The aim of this study was to examine and compare how two different climate protest cases were framed in two Swedish newspapers with different political slants, namely, Aftonbladet and SvD. The study also sought to analyze potential differences between the newspapers, and how closely the portrayals aligned with the protest paradigm. The first protest involved the activist group ‘Återställ Våtmarker’, who gathered on the highway and caused a traffic stop in order to advocate for the restoration of Swedish wetlands. In the second case, climate activists, including Greta Thunberg, participated in a blockade at the entrance to the Parliament to promote climate justice. To examine the framing of these protests, a dataset of articles was analyzed using qualitative content analysis in the form of framing analysis, grounded in the theoretical framework of framing theory and the protest paradigm. The protest paradigm is the tendency of news media to portray protests in a negative light, often depicting them as disruptions to the established order. The study found that the protest on the highway was framed more negatively and thus aligned more closely with the protest paradigm than the other protest. The framing of the Parliament protest, which diverged from the paradigm, was more positive, and mostly emphasized the purpose of the action as well as demonstrated stronger support for the activists. No differences were identified between the newspapers' news articles, but it was noted that the opinion pieces about the parliamentary protest differed. While Aftonbladet's opinion pieces praised the activists, SvD's strongly criticized them.

In the Apartheid South Africa, repression and the heightening of the Blacks' struggle for political emancipation, prompted artists to challenge the system through their music, oral poetry and writing. Most produced works of protest in English to reach a wider audience. This led to the general misconception that literatures in the indigenous languages of South Africa were insensitive to the issues of those times. This study seeks firstly to put to rest such misconception by proving that there is Commitment in these literatures as exemplified in the poetry of S.F. Motlhake. Motlhake not only expresses protest against the political system of the time, but also questions some religious and socio-cultural practices and institutions among his people. The study also examines his selected works as genuine poetry, which does not sacrifice art on the altar of propaganda. / African Languages / M.A. (African Languages)

In the Apartheid South Africa, repression and the heightening of the Blacks' struggle for political emancipation, prompted artists to challenge the system through their music, oral poetry and writing. Most produced works of protest in English to reach a wider audience. This led to the general misconception that literatures in the indigenous languages of South Africa were insensitive to the issues of those times. This study seeks firstly to put to rest such misconception by proving that there is Commitment in these literatures as exemplified in the poetry of S.F. Motlhake. Motlhake not only expresses protest against the political system of the time, but also questions some religious and socio-cultural practices and institutions among his people. The study also examines his selected works as genuine poetry, which does not sacrifice art on the altar of propaganda. / African Languages / M.A. (African Languages)

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 360-380).

