Browsing by master's degree program "Magisterprogrammet i global politik och kommunikation"
Now showing items 41-60 of 114
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(2021)This study aims to analyze institutional change and transparency practices of the National Audit Office of Peru (NAO), whose job is to promote accountability in public administration but paradoxically faced an accountability crisis in 2017. This study analyzes the combination of logics of explanation that fostered the changes in the NAO during 2010 to 2020, and the role of transparency practices in institutional change. This study answers two research questions about the logics of explanation that were decisive to promote institutional change and the role of transparency in institutional change at the National Audit of Peru during the ten-year study of 2010-2020. In that regard, this theory-based qualitative research is based on institutional change theories and the four logics of explanation proposed by Vivien Schmidt: institutional design, evolutionary, appropriateness, and communication, the perceptions of seven decision-makers, managers, authors, or participants who worked during the time of the study frame of ten years, plus the analysis of statistical data. Since only one logics of explanation cannot explain the changes, a combination of the four logics of explanation were necessary. Each of the logics of explanation merge with thematical axis proposed after coding the interviewees' perspectives to explain how the changes were produced and the role of the transparency practices that fostered the changes within an accountability public institution between 2010 2020. Moreover, theories of accountability, trustworthiness, transparency and communication are presented to answer the research questions. This study uses the content analysis method and other qualitative research tools such as document review, website review, and information from the organization, which is of public domain. Finally, the conclusions of this study show that the combination of the four logics of explanation was crucial for the changes at the National Audit Office, and the practices of transparency were effects of those changes.
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(2019)This study employs an exploratory look into the immigration policy in the contemporary Japan, in the light of an ongoing demographic transition. As the native Japanese population ages, the government officials have turned their attention towards foreign labor to fill the labor deficits in several working sectors. The scrutiny in the study focuses on examining the immigration policy environment and the government operations in increasing the international labor mobility in Japan. The exploratory approach in the study reflects the aspirations of the study to act as a groundwork for further research of the topic by creating hypotheses of the matters examined. Through the use of an analytical framework and a rational logic model based on policy analysis, the study analyzes the Japanese governments immigration policy plan from 2015 and the implemented policies until second quarter of 2019. The examined material is comprised of official publications from the Japanese Ministry of Justice. The results of the study show a set of distinguishable tendencies of the immigration policy in the second decade of the 21st century; a clear preference for highly skilled foreign labor over less skilled one, reluctance of major reforms in opening the labor market for foreign labor, lack of centralized support for multicultural coexistence, preferential treatment for Japanese descendants, and the election of time-limited measures to tackle labor deficits. The study concludes, that even after the realization of the demographic change and the labor deficits by the Japanese officials, the opening of the labor market for the foreign labor remains constricted. Of the immigration policies, the trainee programs show major potential in attracting the low and medium skilled labor, the type of labor most required, and the further revision of the program could promote it to be a cornerstone for increasing the international labor mobility in Japan.
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(2020)The platform economy has emerged in the past two decades to become a remarkably profitable and increasingly global industry. The explosive growth of platform firms can be attributed to the outsourcing of almost all aspects of business operations to minimize costs. This is coupled by their motivation to grow rapidly to capture disproportionately large market shares. Consequently, platform firms have become global behemoths, and the labor which sustains their growth has come to be known as “gig work”, in which self-employed contractors work whenever they please, without the traditional protections provided to formal employees. The goal of this dissertation is to explain these mechanisms in relation to their potential impacts on income inequality. This dissertation tests two hypotheses: the outsourcing hypothesis and market concentration hypothesis. Each hypothesis proposes a causal chain whereby outsourcing and market concentration in the platform economy lead to disproportionate economic power and greater economic insecurity, and consequently links these outcomes to a double movement in the U.S. income distribution. Methodologically, this research employs contrastive comparisons, whereby exemplary platforms are compared with their traditional competitors, namely Uber with the taxi industry, Amazon with Walmart, and DoorDash with Domino’s Pizza. From these contrastive comparisons, evidence is gathered to demonstrate key differences between platforms and their traditional competitors. Additionally, this research is contextualized in terms of historical and ideological trends, particularly the gradual re-emergence of income inequality and the development of neoliberal hegemony. The findings demonstrate that through unique combinations of the hypothesized mechanisms, platform businesses do proliferate greater economic insecurity, and generate disproportionate economic power between platform providers and platform managers and owners. However, evidence directly linking these outcomes to downward or upward pulls in the U.S. income distribution remains inconclusive. That said, substantial evidence was found for the rejection of the outsourcing hypothesis. Evidently, given the complexity of social systems, the findings from this research may be inherently difficult to generalize on a global or systemic level. As such, I conclude that further research is necessary to draw more decisive and generalizable conclusions regarding the interplay between income inequality and the platform economy.
