Research master thesis | African Studies (research) (MA)
open access
2022-03-03T00:00:00Z
Since the 1980s, Italy has become one of the leading destinations of Senegalese migration and one of the countries with the most numerous Senegalese population in Europe. Along with other African...Show moreSince the 1980s, Italy has become one of the leading destinations of Senegalese migration and one of the countries with the most numerous Senegalese population in Europe. Along with other African diasporas, Senegalese migrants in Italy are an object of interest of the national media that generally portray them as a monolithic group, uniformed under simplistic images and victim of its circumstances. The presence of this community has also been the interest of many scholars within the social sciences. In their works, these scholars adopted a more nuanced and objective look towards Senegalese migrants’ conditions in Italy, taking into account agency and diversity in dealing with the complex situation of this migrant community. Building from the corpus of research laid down by these works, this thesis contributes to the discussion on Senegalese migrants’ agency from a different perspective. Drawing from the example of Senegalese street sellers working in Florence, the present work shows how the use they make of language can be seen as a way to recover actors' agency. Specifically, by considering the use they make of language as an identity marker, the present thesis reveals the role that Senegalese street vendors have in dealing with their new (linguistic) circumstances. Within this framework, intentionality in language use works as a concept to understand and investigate agency. In this way, the present work sheds light on language use as an asset for Senegalese street sellers’ agency; moreover, it gives a practical solution to understand and analyse agency by pointing to how intentionality may be expressed in language use.Show less
This paper attempts to shed light on the path to the identity, values, feeling of belonging, and stereotypes of the second-generation Chinese Dutch by researching and discussing their identity with...Show moreThis paper attempts to shed light on the path to the identity, values, feeling of belonging, and stereotypes of the second-generation Chinese Dutch by researching and discussing their identity with the question: How do the second-generation Chinese Dutch identify and adapt the Chinese ethnic identity within the Dutch context?”. It argues that the second-generation Chinese Dutch perceive the Chinese identity as a crucial part of them since it corresponds to their physical appearance and culture. Their Chinese identity is also fluid and changes through particular periods and situations as they belong partially to both groups and can thus behave accordingly. Moreover, Chinese language and family further determine the feeling of belonging towards the Chinese identity based on the mastery of the language and the active role that their family has in contributing to their language and cultural building. The finding of the study indicates the importance of sufficient handling of discrimination and mental support at school that should be given to the Chinese or other Asian-looking ethnic minority children during their crucial developmental stage, as all participants mentioned that they had experienced at least mild discrimination before.Show less
As Covid-19 was beginning to spread, European leaders were forced to debate not only the continued funding of the EU for the next 7 years, but a fiscal relief package as well. Sweden resisted calls...Show moreAs Covid-19 was beginning to spread, European leaders were forced to debate not only the continued funding of the EU for the next 7 years, but a fiscal relief package as well. Sweden resisted calls to approve of the Commission’s 3 trillion-euro plan, begging the question how does Sweden justify its resistance to fiscal redistribution at the EU level in the face of a symmetrical crisis? Solidarity is a complicated subject matter in the world of international affairs, to assist in better understanding a concept written into EU treaties this thesis created a comprehensive typology of solidarity, broken down into humanitarian and social contract subtypes, with the social contract possessing two further categories, interdependence/mutual responsibility, and conditional solidarity. To understand Sweden’s positioning and messaging, the methodology employed was a discourse analysis by utilizing statements made by Swedish politicians and officials from the Government, Riksdag, and European Parliament to understand the messaging and ideas that were presented in their respective forums. This paper finds that Sweden predominantly utilizes conditional solidarity in its discourse, with modernization, trust and invertedly, identity, being primary factors in determining Swedish disposition of aid. Discourse and internal matters which were created from prior experiences in the early 1990s during a domestic financial crisis, that have bled over into Swedish-European relations. This in turn has opened a gap for anti-EU parties and politicians to mask their rhetoric as a new norm to push a narrative for the breakdown of Swedish contributions and interactions in the EU to prevent further interdependence between Member States.Show less
