Ever since the European Union (EU) embraced a securitising approach to the migration problem by leaning on third-country deals, countries such as Turkey and Belarus gained leverage against the EU,...Show moreEver since the European Union (EU) embraced a securitising approach to the migration problem by leaning on third-country deals, countries such as Turkey and Belarus gained leverage against the EU, using these deals as tools for coercive engineered migration (CEM). Although Turkey has been a candidate country and was following a Europeanising route for its policies, it opted for a coercive route and employed CEM against the EU after the 2015 crisis. Based on Greenhill’s (2010) theory, this paper argues that Turkey has employed CEM because it had certain demands from the EU that were previously unacceptable and had lower bargaining power vis-à-vis the EU. This project followed a process-tracing method and analysed five cases where Turkey employed CEM against the EU. The analysis showed that in all of these five cases, Turkey had certain demands from the EU, whether political, monetary, or otherwise, that were not negotiable by the EU before this strategy. Although Turkey was not always successful in retrieving its demands from the EU, it managed to at least put the demands on the negotiation table. Secondly, in all of the cases, Turkey had lower bargaining power compared to the EU, which made it likely for Turkey to employ CEM to shift the power balance. The analysis adds nuance to the research on coercive migration diplomacy by focusing on the Turkish case, particularly observing Turkey's shift from a cooperative to a coercive power and examining the causal mechanisms behind this shift. This research might encourage further studies that compare Turkey to different third-country deals on this basis.Show less
Many feminist economists have spent their careers conducting research and theorising about the role of care work in the economy. Some, like Silvia Federici, have taken a Marxist approach to the...Show moreMany feminist economists have spent their careers conducting research and theorising about the role of care work in the economy. Some, like Silvia Federici, have taken a Marxist approach to the analysis of the capitalist economy, and have placed the focus on the role and positioning of social reproduction in the economy. This requires a departure from Marx’s writings, which often left social reproduction on the sidelines. This thesis focuses on the care work aspect of social reproduction, meaning it explores not human reproduction under a capitalist productive society but rather the less objectively defined concept of care. It delves into how capitalism relies on the perpetuation of cultural beliefs surrounding aspects such as gender and productivity to continue existing. This way, it explores the concept of care work, its role in society and how it is (or is not) accounted for in both public and corporate policy. The central argument is that established relations of power and cultural beliefs perpetuate one another under capitalism. This thesis expands the understanding of care work beyond productivity and reflects on human values and wellbeing under capitalism. This will be done through an analysis of existing academic and non- academic literature on the topic, as well as the analysis of cultural artefacts connected to the theme. This thesis contributes to this debate by focusing on care work that involves non-productive members of society such as some disabled people and sees care work as a crucial aspect of human existence.Show less
This thesis conducts a comparative case study analysis of the differing strategies of Rwanda and Uganda in managing conflict minerals from the Democratic Republic of Congo, with the objective to...Show moreThis thesis conducts a comparative case study analysis of the differing strategies of Rwanda and Uganda in managing conflict minerals from the Democratic Republic of Congo, with the objective to contribute to a nuanced understanding of power dynamics and security imperatives in the African Great Lakes Region. By applying a realist theoretical International Relations framework, this study analyses how the respective strategies of Rwanda and Uganda reflect their economic, security, and geopolitical interests, as well as the implications for regional stability. The methodology of this thesis relies on a systematic document analysis of UNSC Group of Experts reports, complemented with research reports by NGOs and think tanks. This thesis reveals that Rwanda's policies combine centralised and confrontational strategies with its historical security narrative, whereas Uganda's policies focus on maintaining entrenched smuggling networks and strategic use of minerals to boost its economy and regional significance. The comparative analysis illustrates how both countries use conflict minerals to enhance their geopolitical position in the region, thereby contributing to regional instability and a security dilemma.Show less
This paper contributes to the counterinsurgency literature by examining what the most effective strategies, tactics and conditions were that led to victory in the counterinsurgency campaigns of the...Show moreThis paper contributes to the counterinsurgency literature by examining what the most effective strategies, tactics and conditions were that led to victory in the counterinsurgency campaigns of the Dutch against the Javanese in the Java War (1825-1830) and the US against the Filipinos in the Philippine War (1899-1902). I will analyse the cases using the comparative method (Most Different Systems Design) and the congruence method. The analyses show that the most influential causes in winning the war were that the Dutch and US forces had a high level of interaction with the local population, decentralised their military and civil policy, and successfully balanced a strategy of winning an influential part of the population over with benefits while using punishments to sever the bonds between insurgents and their supporters. My findings will cast doubt on whether contemporary Western Democracies can and should engage in counterinsurgency warfare, seeing the high moral and human cost necessary to win the war.Show less
