1.
2.
Jukkala, Tanya, 1981-
(author)
Suicide in Russia : A macro-sociological study
2013
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic) abstract
This work constitutes a macro-sociological study of suicide. The empirical focus is on suicide mortality in Russia, which is among the highest in the world and has, moreover, developed in a dramatic manner over the second half of the 20th century. Suicide mortality in contemporary Russia is here placed within the context of development over a longer time period through empirical studies on 1) the general and sex- and age-specific developments in suicide over the period 1870–2007, 2) underlying dynamics of Russian suicide mortality 1956–2005 pertaining to differences between age groups, time periods, and particular generations and 3) the continuity in the aggregate-level relationship between heavy alcohol consumption and suicide mortality from late Tsarist period to post-World War II Russia. In addition, a fourth study explores an alternative to Émile Durkheim’s dominating macro-sociological perspective on suicide by making use of Niklas Luhmann’s theory of social systems. With the help of Luhmann’s macro-sociological perspective it is possible to consider suicide and its causes also in terms of processes at the individual level (i.e. at the level of psychic systems) in a manner that contrasts with the ‘holistic’ perspective of Durkheim. The results of the empirical studies show that Russian suicide mortality, despite its exceptionally high level and dramatic changes in the contemporary period, shares many similarities with the patterns seen in Western countries when examined over a longer time period. Societal modernization in particular seems to have contributed to the increased rate of suicide in Russia in a manner similar to what happened earlier in Western Europe. In addition, the positive relationship between heavy alcohol consumption and suicide mortality proved to be remarkably stable across the past one and a half centuries. These results were interpreted using the Luhmannian perspective on suicide developed in this work.
3.
Kravchenko, Zhanna, 1978-
(author)
Family (versus) Policy : Combining Work and Care in Russia and Sweden
2008
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic) abstract
The twentieth century has witnessed a revolution in the ways in which the social division of labour is organised, and in terms of how waged work and caring for children are reconciled. This study explores family policy from the perspective of its capacity to manage the socio-economic risks emanating from combining the roles of breadwinner and caregiver which many parents are beginning to do in contemporary society. This study is focused on Russia and Sweden, countries which have a large share of their female population in the labour force and an institutionalised public policy directed towards meeting the challenges of childrearing in dual-earner families.In the first empirical stage of the study, I examine the establishment and development of family policies in these countries, and analyse their effects in terms of how they have attempted to reconcile the competing demands of work and family life in recent years, specifically, by focusing on three main components: parental leave regulations, the organisation of early childcare and education, and schemes of financial assistance and support for families with children (including their impact on poverty reduction, with the use of Luxemburg Income Survey data). The next stage, involved the exploration of the normative setting in which employment and parenting are realised. To do this I used survey data from the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP), and its modules on Family and Gender Roles. In the final stage, by conducting in-depth interviews with families in Stockholm and St. Petersburg I was able to examine how decisions about using the available public means of assistance and support are negotiated within households, and which factors, other than public policy, influence such decisions. The results of these three empirical parts are juxtaposed in order to establish the relation between official inputs into family policy and the complex picture of its outcome in the two countries.
4.
Polanska Vergara, Dominika, 1980-
(author)
The emergence of enclaves of wealth and poverty : A sociological study of residential differentiation in post-communist Poland
2011
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic) abstract
Since the fall of communism, some crucial political, economic and social changes have been taking place in the former communist societies. The objective of the thesis is to examine the processes of residential differentiation taking place in the urban landscape of the Polish city of Gdańsk after the introduction of the capitalist system. The focus is on different forms of residential differentiation and the social, economic and historical factors behind these forms. The empirical material that forms the basis of the thesis consists of interviews, newspaper articles, a questionnaire, official (national and local) reports and documents.Study I examines the way in which different social, economic, historical and physical conditions coincide in the formation of space and the processes of decline in the period of transformation in Poland. The focus lies on a specific residential area in the center of Gdańsk and the lack of improvements in this particular area, which would stop its successive decline.Study II explains the emergence of gated communities in the post-communist urban context and discusses the reasons for their increasing numbers and popularity. The main argument is that the popularity of gated communities is tightly intertwined with the communist past, emerging in reaction to the housing conditions that prevailed under communism.Study III investigates how social class markers are constructed in the discourse on gated communities in post-socialist Poland. The “new” capitalistic system, with its inherent social divisions, is described in the discourse as creating demands for “new” forms of housing, where gates function as separators, protectors and class identifiers.Study IV concentrates on the support for the formation of gated communities in the legal and regulatory framework in Poland since 1989. The paper asserts that the outcome of liberal politics and legal regulation in the country is the neglect of spatial planning and imprecise urban policies.
5.
