Increasing demand for water combined with the effects of climate change makes water scarcity a growing concern amplifying vulnerabilities for populations worldwide. One way to cope with the exacerbated vulnerabilities is to migrate. In fact, water scarcity is linked with a rise in internal migration rates in recent decades. However, water scarcity does not by itself lead to migration. Variations in migration as a response to water scarcity can exist, where some people migrate, and others stay. For instance, migration costs are often expensive. Thus, poorer individuals may be trapped in water-scarce areas, unable to migrate. This thesis explores the water-migration nexus in the most water-scarce region in the world, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, by examining what causes migration due to water scarcity. The thesis probes the hypothesis that migration due to water scarcity is more likely to occur in wealthier countries than in poorer countries. Therefore, the upper-middle-income country Iraq is compared to the lower-middle-income country Egypt to examine explanations for the variation in migration due to water scarcity in the MENA region. The two countries experience drastic declines in water availability per capita as a result of population growth, effects of climate change, and dependency on transboundary waters. Despite being similarly affected by water scarcity, variations of migration as a response exist within and between the countries. The findings from the comparative case study confirm the hypothesis to some extent, as water scarcity-induced migration is more prominent in the wealthier country Iraq than in the poorer country Egypt. The findings suggest that economic factors partly can explain the variation of migration (e.g., if moving costs are affordable and if migrating is the least costly option). However, alternative explanations for the difference may exist. For instance, overall migration dynamics within the countries, water governance, perception of welfare in the new location, and reliance on social networks or other coping strategies can amplify or mitigate migration. Most importantly, the thesis concludes that in order to achieve sustainable societies for all, growing attention and urgent action must be taken to improve the situation for rural populations in water-scarce areas to mitigate its adverse impacts on populations' livelihoods. / زيادة الحاجة على المياه بالإضافة الى أثار تغيير المناخ تجعل نقص المياه مصدر قلق متزايد مما يؤدي الى زيادة نقاط الضعف لدى السكان في جميع أنحاء العالم. إحدى طرق التعامل مع نقاط الضعف المتفاقمة هي الهجرة. في الواقع يرتبط نقص المياه بارتفاع معدلات الهجرة الداخلية في العقود الأخيرة. مع ذلك, هناك اختلافات في كيفية استجابة السكان لنقص المياه, حيث يهاجر بعض الناس بسبب نقص المياه, والبعض الآخر محاصر في مناطق نقص المياه. على سبيل المثال, غالبًا ما تكون تكاليف الهجرة باهظة الثمن. وبالتالي, قد يكون الأفراد الأكثر فقراً محاصرين في مناطق شحيحة المياه وغير قادرين على الهجرة. تستكشف هذه الرسالة العلاقة بين الهجرة ونقص المياه في أكثر المناطق تأثراً من نقص المياه في منطقة الشرق الأوسط وشمال إفريقيا. تبحث الأطروحة عن الفرضية القائلة بأن الهجرة بسبب نقص المياه من المرجح أن تحدث في البلدان الأكثر ثراءً من البلدان الأكثر فقراٌ. لذلك, تتم مقارنة الدولة ذات الدخل المتوسط الأعلى وهي العراق مع الدولة ذات الدخل المتوسط الأدنى وهي مصر لفحص تفسيرات الهجرة الداخلية و مشكلة السكان المحاصرين حيث تكون المياه شحيحة. تعاني البلدين من انخفاض حاد في توافر المياه للفرد بسبب النمو السكاني, وآثار تغير المناخ، والاعتماد على المياه العابرة للحدود. يتأثر كلا البلدين بالمثل في نقص المياه, ولكن تختلف أستراتيجية الهجرة بسبب نقص المياه داخل البلدين وفيما بينها. تؤكد نتائج دراسة الحالة المقارنة الفرضية إلى حدٍ ما, حيث أن الهجرة الناجمة عن نقص المياه هي الأكثر بروزًا في البلد الأغنى وهي العراق و البلد الأفقر وهي مصر. تشير النتائج إلى أن العوامل الاقتصادية يمكن أن تفسر جزئيًا تباين الهجرة (على سبيل المثال إذا كانت تكاليف النقل مستطاعة أو إذا كانت الهجرة هو الخيار الأقل تكلفة). ومع ذلك, قد توجد تفسيرات بديلة معقولة للاختلاف. على سبيل المثال, يمكن أن تؤدي ديناميكيات الهجرة الإجمالية داخل البلدين, وإدارة المياه, وتصور الرفاهية في الموقع الجديد, والإعتماد على الشبكات الاجتماعية أو استراتيجيات المواجهة الأخرى إلى تضخيم الهجرة أو تخفيفها. والأهم من ذلك, لخصت الأطروحة إلى أنه من أجل تحقيق مجتمعات مستدامة للجميع, يجب إتخاذ المزيد من الإهتمام و ردة فعل عاجلة على تحسين حالة سكان الريف في المناطق التي تعاني من شح المياه للتخفيف من آثارها السلبية على سبل العيش للسكان

Rethinking the possible borders of leadership, requires an investigative work which problematizes the principal assumptions upon which leadership discourse is built. From follower-centered approach, this research examines the relational factors that might accelerate the wheel of toxic behaviour in organizations, with a brief critique of the out- dated themes which continue to occupy fair amount of the discourse of leadership, this critique is based on problematizing the perspectives, commonly referred to, as The Romance of Leadership. after doing so, I try to create a counterweight body of work in which I disregard some of leaders domination by focusing on followers instead, consequently, I attempt to introduce possible breakthrough in term of language as an approach to replace old and depreciated terms, as well as, recommendations for countering the radical views toward followers. In addition, I did an empirical investigation to the abovementioned themes by conducting a study in my workplace in order to check the plausibility of the conceptualization I done before, through, and after the empirical phase of this thesis, finally, I presented some personal reflections in regard with the course of study and suggested some ideas concerning the methodology within which this research has functioned.

By shedding light on accounts from unaccompanied Afghan asylum-seeking minors in Sweden who were child soldiers in Syria, this thesis explores and examines their narratives and their involvement in the civil war in Syria. The research aims to create a deeper understanding of how these children themselves made sense of their participation in the war by answering the following questions: How were the children approached by the recruiters? What kind of reasons for joining the war are put forward by the recruiters and what strategies do the children encounter: a) economic; b) identity formation; c) social deprivation; d) feeling of vulnerability; e) militarization; f) mental development; g) ideology/ religious-sectarian; or all together? How do the children perceive these encounters and make sense of their recruitment to the Shiite Fatemiyoun Brigade? To which extent has the ideology of Shi’ism played an important role for them in joining the Syrian War? This is a qualitative study based on in-depth interviews which combines procedures from two approaches and techniques: an ethnographic approach and a narrative approach that explores the interviewees’ experiences in a period of time and also generates detailed insights. Despite the fact that none of the respondents testified for being recruited at gunpoint or having been ill-treated, the respondents emphasized that they were forced to join due to the bad circumstances they were living in. In addition, many similarities with other cases regarding child soldiering in several countries have been explored in this thesis, for instance factors related to the socio- economic context and the experiences that are related to the children’s development processes. Differences can be located in various details regarding ideologies and indoctrination since the respondents did not share the politico-religious purposes of the recruiters.