Corruption, militarism, and conflict are bedfellows, and their coexistence feeds a vicious circle of violence and instability. Every dollar spent on the military is a dollar not spent on welfare-generating services such as education and healthcare. Yet, military spending makes up a bulk of government spending in several countries, and it is often shrouded from public purview. Rent-seeking behavior fostered within corrupt practices incentivize public officials to accept bribes from military suppliers, while the secrecy surrounding defense procurements allows them to act with perceived impunity. In this paper, I conduct a quantitative study using panel data from 175 countries from 2000 to 2020 to argue that corruption causes a distortion in public expenditure distribution by diverting valuable resources from social spending to military spending. Highly corrupt countries tend to spend a higher percentage of their GDP on the military, freeing up less of the finite resources for investment in education and healthcare. I find that corruption drives up military spending causing a crowding out of social spending.

Im Rahmen der Gemeinsamen Agrarpolitik der Europäischen Union wurden Agrarumweltprogramme (AES) entwickelt, um die durch die Landwirtschaft verursachte Zerstörung der natürlichen Umwelt zu bekämpfen. Um die ökologische Wirksamkeit der Systeme zu verbessern, wird ein kollektiver Ansatz empfohlen, der sich auf eine Landschaft statt auf eine einzelne Betriebsebene konzentriert. Dieser Ansatz wird in ganz Europa selten angewendet, außer in den Niederlanden, wo seit 2016 alle AES gemeinsam realisiert werden müssen. Da die Teilnahme an den Programmen freiwillig ist, ist es von entscheidender Bedeutung, die Motivation der Landwirte zu verstehen, sich anzuschließen, da die Annahme und Umsetzung von Maßnahmen eine Voraussetzung für die Erreichung ist irgendwelche Effekte. Ziel dieser Studie ist es daher, die Motivation niederländischer Landwirte zur Teilnahme an kollektiven AES zu untersuchen und die wichtigsten Vor- und Nachteile des Programms herauszufinden, die von den Landwirten wahrgenommen werden. Eine Q-Studie mit 15 Landwirten aus sechs Provinzen zeigt drei vorherrschende Motivationsansichten: eine kollektivorientierte, eine wirtschaftsorientierte und eine umweltorientierte Perspektive. Alle Bauern eint ihre Zuneigung und Sorge für die Natur, die von unterschiedlichem Problembewusstsein und Kollektivzugehörigkeit begleitet wird. Finanzieller Ausgleich wird von allen als wichtig erachtet, jedoch eher als notwendiges Mittel, um notwendige Änderungen in der landwirtschaftlichen Praxis zu ermöglichen, denn als zusätzliche Einnahmequelle. Während die niederländischen Regelungen noch weiter verbessert werden können, um mehr Flexibilität, eine bessere Integration des Wissens der Landwirte und eine bessere Kommunikation zu ermöglichen, weisen alle Landwirte viele Vorbehalte im Zusammenhang mit kollektiven Maßnahmen zurück, was darauf hindeutet, dass der niederländische Ansatz über die nationalen Grenzen hinaus gefördert werden könnte. / Within the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy, agri-environment schemes (AES) have been designed to address the degradation of the natural environment caused by agriculture. To improve the schemes’ ecological effectiveness, a collective approach focusing on a landscape instead of a single farm level is recommended. This approach is rarely applied across Europe except for the Netherlands, where all AES have to be realised collectively since 2016. As participation in the schemes is voluntary, understanding farmers’ motivation to join is crucial since the uptake and implementation of measures is prerequisite for achieving any effects. Hence, the aim of this study is to explore Dutch farmers’ motivation to participate in collective AES and to find out about the scheme’s main advantages and disadvantages perceived by the farmers. A Q study with 15 farmers from six provinces shows three dominant motivational views: a collective-oriented, a business-oriented and an environment-oriented perspective. All farmers unites their affection and care for nature, which is accompanied by different levels of problem awareness and affiliation to the collective. Financial compensation is deemed important by all, yet rather as necessary mean to enable required changes in farming practices than as additional source of revenue. While the Dutch schemes can still be further improved to allow for more flexibility, a better integration of the farmers’ knowledge and enhanced communication, all farmers dismiss many caveats related to collective action, indicating a potential to promote the Dutch approach beyond national borders.