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(2022)Japan today faces a series of issues ranging from unsatisfactory working conditions to labor shortages across all sectors, culminating in a labor crisis. To overcome this crisis, the Japanese government led by the Liberal Democratic Party has begun to implement reforms bundled under the “Work Style Related Reform Laws”. In addition, businesses have introduced wage increases after 30 years of stagnation. Several extensive research has been conducted over the years on specific issues such as low unemployment rate or low birth rate. However, none have examined the overall labor issue in terms of crisis. Applying the institutionalist and comparative political economy approaches, this thesis aims to evaluate the potentiality of Japan in overcoming the labor crisis.Using previous research, government data and reports, the thesis examines various aspects related to working life and then compares Japan to Finland, another country where the trend is following a similar path to Japan, exploring the overall labor situation in both countries. Central objective of the thesis is to answer if it is possible for Japan to overcome the labor crisis and what needs to be done to achieve societal transformation. The labor crisis is at a critical point in Japan today, but the foundation for societal transformation exists as all stakeholders; the government, businesses, and the people are in agreement for the need for change. What is more, small actions are starting to be taken and once transformative reforms are enacted, Japan may be able to overcome the labor crisis.
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(2020)The aim of the thesis is to explore whether John Rawls’ theoretical concept of property-owning democracy can potentially inform novel avenues in the current debate regarding economic inequality. This concept is used in the thesis to scrutinize the role of property ownership in liberal theory and advocate for a broader, and more equal, interpretation regarding the role of property. More specifically, the attempt is to show that in Rawls’ property-owning democracy there is a possibility for a more equal basis for ownership, which can also enhance broader economic equality. The methodology employed in the thesis is that of concept analysis, which is used to critically examine how some of Rawls’ theoretical concepts have been understood in the academic literature and whether there are more accurate interpretations regarding these concepts. Hence, the aim is to focus on Rawls’ theory’s economic component in the form of property-owning democracy. Furthermore, Rawls’ overall impact amongst mainstream economics is highlighted in order to disclose the narrow nature in which his theory is understood amongst most economists. This narrow interpretation of Rawls’ theory is exemplified by the focus on a single aspect of the theory, namely, the decision theory rule of maximin. However, closer scrutiny reveals that Rawls formulates a complex theoretical structure that aims to formulate macro principles instead of focusing on micro principles. One of the main findings of the thesis is that through Rawls’ property-owning democracy, one can see there to be more space in the liberal political tradition towards greater economic equality than traditionally supposed. This is manifested by the requirement in Rawls’ property-owning democracy for a significant degree of equality in the ownership of the means of production. The importance of equality in Rawls’ theory makes radical interpretations also possible. For instance, Rawls’s property-owning democracy is in accordance with John Stuart Mill’s idea of worker managed firms. Therefore, the ownership and organization of the means of production is potentially a concrete area of improvement where greater economic equality could be achieved. Another interesting finding is that mainstream economics, with utilitarian philosophy as its backbone, seems to have forgotten the question regarding the ownership of the means of production and assumes it to be naturally privately held. One explanation for this is that the paradigm change in economics, from classical political economy to neoclassical economics, also meant shifting focus from the question of ownership of production to other avenues. As a result, questions regarding utility maximization became the focus of attention. The thesis shows that questioning underlying assumptions regarding issues such as economic inequality are crucial in order to properly understand and analyze the issue further. Rawls’ input in this regard is that he emphasizes the normative context, namely, the need to have clear political and moral arguments regarding justice. Therefore, it is important to scrutinize and formulate clearly what are the underlying principles for a just society instead of assimilating principles at face value. In the context of concrete policy outcomes, assuming certain principles without scrutiny also informs policy outcomes that can be detrimental for greater economic equality.
