One of the most frequent questions in the study of Chinese foreign policy is whether China can be regarded as a responsible member of international society. It is the aim of the presented thesis to look more closely at China's behaviour in the present international society in terms of responsibility. The thesis utilizes the concept of international society developed by the English school of international relations and interconnects it with the concept of responsibility in international relations to determine a set of criteria which an ordinary state or great power must meet in order to be regarded as responsible in the present international society. In order to determine whether China behaves as a responsible ordinary state or great power on the international level, the thesis utilizes the method of the most likely and the least likely case studies. The analysis of China's behaviour in the World Trade Organization and within the nuclear non-proliferation regime can provide sufficient evidence of China's acceptance of primary institutions forming the backbone of the present international society. The findings have serious implications for thinking of contemporary China as a status quo state respecting institutions and rules of the present international society.

The thesis aims to address criticisms of cosmopolitanism that characterise it as an elite discourse, by exploring the role that it might play in Third World resistance movements. In doing so, it complicates the landscape of international normative theory, which has traditionally been mapped as a debate between cosmopolitanism and communitarianism. Part I of the thesis argues that cosmopolitanism and communitarianism can function as languages in which First and Third World states respectively justify exercises of power that impede the self-determination of Third World societies. These discourses of power frame the condition of postcoloniality, which might be understood – borrowing the terminology of International Society theorists – as an entrapment of Third World societies between 'coercive solidarism' and 'authoritarian pluralism'. A normative worldview committed to enhancing the scope for self-determination of such societies must be critical of the production of both external and internal environments that are hostile to the enjoyment of self-determination by Third World peoples. Part II of the thesis explores the political challenges of sustaining such a critique by studying four theorists of resistance who perceive themselves as manoeuvring between hostile external and internal environments. It analyses the political thought of Rabindranath Tagore and Edward Said, who were both leading figures of anti-colonial nationalist movements but also fierce critics of nationalism. It also studies the activism of two leaders in the field of 'anti-globalisation' protest – Subcomandante Marcos of the Zapatistas in Mexico and Professor Nanjundaswamy of the Karnataka State Farmers' Association in India – who struggle against both national elites and global capital. Part II concludes that if resistance in the condition of postcoloniality must grapple simultaneously with both a hostile 'outside' and 'inside', it must speak in mixed registers of universalism and particularity. Cumulatively, the thesis demonstrates that the language of common humanity operates in ways that are both oppressive and emancipatory, just as the language of community is a source of both repression and refuge. Normative theory that does not seek to hold both in tension fails the needs of our non-ideal world.

The thesis called Education in the Hare Krishna movement aims primarily to gather information about the purpose, principles and methods of education in gurukulas of International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) abroad and open research problems of education in Czech Hare Krishna movement. At first the text describes the background and theoretical concepts of education in the movement and its comparison with the original method of education vaisnava tradition. Further, the text describes a specific historical development and education form of ISKCON΄s gurukulas, the issue of child abuse and provides available information about the current form of education in the world gurukulas. The last part is focused on the project Gurukula Krishna΄s court in Czech Republic and reconstruction of failed efforts of Czech devotees dedicated to its inclusion in the network of schools and educational institutions of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic in the period 1995-1997 on the basis of unpublished archival materials. Key words Guru, gurukula, education, ISKCON, Krishna΄s court, Prabhupada, Rochford, The Hare Krishna movement, The International Society for Krishna Consciousness, training

The archives of religious communities is a sparingly treated subject and christian community archives constitute the majority of the archives studied. The main purpose of this thesis is to investigate the relevance of James M. O'Toole's four characteristics of religious archives put forward in his article What’s different about religious archives? Another implicit purpose is to expand the knowledge of religious community archives and include archives from other world religions. The thesis's theoretical starting-point is O'Toole's characteristics which are also used as a basis for the questions that the thesis set out to answer. The main question is to what extent O'Toole's characteristics are relevant for studying archives linked to modern religious communities operating in Sweden. The method used is interviews. A total of seven people were interviewed who had knowledge of seven religious community archives. The archives were linked to the Mission Covenant Church of Sweden, the Catholic Bishopric, the Jewish Community in Stockholm, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Triratna Buddhist Community and the Baptist Union of Sweden. With the exception of interviews, the source material consisted of literature (books and articles), web pages, archive registers and email correspondence. The result is that O'Toole's characteristics are not particularly relevant for studying archives linked to modern religious communities operating in Sweden. Religion does not seem so important for religious archives as O'Toole claims. On a scale of 0–5, the relevance of O'Toole's characteristics is 1–2. For this reason, the characteristics need to be modified. There are good opportunities for future researchers to develop the subject and supplement this study. This is a two years master’s thesis in Archival Science.