Ce mémoire analyse la participation des femmes au nationalisme hindou associé au hindutva à travers la perspective de l’action collective, et ce, durant le premier mandat du très charismatique et nationaliste Premier ministre de l’Inde, Narendra Modi (2014–2019). Plus spécifiquement, il s’agit de cerner le narratif mobilisé se matérialisant en actions concrètes par les organisations féminines de la société civile du hindutva les plus importantes, la Rashtra Sevika Samiti et la Durga Vahini. Une analyse de cadrage médiatique permet de recenser les cadres de l’action collective qui sont fondés sur des conceptions socialement construites de la féminité et mobilisés par ces organisations féminines du hindutva. En plus de démontrer la forte prévalence du cadre féminin de la victime, suivis de près par celui de la mère et, finalement, celui de la guerrière, les résultats obtenus démontrent la mobilisation simultanée d’un cadre de compréhension global, le cadre cardinal du hindutva, véhiculant une hindouïté basée sur l’adéquation entre la religion et la nation hindoue. La prédominance des campagnes contre le love jihad et de leur narratif conspirationniste anti-musulman est attribuée au nouvel alignement de cadres issu de la structure d’opportunité politique que représente l’élection majoritaire du BJP. Avec l’élection de Narendra Modi, le parti nationaliste de droite qu’est le BJP solidifie ses positions néolibérales et mobilise un narratif faisant la promotion de l’empowerment féminin. Ces alliances s’inscrivent dans la montée du fémonationalisme, néologisme pouvant être attribué aux idéaux féministes et nationalistes associés à des discours et des politiques xénophobes et, plus particulièrement, anti-musulmans. / This thesis analyzes women’s participation in Hindu nationalism associated to the hindutva ideology through the perspective of collective action, during the first term of the charismatic and nationalist Prime minister of India, Narendra Modi (2014–2019). More specifically, it seeks to identify the narrative being mobilized and materialized in concrete actions by the most important female hindutva civil society organizations, the Rashtra Sevika Samiti and the Durga Vahini. A media framing analysis identified the collective action frames based on socially constructed conceptions of femininity and mobilized by these feminine organizations of the hindutva. In addition to demonstrating the high prevalence of the feminine victim frame, closely followed by that of the mother and, finally, that of the warrior, the results demonstrate the simultaneous mobilization of a global framework of understanding, the hindutva master frame, conveying a Hinduism based on the adequacy between religion and the Hindu nation. The predominance of anti love jihad campaigns and their conspiratorial anti-Muslim narrative is attributed to the new frame alignment emerging from the political opportunity structure represented by the majority election of the BJP. With the election of Narendra Modi, the BJP right-wing nationalist party solidifies its neoliberal positions and mobilizes a narrative promoting female empowerment. These alliances are part of the rise of femonationalism, neologism that can be attributed to feminist and nationalist ideals associated with xenophobic and, more specifically, anti-Muslim discourses and policies.

The study “The Mobilization of Civil Disobedience” intends to shed light on how environmental movements frame climate change issues, present solutions and mobilize climate action through their communication on the social media platform Instagram. This study will examine the case of Återställ våtmarker (Restore wetlands), a Swedish movement known for its civil disobedience protests. The study’s theoretical framework consists of Collective action frames, Core framing tasks, and Emotional frames. The qualitative content analysis method is used to analyze the content together with the multimodal analysis tools of modality, lexical choices, denotation, and connotation to analyze both textual and visual modes.   The analysis showed that the organization makes a unique case by communicating strong emotions and opinions through its Instagram content. The main issue is explained as excavated wetlands that produce huge amounts of anthropogenic greenhouse gases. The cause of the issue was claimed to be the lack of action from the Swedish government, and they are also argued to be responsible for restoring the wetlands and saving the climate. However, the organization strongly emphasizes the Swedish citizens' democratic and civil responsibility to fight climate change and engage in protests. Occasionally, the organization even blames individual citizens for not prioritizing climate change or saving their children’s futures. The motivational reasons to act are made by an apocalyptic doom narrative, where the climate crisis is explained as urgent and as an ongoing catastrophe or a future “climate hell”. Despite the presence of moral emotions, such as guilt and shame, the organization sometimes offers a more hopeful motivational framing that citizens' collective action is a powerful and successful way to pressure politicians to act.

