There has been a rise in Right-wing extremism (RWE) mobilizing within what is known as the setter-colonial state of Canada, with some groups espousing values and narratives grounded in White nationalist ideology which have led to instances of violence and harm against community members. These incidents of harm and violence occur in the context of the Canadian state's claims to inclusive multiculturalism, civility and benevolence. While there are many looking into the presence of RWE groups to document their existence, mobilizing patterns and tactics, very little analysis exists that offers a deep analysis into these groups and situates their political ideology within the broader context of the Canadian state’s governance logics. Therefore, to push the discussion on this topic further, this project looks at the specific case of the Canadian Nationalist Front's (CNF), a White nationalist group in Canada, and unpacks the discourse shared on their blog. Through dissecting the CNF's blogpost with a theoretical framework of analysis that moves beyond understanding this group as merely a fringe group which holds fundamentally different values than the Canadian state, I make links to the existing literature that demonstrates the parallels between the two. I argue that the racialized governance logics of White nationalist groups, like the CNF, are also shared in the settler-colonial logics of the Canadian state's border governance strategies. Further, I highlight the ways in which groups like the CNF ground their movements in the superiority of Whiteness, while using the state's claims of inclusivity and multiculturalism to justify their entitlement to hold these exclusionary ideologies while presenting themselves as victims of those that they "Other". Finally, I contextualize their discourse within the context of neoliberalism, which has intensified the harms of racial capitalism in a way that has also impacted the White working class and allowed groups like the CNF to use economic grievances to mobilize their movements.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a system whereby members purchase shares in a farm in the spring and then receive produce (maple syrup, meat, honey, vegetables, fruit, etc.) over the course of the growing season. The significance of this system is contested with critics, chiefly sociologist Julie Guthman (2008), asserting that CSA reproduces neoliberalism. Guthman's thesis on the relationship between practices, subjectivities, and political imaginaries is generative. My intervention is predominantly methodological. Guthman offers a systemic overview, in keeping with Michel Foucault's scholarship on governmentality, but does not explore the embodied nature of governmentality at the scale of the people involved. I contend that to understand how neoliberal governmentality plays out in CSA, we need to explore embodied practices at the scale of the people involved. I rely on Dorothy Smith's agent perspective and examine the practices associated with CSA for a discursive reading of those practices. My discursive reading employs J.K. Gibson-Graham's diverse economies approach. Participation in CSA cultivates a sense of connection to a local geographic community, and a community of practice, contrary to the seemingly individualized nature of the market transactions which form the basis of CSA. This sense of connection is supportive of prefigurative practices, farming practices, and activism. The relationality experienced by CSA farmers and members undergirds political activism, and the connection to communities of practice galvanizes and supports both discursive and protest practices. Attention to discourse at the scale of the individual provides insight into how discourses are co-produced and allows us to observe discourses in various stages of development, from those just entering the public square on social media, to those further developed, conceptually rich, with saliency for both farmers and members, and linked to political protest. The communities that exist in opposition to the individualization of neoliberalism, the production of discourse that both resists and reinscribes neoliberalism, and the practices that shape our subjects and political imaginaries, visible at this scale, provide insight into the connection between local and global discourses, and the connection between everyday practices and protest.

