The 1970’s are commonly known as a period of détente, or ease of tensions during the Cold War. But despite that, existing nuclear powers as the United States were still developing new weaponry and...Show moreThe 1970’s are commonly known as a period of détente, or ease of tensions during the Cold War. But despite that, existing nuclear powers as the United States were still developing new weaponry and enlarging their nuclear arsenal whilst new nuclear powers such as South Africa entered the world stage. This created a situation in which large groups of peoples felt the need to start protesting the nuclear developments again, and a new wave of anti-nuclear protests started halfway through the 1970’s. A particular group of peoples participated in these protests: black anti-nuclear protesters. But to what extent were racism and anti-nuclear protests interconnected in the United States and South Africa between 1976 and 1981? This thesis provides a comparison of the black protest movements in these two countries to provide a starting point for an international research on the interconnection between racial discrimination and anti-nuclear protests. There is an interconnection between racial discrimination and anti-nuclear protests. Both African Americans and black South Africans felt a feeling of injustice and felt racially discriminated due to the nuclear policies of their countries. For the African American protesters, the investments in the nuclear programme were unacceptable because they had very poor living conditions, much worse than white Americans. For the South African black protesters, the nuclear developments by the white minority government had to be stopped since this provided much military strength for the government. In their opinion, the racist apartheid laws could never be ended if the government gained such a strong position in Africa. David Meyer’s theory of Political Opportunity Structure explains that successful protest groups in the past managed to become part of the political system and step into the political space, instead of just showing their dissatisfaction with the government policy. Being well institutionalized in society would make it easier to step into the political space that was present in the détente period. But for the South African protesters this was much harder than for the American protesters since they could only institutionalize themselves in a revolutionary organization such as the ANC, or in church organisations such as the AACC. This resulted in a great difference in the way the protest movements were organized in the United States and South Africa, and in the protest methods they used. Both the American and the South African protesters were aware that the nuclear developments in their countries were dependent on foreign allies or enemies, and although the movements were very different, both relied heavily on international allies. There was also contact between the South African and the American protesters, but this did not result in a clear transfer of ideas.Show less
In 2011, the new Obama administration made the official decision to rebalance America’s foreign policy. This policy has come to be known as the pivot or rebalance and signaled that the center of...Show moreIn 2011, the new Obama administration made the official decision to rebalance America’s foreign policy. This policy has come to be known as the pivot or rebalance and signaled that the center of the political and economic history of the 21st century is moving eastwards, with a re-newed focus towards the Asia-Pacific. With this shift Washington not only wants to benefit from the global geopolitical dynamics and economic growth, but it is also a result of China’s rising economic and military power. The South China Sea (SCS) is a place which is on the way to becoming the most contested body of water in the world with ongoing territorial disputes.Show less
Since 2009, smart power has been the leading foreign policy concept of the Obama Administration. While the concept of smart power has been extensively researched, questions about the conversion of...Show moreSince 2009, smart power has been the leading foreign policy concept of the Obama Administration. While the concept of smart power has been extensively researched, questions about the conversion of smart power theory into practice remain. This thesis examines the way in which smart power is implemented in American foreign policy regarding the Ukraine Crisis and the South China Sea conflict, taking into account the context of the changing nature of power in the twenty-first century.Show less
The American occupation between 1945 and 1948 is analysed through the eyes and minds of American political officials working in Austria. The interaction between Austrian government officials and...Show moreThe American occupation between 1945 and 1948 is analysed through the eyes and minds of American political officials working in Austria. The interaction between Austrian government officials and State Department officials, working at POLAD (USFA) and the US legation in Vienna, form the basis of this thesis. In search of America's post-war objectives in Austria this thesis discovered more than just that. The analysis indicates that the American assessment of the situation was increasingly influenced by dubious intelligence and, conflicting interpretations of domestic and international events. Uncertainty over Austria's future (imagination) became more important than actual facts and figures (knowledge) in determining policies. Both the American political officials and Austrian government contributed to the questionable notion that the country faced a considerable communist-Soviet threat, creating a potentially dangerous precedent for the future.Show less
