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
This Master thesis approaches a central theme for modern societies and democracies: media freedom. The following analysis chooses to scrutinise one specific country’s conceptualisation of this...Show moreThis Master thesis approaches a central theme for modern societies and democracies: media freedom. The following analysis chooses to scrutinise one specific country’s conceptualisation of this principle: France. As this study finds and further demonstrates, the French understanding of media freedom relates to a European conceptualisation; categorised in the consequentialist academic trend. Although grouped with the consequentialists, this thesis however decides to further analyse this arguably utopic view on the French case. Precisely, it is interesting to question France’s almost sacrosanct international image of pays des droits de l’homme. However, by questioning this stance, the thesis does not aim to be outrightly sceptic: instead it questions France’s categorisation in the consequentialist group to either conclude by confirming it, or revoking it. Since this analysis can only be succinctly conducted, researches have justified the choice to focus on the Institutional Act n°2009-257, enacted during Nicolas Sarkozy’s term. Thus, the topic is narrowed down to the French perspective of media freedom as to public broadcasting services (PBS). Although later amended with Law n°2013-1028 of November 15th 2013, the relevance of the 2009 Institutional Act thought to deserve a distinct analysis – due to its ‘uniqueness’ in the French PBS legal landscape. To conduct this analysis, Jan Oster’s theorisation is chosen. Indeed, the legal framework proposed by the academic is believed to allow a thorough scrutiny of this 2009 piece of legislation – and the other provisions attached to it. Specifically, a combined politico-legal analysis of this legal text is to be conducted. It is believed that a political sciences insight could help determine what the legal discipline cannot. Attention should be put on the fact that this study accounts as the first to employ J. Oster’s theoretical and methodological framework, so that no previous model is available. Therefore, this thesis’ attempt to use it is a form of experimentation.Show less
This research analyzes the Dutch reactions in the Netherlands East Indies to the growing amount of Chinese migrants entering the colony in the period 1880-1912. Through a focus on immigration...Show moreThis research analyzes the Dutch reactions in the Netherlands East Indies to the growing amount of Chinese migrants entering the colony in the period 1880-1912. Through a focus on immigration policies, public opinion in Indies newspapers, fingerprinting policies, diplomacy with China, consular representation and discussions on nationality, this research explains why the Netherlands East Indies as a colonial state could not close its borders for Chinese migrants, even when considering anti-Chinese immigration policies were a global phenomenon in this period. As this research shows, both the specific nature of the Dutch colonial state and the increasing diplomatic pressure from China were important factors in how Dutch immigration policies were shaped.Show less
The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the importance of the role of media platforms encountered in cultural diplomacy of the European Union. By looking closely into the case of Helan Online...Show moreThe purpose of this thesis is to analyze the importance of the role of media platforms encountered in cultural diplomacy of the European Union. By looking closely into the case of Helan Online Platform at the Radio Nederland Wereldomroep, hereafter known as the RNW Media in the Netherlands, what this thesis aims to explore are the potential positive impacts brought by media in terms of European Union cultural policies and the necessity of the EU to apply media platforms to its cultural relations with other countries. The analyses touch upon the following questions: (1) What is the definition of cultural diplomacy and why is it an significant part in foreign policies? (2) How far have China and major European countries developed in cultural diplomacy during the past decade and how is the cultural relation between them? (3) In the context of information age, why and how does the EU need to incorporate social media into its strategy to improve its cultural diplomacy towards China? These and other sub-questions will be investigated on the basis of existing academic literatures and the archived information from RNW Media.Show less
