In the conventional literature on human-environment relations in the Middle East, the environment is often treated as a dominant variable in explaining adverse social, economic, and political...Show moreIn the conventional literature on human-environment relations in the Middle East, the environment is often treated as a dominant variable in explaining adverse social, economic, and political realities. This deterministic way of interpreting the relationship between the Middle Eastern environment and its inhabitants has been subject to critique from a growing body of literature on political ecology. Although some political ecology research has challenged environmental deterministic assumptions by exploring the role of natural resources in environmental challenges in the Gulf, previous works have not yet provided a comprehensive analysis of various environmental dimensions in a single case study context. This thesis aims to fill this gap in the literature by asking: What is the role of natural resources in engaging with environmental challenges in relation to water, food, and energy in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)? This thesis examines the political-ecological metabolisms of three strategies employed to address environmental challenges in relation to water, energy, and food in the UAE: desalination, solar energy, and land grabs. With an explicit focus on power, this study reveals that humans and nature are intertwined, challenging the conventional academic wisdom.Show less
This study examines the solidarity alliances of the Armenian, Assyrian and Kurdish communities in Diyarbakir, Turkey. Additionally, it poses the question, whether these alliances challenge a more...Show moreThis study examines the solidarity alliances of the Armenian, Assyrian and Kurdish communities in Diyarbakir, Turkey. Additionally, it poses the question, whether these alliances challenge a more exclusive national identity that is established in the official Turkish discourse. The alliances that are touched upon are the political environment of Diyarbakir; the celebration of Newroz; the commemoration of murder of Hrant Dink; and Armenian and Assyrian Genocide commemorations. I argue that the main manifestation of most of these solidarities is creation of more openness about the Genocides, in especially Kurdish discourse. The alliances depicted in this paper are each different and each form a different degree of challenge to the Turkish national identity. I conclude that the political environment of Diyarbakir forms the greatest threat, which can be perceived in the state’s crackdown of its established institutions and initiatives of cultural practices, as it does not fit the homogenous identity that the Turkish State ascribes to itself.Show less
This study examines the solidarity alliances of the Armenian, Assyrian and Kurdish communities in Diyarbakir, Turkey. Additionally, it poses the question, whether these alliances challenge a more...Show moreThis study examines the solidarity alliances of the Armenian, Assyrian and Kurdish communities in Diyarbakir, Turkey. Additionally, it poses the question, whether these alliances challenge a more exclusive national identity that is established in the official Turkish discourse. The alliances that are touched upon are the political environment of Diyarbakir; the celebration of Newroz; the commemoration of murder of Hrant Dink; and Armenian and Assyrian Genocide commemorations. I argue that the main manifestation of most of these solidarities is creation of more openness about the Genocides, in especially Kurdish discourse. The alliances depicted in this paper are each different and each form a different degree of challenge to the Turkish national identity. I conclude that the political environment of Diyarbakir forms the greatest threat, which can be perceived in the state’s crackdown of its established institutions and initiatives of cultural practices, as it does not fit the homogenous identity that the Turkish State ascribes to itself.Show less
Since the establishment of the Belt and Road Initiative, the influence of China as a geopolitical and geo-economical actor has increased. Scholarly and popular attention has been devoted to...Show moreSince the establishment of the Belt and Road Initiative, the influence of China as a geopolitical and geo-economical actor has increased. Scholarly and popular attention has been devoted to countries in the Middle East, which are often perceived as abandoning their former Western allies while pivoting to the East. This thesis seeks to examine the veracity of these claims and explore whether there has been an intensification of Sino-Turkish relations alongside the emergence of the New Silk Road. Toward this end, this paper analyzes the economic relations between Turkey and China by focusing on the trade and investment ties between the countries over time. Doing so will reveal any possible changes caused by the emergence of the New Silk Road and the extent to which trade and investment shifts support the claims of Turkey turning East.Show less
