Browsing by Author "Hyötylä, Konsta"

This Master’s thesis examines the critiques coming from the post-colonial studies that have been produced on the narration of the so-called ”Arab Spring”. The thesis analyzes at what kind of shapes and forms the post-colonial theory takes and how it has been utilized to critique the western narration and representations of the so-called “Arab Spring”. Especially, the thesis considers how these critiques can be utilized in future research and how they produce a deeper understanding of global transformations such as the so-called “Arab Spring”. The thesis presents an analysis of post-colonial theory, focusing mainly on the concepts of “orientalism” and “eurocentrism”. The post-colonial tradition is the main theoretical basis of the critiques used as the main source and analyzed in the thesis. These critiques are presented in large scale in the thesis. The texts are studies using qualitative method of content analysis. The critiques presented in the thesis clearly show that Eurocentric views and ideals as well as orientalist stereotypes and simplifications are hegemonic in the western narrative. These connect to the Eurocentric ideal of modernity. Central argument found in the critiques analyzed in the thesis is that the western grand narrative creates a false ideal of universalism that is produced by neglecting the subaltern voices and critiques. The key finding of the thesis is that at the center of breaking this grand narrative is dismantling the power structures produced by the colonialism through dismantling the false ideal of universalism if we want to achieve a globally just world. At the center of this process of decolonization are the subaltern voices and critiques that are currently pushed to the margins by “the West”. These voices and critiques coming from the Global South need to be recognized and listened to.