Although jihadist organisations envisage a society segregated by roles between the sexes, they increasingly turn to women in pursuit of their goals. This is a double-edged sword for jihadist...Show moreAlthough jihadist organisations envisage a society segregated by roles between the sexes, they increasingly turn to women in pursuit of their goals. This is a double-edged sword for jihadist organisations: while female recruits increase the pool of followers, the discrepancy between their patriarchal ideology and women’s enlistment may have implications for their legitimacy. Whereas explanations have been offered as to how jihadists resort to patriarchal gender beliefs to legitimise their exclusion of women, questions remain regarding how jihadist groups use gender to legitimise their inclusion of women. Increased understanding of this gender component may yield insight into the organisational structure of jihadist organisations and their future direction regarding female recruits. Exploring the case of ISIS, this thesis analyses the extent to which the group adopted a gender perspective in legitimising its recruitment of women between 2015 and 2017. By conducting a critical discourse analysis, three gendered narratives are identified that ISIS employed in justifying its recruitment of women, depicting women as builders of the Ummah, as representatives of Islam and as guardians of the Caliphate. Rather than women challenging its patriarchal hegemony, the narratives illustrate how ISIS used this structure to create a set of gendered incentives and thereby attributed women (violent) agency.Show less
Conflicts do not naturally attract the interest of policy makers nor do they naturally garner international recognition and attention. It is therefore essential to understand, if conflicts are...Show moreConflicts do not naturally attract the interest of policy makers nor do they naturally garner international recognition and attention. It is therefore essential to understand, if conflicts are ignored, how inattention manifests itself in inaction, what are the consequences of inattention and why does inattention exist. This thesis will seek to answer these questions within the primary confines of the conflict(s) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It will be argued that attention is a commodity predominantly distributed by policymakers and media organisations who may choose to pay attention or not. The consequences of inattention, such as increased levels of severity and violence, can therefore be attributed to those purposefully ignoring conflict.Show less
Ever since the start of the war on terror, governments worldwide have struggled with countering the narratives that are spread by violent extremist organisations. Recent academic research has...Show moreEver since the start of the war on terror, governments worldwide have struggled with countering the narratives that are spread by violent extremist organisations. Recent academic research has produced several prescriptions that indicate what aspects potentially successful counter-narrative, alternative narrative and government strategic communications programmes need to possess. Testing the scholarly recommendations on target audience, message, messenger and medium to the actual policies of Malaysia and Indonesia, it becomes apparent that the policies of both states are partially congruent with the dominant ideas in the literature. However, what both Malaysia and Indonesia lack is a clear delineation of target audiences based on level of radicalisation, the provision of alternative things to do to complement their alternative narrative programmes and a comprehensive strategy to combine online and offline measures to achieve the most sustainable effect. Still, when comparing the respective policies of the two states, it must be noted that Malaysia is more congruent with the scholarly prescriptions than Indonesia. The most important differences between the two states are that the Malaysian authorities showcase a more sophisticated awareness and application of the relevant academic definitions and take a rather comprehensive approach to providing government strategic communications, the latter of which is practically lacking in the case of Indonesia.Show less
The thesis researches the potential of a separate jihadi strategy domain within the field of Strategic Studies. The thesis examines three case studies; Hezbollah, Hamas and Al Qaeda. These case...Show moreThe thesis researches the potential of a separate jihadi strategy domain within the field of Strategic Studies. The thesis examines three case studies; Hezbollah, Hamas and Al Qaeda. These case studies are compared on three separate elements of strategy; the ends, ways and means. The thesis concludes that these jihadi organizations lend certain aspects of Western strategic scholars and applied them to their own practices. Thus, it can be said that a separate field of jihadi strategic studies can be useful and relevant to strategic studies. Additionally, the analysis shows that jihadi organizations do think strategically when it comes to obtaining their objectives, and that they borrow elements from other jihadi organizations and Western strategic studies. This seems to suggest that no real ‘Western’ or ‘Islamic’ Way of War exists, but rather that strategic thinking is influenced by cultural heritage and the cultures that it comes into contact with.Show less
The paper in question identifies the main strands in international relations theory on insurgent cohesion. It proceeds by testing these strands on an original history of the Kosovo Liberation Army...Show moreThe paper in question identifies the main strands in international relations theory on insurgent cohesion. It proceeds by testing these strands on an original history of the Kosovo Liberation Army from its conception to its victory in 1999. Ultimately, the paper examines the relation between the cohesion of the organization and its political choices and vice versa.Show less
In 2011 a coalition of states began a military intervention in Libya. The coalition consisted primarily of NATO members, but also included several Arab countries. The justification for the...Show moreIn 2011 a coalition of states began a military intervention in Libya. The coalition consisted primarily of NATO members, but also included several Arab countries. The justification for the intervention was the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1973 which allowed the intervening forces to “take all necessary measures” to protect civilians, but also prohibited an occupying force, meaning the interveners had to focus primarily on an air campaign and the implementation of a no-fly zone. This thesis looks at the British press coverage of the intervention in order to analyse the changing opinions that were displayed regarding Libya. Overall there is a clear trend showing that coverage of the intervention became more negative over time, leading to the current situation in which it is almost universally regarded as a failure.Show less
This thesis examines to what extent the European Union economic accession criteria changed and how did this impact the aftermath of the accession for new Member States between 2004 -2014. The...Show moreThis thesis examines to what extent the European Union economic accession criteria changed and how did this impact the aftermath of the accession for new Member States between 2004 -2014. The thesis compares the enlargement rounds of 2004 and 2007, in order to examine the changes within this particular period.Show less
Level of representativeness of electoral systems have polarised the academia between the Proportional Representation (PR) and First-Past-the-Post (FPTP). The UK is one of the few examples in Europe...Show moreLevel of representativeness of electoral systems have polarised the academia between the Proportional Representation (PR) and First-Past-the-Post (FPTP). The UK is one of the few examples in Europe that uses FPTP as an electoral system and it has heavily been criticised by the scholars about the lack of representativeness of such system. The 2010 General elections have triggered the debate on the level of representativeness when Liberal Democrats could not obtain the expected number of seats when compared to the vote they have won. The 2015 General election have resulted in the traditional way of having two parties dominating the parliament, but this time UKIP obtained 12% but only 1 seat, which is an example of disproportionality.This paper also calculates the possible outcome of 2015 elections if the UK was using PR as a system. Then the comparison between the two systems are conducted by using diagrams and concrete number of seats under each system. In the end, comparison of each system on the basis of representativeness is discussed with the help of the vote/seat relation.Show less
Since a few years it is possible to achieve harmonisation within the European Union, if not all member states do agree. This thesis analyses this new form of the so-called Enhanced Cooperation and...Show moreSince a few years it is possible to achieve harmonisation within the European Union, if not all member states do agree. This thesis analyses this new form of the so-called Enhanced Cooperation and uses two case studies (Matrimonial Law and Patent Law) to do so.Show less
