School reform efforts, such as those to form high school gay-straight alliance clubs (GSAs), are often met with resistance by school personnel and local community members. Using a sample of newspaper articles related to school reform GSA controversies in two Southern states (N=83) drawn from an initial sampling frame of GSA controversies receiving newspaper coverage between January 2006 and August 2011 (N=631), I use narrative analysis-- including a discourse coalitions approach--to identify common themes of resistance in the narration of characters, plot, setting, and morals which GSA members and allies must overcome to successfully form GSAs. Substantively, I locate four major narration strategies in my analysis of the stories used to support or oppose GSAs: 1) character construction strategies that make positive or negative claims about stakeholders including school personnel, the GSA club, and its members, 2) counter narration strategies which attempt to portray the GSA as promoting sexual activity, 3) counter narration strategies which seek to oppose the GSA based on an idea that a GSA club and its members will recruit other students to become gay or lesbian, and 4) setting- talk narratives based on notions of `small town' or Christian morality to show why or why not a GSA is wanted or needed. Methodologically, I locate one major finding for future scholars of narratives: the demarcation of setting-talk in narratives which story the setting as implicitly containing the morals of the story. In my particular cases, setting-talk implicates acceptable religious or moral boundary expectations of the local citizenry. Overall, this thesis serves as a call for scholars to examine narratives in education and social movement research while informing researchers and educators of common resistance themes in GSA formation.

В данной диссертации анализируется политика в области ликвидации последствий катастрофы на Чернобыльской АЭС в Беларуси с 1986 по 2008 год с точки зрения взаимодействия различных концепций. Примение методологии дискурс-коалиций позволяет выявить взаимодействие дискурс-коалиций в чернобыльской политики на разных этапах, а также проследить дискурсивные элементы формирования ядерной политики в Беларуси, обусловленной строительством АЭС. / Nepaisant to, kad po avarijos Černobylio atominė elektrinė buvo uždaryta (1986), Černobylis tebeveikia socialinį ir politinį gyvenimą Baltarusijoje (per avariją labai nukentėjusioje kaimyninėje valstybėje). Černobylį šioje disertacijoje apibrėžiame kaip įvairių socialinių aktorių (valstybinių institucijų, politinių partijų, nevyriausybinių organizacijų, mokslo įstaigų ir pan.) vis peržiūrimą ir atnaujinamą Černobylio avarijos interpretacijų rinkinį. Disertaciniame darbe analizuojami įvairūs diskursai ir naratyvai, susiję su Černobylio avarijos padariniais Baltarusijoje 1986-2008. Taikant sociologines rizikos visuomenės (Beck 2000; Borraz 2008), mokslinių faktų konstrukcijos (Callon 1979; Latour 1989, 2004), biovaldžios (Foucault 1996) sampratas ir diskurso koalicijų metodologiją (Hajer 1995), disertacijoje pateikiama konstruktyvistinė Černobylio politikos analizė. Disertacijos tikslas: Černobylio politikoje bei jos aktorių ir jų naratyvų visumoje identifikuoti diskurso koalicijas ir analizuoti jų raišką (nedemokratinės valstybės atveju). Disertacijoje atskleidžiama tai, kaip diskurso koalicijos traktuoja Černobylio avarijos sukeltus padarinius ir kaip atominės energetikos politikoje atsispindi rizikos visuomenės ir bio-politikos retorika. / Despite the shutdown of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant (1986) it still influences the social and political reality. Chernobyl appears in this research as the result of work of interpretation of the aftermaths of Chernobyl disaster by different actors: state bodies, political parties, NGO and scientific institutions. This research touches upon different discourses, story-lines through witch the consequences of the accident on Chernobyl plant are managed in Belarus from 1986 to 2008. Applying such sociological concepts as risk (Beck 2000; Borraz 2008), construction of scientific facts (Callon 1979; Latour 1989, 2004), biopower (Foucault 1996) and the methodology of the discourse-coalitions (Hajer 1995) in this dissertation the constructivist analysis of the politics of Chernobyl is represented. The main hypothesis of this research is to identify the discourse-coalitions within the Chernobyl policy, the actors and story-lines they utter. This research analyses also how the risks created by Chernobyl accident are treated and how biopolitics rhetoric is articulated in the discourse-coalitions and reveals their role in the nuclear policy.

