This research seeks to analyze the current hydropolitical relationship between Israel and Jordan in the light of the Declaration of Intent, agreed upon in November 2021. The agreement entails a...Show moreThis research seeks to analyze the current hydropolitical relationship between Israel and Jordan in the light of the Declaration of Intent, agreed upon in November 2021. The agreement entails a collaboration between the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the State of Israel and the United Arab Emirates on water and energy issues. While the literature on hydropolitics has mainly focused on the connection between water scarcity on the one hand, and conflict or cooperation, on the other, this study moves beyond this dichotomy by applying a mixed method of environmental peacebuilding and hydro-hegemony to the case-study. Built on theoretical analysis and including historical aspects, the international, regional and domestic context as well as the concept of asymmetrical power and discursive power, the research looks beyond elite interests and traditional theories of international relations. While the analysis identifies the envisaged cooperation from the water-for-energy deal as a form of technical environmental cooperation, the findings also stress the ambiguity in Jordan’s behavior and the underlying dynamics of power asymmetry, reinforced by the role of external actors and the use of dominant discourses.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
Master thesis | Crisis and Security Management (MSc)
open access
Freshwater is an essential yet scarce good, that is predicted to only become scarcer because of climate change and growing populations. In addition, freshwater in rivers is often shared between...Show moreFreshwater is an essential yet scarce good, that is predicted to only become scarcer because of climate change and growing populations. In addition, freshwater in rivers is often shared between multiple countries. Despite multiple predictions by scholars and experts, states often do not go to war over freshwater. Instead, most disputes end in the signing of a treaty. However, these treaties are not always fair and do not, actually, always end conflict. In the view of this research, treaties are merely a way in which states fight, without using violence, and should thus be seen as a part of ongoing conflict, rather than the end of it. In addition, despite theoretical predictions, international organisations do not play a large role in the creation of River Basin Organisations and neither do hydrohegemons.Show less
British interests in the Middle East have consistently been upheld through diplomatic means. Originally colonial, expansionist and imperial in manner, contemporary diplomatic interests in the...Show moreBritish interests in the Middle East have consistently been upheld through diplomatic means. Originally colonial, expansionist and imperial in manner, contemporary diplomatic interests in the region are labelled as bilateral, and moving away from the traditionally colonial, imperial and Orientalist discourse first established with British interest in the region. This thesis examines British diplomatic attitudes towards the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, investigating the language from the mid-twentieth century to the early twenty-first in order to highlight and explain the subtleties of colonial and Orientalist mentality still noticeable in contemporary British diplomacy towards the country, and indeed, reflective of the wider MENA region. Show less
Environmental issues are becoming increasingly pressuring, and in the Middle Eastern context, formal politics and legal regulations have been insufficient to achieve significant improvements for...Show moreEnvironmental issues are becoming increasingly pressuring, and in the Middle Eastern context, formal politics and legal regulations have been insufficient to achieve significant improvements for environmental protection. Civil society organisations such as a NGOs are thus crucial actors in this context. Since they work on a voluntary basis and aim to persuade and mobilise the population, their success depends heavily on the attitudes and beliefs of their audience. Therefore, this thesis discusses the potential of Green Islam for environmental NGOs in Jordan by identifying important aspects that are particular to faith-based environmental activism and applying them to the context of Jordan. It finds that faith-based environmental activism can be helpful for framing, as it renders the issues more relatable to the audience, and provides the organisations with legitimacy derived from a religious discourse. Furthermore, faith-based environmentalism anchors environmental values more deeply on an individual level, which, it is argued, creates stronger incentives for action. Therefore, given the strong presence of Islam in the Jordanian political and societal discourse, the thesis concludes that Green Islam can be valuable for environmental activism in Jordan.Show less
Research master thesis | Archaeology (research) (MA/MSc)
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The research presented in this thesis investigated the pottery assemblage of the Jebel Qurma region in the Black Desert (harra), north-eastern Jordan. The main reason for studying the pottery of...Show moreThe research presented in this thesis investigated the pottery assemblage of the Jebel Qurma region in the Black Desert (harra), north-eastern Jordan. The main reason for studying the pottery of this region was that no pottery studies of this region and the harra as a whole existed. Therefore, there existed a significant gap in the knowledge of this region. This was problematic for several reasons. First of all, pottery was one of the best ways of dating occupation in this area, since stratigraphic sequences are nearly absent. Additionally, pottery research in this region had the potential of illuminating the ties of this region, and the harra as a whole, to developments on its fringes and beyond. Four main aspects of the pottery were researched: technology, morphology, date and distribution. The technology and morphology were analysed following fabrics groups in which further variation was investigated. The dates of the pottery was researched using published literature on the dated pottery of other sites, in order to find parallels. The distribution was analysed according to numerous variables, including amounts (and weight), fabric, distance to water, visual prominence, Hillslope Point Classification, accessibility and chronology. The analyses of these aspects have led to the following conclusions: (1) The Jebel Qurma pottery assemblage is characterized by a large variety in both technological and morphological aspects, but mainly features rather coarse and simply-shaped vessels; (2) pottery was introduced in the region during the Early to Middle Bronze Age, disappears after this period and reappears in the Roman period, after which it continues to be in use up until the present; (3) the majority of the pottery was most likely used for domestic purposes, i.e. cooking, serving and short-term storage and (4) the pottery was used throughout the entire research area, but was concentrated on a few sites with favourable locations for settling that saw a lot of reuse through time. Furthermore, the research has shown that long-distance (trade) networks must have existed for pottery to appear in the harra, since most pottery came from sites located far away from the Jebel Qurma region. All in all, the research presented in this paper has increased our understanding of the pottery of the harra, as well as shown that the harra was not an isolated region, but incorporated into networks of exchange which lead to the spread of pottery to and throughout this region.Show less
