Browsing by master's degree program "Master's Programme in Global Politics and Communication"

This thesis aims at developing plausible visions of future for the eurozone, based on a literature review and scenario methodology. The starting point of the analysis is the global financial crisis of 2008, which turned into a European balance-of-payment crisis in 2010. In the early 2020, COVID-19 pandemic ushered in a new crisis for the eurozone. The survival of the euro seems more uncertain than ever before. Thus, it is a timely effort to explore the various theories of the root causes for the troubles of the eurozone. The research question of the thesis is the following. Utilizing scenario methodology, what kind of plausible futures can be envisioned for the eurozone? Is there a viable future for the EMU or is it doomed to fail due to its alleged flaws? What are the conditions in which the eurozone can prosper and the euro to become a well-functioning common currency? The hypothesis is that the future of the eurozone is extremely uncertain without significant social and fiscal reforms. To tackle these questions, various theories and perspectives on the problems of the euro are reviewed. Despite the different views, there seems to be a consensus regarding the fact that the euro has failed in terms of the main objectives of the common currency, namely bringing prosperity and stability through economic integration and accelerating political integration. Quite the contrary, it has worsened the standards of living and created instability and deep political fragmentation across Europe. The thesis utilizes scenario methodology as it is particularly suitable method for examining uncertain contexts. The scenarios are based on a literature review, which is further analysed from the author’s perspective and developed into plausible scenarios for the future. It is argued that scenario methodology is a fruitful way to conceptualize uncertain future and potential shocks it may hold, while producing novel academic insights and interesting research. The scenario-building exercise demonstrates how the different theories and views on how the EMU should be governed and reformed may play out in practice. Each scenario reflects certain school of thought that entails specific elements of reform and governing principles for the EMU. The paper demonstrates that there are conditions in which the euro can survive and even prosper. On the other hand, there are conditions in which the euro is doomed to fail due to its design flaws and lack of social integration within the eurozone. The scenarios in which the EMU prospers include aspects of social integration and banking integration. Vice versa, the scenarios in which the EMU cannot survive are characterized by lack of social and banking integration. The key finding is that for the euro to survive, social integration in Europe must deepen. In other words, any meaningful reform in the eurozone structure requires increased solidarity within the union. There is a growing consensus between leading economists that the most important structural reform would be some level of debt mutualization and restructuring. The second conclusion is the importance of banking integration, which would enhance financial stability in the eurozone through common standards and harmonize the banking regulation between the member states. Banking integration also requires deepening solidarity in the EMU, so it cannot fully realize before social integration moves forward.

Companies are facing increasing pressure to communicate more transparently of their social and environmental impacts. People expect companies to improve the social and environmental wellbeing of the societies they operate in. This way companies can gain acceptance and legitimacy, which is important for their survival. Because of the normative pressure, companies have started to incorporate corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication into their communication strategies. The thesis will study what kind of CSR communication are fast fashion brands doing on Instagram and what kind of sustainability themes are the brands bringing up. The chosen brands are H&M, The North Face, Timberland, C&A, and Vans, who are the forerunners of transparent CSR communication on their websites. Thus, it will be interesting to study the level of their CSR communication on social media. The time frame of the study is one month, and the method of the research is qualitative content analysis. The data will be analysed with the help of the concept of CSR. While CSR is a highly researched topic, the CSR communication on social media has not been studied extensively. Brands’ CSR communication can be considered controversial, since the demand for more transparent communication is increasing but brands that bring up their CSR activity get easily criticized. The results of the study show that fast fashion brands are not doing CSR communication extensively on Instagram. The sustainability themes of the five fast fashion brands’ CSR communication on Instagram are 1. Reuse, Repair, and Recycling, 2. Sustainable Materials, and 3. Equality. Brands are eager to share sustainability issues but not linking it to their own operation, and thus it is not considered CSR communication.