På flera platser kan ett centrum vara den enda naturliga mötesplatsen i ett bostadsområde. Det är därför av stor vikt att centrumet känns tryggt och inkluderande, men ofta är fallet det motsatta. En undersökning från Stockholms stad visar att centrumen ofta uppfattas som den mest otrygga platsen i ett bostadsområde, men även det viktigaste för de boende. Detta bidrar till att de boende går miste om denna mötesplats och de aktiviteter som platsen kan erbjuda. Centrumens utveckling är beroende av fastighetsägaren men de har inte alltid ambitionen eller möjligheterna att utveckla centrumfastigheterna till sin fulla potential. Studien syftar främst till att utreda vilka som är de främsta funktionerna med en centrumverksamhet i ett bostadsområde men även vilket syfte centrumet tjänar för lokalbefolkningen. Arbetet avser även att utreda vilka aspekter i en centrumverksamhet som är viktigast för besökarens upplevelse av trygghet. Fastighetsägarföreningens arbete grundar sig till stor del på trygghetsfrågor inom ett geografiskt begränsat område. På vilket sätt dessa föreningar kan påverka utvecklingen av centrum, och på så sätt området i stort, är ännu en aspekt som studerats i arbetet. Genom intervjuer och studiens teori- och litteraturgenomgång är förhoppningen att kunna ta fram de mest värdefulla åtgärderna och verktygen för att öka tryggheten i de lokala centrumen. För att exemplifiera hur arbetet kring centrum kan se ut i praktiken har två studieområden undersökts, Vårbergs centrum och Gottsunda Centrum. Dessa har valts då de har haft olika tillvägagångssätt i sin förvaltning av deras centrum.  Studien resulterar i att centrumverksamheter i ett bostadsområde är viktiga för den upplevda tryggheten i området. Det är en plats som bland annat ska bidra med service, mötesplatser och aktiviteter för de boende. Viktiga aspekter är den fysiska utformningen och att det är rent och snyggt på platsen. Fastighetsägarföreningar visade sig inte ha något mandat att ställa krav på centrumverksamheten i det område de verkar i, oavsett om de är medlemmar i föreningen eller inte. De kan däremot bistå med värdefull kunskap och expertis som kan användas i det gemensamma arbetet för trygghet. / In some residential areas a shopping center can be the only natural meeting place. Therefore, it is of great importance that this place feels safe and inclusive, but that is not always the case. A survey made by the City of Stockholm shows that the shopping center is often perceived as the most unsafe place in a residential area, but also the most important for the residents. This contributes to the residents losing an important meeting place and the activities that such a place can offer. The center's development is dependent on its property owner, but they do not always have the ambition or the opportunities to develop the center properties to their full potential. The study primarily aims to investigate which the main functions of a shopping center in a residential area are, but also what purpose the center serves for the local population. The work also aims to investigate which aspects of a center's operations that are most important for the visitor's perceived safety. The property owners' association's work is largely based on safety issues within a geographically limited area. In what way these associations can influence the development of the center, and the area in general, is another angle that is studied in this study. Through interviews, the study's theoretical background and literature review, the hope is to be able to produce the best measures and tools to increase safety in the local centers. To exemplify how work with shopping centers can look like in practice, two study areas have been examined, Vårberg Centrum and Gottsunda Centrum. These have been chosen due to the owners’ different approaches in management of their shopping centers. The study concluded that the shopping center in a residential area is important for the perceived safety in the area. It is a place that, among other things, will contribute with service, meeting places and activities for the residents. Important aspects are the environmental design and that it is clean and neat. Property owners' associations were found to have no mandate to set demands on the shopping center in the area in which they operate, regardless of whether they are members of the association or not. On the other hand, they can assist with valuable knowledge and expertise that can be used in collaborative work towards safety.

