In this thesis, I seek to answer the question of what constitutes a tenable form of sexual citizenship for lesbian-, bisexual- and gay citizens by deploying two models of citizenship which have permeated scholarly and public discourse: the “liberal” and the “republican” model. This is done in conjunction with critical engagement with two political philosophers, and their conceptualization of citizenship. They are (1) The capabilities approach by Martha Nussbaum and (2) cosmopolitan federalism as presented by Seyla Benhabib. This thesis uses three primary questions: (1) On what basis are members of the polity chosen? (2) On what basis are the members of the polity able to participate politically? (3) How does the conceptualized model of citizenship account for social- and civil rights pertaining to sexual difference? These questions furthermore establish the basis for the analysis of the models.  In order to assess the answers that the different model provide, this thesis utilizes two analytic variables articulated in terms of lack of rights and disenfranchisement which will throughout this thesis act as underpinnings. These variables are predicated on reflecting two mechanisms of exclusions of lesbigay citizens, the claim being that the rejoinders to them are used to assess and constitute to a tenable sexual citizenship.

No / In this article, the ability of partnerships to generate goods that enhance the quality-of-life of socially and economically deprived urban communities is explored. Drawing on Rawl¿s study on social justice [Rawls, J.: 1971, A Theory of Justice (Harvard University Press, Cambridge)] and Sen¿s capabilities approach [Sen, A.: 1992, Inequality Re-Examined (Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA); 1999, Development as Freedom (Oxford University Press, Oxford); 2009, The Idea of Justice (Ellen Lane, London)], we undertake an ethical evaluation of the effectiveness of different approaches to partnership activity in city neighbourhood regeneration. We focus, in particular, on their impact on the social regeneration of disadvantaged communities. Governance of cross-sector partnerships, built upon negotiated values and strong community voice, may result in a greater sense of procedural justice, as well as improvements to orderliness in local neighbourhoods. However, distributive justice, the accumulation of, and access to, goods that enable greater participation in society, remains largely elusive within neighbourhood partnership activity. We conclude that social provision that deals fairly with the causes of disadvantage by enhancing the capabilities of local communities and increasing social capital is likely to be a more effective and sustainable approach for partnerships, despite being a longer-term and more costly endeavour.

This thesis provides a moral analysis of micro-regional forces in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, using the framework of the New Regionalism Approach (NRA). It presents an original contribution to the field through the addition of the Ghanaian-Ivoirian case study, as well as a unique application of Martha Nussbaum’s Capabilities Approach to the NRA. In an attempt to counter the view that borders in Africa are artificial, arbitrary and the result of colonial imposition, this research employs the Capabilities Approach, providing a narrative of both positive and negative impacts resulting from the opportunity created by borders in West Africa. The way in which the Ghanaian-Ivoirian border is used by individuals in their security strategies in the face of economic deprivation and physical threats represents a positive impact of borders. Conversely, the role of borders in the continued prevalence of human trafficking in West Africa is also questioned in this piece, providing a balanced account of the impact of borders. This research concludes that the Ghanaian-Ivoirian border presents opportunities that can be exploited to both positive and negative ends at the micro-regional level. This interpretation suggests that any complete account of borders in West Africa more broadly ought to employ a moral framework in addition to a multi-levelled scale of analysis.

This thesis inquires into the meaning of the right to security of person. This right is found in many international, regional and domestic human rights instruments. However, academic discourse reveals disagreement about the meaning of the right. The thesis first considers case law from the European Convention on Human Rights, the South African Bill of Rights and the Canadian Charter. The analysis shows that courts too disagree about the meaning of the right to security of person. The thesis then takes a theoretical approach to understanding the meaning of the right. It is argued that the concept of ‘security’ establishes that the right imposes both positive and negative duties but that ‘security’ does not determine which interests are protected by the right. For this, we need consider the meaning of the ‘person’. The notion of personhood as understood in the ‘capabilities approach’ of Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum is then introduced. It is suggested that this theory could be used to identify the interests protected by the right. Next, the theoretical developments are applied to the legal context in order to illustrate the variety of interests the right to security of person would protect and the type of duties it would impose. As a result, it is argued that the idea of ‘security of person’ is too broad to form the subject matter of an individual legal right. This raises a question over the relationship between security of person and human rights law. It is proposed that instead of recognising an individual legal right to security of person, human rights law as a whole could be seen as a mechanism to secure the person, the capabilities approach determining what it takes to fulfil a right and thereby secure the person.