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(2020)This thesis examines how urban sustainability is constructed in the local implementation plans of Sustainable Development Goals, and whether a common discourse can be outlined of them. Cities and other local authorities are increasingly assuming the global responsibility for sustainable development actions alongside the nation-states. In this case, the commitment is demonstrated by voluntarily committing to monitoring progress towards meeting the Sustainable Development Goals as part of a global city network. The potential reasons for cities to engage in such global city networks for sustainability are a disappointment to global cooperation efforts by nation-states, a possibility for peer learning, sharing new practices, and seeking branding possibilities. A sample of local commitments, Voluntary Local Reviews, are analysed in terms of their discursive construction. The analysis is based on the theoretical constructions of environmental policy discourses by Maarten Hajer and John Dryzek. By focusing on policy discourses, it becomes possible to understand how certain issues are organized into politics while others are organized out. The research focuses on nine Voluntary Local Reviews released in 2019 by Bristol, Buenos Aires, Hamamatsu City, Helsinki, Los Angeles, Oaxaca, Mannheim, New York City and Taipei City. The research shows that although cities have internalized the common principles of sustainable development, mainly deriving from the Agenda 2030, many of them are interpreted in various ways. The common framework by Voluntary Local Review offers only a vague guideline for the reviews which leads to cities rather resorting to copying the models from each other or developing their own. The inherent ambiguity that is connected to the term sustainable development is not addressed in any of the reviews, nor is an explicit definition of the used sustainability concept offered in any of them. This supports the notion that cities engage in the discursive construction of (urban) sustainable development with the reviews. Based on the reviews, the following Sustainable Development Goals are considered as most relevant for cities: goal 11 (Sustainable cities and communities), goal 8 (Decent work and economic growth), goal 10 (Reduced inequalities) and goal 16 (Peace, justice and strong institutions). Cities also actively position themselves as global sustainability actors in their reviews. They position themselves as eager to bear a global responsibility and as most relevant actors for citizens, close to their everyday lives. Furthermore, they express an urge to inspire other cities nationally and globally to also join in reporting and commit to sharing their progress on global arenas, such as in the United Nation’s High-Level Political Forum. In their connection to national sustainable development reporting, broadly two approaches can be identified. In some situations, national reporting is not mentioned in a review at all and, consequently, its role is highlighted. This applies mostly in situations where national actors are not considered as active as city actors. In other situations, cities see their reporting as complementary to the national one and even consider cooperation as their duty thanks to shared values with national actors. Voluntary Local Review reporting offers an interesting case of voluntary bottom-up commitment by cities to engage in global sustainability spheres and its significance is likely to only increase in the future. Based on results, reporting on the local level requires a careful balancing between adapting goals and indicators to locally relevant form, on one hand, and ensuring that they are general enough to allow for comparison, on the other hand. As sustainable development and Sustainable Development Goals are characterized by ambiguity concerning their precise definitions, the current local reporting offers considerable judgement for cities in terms of what to include in the reporting. More precise frameworks and indicators would allow that also cities with lesser resources could engage in this sustainability reporting.
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(2021)The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that human rights are inalienable and belong to everyone without any large scale exceptions. Thus, supranational human rights bodies focus on monitoring human rights violations, instead of discussing to whom human rights in practice are seen to belong to. However, there are vast differences with how states view universal human rights, which is especially apparent when discussing the rights of sexual and gender minorities. This study set out to discover how states justify not including the rights of sexual and gender minorities under the protection of international human rights treaties by analysing statements made at the UN Human Rights Council. The material for this research were the statements made at the 41st meeting of the Human Rights Council’s 32nd session on the 30th of June 2016. This session voted for the establishment of an independent expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The session included 23 statements that were made either by a country representative who voted against the establishment, or by a representative whose country abstained from the vote. These statements were analysed with qualitative content analysis, by which nine justification categories were identified. These categories were titled Cultural Relativity, Imposing Values, Moral Grounds, Universality, Lack of Legal Basis, Sovereignty, LGBTI Definition’s Lack of Clarity, Human Rights Council’s Cohesion, and Resolution’s Lack of Clarity. These nine justification categories were further divided into three groups depending on the strength and aim of the argument. This research deduced that cover-up justifications (Lack of Legal Basis, LGBTI Definition’s Lack of Clarity, and Resolution’s Lack of Clarity) where used in arguments to divert the discussion from the root justifications, which were the arguments under Cultural Relativity and Moral Grounds. The statements in the third category (Universality, Sovereignty, Human Rights Council’s Cohesion, and Imposing Values) highlighted the differences with how universality and the mandate of the Human Rights Council is perceived. Understanding the justification categories identified in this research help to direct LGBTI advocacy and resources, and to critically asses the universality of human rights.