The Dutch East India Company has been ascribed many faces and many colours during its existence, and these still echo throughout the public debate and national discourse. This thesis will...Show moreThe Dutch East India Company has been ascribed many faces and many colours during its existence, and these still echo throughout the public debate and national discourse. This thesis will contribute to new directions in the historiography of Dutch Empire by focusing on the Dutch East India Company governors and the narratives they communicated in the so-called 'Memories van Overgave', how these changed between 1700-1750, how these differed between three different regions: Bengal, Ambon, and Ceylon, and what the implications are for the organisational identity of the Dutch East India Company. In order to do so, this thesis employs a new analytical framework that positions the governor in the centre of two different relations: the relation he had to the institute he was a part of, and the relation he had with the proverbial 'other' he encountered. Everything combined, this will show the multi-faceted nature of the governors, the Dutch East India Company, and that the identity of the Dutch East India Company was not static, but flexible and ever-changing.Show less
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
Within the Dutch liberal democracy, a political as well as fundamental tension can be felt between the liberal democracy and Islam. One of the legal examples that can be offered in relation to the...Show moreWithin the Dutch liberal democracy, a political as well as fundamental tension can be felt between the liberal democracy and Islam. One of the legal examples that can be offered in relation to the tension between the liberal democracy and Islam, is the “Temporary Law on Counterterrorism Administrative Measures". This temporary law was put into place in order to fight threats of (Muslim) terrorism, by making it possible to (among other administrative measures) restrict the freedom of movement of a person through an area ban and / or travel ban based on the possible threat they can become, given their religious beliefs and actions (the fear of radicalisation). The question is where to draw the line between protecting society in relation to national security and restricting one’s freedom, based on religious beliefs that go against (some of) the principles of the liberal democracy. The main question of this thesis will therefore be the following: Is it justified for a liberal democracy to enforce administrative sanctions upon its citizens, based on their religious identity? In discussing the place of religion (and religious identity) within the liberal democracy, I will focus on four different approaches: the communitarian consensus, state neutrality, the human nature approach and the overlapping consensus approach. I will argue that none of these approaches offer a justified answer to how Salafi citizens can coexist peacefully with others while living according to the principles of liberal democracy. I will argue, however, that the inability of the Salafi identity to coexist with the ideals of the liberal democracy, does not necessarily justify state interference (by enforcing sanctions upon the Salafi citizens). It is important to look at the actions that follow from ones identity, in order to judge if state interference is justified. Following the three groups identified by Wiktorowicz in his “Anatomy of the Salafi Movement”, I will argue that the state is not allowed to act against purists, the state can use administrative measures to restrict politicos and is allowed to use both administrative as well as criminal measures against jihadis.Show less
This thesis addresses the misrepresentations of contemporary Chinese artworks in the global art arena. The identity of these contemporary Chinese artists (how these artists represent themselves and...Show moreThis thesis addresses the misrepresentations of contemporary Chinese artworks in the global art arena. The identity of these contemporary Chinese artists (how these artists represent themselves and how they are represented in the global art world) is central in this research.Show less
This thesis analyses the collaboration between the Chinese merchant elite and the Colonial government of Hong Kong during the 1925-1926 Canton-Hong Kong Strike-Boycott. The Chinese merchants played...Show moreThis thesis analyses the collaboration between the Chinese merchant elite and the Colonial government of Hong Kong during the 1925-1926 Canton-Hong Kong Strike-Boycott. The Chinese merchants played a crucial role in shaping and developing British Hong Kong. At the same time, there was interdependence between the British rulers and the merchants to maintain public order or to recover from instability. This was particularly evident during the 1920s in which China was amid the surge of Chinese nationalism, and anti-foreignism. As the 1925 Nanking Road Incident and the May Thirtieth Movement led to national outbursts against foreign powers, British Hong Kong became the prime example of anti-imperialists protests in South China. From the 1920s onwards, non-violent coercion methods became not only more frequently used but also politicized by the Kuomintang and the communists. To explore the relation between the Hong Kong community and the Colonial government during the sixteen-month long strike, this thesis uses mainly the South China Morning Post as primary resource, and many more secondary resources. At times it will use sources such as newspapers, British archival material, documentation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China. The Colonial government and the Chinese Merchant elite were coping closely to control the outcome and to end of the boycott-strike. In this thesis, I argue that that the emergence of Hongkong identity came in the wake of the Canton-Hongkong Boycott Strike of 1925-1926 by the British.Show less
