Abstract Essay in political science, C-level, by Jenny Senemgen, spring semester 2008. Tutor: Michele Micheletti. ?Hennes & Mauritz ? a case study of their CSR work and collaborations with NGOs.?The purpose of this essay is to examine if and how the transnational corporation Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) collaborates with NGOs in it?s work with human rights for workers and increased corporate social responsibility. I have looked at H&Ms CSR report from 2006, the Swedish network Clean Clothes Campaigns report about Swedish corporations in the textile industry and if their CSR work during the past ten years have given any results and I have also done two interviews with two NGOs.The examination is thereby a case study where I?m examining H&Ms CSR work and its collaborations with NGOs and the NGO?s opinions about H&Ms CSR work.My delimitation lies in the fact that I only have examined one corporation and what two NGOs thinks about the corporation.

A case study was done of Sthlm Policy Group, a consulting agency that mainly targets NGOs and government agencies in the peace and security sector. The goal of the case study was to explore the tendency of NGOs in Sweden to hire commercial consulting companies. The main interest was to see what the key reasons are for NGOs to hire private consulting agencies, but also to explore what problems that might be associated with such relationships. Interviews were carried out with representatives of the consulting agency, with its clients as well as with other NGOs that were identified as potential clients. The interviewed NGOs and government agencies were found to approve of the use of commercial consultants.

Uppsatsen undersöker effekterna av biståndspolitiken i Afghanistan. Afghanistan befinner sig i en gråzon mellan modernitet och traditionellt klansamhälle. Denna övergång försvåras av ett antal faktorer. Fokus ligger på korrelationen mellan NGOs, staten och biståndet. Den afghanska statens oförmåga skapar utrymme för NGOs att sörja för befolkningens fundamentala behov.

Studien ämnar undersöka hur intressentdialogen initieras och vad som sker mellan ett vinstdrivande företag och ideella organisationer, även kallade NGOs. Företag har idag en stor påverkan på samhället, där NGOs är en av företagens viktigaste intressenter. NGOs kan utöva påverkan på företag genom dialoger och företagen kan med framgång ta hjälp av NGOs i arbetet med ansvar- och hållbarhetsfrågor, även benämnt som CSR. Med utgångspunkt i teorin om intressenter och Triple Bottom Line visar studien, via tre olika intressentdialoger, hur dialogen initieras, vad syftet är samt vilka frågor som diskuteras. Vidare identifieras vilka frågor det råder konsensus och i vilka det kan uppstå konflikter.

The main argument of the thesis is that multinational companies (MNCs) can promote democracy through corporate social responsibility (CSR). MNCs hold some prerequisites giving them the means to create positive changes. But they lack one important prerequisite: knowledge about local conditions. Therefore the best CSR result is reached through partnerships with local NGOs.H&M's CSR-work in Bangladesh, including a partnership with the Bangladeshi women's rights organisation Karmojibi Nari, serves as an illustrating case. It is argued that the CSR-work promotes democracy through strengthening the civil society, through indirectly implementing national laws concerning labour legislation and human rights and through raising awareness about rights and legislation among the workers.The CSR process changes the terms for both NGOs and MNCs.

Under vilka förutsättningar kan ett effektivt samarbete komma till stånd vid humanitära insatser? Den omfattande jordbävningen i Pakistan 2005 kallade till sig ett stort antal aktörer, däribland Röda Korset, Oxfam och CARE, alla NGOs inriktade på humanitära insatser, samt FN och den pakistanska staten. Vi framlägger i vår studie teorin att ett effektivt samarbete främst kan komma till stånd om de inblandade aktörerna delar ett gemensamt mål, gemensamma värderingar samt utbyter information och resurser.Vår metod är teorianvändande när vi applicerar Margaret E. Keck och Kathryn Sikkinks teorier angående nätverk av påtryckar NGOs på vår studie av service NGOs. Studiens resultat visar att förutsättningar för effektiva samarbeten lättare kom till stånd mellan aktörerna när ovannämnda antagande uppfylldes.

With ever-increasing environmental problems in the world, I have with this thesis aimed at studying how the Inuit people of the Arctic organize themselves around the issue of environmental degradation. In focus for this thesis is the organization Inuit Circumpolar Conference (ICC), an NGO that focuses on saving and protecting the social and cultural rights of the Inuit people, along with the environment in the four arctic regions. This aboriginal population has a strong connection to the environment they dwell in, as the area serves as a source of income and nutrition as well as an historically important place for their culture.I will in this thesis primarily investigate the methods of operation amongst NGOs, as well as their ability to influence and interact with the UN. These are three concepts that I, as a hypothesis, considered to distinguish ICC from other NGOs. With help from three theories about NGOs, I conclude that certain central elements of ICC differ from the average NGO, making ICC a new kind of actor in global politics..

