Within the western democratic political system, political extremism is always present. This extremism is often triggered by emotions of fear and uncertainty. This study examines the connections of...Show moreWithin the western democratic political system, political extremism is always present. This extremism is often triggered by emotions of fear and uncertainty. This study examines the connections of the epistemic emotions curiosity and confusion, emotions derived from uncertainty, and political extremism, as well as source congruency (the alignment of article source with participants' political beliefs). By surveying 264 Dutch participants who voted in the last election, the research examined how matching article sources with participants' political beliefs influences their curiosity and confusion in contrary to mismatched sources. The hypothesis was that political extremists would show more curiosity and less confusion if an article had a congruent source. However, this study could not support that hypothesis. There has not been a significant interaction found between the chosen epistemic emotions and political extremism or source congruency. Nonetheless, other exploratory analyses showed a significant relation between related emotions and source congruency, like trustworthiness, perceived factuality and surprise. Extremists viewed incongruent sources as less trustworthy and factual and they were more surprised. These results suggest that while curiosity and confusion may not differ much between extremists and moderates, their perception of credibility and their reactions to source congruency do vary. This highlights the complex role of emotions in processing political information. More research is needed to understand these dynamics and the influence of how survey questions are worded on the findings.Show less
The Casamance Conflict remains a critical factor in Senegal's contemporary political landscape, reflecting deep-rooted regional grievances characterised by long standing socio-economic disparities,...Show moreThe Casamance Conflict remains a critical factor in Senegal's contemporary political landscape, reflecting deep-rooted regional grievances characterised by long standing socio-economic disparities, political marginalisation. The region's unresolved tensions - similar to those leading to conflict outbreak in 1984 - continue to shape national politics, particularly in the context of the rise of anti-establishment populist Ousmane Sonko and the 2024 Senegalese presidential election. This study examined the interconnected roles of the Casamance and the localised conflict, Ousmane Sonko success, and the 2024 Constitutional Crisis. It sought to understand how "Low-Intensity Conflicts" and core-periphery dynamics have catalysed Ousmane Sonko's emergence as the dominant figure, influencing the longue-durée trajectory of Senegalese democracy. This study used a mix-methods approach, integrating fieldwork, expert interviews, media and literature analysis, and ethnographic obersations to reach conclusions on the Casamance's centrality to Senegalese politics in the 2020s. Findings indicate that the Casamance's socio-political marginalisation and systemic economic exploitation have catalysed Ousmane Sonko's political appeal and anti-establishment politics. The Constitutional Crisis of 2024, triggered by then-President Macky Sall, exacerbated core-periphery tensions and undermined national stability, cementing deep-rooted issues amongst the governing class. Ultimately, Senegal's unique political culture and regionally-distinct institutional resilience triumphed amidst a paradigm of regional democratic backsliding, leading to a peaceful transition of power. The findings of this study highlight the critical role of the Casamance in reshaping Senegal's future despite polemic marginalisation.Show less
This thesis examines the role of war metaphors in the political discourse of extreme right political figures: Donald Trump and Vivek Ramaswamy and how they shape the extreme right ideology of the...Show moreThis thesis examines the role of war metaphors in the political discourse of extreme right political figures: Donald Trump and Vivek Ramaswamy and how they shape the extreme right ideology of the Make America Great Again Movement (MAGA). War metaphors are rhetorical devices used in everyday language to communicate abstract ideas using more broadly understood domains like war and promote societal salience. The analysis of militarism in society and politics is foundational to the Critical Military Studies discipline, however, there has been little engagement with the study of war metaphors and their influence on polarisation in democracies, which this thesis aims to address. The thesis performs a Critical Metaphor Analysis, which integrates the disciplines of Conceptual Metaphor Theory with Critical Discourse Analysis. The analysis of discourse considers a 3-month collection of tweets since 1 January 2024 to examine war metaphors in informal political discourse in the months nearing United States presidential elections. The analysis finds the employment of war metaphors to primarily manifest in three ways: language of attack, language of defence, and adoption of militarism and patriotism. These forms of war metaphors depart from the traditional use of war metaphors to motivate the acceptance of violence and promote a climate of affective polarisation. The prominence of war metaphors in MAGA discourse is observed to promote the acceptance of authoritarian politics and mobilise violent action, which all serves to erode democracy in an established liberal democracy like the United States.Show less