This research examined the role of communication – and in particular public relations (PR) and public affairs activities – in the decision-making processes around the proposal to build a bypass road around the city of Aberdeen. The study focused on the relative power of various discourses embodied in the arguments and strategies pursued by the promoters and opponents of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Road (AWPR) to affect eventual outcomes. The research sought to revisit theoretical accounts of democratic decision-making as conceptualised by Habermas (1984) in the deliberations of the public sphere, and Foucault (1970) on the role of discourse in structuring civil debates. In his classic study of New Haven, Dahl (2005) found empirical evidence to support a pluralist paradigm. Yet in Flyvbjerg’s (1998a) study of urban planning in Aalborg, Denmark, Lukes’s theories on the second dimension of power and a Foucauldian conceptualistion of power were found to have more acute explanatory power. These major theories have been applied tentatively to the field of public relations by Burkart (2009) who advocates for the utility of a consensus-oriented approach to public relations (COPR). Motion and Leitch (2009) theorise that discourse analysis provides important analytic tools for PR practitioners. This research used the AWPR issue as a case study spanning four key decision-making phases from 2004 to 2012. These stages include representations to the Scottish Parliament; a public local inquiry (PLI); judicial review to the Court of Session in Edinburgh, and a hearing in the UK Supreme Court. The research drew upon triangulated methodologies including Fairclough’s (2012) political discourse analysis; observations at public meetings; and semi-structured interviews The research found that whilst both sides promoted a range of established discourses and PR strategies, the relative power of these discourses and the implementation of the strategies was determining. Political discourse analysis of key texts from the pivotal post PLI phase of the case study provided evidence of the dominance of discourses around economic development and community over weaker environmental discourses. Save Camphill’s campaign was more effective due in large part to the calibre of the professional public relations advice retained. Road Sense used public relations strategies in the early phases of their campaign but the implementation of these activities tended to be tactical, partial or counter-productive. Road Sense focused resources on a legislative strategy which largely eschewed any further attempt to engage with government, community and media stakeholders. The route of judicial review was unsuccessful due to a combination of second dimension power factors, including the reluctance of the UK courts to intervene in planning issues despite the existence of European directives to protect the environment. The AWPR case study concluded that examples of decision-making, as demonstrated by Save Camphill’s success in altering the route, confirm the existence of both the public sphere and pluralism in action. Yet, following Lukes (2005) and Flyvbjerg (1998a), there is equally evidence of a second dimension power variable which yielded more plausible explanatory accounts of the decision-making in favour of the Scheme at the PLI, and subsequently in the Courts. The case study also finds that a Foucauldian interpretation of discourse is required to fully appreciate the weakness of the environmental agenda at the local level especially when pitted against prevailing discourses of economic growth and the popularity of the contemporary car culture. Against this background, Road Sense’s PR strategies were secondary to their ultimate legislative strategy and lacked the requisite consistency on goal alignment and relationship building in lobbying and media relations. For campaigns to be effectual, public relations professionals must audit the power of prevailing discourses as theorised by Motion and Leitch (2009) before Burkart’s consensus-oriented public relations (COPR) approach can realise pluralist outcomes consistent with deliberative democracy.

The central goal of this project is to better understand the relationship between civil war and repression at each phase of the "civil-war life-cycle," which is composed of the escalation and onset of civil war, the war itself, and the post-war period. The project then seeks to understand the role of repression in civil war onset, where repression is argued to be either a permissive condition or a direct cause of civil war, where the role of repression is tied to what type of civil war occurs. As a permissive condition, repression essentially provides the opportunity for a group to carry out an attack, invasion, mutiny, and the like. During other conflicts, repression may be a direct cause of the war. The repression of protest movements may lead those groups to view "normal," non-violent political channels as closed, while also increasing grievances and therefore their willingness to fight. This direct mechanism along with the escalation process that leads to civil war is explored in depth, using data from the 2011 Arab Spring. This project also seeks to explain when conflicts are likely to be accompanied by harsh repression and the targeting of civilians, and to address whether that strategy is effective. It is argued that insurgencies rely on civilian populations for material and non-material support; if the government targets this resource pool then it may be able to undercut that lifeline and thus the military effectiveness of the group. Yet, as repression is costly this is only a strategy likely to be employed when the rebels are gaining ground, when they are relatively strong and militarily effective. As such, governments that employ repression as a war-time strategy are likely beginning from a point of weakness or disadvantage. It is thus further argued that the "gamble" of repression is not likely to reverse the government's fortunes; rather, wars marked by high levels of repression are most likely to end in stalemate. Finally, the use of, or the restraint from using, repression in post-war periods is also explored. Little attention has thus far been paid to the use of repression in post-conflict states, despite the growing literature on the consequences of conflict and the importance of this time for rebuilding and establishing peace. Here, the transformation of the war-time threat, together with various constraints against using repression in the post-war period, are considered.

Both China and Taiwan have experienced impressive economic growth through rapid industrialization that has resulted in a higher standard of living for citizens on the one hand, but has come at the cost of severe environmental degradation on the other. One of the byproducts of this economic growth and accompanying environmental stress has been an increased awareness among citizens of their living environment. And this newfound environmental consciousness can be manifested through various forms of protest when concerned citizens feel that their rights have been infringed upon by either the government or an offending industry. This thesis is concerned chiefly with the evolution of environmental protests in China and Taiwan, and explores two specific cases that are examples of a classic NIMBY-style (not-in-my-back-yard) protest: the anti-DuPont movement in Lukang, Taiwan from 1986-87 and the anti-PX movement in Xiamen, China from 2006-07. Both events have been hailed as watersheds in their respective polities’ environmental movements because they represent improved public participation in environmental protection activities. Whereas reactive protests had been the norm before, the events in Lukang and Xiamen showed that preventive measures, taken before citizens’ environmental rights can be potentially violated, was and still is possible. What make these NIMBY protests all the more fascinating and worthy of further exploration are the respective political backdrops during which they occurred—in Taiwan before the lifting of martial law, and in China when mass demonstrations are seldom allowed to proceed. This thesis will explore the main components of the Lukang and Xiamen protests and conduct a comparative analysis of their organizations, the events that transpired, as well as the official responses with which they were met. It is hoped that this thesis shows how the events in Xiamen echo those from Lukang some twenty years before, and that it provides some insight into the expanding role of citizens in environmental protection activities in both China and Taiwan.