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This research will analyze the impact of bipartisan politics and the media's conflicting role in influencing public perceptions regarding national security issues. The central focus is on popular media narratives, critically examined as an impediment to fostering unified public solidarity or opposition regarding the enactment of controversial legislation. In light of the increase in geopolitical conflict and the pervasive nature of terrorism, this study attempts to analyze the media's public role versus the privacy of clandestine agencies whose policies, albeit controversial address critical national security concerns. As a result, the conflict inherent between institutional and public spheres provides the groundwork for discursive and objective analysis.Empirical data collection and critical analysis of relevant materials; academic journals, online archives and published works by individuals active in media and national security, provide the primary source of qualitative data. Research was primarily inductive. Analysis effectively combined data from various qualitative sources in an effort to justify the central hypothesis. Contemporary tragic events also provided a supplemental source of relevant content. It is important to note, such events resonate with the rationalization arrived at in the conclusion.The principle aim of this research was to address the question: Does the media's promotion of the bipartisan political agenda impede or enhance national security policies? In addition, is the role of the media reflective of state subservience or does the media actively challenge national security initiatives, e.g. curtailing of civil liberties, human rights violations and loss of constitutional freedoms? The analysis further subjected by cross-disciplinary inquiry and academic theories pertinent to achieving the principle aims of this research.The theoretical framework and methodology utilized was consistent with political discourse analysis (PDA), specifically textual, as all discursive elements were present within the collected source materials. Additional analysis utilizing mediatization and audience theories provides the proper contextualization within communicative and media studies. Contemporary events surrounding geopolitical conflict, race relations and terrorism in relation to the institutional and international response, provides further demonstrable results, which is commensurate with the overall conclusions of this study.The outcome and results of this research indicate that mainstream media provides both a support role, emphasizing status quo narratives concerning national and international political perspectives and policy, and also a contradictory role impeding domestic solidarity by exacerbating political division along the usual bipartisan lines. The specific focus on legislation that results in expanding judicial powers surrounding national security concerns. Such policies often interpreted as contrary to the preservation of domestic freedoms. These findings correlate with Couldry and Hepp's notions of institutionalist mediatization theory regarding the media as innately powerful agents of change, imparting influence on audiences and non-media actors.

The present thesis uses methods of Critical Discourse Analysis to examine 16 front-page newspaper articles, from The New York Times and The Washington Post, covering progressive presidential candidate Bernie Sanders during the 2015 “invisible primary”. In particular, this thesis investigates how Sanders and his supporters were represented, linguistically and visually, and whether these representations – formulated as “interpretive frames” – appear more legitimizing or delegitimizing. In the crucial prevoting period of the invisible primary, the media largely have the power to construct the identity of relatively unknown candidates, such as Sanders, in the minds of the national public. The 2015/16 election season occurred against the backdrop of extreme levels of economic inequality and related societal ills, which have arguably arisen from four decades of neoliberal policies implemented by successive American presidents from both major political parties.The findings of the analysis appear to confirm a concerning pattern of largely delegitimizing US media coverage (or omission) of progressive political candidates and social movements going back several decades. In the articles analysed, Sanders was represented using interpretive frames casting him as an extreme leftist, angry and impersonal, or marginal and old. Only one major interpretive frame – representing him as a skilful, pragmatic politician – appeared legitimizing. Similarly, Sanders’ supporters were largely framed as activists, excitable fans, or divided into narrow identity categories (e.g. “white liberals”) that appear delegitimizing when considered opposite the shared economic struggles that many of them likely face. Given the liberal reputation of The New York Times and moderate image of The Washington Post, the results raise further doubts about the ideological diversity of the mainstream American public sphere.

The present study focuses on the Vindelälven-Juhttátahkka Biosphere Reserve (BR) in Northern Sweden, which serves as an implementation site of UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere (MAB) programme. In response to a series of environmental and social problems identified in the specific locale, the area inhabited by both “Swedish” and “Sami” people, is designed to serve henceforth as a learning site for sustainable development. Taking Michel Foucault’s work on discourse and power as a reference point, in this study we analyze the discourse that permeates life in the specific milieu, to understand how power operates in the BR and look for resistance. Following Foucault’s theorization of discourse, the study has employed Foucauldian Discourse Analysis (F.D.A.) on the empirical material, gathered from official documents and interviews with people in the BR. Our research has concluded that by employing its scientific programme, UNESCO’s discourse has managed to a large extent to construct in this place a reality that does not allow a future to be imagined outside of the context of sustainable development. This study has found its participants to be influenced by UNESCO’s discourse and has constrained them from perceiving present or imagining future realities that do not sustain the power of the Swedish state under the global neoliberal rule. Lastly, our research has illustrated that the participants who have been found to respond to their experiences have also been found to resist the discourse permeating the BR.

