Currently, there are social movements and protests all over the world, like the occupy Wall Street movement in the United States, the current student movements in Amsterdam or the Penguin...Show moreCurrently, there are social movements and protests all over the world, like the occupy Wall Street movement in the United States, the current student movements in Amsterdam or the Penguin Revolution (Student protests for free education) in Chile. The research paper analyzes the current student movement in Chile because it is important to conceptualize the characteristics of this movement in order to understand what motivates it. Therefore, the research question; ‘To what extent can the Chilean Student movement since 2006 be considered a populist movement, rather than a new social movement?’, is answered. The paper reaches the conclusion that the Chilean student movement could rather be considered a populist movement than a New Social Movement, as indicated by the fact that the Chilean case has 15 matching characteristics with the theory of populist movements. In Chapter 1, this article discussed the literature on New Social Movements and populist movement theories. Some characteristics are more important than others, like the organization or the charismatic leader. Those variables evolved over time, which means that the movement might have started out as a new social movement but is a populist one by now. The use of new social media is also very important for the Chilean protesters because this makes the movement very organized.Show less
This thesis attempts to answer the question whether and how Ukraine crisis has affected the Finnish foreign and security policies, comparing the political programs of parliamentary elections of...Show moreThis thesis attempts to answer the question whether and how Ukraine crisis has affected the Finnish foreign and security policies, comparing the political programs of parliamentary elections of 2011 and 2015.Show less
Recently, there has been increasing debate in politics and media about the influence of Russia on Finnish politics due to an increased military presence of Russia in the Baltic area and a more...Show moreRecently, there has been increasing debate in politics and media about the influence of Russia on Finnish politics due to an increased military presence of Russia in the Baltic area and a more aggressive attitude related to the crisis in Ukraine. Around the same time the party leader of the Finnish political party Vihreät (henceforward 'The Greens') Ville Niinistö mentioned the Cold War-related word 'finlandisation' in relation to the setting up of a nuclear power plant in the Finnish town Pyhäjoki, leading to a clash between his party and the rest of government, especially Prime Minister Alexander Stubb. This third nuclear power plant in Finland will be set up as a project of the Finnish Fennovoima, but 34% will be owned by Rusatom Overseas, which is a daughter company of the Russian state-owned Rosatom.Show less
This thesis seeks to gain insight in the current state of Russo-Ukrainian gas relations by focusing on how both sides have perceived their mutual gas trade during the 2014 conflict in Eastern...Show moreThis thesis seeks to gain insight in the current state of Russo-Ukrainian gas relations by focusing on how both sides have perceived their mutual gas trade during the 2014 conflict in Eastern Ukraine. Specifically, it looks into the recent changes in Russia’s energy policies towards Ukraine, most notably the increase in gas prices and the termination of discounts, that have led to a gas dispute between the two parties. In order to do so, a discourse analysis is conducted on speeches, interviews and other documents like news updates and transcripts of official visits that were issued by the Russian and Ukrainian governments. The results of this thesis show that different actors can have a significantly different perception of certain events, depending on the ways in which they ascribe meaning to them. It is shown that while the Russian official discourse surrounding the 2014 gas dispute has a strong commercial focus, presenting legal and economic arguments to justify Russia’s actions, the Ukrainian discourse frames it as an issue of politics and national security, perceiving it as part of the broader military conflict between the two states.Show less
The study of NATO’s discourse during the crises in Abkhazia, South Osetia and Crimea ofers a posibilty to analyse the way NATO presents itself and influences its identiy. By means of a discourse...Show moreThe study of NATO’s discourse during the crises in Abkhazia, South Osetia and Crimea ofers a posibilty to analyse the way NATO presents itself and influences its identiy. By means of a discourse analysis of NATO’s published texts during these two crises, this thesis wil elaborate on the role discourse has played in the shaping of NATO’s identiy. This thesis wil show that the identiy presented by NATO is that of an organisation that is mainly concerned with international norms and values. However, when confronted with a perceived threat by Rusia to the organisation itself, this identity also includes an emphasis on the miltary background of the organisation, which responds to a foreign threat. The identiy of NATO is thus more nuanced than frequently described and lies in the midle of the two identies that are most often atributed to NATO by the existing literature.Show less
Italy is one of the European countries which have relatively good trade and investment relations with Russia. These two countries have historic links especially in the fields of trade and...Show moreItaly is one of the European countries which have relatively good trade and investment relations with Russia. These two countries have historic links especially in the fields of trade and investments, and after the fall of the Communism but especially in the last decade their relations have been greatly improving and several new business deals are planned. Italy represents one of Russia's most important trading partners in the world. Nowadays Italy is the 4th largest foreign trade partner and the 3rd among European Union countries. During recent years several political meetings between the two countries' authorities have been organized, helping to develop a special, broad, strong and strategic Italian- Russian collaboration based on mutual trust and support.Show less
