This thesis will examine and evaluate how post-colonial and universal key concepts reflects on The Universal Declaration of Human rights, the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, and the ASEAN Declaration on Human Rights in order to provide diverse understandings of the concept of rights. The purpose of the study is to examine and evaluate how some of the key concepts of post-colonialism and universalism are reflected in these three declarations. The research questions is “How do post-colonial and universal key concepts reflect on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, and the ASEAN Declaration on Human Rights?”. Through a qualitative content analysis on these three declaration, the study will employ the ideal type method to outline the ideal types of post-colonialism and universalism and then apply the three declarations on these the ideal and key concepts. According to my findings, some key concepts of post-colonialism and universalism are explicitly and implicitly reflected in the declarations, some more heavily than others. While some of the concepts are shared across all three declarations, they differ in others. The African charter and ASEAN declaration tend to be more post-colonial in its approach while the Universal declaration of human rights takes a more universalistic stance. Human rights play a significant geopolitical role. In its name, it has acted as a uniting force, not least with the Universal declaration of human rights. However, ironically, it has also served as justification for war, invasions and other crimes against humanity. As much as this thesis is about human rights, it is also about colonialism, moral doctrine, cultures and the question about who to define these concepts. I hope that this thesis gives the reader a better understanding of human rights in a more pluralistic sense. I do also hope that this can help us increase our tolerance towards each other as humans and bring us closer to a more consensus in how we understand rights.

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This thesis interacts with the cultural values and societal expectations behind Japan’s overtime work ethic, and attempts to examine whether a universal human rights perspective can interact with the deeply rooted Japanese cultures and values. This is done with the help of previously conducted research and semi-structured interviews, which then allows for a better understanding of why overtime work is deeply rooted within Japanese culture, and why the application of human rights due diligence at the workplace is difficult to obtain. A qualitative study of semi-structured interviews has been conducted with 12 ethnic Japanese participants. The findings showed several connections between the participant’s answers, such as overtime work being an unwritten rule, and an expectation as a service to the society, to the previously conducted research. Although overtime work may change and differ in ratio depending on which company you are working for, it still is prevalent within Japanese society as a norm.Whether this is a human rights concern was debatable, since some participants argued it to be a vital part of the Japanese commitment to society, while other participants believed that it becomes problematic when personal choice and opinions are shunned or overlooked. These in turn result in other consequences such as depression, isolation, and even death. The thesis concludes that universal human rights values may not always go hand in hand with cultural values, but may allow new light to be shed on a contested phenomenon.

Unitarian Universalism has arrived at an historic inflection point that calls it to an overarching purpose of helping to bring about the Beloved Community in the wider world while dismantling racism and other systemic oppressions in its members and institutions. For most UU congregations the former is a familiar goal that compels social justice work, but transforming themselves seems a bewildering and daunting goal. This mixed method study of six UU congregations and 50 of their leaders proposes a support structure for congregations on this journey to help them change their institutional leadership practices and foster spiritual vitality in all their members.

Women’s rights advocacy is as multifaceted and as intricate as women’s position in society. Their fundamental human rights are frequently challenged in the name of religion and culture. In this paper I explore how women’s rights advocates are seeking to find footing between endorsing sovereignty and religious rights within today’s multicultural societies within the theories of universalism and cultural relativism. For many, it is out of the question to separate religious- and women’s rights, therefore navigating between the two, and hence, the two theoretical standpoints become a fundamental principle for those who work within that space. Through qualitative semi-structured interviews, this thesis analyses the main navigational strategies and negotiations of the global movement Musawah to further explore the tensions of the two theories and ways in which to work within them. Musawah is a global movement for justice and peace initiated by the Malaysian based organization Sisters in Islam (SIS). It aims to promote an egalitarian Islam, with a focus on women’s rights within the Global South, by reforming Muslim family law and advocating for Islamic feminist voices. This research paper identifies the challenges and navigational strategies of Musawah’s advocacy within both a Muslim and non- Muslim context. It also aims to pinpoint the theories’ main influence within the challenges and strategies of Musawah’s work. I conclude that their advocacy is influenced by both theories as their knowledge-building is founded on a universalist standpoint, and its distribution is based on a cultural relativist stance.

