This master thesis deals with the approaches of international actors, especially UN, EU and USA, to the concept of failed states, which are demonstrated on the illustrative example of a state of this category, i.e. Somalia. We think of failed states as a security threat, with which the international community provisionally cannot deal. The master thesis discusses how the international actors deal with this issue in terms of its solution and how they think of the failed states in terms of sovereignty. On the selected case of Somalia it is subsequently illustrated that approaches of selected international actors are not very heterogeneous. The international community agrees to support the central government, although it is not recognized in the whole territory of the state, and endeavors to rebuild a functional state. Although the state is internally totally dysfunctional, its external sovereignty is still recognized.

The mortality in drug related deaths has increased in many countries, calling it an epidemic. Overdose caused by opioids have contributed to the increasing drug related deaths. This study aims to examine and compile which methods and strategies have shown to reduce the mortality in drug related deaths. Using a systematic review and no limitation to countries a mix of methods and strategies was found. Some Ministries of Health department list them as important in reducing damages and risk behavior related to addiction. The repressive approach that was historically dominated has shown less successful. Individuals own strengths and access to treatments and strategies are momentous. It is also of great importance that governments and health care applies the listed methods and strategies. Blood diseases have decreased with needle exchange programs as a result of having implemented the method. Medications for addiction treatment are improving living conditions for people with opioid addiction. Still there are problems and difficulties with access to addiction treatment and harm reduction strategies. Stigma and the historical perception of drug use and addiction are some of the reasons for the inaccessibility and lack of harm reduction strategies.

The thesis examines the results of the international commission against impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), founded in 2006 by an agreement between the government of Guatemala and the UN. It represents a unique tool of UN, connecting in its mandate national and international elements, whose singular goal is a fight against contemporary national crimes, in contrast to a more classical model of UN, which focuses predominantly on international or past crimes. The thesis tries to answer whether the level of corruption and presence of organized crime in the state institutions was lowered during the mandate of CICIG, whether the level of impunity was lowered at the national courts and how big of a role could be attributed to CICIG. The analysis is diveded into two parts. In the first one, based on a few key indicators, the institutional situation in crime prosecution in Guatemala is evaluated before and after the mandate of CICIG. In the second one, with the use of a process-tracing method, the role of CICIG in 3 key cases is analysed, especially concerning the power of its influence in Guatemala. A short discussion about the good and bad characteristics of the CICIG model concludes the thesis.

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This thesis examines the research questions: does violence against peacekeepers have an impact on the peacekeeping mission? By building mainly on bunkerization and distancing theories, as well as mechanisms of peacekeeping effectiveness, a theory was formed that proposed that violence against peacekeepers would affect the mission outcome negatively. A hypothesis was derived from the theory, in which level of perception of security by local population was the dependent variable, and violence against peacekeepers was the independent variable. The hypothesis was tested using a qualitative within-case study comparing two different time-periods in the region of North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Due to lack of data, the results were inconclusive – evidence point to the presence of the proposed theory and mechanism, but no conclusion could be made confidently. Therefore, further research is needed. The thesis contributes to the field of peacekeeping research by being one of the first to use violence against peacekeepers as the independent variable, as well as expanding the concept of peacekeeping effectiveness by including the peacekept in the conceptualization and operationalization.

The present paper reports on an investigation into an English un-participle pattern that is called unpassive, or is described as an adjectival passive. The main characteristic of the pattern is an (adjectival) past participle prefixed by un-, which is used as a predicative complement to a verb. Besides the different terms used for the pattern, there is also some indeterminacy with respect to its particular form. All of the descriptions focus on the verb BE, but mention is also made of GO and REMAIN. That is, the specifications of the pattern’s formal side differ to some extent. To provide information on this issue and to get hold of potential (verb-related) differences in the pattern’s function, we conducted an empirical analysis from a usage-based construction grammar perspective. Our focus is on the form-function interplay of the pattern in order to gain information about its constructional status and its exact formal and semantic make-up. The database selected for this study is the BNC, from which all occurrences of ‘verb plus un-participle’ were extracted. The data were submitted to collexeme and covarying collexeme analyses to identify the spectrum of meanings/functions associated with these forms, and distinctive collexeme analyses were carried out to see whether the un-participles found pattern differently with the individual verbs. The results indicate that, on closer examination, the un-participle construction does not represent a homogeneous category, but must be seen as a schematic template of related, though different, usage events that may have expanded analogously from a prototype construction. On the basis of our analyses and informed by findings from developmental studies, we suggest that the related constructions form a network.

