Welke waarden over democratische besluitvorming kunnen impliciet ten grondslag liggen over discussies over democratisering, in dit geval de democratisering van het burgemeestersambt? Relevante...Show moreWelke waarden over democratische besluitvorming kunnen impliciet ten grondslag liggen over discussies over democratisering, in dit geval de democratisering van het burgemeestersambt? Relevante werken van verschillende auteurs over de instrumentele waarde van democratie en de intrinsieke waarde van democratie worden in dit onderzoek behandeld met terugkoppeling naar het gekozen burgemeestersdebat.Show less
Na openbaring van de afluisterpraktijken van de NSA ontstond veel ophef. Welke morele bezwaren zijn er echter precies aan te voeren tegen spionage? In vier paradigm cases wordt nagegaan om welke...Show moreNa openbaring van de afluisterpraktijken van de NSA ontstond veel ophef. Welke morele bezwaren zijn er echter precies aan te voeren tegen spionage? In vier paradigm cases wordt nagegaan om welke redenen spionage in elk van deze casus bezwaarlijk is.Show less
Whether the state can, even in theory, be legitimate was brought into question by Robert Paul Wolff’s “In Defense of Anarchy” (1970). Wolff argued for the illegitimacy of the state based on the...Show moreWhether the state can, even in theory, be legitimate was brought into question by Robert Paul Wolff’s “In Defense of Anarchy” (1970). Wolff argued for the illegitimacy of the state based on the incompatibility of practical authority and autonomy. This thesis aims to refute this claim of state illegitimacy by building on and adjusting Raz’s revision of authority, as put forward in “Morality of Freedom” (1986), to show that practical authority can in fact be compatible with moral and personal autonomy. It is hoped that this thesis can show by an a priori argument that there can be forms of human community in which some men have the moral right to rule (legitimate practical authority) even if their realization is highly unlikely.Show less
Do we have a moral right to privacy? If so, what do we mean by it? Notions of privacy and the right thereof are highly contested issues in contemporary liberal philosophy. According to the greatest...Show moreDo we have a moral right to privacy? If so, what do we mean by it? Notions of privacy and the right thereof are highly contested issues in contemporary liberal philosophy. According to the greatest critic of privacy theory, Judith Thomson, there is no such thing as a fundamental right to privacy. Violations of privacy can be dealt with without reference to the right to privacy, she claims. This thesis provides arguments against her short-sided view on privacy, including arguments from William Parent. He advocates a minimalist conception of the right to privacy, centered around the notion of personal information. The modern conception of privacy, formulated in this thesis, continues on the work of Thomson and Parent, thereby refining some elements of Parent’s theory of informational privacy.Show less
This Master Thesis in political philosophy aims to resolve the distributive inequalities within the European Union. This can be managed with the theoretical framework of democratic relational...Show moreThis Master Thesis in political philosophy aims to resolve the distributive inequalities within the European Union. This can be managed with the theoretical framework of democratic relational equality. Disregarding luck egalitarianism for its narrow scope on pure redistributive measures, it is argued that democratic equality within the EU has to be achieved with either the welfare state or an unconditional basic income. After the European applications of both the unconditional basic income and the welfare state are discussed, it is argued that democratic relational equality is much more compatible with the European Welfare State than with the Euro-dividend due to the former's better performance on the decommodification of the basic needs and the neutrality of the state, when distributing benefits.Show less
Levitsky & Way (2010) have performed interesting research on competitive authoritarian regimes(CAR). They investigated the influence of democracies on these type of regimes. They also noted...Show moreLevitsky & Way (2010) have performed interesting research on competitive authoritarian regimes(CAR). They investigated the influence of democracies on these type of regimes. They also noted that there are authoritarian regimes who influenced the same CAR's. They labelled these authoritarian regimes Black Knights. This thesis investigates the influence of such a Black Knight on a CAR, in this case the influence of Russia on Kyrgyzstan. This thesis furthermore provides a possible framework for performing research on the influence of Black Knights on CAR's, by building on the existing theory of Levitsky & Way (2010).Show less
