Institutt for arkeologi og sosialantropologi

Neoliberal development hegemony : implications for human rights - the case of POSCO, Odisha, India

Aleaz, Gargi — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 22:00:00 GMT

Aleaz, Gargi
Using the methodology of critical discourse analysis (CDA), I propose to analyze the reasons behind the reproduction of the global discourse of neoliberal development, which occurs in this story via the proposed establishment of the POSCO project. I argue that such an arrangement is the reason behind the threat to the right to life and violations of the right to development and livelihood of one’s choice of the villagers to be affected by the establishment of POSCO. On the face of it, the final forest clearance given to the POSCO project by the State seems like a decision within the parameters of Indian law. However a deconstruction of development along the lines of the post development school reveals that the functioning of the Land Acquisition Act 1894 and the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, give a legal veneer to the rights violating development policy of the state. This is aided by the public discourse created by the Odisha and the Central Government in India. The proposed generation of a vast number of jobs as a result of the POSCO plant, are the benefits that have been claimed to result from the project. However, the uncertainties of a new livelihood and a limited compensation package make it doubtful whether the project affected villagers will benefit from this projected common good. Interviews with villagers at the proposed plant site revealed that the anti POSCO villagers, wanted development of their choice to come about, in a manner that was participatory.

Hvordan kan skalldyr gi kunnskap om fortida? En kvantitativ og sammenlignende analyse av skalldyrmaterialet fra en yngre steinalders skjellmødding i indre Varangerfjord

Melsæther, Stine Grøvdal — Mon, 30 May 2011 22:00:00 GMT

Melsæther, Stine Grøvdal
Gjennom å studere den forskningshistoriske konteksten til Øst-Finnmarks skjellmøddinger, kommer det fram hvordan skalldyrmaterialet ikke har blitt tillagt en vesentlig grad av betydning i yngre steinalders samfunn. For å finne ut av hvilket informasjonspotensial som ligger i det arkeologiske skjellmaterialet, utføres en kvantitativ analyse av skalldyrmaterialet fra en yngre steinalders skjellmødding ved Hus 23, Gressbakken Nedre Øst. Dette materialet kontekstualiseres gjennom utgravings- og innsamlingsmetoder, og sammenlignes deretter med tidligere kvantifisert materiale fra Karlebotn og Nyelv Nedre Vest. Sammenligningen av materialet viser hvordan variasjoner i skalldyrartene fra lokalitetene reflekterer både økologiske og sosiale forhold ved livet i yngre steinalder. Funn av perforerte skjell som dekorative gjenstander viser også hvordan skalldyr ikke bare har vært en del av den økonomiske hverdagen. Skalldyrmateriale fra gravkontekster i Øst-Finnmark peker også i retning av at skalldyr kan ha hatt en rituell verdi. Dette tilsier at skalldyr har utgjort en større del av yngre steinalders samfunn enn tidligere tolkninger har tillagt dem. Derfor vil det også diskuteres rundt mulighetene for utvidede tilnærmingsmetoder til skalldyrmaterialet. Dette impliserer både kvantitative og kvalitative analyser, og at metodene i større grad burde inkludere etnografiske analogier fra andre skjellbrukende samfunn.