Den här uppsatsen syftar till att undersöka på vilket sätt som en liten Non Governmental Organization (NGO) kan bidra till ett företags CSR-arbete. Tidigare teorier föreslår att en NGO kan bidra till företags CSR-arbete på två sätt, dels genom att dela med sig av sina interna resurser och dels genom att fungera som strategisk länk. Vi undersöker om detta stämmer även för en liten NGO samt om den uppfyller de kriterier som Stafford et al. (2000) föreslår att en NGO bör uppfylla för att fungera som en effektiv strategisk länk. Detta har tidigare studerats för stora NGOs, och det finns därför ett kunskapsgap gällande små NGOs roll för företags CSR-arbete.

This study analyzes how civil society contributes to the democratic development in a Nicaragua governed by the sandinist party FSLN. The empirical focus lays at the relationship between state and the civil society. By using a conceptual framework outlined by Caroline Boussard, the civil society is being analyzed as an actor with a democracy-building potential that is supported or constrained by a political context.The civil society is divided between traditional social movement and more newly borned NGOs. Social movements tend to approach the government comparatively to NGOs, which adopt a highly critical attitude. In contrast to NGOs, the traditional social movements are improving their democratic functions as a counterpart while NGOs confine its democratic potential to an agenda setter drawing attention to democratic deficits.

This bachelor thesis is based on interviews with staff from three Egyptian NGOs in Cairo during the spring of 2013. The study examines how three Egyptian NGOs discuss the woman?s situation within the Islamic legal discourse in the contemporary Egypt. The empiric material was analysed through a theoretical framework of gender in Islam, and a discussion of the concept of human rights laws in a local context.The respondents emphasize the societies gender stereotypes as obstacles in the discussion regarding women?s rights.

The purpose of this research is to identify how E-NGO and forest stakeholders, in the study referred to as non-state actors, have influenced the EU timber regulation; through participation and lobbyism towards the decision- makers (policy makers) at EU and national level, to achieve adjustments in the legislative text. The study also examines the relationships between the forest stakeholders, the E-NGOs and the EU-institutions, regarding communication, cooperation, informal and formal consultation where interviews were accomplished with decision-makers from the EU-institutions, forest stakeholders, E-NGOs and representatives from Swedish authorities that participated under the development of the EUTR during the period of 2008-2013. The participation and lobbying from non-state actors have most likely affected the outcome of the regulation, through alterations in the legislative text and through influencing the EU-institutions. Several factors that have affected the efficiency and timing of the influence have been identified through interviews as well as various approaches to influence the decision makers. The findings of the study may be useful for forest related interest groups that are involved in decision-making procedures at EU-level and as substance and material for further research in the subject of forest policy making at supranational level..

The aim of this thesis is to investigate how the majorities view on the minority can affect the minorities view on themselves.The study focuses on the research questions; what does the Roma identity look like? Is there a connecting between the week feeling of belonging to the majority ? Slovaks - that the Roma people feel and the widespread racism, stereotypes and scapegoat view towards Roma that the majority in the Slovak society have? Is the view Roma have on themselves effected by how other see them? Has the situation for the Roma gotten better since Slovakia entered the European Union?An empirical research study has been conducted in Slovakia during the period of April 2006 and interviews with Roma and NGO representatives where done.The Roma people's situation in Slovakia is bad and the discrimination towards them is widespread, both in the working life, healthcare, education system and housing. A lot has happened the last years, before Slovakia entered the EU the country adapted many new laws that strengthen the Roma people place in the society and gave them as a minority more support and rights.According to my findings it is found, and what most of the interview Roma expressed themselves, was that today they have a very low feeling of belonging and being a part of the Slovak society. They also expressed that they are very much affected by the poor view that the majority of Slovak have of them and in many cases they did not even want to try to be part of the society. The NGOs expressed that the situation for Roma in Slovakia is bad and even if it has been improved since the country entered the EU, the NGOs said that there are only a lot of new laws and in reality not much has changed..

Worldwide result over internetusers show that Sweden internet users comes at third place. The technological development has been explosive. Individuals can with the help of technology live some, in other cases all their social lifes through social media. Therefore organizations has a lot to gain by using social media to interact and start up dialogue with their audicence. There are different views whether a civic society has developed on internet or not.

This bachelor thesis is based on interviews with staff from three Egyptian NGOs in Cairo during the spring of 2013. The study examines how three Egyptian NGOs discuss the woman?s situation within the Islamic legal discourse in the contemporary Egypt. The empiric material was analysed through a theoretical framework of gender in Islam, and a discussion of the concept of human rights laws in a local context.The respondents emphasize the societies gender stereotypes as obstacles in the discussion regarding women?s rights.

In subsequent to Post-colonialism the African nations have dilated into different political directions. While some nations have established well-functioning democracies, others are still under authoritarian regimes. The aim of this thesis is to examine if civil society has an impact on democratic development in West Africa. Therefore the theoretical starting point is Putnam?s theory of social capital, but this study will also examine other possible causal explanations for democratic transition.This study will be based on a comparative analysis of Ghana and Guinea.