Global capital is transforming the spaces in which we live, thereby transforming culture: this thesis challenges a set of liberal assumptions about culture and cultural transformation by elaborating upon this very hypothesis. Specifically, it argues that cultural identities are being formed in global cities, where disjunctive global flows of cultural, financial, technological, ideological, and human capital intersect. These global flows are creating cultural contexts of choice that can be as central to individual and group identities as national institutions or inherited or native cultural norms. And as these modern contexts of choice emancipate the imagination from the influence of national institutions, they enable peculiar new forms of agency. I use Arjun Appadurai’s notion of imagination and his model of “scapes”—cultural landscapes formed by intersecting flows of capital—to explain how the global is becoming the decisive framework for social life. In contrast, I use Will Kymlicka’s model of multicultural citizenship and Jeremy Waldron’s model of cosmopolitanism primarily to demonstrate the limits of a class of liberal theories of cultural accommodation that oversimplify the relationship of the individual to culture, and of culture to modernity, and which ignore the role of “scapes” in constituting cultural identities. To conclude, I propose an alternative, three- dimensional and ultimately non-comparative treatment of culture inspired by Henri Lefebvre’s concept of the right to the city. / Graduate

L'idée principale qui sous-tend cette thèse est que la façon dont un peuple construit, absorbe et travaille son mémoire, compris dans sa dimension socio-politique, est essentiel pour la caractérisation, la reconnaissance et la définition de l'espace de politique, sociale et, par conséquent, juridique. Chaque mémoire, chaque oubli, chaque histoire racontée en public par un peuple a le pouvoir d'influencer l'espace politique vécue par ces personnes et leurs promesses en fin de compte le lien pour l'avenir. Avant le scénario brésilien (nettement inégale, injuste, oppressive), cette thèse a été construit à partir d'une réflexion basée sur les questions suivantes: les effets et les conséquences d'un travail de mémoire collective dans cette réalité politique et sa projection pour l'avenir; la reconnaissance du passé, afin de rétablir la justice sociale et la réhabilitation des victimes, en offrant une visibilité et un rôle social; le rôle du récit (en particulier du point de vue de la victime) dans leur dimension politique et éthique; la reconnaissance de la tradition qui a été reçu et le rejet dans l'avenir. / The central idea underlying this thesis is that the way a people constructs, absorbs and works their memory, understood in its socio-political dimension, is fundamental for the characterization, recognition and definition of the space of political, social and Consequently, legal in this community. Every memory, every forgetfulness, every history narrated in public by a people has the power to condition the political space experienced by these people and ends up by linking their promises for the future. In view of the Brazilian scenario (markedly unequal, unjust, oppressive), the present thesis was constructed based on a reflection based on the following questions: the effects and consequences of collective memory work on the present political reality and its projection for the future; The recognition of the past, in order to restore the social rehabilitation and justice of the victims, allowing their visibility and social protagonism; The role of the narrative (especially from a perspective of the victim) in its political and ethical dimension; The recognition of the tradition that was received and the liberation for the future. / A ideia central, que subjaz essa tese, é de que a forma como um povo constrói, absorve e trabalha sua memória, entendida em sua dimensão sócio-política, é fundamental para a caracterização, reconhecimento e definição do espaço das relações políticas, sociais e, consequentemente, jurídicas desta comunidade. Toda lembrança, todo esquecimento, toda história narrada em público por um povo tem o poder de condicionar o espaço político vivenciado por esse povo e acaba por vincular suas promessas para o futuro. Diante do cenário brasileiro (marcadamente desigual, injusto, opressor), a presente tese foi construída a partir de uma reflexão pautada nas seguintes questões: os efeitos e consequências de um trabalho de memória coletiva na realidade política presente e na sua projeção para o futuro; o reconhecimento do passado, de forma a restituir a reabilitação social e a justiça das vítimas, possibilitando sua visibilidade e protagonismo social; o papel da narrativa (especialmente desde um olhar da vítima) em sua dimensão política e ética; o reconhecimento da tradição que foi recebida e a libertação para o futuro.

The purpose of this study is to investigate how the rights of the indigenous people are being affected because of the forest and salmon industries surrounding them. The question of the thesis is “How do the companies (multinational and national) in Chile discursively construct themselves as responsible actors in the local communities through their CSR profiles on their webpages?” Through the CDA approach of Fairclough’s three-stage model, I want to analyse the language and how the companies promote themselves as sustainable through their CSR profiles. The intention was to illustrate how certain interpretative repertoires can serve to legitimise or reproduce certain structures. The companies construct themselves by presenting themselves through different discourses. The prominent discourses presented on the webpages are all part of the companies’ strategies to construct a reality tailored to fit the companies’ needs. The point is that the industries are still problematic, and they create issues by consuming the native forests and by the use of different chemicals and antibiotics. They have still not solved how to be global actors and have less impact on the surroundings at the same time. There is also a people-policy gap where the indigenous people do not seem to be part of the policy-making processes. This gap creates power imbalances and the gap keeps growing when the local communities do not have a chance to affect the policies and political processes.

