This research seeks to answer how a consociational political model works in practice in the case of Lebanon. Through an examination of Lebanon’s political system and its power-sharing formula, the case study identifies the four pillars of consociationalism, i.e. grand coalition, minority veto, proportional representation and segmental autonomy, and studies their functionality after the Ta’if Agreement was reached in 1989. Although the agreement ended the Lebanese civil war, it did not provide much in regards to the political system. The study concludes that the four pillars are extremely weak in Lebanon and that the consociational system rather reinforces differences in the Lebanese society instead of neutralizing them.

War is gendered. The scholarship of gender and war is comprehensive and multi-layered, yet there seems to be some difficulty to keep up with the new developments in technology and its involvement in warfare. It was only until a few years ago that a new method of warfare - cyber warfare, a form of hybrid warfare, emerged and got the spotlight in the discussions on new methods of warfare. However, as the literature is growing, and international organisations are producing policy and strategy documents on cyber warfare, there seems to be a research gap on the relation between gender and cyber warfare, more specifically the gendered aspects of cyber warfare. This thesis attempts to fill that research gap and intends to answer how cyber warfare may be gendered. This is be done by generally looking at the literature of “Gender and War” and “Gender and Cyber”, and Gunneriusson and Ottis (2013) categorisation of how cyberspace is used in military operations from a hybrid warfare perspective. Gunneriusson and Otitis’s categorisation focus on inter alia cyber-attacks on non-military targets, and the use of propaganda. The overview of the research on gender and cyber focus on the workforce within cyber related sectors and gender-based violence, and the overview of research on gender and war brings up numerous examples of the nexus between gender and war.  Based on the overview of the two fields of research along with Gunneriusson and Ottis categorisation this thesis comes to the conclusion that cyber warfare can be gendered. The purpose of the examples of cyber-attacks are the same when same attacks are conducted offline and these types of attack offline have the same effect online. The difference is that an attack through the cyberspace intensifies the consequences in comparison to when these same methods were used in other domains.

Boendesegregation skapar antaganden om olika bostadsområden, antaganden som påverkar människors känsla av utanförskap och gemenskap. Två resursstarka och två resurssvaga områden i två olika städer jämförs för att undersöka respondenternas upplevelser kring utanförskap och gemenskap i respektive område. Studien bygger på två nationalekonomiska teorier, Mismatch hypotesen och Polariserings hypotesen, som förklarar uppkomsten av boendesegregation. Dessutom en kompletterande teori som diskuterar grannskapets effekter på känslan av utanförskap och gemenskap. 16 semi-strukturerade intervjuer ligger till grund för det empiriska materialet, varav 8 från resursstarka områden och 8 från resurssvaga områden. Studiens resultat visar på en starkare gemenskap mellan grannar i de resurssvaga områdena än i det resursstarka. Resultatet visar också att resurssvaga områden tillskrivs ett utanförskap, som individer boende i dessa områden inte själva upplever. 6 av 8 respondenter dementerar vid intervjuer påståenden om ett utanförskap. Avslutningsvis uppvisar studien på starkare gemenskap i samtliga områden, snarare än ett utanförskap.

The primary sector is of high importance to the economy and wellbeing of many countries. This is especially true for Ecuador, where 51 percent of the population living in rural areas earn their living through agriculture, livestock and fishing activities. Unfortunately, inequality has been growing between the rural and urban population, most noticeably in rural small-scale farmers that have less social capital and access to resources. Therefore, this study focuses on small-scale farmers, in a small town called Alluriquin, and how their way of farming can contribute to sustainable livelihoods. The empirical data has been collected through semi-structured interviews, where eleven different individuals have been interviewed. Previous research together with the theory of Amartya Sen will serve as the framework for this study.

In Alluriquin, the results show that crops such as sugarcane, yucca, cacao, plantain and bananas as well as the big interest in both cattle raising and dairy farming, helps the locals to maintain a sustainable livelihood. It can be learned from the results of this study and previous research that farmers are facing a lot of different challenges on a daily basis, and even though they had different methods of dealing with these issues, the challenges seem to be manageable. The outcome of this study shows how these eleven individuals are able to maintain a sustainable livelihood, and how this way of farming is influenced by both internal and external factors that might be harmful if they are not considered. This way of life does provide the local community with a blueprint to follow so that they can guarantee their immediate wellbeing and prepare themselves and their families for any unforeseen circumstances, achieving sustainable livelihoods inside rural communities.

The involvement of non-state organizations in global governance is widely seen as an important step toward global democracy. Proponents of "stakeholder democracy" argue that stakeholder organizations, such as civil society groups and other non-state actors, may represent people significantly affected by global decisions better than elected governments. In this article we identify a particularly promising sociological variant of this argument, test it against new evidence from a large-scale survey among stakeholder organizations with varying levels of involvement in international organizations (IOs), and find that the suggested stakeholder mechanism for producing democratic legitimacy in global governance does not work. Stakeholder involvement is unproductive for democratic legitimacy in IOs as perceived by stakeholders themselves. We suggest alternative explanations of this finding and argue that empirical analysis is useful for adjudicating normative arguments on the viability of stakeholder democracy in global governance.

