The US embargo against Cuba is the longest-running economic sanctions package that has ever been implemented. This thesis analyses the factors influencing the effectiveness of sanctions in the US...Show moreThe US embargo against Cuba is the longest-running economic sanctions package that has ever been implemented. This thesis analyses the factors influencing the effectiveness of sanctions in the US-Cuba case.Show less
Cuba's alignement with the Soviet Union during the Cold War is often regarded as a dependency on the part of Cuba. However, while this may be largely true in the economic and security domains,...Show moreCuba's alignement with the Soviet Union during the Cold War is often regarded as a dependency on the part of Cuba. However, while this may be largely true in the economic and security domains, different viewpoints can certainly be elaborated in terms of politics. This thesis will show that under certain circumstances Cuba was able to influence Soviet policies, suggesting that Cuba was a Super Client.Show less
The Ebola outbreak revealed that despite decades of restructuring, fundamental problems still exist within African (public) healthcare sectors. Several actors are now engaged in the African health...Show moreThe Ebola outbreak revealed that despite decades of restructuring, fundamental problems still exist within African (public) healthcare sectors. Several actors are now engaged in the African health sector, including traditional partners from the Global North, the private sector and increasingly more partners from the Global South. This thesis examines in what ways Cuba's and China's development cooperation with Ebola-affected states in the 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic reflect an approach to leverage sustainable donor-driven health interventions in crisis settings. Based on a review of the literature on the sustainability of health interventions in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), a tailored framework was developed for short-term health interventions in crisis settings. This framework revolves around four aspects of analysis: 1. intervention of development partners and organisational setting, 2. stakeholder involvement and context awareness, 3. performance and flexibility and 4. sustainability. A between-case analysis of Cuba's and China's health interventions in the Ebola-affected states suggests that their interventions can be considered semi-sustainable. The analysis confirms that any intervention intended for the short-term in a public health crisis should be beneficial for the long-term. This thesis further discusses the benefits and challenges encountered by both development partners in SSA. The results also suggest that health systems strengthening in SSA require better coordination of aid towards the direct health needs of African people and a more holistic approach to health.Show less
“Will you marry me? (I need a European passport” is a quote written on a wall in London which shows a specific type regarding migration. Migration, a term that is greatly covered in academic...Show more“Will you marry me? (I need a European passport” is a quote written on a wall in London which shows a specific type regarding migration. Migration, a term that is greatly covered in academic research. There are many theories that attempt to define migration, as it appeared to be a complex study as no theory in itself explains the motivations behind migration. However, in contemporary literature on migration, labour migration is often prioritised over marriage migration, which is a subject that has received a lesser amount of attention when it comes to migration studies. This thesis deals with the phenomenon of marriage migration focussing on Cuban men with foreign women. Cuba’s history since the revolution of 1959 has shaped the island to its contemporary situation where tourism has been booming in the last three decades. This happened after the collapse of the Soviet Union and gave rise to migration through marriage, a phenomenon that has become well-known on the island throughout the years.Show less
US foreign policy after the Cuban Revolution changed the way that the Cuban nation legitimated itself, which in turn influenced its national interests, and the way it interacted with other states...Show moreUS foreign policy after the Cuban Revolution changed the way that the Cuban nation legitimated itself, which in turn influenced its national interests, and the way it interacted with other states on an international level. This thesis and its following research contextualizes itself in the Cold War era - in 1959 after the Cuban Revolution up until recent history - and examines the key concepts of legitimacy, national security, and foreign policy while investigating their specificities in regards to the Cuban state. It also attempts to understand how political struggle with the US has shaped these things, and has forced the Cuban state to adapt. The first chapter introduces the key concepts, and provides a theoretical framework which remains the backdrop throughout the other two chapters. The second chapter introduces the case of Cuba, and provides a historical contextualization of the period after the taking of power of Fidel Castro and the Revolutionary government up until the end of Castro’s leadership. The third chapter dives into the start of the period after Castro’s exit from Cuban politics, and examines how the period of Obama’s administration from 2008-2016 is unique in comparison to its preceding history. It also analyses how the use of state legitimacy in Cuba has changed. Finally this thesis attempts to answer the question: To what extent is Cuban state legitimacy impacted through aggressive foreign policy with the US?Show less
