As climate change continues to threaten cultural heritage in Africa, creating conservation strategies for their protection is of urgent need. Given the history of colonialism and dispossession of...Show moreAs climate change continues to threaten cultural heritage in Africa, creating conservation strategies for their protection is of urgent need. Given the history of colonialism and dispossession of cultural heritage in Africa, understanding the power dynamics between international actors within cultural heritage protection, and local communities is relevant. Therefore the research attempts to analyse how conservation efforts, particularly of climate-threatened heritage, can reinforce or challenge unequal power dynamics between the local community members and external actors. This thesis examines UNESCO’s Earthen Architecture protection Program (WHEAP), and its conservation efforts in Mali’s world heritage sites of Timbuktu and Djenné. The methodology followed the qualitative analysis of the project initiatives’ documentation. The analysis followed the theoretical framework which evaluated the followig factors: Funding & resources, Conservation Practices and Strategies, Community Engagement, Knowledge systems, Economic and Social Impact. The study contextualizes the sites by identifying the main threats from climate change and gives an account of past protection projects. The findings reveal mixed results but show that the program showcased a good level of inclusion of the communities and their traditional knowledge. At a first glance, the thesis underscores the need to protect African cultural heritage, especially given its higher vulnerability from climate change, but does so while emphasizing equitable and just relationships between local custodians of a particular heritage and external actors. Furthermore the research helps identify good practices which can inform future multilateral climate-centered heritage protection projects while ensure more just and community based practices.Show less
Executive master thesis | International Relations and Diplomacy (MSc)
open access
Piercing through the dust of wars in Sub-Saharan Africa has become increasingly difficult for peacekeeping operations. UN-led and regionally-led operations in this region face increasing challenges...Show morePiercing through the dust of wars in Sub-Saharan Africa has become increasingly difficult for peacekeeping operations. UN-led and regionally-led operations in this region face increasing challenges due to the evolving dynamics of intrastate conflicts and the inability of these organisations to adapt, leading to intensified violence and rising civilian casualties. The concept of local ownership in peacebuilding has gained traction over the decades as a response to these challenges but remains inadequately implemented and formulated in contemporary peacekeeping operations. This thesis conducts a focused structured comparison of two case studies in Sub-Saharan Africa – Mali and the DRC – to examine how specific approaches to local ownership influence the effectiveness of these peacekeeping operations. The findings reveal several overarching limitations in current approaches to local ownership in both UN-led and regionally-led missions, as well as some country- and region-specific issues. The key limitations include a severe lack of inter-organisational cooperation and communication, the apparent inability of peacekeeping operations to adapt to the rapidly changing nature of conflicts, failure to integrate various levels of governance in local ownership projects, and the tendency to view local ownership as a means to an end rather than part of a comprehensive framework for sustainable peace. This research contributes to the existing literature by highlighting the challenges faced by both the UN and regional organisations in transitioning from UN-dominated peacekeeping to regional ownership of these missions in Sub-Saharan Africa.Show less
The Responsibility to Protect principle assigns states individually and the international community as a whole the duty to protect all peoples against the atrocity crimes: genocide, ethnic...Show moreThe Responsibility to Protect principle assigns states individually and the international community as a whole the duty to protect all peoples against the atrocity crimes: genocide, ethnic cleansing, war crimes and crimes against humanity. To best fulfil this duty, it is important to consider what factors increase the potential for these crimes. In order to examine whether climate change increases the potential for atrocity crimes, this thesis aims to answer the following question: should addressing climate change be regarded as part of the State’s Responsibility to Protect? To this end, it explores how climate change influences the risk for atrocity crimes in Mali and Nigeria. It does so through applying the relevant risk factors and indicators from the United Nations Framework of Analysis for Atrocity Crimes to the current situations in these countries. The analysis shows that climate change does indeed increase the risk for atrocity crimes. It does so indirectly, especially through inducing more resource scarcity and economic hardships. Consequently, this thesis concludes that climate change should be addressed as part of the State’s Responsibility to Protect. It encourages states and the international community to include climate change in their strategies to adhere to this duty.Show less
Cross-linguistic studies have shown that despite variations across languages, universal patterns are found within semantic domains. In sign language linguistics, cross-linguistic studies of the...Show moreCross-linguistic studies have shown that despite variations across languages, universal patterns are found within semantic domains. In sign language linguistics, cross-linguistic studies of the iconic patterns per semantic domain have received major attention in recent years. This study investigates iconicity in the semantic domain of animals in Berbey Sign Language – an emerging family sign language in Mali – and compares it to 10 other sign languages. The results of the analysis of the iconic strategies and iconic image in 10 animal signs reveal notable patterns. An overview of the universal tendencies found in the semantic domain of animals is included in the study as well.Show less
