Research master thesis | Middle Eastern Studies (research) (MA)
open access
This project investigates how memory contributes to the reproduction and contestation of processes of economic dispossession in Tunisia, examining more specifically the relation between memory and...Show moreThis project investigates how memory contributes to the reproduction and contestation of processes of economic dispossession in Tunisia, examining more specifically the relation between memory and political economy in two directions. First, it investigates the dispossession of memory, that is: how the top-down manufacturing and mobilisation of collective memory has consolidated feelings of marginalisation and exclusion among subordinated individuals and social groups, aiming to perpetuate existing social and economic hierarchies. Second, this study also seeks to explore the memory of dispossession, particularly with reference to how the memory of dispossession is experienced from below and eventually contested. Building on Gramscian notions of hegemony, the project argues that struggles over memory are a crucial aspect in processes of dispossession, their reproduction from above, as well as challenges to them from below in Tunisia.Show less
Since requesting financial assistance from European and international partners in 2010, Greece has been involved in three consecutive macroeconomic adjustment programmes negotiated with the Troika...Show moreSince requesting financial assistance from European and international partners in 2010, Greece has been involved in three consecutive macroeconomic adjustment programmes negotiated with the Troika of international institutions: the European Commission, the European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund. The European heads of states decided to provide the conditional assistance at the gatherings of the Euro Summit, an organisation where they also founded the Eurogroup and set conditions for Greece to start negotiations. After preparatory work by the Troika, the Eurogroup and the IMF shaped conditions and adopted decisions on the loan programmes. The Eurozone states, which contributed the majority of financing, channelled their financial assistance through the Greek Loan Facility, the European Financial Stability Facility, and the European Stability Mechanism. The IMF participated financially in the first two programmes, while remaining in stand-by in the third. Policy conditionality was specified in Memoranda of Understanding and formally adopted in Council Decisions adopted by the Council of the EU. It mainly consisted of Greece passing a number of austerity measures combined with specifically prescribed structural reform, a strategy based on the theory of expansionary austerity. The specific institutional rules and setup have given the international institution the power to shape Greece’s public spending and legislation in key areas such as labour, social field and more. Taking into account this impact and the consideration that institutions are the most important factors in the occurrence of poverty, while examining the theoretical and practical implications of austerity, this paper builds on the position proposed by Thomas Pogge that deliberate and predictable actions that lead to poverty can be deemed a violation of human rights. In particular, it explores whether the impacts of the conditionalities imposed on Greece by the mentioned international organisations can implicate their responsibility for the effect of their policies on the state of human rights in Greece, in particular the right to work and the right to social security.Show less
Ride-hailing platforms have been able to rapidly expand their operations in nearly all countries of Latin America within less than a decade. As in other parts of the world, the new concept of ride...Show moreRide-hailing platforms have been able to rapidly expand their operations in nearly all countries of Latin America within less than a decade. As in other parts of the world, the new concept of ride-hailing has been received with a certain grade of suspicion by lawmakers and other stakeholders in the traditional transport sector. Especially in Colombia, policies have been implemented that aim to desist workers from supplying rides for the various platforms that are active in the country, while at the same time these workers have reportedly been attacked by their traditional peers active for the taxi industry. While in research many attention has been paid to the construction of labor relations between the platforms and the workers, the way the platforms have impacted passengers’ decision-making process regarding modes of transport and the characteristics of ride-hailing platforms vis-à-vis the taxi industry, little research has been done on the decision-making process of ride-hailing drivers. Noting an increase in police enforcement and violence from taxi drivers towards ride-hailing drivers on the one side and a high amount of drivers that, in spite of the circumstances, remain active on the other side, this thesis aims to gather an insight into the dynamics of the labor circumstances in which these drivers find themselves. By using the framework of the economic theory of crime, restrictive deterrence and occupational hazards, this thesis maps the perceived occupational risks faced by drivers, the way drivers attempt to mitigate these perceived risks and, consequently, how drivers construct their decision to either continue or desist from their occupation. By interviewing 9 drivers in Bogotá, in combination with a discourse analysis, it was found that drivers have a high perception of the risks attributed to their occupation. Depending on their socio-economic status, however, the drivers accept these risks while applying avoidance techniques in order to be able to continue their activities. Whereas not all respondents fit into the profile of lower skilled workers, most of them face exclusion mechanisms from the formal labor market, which leaves them with ride-hailing platforms as the sole alternative of generating a desired basic income. The findings indicate that drivers will be able to continue to manage their perception of risk through avoidance techniques as long as the profit from their activities remains higher than the formal alternative. This will likely remain the case as long as the labor market in Colombia is not able to bring forward decent jobs and the public prefers ride-hailing over other modes of transport. Considering the great availability of both the ride-hailing platforms and its drivers to adapt to changed regulations and policing tactics, this thesis suggest it for policy makers to be more productive to address impediments within the labor market and public transportation rather than aiming at desisting ride-hailing drivers.Show less
