This thesis is about one of the basic concepts of International Relations, a highly valued theory that has been used to explain multiple cases in world history: the security dilemma. The originally...Show moreThis thesis is about one of the basic concepts of International Relations, a highly valued theory that has been used to explain multiple cases in world history: the security dilemma. The originally interstate concept was intended to explain those conflicts where states were involuntarily drawn to conflict. Not only has the security dilemma been applied to interstate conflict as it was originally intended, there is also a sizable literature available on the security dilemma applied to ethnic conflict. But in order to account for ethnic conflict the security dilemma has been stretched and a while authors like Posen, Kaufman, Melander and Roe assert that the conflict in Croatia and the former Yugoslavia was a consequence of the security dilemma. This thesis will illustrate the opposite, showing that the security dilemma neglects and fails to account for essential processes that have contributed to and even caused the ethnic violence in Croatia in 1991. The revisiting of the case study of the ethnic conflict between the Serbs and Croats in Croatia will serve to lay the foundations for the broader theoretical claim that the security dilemma cannot be successfully applied to intra-state conflict.Show less
In this thesis the behaviour of the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) of the Dutch Freedom Party is examined. The research question is: How can the behaviour of the MEPs of the Dutch...Show moreIn this thesis the behaviour of the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) of the Dutch Freedom Party is examined. The research question is: How can the behaviour of the MEPs of the Dutch Freedom Party be characterized? The behaviour of the MEPs of the Freedom Party is researched through the use of role theory. There are many different typologies concerning the roles of members of national parliaments, MEPs and eurosceptic MEPs which are discussed in this thesis. It is then researched which of these roles are applicable to the behaviour of the MEPs of the Freedom Party. The parliamentary activities (written questions, motions for resolutions, speeches in the plenary, attendance to plenary) of the MEPs of the Freedom Party are covered and two MEPs (Barry Madlener and Auke Zijlstra) of the Freedom Party were asked a number of questions about their behaviour in the European Parliament.Show less
Political Tolerance can be seen as allowing persons of your least-liked group to poses political rights. This research is about political tolerance in relaltion to party identification. Previous...Show morePolitical Tolerance can be seen as allowing persons of your least-liked group to poses political rights. This research is about political tolerance in relaltion to party identification. Previous American research suggested that conservatives are less likely to act tolerant than conservatives. The results show that people who feel an attachment to a political party are significantly more likely to be tolerant than people who do not feel any attachment to a political party. Their is no difference in tolerance among respondents who feel attached with right or left parties or progressive or conservative parties in the Netherlands.Show less
This study examines the probable causes of different leaders’ responses to political intolerance in Dutch democracy. In comparing two Dutch Prime Ministers in similar settings, who show different...Show moreThis study examines the probable causes of different leaders’ responses to political intolerance in Dutch democracy. In comparing two Dutch Prime Ministers in similar settings, who show different responses to increasing intolerance in society, this study attempts to explain their contrasting attitudes by their personal traits. Both the political tolerance and the leadership style scholars’ results are used as a basis, since both type of scholars use personality traits in trying to predict leaders’ attitudes or political intolerance. This study states as many other studies that most personality traits do not explain contrasting leadership responses to intolerance, while self-esteem does. Thus, when political parties want to create a more tolerant society, and therefore want to select a more tolerant political leader, the leaders’ self-esteem is most important.Show less
Advanced master thesis | Political Science (Advanced Master)
open access
States can choose to cooperate, delay or escalate their territorial disputes, but there is a lack of understanding of strategy behind each choice. In this study, Russian territorial disputes are...Show moreStates can choose to cooperate, delay or escalate their territorial disputes, but there is a lack of understanding of strategy behind each choice. In this study, Russian territorial disputes are looked at using the theory of omnibalancing and the theory of preventive warfare, theories which have already been applied by Taylor Fravel in his analysis of the Chinese territorial disputes. The results of this research show that Fravel’s approach can explain a slight majority of Russia’s cases, but the explanatory power could be increased by changing certain premises of his theory.Show less
Advanced master thesis | Political Science (Advanced Master)
open access
2012-07-06T00:00:00Z
Recently, the attention given by scholars and academics to the study of Mexican soft power and public diplomacy has not been abundant. The existent literature is not consistent enough to provide a...Show moreRecently, the attention given by scholars and academics to the study of Mexican soft power and public diplomacy has not been abundant. The existent literature is not consistent enough to provide a thorough study and explanation of how the country has so far acknowledged the concept of soft power, and more importantly, what actions need to be followed to start practising public diplomacy as a major, integral component of its foreign policy.Show less
Research master thesis | Political Science and Public Administration (research) (MSc)
open access
