The word innovation has existed ever since humanity started, and that word has had different meanings throughout history. It has gone through many changes when at times it was considered a sin or...Show moreThe word innovation has existed ever since humanity started, and that word has had different meanings throughout history. It has gone through many changes when at times it was considered a sin or heresy to a definition that embodies prosperity and growth, it rather continuously shifts from having a negative connotation to a positive meaning. The aim of this research is to discover what innovation means to Egyptian workers in the technology industry through qualitative discourse analysis, trying to tap into their concept of innovation by conducting in-depth interviews using both inductive and deductive approaches.Show less
This thesis is primarily a study of George Baldwin (1743/4-1824), a British merchant and diplomat, and his efforts in developing an overland route through Egypt in the last decades of the...Show moreThis thesis is primarily a study of George Baldwin (1743/4-1824), a British merchant and diplomat, and his efforts in developing an overland route through Egypt in the last decades of the eighteenth century. The significance of the Egyptian overland route in this period has often been overlooked when compared to the later overland mail established by Thomas Waghorn in the 1830s and the Suez Canal. This thesis will provide a reassessment of the overland route’s commercial and geopolitical significance to the British Empire during the period of George Baldwin’s two residencies in Egypt; first as a merchant (1775-1779) and then as the first British Consul-General to Egypt (1786-1798). The growing realisation of the route’s strategic significance by British policymakers, like Henry Dundas, predates the Napoleonic Expedition and will be examined in relation to Baldwin’s consular appointment in 1786. The commercial value of the route will be assessed by looking at the private trade of Baldwin and his associates during both residencies and is something that casts doubt on the traditional view that the Middle East experienced commercial decline in this period. Most significantly, this thesis will focus on the strategic importance of the route to the British position in India. The significance of Egypt increased as the East India Company transitioned into a territorial power in 1770s and 1780s. This meant that Baldwin’s role was a strategic necessity; something shown by a series of case studies on the sieges of Pondicherry in 1778 and 1793 as well as the transfer of Ceylon to the British in 1796.Show less
After a military coup in 1952, the Egyptian Gamal Abdel Nasser developed into the leader of the Arab nationalist movement that was spreading quickly throughout the Middle East. This research will...Show moreAfter a military coup in 1952, the Egyptian Gamal Abdel Nasser developed into the leader of the Arab nationalist movement that was spreading quickly throughout the Middle East. This research will examine how Nasser challenged the pursuit of American Cold War interests in the Middle East. Nasser’s entire period of leadership will be covered: from January 1953 when the coup had just taken place until September 1970 when Nasser died. By means of a very extensive examination of the archival documents of the Foreign Relations of the United States series, this research will show that Nasser, as a powerful leader of a secondary power, was capable of seriously obstructing the pursuit of Middle Eastern interests of a superpower like the United States. Interestingly, this case study of the relations between Nasser and the US interests in the Middle East over the course of 18 years will show that Nasser’s ability to challenge the pursuit of American interests in the Middle East mainly derived from the continued American attempts to get closer to Nasser, even though he proved time and again that he could not be trusted to cooperate with. The Americans apparently valued the influence of powerful secondary powers in the Cold War very highly and therefore put a lot of effort in the attempts to get these powers to align with the American side of the global Cold War rivalry.Show less
Master thesis | Crisis and Security Management (MSc)
open access
Freshwater is an essential yet scarce good, that is predicted to only become scarcer because of climate change and growing populations. In addition, freshwater in rivers is often shared between...Show moreFreshwater is an essential yet scarce good, that is predicted to only become scarcer because of climate change and growing populations. In addition, freshwater in rivers is often shared between multiple countries. Despite multiple predictions by scholars and experts, states often do not go to war over freshwater. Instead, most disputes end in the signing of a treaty. However, these treaties are not always fair and do not, actually, always end conflict. In the view of this research, treaties are merely a way in which states fight, without using violence, and should thus be seen as a part of ongoing conflict, rather than the end of it. In addition, despite theoretical predictions, international organisations do not play a large role in the creation of River Basin Organisations and neither do hydrohegemons.Show less
Child marriage is connected to several socio-economical and sociocultural factors. Many people make the misunderstanding to link the practice to religion or a specific country/area or claim that ...Show moreChild marriage is connected to several socio-economical and sociocultural factors. Many people make the misunderstanding to link the practice to religion or a specific country/area or claim that "only poor people marry their daughters off at an early age". To what extent are girls protected by their countries laws, and are the underlying causes the same in the three countries or are there significant differences?Show less
Exploring postcolonial understandings of magic, narrative, healing and relationality in Egypt shows the Origin story as an untapped resource. Envy theory and colonial narcissism connect reparations...Show moreExploring postcolonial understandings of magic, narrative, healing and relationality in Egypt shows the Origin story as an untapped resource. Envy theory and colonial narcissism connect reparations, colonizers and contemporary Egyptians to the tale of Egyptian gods fighting for the kingdom of Egypt. From artifacts stolen and mummies consumed by colonizers to curses that led to the undoing of famous colonial archaeologists, a postcolonial look at colonial interactions within Egypt reveal many connections between the past, present and future of the country. Ancient Egyptian understandings and uses of magic and science filter through to today, including the interactions of these aspects with colonialism. The lens of postcolonialism will highlight the role that magic and narrative have in providing an indigenous dimension to colonial times, connections with nature and Egyptian experiences of agency over time. Looking at how Orientalist norms are maintained through a dominance of archaeology and Egyptology, and the resulting treatment of Egyptian antiquities will be supplemented with using overlapping disciplines to conduct more holistic research. Narrative, rememory and magic shape and contextualize both past and present efforts to preserve and present Egypt’s internationally valuable heritage. This complex web of interactions and their causes and effects are useful in healing reserves of colonial trauma as well as understanding the context for the country's future development in terms of reparations, museums as colonial curators and legacy safeguarding.Show less
Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
open access
Both in Egypt and Hatti the renewal of kingship through festivals played an important role. This raises the question if there are similarities and/or differences between the two. An earlier...Show moreBoth in Egypt and Hatti the renewal of kingship through festivals played an important role. This raises the question if there are similarities and/or differences between the two. An earlier comparison was drawn by Volkert Haas (Haas 1994) when he briefly compared the Egyptian Heb-Sed and the Hittite Purulliya. A comparison between these renewals of kingship can help us understand this concept in a broader sense, especially, since limited interdisciplinary research has been done concerning this topic. For this study a comparative approach will be taken, which looks for similarities and differences between the Egyptian and Hittite Festival. With the help of data originating from previous work on the Purulliya and the Heb-Sed. This is accompanied by archaeological, textual, and iconographical sources that are related to the festivals. The Egyptian side has a vast richness of sources and material. However, the sources from Hatti are largely textual. This discrepancy of sources poses a problem to this research. Thus, the comparison itself focusses on the underlying aspects of the festivals, rather than detailed aspects of them. Early results of this MA research involve the separate festivals and early stage comparisons between the two. They include a comparison on the core reasons for celebrating both the festivals. This comparison is accompanied by the general rules for celebrating each festival. Using these results, an early conclusion on festivals involving renewal of kingship between Egypt and Hatti is drawn.Show less
A review of the literature on the political landscape of post-revolutionary Egypt identifies a widening gap between the elite. Scholars highlight the dominance of the Egyptian military’s business...Show moreA review of the literature on the political landscape of post-revolutionary Egypt identifies a widening gap between the elite. Scholars highlight the dominance of the Egyptian military’s business empire, a combination of high-ranking government officials and big corporations that together forms the elite. In 2011, the people of Egypt successfully overthrew an authoritarian regime paving the way towards a democratic state and a relieve of economic injustice. To date, the people of Egypt still find themselves in positions defined by inequality of opportunity, why? Contributing to critical scholarship, this thesis builds upon various scholars to gain insights into the different mechanisms and social drivers that keep the elite in a position of dominance and identifies areas in which the public can acquire political power. Three spheres of power; politics, economics, and media, are explored to highlight the social relations that are often hidden in organizational structures. This research provides a new answer to the question why, and how, the elite maintains its dominant position in a state that desires democracy and civil liberty. The implementation of a combination of theories examines the class division and distribution of power to answer this thesis’ main research question: Through which means can the people of Egypt gain political, media and economic power to achieve democratic governance? The findings of this thesis provide a contextualized account of the division of power in Egypt and give attention to the mechanisms that shape the relationship between the elite and the people.Show less
Research master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (research) (MA)
closed access
Since the 1990s the field of phenomenological Landscape Archaeology has gained more traction in Egyptology. Since then it has been used to illuminate the experienced landscape(s) of the ancient...Show moreSince the 1990s the field of phenomenological Landscape Archaeology has gained more traction in Egyptology. Since then it has been used to illuminate the experienced landscape(s) of the ancient Egyptians. This thesis seeks to critically examine this approach and further illuminate the experienced landscape in ancient Egypt, specifically its role in religion. To this end, the author poses three primary research questions: 1) Did landscape influence the conception of places of power? 2) Do landscape associations change over time, and if they do: how do they change? 3) Did Egypt’s physical landscape influence conceptions of the landscapes of the afterlife? The sources reveal that the Egyptians experienced the landscape as embodied and meaningful. Iconography and text also support the notion of locations in the landscape which were infused with meaning beyond the mundane. These places of power sometimes held a strong relation with the surrounding landscape. In certain cases it is likely that a landscape-induced hierophany was the direct cause for their inception. Yet, it is difficult to ascribe a single coherent characteristic to these locations. Egypt’s physical landscape did not only influence experiences of religious awe, but also influenced the conception of landscapes of the afterlife. The afterlife reflects a bucolic ideal of Egypt’s physical landscape. Some scholars have proposed specific referents for the landscapes of the afterlife, but it seems imprudent to attribute such specific Vorlage-landscapes to these religious ideas. Phenomenological Landscape Archaeology allows us to further investigate landscape experience in ancient Egypt. Yet, a recurring issues in the implementation of phenomenological Landscape Archaeology is the over-excitement of Egyptologists to attribute a meaning to landscape features which has little or no support in the extant sources. This treacherous pitfall stems from the inability to acknowledge the difference in spatial conceptualisation between us and the ancient Egyptians, and the all-too-easy assumption that our views of extraordinary geomorphology are similar to those of the ancient Egyptians. Therefore, this thesis warns against all-too-quick attributions of the influence of landscape on the inception and meaning of religious locales.Show less