The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership is the largest proposed trade agreement in history, affecting a total of 800 million people. Included in this trade agreement are provisions that...Show moreThe Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership is the largest proposed trade agreement in history, affecting a total of 800 million people. Included in this trade agreement are provisions that challenge traditional ideas of state sovereignty. Most important of these are Investor-State Dispute Settlement provisions. These provisions allow corporations to circumvent domestic court systems and sue national governments before a tribunal that is insulated from judicial review. While a nation might want to exercise its sovereign right to regulate on the behalf of the safety and welfare of its populace, the potential effect on the assets of its foreign investors can lead to a regulatory chill affect causing governments to cancel its adoption of legitimate regulatory changes because of the threat of arbitration. To further investigate the effect of these provisions on state sovereignty, this thesis will employ the neo-Gramscian theory of international relations. Antonio Gramsci and the theorists of neo-Gramscianism break with the notions of state centrism and focus instead on the social classes that exercise global governance. By taking ISDS out of the law perspective and into an international relations perspective, we, with the help of Gramsci, can begin to identify the possible motives of such provisions and, more importantly, attempt to uncover the true origins of power and hegemony.Show less
The Dutch government used cultural diplomacy to reinforce East-West relations on numerous occasions. High-ranking Dutch civil servants and diplomats used art, classical music and academic exchanges...Show moreThe Dutch government used cultural diplomacy to reinforce East-West relations on numerous occasions. High-ranking Dutch civil servants and diplomats used art, classical music and academic exchanges to influence public opinion on the other side of the Iron Curtain. This thesis will show that the Dutch Foreign Ministry (BZ) used these exhibitions, concerts and sporting events to influence public opinion in the East European Bloc. In an attempt to regenerate the Dutch art scene after World War II the Ministry of Education, Arts and Sciences stimulated the cultural scene in the Netherlands by forging ties with international renowned artists. The policy of OK&W to focus on regaining cultural prestige was contrary to the policy that was laid down by BZ.OK&W also used cultural diplomacy to achieve its objectives, however these goals meant that the Netherlands had to engage more and more with foreign publics. This approach was contrary to the policy of the Foreign Office that was focused on securing national security. The difference in these approaches created tensions between the two offices of government, which had dire consequences for the NIICB established in 1955. This thesis will illustrate the battle fought between the Ministries on the cultural backstage of Dutch Cold War politics by answering the following question: What factors played a role in the development of the Dutch cultural relations in the 1950s with Eastern Europe?Show less
On March 24, 1999, NATO launched Operation Allied Force, a bombing campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in response to ongoing hostilities in Kosovo. US President Bill Clinton...Show moreOn March 24, 1999, NATO launched Operation Allied Force, a bombing campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in response to ongoing hostilities in Kosovo. US President Bill Clinton proudly called the intervention in Kosovo 'the first ever humanitarian war.'1 Others condemned the war, arguing that it was illegal and that NATO was acting on its own interests rather than on humanitarian motives. So why did NATO really intervene in Kosovo? This thesis draws on constructivist and Gramscian theory to explain why NATO intervened in Kosovo, and to shed light on the most salient issue: the relationship between and the relative importance of humanitarian values and strategic interests. Constructivists believe that state identities and interests are not given, instead, they are socially constructed. Interests are not only defined by material facts but also by social facts, like norms and ideas. Therefore, foreign policy decision making is more about defining national interests than about defending them. A constructivist analysis of the Clinton administration's decision to intervene in Kosovo reveals that this decision was shaped by social facts, like shared notions about the grounds on which it is legitimate to carry out a military intervention, and norms of behaviour, like human rights. These perceptions were shaped by social and cultural factors, like the memory of the two World Wars, the national trauma of the Vietnam war, previous wars in the Balkans and the Weinberger doctrine. An analysis of Clinton's rhetoric on Kosovo reveals that he was expanding previous understandings of what constitutes the national interest to include standing up to human rights abuses. In this sense, he was advancing humanitarian norms as a cause for action. These norms did not only influence the way in which the war was presented and defended, but also the way it was fought. The constructivist perspective therefore attaches great causal significance to norms and ideas. The neo-Gramscian school in international relations draws on the work of the Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci, particularly the concept of hegemony. According to Gramsci, the hegemony of the bourgeoisie was not just based on coercive power, but also on their ability to construct a broad cultural and ideological consensus. A state can become hegemonic by constructing a world order which most other states accept or perceive to be in their interest. In the end, however, this order primarily exists to serve the interests of the elites. From this perspective, the notion of universal human rights is one element of a global civil society which is marked by a growing consensus on morals, values and rights. The end of the Cold War brought about an international order based on liberal values like democracy, free trade and human rights. Though not a complete hegemony, this world order certainly had hegemonic elements. Milosevic's actions in Kosovo were a transgression against these values. From this perspective, the war over Kosovo was essentially an international police mission, designed to punish Milosevic's deviation from international norms. The military component was supported by international institutions, like the UN Security Council, which, though it stopped short of endorsing the intervention, also failed to oppose it, and the IMF and the EU, which has already begun making plans for the reconstruction of Kosovo and the economic future of the region before the bombs had stopped falling. International civil society, represented by NGOs and the media, also played their part by promoting humanitarian values and calling attention to the humanitarian crisis in Kosovo. The extent of this hegemony is