<p>The aim of this political scientist paper is to describe and analyze the quasi state Iraqi Kurdistan 1992-2006 using the theory of Kolstö about how and why quasi states develops and the theory of Pegg regarding how the international society deal with quasi states. A qualitative case method is used. In the study the two theories are combined. Iraqi Kurdistan is used as a case to study to confirm Kolstö’s and Pegg’s theories. It’s an interesting case as it’s included in one of the most sensitive geo political areas in the world. The Kuwait war 1990 and the Second Gulf war 1991 were the incentive to Iraqi Kurdistan as a quasi state and the US invasion of Iraq 2003 was the incentive to the end of it. In conclusion the case verify the theories and the theories promote the understanding of Iraqi Kurdistan’s period as a quasi state. The goal of the quasi state Iraqi Kurdistan was to become a federal state in a federal Iraq and it succeeded.</p>

<p>The purpose of this Masters thesis is to examine the representation of student life in Uppsala in the 1860s and 1870s in memoirs. This purpose is achieved by contextualising the memoirs in two different analyses. In the first, the representation of student life in the memoirs is compared to that in another literary genre, the university novel, and it is found that the two representational forms paint completely contradictory pictures, where in the novels the higher education is depicted as rotten and in dire need of reformation, whereas in the memoirs the system, albeit somewhat flawed, works. The memoirs and the novels thus seem to be competing systems of representation, created in different discourses, wherein the purpose and nature of higher education widely differed. In the second analysis, the examination of the memoirs is based on research concerning the nation building process in Sweden during the 19th century. The representation of student life in the memoirs fits well into this process, the stories of carnivals, of the drill of the special student militia and, especially, of the abundant student male choir singing, creates a picture of students as a defined societal group with a special political agenda. This place in society is idealized, the male choir singers are, for example, depicted as an avant-garde of national consciousness, and depicted as mainly harmonious</p>

The purpose of this Masters thesis is to examine the representation of student life in Uppsala in the 1860s and 1870s in memoirs. This purpose is achieved by contextualising the memoirs in two different analyses. In the first, the representation of student life in the memoirs is compared to that in another literary genre, the university novel, and it is found that the two representational forms paint completely contradictory pictures, where in the novels the higher education is depicted as rotten and in dire need of reformation, whereas in the memoirs the system, albeit somewhat flawed, works. The memoirs and the novels thus seem to be competing systems of representation, created in different discourses, wherein the purpose and nature of higher education widely differed. In the second analysis, the examination of the memoirs is based on research concerning the nation building process in Sweden during the 19th century. The representation of student life in the memoirs fits well into this process, the stories of carnivals, of the drill of the special student militia and, especially, of the abundant student male choir singing, creates a picture of students as a defined societal group with a special political agenda. This place in society is idealized, the male choir singers are, for example, depicted as an avant-garde of national consciousness, and depicted as mainly harmonious

Namibia won its independence in 1990 after a long liberation struggle lead by the – since independence ruling party – SWAPO. There is an ongoing nation-building process in the multiethnic country ever since, with a vision about a unified nation. This study examines the relationship between the nation and one of its ethnic minority groups; the San. From a socio-economic perspective the San is the most disadvantaged ethnic group of contemporary Namibia. How do members of San experience national participation? How does the nation handle the ethnic diversity? This study illustrates that a national identity is promoted by the government and that the struggle for an unified nation is legitimized with the liberation struggle and its won independence. At the same time members of San seem to identify their living situation with ethnicity and are more concerned about the survival of their closest community than national participation. The discussion is based on qualitative interviews where experiences among San-members and one NGO-volunteer are analysed with inspiration of the method Grounded Theory, related to earlier research on the field and theories of nationalism and ethnicity.

The 1933 genocidal attacks on Assyrians in the Simele region defined the birth of the nascent Iraqi nation and identity. Iraq has ever been in the spotlight of ethnic and cultural strife, especially concerning Sunni-Shia animosity, and more recently in dealing with the Kurdish people and Iraqi Kurdistan. In most cases, however, the Assyrians are completely neglected from scholarship concerning Iraq and its peoples. This work reinserts the Assyrian people into the fabric of Iraq and discusses the violent and non-violent suppression of Assyrian identity and culture through genocide, cultural genocide, and ethnic cleansing. Three fundamental factors emerge from this reinsertion with respect to Iraq and genocide. First, this approach introduces an often-neglected element in Iraqi studies: the inclusion of minorities, or micro-minorities, within the existing discourse on Iraqi studies. Second, it contributes to genocide studies by examining the impact of the non-physical, or cultural, aspect of genocide. Further, it discusses the importance of the Assyrian case in Iraq for understanding Iraqi history, and serves as a case in point of scaling suffering and for understanding how and why a hierarchy of genocide exists.

