Since the turn of the 20th century, the United States has consistently seen lower voter turnout compared to other developed democracies. Initially, during the 1920s, this was viewed as a serious...Show moreSince the turn of the 20th century, the United States has consistently seen lower voter turnout compared to other developed democracies. Initially, during the 1920s, this was viewed as a serious social problem and produced widespread panic. By the 1990s, however, comparable rates of non-voting generated a more muted and even accepting response. This thesis thus argues that non-voting underwent a process of socio-cultural normalization during the 20th century. This process is historicized by tracing four distinct shifts in attitudes toward non-voting which ended up normalizing this American peculiarity.Show less
Deze scriptie onderzoekt de motivatie van orangistische burgers om zich politiek in te zetten in de jaren 1787 en 1788. Er wordt betoogd dat rond de omwenteling van september 1787 in de gehele...Show moreDeze scriptie onderzoekt de motivatie van orangistische burgers om zich politiek in te zetten in de jaren 1787 en 1788. Er wordt betoogd dat rond de omwenteling van september 1787 in de gehele Republiek orangistische burgers de politiek al dan niet met geweld probeerden te beïnvloeden, en dat zij daartoe werden gemotiveerd door de overtuiging dat de welvaart en vrijheid van de Republiek alleen kon worden hersteld als de stadhouder zonder tegenstand zijn taak als beschermer van de Nederlandse vrijheid kon uitvoeren. In Holland verzetten orangistische burgers zich in aanloop naar de omwenteling tegen de overwegend patriotse stedelijke regeringen en vrijkorpsen, daarbij geleid door Oranjegezinde regenten als W.G.F. Bentinck van Rhoon. Na de omwenteling vond een tweedeling plaats tussen orangisten die een gematigde restauratie voorstonden en orangisten die geloofden dat de Republiek alleen écht gered kon worden door alle patriotten uit het openbare leven te verwijderen. Omdat de stadhouder en de herstelde stadsregeringen de gematigde koers voorstonden, kwamen radicale orangistische burgers in verschillende steden tegenover hen te staan. Verstoken van regentensteun en in bedwang gehouden door het leger kon de orangistische burgerbeweging haar eisen echter niet afdwingen. Hoewel het protest van orangistische burgers in de loop van 1788 verstomde, beïnvloedde het de politieke besluitvorming, waardoor regeringsveranderingen en ontslaggolven vaak radicaler uitvielen dan de stadhouder zelf had gehoopt. De acties van orangistische burgers in 1788 laten eveneens zien dat zij geenszins werden aangestuurd door regenten maar juist op eigen initiatief handelden, uit overtuiging dat herstel de verwijdering van álle patriotten vereiste.Show less
This work analyses the police apparatus of early imperial Rome. The research is embedded in existing theories about policing and explores by what means the Roman state managed to police early...Show moreThis work analyses the police apparatus of early imperial Rome. The research is embedded in existing theories about policing and explores by what means the Roman state managed to police early imperial Rome.Show less
Deze scriptie onderzoekt de rol van wetenschappelijk gezag in de Nederlandse politiek. De casus die wordt onderzocht is het milieudebat in de jaren tachtig en het kernenergiedebat in het bijzonder....Show moreDeze scriptie onderzoekt de rol van wetenschappelijk gezag in de Nederlandse politiek. De casus die wordt onderzocht is het milieudebat in de jaren tachtig en het kernenergiedebat in het bijzonder. Het onderwerp wordt bekeken aan de hand van een retorische analyse van de debatbijdrages van allerhande politici in de Tweede Kamer. In de Nederlandse politiek is de tendens van fact-free en post-truth politics, en de kritiek op wetenschappelijk gezag in het bijzonder, de afgelopen jaren vooral aan de oppervlakte gekomen tijdens het klimaatdebat. Momenteel lijkt er wat betreft dit onderwerp een hardnekkige spanning te bestaan tussen de ‘waarheid’ van de wetenschap en die van bepaalde politici. Het begin van het klimaatdebat zoals dat nu wordt gevoerd in de politiek ligt in de jaren tachtig. Het milieuvraagstuk was in toenemende mate gepolitiseerd geraakt en een bijzondere rol was weggelegd voor de slepende discussie omtrent kernenergie, die in deze periode tot een kookpunt kwam. Daarnaast zijn de jaren tachtig een interessante periode wat betreft de relatie tussen politiek en wetenschap. De zakelijke politieke stijl van Lubbers en de zijnen zorgde voor een nieuw ideaalbeeld: efficiëntie stond centraal en politiek bedrijven betekende compromissen bereiken door middel van een redelijke discussie, waarin een grote waardering was voor de mening van experts. Dit is de achtergrond waartegen de casus van het milieudebat zich in de jaren tachtig afspeelde. In deze scriptie wordt gesteld dat wetenschappelijke invloed in het politiek debat tot op zekere hoogte gewenst is, aangezien het zorgt voor een redelijke discussie gebaseerd op deskundige kennis en rationele argumentatie. De rol van de wetenschap in de Nederlandse debat- en spreekcultuur is daarmee van groot belang. Desondanks is het essentieel om de wetenschap niet als absoluut te zien en haar kritisch te blijven bevragen. Zowel het wantrouwen van de wetenschap als het portretteren van de wetenschap als absolute waarheid, brengen de politieke discussie gebaseerd op een uitwisseling van redelijke argumenten in gevaar. Voor het beschermen van het ethos van de wetenschap moeten zowel de wetenschap zelf, als politici, oppassen met het presenteren van haar claims als de waarheid. Het erkennen van de relativiteit van de wetenschap houdt daarmee de redelijke discussie in stand.Show less
