This thesis argues that a peace-oriented struggle has emerged in Peshawar from within the non–state space and is demonstrated at the empirical level by various associations in that space. The struggle to embrace peace and reject different forms of violence, by this associational life in Peshawar is what we call an ‘emergent civil society’. The thesis argues against those who claim that civil society cannot exist or flourish in a non-western environment. Civil Society in Peshawar is emergent, as the empirical evidence suggests, but within an overarching tendency to root this in a local cultural identity. The latter is, however, imbued with values, belief systems, and gender roles, which limit the search for peace. Two examples are the dominance of a hyper masculinity and religious orthodoxies, which undermine forms of associationalism which might promote peace. To find an indigenous cultural identity, the ‘emergent civil society’ navigates, not without tensions, across three different worldviews that includes cultural (Pakhtunwali), religious (Islam) and, to a certain extent, liberal (human rights) perspectives. The tensions between different perspectives become more frictional when the ‘emergent civil society’ advocates women’s rights and religious pluralism, which is resisted by the antithetical forces of masculinity and religious orthodoxies. Amidst these contestations, the ‘emergent civil society’, while resisting these antithetical forces, pressurizes the state also to provide favourable conditions to continue its peace-oriented struggle. This thesis, however, suggests that the ‘emergent civil society’ also needs an in-ward looking tendency to self reflect on certain challenges that seem to impact the potential for growth and development of an associational life, which can fully embrace the social conditions for peace.

Violent extremism has become an increasing problem. By violent extremism you mean that there are motives for wanting to reform or abolish a form of government. In Sweden's case, it is about reforming democracy, where three main movements are leading; the autonomous environment, the white power environment and the islamist extremist environment. The sources used are information from the Government Offices, the Security Police, Sweden’s parliament and a report from SVT News, a report from FBI Government, statistics from european member states of terrorism in Europe in 2019, taken from Graphic News, as well as an interview with Ewa-Gun Westford, press spokesperson within the police region South. The movements have become larger in recent years and more visible than before, which is mainly due to the development of the digital. The internet and social media have provided a great platform to be able to inspire, recruit and spread propaganda, quickly and without problems. Relevant and important topics today such as racism, xenophobia, etc. are tools for these movements to grow and gain a large number of followers in a short time. It creates a huge insecurity for people around these movements that they have become increasingly visible, and that brutal videos in the form of beatings and executions made by these movements can move around freely on the internet. Threats, violence and harassment of individuals with or outside these movements are common, which also leads to threats to democracy, security, life and health for all parties.

Terrorattentat verkar bli allt vanligare i Europa. I år antogs en ny strategi mot våldsbejakande extremism. Det är den tredje strategin mot våldsbejakande extremism, varav alla har skrivits under de senaste 13 åren. Den här studiens syfte är att undersöka hur två olika regeringar arbetar för att motverka våldsbejakande extremism och att se hur de skiljer sig åt, samt vilka eventuella effekter deras respektive policy mot våldsbejakande extremism kan leda till. Detta görs genom att använda Carol Bacchis poststrukturalistiska What’s the problem represented to be? (WPR)-ansats. Trots en del överlappande åtgärdsförslag så visar studien att de två regeringarnas syn på hur man bör bemöta radikalisering och våldsbejakande extremism skiljer sig åt. Den moderatledda regeringens huvudsakliga fokus är på utökade befogenheter för rättsväsendet och lagstiftande åtgärder, medan den socialdemokratiskt ledda regeringen främst fokuserar på utbildande åtgärder. De mest anmärkningsvärda effekterna av policyerna är subjektifieringseffekten av utlänningar och unga män.

Kvinnor har länge exkluderats från spelkulturen, då det har benämnts som en mansdominerad yta. Med den existerande manosfären inom internetbaserade ytor skapas en plats där kvinnor diskrimineras, sexualiseras, avhumaniseras och tvingas in i sexuella eller romantiska kontexter utan deras samtycke. Med den breda forskningen kring spel och genus har många undersökningar genomförts om ämnet, dock finns det en outforskad yta som gömmer sig rakt framför näsan på oss. Med oändligt många möjligheter och material som ökar varje dag, är detta en perfekt plats för att samla data. Genom en observationsstudie där videomaterial från den internetbaserade källan Youtube undersöks ett genusperspektiv i koppling till det könade hatet mot kvinnor inom spelytan. Då genom en analys visas olika relationer mellan spel och samhället, så som kopplingar till extremism, sexism och traditionella könsroller. Samt andra idéer om kön utifrån samhällets konstruerade verklighet om vad kön bör vara. Som kan ge svar till frågan om hur män kommunicerar med kvinnor inom den historiskt mansdominerade ytan, även kallat spel. Finns det grund att koppla spel till kön och normer, eller är misogyni och dess uttryck inom spelkulturen endast påhittad?

