Browsing by Subject "discourse"

Populist has become a label thrown at politicians and parties, by media professionals, political opponents or in popular discourse. At the same time, cases like Boris Johnson’s Brexit campaign and Donald Trump’s US presidency have showed a potentially new form of populism, emerging from established political parties, with no discernible populist past and over a century of institutional history. When these two trends are present at the same time, academic enquiry into such cases of labelling established parties as populist is warranted. This study examines such a case. By taking a discursive-ideational approach to populism, I assess what elements of populism are present in the Facebook communication of Norwegian party Senterpartiet leader Trygve Slagsvold Vedum, in the year running up to the September 2021 parliamentary election. The party’s agrarian roots, rural voter base and historical opposition to centralisation and urbanisation means the objective is to specifically establish traits that can be traced to the agrarian populist tradition, where the urban/rural divide and conflict over centralisation and the emergence of urban values sit at the centre. This thesis relies on data material sourced from Trygve Slagsvold Vedum’s public Facebook page in the 12 months running up to the election. Following a constructionist theoretical approach and utilizing a discourse analytical framework to analyse texts and images posted on the page, I establish elements which constitute discourses, in order to assess the political antagonism in the data material for articulations of a populist antagonism. I conclude that there are several elements found within the data that constitute a populist antagonism, establishing meanings and demands which articulate a people and elite in opposition to each other. There are also clear elements which show the frontier between these two groups is predominantly created by conflict along the urban/rural divide, such as centralisation, the emergence of urban values and foreign influence. There is however contrary evidence which suggests the case subject cannot be called a populist movement, even if there are strong elements of populism present in the discourses.

This research explores how Russian national identity is constructed through political discourses pertaining to the Arctic. Theoretically this thesis addresses how national identity is constructed through these discourses and subsequently how this identity is used to justify Russia’s Arctic policy to a domestic as well as an international audience. In order to achieve this a hybrid methodology combining critical discourse analysis and political discourse analysis was applied to two forms of political discourses; speeches by politicians and policy papers. This research has identified five discourses through which a Russian national identity is constructed and policy legitimised. These are international cooperation, security, governance, Russia as Arctic, and environment.

This thesis is about the sociocultural phenomenon of start-up entrepreneurship. Contemporary society is home to a growing obsession towards entrepreneurship, with entrepreneurial action regarded as a possible solution to a wide spectrum of social problems. Entrepreneurial action and the acquiring of an entrepreneurial way of thinking and operating is widely considered to contribute to the common good, in reality having potential for a positive impact on society. Hence entrepreneurship is promoted in social policy and education in an effort to educate citizens towards entrepreneurial agency. All in all, an interesting shift is happening with entrepreneurs positioning themselves as producers of the common good ”making the world a better place one pizza at a time”, while farmers traditionally identifying as ”producers” are becoming more ”entrepreneurial”. Entrepreneurial agency as a new form of agency suitable for any individual in almost any field of action originates from the neoliberal discourse and the emphasis on individual freedom and entrepreneurialism. Like Margaret Thatcher famously stated, ”there is no society, there are individual men and women”. This highly individualistic approach to the reorganisation of society and the reinforcement or restoration of the class dominance of a small global elite was voiced as an alleged antidote to the perils of socialism, and culturally connected to the positive ideals of the entrepreneur as a free, self-reliable, innovative and efficient individual. This was the neoliberal re-invention of the entrepreneur that transformed the idea of the entrepreneur as primarily a business operator to that of the morally worthy individual simply doing the right thing. The fruits of the labour would then trickle-down as collectively beneficiary. This thesis is an ethnographic study on start-up entrepreneurs in the Greater Helsinki start-up ecosystem working to promote their companies. Through interviews and observational data, this thesis studies the start-up entrepreneur as the epitome of this contemporary entrepreneurial agency. Start-up entrepreneurship sometimes referred to as ”entrepreneurialism on steroids”, is a form of often tech-related entrepreneurialism aimed at fast growth with the help of investments - a sort of ”rags to riches” narrative. But the work is demanding with statistically most start-up companies destined to fail, with a very small percentage becoming successful in finding markets, growing and returning the investments while providing lucrative ”exits” for the founders. Utilising positioning theory this thesis focuses on three themes related to start-up entrepreneurs: their identifications and boundary work in separating them as a specific social group, the outspoken motivations behind their actions and the troubles that arise from their endeavours. Through dress code, speech norms and the acceptance of the Weberian idea of the entrepreneur as ”a special actor” and capable problem-solver, the identity of the start-up entrepreneur is constructed and ritualistically verified in events like SLUSH. The origins of the neoliberal discourse are interestingly present in these motivations, with a majority of the interviewees emphasizing the altruistic side of their social entrepreneurialism and the importance of freedom in life. They are free to achieve. But on the other hand, the possibility of unimaginable financial gain brings certain ambiguity to the situation. In the words of one interviewee: ”Anyone who says they don´t dream of getting rich in a start-up company is lying.” Finally, among all the positive hype that surrounds successful start-up companies and entrepreneurship partly due to the way they are portrayed in the media, there are problems ahead for many. Stress and financial troubles combined with the shame and possible debt resulting from going bankrupt manifest themselves as severe physical symptoms, mental health problems, insomnia and burnout. This can in turn have a dramatic impact in dictating the lives of the start-up entrepreneurs. Following the ideas of critical entrepreneurship studies and contributing to the lack of research on the topic, this thesis suggests that due to the influence of the neoliberal discourse on the way entrepreneurship is framed and celebrated as well as the severity of the resulting problems for many, there should be a more critical and analytical approach to the seemingly value-free promotion of entrepreneurship. It is necessary to ask whose interests are actually getting promoted through increased entrepreneurial agency, and whether the alleged promotion of common good is in fact contributing to any issues other than the convenience of the every-day lives of the middle-class.