Wesolowski, Katharina
(author)
Maybe Baby? : Reproductive Behaviour, Fertility Intentions, and Family Policies in Post-communist Countries, with a Special Focus on Ukraine
2015
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic) abstract
This thesis studies different aspects of reproductive behaviour on the international, national, and local levels in post-communist countries. The main focus is Ukraine, where fertility rates are very low and the population is in severe decline. The studies contribute new knowledge about the applicability of a family policy typology developed on the basis of Western countries’ experience for post-communist countries, and about the influence of family policies on fertility levels in these countries. Moreover, the studies investigate whether and how macro-level influences impact on individuals’ reproductive behaviour. Four articles are included in the thesis:Family policies in Ukraine and Russia in comparative perspective analyses the institutional set-up of family policies in both countries and compares the findings to 31 other countries. The results show that Ukrainian family policies support a male-breadwinner type of family, while the benefit levels of Russian family policies are low, compelling families to rely on relatives or the childcare market.Family policies and fertility - Examining the link between family policy institutions and fertility rates in 33 countries 1995-2010 comparatively explores whether family policies have an effect on fertility rates across the case-countries. Pooled time-series regression analysis demonstrates that gender-egalitarian family policies are connected to higher fertility rates, but that this effect is smaller at higher rates of female labour force participation.To have or not to have a child? Perceived constraints on childbearing in a lowest-low fertility context investigates the influence of the perception of postmodern values, childcare availability and environmental pollution on individuals’ fertility intentions in a city in Eastern Ukraine. It is shown that women who already have a child perceive environmental pollution as a constraint on their fertility intentions.Prevalence and correlates of the use of contraceptive methods by women in Ukraine in 1999 and 2007 examines changes in the prevalence and the correlates of the use of contraceptive methods. The use of modern contraceptive methods increased during the period and the use of traditional methods decreased, while the overall prevalence did not change. Higher exposure to messages about family planning in the media is correlated with the use of modern contraceptive methods.
6.
Stickley, Andrew
(author)
On Interpersonal Violence in Russia in the Present and the Past : A Sociological Study
2006
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic) abstract
For much of the twentieth century researchers in the West knew little about the phenomenon of interpersonal violence in Russia as the Soviet authorities kept the vital and criminal justice statistics of violence secret. It was not until the Soviet Union was in its final death throes that these statistics were officially released for the first time in over fifty years. They showed that at least in terms of its level of lethal violence, Russia was one of the most violent countries in the industrialized world. Since that time, the sharp rise in violent mortality that has occurred in post-Soviet Russia during the transition period has attracted the attention of many researchers in both the East and West. The studies that have resulted have done much to enhance our understanding of violence in contemporary Russia. However, there are still many questions to be answered. For example, was Russia a violent country in much earlier periods of its history and are there particular social and/or cultural processes that have been important in explaining the occurrence of violence in Russia across time?To address these and other questions I have made use of the vital statistics data of homicide from tsarist and Soviet Russia, as well as individual-level survey data on violence from the contemporary period. By doing this it has been possible to show that there was a high level of lethal interpersonal violence in Russia throughout those periods of the twentieth century for which data exist and that Soviet Russia became comparatively more violent between the end of the tsarist and Soviet periods. Moreover, alcohol seems to have played an extremely important role in the occurrence of both lethal and non-lethal violence across time. In relation to this, I have focused on the particular drinking culture in Russia as a possible explanatory mechanism for the occurrence of violence, in conjunction with the Russian state’s dependence on the taxable revenue alcohol generated – which in both tsarist and Soviet Russia prevented any prolonged attempts to act against the deleterious effects of alcohol. The high level of violence in Russian society also highlights the problems that the Russian authorities had when trying to impose order on a geographically vast and ethnically diverse country. This might explain why even by the end of the Soviet period, rates of lethal violence were highest in those places (i.e. Siberia and rural Russia more generally) where the state’s presence is likely to have been at its weakest.The consequences of interpersonal violence have become a serious public health issue in contemporary Russia. The lesson that ‘might makes right’ seems to be learnt at an early age by some men who may subsequently model their behaviour on what they have witnessed in their childhood homes, with alcohol acting to facilitate the occurrence of violence in some instances. Any attempt to address the issue of violence in Russia must therefore focus on the specifics of the Russian drinking culture, as it is likely that if this can be changed, a reduction in levels of serious interpersonal injury can also be achieved. However, it may be the case, that it is not only changes in the drinking culture which are necessary, but also perhaps, the way in which violence is seen in Russian society traditionally, both by the state and its citizens – as a means of resolving both relatively minor and more intractable problems.
7.