The overwhelming majority of the more than five and a half million Syrians have fled to neighboring countries in the Middle East without their civil documents. Particularly in a refugee context, it...Show moreThe overwhelming majority of the more than five and a half million Syrians have fled to neighboring countries in the Middle East without their civil documents. Particularly in a refugee context, it is crucial for the standard of living for Syrian refugees and eventual return to Syria to be adequately documented. Complex civil registration systems in the host countries, however, often prevent Syrian refugees from obtaining civil documentation, thereby expanding the problem of the lack and loss of civil documentation of Syrian refugees. This thesis examines the different civil registration systems and their consequences for Syrian refugees in Jordan, Turkey, and Lebanon through an in-depth analysis focusing on legal status, marriage and birth registration. This thesis argues that the difference in implemented civil registration systems is determined by each host country’s social, political, and economic situation before and during the Syrian refugee influx and the extent to which the Syrian refugees have impacted the country, positively and negatively. In Turkey, the government has adopted a temporary protection regime, which includes refugee-sensitive civil registration systems. However, in Lebanon and to a lesser extent Jordan, Syrian refugees are still facing many challenges trying to obtain civil documentation due to the complex civil registration systems. As the eight years of hosting refugees has turned out more harmful than beneficial for the host countries, discussions on the return of Syrian refugees has increasingly become louder. However, a lot of change is still required to ensure that Syrian refugees are adequately documented.Show less
Research master thesis | Archaeology (research) (MA/MSc)
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The research presented in this RMA thesis investigates multiple facets of wusūm petroglyphs from the Jebel Qurma region in northeastern Jordan. Wusūm form a particular system of markings used by...Show moreThe research presented in this RMA thesis investigates multiple facets of wusūm petroglyphs from the Jebel Qurma region in northeastern Jordan. Wusūm form a particular system of markings used by largely mobile pastoralist groups throughout the Near East, and are commonly encountered during archaeological surveys. Despite their ubiquity in archaeological contexts, our current understanding of wusūm in general is extremely limited. The rich and well-documented Jebel Qurma dataset, therefore, offers a timely opportunity to investigate the phenomenon of wusūm from a much-needed holistic perspective. Bringing together a multitude of relevant primary sources, theoretical considerations, and archaeological data for the first time, this thesis aims at providing a first-ever, comprehensive perspective on the phenomenon of wusūm marking systems in the Near East.Show less
In the north-east of Jordan lies the badia, a harsh and barren landscape that can be divided in the basalt uplands of the harra and the gravel plains of the hamad. Although the area seems...Show moreIn the north-east of Jordan lies the badia, a harsh and barren landscape that can be divided in the basalt uplands of the harra and the gravel plains of the hamad. Although the area seems uninviting, it holds a wealth of archaeological remains. The Landscapes of Survival project is one of the several research projects that studies these remains, and focusses on the pastoralist archaeology of the Safaitic time period in the Jebel Qurma region. A large part of the archaeological record at Jebel Qurma is made up of rock engravings. Part of these rock engravings contains depictions of weaponry. This thesis aims to shed light on the relationship between these weapons and the people that once carved them using iconographic research, literary sources, ethnographic accounts and epigraphic evidence. The broad main question “what can the depictions of weapons on the rock art of Jebel Qurma tell about the people that once lived here?” will be answered using sub-questions that aim to classify weapon types, look at weapon trade networks, identify patterns in weapon usage, and place data acquired at Jebel Qurma in a regional and ethnographic framework.Show less
Research master thesis | Archaeology (research) (MA/MSc)
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The incredible rock-cut architecture at the Nabataean capital of Petra, Jordan, has marveled many. They have been, and still are, the subject of many archaeological projects in the region. However,...Show moreThe incredible rock-cut architecture at the Nabataean capital of Petra, Jordan, has marveled many. They have been, and still are, the subject of many archaeological projects in the region. However, the scholarly emphasis on these Nabataean monuments has casted a shadow over all things mundane. Due to this focus, surprisingly little is known about the Nabataean kingdom (second century BC- AD 106), and the people within. Although houses have been excavated from the beginning of the research in the 1930’s onwards, and successfulness of the study of societies through houses in the archaeological record has been well established for other periods in the Near East, the results of these studies are not yet integrated in the study of the Nabataean society as a whole. This thesis aims to give an overview of the available information about houses which were excavated in the past, and to use this information to reconstruct these buildings and their function. Subsequently, this information is used, together with information from epigraphic and ethnographic sources, to study the different social structures which are represented in the dataset. Lastly, on the basis of the Nabataean material culture (small finds, public and private architecture) this culture is placed into the regional context of the Hellenised world. From this study, it becomes apparent that the perspective on non-monumental architecture is a useful one to study the Nabataean society and complement the data from previous studies. It is shown that the houses do not only provide more information about the society, but that they can also be used to contextualize the monuments, and especially their architectural styles.Show less
Research master thesis | Middle Eastern Studies (research) (MA)
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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