The multicultural landscape within most countries has led to a rich tapestry of cultures and ethnicities, with generations of immigrants navigating the complexities of reconciling their heritage...Show moreThe multicultural landscape within most countries has led to a rich tapestry of cultures and ethnicities, with generations of immigrants navigating the complexities of reconciling their heritage culture with their current society. This research delves into the construction of ethnic identity among different generations of migrants, by focusing on the Portuguese community in Toronto, Canada. By exploring the experiences of different generations of migrants, this study aims to answer the following question: How do different generations of migrants construct their ethnic identity? Through thematic analysis and in-depth interviews, this research will explore the intricate dynamics of ethnic identity formation, examining the themes of identity, ethnic identity, cultural heritage and identity. The findings reveal nuanced patterns, showcasing how community involvement impacts belonging across generations. Multiculturalism's influence on first-generation immigrants is highlighted, emphasizing its role in their decision-making process of which country to migrate to. The study uncovers layered ethnic identities among second- and third-generation migrants, influenced by pivotal experiences and opportunities. The dynamics of cultural heritage connections, predominantly through vocabulary, are analyzed, showcasing how they vary across generations. Third-generation migrants achieve comprehensive integration, contrasting with variations for the first- and second-generations. All in all, this paper concludes by advocating for a nuanced understanding of these complexities in discussions on ethnic identity, urging policymakers and scholars to recognize and address the unique challenges faced by different migrant generations in their pursuit of belonging and integration.Show less
The banning of religious dress, such as the burqa, has sparked much debate over the last two decades. While secularism is a concept most countries committed to liberal values engage with, at least...Show moreThe banning of religious dress, such as the burqa, has sparked much debate over the last two decades. While secularism is a concept most countries committed to liberal values engage with, at least on the perspective of religious freedom, only some countries have formally applied it. France has been legally bound to secularism since 1905 and strongly maintains this stance, issuing the broadest restrictions on religiosity in public under its laïcité model. Although secularism has historically been associated with the Christian tradition, having come out of Enlightenment thought, its modern use seems to affect other religious communities to a greater extent, which has come with much criticism from the affected communities. This paper examines how the application of secularism interplays with the theory of religious decolonisation, in the context of a single-case study analysis of France. Through the use of qualitative content analysis the French government’s exposition of their secularism, laïcité, this paper has found a negative or non-consequential interplay between both concepts.Show less
Right-wing populist parties have been known for their illiberal positions on gender issues, and their recent critique of the rising “gender ideology”. What is puzzling, however, is an unexpected...Show moreRight-wing populist parties have been known for their illiberal positions on gender issues, and their recent critique of the rising “gender ideology”. What is puzzling, however, is an unexpected emphasis on issues related to gender typically ignored by these right-wing populist parties in their discourses and agendas. To explore the reasons behind these contradicting trends, this thesis aims to examine how right-wing populist parties are integrating gender into their discourse. The typical right-wing populist Dutch Freedom Party (PVV) will be the main research objective and a content analysis has been used to analyse their Tweets. The main finding in this thesis is that the adoption of liberal stances by the PVV demonstrated through a positive commitment to gender equality, looks like a strategic tool for promoting an anti-Islam and anti-migration agenda. Moreover, the conservative stances of the PVV towards the broader concept of gender, including diverse gender identities, the integration of gender in institutions and gender studies, can be explained by the “gender ideology”. The anti-elite element of the right-wing populist ideology is evident in the data, as the PVV consistently attributes the perceived problems with diversity and multicultural policies to elitist actors.Show less
Research master thesis | Political Science and Public Administration (research) (MSc)
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The thesis examines European Union (EU) policies to address the gender pay gap (GPG) from 2006-2020. A detailed analysis of legislative and policy documents reveals the EU's active role in...Show moreThe thesis examines European Union (EU) policies to address the gender pay gap (GPG) from 2006-2020. A detailed analysis of legislative and policy documents reveals the EU's active role in promoting equal pay. The policies mainly reflect Human Capital Theory, Discrimination Theory, and Occupational Segregation Theory. The proposed actions aim to maximise women's human capital, address gender discrimination and overcome occupational segregation. However, the study identifies limitations in the conceptual frameworks, universalist approach, and lack of continuous monitoring. The research suggests the need for more specific policies, considering the diversity of women's needs, as well as dynamic monitoring mechanisms to adapt to the changing dynamics of the GPG. The thesis also challenges the limited definition of gender equality and suggests exploring additional factors to understand GPG comprehensively. In conclusion, while acknowledging the EU's commitment, the analysis reveals the need to evolve beyond traditional theories to address GPG more effectively.Show less
