This exploratory research deals with identity discourses in Iran in relation to the Islamic Republic's foreign policy. The four identity discourses - Iranism, Islam, anti-hegemony and...Show moreThis exploratory research deals with identity discourses in Iran in relation to the Islamic Republic's foreign policy. The four identity discourses - Iranism, Islam, anti-hegemony and hyperindependence are examined based on contemporary studies on this topic.Show less
This thesis explores the increasing importance of LGBT+ rights in international relations. Through foreign policy analyses, this thesis successfully identified Dutch homonationalism within Dutch...Show moreThis thesis explores the increasing importance of LGBT+ rights in international relations. Through foreign policy analyses, this thesis successfully identified Dutch homonationalism within Dutch foreign policy, although the findings within the United Nations' Human Rights Council are inconclusive. Homonationalism thus plays a role in Dutch foreign policy choices and behaviour, however, its importance differs in different settings.Show less
Approximately twelve years after the end of a one-year European Union (EU) arms embargo on Indonesia, the Dutch House of Representatives blocked the sale of second-hand conventional weapons to the...Show moreApproximately twelve years after the end of a one-year European Union (EU) arms embargo on Indonesia, the Dutch House of Representatives blocked the sale of second-hand conventional weapons to the former Dutch colony in 2012 . The House of Representatives cited human rights concerns as the main culprit for blocking the sale, overruling the minority government in its decision that a possible sale of arms would comply with European arms export criteria. The following year, the German federal government approved the same deal on the 8th of May, 2013. This decision appears paradoxical given the EU Common Position on Arms Exports , which attempts to harmonise the arms export policy of EU member states and requires them to deny arms export licenses to countries with poor human rights track records that may use the transferred arms in violation of international humanitarian law. The criteria of the Common Position prominently feature respect for human rights and the internationally agreed 'laws of war' and contain several mechanisms by which coherent results on behalf of arms export licensing are to be effectuated. Much as this thesis portrays a view of steady development in the area of European cooperation on arms control, it will conclude that EU member states remain sovereign in their decisions to export weapons when and to whom it suits them.Show less