This paper plugs a gap in the history of suicide in England, between the end of the Early Modern Era and the beginning of the Victorian Period. I argue, using mainly newspaper reports as a...Show moreThis paper plugs a gap in the history of suicide in England, between the end of the Early Modern Era and the beginning of the Victorian Period. I argue, using mainly newspaper reports as a representation of popular currents of thought among the growing literate classes, that the prominent suicides of foreign secretary Lord Castlereagh and other politicians in the Regency Period constituted a suicide ‘cluster’ which provoked imitators and a heightened anxiety over the issue. Further, that this suicide crisis, responding to charges of élite hypocrisy and building on shifts in language initiated by the Romantic Movement, and in opposition to perceived secularist and evangelical threats, helped to generate a new code of social mores. This code was a retrenchment of traditional Christian morals for a new bourgeois and scientific age; it was, in short, the birth of Victorian middle-class morality.Show less
Aan het begin van de twintigste eeuw werkten socialistisch- en christelijk geïnspireerde antimilitaristen op verschillende momenten samen. Hoe kwamen die samenwerkingen tot stand en welke personen...Show moreAan het begin van de twintigste eeuw werkten socialistisch- en christelijk geïnspireerde antimilitaristen op verschillende momenten samen. Hoe kwamen die samenwerkingen tot stand en welke personen speelden daarbij een sleutelrol?Show less
This thesis examines the functionality of early modern Amsterdam as a diplomatic city. (Entities in) The Hague nominally held the political and geographical prerogative to diplomatic relations in...Show moreThis thesis examines the functionality of early modern Amsterdam as a diplomatic city. (Entities in) The Hague nominally held the political and geographical prerogative to diplomatic relations in the Dutch Republic, but Amsterdam was a significant challenger to this position due to its economic and financial agency. Various aspects, such as Amsterdam's interfence with diplomatic policy, its contacts with Dutch envoys abroad and the diplomatic community within Amsterdam itself, are elucidated. In particular, it explores the functionality of lesser envoys, such as consuls and agents, and the way they integrated themselves into urban society.Show less
Migration has always been a significant issue in world politics, with the latest development in the so-called ‘Global Migration Crisis’ in 2015 increasing its salience. In 2016, the formulation of...Show moreMigration has always been a significant issue in world politics, with the latest development in the so-called ‘Global Migration Crisis’ in 2015 increasing its salience. In 2016, the formulation of Jordan Compact and the European Union (EU)-Turkey Deal made way for the emergence of a new category of diplomacy, the “Migration Diplomacy”. Even though the term is considered a recent one, international actors (especially states) have practised it from time to time in previous periods. For example, the establishment of Bracero Program that regulated Mexican migrant worker movement to the United States in 1942, or the enactment of “Operation Solomon” in which the Ethiopian Government gave permission to the Israeli Government to evacuate 14,000 Ethiopian Jews from Ethiopian territory, in exchange for arms and financial aid of $36 million from Israel. While there are already several studies done on Migration Diplomacy in America, Europe, and Africa, there are not yet extensive empirical studies regarding Migration Diplomacy in Asia, especially not in the Southeast Asia region. This thesis aims to provide an empirical example of Migration Diplomacy, through the perspective of recent developments in Indonesia since the 1970s. It looked into the change over time regarding the implementation of Migration Diplomacy and the factors that influenced it.Show less
In order to come to a new understanding of Austrian and even Central European history, this thesis questions the notion of 1918 as a watershed moment through an analysis of Linz’s festive culture...Show moreIn order to come to a new understanding of Austrian and even Central European history, this thesis questions the notion of 1918 as a watershed moment through an analysis of Linz’s festive culture in the period 1908-1928. This thesis illustrates the existence of a wide array of continuities in three layers of territorial identification – local, regional, and national – inherent in the city’s festive culture and divides this process into three categories: community building, ascribed commonalities, and feelings of belonging. The interaction between layers of identification provided a sustainable foundation for identity, which could overcome major upheavals like the First World War and the fall of the Habsburg Empire. In addition to interpreting these layers as nested identities, this thesis explores the importance of rhythms as a source for continuity in daily life. Preserving traditions and customs in practices often outweighed other considerations, such as displaying political views, in organizing local festivities. The repetition of a set of practices transcended party lines and shows that Social Democrats, Christian Socials, and German Nationalists all valued the use of these practices, albeit using them to create different territorially bounded narratives. Finally, this thesis argues that an overemphasis on capitals and crises in historiography has created a distorted view of this period and, consequently, advocates a new focus on localities, regions and stability.Show less
