The U.S. military has undergone a profound shift since the end of the Cold War. This shift has largely coincided with the neoliberal and privatisation wave following the 1980s. Following this shift...Show moreThe U.S. military has undergone a profound shift since the end of the Cold War. This shift has largely coincided with the neoliberal and privatisation wave following the 1980s. Following this shift, PMCs were able to predominate, and contracts awarded by the government to PMCs allowed them to rapidly expand. Said expansion was also helped by the growing U.S. military budgets post 9/11, and to the big contracts awarded by the U.S. government to companies like KBR. In search for cheap labour, PMCs started to look at migrant labour from lesser developed countries to cater for these contracts. By tying into existing migrant networks, like those in the Gulf States and South-East Asia, PMCs were able to attract large quantities of labour. Most migrants left to Iraq because of economic incentives such as a high salary. The ability to earn a relatively good salary and therefore provides a good future for families back home. In addition, the offshoring of migrants resulted in substandard legal rights for TCNs which left many to fall into a legal grey zone where neither U.S. or local labour laws applied.Show less
In 1998, the Linkage Act came into effect in the Netherlands, linking the right to social benefits to a residence permit. Migrants who were unable to claim a residence permit, were to be deported....Show moreIn 1998, the Linkage Act came into effect in the Netherlands, linking the right to social benefits to a residence permit. Migrants who were unable to claim a residence permit, were to be deported. Fifteen Turkish women resisted the Linkage Act, and went on a hunger strike for 39 days. Women, who were also mothers, going on a hunger strike was a new phenomenon in the Netherlands. This thesis analyses the following research question: 'How and why did the fifteen Turkish women decided to go on a hunger strike and use it as a method of protest?' This thesis aimed to answer this question by using interviews with the hunger strikers together with an analysis on gender, motherhood, support, and avoiding a precedent.Show less
Migration to Europe has largely increased over the last decades, but there has been limited research on the networks of refugees and migrants. This paper examines the networks of sub-Saharan...Show moreMigration to Europe has largely increased over the last decades, but there has been limited research on the networks of refugees and migrants. This paper examines the networks of sub-Saharan refugees and migrants that reside in Greece. The networks play an important role in every step of their journey; from their country of origin to their trip towards Europe and their daily life in Greece. This work aims to investigate the type of networks sub- Saharan refugees and migrants form and find their common patterns. The ultimate goal is to display the importance of networks and evaluate if the type of networks migrants and refugees develop in Greece matters. This thesis is based on ten original interviews with sub-Saharan refugees and migrants who have lived in Greece for at least four years. The analysis of the interviews provides evidence that migrant networks ease and help both the trip and the integration of migrants and refugees. It is argued that the theory of ‘strength of weak ties’ is partially proven as many weak ties tend to develop to strong ties.Show less
This thesis explores the Neoliberal policies by the Abe government regarding the attraction of foreign labor. The effects are analyzed on both the attraction of high-skilled as well as low-skilled...Show moreThis thesis explores the Neoliberal policies by the Abe government regarding the attraction of foreign labor. The effects are analyzed on both the attraction of high-skilled as well as low-skilled labor in supplementing the domestic workforce. Furthermore, it investigates the contrast to past policies and the effects in implementing foreign workers into the Japanese labor market.Show less
In this thesis I research issues of photographic representation of displaced persons, specifically regarding the so-called European refugee crisis since 2015. I compare the roles of photojournalism...Show moreIn this thesis I research issues of photographic representation of displaced persons, specifically regarding the so-called European refugee crisis since 2015. I compare the roles of photojournalism, or news photography produced for a mass audience, and art/documentary photography. I argue that certain properties within the latter practices are better suited to the representation of refugees and migrants, whose identity, as argued by Giorgio Agamben and Hannah Arendt amongst others, is already extremely vulnerable. My case studies are the photos of the young refugee Alan Kurdi, who washed up on a beach having died in a sea-crossing and whose body was photographed by a Turkish photojournalist at the scene; and 3 art/documentary photographers who have all focused on refugees and/or migrants as their subjects.Show less
This research paper aims to identify and comment on the different meanings of the notion ‘integration’ as used in Austrian public discourse. This critical discourse analysis reveals how the term...Show moreThis research paper aims to identify and comment on the different meanings of the notion ‘integration’ as used in Austrian public discourse. This critical discourse analysis reveals how the term has been employed in the months preceding and following the Austrian legislative election of 2017 in order to make statements about migrants in Austria. Statements such as “we can speak of successful integration, when the migrant feels truly Austrian in the heart” by the country’s current prime minister are investigated in order to reveal what types of conceptualizations of integration circulate in the public debate and discourse. The discursively strongest linked meanings and associations to integration are the ones of German language acquisition, becoming a member of society, assimilation and the Islamic community. Other existing meanings include illegality and a burden resting on the receiving society.Show less
This thesis is analysing the main linguistic and visual characteristics of refugees and migrants represented in a selected number of printed media from France and Greece in the context of the...Show moreThis thesis is analysing the main linguistic and visual characteristics of refugees and migrants represented in a selected number of printed media from France and Greece in the context of the ongoing refugee crisis in Europe which started in 2015. Based on the postulates of Multimodal Critical Discourse analysis and van Leeuwen’s (2008) model of visual and verbal representation of social actors, news items will be deconstructed in order to demonstrate to what extent their discourse on migration is constructed in a negative way around the theme of otherness. Finally similarities and differences between the selected news outlets and the countries will be discussedShow less
Master thesis | Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology (MSc)
open access
This study shows that Afrikaans speaking South African immigrants living in the Netherlands create a sense of home and belonging through a variety of products, activities and networks. They do this...Show moreThis study shows that Afrikaans speaking South African immigrants living in the Netherlands create a sense of home and belonging through a variety of products, activities and networks. They do this within the institutional framework, consisting of rules, regulations and constraints of the Netherlands. Like the respondent who smuggles in Grandpa powder, a headache powder used in South Africa, although EU regulations do not allow this. Blockages thus also exist after one has migrated, and are not only of influence during the process of migration from one place to another. Within the institutional framework of the Netherlands, Afrikaans speaking South Africans have found several ways to make use of products, activities and networks in their efforts to feel at ease.Show less
