This thesis presents the Spanish Empire as seeking to spread a Christian world system - Christendom on a universal scale. By focusing on Spanish America, this thesis seeks to give evidence that a new Christendom was being established in America, one which was sustained through the collection of ecclesiastical revenues. This approach is taken in order to analyze the identities which were forged by the individuals who participated and who were transformed by this empire. Specifically, I focus on the Indigenous and their mixed raced descendants, the castas. Rather than portraying them as passive figures, I seek to give them agency by presenting them as active figures who actively participated within this Christian world system. Through their active participation, a Christian identity was able to be forged. A Christian identity which was not a carbon copy of the Spaniards, but one which was uniquely theirs. Through this Christian identity the Indigenous and their mixed raced descendants were able to blur the lines between who were the conquerors and who were the conquered. This would result in the Indigenous and their mixed raced descendants transforming the Christian world system, from a system which was of European origins, to a system that became distinctly American.

Shipbreaking industrin i Chittagong, Bangladesh är i huvudsak en fråga om miljöorättvisa på grund av exporten av miljöproblem och risk. Föreliggande examensuppsats syftar till att fylla bristen på kvalitativ forskning kring ämnet. För närvarande har en av de viktigaste rösterna inte varit en del av den akademiska diskursen – rösten från individer som bor i områdena kring industrin. Det empiriska materialet samlades in med hjälp av semi-strukturerade intervjuer under en två månader mindre fältstudie i samhällena som ligger kring industrin. Resultatet synliggör respondenternas syn på industrin och visar hur de är påverkade av den. Ett tydligt mönster framträder ur materialet och förkroppsligar teorierna som visar hur risk och miljöproblem exporteras från center, dessa absorberas sen av individerna i periferin. Export av miljöproblem, fattigdom och ökade risker utgör en kausalitet och skapar miljöorättvisa. / The shipbreaking industry in Chittagong, Bangladesh is a matter of environmental injustice due to the export of environmental problems and risks. This thesis fills the current gap in research regarding qualitative material concerning the shipbreaking industry. Currently, one of the most important voice has not entered the academic discourse – the voice of the individuals living in the communities surrounding the industry. The empirical material was gathered by conducting semi-structured interviews during a two months field study in smaller communities around the shipbreaking yards. The result displays the respondent’s views on the industry, and show how they are affected by it. A clear pattern emerges and embodies the theories showing how risk and environmental problems are exported, these are then absorbed by individuals in the periphery. Export of environmental problems, poverty and increasing risks constitutes a causality and creates environmental injustice.

The concept of hegemony has been an important subject in the 1970s as the US hegemonic position has entered into a decline period. This study aims to underline that the ongoing decline of US hegemony shares substantial analogies with the decline of British hegemony in the late 19th century. As the hegemonic economy enters into contraction period, it starts to experience financial expansion. Today, the US hegemony is in the midst of such an orientation toward the financialization. The study analyzes the historical changes within both hegemonic cases by direct references to the world-system theory and construct a comparative perspective in production, commerce and finance domains respectively to support these arguments.

At a time when scholars have rekindled the old debate about what is world literature and how can one study it (Casanova, 2004; Moretti, 2000, 2003; Damrosch, 2003, 2009), this thesis analyses the canonisation of Central American Revolutionary women's writing as it moves toward the 'centre' and becomes part of the world literary canon. Drawing on a core-periphery systemic model, this thesis examines how translation for the Anglophone market involves the marginalisation at various levels of the narratives of political radicalism and the erotic that feature in the life writing works of Gioconda Belli, Claribel Alegría and Rigoberta Menchú. The dataset chosen for this study consists of the Spanish originals and English translations of La mujer habitada (1988) and El país bajo mi piel (2001) by Belli; No me agarran viva (1983) and Luisa en el país de la realidad (1987) by Alegría, in collaboration with her husband Darwin J. Flakoll; and Me llamo Rigoberta Menchú (1983) and Rigoberta: La nieta de los mayas (1998) by Menchú. To develop this core-periphery systemic model, I have drawn on the work of scholars in the field of the sociology of translation such as Pascale Casanova (2004), Johan Heilbron (1999, 2010) and Gisèle Sapiro (2008). In the context of the study, peripheralisation has been reconceptualised to assist in locating the texts included in the dataset within a hierarchical power structure (external level of peripheralisation); and identifying the shifts that arise during the translation and circulation of the ontological and public narratives underpinning such texts (internal level of peripheralisation). The study of the internal level of peripheralisation will draw on narrative theory, as elaborated by Margaret Somers and Gloria Gibson (1994), Somers (1997) and Mona Baker (2006). The choice of narrative theory employed in the thesis aims to foreground the impact that translation and the publishing field have on the selection and consecration of a literary genre; facilitate the comparison between the texts and paratexts of the originals and their English translations, and disclose the mechanisms through which the agency of the woman/author is neutralised, and the narratives of sexuality, body, political radicalism and feminine subjectivity are constructed in the original and reinterpreted through translation. This comparative (para)textual analysis questions the nature of the process by which peripheral texts have accessed the Western canon. In light of the findings, the thesis advocates the need to redefine the concept of canonisation in order to acknowledge a possible conflict between the new assumed centrality of the consecrated/translated text and the layers of peripheralisation that might still be constraining the original narratives. Secondly, these findings draw attention to a gap in world literatures scholarship. By assuming the autonomy of literature as an artistic form, world literature scholars might be in danger of obscuring the potential for manipulation inherent in translation practice, particularly in spaces favouring domesticating approaches to translation. Thirdly, this work aims to serve as a reminder to scholars and activists not to overlook the impact of literary translation on the circulation of theories and narratives, particularly in the case of highly canonical texts such as that of Rigoberta Menchú (1984).

