In order to identify why the British government continues their support for the Saudi military operations in the Yemen War, this research focuses on three major British policy areas: (geo)politics,...Show moreIn order to identify why the British government continues their support for the Saudi military operations in the Yemen War, this research focuses on three major British policy areas: (geo)politics, security, and economics. British geopolitical interests in backing the Saudi military operations in Yemen focus on expanding their own regional influence in the Middle East. British relations with Iran influences the British strategy towards the Yemen War, as this was is perceived to be a proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia, in which the UK engages in substitution warfare to counteract the enlargement of the Iranian sphere of influence. Further security interest of the UK to continue their support for Saudi Arabia in Yemen is to counteract the terrorist presence of the AQAP in Yemen, which fits into a wider trend of British counterterrorism policy. Furthermore, British arms sales to the Saudi army play a role in British security as well as economic interests in the Yemen War. The contested British arms sales to Saudi are continued both to strengthen the Saudi military power and to benefit from the lucrative military arms market. Lastly, this research discusses the influence of the oil market on the British determination to continue their support for Saudi Arabia in the Yemen War, relating to energy security facilitated by Saudi oil.Show less
The linguistic-ideological division between Wallonia and Flanders is institutionalized through the principle of monolingual territoriality within federalism in Belgium. The disaggregating nature of...Show moreThe linguistic-ideological division between Wallonia and Flanders is institutionalized through the principle of monolingual territoriality within federalism in Belgium. The disaggregating nature of the federalization processes is substantiated by the ideological-linguistic differences between the subnational groups, in efforts to mitigate such differences. In a globalizing world, these motivations have been tested through empirical data involving a sample population of students in Flanders. The language use and language knowledge of these students showed that, the acquirement of plurilingualism is increasing, involving the use of English as an international language prominently. Interestingly, monolingual territoriality is a protecting institutionalization of the monolingual language ideology in Belgium. Rather than an outdated perspective that plurilingualism is a threat, the acquirement of English could form a mitigating mechanism across the borders within and outside Belgium.Show less
With approximately 19.8 million copies sold, Call of Duty: WWII is the most popular WWII first-person shooter video game of all time. Given its popularity, the way the developers portray WWII is...Show moreWith approximately 19.8 million copies sold, Call of Duty: WWII is the most popular WWII first-person shooter video game of all time. Given its popularity, the way the developers portray WWII is crucial to consider as studies have shown that information in fictional messages has the ability to alter people's perspectives. This is especially true when it comes to narratives provided within single player experiences. Therefore, this thesis provides a qualitative content analysis of the single player campaign mode in Call of Duty: WWII and focuses on narrative elements including conflict/theater of war, locations, player character, friendly non-playable characters, enemy characters and interactable objects. The analysis concludes that the game presents a narrow and US centric view of WWII. However, weapons, equipment, vehicles and locations were found to be represented historically accurately with a substantial amount of detail. Furthermore, it was discovered that the primary cast had been heroized, which can result in a romanticized interpretation of the conflictShow less
This thesis makes use of framing theory in order to analyze and evaluate the ways in which the media reported on the 'migrant crisis' in both the year 2015 and the year 2022. The investigation is...Show moreThis thesis makes use of framing theory in order to analyze and evaluate the ways in which the media reported on the 'migrant crisis' in both the year 2015 and the year 2022. The investigation is conducted in the form of a case study that investigates, in great detail, how the German quality daily newspaper 'Die Süddeutsche Zeitung' covered the two crises. As a result of Germany's prominent participation in both crises and its continued ability to influence European policy responses, particularly in 2015, the country was selected as the focus of the case study. The idea of framing indicates that there is a direct relationship between the way an issue is portrayed in the media and the impact that it may have on public opinion. As the number of people migrating into the European Union continues to rise, the subject of migration and the media is becoming an increasingly important issue. For this reason, it is essential to have a solid understanding of how the media organizes information and how it did so throughout these two crises. This will allow one to determine whether or not there were any changes and, if so, what those differences may have been caused by.Show less
This paper seeks to find out commonalities within the foreign policy of populist governments. This paper will explore populism from various angles and contextualize it within the sphere of...Show moreThis paper seeks to find out commonalities within the foreign policy of populist governments. This paper will explore populism from various angles and contextualize it within the sphere of international politics. Populism is often seen as a reaction to globalization and the eroding of national sovereignty, which will be shown by the case examples of Hungary and Turkey. This paper finds that how much 'populist' populists' foreign policy depends on the underlying thicker ideology, not just populism alone.Show less
This thesis delves into how social movements mobilize participants to protest on a large scale. Recently, climate protests have expanded to a global scale. In September 2019, social movements like...Show moreThis thesis delves into how social movements mobilize participants to protest on a large scale. Recently, climate protests have expanded to a global scale. In September 2019, social movements like FridaysForFuture and Extinction Rebellion mobilized an unprecedented number of youths to engage in climate protest action. This research focuses on Extinction Rebellion, due to their radical action and global appeal, and investigates their mobilization media in the form of E-mail newsletters available on their online archive. The methodology is theoretically inspired by Grounded Theory; systematically codes selected newsletters to identify frames employed by Extinction Rebellion and discusses how they are utilized to mobilize the youthShow less
Film has the power to influence the worldview of its audience. This includes shaping the image of countries by including them on the silver screen. Through a case study of five Hollywood films from...Show moreFilm has the power to influence the worldview of its audience. This includes shaping the image of countries by including them on the silver screen. Through a case study of five Hollywood films from the 1970s and 2010s, this thesis takes a diachronic in exploring how the Netherlands is represented in American cinema. The concept of verisimilitude is used to determine how well the images of the Netherlands in the movies correspond to the perception of the country from a Dutch person’s perspective. The main points of focus in the analysis are the environment and people. In these sections, it is evident that the inclusion of traditional clothing and landmarks such as windmills is better contextualised in the older films than in the newer ones. In general, when comparing the results between the films from the different decades, it can be concluded that the degree of verisimilitude is relatively higher in the 1970s. In other words, the representation of the Netherlands in American film has become more stereotypical in recent years.Show less