The aim of this Master’s thesis is to explore the cultural and discursive aspects of defense procurement in the United States. The thesis examines how an American multirole combat aircraft, the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fighter, has been framed by Members of the U.S. Congress in 2010—2020. Focused on congressional communication towards the domestic audience, the study examines what kinds of meanings of the F-35 are conveyed by the frames and how they relate to American strategic culture. This is a study in the multidisciplinary field of American Studies, making use of previous research and concepts from congressional studies, defense and strategic studies, and political culture studies. The research material consists of public statements from Members of the Armed Services Committees of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. Informed by a social constructivist viewpoint and a semiotic approach to culture, the study adopts framing theory/analysis as a theoretical-methodological framework through which a combination of quantitative and qualitative content analysis of the research material is conducted. As a background for understanding the research material, the study defines a certain kind of American strategic culture and discusses the role of Congress in defense spending. This study finds that Members of the two Armed Services Committees have invoked broad, culturally resonant concepts and timeless storylines to contextualize and justify the F-35 to the domestic audience in a way that has remained fairly consistent over time. The study identifies three distinct but overlapping frames: an economic frame, a strategic-technological frame, and an apolitical patriotic frame. The framing of the F- 35 has highlighted its economic and financial aspects but has also discussed what the aircraft provides or means to the United States on the global arena, supported by a perception of war and military power as technology-centered and focused on competition between great power rivalries. The framing has also given voice to an understanding of the F-35 as a nonpartisan issue that evokes patriotic sentiments and was permeated with a general narrative of American national greatness and continued hegemony in the world. All the frames identified in this study are interpreted as having a basis in American strategic culture, but a more thorough understanding of the F-35 discourse arises by paying attention to a wider cultural context. The study suggests that the process and impacts of framing the F-35 are rooted in the existence and public acceptance of an American ‘culture of war’.

Avhandlingen består av en diskursanalys av intervjuer med kvinnoidentifierade personer verksamma inom startupekosystemet i Finland. Syftet med avhandlingen är att utforska kvinnornas tolkningar av startupekosystemets kultur från ett jämställdhets- och mångfaldsperspektiv. Avhandlingen bidrar med ett kritiskt perspektiv på startupkulturer och ämnar inspirera till nya synvinklar på sociologisk forskning om startupekosystem. De huvudsakliga forskningsfrågorna lyder: ”Hur förstår och tolkar kvinnor verksamma inom det finska startupekosystemet startupkulturen?”, ”Hur tolkar kvinnorna entreprenörsfiguren i rollen av det ideala startupsubjektet?” och ”Hur upplever kvinnorna jämställdhets- och mångfaldsdiskurser inom kontexten av det finska startupekosystemet?”. Det empiriska materialet består av kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer med fyra kvinnor som på ett eller annat sätt är verksamma inom det finska startupekosystemet. Intervjuerna analyseras genom diskursanalys. Det teoretiska ramverket för avhandlingen består av synen på startupekosystem som performativa diskurser – diskurser som konstruerar de verkligheter de beskriver – och entreprenören som en performativ figur och det ideala startupsubjektet. Det teoretiska ramverket betonar vikten av att inkludera ekosystemet som en forskningsparameter i kulturell forskning om startupkulturer. Avhandlingen hämtar inspiration från akademiska diskussioner om den diskursiva konstruktionen av startup, entreprenörskap och teknologifältet. I avhandlingen framhävs i enlighet med forskning tre diskursiva teman som beskriver startupkulturen: öppenhet och hierarkilöshet; passion och heroism; samt rationalitet och hårt arbete. Samtliga diskursiva teman bidrar till en hegemonisk förståelse om startupkulturen som inkluderande, jämlik och rättvis. Avhandlingen ifrågasätter dessa premisser och argumenterar för att startupdiskurser bidrar till att reproducera en förgivettagen sanning om inkludering och jämlikhet som osynliggör maktstrukturer och förhindrar att status quo ifrågasätts. Dessa diskursiva formationer konstruerar entreprenörsfiguren, som representerar ett demokratiserat och jämlikt ideal inom en objektiv marknadsekonomi. Analysen påvisar att entreprenören, trots sina neutrala premisser, är könad och rasifierad, och lättare fäster sig vid maskulint kodade kroppar. Slutligen påvisar avhandlingen att respondenterna blivit marginaliserade som kunskapsinnehavare när det gäller frågor om jämställdhet och likabehandling. Avhandlingen föreslår att startupdiskurser och konstruktionen av entreprenörsfiguren påverkar hur jämställdhet och mångfald förstås inom fältet och skapar en förutsättning för icke-performativa diskurser och tystnader gällande jämställdhet och mångfald.

