The thesis discusses the importance of political institutions in a democratic country and the challenges of fulfilling the criteria for a sound democratic process. Focused on the notion of...Show moreThe thesis discusses the importance of political institutions in a democratic country and the challenges of fulfilling the criteria for a sound democratic process. Focused on the notion of enlightened understanding, it emphasizes the need for democratic institutions to support the development of all democratic citizens while acknowledging intellectual differences among citizens. This thesis identifies an erosion of institutions responsible for the task of bringing about enlightened understanding. From here, this thesis delves into the recent emergence of Voting Advice Applications (VAAs) as a tool to assist voters in decision-making and discusses its potential and the potential of incorporating conversational agents within VAAs to enhance citizens' enlightened understanding. Moreover, this thesis argues for the integration of (CA)VAAs as an essential part of the institutional structure of modern democracies, given the ongoing corroding of traditional institutions. The thesis explores the concept of democracy, address potential issues, examine various institutional approaches, analyze technological advancements, and assess the implementation of (CA)VAAs.Show less
Costa Rica has set ambitious goals regarding climate issues. It strives to be carbon neutral in 2021, and aims to completely decarbonize their economy by 2050. The state of the transport and...Show moreCosta Rica has set ambitious goals regarding climate issues. It strives to be carbon neutral in 2021, and aims to completely decarbonize their economy by 2050. The state of the transport and infrastructure in Costa Rica are therefore a thorn in the side for both civil society and policymakers. In light of the issues in this sector the government has formulated several policies with the goal to transform the transport sector, creating a clean, efficient and safe system of transport and infrastructure. Some of these policies will be discussed in this thesis, namely the Plan de Descarbonización 2018-2050, the Plan Integral de Movilidad Urbana Sostenible, and the Plan Nacional de Transporte 2011-2035. The focus of this thesis will be on the mechanisms behind these policies. As such, some key questions that will be addressed are: how is the policymaking process designed? Who are the actors in this process? What institutions are involved and how is coordination shaped? Where lie the biggest challenges in the implementation of these policies? As it currently is, the transport sector suffers from high degrees of fragmentation, with many institutions involved and no clear leadership. It is a very interesting subject for study, as these mechanisms are the foundations on which the implementation of the policy builds. Without proper understanding of the interactions and challenges that one is faced with in this sector, effective implementation of the policies, and therefore the reaching of the climate goals becomes less feasible. . The facilitation of the implementation of the plans through institutional transformation is argued to be the absolute priority for the achievement of the goals and objectives as proposed in the policies that will be discussed in this thesis. The expectation is that the Costa Rican public administration for the transport sector will require a comprehensive reform, and as it stands it lacks the capacity to push for such reform. In the first chapter of this thesis the conceptual and theoretical basis for the analysis of the transport sector will be laid. Here the concepts of the public policy process in Latin America, Neo-institutionalism, and Public-Private Partnerships will be discussed and put into perspective of how they can be used to analyse the Costa Rican transport and infrastructure sector. The second chapter will offer the contextualization of the topic of study. The chapter is organised chronologically and starts with the economic crisis of the 1980s in Costa Rica. The chapter then continues to address the state reform during the 1980s and 1990s, followed by the developments of the past twenty years. It concludes with a brief overview of the current situation and policies in the transport and infrastructure sector. The third and final chapter’s focus will be the analysis of the policies discussed using the concepts as discussed in the first chapter, looking into the mechanisms behind these policies and the actors involved in the process. The chapter starts with an analysis of the policy process, followed by an analysis of the role and functioning of the institutions involved. The chapter concludes with a discussion on the use of public-private partnerships and the challenges the public administration if faced with regarding coordination between the sectors.Show less
Companies are organisations whose performance is influenced by the institutional environment. This environment is composed of several institutional elements, which impact the performance of...Show moreCompanies are organisations whose performance is influenced by the institutional environment. This environment is composed of several institutional elements, which impact the performance of businesses. The case study of this thesis compares the financial and operational performance of nine Indian and twenty-four Chinese airlines between 2010 and 2015. By means of a thorough and extensive data collection, it has been found that Indian airlines perform more on-time than their Chinese peers, whilst Chinese carriers tend to exhibit a more solid financial performance. The underlying causes for these outcomes are subsequently investigated through a newspaper review, which brought several institutional elements to the limelight, that can largely explicate the divergences in performance. The identified elements range from modes of decision making and legal elements to government affiliation and policy, which are analysed in detail.Show less