The aim of the study is to examine the interplay between foreign direct investment (FDI) and host nation-state income inequality. The particular topic of interest is extending the understanding of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and its potential relationship to the developing world’s income inequality. This study is relevant, because of the continuous and unquestionable rise of China. The research question is whether there is a correlation between an increase in Chinese FDI and an increase in income inequality. The hypothesis is that as FDI increases, income inequality increases. Theoretically, the research relies on critical global political economy. The chosen research method is empirical quantitative research, including both descriptive and inferential statistics and an expert interview. An unbalanced dataset of 50 BRI nation-states between the years 2010 to 2017 was used. This secondary data came from a variety of sources, including the UNDP, World Bank, World Inequality Database, and AidData. This thesis conducted a variable ranking and three different types of statistical correlation calculations. The results of this study are largely inconclusive. The correlation coefficients in all cases that included FDI inflow data do not provide empirical support for the hypothesis of an increase in Chinese FDI being positively correlated with an increase in income inequality. Even when lagging the income inequality variables with a variety of delays, no statistically significant relationships were found. This is largely explained by the non-linearity of the FDI flow data. Therefore, this thesis estimated FDI stock variables to test the relationship between more linear data with the income inequality variables, which are by nature more linear. At last, with the estimated FDI stock statistically significant relationships were found. It is noteworthy, however, that the results were also inconsistent; as there were both positive and negative correlation coefficients. Providing support not only for the initial hypothesis but also against it. Despite the inconclusiveness of the results, the majority of the relationships lean towards the null hypothesis. Regardless, it is important to realize, that despite the FDI inflow calculations not providing statistically significant results, it does not necessarily indicate that the Chinese FDI project is without potential serious implications for the income inequality of host nation-states. The results of this study are important for policymakers and researchers alike. As such, this thesis concludes that more research is needed to draw more decisive conclusions about the relationship between FDI and income inequality.

To mitigate the economic and social damages of the COVID-19 pandemic, the European Council agreed to adopt a recovery plan in July 2020. Before the recovery plan could be implemented, every member state had to ratify the European Council’s decision. However, when the recovery plan was associated with the deeply politicized issue of European integration, this ratification procedure threatened to become difficult. This thesis investigates a decisive plenary debate of the Parliament of Finland, which preceded the ratification of the European Council’s decision in May 2021. The thesis studies how European integration became a topic of discussion in this particular plenary debate. More specifically, the thesis aims to answer how and by which political parties the recovery plan was framed as an integration-related issue. Theoretically, the thesis places itself on the field of political communication. The theoretical framework of the thesis is based on Robert M. Entman’s definition of framing, which also guides the method of the thesis, namely qualitative frame analysis. Framing affects how most people perceive political issues, i.e. political parties use it as a political tool to promote particular interpretations of matters. The research material consists of 52 legislative speeches by Finnish representatives held in the plenary debate. The analysis found one dominant frame and five sub-frames that establish a link between the recovery plan and European integration. The frames present the recovery plan as an integration-related issue by highlighting Eurosceptic, economic, and constitutional perspectives. In the plenary debate, the frames were mostly employed by the Finns Party, which is known for its anti-integration stance. In addition, the Centre Party and the National Coalition Party used some of the frames. Based on the analysis, it is concluded that these three parties introduced the topic of European integration into the debate. The findings indicate that the issue of European integration is politicized also in Finnish politics. They accord with earlier evidence that the established parties seem to avoid debates on European integration, whereas the Finns Party takes advantage of the politicization of the integration process. By framing the recovery plan as an integration-related matter, the Finns Party was able to own the issue and promote its political agenda. If the established parties remain silent on integration-related matters, debates on European integration threaten to become one-sided. This is problematic both from the perspective of voters and the established parties whose silence may be detrimental to their political success.

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.

Ever since the 1980s, political parties have used commercial marketing agencies to conduct their election campaigns. The use of these agencies resulted in what Nicholas O'Shaughnessy has coined political marketing, the marketing of a political product through commercial marketing techniques. This thesis evaluates the normative dimension of this technique, evaluating how it may impact party diversity through the case study of the past three German federal election cycles. To come to a conclusion on the normative dimensions of the utilisation of political marketing the thesis references both O'Shaughnessy's political marketing theory and Otto Kircheimer's catch all party theorem to evaluate the impact political marketing has on party representation. This thesis argues that the political marketing theory and catch all theorem intersect theoretically, making the point that political marketing can both be a symptom and cause of parties transforming into catch all parties, thus constituting a threat to democratic diversity. As its method the thesis uses an audiovisual analysis using the method of iconography. Through it analyses the audiovisual communication of German parties in the past three election cycles by looking at their election advertisement videos. This thesis concludes, through its theoretical framework, analysis of the case study and interpretation, that the advertisements show two main features of a catch all parties defined by Kircheimer: A homogenisation of stylistic means of parties not ideologically affiliated, and de- ideologisation and personification. This means that according to this thesis the German pluralistic party system turning into a system of catch all party system is exemplified and exarcebated by the utilisation of political marketing techniques, a process that is illuminated by the election advertisements of the main political parties.

