Browsing by discipline "Kehitysmaatutkimus"

The role of Vietnam in Finnish Development Policy changed in the beginning of the 21st century as Vietnam “graduated” from a low-income country status to a lower middle-income country. While this has justified reduction of ODA or a complete aid exit, Finland, like other donors has clearly interest in maintaining and strengthening ‘post aid’ relationships with Vietnam. But what does this shift to post-aid relations or “transition” actually mean in the specific context? In this thesis, the complex phenomenon of transition is looked through different theoretical lenses of international relations and development studies. The main research questions concern the dimensions of transition: what has been the transition environment in Vietnam and how the transition process has changed the relations between Finland and Vietnam. Furthermore, I look at what aims, expectations and justifications have been around the transition process. Thus, it is a study on the process in which state-to-state relations move from the position of one side giving grant-based bilateral assistance to the enhancement of a new kind of partnership as well as a dive into contemporary Finnish development policy. In a temporal scale, the research is confined to the period of transition, which is officially stated to be between the years 2016-2020 but as the process has started long ago, focus is around the year 2010, the year Vietnam “graduated”. Central areas of focus in the research are the role of middle income countries in contemporary development policy as well as different justifications for transitions. The research did not focus on a dichotomous thinking on whether development cooperation was seen as good or bad, but was aimed at looking at the negotiation between the actors and views from both sides. I look at the collected data from the point of view of both the materialist theories, mostly the realist school without forgetting the appeal of ideal approaches, thus pluralist and constructivist points of view. The empirical foundation of the study is based on archival and document data on the relations between Finland and Vietnam, focusing especially on the transition period. The data includes among others the official transition strategy as well as minutes and ambassador’s statements. I complement the document data with thematic interviews conducted in Hanoi with practitioners of the transition. In the study, it was found out that the decision to end aid to Vietnam seems to have been a sum of many developments, but especially a Finnish political decision. Finnish development policy has been directed by the official statements and guidelines in which developmentalist justifications for ending bilateral development assistance have been highlighted. It is also a big step for both the donor as well as the receiver, as ending the funding also changes the power relations between the countries. The case of transition between Finland and Vietnam was chosen as the case represents a major transformation of the development relation, involves processes of negotiating and planning new initiatives. On the relations of Vietnam and Finland there can be found supporting evidence for all of the theoretical approaches. A change in the relations can be detected and the change has many justifications. Materialist interests were obvious, but even better the change might be explained by the fact that the decision and design for transitions was done in the developmentalist complex which was directed by how donors view Middle Income countries. Also three dimensions from the literature were identified in this case: the phasing out of ‘traditional’ development cooperation; phasing in of new forms of ODA-financed activities more focused on fostering bilateral relations based on mutual interests; and phasing in of new types of broader or broad-based non-ODA cooperation, be it political, commercial or scientific. Also, the issue of using ODA-funding for activities to promote broader bilateral cooperation and trade-interests were present. In the research, it was noted that how Vietnam has reacted to phenomenon of donors phasing out has been volatile. As a premise, it can be stated that the decision of ending aid has been adopted but reluctantly and that Finland’s attempt to transform the bilateral relationships with Vietnam proved to be challenging for a variety of reasons. On one hand, the Finnish transition was smoothened by the fact that many other donors had already phased out before Finland and it was found out that the decision to phase out quite late might be beneficial for Finland, On the other hand, the Vietnamese actors would not have opposed to the continuing of aid. Nevertheless, the government of Vietnam is clearly making autonomous plans on its future and the fear of aid dependency was not present. As a conclusion of the donor-recipient relation it can be stated that Finland has seemed to have had commercial and geopolitical interests involved in the transition process, but these interests were not the primary directing incentives in the transition process. This is much due to the strong ownership of Vietnam as well as the example of the donor community in Vietnam.

