This thesis concerns the Dutch responses to US foreign policy in the 21st century. The research involves an analysis of the responses to the War in Afghanistan and the Iraq War, which serve as case...Show moreThis thesis concerns the Dutch responses to US foreign policy in the 21st century. The research involves an analysis of the responses to the War in Afghanistan and the Iraq War, which serve as case studies. The thesis examines which theory – bandwagoning or soft balancing – explains the Dutch position in the context of the War on Terror. The realist theories of soft balancing and bandwagoning are two opposing approaches. In brief, soft balancing concerns strategies that are aimed at balancing the exceptional power of the United States, without provoking a disproportionate response from America. In contrast, bandwagoning involves strategies of staying close to the dominant power, in order to profit from the alliance in political, economic, or military-strategic terms. In this context, the Netherlands is an interesting case. As most of Western Europe, the Netherlands bandwagoned with the United States for its security and reconstruction after WWII. However, it is argued that Western European countries soft balanced against the US in the context of the War on Terror. The literature often focuses on France and Germany, but overlooks smaller countries, such as the Netherlands. The Dutch do not have the interest to soft balance against the United States, as it is reliant on its trans-Atlantic ally for its security and economy. However, the Netherlands does not have the interest to provoke its European allies either, as European integration and cooperation has benefitted the Dutch economy. Because of the uncompromising stance of France and Germany in the War on Terror, the Dutch foreign policy of ‘adapting as best as possible’ was complicated. As such, how did the Netherlands achieve its foreign policy goals without damaging its relations with any of its allies? This thesis outlines the government responses of the Netherlands to the War in Afghanistan and the Iraq War. From the analysis comes forward that the Dutch foreign policy was consistently about bandwagoning with the United States. By continuous bandwagoning, the Netherlands tried to obtain a better strategic position. Moreover, it tried to show the United States the importance of NATO, and to prevent the US from losing its interest in the trans-Atlantic alliance. The War in Afghanistan and the Iraq War sparked different responses throughout Europe. France and Germany agreed with most of America’s allies that the invasion of Afghanistan and the removal of the Taliban regime was a legitimate response to the terrorist attacks in September 11th. However, they adopted a different standpoint in the context of the Iraq War. The Netherlands remained supportive of the US endeavours in the Middle East. Against this background, the Netherlands tried to deliver European support to the United States. When it failed to do so, it offered limited support to the US, in order to not provoke its European allies.Show less
This thesis sheds light on a largely forgotten but nonetheless important group of refugees during the Cold War. The Chilean case study represents an anomaly in the traditional Cold War narrative....Show moreThis thesis sheds light on a largely forgotten but nonetheless important group of refugees during the Cold War. The Chilean case study represents an anomaly in the traditional Cold War narrative. Instead of escaping the presumed evil of communism the Chileans fled from an undemocratic right-wing military regime ultimately becoming the first major non-European refugees to apply for asylum in Western Europe after the Second World War. The Netherlands accepted around 1502 Chilean refugees whereas Ireland only admitted 107 Chilean refugees. Both countries had different approaches towards the reception of these refugees. This raises the following question: Why was the reception of Chilean refugees in the Netherlands so vastly different from the reception in Ireland, 1973-1990? This study adopts Karen Jacobsen’s analytical framework that identifies four key categories of factors that influence refugee policies. However, some adaptations were made in order to fit the individual context of both countries: 1) legal bureaucratic response; 2) national security considerations; 3) the treatment of refugees; 4) civil society; 5) and integration. These factors are discussed and analysed per case and its findings are based on primary sources of the National Archive of Ireland in Dublin, the National Archive of the Netherlands in the Hague, and the International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam.Show less
Although the period of colonial rule by the Netherlands and Portugal is a thing of the past, there is a plenitude of ‘overseas cultural heritage’ (OCH) around the world, referring to unmoveable...Show moreAlthough the period of colonial rule by the Netherlands and Portugal is a thing of the past, there is a plenitude of ‘overseas cultural heritage’ (OCH) around the world, referring to unmoveable heritage sites that were created under the colonial influence or former presence of nation states on a territory that is not part of these states today. Policy regarding OCH offers complex challenges and possibilities to present-day governments as the heritage is at the crossroads of the cultural and political involvement of both the former colonized and colonizer and thus bridges the colonial past into the current postcolonial reality. Nevertheless, research analysing and comparing OCH policy of former colonial powers at several levels of governance is rare. This thesis builds on, and adds to, the existing research by conducting a multidisciplinary (policy analysis and heritage definition analysis) and multilateral (bilateral and multilateral) comparative analysis of the OCH-policy of the Netherlands and Portugal. At core is the research question: what policy strategy have the Dutch and Portuguese governments developed concerning their OCH in the past century at both bilateral and multilateral level of governance, and to what extent are the policy strategies comparable? To answer this main research question, the thesis conducts a multidisciplinary analysis that combines a policy analysis of the OCH-policy of the Netherlands and Portugal at bilateral and multilateral level of governance at UNESCO, with the examination of the heritage definition at the heart of the existing policy, the latter by examining how the policy deals with the challenging commonality of OCH. The research enabled to map the differences and commonalities of the Dutch and Portuguese OCH-policy strategies.Show less
