https://thesis.eur.nl/col/7013/ List of Publications en https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/54489/ Tue, 14 Jul 2020 00:00:01 GMT <div>Verkerk, Wessel</div> ‘Caboverdianos na Holanda’: A study into the role of Cape Verdean music from Rotterdam in establishing a collective cultural identity among the Cape Verdean diaspora https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/54083/ Thu, 30 Jul 2020 00:00:01 GMT <div>Angelova, Ralitsa</div> The thesis argues that Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States, and Boris Yeltsin, the first democratically elected leader of post-Soviet Russia, have engaged in a political friendship. During the two presidencies, there are three main categories of events that highlight the relationship of the two leaders: those related to the economy, e.g., Russia’s economic trouble and its aspiration to join the G-7; to the military, e.g., the war in Kosovo and the enlargement of NATO; and to internal politics, e.g., the internal challenges to Yeltsin and Clinton re-election. I have leveraged recently declassified transcripts from the National Archive and Records Administration (NARA) of conversations between two leaders alongside other first-hand sources. Additionally, the thesis refers to books from close collaborators, news stories from the time, and academic articles related to friendship, politics, and social studies in general. To provide further context, the thesis offers a short overview of how both men grew up and their early political careers. To assess whether Clinton and Yeltsin were engaged in a political friendship in a structured way, I use Yuri van Hoef’s model,1 and its five key-components: (1) affect, (2) grant project, (3) altruistic reciprocity, (4) moral obligation, and (5) equality. After some limitations of the framework are described, I add a different perspective on the model based on behaviour and context. The thesis is a case study of various relevant events, the actions of the two leaders and other important political actors, and of the conversations between Yeltsin and Clinton and their examination through the each of the key-components of the model. To answer the research question, the outcome of each examination is pulled into one holistic argument, which claims that Boris Yeltsin and Bill Clinton were indeed engaged in a political friendship throughout their political and personal relationship. The analyses show that four of the key-components strongly favour the research question. The last key-component, ‘equality,’ does not support the hypothesis but also does not provide strong evidence against it. Lastly, the thesis provides a short overview of future avenues for research and highlights the limitations of the current work. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/54082/ Sat, 08 Aug 2020 00:00:01 GMT <div>Ahamed, Ania</div> This thesis compares the non-violent approach led by Martin Luther King Jr. to the violent approach led by Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali and proves the strategic significance of the latter to the success of the 20th century Civil Rights Movement in the United States. The thesis shows that violence was not only key in the success of non-violence, but also that the three actors were increasingly connected and shifted towards aligning with each others goal at the very end of the movement. MLK by radicalizing in his pressure on the government, and X and Ali by deradicalizing and becoming more accepting of the idea of integration of the non-violent approach. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/54486/ Thu, 20 Aug 2020 00:00:01 GMT <div>Tomasouw, Rianne</div> History is written by the victor... or the loudest voice? A comparative study of the different narratives on the history of the Moluccans in The Netherlands https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/54469/ Thu, 20 Aug 2020 00:00:01 GMT <div>Nijenhuis, Angelo</div> The Committee on the Challenges of Modern Society (CCMS) proposed by President Nixon launched in 1969. The Committee facilitated environmental research between the members of the Alliance. Scholarship on the CCMS notes that the Committee served mainly the US’s interest in maintaining unity within NATO. For multiple reasons, the European members of NATO opposed the Committee in its first years of existence. The historiography shows that by 1975 the Committee became accepted by all members of NATO. This thesis research on the CCMS includes the years 1975-1983. Based on internal US documents, this research assesses if the Committee received continued support by the US and European members in the second half of the 1970s and start of the 1980s. Thereby it researches the perception of the members on the pilot studies conducted by the Committee. Moreover, with the end of détente in 1979, US support to NATO’s environmental projected waned. This thesis critically examines the US and. European consideration when the CCMS became reevaluated in 1983. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/54492/ Fri, 21 Aug 2020 00:00:01 GMT <div>Weeke, Coen</div> The videogame industry is enormous, growing and extremely lucrative. To illustrate the industry's revenue in 2018 was close to 140 billion dollars. It is essential to research the cultural value of such a booming industry, which affects millions of people over the globe. The participatory culture surrounding videogames includes users who aim to modify videogame content in order to alter the videogames. Altering videogames is known as 'modding', and these players produce, what is known as game mods. This thesis on games, modders and mods helps to understand the game industry, the participatory culture surrounding it and reflects on contemporary historical culture. Research into videogames has been relatively new in the academic field; even more so is the research into game modifications. Central in this thesis is the question how players appropriate the content of the historical digital entertainment game Mount and Blade through the practice of modding. Mods are a way for players and communities to react against the dominant historical representation put forward in commercial games. The research focusses on Mount and Blade, two game modifications and modders to study how the past is represented in videogames and mods and what motivates modders to create alternative narratives of the past. The application of the formal analysis model defined by Óliver Latorre has shown that the mods The Independence of Chile Mod and the American Civil War Mod: Revived! display counter-hegemonic properties. Furthermore, the modders state in the interviews that to them modding, similar to re-enactment, is a tool for history education. To the modders, modding is a way to keep history alive and to carry the lessons with us. Additionally, the modders deal with historical subjects not often seen in videogames and reiterate the importance and longing for their culture, traditions, country, and history to be represented in virtual interactive media. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/54094/ Tue, 25 Aug 2020 00:00:01 GMT <div>Jansen, Wouter</div> This thesis analyses the influence of track II diplomacy on the development of the bilateral nuclear relationship between the United States and Iran that resulted in the nuclear deal in 2015. Primary sources primarily from the American government on foreign relations and nuclear diplomacy have been used to analyse official American nuclear policy towards Iran. Also, an interview with former Canadian diplomat and track II participant and scholar Peter Jones has been conducted to gain further insight in the inner workings of track II diplomacy. Secondary literature on nuclear diplomacy, track II diplomacy and US-Iranian nuclear relations has been extensively studied. My analysis shows that track II diplomacy influenced the nuclear deal, although this cannot be proven empirically. The research has found that multiple participants in track II initiatives either formerly occupied high-level government positions or moved to these positions later in the Obama administration and became part of the groups who officially negotiated the nuclear deal. By analysing the measurements of track II success: the establishment of relationships based on trust, respect and mutual understanding, the quality of the participants attending the various initiatives, to what extent both sides perceive occurring change and the transmission of knowledge to the leaders of government on all sides as a result of the initiatives, in combination with the experiences and outcomes of track II participants and initiatives, it can be concluded that track II diplomacy did influence the outcome of the nuclear deal between the United States and Iran. Both Iranian and American participants of track II initiatives became acquainted with each other’s standpoints and this facilitated track I diplomatic efforts. Subsequent research is needed to further analyse all the various track II diplomatic actors. Furthermore, analysing the role of track II diplomacy might prove useful when researching other major geopolitical events, as it portrays unofficial aspect of diplomacy. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/54086/ Thu, 27 Aug 2020 00:00:01 GMT <div>Cheema, Simrat</div> Curry, an Anglo-Indian word coined by the British, was a product of India’s colonization that went on to become the national dish of Britain in 2001. The thesis investigated this evolution of curry’s culinary cosmopolitanism in London from the early 1900s to the early 2000s. The term culinary cosmopolitanism can simply be understood as the acceptance of the edible other. But this acceptance is not always as simple as it seems. There are other modalities of culinary cosmopolitanism, which function through translations, generalizations and modifications. The case study of curry highlighted this duality of culinary cosmopolitanism that sought to “absorb” and “adapt” the Other, which questioned the stance of its acceptance altogether. By making use of digitized archives, 74 curry recipes collected from an English periodical Daily Mail, were compared with the 103 recipes gathered from an Indian newspaper Times of India. This archival research followed a content and a comparative analysis of the changes in the recipes of curry through the three phases of India’s independence, the colonial era (from the early 1900s to 1946), the independence era (from 1947-1990) and the post-independence era (from 1991 to the early 2000s). A significant number of differences could be noticed between the English and the Indian curries because of two contrasting standpoints on the dish, wherein the English curry was found to be a generalized by-product of colonialism, commercialization and racism. This was a result of the translation it sustained, of being called by an English name owing to colonialism; the oversimplification it endured, of being understood only through a common blend of spices owing to the commercialization of curry powder; and the generalization of being associated primarily as a spicy Indian entity owing to the racism against Muslims. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/54491/ Thu, 27 Aug 2020 00:00:01 GMT <div>Weber, Milan</div> Bigger Than a Hamburger: A Transatlantic History of the Sit-ins https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/54494/ Mon, 31 Aug 2020 00:00:01 GMT For almost 44 years after his death, the remains of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco resided in a central place in the Valley of the Fallen, a grand mausoleum built during his rule in Madrid. Franco’s reburial on October 24, 2019, took place in a period of great political significance, in which party divisions were deepening and the legitimacy of Spain’s democracy was questioned. The political debates sparked by the exhumation included strong allegations of Francoism and delegitimizing Spain’s democracy, showing that the historical memory of Franco continues to play a large role in keeping political parties from reaching a consensus, as represented in public discourse. This research explains how historical memory frameworks of Francoism have influenced the political divisions surrounding Franco’s exhumation as portrayed in public debate. It will thereby focus on discussions and representations in Spanish media regarding these influences and their dividing effects. This research will not only explain how historical narratives are used for political purposes by public actors – in this case, newspapers –, but also how the analyzed media functions as active agents in constructing