This study aims to contribute to the debate on the influence of Europarties in the European Union decision-making process, and more precisely in the European Council. As a starting point the theory on Europarty influence in the European Council, by Jonas Tallberg and Karl Magnus Johansson, will be tested in order to assess its validity. There is a need to further research the role of the Europarties in the decision-making processes of the European Union, since the contributions to the field are scarce. The theory suggests that Europarties can be expected to be influential when 1) there is ideological polarisation surrounding the question of concern, 2) one party is dominating the European Council, and 3) when a Europarty is successful in mobilising and creating cohesion among its leaders. In addition, the Europarties have to be able to compete with domestic constraints that the members of the Council are bound by. The theory is empirically tested by a comparative case study on the outcomes of the Spitzenkandidaten-processes in the European elections in 2014 and 2019. It seems that the Europarties were influential and managed to get a Spitzenkandidat elected as Commission President in 2014, but less successful in 2019. However, the findings of the empirical study suggest that the Europarties were successful in mobilising support also in 2019, but a chain of events led to the fall of the Spitzenkandidaten-process in its current shape and the Europarties have most likely lost a part of their long-term influence.

This research paper has focused on Twitter and Meta (Facebook). The research paper will present their commitments towards human rights as stated within their CSR reports. The company’s will be compared through comparative method and the material will be coded with a content analysis method. The material selected is CSR reports, NGO reports, law cases and official statements. With institutional theory and stakeholder theory the research paper presents a human rights perspective and discuss the credibility of the companies. The focus will be on selected variables, these variables being: Access to information, Right to privacy, and Freedom of expression. A comparison will be the structure of the analysis. The findings will be presented within the conclusion and the research questions will be answered in an adequate way and discuss the credibility and legitimacy of the companies. The discussion will present the variables and the future within social media.

Recently, in the wake of the Bologna Declaration and similar international initiatives, there has been a rapid increase in the number of university courses and programmes taught through the medium of English. Surveys have consistently shown the Nordic countries to be at the forefront of this trend towards English-medium instruction (EMI). In this paper, we discuss the introduction of EMI in four Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden). We present the educational setting and the EMI debate in each of these countries and summarize relevant research findings. We then make some tentative suggestions for the introduction of EMI in higher education in other countries. In particular, we are interested in university language policies and their relevance for the day-to-day work of faculty. We problematize one-size-fits-all university language policies, suggesting that in order for policies to be seen as relevant they need to be flexible enough to take into account disciplinary differences. In this respect, we make some specific suggestions about the content of university language policies and EMI course syllabuses. Here we recommend that university language policies should encourage the discussion of disciplinary literacy goals and require course syllabuses to detail disciplinary-specific language-learning outcomes.

Recently, in the wake of the Bologna Declaration and similar international initiatives, there has been a rapid increase in the number of university courses and programmes taught through the medium of English. Surveys have consistently shown the Nordic countries to be at the forefront of this trend towards English-medium instruction (EMI). In this paper, we discuss the introduction of EMI in four Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden). We present the educational setting and the EMI debate in each of these countries and summarize relevant research findings. We then make some tentative suggestions for the introduction of EMI in higher education in other countries. In particular, we are interested in university language policies and their relevance for the day-to-day work of faculty. We problematize one-size-fits-all university language policies, suggesting that in order for policies to be seen as relevant they need to be flexible enough to take into account disciplinary differences. In this respect, we make some specific suggestions about the content of university language policies and EMI course syllabuses. Here we recommend that university language policies should encourage the discussion of disciplinary literacy goals and require course syllabuses to detail disciplinaryspecific language-learning outcomes.

Like indicators of time, season and weather, hours or days, and dates of spring, summer, fall, and winter, social indicators guide and monitor social conditions of human beings. This chapter presents a new composite indicator. The Happy Well-Being Index (HWI) is based on general utilitarian principle and the assumption that underlying cultural values will ‘always be crucial in promoting technology and design’ in determining human actions and behavior and the measurement of happiness, wisdom and human well-being. Designed with a value of a function of ecological footprint per capita, subjective life satisfaction and life expectancy at birth, to guide, monitor, and promote a truly sustainable development process—a development that improves the quality of human life and support ecosystems at the global level. With the near-arithmetic structure of some of the best-known multidimensional well-being measures, it is built to ensure extensive democratic support for the choices to be converted to sustainable growth and development. As an index it covers the essential things that are important to humans—well-being, sustainability, long life, and happiness that can be perceived through the spectrum of planetary well-being and human well-beings, with the assumption that both are commonly linked and positively influenced each other.

