At the beginning of the American Civil War (1861 – 1865), the North and South were locked in a stalemate. The military strength of both sides could be considered roughly the same, and on the...Show moreAt the beginning of the American Civil War (1861 – 1865), the North and South were locked in a stalemate. The military strength of both sides could be considered roughly the same, and on the battlefield, neither side could present a significant advantage over the other. Both sides raised vast armies and armed their soldiers with the rifled-musket, giving them increased firepower. In addition, the Union and Confederate soldiers shared the same military traditions, were trained in the same infantry tactics, and had either no combat experience or shared the same experience in federal service. The large scale and advanced weaponry presented opportunities as well as challenges. On the battlefield, commanding officers had to solve these ‘tactical problems’. The tactical insight of one officer, expressed by his ability and willingness to make effective use of those under his command, could mean the difference between victory and defeat. Therefore, on the battlefields of the Civil War, where both North and South were able to match each other’s military capacity, effective military command was pivotal. Still, how did an officer acquire the tactical insight to turn the tide of battle in his favour? Was it forged from the bottom up through the experience of combat, or did it descend from the top down revealed by the study of tactics?Show less
From the 1970s onwards, Britain’s weakened trade unions have attempted a rejuvenation of their orientations and strategies: chiefly in order to appeal to and represent precarity-prone workers in a...Show moreFrom the 1970s onwards, Britain’s weakened trade unions have attempted a rejuvenation of their orientations and strategies: chiefly in order to appeal to and represent precarity-prone workers in a more satisfactory manner than they had before. However, this rejuvenation process has occurred in a piecemeal and uncoordinated manner: orientations have only shifted partially, and certain rejuvenatory strategies have been far from effective. An interwoven process has occurred alongside, and helped necessitate, this attempted rejuvenation: Britain’s urban labour markets have become increasingly ‘ruralised’. That is to say, the British economy has been fundamentally restructured, and urban industrial relations in the ‘New Economy’ have come to increasingly resemble those long found in British agriculture. Britain’s Farmworkers’ Union has had to contend with ‘new economic’ institutional conditions – namely the norms of small-employee firms and interpersonal and/or triangular relations between employers and workers – for an extended period of time. It is therefore reasonable to assume that, from 1970 onwards, the Farmworker’s Union would have utilised those orientations and strategies adopted by Britain’s urban unions during their rejuvenation processes, but in a more systematic, coherent and effective manner, and from an earlier date. To interrogate this assumption I pose the following research question: in terms of form and effectiveness, how differentiated have the orientations and strategies of the Farmworkers’ Union been, with regards to precarity-prone workers, when compared to the wider Trade Union Movement, and why?Show less
In deze scriptie is een ideaalmodel ontwikkeld voor het politiek debat over morele controverses dat nauw aansluit bij de praktijk: het deliberatief democratisch discussiemodel. Op basis van de...Show moreIn deze scriptie is een ideaalmodel ontwikkeld voor het politiek debat over morele controverses dat nauw aansluit bij de praktijk: het deliberatief democratisch discussiemodel. Op basis van de theorie van de politiek filosofen Gutmann en Thompson over deliberatieve democratie is een initieel model ontwikkeld. Dat model is getoetst aan de in de Tweede Kamer gevoerde debatten over een verbod op de onverdoofde rituele slacht en het burgerinitiatief Voltooid Leven. Uitgaande van deze resultaten is het oorspronkelijke model op een aantal punten verbeterd, opdat het beter aansluit bij de parlementaire praktijk. Het uiteindelijke deliberatief democratische discussiemodel is zeer geschikt als normatief model voor het politiek debat over moreel controversiële onderwerpen, daar de gestelde normen haalbaar zijn en door de parlementariërs gedeeld worden.Show less
During the last years of the reign of Cosimo III, Grand Duke of Tuscany – from 1670 until his death in 1713 – the Florentine court faced the inevitable decline of the Medici dynasty. Cosimo’s zeal...Show moreDuring the last years of the reign of Cosimo III, Grand Duke of Tuscany – from 1670 until his death in 1713 – the Florentine court faced the inevitable decline of the Medici dynasty. Cosimo’s zeal to stimulate industrial and technological innovations and to revitalize commerce resulted in an enormous expansion of correspondence and interchange between the Tuscan court and Europe in the 1660s. Once he came to power, Cosimo developed an interest in merchants who operated in the largest cities of Europe. Given the fact that the Grand Duke had a great fascination for the Dutch Republic, following his double stay there in 1667/1668 and 1669, the importance of Tuscan merchants in Amsterdam outweighed that of Medici traders in other European capitals. Among the scarce surviving correspondence of seventeenth-century Florentine merchants in the Low Countries, the most interesting may be that of Giovacchino Guasconi. During his tenure in Amsterdam as official agent for the Grand Duke, he wrote on average once a week to the Grand Ducal secretary, Apollonio Bassetti (1631-1699). This thesis explores the important role of Giovacchino Guasconi as intermediary between the cultural centres of Florence and Amsterdam in the seventeenth century, in particular his role as book agent between the well-known Dutch philologist Nicolaas Heinsius and Cosimo III.Show less
