The question of what makes a person, or a society develop has been asked countless of times. There are many factors that can influence this. This research will seek to explore whether culture matters in relation to a person’s personal development. The present study interviewed twelve Afghan immigrants living in Sweden and investigated whether they felt like culture adjustment was necessary in order for them to develop. The study is using an abductive approach as the respondents' answers are analyzed in firsthand while the theoretical framework is used as a guidance throughout the research. Lawrence E. Harrisons theory was conducted as the theoretical framework. Harrison was a professor who believed that culture affects a person's ability to develop (Harrison, 2000, p. 2). This research contributed to the prevailing literature by analyzing this topic from a bottom-up perspective by interviewing the Afghan immigrants and presenting their perspectives. Further research regarding this topic would be appreciated as the research gap still needs research to be filled. The findings of this study suggest that the twelve Afghan immigrants do not feel like a person has to adapt to Swedish culture to develop. By rather mixing different cultures and being openminded they feel has helped them to develop. Further, Harrison is arguably too categorical, hence, it is not feasible to categorize people by culture because development is different from person to person.

This thesis is a pilot analysis of five Afghan physicians who recently evacuated Afghanistan and are hoping to reenter the medical field in the United States. To this investigator’s knowledge, there has not been a study focusing on physicians who were part of the 2021 evacuation from Afghanistan. Through participant interviews, this thesis aims to illuminate the opportunities and challenges facing these physicians. Additionally, a board member of the Afghan Medical Professionals Association of America was interviewed to better understand the resources provided to newly arrived Afghan physicians. We found that socioeconomic status, lack of social support and guidance, United States Medical Licensing Exams, and limited English proficiency were barriers to reentering the medical field for these physicians. Policy recommendations include allotting residency spots for forcibly displaced physicians and enabling opportunities for physicians to work in other positions in the medical field. / Urban Bioethics

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / This research project evaluated four reading projects and their authentic materials. The projects were used in a U.S. university ESP program for post-bachelor Afghan students. By utilizing field-related American biographies, online academic articles, various news articles, field-specific article databases, and short fiction for in-depth reading and writing projects, the Afghan students’ reading performances proved and disproved the relevance and importance of these authentic materials as ways to improve their IBT TOEFL reading scores and academic reading proficiencies related to their future work at a U.S. graduate school. Data were collected and evaluated from three TOEFL scores and an in-depth, post program survey.

This study aims to draw attention to the stories of Afghan unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in Sweden; their reasons to leave Afghanistan and to migrate to Sweden, the way that they migrate, and the problems they face during their journey to Sweden are investigated. In order to achieve the aims of this study, a qualitative method is used based on semi-structured interviews. Altogether, eight people are interviewed of which six are Afghan male unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, one is a legal guardian and one is an assistant (behandlingsassistent). Theories such as push and pull factors, migration industry theory, transit migration theory, and social network theory help to understand better the stories of Afghan unaccompanied children while analyzing the data.The data obtained from interviews shows that the children who were leaving Afghanistan had mixed motivations. Factors such as lack of security, violence, threats, individual risks associated with their ethnicity, forced recruitment, economic hardship and political reasons push them to leave Afghanistan. My findings show that the main reason for the children to leave Afghanistan is the harassment and violence against the ethnic group Hazara.Moreover, the data demonstrates that traveling with smugglers and crossing borders, by land or by sea, is a multiple-step procedure for Afghan unaccompanied children. They have many stops along the way and spend lots of time in different transit countries. The journey is full of risks for them. My interviews reveal that transit migration creates a number of problems for these children.In addition, this study indicates that the role of social networks is of great importance for these children. The smugglers create strong incentives for their decision to claim asylum in Sweden. Moreover, co-migrants and friends of friend who live in Europe play a significant role in their decision-making. Furthermore, restrictive legislations as well as lack of protection in transit countries make onward migration inevitable. Other factors, such as the probability of getting a residence permit and family reunification, are important for Afghan unaccompanied children to choose Sweden as a destination country.

Many acknowledge the lack of studies addressing military logistics, yet the issue persists. While existing research predominantly examines western contexts, this study seeks to enrich our understanding by delving into the less-explored realm of military logistics in Eastern settings. The primary objective of this study is to enhance understanding of the logistical dynamics during the Soviet–Afghan war by examining the Soviet logistics. Using Moshe Kress's theoretical framework on operational and structural logistics, this research endeavors to illuminate this historical case. Employing a case study methodology coupled with qualitative text analysis, the study examines the Soviet logistics in the Soviet–Afghan conflict. The findings underscore the challenges the Soviets encountered in managing their logistics, particularly in ensuring the security of their communication lines. The study attributes many of these challenges to the inadequate road infrastructure and the hostile terrain of the region.

