Research master thesis | Middle Eastern Studies (research) (MA)
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In 2011 an unprecedented wave of protests erupted from Tunisia and soon spread throughout the Arab World. While the initial euphoria was backed by the revolutions in Tunis and Cairo, the course of...Show moreIn 2011 an unprecedented wave of protests erupted from Tunisia and soon spread throughout the Arab World. While the initial euphoria was backed by the revolutions in Tunis and Cairo, the course of events in Libya, Yemen, Bahrain and ultimately Syria began to highlight that a romantic view of revolutions seems out of place. The two kingdoms of Jordan and Morocco have also witnessed significant protests in 2011 especially. However, these did not lead to a revolution – in fact, this was not their goal. The vast majority of those rallying in the streets demanded reforms of Jordan's and Morocco's political institutions, including the parliament, the electoral law and the constitution. This development, combined with the resilience of the Gulf monarchies (with Bahrain as a critical case), has once again brought the monarchy debate back into the limelight. The major underlying question here is does monarchy matter? Facing protests, both Abdullah II and Muhammad VI responded by reforming institutions. In Jordan, the constitution was amended and elections were held. In Morocco, the people could decide on a new constitution by means of a referendum and early elections were held. While ostensibly giving in to the demands of the protesters, these changes did not challenge the status quo but left Abdullah II and Muhammad VI with their almost omnipotent power. From a theoretical perspective this seems particularly interesting. Different approaches, stressing the impact of rentierism, foreign support or family participation, have attempted to explain the survival of monarchies in the Arab World over the past decades. The euphoria of the 'third wave of democratization' (Huntington) and the 'end of history' (Fukuyama) then transcended into scholarly publications during the 1990s, fostering the idea of institutions, once in place, contributing to a gradual process of democratization. During the second half of the 2000s scholars then began to realize that such effects failed to materialize in many cases. In fact, incumbents seemed to have employed democratic rhetoric and (re-)installed parliaments as well as elections while at the same time limiting their power and impact. In Jordan and Morocco these institutions also included another crucial function to Abdullah II and Muhammad VI respectively: they provided an intermediary level between king and people that can be criticized. In order to underpin this analysis, several primary sources for selected key dates since 2011 were taken into account besides the secondary literature. For Jordan, speeches of Abdullah II were considered as well as the text of the constitution, seeing that the latter was subject to change in 2011. Moreover, the coverage of the pro-monarchy newspaper Al-Dustour, the independent Ammon News and the country's main political opposition, the Islamic Action Front IAF, was analyzed. In a similar fashion, the statements of Muhammad VI and the kingdom's constitution were looked at for Morocco. Furthermore, the pro-monarchy newspaper Al-Sabah and the independent Al-Masa' were part of the analysis as well as Morocco's Islamist political opposition party, the Parti de la Justice et du Développement PJD, and the 20 February Movement, a youth group that was founded in early 2011. As the analysis suggests, the discourse about changes in the political system that erupted again in 2011 was almost entirely directed at reforming political institutions. Across the board official statements, pro-monarchy newspapers, but also independent and oppositional groups, made use of a technical language that focused on reforming the parliament, the electoral law or the constitution. These actors also approved the changes made respectively, seeing a solution and a step forward in them. Here, only little demands for a continued reform were raised. All these actors seemed to operate within the boundaries defined by the palace. The example of the 20 February Movement in Morocco stressed how deviating from this public reform discourse can result in selective repression and crackdown. The monarchies Jordan and Morocco have dodged the Arab Spring by allowing and engaging in institutional reforms. Although constitutions were amended or changed and elections were held the power balance has not changed. Accordingly, these institutions have helped Abdullah II and Muhammad VI to maintain their hold onto power rather than lowering it. Such an understanding of political institutions challenges the idea of them ultimately bringing about democratic change. Moreover, with regards to the monarchy debate the findings suggest that such a political setup, in which institutions serve as intermediary between king and people, allows the kings to remain seemingly distant from daily politics. It appears more difficult for presidents or prime minister, as heads of states in republics, to act in a similar fashion as they are by definition presiding the government.Show less