and transferring these narratives. As a large part of the population are too young to remember the Francoist period, the high level of influence of these actors in constructing historical memory becomes apparent. In this case, it has become clear that each investigated national newspaper – El País, eldiario.es and El Mundo – has offered varying interpretations on Spain’s path to reconciliation. Where the repressive aspect of Franco’s rule seems to be confirmed across the various media, the aftermath of his regime is heavily debated and differently presented in the newspapers. The period of political silence following Franco’s death, as well as the recovery of historical memory that has been progressing over the past twenty years, are either praised or condemned in each newspaper. In this way, it has become clear that these forms of public media do not only construct and transfer clear interpretations of Spain’s past, but also link these ideas to political views and parties, thereby promoting and demoting political actors. In the case of Franco’s exhumation, the influence of historical memory on the political debate is strongly underlined in the media and shows that Spain continues to be at odds on how to achieve (political) reconciliation and whether this is even necessary https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/54485/ Mon, 31 Aug 2020 00:00:01 GMT <div>Tiwari, Anshula</div> "Worlds Apart? Comparing Immigration and Gentrification Policies in the Superdiverse Cities of Mumbai and Rotterdam (1991-2011)" https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/60246/ Fri, 18 Jun 2021 00:00:01 GMT <div>Abel Snel</div> If there is one thing that never seems to leave the world, it is censorship. For centuries, both formal and informal forms of censorship have been applied to all forms of art and other expressions. For instance, lists of prohibited and approved music have been established by the catholic church (more specifically, the Society of Jesus, or Jesuits) in Europe in the sixteenth century. Desiderius Erasmus, whom the Erasmus University Rotterdam was named after, railed against the “obscene love songs” fit only for the dances of “harlots and minstrels” that had made their way into the House of God.2 Since 1900, governments are able to monitor people more closely than ever before due to improved technology. An example of such close monitorization can be seen under the regime of the German Reich, from 1933 to 1943, and the Greater German Reich, from 1943 to 1945. In these years, the popular music genre of jazz was censored and branded as “Entartete Musik”, under the umbrella term of “Entartete Kunst”. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/60348/ Mon, 28 Jun 2021 00:00:01 GMT <div>Pearly van Langeveld</div> The Irish Revolution (1916-1923) was one of the bloodiest and most violent conflicts in Irish history. Irish paramilitaries fought for an independent Ireland free from British rule. The Easter Rising (1916) lasted a week, in which the Irish Volunteers held out against the British military. During the War of Independence (1919-1921), the IRA fought the military, police and British paramilitary forces, resulting in the Anglo-Irish Treaty that granted Ireland Dominion status and established Northern Ireland’s own Parliament. The Civil War (1922-1923) concluded the Revolution, in which the Pro-Treaty and Anti-Treaty IRA fought each other. The Civil War ended in 1923 with a victory for the Pro-Treaty forces. This study focusses on the representation of cultural property destruction and the actors involved in Irish, Anglo-Irish, and English newspapers during the Revolution, in which the representation in newspapers will be studied from a framework of nationalism and othering. During this period, many buildings that are considered to be cultural property were destroyed. The study approaches the subject by means of a qualitative content analysis of newspapers articles which allows for a comparison of the newspapers. The research conducted is based on three case studies: the destruction of historic buildings during the Easter Rising, the destruction of Big Houses during the War of Independence, and the destruction of (Catholic) premises during the Belfast Pogroms in 1920-1922. Throughout all these periods, there were censorship regulations in place which influenced the newspapers. It is argued that during the Easter Rising and the War of Independence, the English and Anglo-Irish newspapers were irrationalising the destruction of buildings by the Irish, stating that the Irish paramilitaries were the enemy of Ireland and Britain, whereas the British troops were attempting to save the buildings or their contents, while also fighting the Irish forces. These newspapers negatively depicted these Irish paramilitaries as the ‘other’ to create a positive image of the self. However, during the pogroms the English and Anglo-Irish newspapers were rationalising the destruction, which was instigated by ‘their (national) community.’ The newspapers negatively depicted the Irish forces, whereas they were justifying the actions of their own troops. The Irish newspapers were doing the opposite. These newspapers were rationalising the destructions of the Easter Rising and Big House destruction, but depicting the Catholics in Belfast as the victims of British troops. Where they attempted to offer a moderate view of the destruction in the first two cases, they irrationalised the destruction of premises during the pogroms. In all cases, the newspapers attempted to present their own nation in a favourable way, by negatively depicting the opposing forces as ‘the other.’ https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/60345/ Mon, 28 Jun 2021 00:00:01 GMT <div>Baarsen van Barend</div> This thesis will focus on the Special Relationship which was tested after 9/11 and the war in Iraq that followed. After introducing the history and concept of the Special Relationship the focus will be on the period that saw three Prime Ministers (PM) (Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, and David Cameron) and two Presidents (George W. Bush and Barack Obama), and where the relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom changed. The personal developments of the nation leaders will indicate, from their personal view, how this relationship developed and what the Special Relationship changed to. This will be put in a theoretical framework that indicates how personal relations of nation leaders may have influenced decision making before and during the war. All the relationships between the leaders that fulfilled their prime ministership or presidency at a similar time will be analysed from a timespan of 9/11/2001 to the end of the war in 2011. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/60344/ Mon, 28 Jun 2021 00:00:01 GMT <div>Jacob Salomé</div> https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/60360/ Mon, 28 Jun 2021 00:00:01 GMT <div>Willem Ballieux</div> This research is about Singapore, a city-state that in less than hundred years has grown into a very prosperous country. Singapore occupies a special position in Southeast Asia. I mapped the history of the Strait of Malacca and then investigated to what extent geopolitical factors have influenced Singapore’s developments and thereby the government. By using secondary literature and speeches by government officials I have mapped out which geopolitical factors had the greatest influence. Singapore has been ingenious in its handling of the strengths and weaknesses of the region. Both in the field of domestic and foreign policy. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/60359/ Mon, 28 Jun 2021 00:00:01 GMT <div>Lexy Remy</div> This research will explore the role of oil companies in the formulation of an energy transition policy discourse within the Netherlands in the twenty-first century. To adequately conduct this research, a theoretical framework shall be constructed from the studies of discourse and hegemony, the political economy, and socio-technical transitions, which will then be applied to the case study of Royal Dutch Shell’s political engagement. Upon comparing the main energy transition policy discourses of both the Dutch government and Shell three rather similar key points were found: the importance of cooperation of multiple actors within society to achieve the transition, the emphasis on the commercial viability of new and renewable energy projects, and a persisting future role of fossil fuel in the energy system and transition (especially for natural gas). Oil companies, and Shell specifically, have participated in the political arena through lobbying and private-public secondments, but also through direct participation in energy transition policy process. By placing the findings of the research in light of the theoretical framework the firm impression is given that the discourses communicated by both the government and Shell are linked and represent the vested interests of both actors in the energy transition process and future. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/60356/ Mon, 28 Jun 2021 00:00:01 GMT <div>Marc Kranendonk</div> https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/60349/ Mon, 28 Jun 2021 00:00:01 GMT <div>Marilyn Santos</div> This thesis centers around hip-hop fashion and its emergence into being mainstream. Hip-hop fashion is entrenched with hip-hop culture, which originated through hip-hop music and rap. The popularity of these music styles propelled fashion styles from this culture to diffuse to American society, and around the world. This research focusses on how the appeal and diffusion of hip-hop fashion has evolved over time in the United States from the 1980s to the present day. Fashion is entrenched with consumerism and follows developments and changes in society. It also has the power to change society through its link to culture. Hip-hop fashion’s appeal is around the sense of identity that it gave to its founders, minority youth in urban neighborhoods in New York City, as well the link to success and wealth that it enabled for them to portray and/or achieve. Advertising and marketing played a big role in the diffusion of hip-hop fashion. As consumers, hip-hop artists created their own fashion lines and advertised their clothing through various forms of media. Mainstream and luxury designers picked up on the consumer appeal of these styles and included them into their collections, which propelled them into the mainstream. These developments induced the evolvement of hip-hop fashion to lose some of its connection to hip-hop culture and instead be synonymous with streetwear, as depicted by the mass appeal and consumption of sneakers. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/60350/ Mon, 28 Jun 2021 00:00:01 GMT <div>Bennet Groen</div> More and more asylum seekers are fleeing every year. Current and future global challenges will only reinforce this trend. Moreover, recent history shows that at certain times an exceptional number of people seek asylum in certain regions. The right to asylum is an internationally agreed legal and moral obligation. However, as states have the sovereignty to provide protection to certain displaced people, the international refugee protection regime is not decisive for the application of the agreed obligations. In Europe, the further development of the European Economic Community into a supranational Union has added another regulatory level, which was assigned national competences and established a regional protection regime. Due to the EU's capacity to advocate norms and values as well as its geopolitical position, many people flee or immigrate to this regional protection regime. In this paper, I ask about differences in two European countries that have taken in large proportions of people seeking asylum in Europe during both the ‘Bosnian Refugee Crisis’ (1992-1995) and the ‘Immigration Crisis in Europe after the Arab Spring’ (2015/2016). How did the discourses and laws in Germany and Austria change and how was refugee protection applied? With my constructive analysis, I offer historical interdisciplinary findings for a political field of international relations that is constantly changing due to the salience of the topic. My theoretical design allows me to include framing, values and norms, as well as national interests in my analysis. National regimes have undergone changes towards similar regimes as a result of the experience and creation of the CEAS. Nevertheless, both regimes have been destabilised during the crises and by what are presented as appropriate national interpretations of obligations.