L’approche des capabilités a été caractérisée par un développement fulgurant au cours des vingt-cinq dernières années. Bien que formulée à l’origine par Amartya Sen, détenteur du Prix Nobel en économie, Martha Nussbaum reprit cette approche dans le but de s’en servir comme fondation pour une théorie éthico-politique intégrale du bien. Cependant, la version de Nussbaum s’avéra particulièrement vulnérable à plusieurs critiques importantes, mettant sérieusement en doute son efficacité globale. À la lumière de ces faits, cette thèse vise à évaluer la pertinence théorique et pratique de l’approche des capabilités de Nussbaum, en examinant trois groupes de critiques particulièrement percutantes formulées à son encontre. / The capabilities approach has seen significant development over the past quarter century, branching out into a variety of fields and directions. Originally developed by Nobel Prize Laureate Amartya Sen, Martha Nussbaum has sought to extend this approach beyond its mainly instrumental role into a tangible foundation for a full-fledged ethical-political theory of the good. However, this move has attracted a great number of criticisms levelled against Nussbaum’s specific version of the capabilities approach. In this thesis, I identify three main groups of observations under which said criticisms can be classified, and assess their respective strength and tenability.

Trafficking in persons is a serious crime and a serious violation of human rights. Every year, thousands of men, women and children fall into the hands of traffickers, in their own countries and abroad. Trafficking in human beings (THB) can be about forced labour, sexual slavery and/or commercial sexual exploitation, but this this paper focuses on the latter category. One country in Eastern Europe with an exceptionally high proportion of women and children trafficked into Sweden each year is Romania. The purpose of the following study is therefore to investigate what moral responsibility – if any – Sweden has to protect the female part of the victims from Romania being trafficked for sexual purposes in Sweden. They are not Swedish citizens, and that makes it a complicated question. In making an effort to come up with answers, we will have a look at what Sweden is doing for these people today, and what the options look like going forward, if indeed the responsibilty is ours. This is an academic thesis with one normative and one empirical aspect. Normative theoretical principles of global justice, ethics and human dignity from American philosopher Martha Nussbaum are tested on an empirical problem; a case study about the situation for Romanian trafficking victims in Sweden and Norway. Apart from the theory and case study, I have exclusively used applied ethics, secondary sources and an analytical tool to analyze and dissect the problem, reaching the conclusion that Sweden does have a moral responsibility, and that we therefore should continue to work in these people´s favour. However, more so that now by assisting solution solving in Romania, where the biggest problems exist and the best solutions can be expected, if handled intelligently and with ethics in mind.

L’approche des capabilités a été caractérisée par un développement fulgurant au cours des vingt-cinq dernières années. Bien que formulée à l’origine par Amartya Sen, détenteur du Prix Nobel en économie, Martha Nussbaum reprit cette approche dans le but de s’en servir comme fondation pour une théorie éthico-politique intégrale du bien. Cependant, la version de Nussbaum s’avéra particulièrement vulnérable à plusieurs critiques importantes, mettant sérieusement en doute son efficacité globale. À la lumière de ces faits, cette thèse vise à évaluer la pertinence théorique et pratique de l’approche des capabilités de Nussbaum, en examinant trois groupes de critiques particulièrement percutantes formulées à son encontre. / The capabilities approach has seen significant development over the past quarter century, branching out into a variety of fields and directions. Originally developed by Nobel Prize Laureate Amartya Sen, Martha Nussbaum has sought to extend this approach beyond its mainly instrumental role into a tangible foundation for a full-fledged ethical-political theory of the good. However, this move has attracted a great number of criticisms levelled against Nussbaum’s specific version of the capabilities approach. In this thesis, I identify three main groups of observations under which said criticisms can be classified, and assess their respective strength and tenability.

