The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) may be supporting the violation of the UN Charter and Geneva Conventions constituted by the illegal occupation of Western Sahara...Show moreThe United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) may be supporting the violation of the UN Charter and Geneva Conventions constituted by the illegal occupation of Western Sahara by accepting extraterritorial nationally determined contributions (NDC) reports. Through the use of theory-testing process-tracing, this thesis investigates why the UNFCCC’s acceptance of extraterritorial NDC reports might influence the legitimacy of occupations. By conducting a case study of Morocco, the theoretical argument of this thesis is developed: Occupying powers seek legitimacy over their occupation by partaking in international organization processes which subsequently are approved by the international organization. This approval dissuades other states from objecting to the occupation and attempts to legitimate it, thereby perpetuating the status-quo which ultimately increases the external sovereignty of the occupation. By evaluating NDC reports, reports by the Western Sahara Resource Watch, and speeches at the UNFCCC, this study has identified the presence of the causal mechanism. Hence, this thesis contributes to the scholarly literature by addressing the influence that international organizations have on the legitimacy of occupations, a field that so far has gained little attention in academia.Show less
Research master thesis | Asian Studies (research) (MA)
open access
This thesis analyses the legitimation strategies of the Chinese authorities on social media platform Sina Weibo during the COVID-19 epidemic. Through a combination of computational and qualitative...Show moreThis thesis analyses the legitimation strategies of the Chinese authorities on social media platform Sina Weibo during the COVID-19 epidemic. Through a combination of computational and qualitative methods, it first highlights how Weibo’s digital design directly benefits central information control objectives. It then builds upon a theoretical model of disaster legitimacy strategies to demonstrate how official media make use of this design in their legitimation strategies. These strategies include age-old and highly familiar nationalistic frames, a recurring emphasis on positive energy, and strategic engagement and disengagement. This combination not only legitimises the authorities’ actions, but also delegitimises critical discourses. Nonetheless, this power is not absolute, and this thesis also presents instances in which actors “within” the system present challenges for the central authorities and force them to manage and re-frame ambiguous discourses.Show less
Jordan is undoubtedly a highly resilient state. Many scholars have claimed that Jordan constitutes a “hybrid system of governance” combining features of both democracy and autocracy. The main...Show moreJordan is undoubtedly a highly resilient state. Many scholars have claimed that Jordan constitutes a “hybrid system of governance” combining features of both democracy and autocracy. The main debates on the field are increasingly revolving around the persistence of its political stability. The current thesis explores the persistence of the Jordanian monarchy since the onset of its political liberalization in 1989 and demonstrates that the regime in Jordan employed several regime survival strategies, based on legitimation, co-optation and repression in order to ensure its longevity. To better illustrate the current argument, the research that follows attempts a theory testing, based on these three key theories which - with the support of both primary and secondary sources - try to explain the puzzle of monarchical regime endurance in Jordan.Show less
