Education is one of the most important determinants of an individual livelihood. Not only does education contribute to the development of a nation, but it also fosters democracy through the...Show moreEducation is one of the most important determinants of an individual livelihood. Not only does education contribute to the development of a nation, but it also fosters democracy through the teachings of democratic values in schools and exposure to the benefits of civic engagement. Furthermore, the education system of a country is reflective of its ideology and can serve as a tool for the government to shape the view of its citizens. Literature on the relationship between democracy on education is vast, but most are based on quantitative measures. Thus, this research conducts a qualitative study in analysing the effect of the level of democracy on the inclusion of democratic values in the fundamental education law of each country. Employing a diverse case selection, qualitative content analysis method, and a deductive coding frame, this thesis finds that the effect of democracy on democratic values in education law has varying effects. A clear division based on the level of democracy is visible for democratic goals in the education law, but is less visible regarding participation, freedom, and equality. The findings of this thesis contribute to narrowing the literature gap and allow further understanding of the impact of democracy on daily life and human development.Show less
This work starts with two interrogatives, asking whether Zimbabwean immigrants in Botswana contribute to the economy, and to what extent they are integrated in the country. To understand these...Show moreThis work starts with two interrogatives, asking whether Zimbabwean immigrants in Botswana contribute to the economy, and to what extent they are integrated in the country. To understand these issues, a historical framework is outlined to understand the Zimbabwean migratory flows to Botswana. Therefore, an analysis of the economic movements created by Zimbabwean immigrants in Botswana, both documented and undocumented ones, is conducted on the basis of quantitive and qualitative data collected during fieldwork research in Gaborone at the beginning of 2023. Overall, this work shows that Zimbabwean immigrants generate enormous amounts of money yearly in Botswana. On the other hand, it cannot be easily said that Zimbabweans are integrated into the country. While they are now a normalized presence in it and feel so accordingly, they do not enjoy structural integration.Show less
This thesis examines the evolution of the constructs of gender and sexuality in precolonial, colonial, and independent Zimbabwe and Botswana, with focus on the Shona, Ndebele, and Tswana during the...Show moreThis thesis examines the evolution of the constructs of gender and sexuality in precolonial, colonial, and independent Zimbabwe and Botswana, with focus on the Shona, Ndebele, and Tswana during the (pre)colonial era, and the BDP (Botswana Democratic Party) and ZANU(PF) (Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front) in the late colonial and postcolonial period, to identify what particularities in Botswana’s and Zimbabwe’s historical trajectories explain the divergence between the stance of BDP and ZANU(PF) leadership on the decriminalization of same-sex relations (SSR). The Shona, Ndebele, and Tswana started with a similar outlook on SSR, and in both countries, the British colonial administration imposed penal codes that criminalize(d) SSR. Yet, while BDP leadership grew gradually more supportive of the eventual decriminalization of SSR in 2019, ZANU(PF) leadership has strongly opposed to repealing the colonial-era penal codes. The different (de)colonization process and degree of colonial domination in each country appear to have the strongest explanatory power for these diverging outcomes. Many scholars have linked homophobia to masculinity and patriarchy. At the same time, colonial rule is widely believed to have undermined African masculinities and destabilized existing gender roles, and scholars have argued that misogyny, hyper-masculinity, and homophobia in African nationalist movements can be seen as a reaction to feelings of emasculation among African men. Colonial rule was significantly less invasive in Botswana, and the transition to independence mostly peaceful. Resultantly, there was no strong feeling of colonial domination among Botswanans, and anti-(neo)colonial rhetoric had little value as a source of political support. Thus, homosexuality never became conflated with (neo)colonialism in BDP nationalism, because it never centered on anti-(neo)colonialism to begin with. In contrast, Zimbabwe’s invasive colonial experience and arduous independence struggle created a strong sense of colonial domination among male independence leaders, who experienced it as ‘emasculation,’ and used misogyny and homophobia in attempt to restore a position of patriarchal power. At the same time, the rejection of homosexuality became a way to challenge colonial narratives about African sexuality and masculinity that were used to justify their abasement. Resultantly, the conflation of emasculation and homosexuality with colonial subjugation featured prominently in ZANU(PF)’s anti-colonial nationalism. The influence of Fanonesque and Marxist-Leninist thought further deepened homophobic sentiments in ZANU(PF) nationalism, while these schools of thought were absent from BDP nationalism. There is also scholarly consensus that European missionaries played an active role in codifying homosexuality as ‘immoral’ in Africa, and scholars argue that as Christianity became heavily politicized in the region, so did homosexuality. In that sense, homophobia, much like Christianity, is a political tool in contemporary Africa. Limited imposition of colonial rule and Tswana-controlled integration of Christianity may have further limited the inculcation of European (missionary) notions of sexuality and immorality in BDP nationalism. Moreover, unlike BDP nationalism, ZANU(PF) nationalism was organized around anti-colonialism, and this social glue lost its power once independence was achieved. This necessitated the creation of a new common enemy, while socioeconomic underperformance and declining public support incentivized the creation of a scapegoat to deflect criticism. Political homophobia became part of the creation of this new common enemy and scapegoat, and gained its legitimacy from Zimbabwe’s (de)colonization experience. With steady economic development and widespread public support after independence, there was less of an incentive for the BDP to use sexual minorities as a scapegoat.Show less