Stemmer fra et sted : om sted og identitet i Havøysund, et fiskevær i Finnmark

Nesheim, Beate Mortensen — Mon, 31 Dec 2001 23:00:00 GMT

Nesheim, Beate Mortensen
Teksten gir et stedsbilde av Havøysund, et fiskevær som ligger lengst nord i landet og ytterst på Finnmarkskysten. Med utgangspunkt i Rodmans begreper multivocality og multilocality (1992) utforskes individuelle perspektiver og erfaringer med å bo nettopp her. Oppfatninger om stedet og erfaringer på stedet vil være ulike og kanskje også konkurrerende. Det handler altså om stedet slik det oppleves ’innenfra’, av beboerne på stedet. Med utgangspunkt i disse ulike opplevelsene av stedet gir oppgaven en tilnærming til hvordan ulike menneskers identitet dannes i samspill med stedet. Det er alles hjemsted men noen er mer ’hjemme’ her enn andre. Dette kommer i oppgaven til uttrykk gjennom tre ulike eksempler på hvordan identitet og sted virker sammen. For det første gjennom et møte med to sjarkfiskere med stor kompetanse i de naturmessige omgivelsene. Denne kompetansen er essensiell for deres identitet. Imidlertid er fiskerinæringen inne i en ubehagelig og kontinuerlig prosess av omstillinger og reguleringer. Dette presset på fiskerne fra overlokalt hold, får også betydning for hvordan de ser seg sjøl. Det neste eksemplet handler om kvinner som er om lag 30 år. De er etablerte på stedet med mann, barn og hus, samtidig som de er under desentralisert utdanning. Lokalt er imidlertid utdanning et noe ambivalent felt, med sin historie om ’søringer’ med utdanning som inntok maktposisjoner lokalt. Utdanning er dessuten noe som potensielt leder folk vekk fra stedet, da arbeidsmarkedet her er relativt begrenset. Kvinnene løser potensielle dilemmaer ved å velge en nytteorientert utdanning for å kunne reintegreres på stedet etter endt utdanning. Tredje eksempel handler om to yngre kvinner i begynnelsen av tjue-årene. De har flytteplaner, og opplever hjemplassen som et sted av mangler. De savner utesteder, butikker og treningssenter. Konsum og livsstil blir stadig viktigere som måter å fortelle noe om seg sjøl på. I Havøysund er det dårlige kår for denne form for livsstilsidentitet og dette er noe som skyver jentene mot mer urbane strøk. Dette kan være en grunn til at det er vanskelig å ’finne seg sjøl’ i Havøysund, noe sosialantropologen Marianne Gullestad (1996) mener har vokst fram som sjølve hovedoppgaven i ungdomstiden. På samme måte virker de små og transparente forhold på stedet, hvor ’hvem du er’ er basert på hele din livshistorie på stedet, og din families historie på stedet. Dette gjør at ens identitet kan føles ’forutbestemt’ lokalt. Med utgangspunkt i Ingolds begrep om omgivelsers “affordance” (2000) diskuterer oppgaven avslutningsvis hvordan stedets “tilbud” framstår ulikt for beboerne på bakgrunn av individuell kompetanse, erfaring, livsfase og andre faktorer. Litteratur: Rodman, Margaret C. (1992): “Empowering place: Multivocality and Multilocality”, s. 640-656 i American Anthropologist vol. 94 no.3. Gullestad, Marianne (1996): Hverdagsfilosofer. Universitetsforlaget, Oslo. Ingold, Tim (2000): The perception of the environment. Essays in livelihood, dwelling and skill, Routledge London and New York.; The thesis departs geographically from Havøysund, a fishing village in the northernmost part of Norway, and thematically from the concepts of place, identity and belonging. The point of departure is Rodman’s concepts multivocality and multilocality (1992) and from here the text explores individual perspectives and experiences of living in the village, suggesting that the experiences of the place will be different and may also be competing. The text gives an approach to how different people’s identity is created reciprocally between the place and themselves. The village is the home place of all of them, but some are more “at home” than others. This is dealt with through three different cases according to the interrelationship between place and identity. The first case is the fishermen’s life with great competence and knowledge of the natural environments. This competence is essential for their identity as i.e. moving to another place will discard a lot of this knowledge. Also, the fisheries are in an unpleasant and ongoing process of regulations and changes. This pressure on the fishermen also makes a part of the identity formation, as they see themselves as liable and environmentally responsible actors in contrast to i.e. the trawler fleet. Case no two deals with women around their 30’s. They are well established in the village with husbands, children and houses. At the same time they have started a university college education. Locally, high education is an ambiguous field, as the contrast category of people from the south traditionally used to be the ones with education – and powerful positions. Education might potentially take people away from the village, because the market for work is limited here. The women are solving potential dilemmas when choosing a “useful” education as i.e. teacher or nurse, to be able to reintegrate in the village when their education is finished. The third case is about two younger women in their early twenties. They plan to move to the capital and experience their home place as a place that lacks most important things. They miss shopping centers, training centers, cafés and nightclubs. Consume and lifestyle is becoming more important as a way of creating an identity. In the village there are bad conditions for this kind of lifestyle identity and this is pushing the women towards more urban environments. The Social anthropologist Marianne Gullestad (1996) claims that “finding yourself” has become the main task for adolescents. The poor conditions in the village for the creation of an identity based on consume makes it more difficult to “find yourself” the thesis suggests. The small and transparent conditions in the village also make it difficult to create an identity free from presuppositions of “who you are” as ”who you are” are based on the life story of both the individual and the individual’s family. The thesis ends with a discussion according to Ingold’s concept affordance (2000). What is the place offering the inhabitants and how do they respond to this affordance? The suggestion is that this will be based on individual competence, values and experience of the place, as well as the actual life phase, making a multivocality leading to a multilocality. Literature: Rodman, Margaret C. (1992): “Empowering Place: Multivocality and Multilocality”, s. 640-656 i American Anthropologist vol. 94 no.3. Gullestad, Marianne (1996): Hverdagsfilosofer (Everyday Philosophers). Universitetsforlaget, Oslo. Ingold, Tim (2000): The perception of the environment. Essays in livelihood, dwelling and skill, Routledge London and New York.
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UB som universitetspolitisk gjærdeig og ressurs

