Research master thesis | Political Science and Public Administration (research) (MSc)
open access
2017-08-01T00:00:00Z
Since the proliferation of democratizing countries in Africa, ethnic conflict has also increased. One of the explanations for this phenomenon is that ethnicity become politicized when democratic...Show moreSince the proliferation of democratizing countries in Africa, ethnic conflict has also increased. One of the explanations for this phenomenon is that ethnicity become politicized when democratic institutions are installed, and ethnic cleavages are widened, creating more conflict. In order to temper conflict and stabilize the democratization process it is sometimes needed to use undemocratic tools, such as party bans. While sometimes banning an ethnic party leads to less conflict, sometimes it also leads to more. This thesis will explain how a party ban will decrease conflict when it is based on old, existing law or regulation and accompanied by other institutional arrangements giving incentives for inter-ethnic cooperation and promote cross-cutting cleavages. Two cases of party bans in Mauritania and two cases in Nigeria are used to explain the mechanism of the causal effect between party ban and conflict level.Show less
Advanced master thesis | Political Science (Advanced Master)
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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
What role does civil society play in the outbreak of violence within fragile hybrid regime countries? This study shows the connection between an active civil society and the escalation of tensions...Show moreWhat role does civil society play in the outbreak of violence within fragile hybrid regime countries? This study shows the connection between an active civil society and the escalation of tensions between groups within society.Show less
This article investigates rebel opportunity structures in non-ethnic civil wars. It argues rebel leaders act rationally and decide on war and peace on the basis of security and economic...Show moreThis article investigates rebel opportunity structures in non-ethnic civil wars. It argues rebel leaders act rationally and decide on war and peace on the basis of security and economic considerations. Rebel leaders only demobilize if the net benefits of peace are greater than the net benefits of war. Third-party interventions, such as United Nations peacekeeping operations, are only able to end civil war when it offers credible security guarantees to the rebel group and sufficiently alters the incentives rebel leaders face through the disruption of the rebel war economy. Only if an outside intervention manages to curb profits emanating from autonomous rebel financing, such as illicit resource extraction and trade or outside state support, will war no longer pay and will rebels comply with provisions offered in a negotiated peace settlement. The theory is supported by case studies of United Nations peacekeeping efforts during the Sierra Leone civil war (1991-2002) and the Second Congo War (1998-2003) in the Democratic Republic of Congo.Show less
After violence has been stopped in conflicts the international community has attempted to build durable peace in the conflict regions. Previous research focused on the success of and the criticism...Show moreAfter violence has been stopped in conflicts the international community has attempted to build durable peace in the conflict regions. Previous research focused on the success of and the criticism on UN-led peacebuilding while not considering unilateral peacebuilding in detail. This thesis hypothesizes that peacebuilding by the US before the rise of the UN is more successful than unilateral peacebuilding thereafter. Furthermore, a US peacebuilding mission before the rise of the UN will be more expansive with regard to the instruments used than a mission after the rise of the UN. 15 cases that took place before and after the rise of the UN confirm that US peacebuilding efforts were indeed more successful before the rise of the UN. These cases reveal that peacebuilding not necessarily became less expansive after the rise of the UN but that the nature of peacebuilding shifted towards democratization and financial aid, for instance.Show less
The research question in this thesis is: how do the measures of the Peacebuilding Commission in Guinea stimulate the implementation of civic nationalism in order to achieve positive peace? Firstly...Show moreThe research question in this thesis is: how do the measures of the Peacebuilding Commission in Guinea stimulate the implementation of civic nationalism in order to achieve positive peace? Firstly a literature review shows that the combination of nationalism studies and peace studies is not often made, which results in a lacuna. Secondly the theory-section sets out a theory about how nationalism can contribute to peacebuilding. Thirdly the data and methodology-section explains which materials and methods are being used. Fourthly, the context provides the necessary information to understand the analysis. Fifthly, the analysis follows, divided in three parts: national education, national symbolism and national reconciliation. Each part shows the plans of the peacebuilding missions, reviews it first steps and analyses its effects. Sixthly, the conclusion follows that this thesis is a small step in investigating the relationship between nationalism and peacebuilding.Show less
