This study investigates the doctrine of self-determination in the practice of the United Nations and in relation to the self-determination claims of the Palestinian people. In the first years that...Show moreThis study investigates the doctrine of self-determination in the practice of the United Nations and in relation to the self-determination claims of the Palestinian people. In the first years that followed its establishment, the United Nations terminated British mandate on the territory and since then its Partition Plan has not materialize. Over the time, he principle of self-determination underwent numerous reforms. To look back at the development of the principle as well as its application the the Palestinian self-determination claims this work employs process tracing method. This research looks at the five decades following the establishment of the United Nations and analyses them in three separate time frames. The time frames are based on historical context of the time. Findings of this work suggest that process of disregard, negligence and flexible interpretation of the doctrine of self-determination have played part in the unsuccessful exercise of the right to self-determination by the Palestinians.Show less
This study investigates how political activism evolves and changes from the homeland to the diasporic setting through an analysis of the case of Egypt. Drawing from interviews with four Egyptian...Show moreThis study investigates how political activism evolves and changes from the homeland to the diasporic setting through an analysis of the case of Egypt. Drawing from interviews with four Egyptian activists now residing in Europe, the research highlights how, fleeing repression under an authoritarian regime, Egyptian activists continue to engage in activism and politics in the host countries. In this sense, different forms of activism are explored: human rights, online, grassroots and journalistic activism. The findings reveal that activists tend to shift from a mostly domestic to an international focus, using the opportunities and the freedom they experience abroad as a tool to engage in broader human rights issues. Egyptian activists are inserted into transnational networks and foster diasporic connections with other exiled activists. These influence the forms, goals and perception of their activism, as they facilitate collective actions that exceed state borders, especially around causes such as Palestine. Due to the limited scope and sensitive nature of the research, a small number of interviews have been conducted. However, the paper is able to provide relevant insights into the reality of exile and into different forms of engagement of political activism in the diaspora. The paper thus contributes to the academic debate on the political potentials of diaspora, calling for further research on exilic activism, particularly in contexts of repressive regimes.Show less
This research analyses how an operational peace protocol between Israel and the Palestinian authority -meant to normalize the life of the citizens in Hebron- had an adverse outcome: a permanent...Show moreThis research analyses how an operational peace protocol between Israel and the Palestinian authority -meant to normalize the life of the citizens in Hebron- had an adverse outcome: a permanent division of the city along religious and ethnic-nationalist lines. The latter was due to actions of settlers supported by the Israeli government, partly in response to Palestinian violence. In this way a further obstacle was created on the way to a two-state solution as outcome of a peace agreement between Israel and Palestine. This research also critically engages with the thinking about the nature of settler colonialism; is Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories a form of settler colonialism; are settlers the drivers of Israeli colonialism, its implementors or both; how Israeli settlers movement, political parties and the state relate to each other; and is the urban divide of Hebron a result of settler colonialism?Show less
Master thesis | Crisis and Security Management (MSc)
open access
Freshwater is an essential yet scarce good, that is predicted to only become scarcer because of climate change and growing populations. In addition, freshwater in rivers is often shared between...Show moreFreshwater is an essential yet scarce good, that is predicted to only become scarcer because of climate change and growing populations. In addition, freshwater in rivers is often shared between multiple countries. Despite multiple predictions by scholars and experts, states often do not go to war over freshwater. Instead, most disputes end in the signing of a treaty. However, these treaties are not always fair and do not, actually, always end conflict. In the view of this research, treaties are merely a way in which states fight, without using violence, and should thus be seen as a part of ongoing conflict, rather than the end of it. In addition, despite theoretical predictions, international organisations do not play a large role in the creation of River Basin Organisations and neither do hydrohegemons.Show less
This thesis looks at the postcapitalist potential of NGO practices in the occupied Palestinian territories. Specifically, this thesis discusses the Palestinian NGO Ma’an Development Center and to...Show moreThis thesis looks at the postcapitalist potential of NGO practices in the occupied Palestinian territories. Specifically, this thesis discusses the Palestinian NGO Ma’an Development Center and to what extent it promotes a specific form of postcapitalism known as the Community Economy in the context of the Palestinian NGO sector as a whole. The goal of this thesis is two-fold: 1) adding a new dimension to the study of NGOs in the occupied Palestinian territories and 2) enriching postcapitalist scholarship with a case study from an understudied geographical area.Show less
In 2015 former president Reuven Rivlin claimed that Israel needs a redefinition of Israeliness to preserve the Israeli society. According to him, a new national identity must be created, with which...Show moreIn 2015 former president Reuven Rivlin claimed that Israel needs a redefinition of Israeliness to preserve the Israeli society. According to him, a new national identity must be created, with which all citizens can identify. When looking at the Israeli educational system, it becomes apparent that such a redefinition is necessary. As multiple studies have shown, the Arab- Palestinian community in Israel is not only marginalized in terms of the quality of the educational system, but also with regards to the contents of the education, mainly -but not limited to- in the field of history education, which amongst others ignore Palestinian perspectives on the ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict and which deny Palestinian belonging to the country. As this thesis shows, bilingual schools in Israel offer a radical alternative historical narrative that includes Palestinian perspectives, that treats Jewish and Palestinian identities on an equal basis and that at the same time creates an overarching narrative (or if you wish Israeliness) which connects both communities. At the same time however, this thesis argues that the success of the alternative historical narrative at bilingual schools is limited due to the same inequalities the education tries to counter, namely the lack of classes on Palestinian/Middle Eastern history, the continuing dominance of Jewish-Israeli frameworks for teaching history and the dominance of the Hebrew language. Nonetheless, although progress can still be made, the alternative approach to education of bilingual schools provide an inspirational basis for redefining Jewish-Palestinian relationships in the future.Show less
Research master thesis | Middle Eastern Studies (research) (MA)
closed access
The colonial partition of the Middle East is one of the most recurrent topics of the scholarship on the region. In the last decade, many scholars have shifted their attention from the diplomatic...Show moreThe colonial partition of the Middle East is one of the most recurrent topics of the scholarship on the region. In the last decade, many scholars have shifted their attention from the diplomatic and military history of these borders to their economic and social significance. This thesis aims at completing this shift in regard to the boundary between the British Mandate on Palestine and the French Mandate on Syria and Lebanon. Assuming a borderland perspective, this research looks into the different ways in which local, regional and colonial actors engaged with the border and its administration. It reconstructs the evolution of state border practices on both sides in the years from the British redeployment along the OET line in 1919 until the demise of the Palestine Mandate in 1948. Looking into the agency of a wide range of actors, including peasants, travelers, smugglers and illegal migrants, this thesis argues that the relation the indigenous population had with the border cannot be understood solely through an oppositional frame. Rather, it suggests that this relation was extremely dynamic, and that the subversion of the new territorial order went along with forms of compliance with state regulations and exploitation of the limits of state jurisdictions.Show less
