MA thesis on American internationalism at the dawn of the 20th century, revisited through a comparison with the Netherlands, showing a pattern of morallegalistic means to pursue economic goals in...Show moreMA thesis on American internationalism at the dawn of the 20th century, revisited through a comparison with the Netherlands, showing a pattern of morallegalistic means to pursue economic goals in international politics.Show less
This thesis is primarily a study of George Baldwin (1743/4-1824), a British merchant and diplomat, and his efforts in developing an overland route through Egypt in the last decades of the...Show moreThis thesis is primarily a study of George Baldwin (1743/4-1824), a British merchant and diplomat, and his efforts in developing an overland route through Egypt in the last decades of the eighteenth century. The significance of the Egyptian overland route in this period has often been overlooked when compared to the later overland mail established by Thomas Waghorn in the 1830s and the Suez Canal. This thesis will provide a reassessment of the overland route’s commercial and geopolitical significance to the British Empire during the period of George Baldwin’s two residencies in Egypt; first as a merchant (1775-1779) and then as the first British Consul-General to Egypt (1786-1798). The growing realisation of the route’s strategic significance by British policymakers, like Henry Dundas, predates the Napoleonic Expedition and will be examined in relation to Baldwin’s consular appointment in 1786. The commercial value of the route will be assessed by looking at the private trade of Baldwin and his associates during both residencies and is something that casts doubt on the traditional view that the Middle East experienced commercial decline in this period. Most significantly, this thesis will focus on the strategic importance of the route to the British position in India. The significance of Egypt increased as the East India Company transitioned into a territorial power in 1770s and 1780s. This meant that Baldwin’s role was a strategic necessity; something shown by a series of case studies on the sieges of Pondicherry in 1778 and 1793 as well as the transfer of Ceylon to the British in 1796.Show less
Chinese dynasties are often described in terms of “universal emperorship”, because their territory was vast and they had a large influence on the wider region. This has also been applied to the Han...Show moreChinese dynasties are often described in terms of “universal emperorship”, because their territory was vast and they had a large influence on the wider region. This has also been applied to the Han dynasty, which is the first major Chinese dynasty. However, there is much evidence suggesting that the Han empire used a more limited notion of empire, which challenges the theory of universal emperorship. Therefore, this paper explores the question: to what extent does the foreign policy of the Han dynasty reflect the principle of universal emperorship? To answer this question, historical evidence about the foreign policy of the Former Han dynasty is analyzed according to three aspects of universal emperorship: political emperorship, geographical emperorship and cultural emperorship. This case study yields the conclusion that the foreign policy of the Han empire does not reflect the theory of universal emperorship. Instead, the Han dynasty accepted the independence of other states, and sought for equal relations with their leaders. This result suggests that the association between Chinese empires and universal emperorship has to be revised.Show less
Abstract: Sultan Abdulhamid II, is considered by many to be the creator of Pan-Islamism. An ideology that seeks to unite Muslims around the world under political leadership of one ruler. Today,...Show moreAbstract: Sultan Abdulhamid II, is considered by many to be the creator of Pan-Islamism. An ideology that seeks to unite Muslims around the world under political leadership of one ruler. Today, this idea, which originated in a different colonial context, is still very much alive. That Abdulhamid was after a political instrument that undermined colonial authority is also accepted in historiography to this day. This research explains how this idea became accepted in academia and the public sphere due to a transnational network of Orientalists. Although each country had a different relationship towards the Ottoman Empire under Abdulhamid, Orientalists from those countries conducted their research on the Orient together in a connected international network. With the increasing academic achievement and connectedness of this network, their specific conclusions started to weigh more heavily. Internationally connected scholars influenced the knowledge formation during Abdulhamid’s reign between 1876-1909 to the extent that they introduced and adjusted certain terminology. Based on preserved correspondences, academic output and involvement in public debates traced in Dutch digital databases of newspapers, the understanding of the terminology they introduced themselves fell under their own authority. In the same era we also find a new form and changing practice of Orientalist research. The Orientalists started to travel more often and actually went to the Orient to carry out their fieldwork. As a result, more attention was paid to the religiopolitical sphere of the Orient fostering integration both ways. A shift in the perception of what was regarded science was the outcome. Scholars were expected to provide practically useful knowledge to one’s own country. As in the case of Snouck Hurgronje for the Netherlands, this turned the innovative Orientalist scholar into an authority who could provide the government practically useful knowledge. Scholars started to travel more often to the Orient while simultaneously staying involved in the European public and academic spheres. As a consequence, they were also seen as authorities in Europe. Because, who could better interpret the area than he who had seen it himself? Snouck Hurgronje and Arminius Vámbéry were two of the innovative mobile Orientalists that influenced