After examining an extensive collection of primary and secondary Israeli, Palestinian and international sources from organisations and institutions such as Al-Mezan, B’Tselem, the United Nations...Show moreAfter examining an extensive collection of primary and secondary Israeli, Palestinian and international sources from organisations and institutions such as Al-Mezan, B’Tselem, the United Nations and the International Criminal Court, this paper propagates the notion that throughout the Great March of Return, the Israeli military had indiscriminately killed innocent Palestinian men, women, paramedics, journalists and children with intent. Thus, this study argues that the excessive force specifically exerted by the highly-skilled Israeli snipers stationed by the separation fence near Gaza, constitutes as an act of democide.Show less
This exploratory research deals with identity discourses in Iran in relation to the Islamic Republic's foreign policy. The four identity discourses - Iranism, Islam, anti-hegemony and...Show moreThis exploratory research deals with identity discourses in Iran in relation to the Islamic Republic's foreign policy. The four identity discourses - Iranism, Islam, anti-hegemony and hyperindependence are examined based on contemporary studies on this topic.Show less
Research master thesis | Middle Eastern Studies (research) (MA)
open access
2023-01-29T00:00:00Z
During the summer of 1958 Iran, Israel and Turkey concluded a secret agreement to share intelligence data and information gathering techniques. This agreement, the Periphery Pact (‘Pact’), was...Show moreDuring the summer of 1958 Iran, Israel and Turkey concluded a secret agreement to share intelligence data and information gathering techniques. This agreement, the Periphery Pact (‘Pact’), was initiated by Israel who was anxious to establish relationships with countries on the periphery of the ring of hostile Arab countries that encircled it. The Pact signatories, engaged in a diplomatic marketing initiative to sell the Pact to their Cold War sponsor, the United States in the belief that US support for the Pact was beneficial. Existing research tells us little about how the United States reacted to this sales pitch or what US policy was towards the Pact. My research of the US diplomatic archives indicate that the US response to the Periphery Pact arrangements was decidedly lukewarm. This appears inconsistent with US regional policy which was to stimulate the creation of regional defense arrangements by its regional allies to counter Soviet threats to the region. I argue that the response of the United States to the Pact may not be a complete surprise if analyzed in the light of the US response to the Baghdad Pact, a contemporaneous defense arrangement in the region. I also investigate how the US intelligence services reacted to the Pact. This aspect of the US policy towards the Pact is under-researched. This is surprising given Israel’s track record in clandestine diplomacy and its use of its regional intelligence gathering capabilities as an argument when marketing the Periphery Pact to US officials. My research indicates that the CIA displayed more interest in and provided resources to the intelligence sharing mechanism of the Periphery Pact. It may well be that the United States used clandestine diplomacy in parallel, rather than as a substitute, for normal diplomatic channels.Show less
The government of the Netherlands had an immediate interest in the political developments on the Arabian peninsula during the 1918-1930 period. Large numbers of its Dutch East Indies Muslim...Show moreThe government of the Netherlands had an immediate interest in the political developments on the Arabian peninsula during the 1918-1930 period. Large numbers of its Dutch East Indies Muslim colonial subjects made the pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina every year. The Indies colonial authorities were bent on controlling and regulating this journey in an effort to control the pilgrims themselves. Especially because Mecca was suspected of being the centre of an anti-colonial conspiracy in the eyes of some officials like the Delft professor and journalist Salomon Keyzer and the Dutch consul at Jeddah J.A. Kruijt . A good working relationship with the authorities of Mecca and Medina and by extent the whole of the Hijaz would certainly help to achieve this. By 1927 this relationship was apparently very good. How did this come to be? The main question of this master thesis will be: how did the different Dutch consuls and Dutch East Indies civil servants perceive the political developments on the Arabian peninsula in the period 1918-1930? I will argue that the observations and conclusions of these two groups, the Jeddah consuls and the Dutch East Indies civil servants, were to a very large extent determined by two different and contrary streams in Dutch colonial philosophy: the ‘ethical school’ and a conservative reaction to this ‘school’.Show less
