Norway has sought a balancing strategy towards Russia since joining NATO in 1949. Deterring measures through NATO has been followed by assuring measures to ease tensions between both Norway and Russia, and NATO and Russia. During Russian aggression, most notably the annexation of Crimea in 2014, Norway sought greater integration with NATO, and has shifted towards a greater focus on measures of ...

In this thesis the relationship between corporations and their host communities through CSR programs has been the main focus. First it is stated that companies have been contributing to conflicts such as human rights abuses and ecological damage, through their main focus on profit and increasing shareholder value. Many of the business operations and direct foreign investments worldwide take place ...

The introduction of bulk interception (in Norwegian: “tilrettelagt innhenting”) into the Norwegian intelligence service’s toolbox represents both a continuation of the long-standing security-liberty debate, and a significant development in Norwegian security policy. This development puts Norwegian democracy in a new and difficult situation to navigate, in order to achieve a proper balance of ...

The Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) originated from the Lomé Peace Agreement, signed on 7 July 1999. The agreement provided for a cessation of hostilities and the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) of combatants. The TRC was a vital part of a strategy for making the country’s fragile peace permanent. Since the Lomé Accord gave all combatants in Sierra Leone's ...

In this thesis I examine the relationship between social boundaries and processes of othering and belonging amongst refugees in a Northern Norwegian community. I find that organizing concepts such as 'integration', 'culture' and 'second generation immigrant' permeate everyday talk on, and definitions of refugees amongst my Norwegian majority informants. In this context, I argue that dynamics of ...

This study explores the motivations and rationale of the educated Kyrgyz women who start wearing hijabs upon reaching maturity. In addition, the study examines attitudes, views, and perspectives of different groups of the Kyrgyz population in Bishkek, the capital of the country. In doing so, it presents, analyzes and explores the Islamization process in Kyrgyzstan from different angles. The theoretical ...

This academic study uses the method of multimodal critical discourse analysis and semi- structured interviews to examine the power dynamics, through linguistic practice, of the Trump Administration concerning their handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using governmentality, securitization theory, and post-truth politics, I investigate seven actors’ COVID-19 discourse from January to May 2020. I implement ...

The following paper will try to capture and to understand one of the most haunting and one of the most obsessive human endeavors undertaken by mankind: the pursuit for happiness! The goal of this study is that of trying to understand the ever recurring dream of Utopias! The only dream that made, and continues to make history. My goal is to investigate the phenomena of utopias, and to analyze all ...

The 1986 Economic Reform (Doi Moi) can be considered a watershed in Vietnamese history. The resulting development has also had a notable impact on society, where a more solid economic base has enabled the development of the middle class, a necessary condition for the growth of civil society. While the political system still defends a collectivist model, economic liberalism is bringing the Vietnamese ...

The present thesis looks at the relationship between cultures, mass media representations, war, and peace. The main research question is how self, other, and conflict are presented in artefacts of contemporary US popular culture - war and action movies in particular - and what impact such representations have on the attitudes, conceptualisations, and, ultimately, the behaviour of individuals and ...