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Democratic backsliding is becoming a bigger trend around the globe. This study examines how democratic backsliding has transpired in two post-Soviet countries, Poland and Estonia. This study has been conducted with the help of the comparative case study method where the time frame has been demarcated from the year the countries joined the European Union (2004) to present year. The theory democrati

The postmaterialism thesis put forth by Ronald Inglehart stipulates a relationship between wealth and non-physical values. Among these values is the protection of the environment, meaning that wealthier populations should more readily prioritise measures that further this goal. The postmaterialism theory has been a matter of contention, however, and there’s substantial critique against it. One of

This study analyses the relationship between the vision for education in Uganda through indigenous NGOs, the state of Uganda, and the United Nations. Investigation of whether they are consensual or constitute a discrepancy and what consequences that indicate, is also investigated. The material consists of the vision statement for education from 58 indigenous NGOs, the state document Uganda Vision

In 1989, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The convention, whose purpose is to ensure and protect children’s rights globally, was later ratified by Sweden 1990. Thereby, the country committed itself to legally follow the articles of the convention. By conducting a descriptive case study analysis of the CRC, this text aims to invest

The relationship between the European Union (EU) and China distinguishes itself by its unique nature and place in world affairs. The two distinctive economic giants have over the past two decades developed a structured relationship centred around trade and major economic interests. Growing in both intensity and complexity, EU-China engagements have over the years produced evidence to suggest for t

The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to the discussion on the relation between memory and security in how Holocaust remembrance discourse affect the construction of security in Israel. By utilizing Norman Fairclough’s method of textual and discursive practice it analyzes speeches held by Israeli heads of state at the opening ceremony of Holocaust Remembrance Day between the years 2014-2021.

Global liberal democracy is turning in on itself, both in terms of quality and quantity. Although instead of imploding due to a coup d’état, incremental erosion of democracy is the new norm. This is more commonly known as democratic backsliding and scholarly agreement points to polarization as an underlying cause. Since 2016 the U.S. democratic quality has significantly dropped, whilst polarizatio

The influence of non-state actors on EU policies is increasing. At the same time, a new player has emerged in the world political arena: private military and security companies (PMSC). Therefore, questions could be raised about what it would imply if policies, advancing global security, are based on corporate interests. This case study aims to understand how the structural power of PMSC in EU secu

Despite Sweden's relatively high figures on living standards several extensive welfare challenges remain such as mental illness, youth unemployment and increased income inequality. Municipalities charged as the extended arm of the welfare state, have over the past 10 years initiated social investments to address these issues. Örebro municipality is described to be one of the municipalities in

This study examines whether the European Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS) exercise collaborative leadership in the European Union's (EU) external climate security policy. While the academic debate acknowledges that both actors are very engaged in addressing external climate-related security risks, it does not answer whether they exercise a leadership role. Theoretical

Statues and monuments from previous centuries have gotten new political relevance as they have become targets of demonstrations and iconoclasm during Black Lives Matter protests throughout 2020. The aim of this paper is to examine how visibility is produced by the display of the statue of Edward Colston in Bristol, England (1895) in two different forums; the public and the museum. The forum of the

The aim of this thesis is to test too what degree two realist theories, defensive realism and offensive realism, can explain Russia's decision to invade Georgia in 2008. This has been done through taking four hypothetical explanations and testing to what degree these are consistent with empirical evidence. These explanations are based on the theories views on state behavior and interstate conf

This thesis sheds light on the complexities of climate change discourse by applying Foucauldian discourse analysis to the Canadian 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan. Through a six-step analysis process, the thesis intends to investigate the effects of discourse on the understanding of climate change and the consequences of constituting knowledge through discourse. The six-step process addresses discur

This paper utilizes MARPOR’s data between 1990–2021 and ordinary least squares regressions to investigates whether radical left parties have any influence on mainstream parties, if it differs between position and issue salience and whether their influence is contingent on issue. Three research questions are formulated to examine, with the help of both spatial and issue salience theory, whether the

As a result of Rasmus Paludan's planned burning of the Koran during the Easter weekend, several riots broke out in different parts of Sweden. Some party leaders condemned the violence but also linked the events to growing social exclusion in society. This study examines the changes within the discourse of the Moderates and the Social Democrats as regards the concept of social exclusion. Using

This paper addresses the implementation of the Regulation (EU) No 1143/2014 on Invasive Alien Species (IAS) with particular attention to issue salience. It uses the broad base of implementation research on directives, identifies key variables and applies them to the chosen regulation. To assess the implementation performance of Member States, a performance index is created based on Commission repo

The essay explores how the Sámi newspaper Samefolket in Sweden self-constitutes the global collective known as indigenous peoples, through a post-structuralist lens. It starts from the observation that the Swedish government primarily grants the Sámi its group rights as a minority and as reindeer herders, rather than as an indigenous population. Furthermore, when Sami activists in the early 1970s

This thesis is a study on Swedish development cooperation policy, aiming to understand the approach to environmental- and climate change issues between 2010-2021. By using a theoretical framework focused on climate justice combined with the method of discourse analysis, the analysis is guided by four questions regarding: climate injustices, solutions, actors, and nature. These questions are p

After the Swedish parliamentary election in 2014, votes of no confidence became considerably more frequent; While they used to occur once or twice per decade, after the 2014 election, six votes of no confidence occurred within seven years. The purpose of this study is to explain why this happened. Furthermore, it develops a new theory for explaining by combining two existing theoretical approaches

By examining previous research this paper develops three hypotheses to understand how political and economic uncertainty can affect interpersonal trust: (1) a negative linear covariation, (2) a positive linear covariation and (3) a curve linear covariation. Using the World Uncertainty Index as an operationalization for uncertainty and World Value Survey for interpersonal trust a regression model w