This research investigates the radicalization trajectories within the British extremist spectrum, with a specific focus on two groups characterized by their heightened antagonistic ideologies: the...Show moreThis research investigates the radicalization trajectories within the British extremist spectrum, with a specific focus on two groups characterized by their heightened antagonistic ideologies: the British Muslim community and the British far-right groups. The analyzed period spans from 2005 to 2013, a time marked by an upsurge in extremist hate crimes, escalating further until a significant number of British Muslims decided to abandon their lives in the United Kingdom to join the ranks of the Islamic State’s caliphate. Drawing on Moghaddam’s (2018) mutual radicalization model, this research analyzes three stages considered as the cornerstones in the construction of the radicalization model: the group mobilization, heightened cohesion within the respective groups, and the transformative shifts in antagonistic identity. Critical discourse analysis is applied as a method for assessment of the collected evidence, in order to evaluate the model’s efficacy. Ultimately, this study underscores the model’s value in comprehending group actions and processes, particularly in response to trigger events such as hate crimes or acts of terrorism. However, limitations arise when accounting for external variables that transcend the mutual radicalization’s binary framework. By shedding light on the added value as well as the limitations of this model, this study provides valuable insights for future research on group radicalization, while informing the policymakers about the angles to consider when formulating counter-extremist strategies.Show less
This research seeks to elucidate the unique position of Burkina Faso in West Africa, focusing on its ethnic, religious, and national narratives as pivotal in shaping the aspirations of the jihadist...Show moreThis research seeks to elucidate the unique position of Burkina Faso in West Africa, focusing on its ethnic, religious, and national narratives as pivotal in shaping the aspirations of the jihadist group, JNIM. The study investigates JNIM's efforts to attain legitimacy in Burkina Faso, exploring both its long-term strategy and its potential divergent ambition of purely military and economic control. Central to this investigation is a comparative analysis of three forms of legitimacy in Burkina Faso: local pre-established, the state, and JNIM. The research employs David Beetham's (1991) threefold model of legitimacy, introducing a novel methodological approach to studying jihadist insurgencies in West Africa.Show less
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a long-running conflict between the Jewish Israelis and the Arab Palestinians, two peoples which claim one and the same territory. Levels of violence in the...Show moreThe Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a long-running conflict between the Jewish Israelis and the Arab Palestinians, two peoples which claim one and the same territory. Levels of violence in the conflict have not been stable, but have witnessed ups and downs over time. Often in this conflict, upsurges in violence have affected civilians. This research looks at violence committed by the Israeli government towards Palestinian civilians, and specifically at what factors contribute to the upsurges in Israeli violence. Academic research has delivered multiple insights regarding plausible explanations. Some scholars attribute the upsurges in violence to variations in the ideological convictions of the Israeli government in power (Jensehaugen et al., 2012; Mitchell, 2015), whereas other scholars have suggested that the electoral considerations of the Israeli government in power explain the upsurges in violence (Yakter & Tessler, 2022; Arian, 1995; Shamir & Rahat, 2022; Shamir & Shiqāqī, 2010). Yet other academics have sought to explain the upsurges in violence by investigating varying degrees of support from the government of the United States (Freedman, 2012; Druks, 2001; Alteras, 1993; Heller, 2016). Although these studies have investigated how these factors have contributed to upsurges in violence, none of these studies have addressed the question which theory has been most responsible for the upsurges in violence. This research attempts to fill this knowledge gap by using comparative methods and statistical evidence regarding the 1948 War, the First and the Second Intifada, which are three periods of excessive violence by Israel against Palestinian civilians.Show less
The Kashmir conflict has been a defining issue of international relations in South Asia. Pakistan and India have fought three wars about the region, in which Pakistan tried to incorporate the...Show moreThe Kashmir conflict has been a defining issue of international relations in South Asia. Pakistan and India have fought three wars about the region, in which Pakistan tried to incorporate the Indian-administered parts of the region. Since the 1980s, Pakistan has particularly engaged in covert warfare, as it has supported numerous Islamist militant groups to incorporate Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir into Pakistan. This thesis will investigate the motivations for Pakistan´s behavior by using an Ontological Security Approach to Pakistan´s Kashmir policies. It will moreover examine why Pakistan has shifted its support between different Islamist militant groups. To do so it will compare the ability of Ontological Security Theory and Principal-Agent Theory to explain two shifts in Pakistan´s support of Islamist militant groups. Firstly between the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front and Hizb-al-Mujahideen and secondly between Hizb-al-Mujahideen and Lashkar-e Taiba.Show less
This thesis tries to research the JCPOA and the German / French official and medial reaction to it and to establish a connection of this with the state of European foreign policy.