The purpose of this study is to compare cross-cultural variability to learning in Australian, Canadian, Hong Kong, Nigerian and South African global samples using Learning Process Questionnaire (LPQ: Biggs, The learning process questionnaire (LPQ) manual. Australian Council for Educational Research, 1987; Australian Psychologist, 23, 197–206, 1988; British Journal of Educational Psychology, 63, 3–19, 1993). Different formal indices aimed at identifying the motives and strategies that comprise those approaches that emphasise creative, analytical, learning skills, as well as practical thinking or open-minded reasoning and memory-related skills, were identified and operationalized. The empirical exploration of the framework was applied to the analysis of 602 participants; data subsumed to different robust constructs. The assumption of male variability in learning strategies is questioned. The interaction of gender and culture is likened to two sides of the same coin (proverbial hedgehog vs fox), which is meant to enhance human learning. Results uphold cross-cultural support for the dimensions of deep and surface strategies; despite the differences in learning conceptualizations, the strategies utilized by students in the Western educational context are similar to those used by their African counterparts. In addition, discussion focuses on the implications of this desideratum for scale development, taxonomy construction, and theory building that are generalizable to a wide range of cultures.  Of course, a full examination of these novel differences requires more thorough, systematic fine-ingrained inquiry.

This study examines whether the Swedish Social Democratic Party's foreign and defense policy has adopted a more realist tone since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Using ideal type analysis, the study compares Social Democratic policy documents from before and after the invasion to assess shifts along the idealism-realism spectrum. The analysis focuses on three key dimensions: referent objects (what needs to be defended), perceived threats, and proposed strategies. The findings indicate a notable shift towards realism after the invasion, particularly regarding threats and strategies. While idealist elements remain, especially on climate issues, there is an increased emphasis on national security, sovereignty, and military capabilities. The study concludes that the Social Democrats have indeed adopted a more realist foreign policy stance since 2022, though not abandoning idealism entirely. This shift reflects the party's attempt to balance long-held ideals with a changed security reality in Europe. 

Uppsatsens syfte är att undersöka de bakomliggande faktorerna till konflikten mellan folkgruppen rohingya och majoritetsbefolkningen i Myanmar. Vidare har syftet även varit att undersöka maktrelationerna i landet och hur de har påverkat den så kallade decimeringen mot rohingya. Undersökningen har tillämpat realismen och konstruktivismen till situationen för att utreda händelserna som föregått det senaste decenniet, genom att applicera följande frågeställningar. 

• Vad är det för maktutövning som utövas mot rohingyerna i Myanma? 

• Vilka maktförhållanden på den internationella arenan påverkar rohingyernas situation?

Undersökningen har visat att den obalanserade makten mellan rohingyerna och militären har resulterat i diskriminering och våld mot minoritetsgruppen. Detta sker genom att militären och makthavarna använder sig av både indirekt och direkt maktutövning för att bibehålla sin makt lika väl som rohingyernas rättigheter fortsatt begränsas. Undersökningen har också framkommit att detta sker genom stiftandet av lagar och regler som endast gynnar den burmesisk-buddhistiska folkgruppen i syfte att bibehålla obalansen. 

Vidare har många år av diskriminering resulterat i att rohingyerna ligger i underläge och utanförskap då de nekas tillträde till publika sfärer, såsom skola, utbildning och sjukvård. Dem saknar även nationstillhörighet och medborgerliga rättigheter. De buddhistiska, nationalistiska och fascistiska normerna och värderingarna i landet har bidragit till denna underlåtna syn på folkgruppen trots att Myanmars regeringen har försökt demokratisera landet de senaste åren. Dock erkänner regeringen inte diskrimineringen eller etniska rensningen som pågår gentemot rohingyerna. I och med det har dem obalanserade maktrelationerna upprätthållits och därav resulterat i att rohingyerna inte kan påverka sin situation

Scholars within the fields of political ecology, environmental political theory, and international political economy tend to evaluate the prospects of state-led environmental transitions in general terms – enquiring as to the capitalist state’s inherent properties and their environmental implications. Less attention has been paid to how the state’s green capacities are conditioned by contemporary evolutions in the form and pace of capital accumulation. Capitalism’s directional pattern of historical development poses unique challenges for green state projects. Its drive to raise labour productivity metabolises nature on a growing scale, while generating conditions of overproduction and rendering a progressively larger portion of the population superfluous to the production process. Thus, the question is not simply whether the state can rise to the challenge of climate change, but rather how states are scrambling to govern the intersecting crises of climate catastrophe, economic stagnation, and surplus humanity. This ‘wicked trinity’ compounds the tensions at the heart of the capitalist state, resulting in an increasing inability to perform its role while sustaining its liberal form. This governance trilemma is illustrated by the case of the solar photovoltaic boom, where the spectacular increase in the productivity and scale of solar panel manufacturing have generated oversupply and falling profitability. States have reacted by indefinitely providing subsidies, financing automation technologies that exacerbate labour superfluity, and relocating solar panel manufacturing to places with authoritarian labour regimes. The case of photovoltaics is a microcosm of the general predicament faced by states as they struggle to govern capitalism’s secular developmental tendencies.