Deze scriptie beschrijft de transformatie van de Chinese vrouw onder invloed van de sociale en economische ontwikkelingen in het hedendaagse China, zoals in beeld gebracht in drie recente...Show moreDeze scriptie beschrijft de transformatie van de Chinese vrouw onder invloed van de sociale en economische ontwikkelingen in het hedendaagse China, zoals in beeld gebracht in drie recente speelfilms. Door per film te onderzoeken hoe de vrouwen worden neergezet en behandeld door anderen, tracht deze scriptie de positie van de Chinese vrouw in de hedendaagse stad weer te geven en van commentaar te voorzien.Show less
For China, 2013 was the year of anti-corruption. The starting point of my research is that anti-corruption is not just a process of punishing political or economic crimes or improving supervision...Show moreFor China, 2013 was the year of anti-corruption. The starting point of my research is that anti-corruption is not just a process of punishing political or economic crimes or improving supervision mechanisms, but also a process to reconstruct the Party’s legitimacy. Therefore, from the perspective of political legitimacy, questions concerning how to tell the story of corruption become crucial. My central research question focuses on (1) what the discursive range of anti-corruption reporting by different Chinese media was and (2) how these narratives related to the Party’s legitimacy.Show less
How should we think about causation in the law? Traditionally, the law distinguishes two kinds of criteria for legal causation. First, there are criteria to establish cause in fact. These criteria...Show moreHow should we think about causation in the law? Traditionally, the law distinguishes two kinds of criteria for legal causation. First, there are criteria to establish cause in fact. These criteria are applied to determine whether there is a factual causal connection between the agent’s behavior and another event. Second, there are criteria to establish the adequate cause. These criteria are applied to determine whether a cause in fact is a salient cause for the law. I argue that the criteria for cause in fact are insufficiently specified in traditional legal theory. The criteria for cause in fact are implicitly contrastive, but lack an account of the admissibility of the contrasts. I develop distinct accounts of the admissibility of the contrasts for tort law and criminal law, and argue that rather than ask whether the effect would still have occurred in the absence of the defendant’s behavior, the law requires us to ask whether lawful behavior by either the defendant alone or by all agents involved, as specified by the plaintiff or prosecutor, would have prevented the effect from occurring. It follows that legal relevance considerations determine the contrasts underlying the criteria for cause in fact and that the cause in fact/adequate cause distinction in the law cannot hold. Furthermore, I argue that the traditional criteria for adequate cause should limit legal responsibility for some outcomes of the contrastive causal analysis, but do not play a role in this analysis. Therefore, the traditional criteria for adequate cause should not be considered part of the concept of legal causation.Show less
In an article by Louise Edwards she mentioned the writer Wang Yigang who pointed out some similarities between the fictional character Wang Xifeng and the historical Empress Wu Zetian (625-705) of...Show moreIn an article by Louise Edwards she mentioned the writer Wang Yigang who pointed out some similarities between the fictional character Wang Xifeng and the historical Empress Wu Zetian (625-705) of the Tang dynasty. In my thesis I wanted to explore this matter further. My main question is whether Wang Xifeng in the Dream of the Red Chamber, written by Cao Xueqin (ca. 1715 - ca.1764) in the Qing Dynasty, and Wu Zetian have striking similarities. A subquestion is whether there is any evidence that Cao Xueqin modeled his character Wang Xifeng after Wu Zetian. My findings are that the good and especially the bad qualities of character largely correspond, as well as aspects of behavior and skills. The main difference is the social position of the two women. My transgressionmodel illustrates that both women crossed socially accepted borders by making use of masculine behavior (gender bending). There is not enough evidence to prove that Cao Xueqin modeled his character after Wu Zetian. This research is interdisciplinary and contributes to the academic fields of China Studies and Gender Studies.Show less