In recent decades, historians have become increasingly aware of the role of tourism in regional identity formation in Europe. The influence of tourism on borderland identity is, however, still...Show moreIn recent decades, historians have become increasingly aware of the role of tourism in regional identity formation in Europe. The influence of tourism on borderland identity is, however, still largely uncharted territory. This thesis investigates the impact of tourism on processes of regional identity formation in Zeelandic Flanders between 1970 and 1985. In this period, the Dutch maritime borderland expanded its reputation as an authentic beach destination with a unique Flemish hinterland. Tourist organizations, such as the VVV, emphasized the region's cross-border Flemish character, both in culture and landscape. The image of a ‘boundlessly Flemish’ borderland was, however, not as unproblematic as promotional material might suggest. In the same period, the border stimulated particular types of tourism that were considered negative and immoral: sex shop tourism in Sluis and nudism on the beach near Cadzand. The local impact of these types of ‘tourism of vice’ was a topic of heated debate within the local community. This thesis demonstrates that the impact of tourism on borderlands cannot be simplified to the construction of a single ‘cross-border identity’. Instead, multiple understandings of regionhood and nationhood were developed in borderland tourism, that overlapped and sometimes even contradicted each other.Show less
The analysis of the trends for industrial concentration, GDP growth per capita, and income inequality – based on data from IPUMS International, Maddison Project, Clio-Infra, and World Bank Open...Show moreThe analysis of the trends for industrial concentration, GDP growth per capita, and income inequality – based on data from IPUMS International, Maddison Project, Clio-Infra, and World Bank Open Data – in the context of the US, Canada and other selected countries from Europe, South America, and East Asia, has led to the following results: a) after a comparison between the Krugman Index values and the GINI coefficients for the historical series of US, UK, and Spain, I argue in the first place, that the 1970-2000 series for the group of East-Asian countries subject to the research is coherent with the presence of “displaced” Kuznets’ waves – where the latter is a theoretical tool (introduced by Milanovic) that revises the original Kuznets’ hypothesis by shifting the focus from the long-run to more limited period of times. Secondly, for the group of South American countries analysed, I confirm the results of Deinenger and Squire on the unidirectionality of the trends for economic growth and income inequality between the 1960s and the 2000s. Namely, that both trends are raising, instead of diverging at a certain point, as it would have been expected, according to the original Kuznets’ hypothesis. Nevertheless, the inversion of the income inequality levels for Brazil, and the extreme oscillatory nature of the trends for Argentina, seem to prospect a potential displacement of a Kuznets’s wave for the two countries in a subsequent period. Limitations in the available datasets for the years after 2000s hindered, though, a consistent verification of this hypothesis. b) I argue on the one hand, that, for the Western countries analysed, the series for industrial concentration and income inequality between 1860 and 1970 are fully compatible with a Kuznets’ wave. On the other, that the series after the 1970s are instead in contrast with Milanovic’s thesis of a second Kuznets’ wave starting during these years. Nevertheless, the value for industrial concentration that I found for the US in 2015 can have some relationship with the rising income inequality levels analysed by Milanovic. Further research should be 75 devoted to the analysis of this issue when the census datasets for the 2020s decade will be made available. c) I argue that a further theoretical insight, derived from my analysis, can be considered as a corollary of Krugman’s theory on industrial specialisation dynamics. Namely, that being equal the transportation costs and the level of technology/productivity, lighter economic shocks trigger increasing levels of industrial concentration, whereas highly disruptive shocks for the industrial tissue, such as wars and structural economic crises, produce instead decreasing levels of industrial concentration. Further research is necessary, though, in order to corroborate this theory.Show less