This research focused on analysing the behaviour of ethnic leaders in autocratic ethnofederal regimes during changing economic situations of economic growth and contraction and in changing...Show moreThis research focused on analysing the behaviour of ethnic leaders in autocratic ethnofederal regimes during changing economic situations of economic growth and contraction and in changing political landscape of democratization and autocratization. More specifically, the focus was on the Russian Federation and its two ethnic republics: Republic Sakha and the Republic of Chuvashia. The cases were picked to represent a wealthy and a poor region of Russia. The analysis was conducted through qualitative content analysis of primary sourced speeches and secondary sourced interpretations of speeches given by ethnic elites such as heads of the republic, other political figures, or important business elites. The analysis was organized into two periods of democratization 1997-2000 and autocratization 2008-2011, and 4 sub-periods: 1997-1998 and 2008-2009 (economic contraction periods), and 1999-2000 and 2010-2011 (economic growth periods). The results found that Sakha as the wealthier republic is generally more secessionist during periods of economic contraction during both democratization and autocratization. Support was also found for the expectation that ethnic elites will prove more secessionist during democratization periods.Show less
Migration ethics has its strongest implications on the particularly vulnerable population of undocumented migrants. In philosophy, decolonial conceptions of migration ethics have surfaced as a...Show moreMigration ethics has its strongest implications on the particularly vulnerable population of undocumented migrants. In philosophy, decolonial conceptions of migration ethics have surfaced as a counterargument to the hegemonic canon of migration ethics, with the latter approaches focusing on the extent of a state’s right to regulate its borders and the former approaches undermining this state right to exclusion in order to uplift the rights of the migrant. In legal practice, the theory of the Strasbourg reversal argues that the ECtHR, the judicial human rights body representing the European states of the Global North, has an inclination to side with the state in its rulings, whilst the IACHR, the human rights court representing the Latin American states of the Global South, has a pro-homine bias. This study conducted a discourse analysis of a legal ruling from each court pertaining to undocumented migrants to explore the extent that decision-making in verdicts towards undocumented migrants is influenced by coloniality in migration ethics, through either a hegemonic or decolonial conception of migration ethics. The results show that the ECtHR is influenced by the hegemonic discourse and the IACHR is influenced by the decolonial discourse, although there remains room for even more decolonial radicality.Show less
How do populist political achievements impact political party discourse on the issue of immigration? The twenty-first century has seen the rise of populist parties and their countless political...Show moreHow do populist political achievements impact political party discourse on the issue of immigration? The twenty-first century has seen the rise of populist parties and their countless political successes across Europe. Despite this resurging phenomenon, few studies have directly focused on the relationship between these populist party victories and the discourse of traditional party politics. This study conducted a content analysis of the manifestos, speeches, and statements from the Labour and Conservative parties in the United Kingdom. It explored whether the populist victory of Brexit changed the way mainstream parties discussed the topic of immigration. Utilising group threat and framing theory as the basis for the theoretical framework, the results show that following the Brexit referendum both the Conservative and Labour party’s saw a decrease in anti-immigrant sentiments in their political discourse which was reflected in their political frames.Show less
This study examines the impact of African Youth Activists (AYAs) at last year's Conference of the Parties (COP27). Despite being disproportionately affected by climate change, marginalized groups,...Show moreThis study examines the impact of African Youth Activists (AYAs) at last year's Conference of the Parties (COP27). Despite being disproportionately affected by climate change, marginalized groups, such as AYAs, often face challenges in having their voices adequately heard due to underlying structures that favor countries and non-governmental organizations from the Global North. The Political Opportunity Structure can be used to examine whether AYAs have opportunities to make a difference in a system. This involves evaluating whether there are entry points for new actors to enter the political process and whether the existing mechanisms within the system effectively accommodate and integrate new perspectives. To explore this, the study conducted 12 semi-structured interviews with AYAs to investigate how the existing power relations at COP impact their participation. The perception of AYAs on power relations and their opportunities for intervention provide insights into their reality and how they navigate the structural aspects of the political process. The findings of this research can be used to find places to intervene in the UNFCCC- system and improve activists' work at COPs in the future.Show less