Bertelsen, Reidar — Sun, 31 Mar 2002 22:00:00 GMT

Bertelsen, Reidar

Being private in the surveillance society : the concept of privacy in the age of terror, CCTV and electronic surveillance

Thesslin, Glen — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 22:00:00 GMT

Thesslin, Glen
Abstract: Defending the right to privacy is a growing concern in modern society as surveillance, as a formidable weapon in the “war on terror”, becomes more intrusive with every passing year. In order to effectively defend the right to privacy one must know what privacy actually is. Privacy does not have one universal definition, but is a concept that has evolved though varied socio-cultural and historical circumstances, and is constantly being re-contextualised. This paper aims to discuss and compare various conceptions of privacy, and the right to privacy, with a focus on challenges brought about by technological developments and surveillance. In addition it aims to analyse the implications of surveillance on the right to privacy, with a particular emphasis on video surveillance. In order to reach these goals the paper compares and discusses various academic conceptualisations of privacy, and analyses the discourse surrounding two examples of video surveillance, CCTV coverage of London and the use of covert video surveillance against Arne Treholt, a former bureau chief of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Many varied aspects of privacy are considered, with emphasis placed onto two distinct conceptions of privacy; an inherent-value based conception which views privacy as a goal in itself, which is necessary for full human development, and an exchange based conception which views privacy in terms of an exchange, where personal data is disclosed in return for societal goods and benefits. Privacy is conceived as the control of one’s own personal data at the most basic level, while surveillance is the process of recording private data; they are antagonistic contradictions. Using the examples, the paper attempts to reconcile surveillance with privacy; an exchange conception of privacy can accept derogations to the right to privacy in return for more security, although only if based upon a fair exchange, something the video surveillance regimes in the example likely do not provide. The paper concludes with some policy recommendations regarding increased regulation and transparency of surveillance.

Homophobia and hate speech in Serbian public discourse : how nationalist myths and stereotypes influence prejudices against the LGBT minority

Stakic, Isidora — Sat, 28 May 2011 22:00:00 GMT

Stakic, Isidora
Human rights abuses targeted towards LGBT persons constitute a global pattern of serious concern. Despite the fact that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is prohibited by various international, regional and national legal provisions, prejudices and stereotypes related to LGBT people significantly impede the implementation of non-discrimination laws. This study focuses on contemporary Serbia, and attempts to understand the role of public discourse in inciting and perpetuating homophobia. The aim of the study is to analyse whether and how Serbian nationalist myths influence homophobia, as well as to determine which elements of the Serbian public discourse represent hate speech targeted towards sexual minorities. This study uses discourse analysis as the main methodological and analytical tool, and focuses primarily on the discourses that emerged around three main events: the adoption of the first comprehensive anti-discrimination law in March 2009, the cancellation of the Belgrade Pride in September 2009, and the Pride parade held in Belgrade in October 2010. The study concludes that the Serbian public discourse – namely, the discourse of the Serbian politicians, the Serbian Orthodox Church and the mainstream media – is still deeply imbued with nationalist myths and stereotypes from the past, which contribute greatly to the perception of sexual minorities as the enemies of the nation and the society. The study also assesses that hate messages against LGBT people are frequent and widespread in Serbian society, and that the hate speech laws are not adequately implemented.; Keywords: LGBT, homophobia, hate speech, Serbia, nationalism, right-wing, discourse, stereotypes, Belgrade Pride, discrimination

Holding Norwegian companies accountable: the case of Western Sahara : an exploration of the Norwegian government's approach to dealing with Norwegian companies' complicity in violations of human rights abroad