Do Populist Radical Right Parties have an impact on the attitudes of other parties? Despite drawing much attention from the general public as well as academics, there is no clear answer to this conundrum. In this paper I examine how mainstream political parties change their positions in parliamentary debates on immigration and refugees after Populist Radical Right Parties enter parliament. In order to do this, I use theoretical concepts such as discourse coalitions and storylines in combination with network methodology to map out how parties in the Swedish parliament relate to one another through their attitudes towards key themes in the debate on immigration and refugees. This paper focuses on the relations between parties through language by applying Discourse Network Analysis on parliamentary debates. Thus, it contributes with a new relational aspect and methodological tool on a relatively underutilised material. The findings indicate that there is a change in other parties’ attitudes towards immigration and refugees, with two mainstream right parties moving closer to the Populist Radical Right Party. However, the datatype does not support causal language and the findings are limited due to small amounts of data.

Several studies suggest that the diffusion of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in developing countries (DCs) can help such countries achieve national development goals - especially if accompanied by appropriate government policies designed to regulate and promote the use and the diffusion of ICTs in the national context. Over the past few years 'ICT policy' has thus become something worthy of academic attention, in particular in the ambit of ICT-for-development (ICT4D) literature. Scholarly studies on the subject have so far focused however primarily on policy content, and have often been prescriptive and/or evaluative in nature. Relatively less attention has been paid instead to the processes by which ICT policy is made in DCs - a lacuna reflected also in the relative scarcity, in the realm of ICT4D literature, of detailed theoretical frameworks with which to study ICT policymaking practice in DCs. This study intends to help fill this lacuna, by proposing an innovative framework for the analysis of ICT policy processes in DCs, and subjecting such a framework to a first 'proof of concept', through its application to a particular case (ICT policymaking in Uganda). In recognition of the importance of the cognitive aspects of policy practice, the framework proposed is interpretive in nature, and is organised around three 'movements', or steps: an analysis of the linguistic and non-linguistic constructs employed by policy actors to articulate discourse on ICT policymaking; an analysis of the key discourses around ICT policy constructed by policy actors in specific settings; and an analysis of the composition and the strength of the 'alliances', or coalitions, of actors that construct and propagate specific discourses in such settings. The ultimate purpose of this type of analysis is to understand how specific discourses on, or 'versions' of the ICT policy process gain particular purchase and acceptance in given national settings, thereby providing ICT policy actors with elements for reflection on the practices they are involved in. The framework proposed is particularly innovative in that integrates elements derived from mainstream political science and policy analysis literature - thus going some way in solidifying theorization in the ambit of ICT4D research. The study draws conclusions at two levels: at case level, findings indicate that Ugandan discourse around ICT policymaking appears to be constrained by the existence of a powerful, overall political discourse that defines ICT policy as necessarily 'participative'; at the level of theory and method, findings suggest that the framework proposed appears to be a viable and useful one for research on ICT policymaking practice in DCs.

This thesis investigates the role of discourse in our understanding of environmental issues, using an argumentative discourse analytical approach developed by Maarten Hajer. The case under study is the public debate around the Preem refinery expansion in the Swedish town of Lysekil, which mainly took place between 2019–2020. Particularly interesting about this case was the puzzling fact that all actors involved used climate-change mitigation as their main argument, regardless of being for or against the expansion, thus signalling differences in problem perception and representation. The ensuing public debate furthermore provided the opportunity to study Swedish environmental discourse in a non-traditional political arena. The results show the existence of four distinct discourses in the debate: one reformist, one pragmatic, one legalist, and one industrialist. All four refer to climate-change in their arguments but use it to promote different and conflicting actions. Interestingly, the results also show that both the reformist and the industrialist discourses were equally frequent in the debate, indicating the presence of two dominant discourses rather than one. Furthermore, despite the reformist being strictly anti-expansion and the industrialist being for expansion, they showed similarities in their ideological standpoints. Both discourses showed signs of ecomodernism, indicating a diversity within the Swedish ecomodernist discourse. Lastly, I conclude that the different discourses can be understood through the concept of discursive closure, where the ambiguity and simplification of concepts like climate-change lead actors to interpret it differently despite agreeing on the realness and severity of the issue.

To support the transition towards a low-carbon economy, mining companies, international financial institutions and governments are preparing to drastically scale up mineral extraction of energy transition minerals such as cobalt and lithium. Mineral extraction, however, has far-reaching impacts on the biophysical environment and mining-affected communities that may become more severe under a changing climate. In May 2019, the World Bank sought to respond to these challenges with the launch of its climate-smart mining Facility, evoking critique from non-governmental organisations working in solidarity with frontline communities. Drawing on poststructuralist political ecology and discourse analysis, this study examines the conflicting narratives on mining for the energy transition and interrogates the political solutions made conceivable through these narratives. Utilizing documents by proponents and opponents of the climate-smart mining Facility, and semi-structured interviews, the analysis reveals two contrasting discourses on mining for the energy transition, problematising climate change as a problem of rising CO2 emissions, and as a social justice problem rooted in global inequality respectively. These distinct conceptualisations generate three key and overlapping tensions, relating to (i) global versus local priorities, (ii) mitigation and adaptation, and (iii) socio-technical versus socio-political transformations. By highlighting these discursive processes, the results aid our understanding in how mining is made salient in the carbon constrained future, and which actors are likely to benefit and be harmed by the promotion of climate-smart mining.