This thesis examines the marketing of Malmö’s kulturljudzon (cultural sound zone) in the context of recent neoliberal planning practices in the city, with a focus on how the experiences of do-it-yourself (DIY) cultural actors compare to the kulturljudzon’s promotion and how they navigate relationships with municipal and economic representatives. Culture’s heightened role in current urban planning processes globally has transformed how participants in the cultural scenes of cities experience their environments, making it necessary to understand the ways that this has occurred in Malmö. Two qualitative methods, a functional documentary analysis of public texts about the kulturljudzon and a thematic qualitative text analysis of interviews with cultural actors, a property owner, and municipal employees are utilized to explore the manner in which the kulturljudzon has been marketed, how this marketing compares and differs to perspectives found within Malmö’s music scene, and the lived realities of DIY musicians and organizers in connection to the kulturljudzon. The analysis has revealed that the kulturljudzon has been presented as being a result of collaborative, participatory, and bottom-up planning processes, at times where culture and business are said to have shared interests, and promoted as a means for the city to grow its attractiveness. Additionally, once interviews were incorporated, DIY cultural actors expressed their limitations in the kulturljudzon, such as the pressure to produce profit from their work, their difficulties in finding and keeping rental spaces, and the feeling that the municipality cared about the symbolism of the kulturljudzon and what it meant for the city’s economy more than the substance of the culture within it. Interviews with a property owner and municipal employees deepened this discussion by providing insight as to the roles that different types of values play in their decision-making, their relationships to culture and cultural actors, and their goals for the kulturljudzon, its surrounding neighborhood, and Malmö as a whole. The data revealed sharp differences in power and alignments of stakeholders in this area, with the municipality and property manager combining their interests more readily than either were able to align with the cultural actors interviewed. The results of this study have implications for future research that prioritizes perspectives from urban DIY music scene members and cultural actors in understanding urban transformations, as this research can highlight shortcomings and misguidedness in planning processes. Further, this study exemplifies a need for planning officials to educate themselves on DIY cultural practices if they wish to create truly informed and participatory policies that promote all levels of cultural production and expression in their cities.

NOBRE, Maria Cristina de Queiroz. Modernização do atraso: a hegemonia burguesa do CIC e a alianças eleitorais da "Era Tasso" . 2008. 324 f. Tese (Doutorado em Sociologia) – Universidade Federal do Ceará, Departamento de Ciências Sociais, Programa de Pós- Graduação em Sociologia, Fortaleza-CE, 2008. / Submitted by Liliane oliveira (morena.liliane@hotmail.com) on 2012-01-10T12:18:26Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2008_TESE_MCQNOBRE.pdf: 1831086 bytes, checksum: d3fab89d2e11b48d65f6a11b1260e51c (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Maria Josineide Góis(josineide@ufc.br) on 2012-01-11T15:41:32Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2008_TESE_MCQNOBRE.pdf: 1831086 bytes, checksum: d3fab89d2e11b48d65f6a11b1260e51c (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2012-01-11T15:41:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2008_TESE_MCQNOBRE.pdf: 1831086 bytes, checksum: d3fab89d2e11b48d65f6a11b1260e51c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008 / The “Tasso Era” shapes up a unique moment within the political history of the State of Ceara, and one’s understanding of this social phenomenon will also help with an analysis of Brazil today. This work aims at grasping a particular political aspect in this federative state, encompassing late decades, and taking into account the “Tasso Era” as a new cycle of bourgeois hegemony: a historical detailed aspect of politics in the state that anticipates the neoliberal hegemony in Brazil. Leaning on Gramsci, the author approaches that bourgeois hegemonic cycle, considering its “methodological criterion”, to uncover the actual situation in the state as seen in late decades: an experimental period of economic and political modernization, supported by politics of a conservative nature, that gives bodily form to a