Skogsrud, Marte — Sat, 28 May 2011 22:00:00 GMT

Skogsrud, Marte
Morocco illegally occupies the non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara, and they are strategically exploiting the natural resources rightfully belonging to the local Saharawi people. Both of these actions are in violation of international law and fundamental human rights. Norwegian companies have been complicit in Morroco‟s trade in natural resources thereby legitimising the occupation and exploitation in political, legal, moral and economic terms. In this context this thesis investigates the approach of the Norwegian government, companies and civil society organisations to Western Sahara, exploring how effective these approaches have been in practice. The dichotomy between voluntary and regulatory approaches has steered the Norwegian approach, giving human rights a mainly normative role within the discourse of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). This thesis seeks to challenge the dichotomy apparent in the Norwegian system, by opting for a more interrelated view on legal and normative ways to regulate businesses. It shows that the Norwegian government‟s policy of discouraging business activities in Western Sahara is passive and ambiguous. Furthermore, the Norwegian policy-apparatus‟ understanding of CSR prevents it from seeking alternative and effective measures. The government is also overlooking the indirect effects policies generally understood as outside the purview of CSR have on the situation in Western Sahara. This study discusses how civil society has played an innovative role in changing corporate behavior and business ethics, by drawing public attention to corporate actions in the context of emerging norms and social expectations. However, the government should not leave the important task of holding companies accountable solely to the voluntary sector, but enhance, strengthen and reinforce both legal and normative incentives. To solve the situation in Western Sahara, the world community must seek to break the link between occupation and economic gain, and governments must proactively engage companies to go beyond compliance with human rights.

Child soldiers: rhetoric and realities : an examination of human rights organisational discourse on the issue of 'agency' and its implications on the best interests of the child

Macomber, Marci — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 22:00:00 GMT

Macomber, Marci
Recent peace processes have led to the demobilisation of tens of thousands of children from armed groups around the world. An understanding of the initial motivations and subsequent experiences of these children is crucial in ensuring that their needs are met once they are safe from harm. This understanding is largely informed by the work of international human rights organisations (HROs). While these organisations are working for the good of the children, they will also always have an element of self-interest in sustaining their activities. This study draws upon an analytical framework that combines elements of framing theory and discourse analysis. Using this framework as both a theoretical and methodological tool, the study examines how the understanding of child soldiers is constructed by leading HROs, particularly with respect to their exercise of agency, and seeks to critique these representations against alternative perspectives. The dissertation then explores both the potential ways in which the discourse could be seen to work in the interests of the organisations by appealing to various social structures and the extent to which it serves the best interest of the child. The study concludes by arguing that the HRO discourse is not dismissive of agency, but that the impact of their work on the well-being of demobilised child soldiers would benefit from the adoption of a more direct and consistent approach in this regard.

Clandestine activists : human rights activism for undocumented migrants : (a case study of a campaign of domestic workers in the Netherlands)

Lamchek, Jayson Sara — Thu, 26 May 2011 22:00:00 GMT

Lamchek, Jayson Sara
The emergence in the Netherlands of a campaign for recognition and rights of domestic workers, mostly undocumented migrants, is a highly unlikely event. Among other things, the Netherlands is not a party to the Convention on Migrant Workers and it has an aggressive policy against irregular migration centered on the denial of most social rights to undocumented migrants. The campaign of domestic workers is a window into pro-undocumented migrants’ human rights (UMHR) activism in a harsh political environment. This paper looks at the opportunities and constraints of pro-UMHR activism in the Netherlands and the strategies that activists can and do adopt to overcome constraints and create opportunities, as demonstrated in the campaign of domestic workers. It advances the view that deprived of a ‘hegemonic’ language, pro-UMHR activists will likely engage in processes of argumentation/dialogue/persuasion in which an explicit normative language of human rights for undocumented migrants is largely avoided. A key finding is that activists in the campaign of domestic workers are constrained to conceal instead of announce their motivation which is the regularization of undocumented status. The paper challenges some established conceptions of human right activism’s relationship to human rights norms in the standard social constructivist account.

Press freedom and media's role in conflict and peace-building : case of the post-2007 election crisis in Kenya

Radoli, Ouma Lydia — Thu, 26 May 2011 22:00:00 GMT

Radoli, Ouma Lydia
The 2007-2008 election violence in Kenya left more than 1,200 people dead and over half a million internally displaced. There were serious human rights violations, including freedom of movement, freedom of assembly and opinion. A Commission of Inquiry set to investigate the violence has attributed the conflict to unresolved historical grievances. But, the government and international agencies blame some sections of the media for inflaming the violence and ethnic hatred among Kenyans. The media is one of the most vibrant institutions in Kenya. It is vocal on matters of public interest, including political and socio-economic developments. In so far, much has been written on the role of the media in the conflict, but little, on their role in peace-building. Yet, peace-building remains a human rights concern locally and internationally. This thesis looks at how press freedom was used to either enhance conflict or build peace, as exemplified in the mentioned case. It also examines the role of the media as an agenda setter for human rights. This role provides a theoretical assumption of the responsibility of the media in preserving rights and freedoms. I argue that the media agenda to promote human rights can only be achieved within an independent media, guarded by working legislations and effective monitoring systems.