This thesis seeks to answer the research question: What are the factors that changed and contributed to the success of the 2019 protests as opposed to the 2011 protests in Sudan? By juxtaposing the...Show moreThis thesis seeks to answer the research question: What are the factors that changed and contributed to the success of the 2019 protests as opposed to the 2011 protests in Sudan? By juxtaposing the two protests, this thesis aims to identify which aspects of social mobilization contributed to the success of the protests in 2019. The insights obtained about the success of these protests can serve to make predictions about other similar protests.Show less
Social Movements around the world have used various framing devices to spread information about their movements ethos and modus operandi. Significant devices that have been used include digital...Show moreSocial Movements around the world have used various framing devices to spread information about their movements ethos and modus operandi. Significant devices that have been used include digital technologies and creative activism. This paper analyses how digital technologies and creative activism combined together in digital art can serve as a successful framing device for social movements. To do so, it examines the digital art created by Sudanese artists during the Sudanese Resistance Movement of 2019. During this Revolution, the artworks were spread rapidly across the web. They served as a suitable device for the movement, as it was seen as a loophole through which artists and activists could convey political messages, without direct confrontation. Furthermore, the artworks served as vehicles to spread information about the ongoing situation in Sudan, especially when formal media platforms were lacking. And finally, the artworks generated a sense of solidarity and unity amongst the movements participants, through symbolic illustrations and adaptations of iconic images. Due to the characteristic of the artworks being digital, the information was being spread across social media. Consequently leading to more awareness on a domestic and transnational level by challenging the notions of political and social awakening in Sudan.Show less
Due to their geographic proximity, the Gulf and the Horn of Africa share a long history of economic, political and cultural ties. Recent years, however, have seen an unprecedented increase in the...Show moreDue to their geographic proximity, the Gulf and the Horn of Africa share a long history of economic, political and cultural ties. Recent years, however, have seen an unprecedented increase in the presence of Gulf actors in the Horn, accelerated by the Gulf-internal rivalry between Qatar on one side and the remaining members of the Gulf Cooperation Council on the other. With the help of the theoretical framework of Regional Security Complexes and the Spillover Effect, as well as process tracing methods, two country case studies examine how Gulf engagement, in particular the rivalry between Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, further destabilizes an already fragile region: In Somalia, the tensions between core and periphery have been exacerbated as a result of Qatar backing the central government in Mogadishu and the UAE supporting the federal states. In Sudan, the complicated transition process is prolonged as a result of Gulf powers pursuing opposing agendas in the post-Bashir political environment.Show less
The African Union (AU), whose main objective is to coordinate and intensify cooperation for development of the African region, presents itself as an energetic and ambitious driving force for change...Show moreThe African Union (AU), whose main objective is to coordinate and intensify cooperation for development of the African region, presents itself as an energetic and ambitious driving force for change in the continent’s human rights landscape. In June 2014, the AU adopted the Protocol on Amendments to the Protocol on the Statue of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights, often referred to as the Malabo Protocol. The Malabo Protocol extends the jurisdiction of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights (ACJHR) and empowers it to try serious crimes of international concern such as genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Although the ACJHR is not yet an operational court, it has the potential to bring positive contributions to a continent tormented by persistent conflicts and a culture of impunity. AU member states now stand before various paths in the realization of human rights and they have been involved in an ongoing discussion on Universal Jurisdiction and its life-form, the International Criminal Court (ICC). A thorough consideration of all the grounds for the AU’s decision to give the African Court jurisdiction over international crimes will then show that the process has been motivated by other reasons than late anti-ICC sentiment alone. This study will not only examine the ICC versus Africa debate, it will also go beyond it. In this way, an African perspective will be offered that explains a larger focus on regional processes of African human rights law not only as a result of growing anti-ICC sentiment. Instead, it will be argued that there has been a legal and historical necessity for the development of an African perspective to international human rights law that is not necessarily meant to duplicate or impede on the work of the ICC.Show less