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The Basque conflict has waged since the 1950s in its current form. However, with the arrival of democracy 36 years ago, the Basque Country has been the scene of an intense peace mobilization, dominated by two peace organizations: Gesto por la Paz, a group of community organizations that mobilize to publicly reject political violence, and Lokarri/Elkarri, an organization that includes a conflict resolution proposal based on dialogue between conflicting parties. While there is some literature on these organizations, none has analysed their extraordinary impact on Basque society. This research explores how the Basque peace movement has impacted on the social and political culture of the Basque conflict. It seeks to understand the nature of this impact and to determine the channels and methods by which it was achieved, using frame analysis. Three interlinked questions serve to guide the research, asking first if there is a Basque Peace Frame and if it could be considered a master frame, how this Basque Peace Frame has evolved, and, finally, how the Basque Peace Frame has impacted on other Basque Civil Society Organizations related to the conflict. This qualitative research spans the period between the March 2006 declaration of ceasefire by ETA and the end of fieldwork for this research in September 2008. The research includes 18 in depth interviews, written media, and analysis of seven notable Basque social organizations related to the conflict, in addition to the two peace organizations mentioned above. The research found the impact of the Basque peace movement in the Basque Country is significant and rich. The Basque Peace Frame developed based on the rejection of the use of violence as a political tool and identifies that violence as the main barrier to achieving an inclusive conflict resolution. The Basque peace movement organizations developed a specific kind of mobilization to enforce the Basque Peace Frame based on silent and symbolic acts. The objective was to counter the former dynamics of mobilization that were contentious and directed to promote Basque national rights. The Basque Peace Frame proposed a change in the way the political collective identity was constructed in the Basque Country, showing that an association between nationalism and violence is not obligatory. The Basque Peace Frame has evolved and spread between social organizations in the Basque Country, using sympathetic identity networks as the main channel of frame diffusion. Even organizations that did not reject the use of contentious methods of protest are now questioning the use of violence, signifying exciting prospects for the future of non-violent political action in the Basque Country. / La Fundacion La Caixa. Consejeria de Educación Universidades e Investigación of the Basque Country Government.

It has long been established that women play unique roles within schools, volunteerism, and school-based community work (Griffith and Smith 2005; Calarco 2020; Lewis and Diamond 2015; Posey-Maddox 2014). Additionally, research suggests that the work done surrounding the institution of education primarily falls on mothers (Griffith and Smith 2005; Haley-Lock and Posey-Maddox 2016; Lareau 2000; Lareau 2011). However, little research has been done that explores how gender dynamics play out in education activism that lies outside of schools. This study seeks to understand how women view gendered expectations of mothering work in regard to education and if/how they perceive that work in relation to their political activism. This study aids in better understanding how activists perceive the roots of their activist work and provide insights about political activism surrounding education. As activism surrounding education can greatly contribute to achieving a more just and equitable society, this work is crucial for scholarship seeking to understand the activists attempting to change our education system.

社區意識與管理制度是促成公寓大廈管理維護集體行動的兩種途徑，前者可提升鄰里情誼與環境認同，後者可促使居住品質維持一定水準，兩者對於管理維護表現也都有所影響。透過管理維護主、客觀表現之衡量，社區意識與管理制度對於住宅管理維護有何影響？結合主、客觀二者來看，真正好的管理維護其意涵為何？較佳的管理維護表現組合（主觀滿意度高、客觀績效表現亦好）會受到哪些因素影響？乃本文所關注之焦點。 實證結果發現，社區意識與委外管理程度對於管理維護的主、客觀表現皆有正面的影響，而委外程度的重要性又稍大於社區意識，顯示在促成公寓大廈管理維護的集體行動時，制度途徑（管理制度）的效果比社會途徑（社區意識）來得好一些。此隱含著公寓大廈管理維護不但需要社區內部凝聚共識，也需要建立適宜的管理制度，此可透過專業管理公司或廠商人員給予協助，促使公寓大廈管理維護能確保一定品質。 此外，真正好的管理維護應該是「住家環境非常安全、舒適，住戶也感到很滿意」，透過實證分析可知，社區戶數愈多、屋齡愈新、決議事項執行效率愈好、社區意識凝聚情形愈佳、委外程度愈高，管理維護表現出現「較佳組合」的機率會比「較差組合」來得大。