This thesis explores Panama’s relations with the US and China, across history and more specifically in the 21st century, through a neorealist lens. Neorealist assumptions are applied to the case,...Show moreThis thesis explores Panama’s relations with the US and China, across history and more specifically in the 21st century, through a neorealist lens. Neorealist assumptions are applied to the case, and Panama’s bandwagoning and balancing strategies with the US and China are discussed as observed by historical trends and economic data such as Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), trade (Panamanian exports and imports from/to the US and China), foreign aid statistics, bilateral agreements, and diplomatic statements by high officials on economic and security issues. The study finds that China’s hegemonic rise in Panama-China relations represents merely an indication of China’s potential to be a long-term hegemonic challenger to US hegemony, and does not signify a shift in hegemony. Panama is seen to balance and bandwagon with both the US and China, choosing alignment depending on the perceived economic gains involved and potential threats to survival. Panama balances with their long-standing ally and regional hegemon, the US, to foremost secure survival in the long-term while in the short-term Panama bandwagons with China for economic gains. Panama’s consideration of China as alternative to the US as a greater power for alignment demonstrates China’s hegemonic character in LAC. Nonetheless, this case study shows that the US maintains its primacy and superiority as a hegemon due to its strong historical ties and yet unrivaled economic and military capacity.Show less
The decreased importance of the state, increased financialization, and growing power of multinationalcorporations have led to a shift of the responsibilities of the state, and a subsequent change...Show moreThe decreased importance of the state, increased financialization, and growing power of multinationalcorporations have led to a shift of the responsibilities of the state, and a subsequent change in the way in which different regimes legitimize their rule. The responsibilities of a regime, and the legitimacy it has are closely related in this regard. The research question that this thesis will aim to answer then is the following: "what is the influence of a regimes source of legitimacy on the responsibilities is has and the attitude the regime adopts vis-à-vis globalisation? For this purpose various theories on globalisation have been brought together in a theoretical model. This model is also tested and applied on Latin America in order to assess the relevance and applicability on non western economies.Show less
La migración nicaragüense hacia Costa Rica tiene una larga historia y su integración ha sido muy compleja. En esta investigación se pone atención a esta temática desde la perspectiva de la sociedad...Show moreLa migración nicaragüense hacia Costa Rica tiene una larga historia y su integración ha sido muy compleja. En esta investigación se pone atención a esta temática desde la perspectiva de la sociedad civil, en cuanto actor que ha recibido escasa atención. Se analizan las actividades desarrolladas por las mismas organizaciones de la sociedad civil, con atención particular al contacto intergrupal, y también en que manera la sociedad civil colabora con las instituciones en la formación de políticas públicas.Show less
This thesis focuses on community-based tourism (CBT) projects in Ecuador. The work discusses the grade of control that indigenous communities have in this form of ecotourism and also analyses the...Show moreThis thesis focuses on community-based tourism (CBT) projects in Ecuador. The work discusses the grade of control that indigenous communities have in this form of ecotourism and also analyses the empowerment of those groups in certain projects. This empowerment is often a result of foreign aid. Although indigenous communities often seem to be in control of CBT projects, empowerment is an issue in some cases.Show less
A partir de la segunda mitad del siglo XX los procesos de industrialización y modernización de la agricultura transformaron la ruralidad tradicional ecuatoriana. En este contexto, la...Show moreA partir de la segunda mitad del siglo XX los procesos de industrialización y modernización de la agricultura transformaron la ruralidad tradicional ecuatoriana. En este contexto, la marginalización del campesinado y de la población indígena se agudizó, persistiendo el problema de inseguridad alimentaria en el campo. Este estudio presenta un análisis crítico sobre el Programa del Buen Vivir Rural, estrategia alternativa a la política de desarrollo local derivado de los procesos de industrialización, y su capacidad para mejorar el acceso al alimento de la población rural de las provincias de Tungurahua, Chimborazo y Bolívar. El análisis se asienta sobre dos conceptos fundamentales de la política agraria ecuatoriana implementada a partir del 2008: la interculturalidad y la soberanía alimentaria.Show less
