Emphasis of this thesis is to understand how historical and political myths can be used as a weapon in ethnopolitical conflicts. In order to examine this, the conflict between ethnic Serbs and Bosnian Muslims in the Bosnian war is used as an example, where the rhetoric’s of the Serbian aggressors are analysed through the methodology of an idea analysis. Through this analysis, the historical myth o

This thesis purpose aims to examine if organizational reforms, connected to the concept of New Public Management, have led to quality differences in elderly care at the sub-national level. Theories that form the basis of the research problem are based on information problems and rationality linked to economic aspects. The hypothesis suggests that profit-making actors overlook the quality of welfar

The Centre Party is one of the oldest political parties in Sweden that is still represented in the Swedish parliament. They are also currently the only party that originally developed from interest groups in the countryside. This paper focuses on the Centre Party’s church politics. The purpose of the paper is to find out how this agrarian party has shifted its’ policies regarding their church poli

On July 2018, for the first time in modern Mexican history, a leftist candidate won the presidential elections in Mexico. With large promises on the eradication of corruption and ending social injustice, Andrés Manuel López Obrador and his party secured both the presidency and both chambers of the Mexican Congress. This paper inquires into to what extent a president belonging to the political left

This thesis wishes to contribute to identifying potential discrepancies between the way the European Commission perceives the role of the EU within the international arena and the way the EU’s foreign policy materializes. To do so, it analyzes the reports of the European Commission on the implementation of the strongly criticized EU-Turkey Refugee Agreement. The analysis identifies several inconsi

The aim of this study was to analyse rural tourism as a tool for poverty reduction, by examining the role of the regulatory framework, including the public and the private sector; and how the participation in rural tourism activities shapes people’s livelihood outcomes in San Pedro de Colalao, Argentina. A case study was carried out, which sought to gain an in-depth understanding about people’s li

This qualitative research aims to address the impacts of China’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on Cambodian labor in the construction sector by choosing the Diamond Island, a hub of China’s real-estate investment in Phnom Penh, as a case study. Based on the interviews with 35 Cambodian construction workers and nine key informants from the government, private sector, international organizations,

It is not uncommon that states repress and oppress its citizens by exerting violence upon them. Sometimes this violence leads to cases where states abuse their power. This abuse can lead to terrible consequences which several historical and contemporary cases shows. When analyzing state violence, it ought to be put in the context of violence from non-state actors, which often eclipse the violence

This paper examines the work situation for people holding Mini-jobs in Germany in an attempt to evaluate the effects that marginal employment has on people’s lives. The study is quantitatively conducted and compares employees having Mini-jobs with people in full-time employment in order to explore differences in regards of work situation. Longitudinal panel data collected by the German Socio-Econo

Recently, conspiracy theories have gotten more attention for their potential role in the political arena. Although some claim that conspiracy theories serve important functions, they have been found to be connected to lower intents of political participation. With the rise of the internet they have also been connected to polarisation of attitudes. This paper makes use of the finding that conspirac

The shaping of public support is a matter of high importance for governments engaging in war. But what determines whether the public support for war is strong or weak? And how has different Danish governments succeeded in creating public support for warfare in modern times? This scientific research is a case study of the creation of public support for Danish warfare in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq

In 2017 Catalonia held a referendum for independence, after years with an increasingly pro-independence social and political climate. The shift in the nationalist discourse from devolution to secession and increasing support for independence inspired this thesis where the aim is to explore the dynamics behind the change from an identity perspective. With a framework of social identity theory and s

Despite the fact of being considered as one of the safest regions in the world, the EU reports a wide number of cases of human trafficking every year in its Member States. Moreover, free movement of persons that EU membership grants makes it easier for human trafficking criminals to transport and exploit victims within Member States. The country that has shown by far to have the largest number of

Since November of 2018, the city of Paris has undergone dramatic disruption over political conflict between The Yellow Vests (Gilets Jaunes) and the French government. The Yellow Vest-movement has managed to mobilize thousands of people on a weekly basis, initially protesting against tax reforms that was believed to be especially detrimental towards those economically vulnerable and/or of rural re

This essay examines the development of social trust among Swedish youth between the period of 1996-2016. Identifying a lack of research done in the area, targeting trust building of the particular age group, the study aims to cover parts of that gap. Anchored in the vast literature of social trust established in the recent decades, the study uses Robert Putnam’s theory of social capital and civic

Research on the implementation of EU policies at national level are well studied, while the implementation of EU policies at the local level are underrepresented in the research. In Swedish municipalities there are municipalities that have implemented the circular to a greater extent than other municipalities. This thesis therefore, seeks the answer to how implementation of the Circular Economy in

This paper will study the effect that consumption of news through social media has on individuals’ trust in the ruling party. The focus is African countries that are defined as having a dominant party system. The theory stipulates that consumption of social media should be an addition to models that investigate trust in parties in dominant party systems, and the hypothesis is that news consumption

This research seeks to contribute to the current gap between diplomatic theory and practice. By exploring how applicable the essential elements of diplomacy are to the Swedish regional representation offices and their policy advocacy in Brussels, the research serves a dual purpose. Firstly, to contribute to fill the vast gap between diplomatic theory and practice, and secondly, to in parallel pai

The commercialisation of smallholder agriculture is increasingly recognised as key to economic development and poverty alleviation. Interventions to promote commercialisation of smallholder agriculture in most cases adopt the farmer group approach as an efficient collective action initiative for enhancing marketing performance. Understanding how farmer groups’social structure and collective action

Women's Empowerment has long been a hot topic along with the increasing awareness of gender equality. However, women farmers in rural areas, especially those marginalized, have not received sufficient attention. The long-term sustainable development of the agriculture sector is essentially related to basic survival needs of human beings and thus, paying more attention to rural farming women