This thesis argues that within the #EUandME campaign the construction of a ‘European identity’ is grounded upon a bottom-up strategy emphasizing practical shared interests which are founded upon...Show moreThis thesis argues that within the #EUandME campaign the construction of a ‘European identity’ is grounded upon a bottom-up strategy emphasizing practical shared interests which are founded upon shared values. This is in contrast with the popular approach to European identity that focusses on solely shared values. In doing so an analysis will be made of concepts such as social constructivism, identity and constitutional patriotism. Next to this theoretical approach empirical data will be included based on a closer look of the #EUandME young film makers campaign, and how these concepts relate to the identity construction advanced in this campaign.Show less
The argument presented in this thesis is that constructivist theory offers a useful tool to interpret the effect that CW use has on the international community. It is the social identities and the...Show moreThe argument presented in this thesis is that constructivist theory offers a useful tool to interpret the effect that CW use has on the international community. It is the social identities and the strong prohibitive norm when it comes to the use of CW that construes a reality in which narratives of justification are produced when it comes to the use of force. This moral reality cannot be explained solely rationally, but has roots in decades of social interaction, which makes that violations of norms concerning CWs are put higher on the international agenda than other violations. The relevance of this study lies in the reflection on constructivism as a theoretical tool, but also in its aim to contribute to a broader understanding of how certain types of harm raise more attention in international politics: what causes the international community to be concerned about norm violation? As obvious as the answer of ‘inhumane practices’ seems, it is just a small percentage of suffering that becomes an international concern. The following puzzle has led to the research question: how can we explain the international community’s particular concern about violations of the norm on the prohibition of chemical weapons by using constructivist theory?Show less
A review of the literature on the Russo-Iranian relationship identifies a widening mismatch between expectations and reality. Scholarly expectations highlight a propensity of conflict, based upon...Show moreA review of the literature on the Russo-Iranian relationship identifies a widening mismatch between expectations and reality. Scholarly expectations highlight a propensity of conflict, based upon traditional security considerations resulting in a definition of the Russo-Iranian relationship that is instrumental, limited, and asymmetric – an ‘axis of convenience’. However, the last decade reveals that both Russia and Iran have been able to consolidate their bilateral security ties despite apparent clashes and historical mistrust. Contributing to constructivist scholarship, this thesis engages with international recognition to gain insight into the ideational and normative underpinnings of the Russo-Iranian partnership, in order to provide a new take upon the question why, and to what extent, the partnership does work – instead of why it does not, or will not, work. A constructivist analysis of international recognition and misrecognition has been conducted to answer this thesis’ main research question: What are the ideational underpinnings driving the Russo-Iranian security congruence? The findings in this thesis provide a balanced and contextualized account of both powers’ foreign policies and give greater attention to the forces of congruence shaping the Russo-Iranian partnership in the Middle East and beyond.Show less
This thesis examines how British prime ministers have de-Europeanized the national identity through their discourse before and after the Brexit referendum – or in other words – how they turned away...Show moreThis thesis examines how British prime ministers have de-Europeanized the national identity through their discourse before and after the Brexit referendum – or in other words – how they turned away from the EU by using language. The research is conducted through a critical discourse analysis (CDA) of 25 speeches and statements by David Cameron and Theresa May. The timeframe begins when Cameron promised a referendum on EU membership in January 2013, and ends in October 2017, more than a year after the yes-vote. The analysis reveals that British discourse on common security threats was not gradually de-Europeanized, but internationalised by May by constructing the UK as ‘Global Britain’. Language on migrants from the EU to the UK was already de-Europeanized before the Brexit referendum, and did not change significantly after the referendum. In fact, it gradually normalised after Cameron’s General Election victory in 2015. This study also reveals that both prime ministers could ‘cherry pick’ identities, meaning that they could choose between constructing a national, European, or even global identity to their liking per policy area.Show less
The use of excessive force by police officers and how the police organisations deal with political demonstrations has been widely debated. With a recent renewed interest in police militarisation,...Show moreThe use of excessive force by police officers and how the police organisations deal with political demonstrations has been widely debated. With a recent renewed interest in police militarisation, this research presents a case study of the British and French police organisations and how they have evolved to deal with political demonstrations. By creating a theoretical framework around the role of culture in police organisations, an analysis of the organisational culture of these police organisations and how they respond to political demonstrations was examined. The case study focuses on a constructivist approach to how the traditions and identities were created from the evolution of what are the modern police forces in the UK and France. This approach also analysed how these police organisations dealt with threats such as terrorism and public disorder and what norms and values were created from this. The case study examines two of the major events in the UK and France. The G20 Summit protests in London in 2009 and the 2018 Yellow Vest Movement in France. The police organisation and response to these events was examined through the identities, norms and values that have been created in the British and French police forces. These identities, norms and values continue to shape the police response to political demonstration and the public view the role of the police and the overall debate on police militarisation.Show less