Tutkimuksen tavoitteena on selvittää, miten nuorten yhteiskunnallinen toimijuus rakentuu kansalaisjärjestötoiminnassa Brasilian Guaritubassa. Yksi tutkimuksen keskeisimmistä teemoista on kasvatuksen rooli yhteiskunnallisiin eriarvoisuuksiin pureutumisessa sekä kasvatuksen kentällä ilmenevät valtasuhteet ja dialogin merkitys niissä. Nuorten tomijuutta tarkastellaan tutkimuksessa Paulo Freiren kriittisen pedagogiikan valossa, jonka mukaan eriarvoisuutta voidaan haastaan nimenomaan vahvistamalla oppilaiden toimijuutta ja kriittistä ajattelua. Kenttätyöni aikana muotoutunut tutkimuskysymys on: ”Miten opetuksen kautta parantuneet vuorovaikutustaidot vahvistavat lasten ja nuorten toimijuutta?” Tutkimuksessa on käytetty vuorovaikutusta korostavia tulkitsevia ja dekolonisoivia metodologioita, ja ensisijaisesti se seuraa tulkitsevan fenomenologian metodologiaa. Tulkitsevassa fenomenologiassa tutkija toimii haastateltavien kanssa yhteistyössä identifioidessaan ja tulkitessaan merkittäviä teemoja, jotka auttavat määrittelemään tutkimusaihetta. Tutkimuskohteena olevassa järjestössä toimii musiikkiprojekti sekä lukutaitoon keskittyvä keskusteluryhmä, joista molemmissa opetustulokset perustuvat avoimeen vuorovaikutukseen. Kenttätyön aikana kerätty aineisto koostuu 16 semi-strukturoidusta haastattelusta, muistiinpanoista, sekä tutkimuspäiväkirjasta ja havaintopäiväkirjasta. Tulosten esittelyssä on tulkitsevan fenomenologian mukaisesti sisällytetty tekstikappaleita suoraan haastateltavien puheista. Lainauksilla on tutkimuksessa keskeinen rooli analyysin muodostamisessa, joka osittain rakennetaan juuri niiden ympärille. Tulosten kautta tutkimuksessa kuvataan nuorten erilaisia tapoja ilmaista itseään esimerkiksi musiikin ja avoimen dialogin kautta sekä heidän kykyään luoda merkityksiä ympäröivästä yhteiskunnasta heidän marginalisoidusta asemastaan käsin. Erityisesti opetuksen dialogisuus on merkittävä piirre, joka tekee siitä merkityksellistä oppilaille sekä vahvistaa heidän toimijuuttaan ja uskoaan omiin kykyihinsä. Kenttätyöni aikana merkittäväksi teemaksi nousi avoin ja kannustava dialogi sekä nuorten kokemus siitä, että heitä kuunnellaan ja heidän näkemyksiään arvostetaan opetustilanteissa. Samalla tutkimus tuo esiin, että koulutuksessa vallitsee moninaisia valtasuhteita ja ennakkoluuloja, jotka sekä heikentävät että vahvistavat nuorten omaa yhteiskunnallista toimijuutta. Tutkimuksessa korostuu Paulo Freiren ajattelua mukaillen, että muutokseen ohjaavan opetuksen keskiössä tulee olla praksis eli käytännön toiminnan yhdistyminen kriittiseen reflektioon. Tulosten mukaan oppilaat olivat saaneet uskoa itseensä ja omiin kykyihinsä juuri itsereflektion ja keskustelun yhdistävässä opetuksessa. Yhteisöllisen taidekasvatuksen kautta nuoret voivat tuoda esiin heidän elämäänsä kohdistuvia epäkohtia ja löytää yhteisen äänen marginalisoiduille kokemuksilleen. Positiivinen ajattelu ja usko kehitykseen ulottuu tutkimustulosten mukaan oppilaiden itsereflektiota laajemmin myös oman asuinalueen, yhteisön ja yhteiskunnan arviointiin.

