India is in the throes of one of the darkest moments in the nation’s history. The deadly COVID-19 pandemic, resulting from the outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has been ravaging the lives and...Show moreIndia is in the throes of one of the darkest moments in the nation’s history. The deadly COVID-19 pandemic, resulting from the outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has been ravaging the lives and livelihoods of people all over the world, and the people of India are no exception. Primarily cultural, ethnic or religious minority communities are expected to be disproportionately impacted by the virus and its aftermath (Al Saba 2020). In an attempt to increase international awareness of the situation of marginalised minority communities during this global crisis, this thesis will cover the impact of COVID-19 on one such community, Indian Muslims.Show less
Regional acts of terrorism remain a significant problem for the countries of West Africa. This thesis seeks to explain the reasons for rebel movements to resort to such sub-national terrorism. By...Show moreRegional acts of terrorism remain a significant problem for the countries of West Africa. This thesis seeks to explain the reasons for rebel movements to resort to such sub-national terrorism. By basing its theoretical framework on the academic literature explaining violence against civilians, this thesis explores the phenomenon of sub-national terrorism. The rebel movements of Boko Haram, the Movement of Democratic Forces in the Casamance (MFDC) and the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) are discussed. By giving meaning to the use of violence against civilians across West Africa, this work aims to discover what exactly leads rebel organizations towards employing methods of sub-national terrorism.Show less
Current global movements have emphasized the institutionalized problem of colourism that structurally disadvantage people of colour. In Indonesia, the Melanesians, a marginalized group of dark...Show moreCurrent global movements have emphasized the institutionalized problem of colourism that structurally disadvantage people of colour. In Indonesia, the Melanesians, a marginalized group of dark-skinned people from East-Indonesia, find themselves in a Southeast Asian society that embraces a beauty standard of fair skin. This exposes the already marginalized group to a society that encourages colourism. This thesis attempts to research to what extent colourism within the beauty standards contributes to the marginalization of their position within Indonesian society over the last two decades. Furthermore, this thesis analyses the establishment of colourism within the Southeast Asian beauty standard, as well as why the Melanesians have been in a marginalized position since the Indonesian dependence.Show less
Due to the neglect of linguistics proper to address the social component in linguistics, and sociolinguistics extensive focus on language variation and change during the 1970s, Critical Discourse...Show moreDue to the neglect of linguistics proper to address the social component in linguistics, and sociolinguistics extensive focus on language variation and change during the 1970s, Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) emerged as an approach focusing on the relations between discourse and society, and how these are reproduced through text and music. As language is a powerful tool for identity construction, and its nature of being redefined within specific contexts, allows for CDA to observe how identities are constructed within discourses. Hence, by using Critical Discourse Analysis as an approach to analyzing music excerpts, this research will argue that the album Sobrevivendo no Inferno, by the Brazilian rap group Racionais MCs, uses specific structural and stylistic religious features as a semantic tool for Afro-Brazilian identity reconstruction. After presenting the Brazilian context of inequality and marginalization of peripheries, this research will apply the three stage model of analysis presented by Fairclough (1984): description, interpretation, and explanation of text. Although the primary focus of CDA has been on analyses of texts containing discourses produced by controlling groups, this research will apply the CDA approach to analyze discourse of resistance against dominating groups.Show less
Considering the global boom in Transitional Justice (TJ) and its bureaucratization since the 1980s, critical multi-disciplinary scholars realised that ‘transitional’ discourses and practices were...Show moreConsidering the global boom in Transitional Justice (TJ) and its bureaucratization since the 1980s, critical multi-disciplinary scholars realised that ‘transitional’ discourses and practices were depoliticizing alternative political perspectives. But although they refer to interrelated phenomena, their language and chief academic objectives diverge, making depoliticization incoherent and under-conceptualized. This paper unifies prior efforts by asking what depoliticization is and tracing its consequences. We present six tentative definitions of depoliticization, categorise them into three types, and incorporate our preferred definition into our methodology. In a case study of TJ and post-transitional activism in Argentina during 1983-1996, we map its occurrence beginning with a depoliticizing move in 1983 by the Alfonsín administration that facilitated the production of Nunca Mas in 1984 and examine its relationship to the marginalization of the Madres de Plaza de Mayo, a civil society organisation that emerged in response to mass disappearances under the former military junta. We conclude that depoliticization occurred and contributed to marginalization of the Madres de Plaza de Mayo, having produced a clear conceptual framework for further applications of depoliticization in contexts of TJ.Show less
This thesis discusses the marginalization of LGBT+ citizens in Nigeria through state legislation. Within the recent decade there has been an increase in legislation targeting LGBT+ citizens in...Show moreThis thesis discusses the marginalization of LGBT+ citizens in Nigeria through state legislation. Within the recent decade there has been an increase in legislation targeting LGBT+ citizens in Nigeria. Forms of legislation leading to marginalization of LGBT+ citizens is referred to in this thesis as political homophobia. This research focuses on the role of Pentecostal movements in relation to these political developments. It discusses the influence of dominant Pentecostal ideologies on the formation of anti-homosexuality legislation, by giving an insight into the complex relationship between religion and politics in NigeriaShow less