Despite the fact that Middle Eastern states tend to align in loose and informal ways, rather than form formal alliances with each other, scholars have attempted to apply Western-centric theories on...Show moreDespite the fact that Middle Eastern states tend to align in loose and informal ways, rather than form formal alliances with each other, scholars have attempted to apply Western-centric theories on alliance formation in the Middle East. This thesis highlights the limits of Western-centric theories when applied on non-Western regions. In doing so, this thesis focuses on one crucial non-Western region, the Middle East, and asks if the leading Western-centric alliance formation theories (balance-of threat, balance-ofpower and ideological solidarity) can explain the alignments made in the Middle East during the First Gulf War, if so to what extent, and if not what an alternative could be. It researches this question through the systematic exploration of one topical moment of Middle East contemporary history, which caused major regional realignment in the region: The First Gulf War in 1990. The findings of the case study, show that seven of the eight states considered in the case study had to balance the external threat (of Iraq threatening the status quo after invading Kuwait) as well as internal threats (of public unrest, economic difficulties and diminishment of their leadership position in the region). Therefore, this thesis will argue that the balance-of-power, balance-of-threat and ideological solidarity theories cannot explain alignment formation in the Middle East in their current form, as these theories only take external threats into account. Only if the balance-of-threat theory is expanded to include internal threats as well as external threats may it explain the formation of alignments in the Middle East during the First Gulf War. The ‘regime security’ approach of Ryan is, therefore, considered to be a suitable alternative approach, as it examines ruling regimes and their insecurities, considering external as well as internal threats. Nevertheless, this approach needs to be expanded as well, in order to include the external influence coercive diplomacy and the use of multiple strategies have on state behaviour of other states. Every state was externally influenced through these strategies, leading them to join the U.N. coalition or declare neutrality with large repercussions. This has not been discussed in alliance formation literature before. Finally, the strategies balancing and bandwagoning need to be revised as well as the definitions do not hold up in a coalition, especially regarding the Middle East where states have large differences in military capabilities.Show less
Five terrorist attacks in Casablanca on 16 May 2003 alarmed the Moroccan state of the presence of religious extremist ideas in Morocco. As a measure, an anti-terrorism policy was launched to reduce...Show moreFive terrorist attacks in Casablanca on 16 May 2003 alarmed the Moroccan state of the presence of religious extremist ideas in Morocco. As a measure, an anti-terrorism policy was launched to reduce the chances of future attacks. Morocco’s number of attacks is relatively low compared to other North African countries from 2003 onwards. The aim of this thesis is to investigate to what extent Morocco’s anti-terrorism policy explains this low number of attacks. This policy consists of legal, religious, and socio-economic measures. Legislative amendments have strengthened the powers of security services and the police. In addition, the state has provided an alternative to religious extremist ideas by promoting the ‘Moroccan Islam’ in mosques, schools, and media. Furthermore, the state has tried to remove the likelihood of radicalization by reducing poverty and improving housing. As a result of these measures, it is possible that the size and activity of religious extremist groups have been reduced, and less Moroccan citizens are susceptible to religious extremist ideas. Moreover, many extremist cells have been dismantled and arrested since 2003. Although these arrests are criticized from a humanitarian viewpoint, they validate the success of the state in arresting a significant number of possible extremists. Nevertheless, since quantities are problematic indicators to measure effectiveness of anti-terrorism policies, caution should be exercised when attributing Morocco’s number of attacks to its anti-terrorism policy. This thesis is a multidisciplinary historical source research, analyzing a wide range of sources by using the qualitative research method ‘document analysis’.Show less
This thesis deals with the territorial integrity of Iraq within American foreign policy, and argues that American support of Iraq's territorial integrity hinges on strategic assumptions and wishful...Show moreThis thesis deals with the territorial integrity of Iraq within American foreign policy, and argues that American support of Iraq's territorial integrity hinges on strategic assumptions and wishful thinking. By reviewing the history of American foreign policy in regards to the territorial integrity of Iraq, and zooming in on the policies of the Clinton and Bush W. Bush administrations, this thesis explains how the idea of a unitary Iraq has become so persistent within American foreign policy.Show less
