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Papers by Henrik Berglund

This article is a case study of the campaign against the Coca-Cola Company in Plachimada, Kerala,... more This article is a case study of the campaign against the Coca-Cola Company in Plachimada, Kerala, India, which was a reaction against alleged environmental damages and water depletion caused by the company's production of soft drinks. It addresses the following questions: How was civil society used as a platform for this struggle and what was the outcome? Did this campaign affect the political participation of its members? The study is based on interviews and surveys of the villagers in Plachimada and connects to theories on social movements and political participation, as well as to the debate on Indian civil society. The findings presented show the importance of having a local, core group in charge of the campaign, while simultaneously making use of existing support groups at the regional, national, and international levels. It also reveals that after reaching its goal, the campaign has resulted in a general increase of political participation amongst its members.

Corporations are increasingly forced to widen their agendas to include social and environmental c... more Corporations are increasingly forced to widen their agendas to include social and environmental concerns, or corporate social responsibility (CSR). This development has been recorded in the current academic debate, and the views regarding its implications for business, the state, and civil society diverge. However, there is agreement within the CSR and corporate governance litera-tures that there is a lack of thorough empirical studies of these effects. Based on a case study of the multinational wind energy company Suzlon Energy's CSR projects in rural India, this article contends that CSR projects implemented through cross-sector partnerships can help to build the capacities of civil society organizations Helena Hede Skagerlind is a PhD Candidate at the

The Hindu nationalist movement has for the last decades tried to expand within the Indian civil s... more The Hindu nationalist movement has for the last decades tried to expand within the Indian civil society, and a part of their strategy has been to increase the support for their views on gender relations. This article focuses on this mobilization and the response to it from the autonomous women's movement. It is suggested that the Hindu Nationalist groups have a very different view on gender relations compared to the main stream of the Indian women's movement, and that the mobilization of the Hindutva forces has met with strong resistance. It is further argued that this resistance may contribute to the deepening and widening of the democratic space in India.

The Hindu nationalist movement has traditionally been dominated by men. Among its leaders, worker... more The Hindu nationalist movement has traditionally been dominated by men. Among its leaders, workers, and supporters, women have only recently surfaced in substantial numbers. Also, working in the context of Indian social and political life, which is heavily male-centered, the ideological underpinnings of the movement have previously made it unlikely for women to hold prominent positions. Many of the Hindu nationalist groups strongly support a traditional definition of gender roles and have been very reluctant to assign new and more active identities for Hindu women. Despite this, some development has taken place, and women now have a more active role within the movement. Beginning in the 1980s, women were recruited in increasing numbers, and there has also been a shift in the rhetoric of the movement toward a more active role for women. In the mass campaigns of the 1980s and 1990s women participated as activists and the ideal of women as warriors were contrasted to the traditional roles as mothers and care-takers. How is the role of women defined today within the Hindu nationalist movement? Has the recent emphasis on activism changed the general perception of women within the movement? This article has the following structure: first, an analysis of the ideological background of the Hindu nationalist movement; second, a presentation of the historical role of women within the movement; and, third, observations on the current view on gender relations within the movement, based on field work conducted in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. It is argued in the article that the Hindu nationalist movement defines the role of women differently, depending on the political context, but that the general

Books by Henrik Berglund

The region of Central Asia has become the focus of superpowers due to its rich energy resources a... more The region of Central Asia has become the focus of superpowers due to its rich energy resources and strategic location. It has been confronted with various threats such as illegal drug trafficking and narcotic movements, extremism, terrorism, ethnic and civil conflicts, border tensions, water and transport disputes, crime against women and many others. Unfortunately there has been limited regional cooperation and economic integration which makes it necessary to get a better understanding of economic integration and co-operation in other regions, particularly that of the EU. South Asia is the region of greatest civilization, located between the region of hydro carbons on the left and the South East Asian region on the right. The dynamics of the Great Game, emergence of the New Silk route, transport corridors taking shape, have made the region of Central Asia more exposed to external players such as China, Russia, Iran, India, Pakistan, Turkey, USA including Japan who have been trying to gain a foothold in Central Asia within the emerging volatile situation in its neighbourhood as a result of the troops withdrawal from Afghanistan. This book envisages to provide a deeper and wider understanding of the region of Central and South Asia within the given perspective.