The thesis concentrates on the visibility and the political recognition of transgender women (mak nyah) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Through the theories of recognition, concentrating on the questions of gender and recognition, the thesis looks into how the institutionalized transphobia, the criminalization of transgendered practices and the lack of gender recognition affect the transgender women/mak nyah, often referred to as the most visible part of the LGBT community in Malaysia. The study is based on ethnographic fieldwork carried out in Kuala Lumpur between April and August 2017. The study rests on participant observation – carried out in various LGBT spaces, events, and the facilities of a Non-Governmental Organization – and on semi-structured interviews with a core group of 17 participants, including 14 members of the mak nyah community and three current and former workers of three key organizations working with the issues of sexual and gender rights. Participants come from multi-ethnic and multi-religious backgrounds, of which the majority are Malay Muslims. Since the 1990s, emerging from Hegelian legacy, there has been a resurgent interest in the notion of recognition. Recently in the field of political recognition, after the recognition theorists Charles Taylor’s (1994) and Axel Honneth’s (1995) publications, the new questions concerning the relationship of identity, politics, and gender recognition have been studied by social theorists and scholars such as Paddy McQueen (2015) and Eric Plemons (2017). These scholars discuss how gender is recognized in various surroundings and fields, including legal. Furthermore, they pose important questions, such as what happens when an individual’s lived experience falls outside of society’s 'normative' gender ideal. Taken further, it permits a closer examination of the relationship between individual and society, enables the observation of gendered spaces and their meanings, and allows the scrutiny of the public discourse. Furthermore, like Nancy Fraser (1990) and Michael Warner (2002) have demonstrated, in environments where such subjectivities are oppressed or excluded from the public sphere and the institutional world, alternative discourses and discursive spaces are created, known as counterpublics, serving as social and political areas for the marginalized groups. In the past decades in Malaysia, there have been legal and political constructions toward the non-heteronormative subjectivities and groups. In Malaysia’s two-court system, ‘transgendered practices’ are criminalized by the section of religious (Syariah) law criminalizing “cross-dressing” of Malay-Muslim backgrounded citizens and by a section of the national law that has been used for the arbitrary arrests and raids of transgender-identified persons based on “indecent behavior.” Malaysia that was formerly known as a site of “considerable fluidity and permeability in gender roles” (Peletz 2009), has now taken a completely different political approach to its sexual and gender minorities. This is partly a result of nationalist “Asian values” discourse that took root in the 1990s in various Southeast Asian countries and that views the non-heteronormative genders and sexualities as un-Asian. The political identity struggles that are characteristic of the post-independent Malaysia have had an enormous impact on the gender and sexual minorities of Malaysia and manifested in stigma, discrimination, criminalization, and violence. The thesis demonstrates that while the moral policing has shown signs of acceleration, it has also opened up new channels for the marginalized groups to speak up for themselves and about their issues; thus, the public visibility of their issues has increased. As the term 'transgender' is neither ahistorical nor acultural, it requires closer examination. Through the theories of sex and gender, the thesis looks into how Malaysian mak nyah have absorbed the global word transgender. The thesis also examines the topic of institutionalized ‘erasure’ by emphasizing the interlocutor’s experiences of health care. Moreover, by conjoining the theories of recognition with the concept of gendered spaces, the thesis shows how the interlocutors are altering their subject positions and gendered performances according to the spaces of interaction. Furthermore, the thesis suggests that the lack of institutional care has created self-organizing forms of agency, where the members of the mak nyah community are answering their own needs, because the current institutional services do not. Moreover, access to the 'safe spaces,’ and other communal spaces offer vital breathing spaces for the members of the community and within these spaces, they negotiate their identities and self-organize their institutional needs. More general level, the thesis shows that in spite of the strained social change, the public visibility of the issues of transwomen has created new opportunities for trans-identified individuals, such as opportunities to alter their public image.

