The purpose of this study is to investigate, from a dialogical perspective, what messages are conveyed about the Swedish Police Agency's reorganization in the big city press for a limited period in the autumn of 2016. Dialogical analysis provides a tool to not only investigate each text individually, but also to examine the internal relationships between the texts in our selection. The study answers the following questions: What image of the Police Agency's reorganization is conveyed in the media? How does the message about the reorganization of the police agency change by the interplay of the media texts? The result shows that different messages emerge depending on how the reorganization is put into context when different actors' voices and different content topics are highlighted. The results also shows several examples of intertextual relationships between the different texts. Intertextual relationships are shaped when a text uses information or quotes from other texts and puts it into a new context. This study shows how information from a significant news article about the Swedish Police Agency’s effectivity is re-used in other articles and how this leads to a shift of message. The method used is dialogical analysis and partly also a discursive perspective. This study, which emerges from a social constructivist perspective, contributes to the understanding of how media texts interact and the effect this have for the reader(s).

‘Democracy’ has been frequently praised by the Chinese political leadership, while liberal democratic institutions have remained conspicuously absent under CPC one-party rule. This study explores the discourse on democracy in the newspaper China Daily between the years 2007 and 2017 to determine how the concept is articulated in a Chinese presumably alternate discourse on democracy. Fifty articles published between 2007 and 2017 are sampled, and a discourse analysis is performed to identify prominent themes featured in these articles concerning democracy. The sample is then further divided in two subsamples with a cutoff in 2012, to investigate whether there has been a qualitative shift in the discourse since the accession to power of Xi Jinping. The analysis shows that - and how – the discourse treats China largely as a particular democracy, frequently contrasted with ‘Western-style democracy’, and downplays certain democratic principles and institutions in favor of alternative ones. It also shows that an overall shift in tone seems to have occurred since the accession of Xi, from optimistic and progressive to a more negative one.

The specific interest of this dissertation is to analyze and discuss the Swedish political struggle of defining the purposes and aims of higher education during the time period 1992-2007. Underlying this specific interest is a broader interest to take part in a multifold discussion concerning the role of higher education in relation to issues of societal and democratic development and of individual identity and citizenship, in times defined in terms of globalization and pluralism. The study takes its point of departure in discourse theory that directs the research interest to language use and the analysis of the political struggle as a contested discursive practice. The main aims of the study are: (I) To analyze the different discourses concerning the purposes and aims of higher education that are (re)articulated in the political struggle. (II) To analyze how the subject student is positioned in the different discourses. (III) To discuss hegemonic tendencies within the political struggle. The material studied in the dissertation consists of national and European policy texts, including government bills, official government inquiries, departmental reports and declarations from the Bologna process. From the analysis four discourses and subject positions provided for the student are constructed and derived; the classical academic discourse and the critically trained student; the discourse of globalization and the employable student; the discourse of democracy and the actively participating student; and finally the discourse of individual identity and the reflexive student. From the analysis it is concluded that it is possible to observe a variation in language use – in terms of the occurrence of (re)articulation of the different discourses – in the 1990s and the beginning of the 21st century in the political struggle. The closer one gets to 2007 the more this variation in language use is reduced, and the narrower definitions of the purposes and aims of higher education one finds, owing to the hegemonic tendencies of the discourse of globalization. It is also concluded that national politics then assume a more bureaucratic shape and guide itself towards administration of supranational (European) definitions.

Departing from the ongoing regionalization processes in Europe and other parts of the world, this thesis aims to study the premises and conditions of regional citizenship in contemporary state restructuring. As globalization is viewed to challenge the sovereignty and capacity of nation states, subnational regions have gained authority and interest as key actors to compete on globalized markets of capital in order to ensure future development. This alteration in the balance between the regional and the national raises questions on how aspects of citizenship become negotiated in relation to regions as emphasized political communities. The study therefore develops and applies a productive analysis of regional citizenship based on citizenship theory and poststructuralist discourse theory. The attempts to reform the administrative region of Värmland, Sweden, between the years 2007 and 2011 functions as a case study in the dissertation.  In relation to this process a variety of materials has been collected in order to shed light on articulatory practices related to the reform: media material, public documents and assessment reports, observations of public dialog meetings and focus groups. Through a discourse analysis of the material the study focuses on the discursive production of regional communities and regional citizens in relation to regional reform. Three different but related articulations of the region emerge in the analysis: the region as a cultural landscape, as a welfare system and as a growth machine.   The study shows how the understanding of the region as a growth machine holds a hegemonic position in relation to the other articulations. The growth machine is based on a neoliberal notion of development, where competiveness and commodification function as premises to the intrinsic understanding of regional citizens – as well as welfare and culture - as capital that can, and should, be used to facilitate economic growth. / Runt om i världen byggs större och starkare regioner. Regioner betraktas som i delar en arvtagare till uppgifter som nationalstaterna inte längre anses kunna hantera i en globaliserad värld. Därför har regionerna fått större grad av självständighet från de nationella staterna, frisläppta för att på bästa sätt hitta sätt att locka till sig olika former av globalt rörligt kapital. Kapital som anses utgöra grunden för att kunna bygga ett gott samhälle.   I den här avhandlingen studeras samtida regionalisering ur ett medborgarskapsperspektiv. Vad innebär det för relationen mellan människor och gemenskap att regionen intar en framskjuten position i samhällsbyggandet? Vilka band knyts mellan regionen och regionmedborgaren i en tid som kännetecknas av globalisering och konkurrens? Hur fördelas rättigheter och skyldigheter mellan regionen och medborgarna, och vad innebär det att vara en god regionmedborgare? Genom en svensk fallstudie analyseras hur regionen och regionala medborgare görs meningsfulla i anslutning till att regionens framtid förhandlas. Materialet består av pressmaterial, utredningsmaterial, observerade offentliga möten samt fokusgrupper med regionmedborgare. Studien visar hur myten om regionen som en tillväxtmaskin intar en dominerande ställning och hur globala marknadslogiker fungerar som villkor för det regionala medborgarskapet.