Cette thèse porte sur la question de la mobilisation de la nouvelle génération des femmes en Afghanistan après 2001. Elle interroge d’abord l’existence d’un mouvement féministe, selon les significations des outils théoriques occidentaux. Ensuite, elle analyse la mobilisation des femmes à partir des éléments qui provoquent une mobilisation pour la transformation socialeet politique afin d’assurer les droits des femmes : ceux qui ont un impact important sur la société comme la politique ou l’économie qui ne laisse pas la place aux femmes pour s’exprimer librement. La nouvelle génération des femmes qui ont grandi sous la Révolution et les théories des révolutionnaires s’engagent progressivement dans un combat pour le droit et la démocratie sous l’influence du développement : la modernisation économique, l’éducation, l’immigration et la mondialisation. / This thesis focuses on the topic of mobilization of the new generation of women in Afghanistan after 2001. First, it questions the existence of a feminist movement in Afghanistan, according to the meanings and Western theoretical tools. Then it analyzes themobilization of women from the elements that cause mobilization for social and political transformation to ensure women's rights: those that have a significant impact on society such as politics and economy of both countries which do not leave room for women to express themselves freely. The new generation of women who has grown up under the Revolution andrevolutionary theories has mobilized progressively in a fight for rights and democracy under the influence of development: economic modernization, education, immigration and globalization.

“Norway and Sweden- allies in the war in Afghanistan” A study of Norway’s and Sweden’s foreign policy regarding involvement in Afghanistan   This thesis intends to identify Sweden’s and Norway’s Afghan policies and to explore how these policies can be explained through perspectives of both realism and liberalism. Study intends to use theories within realism and liberalism to investigate if an overall strategy behind Afghan policies can be identified. The study is based on qualitative-comparative analysis of Swedish and Norwegian foreign policy statements, delivered by Ministers of Foreign Affairs in each of the two countries in question. The results of the study indicate that Afghan policies of both Norway and Sweden are a mixture of both realist and liberal policies with preponderance of liberal policies. Use of military force as an indication of realism’s ultima ratio in international politics and liberal policies towards Afghanistan as indications of liberalization process of a non-liberal state. These two theoretical perspectives can be regarded as a continuum as opposed to two discontinuous opposite poles, when analyzing Afghan policies of Norway and Sweden. International liberalism is argued to be the overall strategy that is driving the Afghan policies of Norway and Sweden forward.     Key words: Norway’s Afghan policy, Sweden’s Afghan policy, realism, liberalism, liberalization process, security community, liberal internationalism.

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Master of Arts / Department of Modern Languages / Mary T. Copple / Using the framework for politeness developed by Brown and Levinson (1987), this research evaluates the production of politeness strategies by sophomore and senior EFL learners in Afghanistan by focusing on the language used in letters of inquiry. Twenty eight letters emailed by Afghan students at Balkh University were surveyed by thirteen native American English speakers. Each letter was surveyed by six different American participants who gave their perspectives about the effectiveness and politeness of the language used in the letters by the students. The American participants’ evaluations of politeness were compared with actual linguistic features employed, including the word choice in the salutation and closing, the use of indirect language, and politeness markers (e.g. thank you or other expressions of appreciation). The results show that a relationship between proficiency and politeness exists, consistent with the findings of Tanaka and Kawade (1982) who found that second language learners acquire both linguistic and pragmatic knowledge as the learning of the target language progresses. In addition, this study describes the linguistic behavior perceived as most polite by the native speakers and reflects on possible instructional implications.

I denna uppsats är syftet att skapa en fördjupad förståelse för unga afghanska ensamkommande mäns livssituation genom intervjuer som analyserats utifrån begreppen habitus, kapital och fält. De flesta av respondenterna har visat sig vara beredda att slita hårt för att förverkliga sina ambitioner och strävan mot ett liv med stabila levnadsförhållanden. Vad denna strävan gett för resultat skiljer sig åt i gruppen. De som lyckas med att förvärva det kapital som fungerar som inträdesbiljett på arbetsmarknaden eller till högre utbildning, hyser ett stort mått av framtidstro. För ett par av de unga männen har inte stödet från samhället varit tillräckligt och de upplever en osäkerhet inför framtiden. I flera av de unga männens berättelser framträder tecken på solidaritet, i första hand mot familjen, men även gentemot samhället samt den egna gruppen landsmän. Det verkar som om flera av de unga männen finner en livsstil utifrån habitus som fungerar både i det svenska samhället och i det afghanska även om det traditionella livsmönstret i hög grad består. En högre grad av interaktion med andra i samhället utifrån gemensamma intressen skulle kunna bidra till förändring av traditionella mönster och en ökad integration. / In this paper the aim is to create an indepth understanding of young Afghan unaccompanied men's life situations through interviews analysed with the concepts of habitus, capital and field. Most of the respondents have shown a willingness to toil hard to realize their ambitions and aspirations towards a life with stable living conditions. What results this endeavour has given differ within the group. Those who have manage to acquire capital that serves as the admission ticket to the labour market or to higher education, have a high degree of hope for the future. For a few of the young men the support from society has not been sufficient and they experience an uncertainty about the future. In several of the young men's stories signs of solidarity emerge, primarily towards family, but also towards society and their own compatriots. It appears that several of the young men find a lifestyle based on habitus that works both in the Swedish society and amongst Afghans although the traditional pattern of life to a great extent is maintained. A higher degree of interaction with others in the community on the basis of shared interests could lead to a change in traditional patterns and more integration.