In the summer of 2023, the Dutch Ministry will launch a feminist foreign policy. We expect this to be a mainly liberal feminist foreign policy. This is comparable to current efforts in name of...Show moreIn the summer of 2023, the Dutch Ministry will launch a feminist foreign policy. We expect this to be a mainly liberal feminist foreign policy. This is comparable to current efforts in name of feminism in Dutch foreign policy, as well as the feminist foreign policies of Sweden, Canada and France. In this thesis, we explore if and how such a liberal feminist foreign policy aligns with stakeholder perspectives on what a feminist foreign policy should entail. By using Q-methodology, we ask respondents to rank statements on foreign policy from perspectives rooted in liberal-, cultural-, socialist-, intersectional- and postcolonial feminist theory. We conclude that respondents rank liberal feminist statements the lowest. Rather, respondents argue for a Dutch feminist foreign policy that prioritizes perspectives rooted in intersectional- and postcolonial feminism.Show less
This thesis puts forward a dialogue between postcolonial philosophy and psychoanalysis as a way of furthering the development of contemporary decolonial theory. Analysing the example of the Dutch...Show moreThis thesis puts forward a dialogue between postcolonial philosophy and psychoanalysis as a way of furthering the development of contemporary decolonial theory. Analysing the example of the Dutch king Willem-Alexander offering official appologies to the Indonesian state, a reading of Frantz Fanon through the lens of Jacques Lacan's psychoanalytic theory provides the fundament for showing how this effort at postcolonial reconciliation is lacking, and how this example can be used for furthering the development of postcolonial thinking.Show less
What are different ideas, perceptions, or historical processes that are involved in North Korean human rights discourses produced by U.S. organizations? Is there a certain reason why American...Show moreWhat are different ideas, perceptions, or historical processes that are involved in North Korean human rights discourses produced by U.S. organizations? Is there a certain reason why American organizations express particular interest in the ‘human rights’ of North Korea? Based on a historical analysis of Western human rights and its recent development towards a form of post-humanitarianism, this thesis analyzes how the ideas of both conservative evangelicals and liberal democrats coincide to frame North Korean human rights discourses in ways that are agreeable to Western audiences. Although the organizations come from opposite stances in domestic politics, the commonalities underlying both stances are expected to reflect deep-rooted national identities that developed throughout the history of the American human rights regime. The thesis claims that a historical entanglement between decolonization, Cold War tensions, foreign policy strategies, and deeply ingrained national identities create an ‘American’ version of human rights. Moreover, although the evangelicals and the democrats differ on the extent or way of identifying the distance between ‘us the observers’ and ‘them the sufferers’, both sectors presume a selective and self-serving post-humanitarian distance that does not contemplate the structural circumstances of the sufferers. Instead, the organizations reflect on the observer’s own sense of morality, either religious duties or international security concerns, at the expense of morally essentializing or victimizing the sufferers based on Western liberal assumptions about human nature. Without trying to discount the importance of religion or security issues in U.S. international relations, this thesis aims to raise the awareness of deeply embedded power relations, both historically inherent and currently reenacted by human rights discourses, that can be easily mystified in the name of ‘universal human rights’.Show less
This thesis explores the role of the OEEC in the management of Western European overseas colonies. Through a qualitative historical research drawing mainly on the archival collection of the OEEC,...Show moreThis thesis explores the role of the OEEC in the management of Western European overseas colonies. Through a qualitative historical research drawing mainly on the archival collection of the OEEC, it argues that beyond its primary objectives of administering Marshall Aid, the OEEC became a platform in which Western European powers organized their relations with their overseas territories. Beyond economic concerns, these territories were considered as a political question, and the OEEC developed into a venue in which the interests of Europe were safeguarded, at the crossroads between integration and decolonization.Show less
After the Second World War, eleven dependent territories came under supervision of the United Nations Trusteeship Council. This thesis focuses on the trust territories of Togoland under British and...Show moreAfter the Second World War, eleven dependent territories came under supervision of the United Nations Trusteeship Council. This thesis focuses on the trust territories of Togoland under British and French administration and their roads to independence. It questions how the UN Trusteeship Council managed developments of decolonization in these West African trust territories. Specifically, it analyses the ways in which the Council was able to facilitate or obstruct policies by the British and French governments to retain control over the decolonization of these territories. It concludes that the role of the Council was determined by the compatibility of such policies with the aims of the Council, as well as by the interplay of national interests, international diplomacy and dynamics of empire.Show less
This study evaluates coverage of the Dutch printed media on the restitution of colonial objects between 1950 and 1995 and compares this to the specific case of the restitution in 2015. Over a 100...Show moreThis study evaluates coverage of the Dutch printed media on the restitution of colonial objects between 1950 and 1995 and compares this to the specific case of the restitution in 2015. Over a 100 articles were extracted from the KB-Delpher database to analyse the changing press coverage by embedding this in wider literature regarding the restitution of colonial objects, (colonial) heritage and decolonization. This study shows that the attribution of value towards 'objects' intensifies the complexities of the decolonization of mindsets and institutionsShow less
This study looks at the paradoxical interplay of decolonization and reconciliation in IR, bringing attention to the continuities of empire in international politics. I aim to show that Emmanuel...Show moreThis study looks at the paradoxical interplay of decolonization and reconciliation in IR, bringing attention to the continuities of empire in international politics. I aim to show that Emmanuel Macron’s proposal to return cultural artifacts to Africa is part of a reconciliation strategy aiming to reaffirm French symbolic power in Africa and beyond. Moreover, the French state can re-center itself on the moral grounds of its republican values, which reinforce the unitary state narrative. The overarching questions which drive this research include whether or not the former colonizer is able to sincerely relate to the Other and when an apology is genuine.Show less
This thesis investigates the impact of fascist ideas and practices on anticolonial nationalism in late colonial Indonesia (primarily 1935-42). Focusing on the example of Partai Indonesia Raya ...Show moreThis thesis investigates the impact of fascist ideas and practices on anticolonial nationalism in late colonial Indonesia (primarily 1935-42). Focusing on the example of Partai Indonesia Raya (Parindra) and its youth organization Surya Wirawan, it aims at bringing together disparate historiographies on fascism, anticolonial nationalism, and Indonesian intellectual history. Moreover, it traces the first 'birth pangs' of Indonesian paramilitarism back to the late colonial period, thus arguing against the commonly held view explaining the militarization of Indonesian politics merely as an effect of the Japanese occupation (1942-45). Therefore, this thesis uncovers traces of a 'homegrown' tradition of paramilitarism that drew a considerable part of its inspiration from fascist role models. For the purpose of this study, fascism is applied as a heuristic tool to ask hitherto avoided questions about organizations like Parindra that have long been labeled as 'cooperative' nationalist parties. In doing so, this thesis considers Indonesia as one of the countless (emerging) nations that were receptive to the global fascist hype in the 1930s.Show less
In the fall of 2012, in reaction to proposed legislation by the Canadian government, the actions of four women, three of which of First Nations descent, led to a grassroots activist movement called...Show moreIn the fall of 2012, in reaction to proposed legislation by the Canadian government, the actions of four women, three of which of First Nations descent, led to a grassroots activist movement called ‘Idle No More’. This movement has since inspired many people to take action for Indigenous rights and environmental preservation. In this thesis I will research which historical, social, economical, environmental and political factors contributed to the origination and the continuing impact of the Idle No More movement to answer the question: who is Idle No More, and what does being Idle No More mean to those involved?Show less
