Whilst several studies acknowledge the role of gender norms and structures in environmental research, little attention is paid to the explicit influence of men and masculinities in pro-environmental behavior. Additionally, research concerning this man-environment nexus is almost nonexistent in the context of the Global South. This thesis aims to address this research gap by analyzing the influence of hegemonic masculinity norms on the attitudes of male university students in Rabat, Morocco to engage in pro-environmental behavior. The research is conducted by qualitative semi-structured focus group interviews with 15 male university students in Rabat during May and June 2023, with a theoretical framework drawing upon Martin Hultman and Paul M. Pulé’s theoretical efforts of Ecological Masculinities. The findings suggest that the contextual hegemonic masculinity norms socialize the respondents into internalizing a myopic approach to engaging in pro-environmental behavior; materializing into either anti-environmental attitudes or, more prominently, techno-scientific solutionist attitudes. Relatedly, the respondents dismiss engaging in the individual pro-environmental behaviors considered feminine in order to avoid judgements, social exclusion and demasculinization. The thesis concludes by delineating the importance of including men and multiple masculinities in environmental research, especially as men can be considered the gatekeepers to transformative climate change adaptation and mitigation.

This study aims to give an alternative understanding of why military doctrines could be rejected by its organization. Previous researcher has explained doctrinal rejection and reluctance to change mainly through organizational and cultural theories. This study takes its point of departure in theresearch of doctrinal implementation. A doctrine can be perfectly writtenbut if the organization does not understand it, the doctrine will fail its purpose. Education is considered a vital part of implementation and doctrinalunderstanding, but the subject is underexplored. The study therefore examines military teachers understanding of military doctrines. With an ideal typology the study presents three types of understandings and revenue of doctrine and then draws the conclusion that doctrinal implementation needs toaddress a variation of ides to be properly incorporated in the education ofofficers to avoid a contradictory dynamic.

This paper explores how refugees learn at the German dual VET (GdVET) workplace. It looksat the interactions between Germans and refugees, questions what learning and working in agroup in the workplace means for the participants, and what factors support the refugees'learning.For this purpose, a framework of five spheres borrowing and combining elements fromWenger's (1998b) Community of Practice and Lave & Wenger’s (1991) situated learning isused. They allow to observe and discuss possible learning characteristics for refugees in aGdVET. These spheres are explored in a case study, a bakery factory. For this sake, a limitedparticipatory observation and eight interviews with Germans and refugees at the workplacewere conducted.Results confirm, i.a., the refugees' extraordinary motivation and commitment, highlighted inprevious research and media. Furthermore, the particularly striking loyalty the refugees holdfor their work domain is elicited and analyzed in the context of the refugees biography,experience, and development at work. It is found that the bakery's owner's role and his tirelesscommitment to equal opportunities and against racism play a significant identificatory role forthe refugees and their professional identification. Furthermore, the study shows that learning ina multicultural setting with vertical power relations also happens by non-verbal negotiationthrough observing the reaction of the others and testing out possibilities, roles, and participation. All of them leading eventually to a multicultural domesticated workplace to which all canfeel committed.

In the thesis the aim was to compare the EU legal system with the Swedish national legal system with specific focus on gender discrimination law. Findings showed Sweden applied discrimination law in accordance with EU directives but went further than what the Gender Recast Directive, and the EU law itself, required of it. Findings also revealed Sweden uses bi- and multilateral agreements to further EU discrimination law. If such agreements are in accordance with EU primary laws, to which Sweden as a member state has agreed to follow when it acceded to the Union, such agreements will be accepted by the Union. Other findings were related to the Union institutions themselves. These institutions are much more co-dependent than was originally thought and the democratic function of the institutions are treaty secured as far as voting in of representatives to the Parliament give EU citizens power to influence legislation of the EU, likewise the European Citizens’ Initiative giving each EU citizen a chance to propose new legislation. Regulations that are deemed, by member states, to be in breach of EU primary law can be tried and interpreted by the Court of Justice of the European Union and if said regulation is deemed being in breach of EU primary law it can be annulled.

This essay examines the ideological change in the Swedish moderate party during the time period between 2002-2022. This ideological analysis is based on Andrew Heywoods theoretical framework on ideology (2021) and Jan Hyléns (1991) operationalized apparatus on central values associated with liberalism and conservatism. The results show significant ideological value change in the Swedish moderate party’s view on state power as well as a weakened ideological anchoring in liberalism towards the end of the studied time period.

Kriminalpolitiken har varit ett hett politiskt ämne i den svenska dagordningen på grund av den ökade brottsligheten i samhället under de senaste åren. Politiska partier har en avgörande roll i brottsbekämpningen, exempelvis genom att framlägga förslag om lagar och regler för att minska kriminaliteten. Politiska partier formulerar sina mål och åtgärder utifrån sina ideologiska grundvärderingar. Under de senaste decennierna ansågs Socialdemokraternas kriminalpolitik börjat bli mindre ideologisk laddad. Detta skapar en ideologisk problematik, eftersom varje politiskt parti ska utgå från sin ideologi när de utformar sina politiska sakfrågor. Socialdemokraterna är ett socialistiskt parti och därmed bör utforma sina politiska sakfrågor utifrån värderingar och ståndpunkter som finns inom socialismen.Det övergripande syftet med studien är att analysera hur mycket Socialdemokraterna följer sin ideologi i kriminalpolitikens utformning. Samtidigt vill vi se om socialismens värderingar som representerats i kriminalpolitiken har skiftat genom åren. Studien illustrerar i vilken utsträckning Socialdemokraternas kriminalpolitiska förebyggande arbete och insatser hänger ihop med partiets ideologi.Studien visar att Socialdemokraterna har skiftat i sin utformning av kriminalpolitiken mellan år 2002 och 2022. Något som har påverkat partiets inställning till sina ideologiska ståndpunkter.

