On May 23rd, 2014, Elliot Rodger killed six and injured fourteen near Isla Vista, United States, in his self-declared Day of Retribution. On March 15th, 2019, Brenton Tarrant opened fire in and...Show moreOn May 23rd, 2014, Elliot Rodger killed six and injured fourteen near Isla Vista, United States, in his self-declared Day of Retribution. On March 15th, 2019, Brenton Tarrant opened fire in and around the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, eventually killing 51. Before their violent acts, both Elliot Rodger and Brenton Tarrant posted manifestos outlining justifications for resorting to violence while incentivising others to do the same. Rodger’s and Tarrant’s manifestos have been highly influential in inspiring other actors to resort to violence and are therefore analysed for the current investigation. However, a lack of analytical attention towards how violent actors with different ideological perspectives utilise gendered narratives in their manifestos necessitates the current investigation to explore how gendered discourses feature in Rodger’s and Tarrant’s manifestos. This thesis takes a gendered approach to violent discourse by applying a Critical Discourse Analysis, which unveils that both Rodger’s and Tarrant’s manifestos contain gendered narratives. However, the results also reveal that the intensities and frequencies of these narratives differ between the two manifestos, as do the ways in which the gendered constructions incite violence. These findings offer valuable insights into how gendered narratives unite ideologically diverse violent actors which can assist future research seeking to better understand the deadly effects of gendered discourse.Show less
This paper aimed to find out whether men and women terrorists of the Provisional IRA were portrayed differently in the media. A critical discourse analysis was conducted on newspaper articles from...Show moreThis paper aimed to find out whether men and women terrorists of the Provisional IRA were portrayed differently in the media. A critical discourse analysis was conducted on newspaper articles from 1969 to 1999, coding and analysing the way these terrorists got framed and portrayed in the media. A gendered difference in media portrayal of PIRA is present based on the analysis of 45 articles. However, this difference is not as large as could be expected based on the media portrayal of female terrorists in general. Throughout PIRA’s existence, from 1969 to 1999, a minimal change over time is visible, with the gender difference in media portrayal declining.Show less
This study had the objective to see the effect between the gender of a police officer and their likelihood to report on domestic violence. In order to answer the research question, “To what extent...Show moreThis study had the objective to see the effect between the gender of a police officer and their likelihood to report on domestic violence. In order to answer the research question, “To what extent does gender affect a police officer’s likelihood to file a report on domestic violence?”, an experimental survey was conducted, which was focussed on the likelihood to report as well as the credibility of the victim. It was expected that female police officers would be more likely to report alleged domestic violence if the victim was a woman and male police officers were expected to be more likely to report if the victim was male, due to their match of gender, which was based on the representative bureaucracy theory. For conclusion, it can be stated that this hypothesis (H1) is not true, as both genders tend to be more likely to report if the victim is a woman. Moreover, it was expected that female victims would be more credible to both male and female officers. When analysing the means of the outcomes, the second hypothesis (H2) seemed true. However, reliability has been a concern as the data is not statistically significant, meaning that for both statements, the null hypothesis cannot be rejected. This has occurred because of a Type II error, due to insufficient sampling. The ration men-women has not been executed well, resulting in to less male participants compared to female participants.Show less
Abstract Purpose: This thesis aims to understand, clarify, and further explore the mechanism underlying the relationship between gender and corruption. The objective is to test and develop theory...Show moreAbstract Purpose: This thesis aims to understand, clarify, and further explore the mechanism underlying the relationship between gender and corruption. The objective is to test and develop theory about the link between gender representation in the legislature and corruption levels. Design and methodology: The research design is qualitative. Eight (8) semi-structured interviews with municipal councillors were conducted, coded, and analysed. Through the interviewees’ lived experiences, patterns of attitudes and relationships can be explored, and causation can be established. Findings: The results find that marginalisation is the mechanism that mediates between high corruption levels and low female representation in the legislature. Women are not less corrupt than men. They have fewer opportunities to engage in corrupt behaviour. The lack of accessibility in corrupt networks mediates the link between gender and corruption in the legislature. Research contribution: The existence of an association between gender representation in the legislature and corruption levels has already been established. This thesis answers the call for more research on the mechanism underlying the link between gender and corruption. Practical implications: The findings are relevant for policymakers in Greece. Marginalisation leads women to leave the political scene, further exacerbating the issue of lack of representation. On the contrary, a high female representation may not lead to lower levels of corruption, but it may encourage diverse views for the society’s benefit to be expressed.Show less