The UN Security Council established on the 25th of April, 2013; The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) to support political processes in that country and carry out a number of security-related tasks. The mission was authorized a strong mandate by the Security Council to carry out its tasks and to protects its mandate. Despite the mission’s strong mandate, violence on civilians has not reduced which has led to a debate on whether the UN can handle the situation in Mali. This study tries to examine whether MINUSMA can be described according to David Kilcullens conceptualisation of a COIN-operation in three pillars of counterinsurgency, by doing so this study hopes to give theoretical insight and enable a way of understanding the goals and means of the mission in Mali more than the stabilizing mandate does. The result of the analysis shows that MINUSMA can be described as a COIN-operation in large extent, mainly in the areas of cooperation, information and security. The result also shows that even if MINUSMA doesn´t work directly in the area of politics & economics they support both direct and indirect other agencies that does, thereby giving theoretical insight to the mission in Mali.

Purpose The purpose of this thesis is to develop a theoretical framework for sustainable product design, targeting aesthetic design elements, as part of product development by applying the Ted’s 10 methodology for textile environment and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Design/Methodology/approach The thesis follows a deductive and inductive multi – method approach. A systematic literature review gives insights into existing literature on product design; the interviews with two experts evaluate the theoretical framework based on the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the implications and applicability of findings in practice. Findings It is found that, in comparison to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the aesthetic design elements in product design from literature have no clear guidelines to restrict environmentally unsustainable practices/ decisions, apart from EU regulations. The theoretical framework, which is built on these gaps by applying the Ted’s 10 design methodology, shows suggestions concerning the aesthetic design elements, which have the possibility to reduce the need to consume, chemical impact, waste, and energy and water consumption. Two expert interviews validate the theoretical framework and discuss implications and applicability. Originality/value It is stated that product design, especially the aesthetic design elements, have a major impact on the environmental sustainability of the final product. Therefore, decision making regarding these elements have the potential to greatly reduce the environmental impact. Moreover, the analysis of the Ted’s 10 may contribute to the realization of several UN Sustainable Development Goals. It could communicate the positive environmental impact textile and fashion designers and businesses can have when applying the Ted’s 10.

The worsening humanitarian situation in Venezuela, rising migration flows and political crisis escalating in the beginning of 2019 was reflected in the increased attention to human rights issues in Venezuela. The aim of this thesis is to outline through discourse analysis the discourse of top UN officials on human rights situation in Venezuela. The introductory part of this thesis clarifies the theoretical and methodological background for the analysis and introduces the topic of human rights in the context of social constructivism and the UN human rights system. The second part of the thesis includes the discourse analysis, which focuses on the character of the discourse of top UN officials on the human rights situation in Venezuela and the development of this discourse between 2017 and 2019, as well as differences among the discourses of the UN Secretary General António Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet and her predecessor, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein. The discourse analysis is based on James Paul Gee's method, consisting of seven building tasks of language. These building tasks include significance, practices, identities, relationships, politics, connections and sign systems and knowledge. The primary materials for the analysis consist of three OHCHR reports from 2017-...

This research engages with debates about globalizing IR and studies of the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Agenda established by the UN in the year of 2000. There have for many years been a lot of literature that is focused on the Agenda in the West using theories which are also established in the same region. This thesis therefore wants to contribute by looking at the WPS Agenda outside the West. This study does so by looking at the Southeast Asian countries of Timor Leste, Indonesia, and the Philippines with a normative investigation. This study adopts questions of how the Southeast Asian region has accepted norms and ideas from the resolution into their own National Action Plans (NAPs) and wants to investigate how these plans conform and differ from the original WPS Agenda. What this thesis finds are a lacking adoption and acceptance of norms in the Philippine, Indonesia, and Timor Leste National Action Plan (NAP). By conducting a conventional content analysis and using the norm-life cycle as a theoretical model this thesis concludes that there are some varying levels of norm acceptance and that the three countries are yet to fully implement the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda (WPS). What the findings also presents is that the local context and culture of a particular country is very important in determining the extent of adoption to international norms and concepts such as those proposed in the WPS Agenda. This means that we need to globalize the study of norms within IR, and we cannot assume that all countries will adopt norms in the same way, or in the same way as the Western states. Based on these findings the research has a small contribution to the larger globalization of IR, Global Political Economy, and studies of the WPS Agenda in the Southeast Asian countries. This thesis recommends future research of other agendas and for additional regions to enhance further knowledge within the normative field of research.