This thesis examines the relationship between party system change, particularly fragmentation, and the quality of democratic representation in Peru. Accordingly the main inquiry is “how does party...Show moreThis thesis examines the relationship between party system change, particularly fragmentation, and the quality of democratic representation in Peru. Accordingly the main inquiry is “how does party system fragmentation influence the quality of democratic representation?” Additionally, it aims to establish whether party system fragmentation contributes to what Scott Mainwaring (2006) has called a ‘crisis of democratic representation’. The abrupt collapse of the party system in the late 1980s and the state of democratic representation in Peru from 1990 onwards provide an ideal case study. Party system fragmentation and the quality of democratic representation are operationalized based on three identified indicators each. In the case of the former, competition, rootedness and the number of parties allows us to determine the fragmentation of the Peruvian party system. In the case of the latter, the emergence of outsiders, clientelist linkages and trust in institutions establish the quality of democratic representation. These indicators are observed from 1980 to 2011 in order establish the significant temporal development of the examined phenomena in Peru. This thesis finds that party system fragmentation in Peru has serious consequences for democratic representation. Based on the examination of the indicators of Party system fragmentation, the party system in Peru is characterized by instability. The predominance of different mechanisms of representation, beset by instability, allows observing the deterioration of the formal representation linkages between the electorate and their representatives, thus significantly affecting the quality of democratic representation. The Peruvian case highlights the importance of analyzing the party system and democratic representation as two significant phenomena that are interconnected and that, if in crisis, presuppose one of the most important academic challenges in Latin America, which is to comprehend the current crisis of democratic representation in the region.Show less
This thesis focuses on the influence that media salience has on the state response towards foreign fighters. The agenda-setting function of the media is investigated in two case studies, the...Show moreThis thesis focuses on the influence that media salience has on the state response towards foreign fighters. The agenda-setting function of the media is investigated in two case studies, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The findings in this thesis indicate that often media salience and the state response co-vary, but that after peaks in media salience not always a stronger state response occurs and that not all increases in the state response occur after increased media salience.Show less
The medium-sized Philippines, Vietnam, and Malaysia use a different combination of international dispute settlement methods in their attempt to resolve maritime disputes in the South China Sea with...Show moreThe medium-sized Philippines, Vietnam, and Malaysia use a different combination of international dispute settlement methods in their attempt to resolve maritime disputes in the South China Sea with the economically and militarily superior People's Republic of China. This thesis researches the relation between these methods and their relation with the PRC by looking at economic dependence, the occurrence of violence, and the history of their diplomatic relations. The absence of violence and a history of good diplomatic relations relates to states' reluctance to use international arbitration, while historically bad diplomatic relations and a higher amount of violence relates to the involvement of third parties as mediators and the use of international arbitration.Show less
Economic sanctions are a coercive diplomacy tool often used by sender states to elicit behavioral change in the target state. Prior research focused on the domestic elements of the target state,...Show moreEconomic sanctions are a coercive diplomacy tool often used by sender states to elicit behavioral change in the target state. Prior research focused on the domestic elements of the target state, thus this research tests the cooperative theory in which the focus is on the international behavior of the target state when assessing the effectiveness of economic sanctions. The research question driving this thesis is: are economic sanctions more effective in a non-cooperative authoritarian state or a cooperative authoritarian state? The two case studies are China (cooperative authoritarian state) and Iran (non-cooperative authoritarian state). Through five mechanisms, budget of the target state, opposition within the target state, type of sanction, commitment of the sender state, and dependence of the target state on the international community, the effectiveness of the sanctions is analyzed. Noticeably there is a stronger link between effective sanctions and the cooperative authoritarian state (China) in comparison with the non-cooperative authoritarian state (Iran), the international mechanisms mostly drive the effectiveness of the sanctions in the cooperative authoritarian state, and neo-realism is a very noticeable factor in utilizing economic sanctions.Show less