This study investigates how to enhance Sámi participation in EU Arctic policymaking processes by adopting and adapting participatory practices from the Arctic Council. Through a qualitative content analysis of policy documents and elite interviews, the study identifies that the EU can learn from the Arctic Council by recognizing the Sámi as internal actors, developing their collaborative platforms, and integrating Indigenous Knowledge into policymaking processes. This thesis develops a conceptual framework, integrating the concepts of procedural and intergovernmental self-determination, epistemic belonging, and organizational interdependency to define meaningful Indigenous participation and influence, which guides the analysis. Using this framework, the study contrasts the Arctic Council’s successful practices, where Indigenous Peoples Organizations are treated as equals, with the EU’s tendency to view the Sámi as an external Indigenous group outside of EU borders. The study identifies opportunities for the EU to translate participatory mechanisms that reflect the Sámi’s unique position and integrate their knowledge, as well as barriers such as treaty and resource constraints. By translating Artic Council practices into soft-law, the EU can create an inclusive atmosphere, contributing to meaningful Sámi participation.  

This thesis examines how efforts regarding the commercial sex industry in Thailand can be positioned in relation to an agent-victim framework. In the context of the expanding sex industry in Thailand, it becomes relevant to look at how efforts regarding it risks reproducing notions of ‘the prostitute’ as the victimised Other, and thus reinforcing neo-colonialism. However, the response in the form of an agent narrative has also been criticised for not taking into account intersecting forms of oppression. Here, a model coming from an emerging literature on the ‘third way feminist approach’ is used to illustrate how these instead can be combined. Using critical discourse analysis, this study draws on postcolonial feminist theory to scrutinise the ways in which non-governmental organisations imagine women as either agents or victims, or rather a combination of the two. The starting point has been that this binary definition might not be sufficient, neither for theoretically addressing the issue, nor for describing discourse. Two ideal types based on the agent-victim framework has been used to study to what extent the discursive practice of the organisations NightLight and Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers can be placed neatly into one of these ideal types, or whether a third perspective is indeed needed to account for their perception of the women they work with. The analysis has been conducted using different forms of information gathered from the official websites of the organisations, in order to understand they ways in which the organisations themselves choose to communicate their work. The results show that the discursive practices of these organisations to some extent can be accounted for using this framework, yet that in order to fully understand them, one should consider the third way which combines the strengths of both.

This study explores the portrayal of the climate-conflict nexus in global and national communications on climate change response. It utilizes a qualitative inductive approach and the IPCC AR5 (2014) was chosen to represent global communication documents, while two Afghan communications, the Initial as well as Second National Communication, on climate change and response were used to represent the national level. Through a content analysis, several themes were discerned through which the climate-conflict nexus is portrayed. It can be concluded that there are several differences between the global versus Afghan communication documents, as well as between the Initial National Communication (2012) and the Second National Communication (2017). The Second National Communication overall attempts to mirror the communication used by the IPCC by using the same themes but in a more indirect way. The analysis finds that the climate-conflict nexus is often portrayed through indirect communication and that this leads to a lack of conflict-sensitivity in the Afghan national documents, concluding by making suggestions on how to improve conflict-sensitivity in these documents.

There is a wide range of literature within the field of postcolonialism that emphasises thenegative aspects of the development discourse used within aid organisations. Postcolonialcriticism has further grown to be a part of the literature on globalisation. As climate changeconstitutes a highly emphasised global problem today, the efforts to diminish the negativeimpacts of it have increased. Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) aid has thus come to play acentral role within international climate negotiations, aiming to decrease the consequences ofthese impacts. As the financial mechanism of the UNFCCC, The Global EnvironmentFacility (GEF) is responsible for funding CCA initiatives. However, the GEF has beentargeted with criticism due to inherent power imbalances. This paper examines the use ofdiscourses within the problem construction in the GEF-funded project “ACCC” from apostcolonial perspective, in order to identify colonial heritage within the project as well as toprovide an understanding of the discursive effects. Such an understanding of discursivemechanisms are crucial for the decolonisation of future aid initiatives. The study finds thatthe problematization is built on Western norms and that the use of discourses within theproblem representation normalizes Western dominance and reproduces power hierarchies.

Over the past decades, a convergence between civil and political human rights non governmental organisations (NGOs) and development NGOs have occurred. The fusion of the two disciplines have led to the construction of so called ‘Rights-Based approaches’ (RBA). One principal concept for RBA’s is the question of accountability. Functional accountability is no longer seen as sufficient and more focus on social accountability have advanced. In previous research NGOs are repeatedly questioned for their level of accountability. This comparative qualitative case study therefore aim to examine how three Swedish based NGOs perceive accountability, with the purpose to contribute to the academic discussion of NGO accountability.

By using grounded theory and selective coding, this study will contribute with new empirical data to the ongoing development of RBA theory. Empirical data is collected through interviews, NGOs official strategies documents and analysed in relation to the empirically grounded theory. The main findings in this comparative case study is that organisations different backgrounds and values influence how they perceive RBA and accountability, and which methods are used to reconcile with accountability claims. The collected empirical data concludes perceptions of accountability mostly focuses on four interconnected key principles; power relations, democracy, transparency and empowerment.

