Throughout history, popular mass uprisings have led to many regime crises in Africa and the Middle East. The comportment of the military is of great importance as it shapes a revolt’s outcome....Show moreThroughout history, popular mass uprisings have led to many regime crises in Africa and the Middle East. The comportment of the military is of great importance as it shapes a revolt’s outcome. Coups d’état are the traditional indicator for measuring military behaviour. Various domestic and international factors affect the behaviour of the armed forces and thus, coups. This thesis looks at one of the most critical international influencers: foreign military aid. More precisely, it tries to understand how two specific U.S. Foreign Military Assistance programs, the IMET program and the FMF program, affect the behaviour of the recipient African or Middle Eastern military. Data on coup outcome and success are used to measure military behaviour. A cross-national statistical analysis is conducted in 60 countries between 2000 and 2018. The analysis finds that more education and training lead to a smaller chance for a coup to be attempted and to be successful in the recipient country. Furthermore, it finds that as U.S. financing increases, so does the likelihood of a coup. Apart from this, the results indicate a significant positive relationship between the effect of the FMF program on the chances of a coup to be successful.Show less
In the last decade, several Eastern members of the European Union (EU) have regressed in their democratic quality. This ‘democratic backsliding’ has most notably occurred in Hungary where the...Show moreIn the last decade, several Eastern members of the European Union (EU) have regressed in their democratic quality. This ‘democratic backsliding’ has most notably occurred in Hungary where the populist government led by Viktor Orbán continues to infringe upon the liberal democratic values championed by the EU. As the Hungarian populist government employs a Eurosceptic narrative, its continued success in combination with the rather pro-EU population is puzzling. Applying a multidimensional framework of EU attitudes, this study conducts a quantitative analysis of public opinion to explain the aforementioned puzzle and gauge the impact Euroscepticism has on the continued success of populism. It is argued that the government uses the underlying dimensions of EU attitudes to varying extent to mobilise public support. The binary regression’s results show that popular EU attitudes are not a definitive predictor for populist support. Nonetheless, the findings illustrate that the continued success of the Hungarian government is attributable to nationalist sentiments in the unique post-communist context.Show less
This research investigates the link between agricultural intensification and civil conflict. Agricultural intensification is a widely promoted solution for food insecurity. However, this research...Show moreThis research investigates the link between agricultural intensification and civil conflict. Agricultural intensification is a widely promoted solution for food insecurity. However, this research theorizes that agricultural intensification creates disadvantages for the smallholder sector and thus might trigger civil conflict. An OLS, negative binomial, and logistic regression analysis correlate fertilizer-use in 37 African countries to the incidence and count of civil conflicts between 2004 and 2016. The empirical results are mixed and only partly significant. Yet, they indicate agricultural intensification to have a conflictreducing effect. Surprisingly, the outcome of intensification, that is higher agricultural productivity, is significantly associated with an increased risk of conflict. Also, as a mediator agricultural productivity creates a significant and positive indirect link between intensification and civil conflict. Hence, the conflict-enhancing capacity of agricultural intensification might be contingent on whether intensification leads to an increase in agricultural productivity. This opens pathways for future research, where the impact of agricultural productivity on conflict as well as the relation between intensification and productivity should be scrutinized.Show less
The protection of nature and wildlife is crucial today. More and more studies, however, speak of violent incidents involving protected areas. To investigate the relationship between protected areas...Show moreThe protection of nature and wildlife is crucial today. More and more studies, however, speak of violent incidents involving protected areas. To investigate the relationship between protected areas and low-intensity conflict, this article addresses the factors that increase the likelihood of low-intensity conflict when protected areas are established. Widely accepted explanations of rebellion focus on the grievance argument. As with the establishment of a protected area local communities are deprived of land and resources, this article argues that social unrest is likely to increase when protected areas are established. However, building on Ostrom’s “Governing the Commons” theory, intercommunal conflicts as well as social unrest are likely to decrease when a protected area is created. The literature on protected areas and its impact on conflict is vast, but primarily conducted qualitatively. By doing a quantitative study, this article attempts to fill an important gap in the literature. The results of this analysis cautiously suggest that current protected areas in Africa still provoke discontent, as low-intensity conflict increases when the amount of protected areas increases. Future studies are needed to further study the mechanisms that make conflict involving protected areas more or less likely.Show less
Ecuador's constitution of 2008 has gathered worldwide attention for its progressive outlook. The constitution adopted Buen Vivir (good living), a concept rooted in the Andean indigenous social...Show moreEcuador's constitution of 2008 has gathered worldwide attention for its progressive outlook. The constitution adopted Buen Vivir (good living), a concept rooted in the Andean indigenous social movements, as the leading principle of the state. Scholars have called Buen Vivir a potential 'alternative to development': it redefines the objective of national planning as achieving harmony between nature, society and individuals, as opposed to narrowly-defined improved material wellbeing. Nonetheless, critics claim that the term has turned into a guise for new developmentalist state practices. This thesis assesses how a radical new discourse such as Buen Vivir evolves once confronted with the structures of the state and the constraints of society and economy. Drawing on Critical Discourse Analysis, it analyses how the framing of Buen Vivir in the speeches of Ecuador's presidents has limited its transformative potential. Furthermore, it illustrates how gaps between discourse, state practices and constitutional values have rendered the emancipatory meaning of Buen Vivir ambiguous.Show less
Malaysia, which inherited a colonial division of labor along ethnic lines, has through the past 50 years corrected interethnic economic disparities by means of the New Economic Policy. In...Show moreMalaysia, which inherited a colonial division of labor along ethnic lines, has through the past 50 years corrected interethnic economic disparities by means of the New Economic Policy. In particular, the Malay community went from being the poorest group to developing a middle- and business class. Despite these developments, mobilization along ethnicity remains more prevalent than along class lines. This paper attempts at understanding why by studying ethnonationalist discourse from Malay elites. It finally contributes to the literature on socioeconomic inequalities in ethnically diverse societies, by reaching the following main finding: the way group elites mobilize their community can be aimed at crystallizing ethnic boundaries, thus hindering the rise of class solidarity.Show less
Africa has experienced sustained aggregate economic growth over the past two decades, effectively disproving the “good governance” agenda. However, this has not been matched by a substantial...Show moreAfrica has experienced sustained aggregate economic growth over the past two decades, effectively disproving the “good governance” agenda. However, this has not been matched by a substantial reduction in poverty and inequality, thus raising concerns about the reach and sustainability of the current development. On the basis of the success in Southeast Asia, Henley and van Donge (2013) identify the agricultural sector as the central actor for a broad-based growth with substantial poverty reduction. They argue that the African inability to generate a growth that is inclusive can be traced back to the absence of a bundle of pro-market and pro-rural policies. Based on this theory, this paper analyses the relationship between agricultural policies and poverty reduction on the case study of Ethiopia, through qualitative analysis. The thesis argues that while poverty reduction in Ethiopia is resulting from a pro-rural/pro-poor public spending along with relative macroeconomic stability, it is slowed down by land grabbing by foreign investors.Show less
