This thesis aims to illustrate how civil society organizations reflect on and communicate for societal change. The aim is also to broaden the understanding of how norms and logics on social media platforms characterize communication and the discourse about social engagement. With a basis in discourse theory, the particular focus of the study is on identifying discursive themes, and conflicts that exist within these themes. The analysis draws upon critical theories about the power position and technical affordance of social media platforms, as well as perspectives on the political subject - individually and collectively. The analysis is based on in-depth interviews with representatives from six environmental organizations, two of which are newer network-based movements. The results show discursive nodal points such as autonomous, individual-based and political.  These partly gain their meaning through social media and technical affordances, which enable lower engagement thresholds, which in turn challenge the organizations’ ideas about long-term engagement. Political engagement is largely associated with online engagement, via social media, at the same time an opposite relationship shows that screen time takes focus from deepened or physical engagement. The results also show that organizations are aware of the power of social media platforms, where hidden algorithms and commercial logic contrast with the organizations’ visions, while at the same time the platforms play an important role for the organizations’ communication.

I den här uppsatsen utforskas en jämställdhetsdiskurs i en kommunal översiktsplan. Den studerade kommunen är Kiruna kommun i Norrbottens län. Syftet med uppsatsen är att med ett intersektionellt perspektiv analysera hur en jämställdhetsdiskurs kan skapas i en kommunal översiktsplan samt att diskutera hur detta kan bidra till att (re)producera makt-, över- och underordningar i samhället. Syftet uppfylls med hjälp av tre frågeställningar: Vilka förbindelser mellan sociala kategoriseringar och planeringsområden kan identifieras i jämställdhetsdiskursen? Vad karaktäriserar de förbindelser som kan identifieras i jämställdhetsdiskursen? Hur kan dessa förbindelser förstås utifrån ett intersektionellt maktperspektiv? I uppsatsen görs en diskursanalys med utgångspunkt i Laclau och Mouffes diskursteoretiska begrepp diskurs, artikulation, moment, nodalpunkt, det diskursiva fältet, element, flytande signifikanter och ekvivalenskedjor. Analysen visar på komplexa relationer mellan olika sociala kategoriseringar av individer och olika planeringsområden i översiktsplanen samt hur och vilka betydelser dessa fyller jämställdhetsdiskursen samt begreppet jämställdhet med. Det diskursteoretiska ramverket bidrar till att skapa förståelse för dessa komplexa relationer genom att ekvivalenskedjor kan formuleras och att jämställdhetsdiskursens form och innehåll därmed kan analyseras. Analysen behandlar också vilka element som får sin slutliga betydelse i översiktsplanen och varför samt hur förbindelserna mellan sociala kategoriseringar och planeringsområden sker. Analysen och diskussionen visar vidare, genom några exempel, på relevansen av intersektionella analytiska ansatser samt hur jämställdhetsdiskursen skulle kunna (re)producera maktrelationer i det samhälle där diskursen rör sig och hur detta kan bidra till att vissa (grupper av) människor privilegieras medan andra exkluderas. / In this degree project a gender equality discourse is explored in a comprehensive plan adopted in the Swedish municipality of Kiruna, located in Norrbotten county. The purpose of this degree project is to, with an intersectional approach, analyse how a gender equality discourse could originate in a comprehensive plan and subsequently discuss how the gender equality discourse could contribute to the (re)production of relations of power, superiority and subordination in society. These were the research questions: <li aria-level="1">Which associations between social categorisations and planning departments can be identified in the gender equality discourse? <li aria-level="1">What are the characteristics of the associations identified in the gender equality discourse? <li aria-level="1">How could these associations be understood based on an intersectional perspective of power? In this degree project a discourse analysis is made based on Laclau and Mouffes discourse theoretical concepts discourse, articulation, moment, nodal point, the discursive field, element, floating significant and equivalence chain. The analysis indicates complex relations between social categorisations and differing planning departments and which meanings the gender equality discourse and the concept of gender equality is being filled with in the comprehensive plan. The discourse theoretical framework contributes to a deeper understanding of these complex relations through the formulation of equivalence chains and therefore enables the possibility to analyse the gender equality discourse form and content, which elements acquire their definite meaning and why but also how the associations are made in the comprehensive plan. Furthermore, the analysis and the discussion indicate a few ways that the gender equality discourse could (re)produce power relations in the community where the discourse exists and how this could contribute to the privileging of some (groups of) individuals and the exclusion of others.