In the first decades following decolonisation, African nations were on the forefront of promoting absolute sovereignty and non-intervention. The Constitutive Act of the African Union that was...Show moreIn the first decades following decolonisation, African nations were on the forefront of promoting absolute sovereignty and non-intervention. The Constitutive Act of the African Union that was adopted in 2000, grants the organisation the right to intervene in case of war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity. This reflects a conceptualisation of sovereignty as responsibility. To understand this shift in conceptualisation of sovereignty, this thesis conducts a discourse analysis of nine official declarations of the Organization of African Unity between 1990 and 1999 through the lens of constructivist theory. It finds that collective identity, in the guise of Pan-Africanism, serves an important role in enabling the shift in conceptualisation of sovereignty through narrative and interaction. This suggests that collective identity, explicitly on the regional level, is an important factor to be considered in the institutionalisation of humanitarian intervention and has implications for the Responsibility to Protect.Show less
This thesis examines North Macedonia’s response to the European Council’s decision of rejecting the opening of accession negotiations, resulting from a veto by French President Emmanuel Macron in...Show moreThis thesis examines North Macedonia’s response to the European Council’s decision of rejecting the opening of accession negotiations, resulting from a veto by French President Emmanuel Macron in October 2019. North Macedonia is considered to be a pioneer in complying with the EU’s conditionality framework since 2001 and has received the European Commission’s positive recommendations to open the accession negotiations in 2009 and 2019. Although the EU’s incentive-based conditionality strategy is considered to be effective in academia, a scenario whereby a candidate country has adopted the EU conditions and was nevertheless rejected by the European Council has not been analysed yet. Consequently, this thesis is based on qualitative primary and secondary data, in which interviews played the essential sources of information. Rationalist and constructivist theories in EU conditionality studies play the fundamental basis as explanatory behavioural models in this research. The results of this research reveal that North Macedonia has not been discouraged by the French veto and eventually implemented final provisions of the EU integration process. On 24 March 2020, North Macedonia received the green light to the start of the accession talks.Show less
Due to the increasing security issues recently developed in and outside the EU a common transnational answer to these issues is needed. In June 2016 an answer was provided in the form of the...Show moreDue to the increasing security issues recently developed in and outside the EU a common transnational answer to these issues is needed. In June 2016 an answer was provided in the form of the European Global Strategy but is this the real answer for European collaboration in security? Is any real common EU strategy even possible without a common strategic culture that provides the context wherein policy choices are made? This thesis topic has relevance within the scientific debate around the possibility of an EU that serves as a security provider, particularly in the current era characterized by (home grown) terrorism, destabilized neighbouring regions and rising populism. This thesis researches the evaluation (if any) of a European strategic culture by the analysis of the main strategic EU documents, namely the European Security Strategy (ESS), the European Global Strategy (EUGS) and its related key policy documents. These documents lay out the plans for EU security and defence collaboration but do they incite the formation of a strategic culture? The presented strategic documents are researched and compared using document analysis on the basis of Biava, Herd and Drent’s provided Strategic Culture analytical framework. This document analysis will help to place the conducted expert interviews (n=9) that sketch the drafting process of the ESS and EUGS in perspective. These interviews are conducted with in particular Dutch experts in the field divided through two main branches: Policy Making (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defence, EU) and Think Thank.Show less
The thesis seeks to provide an explanation regarding the decision of the European Union to impose economic sanctions against the Russian Federation, after the latter’s involvement in Ukraine with...Show moreThe thesis seeks to provide an explanation regarding the decision of the European Union to impose economic sanctions against the Russian Federation, after the latter’s involvement in Ukraine with the annexation of Crimea, by using a constructivist approach. The argument of this thesis for the constructivist interpretation of EU sanctions against Russia lies on the notions of EU Identity and EU Shared Values. The analysis of the purpose of the sanctions, their relation with the international legal order and the decision making process leading to their adoption, results in an interpretation that can be satisfactory under the constructivist approach. This approach is useful in order to explain EU’s imposition of economic sanctions against the Russian Federation as part of its broader foreign policy. Furthermore, by employing the method of Congruence Analysis the thesis draws inferences between normative predictions deriving from the given theory and empirical observations. Moreover, the argument of this thesis concludes that the special character of the EU, the notions of its Identity and Shared Values affected its collective decision to impose economic sanctions. Ultimately, the thesis renders the European Union to fit the constructivist assertions regarding the functions of the international system.Show less
