This bachelor thesis seeks to identify the relevant actors in the medical and muti markets for organs in South Africa. Firstly a theoretical background is presented, in order to identify the...Show moreThis bachelor thesis seeks to identify the relevant actors in the medical and muti markets for organs in South Africa. Firstly a theoretical background is presented, in order to identify the relevant theories and concepts needed to understand organ markets. A brief overview of the two markets to be compared is also given. This background serves to support the central research question: Who are the relevant actors in the medical and muti markets for organs in South Africa and how do the respective actors interact and how do these interactions flow? A methodology for answering the above question is also presented. The method used in this bachelor thesis consisted of a review of the relevant literature and media sources in order to build an overview of actors in each market. These overviews are then used to construct actor network diagrams for each of the markets. The overviews and diagrams are then discussed. The study has shown that the markets are indeed comparable, and that they share a similar flow of organs. However, the muti market is a decentralized one with a strong linear flow from the source person to the recipient. The medical market on the other hand was found to be a distributed network, with organs and interactions flowing between and through a number of actors rather than from one side to another.Show less
The Early Anglo-Saxons did not split Middle-Earth in continents like we divide the earth now. This thesis will attempt to answer the question of how the influx of Christian and Greco-Latin...Show moreThe Early Anglo-Saxons did not split Middle-Earth in continents like we divide the earth now. This thesis will attempt to answer the question of how the influx of Christian and Greco-Latin literature influences the representation of Africa and Asia in Anglo-Saxon England.Show less
Why are many countries in Africa still underdeveloped? This thesis argues that the enduring political instability is fundamentally caused with the colonial structures inherited from the colonial...Show moreWhy are many countries in Africa still underdeveloped? This thesis argues that the enduring political instability is fundamentally caused with the colonial structures inherited from the colonial power before decolonization. While the African revolution started to liberate themselves from the colonizers, they have not liberated themselves from the colonial systems.Show less
This thesis is in fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of the International Studies Bachelor Program. First, the aim of this thesis is to ascertain the perceived effectiveness of the...Show moreThis thesis is in fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of the International Studies Bachelor Program. First, the aim of this thesis is to ascertain the perceived effectiveness of the 2015 Tanzanian Witchdoctor Ban as a countermeasure to the violence being perpetrated against people with albinism from the standpoint of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Tanzanian Government, and various NGOs actively engaged in the welfare of people with albinism in the region. The second chapter illustrates the state of the art of the literature concerning the Tanzanian societal witchcraft paradigm, status of PWA in traditional culture, occult-legislation, and indicators of legislative efficacy. The third chapter explains the multi-indicator document analysis conducted to determine each actor’s perception of the ban’s efficacy. The fourth chapter relays the results of the analysis, where it was determined that the United Nations Human Rights Council held a neutral perception of the effectiveness of the Witchdoctor Ban, the Tanzanian Government held a positive perception, and the various NGOs held a negative perception. This thesis henceforth concludes with a critical examination of the results and methodology, and a conclusory statement that further research into efficacy indicators and occult-legislation as an institutional countermeasure towards the violence against people with albinism can be facilitated by the foundation built through this research and its accompanied findings.Show less
This thesis examines the relation between post-colonial Kenyan nationalism and ethnicity, and the construction of modern Kenyan identities. It analyses how hybrid identifications are created in...Show moreThis thesis examines the relation between post-colonial Kenyan nationalism and ethnicity, and the construction of modern Kenyan identities. It analyses how hybrid identifications are created in light of a Western colonial education in Kenya, as well as increased urbanisation and Westernisation.Show less
While such a large part of the world is moving towards more acceptance of homosexuality, this seems to not be the case in Uganda or in many other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Which poses the...Show moreWhile such a large part of the world is moving towards more acceptance of homosexuality, this seems to not be the case in Uganda or in many other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Which poses the question “If attitudes towards homosexuality are shifting towards more positivity in the West, why is the opposite happening in Uganda?”.Show less
China has been changing its soft power strategy in Africa since the time of negative media coverage in the early and mid 2000s. A stronger focus is being put on a people-to-people approach of...Show moreChina has been changing its soft power strategy in Africa since the time of negative media coverage in the early and mid 2000s. A stronger focus is being put on a people-to-people approach of interaction, trying to foster stronger personal bonds between Africans and Chinese citizens as well institutions. Education, culture and health care have the strongest positive impact on average African citizens, and China is increasing its efforts in these fields through cooperation agreements.Show less
