The international detention regime has been placed under a considerable amount of strain in the context of the war on terror. Political elites in both the USA and UK have significantly challenged accepted standards of appropriateness regarding detention, even though these states are traditionally strongly associated with the promotion of human rights internationally. Such defections and contestations present researchers with an intriguing process to understand, as these practices, by definition, challenge our settled assumptions about the post Cold-war international order. This thesis examines one element of this puzzle, assessing how the normative constraints associated with the international detention regime were negotiated by the Blair government and Bush administration so as to allow for contestation and apparent defection in 2001-2006. Generally, the IR literature on norms has focused on their constraining power, considering simple dichotomies of compliance and defection, often drawing on pre-defined interests to explain behaviour. Whilst constructivists have recognised the constitutive nature of norms, they lack a persuasive account of the micro-foundational processes of norm influence which prevents them from engaging with the contestation of seemingly embedded international normative standards. In order to address this problem I draw from the social identity approach in social psychology, where scholars focus on the multiplicity of social identities and the interactive processes of norm influence and contestation at a micro-foundational level. I demonstrate that by firmly embedding individuals in the broader social identities context and focusing on the management strategies employed by political elites we can better understand the nature of normative constraint in these cases, and whether or not an enabling framework for such counter-normative practices was established. This thesis aims to bridge some of the gap that exists between research that focuses on international norms and that which concentrates on state leaders, demonstrating the importance of the broader interactive processes of contestation, generally missing from current constructivist accounts of international norms.

<p>Some philosophers (Blum 2002 and Anderson 2010) have argued that ‘racism’ and ‘racist’ have been used so widely that they have lost their conceptual potency and are no longer effective moral evaluations. For this reason, they think we should use other terms to identify racial injustices. It is the goal of this dissertation to argue against this conclusion. In Chapter 2, I develop tools for diagnosing the individualist versus structuralist debate within philosophical accounts of racism. I use these tools to show that both individualists and structuralists are committed to entity type monism or the view that only certain kinds of entities can be racist. I reject this view and argue for entity type pluralism. In Chapter 3, I move from entity type pluralism to develop an account of the application conditions for the predicate ‘racist’ that tell us when and why we should apply the predicate to particular entities. These two chapters serve to clarify RACISM. In Chapter 4, I develop new resources for understanding moral responsibility for racism, specifically for how agents can be held accountable for intervening upon racist non-agential entities like norms, policies, and institutions. I call these resources “oblique blame” and “intervention-sensitive moral responsibility.” Intervention-sensitive moral responsibility gives way to a problem. Given the ways in which our current epistemic practices exclude the testimony of People of Color, we will have a hard time knowing when we are responsible in this intervention-sensitive way. I call this the Knowledge Problem. In Chapter 5, I bring together the literature on epistemic oppression and the empirically-informed norms literature to show that interventions into epistemic norms help solve this problem. I provide four candidate norms from activist and organizing communities as examples. Taken together, this dissertation shows that we need not discontinue our use of ‘racism’ and ‘racist’ and that the terms can be used effectively to hold each other accountable toward anti-racist aims and a liberated future.</p>

The logical system MTL (for Monoidal t-norm Logic) is a formalism of the logic of left-continuous t-norms, which are operations that arise in the study of fuzzy sets and fuzzy logic. The objective is to investigate the important results on MTL and collect them together in a coherent form. The main results considered will be the completeness results for the logic with respect to MTL-algebras, MTL-chains (linearly ordered MTL-algebras) and standard MTL-algebras (left-continuous t-norm algebras). Completeness of MTL with respect to standard MTL-algebras means that MTL is indeed the logic of left-continuous t-norms. The logical system BL (for Basic Logic) is an axiomatic extension of MTL; we will consider the same completeness results for BL; that is we will show that BL is complete with respect to BL-algebras, BL-chains and standard BL-algebras (continuous t-norm algebras). Completeness of BL with respect to standard BL-algebras means that BL is the logic of continuous t-norms.

Color-blindness and color-consciousness are two ideologies aiming at prejudice and negative intergroup behavior reduction. Whereas color-blindness emphasizes the importance of breaking down group differences and considering everybody as an individal similar and equal to each other, color-consciousness emphasizes the recognition and appreciation of group differences. This dissertation is about the positive and negative aspects of both ideologies, as well as about their differential effects on emotions, behavior, and prejudice. Furthermore, a longitudinal study between 4 different countries analyzes the differences between minority groups and majority groups in matters of ideology preferences and of their links to prejudice. Finally, some variables are tested as useful predictors of the color-blind and color-conscious ideologies.

The growing accessibility to the global community has allowed historically marginalized groups the opportunity to assert their positions on a global stage. The difficulty of States to enforce necessary protections of land and representation has allowed the entrance of new powerful international organizations with expansive networks to play a role in domestic policies. The largest indigenous group in Panama, the Ngöbe, has suffered from poor unification and political organization, weakening their position vis-à-vis the State. Recently, under the perceived threat of a large development project, the hydroelectric dam Chan 75, some Ngöbe groups have been able to make connections to bring awareness to their conflicts by appealing to distant sympathizers through international networks. These linkages are limited in their ability to force a change in national policy; however, these efforts are not in vain. The outcomes of the continuous negotiations that occur in the space of the physical development site are continuously changing to create the opportunity for the greater participation of the Ngöbe, who benefit from the leverage provided by international norms and vigilance.