There has always been a correlation between football and violence. However, incidents at football matches lost its spontaneity in the UK during the 1960s, when groups of young supporters started to...Show moreThere has always been a correlation between football and violence. However, incidents at football matches lost its spontaneity in the UK during the 1960s, when groups of young supporters started to organize themselves in groups, giving life to football hooliganism. The advent of European football competitions and the interaction between British supporters and the ones from rest of Europe provoked the spread of football hooliganism. This thesis proposes an analysis of the development of this social phenomenon in four countries: the UK, the Netherlands, Italy, and Spain. In particular, this research will focus on the role that political ideologies have played within hooligans’ groups and will assess the motives for the major presence of politics within the stadiums of countries such as Italy and Spain, and its absence in the UK and the Netherlands.Show less
This research attempted to answer the following question: ‘What was the function of the Mesolithic small (<88,5mm) barbed bone points from the North Sea and what does this contribute to our...Show moreThis research attempted to answer the following question: ‘What was the function of the Mesolithic small (<88,5mm) barbed bone points from the North Sea and what does this contribute to our understanding of subsistence strategies of the inhabitants of the North Sea Basin?’ In order to answer this question an assemblage of 28 archaeological small barbed bone points – that originate from the North Sea in front of the Dutch coast of Zuid-Holland – was studied. This thesis started in chapter 1 with an outline of research that was already conducted on these points by Verhart (1986; 1988; 2000) Tsiopelas (2010) and Spithoven (2016). Thereafter, it was explained in chapter 2 how the research was conducted: literature research, experimental archaeology and use wear analysis. In chapter 3, it was outlined how these points fit within the archaeological context: Mesolithic Doggerland. The shooting experiment conducted for this research was discussed in chapter 4 and in chapter 5 the results of this experiment were compared with the results of the use wear analysis. The use wear analysis was conducted on 28 archaeological points in comparison to six experimental points from the shooting experiment. In chapter 6, the social factors which could have influenced the life history of the points were discussed, as well as their function and the representativeness of this research. In the concluding chapter of this thesis (7) the research question was answered followed by a review of the used methods and suggestions for future research. The function of the small barbed bone points from Mesolithic Doggerland could be inferred from the use wear analysis. The points are all (heavily) curated weapon tips. They have developed a high degree of wear and about half of the studied points have remains of reworked barbs present as well. The research area is only a small area of Mesolithic Doggerland which already yielded about 800 of these small barbed bone/antler points. The curation of these points, the function as weapon tips and the overrepresentation within the archaeological record of Mesolithic Doggerland suggests that these weapons were used very frequently. Therefore, it can be inferred that hunting was one an important subsistence strategy. The most used hunting weapon could have been the bow and arrow because the small points are interpreted as arrowheads. However, the use wear analysis could not confirm that the points were specifically used as arrowheads.Show less
This thesis explores why populist parties in Europe, and within the Netherlands in particular, have grown significantly in the last decades. This thesis will argue that key to this populist trend...Show moreThis thesis explores why populist parties in Europe, and within the Netherlands in particular, have grown significantly in the last decades. This thesis will argue that key to this populist trend has been the development of the capital/labour ratio.Show less
The primary goal of this article is to identify the correlation between European integration and the transition to renewable sources of electricity. Several factors, such as environmental concerns...Show moreThe primary goal of this article is to identify the correlation between European integration and the transition to renewable sources of electricity. Several factors, such as environmental concerns and depleting deposits of fossil-fuels, have made the European Union and its member-states decide that in order to secure accessible, cheap and stable electricity, new sources of energy are required. The premise of this article is that past and contemporary European integration in energy policies is built upon energy security in correlation with the specific characteristics of fossil-fuels. The result is a unique combination of international cooperation and national sovereignty which needs to be identified and understood. Therefore, this article will first of all identify past European energy policies based on fossil-fuels. These are the founding documents of the European Coal and Steel Community and the European response to the 1973 oil crisis. These events will be followed by an analysis of EU-wide energy policies in recent year. In the following chapter, several forms of energy which can act as a substitute to fossil-fuels in the EU will be analysed, to precisely define what their specific characteristics are and