This thesis examines the relationship between democracy and domestic terrorism, relying on a within-case study of the democratization process of Greece in the 1970s. The central theoretical...Show moreThis thesis examines the relationship between democracy and domestic terrorism, relying on a within-case study of the democratization process of Greece in the 1970s. The central theoretical argument, which is claimed by Chenoweth (2007) is that terrorism occurs so often in democracies because of a competitive logic that drives interest groups to compete with one another using violence. This thesis attempted to strengthen this so-called 'theory of the competitive logic' by further specifying the exact causal mechanism by means of a case study. Overall, the analysis disconfirms and thereby challenges the hypothesized causal mechanisms. A main finding is that Greece's democratization process did result in outburst of domestic terrorist activity, but did not result in an outburst of social mobilization in general. The large corrupt and clientelist overbearing Greek state, combined with the omnipresence of a few strong political parties immediately halted the ‘political energies’ that naturally arose after the fall of the Greek junta. Based on this finding, this thesis claims that, at least in the Greek case, not democracy's commitment to pluralism, but rather a lack of pluralism led to the proliferation of domestic terrorism. Further qualitative research should be done to assess whether Greece is an exceptional case or whether the theory is supported in other cases that experienced democratic transitions in the 1970s, such as Portugal and Spain.Show less
Humanitarian ideals are increasingly driving the rhetoric of intervention in the post-Cold War period. Is this indicative of conscientious international environment, or are more cynical...Show moreHumanitarian ideals are increasingly driving the rhetoric of intervention in the post-Cold War period. Is this indicative of conscientious international environment, or are more cynical machinations responsible? Through the analysis of the political rhetoric of prominent case studies, this paper seeks to determine the nature of humanitarian intervention in relation to contemporary understandings of international politics.Show less
This thesis aims to explain the diverging outcomes in arms export policies with regard to Indonesia and Jordan and examines what effect the Dutch parliament had in bringing about these outcomes....Show moreThis thesis aims to explain the diverging outcomes in arms export policies with regard to Indonesia and Jordan and examines what effect the Dutch parliament had in bringing about these outcomes. Theoretically, the thesis analyzes the extent to which a logic of appropriateness or a logic of consequences dominates the discourse of a foreign policy decision making process. Through a discourse analysis, it concludes that the use of a logic of appropriateness was prevalent in both discussions. In the Indonesian case these resonated to the human rights criterion of the EU Common Position on Arms Export, but in the case of Jordan such norms had a more distinct cost-benefit character and focused more on regime type, which falls out of the scope of formal EU norms. In evaluating why the argumentative strategies differed, a logic of habit is posited as an explanation: not only did the Indonesian case shape precedent for the cases to follow, but the Netherlands and Indonesia have long historical relationships. In the past, those states often clashed, making a critical stance towards Indonesia more likely. This is not the case for Jordan, which has no such relationship and is situated in a region with other, more worrisome states. This is an important critical observation for the further development of the EU Common Position on Arms Export, which, in coherence with Council Conclusions, and statements and reports by member-states, stresses the assessment of arms export license applications on a case-by-case basis, without taking into account historical ties.Show less
Most high schools provide a diverse range of internationally oriented activities in which students are able to participate. These activities give students the opportunity to get to know other...Show moreMost high schools provide a diverse range of internationally oriented activities in which students are able to participate. These activities give students the opportunity to get to know other countries and develop their international interest. Hofstad Lyceum is a school that provides more than 20 internationally oriented activities to their students. The influence of these activities on the attitude towards globalization has been remained rather unclear. Using both a questionnaire and more various qualitative analyses of the activities the influence of these activities on the attitude towards globalization has been researched. The activities of Hofstad Lyceum can be put into three categories. International exchanges have more influence on the attitude towards globalization than international projects and international trips. The results of the questionnaire suggest that these activities have both positive and negative influence on the attitude towards globalization. It shows that internationally oriented activities do not or only marginally increase the political knowledge. On the other hand students seem to have more social willingness to experience the world. All in all, internationally oriented activities have to be seen as an incentive ‘to stimulate students’ interest in international affairs.Show less
