Master thesis | Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology (MSc)
open access
In this thesis I am looking at how the mines in Dutch Limburg have impacted the lives of women in that region, and if this history is represented in the current mining heritage. Mining history has...Show moreIn this thesis I am looking at how the mines in Dutch Limburg have impacted the lives of women in that region, and if this history is represented in the current mining heritage. Mining history has long been glossed over in the region, and for women’s heritage connected to mining this has been doubly so. Therefore, I aim to answer the question in this thesis: How did the minescape influence the wives of miners and their families during and after the mines were active, and how is this past reflected in heritage? To answer this I have looked at the concepts of gender relations and minescapes through the lens of heritage and collective memories, as this allows me to research the past. Because of this I have chosen to use interviews, observation, archival research and literary research as research methods. I have tried to show how different stakeholders had conflicting opinions about what the region’s heritage included. I found that the demolishment of the buildings happened during a time in which industrial heritage was a fairly new concept. I also found that to the mining companies, women were important facets in the process of producing coal. And they were willing to put a lot of effort and money into making sure women acted as useful as possible for this purpose. They did so by working together with the Catholic Church and the local and national government. The influence of the mining companies and their collaborators was felt in almost every aspect of women's lives. Therefore, while women’s tasks were similar to those of women in other parts of the country, they performed them slightly differently because of the conditions mining provided. Also, although the institutions influenced what happened inside the home, behind closed doors people still had room to act upon their own accord.Show less
This thesis explores the potential of multi-stakeholder platforms (MSPs) to improve mining governance in Sub-Saharan Africa for inclusive and sustainable growth and development. It examines the...Show moreThis thesis explores the potential of multi-stakeholder platforms (MSPs) to improve mining governance in Sub-Saharan Africa for inclusive and sustainable growth and development. It examines the challenges and opportunities of contemporary mining, highlighting the importance of accountability, transparency and representation in decision-making processes. Transformative governance is found to necessitate multi-stakeholder collaboration and mining-engaged MSPs are proposed as holistic initiatives to this end. The 5-2-3 model is introduced to guide mining-engaged platforms in conflict mitigation through trust-building and continuous reflection. Findings from a stakeholder-informed case study of Sierra Leone show that mining-engaged MSPs can promote inclusive and sustainable mining governance.Show less
For decades, Mozambique was a showcase of a beneficial Western aid recipient on the African continent. However, following a national debt crisis and the global financial crisis in 2008, the country...Show moreFor decades, Mozambique was a showcase of a beneficial Western aid recipient on the African continent. However, following a national debt crisis and the global financial crisis in 2008, the country started looking eastwards, increasingly seeking and accepting investment and aid from China. Mozambique witnessed increasing engagement from China, especially in the exploitation of raw materials and infrastructure development. In academic literature and public discourse, the South-South cooperation between the two developing countries is often portrayed as benefitting only China, ascribing the Mozambican state a merely passive and receiving role. This thesis scrutinizes this assumption and explores the different ways in which the Mozambican government asserts its agency vis-à-vis China, specifically in the mining sector. Indeed, the analysis shows that, despite structural constraints, the government does exercise agency on various levels.Show less
