Burkina Faso is a West African state that continues to experience political troubles that stem from previous colonial rule. For four years in the 1980s there was a possibility that Burkina Faso...Show moreBurkina Faso is a West African state that continues to experience political troubles that stem from previous colonial rule. For four years in the 1980s there was a possibility that Burkina Faso could develop into a country capable of benefiting the majority of the population. However, following the assassination of Thomas Sankara, this hope did not extend beyond the four years he was in power. The recent uprisings, starting in 2014, have re-ignited past hopes of what Burkina Faso could have been and what it could yet be. The philosophies and actions of Frantz Fanon and Thomas Sankara remain relevant in understanding the reasons why Burkina Faso has not experienced the benefits that independence should have brought. They are also reference points for understanding how a favourable society might come about for the Burkinabé. Political social movements alone have had short term successes with regards to potentially changing the political governance of this West African State. What is important for the future of Burkina Faso is turning these short-term political gains into long-term political reality. It seems that governments, social movements and musicians combined will continue to have the most impact upon the future of Burkinabé civil society.Show less
This thesis takes on an inter-disciplinary approach to examine the extent to which the state of Kenya used the genre of portrait photography to create a sense of nationhood after independence. I...Show moreThis thesis takes on an inter-disciplinary approach to examine the extent to which the state of Kenya used the genre of portrait photography to create a sense of nationhood after independence. I take on the theory of nation and nationalism as a framework to discuss and visually analyse the portraits of Kenya's four president and citizens portrait in the form of identity photography. By first establishing how modern-state Kenya came into being, the discussion set a premise to the motivation behind the study. The first chapter analyses the standardised official presidential state portraits, their materiality, physicality and their symbolism to communicate a change of leadership in Kenya. The second chapter investigates the 'self-fashioned' portraits of the presidents which take on different aesthetics and visual codes creating different meanings and therefore are interpreted using other references. The last chapter is a shift from 'honorific' portraiture of the presidents to the 'repressive' class of the sitters- the citizens. This chapter investigates citizen's portraits used in the colonial times to control movements of labourers and surveillance and how it is now used as a form of document of National Identification. This thesis argues that all the mentioned kinds of portraiture contributed to disseminating the idea of nationhood.Show less
This MA thesis explores the independence of the working heroines in Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre (1847), Anne Brontë’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848), and Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding...Show moreThis MA thesis explores the independence of the working heroines in Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre (1847), Anne Brontë’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848), and Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd (1874). The heroines establish and maintain their independence by performing the profession of governess, artist, or farmer, while the love interests threaten the women's independence by encroaching upon their professions. This thesis shows that all three novels are simultaneously ahead of their time in relation to the working women and very much of their time in relation to Victorian conventions.Show less
This thesis analyses competing discourses around the 2017 Catalan independence referendum. Taking a quantitative approach, several distinct text-mining techniques are applied to political speech...Show moreThis thesis analyses competing discourses around the 2017 Catalan independence referendum. Taking a quantitative approach, several distinct text-mining techniques are applied to political speech transcripts and newspaper opinion pieces of pro-independence and pro-union elites in order to identify broad lexical patterns in discourse. These results are then interpreted with the guidance of previous literature and within the theoretical framework of discursive institutionalism. The analysis finds that the most salient patterns are a pro-union emphasis on law and the constitution, and a pro-independence focus on the symbolic imagery produced by the referendum, such as polling stations, ballot boxes, and police violence. The results also find differing representations of the relationship between Catalonia and Spain, and to a lesser degree, the role of Europe within the dynamic. Taken together, these findings illuminate broad discursive strategies employed by both sides of the independence debate as they seek to either provoke or prevent institutional change.Show less
Korean unification is a concept that seems impractical and unwanted by the Republic of Korea. Yet the government continues to purport its desire for it, primarily romanticising a reunited Korean...Show moreKorean unification is a concept that seems impractical and unwanted by the Republic of Korea. Yet the government continues to purport its desire for it, primarily romanticising a reunited Korean bloodline. This project analyses the reasons and causes for this continued use of ethnic nationalism and explore how it shapes the very meaning of unification. Primarily, it is a speech act incorporated into the larger foreign policy of the Republic of Korea, mobilised for self-promotion and achieving its own interests.Show less
This thesis provides an insight in the Belarusian foreign policy response to the self-proclaimed independence of Abkhazia. The conclusion of the research question: "how has Belarusian foreign...Show moreThis thesis provides an insight in the Belarusian foreign policy response to the self-proclaimed independence of Abkhazia. The conclusion of the research question: "how has Belarusian foreign policy responded to the case of Abkhazia’s self-proclaimed independence?" is that the response can be divided into three time periods of ignoring, partially recognizing and opposing Abkhazia. The main causes identified for the way Belarus responded can be found in the EU - Russia conflict rather than the Abkhazian case individually.Show less
Although the Dutch government was glad Suriname decided to stand on its own feet, it was anxious to see a large proportion of its population immigrate to the Netherlands. The policies put into...Show moreAlthough the Dutch government was glad Suriname decided to stand on its own feet, it was anxious to see a large proportion of its population immigrate to the Netherlands. The policies put into place to stop them from migrating are discussed and their efficacy weighed in a theoretical setting.Show less
Advanced master thesis | Political Science (Advanced Master)
open access
The main focus of this thesis lies in re-examining the impact of territoriality on the conduct of international relations in the context of separatism of exclaves. The enclaves were selected...Show moreThe main focus of this thesis lies in re-examining the impact of territoriality on the conduct of international relations in the context of separatism of exclaves. The enclaves were selected because of their specific territorial character, being separated from their mother state by a territory of another state entity. Our initial hypothesis stating that the demands of independence are formed by coexistence of both territorial and historical factor has been demonstrated on the cases of Cabinda and Oecussi. Using the qualitative comparative analysis, we have justified the selection of variables and conducted a cross-case study that confirmed our hypothesis. According to our findings, the historical background has a more important role in the creation of separatist tendencies than territory, while this has only a modifying effect on the initial preconditions. In the discussion we contrasted this result with the opportunity and willingness model and concluded that causal logic that applies to the interstate conflict does not adequately describe the situation of exclave’s separatism and therefore a further research into this area is needed.Show less