Throughout the past few decades, accusations of sexual exploitation and abuse by peacekeepers have emerged against the United Nations, ultimately proving to be true. This thesis investigates the UN’s own narrative surrounding sexual misconduct of its peacekeeping personnel, identifying the dominant frames present within UN response to these events. Investigating these frames is a vital contribution to research within SEA, as understanding every angle of an issue can lead to a more competent approach to eventual solutions. Press releases, reports, transcribed interviews, and policy documents are analyzed using framing analysis to do so. Three frames are suggested as reference points, with opportunity for new frames to present themselves during analysis of the material. Ultimately, the study proposes that four multiple frames are present within the UN discourse, however three are of distinct influence, and two are clearly dominant. Finally, the study comes to the conclusion that the UN frames sexual violence perpetrated by peacekeeper as a primarily systemic issue, with individual peacekeepers responsibility playing a secondary role. Further research is encouraged within the field of study, specifically in regards to the ways other actors within the peacekeeping context frame SEA.

There has been considerable attention on the conventional climate mitigation and adaptation debate in Africa, including the prominent efforts of the African Group of Negotiators on Climate Change in global climate forums. However, there is little understanding of how the African Union (AU) is discussing and responding to the security implications of climate change.

This Policy Brief outlines key strengths of the African Union’s response, such as a rapidly evolving discourse around climate security and efforts to improve collaboration and coordination among different parts of the institution. But also, key weaknesses in the discourse around AU policy responses, such as the lack of tangible policy operationalization as well as financial unpreparedness and limited member state accountability.

The Policy Brief makes recommendations highlighting entry points for advancing the understanding and response to climate-related security risks within the AU, such as: (a) develop and institutionalize coordinated responses to climate-related security risks, (b) develop strong climate security leadership within the African Union, and (c) change the narrative to focus on shared problems and therefore shared solutions—multilateralism rather than nationalism.

Post-Apartheid South Africa has seen xenophobic sentiments towards migrants increase, culminating in several deadly riots. The words of equality and diversity, nurtured during the fight for independence seem to be far away. Building on Micheal Neocosmos theories on South African Xenophobia as a political discourse, this thesis examines how nationalist discourse creates and sustains negative perceptions of migrants. Using theories on national identity to undertake a critical discourse analysis of South African parliament proceedings, it illustrates how the perception of a civic and democratic nation, naturalizes a dichotomy between migrants and citizens. How the narrative of an equal and free South Africa, relies on the opposite perception of neighboring countries, as chaotic, undemocratic and un-free, resulting in a negative view of migrants. It argues that the opposing discourse of Pan-Africanism provides an opportunity in which a more inclusive identity can be built. Finally this thesis wishes to contribute to further research on national identity construction, by proposing a four-dimensional framework of exclusion that provides a reference point for contrasting national discourses 

Despite significant institutional changes and refinements since its creation in 2004, the ENP(European Neighborhood Policy) remains a major tool available to the EU for providing incentivesfor reform and stability in non-member states through the diffusion of its norms and rules.Earlier studies, drawing on the Europeanization conceptual framework, have been mostly concernedabout how and by which mechanisms compliance with EU rules takes place, rather thanfocusing on whether and to what extent it occurs. By contrast, this article assesses the actorness ofthe EU in three countries of the South Caucasus (Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan), viewingactorness as composed of three dimensions – capability, opportunity, and presence – enabling andconstraining the aspirations of the EU to be an international actor in the South Caucasus.

Numerous studies have looked into why and how EU-supported policies are adopted in non–EU member states. However, the practical implementation of such policies has only received modest scholarly attention. This article shows that EU policies, once adopted, continue to be negotiated and resisted during their implementation phase. Based on interviews with experts involved in twelve Twinning projects in Georgia, this article aims to uncover the mechanisms behind less successful compliance with the EU acquis: insufficient administrative capacity and the politicized nature of public administration are likely to significantly affect the degree to which EU law is implemented.

Numerous studies, using the Europeanization theoretical framework, have looked into why and how EU-supported norms and policies are adopted in non EU-Member States, focusing either on the mechanisms through which they are diffused or on the local actors' responses to such demands. However, the practical implementation of such norms and policies in third countries has only received modest attention in academic and policy-related studies. Indeed, the “law in the books” is not necessarily the “law in action”. Going beyond the top-down approach that have extensively characterized Europeanization studies, this dissertation will operate a return to the “mundane face” of Europeanization and looks into how expert interactions matter for EU law implementation. It shows that those experts are highly enthusiast and willing to implement EU demands and adapted them to fit in their domestic context. They act as policy champions and show high degrees of policy saliency when fulfilling their tasks. Nevertheless, those champions operate in a difficult administrative and political environment that complicates EU law compliance, with low administrative capacity, high degree of staff turn-over, shortages of knowledgeable staff and political actors that might hinder EU law implementation if it is too costly or in contradiction with domestic vested interests.

