavily affecting the effect of Eastern orthodoxy. This leads to the conclusion that to understand Euroscepticism, factors like country of residence and emotional attachment to a country make for stronger predictors of Euroscepticism compared to religion.Show less
This study seeks to find out how far-right groups influence the radicalization trajectories of individuals, by analyzing six autobiographies of violent right wing extremists. This study uses...Show moreThis study seeks to find out how far-right groups influence the radicalization trajectories of individuals, by analyzing six autobiographies of violent right wing extremists. This study uses thematic analysis guided by Kruglanki and colleagues’ Significance Quest Theory (2009; 2014). It has uncovered themes regarding problematic childhoods, violent ideologies, and violence as means to gain significance within these groups. This study shows that a traumatic childhood makes individuals more vulnerable to far-right group recruitment, as they want to belong somewhere. These far-right groups promoted ideologies driven by violence, and therefore has led the individuals down a path of violence in order to belong. Eventually the studied individuals found out that their violent actions increased their status within these far-right groups and the white supremacist network, that they missed out on in their childhoods.Show less
Master thesis | Crisis and Security Management (MSc)
open access
2022-05-30T00:00:00Z
Classical literature on crisis communication focusses primarily on factors like consistency, accuracy and speed as being the most important aspects to effective crisis communication. However, an...Show moreClassical literature on crisis communication focusses primarily on factors like consistency, accuracy and speed as being the most important aspects to effective crisis communication. However, an emerging body of literature criticizes this approach for being too Western oriented and indicates that culture should play a bigger role in crisis communication and crisis communication statements. As such this thesis wanted to contribute to this research gap by examining to what extent multinational corporations should take cultural factors into account in their crisis communication statements. In order to achieve this, an explorative study was conducted that looked at how companies currently conduct their crisis communication and what can be learned from these practices through preliminary interviews, case studies and final interviews. From this, interesting finding were found at both the practical and academic levels. At the practical level, it was found that current crisis communication practices seem sufficient. Despite the fact that case studies portray a more nuanced picture than the classical literature would suggest, with culture being considered more than expected it still seems that the focus in crisis communication is and will remain on consistency, accuracy and speed. At the academic level, the most important finding was that current endeavors have been too oriented on the Western world, shaping the classical body of literature present today. As a consequence, the emerging body of literature tends to originate from non-Western parts of the world and seems to be a response of sorts against this traditional literature. As a result, these research agendas operate in the extremes and show little nuance in terms of the role culture plays or should play in crisis communication. By providing these insights, this thesis hopes to add more nuance to the existing research and offer suggestions on how the current literature can be improved or further developed.Show less
Purpose: This study tests the recently advanced ‘collaborative model’ of political-bureaucratic relations in the case of Rwanda. This model has been at the root of many developmental success...Show morePurpose: This study tests the recently advanced ‘collaborative model’ of political-bureaucratic relations in the case of Rwanda. This model has been at the root of many developmental success stories, yet this the first study to empirically test this model post-formulation. Thus, this study ascertains the model’s presence and functioning, and observes how it manifests itself in one of Africa’s most rapidly developing countries. Methodology: This case study uses a theory-testing process-tracing method to examine the presence and functioning of the theorised model in empirical reality. Data is retrieved from government documents, books, third party reports, previous academic works and selected news articles. Findings: The collaborative model is deemed to be present in the case. Rwanda’s elites are committed to development and have gone to great lengths to create a capable state. Yet this study finds that bureaucratic autonomy, a vital feature of the model, is often limited. The country’s central economic ministry, which plays a key role in development and the Rwandan policy process, is a key exception. Implications: This study argues that the collaborative model of political-bureaucratic relations is a useful tool in understanding developing country governance. Areas for refinement of the model include bureaucratic autonomy and the dimension that aid brings to the African context if the model is to be of value in this context. Contribution: This study adds to a rapidly growing body of public administration literature focused on the developing country context, as well as the extensive bodies of literature concerning political-bureaucratic relations and Rwanda’s governance and development.Show less
Due to escalating circumstances in Africa and the Middle East, the European Union was flooded with refugees in 2015. This phenomenon raised many issues regarding asylum for these displaced...Show moreDue to escalating circumstances in Africa and the Middle East, the European Union was flooded with refugees in 2015. This phenomenon raised many issues regarding asylum for these displaced individuals and families. By performing a qualitative inductive framing research, this thesis creates new policy frames applicable to Dutch governmental debates on immigration policy from 2015-2019. Uncovering whether politicians use frames to express their standpoints and in which ways this occurs. This research emphasizes which frames politicians used during their debates on immigration policy, establishing the three main frames and their usage, as well as the difference in use by right and left wing politicians.Show less
Radicalization and terrorism research has been growing in funding and prestige over the last decades. This is partially due to the ‘War on Terror’ which has been raging for more than two decades...Show moreRadicalization and terrorism research has been growing in funding and prestige over the last decades. This is partially due to the ‘War on Terror’ which has been raging for more than two decades and shows no sign of slowing down. The need for practical application of the research has made that the field has become relatively one sided and occupied with ‘the other’. This research seeks to bridge that gap. To this extent this research focuses on the universal nature of radicalization and justification for violence. It does so by comparing and contrasting two very different groups. On one side Muslim extremists and on the other Western war criminals. The research was conducted applying thematic analysis to six autobiographies written by the violent individuals. Several universal themes were found which all lead to the application and justification of violence towards a civilian population. However, notable differences were also found which again emphasizes the complex nature of radicalization research. Overall, this paper shows that there are themes and perspectives which have not been touched upon by contemporary research and urges for more exploration of the topic. This paper, with its exploratory nature, aims to be the foundation on which future research can be performed.Show less