With the echoes of the 2015 Paris Climate Conference (COP21) still ringing, it is clear the climate change is not just a reality but a series of formalised and not yet formalised threats to life as...Show moreWith the echoes of the 2015 Paris Climate Conference (COP21) still ringing, it is clear the climate change is not just a reality but a series of formalised and not yet formalised threats to life as we know it. Climate change is multi-faceted and complex, a challenge that can only be tackled with multi-levelled cooperation that involves actors from the international to the local levels and leverages new technologies and methodologies to create innovative and sensible adaptation and resilience models. A quote attributed to Albert Einstein sums up the current state of affairs, “Problems cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them”. Big Data can be that new ‘out of the box’ thinking and mythologies that drive and bring about solutions to the most challenging problems that future generations face.In Peace Review, Erin McCandless introduces the Journal of Peacebuilding and Development where she is Chief Editor. She states that the journal’s mission amounts to understanding the “intersections of conflict, development and peace” (McCandless 505). In order to do so, she argues that, there is a need to “firmly question dominant paradigms and conceptual and methodological framings, linking debates to real cases on the ground, and encouraging alternative visions and choices for action” (McCandless 505). The contention here is that Big Data is that critical vantage point that McCandless much seeks after. Big Data can provide the facts through numbers and correlations than can provide the counter-arguments to much acclaimed traditional patterns of thought by providing the raw data collected on the ground.Show less
China claims to be one of the main followers and protectors of the principles of non-interference and sovereignty. It often invokes these principles either in order to protect itself from...Show moreChina claims to be one of the main followers and protectors of the principles of non-interference and sovereignty. It often invokes these principles either in order to protect itself from interference from Western states, or to defend its alternative approach to aid engagement in African countries (Pang 244-245). However, China also violates the principle of non-interference by putting conditions on other countries’ internal affairs, such as demanding that the government does not support issues that China is against, in return for its continued bilateral cooperation. Therefore, China’s foreign policy approaches and especially its use of conditionality seem contradicting. Such contradicting foreign policy approaches can be challenging to understand and counter for other states if the motivations are not known. The academic debate on China’s use of conditionality and foreign policy in general has failed to take into account a wide enough range of foreign policy approaches, something I attempt to do in my paper.Show less
Research master thesis | Political Science and Public Administration (research) (MSc)
open access
2017-08-01T00:00:00Z
Since the proliferation of democratizing countries in Africa, ethnic conflict has also increased. One of the explanations for this phenomenon is that ethnicity become politicized when democratic...Show moreSince the proliferation of democratizing countries in Africa, ethnic conflict has also increased. One of the explanations for this phenomenon is that ethnicity become politicized when democratic institutions are installed, and ethnic cleavages are widened, creating more conflict. In order to temper conflict and stabilize the democratization process it is sometimes needed to use undemocratic tools, such as party bans. While sometimes banning an ethnic party leads to less conflict, sometimes it also leads to more. This thesis will explain how a party ban will decrease conflict when it is based on old, existing law or regulation and accompanied by other institutional arrangements giving incentives for inter-ethnic cooperation and promote cross-cutting cleavages. Two cases of party bans in Mauritania and two cases in Nigeria are used to explain the mechanism of the causal effect between party ban and conflict level.Show less
Advanced master thesis | Political Science (Advanced Master)
open access
The concept of reconciliation has been researched often by scholars. Reconciliation is part of the post-conflict reconstruction strategy and the process is mostly seen by scholars as a relevant and...Show moreThe concept of reconciliation has been researched often by scholars. Reconciliation is part of the post-conflict reconstruction strategy and the process is mostly seen by scholars as a relevant and wanted process. However, is that the case in reality? The question researched here is: why do governments engage in national post-conflict reconciliation strategies? This study reviews two post-conflict situations where a reconciliation process was initiated; Rwanda and Sierra Leone. We aim to determine on what factors governments base their choices regarding reconciliation. The cases are examined from a legalist and pragmatist approach. Legalists argue that states choose reconciliation and justice because they believe in the international norms it represents, because they believe in the preventive and deterrent effect of justice and the educational example it can be. Pragmatists however, argue that states choose reconciliation on the basis of self-interest and the distribution of political power. They also argue that states not always believe in the necessity of reconciliation and acknowledge the usefulness of amnesties. The cases of Rwanda and Sierra Leone demonstrate that the choice for reconciliation cannot be fully explained from the legalist approach but are better understood from the pragmatist point of view. Both situations show that the choice of a state for reconciliation is based on different factors that can be summarized as the concept ´the politics of reconciliation´. The government of Rwanda uses the fear of the population for a future genocide in order to keep tight control over the country. The reconciliation initiatives are used to keep track of anything that is going on in society that could be a potential threat and to teach the RPF ideology in order to keep a firm grip on political power. Sierra Leone is influenced by the international community that demands post-conflict reconciliation. It has been argued that one of the origins of the Sierra Leone conflict was poverty and the country has the desire to reconstruct its economy for which a high amount of external investment is needed. These reasons fit within the idea of pragmatists, that actors base their choices upon self-interests, in these cases ensuring political power and attracting external investment.Show less
