<p>The Balkans has suffered from quite a few problems as a result of the countless ambitious endeavors for great states of the ethnic groups residing in the Peninsula. The most recent great state idea to have caused troubles in the region is the Serbs’ Great Serbia (i.e. Yugoslvia), which caused a cycle of wars, the latest one being the war in Kosovo in the late 1990s. This thesis attempts to evaluate the rumors of yet another great state in the making – or rather awakening again: the attempt at a Greater Albania, and whether the Albanians in the Balkans are still harboring the idea of any such state. Particular emphasis is placed upon the following questions:</p><p> </p><ul><li>Where does the idea of a Greater Albania stem from?</li><li>Is a Greater Albania today still on the Albanians’ agenda as a real political plan?</li><li>What speaks for and against a Greater Albania? Is the idea even feasible?</li></ul><p> </p><p>The findings indicate that none of the Albanian communities residing in the Balkan region wish for a Greater Albania, nor do their leaders. The Serbs nonetheless maintain that an Albanian threat exists and has done so ever since 1878 when the idea of a Greater Albania first arose. However, according to the results of this study, their claims lack credibility. Everything indicates that today, and with Albania striving for membership in the European Union, the idea of a Greater Albania has been left in the past.</p>

<p>In the wake of state borders becoming more porous the flows of people crossing them in search for opportunities have increased. This trend is evident in Greater Mekong Sub region where the economic boom of Thailand attracts thousands of migrant workers every year from neighboring countries making Thai industries dependent on the cheap labor. Alongside these developments, human trafficking, the slave trade of our time, has emerged as an increasing challenge.</p><p>In Lao PDR the historic ties to Thailand make for a long history of cross-border relations and flows. With the relative economic differences, labor migration to the richer neighbor is becoming an accepted way of improving family conditions. However, the risks involved, exploitation and trafficking, are not widely known in the communities.</p><p>Counter-trafficking work in Lao PDR has been evolving over the passed 10 years. This study has, through an ethnographic approach to organizational work combined with reflections and observations, tried to create a picture of the counter-trafficking work on the ground. Using semi-structured interviews projects, aims and assumptions could be derived and three main problems identified: Trafficking is hard to separate from labor migration, thus making it hard to effectively target; there is a dissonance between perceived and actual inter-sector communication, and; the trafficking sector is isolated from other sectors as dialogue across sector borders appear to be nonexistent. Reasons given for these discords mainly came down to dependency on donors and a need to meet their requirements. Essentially it seems that organizations working with this open-border phenomenon are rigidly closed to each other.</p>

Matematiklärares profession och professionella utveckling är grundläggande för elevers lärande. Syftet med studien har varit att följa en process för att förstå vad och hur matematiklärare lär i en praktikgemenskap. En grupp matematiklärare från årskurs 1-6 har träffats regelbundet under ett år. Gruppen, reflektionsgruppen har arbetat med att utveckla och söka svar på en gemensam kärnfråga. Reflektionsgruppens gemensamma intresse var att förstå mer om kommunikation och resonemang i matematikundervisningen. Studien har sin grund i Goodchilds (2008) den utvecklande forskningscykeln som kombineras med Wengers (1998) praktikgemenskaper för att analysera hur reflektionsgruppens samtal om kommunikation och resonemang i matematikundervisningen förändras. I analysen och tolkningen används tre begrepp som analysverktyg: ömsesidigt engagemang, gemensamt intresse och delad repertoar. Resultat visar förändringar i reflektionsgruppens samtal från att förstå, till att identifiera, till att tolka och slutligen tillämpa matematiskaresonemang i matematikundervisningen. Ett resultat av studien är också förändringar i reflektionsgruppen samtal som förändras från konsensus till att problematisera kärnfrågan. / Mathematics teachers’ profession and professional development is essential to develop students’ learning. The aim of this study has been to follow a processin order to understand what and how mathematics teachers learn in a community of practice. A group of mathematics teachers grade 1-6 met regularly for a period of one year. This group, called the reflection group, was tasked with developing a common core question. The reflection group’s joint enterprise was to understand more about communication and reasoning in mathematics teaching. The study is based on Goodchild’s (2008) the developmental research cycle combined with Wenger’s (1998) communities of practice to analyse how the reflection group shifts the way of talking about communication and reasoning in mathematics teaching. In the analyses and the interpretation three concepts are used as analytical tools: mutual engagement, joint enterprise and shared repertoire. The results show shifts in the reflection group’s way of talking from to understand, to identify, to interpret and finally to apply mathematical reasoning in teaching. The result of the study also shows changes in the process as the conversation shifted from consensus to problematizing the common core question.

