This thesis explored the Afropessimism framework for examining the dynamics of race and racial inequality in the United States and Brazilian contexts and its potential for advancing racial justice...Show moreThis thesis explored the Afropessimism framework for examining the dynamics of race and racial inequality in the United States and Brazilian contexts and its potential for advancing racial justice efforts. It examined and answered the following questions: How does the critical perspective of Afropessimism impact the experiences and identities of individuals of African descent in the Americas, specifically in the U.S. and Brazil? How does Afropessimism critique the effectiveness of the human rights framework in securing racial justice for individuals within the African diaspora? To examine the translatability of Afropessimism to a different cultural context other than that of the U.S., I researched whether this theoretical framework could also accurately explain the historical and contemporary experiences of Black individuals in Brazil. These questions aimed to evaluate the extent to which Afropessimism, departing from other racial theories, such as intersectionality, questions the efficacy of the human rights framework in transforming society and its social institutions, as a means of irrevocably achieving racial justice.Show less
This thesis investigates the processes of repression and exclusion of the Palestinian refugee in the Arab host-state. A theoretical framework using theories from Michel Foucault, Hannah Arendt,...Show moreThis thesis investigates the processes of repression and exclusion of the Palestinian refugee in the Arab host-state. A theoretical framework using theories from Michel Foucault, Hannah Arendt, Giorgio Agamben, Michael Hardt, and Antonio Negri, is used to analyse the situation of the refugee in the three case studies of Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. It is argued that biopolitics are employed to control and exclude the Palestinian refugee. The host-state excuses this exclusion through the retoric of the incommensurability of the right of return to Palestine with citizenship of the host-state. Gaining citizenship of the host-state supposedly cancels the right of return to Palestine. This discourse is a tool that is employed by the host-states when he refugee proses a threat to their status quo. This thesis disagrees with this supposed incommensurability argueing that the two can co-exist. Furthermore, an analysis of the situation of the Palestinian refugee in the case studies leads to the conclusion that Hannah Arendt and Giorgio Agamben were right when argueing that the nation-state is the only institution capable of upholding human rights and that without citizenship the refugee is vulnerable and without protection. Because of this, serious steps need to be taken towards citizenship for the Palestinian refugee.Show less
By investigating the ODA approaches of both Japan and the Republic of Korea considering the human rights crisis in Myanmar, the East Asian Development Model seems to hold. Both countries prioritize...Show moreBy investigating the ODA approaches of both Japan and the Republic of Korea considering the human rights crisis in Myanmar, the East Asian Development Model seems to hold. Both countries prioritize economic development over human rights issues, although they differ in their motivations. This theory-testing case analysis dives into a descriptive account of the actions of Japan and the ROK considering the Rohingya Crisis. While Japan struggles to deal with its imperial past and continues to argue for a kakehashi approach, it is found how human rights have taken second place behind economic development projects. Similarly, the ROK strives for recognition by trying to establish itself as a leader, yet simultaneously fails to lead the way when it comes to standing for the OECD/DAC norms. The descriptive account of both countries shows how human rights issues are snowed under by the importance given to economic development and a favorable relationship with the government of Myanmar.Show less
The Thesis constitutes an effort towards a comparative approach on the rhetoric and use of “Human Rights Language” of Yemeni and Syrian representatives at the United Nations General Assembly from...Show moreThe Thesis constitutes an effort towards a comparative approach on the rhetoric and use of “Human Rights Language” of Yemeni and Syrian representatives at the United Nations General Assembly from 2010 until 2019. The Theory of compliance serves as a means to explore possible explanations regarding the reason and extend to which Yemen and Syria representatives respectively, use the language of Human Rights during civil wars.Show less
This thesis researches the actions and motivations of the School of the Americas Watch (SOAW), a human rights organization that protests the existence of the U.S. Army institution the School of the...Show moreThis thesis researches the actions and motivations of the School of the Americas Watch (SOAW), a human rights organization that protests the existence of the U.S. Army institution the School of the Americas (SOA), from 1990 until 2001 in the context of human rights scholarship on the 1970s and the 1980s. The SOAW believed the U.S. was directly culpable in the human rights violations committed by graduates of the SOA. The SOAW’s definition of human rights was that of bodily integrity. The SOAW was successful in lobbying Congress to such an extent that the SOA closed in December 2000, however a replacement institute opened just a month later.Show less
The reassessment of Global South contribution to International Relations both in the past and present time, is a crucial challenge for academic research nowadays, constituting an issue that is...Show moreThe reassessment of Global South contribution to International Relations both in the past and present time, is a crucial challenge for academic research nowadays, constituting an issue that is worthy of interest and analysis for its implications on History and International Relations. This work aims to decentralize International Relations and make it less Eurocentric. To do so, the author reassessed the role of Latin American thinkers and diplomats in Human Rights theorization in the 1940s, to show that crucial theoretical developments were made outside the Global North. In detail, this thesis argues that the region has actively participated in the construction of the language of human rights instead of simply receiving ideas and concepts from the Global North. It focuses on the Larreta Doctrine, a doctrine developed in Uruguay that tackled multilateralism, sovereignty and the violation of human rights. Eduardo Rodriguez Larreta, then Uruguayan Foreign Minister, theorized this Doctrine in 1945, in response to the dualism between sovereignty and international Rights protection hardly felt in the Latin American Region. So, Larreta thought that the idea that non-intervention in states’ domestic affairs is conditional to the respect for citizens’ fundamental rights. Moreover, the Uruguayan Foreign Minister stated that a precommitment regime and collective intervention are not a violation of sovereignty.Show less
