Eight months into the conflict in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, it’s estimated that thousands are dead, 1.7 million are displaced, and hundreds of thousands are living in famine conditions. Despite intense pressure and punitive measures, the international response—led mainly by the United States (US) and the European Union (EU)—is not helping. Some critics have labeled the response a mistake. Others ...

Refugees in Norway are the group that experiences discrimination and social exclusion the most. The main reason of discrimination and unsuccessful integration is insufficient language skills. Even though, that they are provided with up to 3000 hours of language learning within an Introduction program that is specially designed for them to help them to reconstruct their lives in Norway, there is only ...

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 ...

<p>In the eastern province of Romania, also called Moldavia, lives a minority group of nearly a quarter of a million people named Csangoes, designated by the religious allegiance to the Roman-Catholic Church, and the use of Hungarian language as mother tongue by approximatively 60 000 people. The common literature of the last period has launched the idea that the Csangoes represent a mysterious ...

This thesis explores the shift of focus in peacebuilding projects that has been funded by UN Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) in Kyrgyzstan. After the ethnic violence in 2010, UN was invited to perform peacebuilding in the country. This was funded through the PBF, a branch of the so- called UN Peacebuilding Architecture. However, in 2017 the peacebuilding projects shifted focus and started doing Prevention ...

The aim of this thesis is to explore the different perceptions and perspectives regarding the UN’s Protection of Civilians (PoC) policy and the use of the policy in the ongoing peace operation in South Sudan. As the UN is utilizing the PoC policy in the majority of their ongoing peace operations, there is bound to be different perspectives and perceptions of the policy from civilians in the host ...

This master’s thesis investigates the role of language and expression in normalizing structural violence in Cuba and the capacity of poets to change these structures. Cuba’s nationalist narratives are examined from the top-down, while the capacity of Cuban poets to lead social change and political transition is explored from the bottom-up. Fieldwork for data collection took place in May and June ...

This study seeks to explore an understanding into the multi-actor resilient approach that was adapted as a response to the conflict-induced displacement situation that occurred in the West-Guji and Gedeo Zones of Ethiopia 2018. The study draws on semi-structured interviews, observations and some reports and proposals from aid workers, displaced people or returnees, government officials ...

Positive peace has not yet been achieved worldwide. The closest version of ‘peace’ one can see is a negative sort that is full of different forms of violence. If we want to see positive peace, structural ecological violence must be addressed. This thesis takes the premise that the natural environment is the missing key to peace. I argue that taking an environmental perspective to current peace ...

Imagery can be a powerful tool to raise awareness in a society, with research showing that imagery can realize both social and political change. Media plays an important role by setting the agenda of what is important, and the media can therefore have a significant role for activists when disseminating their images. This study aims to determine and analyse the effect imagery can have on a society ...