In the last decades, the EU’s policy on education has become increasingly geared towards serving the economy. While some have been quick to label these changes as neoliberal, this is not such an obvious analysis considering that European education systems are still well-known for their welfare governance. This research attempts to clarify the relation between the EU educational policy and neoliberalism. Inspired by post-foundational discourse theory, we conducted a discourse analysis of three key European Union educational policy documents. Extending on a frame of 20 years, our analysis identifies an incremental neoliberalization of the policy as well as a number of conclusive similarities with neoliberal rationality. We contribute in showing how the economic dimension of the EU educational policy has not so much replaced the other objectives than it has incorporated them. We also show how contemporary educational policy continues the dynamic of neoliberalization, hinting a further dismantlement of the welfare states system in Europe. Our study stands to reinforce the conceptual link between European education and neoliberalism and as such contributes to the understudied ideational perspectives on the topic, complementing some shortcomings left by the mainstream theories, like neo-functionalism and liberal intergovernmentalism.

The aim of this study is to create an understanding of how American media depicts Asian- Americans and the hate and violence against them during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study analyses two American newspapers: The New York Times and USA Today to answer the following questions: How does The New York Times and USA Today depict hate crimes against Asian-Americans? Which individuals get to make their voices heard in the articles about hate against Asian-Americans? Which identities are given to Asian-Americans and how are they communicated? What are the potential consequences of depicting Asian-Americans in the way the media does? The theory and method used in this study is Laclau and Mouffes’s discourse theory, which is suitable for a study where the aim is to understand the nature of something. The study also includes Barthes method of semiotics to analyse pictures included in the material. Furthermore, the study finds support in the agenda-setting theory, the framing theory, theory of stereotyping and stigmatization as well as the theory of The Other. Gramsci’s theory of hegemony is also included in the theoretical framework to understand power structures. This study shows that American media depicts Asian-Americans with a collective identity and a fixed set of characteristics that are stereotypical. Asian-Americans are portrayed as passive individuals with strong cultural beliefs and values, as well as inferior to the majority consisting of white Americans.

Being an adolescent today is about being in the transition between childhood and adulthood and living in a society that is characterized by individuality. The opportunities to shape one's own life in today's society have increased compared to the past when there are more choices around work and education. As the COVID-19 pandemic spread around the world, our everyday lives changed drastically in different ways, high school students' studies switched to distance and traditional student celebrations were cancelled, an important milestone in young people's lives on their way to the adult world. The purpose of this study is to develop in-depth knowledge of how the young people who graduated in 2020 feel that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected and/or changed their vision and thoughts about their future. In this study, a qualitative method with elements of discourse analysis has been used where the empirical material was collected through semi-structured interviews. The study involved eight young people, including four boys and four girls. To analyze the empirical, discourse theory and theories of individualization were used. The results showed that young people's faith in the future as a whole has not been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic but is strongly influenced by individualization and the power to shape their own lives. The results also showed differences between the sexes in how formulated the future plans were and to varying degrees. / Att vara ungdom idag handlar om att befinna sig i övergången mellan barndom och vuxenliv och att leva i ett samhälle som präglas av individualitet. Möjligheterna att forma sitt eget liv i dagens samhälle har ökat jämfört med förr i tiden då det finns fler valmöjligheter kring arbete och utbildning. När covid-19 pandemin spreds över världen förändrades vår vardag drastiskt på olika sätt, gymnasieungdomars studier övergick till distans och det traditionella studentfirandet ställdes in, en viktig milstolpe i ungdomarnas liv på väg mot vuxenvärlden. Syftet med denna studie är att utveckla fördjupade kunskaper om hur de ungdomar som tog studenten under 2020 upplever att covid-19 pandemin påverkat och/eller förändrat deras syn och tankar kring deras framtid. I denna studie har en kvalitativ metod med inslag av diskursanalys använts där det empiriska materialet inhämtats genom semistrukturerade intervjuer. I studien deltog åtta ungdomar varav fyra killar och fyra tjejer. För att analysera empirin användes diskursteori och teorier om individualisering. Resultatet visade att ungdomarnas framtidstro i sin helhet inte påverkats av covid-19 pandemin utan är starkt präglat av individualiseringen och makten att forma sitt eget liv. Resultatet visade även på skillnader mellan könen kring hur formulerade framtidsplanerna var och i olika utsträckning.