This essay aims to contribute new knowledge to the field of studies on Russian conservatism by analyzing how the ideology is expressed by Vladimir Putin in three different contexts. The analysis is based on three of his speeches: his speech at the plenary session of the World Russian People’s Council (Всемирный русский народный собор) on November 28, 2023, the 2023 edition of the annual live broadcast “Results of the Year with Vladimir Putin” (Итоги года с Владимиром Путиным), and the interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson published on February 9, 2024. A detailed overview of state ideology in contemporary Russia is provided as background for the analysis and the method used is a qualitative discourse analysis, where overarching ideological storylines are identified and the narratives within them compared. The identified storylines fit well with previous research on Russian conservative ideology and deal with Russia’s success and the West’s decline, sovereignty, the Russian identity (which is paradoxically both multicultural, multireligious, and multiethnic, as well as ethnically Russian and Orthodox), the importance of the Russian Orthodox Church, patriotism, and the traditional family. The study shows that the narratives change depending on the audience of the speeches, while the storylines remain constant. The study provides an important perspective on how ideology is adapted to the audience, which in turn could allow large-scale policy change within Russia, for example by allowing the Kremlin to deepen its ties with conservative Americans or justify restrictions on abortion rights. / Denna uppsats syftar till att tillföra ny kunskap till studier om rysk konservatism genom att analysera hur ideologin uttrycks av Vladimir Putin i olika sammanhang. Analysen baseras på tre av hans anföranden: hans tal i plenum till Världsrådet för Ryska Folket (Всемирный русский народный собор) den 28 november 2023, 2023 års upplaga av den årliga livesändningen ”Årets Resultat med Vladimir Putin” (Итоги года с Владимиром Путиным), samt intervjun med den amerikanska journalisten Tucker Carlson som publicerades den 9 februari 2024. En utförlig översikt av ideologi i samtida Ryssland ges för att ge bakgrund till analysen. Metoden är en kvalitativ diskursanalys där övergripande ideologiska berättelser identifierades och narrativen inom dem jämfördes. De identifierade underliggande berättelserna passar väl in i tidigare forskning om rysk konservativ ideologi och handlar om Rysslands framgång och västs förfall, suveränitet, den ryska identiteten (som paradoxalt är både multikulturell, multireligiös och multietnisk samt etniskt rysk och ortodox), den rysk-ortodoxa kyrkans vikt, patriotism och den traditionella familjen. Studien visar att narrativen förändras mellan anförandena medan den underliggande berättelsen, det ideologiska budskapet, förblir konstant. Studien tillför viktiga perspektiv på hur ideologiska budskap anpassas, vilket i sin tur kan föranleda storskaliga policyförändringar inom Ryssland, exempelvis genom att tillåta Kreml att knyta djupare kontakter med konservativa amerikaner eller för att rättfärdiga restriktioner av aborträtten. / Настоящая работа направлена на внесение нового знания в области русского консерватизма путем анализа того, как идеология выражается в различных контекстах. Анализ основан на трех выступлениях Владимира Путина: его выступлении на пленуме Всемирного русского народного собора 28 ноября 2023 года, ежегодной прямой линии «Итоги года с Владимиром Путиным» 2023 года, а также интервью с американским журналистом Такером Карлсоном, опубликованном 9 февраля 2024 года. Подробный обзор идеологии в современной России представлен для предисловия к анализу. Методом является качественный дискурс-анализ, в котором выявляются и сравниваются основные идеологические нарративы. Выявленные подлежащие нарративы хорошо вписываются в предыдущие исследования русской консервативной идеологии и касаются успеха России и упадка Запада, суверенитета, русской идентичности (которая является парадоксально как мультикультурной, мульти-религиозной и мульти-этнической, так и этнически русской и православной), важности русской православной церкви, патриотизма и традиционной семьи. Исследование показывает, что нарративы изменяются в зависимости от аудитории выступлений, в то время как основная история, идеологическое послание, остается постоянным. Исследование вносит важные перспективы на то, как идеологические послания адаптируются к аудитории, что, в свою очередь, может привести к масштабным изменениям в политике России, например, путем углубления связей с консервативными американцами или оправданием ограничений на аборты.