<p>The production of meat has risen dramatically during the past decades. This process, generally referred to as the <em>Livestock Revolution</em>, particularly includes so called “developing countries”, hosting the most intensive augmentation of both production and consumption. As agricultural activities often are performed by small-scale farmers in these countries, the principal question for this study has been how family farmers are affected by the <em>Livestock Revolution</em>.</p><p>This study approaches the <em>Livestock Revolution</em> in Brazil, the world’s biggest national exporter of meats and animal feeds, from the small-scale farmer perspective. Drawing on a case study of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil’s southernmost state, it is argued that family farmers experience multi-level marginalization. Smallholders of pork and poultry face direct marginalization through vertical integration with the large-scale meat processors (the agribusiness). Other family farmers experience marginalization through the actual exclusion from ‘integration’, as the combined corporate forces of agribusiness and supermarket chains control the principal distributive channels. Small-scale farmers also face indirect marginalization as the increasing production of soybeans (used as animal feeds) and large-scale cattle raising create an unfortunate ‘competition for arable land’. Overall, the case study seems to reflect a national tendency, in which the <em>Livestock Revolution</em> intensifies the polarization of the agrarian community in Brazil, thus creating parallel patterns of prosperity for the agribusiness and marginalization for the small-scale farmers.</p><p>As the Food Regime analysis aims to approach the global political economy by analysing agri-food structures, this theoretical approach has been used to contextualize the case of <em>Livestock Revolution</em> in Brazil. From this viewpoint, the <em>Livestock Revolution</em> constitutes an explicit expression of a corporate Food Regime, increasing the power of private companies at the expense of family farmers. However, the Food Regime analysis also identifies divergent patterns of this Third Food Regime, in which the corporate discourse is being challenged by an alternative paradigm of food and agriculture. The marginalization of farmers in rural Brazil has indeed provoked emancipatory responses, including alternative patterns of production and distribution, as well as direct confrontations such as land occupations. This ‘resistance from the margins’ accentuates the conflict between contrasting visions for food and agriculture, apparently embedded in the Food Regime. The farmers’ emancipation is therefore somewhat determined by the rather uncertain progress of the Third Food Regime.</p>

<p>The production of meat has risen dramatically during the past decades. This process, generally referred to as the Livestock Revolution, particularly includes so called “developing countries”, hosting the most intensive augmentation of both production and consumption. As agricultural activities often are performed by small-scale farmers in these countries, the principal question for this study has been how family farmers are affected by the Livestock Revolution.</p><p>This study approaches the  Livestock Revolution in Brazil, the world’s biggest national exporter of meats and animal feeds, from the small-scale farmer perspective. Drawing on a case study of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil’s southernmost state, it is argued that family farmers experience multi-level marginalization. Smallholders of pork and poultry face direct marginalization through vertical integration  with the large-scale meat processors (the agribusiness). Other family farmers experience marginalization through  the actual exclusion from ‘integration’, as the combined corporate forces of agribusiness and supermarket chains control the principal distributive channels. Small-scale farmers also face indirect marginalization as the increasing production of  soybeans (used as animal feeds) and large-scale cattle raising create an unfortunate ‘competition for arable land’. Overall, the case study seems to reflect a national tendency, in which the  Livestock Revolution intensifies the polarization of the agrarian community in Brazil, thus creating parallel patterns of prosperity for the agribusiness and marginalization for the small-scale farmers.</p><p>As the Food Regime analysis aims to approach the global political economy by analysing agri-food structures, this theoretical approach has been used  to contextualize the case of Livestock Revolution in Brazil. From this viewpoint, the Livestock Revolution constitutes an explicit expression of a corporate Food Regime, increasing the power of private companies at the expense of family farmers. However, the Food Regime analysis also identifies divergent patterns of this Third Food Regime, in which the corporate discourse is being challenged by an alternative paradigm of food and agriculture. The marginalization of farmers in rural Brazil has indeed provoked emancipatory responses, including alternative patterns of production and distribution, as well as direct confrontations such as land occupations. This ‘resistance from the margins’ accentuates the conflict between  contrasting visions for food and agriculture, apparently embedded in the Food Regime. The farmers’ emancipation is therefore somewhat determined by the rather uncertain progress of the Third Food Regime.</p>

