This thesis investigates the use of religion in the speeches and appearances of Jair Bolsonaro during his tenure as president of Brazil in order to appeal to evangelical voters. This research has...Show moreThis thesis investigates the use of religion in the speeches and appearances of Jair Bolsonaro during his tenure as president of Brazil in order to appeal to evangelical voters. This research has found that, during his tenure, Bolsonaro used religion in order to establish an us-versus-them binary within Brazilian society. Additionally, this research found that Bolsonaro used this binary to defend and propagate Christian family values and to construct and perpetuate an image of himself being Brazil’s modern savior.Show less
This paper examines the construction of different realities concerning the social position of Afghan women after the US occupation of Afghanistan by looking at images published in Time magazine and...Show moreThis paper examines the construction of different realities concerning the social position of Afghan women after the US occupation of Afghanistan by looking at images published in Time magazine and Al Jazeera near the official withdrawal of the US Army. By implementing Roland Barthes’ theory of the linguistic, denoted, and connoted message in the examination of images and how they are framed it becomes clear that even though both news outlets worry about the future of Afghan women, Time magazine continues to justify the US occupation and blames the Taliban for the current situation whereas Al Jazeera takes a more critical stance. Therewith, framing how the current chaos in Afghanistan and the uncertain future of Afghan women is the direct result of the occupation. The frames that constrained the reading of the connoted message of the images are that of the protection scenario, Orientalism, the clash of civilizations, and the white man’s burden which exist within the overarching themes of the unveiling of Afghan women and their access to the public sphere.Show less
The present thesis situates the animated film In this Corner of the World (2016) within the intersection of collective memory and cultural trauma, and its subtle critique on Japan’s self...Show moreThe present thesis situates the animated film In this Corner of the World (2016) within the intersection of collective memory and cultural trauma, and its subtle critique on Japan’s self-identification as the victim. By doing so, I posit In this Corner of the World within the genre of trauma cinema. Released by renown studio MAPPA, 71 years after Japan’s capitulation at the end of the Pacific War, the film is based upon Kouno Fumiyo’s manga series of the same name (2007-2009) which thematizes the struggles of the yakeato or ‘burnt-out ruins’ generation to survive the war. In this thesis, I will investigate the questions: How do cultural productions reflect on themes of war memory and trauma that are generally avoided by collective memory? And more specifically, how does In this Corner of the World shed a different light on Japan’s struggle for a coherent collective memory and post-war identity? While the war has marked many Japanese films, inter alia the powerful productions of Nakazawa’s Barefoot Gen (1983) and Takahata’s Grave of the Fireflies (1988), I argue that In this Corner of the World presents more than a simple victim narrative: It is the first popular Japanese war film that depicts the perpetrator-victim dichotomy as two sides of a coin. Consequently, I seek to identify a more integral approach to the fragmented war memory in Japan as visualized in MAPPA’s film.Show less
Automation will impact economies in the future by drastically changing the labor market composition, and potentially cause a massive global job loss. In light of this, governments should try to...Show moreAutomation will impact economies in the future by drastically changing the labor market composition, and potentially cause a massive global job loss. In light of this, governments should try to enact policies that can absorb the impacts of automation. One such suggestion is that of a Universal Basic Income, which guarantees individuals a basic monthly income without any conditions. In light of UBI, post-monetarism offers a perspective that connects individuals and social monetary relations, by looking into how elements of society that is connected with money determines the social relationship it has with individuals. Post-monetarism reflects on the interconnections between work, money, and an individual's participation in an economy. Those who attempt to enact UBI policies can benefit from a post-monetarist perspective as it helps to explain the nuances of the elements that connect money and individuals. Work does not only provide monetary compensation for individuals, but they also provide meaning and motivation to participate in society and an economy. UBI has been at the forefront on the political economic discourse regarding automation and its effects on the job market. However, one aspect that is often missing from the discourse is the economic culture that is fostered through the social monetary relations in a society. An example of a case where a post-monetarist perspective is missing and could add more substance to a particular discourse is in the case of Finland's attempt to conduct a study on the effects of UBI. This paper demonstrates that the study in Finland did not provide more substantial results as there was a large knowledge gap between the post-monetarist perspective and the way it sees UBI and the way the UBI policies were enacted in the Finnish study.Show less
This thesis is aimed to demonstrate that the term 'Political Correctness' is more complex than the way that we use it in popular culture indicates. The trivial manner in which this term gets thrown...Show moreThis thesis is aimed to demonstrate that the term 'Political Correctness' is more complex than the way that we use it in popular culture indicates. The trivial manner in which this term gets thrown around in debates, where it triggers tensions on both sides to run high, is an indication of the simplistic manner in which many have regarded the term. We examine where the term ‘political correctness’ originates from, how is has been possible for the term to proliferate in political debates, without it being clearly defined, and what the differences are in perception and usage of the term. Moreover, this thesis provides a deeper analysis on why it this term provokes such polarizing views in those who use it, or have it be used against them.Show less
Through the Shared Cultural Heritage Programmes of the last few decades, the Dutch government uses international cultural exchange for diplomatic ends. To build diplomatic relations despite...Show moreThrough the Shared Cultural Heritage Programmes of the last few decades, the Dutch government uses international cultural exchange for diplomatic ends. To build diplomatic relations despite difficult history and heritage, the Netherlands stress that the history and heritage they share with Indonesia and Suriname is shared and therefore important to preserve. Although this policy is quite successful in Indonesia and partly in Suriname, the heritage diplomacy does not really engage with postcolonial views on 'shared' history.Show less
This thesis sets out to explore the ways in which coverage of President Trump’s border wall in late-night political satire challenges geopolitical representations of Latin America and Mexico. In...Show moreThis thesis sets out to explore the ways in which coverage of President Trump’s border wall in late-night political satire challenges geopolitical representations of Latin America and Mexico. In doing so, it establishes the border wall as a product of securitization practices that were fueled by a constructed geopolitical imagery of Mexico and Latin America. However, the case study shows that televised political satire reshapes this threatening image by desecuritizing the issue of migration. Bringing together critical geopolitics, political satire, and critical security studies, this thesis fills a gap in literature by demonstrating that political satire can, and should, be taken seriously as an object of study for the field of critical geopolitics and International Relations, more broadly.Show less