This thesis investigates southern China as a part of dynamic and extensive interregional networks from the third to the first millennium BC and explores the changing roles of different southern regions within the interregional relationships. This was an important transitional period for southern China as it was the time when several prominent and farreaching innovations of technologies and material culture were made or adopted in the area. Four key sets of materials – rice, bronze, ceramics and jade – are examined with a World-system perspective to reveal interregional contacts in different directions and of different nature between southern China and a number of neighbouring regions. By stressing on local responses towards different technologies and material culture in different period, an alternative narrative to that stemmed from Chinese historiography is, therefore, suggested. Instead of being a passive and 'backward' periphery in the traditional sense, southern China presents diversification of material culture over time. Many of the mechanisms of transmission and circulation in the south are characterised by 'leaked' technologies and designs, as well as 'selective adoption' and local redevelopment of material culture.

The scope of this study is to analyse the phenomenon climate migration through the theories Securitization, Externalization of Border and World Systems Analysis. The study seeks answers to how factors and structures have limited the rights of climate refugees in the modern world system by analysing what obstacles and opportunities exist on the issue. The World System Analysis explains the underlying structures of the current world system and how it has generated climate migration as well as states' desire to preserve their sovereignty. The World System Analysis can also provide an explanation how these structures have led to a securitization of migration, which manifests itself through the implementation of several mechanisms such as Externalization of Border to stop the imaginary threat that climate refugees are viewed as. The study was conducted via qualitative text analysis of carefully selected articles and books to bring several relevant perspectives to the study. The study formulates conclusions based on both historical- and contemporary events to bring clarity to the issue on what space climate refugees have in the modern world system.

In the field of environmental migration studies, research on social consequences of  development projects has received limited attention. The study highlights the rise of “green grabbing,” e.g., the appropriation of land in the name of climate change mitigation. While there is existing research on the environmental and economic effects of green grabbing, its influence on migration outcomes remains understudied. To address this research gap, the study conducts an exploratory case study of Colombia, a country plagued by internal displacement. It investigates the correlation between green grabbing and internal displacement, considering socioeconomic and political factors. By combining statistical and historical analyses within the world-system theory and the political ecological approach, the research uncovers structural patterns in Colombia and sheds light on the intricate relationship between environmental initiatives and internal displacement, emphasizing the pursuit of profit within the capitalist world-system. Future research directions suggest the use of mediation analysis and qualitative investigation of policy narratives in climate change and migration.

This study is to investigate the problem of connectivity between nationally produced science and national needs. It is a collective case study of two academic departments within Saudi academia, the departments of petroleum engineering at Alpha and Beta Universities. The rationale for using these departments is that Saudi Arabia has an advanced petroleum industry, making petroleum engineering a good case for investigating the connectivity of nationally produced science with national needs. The main tool of the study was in-depth tape-recorded interviews. Twenty-two interviews were conducted, sixteen with current and retired faculty members at the petroleum engineering departments of Alpha and Beta and six with administrators at both universities. In addition, documents and observation were used as tools. The two departments differ in their levels of connectivity with national industry. One is increasingly connected with national industry, while the other is completely isolated from national industry. Historical and regulatory factors play a role in this difference. Four themes were generated from the data: institutional arrangements, positive attitude and self confidence, social construction of the university, and rentier mentality. The data gathered show that the issue of connectivity is beyond the will and abilities of individual scientists; it is a result of organizational efforts of the scientific institutions reinforced by the willingness of the productive sectors to change their behavior toward national scientists. / Ph. D.

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denna textanalys har författarna Jackson (2009) Prosperity without growth – economics for a finite planet och Wallerstein (2004) World system analysis – an introduction analyserats. Syftet med textanalysen är att jämföra Wallersteins och Jacksons texter utifrån deras syn på det nuvarande ekonomiska systemet och möjlighet till ekonomisk frikoppling. Resultat: Ingen av författarna anser att det finns någon möjlighet till ekonomisk frikoppling men anledningarna till detta skiljer sig mellan författarna. Jackson menar att fortsatt ekonomisk utveckling bland annat är viktigt för att finansiera välfärdsinstitutioner. Vissa former av utveckling har oundvikliga inslag av materiellt behov, exempelvis utbyggnad av infrastrukturer. Därav är ekonomisk frikoppling inte möjlig. Enligt Jackson måste mänskligheten söka mening i andra värden än det ekonomiska. Wallerstein menar att det nuvarande ekonomiska systemet är i grunden orättvist och exploaterar bland annat människor i periferin. Det här systemet kan inte repareras, det är först när det nuvarande ekonomiska systemet, som han kallar världskapitalistismen, försvinner som vi vet vilket system som reser sig ur dess aska. / In this text analysis the authors Jackson (2009) Prosperity without growth – economics for a finite planet and Wallerstein (2004) World system analysis – an introduction have been analyzed. The purpose of the text analysis was to compare Wallerstein and Jacksons texts upon their views of the current economic system and its ability to decouple. Result: Either authors believes that there exist a possibility to decouple but the reach this conclusion in different ways. Jackson claims that furtherer economic growths is important to finance welfare institutions. Some forms of development have inherent materiel need such as further development of infrastructure. This is why decoupling isn’t possible. Humankind have to seek different values other the economic ones. Wallerstein claims that the current economic system in its foundation is unfair and exploit people in the periphery and this system can’t be repaired. First when the world capitalistic economy disappears a new system will arise from the ashes.