In many extractive economies natural resource has the potential to be detrimental to development through the disabling of the countries’ economies, and could be an incentive for mismanagement...Show moreIn many extractive economies natural resource has the potential to be detrimental to development through the disabling of the countries’ economies, and could be an incentive for mismanagement compared to countries without substantial natural resources (Holden 870). This phenomenon is known as the resource curse (Badeeb et al. 123). This study is a critical assessment of the resource curse theory with regards to the management of Venezuela’s state-owned oil company (PDVSA). It investigates the arguments of the resource curse theory that the resource abundance curses institutions through poor governance and promotes high government spending and corruption (Tornell and Lane 34). To achieve the aim of the research, this study reviews the rent-seeking model and the institutional model of the resource curse theory, and examines their applications to Venezuela’s state-owned company. Since the resource curse theory does not give sufficient explanation hence, institutionalism as a different school of thought has been used to complement the theory. The empirical findings and discussion indicates evidence of the rent-seeking model and institutional model in addition to the rationality of institutionalism. This in other words means that the resource curse theory cannot entirely explain the case of Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, PDVSA.Show less
Research master thesis | Middle Eastern Studies (research) (MA)
closed access
In 2011 an unprecedented wave of protests erupted from Tunisia and soon spread throughout the Arab World. While the initial euphoria was backed by the revolutions in Tunis and Cairo, the course of...Show moreIn 2011 an unprecedented wave of protests erupted from Tunisia and soon spread throughout the Arab World. While the initial euphoria was backed by the revolutions in Tunis and Cairo, the course of events in Libya, Yemen, Bahrain and ultimately Syria began to highlight that a romantic view of revolutions seems out of place. The two kingdoms of Jordan and Morocco have also witnessed significant protests in 2011 especially. However, these did not lead to a revolution – in fact, this was not their goal. The vast majority of those rallying in the streets demanded reforms of Jordan's and Morocco's political institutions, including the parliament, the electoral law and the constitution. This development, combined with the resilience of the Gulf monarchies (with Bahrain as a critical case), has once again brought the monarchy debate back into the limelight. The major underlying question here is does monarchy matter? Facing protests, both Abdullah II and Muhammad VI responded by reforming institutions. In Jordan, the constitution was amended and elections were held. In Morocco, the people could decide on a new constitution by means of a referendum and early elections were held. While ostensibly giving in to the demands of the protesters, these changes did not challenge the status quo but left Abdullah II and Muhammad VI with their almost omnipotent power. From a theoretical perspective this seems particularly interesting. Different approaches, stressing the impact of rentierism, foreign support or family participation, have attempted to explain the survival of monarchies in the Arab World over the past decades. The euphoria of the 'third wave of democratization' (Huntington) and the 'end of history' (Fukuyama) then transcended into scholarly publications during the 1990s, fostering the idea of institutions, once in place, contributing to a gradual process of democratization. During the second half of the 2000s scholars then began to realize that such effects failed to materialize in many cases. In fact, incumbents seemed to have employed democratic rhetoric and (re-)installed parliaments as well as elections while at the same time limiting their power and impact. In Jordan and Morocco these institutions also included another crucial function to Abdullah II and Muhammad VI respectively: they provided an intermediary level between king and people that can be criticized. In order to underpin this analysis, several primary sources for selected key dates since 2011 were taken into account besides the secondary literature. For Jordan, speeches of Abdullah II were considered as well as the text of the constitution, seeing that the latter was subject to change in 2011. Moreover, the coverage of the pro-monarchy newspaper Al-Dustour, the independent Ammon News and the country's main political opposition, the Islamic Action Front IAF, was analyzed. In a similar fashion, the statements of Muhammad VI and the kingdom's constitution were looked at for Morocco. Furthermore, the pro-monarchy newspaper Al-Sabah and the independent Al-Masa' were part of the analysis as well as Morocco's Islamist political opposition party, the Parti de la Justice et du Développement PJD, and the 20 February Movement, a youth group that was founded in early 2011. As the analysis suggests, the discourse