This study aims to explore how family influences graduates in higher education and occupation markets, in the processes of opportunity, selection, purpose and motivation and performance in Hong Kong and Helsinki, Finland by applying the economic, cultural and social capitals introduced by Bourdieu and Coleman. Interviews (N=20) have been conducted to analyse the personal experiences of interviewees in both cities. However, results show that only cultural capital is the most influential resource provided by particularly parents in both Hong Kong and Helsinki. And the way of how parents in both cities contribute to and affect graduates is different from the claims of Bourdieu and Coleman. Thus, some sources of errors i.e. interview questions and interviewee’s answers and limitations are identified to support why results are not strong enough when applying Bourdieu’s and Coleman’s ideas of capitals. Also, diploma disease (Dore, 1976) is identified as one of the key problems in the education system, specifically in Hong Kong, which will be discussed at the end of this study.

The purpose of this research is to study how informal communication and information flow changed when the COVID-19 pandemic forced many organizations to transfer from working at the office to remote work at home. In the pre-pandemic world, informal communication occurred at the workplace on a daily basis, thus creating more opportunities for information exchange, whereas in the present, the new remote work mode has erased informal communication from the equation nearly completely. This research studies how the flow of information was impacted by the sudden lack of informal communication, and whether these changes were seen in the basic workflow of organization members. The study is conducted in collaboration with CSC – ICT Center for Science Ltd. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were used as the research method in this study. All interviewees worked in specialist positions, and the sample represented all units in CSC. The interviews were analyzed with qualitative content analysis, which was based on the coding frame built on themes that arose in the interviews. Such themes were meetings, silos, communicational environment and information flow. The results show that without informal communication, the organization members do not have as good of a comprehension of the organization’s projects and daily operation as they did before the pandemic. Furthermore, the individuals’ informal communication networks have reduced during the pandemic, and they no longer communicate with anyone who they do not work with consistently. The reduced communication network and informal communication have impacted the information flow to have become more formal and focused on the substance at hand. Information has become more difficult to access without informal communication to maintain an understanding of who works with what information. The results are corresponding with what is known by previous research. However, this study elaborates more on not only the relationship between informal communication and information sharing, but also on how the dynamics of that relationship works in a changing environment. Without informal communication, individuals are unaware of the information that is flowing elsewhere in the organization. This creates uncertainty and feelings of missing out on potentially relevant information.

In 2020 and 2021, the Finnish news media covered violent youth crime extensively. Not because it had increased significantly, but due to a handful of exceptional cases that shook Finnish society. Several brutal and severe cases that took place in a short period seemed to generate a media narrative around a new crime wave that posed a threat to Finnish society. The theoretical basis for this research focuses on the intersection of media studies, criminology, and sociology. Youth violence is often disproportionately covered in the news. Cases, in which adolescents commit violent crimes, are often written about in more depth and more extensively than those committed by adults since the pairing of the innocence of children with horrendous acts of violence manifests a more newsworthy phenomenon. However, since media portrayals have the power to shape public perceptions, they can create distorted views of the prevalence of crime and spark fear in audiences. This Master’s thesis aims to gain an understanding of the nature of news narratives around violent youth crime in Finland. This study takes on a qualitative and empirical approach. The underlying assumption behind the research is that the concept of youth violence is a social construction and that news narratives play a role in the discursive creation of the phenomenon. This Master’s thesis focuses on the Finnish news coverage of three cases of homicide that happened in 2020 and 2021. In each case the perpetrators were adolescents. The methodological approach of this thesis is a qualitative content analysis of coverage in 137 news articles found online. The research focuses on how adolescent offenders are described, and how the reasons and solutions to youth violence are portrayed in the news. The results of the thesis suggest that violent youth and the threat they pose to society are covered in the news media as a paradox; on the one hand, only evil sadists are capable of such violent acts, yet on the other hand, society has failed its children if they resort to violence. The discussion around youth violence is populated by a plethora of individual actors, such as perpetrators, their peers, child service workers, the police, politicians and ordinary citizens, and everyone plays a role in how the phenomenon of violent youth crime is discursively constructed in the news.

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.