This thesis, concerned with ecological transitions, is more specifically set in the debate of sustainable agricultural practices in India. The chosen approach is a comparative study of two...Show moreThis thesis, concerned with ecological transitions, is more specifically set in the debate of sustainable agricultural practices in India. The chosen approach is a comparative study of two organizations providing seeds to farmers in India: on one side Bayer CropScience Ltd. (India), which promotes the use of hybrid, genetically modified (GM) crops and chemical pesticides; and on the other side Navdanya, which turns to the preservation and development of traditional seeds and practices. The primary aim of this research is to establish a clear link between belief systems and economic ecological practices. From this link, this research proposes a comparison of the values that have a significant effect on Navdanya’s inner workings and economic endeavors to values ruling over Bayer India in order to inform societal transitions towards sustainable economic models. This thesis concludes that Bayer’s episteme is characterized by its definition of progress as growth, and its co-dependence in equilibrium between shareholders and consumers that are more widely set in the Modern episteme’s anthropocentrism and objectification of the ‘other’. Navdanya’s episteme is characterized by a sacred understanding of biodiversity and an attempt to recenter economies towards women and nature in the idea that their creations is merely unpaid work upon which the growth paradigm relies. The two organizations are set in a polarizing tension rooted in the core beliefs of both paradigms.Show less
This thesis focusses on the relation between Singapore’s economic development and US geopolitical interests. Problematically, Singapore’s economic development has been predominantly analysed...Show moreThis thesis focusses on the relation between Singapore’s economic development and US geopolitical interests. Problematically, Singapore’s economic development has been predominantly analysed through an inward-centric and economically-oriented lens, which has prescribed a neglect of external geopolitical drivers. This thesis aims to fill this gap by researching Singapore’s post-war industrialization from an approach that considers external geopolitical influences as an important driver of economic development. In line with this approach, I focus on the relation between US geopolitical interests and Singapore’s post-war industrialization by building on the main theoretical insights from hegemonic stability theory and economic statecraft. Interestingly, the empirical findings of this thesis establish a substantive relation between US geopolitical interests, channelled through capital support to the city-state, and Singapore’s economic development. This is based on the empirical finding that Singapore received economic aid in the late-1960s when US geopolitical interests were threatened by suddenly emerging Singaporean instability. Accordingly, by having connected Singapore’s economic development to US Cold War interests, this thesis has complemented the contemporary state of the literature.Show less
Combining literature on autocratic stability and regime legitimation, this thesis seeks to explore the dynamics between economic shocks in patron states and a decrease in the political stability of...Show moreCombining literature on autocratic stability and regime legitimation, this thesis seeks to explore the dynamics between economic shocks in patron states and a decrease in the political stability of its client state(s). This research focuses on Russia as the patron state, and Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as its client states. It finds that output legitimacy is the primary strategy of legitimation of Central Asian states, and that economic crises in Russia directly impact the stability of the researched states. However, this effect is somewhat alleviated by moderating factors in the case of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.Show less
In a political landscape where traditional state expansion is increasingly more challenging to achieve, great powers seek expansion at the physical and metaphysical boundaries of the world instead....Show moreIn a political landscape where traditional state expansion is increasingly more challenging to achieve, great powers seek expansion at the physical and metaphysical boundaries of the world instead. Seen from the theoretical perspective of knowledge as a power-increasing commodity, the melting Arctic becomes a site of non-violent power struggle through scientific, economic and political means. This paper observes China's increasing role in the region through these avenues as it seeks to influence Arctic governance, despite not being an Arctic state. In addition to a general overview, a case study of Chinese state and non-state actors' activities in Norway's Arctic region seeks to further illustrate the ties between science, economics, and politics in the Arctic political landscape. Through a qualitative examination of secondary and primary sources, the paper concludes that the mutually beneficial ties between knowledge production and market expansion in the Arctic have the potential to aid a non-Arctic great power such as China in achieving political influence in the region.Show less
