Abstract: The purpose with this study is to analyse the political debate about freedom of speech in Sweden and Denmark, after the caricatures of the Islamic Prophet Mohammed that the Danish newspaper Jyllandsposten published in September 2005. For this debate four political parties have been chosen. These are: Socialdemokratiska Partiet and Moderata Samlingspartiet in Sweden and Socialdemokraterne and Venstre in Denmark. An idea analysis has been chosen as method, and dimensions as an analysing tool. The overall result of the analysis is that right- and left political parties in Sweden and Denmark are more alike, than different in their political debate about free speech. They all wish for total freedom of speech, and see that as the foundation of the democratic society. The difference between the parties is that left parties put more weight on personal responsibility and minorities, than right parties that mostly debate about the meaning of democracy and why freedom of speech should not be restricted.

In 2022 Spain recorded its highest suicide rates in history. Spanish politicians acknowledge the need for solutions but fail to agree on adequate ones that could help decrease the current upward trend in suicides. The study aims to analyse practical argumentations advanced by politicians during the 2022 Parliamentary debate where the issue of suicide was addressed, to explore the place suicide has in the decision-making process, to investigate the reasons for and against concrete ways of acting regarding the issue, and to understand how these arguments align with current political ideologies. This will deepen the understanding of the political response to the suicide crisis. To achieve this aim, the research applies Isabela and Norman Fairclough’s Political Discourse Analysis framework. The findings show that suicide is not addressed as the public health crisis it constitutes, and it is overshadowed by political power dynamics where regional nationalistic ideologies play a big role.

The first accurate observations of street gangs in Finland were made by the police in 2021. Currently, the Police of Finland have identified 350 individuals who are involved in street gangs with 150 individuals having a central role in the gangs. The emergence of street gangs has led to intensified debate in relation to the issue. Discussion and debate have also emerged within the realm of politics, as violence by street gangs has been considered to be a threat to public safety. The aim of this study was to explore how the issue of street gangs is discussed in the debate by the Parliament of Finland. The material is from the years 2021 – 2023 and consists of written questions and oral questions by politicians, as well as an interpellation. The material from the Parliament was analyzed using thematic analysis to be able to identify central themes in the debate. The key findings are that the politicians in Finland acknowledge that the issue has escalated, and action must be taken to prevent further escalation. Causes of the problem as well as possible measures for the purpose of prevention are also discussed. Comprehensive welfare is considered to be the cornerstone of criminal policy in Finland, as it is expected to result in decreasing crime rates. Results of this study, however, indicate that the debate around street gangs in Finland is to some extent led by ideological perceptions. Polarization of the perception of "us" and "them" seems to be particularly prominent within parliamentary debate concerning street gangs in Finland.

