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The purpose of this study is to examine the discussion about public access to information inrelation to independent schools within the newspapers Dagens Nyheter, Aftonbladet andSvenska Dagbladet. To enable this purpose, a qualitative and quantitative content analysis of gathered articles ranging from 2016 up until 2021 was done. In order to examine the empirical data gained from the articles, the study based its theoretical framework upon multiple approaches. These are as follows; one of the most prominent media theories; agenda setting theory which was complimented by framing theory, and Lennart Lundquist’s (1998) idea of a democratic values and economic values in the public sector from his book Guardians of Democracy. Through the material that has been analysed, the study can conclude that the debate about the principle of public access to information increases around the year 2020 and that the years before, the debate about independent schools was centered on other topics. The study also concludes that there is an overall balance between the arguments for economic and democratic values but the importance of the principle of public access to information about schools is emphasised in most of the articles.

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This study explores the use and apparent meaning of the concept of “Swedishness” in political discourse as presented by two of the largest political parties in Sweden within their political material produced for the 2022 election. The paper employs qualitative content analysis as well as analytic tools from critical discourse analysis. Results of the study indicate that national identity as a socially constructed concept holds little relevance to these political parties, and real identification of the attributes which constitute the national identity of Swedes are few. Instead the concept is used as a political tool by both parties to gain support, and gains form and attributes based on how the tool is to be wielded by either party.

Questions regarding responsibilities in war are deeply related to moral discussions. Just war theory is a theory developed in order to categorize in which ways a war can be performed to be as just as possible. The theory was primarily divided into two dimensions: jus ad bellum and jus in bello which focuses on the reasons for going to war and the execution of the war. In recent years a third component to the theory has been discussed which incorporates the responsibilities after a war has been terminated, also known as jus post bellum. In this essay, just war theory is applicable to NATO:s invasion, Operation Unified Protector (OUP), of Libya during the civil war in 2011. In order to do so, a qualitative study has been chosen as methodology based on primary and secondary sources. By analyzing NATO:s actions from a just war perspective, the results present that the invasion was just based on jus ad bellum and jus in bello. The jus post bellum dimension did, in this case study, weaken OUP from a just war perspective as very few post war measures were implemented and sustainable peace did not arise after the operation ended.

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The climate initiative Fossilfritt Sverige, largely comprised of companies, has been advanced as an integral part for the national climate ambition of Sweden becoming a fossil free welfare state by 2045. This paper seeks to explore and provide insights about the relationship between company characteristics, and motives for, voluntary engagement in the initiative. The study uses a mixed method approach to test hypotheses and expectations regarding such relationships. In doing so an original dataset of 400 of Swedish companies is analysed using binary regression analyses along with a thematic analysis of 15 previously carried out interviews with company representatives. The findings of the study support a hypothesis of ISO 14001 certified companies being more likely- and further indicates that companies with higher annual net revenues are less likely to engage with the initiative. Moreover, the findings indicate that engagement is especially influenced by competitive motives. It is further suggested that financially smaller, along with certified, companies thus perceive greater marketing and coinciding legitimising benefits from engagement in the initiative. This paper thereby contributes to the literature on private actors and their collaborations with public actors in climate governance by providing with insights into which and why companies voluntarily engage with the climate initiative.

How do some political elites, in unstable democracies with communal divisions, use ethnic, religious, and tribal affiliations for a rhetoric of polarisation and/or reconciliation when running for office? This thesis applies a framing analysis to explore how political elites employ these affiliations in speech acts, mainly political rallies, to construct narratives of polarisation and reconciliation during election campaigns. The theoretical framework is constructed by previous research on “Big Men” politics and the rhetoric used by ex-combatants turned politicians within a context embossed with electoral violence and division. The thesis conducts a qualitative case study of the 2023 Nigerian election, where the frames used by the winner of the election, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and his main opponents, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, are investigated. While previous research suggests ambiguity in the rhetoric of political elites, the empirical findings reveal a surprising level of consistency in the candidates' framing. This study offers perspectives on Nigeria and similar multi-ethnic nations marked by communal divisions. It contributes to the comprehension of the intricacies of political communication in unstable democracies, where language has the power to either promote reconciliation or exacerbate polarisation.

Non-violent protests are extensively connected to successful democratization, but they also constitute socially fragmenting events. This is particularly dangerous in societies with pre-existing ethnic divisions which is why the protests’ democratizing effects need to be studied on a subnational level. A protest movement will, regardless of its size, only manage to actively include a minority of a country’s population, which is why the ‘spill-over effects’ on non-participants also need to be studied. This study thus addresses the question: How do democratizing spill-over effects from non-violent protest campaigns affect different socio-political groups? I hypothesise that non-aligned groups are less likely to see the effects as social echo-chambers are likely to minimize their exposure to the movements’ democratic ideals. I test the hypotheses by interviewing respondents from different socio-political groups on opposite sides of Malawian politics, and particularly on opposite sides of the 2019 protest movement. Only partial support was found for the theorised echo-chamber effects, but this is explained by the findings that these groups were less isolated than expected and shared a general distrust of Malawian leaders. The main democratizing effect of the 2019 non-violent protest movement was a broad sense of ‘empowerment’.

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