Research
An overview of research projects of the Sen Foundation.
Recent Publications
- Alleviation of Poverty
Milleniumdoel 2: Alle kinderen naar school
May 2016Sen FoundationDutchZo luidt Millenniumdoel 2, opgesteld in de Millenniumverklaring van 2000, om wereldwijd voor 2015 de grote problemen op het gebied van onderwijs aan te pakken (NCDO, www.NCDO.nl). In ontwikkelingslanden gaan miljoenen kinderen niet naar school. Zij worden thuis gehouden om een bijdrage te leveren aan het gezinsinkomen en het huishouden. Verplicht en toegankelijk basisonderwijs is een belangrijk middel in de strijd tegen armoede. Onderwijs geeft kinderen kennis en hiermee de kans zich verder te ontwikkelen. Zo krijgen zij meer kansen voor de toekomst.
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Alle kinderen naar school - Millenniumdoel 2De rol van multinational in de strijd tegen armoede
May 2013Sen FoundationDutchIn 2010 leefden er wereldwijd 1.2 miljard mensen onder de extreme armoedegrens van 1.25 dollar per dag. Een van de targets van het eerste Millennium Ontwikkelingsdoel, waarin wordt gestreefd naar het eindigen van honger en armoede, betreft het halveren van het aantal mensen ten opzichte van 1990 dat zich onder deze grens bevindt (United Nations, 2013a:6-7). De Millennium Ontwikkelingsdoelen zijn acht doelen die in 2000 door 189 landen zijn aangenomen en die grotendeels in 2015 behaald dienen te worden (United Nations, 2006:26). In delen van Azië worden het eerste Millennium Ontwikkelingsdoel grotendeels behaald. Echter, in Afrika en in de armere landen van Azië is dit niet het geval.
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De rol van multinationals in de strijd tegen armoede De rol van multinationals in de strijd tegen armoede (korte versie)
- Climate and Ecology
SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy – Policy Insights
January 2020Sen FoundationEnglishPolicy efforts currently fall short of all SDG 7 targets. Progress on clean cooking and renewable energy is lagging behind. Progress on electricity and energy efficiency is better, but more efforts are needed to meet the targets. Based on the latest IPCC special report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5 ̊C, energy-related emissions need to be reduced by 3.5% annually until 2050 and continue thereafter. The accelerated deployment of renewable energy, combined with increases in energy access and energy efficiency, can achieve 90% of the energy-related CO2 emissions reductions needed to reach the well-below 2 ̊C aim of the Paris Agreement
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SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy - Policy Insights, by Marijn van ReesSDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy – Current Status
January 2020Sen FoundationEnglishSDG 7 is set out to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.3 According to the UN, energy is central to nearly every major challenge the world faces today. For one thing, the problem of energy is closely connected to the problem of climate change as the energy sector represents by far the largest source of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions that are contributing to global warming.
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SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy - Current Status, by Marijn van Rees
- Economy and Finances
Lessons from Ukraine
January 2017University of LeidenEnglishThis study aims to examine the impact of IMF programs in Ukraine during the period between 1994 and 2002. Many questions have been raised about the effectiveness of IMF-backed adjustment programs. Some Ukrainian politicians and academics have been eager to blame the Fund for Ukraine’s transition woes. Actually, the IMF helped Ukraine to limit its severe economic trouble.
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Lessons from UkraineOil Smuggling and the Greek Crisis
August 2014Bridging EuropeEnglishThe report describes how the fuel market works in Greece. It pays special attention to oil smuggling that has become dominant in the Greek economy. The report concludes with measures that should be taken to improve the income of Greece.
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Oil Smuggling and the Greek Crisis
- Migration and Integration
Right-wing populism in Dutch border areas
May 2018University of LeidenEnglishIn the last decades, Europe was experiencing a considerable increase of right-wing populist parties. The maps of the electoral results show an intriguing puzzle. Radical right parties were more successful at the border constituencies
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Right-wing populism support in the Dutch national borders by Javid IbadExplaining Germany’s refugee policy change in 2015 in comparison with the Netherlands
April 2017University of LeidenEnglishThis research explores the extent to which Kingdon’s Multiple Streams Framework (MSF) explains the difference in the asylum policy approaches of Germany and the Netherlands during 2015. Both countries had been conducting restrictive asylum policies during the past 20 years. However, in 2015, at the peak of the European refugee crisis, Germany abruptly transformed its approach to refugees into an open-door policy while the Netherlands continued with its restrictive approach. This led to a remarkable difference in the number of asylum seekers both countries received in 2015; a divergence which served as a point of departure for this research. This paper mainly focuses on the case study of Germany’s asylum policy.
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Explaining Germany’s refugee policy change in 2015
- Other
De effecten van directe democratie – Een analyse van twee nationale referenda in Nederland
July 2016University of LeidenDutchIn western democracies there are signs of a democratic recession, there is a decline in political participation levels, and there is little trust in governing institutions. In response, a popular remedy that is often proposed by scholars and politicians is direct democracy. As direct democracy allows citizens to directly vote on questions, it is argued that it has the potential to increase the political participation of citizens and decrease political dissatisfaction. The goal of this thesis is to research whether these claimed effects about direct democracy are observed when analysing two national referenda in the Netherlands.
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De effecten van directe democratie - Een analyse van twee nationale referenda in NederlandThe Singaporean Development Model
2014Sen FoundationEnglishSingapore gained full independence in 1965. This young state propelled itself from a considerably poor state with few natural resources into one of the most efficient and rich states on the globe. A centre of industry and education, Singapore can be seen by many as a role model for development. Can Singapore’s success be replicated elsewhere and be used as a new framework for developing countries to employ?
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The Singaporean Development Model
- Peacebuilding and Conflict Prevention
Building Peace
EnglishThis file contains the content from the Building Peace Symposium.
