In the face of fast-growing support for extremist parties across Europe, posing a threat to the very essence of the European project, and given the lack of a comprehensive assessment of the...Show moreIn the face of fast-growing support for extremist parties across Europe, posing a threat to the very essence of the European project, and given the lack of a comprehensive assessment of the economic aspects of this phenomenon in existing academic literature, it is time to ask: to what extent have the European Union’s policies of fiscal austerity contributed to the rise of populist radical right parties in Europe, especially in France and the United Kingdom, during the 2005-2015 period?Show less
Eerder is gevonden dat Duits voor Nederlanders makkelijker te begrijpen is dan het Nederlands voor Duitsers. Dit experimentele onderzoek kijkt naar mogelijke taalkundige en/of fonologische...Show moreEerder is gevonden dat Duits voor Nederlanders makkelijker te begrijpen is dan het Nederlands voor Duitsers. Dit experimentele onderzoek kijkt naar mogelijke taalkundige en/of fonologische onderliggende processen bij de asymmetrische onderlinge verstaanbaarheid tussen het Nederlands en Duits. Met behulp van een commerciële spraakherkenner, die apart getraind is in het Nederlands en in het Duits, is onderzocht in hoeverre cognaten herkend worden in de ´eigen´ taal en vervolgens in de andere taal. Deze cognaten zijn ingesproken door een perfect tweetalige spreekster van zowel het Nederlands als het Duits. Uit het onderzoek blijkt dat beide spraakherkenners niet goed overweg kunnen met woorden in isolatie, zonder linguïstische context (30% correcte responsie voor het Nederlandse model versus 36% voor het Duitse model). Wel kunnen beide herkenners met een korte zin van het type ´voorzetsel-cognaat-slotwoord´ overweg en scoren ze in de eigen taal goed: het Nederlandse model geeft 76% correcte responsie versus 76% voor het Duitse model. Cognaten uit de andere taal zijn voor de herkenners niet eenvoudig te verwerken. Beide herkenners scoorden zeer slecht, hoewel het Duitse taalmodel relatief een stuk beter Nederlandse woorden herkende dan Nederlandse model de Duitse. Het Duitse model herkende minder dan 11% van de cognaten correct, het Nederlandse model herkende slechts 4% van de cognaten correct. Dit resultaat spreekt eerder onderzoek tegen, waaruit bleek dat Nederlandse jonge kinderen zonder schoolkennis van het Duits Duitse woorden beter verstonden dan Duitse kinderen Nederlandse woorden.Show less
This paper examines the conflicting national and local interests in heritage conservation of the World Heritage Site Hampi in Southern India as a result of contrasting ideas concerning the...Show moreThis paper examines the conflicting national and local interests in heritage conservation of the World Heritage Site Hampi in Southern India as a result of contrasting ideas concerning the definition given to the site. With underlying motives of presenting an authentic national image beneficial in promoting its national economic and cultural interests in the global competition, India makes use of heritage conservation in constructing the desirable image of its heritage. This is reflected in the demolition of the Hampi bazaar in the name of conservation to preserve an idealized authenticity of the past through heritage, which came at the cost of the eviction of many local residents whose life was intertwined with the site through this bazaar. In doing so, the nation engages in global branding through UNESCO and attempts to accommodate to their paradigms, which however are critiqued for its Eurocentric approach, not suitable for an Asian heritage context. While this approach classifies Hampi as a cultural heritage, a more appropriate term would regard the site as a living heritage, taking into account the local interests that are ignored in the pursuance of the national interests through Hampi resulting in the conflict of the Hampi bazaar.Show less
This thesis attempts to investigate the reasons for going to war and committing warlike actions from a human perspective. It endeavours to answer the question why atrocities are possible even by...Show moreThis thesis attempts to investigate the reasons for going to war and committing warlike actions from a human perspective. It endeavours to answer the question why atrocities are possible even by individuals with little or no exposure to violence. The French philosopher Gabriel Marcel wrote on a theory named 'the spirit of abstraction' in which he elaborated upon the manner in which abstraction causes killing to be justified in the mind of the individual. This theory is applied to the Napoleonic war diary 'The Recollections of Rifleman Harris' and investigates the notion's application to the Napoleonic Wars from a more general perspective. It follows the story of Rifleman Harris and attempts to explain how he set out as a farm boy and returned a man that had waged war with an utterly different perspective of the world. It also aims to raise suggestions about whether Marcel's theory can be applied to "modern" times and that abstraction is responsible for so much of the cruelty and malice present in society.Show less
