This thesis investigates the political effect of the United States’ African Growth and Opportunity Act, a non-reciprocal trade agreement granting eligible Sub-Saharan African states tariff free...Show moreThis thesis investigates the political effect of the United States’ African Growth and Opportunity Act, a non-reciprocal trade agreement granting eligible Sub-Saharan African states tariff free access to the US-American market. In both the scholarly literature and real-world politics, the threat of AGOA suspension seems to spook African leaders. The exclusion mechanism is highly exploitable and political compliance therefore important to stay included in the agreement. The economic impact of AGOA is however highly limited. This thesis tackles the puzzle of why an agreement with no major economic impact leads to political compliance to the US by its member states. My argument is the limitation of AGOA’s utilization to a capacity-abundant elite, which can afford to overcome the utilization barriers (high transportation costs, permits, etc.) and earn the agreements benefits. Following the elite theory, this benefitting elite is then able to influence its government to comply with US policies, in order for AGOA benefits to retain.Show less
Indigenous people possess valuable knowledge of land management due to their traditional nature- based lifestyle. Furthermore, land often has spiritual, political, and cultural value to indigenous...Show moreIndigenous people possess valuable knowledge of land management due to their traditional nature- based lifestyle. Furthermore, land often has spiritual, political, and cultural value to indigenous people, incentivizing them to sustainably manage the land and its natural resources. It has therefore been argued that effective protection of the rights of indigenous peoples may advance sustainability outcomes. With a case study of New Zealand, this thesis examines the causal mechanisms through which the protection of the rights of indigenous peoples may enhance the promotion of sustainable land resource management. Consequently, this thesis aims to contribute to the ongoing debates on how to achieve environmentally sustainable development models, especially in industrialized countries.Show less
In light of intensifying climate change, cities face the task of adapting to climate change impacts and mitigating climate change, as more than half of the world’s population live in urban areas....Show moreIn light of intensifying climate change, cities face the task of adapting to climate change impacts and mitigating climate change, as more than half of the world’s population live in urban areas. Drafting climate resilience strategies, it is important to consider environmental justice to ensure that no one is left behind, and all citizens have the equal right and possibility to live in a just and sustainable way. So far, research has barely considered the difference of how and whether cities in the Global North advance urban environmental justice, compared to the Global South. This global comparison is important as it enables mutual learning from cities that face the task of adapting to climate change impacts worldwide. This comparative research focuses on Jakarta in the Global South and Miami in the Global North, seeking to investigate how urban environmental justice is advanced in their climate resilience strategies. Findings show that Miami’s strategies pay significantly more attention to recognitional justice. On the other two justice dimensions - procedural and distributive justice - smaller differences were found. All in all, it can be said that Miami’s strategies include more detailed and comprehensive accounts of environmental justice. These findings can be partly attributed to the unique characteristics of both cities, which is why it is difficult to generalize from these two cases to differences in regard to Global North/South. Further research should look at more cases to be able to make a clearer statement about the differences of Global North/ Global South differentiation. Additionally, it could be investigated to what extent these climate resilience strategies are backed with action.Show less
The energy sector’s role in addressing climate change is undeniable. Accounting for over 73.2% of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2020, the transition will require the engagement of all...Show moreThe energy sector’s role in addressing climate change is undeniable. Accounting for over 73.2% of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2020, the transition will require the engagement of all stakeholders, from citizens to industry leaders. Trade-offs in terms of sustainable development, energy equity and energy security have led to increased calls for the grounding of policy in principles of justice to ensure a societally benefitial transition for all. However, the issue is complexified by the notion that reduced inequalities with regards to one principle of justice can aggreative inequalities within other justice principles. Thus, there is a need to evaluate energy transition policy from a comprehensive justice perspective. This study conducts qualitiative content analysis of Swedish national energy policies and climate action plans in the time period 2018-2024 from a comprehensive energy justice lens. It furthers the literature on energy justice by investigating to what extent Swedish national energy transition policy advances comprehensive energy justice. Building on pervious research the comprehensive energy justice framework encompasses principles of procedural justice, distributional justice, recognition justice and restorative justice. Contrary to the theoretical expectation, the findings show that comprehensive energy justice has not been advanced in the investigated time period.Show less
Irrigation is essential for agricultural crop transformation. In line with this, the African Union created the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme to ambitiously ensure greater...Show moreIrrigation is essential for agricultural crop transformation. In line with this, the African Union created the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme to ambitiously ensure greater food self-sufficiency through water management or irrigation governance. Although current literature acknowledges the causal significance of governance for irrigation schemes’ effectiveness, little scholarly work measures effectiveness as equitable irrigation access across East and Southern Africa. Thus, in this study, the influence of irrigation governance in determining the presence of equitable irrigation across Tanzania as a country located in East and Southern Africa is deductively investigated. Drawing from critical commons scholarship on irrigation schemes, irrigation governance modes, and institutions within irrigation governance alongside farmers’ collective participation, this study focuses on irrigation scheme associations’ collective participation and local state irrigation authorities' legitimisation. It’s fundamentally hypothesised that irrigation governance is a determinant of equitable irrigation access through irrigation scheme associations’ collective participation and local state irrigation authorities’ legitimisation across Tanzania. Results from this study’s deductive theory-testing process tracing reveal that though irrigation scheme associations and the National Irrigation Commission alongside the Ministry of Water and Irrigation are central within Tanzania’s irrigation schemes, petition advocacy is absent as an avenue of collective participation. Therefore, future, inductive theory-building process tracing is needed to comparatively ascertain the causal mechanism underlying irrigation governance and equitable irrigation within Tanzania and beyond.Show less
This study examines the language used in RTLM broadcasts during the Rwandan Genocide, conducting sentiment analysis with the Python tool VADER to explore the role of propaganda in disseminating...Show moreThis study examines the language used in RTLM broadcasts during the Rwandan Genocide, conducting sentiment analysis with the Python tool VADER to explore the role of propaganda in disseminating hate speech. The research investigates the changing rhetoric and discourse targeted towards the Tutsi ethnic minority, seeking to understand the role of language in intensifying ethnic polarization. By decoding the destabilizing effects of the broadcast language, the research aims to answer the research question: "How did the use of language towards the Tutsi minority group in the RTLM broadcasts change throughout the Rwandan genocide?" The findings contribute to understanding the powerful influence of propaganda on intergroup relations and the perpetuation of genocidal sentiments.Show less
The informal economy is ever-present in developing countries. It is present in any worker and small business out of the state’s regulatory environment. Moreover, high poverty rates are also present...Show moreThe informal economy is ever-present in developing countries. It is present in any worker and small business out of the state’s regulatory environment. Moreover, high poverty rates are also present in such developing countries. Therefore, finding a way to address the informal economy to see whether poverty can be reduced is paramount. Thus, this thesis will explore the research question of: What state interventions to the informal economy can affect the countries’ poverty rates across different levels of economic development? For this purpose, this research will explore two state interventions: those facilitating business formalization and those providing social protection. By analyzing over 100 countries and conducting a multiple linear regression, this research has found a statistical effect of state interventions on the countries’ poverty rates. The findings show that state interventions can affect the poverty rates of developing countries. However, such an effect is contingent on matters such as the level of corruption and government effectiveness. Thus, these findings pave the way for future focus on how the countries’ institutional environment must be addressed when looking into how to target the informal economy to reduce poverty.Show less
