Voting is the cornerstone of democratic participation, allowing citizens to choose their leadership and shape government policy. However, since the 1990s, voter turnout has been declining, leading...Show moreVoting is the cornerstone of democratic participation, allowing citizens to choose their leadership and shape government policy. However, since the 1990s, voter turnout has been declining, leading to the question of why some people vote and others do not. While existing research has explored various factors influencing voter turnout, the impact of essential human needs has been underexplored. To address this gap, I investigate how food insecurity influences voter turnout, focusing on the mediating role of education. The theorised idea is that food insecurity creates economic stress and limits opportunities, which, in turn, negatively impacts education levels. Disparities in education can reduce political interest and knowledge, arguably leading to lower voter turnout. I employ theory testing process tracing to identify evidence for the constructed causal mechanism. Comparative case studies of Mali and Ghana, states with similar food security levels but varying education levels and voter turnout, will be conducted to explain this complex relationship. The results show the impact of food insecurity on education and voter turnout, revealing variations in school enrolment despite similar economic hardships. The research highlights the complex relationship between food security, education, and electoral participation, emphasising the need for a broader approach to socioeconomic factors to explain electoral participation.Show less
Ever since the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997, China has been amassing foreign exchange reserves. Since 2007 it has been strategically deploying these reserves internationally to buy foreign assets...Show moreEver since the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997, China has been amassing foreign exchange reserves. Since 2007 it has been strategically deploying these reserves internationally to buy foreign assets using so-called Sovereign Leveraged Funds. Some scholars claim most of these investments were not part of a well-defined grand strategy, but a crisis-induced necessity. Others claim it was part of a grand strategy. There is, however, a consensus on both sides that the Silk Road Fund indeed has a strategic goal, but theoretical justification for this consensus is lacking. Using the case of the investment in the Port of Rotterdam, which is part of the Silk Road Fund, I research whether the leveraging of foreign exchange reserves can be explained by combining the theories of economic statecraft and geoeconomics in order to address implications that can be drawn from this. The findings indicate that the Chinese state is hiding behind commercial actors, and simultaneously aligning the commercial and strategic interests to gain strategic power internationally, aided using the leveraging of foreign exchange reserves.Show less
Scholars tend to agree that moderation of radical groups stems from inclusionary tactics in the democratic process. However, there is evidence that counterinsurgency measures and exclusion could...Show moreScholars tend to agree that moderation of radical groups stems from inclusionary tactics in the democratic process. However, there is evidence that counterinsurgency measures and exclusion could also facilitate moderation. Therefore, this paper asks: ‘How do foreign counterinsurgency measures facilitate moderation of radical groups?’ The case study of the Lebanese Islamist group Hizballah, the Party of God, will be used to test the theory on collective angst, fear, and survival concerns resulting from counterinsurgency measures. Through a qualitative approach of applying process tracing to primary and secondary sources, this paper finds support for the argument that collective angst as a result of foreign counterinsurgency results in radical groups moderating their ideology.Show less
Based on the theory of strategic silence, this paper analyzes the mobilization of social movements in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, following 2022 presidential elections and the unexpected silence of...Show moreBased on the theory of strategic silence, this paper analyzes the mobilization of social movements in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, following 2022 presidential elections and the unexpected silence of President Bolsonaro about his loss. The objective of this paper is to understand the degree to which silence influence collective mobilization. By drawing on social movements theory and political strategic silence theory, this paper creates a theoretical model to test the effects of silence, thus challenging a long existing notion that the effects of silence cannot be studied due to the difficulty in establishing casual links. A qualitative case study allied with semi-structured interviews of 8 protest leaders are used to test the theoretical model and understand the extent to which Bolsonaro’s silence played a part in their decision to mobilize. This paper finds that political strategic silence may increase the likelihood of mobilization when political opportunity, perceived threats and framing are also present.Show less