The aim of this thesis is to explore how young adults from ethnic minority backgrounds experience social citizenship and social participation. How do they understand their social rights and duties? What are the possibilities and obstacles for their social participation? Based on the background of different studies in Sweden, that usually focus on conditions in bigger cities, this study discusses social citizenship among ethnic minority youth in the context of a middle-sized Swedish town. In contrast to research on ethnicity and youth in Sweden, that discuss social problems and social exclusion in terms of the deficient cultural, linguistic and social competence of the individuals, this study focuses on different kinds of resources and experiences of agency among young people from migrant backgrounds. Their experiences of active social citizenship and social participation fill also a gap in the contemporary research from the perspective of social inclusion. The theoretical framework is based on the concept of social citizenship as discussed by T. H. Marshall (1950), T. Bottomore (1992) and inspired by research on the subjective dimension of social citizenship conducted by R. Lister (1997, 2003, 2007). In order to grasp the subjective dimension of social citizenship, this thesis deals with differentiated expressions of universal social citizenship in terms of agency and participation in different areas of social life. Using a qualitative approach, seventeen people have been interviewed. The interviews have been analysed from an intersectional perspective where gender, age, marital status and longevity in Sweden appear to be concurrent categories. The results point towards tendencies of enclavisation among these young adults usually articulating experience of weak social bonding in relation to the Swedish majority population. Some informants refer to their expectations of living in bigger cities or a third country, and have plans to move as a strategy for better, more integrated and less discriminated conditions of future life. In sum, the central expectations of the interviewees on the improvement of their social citizenship conditions are the following: They want to be active citizens and are willing to contribute to the development of a more inclusive Swedish society. This thesis contributes to our current understanding of how young adults from ethnic minority backgrounds, experience social citizenship and social participation within the areas of: housing, education, labour-market, leisure and policy. / Denna rapport handlar om hur unga kvinnor och män med utländsk bakgrund i en medelstor svensk stad upplever social delaktighet. I fokus står vardagslivets sociala medborgarskap och hur människor förstår sina sociala rättigheter och skyldigheter och på vilket sätt detta påverkar deras medverkan i samhällslivet. Rapporten visar att de unga kvinnorna och männen har engagemang och uttrycker ansvarskänsla och vilja till social delaktighet i det svenska samhället. Samtidig upplever de inte alltid ett fullvärdigt socialt medborgarskap på grund av etnisk diskriminering. Helene Jacobson Pettersson är doktorand i socialt arbete vid Institutionen för vårdvetenskap och socialt arbete, Växjö universitet. Hon är anställd som universitetsadjunkt i socialt arbete vid Högskolan i Kalmar. Detta är hennes licentiatavhandling.

<p>I denna studie analyseras Folkpartiet liberalernas integrationspolitik utifrån deras motion Egenmakt, arbete och jämlikhet – Liberal integrationspolitik. Fokus ligger på hur de behandlar utanförskapet och de människor som anses leva i utanförskap. En brännpunkt när utanförskap diskuteras är etnicitet varför detta också ligger i denna undersöknings centrum. Vidare ligger intresset på hur deras liberala ståndpunkter i motionen kommer till uttryck.</p><p>I analysen av det empiriska materialet använder jag mig av kritisk diskursanalys för att metoden inte uppfattar sig själv som politiskt neutral och är politiskt engagerad i social förändring, vilket jag finner väsentligt i en undersökning av ett politiskt dokument som säger sig eftersträva lika rättigheter och lika möjligheter och som riktar sig till alla människor som lever i utanförskap. För att analysera de liberala ideologiska ståndpunkterna i motionen använder jag mig även av kritisk ideologianalys. Båda dessa metoder fokuserar på maktfrågor.</p><p>De teoretiska utgångspunkter som ligger till grund för studien är socialkonstruktionism och postkoloniala studier. Socialkonstruktionismen innebär ett förhållningssätt till exempelvis etniciteter och kulturer som sociala konstruktioner skapade i interaktion människor emellan och vidare att samhällets påverkan är avgörande i konstruktionen av dessa kategorier. Postkoloniala studier utgår från att kolonialismens historiska processer fortfarande präglar världen och ävenledes synen på människor med annan etnicitet eller kulturell bakgrund än den vita västerländska bakgrunden.</p><p>Det som jag anser visa sig tydligast, och som är den viktigaste slutsatsen i min undersökning, är Folkpartiet liberalernas ignorerande av det individualistiska perspektivet i diskussionerna kring utanförskap, kultur och etnicitet. Den individuella dynamiken och samhälleliga mångfalden som är fundamental i liberalismens ideologi får i folkpartiets naturalistiska kulturkonstruktioner inget utrymme.</p>

I denna studie analyseras Folkpartiet liberalernas integrationspolitik utifrån deras motion Egenmakt, arbete och jämlikhet – Liberal integrationspolitik. Fokus ligger på hur de behandlar utanförskapet och de människor som anses leva i utanförskap. En brännpunkt när utanförskap diskuteras är etnicitet varför detta också ligger i denna undersöknings centrum. Vidare ligger intresset på hur deras liberala ståndpunkter i motionen kommer till uttryck. I analysen av det empiriska materialet använder jag mig av kritisk diskursanalys för att metoden inte uppfattar sig själv som politiskt neutral och är politiskt engagerad i social förändring, vilket jag finner väsentligt i en undersökning av ett politiskt dokument som säger sig eftersträva lika rättigheter och lika möjligheter och som riktar sig till alla människor som lever i utanförskap. För att analysera de liberala ideologiska ståndpunkterna i motionen använder jag mig även av kritisk ideologianalys. Båda dessa metoder fokuserar på maktfrågor. De teoretiska utgångspunkter som ligger till grund för studien är socialkonstruktionism och postkoloniala studier. Socialkonstruktionismen innebär ett förhållningssätt till exempelvis etniciteter och kulturer som sociala konstruktioner skapade i interaktion människor emellan och vidare att samhällets påverkan är avgörande i konstruktionen av dessa kategorier. Postkoloniala studier utgår från att kolonialismens historiska processer fortfarande präglar världen och ävenledes synen på människor med annan etnicitet eller kulturell bakgrund än den vita västerländska bakgrunden. Det som jag anser visa sig tydligast, och som är den viktigaste slutsatsen i min undersökning, är Folkpartiet liberalernas ignorerande av det individualistiska perspektivet i diskussionerna kring utanförskap, kultur och etnicitet. Den individuella dynamiken och samhälleliga mångfalden som är fundamental i liberalismens ideologi får i folkpartiets naturalistiska kulturkonstruktioner inget utrymme.

