This thesis delves into the intricate landscape of (green) industrial policies, focusing on Tata Steel Nederland (TSN) and its governance within the Netherlands from 2009 to 2023. Against the...Show moreThis thesis delves into the intricate landscape of (green) industrial policies, focusing on Tata Steel Nederland (TSN) and its governance within the Netherlands from 2009 to 2023. Against the backdrop of global sustainability imperatives, the study navigates the evolving paradigm of industrial policies in response to climate challenges. As the manufacturing sector, particularly steel production, stands pivotal in achieving emission reduction targets, the research unravels the change in governmental rhetoric and policy outcomes towards TSN. This thesis addresses change surrounding TSN governance, injecting agency into Historical Institutionalism (HI) analysis and considers three pressures — expert knowledge, mobilisation, and salience — collectively to address existing research gaps. HI provides the theoretical lens, supported by agency to address the theory’s limitations. The directional flow of pressures, from the communicative to the coordinative policy sphere, elucidates the role of actors in inducing institutional changes. A process-tracing case study methodology is employed and the research analyses governmental documents, health reports, news articles, and interviews to trace the unfolding changes in TSN's governance. The empirical findings show a departure from historical patterns, marked by the maatwerkafspraken, as well as increased monitoring and enforcement mechanisms to ensure the company adheres to the new green industrial vision of the Netherlands. The findings indicate a necessity of coexisting pressures—expert knowledge, mobilisation, and salience—to trigger change. The absence of any one pressure prompts dynamic equilibrium in favour of the powerful interests of TSN, emphasising the need for high pressure in the communicative policy sphere.Show less
Since WWII, the influence of IOs has increased where virtually all issue of global concern is administered by an IO. However, this influence has not come without its hazards. As the Global ...Show moreSince WWII, the influence of IOs has increased where virtually all issue of global concern is administered by an IO. However, this influence has not come without its hazards. As the Global “Governance Dilemma” theorizes, it is because of it that member states wish to ‘capture’ their decision-making and power-distribution apparatuses —their voting systems— to better realize their agendas. The case studies of two prominent IOs, the IMF and the UNSC, provide support that it is often true that these systems favor powerful member states due to a politicization of their voting systems. To address the potential causes and shortcomings of this phenomenon, this thesis conducted an in-depth case study of the institutional designs —Virtue Cultivation, Political Autonomy, and Meritocracy— of the Colombian Political Party MIRA that were born out of their unique theoretical framework of Miraísm. Through the implementation of these designs, this party successfully overcame obstacles akin to the ones that IOs face, despite their small size and the prevalence of corruption in Colombia. Building from this, the thesis followed a standard method of theory generation to create a novel framework regarding how to better resolve the core issue at hand: The Aligned Interests-Goals (AIG) Theory. In essence, this theory postulates that through specific institutional designs that tie A (self-interests) and B (goals) together by offering C (incentives) that provide the obtainment of A in exchange for proven efforts regarding B can effectively nudge behavior towards a virtuous cycle of positive competition for their mutual satisfaction. Based on the logic of this theory, the thesis delivered its main institutional proposal of Incentives-based Meritocratic Voting Systems as an alternative design to avoid the adverse consequences of politicized voting systems in IOs, while leaving prospect for the avoidance of absolute insulation from powerful member states, therefore increasing the probability for effective results regarding IO goals of intergovernmental cooperation, sacrifice, and change.Show less
This thesis studies the lexical items in youth language, henceforth Straattaal, currently used by Dutch youths in the city of Almere, in order to identify possible developments in Straattaal...Show moreThis thesis studies the lexical items in youth language, henceforth Straattaal, currently used by Dutch youths in the city of Almere, in order to identify possible developments in Straattaal lexicon 20 years after Appel’s (1999) first analysis of Straattaal words, which was conducted in Amsterdam. The investigation is directed at finding out to what extent the lexicon of Straattaal has changed, and what this change may possibly tell us about the dynamics of language. Previous research that has been done on Straattaal has for the most part focused on the perceptions and attitudes towards Straattaal and its social significance. The scope of this thesis is focused on testing students’ knowledge of Straattaal, and comparing the Straattaal words currently used by youngsters aged between 16 and 30 who live in Almere to those collected and analyzed in the studies performed some twenty years ago by Appel (1999), Appel & Schoonen (2005), and Nortier (2001). The aim of this investigation was to find out whether Straattaal is indeed, as Nortier (2001) notes, subject to continuous change. In order to gather data for this study, an online survey was conducted among 150 students, between the ages of 16 and 30, of an intermediate vocational school in the city of Almere. The survey consisted of a list of 50 words, identified as Straattaal words compiled for earlier studies. The survey first addressed the issue of the contemporaneity of Apple’s list of most commonly used Straattaal words from 1999, including the list that was compiled in Appel & Schoonen’s 2005 study and the list compiled by Nortier in 2001. Participants were asked if they could identify the words in the list as being Straattaal words, if they knew their meaning, and if they used the words themselves. The data showed that Straattaal is quite prevalent. 58% of respondents claimed to use Straattaal regularly. With regard to the extent to which Straattaal has evolved over the past 20 years, no considerable changes were found.Show less
Strategic culture is often presented as largely resistant to change. Most literature on strategic culture agrees that external shocks, such as a war or a revolution, can change an actor’s strategic...Show moreStrategic culture is often presented as largely resistant to change. Most literature on strategic culture agrees that external shocks, such as a war or a revolution, can change an actor’s strategic culture. In the literature on al Qaeda’s strategic culture a rift exists between those who argue it is mainly rigid and those who argue it adapts to other kinds of change, such as systemic or internal change. The thesis researches whether al Qaeda’s strategic culture stays rigid or adapts when faced with systemic or internal change.Show less
Food and eating habits are good indicators of wider social changes and appetite for multi-ethnic eating can be perceived as one step forward to accepting and understanding the meaning of diversity....Show moreFood and eating habits are good indicators of wider social changes and appetite for multi-ethnic eating can be perceived as one step forward to accepting and understanding the meaning of diversity. In migration studies, the socio-historical analysis of the relationship between migrants and food practices provides a fresh perspective on the cultural encounters between communities. The aim of my research is to explore the private space of the Dutch eating habits and the more or less successful integration of foreign kitchens. In detail, this paper looks at how and to what extent have foreign cuisines, especially the Indonesian and Moroccan, affected the Dutch eating culture from 1950 until 2000. The results show trends of appropriation of culinary knowledge and adoption of culinary authenticity.Show less
Master thesis | Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology (MSc)
open access
2015-01-01T00:00:00Z
The 2001 terrorist attacks and the 2008 financial crisis have had a profound impact on the community of bike messengers in New York City, USA. This thesis will give insight on how economic,...Show moreThe 2001 terrorist attacks and the 2008 financial crisis have had a profound impact on the community of bike messengers in New York City, USA. This thesis will give insight on how economic, political and social changes, as a result of these events, influenced the way bike messengers work and affected the construction of their community.Show less
This thesis tests the RAS model created by John Zaller. By using the Dutch Parliamentary Election Study from 1998 to 2003, the observed change in public opinion of Dutch voters towards non western...Show moreThis thesis tests the RAS model created by John Zaller. By using the Dutch Parliamentary Election Study from 1998 to 2003, the observed change in public opinion of Dutch voters towards non western immigrants is tested. Results include the inability to explain the changes in public opinion according to the RAS model. However, key variables such as political knowledge and political predispositions prove to be significant explanatory variables in this case.Show less