The focus of this thesis is on the education of indigenous peoples, especially on how education can facilitate territorial self-determination and political emancipation for them. Indigenous movements world-wide and in Ecuador have focused on creating education respectful of and relevant to indigenous cultural background and knowledge. This thesis explores further the interconnectedness of education and indigenous territorial politics, as they have been together in the forefront of the indigenous movement in Ecuador, and they link the epistemological struggle of recognising Indigenous knowledges to environmental issues prevalent in the country dependent on extractivism. As indigenous peoples often inhabit environmentally vulnerable regions, this thesis examines how for the indigenous groups of Ecuadorian Amazon the relationship between education and territory can aim to be mutually beneficial, encouraging both preservation of the diverse cultures and environment in the biocultural landscapes. The research was conducted as an ethnographical case study on the province of Pastaza, situated in the Ecuadorian Amazon with a special focus on the indigenous group known as Sapara, who are the smallest of 14 indigenous nationalities recognised under the plurinational state of Ecuador. The data of the study consisted of 27 semi-structured interviews and participant observation recorded in the field diary, accompanied by historical analysis of intercultural bilingual education in Ecuador. This thesis illustrates the place-making practices and histories of indigenous peoples, acknowledged under the term Indigenous knowledge, as they form a foundation for territorial politics. Possibility for epistemological diversity in the education system is understood through principle of interculturality, as articulated by the indigenous movement itself as a radical project of recognising lived heritage of cultural and historical differences in dialogue between various segments of society. The topic is examined through the concept of territory, which emphasises a question of governance in plurinational Ecuador, where indigenous nationalities struggle to exercise control over their respective territories. Territory is formed of competing political projects that aim to define and redefine its meaning, which also opens up a definition of territory to scrutinise what type of power actually operates in these political projects and rejects assumptions of simple top-down governance as the only possible territorial form. This theoretical framework facilitates the analysis of education as a part of territorial strategies. The main argument of this thesis is that education constructs a significant part of reinforcing political emancipation and territorial self-determination of indigenous peoples. Based on historical and ethnographical analysis, the thesis illustrates how education functions as a privileged arena of cultural struggle to achieve epistemological diversity that includes Indigenous knowledges alongside with Western science. Simultaneously, education, which is perceived pivotal for living well, acts as a societal force that can transform material foundations of life, since indigenous peoples modify their residential patterns in order to access education. As indigenous territories remain only partly autonomous, since the nation-state retains control over subsoil resources, land continues to be an arena of competing political interests. This accentuates the importance of planning education practices to facilitate living inside the whole territory, since inhabiting space asserts the claims of indigenous groups effectively, allowing them to practice a strategy of dispersal.

This study discusses the importance of artistic practices and community arts centres for development understood as a process of social and individual emancipation. Specifically, the study looks at emancipation from the point of view of overcoming social and psychological hindrances to the autonomy of an individual. The empirical case under scrutiny is a community centre in Johannesburg, South Africa, its arts and crafts project (ACP) and one of its drama projects. The study asks, what is the role of the projects in project participants’ lives, and what kinds of spaces the projects are. Initially, I assumed that the role of the creative action taking place in the projects, as critical theory suggests, would be substantial for the participants, because of the “learning by doing” taking place in the projects, and because of bigger “ownership” of one’s own doing, when compared to, for example, school environments. The research material is derived from 18 interviews, observations, written products of the projects, and my field and research diaries, which compose the text for hermeneutic analysis. The research questions were developed and further answered through a hermeneutic process of dialogue with this text. The analysis results in new ‘facts’ that answer the research questions, as is the nature of results in hermeneutic studies. These facts, or, the findings, support the assumption about the importance of the method of learning by doing, and ownership of one’s doing, but turn the emphasis towards the social context of the projects. The projects had a great impact in the project participants’ lives in two intertwined spheres. These are: 1) sphere of learning, and 2) sphere of “feeling at home”. The projects enhanced the participants’ feeling of freedom. One of the main reasons for this was the non-discriminatory social environment of the projects, especially regarding non-discrimination based on socio-economic class. In the study, I argue that both projects contributed to the emancipation of their participants. The theoretical framework of development as emancipation, which is discussed with the empirical part of the study, is founded on the Freirean concept of humanisation, the capabilities approach as developed by Martha Nussbaum, and the idea of orienting towards objects formulated by Sara Ahmed. The study is an addition to the recent body of research on community arts centres in South Africa, conducted by South African researchers such as Gerard Hagg, Eben Lochner, Thamsanqa Mzaku, and Zanele Madiba.