From the middle of the 19th century onwards the number of protestant missionaries in China increased tremendously. The evangelical revival movement played an important role in this development with pioneers like J. Hudson Taylor and his China Inland Mission (CIM) on the frontlines. The Swedish Holiness Union (SHU) decided to join CIM in the northern parts of China were the union established its missionary field in 1890. This essay aims to explore changes in how other religious practices, groups and subjects are constructed within SHU missionary letters from China published 1891-1950. The source material consists of missionary letters published in the Unions own periodical Trons Segrar 1891, 1928 and 1950. By basing the analysis on Laclau’s and Mouffe’s discourse theory the study will explore how different discursive formations change, affirm or undermine each other and how different religious practices, groups and subjects are constructed and characterized within a discursive framework.

Submitted by Fabio Sobreira Campos da Costa (fabio.sobreira@ufpe.br) on 2017-07-24T12:43:13Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 811 bytes, checksum: e39d27027a6cc9cb039ad269a5db8e34 (MD5) PRINCÍPIO DA ALTERNÂNCIA - EXPERIÊNCIA DE EDUCAÇÃO CONTRA-HEGEMÔNICA NOS CURSOS DE MILITANTES DO.pdf: 1066315 bytes, checksum: e55923317ea79ea8dbdd17f3a569bc61 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-24T12:43:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 811 bytes, checksum: e39d27027a6cc9cb039ad269a5db8e34 (MD5) PRINCÍPIO DA ALTERNÂNCIA - EXPERIÊNCIA DE EDUCAÇÃO CONTRA-HEGEMÔNICA NOS CURSOS DE MILITANTES DO.pdf: 1066315 bytes, checksum: e55923317ea79ea8dbdd17f3a569bc61 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-06-15 / CAPES / Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo analisar o Princípio da Alternância nos cursos de Militantes do Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST) e na Escola de Formação Missionária (EFM). O referencial teórico usado para tal é a Teoria do Discurso de Laclau e Mouffe em um diálogo com a tríplice mimese de Paul Ricoeur. Utilizou-sea análise de documentos escritos e de entrevistas com educandos, educadores e coordenadores de curso do MST e da EFM. O Centro de Formação Paulo Freire em Caruaru, PE, e o Centro de Formação de Mogeiro, PB, foram a base territorial para esta investigação.Ao longo dos capítulos, expõese o princípio da alternância como parte de uma cadeia “equivalencial”, explicitando como, ao participar dela, o MST e a EFM procuram construir uma leitura própria da alternância, visando, com isso, legitimar-se como experiência educativa. A análise dos documentos e das entrevistas permitiu a percepção de que o princípio da alternância vivido em cada uma das experiências de educação popular tem diferenças, mas ambas se confirmam como uma prática contra-hegemônica que se procura apoiar na autogestão dos estudantes como eixo que articula os fazeres pedagógicos nos diversos tempos e espaços educativos. Percebeu-se ao longo da pesquisa como as diversas espacialidades sociais se articulam em torno da finalidade do ato educativo e cada uma das experiências se fia em uma perspectiva de transformação da sociedade, procurando atuar sobre o discurso da educação como um elemento que visa desestabilizar a narrativa hegemônica. / This research objetive to analyze the principle in militants courses of Rural Workers Landless Movement (MST) and the Missionary Training School (EFM). The theoretical framework was based on the theory of Laclau & Mouffe remarks in a dialogue with the triple mimesis of Paul Ricoeur. We used the analysis of written documents and interviews with students, teachers and course coordinators of the MST and the EFM. The Training Centre Paulo Freire in Caruaru, PE and the Mogeiro Training Centre, PB, were the territorial basis for this investigation. Throughout the chapters, it sets up the principle of alternation as part of a equivalencial chain, explaining how, by participating in it, the MST and the FSM seeking to build its own reading of alternation, aiming thereby to legitimize itself as an educational experience . The analysis of documents and interviews allowed the perception that the principle of alternation lived in each of the experiences of popular education have differences, but both are confirmed as a counter-hegemonic practice that seeks to support the selfmanagement of students as that co pedagogical doings in different times and educational spaces. It was noticed throughout the research as the various social spatiality are organized around the purpose of the educational act and each experiment relies on a perspective transformation of society, seeking play on the discourse of education as an element aimed at destabilizing the hegemonic narrative.