This thesis asks the question 'How can the mortuary practices of two separate Colonial era sites be compared, using the 16th century cemeteries of El Chorro de Maita in Cuba, and Magdalena de Cao...Show moreThis thesis asks the question 'How can the mortuary practices of two separate Colonial era sites be compared, using the 16th century cemeteries of El Chorro de Maita in Cuba, and Magdalena de Cao Viejo in Peru as examples', and follows this main research question with the subquestions 'how were the individuals interred?', 'how were the individuals oriented?', 'where within, or outside of, the cemeteries were the individual buried?', and 'were there grave goods present, and if so, what kinds?'. All of the research carried out rot this thesis is based entirely on literature. First, there is a brief explanation of the historical background of the two regions that the sites find themselves in, followed by a more narrowed down look at the cemeteries themselves, and the roles that they played in the encomienda and reducción systems as imposed by the Colonial Spanish. In the chapter about the burials, it becomes clear that for both sites the age and sex of a person did not seem to have mattered when it came to the location of the burial within the cemetery. Both sites also have evidence for the deposition of individuals in a Christian burial position, this is much more prevalent in the Peruvian site at Magdalena de Cao Viejo. When it comes to the presence of grave goods, they are very much lacking at Magdalena de Cao Viejo, while there is a large and varied amount of material found at El Chorro de Maita in Cuba, possibly due to a less direct amount of contact, and therefore influence, from a Spanish ruled settlement.Show less
Research master thesis | Latin American Studies (research) (MA)
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The thesis talks about art and activism in Cuba, and is focused on Tania Bruguera and the Institution of Artivism Hannah Arendt. The study analyze informations from art critic and anthropological...Show moreThe thesis talks about art and activism in Cuba, and is focused on Tania Bruguera and the Institution of Artivism Hannah Arendt. The study analyze informations from art critic and anthropological field research. Through a description of Cuban society of 2017 will be examined how freedom of speech of art can be used for social goals. However the main topic is the Relational Art and the development of a new paradigm which involves a political aim as part of the work of art. This research discusses controversies about the effects of aRtivism on the Cuban society and propose an interpretation of an elaborated cultural landscape.Show less
This thesis intends to examine the results of the reforms of Cuban politics under Raúl Castro. It focuses on the effects of Cuban foreign policy and the influence of foreign actors on Cuba's...Show moreThis thesis intends to examine the results of the reforms of Cuban politics under Raúl Castro. It focuses on the effects of Cuban foreign policy and the influence of foreign actors on Cuba's communist regime and the economic situation of the country. The way in which Fidel and Raúl Castro have created policy to deal with issues such as the maintenance of the revolutionary government and dependency and counter-dependency are central in understanding the decisions made by these leaders. The study has shown that the policy reforms by Raúl Castro have continued to liberalise the economy and provided the population with more opportunities. The reforms are slowly, but steadily improving the economic and social situation of Cubans. However, the reforms still show room for improvement.Show less
In this thesis I aim to critically examine how the European Union (EU) liberal economic discourse towards Cuba is (re)produced and how the discourse enables policy actions. Furthermore, I aim to go...Show moreIn this thesis I aim to critically examine how the European Union (EU) liberal economic discourse towards Cuba is (re)produced and how the discourse enables policy actions. Furthermore, I aim to go beyond the question of how the liberal economic discourse enables policy actions. I will do so by asking how alternative policy actions are disabled through the discourse. This critical understanding of the (re)production of liberal economic discourse, enabling and disabling policies, aims to make it possible to question the dominant liberal economic development thinking. The research uses discourse analysis within a post structural approach, wishing to contribute to critical insights in the field of foreign policy discourse analysis. The analysis of the construction of the Self and the Other, through spatial, temporal and ethical dimensions, aims to shed light on the underlying taken for granted notions embedded in EU discourse. These taken for granted notions are understood to enable and limit policy actions. The goal of the thesis is to destabilize dominant liberal economic discourse and to open up room for plurality.Show less
Bachelor thesis | Film- en literatuurwetenschap (BA)
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Aan de hand van een bespreking van de films Memories of Underdevelopment (Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, 1968) en One Way or Another (Sara Gómez, 1974) poog ik de cinematische kwaliteit van Cubaanse Third...Show moreAan de hand van een bespreking van de films Memories of Underdevelopment (Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, 1968) en One Way or Another (Sara Gómez, 1974) poog ik de cinematische kwaliteit van Cubaanse Third Cinema te bepalen, als het gaat om de representatie van vrouwelijke potentie.Show less
Na het eindigen van de Tweede Wereldoorlog in 1945 ontstond er een gevecht tussen twee supermachten, de VS en de Sovjet-Unie. Deze periode van de Koude Oorlog die tot de officiële ontmanteling van...Show moreNa het eindigen van de Tweede Wereldoorlog in 1945 ontstond er een gevecht tussen twee supermachten, de VS en de Sovjet-Unie. Deze periode van de Koude Oorlog die tot de officiële ontmanteling van de Sovjet-Unie in 1991 voortduurde, was een strijd waarin beide landen hun invloedssfeer ten alle tijden probeerden te beschermen en uit te breiden. Het gevolg was dat regio’s die voorheen wellicht minder aandacht kregen nu in het middelpunt van de belangstelling stonden. De regio rondom de Caraïbische zee kreeg tijdens Koude Oorlog vernieuwde aandacht toen onafhankelijke landen door middel van marxistische revoluties zich gingen afzetten van de VS.Show less
