The diploma thesis aims to confirm whether Pirate parties are liberal and left-libertarian parties and that they are similar to green parties in this way. After 2006 Pirate parties emerged gradually as a new alternative to manage the politics and democracy in Western democracies. Pirates came up with themes such as the fight against copyright or the protection of individuals within the internet. In the first theoretical part of this thesis both liberalism and left-libertarianism as well as Green parties are discussed. The second empirical part deals with Pirate parties. First, their origin and development are described and, with an emphasis on Swedish, German, Icelandic and the Czech Pirate Party - because of their relevance associated with electoral successes -, basic elements of their programmes are introduced. Based on those findings the analysis confronting the elements of liberalism and left-libertarianism with programmes of Pirate parties is performed in the final section of the thesis. The hypothesis that Pirate parties are predominantly left-libertarian parties is proved. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

Magister Artium - MA / This mini-thesis engages with the period of the Cold War between 1979 and 1989 to examine the shifts and contradictions that emerged around the figure of the “terrorist” and the “freedom fighter with a focus on the Afghan Mujahedeen. From 1979 to 1989, the Soviet Union invaded and occupied Afghanistan. This period was witness to the formation of the Mujahedeen who fought against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and also against the political ideologies of communism. In so doing, the Mujahedeen became political allies for the South African apartheid government as well as others fighting against the communist agenda

This project is conducted as a descriptive case-study with the aim to explore the political context that formed and articulated the nationalist thoughts of the Swedish scholar, publicist, and parliamentarian Rudolf Kjellén. Specifically, it concerns his nationalist thoughts as they are articulated in his nationalist manifesto Nationell Samling: Politiska och Etiska Fragment(National Congregation: Political and Ethical Fragments (1906)), and how they were articulated during his two initial years in the Swedish Riksdag: 1905-1906. Hence does the work conducted here constitute a study into the history of ideas. Based on Quentin Skinner's theory regarding the role of context when inquiries into history are conducted, the chief focus of this inquiry has its attention on the political context. In as much as this study reveals, the political context that formed Kjellén's nationalism was the major influence of political liberalism at the time with which this inquiry is concerned, and especially so with regards to how it influenced the results of the negotiations in the aftermath of the dissolution of the Swedish-Norwegian Union in 1905, and the discussions on universal suffrage in Sweden at the time. Additionally, this inquiry provides support for a variety of claims and ideas from previous research, both on nationalism and on Kjellén, while simultaneously delivering a more nuanced understanding of the relatively unexplored political context that articulated the specifics of Kjellén's nationalism. Accordingly, it is my aim to contribute to the scholarships on nationalism, and on Kjellén, with a thorough and structured understanding of the political context that formed and articulated its idiosyncrasies.

The aim of the thesis is to examine the political discourse related to the Danish ‘ghettos’, and if and how this discourse can be related to ‘securitization of migration’ and ‘repressive liberalism’. The point of departure is the salient explanation in previous research, that the political discourse is deriving from a movement towards nationalism. The findings of the thesis show that the political discourse entails a securitized agenda towards social cohesion, aimed at protecting the liberal core values of the Danish society, even if this requires the use of illiberal means. However, constructing the Danish society as ‘only for liberals’ is excluding (illiberal) immigrants from the social fabric, and the intended objective of the ‘Ghetto Plan’, social integration, is counteracted by the very means proposed to promote it. The thesis thus contributes with an alternative understanding of the political discourse, which is seen to derive from liberalism itself, though it turns into a tougher and more substantial form, where membership of Danish society is ‘granted’ based on attitudes and beliefs.