Zugl.: Hannover, Universiẗat, Diss. V. Doege, S. Martini, 2008.

It is widely acknowledged that poverty has declined globally over the last few years. In fact, this idea has become so ingrained in our society that it is almost taken for granted and assumed as an incontestable fact. The question that remains unanswered is where all the poor are now. Are they living a prosperous life or are they tinkering on the edge of poverty? This research study focuses on the precarious non-poor, who are the people surviving just above Upper Bound Poverty Line used by Statistics within South Africa. Although they are not ‘officially poor’ they are still a group that is often overlooked or ignored within the global development community since they are not poor enough to warrant intervention yet not secure enough to demand action. As the research study will show through using a mixed-method approach, they are far from being prosperous and in fact, still struggling to survive. The quantitative findings are based on a statistical analysis of the General Household Survey (2011) that overlaps with the latest Income and Expenditure Survey (2011). It gives valuable background to the problem that was also used during the qualitative phase of the research study to inform the sample choice and interview guide. The quantitative analysis shows that the precarious non-poor is not a unique problem, and as a group, they are found across South Africa. The qualitative findings are based on in-depth interviews conducted in Cape Town, Western Cape and Newcastle, KwaZulu Natal. Framed by the capability approach, set out by Amartya Sen, and a focus on basic capabilities such as employment, education and housing, the results show that the precarious non-poor lack access and choice in terms of capabilities and the opportunity to realise them into functionings. The precarious non-poor in this study are mostly employed within insecure, uncertain or underpaying jobs, underpinned by a social support program, living in neighbourhoods where they feel unsafe while trying to secure a better future for themselves and especially their children. In fact, they are probably no better off than their poor counterparts with prosperity remaining out of reach. / Sociology / Ph. D. (Sociology)

This research uses the ‘demand-side thesis’ to examine the decline of the Dundee jute industry. In particular, it examines the effect of international competition and the strategic response of the industry during the inter-war (1919-1939) and the post-war (1945-1960s) period to counter this challenge. The strategic response is studied by examining strategies employed at the firm and the industry level. Strategy at the firm level is studied in the form of capability development using the capabilities approach. The thesis also makes an attempt to redress the issue of determinism in the capabilities approach which suggests that the pattern of capability development is governed by path-dependency. By drawing on the techniques employed in the history literature, this research identifies strategic options that were being considered by firms at the time of capability development and examine why certain alternatives were not pursued. This will bring to light aspects other then those associated with path-dependency that played a role in the pattern of capability development. The capabilities developed by firms during the two periods are compared and contrasted in order to understand the pattern over this period. These findings are juxtaposed with the British cotton textile industry, a related sector, to examine the effectiveness of the demand-side thesis in explaining the decline of the jute industry in particular and the textile industry in general. This thesis makes contribution to three areas of literature: First, the thesis helps to further develop the demand-side framework by introducing a new case (Dundee jute industry) and developing a better understanding of strategic response within the jute and textile industry in general. Second, this thesis contributes to the theoretical development of capabilities approach in two specific areas: a) it helps to address the issue of determinism inherent in the capabilities approach through the notion of path-dependency. This was done by also examining the strategic options that were available to firms while developing their capabilities and underlining the reasons for not pursuing them. b) the analysis sheds new light on the nature of branching of capabilities in an industry over a long period. Third, this research makes significant contribution to the existing literature on the business history of the Dundee jute industry, which is sparse. The contributions can be categorised into four key aspects which have not been examined in the current literature: a) period (inter-war and post-war), b) issue (systematic examination of the Dundee jute industry’s decline, strategic response and role of collective strategies), c) method (detailed study of individual firm’s strategies), and d) cross comparison of industry’s experience with related sectors (for example, the cotton industry). Focusing on these issues has helped to throw new light on the challenges, especially technological, facing the industry in developing its strategic response.