Svärd, Veronica, 1977
(author)
Children at risk? Hospital social workers’ and their colleagues’ assessment and reporting experiences
2016
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic) abstract
This thesis explores factors that influence professional discretion in Swedish hospital professionals’ assessment of children who may be at risk of harm. It is based on two data samplings, interviews with fourteen hospital social workers and a questionnaire with 295 responding physicians, nurses, nurse assistants and hospital social workers. The theoretical frame consists of theories of professions, sociology of emotions and normativity. Although all professionals are mandated to report suspicions about children who may be at risk to social services, the findings show that a majority of the participants had never made a report. However, there were major differences between the professions: hospital social workers and physicians made most reports, while it was unusual for nurses and nurse assistants to report. This is explained by children at risk being everyone’s but no single profession’s responsibility within health care – which shapes an informal pattern of jurisdiction, split between physicians and hospital social workers. The professional group to which a person belongs was shown to affect how other factors influence assessment. The lower the status of the group, the less knowledge about the issue and the available organisational support its members have, and the more emotions influenced the decisions not to report. While hospital social workers are less strongly affected by emotions in decisions not to report, the deeper qualitative analysis shows that assessment tended to follow a ‘logic of normativity’ where their worries stuck to ‘warning signs’ associated with gender stereotypes or unprivileged groups of parents. Critical reflexivity could disturb this logic as well as the silence of normality, meaning that children from privileged groups may not be given enough attention. Hospital social workers were also found to take different positions in their inter-professional teams – active, reflective or passive – relating to three institutionalized norms of action – juridical, therapeutic and medical. A small number followed the medical norm, but that had the most dangerous consequences for children who sometimes were not dealt with appropriately despite severe signs of harm. The overall analysis in this thesis suggests that theories of professional discretion should take into account factors such as the context, inter-professional relations, emotions and normativity to enhance the understanding of what influences assessment and decisions.
8.
Aidukaite, Jolanta
(author)
The Emergence of the Post-Socialist Welfare State - The Case of the Baltic States : Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania
2004
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic) abstract
This dissertation takes a step towards providing a better understanding of post-socialist welfare state development from a theoretical as well as an empirical perspective. The overall analytical goal of this thesis has been to critically assess the development of social policies in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania using them as illustrative examples of post-socialist welfare state development in the light of the theories, approaches and typologies that have been developed to study affluent capitalist democracies. The four studies included in this dissertation aspire to a common aim in a number of specific ways.The first study tries to place the ideal-typical welfare state models of the Baltic States within the well-known welfare state typologies. At the same time, it provides a rich overview of the main social security institutions in the three countries by comparing them with each other and with the previous structures of the Soviet period. It examines the social insurance institutions of the Baltic States (old-age pensions, unemployment insurance, short-term benefits, sickness, maternity and parental insurance and family benefits) with respect to conditions of eligibility, replacement rates, financing and contributions. The findings of this study indicate that the Latvian social security system can generally be labelled as a mix of the basic security and corporatist models. The Estonian social security system can generally also be characterised as a mix of the basic security and corporatist models, even if there are some weak elements of the targeted model in it. It appears that the institutional changes developing in the social security system of Lithuania have led to a combination of the basic security and targeted models of the welfare state. Nevertheless, as the example of the three Baltic States shows, there is diversity in how these countries solve problems within the field of social policy. In studying the social security schemes in detail, some common features were found that could be attributed to all three countries. Therefore, the critical analysis of the main social security institutions of the Baltic States in this study gave strong supporting evidence in favour of identifying the post-socialist regime type that is already gaining acceptance within comparative welfare state research.Study Two compares the system of social maintenance and insurance in the Soviet Union, which was in force in the three Baltic countries before their independence, with the currently existing social security systems. The aim of the essay is to highlight the forces that have influenced the transformation of the social policy from its former highly universal, albeit authoritarian, form, to the less universal, social insurance-based systems of present-day Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. This study demonstrates that the welfare–economy nexus is not the only important factor in the development of social programs. The results of this analysis revealed that people's attitudes towards distributive justice and the developmental level of civil society also play an important part in shaping social policies. The shift to individualism in people’s mentality and the decline of the labour movement, or, to be more precise, the decline in trade union membership and influence, does nothing to promote the development of social rights in the Baltic countries and hinders the expansion of social policies. The legacy of the past has been another important factor in shaping social programs. It can be concluded that social policy should be studied as if embedded not only in the welfare-economy nexus, but also in the societal, historical and cultural nexus of a given society. Study Three discusses the views of the state elites on family policy within a wider theoretical setting covering family policy and social policy in a broader sense and attempts to expand this analytical framework to include other post-socialist countries. The aim of this essay is to