historical epoch, namely, a conflicting convergence within Brazilian democratic process in the 80’s leading to the country’s insertion in the world of capital dominance seen in the following decades. Starting from a redefining of Gramsci’s theory of Hegemony and his categories of “hegemony”, “passive revolution”, “transformism” and “State”, the author develops a reflection about politics highlighting, not in an exclusive way, its instances of political processes, which allows one to configure the “Tasso Era” as a political, cultural and economic hegemonic cycle of major electoral force. Electoral alliances that were established by CIC’s entrepreneurial elite and give support to the “Tasso Era” are, therefore, the leading thread for this work. By means of research of documents and newspapers, the several electoral campaigns of the hegemonic cycle (1986, 1990, 1994 and 1998) are presented by the author, and the inner workings of alliances, the political-party behavior of representatives associated with the entrepreneurial elite and the resisting force of state political family groups were captured. It remains evident that the new elite is trying hard to present itself as a political option not only to backward sectors of the political spectrum but also to left-wing parties and social movements that once opposed it, thus consolidating its strength on growing supporting from oligarchic sectors that derive their power from local political tradition. The author analyses classical works, such as Faoro and Leal, as well as contemporary studies that have approached this general aspect of the political Brazilian reality. Therefore, the “Tasso Era” presents itself as a new hegemonic cycle that shaped itself from a “change from above” and renewed the political process in the state of Ceara and at the same time reestablished several elements of traditional politics: a new hegemonic cycle that promoted a reshape of forces within the dominant classes at a time of huge social mobilization. / A “Era Tasso” caracteriza um momento ímpar da história política do Ceará e sua compreensão como fenômeno social abre também as possibilidades para se pensar o Brasil contemporâneo. Este estudo busca captar a particularidade da política neste Estado federativo nas últimas décadas, considerando a “Era Tasso” como um novo ciclo de hegemonia burguesa: particularidade histórica da política cearense inserida em um processo de caráter nacional, antecipando a hegemonia neoliberal no Brasil. A partir de Gramsci toma-se este ciclo de hegemonia burguesa enquanto “critério metodológico” para desvelar a realidade cearense das últimas décadas: um período experimental de modernização econômica e política de caráter conservador que encarna uma época histórica, a da convergência contraditória do processo democrático brasileiro dos anos 1980 com a inserção do país na mundialização do capital nas décadas seguintes. A partir do resgate da teoria gramsciana da Hegemonia com as categorias de “hegemonia”, “revolução passiva”, “transformismo” e “Estado” desenvolve-se uma reflexão sobre a política, privilegiando, de modo exclusivo, seus momentos de processos eleitorais, o que permite configurar a “Era Tasso” como um ciclo de hegemonia político-cultural e econômica com extraordinária força eleitoral. As alianças eleitorais, estabelecidas pela elite empresarial do CIC que suporta a “Era Tasso”, são, assim, o fio condutor desse estudo. Através de pesquisa documental e de jornais, apresentam-se as várias campanhas eleitorais de todo o ciclo de hegemonia (1986, 1990, 1994 e 1998), captando a dinâmica de constituição das alianças, o perfil e o comportamento político-partidário dos deputados aliados eleitorais da elite empresarial, bem como a força resistente dos clãs familiares na política cearense. Resta evidente o esforço da nova elite em se constituir como alternativa política tanto aos setores mais atrasados da política, como aos partidos e movimentos sociais de esquerda que lhes fizeram oposição, consolidando sua força no apoio, cada vez mais, dos setores oligárquicos com forte poder na tradição política local. Para tanto, estabelece-se ainda um debate com autores clássicos, como Faoro (2001) e Leal (1997), e, ao mesmo tempo, com estudiosos contemporâneos que têm analisado esse aspecto geral da realidade política brasileira. A “Era Tasso”, enfim, aparece como um novo ciclo de hegemonia que se constituiu a partir de uma “transição pelo alto”, renovando a política cearense, ao mesmo tempo em que restabeleceu diversos elementos da política tradicional: um novo ciclo hegemônico que possibilitou uma recomposição de forças das classes dominantes em um momento de grande mobilização social.