Groups working within the same contested issue-area often make different claims although they are working within the same cause. This research explores this phenomenon by comparing two Palestinian...Show moreGroups working within the same contested issue-area often make different claims although they are working within the same cause. This research explores this phenomenon by comparing two Palestinian rights advocacy groups in the Netherlands and explaining their claim-making strategies through the framework of political context which is measured in terms of institutional access, alliance structure, and conflict structure. This case is chosen as it examines a contested issue within a political environment that has historically proven to be hostile towards it. This study argues that the political context of a group plays a key role in determining whether they employ an inside- oriented or outside-oriented claim-making strategy. Through a qualitative comparative analysis, this research has demonstrated that, with consideration to other possible explanations, differing political contexts lead to divergent claim-making strategies for advocacy groups despite their similar characteristics. Additionally, while the political context shapes the claim-making strategy, this does not diminish group agency.Show less
International climate finance (ICF) is part of a broader climate justice movement, which is concerned with the tension that while the developed states in the Global North pollute the most, the...Show moreInternational climate finance (ICF) is part of a broader climate justice movement, which is concerned with the tension that while the developed states in the Global North pollute the most, the developing states in the Global South have to bear the consequences. ICF not only aims at reducing emissions, but mostly focuses on reducing the vulnerability of populations in developing states, through financial transfers from the Global North to the Global South. Climate justice movements insist on bottom-up policymaking, whereby power is handed back to non-state actors (NSAs) from the Global South. While the role of NSAs in international climate policies has been researched, their role in the specific finance programmes has been largely overlooked up until now. This paper therefore tries to contribute to the field through researching what role NSAs play in the design, implementation and evaluation of ICF programmes. This is done on the basis of content analysis of four of the United Nation’s climate financing programmes as part of its Green Climate Fund (GCF). This research concludes that the role of communities is only limited in the design and implementation stage, but much more present in the evaluation stage. The projects still have a very top-down focus and the involvement of the communities is hampered because of cultural and practical reasons. Strict objectives help to formalise the involvement of communities. While models of democratic pluralism and functionalism are already in place, a neocorporatist model could help the GCF to overcome difficulties in involving NSAs and to make their policies more effective and legitimate.Show less
Does the intergenerational majority narrative of conflicts affect the exclusion of ethnic and religious minorities in Bangladesh? This thesis argues that while learning from majority group...Show moreDoes the intergenerational majority narrative of conflicts affect the exclusion of ethnic and religious minorities in Bangladesh? This thesis argues that while learning from majority group narratives which centre Bengali and Muslim stories might produce more exclusionary attitudes, critical memory studies is not sufficient in building an inclusive society in a state with weak and corrupt institutions. While the main explanatory variable is sources of transmission of conflict narratives, this research also examines other variables such as minority contact, proximity to conflict, and level of victimisation. Using primary data in the form of both a survey and focus group discussion, this research uses mixed-methods analysis to explore which factors result in more exclusionary attitudes by the Bengali Muslim majority in Bangladesh.Show less
Sons of the Soil (SoS) conflict refers to clashes between indigenous and migrant populations from state-sponsored population resettlement schemes (Fearon & Laitin, 2011; Weiner, 1978)....Show moreSons of the Soil (SoS) conflict refers to clashes between indigenous and migrant populations from state-sponsored population resettlement schemes (Fearon & Laitin, 2011; Weiner, 1978). Socioeconomic competition and horizontal inequalities (HIs) play a fundamental role in fomenting grievances between ethnic groups (Cederman et al., 2011). Through the use of theory-testing process tracing, this thesis aims to contribute to the understanding of the role socioeconomic HIs play in the emergence, progression and outcome of SoS conflict. This paper will show how in the case of Myanmar, the politicisation of HIs, precipitants, ethnic riots, rumours, state involvement and pogroms underpin the evolution of the June and October 2012 communal conflict between the Muslim Rohingya and Rakhine Buddhists culminating in the pogroms of August 2017. The paper will perform a qualitative assessment of state policies, human rights reports and media publications to map the politicisation of HIs and the subsequent onset of communal conflict. It concludes that longstanding socioeconomic competition between ethnic groups in the background, amplified by the politicisation of socioeconomic and demographic HIs in the foreground is fundamental to the onset of SoS conflict.Show less
After almost thirty years of conflict and 3000 fatalities, the Northern Ireland peace agreement promised peace. However, while there was a significant reduction in violence, the post-peace years...Show moreAfter almost thirty years of conflict and 3000 fatalities, the Northern Ireland peace agreement promised peace. However, while there was a significant reduction in violence, the post-peace years were marked by increasing polarisation, low-level sectarian violence and outbreaks of rioting and unrest. The most recent outbreak was in Spring 2021 and is the case-study for this research. Using content-analysis of newspaper articles and interviews with local actors, this research investigates the relationship between ethnonational and socioeconomic grievances in violent collective action in Northern Ireland. It found that decremental and aspirational deprivation were present as grievances in the Spring 2021 riots, and further shows the impact of socioeconomic grievances on this instance of ethnonational collective action.Show less