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(2022)This thesis will investigate how in transnational media outlet Politico Europe Europeanness is framed in relation to LGBT rights. The concept of Europeanness is highly contested and is largely shaped by the framed context in which it is studied. The concept of Europeanness in the context of this thesis is understood as a set of ideas that are relational and temporal. This allows the thesis to investigate how the concept of Europeanness is framed in contemporary settings and in relation to LGBT rights. The theoretical focus of the thesis is how an internal sexual Other is constructed in relation to Europeanness. This Othering process in constructing Europeanness and in relation to LGBT rights is often studied through the notions of Rainbow Europe and Freezer Europe. The case in point for the thesis is what is referred to as the Hungarian anti-LGBT law of 2021 that was adopted by the Hungarian government on the 15th of June 2021. The empirical material consists in total of 18 online newspaper articles of Politico Europe. The data collection method was performed through random sampling. The data is organised and coded using MAXQDA software. The method that is used to analyse the data is qualitative frame analysis method (FA). After analysis of the empirical material, the main frames that create the notions of “Rainbow Europe” and “Freezer Europe” are organised into two categories. “Rainbow Europe” notion is framed through fundamental rights frame, tolerance frame, and backsliding frame. “Freezer Europe” notion is framed through temporality frame, backwardness frame, and intolerance frame. The main results are that Europeanness in relation to LGBT rights is framed in Politico Europe through the notions of Rainbow and Freezer Europe, with the creation of a temporal difference in Hungary post-2010. Europeanness is framed as essentially LGBT friendly, and the framing of Rainbow Europe notion heightens this construction of Europeanness. Hungary is framed through the notion of Freezer Europe, which renders it as not European “enough” to be considered part of Europeanness in relation to LGBT rights. The thesis contributes to the understanding of contemporary framings of Europeanness in relation to LGBT rights in transnational news media.
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(2022)This thesis aims to offer a critical analysis of the phenomenon of a global debt crisis and possible mechanisms that may cause them. It starts with a hypothesis that the concept of a global debt crisis is too vaguely defined and relies too much on the idea of excessive debt being the root cause of the crisis. Instead, the thesis will argue that a global debt crisis must have a systemic nature where the crisis threatens the existence of the entire global monetary system. For the purposes of the argument, the different interpretations of debt are examined, the relevant features of our global monetary system are determined, and a systemic crisis theory of Jürgen Habermas is utilized. The thesis has its theoretical background in Critical Realism, which will help distinguish social mechanisms with real causal powers that may contribute to forming a global debt crisis. The thesis uses abductive and retroductive reasoning to assess different mechanisms brought forward in the relevant literature of whether they are capable and necessary to cause a global debt crisis. Furthermore, the thesis will approach the debt from the perspective of Modern Monetary Theory (MMT), which emphasizes the state’s role in managing money and debt relations. Specifically, the thesis will apply the frameworks of sectoral balances and monetary sovereignty to determine the differences of the global debt network in contrast to sovereign or private debt. Based on these frameworks, the argument is that the same mechanisms cannot cause a global debt crisis as a sovereign debt crisis. In the analysis part, the thesis focuses on two possible mechanisms that frequently appear in the academic literature as a cause for a global debt crisis: global imbalances and global debt deflation. The case for global imbalances relies on the fears of the U.S. dollar collapsing, which the frameworks of MMT indicate to be highly implausible due to the total U.S. monetary sovereignty. On the other hand, the case for global debt deflation rests on an increasing accumulation of private debt, which is shown to be more dangerous globally. However, despite its sound systemic causal mechanism, the assessment finds that global debt deflation is alone an insufficient cause to create a global debt crisis. In conclusion, the thesis emphasizes the role and significance of political decisions as a necessary cause behind most debt crises, especially a possible global one. The relevance of debt-controlling institutions are considered briefly, but the ultimate responsibility for preventing a global debt crisis is put into the hands of currency-issuing states. Political decisions will be shown to function as both a capable and necessary cause for a global crisis. Furthermore, the thesis also considers the limitations of using MMT to examine global debt relations and gives preliminary suggestions for further research.
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(2021)This thesis assesses the relative performance of different theories of money in the contemporary world economy. This thesis aims to qualify some of the claims of Modern Monetary Theory (hereafter MMT) by assessing how accurate the theory is as a description of money. Furthermore, it seeks to more precisely define ‘the state’ as a political entity in order to more fully qualify some of the constraints a state’s currency may face. Three theories of money are discussed: the commodity theory of money, the positioning theory of money, and the credit theory of money (the last of which is compatible with MMT). Three authors’ work are analyzed that each advocate for one of the three theories. These theories are assessed according to their relative concordance with historical evidence. It also assesses some of the consequences for economic analysis that emerge as a result of these different conceptions of money’s functions. A theory of the state postulated by Bob Jessop is adapted for identifying constraints on states’ currencies under the assumption that the credit theory of money (MMT) is accurate. The performative effects of the commodity theory of money and expectations of appropriate state behavior limit the fiscal policy space of states beyond that which is proposed by MMT. Further limiting the fiscal policy space of states is the global free-trade system, which imposes a structural need for some states to earn foreign currency reserves so that they can produce and procure essential economic goods. The thesis concludes by suggesting two paths forward to resolve these limitations. The first involves reframing public economic discussions by using MMT’s metaphors; the second suggests a return to discussions of managed global trade governance, for example John Maynard Keynes’ “Proposals for an International Clearing Union.”
