Arab women are often portrayed as in need of saving from the conditions they live in. This narrative takes away the possibility of these women to be agents of change in their own lives. This thesis...Show moreArab women are often portrayed as in need of saving from the conditions they live in. This narrative takes away the possibility of these women to be agents of change in their own lives. This thesis aims to explore how Saudi women push back against societal norms in literary fiction. Specifically, it investigates how Saudi female fictional characters employ different forms of agency in physical and online public spaces compared to private and women-only spaces. The close reading of segments of two fictional literary works was used to showcase how female protagonists employ different understandings of agency. These examples were then linked to real-life examples to demonstrate that fiction is strongly rooted in reality. What became clear is that there is a multiplicity of ways for Saudi women to employ agency to resist and reshape the established order and practices, and different spaces within Saudi society offer different opportunities for employing agency. Moreover, there are different types of agency employed by different types of Saudi women. Thus, Saudi women can be agents of change within Saudi society and their own lives.Show less
This thesis provides an analysis of claims about veiling in parliamentary debates between 2007 and 2019. In my research, I have further build on Saharso and Lettinga’s work, who have analyzed...Show moreThis thesis provides an analysis of claims about veiling in parliamentary debates between 2007 and 2019. In my research, I have further build on Saharso and Lettinga’s work, who have analyzed public debates about veiling (1999-2006). Developments of the past fourteen years called for a comprehensive analysis of the use of frames in political debates with an updated framework to see if these developments signify new (clusters of) frames. I have defined five clusters of frames: (1) state-church frames, (2) integration frames, (3) discrimination frames, (4) gender frames, and (5) security frames. Based on a content analysis of parliamentary debates, I conclude that there have been developments in debates about veiling, which signify either new frames or new clusters of frames. Research showed that the use of security frames indeed signifies a new cluster of frames, particularly resonant in burqa debates. Another observation is that the integration, discrimination and gender frames are part of larger debates and, in contrast to the state-church and security frames, cannot be linked to particular debates or specific public realms, neither can they be organized in time. While the discrimination frames seem to be a separate cluster in relation to the integration frames, this does not mean that the integration frames have become less relevant in debates about veiling. Another outcome is that the Judeo-Christian heritage frame is incidentally used in parliamentary debates and does not represent a certain trend or development. Lastly, the state-church frames are still relevant in debates about veiling, particularly in debates about accommodation of headscarves in the police force.Show less
In light of development plans by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration recently threatening to evict street vendors, this thesis takes a historical perspective onto notions of development in...Show moreIn light of development plans by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration recently threatening to evict street vendors, this thesis takes a historical perspective onto notions of development in Thailand from 1945 to 1997. The research question of this thesis is as follows: to what extent are changing public spaces in Bangkok representative of the dynamics of economic development and urbanisation in Thailand? Through the use of theories of development – development economics and the modernisation theory – this thesis unlocks new insights into the contingent relationship between development, modernisation, and urbanisation. The final conclusion of this thesis is that sustained development has brought Thailand economic and social growth in all aspects. Economic development helped garner a state of modernity, however increased urbanisation as a cause of sustained development came at the cost of social implications in the form of friction in urban aspects of identity, modernity, and the notion of development itself. The conclusions drawn from this research provide insight into the understanding of Thai development of the previous century, as do they lay a foundation for the understanding of Thai development of the 21st century.Show less
This thesis explores how Jakarta's Merdeka Square acts as a contested public space where both state institutions and society groups have contended with the idea of a pluralistic Indonesian society...Show moreThis thesis explores how Jakarta's Merdeka Square acts as a contested public space where both state institutions and society groups have contended with the idea of a pluralistic Indonesian society during the months preceding the 2017 Jakarta Gubernatorial Election.Show less