During the early part of the 21st century, a number of campus demonstrations and other protest acts on college and university campuses became highly visible nationally and internationally, largely thanks to social and traditional/popular media. This visibility was partially due to the ubiquitous and easily accessible nature of emergent digital technologies–cameras, cell phones and social networking sites, among other tools. Though campus protests and social movements began to proliferate nationally, and in the context of increased economic inequity, few studies sought to explore how campus actors (students and employees in particular) used social and popular media to shape and control public perception, specifically during highly visible campus conflicts. Further, much of the literature on campus activism has historically overlooked protests and social justice movements occurring on comprehensive state university and community college, or 2-year, campuses. Additionally, the literature does not offer a comprehensive examination of strategies surrounding pre-negotiated protest acts between campus activists, administrators and law enforcement officers. Also, the literature has not adequately examined responses to tactical strategies employed by law enforcement agencies during campus protest, and at a time of heightened militarization of officers. Both issues are related to the image-making capabilities of activists and administrators. To explore such issues, I set out to investigate how student and employee activists and also administrators construct meaning around the public good mission of higher education. I then explored how both groups public good conceptualizations to shape both action and public perception. In doing so, I employed a combined theoretical framework, modifying academic capitalism and co-cultural theories and adapting them into a single framework. My framework enabled the examination of power dynamics around interactions, discourse and space, ultimately leading to an understanding that the public good mission is a battleground. Within this frame, campus activists and administrators are struggling to both define and manifest the democratic imperative, or historic public good mandate, in different ways. The framework also allow for the study of why specific information is publicized or narrated, while other information is omitted or ignored. Using qualitative methods, I specifically studied how individuals seek to control involvement in democratic processes on campus based on definitions associated with the public good. I also studied ways individuals advance democratic ideals. Further, I explored what tools (including social media and traditional and/or popular media, also referenced collectively as "the press") individuals employ to shape public perception about equity issues and conflicts on campus. In this regard, social and popular media serve as conduits for informing public audiences. For my investigation, I purposefully selected one land-grant institution, a comprehensive state university, and one 2-year community college–all in California. I intentionally selected California, as the state has historically and continues to be seen an important forerunner for nationwide higher education policy and practice. I also chose campuses whose conflicts were receiving statewide and national media attention to allow for the investigation of public perception surrounding campus conflict. Doing so also allowed for the exploration of how those on campus employed social media strategies and also utilized popular media to attempt to shape and control the public image of their institutions. My findings suggest that while campus activists and administrators maintain a similar belief that public institutions should be broadly accessible, they differently conceptualize how the public good mission of higher education should manifest. The difference in framing of the public good complicates interactions between both groups, and at times leads to violent clashes during protest. My findings also suggest that while activists and campus officials both maintain a social media presence and interact with media representatives, administrators are not as successful in capturing public support. This appears especially true during and after clashes have occurred during campus protest acts that also involve campus law enforcement officers. Additionally, my findings indicate that the under-utilization of social media, lax media relations strategies and blame shifting, specifically during protest acts, may ultimately hurt administrators and law enforcement officers with regard to image-shaping efforts. Of note, the resulting coverage of violent clashes in the popular media tended to favor activists over administrators and law enforcement officers no matter the type and amount of pre-planning and pre-negotiations between activists and campus officials. Ultimately, my findings challenge perceptions that institutional image-making powers reside squarely with administrators and media relations offices. Given the widespread use of digital technologies and social media, and also strategies activists have employed to engage with members of traditional media outlets, my findings also illustrate how student and employee activists are changing how power is introduced and distributed within their campus communities.