The thesis has investigated the use of child soldiers by the actors involved in the decades-long conflict of Somalia. The thesis has reviewed the main academic debates on child soldiering and...Show moreThe thesis has investigated the use of child soldiers by the actors involved in the decades-long conflict of Somalia. The thesis has reviewed the main academic debates on child soldiering and described the theoretical foundations to better comprehend the answer to the research question posed. In the analysis, the different rationales for each side to the conflict to explain their use and recruitment of child soldiers were examined. Finally, the thesis argued that among the several factors that seem to be valid in explaining the phenomenon of child soldiering in Somalia, only two are found to be true for both the extremist organization al-Shabaab and the government, with their allied forces. First, children may voluntarily join the army because they lack alternatives outside of the armed groups. In fact, they cannot receive a proper education and they suffer extreme poverty, water scarcity, malnutrition and devastation. Second, Somali children were born in a constant climate of violence and insecurity that has ‘normalized’ the concept of fighting, leading them to take up arms in a desperate attempt to put an end to a war they do not understand, but that has been lacerating their country for too long.Show less
This thesis uses Hermann’s (1990) model of foreign policy change to analyse the research question: Why was the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act only adopted into public law in November 2019...Show moreThis thesis uses Hermann’s (1990) model of foreign policy change to analyse the research question: Why was the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act only adopted into public law in November 2019, despite its introduction into US legislation years earlier in 2014? Through tracking the progress of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act (HKHRDA) from its introduction in 2014 to its final signing into law in 2019, it has shown that bureaucratic advocacy and external shocks were the primary change agents driving the foreign policy change. Previous versions of the bill failed to pass the final stages of the decision-making process. However, in 2019, changes in the international context were crucial to the passing of the bill. That year, the external shock of the Hong Kong protests escalated to such an extent that Congressional legislators felt compelled to unite and take action. Rising geopolitical tensions between China and the United States also affected domestic American politics, contributing to the growing bipartisan Congressional support for a stronger stance against China on the issue of Hong Kong and pass the HKHRDA into law, despite resistance from the Trump administration. The symbolic value of the law was greater than its actual changes to US legislation, as it did not grant the government new instruments of statecraft it did not already possess. Still, the law was a clear show of Congressional support for the pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong, and a political statement against the central Chinese and Hong Kong government’s policies in the city. This was instrumental in pushing the administration to change its approach towards HK, and with the HKHRDA, US HK policy became submerged in its American foreign policy towards China.Show less
The main scope of this thesis is the use of the State of Emergency as a tool in colonial counterinsurgency. The State of Emergency allows us to draw connections between three colonies in three...Show moreThe main scope of this thesis is the use of the State of Emergency as a tool in colonial counterinsurgency. The State of Emergency allows us to draw connections between three colonies in three different continents, Malaya, Kenya and Cyprus. The comparison, assists in adding the Cyprus Emergency within the colonial framework and analyse it as a colonial case. The state of emergency is seen as a tool in counterinsurgency. Finally, the thesis is also connected to scholaraship on Human Rights.Show less
The Responsibility to Protect principle introduced both the state’s and the international community’s responsibility to protect human rights. The principle is regarded as an emergent norm that is...Show moreThe Responsibility to Protect principle introduced both the state’s and the international community’s responsibility to protect human rights. The principle is regarded as an emergent norm that is yet to be successfully diffused and classified as a global norm. This thesis assesses the principle’s normative trajectory through the use of Finnemore and Sikkink’s ‘norm life cycle theory’ (1998). This work works toward a better understanding of Russia’s approach towards the emergent norm of human rights by default. By assessing Russia’s approach towards intervention, this study reviews the claim that Russia seeks to undermine the norms that underpin R2P. This has been conducted via a qualitative case study that reviews the following cases: Georgia, Crimea, Libya and Syria. The findings demonstrate that although Russia is actively engaged with the principle’s norm development process, it did also attempt to interpret the norm according to its own preferences. However, only once was the norm was truly undermined - in the case of Crimea.Show less
Research master thesis | Middle Eastern Studies (research) (MA)
open access