In the last century the Netherlands went through several large changes. After the Second World War, the Netherlands, as many other West-European countries, modernized which included the creation of...Show moreIn the last century the Netherlands went through several large changes. After the Second World War, the Netherlands, as many other West-European countries, modernized which included the creation of large industry, the process of destratification, secularization, emancipation of women, democratization of politics and the emancipation of minority groups like homosexuals. Supposedly, Iran went through an opposite and backward development. From the glory years of the Shah, when modernization of Iran was top priority, the country rapidly declined, in the eyes of the Dutch, into the realm of a backward religious society which the Netherlands tried to espouse for a long time. The knowledge Dutch people have about Iran is not based on individuals visiting Iran but on how the media portrays Iran and reports on Middle Eastern affairs. However, is this dichotomy between Iran, as an Eastern country, and the Netherlands, as a Western country, so clear? When looking into contemporary documentaries Iran is still portrayed as different country than the Netherlands. Portraying is focused on the religious repression, backward economy, bearded men and veiled women. When comparing the footage of contemporary documentaries with documentaries from the start of this genre in 1960, the same type of footage is shown. Has Iran not changed since then? This type of footage seems to fall under the greater themes of Orientalism and the Western narrative of modernity and have been present in the Western conception of the Middle East for very long. This research focusses on the discourses of Orientalism and the Western narrative of modernity in Iranian representation in Dutch documentaries from 1960 until 2018 and the continuity and discontinuity in this representation. This research contributes to the understanding of the development of Orientalism and the Western narrative of modernity in the 20th and 21st century.Show less
The poetry of the Afghan Taliban offers an interesting angle to look at the organization. It shows that aesthetics are a relevant way to observe political organizations in order to discover things...Show moreThe poetry of the Afghan Taliban offers an interesting angle to look at the organization. It shows that aesthetics are a relevant way to observe political organizations in order to discover things that would have remained undiscovered by other research.Show less
This thesis explores from a theoretical border studies perspective the political dynamics of the construction of a fence along the Omani Yemeni border initiated in 2013. Drawing on the concept of...Show moreThis thesis explores from a theoretical border studies perspective the political dynamics of the construction of a fence along the Omani Yemeni border initiated in 2013. Drawing on the concept of the nation as an imagined community, I argue that the construction of a border fence reveals the increased identity politics the Omani state, embodied by Sultan Qabus, engages in since the uprisings in 2011-2012 that marked a shift in Omani state-society relations. These relations are unpacked through exploring Qabus’ pre-2011 state- and nationbuilding efforts and two Omanization channels characterizing the post-2011 period. Through reinforcing the symbolic and physical boundaries of the nation and the territory it is associated with, Qabus enforces a fixed set of characteristics on his subjects, promoted in a national identity narrative, in order to instill loyalty to his authority. This thesis thus sheds light on the issue of increased oppression within the Sultanate, which has gone largely unnoticed among academics and the international community due to the strongly promoted Omani reputation of a stable beacon within a volatile region. This research is conducted from a political-anthropological angle, exploring the political dynamics embedded in the sociocultural context of Oman. It draws on existing literature from political science, history and the anthropological discipline, popular media reports and official government websites, documents and NGO reports.Show less
After five international attacks commited by Uzbek individuals in the name of Daesh in 2016 and 2017, many (news)articles have been quick to speak of a trend regarding radicalization in Uzbekistan...Show moreAfter five international attacks commited by Uzbek individuals in the name of Daesh in 2016 and 2017, many (news)articles have been quick to speak of a trend regarding radicalization in Uzbekistan and Central Asia. Research has shown that scholars either look at internal or external factors for the radicalization of Uzbek nationals. This study aims to explain the apparent recent interest of Uzbek nationals to join Daesh and if we can speak of a myth or a phenomenon regarding radicalization in Uzbekistan. Building on existing work on radicalization in Central Asia and Uzbekistan, this research both analyzes the internal and external factors. These internal and external factors have been applied on case studies of three Uzbek individuals committing the international attacks. The analysis was based on a literature research on the history of the region, the Uzbekistan state since 1991 onwards and migration from Central Asia towards Russia, and a textual analysis of (1) videos, messages, and websites, and (2) interviews of journalists with friends, neighbors and family members of the Uzbek individuals in the case study. In addition, the social movement theory and social psychology theory were applied accordingly. The results indicate that we should not speak of a phenomenon regarding radicalization in Uzbekistan. Besides, the case study shows that external factors particularly explain the apparent recent interest of Uzbek nationals to join Daesh. Nevertheless, internal factors could indeed explain other radicalization processes, such as why Uzbek nationals decided to join the Hizb ut-Tahrir and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.Show less