Trauma is in a large sense socially constructed, shaped by what is said, and maybe even more so by what is not said. This thesis attempts to investigate the role of NGOs in the process of trauma...Show moreTrauma is in a large sense socially constructed, shaped by what is said, and maybe even more so by what is not said. This thesis attempts to investigate the role of NGOs in the process of trauma and the construction of trauma identities. Do women who have been subjected to sexual violence during the Yugoslavian Wars associate more with the narrative of victimhood, or with the narrative of survivorship? Through a critical discourse analysis of the websites of three Yugoslavian NGOs, several discourses will be distinguished and explained.Show less
This thesis explores the connection between physical place and identity in Indigenous cultures across Turtle Island (North America), with a focus on how this connection can be preserved in virtual...Show moreThis thesis explores the connection between physical place and identity in Indigenous cultures across Turtle Island (North America), with a focus on how this connection can be preserved in virtual worlds. Indigenous sacred sites hold deep cultural and spiritual significance but have been affected by historical separations enforced by colonial powers. To help mitigate some of these harms, emerging digital platforms and virtual worlds offer a unique avenue for cultural expression and reconnection to land. By studying the experiences within two Indigenous-owned platforms, Our Worlds and AbTeC Island, this research investigates how these platforms construct and reimagine sacred sites digitally. Analysing the interaction between users and platform elements, the study uncovers the opportunities and hurdles they present for cultural preservation. This exploration also extends to the potential role of these virtual sites as proxies for reclaiming colonised lands in instances where their physical return is unfeasible. In this pursuit, the research engages with the primary research question: “How do Indigenous communities in the North American continent utilise virtual reality worlds to recreate sacred sites and challenge notions of land ownership?”. In addition, to address the scholarly tensions that exist around the benefits and detriments of technology use for marginalised communities, the study also probes a secondary query: “How may virtual worlds benefit Indigenous communities in the North American continent despite the neoliberalist infrastructure of these technologies?”. Through this investigation, the study contributes to a broader understanding of the intersection between Indigenous cultural connections to place, emergent digital media, and geopolitical dynamics in two North American nation states that share the same Indigenous lands, underscoring the potential for virtual spaces to reshape the narrative of cultural preservation and land reclamation.Show less
This thesis studies why border management between states is considered necessary in the modern state system. Through a Foucauldian genealogy, the history of hospitality - i.e., guest welcoming - is...Show moreThis thesis studies why border management between states is considered necessary in the modern state system. Through a Foucauldian genealogy, the history of hospitality - i.e., guest welcoming - is followed. From its earliest identifiable iteration in religious practices in Ancient Greece to its discontinuation in early-modern international law, hospitality is traced through a series of different understandings to explain why the practice was abandoned after the conquest of the Americas.Show less
The current war in Ukraine and the coinciding tectonic shifts in geopolitics have made discussions about the role of the US as the security provider of the European continent and the increased role...Show moreThe current war in Ukraine and the coinciding tectonic shifts in geopolitics have made discussions about the role of the US as the security provider of the European continent and the increased role of the EU as a security actor within the European security architecture more relevant than ever. It is therefore crucial to understand the US White House perspectives on the development of the EU as a more autonomous security actor. That is why this thesis analyses the research question ‘Has the US perspective on the development of the EU as a more autonomous security actor changed under the administrations of Trump and Biden and if so how?’ by using a critical discourse analysis. The findings underpin that this perspective has changed from a skeptical and critical perspective under the Trump administration to a supportive and stimulating perspective under the Biden administration. This change is meaningful as it has contributed to a context whereby EU defence policies can be realized more easily, while also leading to actual steps of enhanced cooperative US-EU security measures contributing to the further development of the EU as a more autonomous security actor. This change can be explained by two core reasons. First, perceptions will differ when two administrations look at the same international strategic context, which is shifting towards a multipolar world order, through different lenses. Second, in certain circumstances these lenses must bow to the hard reality of the international strategic context if it is sufficiently undeniable. This led to a situation whereby the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine made the Biden administration realize that it needs the EU as a partner in order to defend the US led world order and hegemonial position with multiple geopolitical threats now coming its way, the most important one still coming from China.Show less
The outcome in the Netherlands of the 2016 Ukraine referendum was influenced by Eurosceptic voting. Both this thesis and The National Referendum Research show that a lack of trust in the European...Show moreThe outcome in the Netherlands of the 2016 Ukraine referendum was influenced by Eurosceptic voting. Both this thesis and The National Referendum Research show that a lack of trust in the European Union corresponds with a ‘No’ vote. This thesis takes the analysis of the role of Eurosceptic voting a step further by using more explanatory models of Euroscepticism, giving insight on not only the relationship with Euroscepticism as a linear factor, but also as a multi-dimensional concept and a benchmark concept. With these models, this thesis shows that perceived utility of the EU - separate from trust in the EU - is an important factor that influenced the outcome of this Ukraine referendum. Beyond this, it shows that the referendum voters’ average trust in the EU’s policy and regime is lower than their trust in the national policy and regime. This leads to the conclusion that the Dutch voters have sent a message to The Hague and Brussels that they must put more effort in showing the Netherlands’ benefits through EU membership, for lack of confidence in the EU’s utility has been a key element in not accepting this international association agreement. On a methodological level, this thesis aims to contribute to a new research method predicated on the idea of ‘average towns’ because its data is collected based on the comparability of the municipality of Heemskerk with the Netherlands as a whole, in both demographics and voting outcomes.Show less