The thesis contains information about the voting behavior of female young adults in the regional elections of 2023 in the Netherlands. There is a research gap in the research of young adults in the...Show moreThe thesis contains information about the voting behavior of female young adults in the regional elections of 2023 in the Netherlands. There is a research gap in the research of young adults in the regional elections in the Netherlands, which this thesis tries to close. By using multiple interviews of five different Dutch female young adults, the voting behavior is analyzed. Next to the interviews, there is also literature from previous provincial elections in the Netherlands, the voting behavior of young adults, the voting in the Netherlands, and the effect of gender on voting behavior.Show less
This paper focuses on paving new ways to analyze political agency and the re-molding of the concept of orthodoxy according to contingent needs in the two most relevant emperors of the Western Han...Show moreThis paper focuses on paving new ways to analyze political agency and the re-molding of the concept of orthodoxy according to contingent needs in the two most relevant emperors of the Western Han Dynasty (202 BCE-9 CE), namely Han Gaozu (256-195 BCE) and Han Wudi (156-87 BCE). Through a textual analysis, this researches will investigate music as a cultural artefact and in what terms it is talked about, finally shedding some light on the logical fragility of assuming orthodoxy and tradition as never changing.Show less
This thesis is an analysis of the intersection of kinship politics and religion in the 20th century Philippines. It discusses their cultural influence and effects on the protests and revolution...Show moreThis thesis is an analysis of the intersection of kinship politics and religion in the 20th century Philippines. It discusses their cultural influence and effects on the protests and revolution against the Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship. A social history conducted through interviews of witnesses, activists, and Filipino immigrants is used to contextualize major events of the 1980s. The years 1981-1987 were chosen due to the historical importance of events such as the visit of Pope John Paul II, the assassination of opposition leader Ninoy Aquino, and the EDSA revolution which toppled the dictator.Show less
In August 2019, the Indian government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to revoke the special status of the state of Kashmir. Because of this special status, the Kashmiris were able to...Show moreIn August 2019, the Indian government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to revoke the special status of the state of Kashmir. Because of this special status, the Kashmiris were able to live under their own Constitution and host their own elections. Without a doubt, revoking this special status will have far-reaching consequences on the disputed region of Kashmir. Chances are that the fragile balance that exists in the area will be jeopardised by the decision to revoke Kashmir’s special status. However, the abrogation of the special status is not a completely random decision. It can be argued that this special status has never been effectively implemented. Thus, this thesis will analyse why this is the case, and which factors influenced the erosion of Kashmir’s special status. Furthermore, this thesis will analyse possible consequences of the revocation of this special status. In doing so, the aim of this thesis is to fill the research gap provided by the topicality of this research.Show less
This Thesis sets out to demonstrate the usefulness of Sufi philosophy, as articulated by Jalaluddin Rumi and Abd al-Salam Yassine, for the discussion of a politics of wellbeing which has entered...Show moreThis Thesis sets out to demonstrate the usefulness of Sufi philosophy, as articulated by Jalaluddin Rumi and Abd al-Salam Yassine, for the discussion of a politics of wellbeing which has entered politics and academia in the resent decades.Show less
This thesis is a contribution to the debate about the relation between art and politics. I argue that art is political insofar as it is transformative, but that any further political determination...Show moreThis thesis is a contribution to the debate about the relation between art and politics. I argue that art is political insofar as it is transformative, but that any further political determination exceeds the bounds of the essence of art. Aesthetic art does not serve any specific political agenda as its reorganizational effect is unpredictable and dispersive. This does not exclude that art can also be an ordinary political tool when engaged with non-aesthetically, activist art being an example of art with a high probability of affording such an engagement. As such, activist art – being merely a (more elaborate) form of propaganda – does not do justice to the specialness of art. I will conclude by submitting that aesthetic art is a strange political tool as it aids in forming our aesthetic sense – thereby affording us to unveil our being organized in the world and facilitating general emancipation.Show less
With the emergence and rise of populists like Pim Fortuyn and Geert Wilders, the Netherlands joined an international trend of rising populism. In the last twenty years, researchers began to...Show moreWith the emergence and rise of populists like Pim Fortuyn and Geert Wilders, the Netherlands joined an international trend of rising populism. In the last twenty years, researchers began to determine and explain the extent to which these populist parties impact domestic politics and policies, to grasp their effect on these important domains. Much of the resulting literature focused on specific policy domains, like immigration or integration, policy issues which these parties are seen to ‘own’. This thesis will try to add to this growing body of literature by exploring the policy influence on immigration- and integration related policy by the Dutch Party for Freedom (PVV). It will do so by trying to answer the following research question: to what extent has the Dutch Party for Freedom (PVV) influenced Dutch immigration and integration policy and politics from 2010 to 2017?Show less
