Awarded Theses

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https://reponew.gchumanrights.org/handle/20.500.11825/705
Every year the regional master’s programmes of Global Campus of Human Rights select the best master theses of the previous academic year. The selected seven GC master theses cover a range of different international human rights topics and challenges. Adding to the GC master theses, are selections of Master’s theses which most programmes award on a yearly basis

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Browsing Awarded Theses by Subject "activists"
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    From democracy to autocracy? Growing threats to civil society and media in Kyrgyzstan
    (Global Campus of Human Rights, 2019) Begalieva, Nuriza ; Aleksanyan, Arusyak
    Despite the repeal of the ‘foreign agent’ law in 2016 which was initiated in Kyrgyzstan to limit activities of human rights defenders, government officials still continue to oppress them by using other legislative restrictions. This idea contradicts the principles of a democratic country which stands for plurality of opinions. Recent intimidation and unlawful surveillance of human rights defenders and media representatives demonstrate that state officials can have a suspicious attitude and try to restrict their freedom of movement. According to given theories, the presence of active civil society and independence of media is important for the full functioning of democracy. Kyrgyzstan, being in the transition period, similarly to its neighbouring countries, uses tools to monopolise the important institutions. By using content analysis of published speeches of government representatives, human rights activists and media representatives the thesis reveals that the government continues to degrade the status of civil society by using disinformation as well as by misusing existent laws for their own profit to preserve the current regime. By examining hypotheses through correlation analysis, the study finds out that there is a strong relationship between active participation of civil society and media with the development of democracy. As a result, the more a country strives for democratic changes, the more effective the activity of the executive branch is. However, human rights itself has weak negative correlation with democratic development. It can be explained by the fact that when civil society takes more action against the government, autocratic rulers allow more human rights violations. Thus, this work demonstrates that although the Kyrgyz government continues to preserve democratic values and meet universal human rights principles, the recent cases show that these statements can be regarded only as a facade, as it is in the interest of the government to limit political mobilisation to maintain the current regime.
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    Louder than Words: Art Activism in the Context of Belarusian Protest Movement
    (Global Campus of Human Rights, 2022) Khvasevich, Volha ; Pirumyan, Nina
    The world’s reality of massive information, visual content and unexpected obstacles demands constant ongoing development of human rights-related tools and instruments as well as an interdisciplinary approach. Connecting artistic expression and activism creates a more understandable and effective language for speaking about sociopolitical processes and human rights than the official language of institutions worldwide. In the context of the protest movements in Belarus art activism became an instrument that influences the functioning and development of sociopolitical processes. The study aims to explore the phenomena of art activism in order to define the contribution of art activism to the sphere of human rights and democratic processes in the context of Belarusian protests. Using the methods of qualitative analysis of literature sources, evidence of art practices during protests and seven interviews with experts, artists and activists, the study defines art activism and its interconnection with human rights and also covers strengths and threats within the legal framework. On the basis of the study the main mechanisms of the impact of artistic expression on the democratic processes are defined. The current reality in the world reveals that artistic expression has a huge potential as an instrument in the sphere of human rights. The conceptualisation of current art activism experience and its contribution to the growth of the human rights dimension in Belarus in the context of the autocratic regime’s protest movement generates significant methodological support for the application of artistic means.
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    When the ‘Terrorists’ Speak the Language of Humanity. Counter-Memory of 15th July Coup d’État
    (Global Campus of Human Rights, 2022) Vodopija, Helena ; Glaurdić, Josip
    The aim of this work was to understand how the antagonism that constitutes the core of official memory of the 15 July coup d’état influenced the lives of those designated as the enemy of the nation – the families of cadets and trainee officers who were sentenced to life in prison for the alleged involvement in the coup; to portray the change in their identity – from believers who identify with nationalist discourse to human rights activists – and depict their creation of counter-hegemonic movement inspired by the counter-memory of the coup. The research showed how they regain their political subjectivity through re-politicising the normalised subject positions of the nationalist discourse, challenging the embedded antagonism between the nation and its other, and countering the selective vision of justice by their actions that reflect the belief in universal humanity. 15 July coup, counter-memory, identity, cadets and trainee officers