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(2022)Parties in federal states are active on multiple levels. While attention has been given to multi-level parties and the multi-party system in general circumstances, less research has been done on how these parties act during campaigns. One of the latest trends in political campaigning is the so-called grassroots campaigning. Grassroots campaigning takes the party members at the center of the campaign and uses them as facilitators of the party’s political message in various ways. The party Alliance 90/ The Greens in Germany embraces this grassroots democracy principle and is, therefore, the optimal case to analyze. The unit where most of the party members accumulate in the German party system is the district association. To see how grassroots campaigning works within a multi-level party, this thesis aims to examine the interactions between the Greens district associations with the federal association's campaign during the federal election campaign 2021. The research data consists of six semi-structured interviews with campaign managers of the Greens parties’ district associations who were active during the federal election campaign 2021. The interview transcripts are analyzed by using a qualitative content analysis method to gain knowledge of prominent and reoccurring categories of the campaign managers' experiences during the federal election campaign. The analysis showed that the campaign managers' district associations primarily focused on the mobilization of party members as well as the localizing of politics. Furthermore, the data showed that the campaign managers do not see any influence from their side on the federal election campaign besides the formal influence through assemblies. However, they experienced different forms of autonomy which is in line with the theoretical construct of grassroots campaigning. Last, of all, the data revealed a lack of transparency from the federal campaign side. The outcomes of this study indicate the main tasks of the district associations as mobilization of members and localization of politics. Additionally, the district association seems to have a rather high amount of autonomy within the federal campaign, but on the contrary, the side might not be able to influence the federal association's campaign as such. Nevertheless, this study provides the first research on the aspect of multi-level campaigning and thereby addresses the gap in the literature on political campaigning.
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(2023)After decades of low inflation in developed economies, inflation increased significantly beginning from 2021, as consequences of global pandemic, supply chain disruptions, and later a war in Europe led to upward price pressures on several parts of the economy. As inflation proved to be more persistent than initially expected, central banks were forced to act in order to protect price stability. This thesis is an explanatory study that conceptualizes inflation narrative dynamic from the perspective of central banks. I argue that inflation is not based on scarcity alone, but also a self-enforcing narrative, which can make inflation persistent even when underlying inflationary pressures are solved. Inflation expectations are manifestations of narratives that are replicated over time with limited information in recursive feedback loop rather than being rationally formed under full information as many economic theories assume. I present a framework to study the formation of inflation narratives and a brief history of inflation theories to put current theoretical understanding of inflation in its historical context. I study what dominant inflation narratives and underlying economic theories can be identified in central bank communications during 2021-2022 and how central banks have aimed to influence inflation expectations of the public. Major change in monetary policy communication during the research period was the shift from Forward Guidance communication policy to data-dependence. In Forward Guidance, central banks assume that they are able to steer and anchor inflation expectations of the public by committing themselves to future interest rate path in advance. As inflation continued to increase throughout the research period, central banks could no longer credibly anchor public inflation expectations through Forward Guidance and had to become more data-dependent. Instead of anchoring expectations, central banks now have to adapt their inflation narrative and steer inflation expectations as new data emerges in backward-looking manner.