demonstrated by the failure of opposing states like Russia and China to mount an effective counter-hegemony. For constructivists, then, the decision to intervene in Kosovo reflected changing perceptions of the national interest and foreign policy priorities. Clinton claimed to act in the national interest, and undoubtedly believed this himself, but his perception of the national interest was not necessarily based on objective facts. It was shaped by historical experiences, considerations of legitimacy and shared understandings about human rights. Clinton acted as a norm entrepreneur by advancing the notion that it is legitimate to use armed force against a sovereign state to stand up to human rights abuses. Gramscians would agree with the constructivists that Kosovo represented a normative shift and that the war was fought to defend a set of values. However, the Gramscians do not take these norms and values at face value. Instead, they trace them back to the material interests of the elites. They draw attention to the striking coherence between Western military power, its ideology and international institutions. The constructivist and Gramscian perspectives have proven to be useful here because of their ability to go beyond a simple understanding of values and interests as binary opposites. It is all too easy to fall into the trap of depicting these two categories as mutually exclusive. The two theories disagree on the exact relationship between the two: constructivists believe that norms, values and ideas define interests, Gramscians believe that they ultimately serve interests. Another point of divergence is that constructivism emphasizes change while Gramscianism is more interested in continuity. From a constructivist perspective, state behavior is based on social facts which are, by nature, fluid and continually changing. For the Gramscians, the basic characteristics of the international order do not change, they continue to favour the strong over the weak. This brings out a weakness in Gramscian theory: it tends to place everything in a grand narrative about the dominance of the economic elites. When applying theory to a historical event, there is always the risk of adopting the facts to fit the preconceived notions that are present in the theoretical framework. Theory is valuable when applied critically, because it allows us to consider the facts from different viewpoints. If this analysis has succeeded in revealing different ways of looking at and thinking about the facts, then it has been a fruitful exercise.Show less
Een voorbeschouwing van de machtstrijd tussen Ambassadeur in Cuba Benjamin Sumner Welles en Cordell Hull in 1933 wanneer Welles op het eiland is om toe te zien op een machtsoverdracht
Research master thesis | History: Societies and Institutions (research) (MA)
open access
After WWII the Dutch government wanted to be more involved in informing the public of its doings and in preparing it for the dangers that might present themselves. One of the ways to reach the...Show moreAfter WWII the Dutch government wanted to be more involved in informing the public of its doings and in preparing it for the dangers that might present themselves. One of the ways to reach the public were the newsreels shown in movie theaters, which had a weekly reach of over 1 million. Through the Rijksvoorlichtingsdienst (Government Informing Service) the government installed an editorial committee which safeguarded the newsreels and determined which items should be shown and which were deemed unfit. This committee had members of the RVD, journalists and Polygoon-Profilti editors. Over the years this committee grew to a standing committee with its own morals and values. When the cold war accellerated with the events of 1948-1950, the government now had a renewed interest in the items shown in the newsreels. Their content could potentially be used in the fight against communism. This paper investigates how newsreels were made, with what convictions they were made and to what extent the government controlled or tried to control this committee. In doing so, the paper also investigates the interplay between the committee and the government in the setting of the early cold war.Show less
This thesis researches the way in which the pharmaceutical industry protects its interests in animal testing at the European Commission and looks especially at the influence of the public opinion.
Door de strategische ligging en de aanwezigheid van olie is de afgelopen decennia de rol van het Midden-Oosten in de wereldpolitiek belangrijker geworden. De Verenigde Staten ontwikkelden hiervoor...Show moreDoor de strategische ligging en de aanwezigheid van olie is de afgelopen decennia de rol van het Midden-Oosten in de wereldpolitiek belangrijker geworden. De Verenigde Staten ontwikkelden hiervoor de Twin Pillar Strategy, een strategie die de landen Saoedi-Arabie en Iran als belangrijkste steunpilaren voorzag. Door de Iraanse revolutie werden de presidenten Carter en Reagan gedwongen om deze te veranderen.Show less
This dissertation focuses on the ideas and beliefs of Hendrik Brugmans, an interesting and influential man during the start of the European integration process right after the Second World War.
In this study, I focused on how historians looked at British and American handling of the ‘Polish Question’ in World War II. This was from the moment the discovery of the mass graves at Katyn led...Show moreIn this study, I focused on how historians looked at British and American handling of the ‘Polish Question’ in World War II. This was from the moment the discovery of the mass graves at Katyn led to a break between the Soviet Union and the Polish government-in-exile in April 1943 to the end of the Warsaw Uprising in September 1944. I was particularly interested in what ways the United States and Great Britain wanted to solve this problem in accordance with the wishes of the Polish government-in-exile. It seems as if historians are biased on this subject. They mainly see a pleasing Allied side, desperately trying to keep Stalin in the War. Churchill and Roosevelt wanted to please Stalin so much, according to these historians, that they were willing to sell out their Polish allies and to forget about the Soviet crimes committed in the Easter-European country. Instead of this biased historical look on affairs, summarized in the schools of innocence and blame, I argue for the school of reconstruction or a more objective look at this subject.Show less
