Research master thesis | Middle Eastern Studies (research) (MA)
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When the reformist Mohammad Khatami (b. 1943) became president of Iran in 1997, most socioeconomic strata, workers and students in particular, expected changes to Iran’s political and economic make...Show moreWhen the reformist Mohammad Khatami (b. 1943) became president of Iran in 1997, most socioeconomic strata, workers and students in particular, expected changes to Iran’s political and economic make-up. These expectations were largely grounded in Khatami’s rhetoric of social justice and the promises of more socio-political and cultural freedoms that he voiced during his electoral campaign. In practice, however, these promises did not materialise and disappointed workers and students alike. Khatami continued the economic neoliberalisation that his predecessor Rafsanjani (r. 1989-1997) had begun and the supreme leader, Khamenei (r. 1989-), heavily resisted his attempts to create more relaxed academic settings. Although the existing literature explains why Khatami and Khamenei, which respectively represented the reformist and conservative sides of the political spectrum, embraced different labour policy-paths, it does not seek to understand how both officials constructed their social reality such that it made sense for them to do so. Presuming that the meaning of political factions is objectively defined, the literature therefore foregoes enquiring after the discursive context in which they constructed their ideologies and how these related to their policy-paths. However, as policies do not originate in an intellectual and institutional vacuum but are made possible in a political context where competing discourses interact, examining them from a discursive perspective clarifies how rather than why these officials perceived them as meaningful paths to pursue. This focus on ideology construction then leads to enquiring how both constructed Iran’s identity and, by implication, that of workers and students. Taking a poststructuralist approach, this thesis therefore enquires how Khatami’s and Khamenei’s evolving discursive negotiation on Iranian identity was co-constitutionally related to the approved labour policies that concerned workers and students during Khatami’s presidency (r. 1997-2005).Show less
The psychological relationships that people have with celebrities or idols can influence communal cohesion. Almost everyone in modern society relates to non-present or distant others. Our idols can...Show moreThe psychological relationships that people have with celebrities or idols can influence communal cohesion. Almost everyone in modern society relates to non-present or distant others. Our idols can affect the way we perceive ourselves and others. Generally, people associate more with national than with foreign idols. This creates a more communal national appreciation and contributes to the national ‘imagined communities.’ People from the same nation associate with each other through their shared idols. Therefore, idols can be used as a nation-building mechanism. For many African countries, nation-building has been crucial due to the formation of states by colonial powers. This has resulted in the separation of relatives and the grouping of distinct societies. One of the African countries with a rich colonial history and a diverse ethnic landscape is Namibia. In this context, the thesis examines the contribution of idolisation of local heroes to national identities, specifically in the case of Namibia’s freedom fighter Hendrik Witbooi. Through a literature review and interviews with Namibians, different idolisation mediums have been identified, including newspapers, television broadcasts, visual representations, stories, and songs. The contribution that these idolisation mediums have made to national identity is the promotion of a communal shared history, one of the key elements of a ‘nation.’ In the case of Namibia, this consists of a shared history of traumatic events, specifically the German and South African colonisation and the ‘Namibian genocide,’ however, it includes heroes that rose up against the perpetrators of these injustices. Consideration is given to the influence of the SWAPO-government and comparable cases of idolisation in other countries.Show less
Kazakhstan is indeed known for its considerable Russian minority, and Russian was the language of communication. However, in 2017, the Kazakh president Nazarbayev seemed to lead the country in a...Show moreKazakhstan is indeed known for its considerable Russian minority, and Russian was the language of communication. However, in 2017, the Kazakh president Nazarbayev seemed to lead the country in a different direction as he proposed a script change for the Kazakh language from the Cyrillic to the Latin alphabet. The immediate question that comes to mind is why Kazakhstan that is close to Russia now would want to propose this. This thesis concludes that there are three common reasons found in previous cases of post-Soviet Latinization that are also applicable to the Kazakh case, namely: the development of a national identity and the rejection of a Soviet identity, illteracy, and the desire to modernize and WesternizeShow less