The works of Gisèle Halimi, and Brigitte Smadja each challenge the implied historical rupture constructed between the colonial and the post-colonial. In their works, they use multiple characters to...Show moreThe works of Gisèle Halimi, and Brigitte Smadja each challenge the implied historical rupture constructed between the colonial and the post-colonial. In their works, they use multiple characters to subvert the accepted singular narrative of colonialism and its impacts, thereby highlighting the multiple and intersecting identities of all participants in the colonial discourse. This thesis aims to review the works constructed by these authors, placing great consideration on each of the authors’ own “intrasubjective complexity”, the way that their intersecting identities interact to formulate identity, and the impact that this has on their portrayal of characters.Show less
In international politics and throughout academic literature, the current civil war in Yemen (2015-present) has regularly been discussed as being a proxy war between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and...Show moreIn international politics and throughout academic literature, the current civil war in Yemen (2015-present) has regularly been discussed as being a proxy war between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran. As a consequence, the international community’s military interference in what has been labelled by the United Nations as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world has been rather limited. This research aims to counter the general proxy warfare narrative, and to provide an alternative explanation of the causes and dynamics of Yemen’s devastating conflict. Therefore, this thesis will critically analyze the context, development of events, and transformation of the war in Yemen and discuss how to characterize the internationalization of Yemen’s internal conflict over the period 2014-2018. To formulate an answer to this question, the thesis will first discuss the Saudi-Iranian rivalry in the contemporary Middle East and the use of proxy warfare in their regional balance of power. Then, the theoretical framework of internationalization of civil war will be discussed to explicate the connection between domestic and international dimensions of conflicts. Next, the thesis will analyse the internal social and political causes of the war in Yemen to assess the original nature of the conflict, and discuss the developments from the outbreak of the civil war to its present internationalized condition. Together with an analysis of the extent and motivations of the Saudi and Iranian military interventions in the conflict, this research will develop the argument that the war in Yemen (2014-2018) is essentially an internationalized civil war. The proxy warfare narrative fails to accurately describe the causes, dynamics, and international intervention processes of this internationalized internal conflict, and the use of this rhetoric by Saudi Arabia should be interpreted as a political tool to justify its military intervention in Yemen’s domestic struggles to secure its own regional strategic objectives. Moreover, the limited support of Iran to the Houthis remains far too marginal to have any significant impact on the balance of power in Yemen. The research and arguments will be substantiated by academic study of regional politics experts and by analysing UN reports, reportages from independent journalists, and interviews with policymakers. Understanding the highly local and non-ideological origins and dimensions of the war in Yemen is fundamental to any future attempts at conflict resolution at the international level. Analysing the process of internationalization, as well as the contemporary nature of the conflict, will provide significant insights regarding what type of mediation would be most effective. Furthermore, emphasizing the escalated and internationalized nature of the Yemeni civil war since its outbreak in 2015, as opposed to the general proxy warfare narrative, will hopefully contribute to the international community’s recognition of the necessity and responsibility to resolve this humanitarian disaster. Academically, the research will contribute to the academic body of literature on the internationalization of internal conflicts. In addition, 1 this thesis will generate a greater understanding of proxy warfare and expose the dangers of the use of proxy war frames.Show less