Why do some rebel groups engage in inclusive forms of rebel governance by including local citizens in political decision-making processes whereas other groups rule more independently and focus on...Show moreWhy do some rebel groups engage in inclusive forms of rebel governance by including local citizens in political decision-making processes whereas other groups rule more independently and focus on little more than security and funding their rebellion? I argue that the level of inclusiveness of civilians in rebel governance depends on the group’s reliance on lootable natural resources. Rebel groups that rely on these resources are less dependent on the civilian population for support and therefore less likely to include them in the governing process. To test this hypothesis, I combine newly available quantitative data on rebel governance with existing data on the presence of natural resources. In doing so, I attempt to bridge the fields of natural resources and rebel governance. The analysis finds no support for the hypothesis, lootable natural resources show to have a positive influence on the level of rebel governance inclusiveness. The findings have implications for both academics and policy makers.Show less
In a world where authoritarian regimes have become increasingly pervasive, digital surveillance has become a primary tool for maintaining control over citizens. Despite the public's awareness of...Show moreIn a world where authoritarian regimes have become increasingly pervasive, digital surveillance has become a primary tool for maintaining control over citizens. Despite the public's awareness of digital surveillance and its potential to limit freedom of expression and assembly, citizens of authoritarian regimes continue to organize and participate in public demonstrations in order to express their grievances. This paper therefore examines the extent to which digital surveillance influences citizens’ participation in public protests in authoritarian regimes, and how citizens cope with the limits imposed by such technologies. Combining existing scholarship with an examination of the case of China and the development of its ‘Golden Shield’, this study contends that digital surveillance succeeds in reducing public participation in demonstrations through creating a ‘chilling effect’ and causing widespread fear of physical retribution. It finds that citizens make use of a variety of strategies to mitigate the risk of digital surveillance through employing creative methods of censorship circumvention and evasion, although the longevity of such methods remains unclear. Process tracing is used to evaluate the key causal mechanisms associated with the developed “Digital Panopticon” theory. The paper concludes by discussing the wider socio-political implications of the findings.Show less
This paper examines online newspaper articles related to the Covid-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, in order to analyse how the political affiliation of said newspapers influence which frames...Show moreThis paper examines online newspaper articles related to the Covid-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, in order to analyse how the political affiliation of said newspapers influence which frames they choose to employ. Drawing on framing theory, this thesis analyses 50 articles that were published by a conservative newspaper and 50 articles that were published by a liberal newspaper. The data consists of 100 articles that were published by The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph between 1 January 2020 and 1 March 2022. Content analysis is used to identify the different frames, such as economic or health-related frames, in order to establish a connection between certain frames and the political affiliation of the paper. Furthermore does this paper aim to assess the media’s role in the policy cycle. The main findings of this paper were that 44% of the analysed articles use the Health Risk Frame while 24% used the Economic Frame and 32% used neither. The Health Risk Frame was used more often by the liberal Guardian (29 times) and The Economic Frame was used more often by the conservative Telegraph (13 times). Additionally, these findings suggest that media framing can play a crucial role in the agenda-setting and evaluation part of the policy cycleShow less
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) may be supporting the violation of the UN Charter and Geneva Conventions constituted by the illegal occupation of Western Sahara...Show moreThe United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) may be supporting the violation of the UN Charter and Geneva Conventions constituted by the illegal occupation of Western Sahara by accepting extraterritorial nationally determined contributions (NDC) reports. Through the use of theory-testing process-tracing, this thesis investigates why the UNFCCC’s acceptance of extraterritorial NDC reports might influence the legitimacy of occupations. By conducting a case study of Morocco, the theoretical argument of this thesis is developed: Occupying powers seek legitimacy over their occupation by partaking in international organization processes which subsequently are approved by the international organization. This approval dissuades other states from objecting to the occupation and attempts to legitimate it, thereby perpetuating the status-quo which ultimately increases the external sovereignty of the occupation. By evaluating NDC reports, reports by the Western Sahara Resource Watch, and speeches at the UNFCCC, this study has identified the presence of the causal mechanism. Hence, this thesis contributes to the scholarly literature by addressing the influence that international organizations have on the legitimacy of occupations, a field that so far has gained little attention in academia.Show less
