The study field of the thesis is regional integration in Africa. The focus is set on the African Union (AU) and its main programme for promoting democracy on the continent, the New Partnership for Africa´s Development (NEPAD). By applying two theories, one on democratization through regional organizations and the other on hidden agendas within them, the thesis makes an assessment on the work for d

In this thesis I have examined the work of the United Nations Interim Administrative Mission in Kosova by assessing the quality of democracy created under such an administration. The main goal has been to find the democratic consequences arising from UNMIKs work. The main question posed in this thesis is therefore directed towards answering if this mission has been a success or failure. In order t

This essay examines the Swedish party Miljöpartiet de Gröna and their election campaign 2006. Focus is set on the local organisations in the region of Skåne by examining how they have carried through their campaigns as well as if they have experienced any obstacles in their campaign work. The primary research aim is to give a theoretical contribution as well as an increased knowledge of the local

This essay is a normative analysis concerning the question of whether the government should be allowed to use taxes to finance the state. What kind of ethical problems arise when the government use taxation? If it is possible to justify taxation, despite potential moral issues, then what should the government do with the funds they have collected? What kinds of government functions are morally jus

Studien har till syfte att undersöka hur globaliseringsdebatten ser ut i svensk media och hur den har förändrats under de senaste 10 åren. Fokus ligger på begreppets skilda betydelse som media skapar. Metoden består av en diskursanalys som bygger på Laclou & Mouffes teorier, med fokus kring flytande signifikanter, vilket betyder att begreppet är öppen för olika betydelser och förändlig över ti

Slavery - in popular imagination, the word usually conjures up images of the transatlantic slave trade and slavery in the United States. A common belief is that slavery has been abolished and in a legal sense this is correct. However, the practical reality is little changed, i.e. the practice of slavery continues. Much remains to be done in order to abolish slavery, but one problem that I see as a

Abstract Due to the success of the Populist Party Sverigedemokraterna in the Swedish election of 2006, the daily paper Sydsvenska Dagbladet published a number of columns written by well-known academics, writers and debaters. Their aim was to address the question of why this happened in the election and what it is in the Swedish society today that brought forward these trends. The first and the la

The purpose of this essay was to find an understanding of what factors which affect refugee reception in two municipalities in the southern part of Sweden, the municipality of Vellinge and the municipality of Landskrona. Three interviews were made with three local politicians and these interviews were then analysed using postcolonial theory. With the help of Matthew J. Gibney we identified sev

The purpose of this thesis is to study how Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) may change the role of corporations in an international political context. As a case study on this theme, part of the thesis is focused on how CSR may influence areas concerning human rights in China. The study is undertaken from a discourse theoretical approach and is hence stressing the dialectical constituting rela

In this thesis we have examined Västra Götalandsregionens ways to lobby and network in the European Union. Our aim was to examine which kind of methods the region uses to lobby in a successful way in Brussels. We found that the region uses both formal and informal methods of lobbying to gain advantages in Brussels. We also wanted to locate various networks which the region is involved in to more e

This thesis evaluates the empirical support for some of the most influential theories within the literature on democratic consolidation and applies them to the third wave of democracy. In our population, which consists of 85 countries that experienced a transition to democracy between the years 1974 and 1995, there exists a large divergence in the outcome of the consolidation process. By using

The purpose in this thesis is to explore the underlying conceptions concerning europeanization and public administration that Statskontoret is expressing in its publications. Statskontoret is an agency in the service of the Swedish State which provides the Government and the Ministries with investigations and surveys. The methodological choice in this thesis is to perform an idea analysis cont

India is booming and new sectors that have the cutting edge internationally are mushrooming in size across the country. One such sector is the Information Technologies (IT) industry, but it has attracted international attention not solely for its large scope on the international market, but also because it is a pioneer ahead of its Western peers. As a percent of the total labour force Indian women

The number of blogs, from weblogs, are increasing every day. Blogs are also becoming more visible in the public debate as well as the awareness of their existance is rising among politicians and citizens. The aim of this thesis is to answer the question what democratic potential blogs can have. This question will be answered by initially studying the research that exists today about weblogs and de

Abstrakt Begreppet främlingsfientlig använd's ofta i media om Sverigedemokraterna efter valframgångarna 2006. Indirekt ger detta väljarna samma stämpel. Är det främlingsfientlighet som får väljarna att rösta på partiet? Är det något annat väljarna vill ha sagt med sina röster? Vad tror Sverigedemokraterna's politiker är anledningen bakom framgången? Det vill jag ta reda på i denna uppsat&

The aim of this study is to illuminate and discuss a case of political steering, specifically Managment-By-Objectives (MBO) in Swedish municipalities, from a democratic perspective. The essay examines a discrepancy between MBO in the Swedish municipalities and democratic theory. To fulfil the aim of the study one leading politician and one leading civil servant from five municipalities have been

Abstract This thesis evaluates the empirical support for some of the most influential theories within the literature on democratic consolidation and applies them to thethird wave of democracy. In our population, which consists of 85 countries thatexperienced a transition to democracy between the years 1974 and 1995, there exists a large divergence in the outcome of the consolidation process. By

During the last decades there has been an ever-increasing amount of democratic transitions taking place all over the world. In connection to this phenomenon, transitional justice has developed as a subfield in post-conflict peacebuilding, dealing with the judicial aspect of transitions. In applying theoretical constituents of transitional justice, this study examines the concepts of lustration (i.

This thesis examines and evaluates user boards in Swedish public schools from a democratic perspective. In order to evaluate whether the democratic values are fulfilled five different democratic ideals are selected to serve as a theoretical fundament. These ideals derive from the Swedish Government Official Reports that preceded the reform of user boards in schools, and are identified as the follo

Municipal safety work is an issue frequently discussed. The new legislation about accident prevention obeys the Swedish municipality to present an action program for accident prevention. In Borlänge municipality there has been no sanctioned proposal for a program. This report presents the problems found and gives proposals for improvements in the future safety work. The guiding words should be una