explore the various views of the state elites in the Baltics concerning family policy and, in particular, family benefits as one of the possible explanations for the observed policy differences. The qualitative analyses indicate that the Baltic States differ significantly with regard to the motives behind their family policies. Lithuanian decision-makers seek to reduce poverty among families with children and enhance the parents’ responsibility for bringing up their children. Latvian policy-makers act so as to increase the birth rate and create equal opportunities for children from all families. Estonian policy-makers seek to create equal opportunities for all children and the desire to enhance gender equality is more visible in the case of Estonia in comparison with the other two countries. It is strongly arguable that there is a link between the underlying motives and the kinds of family benefits in a given country. This study, thus, indicates how intimately the attitudes of the state bureaucrats, policy-makers, political elite and researchers shape social policy. It confirms that family policy is a product of the prevailing ideology within a country, while the potential influence of globalisation and Europeanisation is detectable too. The final essay takes into account the opinions of welfare users and examines the performances of the institutionalised family benefits by relying on the recipients’ opinions regarding these benefits. The opinions of the populations as a whole regarding government efforts to help families are compared with those of the welfare users. Various family benefits are evaluated according to the recipients' satisfaction with those benefits as well as the contemporaneous levels of subjective satisfaction with the welfare programs related to the absolute level of expenditure on each program. The findings of this paper indicate that, in Latvia, people experience a lower level of success regarding state-run family insurance institutions, as compared to those in Lithuania and Estonia. This is deemed to be because the cash benefits for families and children in Latvia are, on average, seen as marginally influencing the overall financial situation of the families concerned. In Lithuania and Estonia, the overwhelming majority think that the family benefit systems improve the financial situation of families. It appears that recipients evaluated universal family benefits as less positive than targeted benefits. Some universal benefits negatively influenced the level of general satisfaction with the family benefits system provided in the countries being researched. This study puts forward a discussion about whether universalism is always more legitimate than targeting. In transitional economies, in which resources are highly constrained, some forms of universal benefits could turn out to be very expensive in relative terms, without being seen as useful or legitimate forms of help to families. In sum, by closely examining the different aspects of social policy, this dissertation goes beyond the over-generalisation of Eastern European welfare state development and, instead, takes a more detailed look at what is really going on in these countries through the examples of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. In addition, another important contribution made by this study is that it revives ‘western’ theoretical knowledge through ‘eastern’ empirical evidence and provides the opportunity to expand the theoretical framework for post-socialist societies.
9.
Eriksson, Johan, Professor, 1967-
(author)
Partition and redemption : a Machiavellian analysis of Sami and Basque patriotism
1997
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic) abstract
Since the end of the Second World War, the location of most interstate borders has been fixed.This suggests that the common phenomenon of ethnic groups partitioned by internationallyrecognized state borders is permanent. Nevertheless, a recurrent dream of 'redemption' (i.e. thebuilding of a self-ruling polity which unifies the separate segments) is capable of inciting patrioticmobilization even in the face of a very long period of unbroken partition. Little is knownabout this clash between dream and reality. How can an ethnoterritorial group which is apparentlypermanently partitioned between separate, sovereign states be redeemed? In seeking asolution to this puzzle, I attempt a Machiavellian type of analysis, defined as an approach whichcombines a patriotic perspective with a strategic view of the choice of specific means and endsin a way which is free of state-centrism. I also employ Machiavelli's theory-building method,which is a form of abduction.This study focuses on six aspects of the problem of partition and redemption: the territorialsetting, the historical process, partitioning state contexts, perceptions of partition and homelandmythology, strategies, and outcomes. Two instances are selected for case study and comparison:the Sami in northernmost Europe, and the Basques in Spain and France. Both groups arepartitioned between separate states, are a minority in each one, and lack control over all existingstate governments.The analysis reveals the unexpected result that the less numerous, greater dispersed, morepartitioned, and generally weaker Sami have been more successful in redemption than have theBasques. While the Sami have built common bodies which officially represent Sami in all fourpartitioning states, the Basques have only a limited transborder cooperation between the BasqueAutonomous Community (BAC) in Spain and non-Basque regional authorities in France. It ismore important to have compatible building blocks in each state (like the three Nordic SamiParliaments), than to have a single powerful one (like the BAC). Without fairly similar andharmonized partitioning states, like the Nordic countries, it is extremely difficult for transborderpolity-building to succeed. Another main conclusion, which disputes the findings of other research,is that redemption is possible even when a group remains partitioned, given that thegoal of statehood is abandoned in favour of a less ambitious transborder homerule. In order torealize this goal, the most generally applicable method is a stepwise strategy aimed at creatingcompatible building blocks in each state. A variant of this is the blueprint strategy, that is, usingan achievement in one state as a model for the struggle in other states. In contrast to nonparti -tioned groups, partitioned groups can refer to their own achievement in other states.The subject of interest here transcends the domestic-international divide. Similarly, theanalysis transcends academic boundaries, mainly those of political theory, international politicsand comparative politics. This combination provides a starting-point for further inquiry into thepattern of overlapping polities which is emerging, and of partition and redemption in particular.
10.