This paper explores the effects of crises on institution building. More readily, it highlights the 1997 Asian Crisis and the 2008 Global Financial Crisis as catalysts for changing East Asia’s...Show moreThis paper explores the effects of crises on institution building. More readily, it highlights the 1997 Asian Crisis and the 2008 Global Financial Crisis as catalysts for changing East Asia’s economic structure. An outcome of these crises has been the increased regionalism of East Asia, which has led to a greater regional interdependence, and a subsequent shift away from Washington and economic dependence on the U.S. This analysis will be done through a combination of Calder’s critical juncture and Sheng’s institutional building. Additionally, this thesis will examine the importance of ASEAN and China as leaders for this regionalism. The approach taken in this thesis suggests that these crises have greatly undermined the norms promoted by U.S. led institutions, and largely define the today’s crisis of neoliberalismShow less
Today, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has the largest recipients of migrants in the world. In order to govern the progressively migrant population in the GCC, the Kafala system was created. The...Show moreToday, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has the largest recipients of migrants in the world. In order to govern the progressively migrant population in the GCC, the Kafala system was created. The system requires the sponsor-employer to assume full legal and economic responsibility for the migrant worker during their period in the GCC. Traditionally, the majority of literature on the Kafala system derives from human rights groups that criticize the sponsorship system. Human rights groups have gone so far as claiming the Kafala is a form of contemporary slavery and therefore should be abolished. Considering the claims made by the Human rights groups, this thesis analyzes how the Kafala system is comparable to a form of contemporary slavery and whether it is accurate to say that these workers are modern-day slaves.Show less
This thesis uses the theoretical lenses of neo- gramscian 'hegemony' and World System theory as described by Wallenstein to provide explanations as to why the CIA has intervened in the opium trade...Show moreThis thesis uses the theoretical lenses of neo- gramscian 'hegemony' and World System theory as described by Wallenstein to provide explanations as to why the CIA has intervened in the opium trade in Afghanistan since 1979, while the rhetoric of the US leaders was based upon a 'war on drugs'. If further investigates, through a case- study of the Badakshan Province, the changes in the political and economical structures and the societal changes brought around by the existence of the opium trade.Show less
In this thesis, I am analyzing the online media discourse on Rehana, a female fighter aganist the Islamic State. By applying different theoretical lenses such as critical discourse analysis and...Show moreIn this thesis, I am analyzing the online media discourse on Rehana, a female fighter aganist the Islamic State. By applying different theoretical lenses such as critical discourse analysis and semiotic analysis, I am criticially analyzing the representation of Rehana. Based on research on the representation of other female fighters, I am problematizing the effect of this representation on Rehana's agency. I argue that the media discourse on Rehana is undermining her agency by objectifying her through language and forcing her into fixed narratives informed by sexist and orientalist stereotypes instead of representing her justly.Show less
The Zainichi Koreans have been excluded Japanese society by a latent structure of discrimination that is encoded in the Japanese constitution and promoted by homogeneous society idealists such as...Show moreThe Zainichi Koreans have been excluded Japanese society by a latent structure of discrimination that is encoded in the Japanese constitution and promoted by homogeneous society idealists such as Nakasone. This latent structure becomes blatant when the notion of Japanese homogeneity and cultural superiority is challenged. This drive for exclusion exhibits itself through anti-foreigner rhetoric of politicians such as Ishihara who instrumentalise fear and nationalism for their own political ends, and manifests itself as negative portrayals of Koreans in media and through Zaitokukai protests. Understanding the Zainichi Koreans within the context of Japanese national identity shows that Koreans are denied an identity, a history, and legal and economic rights by the dominant narrative of a homogenous and culturally superior Japan. When this narrative is challenged, it is then reinforced by nationalistic politicians and the Zaitokukai who actively exclude the Zainichi. Japan’s national identity has been constructed in opposition to its heterogeneous past and contemporary heterogeneous countries. For its ethnic minorities that are associated with its multiethnic past, they face losing identity and blatant discrimination in modern Japan.Show less