Bellamy and Williams claim that there is evidence that suggest a positive outcome in peace operations when the relevant regional organizations and the United Nations work together (2012, 848). They...Show moreBellamy and Williams claim that there is evidence that suggest a positive outcome in peace operations when the relevant regional organizations and the United Nations work together (2012, 848). They had only evidence that suggested this link and they did not fully investigate that claim . This thesis has looked at that claim in more detail. The research question that this thesis therefore investigated was: “How does the involvement of regional organizations affect the success of peace operations?”. There are a few answers that were expected. First that regional organizations can respond quicker to crisis situations. Research has shown that speed is vital for the success of peace operations (Hardt 2009). Regional organizations can respond quicker to crisis situations, because consensus is much easier reached between the member states and regional organizations have materials and personnel already in place (Hardt 2009, 388). Another expected answer was that the United Nations and regional organizations bring different skills to a peace operation (Yamashita 2012, 173). The United Nations have the financial funds and are good at the logistical side of the peace operation. Regional organizations can share the same history and culture of the country where the peace operation is taking place and are therefore more in touch with the local population (Yamashita 2012, 173). Also their territorial proximity to the conflict can be an asset (Söberbaum and Tavares 2009, 75). Regional organizations have a shared security dilemma and because of that they want to resolve the conflict successfully to reduce the chances of spill over (Söberbaum and Tavares 2009, 75) . To answer the research question the cases of Somalia and Liberia have to be compared to see what difference the involvement of a regional organization makes. When looking at the case of Somalia the mandate that the United Nations made was too ambitious (Crocker 1995; Crigler 1993). The United Nations lacked the manpower and the support of other organizations to make this peace operation a success (Crocker 1995, 68). Also they were too preoccupied with capturing the opposition leader Adid that they failed to protect the civilians and create a safe environment for humanitarian efforts to take place (Crigler 1993, 68). With the peace operation in Liberia the key for success lays in the fact that the United Nations and ECOWAS had their own role in the UN peace operation (Ramcharan 1996, 10: Aning and Aubyn 2014, 30). They divided the work and therefore each organization could clearly focus on their role. The United Nations could now focus on observing if all parties were upholding the peace agreement (Ramcharan 1996, 10; Aning and Aubyn 2014, 30). This in contrast to the Somalia peace operation were the United Nations had too much on their plate (Crocker 1995). ECOMOG was now responsible for the security of Liberia and the United Nations was responsible for the observations (Ramcharan 1996, 10). In Liberia the regional organization ECOWAS was also a contributing factor in creating a successful peace agreement. In the peace agreement the social, historical and cultural roots of the conflict were taken into account. ECOWAS made sure these aspects were in the peace agreement. This played an important role in the success of the peace agreement and eventually the mission (Ramcharan 1996, 30). The findings that this thesis has found can be summarized into a few points. Regional organizations in UN peace operations add to the success of the mission because of a deeper understanding of the cultural, historical and social background of the country and therefore help to create a peace agreement that will have more chances to succeed (Ramcharan 1996, 10). Furthermore regional organizations can help the United Nations in a peace operation by taking on some of the responsibilities of the United Nations. When the regional organization and the United Nations divided the work and responsibilities, the chances of success as seen in Liberia, are much higher (Ramcharan 1996, 10: Aning and Aubyn 2014, 30). When looking at the expected answers, the findings are in line of what was expected. As stated in the theory section of this thesis, the regional organizations and the United Nations bring different skills to a peace operation (Yamashita 2012, 173). In Liberia it is proven that dividing the work between the United Nations and the regional organization, therefore allowing the organizations to do what they are good in, the chances of a successful peace operation are higher (Ramcharan 1996, 10). Another expected answer was that due to shared historical and cultural experiences regional organizations are more in touch with the population (Yamashita 2012, 173). In this case the cultural and historical experiences are helpful for creating a peace agreement that has these aspects worked into it. With a peace agreement, like the one in Liberia, where the cultural and historical roots of the conflict are added. The chance is greater that all parties will uphold this peace agreement (Ramcharan 1996, 30). The findings are also in line of what other authors have said. Thakur argued that the United Nations was spread too thin when it comes to peace operations. The reason for that is the fact the United Nations is taken on multiple peace operations at a time (2006). Also when regional organizations conducted peace operations on its own, the United Nations had to take over because of a lack of funds (Durward 2006, 356). What is seen in Liberia is that the regional organization ECOWAS helped the United Nations in terms of military personnel and the United Nations provided the funds for ECOWAS (Ramcharan 1996, 10).Show less
Advanced master thesis | Political Science (Advanced Master)
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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