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Building Peace
The UN Stand-by High Readiness Brigade
June 2017 University of AmsterdamDutch and GermanDe UN Stand-by High-Readiness Brigade [SHIRBRIG] was een initiatief van Denemarken in 1995 en had ten doel om parate slagkracht te creëren ten bate van Peace Keeping operaties van de Verenigde Naties. De voornaamste aanleiding tot de oprichting van SHIRBRIG was de genocide in Rwanda in 1994. Als permanente standplaats voor een hoofdkwartier wees men de 30 kilometer ten Noorden van Kopenhagen gelegen Garder-kazerne te Høvelte aan.
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The UN Stand-by High Readiness Brigade
- Security
Kleine Wapens: bestaand beleid en kansen voor ontwikkeling
Sen FoundationDutchEr vallen ongeveer 500.000 doden per jaar als gevolg van de wijdverspreide beschikbaarheid van SALW (Small Arms and Light Weapons). Hoewel ze groot zijn, zijn de gevolgen van wapenbezit en handel in westerse landen als Nederland, de VS en Zwitserland niet zo breed als in conflictgebieden: “An estimated 300,000 intentional firearms deaths occur annually from armed conflict. Another 200,000 people are killed in countries that are ‘peaceful’. Millions more suffer lifethreatening injury. Less developed countries generally face higher rates of firearms homicide, while developed countries grapple more with firearm suicides.” (Small Arms Survey, 2001: Executive Summary: Ch 6). Er zijn dus veel onnodige doden die voorkomen kunnen worden door wapenwetgeving en veiligheidsmaatregelen aan te scherpen. Maar wapens worden ook gebruikt met niet dodelijke gevolgen zoals verwonding of brengen sociale schade toe door bedreiging, afpersing en andere vormen van corruptie.
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Kleine Wapens BeleidJihadisme in Noordelijk Afrika
2012Sen Foundation and Nederlandse Defensie AcademieDutchSinds de jaren negentig zijn op veel plaatsen in de wereld jihadistische terroristische organisaties actief. Zoals bijvoorbeeld in Afghanistan, Irak, Indonesië en Somalië. Niet alleen ver weg, ook in het meer nabije Noord Afrika baart een terroristische organisatie die zichzelf noemt “Al-Qaida in de Islamitische Maghreb” (AQIM), de nodige zorgen. En in het olierijke Nigeria, een dichtbevolkt land op de scheidslijn tussen islam en christendom, lijkt de ideologie van al-Qaida in opkomst met het optreden van de terroristische organisatie “Boko Haram”, die alles wat westers is verwerpelijk vindt.
De voorliggende rapportage bevat de tweede druk van een analyse van twee jihadistische extremistische organisaties en bewegingen in Noordelijk Afrika. De voorbeelden – AQIM en Boko Haram – zijn genomen uit de landen van de Maghreb, de Sahel en het grensgebied tussen islam en christendom.
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Jihadisme in Noordelijk Afrika
- Speeches and (Media) Articles
Speech on the Role of Peace in Advancing Achievement of SDGs
EnglishConsidering the above context, the International Institute of Governance & Leadership, organized the 2nd Global Governance & Leadership Forum in India on 10th September 2018 at Hotel Taj Mahal Palace, Colaba Mumbai. The theme of the Forum was appropriately chosen to be the ‘Challenges in Global Governance – Collective Governance of the Planet’. Here, our Director and Former Defence Minister of Netherlands & Member of the Global Board of IIGL, Joris Voorhoeve, being an expert on Peace, as he was co-chair of global partnership for the prevention of armed conflict, which is a ‘UN Peace Keeping’ initiative, shared his thoughts on the ‘Role of Peace in advancing achievement of SDGs’.
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Speech on the Role of Peace in Advancing Achievement of SDGs - Joris VoorhoeveInsecurity and Common Interests in Security
March 2016OSCEEnglishMuch of what is wrong in our world has a common cause: the abuse of political, economic, military and media power. Full rule of law curbs the perennial inclination of the powerful to abuse the powers entrusted to them. Are governments seeking to serve the well-being of their citizens, or are government leaders seeking less elevated personal goals? Do they restrict or eliminate their critics, upset the international status quo, change borders, or create confrontation, encouraging nationalism to solidify popular support in the short run? The latter approach fuels military expenditure and conflict and harms the long-term interests of countless people.
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Insecurity and Common Interests in Security
Books
Click here to see all the books
Fighting Violence and Poverty
April 15, 2021
Fighting Poverty and Violence analyzes what is needed to abolish the worst forms of human deprivation. Based on many international studies about the UN Sustainable Development Goals, it concludes that only two percent of world income is needed to provide all human beings with safe drinking water, sanitation, food, basic education, and simple health care. The poorest people also incur the largest numbers of victims due to wars, disasters, and pandemics. This book contains practical suggestions for more effective civic and political action to reach the universal goal of well-being in peace. Watch the livestream of the Book Launch here!
Can’t wait to read it? Buy it here.
The Digitization of Disinformation Campaigns
2021
How modern disinformation campaigns – whose methods and composition changed through the information revolution between 1990 und 2009 – can be countered more effectivelyThe information revolution changed the way state-organized disinformation campaigns are conducted. Spreading various forms of propaganda, confusing half-thruths and pure falsehoods have accelerated, and social media made it possible to reach an increasing number of people targeted, in an ever-shorter news cycle. In the past disinformation actors mostly tried to persuade an audience of a single made-up story. Nowadays in the so-called post-truth era, disinformation actors rather attempt to dissuade an audience of the evidence-based story by disseminating an unending number of alternative narratives. At the core of this research lays the question how to deal with disinformation in digitized society.
Curious? Buy it here.
