Bottom-up study into the personal contributions of Dutch colonial agent François Caron (1600-1673) and local patrons to the formation of favourable diplomatic relations between the Dutch East India...Show moreBottom-up study into the personal contributions of Dutch colonial agent François Caron (1600-1673) and local patrons to the formation of favourable diplomatic relations between the Dutch East India Company and the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan in the period precluding Dutch confinement on the island of Deshima, Nagasaki. This contribution demonstrates that when the Tokugawa Shogunate began to redefine the conditions of foreign trade and diplomatic relations with Japan during the early seventeenth century, it was only one of several actors involved in this process. The local Dutch factory, led by the charismatic cultural broker Caron, also had a voice in this process through its powerful allies at court which Caron accumulated over the course of a single decade, allowing them to secure a position for the Dutch East India Company in Japan after 1641. It challenges the predominant theory that the Dutch owed their success in Japan to a pragmatic approach to trade which eschewed proselytization of the Christian faith by raising attention to the importance of systems of patronage and the efficiency of local agency in Japan and the broader early-modern colonial context.Show less
Despite the media attention surrounding the influence of India’s Godmen and their relationships politicians, not a great deal has been written in academia concerning this connection. Moreover, what...Show moreDespite the media attention surrounding the influence of India’s Godmen and their relationships politicians, not a great deal has been written in academia concerning this connection. Moreover, what has been studied has predominantly focused on the prominent role of Hindu Godmen in promoting ‘soft Hindutva’ - endorsing Hindutva policies and politicians. With this in mind, the case of the Dera Sacha Sauda and their current leader Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insan challenges existing assumptions about the influence of Godmen in India. In addition, the symbolic character of the 'world renouncer' and the rhetoric of 'humanitarianism', are examined in the context of the Godman's influence over his followers. The theories of Weber and Gramsci, among others, are explored and highlight that Godmen engage with politics in dynamic, locally orientated and pragmatic ways.Show less
This study searches for an answer to the question who the Palestinian leistes was and which role he played within early Roman Palestinian society. It starts with a re-examination of earlier models,...Show moreThis study searches for an answer to the question who the Palestinian leistes was and which role he played within early Roman Palestinian society. It starts with a re-examination of earlier models, mainly the Zealot model and the social banditry model. Due to dissatisfaction with both major models, it continues by seeing latrocinium as a means used by both regional strongmen and Palestinian peasant communities to fulfil economic, social, and political goals. Peasants entered into patronal relations with regional strongmen and performed latrocinium-like activities for the former in exchange for protection against subsistence crises and external enemies. The regional strongmen on the other hand, used their leistai to strengthen their own position in society. This study looks at how latrocinium worked in Early Roman Palestine and how it penetrated into all levels of society. Furthermore, making use of both the model developed in this study and the model of multi-polar network-centric insurgency, it proposes a new way of looking at the First Jewish War (66-74AD) and at the role of leistai within this event.Show less
In the early 1990s, the UN intervened in Cambodia in order to democratise the country. Since then Cambodia has adopted more democratic institutions. Although the country became more democratic in...Show moreIn the early 1990s, the UN intervened in Cambodia in order to democratise the country. Since then Cambodia has adopted more democratic institutions. Although the country became more democratic in official terms, the country largely operates outside of accepted democratic values. The aim of this paper is therefore to find out to what extent Cambodia can be considered a democracy. Focussing on the indicators of democratisation and de-democratisation processes (breadth, equality, protection, and mutually binding consultation), it becomes clear that Cambodia has been experiencing a process of de-democratisation. At the same time, the ruling party managed to increase its state capacity. This has been a necessary tool for the party to stay in power. Acknowledging that high state capacity can contribute to democratisation processes, it is surprising that high state capacity and democratisation do not seem to go hand in hand in the Cambodian case. The form of state capacity is therefore an important aspect. Focussing on Cambodia, it soon becomes clear that the country deviates from the Western standard. Cambodian politics and economics are centred around patronage and neopatrimonialism. This has been the main reason why efforts towards democratisation have failed in Cambodia and why an authoritarian regime remains in power.Show less
Een flesje wijn is vandaag de dag het relatiegeschenk bij uitstek. Dit omdat het alom geaccepteerd is als een luxe goed. Het schenken van wijn als relatiegeschenk kent echter een rijke historie,...Show moreEen flesje wijn is vandaag de dag het relatiegeschenk bij uitstek. Dit omdat het alom geaccepteerd is als een luxe goed. Het schenken van wijn als relatiegeschenk kent echter een rijke historie, waarbij ik in dit onderzoek zal stilstaan. In de Middeleeuwen was de wijngift het politieke smeermiddel bij uitstek in de Lage Landen. De wijngift behoort tot de traditie van gift-exchange in het kader van patronage en clientèle systemen. Mijn onderzoek sluit aan bij het debat van gift-exchange waarvoor de basis werd gelegd door Marcel Mauss en Marshall Salins.Wijngiften hadden een grote waarde in gedecentraliseerde besturingsvormen zoals die in het huidige Nederland. Onderzoek naar wijngiften als specifiek onderdeel van geschenkuitwisseling is nog weinig gedaan: Valentin Groebner en Mario Damen gingen mij voor. Van de stad Deventer is zeer uitgebreid materiaal bewaard gebleven, de volledige stadsreke-ningen van 1394 tot 1440 zijn door G.M. de Meyer uitgegeven in een zesdelige editie. Dit onderzoek zal zich richten op de wijngiften van de stad Deventer. Mijn vraag luidt: Welk ge-bruik maakte het Deventer’ stadsbestuur van de wijngift in de eerste helft van de 15e eeuw en zijn daarin ontwikkelingen zichtbaar? In het eerste hoofdstuk staat het theoretisch kader centraal. In het tweede hoofdstuk ga ik in op de politiek-historische achtergrond van Deventer. Vervolgens volgt een bronanalyse.In hoofdstuk drie volgen mijn bevindingen wat betreft wijnschenkingen aan de hand van de stadsrekeningen van Deventer. Hierbij zal aandacht worden besteed aan de frequentie, de vorm en de verschillende ontvangers van de wijngiften te Deventer. Ook drinkgeld en maaltijden zullen - als vergelijkbare giften - op dezelfde wijze aan bod komen.Show less