Ce travail s’inscrit en sciences du langage, dans le champ de l’analyse du discours, et utilise les outils de l’analyse conversationnelle et interactionnelle. L’objectif est de montrer la corrélation entre l’objet d’étude – le dysfonctionnement interactionnel – et le genre du discours – le débat politique télévisé. Le corpus choisi est le débat de l’entredeuxtours de l’élection présidentielle de 2007, entre Ségolène Royal et Nicolas Sarkozy. La transcription intégrale de cette interaction permet de recenser l’ensemble des dysfonctionnements et de les classer. Il existe ainsi deux types de dysfonctionnement : les ratés du système des tours (interruption, chevauchement, silence prolongé entre deuxtours) et la non-pertinence de l'enchaînement (échange tronqué, seconde partie de paire non pertinente). Chacun de ces dysfonctionnements est étudié en fonction des visées auxquelles il obéit (coopérer, polémique, gérer l’interaction…), et par rapport à la stratégie globale à laquelle il participe. L’analyse précise de chaque catégorie de dysfonctionnement interactionnel permet de montrer les constantes et les spécificités de ces phénomènes discursifs. En outre, cette analyse porte sur la relation interpersonnelle et mobilise les notions de face et d’ethos, l’image des candidats locuteurs s’élaborantaussi au travers de ces dysfonctionnements. Plus largement, le but de cette étude est d’esquisser une cartographie des dysfonctionnements interactionnels pouvant servir de modèle à d’autres analyses. Les études futures pourront porter sur d’autres débats ou d’autres genres du discours, afin de mener une étude comparative, en utilisant les outils mis en évidence dans ce travail. / The second-round debate of presidential elections has been a significant event in French politics since 1974. The final TV debate of 2007, during which presidential candidates Ségolène Royal and Nicolas Sarkozy confronted each other, constitutes the corpus of the present study. The analysis focuses on turn-taking dysfunctions : interruption, overlapand problematic sequence. The aim of this study is to understand the function of these discursive devices in this TV political debate. First, the detailed transcription shows many turn-taking dysfunctions. Second, the analysis of the data reveals different types of interruption (intentional or not, with or without simultaneous speech, isolated or with others interruptions), different types of overlap (when two speakers begin together, when the current speaker continues speaking after the overlap or when he lets the next speaker talk) and different types of problematic sequence (when the next speaker does not answer at all or does not answer well to the first speaker). Third, each type is precisely examined. The discourse analysis demonstrates how the debater uses them to defend himself or to criticize the other person. Furthermore, as turn-taking dysfunctions are conversational insults, the discourse surrounding them is analysed as a way to save face and to build the discursive ethos. The results of this study may help the field of linguistics to understand the discursive strategies of politicians. More generally, it presents a model to analyse every type of turn-taking dysfunction. Future research might focus on other TV political debates and other discursive genres (interviews, TV programmes with politicians) so as to carry out a comparative analysis.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T20:23:04Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Daniela Jorge Milani.pdf: 1520868 bytes, checksum: c0a968beaa186ad6ff2ddc803fb24700 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-08-19 / O presente trabalho pretende elucidar as origens das relações entre o poder temporal e o espiritual, assim entendidos como Estado e Igreja genericamente. Deste modo, faz-se uma retrospectiva dessas relações, desde a época primitiva em que as sociedades eram clãs familiares nas quais a posição de chefe supremo se confundia com a de líder religioso, até os tempos modernos, passando pelas correntes racionalistas naturalistas até a situação atual, buscando esclarecer o real sentido do fenômeno da secularização e a consequente laicidade do Estado, que não deve ser confundida com laicismo ou antirreligiosidade. Deve ser entendida, na verdade, como pressuposto de uma relação de autonomia, independência e cooperação entre as instâncias administrativa e religiosa. Nota-se que, do ponto de vista da Igreja Católica, ao contrário do que se poderia pensar, o Estado deve ser laico, visto que, invariavelmente, as relações de interdependência acarretaram desmandos de parte a parte, desvirtuando o verdadeiro escopo de cada esfera de atuação. E mais, demonstra-se que, não obstante a promessa de irrestrita independência e autossuficiência da razão e a previsão de decadência e até de aniquilamento da fé, das mais radicais correntes iluministas do século XVIII, a pós-secularização se caracterizou pela persistência da religiosidade na sociedade, seja nas formas mais tradicionais ou de modo mais individualista. Neste cenário de laicidade e pós-secularização se questiona se haveria lugar para a religião no espaço público ou lhes caberia somente a atuação em seu mundo interior, privado, restrita aos seus templos e cultos? Haveria uma posição a assumir perante a sociedade e especialmente no debate político necessário ao jogo da democracia? Juntamente de Habermas, o filósofo alemão agnóstico, se conclui pela participação das religiões e suas cosmovisões particulares, não apenas para a necessária legitimidade do processo político democrático, que deve incluir a todos, mas pela abertura ao diálogo entre fé e saber, que são complementares um à outra, levando a sociedade a um progresso científico e tecnológico, sem abrir mão da ética e da moral, onde o ser humano é compreendido como a razão de ser do mundo e não como mero objeto de estudo e manipulação / O presente trabalho pretende elucidar as origens das relações entre o poder temporal e o espiritual, assim entendidos como Estado e Igreja genericamente. Deste modo, faz-se uma retrospectiva dessas relações, desde a época primitiva em que as sociedades eram clãs familiares nas quais a posição de chefe supremo se confundia com a de líder religioso, até os tempos modernos, passando pelas correntes racionalistas naturalistas até a situação atual, buscando esclarecer o real sentido do fenômeno da secularização e a consequente laicidade do Estado, que não deve ser confundida com laicismo ou antirreligiosidade. Deve ser entendida, na verdade, como pressuposto de uma relação de autonomia, independência e cooperação entre as instâncias administrativa e religiosa. Nota-se que, do ponto de vista da Igreja Católica, ao contrário do que se poderia pensar, o Estado deve ser laico, visto que, invariavelmente, as relações de interdependência acarretaram desmandos de parte a parte, desvirtuando o verdadeiro escopo de cada esfera de atuação. E mais, demonstra-se que, não obstante a promessa de irrestrita independência e autossuficiência da razão e a previsão de decadência e até de aniquilamento da fé, das mais radicais correntes iluministas do século XVIII, a pós-secularização se caracterizou pela persistência da religiosidade na sociedade, seja nas formas mais tradicionais ou de modo mais individualista. Neste cenário de laicidade e pós-secularização se questiona se haveria lugar para a religião no espaço público ou lhes caberia somente a atuação em seu mundo interior, privado, restrita aos seus templos e cultos? Haveria uma posição a assumir perante a sociedade e especialmente no debate político necessário ao jogo da democracia? Juntamente de Habermas, o filósofo alemão agnóstico, se conclui pela participação das religiões e suas cosmovisões particulares, não apenas para a necessária legitimidade do processo político democrático, que deve incluir a todos, mas pela abertura ao diálogo entre fé e saber, que são complementares um à outra, levando a sociedade a um progresso científico e tecnológico, sem abrir mão da ética e da moral, onde o ser humano é compreendido como a razão de ser do mundo e não como mero objeto de estudo e manipulação

