The stability of the country and maintaining public order and harmony have been among the top priorities of the government of the small city-state of Singapore, ever since its independence in 1965....Show moreThe stability of the country and maintaining public order and harmony have been among the top priorities of the government of the small city-state of Singapore, ever since its independence in 1965. The People’s Action Party (PAP), which has been in constant rule for over 65 years, has sought to maintain their hegemony and “protect the country” by actively limiting citizens' influence over politics and policies, mainly through the development of legal frameworks repressing dissent across different parts of society. By using theories on contentious politics, state repression, and the political opportunity structure, as well as a qualitative content analysis of Singapore’s laws on dissent, this thesis addresses the following research question: What are the strategies employed by the Singaporean government to repress and prevent dissent, and how do these strategies impact the political opportunity structure for contentious politics? Summarizing the findings, this thesis concludes that the state has built an extensive framework of restrictive laws covering all forms of society, rather than explicitly focusing on certain aspects, which has caused opportunities for dissenting citizens to employ methods of contentious political action to achieve their aims of influencing state policies to be exceptionally limited.Show less
This study examines the impact of African Youth Activists (AYAs) at last year's Conference of the Parties (COP27). Despite being disproportionately affected by climate change, marginalized groups,...Show moreThis study examines the impact of African Youth Activists (AYAs) at last year's Conference of the Parties (COP27). Despite being disproportionately affected by climate change, marginalized groups, such as AYAs, often face challenges in having their voices adequately heard due to underlying structures that favor countries and non-governmental organizations from the Global North. The Political Opportunity Structure can be used to examine whether AYAs have opportunities to make a difference in a system. This involves evaluating whether there are entry points for new actors to enter the political process and whether the existing mechanisms within the system effectively accommodate and integrate new perspectives. To explore this, the study conducted 12 semi-structured interviews with AYAs to investigate how the existing power relations at COP impact their participation. The perception of AYAs on power relations and their opportunities for intervention provide insights into their reality and how they navigate the structural aspects of the political process. The findings of this research can be used to find places to intervene in the UNFCCC- system and improve activists' work at COPs in the future.Show less
In the last few years, the question of land expropriations has become a major source of discontent in Taiwan. Even if these kinds of policy have had a long history, it is particularly in the last...Show moreIn the last few years, the question of land expropriations has become a major source of discontent in Taiwan. Even if these kinds of policy have had a long history, it is particularly in the last decade that they have triggered rural unrest, causing a dramatic increase in rallies and protests against seizures and inadequate compensations. As a result, land grabs are perceived as one of the biggest threats to the stability of the entire system. This thesis analyses the case of the rural social movement in Dapu Village in Taiwan’s Miaoli County, well known for the high number of people involved and the court victory against the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) and the Miaoli County Government. In doing so, it argues that in order to evaluate the outcomes of a social movement it is also necessary to take into account other factors such as the nature of the issue, the perceived opportunities and threats, and the interactions between the movement’s actors and the authorities. As such, this thesis begins by exploring the reasons for land conflict, describing how neoliberalism impacted on Taiwanese land governance to create two different but simultaneous forces driving the process: the central government’s need (and right for public interest) to expropriate land in order to create developmental zones, and underfunded local governments’ power in the reallocation of lands, ultimately leading to cases of corruption and misallocation of resources. Following this, through the application of political opportunity structure and resource mobilization theories, this thesis will answer the main question: how did the social movement and the authorities mobilize their resources during the conflict over land grabs in Dapu? In doing so, a more nuanced view of the conflict’s outcomes will be gained as well as a deeper insight into the overall successes and failures of the movement.Show less
