The Occupy movement remains one of the defining aspects of political life in the early 2010s as a global social movement attempting to address the concerns of post-2008 politics. Drawing...Show moreThe Occupy movement remains one of the defining aspects of political life in the early 2010s as a global social movement attempting to address the concerns of post-2008 politics. Drawing inspiration from preceding movements and inspiring movements to come, its insistence on not articulating concrete demands as well as its dependence on pre-figurative politics was met simultaneously with amazement by activists and confusion by those attempting to grasp the movement. Through its global diffusion, beginning with Occupy Wall Street in New York and spreading all over the world, Occupy became a global phenomenon, entering the realm of international relations, with individual movements acting as agents that influence local and international politics, and the overall movement serving as connector between local actors on a global scale. Social movement theory often models mobilisation as happening either directly, through contact with activists, or indirectly, through equivalences in structure, demographic, or culture to other activists. The mobilisation and global diffusion of the Occupy movement however challenged both of these models, with local movements often self-mobilising and demonstrating a high level of heterogeneity in demographic make-up, social position, or movement culture. This thesis sets out to address this challenge by analysing the narratives put forward by Occupy movements as movement-building relays which aid the self-mobilisation of new activists. It argues that the common element between movements, as well as the potential for its global diffusion through self-mobilisation is not to be found in the narratives’ content, but rather in their structural aspects serving as movement-building relays. For this, 27 documents published by local Occupy movements were analysed in a structural-narratological approach. The thesis identifies relevant movement-building relays in the temporal, spatial, actantial, and social structures of the Occupy Wall Street narrative and traces their diffusion to the narratives of other local movements within the Occupy movement. Through this analysis, the thesis offers a novel approach to the study of contemporary global social movements whose diffusion is more often based on self-mobilisation and who demonstrate high levels of heterogeneity. Through the study of the Occupy movement, it thus seeks to provide a framework for which contemporary global social movements can be understood better.Show less
The aim of the thesis is to explore the largest environmental movement in Malaysia’s history – the anti-Lynas movement – through a case study analysis. The campaign emerged as a response against...Show moreThe aim of the thesis is to explore the largest environmental movement in Malaysia’s history – the anti-Lynas movement – through a case study analysis. The campaign emerged as a response against the construction of the Lynas Advanced Material Plant (LAMP), a rare earth refinery plant in West Malaysia. The anti-Lynas movement argued that the opening of the facility would have negative environmental and health consequences due to the lack of proper waste management facilities for radioactive components such as thorium and uranium. Despite having scientific evidence and political support within the Malaysia also internationally, the movement was unable to stop the operations of the largest earth refinery plant in the world. The thesis draws on resource mobilization theory and political opportunity structures to explain the outcome of the movement. The objective of the thesis is to analyze the reasons why the movement failed to stop the construction and the operations of the rare earth facility. The results of the thesis argue that the anti-Lynas movement had the necessary resources to emerge and contest the LAMP facility. However, the political context of Malaysia did not allow for the movement to influence the legislation of LAMP.Show less
After five international attacks commited by Uzbek individuals in the name of Daesh in 2016 and 2017, many (news)articles have been quick to speak of a trend regarding radicalization in Uzbekistan...Show moreAfter five international attacks commited by Uzbek individuals in the name of Daesh in 2016 and 2017, many (news)articles have been quick to speak of a trend regarding radicalization in Uzbekistan and Central Asia. Research has shown that scholars either look at internal or external factors for the radicalization of Uzbek nationals. This study aims to explain the apparent recent interest of Uzbek nationals to join Daesh and if we can speak of a myth or a phenomenon regarding radicalization in Uzbekistan. Building on existing work on radicalization in Central Asia and Uzbekistan, this research both analyzes the internal and external factors. These internal and external factors have been applied on case studies of three Uzbek individuals committing the international attacks. The analysis was based on a literature research on the history of the region, the Uzbekistan state since 1991 onwards and migration from Central Asia towards Russia, and a textual analysis of (1) videos, messages, and websites, and (2) interviews of journalists with friends, neighbors and family members of the Uzbek individuals in the case study. In addition, the social movement theory and social psychology theory were applied accordingly. The results indicate that we should not speak of a phenomenon regarding radicalization in Uzbekistan. Besides, the case study shows that external factors particularly explain the apparent recent interest of Uzbek nationals to join Daesh. Nevertheless, internal factors could indeed explain other radicalization processes, such as why Uzbek nationals decided to join the Hizb ut-Tahrir and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.Show less