This thesis explores President Nayib Bukele’s discourse on El Salvador’s “war on gangs” through the lens of populist rhetoric, analyzing the ways in which Bukele may construct a narrative that legitimizes rigorous policies. Building on two intersecting concepts, populism and authoritarianism, this theoretical framework is applied to facilitate a deeper understanding of when these two merge and challenge democratic norms. Through a focused case study, using a mixed-method approach of qualitative content analysis and discourse analysis, this study examines official speeches made by President Bukele to uncover the way populist rhetoric might be reflected in his communication. The findings reveal that in order to justify authoritarian practices, Bukele indeed employs language and rhetorical techniques typical of populism. Bukele effectively narrates “the war on gangs” building on common populist attributes such as the “us vs them” dichotomy, anti-establishment sentiments, crisis narratives and nationalism. By portraying the campaign against gang violence as both urgent and necessary, Bukele’s rhetoric seeks to mobilize public sentiment, thereby facilitating the legitimization of more authoritarian policies. This research contributes to the understanding of the implications of populist leadership for democratic governance, illustrating how populism might support authoritarian practices under the pretext of national security and development. 

The Virtual Water Trade (VWT) thesis has in recent years taken centre stage in the global water security and political economy discourse for its ability to mitigate water scarcity issues through global trade. However, it has been criticised for neglecting the externalities and the full social-environmental costs, which in this research is highlighted through the case of Brazil. This multivariate research critically assesses the dangers of seeing VWT as a ‘pure’ economic model by investigating the intervening variable of the structural conditions of the Brazilian government and their close intertwinement with agricultural corporations. By qualitative content analysis and empirical data supporting the arguments, the research found that agrarian corporations’ participation in an extractivist system can only thrive where the state actively guarantees the structural condition. This includes financial incentives which provide them with the hegemonic power to influence policies and amendments favouring agrarian business expansion with detrimental socio-environmental consequences for the vulnerable communities within Brazil. The research concludes that it is important to acknowledge this macro-micro linkage when formulating international agreements regarding agricultural trade, otherwise, the purpose of the Virtual Water Trade to mitigate water stress and prevent violent conflicts is instead undermined.

The COVID-19 pandemic poses a global threat to health, economic well-being and political sta- bility. According to researchers, COVID-19 vaccines are a key to ending the pandemic and return- ing to a certain type of normality. The issue is that the COVID-19 vaccines have been unevenly distributed between high- and low-income countries. This study is based on qualitative semi-struc- tured interviews exploring how experts view the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines between high- and low-income countries. More specifically, what factors that they consider to affect the distribution and what measures are needed to make the distribution more equitable. The study connects to the theoretical framework of global justice which is used to clarify why humans have obligations to help each other. The result of the study indicates that the majority of experts con- clude that the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines has been very uneven because high-income countries have obtained more vaccines than low-income countries. According to experts, an une- ven distribution of the vaccines can lead to several consequences such as the development of mu- tants which the vaccine does not work against, and thus to the pandemic continuing. The main factor pointed out by the experts is that countries have acted nationalistic and that there has been a lot of pressure on political leaders to procure vaccines for their populations. The experts agree that the Covax initiative was a good measure for the vaccines to be distributed more fairly, alt- hough they also highlighted challenges with Covax. This study therefore contributes to the under- standing that there are many factors that affect the global distribution of vaccines against COVID- 19, but also that there are several measures to make the distribution more equitable.

Uncertain Futures considers how economic actors visualize the future and decide how to act in conditions of radical uncertainty. It starts from the premise that since dynamic capitalist economies are characterized by relentless innovation and novelty, they exhibit an indeterminacy that cannot be reduced to measurable risk. The organizing question then becomes how economic actors form expectations and make decisions despite the uncertainty they face. The current microfoundations of standard economics cannot handle genuinely uncertain futures. Instead, uncertainty requires an entirely new model of economic reasoning. This edited volume helps lay foundations for this new model by showing how economic actors in practice form expectations in conditions of uncertainty. It draws on groundbreaking research in economic sociology, economics, anthropology, and psychology to present theoretically grounded empirical case studies that demonstrate the role of imaginaries, narratives, and calculative technologies—and their various combinations—in enabling economic actors to form expectations and cope with uncertain futures. The book examines risk management techniques, finance models, and discounted cash-flow models as well as methods of envisaging the future that overtly combine calculation with narrative structure and imaginaries. These include central bank forward guidance, economic forecasts, business plans, visions of technological futures, and new era stories. Considerable attention is given to how these fictional expectations influence actors’ behaviour, coordinate action, and provide the confidence to act, and how they become instruments of power in markets and societies. The market impact of shared calculative devices, social narratives, and contingent imaginaries underlines the rationale for a new form of narrative economics.

This book deals with states in one particular corner of the world: Europe, here understood as the European Union. It examines how states have been reconfigured by five processes. First, the rise of globalization processes and international organizations mean states are increasingly influenced, constrained, measured, and rated by organizations, ideas, and norms over which they have no direct control. Second, the dilution of the classic Weberian state means that comparisons with the nominally ‘weak’ American state are pertinent to understanding new public–private relationships in policy. Third, the impact of unexpected policy crises—fiscal, security, and migration—have resulted in institutional reform and expansion of state policy instruments. Fourth, the changing scale—regional and urban—and rise of regulatory agencies is a major source of reconfiguration in European states. Fifth, the traditional monopoly on violence to protect citizens remains but is overstretched and states have developed new ways to control and monitor populations. The individual chapters cover such issues as how best to measure government performance; the role of the region in European states; planning for unknown futures; the rise of a European identity; conflicts about migration and assimilation; borders and their policing; measuring crises; the reconfiguration of economic policy under neoliberalism; state intervention and banks; sovereign debt crises; defence policy; the rise of populist politics across Europe; and Brexit.