Underdevelopment has plagued Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), since independence the post-colonial African states have experienced extreme poverty, unemployment, and other economic ailments that have persisted in the region. The aim of this thesis is to critique the null hypothesis of dependency theorists that it is structural factors that cause underdevelopment instead this study proposes an alternative hypothesis through Neo-Classical Realism to explain that it is in fact state-level actors and domestic issues that are the true culprit of causing the dependent variable. The methodological approach is a single embedded case-study with an explaining-outcome process-tracing. The thesis found that the cause of the underdevelopment in Nigeria is firmly rooted in the domestic sphere and that it delves much deeper than the main factors; resource dependence, lax institutions, prebendalism, and Sino-Nigerian relations, but it is the socio-political culture that has produced the norms which the elites operate on and possibly contributing to the exasperation of the negative aspects of the main factors that have perpetuated and sustained underdevelopment in Nigeria and SSA.

Sierra Leone is a low-income country where 7.3% of its expenditure comes from the state and the rest is from charity and private expenditure, and therefore there is no official budget for mental health. Although many postcolonial countries have ratified international laws, many still have colonial discriminatory laws like ‘Lunacy Acts’ as national law, one of these countries are Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone has ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights but hasn’t abolished ‘The Lunacy Act’ from 1902. ‘The Lunacy Act’ is a law against individuals with suspected mental health illnesses, therefore the focus of this thesis is mental health in Sierra Leone.  Scholars believe that part of Sierra Leone's issues are due to Sierra Leone's colonial history. For that reason, this thesis has a postcolonial outlook for a deeper understanding of why 'The Lunacy Act' remains in a postcolonial Sierra Leone. To achieve that goal, a meticulous qualitative text analysis is needed. A comparison with ‘A postcolonial critique of Mental health’ will be made to help dissect the true postcolonial meaning of ‘The Lunacy Act’. Although the formal colonization is over, the ideological ones remain. This is noticeable through, for example, science. Western imperialism is not felt through physical colonialism such as borders and people, but also within cultural and political hegemony. An example of this is 'The Lunacy Act'.   The negative view of mental illness in postcolonial Sierra Leone persists due to the cultural hegemony. It is stronger than the political hegemony partly because the Sierra Leonean cultural hegemony cooperates with the thought system of Western psychiatry, meaning that the global south is more prone to mental illness, according to the colonial racialized system. In other words, "The Lunacy Act" is partly a tool of Western psychiatry and capitalism and that is why it has not been abolished in postcolonial Sierra Leone.

This study aims to utilize Juan J. Linz and Alfred Stepan's (1996) theory of democratic consolidation with its five interactive arenas to comprehend how the Belarusian dictatorship consolidated during the 1990s. A crucial aspect to achieve this aim is to ascertain whether the theory can provide clarity on when autocratic consolidation has occurred, or if it rather elucidates the process of autocratization in Belarus. The paper adopts a descriptive qualitative case study methodology with a deductive approach. By flipping the theory's perspective and examining how the regime undermined the arenas to strengthen autocracy, the study reveals the extent to which Belarus fulfills Linz and Stepan's (1996) three criteria of behavioral, attitudinal, and constitutional consolidation to gain insights into the consolidation of the Belarusian dictatorship. The findings reveal that the Lukashenko-led Belarusian regime systematically eroded aspects across all five arenas to consolidate its dictatorship. However, given the unascertainable attitudinal consolidation that transpired in Belarus during the 1990s, the study cannot pinpoint when autocratic consolidation occurred. Instead, it concludes that an autocratization process began under Lukashenko's rule, facilitated by political, social, legal, institutional, and economic maneuvers aimed at consolidating power. Taken together, the results deepen our understanding of what strategies autocratic regimes may employ to strengthen autocracy.

This paper investigates the impact of place-based identity on trust in international organizations and examines the role of civic engagement in reinforcing or mitigating these attitudes. In an era marked by global challenges and increasing polarization, trust in international organizations has become crucial for effective cooperation. Previous research has identified place-based identity as a fundamental social identity that influences out-group attitudes and plays a role in shaping civic engagement outcomes. Drawing on social identity theory and social capital theory, this study employs quantitative methods, utilizing ANES survey data conducted in the United States to explore the relationship between place-based identity and trust in international organizations. Focusing on the distinction between rural- and urban-identifying American citizens, the results reveal that rural-identifying individuals exhibit lower levels of trust in international organizations compared to their urban counterparts. These differences are characterized by marginal yet statistically significant effects. Furthermore, although the conditioning effect of civic engagement is not statistically significant, it provides intriguing insights that suggest it may reinforce the impact of place-based identity, potentially leading to negative effects on trust in civil society. These findings contribute to a broadened understanding of the interplay between identity and political attitudes, shedding light on the factors that influence them.