In recent decades, scholars have found that the influence of Great Powers in recognition politics is fairly big. They choose whether or not to recognize entities as states and other countries...Show moreIn recent decades, scholars have found that the influence of Great Powers in recognition politics is fairly big. They choose whether or not to recognize entities as states and other countries simply follow. Scholars have stated that in fear of costs of contravention, small states are being pressured to align recognition policy by extensive military, economic and diplomatic resources of major actors in world politics. Following the path of prior research on how Great Powers influence non-Great Powers on recognition policies, this paper aims to explain how extensive economic resources can be used to push other system members in certain recognition positions. Using data from the Correlates of War project and the World Trade Bank this paper argues that trade interdependence does, in fact, correlates with alignment of recognition policy with the U.S. With that said, no hard evidence has been found that the U.S. is willingly using trade as leverage to push states towards the recognition of Israel and the nonrecognition of Palestine.Show less
This thesis assesses the role and interaction of different actors in the redevelopment process for Kampong Bharu. The paper probes which factors have contributed to Kampong Bharu’s ability to...Show moreThis thesis assesses the role and interaction of different actors in the redevelopment process for Kampong Bharu. The paper probes which factors have contributed to Kampong Bharu’s ability to withstand redevelopment efforts. This paper argues that in spite of resident’s rhetoric, the process of redevelopment is not adequately explained as the local community challenging the power of the Malay state to preserve heritage over embracing modernity. Rather, it is better understood as a market exchange between group of individual residents who have not sold their land as they continue to seek a price which adequately compensates them for the inconvenience of moving, and for the likelihood that they will not be able to return.Show less
This thesis is a study on the applicability of dependency theory in the Mozambican development context. Following its embrace of the neoliberal principles of the Bretton Woods institutions in the...Show moreThis thesis is a study on the applicability of dependency theory in the Mozambican development context. Following its embrace of the neoliberal principles of the Bretton Woods institutions in the late 1980s, Mozambique embarked on an ambitious economic project. Starting off as the most aid-dependent country in the world in 1990, it experienced two decades of high levels of growth from 1992-2012. Yet, the economy remains heavily dependent on foreign investment, and the growth has not effectively translated to oppurtunities for the average citizen. Thus, can this indicate a revival of the claims of dependency theory?Show less
Over the past decades, migrant labour from South and South East Asia became more and more essential to the Gulf region’s economic development and migrant numbers continue to grow. This paper...Show moreOver the past decades, migrant labour from South and South East Asia became more and more essential to the Gulf region’s economic development and migrant numbers continue to grow. This paper provides an analysis of the political economy of the Gulf states, which aims at moving away from Gulf exceptionalism and oil centrism and instead, placing the Gulf within the global perspective of neoliberal economic development. With this in mind, the paper attempts to explain the increase in labour migrant numbers from Asia to the GCC countries after 1990, and examines these increases in relation to neoliberal economic developments, which occurred during the 1990s and 2000s.Show less
This thesis looks at the seemingly unbridled growth in credit and accompanying debt in China. It considers why the Chinese government has been unwilling in its practical manner to curb such a...Show moreThis thesis looks at the seemingly unbridled growth in credit and accompanying debt in China. It considers why the Chinese government has been unwilling in its practical manner to curb such a financially dangerous growth in outstanding, short term debts on projects which mostly only have lonbg term financial benefits. By taking a political economy look at the manner in which Chinese growth has turned financial and construction based, this thesis argues that the CCP's unwillingness for not acting on this financial bubble, is due to its core duties as mandated upon its self.Show less
The study questions how violence broke out during the Colombian protracted social conflict between the FARC and the Colombian state. By using the war system to study violence the research brings a...Show moreThe study questions how violence broke out during the Colombian protracted social conflict between the FARC and the Colombian state. By using the war system to study violence the research brings a new perspective on the Colombian armed conflict. The research’s findings suggest that the Colombian war system broke after the FARC expanded in the early 1980s. As a result, a set of events was set in motion related to the balance of power and the economic opportunities of the fighting actors. While the territorial expansion of the FARC provided new opportunities for the paramilitaries in terms of privatized protection, both actors grew rich on the Colombian coca boom. The study then uses Marxist Political Economy to analyze conflicting interests between the FARC and the paramilitary forces, leading to a struggle for land. The methods employed by the actors to pursue their goals translated into the exorbitant levels of violence that have characterized the conflict.Show less