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(2023)This thesis analyses the Finnish Government report on the need for a reform in integration promotion (2021:62). The material contains reform proposals to the current act regarding newcomer integration. The chosen method for studying the material is a Foucault-inspired critical discourse analysis which regards policy programmes as producers of problematizations concerning social phenomena. The primary study question of the thesis is ‘what kind of problem newcomer integration is represented to be’. This question is supported by five accompanying questions which elaborate how the representation of the problem has come about, what presuppositions and assumptions underlie the problem representation, what is silenced within the problem representation, what effects does the problem representation create and is there a possibility of thinking about the problem representation differently. The analysis concludes that the problem representation within the policy report presents the process of newcomer integration from an outdated point of view. The process is being represented as something that affects newcomers only and that the receiving society primarily has a coordinating role when it comes to providing efficient public services. The arrival of newcomers is perceived as a positive phenomenon only if newcomers commit to integrating themselves quickly and enter the Finnish labour market as soon as possible. Newcomers are thus treated as economic resources needed for solving Finland’s ongoing socio-economic challenges. The representation does not address the two-way nature of the integration process and thus accepts and reproduces the imbalance of power between newcomers and the receiving society. The proposals within the policy programme focus on creating an integration programme for the initial phase of the integration process and developing the integration service infrastructure so that the integration of newcomers could be achieved within a maximum of two years. In addition to intensifying the speed of the integration process, the analysis shows that demands for the receiving society relate mostly to redefining the responsibilities of officials at different governance levels. Equally, increasing the amount of low threshold integration services are given attention so that newcomers outside the labour market would be reached more efficiently. The analysis indicates that the purpose of this is to gather and manage all human capital that is currently left unattended, mould it into a usable resource and redirect it into the labour market. The analysis concludes that the suggested proposals advocate for increasing control on the lives and identities of newcomers as they are categorized according to their competences and skills i.e., their value to the receiving society. Thus, regardless of the reform on the act concerning newcomer integration, the process is still being thought of as a unidirectional economic process. Key words: Newcomer integration policy, two-way integration, critical discourse analysis, governmentality, biopolitics
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(2021)Media and power dichotomy in Russia present an interesting and multilateral context for research. The global pandemic of COVID-19 which started in 2019, raised the significance of the crisis communication in the media. Crisis communication is essential in regard to constructing and influencing the audience’s perception. The aim of this master’s thesis is to provide an analysis of the news frames used in two Russian newspapers and analyse how they are used in relation to influencing public’s perception. The aim is to identify how the news framing creates narratives and public discussion. Additionally, the analysis involves the question of how the relationship between Russia and the West is framed during this crisis. The research material consists of two different newspapers during the month of April 2021. Research data that involve news about COVID-19 includes all the articles, editorials and opinion pieces from this time. Research material consists of a total of 54 articles. The newspapers selected for the research are “Argumenty I Fakty” which is identified as a pro- government newspaper. The second newspaper is “Nezavisimaja Gazeta” identified as critical towards the Russian government. The framing analysis of research material is conducted. Research also draws from the theories of crisis communication. Results of the analysis indicate, that the political orientation of a newspaper, is significant in terms of the news frames used in them. The news frames construct the public discussion and influence the peoples actions. In “Argymenty I Fakty” was found four news frames and in “Nezavisimaja Gazeta” was found five news frames. Only one news frame was used in both newspapers. The news frames utilized in the pro-government newspaper amplified the political agenda of the Russian government. The narratives created in both newspapers were significantly different. In conclusion, the framing analysis provided an understanding of the news frames used in two different Russian newspapers. It is evident, that the political identity of the newspaper provides a significant impact which news frames are utilized and how crisis communication is conducted. The opposition of Russia and the West is visible in both newspapers and it is created through the news framing.
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(2019)Different studies have assessed, in the past, the potential effects of showcasing inclusiveness of different identities in popular media. Those research often about TV series and movies, have shown the media’s potential to “participate in the construction of the imagined community, the nation, and the membership of that nation” (Nikunen, 2013, p. 307). However, too few of those studies concern video games, even though the relevance of researching that form of media is growing incessantly along with its popularity. The recent events of Gamergate and other criticism in the last years also highlighted that need. In the last years, some members of the gaming industries, touched by the awareness-raising campaigns on the potential effects of representation – or lack thereof – in video games, have attempted to improve the inclusiveness in their designs. That is the case of the Blizzard team creating the first person shooter Overwatch. Jeff Kaplan, Overwatch’s game director, has been explicit about the developers intend to send a message of “inclusiveness and open mindedness” through their game design (Kaplan, 2017), which is why the game was selected for the present research. This thesis includes theory drawn from social sciences concerning representation, visuality, and media effect. As the subject of analysis is a video game, a part of the theory comes also from the field of game research: game analysis essentials, and the notion of the transformativity of games. This basis allows a short analysis of the game Overwatch in order to evaluate partially the inclusiveness and the type of representation observable in the game. How are players reflecting on and reacting to developers’ attempt at inclusive design in the video game Overwatch? To answer the question, in-depth interviews were led with active players of the game. The participants told their first reactions to the game, then expressed their thoughts about the game’s level of inclusiveness, the necessity of that inclusiveness, and the potential effects it could have on themselves or other players. Their answers were compiled and analysed. Although the scope of this work doesn’t allow definite conclusions, it has been found that the interviews are welcoming the inclusiveness in the game Overwatch. Some of them were even to see more diverse representation added to it in the future. Most of the players are however making the distinction between Overwatch and other genre of games, saying that such inclusiveness should not be required from the developers, but encouraged; the participants give value to the developers’ creative freedom and don’t want to see it hindered by pressure from critics. Regarding the potential effects of the game’s values on the players, the participants were mostly unsure about the possibility at first. Yet, towards the end of the interview, as they became more comfortable, some of them shared personal experiences of media effect from Overwatch. Those testimonies were especially interesting as they are comparable to Bandura’s social cognitive theory, which is discussed in the thesis (Bandura, 1977; Kirsch, 2010). The results of this study invite interested researchers to investigate further in that direction.