how they can potentially be used to reduce dependency on fossil-fuels. When this is done, the three case-studies of the Netherlands, Sweden and Bulgaria will serve as a description of how states are currently approaching the transition to renewable sources of electricity, and what kind of problems and limitations they identify. The decision has been made to identify three individual states instead of the EU as a whole because of the fact that each state is in a unique position and is therefore deserving of an individual analysis. This study is relevant because in contemporary academic literature, the topics of European integration in energy policies and renewable energy is often overlooked. Most experts either focus on identifying European policies or the technical aspects of renewable energy, but they are seldom combined. This is problematic because it is almost certain that an increased reliance on renewable energy will have profound effects on societies in EU-member states and on the way the EU is integrated regarding energy policies. The question is therefore not if there is a connection between European integration and renewable sources of electricity, but how the transition to renewable sources in electricity generation influences European Integration within the field of energy cooperation. This article is meant to form as a basis for further research in the connection between the transition to renewable sources of energy and European integration and will therefore be a combination of a description and an analysis.Show less
Strategic culture is a concept both promising and controversial. The idea that culture impacts security policy and why an actor favors certain policies over others has appealed to scholars and...Show moreStrategic culture is a concept both promising and controversial. The idea that culture impacts security policy and why an actor favors certain policies over others has appealed to scholars and analysts since the concept was first introduced in 1977. However, some actors have received more attention than others. Most notably, smaller countries seem to attract less attention. This thesis will make use of this gap in the literature and focus on the Netherlands. Specifically, it seeks to illustrate in what way the Dutch strategic culture has manifested itself after the Second World War up to the present day. Using Alistair I. Johnston’s conceptual framework, this thesis found that the Netherlands was highly influenced by the war, drastically altering its security policy. It has sought to highly integrate itself in the international community, seeking cooperation in an effort to prevent war. Its policies are formed with this goal in mind and is highly grounded in international law, seeking the diplomatic over military action. While promising, these results should only form the basis of future, more comprehensive, research. I argue that the concept of strategic culture is too restrictive and fails to paint the complete picture. With this in mind, the concept of security culture is very promising for future research.Show less
Deze scriptie betrof een onderzoek naar de Tweede Boerenoorlog, waarbij een groep onverzoenlijke krijgsgevangenen na afloop van de oorlog zich heeft gevestigd in Nederlands-Indie om daar een...Show moreDeze scriptie betrof een onderzoek naar de Tweede Boerenoorlog, waarbij een groep onverzoenlijke krijgsgevangenen na afloop van de oorlog zich heeft gevestigd in Nederlands-Indie om daar een landbouwkolonie te runnen die zij kregen toegewezen door de Nederlandse regering in Indië.Show less
Loom weights have been found all over the world and there are clear regional distinctions in shape and size, but a few types like conical weights seem to be used repeatedly in most regions. In the...Show moreLoom weights have been found all over the world and there are clear regional distinctions in shape and size, but a few types like conical weights seem to be used repeatedly in most regions. In the European Iron Age, a new type of loom weight is introduced with a flat triangular shape and perforations through the corners and often through the centre of the weight. The introduction of this new type of weight is reason for a big discussion. The generally accepted hypothesis on the function of triangular loom weights comes from Loewe (1971, 35, footnote 66), in which he describes how the triangular weights with three perforations were used to secure a bundle of warp threads, making it easier to fabricate longer pieces of textile and rolling the textile up for storing purposes. This presumably gave the triangular weights an advantage over the earlier conical and pyramidal weights. However, some archaeologists disapprove of this assessment of function, they presume a function as net sinker or spanner for hides is more likable. The research of this thesis shows that these objects show a large number of characteristics that are purely necessary for the function as loom weight. Therefore, a primary function as loom weight is accepted.Show less
The British referendum on EU membership and its outcome have shaken the European Union (EU). Other member states reacted mainly surprised and disappointed to the decision of the British to leave...Show moreThe British referendum on EU membership and its outcome have shaken the European Union (EU). Other member states reacted mainly surprised and disappointed to the decision of the British to leave the biggest European integration project. The idea of the ‘Brexit’ (British exit) also worried some parties: it could function as an example for other countries. In the Netherlands, the radical right-wing party suggested a ‘Nexit’ referendum. The Dutch liberal party VVD (Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie), the senior government partner, immediately rejected this idea. The VVD looked up to the United Kingdom (UK) for a long time and often shared ideas with the British, but the decision to leave the EU was not supported by the VVD. The reactions of the VVD to the UK in Europe in the period 1948-1963 and the period 2000-2013 are at some points similar and different on other points. This is shown through archival research.Show less
