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Since their inception, the actual use of nuclear weapons in conflict is extremely limited. There have been only two documented occurrences which were committed exclusively by the United States. By contrast, however, state posturing with nuclear weapons occurs with regularity transcending historical situations, national wealth, military power, or even the actual possession of nuclear weapons. Rationalist arguments that depict nuclear posturing as a means of deterrence appear insufficient given its tendency to unbalance perceptions of equilibrium, and the public nature in which it occurs. Instead, I examine nuclear posturing by the United States during the Cold War as a form of political ritual providing for three distinctive, but complementary functions. First, posturing was a means to create coherence between foreign nuclear policy and domestic civil defense by manipulating symbols of fear. Second, posturing allowed the state to present itself in its new role as a shamanic authority over a new and powerful realm. Finally, posturing allowed for a normalization of the contradictory roles assumed by the state as it upheld its commission to defend the citizenry by means that would most probably destroy them all.

Over the last years the UFO-phenomenon has created considerable attraction in US-media. The reasons are twofold: 1) Since the fall of 2017 there has been an increased official acknowledgement of the phenomena 2) Several spectacular revelations have been publicized, both triggering a lager media coverage. But why is this topic so salient in the US? How are media and UFO-coverage interrelated?  Our thesis investigates the coverage of the phenomena in one of the largest US media outlets, The New York Times. Focusing on the period 15 December 2017 – 1 August 2023, when the acknowledgement of Pentagons secret UFO-program also known as Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) happened. Then on 26 July 2023, a whistleblower by the name of David Grusch testified in front of congress with allegations of a government conspiracy – including the possession of Alien vehicles and non-human biologics. Therefore, we have selected 51 articles and carried out a thematic analysis. We have not studied other US news outlets because The New York Times brought some serious legitimacy to the UFO-phenomena with their 2017 article about the Pentagons secret UFO-program and got financial resources to dig deep – a sensationalism you might not find elsewhere.  In the results, we were able to present two themes that emerged during the process. These were rivalry between two nations and public disclosures and reactions from the public. The rivalry between the two nations resulted in three subcategories: the near space area, spy balloons, and technological threat perception. In the theme of public reactions, we used six subcategories. These included scientific skepticism, UFO observations and reports, the desired understanding of the public, government confirmation of the secret UFO program AATIP, increased transparency and scientific discussion, and also whistleblower testimonies. This made us to answer our research questions, which were as follows: How has The New York Times' reporting on the UFO phenomenon been shaped from December 15, 2017, to August 1, 2023? Are there patterns and variations in how The New York Times has treated UFO-related articles during the aforementioned time period?

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The word 'myth' appears frequently in contemporary theological and exegetical writing. Unfortunately, it is used with a variety of meanings by different authors, and this gives rise to the layman’s general misunderstanding of what is really a technical term. This thesis is an essay in the clarification of the notion of myth, through the use of the techniques of logical analysis of language. / Thesis / Bachelor of Divinity (BD)

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