The World Bank is the most important global agency involved in international development. This paper looks at the World Bank’s efforts in achieving gender equality in developing countries. Despite...Show moreThe World Bank is the most important global agency involved in international development. This paper looks at the World Bank’s efforts in achieving gender equality in developing countries. Despite the implementation of Gender Mainstreaming policies aimed at bringing a gender perspective into every department of the organisation, the gender gap is still present in many member countries, particularly in non-social sectors like agriculture, energy, finance, and transport. Because international organisations like the World Bank derive much of their authority from their expertise, the aim of this research is to investigate the technocratic approach to gender mainstreaming adopted by experts in the above-mentioned non-social sectors, and how such an approach influences the implementation of gender mainstreaming policies. More specifically, the research argues that the adoption of a technocratic approach stems from the gendered nature of the World Bank and its neoliberal nature. The analysis adopts a Feminist Institutionalist framework to test the hypothesis that informal institutions like the technocratic approach adopted by experts hinders the performance of formal institutions, namely gender mainstreaming practices. After an in-depth qualitative discourse analysis of relevant documents, reporting on the Bank’s gender mainstreaming efforts since the implementation of the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals, this research finds that in those sectors where a technocratic approach to gender mainstreaming is predominant, the adoption of technical solutions is privileged to achieve gender equality. However, these solutions significantly limit the effective implementation of gender mainstreaming policies in developing countries.Show less
In this thesis, the motivations behind the adoption of the Law of the Rights of Mother Earth in Bolivia will be explored. Three different explanations will be researched, namely that the law was...Show moreIn this thesis, the motivations behind the adoption of the Law of the Rights of Mother Earth in Bolivia will be explored. Three different explanations will be researched, namely that the law was adopted because of social movement activism, or to gain more control over the country’s natural resources, or, alternatively, in order to increase Bolivia’s international reputation. This thesis argues that all three explanations contributed to the adoption of the law.Show less
Climate change is a long-term global concern that must be tackled via international cooperation. Most countries are aware of the need to address climate change as the severity of the problem grows....Show moreClimate change is a long-term global concern that must be tackled via international cooperation. Most countries are aware of the need to address climate change as the severity of the problem grows. China is a key participant in the global climate governance system as the world's largest developing country and greenhouse gas emitter. This thesis examines China's historical participation in global climate regulation from the standpoint of a national role, as well as the variables that cause changes in China’s role.Show less
Environmental sustainability has become increasingly important in global politics and the promotion of renewable energy has received growing attention. Through its Southern European Neighborhood...Show moreEnvironmental sustainability has become increasingly important in global politics and the promotion of renewable energy has received growing attention. Through its Southern European Neighborhood Policy, the European Union invests in renewable energy in the MENA region, which has long lagged behind global renewable energy production while having major renewable energy potential. Though the EU stresses partner state development and climate goals as drivers for the ENP policy, existing literature has critically assessed the intentions of the ENP as a whole, suggesting that more Eurocentric motives drive this policy. Another set of literature surrounds the geopolitics of renewable energy and the consequences based on them. Various geopolitical incentives have been attributed to renewable energy promotion. However, there has been little formal theorization concerning the motives behind the renewable energy policy of the European Southern Neighborhood Policy. This thesis seeks to assess the intentions of EU policy for renewable energy in its MENA partner region.Show less
This paper answers the question “Why is the concept of Beyond GDP mostly implemented on the local level, and not on the national level?”. Global Domestic Product (GDP) has seen a lot of critique on...Show moreThis paper answers the question “Why is the concept of Beyond GDP mostly implemented on the local level, and not on the national level?”. Global Domestic Product (GDP) has seen a lot of critique on how it is measured, and in the recent years the concept of Beyond GDP has become more prominent. In short, Beyond GDP looks not only at economic development, but also at other indicators such as education and health. However, Beyond GDP has been mostly implemented on the local level, and not on the national level. This paper argues that the idea versus interest debate also applies for this topic. The paper proposes that ideas of policy makers do matter, and that the interest of powerful actors also play a role in this debate. The results of this paper find that ideas of policy makers do indeed matter and are important in the debate to move from GDP to Beyond GDP, both on the national and local level. On the other hand, interest play a mixed role, being somewhat important on the national level, but not important for the local level.Show less
Continuous human expansion on a planet with finite resources has intensified a variety of polluting practices and resulted in major resource inequality across the globe. Though the idea that...Show moreContinuous human expansion on a planet with finite resources has intensified a variety of polluting practices and resulted in major resource inequality across the globe. Though the idea that population control is an appropriate solution to the issue of overpopulation has seemingly disappeared from the sphere of politics since the mid 90’s, this thesis considers the resurgence of discussions to adopt a more coercive approach toward population management in India by investigating the extent to which Hindu nationalism influences contemporary demographic policymaking in India. While India’s Hindu nationalist legislators maintain that such a policy is a necessity considering the looming environmental crisis and lack of sufficient resources, there is a considerable disconnect between such claims and the country’s current demographic development. Therefore, this thesis aims to unveil governmental motivations behind the push for a two-child policy by examining policymakers’ attitudes and their framing of population growth as a justification for the novel two-child policy proposal.Show less