<p>Inequalities among different power groups are getting obvious in Kiru Valley, Tanzania mainly due to water scarcity. This paper aims to examine, by a case study, the increasing competition over irrigation water among Kiru Valley farmers in relation to socio-economic stratification. It is possible to divide the examined parts of Kiru Valley farmers into three dif-ferent power groups corresponding to their access to irrigation water. First, large-scale sugar cane farmers owned by Tanzanians with Indian origin located on strategic positions near the main rivers. Second, upstream small-scale rice cultivators receiving water from the IFAD (International Found for Agricultural Development) irrigation system and, third, downstream small-scale farmers cultivating rice in the Mapea wetland. To achieve the objectives in this study, Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) techniques have been used and especially wealth rank-ings to measure the socio-economic stratification.</p><p>The wealth rankings demonstrate differences among Kiru Valley farmers. Those farmers connected to the IFAD irrigation system and the large-scale farmers have in higher amount a steady access to irrigation water than farmers cultivating the Mapea wetland. Consequently Mapea farmers are forced to rely on left over water from upstream IFAD farmers and sur-rounding large-scale farmers, leading to unfair distribution patterns and tensions among Kiru Valley farmers.  Finally, it has further been found that access to irrigation water is reflected in household economy. Mapea farmers have less capital goods and households properties com-pared to both IFAD-irrigators and large-scale farmers.</p>

No description available.

<p>Begreppet counterinsurgency har fått stor uppmärksamhet efter 2001 och USA:s militäraengagemang i Afghanistan och Irak. USA har bedrivit ett gediget utvecklingsarbete sedan dess och en ny doktrin för just counterinsurgency presenterades 2006. Redan 1964 utkom fransmannen David Galula med en bok i ämnet. Det har alltså funnits teorier om counterinsurgency sedan dess. Sovjetunionens engagemang i Afghanistan under 1980-talet slutade med att den afghanska kommunistregimen kollapsade. Viljan att vinna konflikten borde ha funnits där och precis som USA har dragit erfarenheter, borde något ha gjorts för att försöka vinna konflikten även på 1980-talet. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka om de parter som försökte besegra den afghanska motståndsrörelsen gjorde det på ett sätt som kom att likna Galulas teorier om counterinsurgency. Konflikten har analyserats utifrån Galulas teori om upprorsbekämpning med både politiska och militära medel. Analysen har visat att Sovjetunionen och den afghanska kommunistregimen inte utvecklade sitt sättatt hantera konflikten i en riktning som motsvarade Galulas teorier. Den primära politiska orsaken var att regimen förlitade sig på förtryck för att försöka avskräcka motståndssympatier. Detta tillvägagångssätt ledde istället till ökat stöd för motståndsrörelsen. Militärt saknades medlen att befästa närvaro i nya områden där regimen kunde ha börjat utöva inflytande. I förlängningen innebardet att regimen saknade förmåga att bredda sin inflytandesfär.</p> / <p>The term counterinsurgency has received a lot of attention since 2001 and the U.S commitment in Afghanistan and Iraq. The U.S has conducted thorough developmental work since then and a new doctrine on counterinsurgency was presented in 2006. As early as 1964, the Frenchman David Galula issued a book on the subject, and there have existed theories on counterinsurgency ever since. The Soviet Union’s commitment in Afghanistan during the 1980s ended with the collapse of the Afghan communist regime. The will to win the conflict should have been present there, and in the same way that the U.S have capitalized on their experiences something ought to have been done to try to win the conflict during the 1980s. The purpose of this study is to examine whether the parties involved in the fight against the Afghan resistance acted in a way that resembles Galula’s theories on counterinsurgency. The conflict has been analyzed with Galulas theories on how to defeat an insurgency by both political and military means. The analysis has shown that the Soviet Union and the Afghan communist regime did not develop their way of handling the conflict in a way which is consistent with Galula’s theories. The primary political cause was that the regime put its trust in oppression in their attempts to discourage resistance sympathies. This approach resulted in an increase in support for the Afghan resistance rather than the support of the regime. Militarily, the lack of means to secure the regime’s political presence in new areas meant that the regime was unable to broaden its sphere of influence.</p>