Color-blindness and color-consciousness are two ideologies aiming at prejudice and negative intergroup behavior reduction. Whereas color-blindness emphasizes the importance of breaking down group differences and considering everybody as an individal similar and equal to each other, color-consciousness emphasizes the recognition and appreciation of group differences. This dissertation is about the positive and negative aspects of both ideologies, as well as about their differential effects on emotions, behavior, and prejudice. Furthermore, a longitudinal study between 4 different countries analyzes the differences between minority groups and majority groups in matters of ideology preferences and of their links to prejudice. Finally, some variables are tested as useful predictors of the color-blind and color-conscious ideologies.

The aim of this qualitative study is to look into the experiences of four single fathers in the Stockholm area, regarding how they perceive their situations as fathers before and after their disruptions of their previous unions, societal norms around them; if there are discrepancies between normative pressures and the possible day to day practices available for them to live. A masculinities perspective is applied for analyzing interviews made with the fathers, drawing on previous findings, mainly the omnipresent hegemonic masculinity but under which is also found the transnational masculinity and the child oriented masculinity. These masculinities are used as a back-drop against which the empiric material is viewed and analyzed in the search of the fathers’ views on their life worlds’ discrepancies between normative pressures and societal discourse, in comparison with the boundaries set up by their day to day practices, which limit their possible choices of action. The results show that there are discrepancies between different external pressures connected to norms for the fathers and that this at the individual level can at times cause internalized conflicts. A select few topics for future research in the field of single fathers’ fatherhoods are suggested, which conclude the study.

My study was conducted to provide a deeper understanding of the identity of employee soldiers in the armed forces and their experience of their role in the military context. To describe and identify the soldier's identity formation, values and norms working in group processes are taken into account. As the individual identifies her or himself whit the group, the various phenomena as hostility to other military groups arise. The individuals weld together with other group members to form strong normative relationships within the group. Through a qualitative research approach eight soldiers in a regiment in western Sweden were interviewed, four of them were group executives or deputy group leaders and others were ordinary soldiers. The interviews were interpreted based on the symbolic interactionistic theory; Mead and Goffman. The results of this study indicate that soldiers are working largely based on non-monetary reasons and that varied tasks, the salary and career are do not primarily matters. The team spirit is strong, contrary to the perceived problems of the military organization. Despite a lot of commuting to and from their daily lives, the soldiers see their job as very important and stimulating. The respondents appear to such a great extent be shaped by their work situation that this noticeably affects them in their civilian identity work.

The current study examines two psychological experiences—rationalization and regret—among smokers from Thailand and Malaysia and the behavioural impact of rationalization and regret—intentions to quit. More specifically, the goals of the study were not only to examine differences between the two countries in rationalization, regret, and intentions to quit, but also to explain country differences by using the psychological constructs of social norms and the cultural psychological construct of collectivism (via mediation and moderation analyses). The data were from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Policy Evaluation Southeast Asia Survey, a cohort survey of representative samples of adult smokers in Thailand (N = 2,000) and Malaysia (N = 2,006). The ITC Southeast Asia Survey was conducted January-March 2005. Participants were asked to complete a 40-minute in-person survey. Thai smokers were more likely to have intentions to quit smoking than Malaysian smokers and this country difference in quit intentions were, in part, explained by differences between the two countries in rationalization and regret, and that those variables, in turn, were significant predictors of quit intentions. Next, the psychological constructs of social norms and the cultural psychology construct of collectivism were used to explain the country differences in rationalization and regret. Thai smokers were more traditional and family oriented (high in vertical collectivism) and thus, they are more sensitive about their social norm and familial rejections about smoking. This, in part, contributed the fact that Thai smokers, compared to Malaysian smokers, were less likely to rationalize and more likely to regret smoking. Finally, the predictive models of rationalization and regret for Thailand and Malaysia were mirror images. The current study points to the importance of understanding smokers’ rationalization and regret. Rationalization and regret are negatively related and have an important implication for future behaviour. Different social norms against smoking, which are shaped by different regulatory environments and cultural values, contribute to the country differences in rationalization and regret. This study has demonstrated the benefits/value of psychological constructs in understanding smoking in a cultural context.

The purpose of this study is to assess whether the subnational water agreements that apply to the Great Lakes-St Lawrence River watershed are consistent with international norms and principles as articulated at United Nations conferences in Dublin, Ireland (1992) and Bonn, Germany (2001) and to establish the significance of these findings in the context of Ontario’s role in water management. The concepts of complex governance, decentralisation, internationalisation, norms, regimes and soft law contribute the theoretical bases, while a methodological approach of qualitative research, carried out using content analysis and a literature review, is utilised. The content analysis reveals that subnational policies for water management in the GLSLR watershed, as articulated in the Great Lakes Charter, the Great Lakes Charter Annex and the Great Lakes-St Lawrence River Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreement, are consistent with international norms in many regards, with nearly identical language found in some areas, such as conservation and restoration of water resources and basin-level management. However, in the subnational agreements, there is a clear avoidance of some subjects closely tied to international norms, such as the unique roles and responsibilities of women, the urgent need for action, and the importance of indigenous knowledge. Furthermore, comparison among the three GLSLR water policies, which were developed over a twenty-year period, reveals that public participation became less prominent over time while this norm was strengthened at the international level. The roles and responsibilities of the federal government are discussed and it is proposed that, in the context of Canada-Ontario shared jurisdiction, the national government must establish national standards and policies. Ultimately, the inconsistencies between subnational GLSLR water policies and international norms are less significant than the notable consistencies, which are more remarkable given the weaknesses of the federal government’s role in water policy.