Twelve centuries after his death, the Persian poet Jalal al-Din Rumi has become the best-selling poet in the United States and gathered a massive popularity globally, following the English...Show moreTwelve centuries after his death, the Persian poet Jalal al-Din Rumi has become the best-selling poet in the United States and gathered a massive popularity globally, following the English translations of his works. Today, numerous brands owe their name to Rumi. Although this trend started in the United States, in the Netherlands, too, the iconic figure of Rumi has been commodified. The aim of this thesis is to elaborate on how Rumi's contested identity is being claimed so as to befit brand identities in the Netherands. An in-depth Analysis of two cases within the Netherlands where Rumi's name served as an identity marker for marketing purposes will aid answering the question.Show less
After more than 400 years of European imperial powers influencing the region of Mozambique and exploiting its population and a 10 years independence war (1964-1974) Mozambique gained independence...Show moreAfter more than 400 years of European imperial powers influencing the region of Mozambique and exploiting its population and a 10 years independence war (1964-1974) Mozambique gained independence in 1975. But the country that FRELIMO inherited was a country with divisions along cultural, linguistic and rural, urban lines. The country lacked a national identity as well as a developed state with resilient and established institutions. The idea of self determination and national identity, in an increasingly globalised world, has become more prominent. This has led to different strategies to aid the creation of a national identity being employed by governments of newly independent African nations. Thus, with the help of academic articles as well as the two documentaries Kuxa Kanema and Treatment of Traitors, this thesis will look at the different strategies employed in the creation of national identity and the challenges in the case of Mozambique after it’s independence until the democratic era of Mozambique. This paper will take a multi-disciplinary approach analyzing the strategies used in the domain of media, politics, linguistics and culture.Therefore, arguing that the multicultural nature of Mozambique could be used to form a Mozambican identity based on duality.Show less
In my thesis, I discuss how Comfort Town, a neighbourhood in Kyiv, Ukraine, reflects the identity of the Ukrainian generation Y. I start my thesis with a contextual framework in which I elaborate...Show moreIn my thesis, I discuss how Comfort Town, a neighbourhood in Kyiv, Ukraine, reflects the identity of the Ukrainian generation Y. I start my thesis with a contextual framework in which I elaborate on the topic of the Ukrainian generation Y and Soviet and post-Soviet urban planning. Thereafter, I conduct two analyses to explain how Comfort Town symbolises a break with the Soviet past, and a move towards a progressive future. The analyses are multidimensional; I use discourse analysis to analyse the presentation of Comfort Town online, but also involve inhabitants' perspectives through a survey and interviews of previous research. The thesis is grounded in theory about space and place, and about nostalgia and progress.Show less
Since the events of 9/11 and the war on terror, there has been a rise in Islamist terrorism and its subcategory of home-grown terrorism, where the perpetrators of terrorist violence are born and...Show moreSince the events of 9/11 and the war on terror, there has been a rise in Islamist terrorism and its subcategory of home-grown terrorism, where the perpetrators of terrorist violence are born and raised in the countries of the attack. The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to the understanding of home-grown terrorism by offering an application of social identity theory to the phenomenon’s relevant identity discourses. To do so, this thesis sets out to deconstruct and analyse the significant identity discourses constructed by British government officials and Islamist terrorist organisations. This thesis identifies a push and pull dynamic between British and Islamist identity discourses where vulnerable British Muslims feel alienated and pushed away from British society’s emphasis on assimilative secular, liberal democratic values and instead find the appeal of the global Muslim community, the ummah, as an inclusionary, unifying sense of identity. Certainly, terrorism and home-grown terrorism are complex phenomena without single explanations, but this thesis puts forwards identity as a complementary explanation for home-grown terrorism as it ties in existing explanations such as historical and political grievances and socioeconomic inequalities. Because identity is often constructed on an exclusionary basis, where an individual must be one or the other and never both, social identity theory’s ideas of social comparison and positive group worth explain the need for terrorists to harm other identities to increase its own identity’s social worth.Show less