Abstract This thesis investigates whether South-South Cooperation can lead to agricultural growth in Africa, based on the transfer of knowledge and best-practice techniques developed in Brazil....Show moreAbstract This thesis investigates whether South-South Cooperation can lead to agricultural growth in Africa, based on the transfer of knowledge and best-practice techniques developed in Brazil. Using a case study analysis of ProSAVANA, a triangular cooperation project between Japan, Brazil and Mozambique, this thesis analyses the effectiveness of the project in combining financial aid with technical knowledge transfer to cultivate the Nacala Corridor of Northern Mozambique. Based on the findings of the case study, this thesis argues ProSAVANA has been largely unsuccessful in achieving agricultural development in Mozambique. This is primarily due to its focus on private investment and commercial gains, which has been heavily criticised by civil society groups and local farmers in Mozambique. This paper concludes by arguing that ProSAVANA is damaging the long-term reputation of SSC, following claims of land grabbing and exploitation of resources, which is in stark contrast to its principles of shared development goals and mutual respect. This harms SSC’s chances of changing the development landscape in the long run.Show less
Bachelor thesis | Film- en literatuurwetenschap (BA)
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Om in het huidige technologische tijdperk onderzoek te doen naar de herdefiniëring van het mens-zijn zullen in dit eindwerkstuk verschillende vormen van interactie tussen de mens en technologie...Show moreOm in het huidige technologische tijdperk onderzoek te doen naar de herdefiniëring van het mens-zijn zullen in dit eindwerkstuk verschillende vormen van interactie tussen de mens en technologie worden verkend en daarnaast geanalyseerd worden aan de hand van verschillende culturele objecten. Het onderzoek zal geleid worden door de volgende onderzoeksvraag: op welke manier bevragen de roman The Circle en de films Her en Ex Machina de relatie tussen de mens en technologie, met als effect de lezer en kijker aan te sporen om na te denken over de herdefiniëring van het mens-zijn in het posthumanistisch tijdperk?Show less
This thesis treats the concept of Neo-Sufism within a religio-political context, showing how Islamic mysticism could develop into a conservative and in some cases militant movement. The concept is...Show moreThis thesis treats the concept of Neo-Sufism within a religio-political context, showing how Islamic mysticism could develop into a conservative and in some cases militant movement. The concept is contextualised in current debates on the rise and devastating effects of Islamism. This study shows how both Islamism and Neo-Sufism base themselves on the same Islamic principles to justify their responses to modernism and Western Colonialism .Show less
Dungen, Boudewijn Sebastiaan Thibault van den 2016
The Decembrist movement produced a large quantity of civic poetry with utopian elements, but hardly any full-blown and self-contained literary utopias. This is surprising given the utopian ideals...Show moreThe Decembrist movement produced a large quantity of civic poetry with utopian elements, but hardly any full-blown and self-contained literary utopias. This is surprising given the utopian ideals of its adherents and sympathizers. One of them, Vil’gelm Kjuxel’beker, produced two short utopian stories, i.e. European Letters and The Land of the Headless. Obscure and seemingly unfinished as these works are, they have hardly received any serious scholarly attention. In my thesis, I argue that these works are certainly socially relevant, and should be interpreted as patriotic documents that reflect the Decembrist discourse. European Letters, written in 1819, paints a rosy picture of Russia’s future, which has become the world’s superior civilization after Europe and America and is inhabited by morally perfected human beings that remind one of the “new man.” On the eve of the Decembrist revolt, when the initial naïve optimism had disappeared, Kjuxel’beker wrote a second, negative utopia under the title The Land of the Headless. This work criticizes trends in contemporary Russian society, satirically exaggerating their possible harmful consequences and pleaing for national self-liberation and preservation of the (patriarchal) national traditions.Show less
In deze masterscriptie wordt onderzocht hoe Nederlands West-Indië door een invloedrijke laag van de Nederlandse samenleving werd gezien en welke invloed dit beeld had op het Nederlandse nationaal...Show moreIn deze masterscriptie wordt onderzocht hoe Nederlands West-Indië door een invloedrijke laag van de Nederlandse samenleving werd gezien en welke invloed dit beeld had op het Nederlandse nationaal bewustzijn van deze groep in de periode van 1865 tot 1920. Met deze invloedrijke laag van de samenleving wordt zowel de Nederlandse regering en het parlement bedoeld als de Nederlandse elite die via particuliere initiatieven de verkoop van West-Indië probeerde tegen te houden of het belang van Nederlands West-Indië verdedigden. De discussie of West-Indië wel of niet verkocht moest worden, werd sinds 1865 in de Nederlandse regering en het parlement gevoerd. Na 1900 werd de verkoopkwestie niet meer door ministers en Kamerleden besproken, maar door hoogopgeleide mannen die werkervaring hadden opgedaan in de West-Indische koloniën. De focus ligt in deze scriptie op het eerste kwart van de twintigste eeuw toen de discussie omtrent de verkoop van West-Indië door deze hoogopgeleide groep mannen werd gevoerd. Aan de hand van de argumenten die in de verkoopkwestie over West-Indië naar voren werden gebracht, zal duidelijk worden hoe een Nederlandse elite in Nederland toentertijd de Nederlandse cultuur zag en welke rol de koloniën hierin speelden.Show less