This dissertation analyzes the impact of European liberalism on the process of nation-building in Mexico. In particular, it studies the role of liberalism in the shaping of Mexican thought concerning national identity. It accomplishes this by examining the essayistic production of four major Mexican intellectuals: José María Luis Mora (1794-1850), Gabino Barreda (1818-1881), José Vasconcelos (1882-1959), and Carlos Monsiváis (1938-2010). This dissertation aims to explore how a program deeply rooted in European culture and thought such as liberalism shaped these intellectuals’ interpretations of Mexican culture. The dissertation will also highlight how their work coincided with their pursuit of a governmental system based on liberal principles, along with the urgent need to build a sense of national identity. The first chapter delineates a historical and conceptual framework by borrowing key ideas and definitions of liberal doctrine. Likewise, the chapter traces and contextualizes Mora’s contributions to liberal thought in Mexico during the early stages of Mexico’s independence. The second chapter centers on two periods in Mexican history: the Porfiriato (1876-1910) and the aftermath of the Mexican Revolution (1911-1921). It focuses on Porfirian views of liberal education, and on the role of the post-revolutionary state in guaranteeing social and economic progress after decades of civil and military unrest. For this purpose, the chapter studies Gabino Barreda's positivist approach to education and Jose Vasconcelos’ views on the role of the state in shaping a national post-revolutionary culture based on the figure of the mestizo: a multiracial, multicultural, national symbol. The third chapter analyzes Carlos Monsiváis' retrospective reading of liberalism in the context of the downfall of the PRI. It shows why Monsiváis rescues the legacy of Jacobin liberalism in an era of globalized neoliberalism. This chapter shows in which ways Monsiváis engages with liberalism to address the question of “lo mexicano.” The conclusion of this dissertation revisits the main ideas deployed in the three chapters and assesses the limits of liberalism to articulate the problem of national identity during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Arts in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Masters of Development Studies in the Department of Anthropology and Development Studies at the University Of Zululand, 2018 / The aim of this study is to assess the role of NGOs in addressing poverty, and it was conducted in the Mpumalanga province, under Nkomazi Local Municipality. This study situates the development of NGOs within the theoretical frameworks of Keynesianism, the neo-liberal economic system, and from the theory of NGOs as a third sector. The Keynesian system holds that increased government expenditure results in a corresponding increase in economic output. The Keynesians welfare system supports the active participation of government in the economy. However, at the height of the Keynesian economy, NGOs did not receive due attention. The policies of the Keynesian economy did not support NGOs until the role of the multilateral organisations rose to prominence, and it was then that NGOs gained recognition. Problems with Keynesian economics led to the emergence of neo-liberalism, and neo-liberalism shaped policy in a way that favoured economic growth through the Market. It was within the framework of neo-liberalism that NGOs arose to prominence. This occurred under the auspices of multilateral organisations which encouraged the rise of NGOs. However, the poor performance of the State and the Market, with regards to poverty and development gave rise to the emergence of NGOs as a third sector. Literature relating to this study further shows that the operation of NGOs as a third sector depended on factors such as leadership, management, adaptability, financial capacity, corruption, and accountability. The present study adopts a mixed-method approach. This entails the integration of positivism and interpretivism into a philosophy of post-positivism. Therefore, this study uses both qualitative and quantitative data. Qualitative data was collected through structured interviews, while quantitative data was collected by questionnaires. The qualitative data were analysed by content analysis, the quantitative data were analysed by SPSS. The findings of this study show that NGOs mostly experience the following challenges: high staff turnover, mostly because of low wages; limited resources, and a lack of permanent structures from which to work. Even though NGOs experience these challenges, the results of this study show that the NGOs in the study area are able to adapt and work in an environment characterised by limited resources. Lastly, regardless of the challenges experienced by NGOs, this study shows that NGOs have a role in poverty reduction. In terms of recommendations, this study recommends that NGO sponsors should pay attention to the challenges relating to the buildings structures where NGOs’ operate. The study also recommends that NGO sponsors have to review the wages of NGO workers against the wages of retails workers. Moreover, it is further recommended that NGO staff needed to be capacitated by developing some skills, such as proposal writing. Lastly, this study recommends that NGOs develop new strategies for sustaining themselves, such as starting other income streams. All-in-all, the study concludes that NGOs in the Nkomazi Local Municipality play a meaningful role in addressing symptoms of poverty.

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Front-line service-providers are finding it challenging to address trauma-related issues within the confines of a shrinking neo-liberal environment. With larger case loads and increased focus on time and efficiency measures, front-line staff have less time available to address the more ambiguous aspects of practice, including trauma. To explore the challenges front-line staff face, a small qualitative study was conducted in which five service-providers took part. The study findings revealed that in working environments that have adopted managerial practices, the implications of 'quantity over quality' are experienced as frustrating and have various implications for the ways in which trauma is addressed. Participants in this study, expressed a deep investment in their working roles which generally has positive implications for service-users, however, the compounding results of a deep personal investment and a prescriptive case-management role may intensify the experience of working with trauma. Finally, while service-providers believe that trauma is something all service-users live with, there is a sense that the issue remains under-recognized in the mental health agency setting. This study suggests that increased trauma-focused education is essential for front-line workers, as is trauma-informed models of practice in the agency. Furthermore, there is a greater need for trauma advocacy and awareness as the issues remains stigmatized, even within the mental healthcare system. / Thesis / Master of Social Work (MSW)

The thesis revolves around the transformation of liberal citizenship to a higher degree of conditionality in the face of pluralist challenges revolving around achieving a shared common good. John Rawls’ Political Liberalism serves as the theoretical foundation for the argumentative analysis conducted, utilizing specific civic integration policies of Sweden and Denmark. The normative policy analysis reveals that the “civic integrationist turn” in itself is largely compatible with Rawls’ liberal principles of justice and equality. However, the problematic component lies in the de facto implementation of those measures which can have exclusionary and discriminatory effects i.e. the formulation of citizenship test questions and the portrayal of particular comprehensive doctrines of minority groups as incompatible with national liberal values. The most substantial challenge for a liberal pluralist society remains achieving “overlapping consensus” in the political sphere and guaranteeing safeguards for citizen’s personal comprehensive doctrines in the private sphere.

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has changed the security policy situation in the world. The EU and NATO are two security policy actors that, because of the situation in Ukraine, have received increased attention. Previous studies have discussed future scenarios regarding the two organizations and, among other things, whether the EU will take over NATO’s role as the primary security policy actor in Europe. The purpose of this essay is thus to highlight and compare the EU’s and NATO’s security policy ideas. This study is an idea analysis based on two theories in international relations, liberalism and realism, with the intention of examine whether the EU’s and NATO’s respective security policy ideas show any development since the end of the 90s, as well as classifying these as either liberal or realist theory. The essay also discusses ideological similarities and differences made visible in the organizations’ respective documents. The essay is based on an analysis of the EU’s Security Strategy (2003), the EU’s Global Strategy (2016) and the EU’s Strategic Compass (2022) as well as NATO’s sixth, seventh and eight strategic concepts (1999, 2010, 2022). The conclusion indicates that the EU’s and NATO’s security policy ideas include aspects that derive from both realism and liberalism, but that the EU emphasizes more ideas of liberalism while NATO’s ideas can relate better to realism. However, the EU has shown the most significant development, as the organization has approached the ideas of realism for its security policy by increasing the focus on defence issues and its military capacity.