https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/51746 Sat, 04 Apr 2026 15:28:37 GMT 2026-04-04T15:28:37Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/67166 Title: The forms of public space in modern society : a series of case studies that explore how public space is lost and reclaimed Abstract: Public space has never been public. The recent rise of hate crimes to newly integrated communities represents a legacy of public space used as an indicator for social class and establishing the in-group and out-group. Our history is composed of a series of instances that manipulated the public sphere to transmit influence and power across particular regions. This paper seeks to exemplify the importance for democracies to seek to form public spaces that will better create more equitable societies. By taking the case studies of the 2019 protests in Hong Kong, Western European Anti Islam policy reforms in the late 20th and early 21st century, and the creation of the Micro State or suburbia in United States of America this dissertation seeks to highlight the characteristics of a functioning public space and recognize its limitations in a 21st century hyper globalizing context. Public space is contested. Description: Dual Masters; M.SC.CONFLICT ANALYSIS&RES.; M.A.CONFLICT RES.&MED.STUD. Tue, 01 Jan 2019 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/67166 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/51901 Title: Patronage and governance in southern Europe Abstract: The dissertation analyses the interaction between patronage and governance in Southern Europe by looking at two case studies, the Republic of Italy and Bosnia and Herzegovina, between 2005 and 2015. Actively engaging with definitions of patronage and literature of how this phenomenon interacts with governance, the work takes the Southern European frame as a primary point of reference in looking at a particularly ‘Southern’ conception of political patronage and how this affects societies. Political and social developments in the case study countries, particularly the development of governance structures, has been affected strongly by the logic of patronage in Italy and Bosnia. A synthesis section following the case studies critically examines in comparative focus the overlaps and differences between the countries, proposes a number of findings on patronage and governance, and discusses the limitations of the chosen approaches. In the process, the relevance of patronage to processes of governance and explorations of social and political conflict are elucidated such that policymakers and academics may find conclusions useful to their work. Description: Dual Masters; M.SC.CONFLICT ANALYSIS&RES.; M.A.CONFLICT RES.&MED.STUD. Tue, 01 Jan 2019 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/51901 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/51833 Title: A disaster in the making : a study of the injustice of disaster capitalism as a recovery tool Abstract: This thesis explores injustice in disaster recovery. Naomi Klein’s theory of the shock doctrine explains how disaster capitalism becomes a recovery tool in times of extreme distress or disaster. With growing environmental concerns, disaster capitalism is becoming more commonplace when addressing disaster management after a natural disaster. Qualitative research and an extended literature review compared the impact and management tactics in New Jersey after Hurricane Sandy and in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. This thesis critiques Klein’s work and challenges the notion that a disaster must be a “shock” to a system. Instead, it suggests that disasters can reinforce the status quo and, continuing Klein’s theory, promote the manipulation of a community after a disaster. The comparative study of post-hurricane disaster management in New Jersey and Puerto Rico exposed that disaster capitalism played a critical role in recovery and exposed systemic trends that reinforce environmental racism and green gentrification. Description: Dual Masters; M.SC.CONFLICT ANALYSIS&RES.; M.A.CONFLICT RES.&MED.STUD. Tue, 01 Jan 2019 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/51833 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/51832 Title: Media and the white baseline : white masculinity in the birth control movement of the 20th century to mass shootings in the 21st century Abstract: This thesis explores the perpetuation of white supremacy in media. Traditional media impacts the opinion formation of the majority and leads to a silencing of opinions that do not uphold the status quo and social hierarchy in place. The birth control movement and its ties to eugenics were popularized and promoted by traditional, one-channel media. 21st-century technology and Web 2.0 have introduced social media platforms that allow, not only for interactive media platforms but to create spaces to challenge the hegemonic opinion formation. Mixed-method media research and an extended literature review studied the impact and representation of whiteness in the birth control and eugenics movements during the early 20th century and the influence and protection of whiteness seen in the shootings committed by James Holmes and Dylann Roof in the 21st century. This thesis challenges coded language used by traditional media to explain white supremacy, and language that defends and ignores the role whiteness and politics of respectability play in society. This change-over-time and comparative study exposed that whiteness was privileged in similar ways a century apart from birth control infiltrated by eugenics to news reports of mass shootings. Description: Dual Masters; M.SC.CONFLICT ANALYSIS&RES.; M.A.CONFLICT RES.&MED.STUD. Tue, 01 Jan 2019 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/51832 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z