Following mass demonstrations in Brazil for the impeachement of Dilma Rousseff and the increasing relevance of local city governments in global politics this paper examines and analyses the...Show moreFollowing mass demonstrations in Brazil for the impeachement of Dilma Rousseff and the increasing relevance of local city governments in global politics this paper examines and analyses the possible effects of 'glocal' governing on the Brazilian population. This paper takes the city government and population of São Paulo as Case Study.Show less
Deze scriptie analyseert de politieke discours van de Venezolaanse ex-president Hugo Chávez en de huidige president Nicolás Maduro. De focus van deze analyse ligt op de populistische en anti...Show moreDeze scriptie analyseert de politieke discours van de Venezolaanse ex-president Hugo Chávez en de huidige president Nicolás Maduro. De focus van deze analyse ligt op de populistische en anti-imperialistische elementen binnen deze discours. Er zal gekeken worden in hoeverre het politieke discours van Nicolás Maduro overeenkomt met dat van zijn voorganger Hugo Chávez. De politieke discours zullen geplaatst worden in de context van de opkomst van linkse regeringen in Latijns-Amerika.Show less
Throughout the 20th century the region of Latin America has been widely influenced by external actors such as the United States or international organizations, like the IMF or the World Bank. The...Show moreThroughout the 20th century the region of Latin America has been widely influenced by external actors such as the United States or international organizations, like the IMF or the World Bank. The influences of those actors gave rise to “dependency theory”, which highlights the inequalities between more powerful actors of the so-called “center” of the world and those of the “periphery”. As a response, Latin American countries have engaged in different attempts to decrease the influence of those external actors, while increasing their own. In the early 2000s, due to changes in its foreign policy, the focus of the United States on Latin America has decreased. The risen gap has allowed the recently grown superpower China to focus on the region. Consequently, the East-Asian country has become the first or second biggest trade partner for states like Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico or Venezuela. Next to the risen trade other bilateral relations, such as investments, combined attempts of development and political relations, have increased. While there are several apparent benefits for both sides, criticism has been voiced regarding a new version of dependency on China replacing that towards the United States. However, such criticism has mainly focused on assessing the international relations between China as a state and Latin America as an entire region. Therefore, by addressing the rising dependency, this paper will show that, in regard to Sino-Latin American relations, the region of Latin America cannot be analyzed as a whole but has to be divided into its nation states. By comparing the two case studies Chile and Venezuela and their respective relations with China the varying levels of dependency between China and different Latin American states will be portrayed.Show less
chapter 1 aims to provide an academic framework through which the Antarctic geopolitical strategies can be understood. Building upon the academic contextualization of the first chapter, chapter 2...Show morechapter 1 aims to provide an academic framework through which the Antarctic geopolitical strategies can be understood. Building upon the academic contextualization of the first chapter, chapter 2 explores the conditions of the current geopolitical strategies of Chile, Argentina and Great Britain. Insights into the potential of the region, its legal regime, and its uncertain political future, provide an understanding of the circumstances in which Antarctic strategy has been formed. In Chapter 3, the official geopolitical strategies of Chile and its direct territorial rivals in Antarctica are scrutinized and finally compared using the previously established conditions. By following this structure, I aim to provide the academic scholarship with a framework for future geopolitical research on how these countries have changed their strategies in the run up to 2048 and for future comparisons with the strategies of other claimant, non-claimant, or third party statesShow less
The recently signed peace-agreement with the FARC poses many opportunities to the Colombian state, as well as new challenges. Even though the biggest guerrilla organisation in the country has now...Show moreThe recently signed peace-agreement with the FARC poses many opportunities to the Colombian state, as well as new challenges. Even though the biggest guerrilla organisation in the country has now been demobilised, organised crime seems to be taking over power in former FARC-territory for interests connected to the illegal drug trade. This paper analyses the ways in which organised crime undermines the possibility of the Colombian government to re-establish rule of law in these regions. It concludes that the magnitude and structure of crime is in Colombia problematic, that the recent visibility of crime undermines the state’s legitimacy, and that the penetration of organised crime into the political sphere, which is vulnerable to corruption, decreases the effectiveness of policies against organised crime.Show less
The recent shift to the right in Latin American politics requires an analysis of the consequences of this development for US-Latin American relations. This is essential since the relations have...Show moreThe recent shift to the right in Latin American politics requires an analysis of the consequences of this development for US-Latin American relations. This is essential since the relations have deteriorated in the previous Pink Tide era, an era in which anti-American left-wing governments gained momentum, which led to a rejection of the US hegemony in the region. Consequently, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the relation between the Latin American political spectrum, the nature of bilateral relations with the United States and US hegemony. Argentina is taken as a case study to demonstrate that the shift to the right results in improved bilateral relations with the United States, which consequently shows an increasing influence of the US in Argentina. If this development spreads to other countries in the region, there is a real potential for the United States to reinforce its hegemony in Latin America.Show less
