The Schilderswijk used to be a working-class neighbourhood, with predominantly white native Dutch residents, who have mostly left the area over the last three decades. This study seeks to answer...Show moreThe Schilderswijk used to be a working-class neighbourhood, with predominantly white native Dutch residents, who have mostly left the area over the last three decades. This study seeks to answer this question: how did the established Schilderswijk residents experience such a dramatic change in the ethnic makeup of their neighbourhood, and what effect did this have on their perceptions of local social cohesion? These experiences of change are explored through interviews with white native residents of the area. The first chapter of the analyses will provide the historical context to the stories of these residents. The second chapter paints a picture of the manner in which the residents remember the past, and the third chapter shows how these residents experienced change. Telling the story of these residents is important because this gives more insight into why diversity might have a negative effect on the perception of social cohesion in an area. This will fill a hiatus in scientific debates on the subject, but can also give policy makers insight to mechanisms underlying the policy problem of social cohesion in a diverse neighbourhood. Additionally, telling the story of people that experience loss and change can have a social value. This research gives a voice to those that might not feel like they are being heard.Show less
This dissertation considers Scotland's response to the 2007 bicentenary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade, in the context of memory and museum studies. It considers to what degree...Show moreThis dissertation considers Scotland's response to the 2007 bicentenary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade, in the context of memory and museum studies. It considers to what degree Scotland's response was aligned to an agenda of social justice - and how Scotland is slowly 'waking up' to its slavery past during a time of revived Scottish nationalism.Show less
This dissertation explains why the British government, in 1979, resettled Sino-Vietnamese refugees regardless of Margaret Thatcher’s initial inhospitableness towards them. Based on original...Show moreThis dissertation explains why the British government, in 1979, resettled Sino-Vietnamese refugees regardless of Margaret Thatcher’s initial inhospitableness towards them. Based on original research conducted in the United Kingdom’s National Archives, the dissertation’s findings are used to engage with academic debate on who and what directs refugee policy change. Thatcher’s hostility towards the Sino-Vietnamese refugees is uncovered to be due to personal racism and a fear of restrictive public opinion. Her views were formed by decades of animosity towards black and minority ethnic immigration in Britain by politicians and parts of the public. Meanwhile, Britain’s decision to relocate the refugees is discovered to be a consequence of territoriality. Hong Kong was, at the time, a British colony and Britain’s eventual involvement in the Indochinese crisis was to aid Hong Kong’s own refugee crisis. After the analysis, case studies of other refugee groups are used to make comparisons with the Sino-Vietnamese. These studies prove that legislation can influence refugee policy whilst international pressure and politics are proven to only guarantee success to nation-states that have strong international powers.Show less