This essay intends to discover how a qualitative discourse of right-wing populismcan be seen within the Swedish parliament, by exploring how politicians in theparliament are using the "us against them" and if a scapegoat is created by doing so.The essay's key questions are going to examine the differences and similaritiesbetween the Social democratic government from 2020-2022 and the current centerright government compared to the opposition parties, between social democrats andcenter-right government on right-wing populist discourse, and what the media isnotifying about the political debate within the government. By doing so, we can find out important explanatory factors on why the shift inpolitics in Sweden has gone to more right-wing populist rhetoric, to understand whythis has been occurring in the Swedish government. By looking at the factors of whya rise of right-wing populism has occurred within different types of governmentparties and the type of similarities and differences they have on different parties’discourse about the framing of anti-immigration rhetoric.

This thesis examines the Italian news reports, political debates and histories of the revolt in the Netherlands between 1566 and 1648. Many Italians were directly involved in this conflict and were keen narrators of these wars. Despite this, a systematic study of the Italian interest for the conflict has not yet been undertaken. This thesis argues that the complex political constellation of the Italian peninsula, dominated by the Habsburg monarchy, shaped the Italian news, debates and interpretations of the Dutch Revolt. Chapter one examines the different ways in which news from the Low Countries reached Italian states. It demonstrates that Italian military officers, active on the battlefield in the Netherlands in the Habsburg army, played a crucial role as purveyors of news and opinion on the conflict. The two following chapters study the circulation of political treatises on the Italian peninsula. Chapter two reconstructs the debates sparked by the events in the Low Countries between 1576 and 1577. Chapter three examines the descriptions of the emergence of a new state in the Northern Netherlands and the discourses on war and peace between 1590 and 1609. Chapter four looks into the development of a market for printed news pamphlets and explores the connections between manuscript and printed news. Chapter five studies how news was used by Italian history writers in their contemporary chronicles. It also investigates how these authors celebrated Italian protagonists in the war as Italian and Catholic heroes. The conclusion examines the evolution of all these Italian discourses related to Dutch Revolt.