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(2023)Journalistic objectivity sits at the heart of public service broadcasters’ - such as the BBC's - mission to keep the public informed, educated and entertained. Just as the Hippocratic Oath inspires the public’s trust towards doctors, journalistic objectivity is how journalists, and public service broadcasters in particular, can earn the public’s trust and consent to fulfil their remit. Drawing from theorisation of the media as the fourth estate, as well as Gramsci and Laclau and Mouffe’s theories of power, this thesis explores the relationship between objectivity and power, namely this relationship’s manifestation in the practices of the British Broadcasting Company (BBC). This thesis holds that, as a powerful institution, the BBC can maintain a dominant discourse through processes of ideologization and hegemonisation. Analysis on some of the BBC’s most recent guidelines focusing on impartiality and interviews with five experts, all former BBC journalists, suggests that the BBC systematically constructs a discourse in which the ethical ideal of journalistic objectivity is maintained and reinforced through the imperfect strategy of ‘due impartiality.’ The way this strategy is employed by BBC journalists can vary. On one hand it encourages multisidedness and fairness in reporting, on the other it discourages journalists from being open about their opinions and biases. This thesis’ findings suggest that while journalistic objectivity can help journalists maintain independence, it also can act as a containing strategy, by silencing their voices and capacity to operate as individuals outside of their work lives. The BBC’s condemnation of opinionated declarations made by its employees on social media and apparent reservedness towards their participation in activist marches operates to an extent as an anti-transparency discourse, which could also suggest a desire to keep the audience in a passive role. This thesis culminates with the recommendation that the BBC ought to address its inconsistent application of due impartiality and lack of transparency over how decisions relating to impartiality are made, which were made apparent in the findings of this research.
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(2019)The resignation of Kazakhstan’s first and only president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, has brought attention to Kazakhstan’s political regime and the political structure it maintained since its establishment. Regardless of Nazarbayev’s resignation from the presidency post, he still holds great power. Thus, this thesis focuses on Nazarbayev, still a relevant actor and a critical figure in understanding the political conditions in Kazakhstan. This thesis discusses the political structure that Nazarbayev built and maintained. In this thesis, the structure is stated to be preserved through different forms of monitoring and control, however surveillance on telecommunication channels is made the focus. Surveillance on telecommunication channels does not only allow the political structure to be preserved but also upholds the ontological security of the leader in control of the structure. This thesis introduces the changing telecommunication surveillance regulations and practices and discusses them in detail. Even though the state surveillance that targets telecommunication is justified for its security impact on the society, it can also be seen as a tool for ontological security of the people deploying it. Further exploration of telecommunication surveillance and its impacts suggests that there can occur ontological security dilemmas within the state, concerning the leader and the society. The members of society may not achieve ontological security as a result of the surveillance practices that target them, whereas the leader or the other political figures can reinforce their ontology. Although being present elsewhere, the concepts of ontological security, surveillance and ontological security dilemma are studied specifically in the context of Kazakhstan.