This study provides a critical analysis to the issue of malnutrition in Guatemala by looking at the constraints of national food security policy. Even though there are a number of programs and...Show moreThis study provides a critical analysis to the issue of malnutrition in Guatemala by looking at the constraints of national food security policy. Even though there are a number of programs and strategies designed to tackle malnutrition, it is found that they are often not implemented nor executed. This thesis suggests that this can be attributed to weak institutionalism, such as a lack of capacity, coherence and strength, present throughout multiple levels of the national food security and nutrition system (SINASAN). This research first analyses this problem from a historical perspective by examining the high levels of poverty and inequality which are deeply rooted into Guatemalan history and society. A state of food insecurity, a state in which malnutrition is more likely to emerge, is worsened when there is a lack of accessibility and availability to food resulting from income poverty and inequality. This directly implies that levels of malnutrition can only be reduced if poverty and inequality are also tackled. This complexity to the issue of malnutrition is, and will stay, an enormous obstacle for political institutions in creating sustainable and efficient food security programs and policies. Noticeably, weak institutionalism in Guatemala increases this barrier. Namely, a lack of continuity in government administrations leads to temporary and inconsistent food security strategies and excessive bureaucracy, a lack of coordination and structure withhold the proper implementation of food security projects from national level to local level. In other words, this study exposes that Guatemala finds itself in a vicious cycle which delays the reduction of malnutrition.Show less
Hugo Chavez Frías’ virulent discourse has until his death fed the appetite of media, politicians and academics. Mostly known for his social and anti-imperialist program as well as the success of...Show moreHugo Chavez Frías’ virulent discourse has until his death fed the appetite of media, politicians and academics. Mostly known for his social and anti-imperialist program as well as the success of his leftist movement across the Latin American region, the former Venezuelan President has also attracted attention with his denunciation of the Bush administration, the neoliberal system, and more generally the United States’ foreign policy. Publicly shaming the American government for the invasion, bombing, and killing of thousands of civilians in Afghanistan and Iraq at the 2006 United Nations Assembly, there were no doubts for the international community that Chavez’s anti-imperialist ideology had definitely shifted into an anti-American one following the 9/11 attacks and the launching of the War on Terror. That popular thinking was however challenged in the last decade by academics who passionately debated on the origins of Chavez’s anti-Americanism, some advocating a definite shift -yet unrelated to the events of 9/11, others defending the linearity of his discourse. For years, three theories have thus evolved around the figure of Hugo Chavez and the nature of his discourse. With the support of a strong theoretical framework, historical reflection and Political Discourse Analysis, this thesis ultimately aims to solve this discussion.Show less
Esta investigación busca evidenciar el rol de la identidad regional como un agente articulador de la actividad política por medio del análisis del movimiento social en contra del alza del gas en la...Show moreEsta investigación busca evidenciar el rol de la identidad regional como un agente articulador de la actividad política por medio del análisis del movimiento social en contra del alza del gas en la Región de Magallanes, Chile en 2011. Por medio del estudio del carácter histórico, geográfico y social de la identidad magallánica se dilucidan elementos que llevarían a un grupo social a presentar una actitud política reaccionaria en un escenario en el que las bases culturales e identitarias se ven amenazadas, aun en un contexto de apatía política generalizada en Chile.Show less
Research master thesis | Latin American Studies (research) (MA)
open access
The electoral victory new Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) in 2018 meant a major change in the country, as it was the first time a candidate from the left won. However, as...Show moreThe electoral victory new Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) in 2018 meant a major change in the country, as it was the first time a candidate from the left won. However, as statistical data show, president AMLO has a big task ahead of him, as homicide rates and violence within the country are spiraling. This research analyzes the characteristics of the use of violence within Mexico, and how this has impacted the state’s legitimacy during the previous two presidential terms, hereby going beyond the ‘failed state’ debate and putting Max Weber’s theory on the monopoly on violence into perspective (Weber 1978). It argues that organized crime, principally the Mexican drug-trafficking organizations (DTOs), are the main actor challenging the state’s legitimacy and that the two are connected in an uneasy equilibrium that has changed in nature over time. The analysis concludes that there are three principal actors through which the dynamics of violence and state legitimacy interact: the Mexican government, the DTOs and Mexican civil society and that this interplay had led to a capacity, security and legitimacy gap. It further argues that there are different types of legitimacy in Mexico: judicial, economic and social/cultural, meaning that although the Mexican president in theory is the legitimate authority of the country, in practice this is a whole other story.Show less