The counterintuitive relationship between Finland/Finnishness and coloniality – traces of colonialism in contemporary society and culture – is an expanding area of academic research. This thesis contributes to the field by reflecting on this relationship with a focus particularly on manifestations of issues of coloniality in public debates on social media. On these platforms, contrasting political groups engage in discursive struggles over the construction of memory and identity narratives. The context of the research is the international wave of protests that started in the summer of 2020, which attracted vast popular attention to racism and inequality, and the colonial power structures lying behind them. The social movements began in North America and expanded to Western Europe, where the history of imperialism and colonization is apparent – but the debate also reached Finland, a country that has, until recently, rarely been associated with questions of colonialism and coloniality. This thesis aims to shed light on Finland’s relationship to coloniality as a periphery-of-the-center space, which retains a share of colonial complicity, but also distinct differences vis-à-vis traditional colonial centers. The approach of the study is interdisciplinary, synthesizing features of postcolonial/decolonial theory, discourse theory and memory studies. The research identifies three of the dimensions in which coloniality is involved in discursive struggles in Finland: acknowledgement, reconciliation, and cosmetic decoloniality. In the research, these dimensions are represented, respectively, by three case studies: the Afrikan tähti boardgame, the public apology by MP Pirkka-Pekka Petelius to the indigenous Sámi people, and the rebranding of traditional consumer products exhibiting stereotypical orientalist names and imagery. Each case study includes an analysis of a social media discussion thread related to it. A central analytical framework is provided by Laclau’s discourse theory applied to populist movements, which emphasizes the convergence of attitudes and values within a group following equivalential logic, and the construction of antagonistic frontiers between different groups. By means of qualitative analysis, the thesis reflects on these processes particularly as they pertain to discursive struggles related to coloniality in Finland on social media, where such polarizing features can be identified. Finland is, in its own way, embedded in coloniality, and issues related to coloniality are an increasingly contentious topic in Finnish public debate. Negotiations and struggles over narrative and identity construction can be seen to follow ideological lines to some extent, but there is plenty of nuance in the re-negotiation of Finnish identity in the comparatively novel context of coloniality. Further, more detailed and broader study of discursive struggles related to coloniality and decoloniality is in order, as these issues become ever more prevalent in Finland.

The intersections of climate change and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) have increasingly received attention from international organisations but also from academia. For some, establishing these intersections is about reducing human pressure on the Earth systems, while for others it is about the human rights of vulnerable individuals and communities. Many have lauded these connections for providing a win-win solution for both. While these benefits are championed, there has been little reflection on the underlying motives and justifications for establishing these connections in the first place. Given the problematic past of population control policies, understanding these justifications is necessary to break away from the neo-colonial practices of the past. This thesis investigates the motives and justifications for establishing such intersections between SRHR and climate change. Specifically, the thesis addresses two questions, namely: 1) In what ways are the interconnections between SRHR and climate change justified in academic literature? 2) What are the implications of the ways in which these interconnections are justified? By drawing on a postcolonial feminist theoretical framework rooted in understanding this nexus critically, and carefully reflecting on the implications of these discourses, the thesis answers these questions by systematically drawing on a sustained body of research. The data consist of 88 academic publications that are systematised through discourse analysis. The findings identify six distinctive intersectional discourses which reflect the ways in which SRHR, and climate change are justified, namely: public health, population dynamics, reproductive rights, critical, sustainable development and environment discourses. Largely reflecting adherence to liberal feminist and populationist frameworks, these findings imply that the discourses, justifications, and motives do not sufficiently address the neo-colonial practices and structural inequalities that shape intersections between SRHR and climate change. Analytically, therefore, this thesis suggests that postcolonial feminism offers a more effective way for understanding intersectional discourses because it recognises how power inequalities manifest in the discourses, while contributing towards more justice-based approaches to sustainability.

