This bachelor's thesis analyses the transformation of the Finnish Armed Forces between 2004 and 2017. The aim is to answer the question of what the changes have been like and in what way these changes have affected the Finnish Navy. In the long run, could the changes affect the Swedish-Finnish defence cooperation? The thesis is mainly based on the four defence policy reports published during t

Under the capitalist growth imperative, mainstream housing is connected to high social and ecological consequences. In light of the need for an alternative approach to housing, my thesis adopts a degrowth perspective to critically explore an alternative housing model: the Swedish kollektivhus (‘collective house’; co-housing). In the kollektivhus, residents have their own private apartment which is

Developments in mobile technologies and social networks promote the mushrooming of self-presentation practices in virtual space, stimulating individuals to create idealized self-images and maintain desired social impressions. Posting fitness selfies is a popular mode of selectively constructing visual self-presentation in the fitness culture and digital age. Previous studies have demonstrated that

This research aims to fill the lacuna in the literature concerning the application of ecovillage praxis in spaces other than intentional communities by focusing on urban community gardens (UCGs) in Malmö, Sweden, as communities of practice where this could be integrated. It introduces both ecovillages and UCGs, as well as their associated praxis. Data was gathered about the first using semi-struct

The case study in focus for this research is the Women’s Strike in Poland movement during its articulation in late 2020. This movement was organized to campaign for reproductive rights and women’s rights in Poland after a restrictive abortion law was proposed in 2016, put into motion in 2020, and passed in 2021. This is an example of a contemporary movement supporting body autonomy and gender equa

In Sweden, conscription had been practiced for over 100 years, to meet the military threats expected of an adversary. In 2009, Sweden decided to put the conscription to rest. Between the years 2010-2018, a system was applied that was based on volunteering, with employed soldiers. In 2018, they chose to reintroduce the conscription again. In this study, I will look for the factors that formed the b

Deep sea mining (DSM) is by its proponents heralded as a sustainable way to supply the renewable energy transition with the massive amount of minerals and metals it requires, while its critics fear it will be the final drop making the oceanic cup flow over into ecological disaster. While commercial DSM remains unprecedented and its consequences largely unknown, private companies are using its “gre

Inspired by centuries of activists who used creative writing as a tool to encourage reflections and inspire change, this thesis looks at the possibility of poetry to be used as an environmental justice tool. In particular the ability of poetry from Nigeria to engage Dutch people with problems around Shell’s exploitation of the Niger Delta and its people, is investigated. Using decolonial and Criti

This thesis investigates the framing of COVID-19 public health interventions by the Victorian State Government, in daily press conferences, and Australian digital news outlets, in their reporting on the press conferences. A mixed-methods approach to framing analysis is used to comparatively analyse the framing by the two sources. The analysis revealed significant differences between the frames ope

Despite advancements world-over in access to basic education, hundreds of millions of children cannot read simple texts nor solve simple math problems, whether or not they have been to school. While there is evidence signalling the significant role of teachers in education outcomes, they are often seen as contributing to the learning crisis. The purpose of this thesis was to explore the perception

Fansub (Fan-subtitled) is the term coined after the action of subtitling a foreign audio-visual production. Fansubs started being studied after the phenomenon started gaining popularity within communities of anime fans that used them as a way of access to the products they desire to consume. This has created different opinions that range as a way of going against the “top-down corporate-driven pro

The aim of this study is to investigate what factors shaped the decision making process regarding the Swedish military contribution to UN mission in Liberia 2003. At the time Sweden already had an on-going mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Swedish Armed Forces was in the midst of a thoroughgoing reform of its military forces as well as its core objectives. The focus of the study

It is no secret how news media struggle these days and have been struggling for quite some time due to distrust, news fatigue and even disengagement among audiences. And so, it has even been discussed whether news can still be regarded as central within democracies and function as a citizenship medium. Right now, news media all over the world e.g., the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Rumania, S

As the environmental crisis intensifies humans are searching in many corners of the world for solutions and actions to take on both a political, economic, and social level. In recent years, psychedelics have been brought forward in Western academia as a potential way of (re-)connecting humans with nature and foster pro-environmental behaviour. Using online, semi-structured interviews with research

Anxiety is increasingly present in contemporary media cultures. In Sweden, Ångestpodden, freely translated as “The Anxiety Podcast”, can be seen as a part of this development. Ångestpodden is the focus of this thesis, which sees the podcast as an interesting case for investigating how anxiety saturates contemporary media experiences. The aim of this study is to investigate the podcast listening ex

Drawing on Charles Taylor’s modern social imaginary, this study offers a perspective for understanding how teachers are represented and characterized in American news media. Specifically, I study the way the social imaginary of teachers contributes to the performance of Arlie Russell Hochschild’s notion of emotional labor. I use this approach to analyze a case study of teacher representations in A

As the 20th century turned into the 21st, and cooperation characterized Europe and the western relationship with Russia, the aim and ambition for Swedish defense policy and the development of the Armed Forces was, that in case of a deteriorated security situation in Europe, Swedish politicians would have strategic warning ten years beforehand in order to adjust the military capabilities. The aim o

The purpose of this paper is to critically examine how older women interact, perform to their heart's content, learn music, and communicate across cultures around square dancing in a Chinese context. The paper explores how retired Chinese grandmothers use square dancing to build social interactions, find friendships and integrate into diverse group life. It also considers the identity backgrou

This thesis provides a historiographical account of the multiple socio-ecological transformations that occurred in Västernorrland, Sweden, during the second half of the 19th century. By engaging with ecological Marxist thinking, such as the world-ecology framework proposed by Jason W. Moore, these transformations are conceptualised as part of a broader movement of commodity frontiers. Drawing upon