There exists a confusing and conflicting narrative at the core of the Irish Civil War's historiography. On one hand it has been portrayed as a bitter and savage conflict, while on the other, one in...Show moreThere exists a confusing and conflicting narrative at the core of the Irish Civil War's historiography. On one hand it has been portrayed as a bitter and savage conflict, while on the other, one in which the fighting was exaggerated and overstated. This paper uses a study of the Irish Civil War in the geographical unit of County Kerry to argue that this confusing dichotomy has existed because of the absence of any systematic analysis of that most elemental factor in any armed conflict, the actual violence. Using a micro-level analysis of the violent deaths of National Army soldiers and IRA men in Kerry during the conflict this paper argues that the IRA prosecuted the war using controversial and contentious tactics while a culture of indiscipline in the National Army saw it engage in reprisals and extra-judicial killings as its main means of asserting control.Show less
De Armenen van Tbilisi vormen in het Russische rijk een vreemde eend in de bijt. Enerzijds een 'oriëntale' minderheid, anderzijds waren Armenen sterk verstedelijkt en actief in niet-agrarische...Show moreDe Armenen van Tbilisi vormen in het Russische rijk een vreemde eend in de bijt. Enerzijds een 'oriëntale' minderheid, anderzijds waren Armenen sterk verstedelijkt en actief in niet-agrarische beroepen als koopman, industrieel en zakenman. Volgens enkele historici, onder andere G.R. Suny, vormden deze Armenen van Tbilisi in het late Russische keizerrijk (2e helft 19e eeuw) een bourgeoisie. De vraag is of de Armenen dit waren, aangezien de algemene historiografische aanname is dat tsaristisch Rusland geen middenklasse, bourgeoisie of burgerij had. In dit onderzoek wordt gekeken naar de ontwikkelingen in de Russische geschiedenis die geleid hebben tot de af- of aanwezigheid van een burgerij. Daarnaast is het de vraag of de Armenen zichzelf als burgers zagen en burgerzin of burgerschap toonden. Ten slotte wordt naar de activiteiten van de Armenen die actief waren in het stadsbestuur van Tiblisi door middel van een bronnenonderzoek. Aan de hand van primaire (Russischtalige) bronnen uit Tbilisi in het laatste kwart van de 19e eeuw wordt gezocht naar aanwijzingen voor burgerschap en wordt getracht een beeld te scheppen van Tbilisi in die tijd.Show less
Following the 'opening' of China after the Opium Wars, the European political and economic presence in the Middle Kingdom surged. An important part of this presence concerned the significant...Show moreFollowing the 'opening' of China after the Opium Wars, the European political and economic presence in the Middle Kingdom surged. An important part of this presence concerned the significant increase in Western religious mission orders within China. In this thesis, these often-overlooked missionaries are put central by examining their interactions with the local Chinese social and political environment. By following the actions and ideas of the Belgium Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, shortly known as the order of Scheut, this research asks new and insightful questions concerning the policies employed by the missionaries and their eventual outcome. By tracing the order’s development in the vicariates of Outer-Mongolia and Gansu, in terms of their approach towards the mission and the subsequently ensuing conflict, it shows how seemingly minor changes in attitude can create two widely different scenario’s and contradicts the perception of missionaries as mere agents of Western expansion. Missionaries, as agents of dialogue, managed to adapt their actions based on the environment they encountered and through their adaption, influenced the manner in which their local environment perceived them in the context of China’s turbulent nineteenth century.Show less
The colonial petition is a valuable source to get insight into the condition of colonised humanity. This thesis discusses forty-four petitions written in 1790 by peasant-cultivators in the Matara...Show moreThe colonial petition is a valuable source to get insight into the condition of colonised humanity. This thesis discusses forty-four petitions written in 1790 by peasant-cultivators in the Matara district. The petitioners transmitted these petitions to colonial officials in the first three months of an uprising in the countryside of Sri Lanka. The question this study aims to answer is: “How do petitions written during a protest in 1790 convey the resistance, negotiation, and experience of Dutch colonialism by inhabitants of the Matara dessavony?”Show less
In deze scriptie is de kenmerkende politieke stijl van de liberale volksvertegenwoordiger Harm Smeenge onderzocht. Deze stijl, die zich kenmerkte door directe interactie met vertegenwoordigden en...Show moreIn deze scriptie is de kenmerkende politieke stijl van de liberale volksvertegenwoordiger Harm Smeenge onderzocht. Deze stijl, die zich kenmerkte door directe interactie met vertegenwoordigden en plaatsgebonden politiek, is behandeld onder de noemer “nabijheidspolitiek”. Terwijl dit soort representatieve relaties vaak in de antidemocratische hoek is geplaatst, is nabijheidspolitiek op basis van nieuwe inzichten uit de geschiedwetenschap en de politieke theorie geïnterpreteerd als een stijl van politieke representatie die kan bijdragen aan de democratische inclusie van vertegenwoordigden. Deze scriptie beoogt een bijdrage te leveren aan maatschappelijke, politiek-theoretische en geschiedwetenschappelijke discussies omtrent de democratische mogelijkheden van politieke representatie, door een historische studie naar een vergeten (type) politicus te koppelen aan een uitgebreide theoretische reflectie op politieke representatie.Show less