The political situation in Syria has captured the interest of many scholars since its independence in 1946, and especially with the rise of the socialist Ba’ath party, and its patron Hafez Assad,...Show moreThe political situation in Syria has captured the interest of many scholars since its independence in 1946, and especially with the rise of the socialist Ba’ath party, and its patron Hafez Assad, to power. Assad’s authoritarian rule paved the way for Ba’ath party members and his immediate family members to accumulate wealth and power. This patrimonial approach has contributed to reshaping the class system and creating different types of the bourgeoisie. When Bashar Assad succeeded his father in the year 2000, the political-economic strategy in Syria changed a little by depriving the Ba’ath party members of their privileges and giving them to other prominent government officials and members of the country’s upper and upper-middle classes through neopatrimonial approaches. The new ‘state bourgeoisie’ in Syria did not only include Alawites who are directly related to Assad, but the new order also included Sunnis and Christians who were given a chance to get wealthy by proving their loyalty to Assad and cooperating with the regime. Since the beginning of the Syrian conflict in 2011, Syrian businesspeople have either continued supporting the regime or decided to remain silent and leave the country. Although the popular narrative of the Syrian conflict is largely sectarian in nature, sectarianism is not the only significant factor. Class has played a big role in the public’s dismay and contributed to the outbreak of the uprising. The business elite’s reaction to the conflict has contributed to the longevity of the conflict one hand and that of the Assad regime on the other. The loyal elites have benefited largely from this ongoing conflict whereas others who remained neutral risked the confiscation of their properties, and that of their family, and various terrorist charges. This thesis tackles the Syrian conflict from a different angle and highlights the role of the Syrian businesspeople.Show less
The Syrian conflict has entered its eighth year and due to its longevity, strict sectarian lines have formed. The sectarian narrative does not do justice in explaining the origins of the Syrian...Show moreThe Syrian conflict has entered its eighth year and due to its longevity, strict sectarian lines have formed. The sectarian narrative does not do justice in explaining the origins of the Syrian conflict, which started with peaceful protests in 2011. Such a narrative is based on a static and primordial view of Syria. As a response to that narrative this thesis uses social class theory to examine the years in Syria’s political economy in the years preceding the 2011 uprising. The five years before the uprising are important from an economic, social and political perspective as Syria initiated a transition to a social market economy. The two research question are as follows: How did Syria’s economic liberalisation from 2006 to 2010 change socioeconomic conditions vis-à-vis Syria’s civil uprising in 2011? And what role does social class play in Syria's socioeconomic grievances? The research questions are answered through case studies of the agricultural sector, investments in Syria, and the economic transition’s connection to the 2011 uprising. The case studies’ results are that socioeconomic conditions of lower and middle classes stagnated or worsened in the years before the uprising, displayed in unemployment and a widening wealth gap. Investments patterns in Syria in the economic liberalisation show how profits went those in the upper and ruling classes with ties to the regime. By that, it is concluded that class played a large role in Syria’s socioeconomic grievances that played a partial role in creating circumstances for the 2011 uprising. The explanation is, nonetheless, not sufficient on its own to explain the 2011 uprising. Future research on Syria’s political economy should continue to focus on classes and other social communities in order to provide better explanations for societal changes.Show less
For a long time, Europe has played a significant part on the global development of ideology owing to its strong economy. This is no longer the case as the Chinese economy has grown rapidly since...Show moreFor a long time, Europe has played a significant part on the global development of ideology owing to its strong economy. This is no longer the case as the Chinese economy has grown rapidly since undergoing major economic reforms, to now becoming an influential actor in global economy. This thesis aims to investigate the extent in which the booming Chinese economy has impacted the ability of the EU to continue and pursue its liberal agenda. By looking at the complexity of the current global economic system, I will expose the vulnerability of EU in the face of an increasingly assertive China, particularly through the German-Sino and French-Sino relations in regards to their rhetoric on human right.Show less
The recent years have seen a rise in the interest and media coverage concerning the housing markets in Hong Kong and Singapore. Both cities are routinely ranked as some of the most expensive...Show moreThe recent years have seen a rise in the interest and media coverage concerning the housing markets in Hong Kong and Singapore. Both cities are routinely ranked as some of the most expensive property markets internationally, and have thus been the subject of significant comparison. This is often done on the basis of the two cities sharing commonalities in history and the situations of their housing markets, but in doing so, these comparisons negate the influences that the political environments over the course of history have had on the two governments' approaches to housing policy. In particular, the two governments operate from very different perspectives, as this paper will demonstrate with the use of theoretical frameworks concerning international political order and political economy. Drawing on research into the historical and political trajectories of the two cities with specific regards to housing development, this paper aims to identify the political influences on the history and approaches to housing development in Hong Kong and Singapore that are overlooked in much of the coverage and comparisons employed today.Show less
