Advanced master thesis | Political Science (Advanced Master)
open access
The so-called ‘Pacific Century’ has inspired a new wave of literature on the impact of the rise of China on existent trends of Geopolitics, Development and Global Governance. In no place has this...Show moreThe so-called ‘Pacific Century’ has inspired a new wave of literature on the impact of the rise of China on existent trends of Geopolitics, Development and Global Governance. In no place has this been more apparent than in sub-Saharan Africa, a region previously dominated by Western influence and norms. This thesis examines the implications of the pursuit of interests by the EU and China on Sovereignty since the turn of the century, focusing on the case of Nigeria. I argue that whereas the EU considers sovereignty to be ‘subjective’ to internal legitimacy, China adopts a ‘defensive’ stance on the norm. These positions are the result of each actor’s respective interests in resource accumulation, economic growth and diplomatic support. Using process tracing, I show how the pursuit of interests by the EU and China result in both direct and indirect impacts on Sovereignty in Nigeria. Whereas most scholars of International Relations focus on direct breeches of sovereignty in the case of international intervention in state affairs, I have developed the concept of indirect breeches of Sovereignty to incorporate cases in which internal state affairs are influenced, for example through the support of a particular regime type that does not necessarily hold internal legitimacy. This concept has important implications for the potential for collective bargaining between states and the ability to determine the amount of influence of external states in cases of Political-Economic diversity.Show less
Advanced master thesis | Political Science (Advanced Master)
open access
Why do some self-determination movements manage to achieve autonomy, while others fail to extract such salient concessions during peace negotiations? Although one would expect supporters of the...Show moreWhy do some self-determination movements manage to achieve autonomy, while others fail to extract such salient concessions during peace negotiations? Although one would expect supporters of the self-determination movement to unite in their struggle against the incumbent regime, recent literature has demonstrated that they tend to fight each other just as often as they fight the government in their competition for political relevance. Yet, little has been done to explain the effects such infighting has on the peace negotiations. Based on the comparison of the cases of Southern Sudan and Darfur, this study shows that more cohesive movements are able to extract much more salient concessions that address the conflict’s master cleavage and reflect the characteristics of a club good. The findings further suggest that fragmented movements tend to be paid off rather than yielded to by the incumbent government, thus rendering the achievement of peace utterly unattainable. Future research will have to examine whether these findings hold an explanatory power in contexts outside of Sudan.Show less
Advanced master thesis | Political Science (Advanced Master)
open access
The violent repression of non- violent protests is not an uncommon situation across the world. Current scholarship on this issue leads us to believe that countries with similar political history,...Show moreThe violent repression of non- violent protests is not an uncommon situation across the world. Current scholarship on this issue leads us to believe that countries with similar political history, structures and challenges would react in a similar way to non- violent protests. However that is not the case with Chile, Brazil and Uruguay. Why- despite of sharing many political, historical and social similarities- their experience with authoritarian rule in the past and democracy nowadays present different responses to non- violent social protests? Drawing on repression scales and data collections this thesis will answer this puzzle around the repression of non-violent social protests in South American Democracies by arguing that some past aspects of their history - such as their transition back to democracy- as well as some present variables – elites and military continuity and degree of threat play a role in that.Show less
Advanced master thesis | Political Science (Advanced Master)
open access
This thesis examines how governments legitimate and justify climate change policies. It focuses on the dissonant nature of the Australian climate change policy regime since 1987, and in particular...Show moreThis thesis examines how governments legitimate and justify climate change policies. It focuses on the dissonant nature of the Australian climate change policy regime since 1987, and in particular it looks at how successive administrations have legitimated policies which range from ignorance, to acceptance, to outright denial of climate change. In order to achieve this goal, government discourse from 1987–2014 is parsed and analysed according to a predetermined schema. The dominant, marginalised, and challenging discursive fields are studied, and specific attention is paid to how these narratives change in light of certain stimuli (such as economic recessions or natural disasters). It is revealed that traditional, neo-liberal economic narratives have been hegemonic, and thus used overwhelmingly both to legitimate and resist climate change policy regimes. Scientific and ethical considerations have played smaller but still significant roles in justifying and criticising policy regimes. Notably, the actual and predicted effects of climate change are largely absent from the government discourse. As a result, this thesis adds to the existing literature by providing a complete and coherent study of how the justification of Australian climate change policy has varied over the past three decades, shedding light on the dissonant nature of the Australian climate change policy regimes, and raising concerns about the focus of the climate change discussions espoused by the government.Show less
