Bachelor thesis | Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology (BSc)
closed access
This thesis examines Korean diasporic identities in Japan, focusing on language's role in identity negotiations within a post-colonial context. Through investigating present day Zainichi Koreans'...Show moreThis thesis examines Korean diasporic identities in Japan, focusing on language's role in identity negotiations within a post-colonial context. Through investigating present day Zainichi Koreans' identity-making, I demonstrate their journeys in navigating the empowering and discriminating role of language.Show less
Master thesis | Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology (MSc)
open access
The topic of identity, nationalism, ethnic conflict, in the Balkans have been extensively researched. However, with the ever-growing use of social media for political discourse, and to inform the...Show moreThe topic of identity, nationalism, ethnic conflict, in the Balkans have been extensively researched. However, with the ever-growing use of social media for political discourse, and to inform the public, not much has been researched on how the nationalist tendencies that led to the wars of the 1990s have been incorporated by Balkan users online. Through a combined online and offline research approach that employed ethnographic methods for each, this research sought to compare the influences of nationalist political discourse and how reconciliation is approached. The offline research conducted focused on the everyday symbolic and material reality after the war in Bosnia, and how reconciliation is felt by my interlocutors there. The online research was done by observing a particular Subreddit called r/Balkans_irl, where users create nationalist content that is viewed by some as reclaiming their identities through irony, and as offensive toxic humor by others. This research is significant due to the importance the Western Balkans have gained geopolitically over recent years, particularly after of the war in Ukraine. Despite the negative attitude the EU rightfully has towards its domestic nationalist sentiments, it is important to understand why nationalism has been such a focal point in the region rather than simply trying to get rid of it.Show less
Despite how clearly it permeates most political and social strata in the region, the intersection of spirituality and politics in Myanmar is a relatively underappreciated subject. This thesis...Show moreDespite how clearly it permeates most political and social strata in the region, the intersection of spirituality and politics in Myanmar is a relatively underappreciated subject. This thesis attempts to uncover the instances where distinct political acts and histories enmeshed and enthused a religious narrative informing much of the region's political legitimacy. Stylistically informed by Intellectual History, this paper first examines the definitions and concepts surrounding Political Buddhism and its interpolations within a Myanmar context. The paper will then divulge the broadest examples of Political Buddhism during Colonialism, Socialism, and military junta before honing in on use cases within the three latest public events: The 1988 uprising, the Saffron Revolution, the discourse surrounding the Rohingya Massacre, and the "Sangha" Buddhist monk institution's involvement in such.Show less
Out of the many examples that contribute to the global rise in right-wing extremist sentiments, Malaysia cannot be excluded. Malaysia is known as a multi-ethnic and culturally diverse nation....Show moreOut of the many examples that contribute to the global rise in right-wing extremist sentiments, Malaysia cannot be excluded. Malaysia is known as a multi-ethnic and culturally diverse nation. However, this public identity is in contrast with the political reality of Malaysia. This multi-ethnicity comes paired with ethnic segregation, where political parties only represent their ‘own’ ethnicity and their ‘own’ people. Though the ethnic Malay community is the most privileged in the country, politicians spread the idea that the ethnic Malays are under a constant threat of marginalization by ethnic minorities. To take this a step further, the privileged position of the ethnic Malay community is protected through the Constitution, resulting in the exclusion of ethnic minorities from political and public spheres. Advocating for ethnic equality and inclusive politics is considered to be going against the Constitution and is taken as a direct attempt at subordinating the Malay community. This has resulted in far-right sentiments surrounding the position of the Malay community vis-àvis the ethnic minorities. In this context, this paper analyses how institutionalized practices of ethnic segregation in Malaysia have created an environment of right-wing extremism.Show less
The Great Translation Movement is a digital activity organised by Chinese diasporic netizens, having launched during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. The movement seeks to translate the...Show moreThe Great Translation Movement is a digital activity organised by Chinese diasporic netizens, having launched during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. The movement seeks to translate the ultranationalist, pro-Russian and anti-Western sentiments, as well as the ongoing discussion about the social events from the China online discourse and show them to the broader audience in the West. In fact, what lies behind online comments such as "Putin the Great", "US is demeaning China," and " the system is fatally broken" is the phenomenon of digital nationalism in China. Thus, this paper examines the two sides of digital nationalism. On the one hand, by promoting nation-patriotism online, the authoritarian regime of China increased support by the Chinese people worldwide. But on the other hand, nation-building in the age of ICT is a complex process that produces unpredictable outcomes, especially under the circumstances such as polarised online discourse and social discord. Thus, this paper examined the most recent data curated by the GTM, aiming to comprehend GTM's participant's ideas and behaviour and the consequences of CCP's engagement in the digital nationalism process.Show less