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(2020)A professionalized climate and external expectations have caused great changes to many development organizations, including a degree of homogenization. Focusing on the identity of organizations is the best way to understand what the impact of change has been and how development organizations are able to hold on to core values and identity while innovating new ways of competitively reaching goals and milestones. The general metrics for success, profit, growth, efficiency, and productivity from within the management perspective follows a logic for which there is much theoretical and empirical evidence. However, the study of organizations and their well-being in terms of their identity in relation to their professionalism is a less researched area. Organizational identity theory can benefit from research to find how to draw direct logical outcomes which can be applied by the organizations in setting directions and goals for their future development. The main purpose for this research is to view how it can explain the differences in how or whether the core values have been affected by the professionalization of nonprofit INGO’s in Finland and how it has been adopted by development NGO’s. Is this theory validated by the phenomenological research data produced by this research? Where organizational identity theory as a framework doesn’t provide a quantitative basis by which to factor in all the variables that influence the social makeup and conceptual whole of an organization, it does provide a framework for the study of the phenomenon as a whole in a qualitative manner. It also gives conceptual paradigm for defining an identity, and how the different organizational features and attributes are related with the identity. The two INGOs chosen for this research, Fida International and Finn Church Aid, were similar enough to offer valid points of comparison by being faith based organizations, both of which have successfully grown into a significant actors in the field of development cooperation. These also offered interesting comparison of how their original organizational identities have lead into different development in organizational structures, global perspectives, and brands they wish to be known for. This kind of research can offer valuable information for NGOs in their future developmental goals. Empirical data on the organizations was gathered from different level staff as they perceived it. The hypothesis is that identity is not always aligned for the convenience of reaching the goals of the organization or even for competitive advantage, counterintuitively identity can be based on independent value decisions even if it doesn’t follow the logic of a professionalized management perspective. Results confirmed the original hypothesis in case of both the researched organizations. A strong organizational identity as is seen in Fida’s case necessitates constant re-alignment to the context, but it is a strength in safeguarding the value base and purpose of the organization; although sometimes at the expense of traditional markers of organizational success such as growth, efficiency and profit it provides a clear vision of what is worth pursuing in the long run. In the other case, the organizational identity of the FCA gives understanding of what the original purpose of the organization was, and even with big changes in its historical value base and consequent shifts in the definitions of development and its purpose, the organization has thrived to meet that challenge, the FCA has become the largest development actor in Finland in order to stay true to its identity.
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(2020)Throughout this century, the world has experienced the emergence of upgraded technologies based on robust data-processing capacities and the expansion of internet networks. This phenomenon has become a transversal aspect linked to economic growth, development of public services, changes in the labor market, and mobilization of political activism, among many other elements influenced by high-technology. On the other hand, political parties play a significant role in shaping and approaching potential regulation and public policies concerning high-technology and digital tools. This thesis explores the implication of technological and digital shifts for political parties in Argentina, Mexico, the United States, and the United Kingdom over the last decade. The main research goal is to examine the salience of emerging trends in high-technology and digitalization on national political platforms, taking special consideration of the diverse set of social, political, and economic characteristics of the cases in each country. The theoretical framework will be divided into aspects linking the emerging nature of technological and digital change with political parties' activities. A conceptual frame of political parties, saliency theory, technology, and digitalization serves as the starting point of further theoretical notions of this study. Later, an exploration of ideas from the digital economy helps to identify the vital role of technology in the modern economy. Similarly, the examination of the magnitude of technological and digital change results in some grounds for justifying the relevancy of studying party policies facing the one-way journey of technology. Moreover, some notions arguing the drastic socioeconomic effects of automated technologies approach the apparent downsides of high technology. The research process eventually reveals the growing influence of technology as a vehicle for enhancing the economic and social policies. To achieve this, a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods is used to extract and classify data from party manifestos that define party stances. The results provide evidence of the marginal and growing influence of technology and digitalization as issues political parties approach on elections. In the case of the parties analyzed, this presents substantial relevancy from mainstream political parties in industrialized countries. Similarly, the results point to the intertwining of these issues with traditional themes of public policy proposed by political parties on elections.
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(2021)Peacemakers operate in an increasingly complex global environment. Approaches to peace, including peace mediation, also reflect these changes happening in the surrounding world. Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, a new Centre for Peace Mediation within the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland (MFA) was established. This thesis conducts a critical inspection of a policy’s seemingly sudden emergence by taking the Centre as its case study. With scarce policy documents, this study collected its data through conducting 10 semi-structured interviews with state and nonstate actors in the Finnish peace mediation field to analyse the way the Centre is perceived to have come about. The interviews lasted around one hour each. In this study, a novel theoretical framework is advanced through inspecting the policy’s problem representations (WPR approach), the forces which affected its establishment (policy diffusion), and the boundaries that are used to demarcate between groups (boundary work) to analyse why the Centre for Peace Mediation was established. The study finds that the Centre for Peace Mediation was not solely a result of a restructuring of MFA resources, but was affected by a multitude of forces on the national, regional, and international planes. By employing the WPR approach and the frameworks of policy diffusion mechanisms and boundary work, the study’s findings point to Finnish efforts to become a credible ‘player’ in the field of peace mediation. Studying how policies and the issues interwoven within them are framed and justified is relevant on many fronts. First, it helps understand governance processes and what groups of people are highlighted at the expense of others. The study also elucidates how civil society can partake in national policymaking. It additionally shows how intergovernmental organisations influence nations through agenda-setting.
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