The issue of humanitarian intervention presents a perennial conundrum and is one of the hottest topics in contemporary international relations. It contains aspects of both idealism and realism and is largely an issue born out of the end of the Cold War. This paper provides a theoretical and empirical evaluation of this normative shift in interstate affairs. The vast growing body of human rights law serves as one indication that international law is changing in terms of a shift of focus, away from states, and towards the international community made up of individuals. However, in absence of a formal agreement on how and to what scope international law has changed, conclusions can only be made based on the emerging, limited and fragile body of state and UN practices. If such a shift were to be accompanied by a corresponding empirical transformation, it would undoubtedly represent a huge leap forward towards a more solidarist underpinned world order. The present trends within international relations represent at least an aspiration towards some more clearly envisioned solidarity. As international actors interact, they generate new norms, but one must remember that the actors and their practices are themselves products of older norms. The present structures of international society are not ready to accommodate such change. Human rights are important, not only because they become embedded in institutions and create new coalitions between actors, but also because they help states redefine their national interests and identities, as well as help them to choose among conflicting priorities such as sovereignty and humanity. Under the present global system, any discussion of the international protection of human rights and humanitarian intervention implies changes in both norms and practices. The theoretical part of this paper provides a framework for assessing these recent developments by determining first, how and why values are shared, and what these values need to be in order for international society to be categorized as solidarist. The empirical part, then moves on to assess state and UN practice in order to conclude if solidarism is a reality in today’s international society. In this paper, I argue that there is an international consensus in terms of a right to humanitarian intervention in cases of threats against international peace and security and where the UN S.C has given its authorization. Furthermore, even though not clearly establishing any such right to intervention, cases like East Timor, northern Iraq and Kosovo points to a normative shift where the redefinition of the concept of sovereignty might become a reality. This new consensus is a product of mainly three recent developments: a more expansive interpretation of the S.C on what constitutes a threat to international peace and security, the revolution of information technology that has heightened awareness of conflict and suffering, and the increased robustness of international human rights norms. While diversity continues to characterize the 21st century, there is a greater degree of consensus on the meaning of sovereignty and human rights today than most pluralists suggest. Nevertheless, the practical behaviour of the international community shows that the commitment to solidarism remains minimal.

[pt] Esta tese, fundamentada, principalmente, na Escola Inglesa, analisa o papel na sociedade internacional das práticas sociais relacionadas com o uso não coercitivo dos recursos do âmbito da Defesa entre os Estados e outras entidades que atuam na política internacional. As características, institucionalização, internacionalização, os fatores culturais e as críticas e tensões concernentes com essas práticas são descritas e examinadas, permitindo concluir-se que o fenômeno se constitui um tipo específico de diplomacia: a diplomacia de defesa, considerada como uma instituição da sociedade internacional. / [en] This doctoral dissertation, based, mainly, on the English School, analyzes the role in international society of the social practices related to non-coercive use of Defense s resources between states and other entities with standing in international politics. The features, institutionalization, globalization, cultural factors and criticisms and tensions related to these practices are described and discussed, allowing to conclude that the phenomenon is a particular kind of diplomacy: defense diplomacy, regarded as an institution of international society.

Neonatal screening (NBS) was initiated in Europe during the 1960s with the screening for phenylketonuria. The panel of screened disorders (“conditions”) then gradually expanded, with a boost in the late 1990s with the introduction of tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS), making it possible to screen for 40–50 conditions using a single blood spot. The most recent additions to screening programmes (screening for cystic fibrosis, severe combined immunodeficiency and spinal muscular atrophy) were assisted by or realised through the introduction of molecular technologies. For this survey, we collected data from 51 European countries. We report the developments between 2010 and 2020 and highlight the achievements reached with the progress made in this period. We also identify areas where further progress can be made, mainly by exchanging knowledge and learning from experiences in neighbouring countries. Between 2010 and 2020, most NBS programmes in geographical Europe matured considerably, both in terms of methodology (modernised) and with regard to the panel of conditions screened (expanded). These developments indicate that more collaboration in Europe through European organisations is gaining momentum. We can only accomplish the timely detection of newborn infants potentially suffering from one of the many rare diseases and take appropriate action by working together.

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This thesis examines the policies, positions, and perspectives of developing countries on the emerging norm of humanitarian intervention after the Cold War, focusing on the period between 1991 and 2001. In doing so, it questions the role of opposition that conventional wisdom has allotted to them as parochial defenders of sovereignty. Instead, the thesis reveals variation and complexity, which militates against defining the South, or the issues that humanitarian intervention raises, in simplistic either-or terms. Part I draws on insights about ‘sovereignty as what states make of it’ to break the classic pluralism-solidarism impasse that has otherwise stymied the conversation on humanitarian intervention and confined the South as a whole to a ‘black box’ labelled rejectionism. It reconstructs the empirical record of developing countries at large on six cases of military intervention (northern Iraq, Somalia, Haiti, Sierra Leone, Kosovo, and East Timor), revealing variation that defies easy categorization. It also charts a cumulative and dynamic trend within the South towards a grey area between pluralism and solidarism that shows how these were not diametrically opposed positions. Following from that, Part II looks in-depth at India and Argentina. Whereas Argentina accepted the idea of humanitarian intervention, India remained reluctant to countenance it and persistently objected to the development of a new rule in its favour. Part II argues that the level of congruence between the emerging norm and the two countries’ prevailing values, aspirations, and historically constructed ways of thinking played a key role in determining the different levels of acceptance that the idea found with them. Part III delves deeper into the substance of their views. It shows how neither country constructed mutually exclusive choices between pluralism and solidarism, sovereignty and human rights, and intervention and non-intervention. Rather, both exhibited an acute awareness of the dilemmas of protecting human rights in a society of states, and a wariness of yes-no answers. Cumulatively, this thesis thus points away from thinking about the South itself as a given category with clear, shared or pre-determined ideas, and towards a more nuanced and inclusive conversation on humanitarian intervention.