<p>The aim of this thesis is to explore how young adults from ethnic minority backgrounds experience social citizenship and social participation. How do they understand their social rights and duties? What are the possibilities and obstacles for their social participation? Based on the background of different studies in Sweden, that usually focus on conditions in bigger cities, this study discusses social citizenship among ethnic minority youth in the context of a middle-sized Swedish town. In contrast to research on ethnicity and youth in Sweden, that discuss social problems and social exclusion in terms of the deficient cultural, linguistic and social competence of the individuals, this study focuses on different kinds of resources and experiences of agency among young people from migrant backgrounds. Their experiences of active social citizenship and social participation fill also a gap in the contemporary research from the perspective of social inclusion. The theoretical framework is based on the concept of social citizenship as discussed by T. H. Marshall (1950), T. Bottomore (1992) and inspired by research on the subjective dimension of social citizenship conducted by R. Lister (1997, 2003, 2007). In order to grasp the subjective dimension of social citizenship, this thesis deals with differentiated expressions of universal social citizenship in terms of agency and participation in different areas of social life. Using a qualitative approach, seventeen people have been interviewed. The interviews have been analysed from an intersectional perspective where gender, age, marital status and longevity in Sweden appear to be concurrent categories. The results point towards tendencies of enclavisation among these young adults usually articulating experience of weak social bonding in relation to the Swedish majority population. Some informants refer to their expectations of living in bigger cities or a third country, and have plans to move as a strategy for better, more integrated and less discriminated conditions of future life. In sum, the central expectations of the interviewees on the improvement of their social citizenship conditions are the following: They want to be active citizens and are willing to contribute to the development of a more inclusive Swedish society. This thesis contributes to our current understanding of how young adults from ethnic minority backgrounds, experience social citizenship and social participation within the areas of: housing, education, labour-market, leisure and policy.</p> / <p>Denna rapport handlar om hur unga kvinnor och män med utländsk bakgrund i en medelstor svensk stad upplever social delaktighet. I fokus står vardagslivets sociala medborgarskap och hur människor förstår sina sociala rättigheter och skyldigheter och på vilket sätt detta påverkar deras medverkan i samhällslivet. Rapporten visar att de unga kvinnorna och männen har engagemang och uttrycker ansvarskänsla och vilja till social delaktighet i det svenska samhället. Samtidig upplever de inte alltid ett fullvärdigt socialt medborgarskap på grund av etnisk diskriminering. Helene Jacobson Pettersson är doktorand i socialt arbete vid Institutionen för vårdvetenskap och socialt arbete, Växjö universitet. Hon är anställd som universitetsadjunkt i socialt arbete vid Högskolan i Kalmar. Detta är hennes licentiatavhandling.</p>

This thesis uses a philosophical discussion to explore the tensions that result in the meeting between universal claims and particular contexts regarding human rights and how these tensions can be mediated by exploring the right to religious freedom. In order to do this, two approaches will be studied, one liberal and one postcolonial, represented by Martha Nussbaum and Saba Mahmood respectively. In comparing the approaches of Nussbaum and Mahmood, their arguments and positions become clearer, but also the nuances of the debate between universalism and contextualism. The right to religious freedom, with its many tensions between theory and practice, has been useful in exploring what values are at stake when we talk about human rights in general and how we can think about the apparent tension between universalism and contextual sensitivity. The thesis thus shows that there are more similarities between these two approaches than it may first seem and that they are not incompatible. This is argued to provide insight into possible ways of mediating human rights between theory and practice. / Denna uppsats utgår från en filosofisk diskussion kring spänningen mellan universella anspråk och specifika sammanhang när det kommer till mänskliga rättigheter och hur dessa spänningar kan medlas utifrån en undersökning av religionsfriheten. För att åstadkomma studeras två inriktningar, den ena liberal och den andra postkolonial. Dessa inriktningar representeras av Martha Nussbaum respektive Saba Mahmood. I och med en jämförande analys mellan dessa två inriktningar är förhoppningen att deras likheter och skillnader blir tydligare, samt att nyanserna inom debatten mellan universalism och kontextualism blir tydligare. Det finns många spänningar mellan teori och praktik när det kommer till rätten till religionsfrihet och just denna rättighet är på så sätt användbar för att utforska spänningen mellan universalism och kontextualism när det kommer till mänskliga rättigheter. Denna uppsats visar därmed att det finns flera likheter mellan dessa inriktningar och att de därför inte kan anses vara oförenliga med varandra. Detta för med sig en insikt i möjligheter till att medla mänskliga rättigheter mellan teori och praktik.