A research on the strategic culture and transatlantic security policies in first decade post-9/11. This thesis tries to answer the question to what extent the change in strategic culture and the...Show moreA research on the strategic culture and transatlantic security policies in first decade post-9/11. This thesis tries to answer the question to what extent the change in strategic culture and the resulting security policies of the EU and the US changed between 2002 and 2010; and how this shaped the transatlantic relationship in the post 9/11 era. The thesis concludes that there was a change in the strategic culture of the United States due to the external-shock caused by the 9/11 attacks on American soil; this shock was not experienced in the European Union. Hence, the security policies of the two powers on both sides of the Atlantic were not in line with one another in the period following 9/11. A decade later, the strategic culture of the United States shifted towards that of the European Union.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
Malala Yousafzai is a teenage woman who is known for her advocacy for the right to education for girls. After the attack of the Taliban on October 9th 2012 she has evolved from a ‘normal’ girl to a...Show moreMalala Yousafzai is a teenage woman who is known for her advocacy for the right to education for girls. After the attack of the Taliban on October 9th 2012 she has evolved from a ‘normal’ girl to a norm entrepreneur advocating the right to education for girls on an international level. According to Finnemore and Sikkink, norm entrepreneurs play a critical role in the first stage of norm emergence in the norm life cycle (1998, 895). Constructivism lacks a theory of agency. The role of individuals as norm entrepreneurs has been neglected in previous research in particular. Therefore, the focus of this thesis is on how individuals as norm entrepreneurs attempt to persuade states to conform to a norm. Norm entrepreneurs challenge discourse through persuasion. According to Keck and Sikkink there are four advocacy tactics norm entrepreneurs use to spread their norm(s). These are: information politics, symbolic politics, leverage politics and accountability politics (1999, 95). This thesis presents a sinlge case study of Malala as a norm entrepreneur diffusing the right to education for girls. Keck and Sikkink’s typology of advocacy tactics is used to determine which advocacy tactic Malala uses in her advocacy. Content analysis of four of her speeches of 2013 is done through a combination of qualitative and quantative research. The results of the analysis of the four speeches show that Malala mainly uses symbolic politics as the dominant advocacy tactic to diffuse the right to education for girls, which is often combined with information politics as the subdominant advocacy tactic. Moral leverage is also often used to motivate others to join her advocacy.Show less
This thesis will argue that to remain relevant within scholarship, IR scholars should recognize, as Nye and Strange have, that MNCs are powerful actors that influence the states they operate in,...Show moreThis thesis will argue that to remain relevant within scholarship, IR scholars should recognize, as Nye and Strange have, that MNCs are powerful actors that influence the states they operate in, the global political economy, and the norms and values the international system is based on. This point is fundamental to the study of IR so long as IR claims to explore power dynamics and the influences behind state-to-state interaction. This thesis does not claim that multinationals ought to be included in the study of IR on the grounds that they supersede the state or that states are no longer important in global governance, rather it argues that MNCs are important to the current structure of the global order. Its central research question seeks to explore how multinational corporations can be incorporated into the IR discipline. It looks at constructivism as the appropriate theoretical tool to do so. Although it seeks to add to the constructivist school of thought, it also critiques previous constructivist literature for not having done so already. These criticisms are two-fold: constructivists have failed to 1) analyze the MNC in terms of identities, interest, and power; and 2) analyzing contemporary international relations from a standpoint that is too theoretical to fully observe the realities of international relations in practice.Show less
This thesis explores the link between military education, nation-building, nationalism, and national identity in the Philippines by using an ethnosymbolic and constructivist approach. It focuses on...Show moreThis thesis explores the link between military education, nation-building, nationalism, and national identity in the Philippines by using an ethnosymbolic and constructivist approach. It focuses on the implementation of a mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program in all senior high schools in the Philippines, which is formulated in Senate Bill 2232 and is highly probable to be accepted by the Senate. The government links the military education program to instilling national values, patriotism and love of country within the youth. By conducting a case study of Manila, reviewing literature from the fields of identity, military, and nation-building studies, as well as by comparing the Filipino ROTC program to military education programs for high school students in the United States and Turkey, this thesis makes suggestions about the role of the ROTC as a nation-builder and its potential influences on nationalism and the formation of a national identity.Show less