Since the formation of the Peruvian Republic in 1821, until the creation of the Truth and Reconcili- ation Commission in 2001, collective memory was curated through a single narrative. This type of...Show moreSince the formation of the Peruvian Republic in 1821, until the creation of the Truth and Reconcili- ation Commission in 2001, collective memory was curated through a single narrative. This type of collective memory curation aimed at building a national identity and thus unifying a country with deep-rooted ethnic, social and geographic divisions. However, as Peru was ravaged by an internal war from the year 1980 to 2000, the deadliest conflict the nation has faced in its history, new spaces opened for the curation of collective memory. The most notable of these spaces are memory sites and museums, which fuels the question that guides this thesis: what is the role of memory sites and memory museums in curating collective memory in post-conflict Peru? Firstly, the concept ‘new wars’ and how it has shaped the meaning of post-conflict shall be explored. Followed by a delve into collect- ive memory and how its curation has changed in the last century through memory sites and museums. Consequently, chapter two analyses the socio-political context which led to the development of new ways of curating collective memory in Peru and the role collective memory had and has in national politics. Chapter three analyses the role of the ‘Lugar de la Memoria, Tolerancia y la Inclusion Social’ (Place of Memory, Tolerance and Social Inclusion, LUM) in curating collective memory in post-conflict Peru.Show less
The thesis draws an analytical approach on the issue of political clientelism within the Mexican State. A comparison on the occurence of political clientelism within the PRI regime and the post-PRI...Show moreThe thesis draws an analytical approach on the issue of political clientelism within the Mexican State. A comparison on the occurence of political clientelism within the PRI regime and the post-PRI regimes has been included within the research in order to find out whether the fall of the single-party rule of the PRI has brought any signifcant differences to the levels of political clientelism within the state.Show less
In the 1970s and 80s, Peru was afflicted by revolutionary violence conducted by the Shining Path movement. The Shining Path aimed to start a revolution that would contribute to the overthrow of the...Show moreIn the 1970s and 80s, Peru was afflicted by revolutionary violence conducted by the Shining Path movement. The Shining Path aimed to start a revolution that would contribute to the overthrow of the old bureaucratic capitalist system and establish the new social state of Peru. Special attention must be given to the major inspirational and operational role of leader of the Shining Path, Abimael Guzmán. His fascination for the Marxist and Maoist ideology formed the principles of the movement. Because of Guzmán’s charismatic position and strong ideological stance, his leadership is often characterized as either revolutionary or terrorist. But what elements of Guzmán’s leadership account for his characterization as revolutionary and what elements depict him as terrorist? This thesis aims to explore the different elements that depict Guzmán as either revolutionary or terrorist by looking to the concepts of leadership, revolutionary and terrorist movements.Show less
The pacification program that was initiated in the city of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil prior to the World Cup 2014 got global media coverage due to the high amount of violence that come with it. The...Show moreThe pacification program that was initiated in the city of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil prior to the World Cup 2014 got global media coverage due to the high amount of violence that come with it. The goal of the program is to make the favelas of Rio de Janeiro an safer living environment, where there would be no more criminal violence and drug-related activities. These poor neighborhoods would be safe and secure living environments, under the control of local police units, instead of criminal gangs. Unfortunately, the high amount of crime and violence is still present in these favelas and the pacification program appeared to have done more damage than good. The police and military units used extremely violent measures to control these criminal gangs, which created a lot of anger towards them by the society. Thereby, it led to an increasing distrust between the citizens and governmental agencies. Thereby, citizens of all social classes joint forces in order to protest against the government and the pacification program. The results suggest that the Brazilian government took the wrong policy by choosing to solve violence with violence. With the program existing already for many years, nowadays the criminal gangs are still in control in large areas of the favelas and are willing to fight the police. The study supports the view that the government should take more peaceful methods, since these proof to be more effective and have a positive result. Whereas the more violent approach, by following the hard lined - “Mano Dura” strategy as other Latin American states did, leads to continuing violence and an failed attempt to resolve the problem.Show less
This thesis provides an in-depth analysis on the impact of the social movement 'Ni Una Menos' on combating violence against women in Argentina. It focuses on the scope of legislative gender...Show moreThis thesis provides an in-depth analysis on the impact of the social movement 'Ni Una Menos' on combating violence against women in Argentina. It focuses on the scope of legislative gender policies, as well as offering an academic discussion on the success of the women's movement in influencing politics regarding the issue of gender violence in the country.Show less