Die Autonomen sind die wichtigste Kraft im militanten Linksextremismus. Seit den 1980er Jahren machen sie mit Anschlägen oder „Massenmilitanz“ auf sich aufmerksam. Dietze beschäftigt sich in seiner Studie mit einem über lange Zeit zentralen Periodikum der Szene. Die Zeitschrift „Interim“ untersucht er hinsichtlich der in ihr geführten Themen und Diskurse. Ziel seiner Untersuchung ist es, Einblicke in das Denken der Autonomen zu geben. Hierfür arbeitet er zentrale, identitätsstiftende Positionen heraus. / The autonomists are the most important force in militant left-wing extremism. Since the 1980s they have been putting themselves in the public eye with attacks and "mass militance". In his study, Dietze focuses on a periodical that has been a lynchpin of the scene for many years. He examines the magazine "Interim" in terms of the themes and discourses it presents. His investigation aims to bring some insight into the mindset of autonomists. To this end, he maps out central identity-forming positions.

The threat from homegrown terrorism in the United States is called a new face of the threat from terrorism. The aim of this study is to empirically examine how the new threat from homegrown terrorism has been constructed in the American discourse. Furthermore it is interesting to examine how the construction relates to the American counterterrorism policy and possible consequences. This is done by using the theoretical framework of Copenhagen’s school of securitization. By using a discourse analysis, documents and speeches from the U.S. government are analysed to see how the threat from homegrown terrorism are constructed by using the securitization theory. This study concludes that the threat from homegrown terrorism is constructed by portraying it as an existential threat to the United States, it’s people and it’s collective identity. The construction has made it possible to undertake exceptional actions that may reduce the American citizens’ freedom in benefit for security.

The violent extremism represents the greatest threat towards the society of today. The school does not have an explicit assignment in the crime prevention work against violent extremism. The school and education, are important factors in preventing children and young people from being involved in violent extremism. Because of this, the school staff has an important task. The aim of this study was to shed light on school staff need to relate to and manage violent extremism in school. This study is conducted by having a qualitative method with six semistructured interviews, where the empirical information is analysed with a qualitative analysis. Further, the theoretical starting point is the theory of health known as Sense of Coherence (SOC) and Job- demands- control-support-model (JDCS), as well as Norm-critical pedagogy. Three categories could be found from the analysis. The personnel are in need of reducing uncertainty, The personnel are in need of increased support and The personnel are in need of knowledge. The conclusion is that school staff are in need of reducing uncertainty about expressing themselves wrong and dare to engage in dialogue with students. School staff are also in need of increased support in the form of collaboration with actors, access to an action plan and more resources. The school staff is also in need of more knowledge about violent extremism, the democratic mission and what the law says. Finally, they need better information and guidelines on how to act when a student risks being involved in violent extremism. / Våldsbejakande extremism utgör det största hotet mot säkerheten i dagens samhälle. Skolan har inte ett uttalat uppdrag i det brottsförebyggande arbetet mot våldsbejakande extremism. Skolan som arena och utbildning är dock viktiga faktorer för att förebygga att barn och ungdomar involveras i våldsbejakande extremism. Därav har skolpersonalen en betydelsefull uppgift. Studiens syfte var att belysa skolpersonals behov av att förhålla sig till och hantera våldsbejakande extremism i skolan. Studien utgörs av en kvalitativ metod i form av sex semistrukturerade intervjuer, där empirin analyserades via en kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Studiens teoretiska utgångspunkt var hälsoteorierna Känsla av Sammanhang (KASAM) och Krav/kontroll/stödmodellen (KKS) samt den pedagogiska utgångspunkten Normkritisk pedagogik. Analysen resulterade i tre kategorier som utgör studiens resultat och speglar studiens syfte; Skolpersonal är i behov av att minska osäkerheten, Skolpersonal är i behov av ökat stöd och Skolpersonal är i behov av kunskap. Studiens slutsats är att skolpersonalen är i behov av att minska osäkerheten över att uttrycka sig fel och våga föra dialog med eleverna. Skolpersonalen är även i behov av ökat stöd i form av samarbete med aktörer, ta del av en handlingsplan och mer resurser. Skolpersonalen är likaså i behov av mer kunskap om våldsbejakande extremism, det demokratiska uppdraget samt vad lagen säger. Slutligen är de i behov av bättre information och riktlinjer om hur de ska agera när en elev riskerar att involveras i våldsbejakande extremism.