Deze scriptie bestudeert het politieke klimaat van Frans-Baskenland tussen 1887 en 1907 aan de hand van de krant genaamd Eskualduna. De krant werd opgericht in 1887 en doet vanuit een katholiek en...Show moreDeze scriptie bestudeert het politieke klimaat van Frans-Baskenland tussen 1887 en 1907 aan de hand van de krant genaamd Eskualduna. De krant werd opgericht in 1887 en doet vanuit een katholiek en conservatief perspectief verslag over zowel de nationale als de lokale politiek. Dit werkstuk onderzoekt hoe de krant zich verhield tot aan de ene kant het Baskische nationalisme, een ideologie die streeft naar een onafhankelijke Baskische staat, en aan de andere kant het Franse regionalisme, een gedachtegoed waarin de Franse regio's worden verheerlijkt, maar binnen een Frans-nationalistisch raamwerk.Show less
Trust in the European Union is a complex issue with many factors affecting it. Some of the factors that could also be influencing each other. This research focusses on how the relation between...Show moreTrust in the European Union is a complex issue with many factors affecting it. Some of the factors that could also be influencing each other. This research focusses on how the relation between Eastern orthodoxy and trust in the European Parliament is influenced by nationalism. The question central to this thesis is: To what degree does nationalism affect the relation between Eastern orthodox religiousness and an individual's level of trust in the European Union in Bulgaria and Cyprus? The objective of the research is to find how strong the relation is between Eastern orthodoxy and European trust in an environment where the potential link between Eastern orthodoxy and nationalism is at its strongest. Excising literature suggested that in majority Orthodox countries, there seems to be a strong tie between nationalism, a variable with a historic negative relation to European support, and Eastern orthodoxy, a variable that has a historic positive relation with European support. Therefore the expectation is that when excluding nationalism from the analysis, the relation between Eastern orthodoxy and European trust would be more negative compared to the analysis with nationalism included. However, through a multiple regression analysis using the data from the European Social Survey, this hypothesis finds no supporting evidence for the supposed relation between Eastern orthodoxy and European trust. The inclusion of nationalism into the regression does not make a significant change to this result. Instead, nationalism seems to be a strong predictor for European trust without heavily affecting the effect of Eastern orthodoxy. This leads to the conclusion that to understand Euroscepticism, factors like country of residence and emotional attachment to a country make for stronger predictors of Euroscepticism compared to religion.Show less
By addressing the theory associated with studying nationalism from below, and approaching the case study of the German occupation of the Netherlands during WWII, this thesis expands the...Show moreBy addressing the theory associated with studying nationalism from below, and approaching the case study of the German occupation of the Netherlands during WWII, this thesis expands the methodological toolbox with which to approach the evidence problem associated with historical research on nationalism from below. By taking the Stimmungsberichte (mood reports) written by the Wehrmacht, as ledgers of everyday actions performed by the silent majority of the Dutch population, this thesis assesses the fluctuation of nationalistic sentiment in terms of the commonly used repertoires of contention. This leads to a more dynamic perception of nationalism in the Netherlands during this unique time in the history of the nation-state.Show less
This thesis explores the deeper impact of the newly discovered Guochao-trend in China through a lens of consumer nationalism and a comparison with the South Korean wave.
This thesis provides an analysis of three marginal historical movements from the inter-war period in the 20th century; German neocolonialism, Japanese Pan-Asianism and Pan-Africanism. All three...Show moreThis thesis provides an analysis of three marginal historical movements from the inter-war period in the 20th century; German neocolonialism, Japanese Pan-Asianism and Pan-Africanism. All three movements represent trends that present alternative views of the dominant ideologies of the century which they were ultimately suppressed by with the onset of the Second World War. Based on what documentation they left behind however, a model can be constructed that attempts to explain how these movements could have survived or otherwise have seen a resurgence in the absence of global liberalism and communism. Alternative histories found in video games, such as the popular Hearts of Iron IV expansion made by its (non-academic) community The New Order: Last Days of Europe provide an opportunity to put this model into practice, but the shortcomings in its existing narrative regarding Africa must first be addressed.Show less
Cuba's alignement with the Soviet Union during the Cold War is often regarded as a dependency on the part of Cuba. However, while this may be largely true in the economic and security domains,...Show moreCuba's alignement with the Soviet Union during the Cold War is often regarded as a dependency on the part of Cuba. However, while this may be largely true in the economic and security domains, different viewpoints can certainly be elaborated in terms of politics. This thesis will show that under certain circumstances Cuba was able to influence Soviet policies, suggesting that Cuba was a Super Client.Show less
This thesis makes use of a critical discourse analysis to investigate in what ways the Hindutva discourse on (re)conversion of people to Hinduism transforms the religion to accommodate marginalized...Show moreThis thesis makes use of a critical discourse analysis to investigate in what ways the Hindutva discourse on (re)conversion of people to Hinduism transforms the religion to accommodate marginalized groups, such as Dalits and Adivasis. The thesis provides an overview of the relevant topics and academic debate before getting into the critical discourse analysis. It was discovered that, through the Hindutva discourse, Hinduism is constructed as a tolerant and all-encompasing tradition, whilst similtaniously is experiencing isomorphism to monotheistic religions.Show less