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Previous research has shown that welfare recipients are subject to prejudicial attitudes from others while welfare recipients themselves experience feelings of shame related to their need to apply for help for their subsistence. The aim of this study was to analyse how welfare recipients are depicted in Swedish newspaper media in order to better understand the role that the media can potentially play in how welfare recipients are perceived by others and by themselves. The empirical material consists of 74 articles published in two leading Swedish tabloid newspapers - Aftonbladet and Expressen - during the years 2011 and 2017. With Ernesto Laclau &amp; Chantal Mouffe’s discourse theory, we have been able to identify six discursive subject positions that welfare recipients are offered in the material. Our findings show that these subject positions contribute to creating a picture of “deserving” and “undeserving” welfare recipients with the latter representing a threat to the cornerstones of the Swedish welfare state. This picture, however, is not static and between 2011 and 2017, subject positions that can be seen as “undeserving” have become more dominant in the discourse around welfare recipients.

99 The Principle of Proportionality: Critique of Theoretical Standpoints and Its Relevance Abstract: A decision concerning a fundamental rights conflict needs to respect the principle of proportionality in order to be compatible with a constitutional order. The principle of proportionality obliges the court to adequately assess and weigh the conflicting fundamental rights or other constitutional principles in light of the particular facts. The proportionality of the decision is to be ensured by the so-called proportionality test. It consists of three steps: an assessment of the suitability, necessity and proportionality in a strict sense. The thesis The Principle of Proportionality: Critique of Theoretical Standpoints and Its Relevance describes the proportionality principle and the proportionality test in a specific legal- philosophical and legal-theoretical context. The first chapter introduces discursive theory as an important starting point for the rational application of fundamental right norms and the use of the proportionality test. For this purpose, it identifies the relationships between discourse, norms of justification and the proportionality principle. The second chapter of the thesis outlines, in relation to the existing approach of Czech legal theory, an alternative view of legal methodology...

This study examines how local journalists in Sweden view, understand and manage threats, hatred and harassment in their professional role. The study is based on qualitative interviews with eight journalists, four men and four women, from different local newspapers in Sweden. The interviews are analyzed through a theoretical framework inspired by discourse theory. The purpose of this study is to examine how journalists are affected by threats, hatred and harassment. All material has been collected throughout the study and is used to understand how journalists being victims of hatred, threats and harassment affects their duty to society as being a democratic vessel for the public opinion. The research questions for the study are:  1. How do journalists experience safety risks in their professional practice? 2. How do journalists weigh the risk of being exposed to hatred, threats and harassment as opposed to reporting about subjects they are interested in and find important? 3. Do journalists experience institutional support and how safe does the support make them feel?  Theories such as the media's democratic role in society and the journalistic standard of practice are used to answer the research questions and analyze the material. The result of the study shows that hatred, threats and harassment is an established part of journalistic practice that is known throughout institutions and by journalists themselves. Furthermore the result shows a lack of institutionalized support. Neither their previous education discussed how they’re supposed to handle hatred, threats and harassments nor does their current workplace discuss it. In line with previous research, the informants believed that hatred, threats and harassment take different forms depending on the gender of the journalist and that women are more vulnerable, which they claimed were because of the patriarchal structures of our society. The result shows that the informants use avoidance strategies when it comes to reducing the risk of exposure. Subconsciously, they may have reframed, changed the narrative or censored themselves – but in such cases without their direct knowledge.

Relating to issues of democracy and security, the thesis examines suggested parallels inSwedish politics to the culture war phenomenon in the United States. Are there signs of asimilar development in Sweden? By examining political rhetoric by the political parties in theRiksdag, the aim is to find out how the parties relate to the concept of culture, what purposecultural policy should have and whether there are indications of securitisation in the discourseand potential implications for cultural polarisation. Utilising a theoretical frameworkconsisting of discourse theory and securitisation theory, various party programs andparliamentary documents are analysed with a focus on comparing discursive articulations,with a starting point in the ideological positioning around the creation of a culture canon. Thefindings show that the parties are divided in how they view culture along three differentscales, with several parties expressing securitising tendencies. Discursive polarisation isapparent in the material, with one party in particular articulated as a threat to the survival ofSwedish culture. Increasing polarisation in cultural rhetoric may lead to a culture war, thoughno such phenomenon is found at the moment in the current political discourse.