With relations to the position of the museum as an institution dealing with heritage preservation, it can be inferred from the quote above that objects have a significant influence in defining...Show moreWith relations to the position of the museum as an institution dealing with heritage preservation, it can be inferred from the quote above that objects have a significant influence in defining culture. Therefore the way that museum collections are accumulated cannot be overlooked. Indeed, according to Peter ter Keurs, collecting is not a neutral activity and in the colonial times, it is a political statement (2009, p. 147). This implies the political nature of museums and its connection with colonialism, in the way that museum collections comprise of objects considered valuable by the colonial power’s perspective. Proceeding from these concepts, my aim is to focus on the analysis of Indonesian collections in the National Museum of Indonesia and the National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden. To be more particular, the thesis seeks to enquiry the repatriation of objects as well as museum collaboration and how these affect the relationship between the two museums, and the two countries. In doing so, the thesis will also look into the practice of collecting, the birth of museums, and the debate over cultural ownership as the foundation to proceed to the discussion about repatriation, museum collaboration, and shared cultural inheritance.Show less
Deze scriptie gaat over de diminutief en de augmentatief in het Swahili. De derivatie van deze twee vormen is verankerd in het naamwoordklassesysteem. Ik bespreek de vormelijke en semantische...Show moreDeze scriptie gaat over de diminutief en de augmentatief in het Swahili. De derivatie van deze twee vormen is verankerd in het naamwoordklassesysteem. Ik bespreek de vormelijke en semantische eigenschappen van deze derivatie inclusief associaties die ermee verbonden zijn. Hiervoor heb ik informanten uit Nairobi, Kenia ondervraagd, via een enquëte en persoonlijke mails.Show less
In deze scriptie is er onderzoek gedaan naar beleefdheid in reclames. Het was een cross-linguistisch onderzoek tussen het Engels en het Nederlands. Hieruit bleek dat, hoewel de verschillen klein...Show moreIn deze scriptie is er onderzoek gedaan naar beleefdheid in reclames. Het was een cross-linguistisch onderzoek tussen het Engels en het Nederlands. Hieruit bleek dat, hoewel de verschillen klein zijn, er merkbaar een duidelijkere keuze was voor beleefdheid in de zin van Brown en Levinson bij de Engelsen dan bij de Nederlanders.Show less
Thesis met als centrale vraag in hoeverre de buitenlandse politiek van Lord Palmerston met betrekking tot Frankrijk in de periode februari-april 1848 bepaald werd door binnenlandse kwesties van het...Show moreThesis met als centrale vraag in hoeverre de buitenlandse politiek van Lord Palmerston met betrekking tot Frankrijk in de periode februari-april 1848 bepaald werd door binnenlandse kwesties van het Verenigd Koninkrijk zelf. Hiermee worden respectievelijk de Ierse onrust en de chartistenbeweging bedoeld. Tot midden maart 1848 speelden deze twee kwesties nauwelijks een rol in de beleidsbepaling van Palmerston. Vanaf midden maart tot begin april stonden stonden deze echter op de voorgrond door de mogelijke verbintenis tussen de revolutionaire activiteit in Frankrijk enerzijds en de Ieren en chartisten anderzijds. Na 10 april 1848 nam de mogelijkheid van deze verbintenis echter af en daarmee ook de belangrijkheid ervan in de buitenlandse politiek van Palmerston.Show less
Bachelor thesis | Film- en literatuurwetenschap (BA)
open access
Een analyse van het semiotische concept Framing binnen dansstudies. Toegepast op twee choreografieën: Pina Bausch met Le Sacre Du Printemps en Maurice Béjart met Le Sacre Du Printemps. Uitgevoerd...Show moreEen analyse van het semiotische concept Framing binnen dansstudies. Toegepast op twee choreografieën: Pina Bausch met Le Sacre Du Printemps en Maurice Béjart met Le Sacre Du Printemps. Uitgevoerd door een analyse van de twee choreografieën aan de hand van de theorie van Susan Leigh Foster uit haar boek Reading Dancing.Show less
The language used on Twitter is close to natural spoken language. In spoken language forms as 'you all,' 'y'all,' 'yous(e),' 'you-uns,' 'you people,' 'you lot' and other forms are used to...Show moreThe language used on Twitter is close to natural spoken language. In spoken language forms as 'you all,' 'y'all,' 'yous(e),' 'you-uns,' 'you people,' 'you lot' and other forms are used to disambiguate plural 'you'. This thesis analyses by means of a Twitter corpus to what extent new plurals such as 'you guys,' 'you all,' 'y'all' etc. replace the all-purpose 'you' in Tweets.Show less