Este trabajo trata la participación política de las mujeres a nivel nacional en Chile. El énfasis se pone a los cambios en la participación política de las mujeres a nivel nacional en el período...Show moreEste trabajo trata la participación política de las mujeres a nivel nacional en Chile. El énfasis se pone a los cambios en la participación política de las mujeres a nivel nacional en el período 2000 - 2010 con el enfoque en el liderazgo político y en la agenda de género del gobierno de Michelle Bachelet. También este trabajo estudia la evolución de la participación de las mujeres como candidatas en las elecciones parlamentarias en dicho período. Para el análisis de esta temática se utilizan varias teorías de autores como Fernández Poncela, Franceschet, Fernández Ramil, Ríos y Reyes Housholder que describen ante todo la oportunidad política de las mujeres, el liderazgo femenino y la participación sustantiva y descriptiva de las mujeres que son claves para este trabajo. La mayoría de los datos fueron recogidos durante el trabajo de campo que complementa la literatura sobre esta temática. Las entrevistas con varios expertos tratan los temas de machismo, percepción de las mujeres de parte de la sociedad, el comportamiento de los partidos políticos hacia las mujeres, las razones de mayor participación de las mujeres y la figura de Michelle Bachelet y su impacto en la política chilena. El análisis intenta a responder la pregunta si el liderazgo de Michelle Bachelet ha aumentado la participación política de las mujeres y la política de la primera presidenta de Chile ha generado un aumento de las mujeres en la política nacional. El análisis muestra que el impacto de Michelle Bachelet no fue tan alto como se tenía esperado. El trabajo señala que la figura de Bachelet tiene un valor simbólico porque logró visibilizar la agenda de género y la necesidad de la equidad de género en Chile. También es posible resumir que el ámbito político chileno sigue siendo muy machista y muy complejo para que haya una mayor inserción de las mujeres a cargos políticos. Bachelet es una excepción que logró un éxito, pero en el campo de las políticas pro-mujer no siempre fue exitosa. Durante su segundo gobierno logró que se aprobara la ley de cuota de género que finalmente terminó con la baja participación política de las mujeres, pero todavía es necesario promover más las políticas públicas dirigidas a las mujeres y desarrollar la política de género como muestra este trabajo.Show less
Throughout the 20th century, the Brazilian agricultural landscape has gone through meaningful transformations of modernization, globalization and expansionism. While increasingly concentrated land...Show moreThroughout the 20th century, the Brazilian agricultural landscape has gone through meaningful transformations of modernization, globalization and expansionism. While increasingly concentrated land ownership and ruralist hegemony consolidated the position of rural elites, Brazilian agriculture has also progressively integrated into Global Commodity Chains (GCC), dominated by a complex of transnational agribusiness. Simultaneously, lethal violence targeting activists and local communities who seek to frustrate the expanding agricultural frontiers exacerbates, undermining those who resist the agribusiness model. Focusing on the case of the soybean GCC as a commodity complex, this Master’s thesis approaches violence in rural land conflicts as an endogenous regulatory feature of the agribusiness regime of accumulation, leading to the theorization of competitive structures of direct violence.Show less
National Identity and Nationalism play a growing role in our globalized world. Being globalized stands for a shrinking world, which has an effect upon every sphere of life – from economic condition...Show moreNational Identity and Nationalism play a growing role in our globalized world. Being globalized stands for a shrinking world, which has an effect upon every sphere of life – from economic condition, to personal freedom, to cultural customs. Bilateralism, or bilateral relationships such as the one between Mexico and the United States bring countries closer together and enable success and growth. Nevertheless, such a relationship also impacts on both countries through cultural convergence and economic dependence. Therefore, this study examines how the Mexico – United States bilateral relation impacts on Mexico´s national identity. It directly addresses the level of anti-American sentiment in Mexico City. Furthermore, it assesses how an increased antiAmerican sentiment and a growing Mexican nationalism impact on Mexico´s foreign policy towards the United States of America. Finally, it evaluates in how far this affects the construction of the Mexican identity itself. The author shows in this study that there exists a connection between a growing anti-American sentiment in the Mexican society and the current stage of the bilateral relationship between Mexico and the United States of America. This study concludes that currently the seemingly volatile relationship between Mexico and the United States of America is also an opportunity or possibility for Mexico to gain next to economic independence, also to reorient the construction of the Mexican national identity distinguished from its neighbouring country.Show less
The issue on school dropouts has a great effect on societies and when a country faces the problem, it is mostly the largest problem in its educational system. This counts as well for Puerto Rico,...Show moreThe issue on school dropouts has a great effect on societies and when a country faces the problem, it is mostly the largest problem in its educational system. This counts as well for Puerto Rico, the island faces a problem with school dropouts and it is clear that intervention programs are desired to give support on solving this problem and therewith to increase Quality Of Life (QOL) of youth. In Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico Youth ChalleNGe Academy (PRYCA), is one of these intervention programs and therewith, this field research answers the following research question: “How does PRYCA contribute to the quality of life of its students?”Show less