Masters in Public Administration - MPA / "Sanitation is dignity" as the state has proclaimed while water is life. Yet to date, there are families and communities that are still dreaming that one day their dignity will be restored and they will have access to proper toilets, clean water that are within close proximity including proper houses. In the 24th year of democracy, people in South Africa are still protesting and challenging government to address the inequalities of the past and reset the agenda of change. These persistent protests are about basic needs and service delivery, but increasingly protestors are invoking the concept of relative needs, dignity and human rights and taking protests to the powerful and wealthy. In fact, the idea of the state as sacrosanct has been deflated since protestors throw poo at state officials and vandalise state infrastructure. The “poo wars” that broke out in 2012 with poo dumped at the airport and government buildings continued with the dumping of excrement on the Rhodes statue at UCT shows that the poor can sometimes set the agenda of change and force politicians to listen. Among the defensive responses raised by authorities is that people put their shacks on private land or pieces of land that are not suitable for housing (wetlands). Politically, there are complex issues in the Western Cape, both the Province and the City of Cape Town Metro are Democratic Alliance (DA) run whilst national government is ruled by the African National Congress (ANC). The majority of townships residents are ANC supporters with a few DA Proportional Representative (PR) councillors. This study looks at a qualitative exploration of the complexities in agenda-setting and participation processes in sanitation services in Site C, Khayelitsha between 2010-2013.Residents see agenda setting and engagements as unilateral, as this study found. It is designed into six chapters. The study was designed in a manner that it would reflect the knowledge and understanding the notion of consultation, community participation in decision-making, agenda-setting and implementation of projects or programmes by the people of Khayelitsha-Site C, Councillors, Shopstewards and officials of the City of Cape Town. Over 20 interviews were completed. A key finding is that by taking poo out of its usual place, taking it out of the private into the public domain and to the rich and by invading their space, the issues of the poor are no longer confined to ghetto townships. Boundaries between state and civil society have become porous. Cape Town’s poor residents using portable toilets commonly known as "pota-pota", and also the temporary toilets commonly known as ‘Mshengu’ have argued that these interim services are not only poorly maintained and dirty but are vastly inferior compared to white areas.

Thesis advisor: Davarian Baldwin / The multi-instrumentalist Rahsaan Roland Kirk (1936-1978) was one of the most thrilling jazz performers of the Sixties and Seventies, wowing audiences with his lively blend of musical styles and his unique ability to play multiple saxophones at once. Still, one particularly exciting aspect of his life is unfamiliar to most, jazz fans included. In 1970, Kirk formed an activist group which he dubbed the Jazz and People’s Movement (JPM), with the purpose of lobbying television networks to broadcast more jazz and black musicians. And in order to ensure the networks took the call seriously, the JPM seized the television studios by storm – during the taping of major prime-time programs! The JPM was one among many self-help collectives working in New York and Chicago at the time, all seeking to mediate the material and cultural stresses facing musicians following jazz’s sharp decline in the 1960s. Kirk’s movement was unique, however, in identifying mainstream culture industries as a key site of struggle in the politics of production, documentation, and dissemination. And the JPM’s dynamic public disturbance tactics contrasted with the quieter, inward-looking programs of other collectives. Its aesthetic inclusivism also set it apart from most other jazz community groups which heavily favored avant-garde music. Under Kirk’s leadership, the JPM demonstrated that the mass production and consumption of art and culture had important political relevance and power for the liberation of black music specifically, and of black America more generally. Although the movement was short-lived and did not achieve many of its stated goals, it provides a visible intersection of music, race, and society, and is thus a highly valuable historical subject. This thesis explores the impact of Kirk’s political and aesthetic ideals on his conception of the JPM; the consistently interconnected material and cultural underpinnings of the movement’s agenda; the group’s protest actions, and the accompanying reactions in the music community and the press; the causes of the JPM’s dissolution; and the movement’s broader impact and legacy. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2008. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: History. / Discipline: College Honors Program.