about changes in the political system that erupted again in 2011 was almost entirely directed at reforming political institutions. Across the board official statements, pro-monarchy newspapers, but also independent and oppositional groups, made use of a technical language that focused on reforming the parliament, the electoral law or the constitution. These actors also approved the changes made respectively, seeing a solution and a step forward in them. Here, only little demands for a continued reform were raised. All these actors seemed to operate within the boundaries defined by the palace. The example of the 20 February Movement in Morocco stressed how deviating from this public reform discourse can result in selective repression and crackdown. The monarchies Jordan and Morocco have dodged the Arab Spring by allowing and engaging in institutional reforms. Although constitutions were amended or changed and elections were held the power balance has not changed. Accordingly, these institutions have helped Abdullah II and Muhammad VI to maintain their hold onto power rather than lowering it. Such an understanding of political institutions challenges the idea of them ultimately bringing about democratic change. Moreover, with regards to the monarchy debate the findings suggest that such a political setup, in which institutions serve as intermediary between king and people, allows the kings to remain seemingly distant from daily politics. It appears more difficult for presidents or prime minister, as heads of states in republics, to act in a similar fashion as they are by definition presiding the government.Show less
Various scholars have addressed the role of past institutions in current developments. Many of those studies have focused on cases in the same geographical regions: Europe and South America. These...Show moreVarious scholars have addressed the role of past institutions in current developments. Many of those studies have focused on cases in the same geographical regions: Europe and South America. These studies concluded that institutional legacies regularly have a distinct influence on current events, providing constraints and opportunities. This study tests this theory in a region that has been underrepresented in the literature: Asia. By conducting a case study of Taiwan, this research assesses continuities in electoral institutions from the authoritarian era into the process of democratic consolidation. Based on the findings of this examination, this study concludes that the institutional legacies in the political society of Taiwan have had an identifiable but ambiguous impact in the process of democratic consolidation.Show less
Advanced master thesis | Political Science (Advanced Master)
open access
Why is it that some separatist movements remain united while others fragment into competing factions? While one would expect supporters of a separatist movement to be united in the struggle against...Show moreWhy is it that some separatist movements remain united while others fragment into competing factions? While one would expect supporters of a separatist movement to be united in the struggle against their common enemy, the state, recent literature has shown that they often spend valuable time and resources on internal rivalries – yet little research has been done to explain this phenomenon. Based on a comparison of the cases of the Armenians in Azerbaijan, the Chechens in Russia, and the Abkhaz in their struggle with Georgia, this thesis shows that the ability of the separatist movement to establish institutions capable of providing effective governance is essential in understanding processes of cohesion and fragmentation. It further illustrates that the strength of the incumbent state as well as the amount of external support a separatist movement receives play into these processes in important ways. Future research will have to show whether these variables hold the same explanatory power in other contexts.Show less
Despite the extensive literature on the democratisation in the post-Soviet region, little effort has been dedicated to the issue of historical institutional legacies. Many designs stress national...Show moreDespite the extensive literature on the democratisation in the post-Soviet region, little effort has been dedicated to the issue of historical institutional legacies. Many designs stress national-level variation in performance and therefore cannot easily explain the differences among the countries emerging from the former Soviet Union. This paper uses process-tracing in a case study of the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania to test the variable of institutional legacies as a possible causal mechanism that aids the transition from authoritarian rule to consolidation of democracy. The analysis aims to contribute to the post-communist democratisation literature by extending the scope to new, unexplored cases and by stressing the importance of pre-communist historical legacy factor for modern institutional design. The analysis finds that the restoration of democratic institutions has pushed the character of the states toward consolidated democracies. Lasting effective governance, with the possible exception of citizenship laws, has in due course been achieved as the character of democratic values has survived Soviet homogenising polices. The conclusion proposes an analysis to measure significant variation between cases with regard to strength of legacy and strength of democratic consolidation in the post-Soviet region and predicts a correlation between these variables.Show less