China’s dominance in the rare earth elements (REE) market and the growing importance of applications of REE are grounds for concern about the security of the supply chain of REE. Although...Show moreChina’s dominance in the rare earth elements (REE) market and the growing importance of applications of REE are grounds for concern about the security of the supply chain of REE. Although multilateral cooperation could mitigate the supply security problems on the REE market, only little multilateral cooperation takes place on REE, with existing literature on other natural resources suggesting that securitisation might impact the willingness of states to cooperate. Therefore, this thesis poses the question: ‘How does the securitisation of REE by states impact multilateral cooperation?’ Through discourse and document analysis of the case study of Australia, it argues that in this case the securitisation of REE is accompanied by multilateral cooperation that is towards the middle of the spectrum from soft to hard law. This study provides further supports that multilateral cooperation in the area of REE is limited.Show less
The literature on women in state-rebel peace negotiations has profusely tackled women’s roles in peace processes. It has also overwhelmingly focused on women's formal or informal involvement at the...Show moreThe literature on women in state-rebel peace negotiations has profusely tackled women’s roles in peace processes. It has also overwhelmingly focused on women's formal or informal involvement at the negotiation table. However, it has underexplored the impact of guerrilla women on negotiations. More strikingly, very few studies have explored the link between women’s presence in the ranks of a rebel group and negotiations between the state and that rebel group. To address this gap, process tracing is used in the Salvadoran civil war (1979-1992) to answer the following question: how does the presence of women in a rebel group impact peace negotiations between the state and that rebel group? I argue that the presence of women in a rebel group makes the state willing to initiate negotiations. In fact, a rebel group that recruits women establishes a bond with the local population and enhances its reputation among external audiences that value gender equality. This, in turn, strengthens the rebel group’s position vis-à-vis the state, especially if the latter is indiscriminately violent towards civilians. The empirical findings match the theoretical expectations. This study has notable implications for scholarship and policy because it adds to the literature on intra-state negotiations and highlights the importance of considering the challenges of guerrilla women when framing the peace process.Show less
This article seeks to address increasing concerns about the resurgence of US far-right groups in the wake of the January 6th Insurrection (2021) by studying an unexamined, nascent but influential,...Show moreThis article seeks to address increasing concerns about the resurgence of US far-right groups in the wake of the January 6th Insurrection (2021) by studying an unexamined, nascent but influential, far-right group known as the National Justice Party (NJP). Examining the NJP’s discourses provides both a better understanding of new developments within the far-right, as well as knowledge of how best to counter them. By applying the discourse-historical approach, it was found that the NJP’s discourses are partially in established literature as it relates to far-right ideological influences and the structure of its discourses. The NJP is partially outside of it for its novel systemization of what it calls ‘the anti-white system.’ This system causes whites to be systematically disadvantaged by elite Jews for advantage or profit. The anti-semitic scapegoating in addition to other contextual factors, suggest that the NJP is motivated by the increasing economic precarity and racial polarization in the country. This study contributes to the established literature by addressing a modest gap, and offers some policies to neutralize the appeals of the NJP’s discourses.Show less
This study aims to probe China’s attitudes toward Taiwan. The current literature contrasts two ideas. Realism argues that Taiwan is strategically important to China. Constructivism contends that as...Show moreThis study aims to probe China’s attitudes toward Taiwan. The current literature contrasts two ideas. Realism argues that Taiwan is strategically important to China. Constructivism contends that as fewer Taiwanese identify themselves as Chinese, China moderates its attitudes toward Taiwan. However, China should have annexed Taiwan according to realism, or keep the moderate attitude as Taiwanese people recognize as Chinese less. This study attempts to explain China’s attitudes by role theory. By investigating Message to Compatriots in Taiwan from 1958 to 2019, this thesis offers a comprehensive presentation of China’s attitude. In conclusion, China has taken a more identity-based than a relationship based role.Show less