This thesis explores the meaning and content of s. 41 of the Official Languages Act of Canada, which imposes certain duties on all federal institutions towards French- and English-language minority communities. While vitally important as a component of Canada's language rights archictecture, the nature and content of s. 41 as a legal norm remain woefully unclear. The immediate aim is to determine: (1) whether s. 41 confers a right to specific measures in particular cases; (2) whether such rights are individual or collective; and (3) if collective, what sort of interests are protected. Section 41 presents a number of interpretive challenges. First, it uses terminology which is undefined in the Act and yet has no self-evident meaning. Thus, the nature of the primary legal subject, 'linguistic minority communities' (LMCs), is unclear, as are the nature of the protected interests, 'vitality' and 'development'. Second, the interpretive principles developed by the case-law for official language rights rely on a conceptual framework that is vague and under-theorized. Key components of that framework, like the concept of a necessary link between language and culture, have yet to be fully explored, either in the case-law or in legal scholarship. This presents an acute problem in the case of s. 41, where the content of these concepts will likely prove dispositive. In order to grapple with these challenges, this thesis develops an account of language rights as collective rights. Drawing on the philosophical literature and existing case-law, I argue that LMCs should be conceived of as collectivities rather than mere aggregates of individuals, and that a number of language rights, such as s. 41 of the OLA, and ss. 16.1 and 23 of the Charter, aim to protect the collective interests of these collectivities. I then define some of these interests from both an empirical and a normative perspective. I conclude by arguing that s. 41 of the OLA protects an 'autonomy interest', which both prohibits federal institutions from interfering with existing LMC autonomy, and provides a basis for claiming enhancements to that autonomy, within the confines of the statutory mandate of the institution in question.

La justice cosmopolite présuppose la justice dans l’ordre interne d’un État ainsi que la justice internationale, en se différenciant aussi bien de l’une que de l’autre pour s’interroger sur le juste et l’injuste qui porte sur l’être humain en tant que tel et en tant qu’individu singulier, au-delà de son statut en tant que habitant, ressortissant ou citoyen d’un État, prenant ainsi aussi en compte les générations futures et l’environnement. Être cosmopolite est une condition à dimension individuelle et collective, liée à la construction de soi (un soi cosmopolite), à la manière de penser et de vivre dans sa dimension quotidienne (l’action sous un angle cosmopolite), ainsi qu’à une réflexion sur ce qu’est le juste et l’injuste cosmopolite, sur l’émergence des groupes sociaux qui exigent le cosmopolitisme et sur la normativité des institutions nationales, internationales et supranationales qui veulent le réaliser. Ainsi, la notion de justice cosmopolite se révèle être un objet commun au champ de la philosophie, des sciences politiques, de la sociologie, des sciences de la culture, de la psychologie sociale ainsi que du droit. Nous analysons d’abord les enjeux de la justice cosmopolite tels qu’ils ont été formulés aux XVIII et XIX siècles chez Hobbes, Kant, Hegel et Alexander von Humboldt, en confrontant ses idées avec les débats contemporains; ensuite, les nouveaux problématiques de la justice cosmopolite qui se dessinent au XX siècle avec Freud, Kelsen, la Théorie Critique et Bourdieu; et enfin, quelques enjeux fondamentaux contemporains de la justice cosmopolite : les droits humains, le droit humanitaire, le droit des minorités et l’espace public mondial. / Cosmopolitan justice presupposes justice in the order of a State as well as international justice, but differs from these two forms in that it questions the just and unjust concerning human beings as such and as a unique individual, beyond one’s status as a resident, national or citizen of a State, and also takes into account future generations and the environment. Being cosmopolitan has an individual and collective dimension related to the construction of the self (a cosmopolitan self), to one’s way of thinking and living in its everyday dimension (action from a cosmopolitan standpoint) and a reflection on what is just and unjust cosmopolitanism, the emergence of social groups that require cosmopolitanism and the normativity of national, international and supranational institutions that want to achieve it. Thus, the notion of cosmopolitan justice proves to be a common object in the field of philosophy, political science, sociology, cultural studies, social psychology and law. This thesis first analyzes the challenges of cosmopolitan justice as they were formulated in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by Hobbes, Kant, Hegel and Alexander von Humboldt, comparing their ideas with contemporary debates (Part I). It then analyzes new issues regarding cosmopolitan justice that emerged in the twentieth century with Freud, Kelsen, Critical Theory and Bourdieu (Part II). Finally, an analysis is offered on fundamental contemporary issues of cosmopolitan justice, such as human rights, humanitarian law, the rights of minorities and global public space (Part III).