Tutkielmassa tarkastelen Istanbulin ja Ankaran kaupungeissa vaikuttavien keskiluokkaisten ympäristötoimijoiden asemaa Turkin ympäristöpolitiikassa. Tutkin tapoja, joilla nämä ympäristötoimijat ovat voineet vaikuttaa ympäristöpolitiikkaan vuoden 2013 Gezi-protestien jälkeen, aikana, jolloin autoritäärisyys ja neoliberalistinen kehityskeskeisyys, ns. neoliberalistinen developmentalismi, määrittävät pitkälti Turkin politiikkaa. Tutkimukseni kontribuoi ajankohtaiseen ja tärkeään keskusteluun kansalaisyhteiskunnan ja ympäristötoimijoiden nykyisistä ja tulevista rooleista ja toimintamahdollisuuksista, niin Turkissa kuin muissakin epädemokraattisissa maissa. Tutkimuskysymyksiäni ovat 1) Miten neoliberalistinen ja kehityskeskeinen poliittinen päätöksenteko sekä autoritäärisyys ovat vaikuttaneet ympäristöpolitiikkaan Turkissa?; 2) Miten kaupungeissa työskentelevät ympäristötoimijat ovat pystyneet toimimaan Turkin autoritäärisen hallituksen harjoittaman neoliberalistisen ja kehityskeskeisen poliittisen ja taloudellisen agendan kontekstissa vuosien 2013-2018 aikana? Tutkin kriittisen teorian keinoin sitä, miten Turkissa vallitsevat neoliberalistiset kehityskeskeiset ja autoritääriset sosiaaliset, poliittiset ja taloudelliset rakenteet vaikuttavat ympäristötoimijoiden mahdollisuuksiin toimia ympäristön hyväksi. Tämä tutkimus osoittaa, että hegemonisesta vallankäytöstä huolimatta nämä toimijat ovat vaikuttaneet ympäristöpolitiikkaan luovimalla ennalta-arvaamattomissa ja uhkaavissa valtion ja yhteiskunnan välisissä olosuhteissa. Toimijat pyrkivät luomaan tilaa ympäristötoiminnalle ja hegemoniaa haastavalle keskustelulle sekä pitämään kansalaisyhteiskuntaa elossa kontekstissa, jossa suurin osa kansalaisjärjestöistä on lopetettu tai peloteltu hiljaiseksi. Tutkielman teoreettisena päämääränä on ollut pohtia, miten kriittinen teoria osoittaa ja selittää sitä, miten Turkin hallitus on onnistunut rakentamaan hegemoniaansa ja miten kansalaisyhteiskunta on vastannut siihen. Tutkimusaineistoni koostuu 14 teemahaastattelusta sekä tuoreesta aihetta käsittelevästä kirjallisuudesta. Tutkimustani varten haastattelin kaupungeissa toimivia keskiluokkaisia järjestöjen ja yhdistysten työntekijöitä, aktivisteja, vapaaehtoisia, dokumentaristeja sekä luennoitsijoita. Käytän kriittistä teoriaa analyyttisenä metodologisena pohdiskelun välineenä urbaanin Turkin ympäristötoimijoiden ja niiden olosuhteiden tutkimiseen, joiden puitteissa ympäristötoimijat suojelevat ja tutkivat luontoa, protestoiva ja informoivat yhteiskuntaa ympäristöasioista. Tutkimustulokseni osoittavat, että Turkin autoritäärisesti toimivan poliittisen ja taloudellisen eliitin harjoittaman politiikan neoliberalistinen ja kehityskeskeinen luonne 1) vahingoittaa luonnonympäristöjä huomattavasti, vaikeuttaa ihmisten elinoloja ja harjoittaa ympäristöpolitiikkaa tukeakseen omia intressejään 2) rajaa ympäristöjärjestöjen ja aktivistiryhmien mahdollisuuksia osallistua ympäristöä koskevaan poliittiseen päätöksentekoon sekä ympäristönsuojeluun ja ilmastonmuutoksen torjuntaan. Vaikka yllämainitut olosuhteet vähentävät kansalaisyhteiskunnan toimijoiden mahdollisuuksia vaikuttaa ympäristön tilaan mielivaltaisten lakien ja toimenpiteiden, rahoituksen ja yhteistyön puutteen sekä itsesensuurin takia, moni heistä on löytänyt tapoja toimia näissä vaikuttamisen, aktivismin ja suojelun kapenevissa tiloissa. Voidaankin päätellä, ettei vuoden 2013 Gezi-protestien jälkeinen Turkin konteksti eivätkä muutkaan samankaltaiset olosuhteet välttämättä estä ympäristötoimijoita jatkamasta vaikuttavien tapojen etsimistä ja vaikuttamista kehityspoliittiseen päätöksentekoon. Kriittisen teorian menetelmät auttavat haastamaan vallitsevan tilan ja huomamaan uusia mahdollisuuksia ympäristötoimijoille tässä autoritäärisessä kontekstissa.