<p>This study explores different actors’ perceptions on how the democratization process is being influenced in Kosovo. It is based upon empirical facts gathered during a field study in Kosovo. The material was mainly gathered through interviews with different representatives from international organizations present in Kosovo and with members of the Kosovar political elite.</p><p>The theoretical standpoint in the study draws on the theory of polyarchy for defining the concept of democracy, and the two-level game. The interaction between domestic and international actors within the democratization process is highlighted.</p><p>The conclusions are that different actors are influencing the ongoing democratization process in Kosovo, mainly international external ones acting in several ways and on different levels. This influence is considered by the international community and the domestic political elite to be necessary both for the continued development of democracy and for the preservation of stability. However as the influence has more or less become institutionalized, problems occur when responsibility is handed over to domestic authorities without accountability being made clear.</p>

<p>The purpose of this thesis is to conceptualize the idea of a “digital civil society”. During the latest half-century, technological developments in the areas of information and communication have been increasingly ingrained in everyday-life of many people. Not surprisingly, politics have also been affected by these developments. The concept of a global civil society is getting increasingly fashionable, and it is my belief that this global civil society in many ways is related to the technological developments manifested in the digital revolution. From this point of departure, it is my intent to depict the idea of a digital civil society within a conceptual framework substantiated by a number of cases of collective action where the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) has been instrumental. By doing this, my intention is to see if, and how, the ICT revolution is altering civil society organization, mobilization, advocacy and action.</p><p>The essay has five parts. First, there is a brief introduction of the subject where the main research issues are put forward. The second part describes the methodology and defines the central concepts; global civil society, globalization and the ICT revolution. This framework, elaborated more thoroughly in part three, will serve as both goal and means for the research as it constitutes the research method as well as a potential basis for further research in the area. In part four, a number of cases of civil society collective action are portrayed and analyzed in connection to the conceptual framework. In some of these cases, ICT is used as a way to support and supplement more traditional “offline” collective action whereas in the second part of this chapter, cases of more pure “online action” are described. With the features and characteristics of these case studies in mind, the aim is to identify tendencies supporting the idea of a possibly emerging digital civil society. In the last chapter, there is a discussion concerning the potential characteristics and outcomes of such a digital civil society. I also present a model describing the logic of the conceptual framework and the processes and concepts which are central to this study.</p><p>My conclusions are meant to create an environment conducive to further research on the subjects I have studied. First, it appears as if the logic of “networking” as power structure within civil society is favourable for organization, participation, communication, mobilization and action. As such, the networked, dynamic and horizontal character of the Internet seems to influence the organizational character of many civil society entities. Secondly, the Internet’s ability to allow for many-to-many communication seems to contribute to a broader and more inclusive way to debate issues of all kinds. Thirdly, ICT in some ways appears to “individualize” collective action, a development possibly related to the individual and isolating character of Internet use itself and the relative anonymity which can be enjoyed online. In sum, these findings suggest that the idea of a digital civil society broadens the base of collective action and, to some extent, reduces the costs of participation.</p>