Advanced master thesis | Political Science (Advanced Master)
open access
The violent repression of non- violent protests is not an uncommon situation across the world. Current scholarship on this issue leads us to believe that countries with similar political history,...Show moreThe violent repression of non- violent protests is not an uncommon situation across the world. Current scholarship on this issue leads us to believe that countries with similar political history, structures and challenges would react in a similar way to non- violent protests. However that is not the case with Chile, Brazil and Uruguay. Why- despite of sharing many political, historical and social similarities- their experience with authoritarian rule in the past and democracy nowadays present different responses to non- violent social protests? Drawing on repression scales and data collections this thesis will answer this puzzle around the repression of non-violent social protests in South American Democracies by arguing that some past aspects of their history - such as their transition back to democracy- as well as some present variables – elites and military continuity and degree of threat play a role in that.Show less
Advanced master thesis | Political Science (Advanced Master)
open access
This work examines the discourse of the political leaders on the Crimean crisis of 2014. It explores the development of national identities of Russia and Ukraine, from historical roots to modernity...Show moreThis work examines the discourse of the political leaders on the Crimean crisis of 2014. It explores the development of national identities of Russia and Ukraine, from historical roots to modernity, in the context of political discoursive encounters. This work is focused on the struggle for legitimization, the Other, and the states as actors that emerge in the discourse.Show less
Advanced master thesis | Political Science (Advanced Master)
open access
Why do some self-determination movements manage to achieve autonomy, while others fail to extract such salient concessions during peace negotiations? Although one would expect supporters of the...Show moreWhy do some self-determination movements manage to achieve autonomy, while others fail to extract such salient concessions during peace negotiations? Although one would expect supporters of the self-determination movement to unite in their struggle against the incumbent regime, recent literature has demonstrated that they tend to fight each other just as often as they fight the government in their competition for political relevance. Yet, little has been done to explain the effects such infighting has on the peace negotiations. Based on the comparison of the cases of Southern Sudan and Darfur, this study shows that more cohesive movements are able to extract much more salient concessions that address the conflict’s master cleavage and reflect the characteristics of a club good. The findings further suggest that fragmented movements tend to be paid off rather than yielded to by the incumbent government, thus rendering the achievement of peace utterly unattainable. Future research will have to examine whether these findings hold an explanatory power in contexts outside of Sudan.Show less
Advanced master thesis | Political Science (Advanced Master)
open access
This thesis examines how governments legitimate and justify climate change policies. It focuses on the dissonant nature of the Australian climate change policy regime since 1987, and in particular...Show moreThis thesis examines how governments legitimate and justify climate change policies. It focuses on the dissonant nature of the Australian climate change policy regime since 1987, and in particular it looks at how successive administrations have legitimated policies which range from ignorance, to acceptance, to outright denial of climate change. In order to achieve this goal, government discourse from 1987–2014 is parsed and analysed according to a predetermined schema. The dominant, marginalised, and challenging discursive fields are studied, and specific attention is paid to how these narratives change in light of certain stimuli (such as economic recessions or natural disasters). It is revealed that traditional, neo-liberal economic narratives have been hegemonic, and thus used overwhelmingly both to legitimate and resist climate change policy regimes. Scientific and ethical considerations have played smaller but still significant roles in justifying and criticising policy regimes. Notably, the actual and predicted effects of climate change are largely absent from the government discourse. As a result, this thesis adds to the existing literature by providing a complete and coherent study of how the justification of Australian climate change policy has varied over the past three decades, shedding light on the dissonant nature of the Australian climate change policy regimes, and raising concerns about the focus of the climate change discussions espoused by the government.Show less
Advanced master thesis | Political Science (Advanced Master)
open access
Since its establishment in 2002, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has taken on the ambitious goal of ending impunity for the gravest international crimes. However, this judicial institution...Show moreSince its establishment in 2002, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has taken on the ambitious goal of ending impunity for the gravest international crimes. However, this judicial institution has been strongly criticized for arguably obstructing peace. Although peace and justice are inevitably linked, blindly pursuing justice without considering political implications such as its potential impact on peace negotiations is not only reckless, but fails to recognize the existence of a bigger picture. This thesis attempts to analyze the conditions under which ICC intervention in ongoing civil conflict facilitates the success or failure of peace negotiations. I argue that international law cannot be seen as functioning in complete isolation from politics. If ICC action has in fact an impact on peace negotiations, the ICC needs to be aware of this and take it into account before intervening in an ongoing conflict. In order to analyze this argument, I will conduct two case studies on the situation and peace negotiations in Uganda and Darfur, Sudan, respectively.Show less