Ethnicity and religion have never occupied a prominent role in the politics of Tanzania. This was particularly the case during the one-party era, during which a strong emphasis was put on the undesirability of religious and ethnic politics as part of the efforts to consolidate national identity and unity. With the introduction of multi-party politics, both forms of identity seemed to come increasingly to the fore, and accusations of ethnic or religious bias are today commonly voiced in the political discourse of the country. This thesis gives a current account of the role of ethnicity and religion in the politics of Tanzania, using the 2010 General Elections, the region of Mwanza and the support structure of opposition party Chadema as case studies. The main focus of the thesis is on ethnicity and politics, but the conceptual framework developed in the text is relevant for the analysis of religion-politics connections as well. The research is based in part on fieldwork conducted in Mwanza region and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania in the summer of 2011. The fieldwork consisted of semi-structured interviews with researchers, politicians, religious leaders and 'ordinary' Tanzanians. In addition, both the theoretical and analytical parts of the thesis are based on an extensive body of literature concerning ethnicity, religion and Tanzanian political history. On the basis of this literature and augmented by the interview material, this thesis presents a framework for the understanding of ethnic identity and ethnic politics in Tanzania. It is suggested that ethnic identity may be divided into three separate categories: cultural, social and political ethnicity. Political ethnicity, or ethnic politics, is defined as the use of ethnic identity in the pursuit of public resources, and is divided into two further categories: political tribalism and the politics of origin. The former refers to evocations of the particular ethnic group identities that emerged out of colonial rule, and that are alluded to in political competition with other ethnic groups. The latter then connotes political references to identities of origin that are not reducible to political tribalism. These distinctions are important to make in order to assess the nature and the consequences of any case of ethnic politics. The research results suggest that the social significance of ethnicity in Tanzania has not translated into political tribalism to any larger extent, but that other forms of political ethnicity, related to the politics of origin, are indeed rather prevalent. In particular, interviews in Mwanza region suggest that ethnicity and common origin might be important factors of political representation and inclusion. More specifically, it is argued that ethnicity is related to judgments regarding the trustworthiness of political candidates. However, it was also clear that respondents in general tended to downplay the role of ethnicity as a political factor. It is suggested that in part, this is attributable to the fact that ethnicity in Tanzania – in whatever form – has never evolved into a decisive or indispensible factor for the political distribution of resources. This in turn may be traced back both to the rather inclusive political system that was put in place in Tanzania after independence and that inhibited the emergence and articulation of group-grievances, and to the prevalence of a strong resentment among the population against the use of tribalism. Religion and politics in Tanzania is analyzed using the same categorization into its cultural, social and political levels. Religion has assumed a rather more prominent space in the political discourse of Tanzania, involving at times severe tension between Muslims and Christians. It is suggested that the context of economic and social crisis in Tanzania enabled the emergence of religious revivalist groups, which increased the social and cultural saliency of religion. The emergence of political religion in turn was facilitated by the presence of group grievances, in particular on the part of the Muslims. Nonetheless, religious relations in Tanzania remain cordial and the research results from Mwanza suggested that religious politics were confined to accusations among political parties and competition between certain religious groups. It is suggested that similarly to ethnicity, religion has not constituted a decisive factor in resource allocation in Tanzania, and imbalances between faith groups has been addressed at least to some extent. As with ethnicity, this is attributed to Tanzania’s political history and the prevalence of the notion that religious politics should be avoided. However, it is emphasised that these conclusions are valid mainly for the region of Mwanza, and cannot be generalized for the whole country. Finally, concern is expressed regarding the future of religious relations in the country regarding the increasingly inflammatory rhetoric among religious leaders and politicians, and it is argued that these issues should be addressed politically.