The aim of this study was to examine what judicial and profession related obstacles and difficulties that arise due to the role that social services have in preventing radicalization and violent extremism and what views social service workers and managers have regarding their involvement in this work. Specifically, the aim of the paper was to explore the understanding social services professionals have about the phenomenon that is radicalization and violent extremism and how this impacts the service they provide to individuals. Furthermore, the study wanted to investigate what methods and actions are carried out in order to detect and prevent individuals from becoming radicalized. Six separate semi-structured interviews were carried out consisting of four social services workers and two managers. The participants were selected from four different municipalities. After conducting the interviews four main themes regarding radicalization and violent extremism were identified, namely; understanding and reasoning, preventive and active measures, obstacles and difficulties, social services in a changing world. New institutionalism theory was applied to the result in order to improve the understanding of the role social services have regarding this issue. The studies main findings were that social workers and managers view radicalization as a process. This process can be carried out alone or as a member of a group. Radicalized individuals are hard to detect and therefore social services struggle to identify them. Fieldwork officers working together with school personnel have the best chance of detecting radicalization at an early stage. There is no method especially adapted to radicalization and violent extremism being used by the social services. Many participants describe being uncertain as to what their role should be with directives and regulations leaving room for interpretation and misunderstanding.

Author: Giorgi Kaishauri Study programme: International Security Studies Master's thesis: EU-wide CVE Programs: Exploring the Gap between Theory and Practice Abstract The aim of this research was to determine congruence between the EU-initiated P/CVE program, CT MORSE, and prominent theoretical and empirical insights present in the academic literature on P/CVE. This research presents an exploratory qualitative study which employs a deductive approach to explore a potential gap between counter-radicalization theory and counter- radicalization practice as observed in a major EU project. The data collected and analyzed in this research suggests a partial correlation between academic insights and project's activities. Three out of eight determinants of effective P/CVE strategy discussed in the literature - community engagement, community resilience, and the role of women, are fully accounted for by the project, while the other three - dialogue, identity formation, and personnel expertise are partially present in the form of their constituting elements. Individual resilience and inclusion of former radicals receive neither implicit, nor explicit focus in the project's undertakings across the globe. Moreover, the data suggests that existing congruence is not completely arbitrary, however, a substantially deeper...

The purpose of this study is to contribute to a greater knowledge and understanding of violent discourses within the Far Right community with emphasizes on online violent content. The study has, by analyzing the narrative, identified four discursive strategies used by the Nordic Resistance Movement (NMR) in order to legitimize violence. By studying three texts in the time span of fifteen years published by the organization, the ambition is to identify a change in the discourse of violence.   Today’s society is greatly influenced by the presence of the Internet. The rise of populist political parties in European and American counties etc. has lead to discussions regarding the cause of this phenomenon. A reoccurring debate is if the Internet is to blame for this, since it is accessible for most people, with non-or little legislative control regarding credibility. What can be stated for a fact, however, is that these forces are once again gaining more support and power. Due to this, finding explanations for this turn of event, which is updated to the society that we live in now is of importance. In order to understand this phenomenon the study has examined the Far Right organization the Nordic Resistance Movement (NMR). In the empirical part of the thesis four themes of violent discourses were identified; the enemies, the threat, family politics and women’s role in society and community-building processes. The four discursive strategies identified are in accordance with the chosen methodological framework, namely, critical discourse analysis. Aforementioned discursive strategies and analysis questions which, framed the empirical material, were analysed through the lenses of Norman Fairclough’s theory three-dimensional conception of discourse. In the discourses, amongst other things, it could be identified that the discourses had indeed become more violent.