TEMATIK OCH MYTBILDNING I VIKTOR PELEVINS GENERATION ”П” OCH EMPIRE V

This thesis offers a thematic analysis of Victor Pelevin’s Generation ”П” and Empire V. The objective is to determine which themes can be regarded as central when the novels are compared to one another, and how these themes function in the two novels. This analysis shows that in Generation ”П” and Empire V, Pelevin constructs two overarching, parallel myths – the myth of Babylon and the myth of the Word, building a narrative that is solidly anchored in contemporary discourse. The study concludes that these myths are not built to serve as narrative explanations of, or answers to, the issues explored in the novels. Instead, the myths serve as vehicles for an open-ended, exploratory process, which might never be finally concluded. In contrast to previous research, this study contends that the construction of these myths may be the novels’ primary purpose and that through these myths the novels present the reader with a fictional framework, through which to regard the real world

TEMATIK OCH MYTBILDNING I VIKTOR PELEVINS GENERATION ”П” OCH EMPIRE V

This thesis offers a thematic analysis of Victor Pelevin’s Generation ”П” and Empire V. The objective is to determine which themes can be regarded as central when the novels are compared to one another, and how these themes function in the two novels. This analysis shows that in Generation ”П” and Empire V, Pelevin constructs two overarching, parallel myths – the myth of Babylon and the myth of the Word, building a narrative that is solidly anchored in contemporary discourse. The study concludes that these myths are not built to serve as narrative explanations of, or answers to, the issues explored in the novels. Instead, the myths serve as vehicles for an open-ended, exploratory process, which might never be finally concluded. In contrast to previous research, this study contends that the construction of these myths may be the novels’ primary purpose and that through these myths the novels present the reader with a fictional framework, through which to regard the real world

Business as usual? : Third-country business and legal effects of sanctions on international trade

This thesis explores the legal implications of sanctions on third country companies trading or operating with a sanctioned target state. Considering previous research – primarily from the disciplines of international business, international commercial law and economics – into international business under conditions of sanctions, we analyze the interplay of different sanctions and how they affect third country business. Based on our findings, we propose a model for third country trade in relation to sanctions and sanctioned markets. We conclude that, depending on how they are applied and implemented, sanctions and countersanctions can have contradictory and counterintuitive effects. Under conditions of sanctions, third countries can shield international business from increased political risk and uncertainty, and offer access to otherwise unavailable resources and advantages in sanctioned markets. However, even as third-country companies may be beyond the reach of extraterritorial sanctions, they must still grapple with a number of other effects of sanctions regimes. Such effects include significantly increasing transaction costs due to legal uncertainty, disruptions to supply chains, and being possibly locked out of sanctioning-state markets given noncompliance with sanctions. Depending on target country countermeasures, sanctions regimes may contribute to creating a situation in which third country company activities in a sanctioned state are effectively subsidized at the cost of companies adhering to the regulations of sanctioning bodies. These findings raise important questions for future research into international trade and commercial law