Somali-born immigrants are often described as the most difficult group to integrate into Swedish society with an extensive underrepresentation on the Swedish labour market as well as traditional values and gender roles that often dictate the division of labour and functions in the family. This study aims to examine the effects of a job on Somali family roles from a migration perspective. By comparing wage-earning and unemployed Somali-born women's experiences, the study also aspires to elucidate the importance of a job in their everyday life. The essay is based on previous research on the historical, social and transnational dimensions of Somali family life and culture, as well as theoretical concepts such as role conflict, role change and role negotiation. A qualitative comparative case study has been conducted, based on data from semi-structured interviews. Eight respondents participated in the survey – four employed and four unemployed women born in Somalia. The results were then analyzed in the light of previous research and the theoretical concepts. The result shows that there are some interesting differences between the two groups. The Somali families in which the women are unemployed have a distinct division of the household work, where the woman assumes the majority of the workload. Here it is also clear that traditional Somali family roles are still of importance. However, in the families where the Somali-born women have employment, traditional family roles have changed and led to a more even distribution of household work, where the men, women and children share the responsibility. Furthermore, it appears that the unemployed Somali-born women are very keen to have a job, as independence from the state and government is a main driving force. For the wage-earners on the other hand, there is a clearer focus on being independent from the man and being able to be a decision-maker in family matters. The result also illustrates how society's expectations on women influence their driving forces to work and the way they think about their role in the family.

This thesis investigates how the level of democratic values differs between active members of different civil society organizations. Civil society has been considered a fundamental aspect of democracy and research have highlighted that some organizational characteristics are associated with democratization and sustainable democracy. However, variations in democratic values at the individual level, disparities between members of different civil society organizations, and the connection to democracy have to some extent been overlooked. This study investigates the nuanced relationship between organizational membership and democratic values across eight African countries using data from the World Value SurveyWave 7. This thesis focuses on exploring the disparities in democratic values among members of quotidian civil society organizations (QCSOs) which have been found to significantly contribute to democratization, compared to members of human rights civil society organizations (HRCSOs) where such significance is not observed. The research employs linear regression analysis to uncover subtle yet statistically significant differences. The findings indicate a marginal but noteworthy distinction in democratic values between active members of QCSOs and HRCSOs. This study highlights the importance of recognizing individual level differences in understanding the diverse landscape of civil society and its relation to democracy.

This study is carried out during the spring of 2015 and six semi-structured interviews are conducted to form the basis of a case study. Its aim is to map and analyze the integration work performed in the municipality of Nässjö.

The purpose of this study is to survey the work being performed in the municipality of Nässjö regarding integration of immigrants, and to identify crucial factors related to a potential collaboration between actors from the public sector and the civil society.

- How are the chosen participants working with integration in the municipality of Nässjö?

- In what way are the chosen participants currently cooperating with the public sector and the civil society in the municipality of Nässjö regarding integration?

- How do the chosen participants find the idea of a joint collaboration regarding integration, between the public sector and the civil society in the municipality of Nässjö?

With the use of an analyze model called “the constant comparative method”, the study compares and interprets the collected data. All of the informants are representatives of their respective establishment which either belonged to the civil society or to the public sector in the municipality of Nässjö. To assess whether the integration actors are susceptible to the idea of working collaboratively, their responses are compared to a theoretical framework called “collaborative governance”. The collected data is also set in relation to previous research regarding the situation of integration policies in Sweden.

The result chapter displays the work performed by the interviewed establishments and the extent of their cooperation to improve the integration process of immigrants in the municipality. It also lists the various challenges the actors face and the possibility for one of them to have a leading role in a comprehensive and joint collaboration.

The case study illuminates a reality where no common goal regarding integration exists amongst the selected actors. Complicated bureaucracy and regulations constitute discouraging factors that adversely affect the will of civil society actors to engage in collaboration with the public sector. The level of communication within the municipality is highly fragmented, it is found to be more developed within the civil society and to a lesser extent within the public sector. Finally, the case study suggests that there is no history of antagonism among the actors within the civil society.

Determining whether great crises in donor countries, such as the contemporary COVID-19 pandemic, alter foreign aid allotment represents an urgent research problem. This thesis aims to disentangle if and how aid is increased, reduced or remained the same during crises. The work conducted is a case study of three donor countries: Sweden, the United States and the United Kingdom. Their aid is scrutinized in relation to three crises, the Nordic crisis, the global crisis of 2008 and the COVID-19 pandemic. An identified disagreement in the previous research helps create the theoretical framework guiding this study. A hypothesis is drawn from said framework, that aid allotment is to decrease during crises in donor countries. The findings of this thesis can neither confirm nor reject the hypothesis. Case-specific patterns emerge, implying a relationship between crises and alterations of aid. Seemingly, crises affect foreign aid allotment both positively and negatively, opening up for further research to verify the relationship.