This thesis is engaged in the challenge that non-state actors pose for the international order in a context of human rights violations. For that, it focuses on how these actors influence...Show moreThis thesis is engaged in the challenge that non-state actors pose for the international order in a context of human rights violations. For that, it focuses on how these actors influence international politics, mainly through their role on implementing human rights norms, taking as a study case the Western Sahara pursuit of self-determination. The international and transnational solidarity network are to be seen as advocacy networks, and their actions, history, and role on implementing human rights norms will be analyzed. The domestic dimension of this advocacy will be explored through an initiative emerged from the Dutch society – the Polisario Komitee. The transnational dimension, in its turn, will be analyzed through the European Coordinating Conference of Support to the Sahrawi People (EUCOCO). The work will shed light on how these initiatives operate, in order to analyze if they prove to be effective in promoting the change they are committed to – as well as what are the elements that influence negatively in their advocacy. For that, the methodological approach includes a combination of primary archival sources, interviews, and literature on human rights, International Relations, and advocacy networks.Show less
The EU-Turkey Deal concluded on the 18th of March 2016 has as its main goal the reduction of irregular migration. It is the latest evidence of the increasing externalization of the European Union’s...Show moreThe EU-Turkey Deal concluded on the 18th of March 2016 has as its main goal the reduction of irregular migration. It is the latest evidence of the increasing externalization of the European Union’s asylum policies which is achieved through the conclusion of agreements between the Union and third countries regarding asylum processes. It allows the EU to maintain control over entries into its territory and the asylum process, yet questions have arisen regarding its ability to uphold the rights of asylum seekers and provide respect for fundamental human rights. Under Article 80 TFEU, Union policies are to be governed by the principles of solidarity and responsibility sharing within the European Union and in its relation to the wider world. The EU-Turkey Deal implies Turkey’s status as a Safe Third Country on the basis of Article 38 of the Asylum Procedure Directive under the Common European Asylum System. A failed military coup, a violent breakdown and a refugee population of 2.8 million people of which most are without basic needs all hint toward Turkey’s inability to be designated a Safe Third Country. Many angles to the EU Turkey Deal have been examined, except for its conformity with international and European law. This is where this research paper comes in. It examines Turkey status as a Safe Third Country and investigate its conformity with and ability to uphold the principles of solidarity and responsibility sharing and provide respect for fundamental human rights. To that end, this research paper analyses primary legal sources combined with NGO reports to deconstruct Turkey’s status as a Safe Third Country. An argumentative legal dogmatic methodology examines whether Turkey was in compliance with obligations arising out of international, European and Turkish legal sources. The findings of this analysis are combined with the analysis of the most important court cases of the European Court of Human Rights, the European Court of Justice and NGO reports. This research papers’ main finding is that Turkey cannot be designated as a Safe Third Country and that the Deal violates international and European law. This because Turkey is in breach of three essential requirements to be designated a Safe Third Country; it does not respect the principle of nondiscrimination, it does not respect the principle of non-refoulement and it does not provide for access to the asylum procedure. This results in an inability of the Deal and Turkey to uphold the rights of asylum seekers and to provide for solidarity and responsibility sharing.Show less
The concept of Gay Pride Parade goes back many years, the first parades took place in 1970s United States. Since then, the concept of Gay Pride Parade has travelled not only from New York City to...Show moreThe concept of Gay Pride Parade goes back many years, the first parades took place in 1970s United States. Since then, the concept of Gay Pride Parade has travelled not only from New York City to other cities in the US, but also to cities all over the world. Both the Netherlands and Brazil are countries where Gay Pride Parades have been organized, although both in their own form with their own identity. However, realism, as an international relations theory, argues that non-state actors are not in a position to influence human rights policy as this can be done solely by states. This would mean that either Gay Pride Parade is not a multifunctional tool influencing legal emancipation, at the most only social emancipation, or that gay rights cannot be seen as human rights in this scenario. A link of causality between Gay Pride Parade and LGBT emancipation cannot be proven because of the lack of measurability of LGBT emancipation in its totality. However, to write the influence of such non-state actors of completely because of this, would not be correct either. Thus: when analyzing Gay Pride Parades and LGBT emancipation in the Netherlands and Brazil from 1970 onwards, how do Gay Pride Parades affect LGBT emancipation?Show less
The increase of ASEAN tasks and functions has risen to a point where human rights have become enshrined in a regional commission. How can this be explained considering the history of straight up...Show moreThe increase of ASEAN tasks and functions has risen to a point where human rights have become enshrined in a regional commission. How can this be explained considering the history of straight up human right abstinence and abuses throughout the history of the member states. I hypothesise in this thesis that the recent democratisation of regimes of ASEAN member states caused supranationalism in the form of the creation of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission for Human Rights. In order to consolidate the new democracy, regimes may pursuit locking them in into supranational institutions. This will prevent the democratic regime from falling back to authoritarian rule, since it’s citizens rights are protected by a higher authority, out of reach of the direct power of the regime. Results suggest this theory may hold validity in the ASEAN region where recently democratised states are more likely to support supranational institutions than the long term democracies or authoritarian states. This means change in direction and norms in ASEAN is the result of democratisation of member states that are using ASEAN as vehicle for domestic political goals.Show less