On July the 8th 1994 North Korea was struck with the heaviest grief imaginable. Their Great Leader, Comrade, Father and 'the Sun' of the nation passed away. The leader who had come to be seen as...Show moreOn July the 8th 1994 North Korea was struck with the heaviest grief imaginable. Their Great Leader, Comrade, Father and 'the Sun' of the nation passed away. The leader who had come to be seen as immortal had left his people behind, leaving the recently created state in the hands of his designated successor and son Kim Jong Il. In the poem cited above, the author expresses the passion North Koreans feel towards their leader. When a leader comes to decease, the admiration often moves on to his successor. Nevertheless, the warmth and obsession felt towards the deceased Kim Il Sung only grew stronger as time went by. The excessive public admiration and devotion for the founder of the North Korean state continued to bloom into what can now be seen as one of the strongest personality cults of the modern era. (Kim 158) This passion and admiration has been driven and is sustained by a sophisticated deployment of various forms of culture representing a very specific reading of North Korea's history that makes national history revolve around the life of the Great Leader, Kim Il Sung. History, as Jordanova (2000, 4) explains, is not absolute, but always created and hence needs to be seen in perspective. In the case of North Korea; history is built around the Great Leader's personality cult, integrating the idea of an eternal leader into the past of the nation, and thus making them intertwine. North Korean history declares that there is no North Korea without the Great Leader. This historical narrative goes unchallenged as all media and culture are under the control of the Workers' Party of Korea, the founding and ruling party of North Korea (Britannica). Culture and history, under these monolithic circumstances does not amount to anything but another form of propaganda, used to create and manipulate Kim Il Sung's personality cult. Propaganda is the spreading of ideas and information with the purpose of influencing an institution, a cause, or a group of people (Britannica). It is a mode of communication through which a society can be manipulated and influenced. The target's opinion can be distorted in order to support a particular cause or belief. Throughout the years, propaganda has evolved into the form of texts, artwork and films. (White) Through propagated media and culture governments and authorities are able to secure their desired benefits. By carefully considering different types of culture and media in North Korea, the leader-focused construction of history can be put together as pieces of patchwork creating a single quilt. More specifically, an examination will be made of the length of measure taken in North Korea by it's authorities to install the profound belief in the immortality and benevolence of the Great Leader Kim Il Sung. This thesis will show how a personality cult is created and simultaneously analyze how it is maintained in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, describing the various methods of maintaining a personality cult, achieved through the mobilization of cultural, media and the arts, all of which are adapted to a fabricated historical storyline in order to sustain the leaders' image. For example, written texts serve as tools through which the Workers' Party of Korea is able to adapt North Korean history to revolve around Kim Il Sung. Academic publications and journal articles use the power of words to project the authors' and the authorities' interpretation onto the public. Equivalently, visual art makes a contribution to the development of Kim Il Sung's personality cult. These arts include e.g. visual propaganda, portraits, badges and paintings. Besides written and visual works, performing arts also have a significant impact on the creation and preservation of a powerful personality cult, as can be found in theatrical performances such as opera, film, and television programs, all of which recite and relive the days of glory passed. This 'glory passed' presented to the nation through performances evidently has no other intent then to serve as another propaganda tool emphasizing the essentiality of Kim Il Sung's existence. (Kim 158 - 159) It is indisputable that in North Korea cultural products do not only serve the purpose of entertainment, but more importantly, are instruments for controlling and mobilizing society through the creation of Kim Il Sung's personality cult. Propaganda has been incorporated into all aspects of North Korea's culture, successfully intertwining Kim Il Sung into the nation's illusion of history. Looking more closely at the relentless determination to build a personality cult and the manner through which the Workers' Party of Korea successfully beclouded the population's perception of reality will now be further investigated.Show less
This thesis will be discussing the energy sector reform that has been announced by the Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto on 12 December 2013. After a period of 77 years, the monopoly of the...Show moreThis thesis will be discussing the energy sector reform that has been announced by the Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto on 12 December 2013. After a period of 77 years, the monopoly of the state owned Petroleum Company Pemex will end and (foreign) private investment in the energy sector will finally be allowed. The reform has been announced in response to the declining production rates and is expected to reverse this declining trend. I will analyse what has caused the Mexican government to make this decision, how they are planning to reform the sector and most importantly, what impact the reform is expected to have on the national economy of Mexico.Show less