This thesis investigates the effects of neoliberalism on labour and the social reproduction of labour. The thesis provides a literature review of the extensive literature on neoliberalism in...Show moreThis thesis investigates the effects of neoliberalism on labour and the social reproduction of labour. The thesis provides a literature review of the extensive literature on neoliberalism in general and in Egypt before providing a historical account of neoliberal reforms and their effect on the corporatist bargain between labour and the state. It then proceeds to discuss the effects of neoliberalism on informality, welfare and repression. The thesis argues that on all these fronts workers have been increasingly marginalised and forced to live in substandard conditions. Neoliberalism has caused a spike in informal employment and informal settlements. This informality results in decreased working conditions, wages and housing conditions. Another effect of the neoliberal reforms was the reduction of state provision of welfare. This vacuum was filled by private actors, often those families and individuals who benefitted from the neoliberal reforms in the first place. Labour is now dependent on private actors to provide services, which used to be a right based on citizenship. Harvey characterises neoliberal reforms as accumulation through dispossession. Lastly, the thesis claims that resistance to this dispossession has been effectively repressed through legal obstacles, Sisi-linked media narratives securitising resistance and an increased security apparatus. Overall, workers have suffered the brunt of neoliberal reform to the benefit of a select group of elites, who now attempt to form a coalition with the security forces to maintain stability, prevent another 2011 and maintain their accumulated wealth.Show less
This thesis describes the discourse of empowerment of women in Egypt, on the social media platform Facebook. The research question is: how do women in Egypt portray 'women's empowerment' on social...Show moreThis thesis describes the discourse of empowerment of women in Egypt, on the social media platform Facebook. The research question is: how do women in Egypt portray 'women's empowerment' on social media under conditions of political repression, patriarchy, and neoliberalism?Show less
This paper offers an analysis of the differences and commonalities between Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Gamel Abdel Nasser, a comparison sparked by the Egyptian Arab Spring. They are compared on their...Show moreThis paper offers an analysis of the differences and commonalities between Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Gamel Abdel Nasser, a comparison sparked by the Egyptian Arab Spring. They are compared on their paths to power, their politics, their visions and the place they hold within the Egyptian imagination. This paper finds that the comparison is only viable with regards to their rise to power and the public perception and propaganda related to both men, and that the reality of their governance is not comparable.Show less
This study investigates the question how migration has shaped the broader relationship between the EU and Egypt between the 2011 Revolution and 2019. It found that migration has profoundly affected...Show moreThis study investigates the question how migration has shaped the broader relationship between the EU and Egypt between the 2011 Revolution and 2019. It found that migration has profoundly affected the bilateral relationship, particularly in the fields of democracy, human rights, development aid and economic cooperation. An analysis of policy documents and (public) statements by officials from the EU and Egypt shows how migration cooperation has made it difficult for the EU to uphold its image as a normative actor. Egypt's efforts to limit irregular migration to the EU are mainly driven by its economic dependency on the EU.Show less
Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
open access
Taweret is known throughout ancient Egypt as one of a multitude of protective deities, with her central intent on safeguarding women and children during the dangerous process of pregnancy,...Show moreTaweret is known throughout ancient Egypt as one of a multitude of protective deities, with her central intent on safeguarding women and children during the dangerous process of pregnancy, childbirth and early childhood. As a minor deity of the Egyptian pantheon, Taweret never had a cult centre in any known settlement and was relegated to small altars within households. Due to her minor status, there have been no in-depth studies to examine her influence within a settlement before. While many Egyptologists have extensively researched the settlement of Deir el-Medina, focus on the role of the goddess Taweret has been relegated to small paragraph descriptions and not of central concern. This paper shall examine the archaeological remains of Deir el-Medina which pertain to Taweret in order to determine the influence of the goddess within this unique community, and the possibility that there may have been a chapel within the community dedicated to her and a priesthood to support her. These archaeological remains shall be classified into: stelae, statues, ostraca, offering basins and grills, amulets, tomb decoration and evidence for a temple in order to give a holistic perspective of her prominence.Show less
Egypt is a water scarce country with declining water resources but, at the same time, a rapidly growing population rate. These two diverging trends are especially noticeable in the agricultural,...Show moreEgypt is a water scarce country with declining water resources but, at the same time, a rapidly growing population rate. These two diverging trends are especially noticeable in the agricultural, industrial and real estate sector where water as a production factor is needed to satisfy increasing demands. The water needs of these three sectors were changed in the 1990s when Egypt introduced a set of neoliberal reforms as a requirement for deeper integration into the international political economy. In this context, water became a significant development asset and the three sectors in question turned into the biggest water consumers. Several water amelioration policies and programs have therefore been implemented in order to guarantee water availability, accessibility and sustainability. The thesis focuses on these water amelioration programs in the three sectors and uses a dual theoretical approach for outlining water management practices.Show less