Aiming to contribute to the discourse on the sustainability of consociational democracy in plural societies, this case study provides an examination of Lebanon’s power sharing model. The study begins with an evaluation of the Taif Agreement. After acknowledging its effect on Lebanon’s consociational system the function and operation of Lijphart’s four consociational elements are analyzed. From these evaluations one can argue that power-sharing principles have helped Lebanon to maintain a relative calm after its civil war, but also that they have failed in generating national cohesion and a strong state. A re-emerging proposition in this study is hence that consociationalism has been both a solution and an impediment to the development of Lebanon.

A number of southern African countries have experienced food crises during recent years. The fact that the scale of these crises has been disproportionate to the apparent triggers of climatic adversity or production decline has led to the suggestion that they are more closely related to the AIDS pandemic, which is at its most extreme in many of the same countries. This hypothesis, developed by de Waal and Whiteside (2003), has been termed 'New Variant Famine'(NVF). The New Variant Famine hypothesis is helpful in drawing attention to the effects of AIDS in diminishing both food production and capacity to purchase food, but it focuses more intensely on the household level than many other theories that seek to explain food insecurity, which tend to emphasise the integration of peasants into a capitalist market economy, and the functioning of markets and institutions. The household level focus also characterises much research on the impacts of AIDS. In this article we argue that the effects of AIDS on food security are not confined to the household level, and that an NVF analysis should also consider processes operating within and beyond the household including social relationships, relations of age and gender, colonial inheritance and contemporary national and international political economy. Recognition of these processes and how they interact with AIDS may offer greater scope for political mobilisation rather than technocratic responses.

This thesis will explore the contribution of collaborative arts programmes to peacebuilding in Myanmar, as perceived by the participants and practitioners of such programmes. It will do so by first investigating the respondents’ perceptions of current obstacles to peace in Myanmar, and then explore and analyse the perceived contributions of the programmes to peacebuilding. Finally, it will attempt to connect these two categories of findings together. The latter will be done using a conceptual framework based on Johan Galtung’s capacities for peace. The study is constructed as a qualitative case study of collaborative arts programmes in Yangon, Myanmar and builds on data generated through interviews and focus group discussions with arts programme participants and practitioners during February to April 2018. By relating to previous research on the arts and peacebuilding, this paper aims to contribute to the research field and provide a perspective on these processes in the context of Myanmar. Based on the data, the study finds that the central obstacles to peace in Myanmar are perceived as being primarily related to ethnic and religious discrimination and the current education system in the country. Furthermore, the paper concludes that there are several aspects that speaks for the potential of collaborative arts programmes to contribute to peacebuilding in Myanmar; in particular the combination of the programmes’ educational and empathetic elements. Lastly, the argument is made for further research and investments in arts programmes in conflict-affected contexts, to confirm and elaborate on the suggested potential of the arts to contribute to peacebuilding.

This essay will explore the space for political expression in the music scene of Beijing; as perceived by local musicians. The study tries to answer the question on what the space is for expressing views in music that contradict the Chinese government. Through the accounts of musicians in Beijing, what the perceived political space is and what aspects of musicians’ reality that affect this perception of space are investigated. It does this through a qualitative case study of the Beijing music scene consisting of interviews with musicians as well as related music professionals, conducted during the 15^th of May until the 15^th of July in 2015. Through relating to previous research on political censorship in authoritarian regimes, it aims to contribute to the research field as well as to put censorship of music in a theoretical context. The study concludes that there is a perceived “indirect” space in Beijing music for non-conforming political views to be expressed, as well as finding and outlining four main factors that contribute to this perception; namely 1. The censorship apparatus; 2. New freedoms: the economy and the Internet; 3. (Music) Career prospects and 4. The politics of Beijing. Conclusively, the argument is made for further analysis of written material in Chinese music (e.g. lyrics and song titles) to enrich these findings.

The Colombian State and subversive groups have made attempts to build peace by the establishment of accords since the 1980s. Recently, the signature of a peace accord by former president Santos and the FARC-EP leadership in 2016, has come along with changes in the interpretative frameworks of the conflict and the emergence of new institutions, forms of subjectivity and collective meanings around peace. Nowadays, Colombia is in the transition from being a country at war to a peaceful nation. In this transition, the discourse of victims and state representatives about peace and conflict are predominant in the literature. This article characterizes the simultaneously coexisting discourses about peace and conflict in former combatants. We conducted a discourse analysis of 19 semi-structured interviews with former members of paramilitaries and guerrillas. The results are clustered into two categories: absent peace, in which peace is seen as the lack of something that was missed and lost; and the indefinite war, where peace can be hardly imagined due to the permanence of conflict and longevity of violence. The overlooked angle of the narratives of combatants about peace and conflict is discussed, and the findings are suggested as potential guidelines to navigate displaced and divergent accounts of peace and conflict in transition societies.