A nation’s identity builds on a common past and traditions. After the Second World War, the newborn government of the GDR had to make a concerted effort to create such traditions, building on the...Show moreA nation’s identity builds on a common past and traditions. After the Second World War, the newborn government of the GDR had to make a concerted effort to create such traditions, building on the history of the German working class and their leading historical figures. Among them: Clara Zetkin. A dedicated and respected politician in her time, she was made an icon in the GDR, as she was portrayed as an ideal socialist role model and heroine throughout the public sphere, by means of the memory politics of the SED. The biographies, newspaper articles, films, and museums focused on Zetkin, as well as the street signs, statues, banknotes, and awards bearing her name in the GDR created a particular image of the historical figure: a model socialist heroine. This image differs from the historical figure of Zetkin, as some parts have been emphasized, others downplayed, or left out entirely.Show less
Somalia and (South) Sudan belong to the most troubled countries in the world. All three of them are classified within the bottom 20% of the UNDP’s Human Development Index. Similarly, they have...Show moreSomalia and (South) Sudan belong to the most troubled countries in the world. All three of them are classified within the bottom 20% of the UNDP’s Human Development Index. Similarly, they have consistently been ranked in the top-5 of the Fragile States Index. Unsurprisingly, the contemporary history of Somalia and Sudan is characterized by chronic insecurity because of recurring civil wars between ethnic, tribal or clan-based groups and their governments. Therefore, the vast majority of international involvement in the Horn of Africa during the last twenty years has been directed at these countries. However, despite this ample attention, the deployed international military forces have thus far been unable to re-establish secure environments and rebuild state structures. Focusing on five distinct military interventions from 1990 to roughly 2010, this inquiry aims to measure the qualitative and quantitative contributions of Security Sector/System Reform (SSR) to the restoration of the state’s monopoly on the legitimate use of force. To this end, it addresses e.g. the progress made within Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) programs. This inquiry then attempts to assess the legitimacy of the post-conflict state reconstruction effort by looking at e.g. the empowerment of civil society representatives and the progress made within community confidence-building measures. In doing so, this inquiry adopts Paul D. Miller’s concept of ‘armed state building’ as a theoretical framework. It therewith argues that – despite a growing number of criticisms – liberal institution-building has since the end of the Cold War remained the prevailing paradigm of state reconstruction efforts. Based on a reading of relevant literature, this inquiry contends that group identities in Somalia and Sudan have become interwoven with relative deprivation between them. The result have been enduring crises of citizenship and legitimacy in the state which continue to feed narratives that help to mobilize groups for violence. This inquiry finds that SSR has managed to increase the capacities of security and justice institutions, albeit in a vacuum. Analyses indicate how the (re)-established state institutions overall have been rather a-contextual, a-historic and frequently paralleled more capable, indigenous mechanisms. Simultaneously, the problems within the state’s legitimacy domain illustrate the complex environments, wherein international military forces e.g. were hampered by their cooperation with problematic local partners. This points to limitations within the military spheres of influence that affect soldiers’ ability to address the ‘root causes’ of conflict. This, in turn, leads to questions of how SSR should otherwise be treated within their activities, and how these armed state building efforts could best be complemented.Show less
Christa Wolf (1929-2011) publiceerde in de jaren 1960 haar eerste literarische werken. Hoewel ze daarvoor zelf als functionaris binnen de cultuurpolitiek van de DDR actief was, werd ze in deze...Show moreChrista Wolf (1929-2011) publiceerde in de jaren 1960 haar eerste literarische werken. Hoewel ze daarvoor zelf als functionaris binnen de cultuurpolitiek van de DDR actief was, werd ze in deze periode tot een zelfstandig en kritisch auteur, met name na haar roman Nachdenken über Christa T. (1969). Haar eerste roman Moskauer Novelle (1961) was volkomen ‘politiek correct’ en geschreven in de stijl van het socialistisch-realisme. Achteraf wordt vaak besproken hoe Der geteilte Himmel (1963) al veel minder conform de regels van de SED geschreven was. Snelle veranderingen binnen de cultuurpolitiek spelen in deze periode echter een belangrijke rol om te kunnen begrijpen hoe Wolf zich verhield tot de staat en hoe dit haar literatuur beïnvloedde. In deze scriptie wordt de precieze gang van zaken omtrent de cultuurpolitiek van de DDR, Wolfs betrokkenheid met het staatsbestel, de politieke verhouding tussen de DDR en de BRD en haar schrijverschap in de periode 1961-1969 uiteengezet met behulp van archiefmateriaal uit de Akademie der Künste in Berlijn, dagboekmateriaal en correspondentie. Daaruit wordt een duidelijke analyse van Wolfs vroege werk binnen de historische context en beschikbare biografische informatie van Wolf geplaatst.Show less