This thesis presents a search for defining the agency of missionaries, their respective churches and religion’s role in the decolonisation of Rhodesia until 1979 with the ending of the Bush War and...Show moreThis thesis presents a search for defining the agency of missionaries, their respective churches and religion’s role in the decolonisation of Rhodesia until 1979 with the ending of the Bush War and the emergence of the newly created Republic of Zimbabwe. As such, it seeks to understand missionaries as more than just a happenstance of history but rather as active and integral to developments within the Rhodesian region and its vastly different processes of decolonisation. Furthermore, this thesis presents the history of decolonisation from the bottom up, attributing agency and importance to the ordinary people whose lives were affected by the global dynamics of the Cold War. What follows, therefore, details the discovery of missionaries as actors within Rhodesia and their far-reaching impact on the decolonisation processes at play.Show less
A study of the construction of national identity in colonial Zimbabwe (Rhodesia) through an in depth examination of advertising in the popular print magazine 'Illustrated Life Rhodesia'. The paper...Show moreA study of the construction of national identity in colonial Zimbabwe (Rhodesia) through an in depth examination of advertising in the popular print magazine 'Illustrated Life Rhodesia'. The paper conducts a brief survey of the early colonisation of the region, and attempts to connect observations made about the development of Rhodesian identity up to the UDI period with a semiotic analysis of media from during the UDI period. It hopes to contribute to our understanding of the construction of the identity among Rhodesia's white minority.Show less
The main aim of this thesis is to explore the implications of democracy promotion on ensuring free and fair elections in hybrid regimes. Despite the recent wave of democratization, some countries...Show moreThe main aim of this thesis is to explore the implications of democracy promotion on ensuring free and fair elections in hybrid regimes. Despite the recent wave of democratization, some countries have plunged back into authoritarianism. These regimes combine both democratic and authoritarian principles. Resultantly, they are referred to as hybrid regimes. The most common democratic feature that these hybrid regimes adapt are multiparty elections. However, elections in hybrid regimes are characterized by rigging of elections and serious human rights violations. Consequently, the international community has renewed its democracy promotion efforts. Similarly, the European Union (EU) has strengthened its democracy promotion in hybrid regimes with a focus on elections. This thesis seeks to answer the research question: What are the implications of the European Union’s democracy promotion on elections in Zimbabwe and Cambodia? The research question shall be answered through a comparative case study on the implications of the EU's democracy promotion on elections held in Zimbabwe and Cambodia from 2000 to 2013. Both case studies shall examine how internal factors (local factors within the countries) and external factors (weaknesses inherent in the EU's democracy promotion) influence the EU's efforts to ensure free and fair elections in hybrid regimes.Show less
Scattered across the whole of southern Africa, impressive North Korean monuments celebrate the rise of young, independent African nations. In an extraordinary fashion, these constructions merge...Show moreScattered across the whole of southern Africa, impressive North Korean monuments celebrate the rise of young, independent African nations. In an extraordinary fashion, these constructions merge typical North Korean socialist realism with African nationalism. The research question of this thesis is why the regimes of Namibia and Zimbabwe use the services of the North Korean firm Mansudae Overseas Projects to construct their National Heroes’ Acres. This phenomenon can be explained through the historical connections that existed between the southern African liberation movements and the DPRK, that have been fostered since the 1960s. The DPRK funded southern African liberation movements during their struggle for independence and thereby strengthened their ideas on post-colonial history writing. It will be argued that the Heroes’ Acres can be understood as potent symbols of nationalist history, used to legitimize the rule of the former liberation movements and inspired by the example that the DPRK has set for their African allies.Show less
This thesis explores to what extent Mugabe knowingly manipulated political power and the mechanisms of the state to deliberately put into place policies that led to widespread famine and hunger and...Show moreThis thesis explores to what extent Mugabe knowingly manipulated political power and the mechanisms of the state to deliberately put into place policies that led to widespread famine and hunger and to the use of food as a political weapon, strategies that are still prevalent in 2017.Show less
Academic research on the controversial Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP) in Zimbabwe during the early 2000s has continuously overlooked or generalised the experiences of farm workers, bar a...Show moreAcademic research on the controversial Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP) in Zimbabwe during the early 2000s has continuously overlooked or generalised the experiences of farm workers, bar a few key pieces of literature. A similar trend can be found in official discourse, despite the fact farm workers were one of the main groups affected. This oversight can be attributed to their role in Zimbabwean society and the space they occupied within it; from their position under ‘domestic governance’ on Large Scale Commercial Farms (LSCF) as Blair Rutherford has outlined, to their ambiguity in terms of rights to citizenship and perceived ‘foreignness’. This study chooses to enter this discussion through analysis of two of the main print publications at the time: the state-funded The Herald and the independent The Daily News. On a superficial level, these two newspapers have been posited as being at two opposite ends of the political spectrum, with The Herald parroting state rhetoric and The Daily News advocating the views of the main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). However, this study finds that these two publications were not so divergent, but instead deployed the same discourse in describing the experiences of farm workers during the height of FTLRP between 2001 and 2002. Farm worker experiences were co-opted for the benefit of those with discursive authority, for different reasons, but to the same effect. This discourse did and continues to shadow farm worker realities on-the-ground. Thus, farm workers were routinely denied space within Zimbabwe because they were not easily definable in the binary construction of the actors involved in FTLRP.Show less
Master thesis | Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology (MSc)
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De handel in de ledematen van albino's in verschillende landen in Afrika komt anno 2015 nog steeds voor. In dit literatuur onderzoek wordt gekeken naar de oorzaken van de mogelijke verandering in...Show moreDe handel in de ledematen van albino's in verschillende landen in Afrika komt anno 2015 nog steeds voor. In dit literatuur onderzoek wordt gekeken naar de oorzaken van de mogelijke verandering in motivatie die ten grondslag ligt aan de moorden op albino’s in Zimbabwe en Tanzania.Show less