WOMEN’S RELATIONSHIPS: FEMALE FRIENDSHIP IN TONI MORRISON’S SULA AND LOVE, MARIAMA BA’S SO LONG A LETTER AND SEFI ATTA’S EVERYTHING GOOD WILL COME by KADIDIA SY Under the Direction of Renée Schatteman, Chris Kocela and Margaret Harper ABSTRACT This study analyzes female friendship in four novels written by black diasporic women and examines the impact of race, class and gender on women’s relationships. The novels emphasize how women face the challenges of patriarchal institutions and other attempts to subjugate then through polygamy, neo-colonialism, constraints of tradition, caste prejudice, political instability and the Biafra war. This dissertation uses characterization and plot analysis to explore the different stories and messages the novels portray. As findings this study foregrounds the healing powers of female bonding, which allows women to overcome prejudice and survive, to enjoy female empowerment, and to extend female friendship into female solidarity that participates in nation building. However, another conclusion focuses on the power of patriarchy which constitutes a threat to female bonding and usually causes women’s estrangement. INDEX WORDS: Women’s relationships, Female friendship, Female bonding, Sisterhood, Female solidarity, Female Empowerment

This thesis examines the present-day educational policies enacted by Spain in response to the country’s growing immigrant populations, specifically by comparing the policies implemented in two of Spain’s distinct autonomies. The thesis ultimately argues that the regions’ differing conceptualizations of national identity and their distinct relationships to the central Spanish state play a fundamental role in their motivations to enact comprehensive and effective policies that promote immigrants’ educational and social success.

The 1933 genocidal attacks on Assyrians in the Simele region defined the birth of the nascent Iraqi nation and identity. Iraq has ever been in the spotlight of ethnic and cultural strife, especially concerning Sunni-Shia animosity, and more recently in dealing with the Kurdish people and Iraqi Kurdistan. In most cases, however, the Assyrians are completely neglected from scholarship concerning Iraq and its peoples. This work reinserts the Assyrian people into the fabric of Iraq and discusses the violent and non-violent suppression of Assyrian identity and culture through genocide, cultural genocide, and ethnic cleansing. Three fundamental factors emerge from this reinsertion with respect to Iraq and genocide. First, this approach introduces an often-neglected element in Iraqi studies: the inclusion of minorities, or micro-minorities, within the existing discourse on Iraqi studies. Second, it contributes to genocide studies by examining the impact of the non-physical, or cultural, aspect of genocide. Further, it discusses the importance of the Assyrian case in Iraq for understanding Iraqi history, and serves as a case in point of scaling suffering and for understanding how and why a hierarchy of genocide exists.

This thesis considers Michael Ignatieff’s theory regarding ethnic conflict and applies Afghanistan as a case study. Ignatieff correlates the outbreak of ethnic violence to the breakdown of state government which creates societal anarchy and war. Ignatieff argues that ethnic relations can improve through the creation of democratic institutions. Afghanistan represents a model empirical case study to explore the central tenets of the Ignatieff thesis. Ignatieff’s argument is critically analyzed by assessing the viability of transplanting democratic institutions into Afghanistan. According to democratic theory a successful democracy requires a strong economy, a vibrant civil society, an advantageous institutional history and a positive security and geopolitical environment. Based on these five key variables it is reasonable to conclude that Afghanistan is not predisposed to pluralistic governance. Such analysis highlights the limitations of Ignatieff’s thesis as his theory is only relevant to those post-conflict societies that possess the requisite preconditions for democracy. / February 2007

The objective of this thesis is to examine the impact of nation building policies over the Russian minority in post-Soviet Kazakhstan. In order to do so, the thesis first examines the Soviet nationality policies in general and their practice in Kazakhstan in particular. Second, the thesis examines the impact of the post-Soviet nation building policies over the Russians in Kazakhstan by focusing on five major issues: political elites, state planning and recruitment policy, language policy and rewriting of history, issue of citizenship and the relocation of the state capital. As a result, the thesis argues that, the post-Soviet nation building policies of Kazakhstan have overall had a negative impact over the Russian minority living in the republic. It is argued that this negative impact is mostly visible in the areas employment, and social and cultural spheres. In addition, the thesis also argues that opponents of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev, both Russian and Kazakh, have largely been curbed by the Kazakh government.