This thesis examined the candidate lists of the 17 parties that obtained at least one seat in the parliamentarian elections of March 2021 in the Netherlands. The candidate lists were analysed to...Show moreThis thesis examined the candidate lists of the 17 parties that obtained at least one seat in the parliamentarian elections of March 2021 in the Netherlands. The candidate lists were analysed to determine the level of parties’ descriptive representation in relation to ethnic minorities and women. The rationale for this is the changing demographics, increased popularity for diversity and inclusions practises among parties and, at the same time, an increasingly polarized debate regarding ethnic minorities and immigration policies. The main goals are the following; first, to test if there is a correlation between parties’ restrictiveness on immigration and the share of ethnic minorities on the candidate list and share of safe list position that are filled with ethnic minorities. Second, to test whether centre and right-wing parties contribute proportionally more to representation of women vis-à-vis ethnic minorities. Moreover, all 744 candidates were analysed in terms of ethnicity and gender and with this data an original dataset was created. Secondary sources were used to determine parties’ restrictiveness on immigration. The dataset provided information to test the role of the independent variable – restrictiveness on immigration – on the two dependent variables; a) share of ethnic minorities candidates on the lists and; b) share of safe list positions that were filled with ethnic minority candidates. These variables formed the import for a linear regression analysis. The second possible correlation was tested by plotting the parties’ share of ethnic minorities and female candidate against four statistical dimensions; (1) average percentage of ethnic minorities on the candidate lists; (2) percentage of ethnic minorities in the Netherlands; (3) average percentage of women on the candidate lists; and (4) the percentage of women in the Netherlands. This thesis found a linear inverse correlation between parties’ restrictiveness on immigration and the share of ethnic minorities on candidate lists and safe list positions filled with them. Moreover, this thesis also found that centre and right-wing parties contribute proportionally more to the share of female than ethnic minority candidates.Show less
Bachelor thesis | Liberal Arts and Sciences: Global Challenges (LUC) (BA/BSc)
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Since 2001, billions of aid money have been pumped into Afghanistan to improve the lives of civilians, especially women. The plight of Afghan women has mobilised many NGOs to come into the country,...Show moreSince 2001, billions of aid money have been pumped into Afghanistan to improve the lives of civilians, especially women. The plight of Afghan women has mobilised many NGOs to come into the country, but not much has improved. This research attempts to find the reasons as to why so few improvements have been made, by using interviews with NGO employees working in Afghanistan to supplement and update the existing literature. Afterwards, a final analysis will be presented, combining the literature and the data from the interviews into one evaluation of the obstacles to the improvement of the position of women. The research question is: What are the obstacles to the improvement of the position of women in Afghanistan? It concludes that the main obstacles are more or less similar to the ones identified in the literature, namely the ineffective government, corruption, backlash against reforms, the deteriorating security situation, low quantity and quality of education, child marriages and baad. The research also identifies two new problems not yet identified by the literature: the tribal and religious norms regarding women and “Afghanistan fatigue”.Show less
Despite the fact that women’s representation in national parliaments and executives is increasing, female political representatives still constitute a minority, especially in high-level positions....Show moreDespite the fact that women’s representation in national parliaments and executives is increasing, female political representatives still constitute a minority, especially in high-level positions. The literature argues that gender stereotypes influence the perception of female political representatives who consequently face a disadvantage in politics. This thesis explores the factors that affect public opinion on female leadership in the European Union (EU). Using the Eurobarometer data on public opinion covering the 28 EU member states, I conduct a multiple linear regression analysis to investigate the effect of four individual level-factors (i.e., gender, age, education and profession), and three country-level factors (i.e., masculine culture, religion and communist legacy) on net female trust. The results suggest that female gender, education and masculine culture positively affect trust in female political representatives, while communist legacy produces a negative effect. Moreover, I discover that the EU public opinion favors female over male political representatives. Finally, by comparing the level of trust in female and male political representatives, I find that the great majority of respondents have egalitarian attitudes as they equally trust male and female leaders. These findings challenge the burgeoning literature on female leadership and have important implications for the study of public opinion, gender and political leadership in the EU.Show less