knowledge formation regarding pan-Islam in the European continent from outside of it. Due to the authority their new method of Orientalist practice gave them, they found themselves in a position to be officially and publicly involved in matters related to Islam. Snouck Hurgronje’s acquired practical knowledge in the Dutch-Indies provided the international Orientalist network with an empirical gateway to the contemporary world of their subjects. Also, in the European public the same authority gave them a voice. Pan-Islam as a term was introduced, adapted and adjusted by independent Orientalist who conducted their field work for their own countries’ sake, but at the same time influenced academic and public opinion as well. Pan-Islam lends itself as a case study to understand knowledge formation as connected to colonial contexts, because the term was introduced and adapted by Orientalists whose authority derived from their new practical way of knowledge formation in the Orient.Show less
This thesis discusses the relationship between Jews in British Dominions and Jews in the Metropole, through looking at the major Jewish institutions. This thesis argues that Jewish institutions...Show moreThis thesis discusses the relationship between Jews in British Dominions and Jews in the Metropole, through looking at the major Jewish institutions. This thesis argues that Jewish institutions responded to their ambivalent position within British Imperial racial taxonomies through adopting a form of British identity, in order to gain access to the social and political benefits entailed by whiteness.Show less
In this thesis, I analyze journal articles from The Annals of American Academy of Political and Social Science during the 1910s to better understand the conceptualization of American foreign policy...Show moreIn this thesis, I analyze journal articles from The Annals of American Academy of Political and Social Science during the 1910s to better understand the conceptualization of American foreign policy during this period. This was a period of change and shifts, when European imperial powers were receding in global hegemony and American power was ascending. I argue that the authors of these articles interpreted this period of change as an opportunity for America and articulated a new global order by political, economic, and social interaction of global affairs through US intervention.Show less
This is a thesis that analyses several Dr Who serials in relation to concepts such as Colonialism, Empire, Fascism, and Humanist values. As such it treats its popular-culture subject seriously and...Show moreThis is a thesis that analyses several Dr Who serials in relation to concepts such as Colonialism, Empire, Fascism, and Humanist values. As such it treats its popular-culture subject seriously and shows how such long-running TV serials are much more than just commercial entertainment.Show less
Research master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (research) (MA)
open access
2018-09-22T00:00:00Z
In this thesis, I analyze the Akītu festival for the purpose of understanding the socio-political landscape of the Neo- and Late-Babylonian periods in Babylon (626 BCE - 100 BCE). The history of...Show moreIn this thesis, I analyze the Akītu festival for the purpose of understanding the socio-political landscape of the Neo- and Late-Babylonian periods in Babylon (626 BCE - 100 BCE). The history of the Akītu festival, known as the Mesopotamian New Year’s festival, spans several millennia, but was especially known in its 1st millennium form in Babylon. This analysis focuses on the relationship between kings, gods, and high priests of Babylon and their actions in an historical and social space with relation to this festival. The interaction between cult and state in this shared space is used to compare how each empire utilized the festival and gods in order to exert and subvert power over the other within both an historic context and a wider socio-political history. I show that the Akītu festival was a constantly developing festival that was as dependent on the ruling king as it was a defining factor of kingship in Babylon.Show less
The thesis analyses the extension of the Urartian Empire and focuses on its northern provinces and frontier regions. It demonstrates how far the Urartian state extended to north in Transcaucasia...Show moreThe thesis analyses the extension of the Urartian Empire and focuses on its northern provinces and frontier regions. It demonstrates how far the Urartian state extended to north in Transcaucasia and shows the different degrees of political control exercised by the central imperial authority over the conquered regions. Urartu, like other ancient empires and states, was not a monolithic, contiguous political and territorial formation, and its boundaries were rather fluid and loosely defined than static like the borders of modern nation states. To achieve a better understanding of the archaeology of political control of the Urartian Empire, four categories and further subcategories of the Urartian cultural assemblage are defined that best represent the Urartian political/administrative landscape: architecture (subdivided by major administrative centres, fortresses and tombs), the display inscriptions, metalwork and pottery. By analysing the distribution of Urartian cultural assemblage, different zones are defined within the Urartian political/administrative landscape such as core, province and frontier, in which the central authority exercised its power and control to varying degrees.Show less
A research on the lack of candidates for the function of Vestal Virgin, one of the most important priesthoods in Ancient Rome. Seen from the perspective of elite competition, this thesis shows that...Show moreA research on the lack of candidates for the function of Vestal Virgin, one of the most important priesthoods in Ancient Rome. Seen from the perspective of elite competition, this thesis shows that religion and politics were completely intertwined and that the elite daughters were used by their families for the political games of elite competition.Show less