Dit werkstuk maakt een vergelijking tussen de roman Leven! van Yu Hua en de daarop gebaseerde film To Live van Zhang Yimou. De roman van Yu Hua gaat over het harde bestaan op het platteland van...Show moreDit werkstuk maakt een vergelijking tussen de roman Leven! van Yu Hua en de daarop gebaseerde film To Live van Zhang Yimou. De roman van Yu Hua gaat over het harde bestaan op het platteland van China met de bijbehorende ontberingen in het veranderende politieke klimaat. Het is leven, overleven en verder leven. Zhang Yimou maakt bij de bewerking van het boek van Yu Hua niet alleen de verfilming visueel interessant, maar Zhang Yimou legt in zijn film ook meer nadruk op de politieke gebeurtenissen van die periode dan Yu Hua in zijn boek. Door in dit werkstuk de verschillen tussen de film en het boek uit te lichten wordt aangetoond dat Zhang Yimou bewijsbaar meer nadruk legt op politieke gebeurtenissen als indirecte aanklacht op de politiek.Show less
The topic on LGBT rights in China is a very sensitive one. The Chinese government’s policy towards homosexuality is believed to be “three no’s”: “No approval; no disapproval; no promotion.” While...Show moreThe topic on LGBT rights in China is a very sensitive one. The Chinese government’s policy towards homosexuality is believed to be “three no’s”: “No approval; no disapproval; no promotion.” While the Chinese Ministry of Health no longer has homosexuality on its list of mental illnesses since 2001, it is still not openly discussed in China and not an issue that the Chinese governments deems as something that needs to be discussed at a national level. This paper will endeavour to answer the following question: How can gay and lesbian NGOs in China attempt to encourage the Chinese government to safeguard the rights of gays and lesbians through the law-making process? This paper will use as an example environmental NGOs to examine what kind of strategies and resources they have utilized to engage into political territory, and how gay and lesbian NGOs can use the same strategies and resources to do the same. Because the issues gay and lesbian NGOs engage themselves in, it will be difficult for them to persuade the Chinese government to form policies regarding the protective rights of gays and lesbians in China, unless they are able to convince government officials to sponsor them and argue that protecting the rights of homosexuals will be more beneficial for the government than if they do not.Show less
The present thesis aims to introduce an educational proposal that will allow our societies, and particularly the society of Spain, to deal with the challenges presented by a globalised world. It is...Show moreThe present thesis aims to introduce an educational proposal that will allow our societies, and particularly the society of Spain, to deal with the challenges presented by a globalised world. It is a proposal for a balance between knowledge, social equality, and learning. The development of cosmopolitan education, managed through both schools and the community (local administration), is presented as a key to the sustainable development of our societies. An assessment of the rise of migrations in a context of asymmetrical globalisation, and its relation to sustainable development is a requirement when considering the importance of education in understanding the migration phenomenon to promote sustainability. A greater symmetry between sustainability and cosmopolitan education is recommended in order to heighten awareness in the world about the meaning and importance of sustainability and cosmopolitanism for our future.Show less
In this analysis into political and moral philosophy, the author argues that non-state actors could, under the right conditions, be considered morally and politically legitimate in carrying out a...Show moreIn this analysis into political and moral philosophy, the author argues that non-state actors could, under the right conditions, be considered morally and politically legitimate in carrying out a humanitarian intervention. This is done by assuming a minimal theory of universal human rights and then looking further into the contemporary literature surrounding humanitarian intervention as well as its history and application. In doing so, there does not seem to be moral, conceptual, or legal boundaries that would disallow such an intervention if carried out under the specified conditions. The implications of such a non-state humanitarian actor could change the way in which humanitarian interventions are carried out and remove or reduce the primacy of the state oriented nature of such interventions. Alec J. Bowie (2016) “The Legitimacy of Non-State Actors in Humanitarian Intervention”, Leiden Student RepositoryShow less