This Master's Thesis defines the debt policy of the current European Union Member States towards the developing nations. Since no official policy for debt exists in the EU, it is defined to include debt practices (loans and debt relief in development cooperation) and debt within the EU development policy framework. This study (1) describes how the issue of external debt appears in the development policy framework, (2) compares EU Member States' given loans and debt relief to grants for the developing nations (1960s to the 2000s), and (3) measures the current orientation in ODA of each EU Member State between grant aid and loan aid using the Grant-Loan Index (GLI). Theoretical aspects include reasons for selecting between loans (Bouchet 1987) and grants (Odedokun 2004, O'Brien and Williams 2007), policy context of the EU (Van Reisen 2007) and the meaning of external debt in the set-up between the North and the South. In terms of history, the events and impact of the colonial period (where loans have originated) are overviewed and compared in light of today's policies. Development assistance statistics are derived from the OECD DAC statistics portal and EU development policy framework documents from the EU portal. Methodologically, the structure of this study is from policy analysis (Barrien 1999, Hill 2008, Berndtson 2008), but it has been modified to fit the needs of studying a non-official policy. EU Member States are divided into three groups by Carbone (2007a); the Big-3, Northern and Southern donors, based on common development assistance characteristics. The Grant-Loan Index is used to compare Carbone's model, which measures quality of aid, to the GLI measuring the structure of aid. Results indicate that EU-15 countries (active in debt practices) differ in terms of timing, stability and equality of debt practices in the long-term (1960s to the 2000s). In terms of current practices, (2000-2008), it is noted that there lies a disparity between the actual practices and the way in which external debt is represented in the development policy framework; although debt practices form a relevant portion of total ODA practices for many EU-15 Member States, the issue itself plays a minor role in development policy documents. Carbone’s group division applies well to the Grant – Loan Index’s results, indicating that countries with similar development policy behaviour have similarities in debt policy behaviour, with one exception: Greece. On the basis of this study, it is concluded that EU development policy framework content in terms of external debt and debt practices are not congruent. The understanding of this disparity between the policy outline and differences in long-term practices is relevant in both; reaching the UN’s Millennium Development Goals, and in the actual process of developing development aid.

Food has featured in the global development agenda for several decades. However, increasing food prices and the global food crisis of 2007-2008, fuelled the debate around food security, which was also one the main thematic priorities of Finn Church Aid's strategy in 2009-2012. This thesis was commissioned by FCA in order to examine food security in the context of their development cooperation project in Cambodia. The purpose of the study is to support FCA and their local partner organization, the Lutheran World Federation Cambodia’s work on food security. The study has two objectives: to contribute to the understanding of the intertwined issues of rural development and food security, and to the understanding of the food security approach and intervention logics. Firstly, food reality is scrutinized in a Cambodian rural village. The focus is on the functioning of the food system at the local level, and as part of a wider food system reaching beyond the village boundaries and even the national level. In addition, the household level food security is analysed from the perspective of livelihoods - means of gaining a living - and different ways of commanding or accessing food. This level allows scrutinizing how village level changes in the food system affect different kinds of families. Secondly, the study analyses the food security approach of LWF, with regard to the village food reality and in the light of politicised international discourses on food security. The thesis is a contextual case study of the village of Chrokhlong, based on one month’s field work period in November and December 2010, as well as LWF Cambodia’s program documents and interviews with the staff. The field work material consists of 43 interviews with the villagers, 76 informal discussions and personal observation. Food security and general development themes in Cambodia are explored through literature and personal interviews. The study found that the local food security is affected by important changes of the wider food system. Population growth and economic liberalization increase pressures on land and natural resources in the village context. Accumulation and fragmentation of land and degradation of common resources are related to the increasing commoditization of the village food system. Food security has become an issue of purchasing power. Land for rice cultivation appears as the most important factor contributing to household food security. The most food insecure families lack land and means of generating incomes in order to purchase food, such as family members in working age and good health. The poorest families are the most affected by the depletion of common resources and the increasing food prices. At a strategic level, LWF has adopted a holistic approach to food security and defines their objective as 'right to food' in line with a rights based approach to development. However, at the practical level the approach seems narrower, and the work on food security focuses on enhancing food production. This focus risks not taking into account the food insecurity of the land-poor families who do not benefit from increasing productivity. The centrality of the land issue and the specific situation of the most food insecure families is no considered sufficiently. Based on this case study, an integrated and holistic rural development approach would seem to provide relatively more benefits to households that are able to produce to markets, while the food security of the poorest families can be even further threatened by a greater dependence of markets. While LWF’s ideals seem to reflect a 'food justice' discourse, their practical work is more in line with the hegemonic discourse labelled as 'food security', that does not aim at affecting the structural causes of food insecurity at different levels.