2017-01-01T00:00:00Z
Why do democracies not go to war with other democracies? The idea that the internalized liberal-democratic norms of peaceful conflict resolution within a democratic society are responsible for the...Show moreWhy do democracies not go to war with other democracies? The idea that the internalized liberal-democratic norms of peaceful conflict resolution within a democratic society are responsible for the democratic peace, also referred to as the normative explanation, remains subject to a particular lack of empirical academic attention. The few studies into the normative explanation have not tested what should be tested: whether liberal democratic norms indeed affect the behavior of democratic citizens in comparison to the behavior of nondemocratic citizens. This research performs an improved empirical test and studies (1) whether liberal norms exist in a democracy in comparison to a non-democracy and (2) whether these norms have an effect on the individuals of these societies concerning the wish to use force in International Relations. An experimental design showed that there was no significant difference between a group of Dutch students and a group of Chinese students when it comes to the use of force in IR. A marginal effect of the regime type for the democratic citizens was found. Remarkably, in a comparison with the autocratic experimental group, these democratic citizens turned out not to be specifically more peaceful towards other democracies, but rather more war-prone towards autocracies. The overall conclusion of this study is that for both experimental groups the perception of threat was the main indicator for a decision to attack. This research argues that, in contrast with earlier research, there is no support to the claim that the normative explanation can explain the empirically found peace between democracies.Show less
Advanced master thesis | Political Science (Advanced Master)
open access
Ideational factors, which range from democracy to human rights, from sustainable peace to multilateralism, have long played an important role in the European Union’s (EU) foreign policies toward...Show moreIdeational factors, which range from democracy to human rights, from sustainable peace to multilateralism, have long played an important role in the European Union’s (EU) foreign policies toward China, with a wide range of issues that could be found in recent decades such as the arms embargo, resolutions critical of China’s human rights in United Nations Commission of Human Rights (UNCHR), and many other fields in EU-China relations. Despite the significance of ideational factors, it is tempting but premature to conclude that the EU’s external policies towards China have been dominated by normative power. The policy preference of the EU towards China is affected by the role of institutions in facilitating the emergence of a sense of community based on shared norms, interests and a common identity. Yet EU positions, decision and actions in the world are produced as the result of often complex interactions in a multi-level system, involving the member states singly and collectively, as well as the common institutions. Would such complex interactions bring some kind of convergence in a normative European policy towards China? How does China respond to the emergence of ideational factors in bilateral relations? Does China see the EU as a normative power? Thus, social constructivist tools should be applied to analyze the emergence of ideational factors as a consequence of both internal interaction within the EU and external interaction between Europe and China. This study focues on the notion of Normative Power Europe (NPE) by examining the role of ideational factors in EU’s foreign and security policies toward China, as well as China’s perception of EU’s promotions and pressures in these values through case studies. More specifically, the study is a two-step process. The first stage is to explore the different goals of multiple European actors and how these goals interact with normative factors in shaping their foreign policy towards China. In this stage, analytical target is not restricted to the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) or European Commission (EC) level, but takes into account member states’ positions and foreign policies toward China. In the second stage, China’s perception of Europe’s normative driven policies will be introduced, by looking into the response of Beijing and relevant literature. This research attempts to explain the lack of a normative convergence in EU and reveal China’s perception in EU’s normative power.Show less
Advanced master thesis | Political Science (Advanced Master)
open access
An investigation into whether or not the economic success of the past 20 years for the BRICS can be attributed to the implementation of sustainable development. It is found that this is not the...Show moreAn investigation into whether or not the economic success of the past 20 years for the BRICS can be attributed to the implementation of sustainable development. It is found that this is not the case but neither was the growth due to the creation of a pollution haven.Show less
Het doel van dit onderzoek was te onderzoeken in hoeverre de drie mechanismen, die Ross beschrijft als verklaring voor de link tussen olie-export en autoritair bewind, in Brazilië, Mexico en...Show moreHet doel van dit onderzoek was te onderzoeken in hoeverre de drie mechanismen, die Ross beschrijft als verklaring voor de link tussen olie-export en autoritair bewind, in Brazilië, Mexico en Venezuela aanwezig zijn.Show less
A higher turnout is not always beneficial for legitimacy in both it's descriptive and it's normative sense, when deliberative democracy is taken into account.
Dit onderzoek strekt zich uit naar Bijbelgebruik in het parlementaire debat. Een vijftal casussen(c.q. debatten)uit de periode 1955-2009 vormen hierbij een graadmeter voor hoe het met de tale...Show moreDit onderzoek strekt zich uit naar Bijbelgebruik in het parlementaire debat. Een vijftal casussen(c.q. debatten)uit de periode 1955-2009 vormen hierbij een graadmeter voor hoe het met de tale Kanaäns is gesteld.Show less