Against the background of the lack of consensus on the definition of the concept minority and the continuing debates on minorities and their rights in education, a need exists for adequate provision of education suitable to different minorities. This study investigates the provision of education to minorities. A literature survey investigated how various countries make provision for minorities in their education systems, starting from the Constitutions and various education laws to educational practice. These countries include Belgium, Getmany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom (UK) and Italy. Regarding South Africa, an analysis of documents dealing with the provision of education to minorities was undertaken. Unstructured interviews, from a small sample of informants selected by purposeful sampling, elicited additional data to the document analysis. Data was analysed, discussed and synthesised. The major findings are: there is no international consensus on the definition of the concept minority; the concept minority does not even appear in the Constitutions of some of the countries under investigation; the South African Constitution uses the concept communities rather than minorities. However, no definition of the concept community is provided and despite reservations expressed by a key informant on group rights, generally the South African Constitution contains enough sections regarding the provision of education to minorities. Subject to certain limitations, minority groups may open their own schools and use their own language. Based on these findings, recommendations for educational provision for minorities are made. / Educational Studies / D.Ed. (Comparative Education)

The aim of this essay is to study the decision making process and implementation of the principle of political participation and influence for Roma minority in Sweden. The results regarding the decision making process is structured through a discourse influenced policy analyses. Problem picture and recommended measures in the political documents representing the decision making process are analysed through theories of minority rights and equality. The implementation is seen through, by the author given minority discourse and the work in the roma council and analysed by the same theories already mentioned. The results show that regarding the decision process the aim of art.15 in the framework convention is based on the idea of equality while the Swedish documents relates more to an idea of the right to speak for the group. Regarding recommended measures, the framework convention gives several recommendations on specific measures for political participation while the Swedish documents focuses on the general politics of the state. The results of the analyses of the implementation shows that those actors in the discourse, comparing the political participation for romas before and after the implementation of the minority policy creates a positive view of the principle, while those relating the principle to real influence in the political decision gives a more negative view of the implementation. The work in the Roma council shows that the majority of the issues are in information and discussion form and mostly information given by government staff. There has been critical voices from Roma representatives, while an another think time will give more space for Romas to have more influence. The Roma representatives still have a position outside the positions of real power influence in the consultative body.

This is a study of the Turkish discussion on minority rights. The minority issue in Turkey was placed on the Turkish agenda in connection with intensified negotiations with the European Union on Turkish membership. The unusual and complex circumstances regarding the minority issue in Turkey makes it interesting and relevant to study this topic. The particular focus of this study is on the Kurdish minority and on the alternative discussion regarding the minority issue pursued within civil society groups and the academic sphere. The aim is to contribute to the understanding of the debate on minority rights within these groups. Interviews and collection of literature were made during a field study in Turkey in 2006. A result of this field study was the observation that there are forces working for a change in the notion of Turkish citizenship, and that the minority concept is controversial in Turkey for a number of reasons. Another observation was that the tension between assimilation and cultural identity is an important aspect of the discussion on minorities in Turkey. The Turkish debate has been contrasted to the debate on multiculturalism within political theory. This debate on multiculturalism is about how to deal with culturally diverse societies. There is one main position in favour of multiculturalism and one against. The ideas put forward in the Turkish discussion have been compared with this debate and it has been found that the Turkish discussion differs from this debate in some respects.

Abstract: The purpose with this study is to analyse the political debate about freedom of speech in Sweden and Denmark, after the caricatures of the Islamic Prophet Mohammed that the Danish newspaper Jyllandsposten published in September 2005. For this debate four political parties have been chosen. These are: Socialdemokratiska Partiet and Moderata Samlingspartiet in Sweden and Socialdemokraterne and Venstre in Denmark. An idea analysis has been chosen as method, and dimensions as an analysing tool. The overall result of the analysis is that right- and left political parties in Sweden and Denmark are more alike, than different in their political debate about free speech. They all wish for total freedom of speech, and see that as the foundation of the democratic society. The difference between the parties is that left parties put more weight on personal responsibility and minorities, than right parties that mostly debate about the meaning of democracy and why freedom of speech should not be restricted.

Over the last few decades, the Swedish society has become more and more multicultural, which has resulted in the fact that the differences between different ethnic groups have become more and more noticed and debated. Studies have shown that persons belonging to minority groups are often wronged by majority decisions, which leaves the minorities in a disadvantageous position in relation to the majority. The scientific problem is how a state should compensate different minority groups for their disadvantaged position in order to be able to guarantee justice and equality for all individuals of the state. The aim of this thesis is to examine the Swedish government’s attitude towards minority rights, and to analyse whether this coincides with Will Kymlicka’s normative minority rights theory. The research questions are: • How should the majority society treat minorities according to Kymlicka? • Which is Swedish minority policy’s stance on minority rights? The methods used in this thesis include a qualitative text analysis and a field investigation among Finnish-speaking people living in Borlänge. The conclusion of this essay is that the Swedish government in all likelihood has a positive attitude towards minority rights, since it has assigned group differentiated rights to the national minorities in Sweden. Furthermore, the Swedish government’s view on minority rights coincides to a great extent with Will Kymlicka’s normative theory.