This paper researches tone in Bobo Madare North, a Niger-Congo, Mande language (ISO 639-3: bbo), spoken in Mali and Burkina Faso, closely related to Sya. After examining its basic principles...Show moreThis paper researches tone in Bobo Madare North, a Niger-Congo, Mande language (ISO 639-3: bbo), spoken in Mali and Burkina Faso, closely related to Sya. After examining its basic principles regarding tone, a limited overview of tone in the verb system is given. The paper proceeds to investigate tone in the noun system. Morphologically simple nouns, inflection (pluralisation), some compounding and derivation, as well as tone processes happening across word boundaries (definite and possessive constructions) are investigated. The author makes use of her own research data, applying principles of autosegmental phonology for her analysis. Bobo Madare North has three underlying tones with automatic and non-automatic downstep, tone spreading and (local?) upstep.Show less
Bachelor thesis | Afrikaanse talen en culturen (BA)
closed access
In deze scriptie wordt aan de hand van de begrippen Input-, Throughput- en Outputlegitimiteit de invloed van legitimiteit op het beloop en de potentiële uitkomst van de MINUSMA-vredesmissie in Mali...Show moreIn deze scriptie wordt aan de hand van de begrippen Input-, Throughput- en Outputlegitimiteit de invloed van legitimiteit op het beloop en de potentiële uitkomst van de MINUSMA-vredesmissie in Mali beschreven. Aan de hand van enkele praktijkvoorbeelden als ook de beschouwing van de oorzaken van het huidig conflict wordt ook de dynamiek die tussen deze begrippen bestaat geanalyseerd. Concluderend wordt gesteld dat de missie niet volledig voldoet aan de legitimiteitseisen en dat dit consequenties heeft voor het succes ervan, waarvan we een deel nu al in de dagelijkse berichtgeving terugzien.Show less
The research concentrates on the comprehensiveness of the EU crisis management. It is examined whether the EU is using the comprehensive approach effectively. With the term ‘effectively’ is meant...Show moreThe research concentrates on the comprehensiveness of the EU crisis management. It is examined whether the EU is using the comprehensive approach effectively. With the term ‘effectively’ is meant whether the approach has successful outcomes. The conflict in Mali is used as a case study to answer the research question. The research question of the master thesis is: ‘Did the European Union manage the Malian conflict with an effective comprehensive approach?’ In other words, did the EU have an integrated policy towardsMali with successful results?Show less
This thesis focuses on the discourses on women and conflict in the context of the conflict of 2012 in Northern Mali. There are various actors involved in this conflict: the United Nations, the...Show moreThis thesis focuses on the discourses on women and conflict in the context of the conflict of 2012 in Northern Mali. There are various actors involved in this conflict: the United Nations, the Dutch government, the soldiers on the ground, local women, local women’s organizations,independent researchers, and the occupying groups. The main question I’ve answered is ‘What are the perspectives that various actors involved in the Malian conflict have about the role of gender, women and the conflict of 2012, and what do these tell us about the effectiveness of the gender policies of MINUSMA?’. Analyzing these different discourses, it is clear that the stories of the different actors are disconnected. Only with better communication between all actors involved, effective implementation of gender policies can be achieved.Show less
Research master thesis | Political Science and Public Administration (research) (MSc)
open access
This study investigates the relationship between actorness and effectiveness and questions the direct influence of coherent behavior united positions of EU member states on the degree of activeness...Show moreThis study investigates the relationship between actorness and effectiveness and questions the direct influence of coherent behavior united positions of EU member states on the degree of activeness the EU exerts during an international crisis. It looks at the interplay between actorness, the institutional setup of the EU and the role it took up during different crises. In addition to that, it questions the direct relation between a high degree of actorness translating into more influence on the international stage. It does so by answering the question if a more coherent foreign policy – as it is generally argued – would better enable the EU to exploit its capability as an international actor in global affairs. Two cases were studied to find answers on these questions: the Mali and the Syrian crises. In fact, the Mali crisis was characterized by a high degree of cohesive behavior, whereas in the Syrian crisis frictions were predominant even though a comprehensive sanctions regime could be installed. Institutional aspects, namely the changes with regards to EU foreign policy introduced by the Lisbon Treaty as well as characteristics of the member states, including size and length of membership, were vital as well. Further, the activeness of the EU in both crisis was different in the way that the EU took up a more active and decisive role in the Mali crisis as compared to Syria. Therefore, the expected effect could be found in both cases.Show less
Master thesis | Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology (MSc)
open access
In Bamako, Mali, have I found two cultural styles in Bamako: 'cosmopolitan' and 'localist', based on the terms Ferguson (1999) uses in his book. These styles were most visible with immigrants, who...Show moreIn Bamako, Mali, have I found two cultural styles in Bamako: 'cosmopolitan' and 'localist', based on the terms Ferguson (1999) uses in his book. These styles were most visible with immigrants, who migrated from small villages elsewhere in Mali to the capital, later in their life. During my research I found that the choice for education is indeed related to cultural style. Norms are highly valuable among the different styles. These norms influence the choice for a specific type of education for children.Show less