In everyday life, imposing your will on your neighbour is likely to turn out counterproductive for your mutual relationship in the long term. Yet, the EU’s Enlargement-policy is commonly perceived as embedded with a spirit of policy imposition. While this is commonly perceived as a by-product of the EU’s power vis-à-vis pre-accession countries, few scholars have studied the implications of such imposition in its pre-accession contexts. This thesis aims to study such implications by drawing on Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theoretical approach (1985). It therefore asks, how can we identify spaces in which counterhegemonic discourses emerge? In answering this, it applies a multi-method case study of Kosovo’s pre-accession context and conceives of Enlargement as a hegemonic discourse. It argues that counterhegemonic spaces can be identified by studying the undecidability of Enlargement’s discursive structure. It finds that Kosovans are subject to a plethora of hegemonic narratives, which simultaneously possess the potential for counterhegemonic disarticulations. From this perspective, events such as the general election in 2019 in Kosovo can be understood as a counterhegemonic moment. In developing its discourse theoretical approach, it contributes to poststructuralist IR and European Integration Studies by developing our understandings of the interplay between hegemonic and counterhegemonic discourses.

The gaming community is generally regarded as highly masculine. Gamers are often identified as white, heterosexual, young men. Women who play games are viewed as an anomaly. In reality many women play, and depending on which games that count, women are the majority of game consumers. The gaming industry has gone through changes and now companies try to satisfy a variety of consumers. The transition to a more including community has woken outrage among those who are no longer the core group of the gamer identity.  Drawing upon discourse theory by Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe and by Stuart Hall's thoughts on identity, this thesis examines how gamer identity is constructed and the conflict that occurs when women enter the masculine imprinted scene of gaming. The empirical material consists mainly of interviews with women who play games as well as a Facebook group made for the informants.  The study shows that there are competing definitions of who is a gamer and that even the most inclusive definition sets up boundaries that distinguishes gamers from non-gamers. A diversity in the gaming community and in the games is a cause of friction. An inclusion of characters that are not representative of the white, young, heterosexual male gamer are sometimes viewed as political statements, which are both celebrated and detested, which leads to a question of how a discourse of politics plays a role in the construction and reproduction of a gamer identity.

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Bullying has been an issue in schools and became a major concern for school leaders over the past two decades. Olweus (1993) defined three characteristics of bullying behavior: intent to harm another, repeated offenses, and a perceived or real power imbalance. This study examined the law's provisions concerning bullying in schools; specifically examining the Florida Jeffrey Johnston Stand Up for All Student Act (2008), and the required policy implemented in Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS). Discourse theory framed the study, as defined by Habermas (1996) and the derivative Interpretive Policy Analysis was used to analyze the district policy, as defined by Yanow (2000). The study utilized four research questions to examine bullying law and policy: what constitutional, statutory, and case law said about bullying; bullying policies in literature; development of bullying policy and how closely it matched law. Constitutional law laid the foundation of the school system. Statutory law provided more details and at the state level, defined requirements concerning bullying. Bullying laws existed in 44 states, the majority addressing one or more of Olweus' components. HCPS developed its xii bullying policy in the fall, 2008, closely following requirements of Florida bullying law. The district had a student conduct policy prior to new requirements and a violence prevention committee (VPC) met monthly. The VPC formed a smaller committee including administrators, teachers, parents, students, and law enforcement members, to develop the policy. The committee examined each component of the state model policy, and either used the item verbatim or added additional information specific to HCPS. The district exceeded state requirements for some items such as extending the definition of bullying to include employees and visitors. Overall, bullying laws were designed to protect students from harmful behaviors. The district policy was designed to achieve this task; however, it was also seen as a means to avoid lawsuits and to protect the district's interests. Implications included the need to update laws/policies continually to reflect the current times, such as new technologies, and the interpretation of laws and eventual implementation in schools. In addition, the interpretive policy analysis process used in this study could be applied to other studies examining the policy development process.