Equal education is a fundamental human right that each child is entitled to. Education and gender equality benefit all individuals and promote both social and economic development. However, despite numerous legal instruments and practical measures taken by the international community, as well as by national governments, the right to education remains unclaimed universally for all children and inequality in education is pervasive all over the world. As a legacy of colonization Peruvian society suffers from persistent multifaceted inequalities that are manifested and reproduced in the education system in multiple ways. These inequalities are seen, amongst others, between genders, but also intersect with other individual characteristics such as poverty, rurality and indigeneity. This Master’s thesis explores gender equality in education in Peru and how gender is mainstreamed in the country program of Save the Children Peru. To do so, it explores how legal instruments, policy documents and the country programme of the organization address gender (in)equality and attempt to mainstream gender; and analyses how an education project that the organization implemented among indigenous Aymara adolescents between 2015 and 2018 managed to mainstream gender. This thesis is a qualitative case study. It follows the rights-based 4A framework by Katarina Tomaševski, which encompasses availability, accessibility, acceptability, and adaptability as key aspects of quality of education. The data for it consists of normative documents, literature on inequality in education, institutional documents of Save the Children International and transcribed interviews with key informants from Save the Children Peru. These were analysed by using interpretive analysis and then considered in the light of the model of Caroline Moser on different stages of gender mainstreaming. The results of the study demonstrate that despite recent achievements, gender inequalities in education persist in Peru, but focus has shifted from quantitative to qualitative disparities. Many stakeholders consider gender mainstreaming a rather ambiguous concept, and challenging to both implement and assess, which is why it often remains on a rhetoric level. This yields in a need for the organizations to provide the necessary tools and capacity building, not only for the monitoring personnel but for the whole staff. Promoting gender equality across the whole program cycle must be an institutional commitment, gender mainstreaming must permeate the whole organization and adequate resources must be allocated for it.

The study explores how mineral resources are rendered governable through the EITI, a global multi-stakeholder governance mechanism focusing on transparency. The study focuses on Mozambique, a country with growing mining and petroleum sectors and low rankings on governance indices. Stakeholders views on extractive sector governance in Mozambique are analysed through the theoretical framework of governmentality. A governmentality approach focuses on how we govern and are governed, and the nexus between thought and governing. The data for this study consists of 20 interviews conducted in Maputo, Mozambique with government officials, civil society actors, representatives of extractive companies and development partners. The interview data was analysed by conducting a qualitative content analysis. The EITI is a governance mechanism within which governments, civil society actors and companies collaborate to publish and communicate information about the oil, gas and mining sectors. The role the EITI assigns to non-state and private actors and the value it places on liberal ideals show that the EITI reflects a neoliberal understanding of governance. Mozambique has implemented the EITI since 2009. This study demonstrates that in Mozambique, despite EITI implementation, the adoption of neoliberal governance is not complete. Actors deploy neoliberal and other techniques of governance selectively to further their agendas. The state remains a central hub for mineral resource governance, and different actors attempt to influence governance through the state apparatus. Transnational influences, such as development aid, steer the state towards adopting neoliberal governance. Civil society continues to have limited influence over mineral resource governance despite participation in the EITI. However, the adoption of neoliberal forms of governance may open up opportunities for civil society to influence governance.