The study aims to analyze the two largest daily newspapers in Sweden, Dagens Nyheter and Svenska Dagbladet, and their portrayal of Ukrainian refugees. A critical discourse analysis analyzes 184 articles published between March 16 - April 24, 2022, and July 16 - September 30, 2022. A quantitative content analysis complements the analysis, where specific recurring characteristics and themes in the articles are quantified. Theories of social representation, social constructionism, Orientalism, and news value criteria form the theoretical framework of the study. The study results show that the media describes Ukrainian refugees in terms of their geographical and cultural proximity to Sweden. The media values the Ukrainian refugees as an asset, emphasizing the ideological similarities between the countries and why the refugees deserve to come to and remain in Sweden. Other common descriptions underlining the helplessness and vulnerability of the refugees often involve critiques directed toward the Swedish government and authorities. The results are interesting because they contrast with previous research and correlate strongly with the theoretical frameworks regarding media discourse on refugees. It is also interesting from a power perspective, where media representations and language use can affect the legal and moral obligations receiving states and societies feel toward refugees.

This thesis is a collection of three articles in applied economics that explore food security and social cohesion among population affected by violence and forced displacement. Chapter II aims at quantifying the effect of violent conflict on food security and dietary quality in Iraq. Specifically, I estimate the effect of physical insecurity on caloric availability and household dietary diversity by using an instrumental variable (IV) approach. Results show that conflict has a positive (negative) effect of on per capita caloric availability (household dietary diversity). The direction of this relationship, although seemingly counterintuitive, is unsurprising given Iraq’s relatively high-income levels and large public food distribution system. Overall, the results suggest that, for countries transitioning to diets high in calories and fat, violent conflict may drive the population towards an unhealthier diet and may thus contribute to the nation’s growing prevalence of nutrition-related non-communicable diseases. In the third Chapter, I use a household dietary diversity score and a food consumption score to measure the effect of structural and physical Israeli settler violence on Palestinian food security in the occupied West Bank. In doing so, I employ a novel instrumental variable which correlates with settlement proximity while remaining exogenous to other confounders. According to the main results, both the presence of settlements and the insecurity they generate have a statistically significant negative effect on food security via continuous violence against Palestinians and their properties. This finding is further supported by a supplemental analysis of two potential underlying mechanisms: access to water and commuting time to the closest food market. The last empirical article in Chapter IV assesses the impact of the Education Program for Syrian Refugees and Host Communities (BILSY) implemented in Turkey. BILSY relied on positive contact to enhance trust and reciprocity among Syrian and Turkish children. Exploiting a unique primary data on Syrian and Turkish children, we1 investigate whether the BILSY program was effective in promoting social cohesion (altruism and trust) among them by running both dictator and trust games. The sample for the study is drawn from the BILSY program participants and it comprises 685 individuals of Turkish and Syrian background aged between 6 and 11 years old. Since all the participants received the treatment at some point, we randomized the time of interview, namely before or after receiving the treatment. We relied on the short length of the activities implemented to mimic a randomized control trial. Our results show that the program does not significantly affect the participants’ decisions during the games, neither towards children of different nationality, nor toward other fellow citizens.

This thesis examines the relationship among previous exposure to war and conflict, acculturation, and identity formation among adolescent refugees. It was hypothesized that US acculturation would mediate the association between exposure to war and conflict and identity development among adolescent refugees. Participants included 33 adolescent refugees (16 males and 17 females) ranging in age between 11 and 17 years (M = 14.61, SD = 1.48), who were recruited through a refugee resettlement service provider located in Orlando, Florida. Country of origin included Cuba (n = 25), Iraq (n = 4), Jordan (n =1), Haiti (n =1), Colombia (n =1), and Venezuela (n =1). Previous exposure to war and conflict was found to impact identity development; however, the proposed hypothesis in which US acculturation mediates the association between exposure to war and conflict on the one hand, and identity development on the other was not supported. Results indicated that US acculturation was not related to any of the study variables. Previous exposure to war and conflict, along with hardships caused by such experiences, were negatively correlated with identity development and positively correlated with identity distress. In addition, native acculturation was negatively correlated with identity distress, suggesting that acculturation to one's native culture may serve as a protective factor against identity distress among adolescent refugees. Implications for professional practice are discussed.

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