This thesis explores urban dynamics in Morocco. Specifically, it examines whether the geographies of urban population displacement and poverty concentration in Casablanca have changed due to slum...Show moreThis thesis explores urban dynamics in Morocco. Specifically, it examines whether the geographies of urban population displacement and poverty concentration in Casablanca have changed due to slum eradication since the implementation of the Cities Without Slums Programme in 2004, and if so, how. Moreover, it explores the different political and socioeconomic consequences of this displacement for slum-dwellers. My contribution to the field is an exhaustive search of displacement patterns throughout the Casablanca prefecture and the creation of a dichotomy of soft vs. hard displacement, which differentiates extents of displacement in the region. The theoretical framework that guides the research is a combination of Henri Lefebvre’s theory of the production of space and an analysis of the neoliberal forces at work. This is done through an analysis of Moroccan news media and official policy documents published by different Moroccan state departments that discuss operations of resettlement and rehousing. The research concludes that slum dwellers have indeed been displaced from different areas of Casablanca since the launch of the programme. In some cases, they have been displaced to the periphery, this is to say, to the different provinces and prefectures adjacent to Casablanca. However, in other cases, displacement has taken place within the same area. These different degrees of displacement have had ambiguous political and socioeconomic effects on the affected populations.Show less
This research project maps out the development of Syrian civil society since the 2011 uprisings. To do so, it discusses president Bashar al-Assad's rule during the decade prior to the uprisings, to...Show moreThis research project maps out the development of Syrian civil society since the 2011 uprisings. To do so, it discusses president Bashar al-Assad's rule during the decade prior to the uprisings, to understand his contrasting policies towards and harsh repression of the independent civil society sector. Consequently, it describes the manner in which independent civil society has developed since 2011, linking it to rebel civil governance. Finally, the research project concludes with a case study of a CSO founded in 2011. The case study provides insight into the struggles and opportunities of the sector on a concrete level.Show less
This thesis examines the role of art and creativity in Palestinian refugees camps in Lebanon. Despite living under difficult conditions of displacement, statelessness and confinement, Palestinians...Show moreThis thesis examines the role of art and creativity in Palestinian refugees camps in Lebanon. Despite living under difficult conditions of displacement, statelessness and confinement, Palestinians use the resources available in refugee camps to create defiant works of art. By appropriating symbols of oppression like walls and barbed wire and transforming them into art, Palestinian refugees articulate forms of resistance. Drawing on Henri Lefebvre’s theories of urban space and Michel de Certeau’s concept of “bricolage”, this study sheds light on the actors and dynamics that enable discourses and practices of cultural resistance in the context of confinement and marginalisation. It explores the meanings of street art in Palestinian refugee camps and the ways people living under difficult conditions overcome restrictions through their creativity and resourcefulness.Show less