Every four years, the U.S. presidential elections and the political campaigns are intensely followed by the media both nationally and globally. The primary elections precede the general election and are to determine who the presidential nominee of each party will be. To aid in the selection of the nominee, multiple debates are held for the candidates. This election cycle was perhaps a bit more intriguing than usual, as one of the Republican primary candidates came from outside established politics. This person was businessman Donald Trump, who challenged the political status quo with his often-provocative comments. It became evident that his unconventional style appealed to many: Trump seized the office in January of 2017. Many of the comments the Republican candidates made about immigration gained plenty of media attention. In this thesis, the focus is on the Republican candidates’ immigration-related rhetoric throughout the primary season. The goal to distinguish the discourses immigration is linked with in the debates and examine the rhetorical methods employed by the candidates as they attempt to convince and persuade their audiences on the topic of immigration. The data used in this thesis consists of twelve Republican debates arranged during the primary season. The rhetoric is examined through various rhetorical devices as well as Aristotle’s three modes of persuasion—ethos, pathos and logos. Ethos attempts to make the speaker appear trustworthy and respectable to the audience: pathos is used to appeal to the audiences’ emotions; and logos is used to appeal to the audience’s senses and intellect. The analysis method applied in this thesis is rhetorical discourse analysis. The immigration-based history of the United States, its social, racial, and ethnic composition as well as its ever-changing demographics lay a very interesting backdrop to the entire topic. The U.S. is a country built by immigrants, yet its relationship with immigration has always been difficult. Many newcomers have traditionally been disliked or even feared, be it because of their exotic appearance, their religion, or their unfamiliar language. American nativists have throughout history attempted to keep America white and Christian and rejected those who do not easily fall into these categories. Originally even Catholics were shunned. Whiteness and Christianity are two features that have long prevailed as the most depictive characteristics of the United States, even if the white population is on the decline and soon no racial group will alone form racial majority. The twelve primary debates are analyzed through rhetorical discourse analysis. The goal is to distinguish the central discourses and the rhetoric that the candidates apply when discussing immigration. A total of five discourses were discovered. These are named the problem discourse, the legality discourse, the security discourse, the economic discourse and Americanness as a discourse. The problem discourse as well as Americanness as a discourse can be found within all of the other discourses. Within the problem discourse, immigration is generally depicted as a problem; immigration is portrayed as an issue pertaining to law within the legality discourse: the security discourse is founded on the idea of immigration as a security matter; within the economic discourse, immigration appears an economic problem; and lastly, Americanness as a discourse builds around the age-old discussion on who is American. The economy discourse appears the most dominant, but the security discourse is found to be intensified by candidates Donald Trump and Ted Cruz. The candidates’ rhetoric most often aims to increase their popularity in the race and the audience’s support. This is understandable as the crux of a presidential primary is to select one candidate as the party nominee for the general election. As could be then expected, of Aristotle’s three modes of persuasion—ethos, pathos, and logos—ethos is most commonly used.

This study investigates what kind of representations of teachers' are constructed in fiction. Previous research indicates that fiction is as powerful as nonfiction in changing peoples' attitudes, beliefs and opinions. The main concept used as a tool for analysis is representation. Representation is as well as an individual mental model of an element, for example teachers', it also shared. Representation is a process in which also TV-series take part in constructing. Representations are also inscribed in wider discourses. In Finland in literature, TV and movies there has been many teacher characters and, despite their well-esteem status in society, their representation has been mainly negative as is evidenced by labels such as discipline keeper or dictator-like. In Anglo-Saxon movies and TV-series teachers' representation is on the contrary mainly positive e.g. charismatic and heroic. This study examines how teachers are represented in a TV-series called Uusi päivä (New day, 2010-) and if the representations relate to earlier representations. The data used for the analysis was five consecutive episodes of the series from the third season (2012 autumn). Characters web-profiles were analyzed. Data was recorded and transcribed. The analysis concentrates on teacher characters' interaction and with other interlocutors. The analysis was made with qualitative approaches of content analysis and discourse analysis. The results of this study are multiple. Two main categories of teachers' representations were identified. These representations were artist teachers and normal teachers. The juxtaposition of these groups was made in discursive forms but also in the plot of the series. Compared to the traditional representation of teachers the artist teacher's representation is more positive and has Anglo-Saxon influences. The normal teachers seem to be following the Finnish tradition. Both of these representations are not only one sided but rather caricature like representations of earlier representations. Teachers' relationship with students is either friendly (artists) or discipline keeping (normal) oriented. The TV-series reflects societal issues such as school reforms and constructs an "appropriate" cultural model for activism.