During the Reagan era, drug policy was altered forever and its effects touched American politics, law enforcement, justice systems, education, and even American culture. During the 1980s, arguably...Show moreDuring the Reagan era, drug policy was altered forever and its effects touched American politics, law enforcement, justice systems, education, and even American culture. During the 1980s, arguably the largest shift in American political attitude took place, partly stemming from public fear of drug crimes. This thesis focuses on the Reagan Administration's War on Drugs. It will outline the motivations behind launching the War on Drugs, how the policies were implemented and the outcomes of the War.Show less
This thesis researches the nuances in the wording of the official English version and the Dutch translation of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)...Show moreThis thesis researches the nuances in the wording of the official English version and the Dutch translation of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). CEDAW imposes obligations on the States Parties, but it is unclear how these obligations are legally enforced. This thesis first investigates the enforcement mechanisms of CEDAW and secondly it analyzes the differences between how the English version and the Dutch translation express obligation, both lexically and grammatically. This research is based on the following thesis question: How strong is the expression of degrees of obligation within CEDAW’s official English version and its Dutch translation, and has this strength changed in the process of translation? The findings led to a dichotomy between legislative obligations and the linguistic obligations, where the former is less strong than proposed and the latter is equal in both version.Show less
The African-American church played an important role in the African- American society. A few researchers looked into the question why the African-Americans decided to leave the white controlled...Show moreThe African-American church played an important role in the African- American society. A few researchers looked into the question why the African-Americans decided to leave the white controlled churches after the abolition of slavery. This thesis looked into the general history of the independent African-American church. This research is based their conclusion on base of autobiographies and work of the most influential, leading religious figures after the abolition of slavery in 1865. This thesis proposed the hypothesis that the independent African-American church was formed by the aim to educate the just liberated African-American in both a spiritual and an educational way, as a form of protest and in order to uplift their race.Show less
This research investigates the diversity between the foundation period of leper houses in Holland and regions around Holland. The field of investigation are the surrounding areas England, central...Show moreThis research investigates the diversity between the foundation period of leper houses in Holland and regions around Holland. The field of investigation are the surrounding areas England, central and north French kingdom, Flanders, Brabant, the Rhine valley, gelre and Friesland. The leper houses of Holland are mostly founded after the great plague of the mid 1400’s, while the leprosaria of surrounding areas where in general founded in the 12th and 13th century. This diversity can be explained by the differences in the circumstances of these foundations. The early European leper houses are founded by the local nobility. They felt responsible for the wellbeing of the local community and felt an urge to found a leper house by religious motivations. These foundations of houses occurred in a period where a lot of houses of charity where founded by religious motives: hospitals, alms houses, orphanages, abbeys, and cloisters. The late European foundations, centred in north-west Europe, can be explained by the state of urbanisation of these counties. In growing cities in Holland arose an urban elite, consisting of wealthy merchants and craftsmen. These patricians controlled the daily life of the city. To form a Christian city solidarity and urban mentality in their city, it was important to ‘organize’ the city, construct a form of socials control, and manage the intern population. By this motivation, the new elite founded leper houses to control and maintain a strict border between the sick and the healthy, the poor and the wealthy.Show less
In deze thesis wordt geanalyseerd hoe gezinshereniging in de periode 1955-1983 in de Nederlandse kranten uitgroeide van een onderwerp tot een probleem. Aan de hand van een diepgravend...Show moreIn deze thesis wordt geanalyseerd hoe gezinshereniging in de periode 1955-1983 in de Nederlandse kranten uitgroeide van een onderwerp tot een probleem. Aan de hand van een diepgravend krantenonderzoek wordt dit problematiseringsproces nader bekeken.Show less
In February 1992, the twelve member states of the European Union ratified the Treaty of Maastricht, and thereby decided to introduce a common European currency by 2002, the euro. Whereas this was...Show moreIn February 1992, the twelve member states of the European Union ratified the Treaty of Maastricht, and thereby decided to introduce a common European currency by 2002, the euro. Whereas this was mainly a monetary act of union, previous literature has often assumed that the euro also has implications for European identity within the participating countries. Evidence from opinion polling data seems to point in the same direction: when Eurozone citizens are asked what symbolises the EU for them personally, a large majority states that this is the euro. However, this thesis argues that the impact of the euro has in fact been marginal – at least initially. The thesis uses three in-depth case studies to formulate a hypothesis about the influence of the euro on European identity in all EU countries. The case studies are France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom for the period 1992-2013, examined through data from opinion polls and newspaper articles. A second section of the thesis tests the hypothesis through comparative analysis of data from three Eurobarometer questions. The results suggest that Eurozone citizens did feel more European at first, but that this sentiment of Europeanness has declined quickly with the advent of the euro crisis since 2009. From then onwards, the opposite of what was expected seems to be the case: non-Eurozone citizens have more positive feelings connected to the European Union.Show less
