President Trump successfully secured the Republican vote in the US Presidential election of 2016. Donald Trump is notoriously not religious but he is seen as a vehicle to elevate the religious...Show morePresident Trump successfully secured the Republican vote in the US Presidential election of 2016. Donald Trump is notoriously not religious but he is seen as a vehicle to elevate the religious agenda in the political arena. In 2016, Donald Trump run a campaign that engaged with the evangelicals’ desire to restore social and cultural ‘morality’ in the public space and their desire to unwaveringly support Israel. Most of the scholarly debate on Trump’s stance on Israel is angled from a policy perspective, attributing his position to factors such as geopolitics, the influence of Biblical prophecy in American diplomacy, and the increased role of White Christian Nationalism in the political agenda. The research of this thesis will expand on the literature by exploring how Trump’s rhetoric and politics on Israel are used to appeal to his pro-Israel conservative base. The analysis of Trump’s rhetoric and political action using the tool of critical discourse analysis will provide insights between language, ideology, and power. President Trump’s language and political efforts concerning Israel appeal to the Christian evangelical base that makes up most of the Republican Party. Furthermore, Trump has enhanced the role of Christianity in politics, to promote the idea that progressive policies are incompatible with the American identity, and has established America’s relationship with Israel as an inherent value.Show less
Founded in 2005, BDS (Boycott Divestment and Sanctions) is a movement that opposes the policies of successive Israeli governments towards the Palestinians and organises protests against Israel in...Show moreFounded in 2005, BDS (Boycott Divestment and Sanctions) is a movement that opposes the policies of successive Israeli governments towards the Palestinians and organises protests against Israel in the cultural, economic, academic and political arenas. Since 2009, BDS has seen success in mainly western European states by concentrating its efforts and increasing its activity. Current research on BDS focuses on whether BDS is antisemitic and other studies have focused on the academic and cultural boycott of Israel. The extent of influence of BDS on European politicians and political parties has, however, been largely ignored. Therefore, this research aims to examine the political institutionalisation of BDS between 2009–2020 in the politics of three European states: the United Kingdom (UK), France and the Netherlands. A cross-case analysis is used to compare and analyse the institutionalisation of BDS in the three case states. This thesis found that the BDS movement is not deeply institutionalised in the politics of France, the Netherlands and the UK; rather, this research has found that both the successive governments and national parliaments of each country have rejected BDS. There is a difference however between France and the UK on the one hand, and the Netherlands on the other. France and the UK have advanced anti-BDS legislation while the Dutch government, in contrast to France and the UK, has chosen to allow BDS to continue its operations.Show less
A discovery of natural resources in your back garden. A blessing or a curse for the relationship with your neighbours? It is precisely this question that this paper is concerned with. Discoveries...Show moreA discovery of natural resources in your back garden. A blessing or a curse for the relationship with your neighbours? It is precisely this question that this paper is concerned with. Discoveries of enormous natural gas fields in the Eastern Mediterranean are having a paradigm shifting effect on the international relations of the region. Hence, the research question that drives this thesis is the following. What will the impact of the natural gas be on the international relations of the states of the Eastern Mediterranean? This paper will show that natural gas in the Eastern Mediterranean has led to greater cooperation and regionalisation and will continue to do so in the future. However, this paper will also show the limitations of the beneficial effects of cooperation over natural resources. The relevancy of this topic stems from it alluding to an important question, whether natural resources are a blessing or a curse. For many countries the discovery of natural resources has led to great wealth and development. However, for many others it has been a burden leading to less development and growth or even weakening democracy. Resources and the competition over them can also lead to conflict and it is this realm of the international political consequences of the resources that this paper is focused on.Show less
Constructivism has introduced a new perspective on International Relations (IR) which emphasizes ideational factors for the formation of state interests. Similarly, the so called ‘Emotional Turn’...Show moreConstructivism has introduced a new perspective on International Relations (IR) which emphasizes ideational factors for the formation of state interests. Similarly, the so called ‘Emotional Turn’ in IR advocates for an academic assessment of emotions in international politics and how the experience of feelings like humiliation, pride, anger shapes state behavior. This research aims to contribute to the Emotional Turn by proposing an academic assessment of the expression of victimhood as a dimension of a state’s identity using the case study of Israel. As IR theory is becoming more aware of ideational and emotional drivers of state action, conceptualizing victimhood in International Relations is an important endeavor. Victimhood is a social psychological concept describing a status or identity that the victim ascribes to themselves after suffering trauma. What are the emotional categories underlying a self-ascribed victimhood in Israel’s identity discourse towards international community? The methodological assessment employs Emotions Discourse Analysis to identify the categories and connotations of victimhood uttered in the speeches of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in his Annual Addresses to the UN General Assembly from 2015 to 2017. Understanding the emotional component of identity markers such as victimhood might offer policy makers new ways of reconciling ongoing conflicts and add to the ongoing debate on the impact of emotions in International Relations and discourse analysis.Show less
In my thesis, I argue that the end of the Cold War affected Israel’s role in the U.S. Middle East strategy. During the Cold War, this role was predominantly military. However, the end of the Cold...Show moreIn my thesis, I argue that the end of the Cold War affected Israel’s role in the U.S. Middle East strategy. During the Cold War, this role was predominantly military. However, the end of the Cold War changed this and as a result, this role was predominantly political and economic after the Cold War. I base my research on a combination of two theories: constructivism, an approach of International Relations (IR), and Historical Sociology (HS).Show less
“Administratieve detentie” is een term die over de arrestatie en detentie van personen zonder aanklacht of proces gaat. De voornaamste reden dat wordt gegeven is dat de persoon een...Show more“Administratieve detentie” is een term die over de arrestatie en detentie van personen zonder aanklacht of proces gaat. De voornaamste reden dat wordt gegeven is dat de persoon een veiligheidsrisico is voor de Israëlische staat. De detentie wordt toegestaan door middel van een administratief bevel in plaats van het gebruikelijke gerechtelijk decreet. Door middel van een veldonderzoek in de vorm van interviews zal ik ex-gedetineerden vragen stellen mijn hoofdvraag die luidt “In hoeverre heeft administratieve detentie effect op het sociale leven van de Palestijnen die in Administratieve detentie hebben gezeten?”.Show less