This thesis investigate Swedish policy-making concerning promotion of wood gas and ethanol distilled from fermented sulphite lye as domestic fuel alternatives in the Interwar years and World War II. With a departure point in the theories of social constructions of technology (SCOT), the sociology of expectations and Thomas P. Hughe’s socio-technical systems I analyse the measures that were undertaken in these efforts, the arguments put forward for and against the ethanol and wood gas projects and how the efforts turned out. I also investigate how the interpretations of ethanol and wood gas as fuel alternatives changed from the Interwar period on through World War II and what consequences this had for ethanol and wood gas policy immediately after World War II. Source material includes Parliament and Government records, cabinet meeting files, governmental commissions, authority archives, technical evaluations and handbooks and scientific medical publications. Ethanol and wood gas were promoted from a nationalist vantage point. The Interwar debate was imbued with visions of national techno-scientific prowess in a perceived ongoing global contest for technological and scientific advancement, of which achieving autarky, self-sufficiency on important raw materials and industrial products, was an ideal for some. Ethanol and wood gas were also promoted as means for creating a lucrative new market for the forestry industry, which also held a prominent position in nationalist visions of technology. Expectations of a new war also motivated the promotion of ethanol and wood gas as national fuels. Measures for promotion included tax exemptions, sales guarantees and legislation for mandatory ethanol purchase for all petrol importing companies and gasifier loan funds. Political conflicts mainly centred around the principles of free trade as opposed to protectionism, proper use of tax funds and whether the potentials of the fuel alternatives were rhetorically exaggerated. During World War II ethanol and wood gas in particular served as important petrol surrogates. The increased wood gas use led to negative interpretations of wood gas a fuel alternative due to its hazardous, dirty and time-consuming maintenance and the changed driving behaviour it required from its users compared to petrol or ethanol fuelled automobiles. Compared to wood gas, ethanol was appreciated for its socio-technical similarities to petrol, but production was after the war deemed difficult to maintain during wartime. Whereas wood gas remained an important stand-by surrogate during the cold war, Swedish politicians lost interest in ethanol of the kind that was promoted in the Interwar years. / Fuel of the Future? A Research Programme on the Science, Technology and Selling of Biofuels in Sweden

This study examines high school students' experience of a political role play in social studies. The purpose of the thesis is to investigate which abilities role-playing games develop for students and through this contribute to the social studies didactic research of experience-based teaching that reflects reality. The ambition of the thesis is to understand whether the effects of role-playing as a teaching method for the learning of political skills are experienced as useful for their role as citizens. Through a digital survey, the students in this study answer questions about their perceived development of their political self-confidence, their political abilities and whether the role-play motivates effort, which in turn answers the question of whether political role-play in social studies is effective for students' self-governance in society. The result shows that the political role-play has beneficial effects for most of the surveyed students development of their political abilities. The students in the study feel that their political self-confidence has increased and that the teaching has benefited their understanding of dissenting views. The result also shows that large parts of the student group have made an effort, which shows that they experience the effects of the teaching as useful in their future role as citizens. / Denna studie undersöker gymnasieelevers upplevelse av ett politiskt rollspel i samhällskunskap. Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka vilka förmågor rollspel utvecklar för elever för att bidra till den samhällskunskapsdidaktiska forskningen av upplevelsebaserad undervisning som speglar verkligheten. Ambitionen för uppsatsen är att förstå om effekterna av rollspel som undervisningsmetod för lärandet av politiskt förmågor upplevs som nyttiga för sin roll som medborgare. Genom en digital enkät svarar eleverna i denna studie på frågor om sin upplevda kunskapsutveckling av sin politiskt självtillit, sina politiska förmågor och om rollspelet motiverar till ansträngning, som i sin tur ger svar på frågan om politiskt rollspel i samhällskunskap är effektfullt för elevers självstyrning i samhället. Resultatet visar att det politiska rollspelet har fördelaktiga effekter för de flesta av de tillfrågade eleverna i sin utveckling av politiska förmågor. Eleverna i studien upplever att deras politiska självtillit har ökat och att undervisningen har gynnat deras förståelse för oliktänkande åsikter. Resultatet visar även att stora delar av elevgruppen har ansträngt sig vilket visar att de upplever effekterna av undervisningen som nyttiga i sin framtida rollsom medborgare.