Since the 1979 revolution, the idea that the West has been involved in a conspiracy against Iran has become one of the most important national myths of the Islamic Republic. In recent years this...Show moreSince the 1979 revolution, the idea that the West has been involved in a conspiracy against Iran has become one of the most important national myths of the Islamic Republic. In recent years this national narrative has found new meaning as the “soft war”. A modern iteration of the myth of foreign conspiracy, it stipulates that Western powers seek to infiltrate the moral fabric of Iranian society through Western cultural products and media channels and by extending support to Iranian civil society. Since the 2009 Iranian presidential election protests the soft war has become one of the defining features of Iranian governmental discourse. The election protests relied to a large extent on digital communication and social media platforms to mobilize the opposition to the re-elected president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (2005-2013). The soft war narrative was the primary justification for the increasing control of the Iranian authorities over their country’s cybersphere which accompanied the regime’s crackdown on the 2009 demonstrations. While the topics of digital repression and the soft war during the terms of president Ahmadinejad have received their share of scholarly attention, a review their status under the current Iranian president of Hassan Rouhani is lacking. This thesis aims to fill this gap in the literature by analyzing how the soft war narrative has been used in Iranian governmental discourse to justify control of Iran’s media environment and in particular, control of Iran’s internet, during the tenure of president Rouhani as compared to during the Ahmadinejad era. Particular attention is paid to the legacy Western imperialism in Iran, factional politics in contemporary Iran and the influence of the country’s political economy on the Iranian state’s restrictions on internet freedom under Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hassan Rouhani.Show less
It this thesis I intend to unveil the constructed nature of the Austrian post-war identity narratives and the consequences they continue to have today. I will investigate how, after the Second...Show moreIt this thesis I intend to unveil the constructed nature of the Austrian post-war identity narratives and the consequences they continue to have today. I will investigate how, after the Second World War, the conferment of the political neutrality status enabled Austria to reinvent its national identity and withdraw from war guilt. The constructed narratives consist of elements from the history of its imperial and pre-war cultural past. These continue to prevail and despite the emergence of a counter-narrative.Show less
During the Egyptian Revolution in 2011, protesters and dissident behaviour were severely condemned by agents of the state. Among the protesters were women who were subjugated to gender-specific...Show moreDuring the Egyptian Revolution in 2011, protesters and dissident behaviour were severely condemned by agents of the state. Among the protesters were women who were subjugated to gender-specific violence to the criticism of many Egyptians. As awareness of misconduct towards women grew during the Egyptian revolution, it can be argued that the revolution also instigated a shift in thinking about the role of women in Egyptian society, since it opened up a new space for women to express themselves in the process of self-definition. Therefore, I will argue that a gendered analysis of the revolution will help us understand resistance better while interrogating the gender-dynamics in revolutionary Egypt. Hence, I will investigate how the revolution contributed to a shift in the construction of gender roles for women in Egypt. The research problem is understanding how the previously assigned gender roles, framed by nationalist ideologies, played a role in the way women were treated during the public protests. In order to answer this question, I will focus on Egypt under Mubarak and under the SCAF who reigned until 2012. Secondly, I will investigate the role of the state, its patriarchal character and its adherence to a security regime. Thirdly, I will analyse how women protesters were changing the status quo by their acts of protest and how it provoked a different way of thinking about women. The latter, has been aided by female graffiti artists too who used their graffiti as a way of 'speaking back'. This will be contextualised by an analysis of a selection of graffiti made by women during the Egyptian Revolution.Show less
National identity is the one of the basic elements of a modern state because the belonging of people to the nation is based on their belonging to their identity. For every Third World country, the...Show moreNational identity is the one of the basic elements of a modern state because the belonging of people to the nation is based on their belonging to their identity. For every Third World country, the defining of national identity and the construction of national belonging is especially crucial to the social stability and the social development. Egyptians identity issue merged in 19th century, when Egyptian intellectuals were influenced by Western “nation state” thought and tried to identify the national identity of Egyptians. From the 19th century to 1967, we can find that the development process of Egyptian nationalism has a clue --- from a vague distinction of “Egyptians” and “un-Egyptians” to an attempt of construction the national history; from “the lack of nationalism” to the struggle between different kinds of nationalism to the dominant of Arabism. However, the disastrous rout of Egypt in 1967 Arab-Israeli War cut down this process and a series of political events in Sadat era was finally resulted in a new identity crisis in Egypt society. In that case, Egyptian government had no option but to re-shape the Egyptian national identity for the sake of repairing the crack of society which made by the identity crisis and maintaining its legitimacy. In Sadat era, Egyptian government amended history textbooks, constructed some new national museums and introduced some new symbols. However, The measures undertaken by the Egyptian government under Sadat did not create a new consensus over what the ‘Egyptian nation’ is. Quite on the contrary, many national identities compete with each other but none of them can be a dominant ideology.Show less
