Research master thesis | Middle Eastern Studies (research) (MA)
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This thesis is engaged in the challenge that non-state actors pose for the international order in a context of human rights violations. For that, it focuses on how these actors influence...Show moreThis thesis is engaged in the challenge that non-state actors pose for the international order in a context of human rights violations. For that, it focuses on how these actors influence international politics, mainly through their role on implementing human rights norms, taking as a study case the Western Sahara pursuit of self-determination. The international and transnational solidarity network are to be seen as advocacy networks, and their actions, history, and role on implementing human rights norms will be analyzed. The domestic dimension of this advocacy will be explored through an initiative emerged from the Dutch society – the Polisario Komitee. The transnational dimension, in its turn, will be analyzed through the European Coordinating Conference of Support to the Sahrawi People (EUCOCO). The work will shed light on how these initiatives operate, in order to analyze if they prove to be effective in promoting the change they are committed to – as well as what are the elements that influence negatively in their advocacy. For that, the methodological approach includes a combination of primary archival sources, interviews, and literature on human rights, International Relations, and advocacy networks.Show less
This thesis explores the calls for the right to self-determination in the Catalan secessionist movement. By analyzing European law, international law and the context of the Spanish constitution,...Show moreThis thesis explores the calls for the right to self-determination in the Catalan secessionist movement. By analyzing European law, international law and the context of the Spanish constitution, the paper aims to demonstrate within what legal realms is the Catalan community allowed to exercise their democratic rights as citizens to evoke, in this case unilaterally, self-determining claims. Furthermore, the paper seeks to investigate whether or not the EU, as a supranational body, should be obliged to mediate and aid with negotiations between the Catalan and Spanish parties.Show less
The European Union is directly affected by political crises within member states. One of the challenges many of the member countries face comes in the form of secessionism. The secessionist...Show moreThe European Union is directly affected by political crises within member states. One of the challenges many of the member countries face comes in the form of secessionism. The secessionist sentiment in Europe is especially felt in the United Kingdom and Spain. Whereby secessionism has been able to move to the political mainstream. This thesis has sought to analyse in accordance to the framework of Mechanics of Cultural diplomacy: A comparative case.” (Kizlari & Fouseki, 2017) how regional secessionist governments have instrumentalised semi-public institutions to conduct sub-state diplomacy. The thesis analyses the legal mandate, the operational structure of Scotland Europa and Diplocat to discover whether they subjected to the direct influence of their respective regional governments. Subsequently, the thesis analyses the frames employed by the organisations in their communications to understand the objective of their publications in order to conclude how regional governments instrumentalised them. The analysis demonstrates that in both the Catalan and Scottish case the organisations were indeed instrumentalised to conduct sub-state diplomacy. Yet, the objectives were different. On one hand the Catalans sought to internationalise their self-determination effort and appealed to the European Union to mediate in the national conflict. On the other hand, the Scottish government has sought to influence EU decision making through more conventional channels such as consultation responses and the publication of papers. Finally, it has become clear that both the Catalan and Scottish government see European Union membership as a crucial part of their independence.Show less
This thesis describes the role of the principles of self-determination and sovereignty in the Security Council debates about the Indonesian dispute in 1945-1950.
Advanced master thesis | Political Science (Advanced Master)
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Why do some self-determination movements manage to achieve autonomy, while others fail to extract such salient concessions during peace negotiations? Although one would expect supporters of the...Show moreWhy do some self-determination movements manage to achieve autonomy, while others fail to extract such salient concessions during peace negotiations? Although one would expect supporters of the self-determination movement to unite in their struggle against the incumbent regime, recent literature has demonstrated that they tend to fight each other just as often as they fight the government in their competition for political relevance. Yet, little has been done to explain the effects such infighting has on the peace negotiations. Based on the comparison of the cases of Southern Sudan and Darfur, this study shows that more cohesive movements are able to extract much more salient concessions that address the conflict’s master cleavage and reflect the characteristics of a club good. The findings further suggest that fragmented movements tend to be paid off rather than yielded to by the incumbent government, thus rendering the achievement of peace utterly unattainable. Future research will have to examine whether these findings hold an explanatory power in contexts outside of Sudan.Show less