As one of the longest lasting ongoing conflicts, the Genocide in Darfur has prompted condemnation from the international community for nearly two decades. Most explanation of the violence used by...Show moreAs one of the longest lasting ongoing conflicts, the Genocide in Darfur has prompted condemnation from the international community for nearly two decades. Most explanation of the violence used by the Sudanese government center on ethnic tensions between African and Arab tribes, but fewer analyses have applied the concept of genocide as strategy to the case of Darfur. This qualitative research approaches the conflict through a constructivist lens by applying two theories that fit this mold, Draining the Sea and Genocidal Consolidation. Through an analysis of the genocide’s timeline constructed from public and academic sources, it concludes that the government’s actions conform to President al-Bashir’s objective of retaining his position, but not that the mass killings were strictly meant to starve rebels of their support base.Show less
Ever since the rise of computers, society has undergone a massive transition with the introduction of cyberspace. This new domain brought many opportunities, but also many new threats to...Show moreEver since the rise of computers, society has undergone a massive transition with the introduction of cyberspace. This new domain brought many opportunities, but also many new threats to governments and citizens worldwide. This paper focusses on one of the main cyber threats of this time: cyber espionage. This research discusses how the official position of the Dutch government regarding cyber espionage has evolved from 2011 onwards. As a heavily digitalized country that greatly contributes to the regulation of cyberspace and cyber espionage in international fora, the Netherlands is the ideal country to analyse. This is done by looking at policy documents and official statements of Dutch government officials at international fora. Two case studies – the DigiNotar hack in 2011 and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons hack in 2018 – illustrate how policy is put to practice.Show less
By means of this thesis, an attempt has been made to arrive at a deeper understanding of the heterogeneity among EU member states regarding foreign policy response in the context of a rising China....Show moreBy means of this thesis, an attempt has been made to arrive at a deeper understanding of the heterogeneity among EU member states regarding foreign policy response in the context of a rising China. More specifically, the aim of this research project was to examine the relationship between European democracies’ varying perceptions of a rising China (independent variable) and their foreign policy response (dependent variable). Relying on covariational analysis, this relationship has been examined in France, Greece, and Austria – each of which can be considered to have taken a different position with respect to the BRI. In order to measure the independent variable (i.e., perception), a qualitative framing analysis has been performed on textual publications of French, Greek, and Austrian policy think tanks, whereby the grand theories of IR have been identified as distinct frames – an approach that has only scarcely been applied in the study of IR. Based on the research findings, this thesis concludes that one could indeed speak of an association between European democracies’ varying perceptions of a rising China and their foreign policy response.Show less
There is much research indicating that people’s attitudes towards immigration can influence whether or not they support redistribution programs. In accordance with one view, anti-immigration...Show moreThere is much research indicating that people’s attitudes towards immigration can influence whether or not they support redistribution programs. In accordance with one view, anti-immigration attitudes weaken support for redistribution, as those who hold negative attitudes towards immigration supposedly consider immigrants to be “free-riders” who disproportionately benefit from the welfare state. Nevertheless, there are competing views suggesting that the same negative attitudes towards immigration can arouse residents’ subjective income insecurities, which then leads them to support welfare solidarity and redistribution. This thesis analyzes evidence collected through the European Social Survey (ESS) in support of the latter view. More specifically, this research finds that negative attitudes towards immigration lead to higher support for redistribution when subjective income insecurity increases, whilst pro-immigration attitudes also lead to support for redistribution when there is a higher percentage of foreign-born citizens.Show less
The COVID-19 pandemic displayed a crisis with complex policy issues and relied on the responses of national governments. This study seeks to investigate the influence of structural determinants on...Show moreThe COVID-19 pandemic displayed a crisis with complex policy issues and relied on the responses of national governments. This study seeks to investigate the influence of structural determinants on these responses, rather than short-term mechanisms. The responses could either be perceived as stringent or liberal, based on data extracted from the Oxford stringency index. Earlier research shows that long-term conditions have a larger effect on crisis policy response and offer more predictive results. Based on these structural determinants, five conditions were found using academic literature and turned into testable hypotheses. The level of democracy, political trust, economic development, the level of social safety net and state capacity to shape crisis policy response were derived from the literature and chosen for this research. Accordingly, a multiple regression analysis was performed to examine the relationship between a combination of these independent variables and the Oxford stringency index, serving as outcome variable. The results found that there is a significant relationship between these independent variables and the stringency index of the COVID-19 policy response. Particularly the economic development and state capacity of a state were deemed to be significant.Show less
The German government aims to become climate neutral by 2045. To achieve these ambitious goals, a reconstruction of the German energy sector is necessary to move from fossil fuel-based energy...Show moreThe German government aims to become climate neutral by 2045. To achieve these ambitious goals, a reconstruction of the German energy sector is necessary to move from fossil fuel-based energy sourced to renewable energies. However, the reconstruction of the energy sector cannot rely on technological innovations alone but must be accompanied by social innovations as well. This research aims to investigate the aspiring role of social innovations in the German energy transition process. Hereby a comparative small N (N=2) study is conducted of two German renewable energy communities that specialize in the generation of photovoltaic energy. A conceptual framework is developed focusing on the theoretical dimensions of transition potential, benefits and challenges in order to examine how the renewable energy communities aim to be part of the German energy transition process. The findings of this master thesis uncover that renewable energy communities in Germany seek to contribute to the shift in the energy system by becoming part of the socio-technical regime and by emphasizing a decentralized energy transition. Moreover, the results reveal that the contribution is limited by particular challenges such as the time resources of volunteers and political uncertainty.Show less