This thesis examines what role the Arctic plays in contemporary Russian politics. For this purpose, a thorough analysis of the Russian domestic discourse on the Arctic region is conducted. The...Show moreThis thesis examines what role the Arctic plays in contemporary Russian politics. For this purpose, a thorough analysis of the Russian domestic discourse on the Arctic region is conducted. The discourse analysis covers the period 2007-2018 and focuses on a few key figures who have arguably a significant impact on the Arctic discourse due to their centrality in Russian politics. The analysis shows that the individual narratives on the Arctic strengthen Russian national identity by promoting notions of foreign encirclement and the country’s exceptionalism and great power identity. Moreover, the discourse on the Arctic is provided with a temporal and overall coherence by selectively manipulating historical memory and drawing on a wide range of symbolic actions. In the second part of the paper the findings from the analysis are placed within the wider Russian political context. Thereby, it is shown that the Arctic discourse is not an isolated phenomenon, but that it is representative of a general shift towards an increasingly nationalist and patriotic rhetoric during Putin’s third term in office. It is argued that by creating a coherent and compelling national identity, the Putin regime seeks to buttress its fragile legitimacy. These findings imply that foreign observers and representatives need to be aware of Russian domestic political developments in order to properly assess Russia’s actions and interests in the Arctic region.Show less
This thesis analyses the evolution of the Bulgarian national identity within the Bulgarian nationalist discourse, a bulk of 18th and 19th century literature that is often regarded as a coherent...Show moreThis thesis analyses the evolution of the Bulgarian national identity within the Bulgarian nationalist discourse, a bulk of 18th and 19th century literature that is often regarded as a coherent body that primarly displays the contemporary political myths that are dominant in the nationalist paradigm. By analysing this bulk of literature and by comparing different writings from different periods, this thesis tries to move beyond the nationalist paradigm and focuses on the evolution from the hybdrid atmosphere of 'Ottoman Bulgaria' towards the outspoken sealed of identity of the 'ancient' ethnic-national category of the Bulgarians, so outspokenly supported by the current political order. The comparative and chronological analysis of the main Bulgarian nationalist sources, are supported by three theories concerning nationalism that are applicable in the Southeastern European context. These theories consist of the periodization-theory of Miroslav Hroch, the thoughts of Benedict Anderson who underlines the influence of the erosion of religion and the assumed political relevance of ethnicity as assumed by Azar Gat.Show less
This thesis investigates various ways the other versus national self -setting is constructed in three Russian blockbuster movies: Flight Crew (2016), Viy (2014) and Legend no. 17 (2013). The...Show moreThis thesis investigates various ways the other versus national self -setting is constructed in three Russian blockbuster movies: Flight Crew (2016), Viy (2014) and Legend no. 17 (2013). The theoretical framework of othering will be employed as a device to analyze the movies. It is suggested that the varying others in various contexts of these movies each cause different aspects of Russian national identity to resurface and be emphasized. As especially mass-produced blockbuster movies are the major form of entertainment for a significantly wide audience, it is argued that they can provide valuable insight into how post-Russian national identity is being negotiated in Russia.Show less
The thesis identifies a research question based on a solid review of primarily English-language literature on national identity formation and history education. As noted in the literature review,...Show moreThe thesis identifies a research question based on a solid review of primarily English-language literature on national identity formation and history education. As noted in the literature review, scholars have trained their attention on the ways in which schools shaped national identity but not as much on the students’ experiences or reception. An investigation into students’ experiences enriches our understanding about history education in national identity formation.Show less
Costa Rica and the national identity are the main themes of this master thesis and the major focus is to uncover what the signification and the importance of the national identity of the nation is....Show moreCosta Rica and the national identity are the main themes of this master thesis and the major focus is to uncover what the signification and the importance of the national identity of the nation is. Taking into consideration different perspectives of inhabitants or citizens and various sources or external others in addition to how the national identity is reflected regarding minorities who supposedly would be not be included in this national image or identity. When the decision was made of choosing Costa Rica and the national identity as object of study in order to execute the research that is part of the master, the matter of understanding the concept of national identity was the first major task; it is a rather comprehensive and difficult concept to clarify. The main ideas and theories discussed in this thesis concern the formation of the national identity of Costa Rica with regard to possible included white tendencies or whiteness. Elements such as these supposedly would have been incorporated in the identity of the nation; due to exclusion of minority groups within the country from the national image, such as the indigenous, Afro-Caribbean or Nicaraguan population. It is of importance to investigate if the presumed seclusion or segregation had already been integrated in the identity of Costa Rica or rather it emerged during its creation or modification.Show less
