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Trots att ett flertal åtgärder riktats för att förbättra situationen för de som faller offer för hedersvåld finns det en koherens om att mycket lite faktiskt hänt inom området. Syftet med uppsatsen var främst att undersöka hur Socialtjänsten, polisen och frivilliga jourer behandlar hederskonflikter och varför det uppstått ett misslyckande i att hjälpa de utsatta. Undersökningen tillämpades utefter den kvalitativa innehållsanalysen. En viktig slutsats från projektet är att det främst krävs en kunskapsutveckling inom området om det skall vara möjligt att nå framsteg. En annan förutsättning är att införliva en fungerande integrationspolitik i Sverige.

Frontex, som är EU:s gemensamma gränskontrollbyrå arbetar med att samordna EU:s medlemsstaters gränsbevakning för att på så sätt stoppa illegal invandring och bekämpa de illegala nätverk som organiserar denna. Detta arbete är dock någonting som resulterar i att det blir svårt, för att inte säga omöjligt för flyktingar att ta sig in i EU på ett legalt sätt för att söka asyl. Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka varför Frontex arbetar för att öka säkerheten vid EU:s yttre gränser.

Det empiriska materialet, som består av Frontex arbetsprogram analyseras genom Köpenhamnsskolans säkerhetsteorier och vår valda metod, diskursanalys. Säkerhetiseringsteorin bidrar till en djupare förståelse av säkerhet medan diskursanalysen bidrar med analysredskap. Genom att dela upp materialet i tre diskurser fann vi att Frontex säkerhetisering riktar sig mot illegal invandring, människosmuggling/människohandel och terrorism. Utifrån vår analys kom vi fram till att Frontex inte gör någon skillnad på migranter i sin säkerhetisering av EU:s yttre gränser. De som inte har giltigt tillstånd får inte tillträde till unionens område, oavsett om de är kriminella eller flyktingar i behov av internationellt skydd.

Kinesiska myndigheter återkommer ständigt till problematiseringen av korruption i offentlig förvaltning, men utländska myndigheter pressar hellre den Kinesiska regeringen om det kinesiska politiska systemets brist på demokrati. Denna studie av inflödes- respektive utflödeslegitimitet hos unga personer på orterna Xiangyun och Midu följer upp på tidigare undersökningar av den äldre generationen på samma platser, samt undersöker vilken av ovanstående brister som kinesiska medborgare uppfattar som det största problemet i det kinesiska systemet. Resultatet visar på vissa generationsskillnader, men även på att befolkningen i stort föredrar ett teknokratiskt förhållningssätt till politiskt styre över det demokratiska alternativet.

Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka hur den svenska integrationspolitiken har varit uppbyggd och därmed söka bilda en förståelse till varför integrationen har misslyckats i Sverige. En komparativ studie har utförts av den gamla integrationspolitiken formulerad i proposition 1997/98:16 och den nya integrationspolitiken formulerad i skrivelsen 2008/09:24. Genom en diskursanalytisk metod undersöktes hur identitetskonstruktionerna ”invandrare” och ”svenskar” är konstruerade i dessa offentliga dokument. Detta för att se över hur detta har påverkatHögskolan Dalarna3integrationspolitiken. Genom att analysera identitetskonstruktionerna i de olika integrationsstrategierna kommer uppsatsen fram till att integrationspolitiken har misslyckats på grund av att det finns en polarisering mellan ”svenskar” och ”invandrare” i både propositionen och skrivelsen som förhindrar integration på lika villkor.

This is a case study with purpose to examine the implementation of the European Union Youth Strategy and the action of reducing early school leavers, which was put in force with the youth field of the European Union in 2010. The strategy contains of eight action fields, onwards only the field within education & training will be examined further in line with the strategy’s main objective to provide equal opportunities for young people in education. The theory of Normalization Process Theory focuses on policy implementation and how it becomes fully embedded within the intended society. Throughout the examination will be of how the implementation is supposed to work and how it actually is put into action within the two member states selected for this study, Sweden and Cyprus. The question to examine is to what degree has ‘the EU Youth Strategy’, and the fact of it being implemented within the member states, influenced the reduction of early school leavers. Through the method of comparative case study approach, materials were gattered throughout a variety of forms such as legislations, policies, evaluations, reports and many more. The analysis consists of the implementations of the action into the states, through what institutions and national legislations, as well as analysing the received grant from the European Union and what it has produced within the states. In conclusion, presenting the results of Sweden and Cyprus, both succeeding to reduce early school leavers, nevertheless, through different actions and interpretations of the strategy.

The past decade has been a relatively tumultuous time in Swedish parliamentary politics with minority governments, a new party challenging the status quo and ultimately the breaking of the second largest coalition in Swedish politics. The decade also saw some policy changes in parties, most strikingly the Moderate party which once an outspoken proponent of a lax immigration policy, saw a clear shift to a more restrictive policy after the 2015 refugee crisis. The first aim of this study is to explain what the shift in immigration policy looks like in terms of whether it was a positional change or a change in ideological emphasis too. By using the method of comparing manifestos the conclusion was reached that the Moderate party shifted both their positional policy and their ideological emphasis. The question of what drives political parties to change policy is a hotly debated one with a wide array of theories and perspectives contributing to the discussion. In addition this study also attempts to apply the theory first proposed by Harmel and Janda (1994) “An Integrated Theory of Party Goals and Party change” on the Moderate party to explain the driving force behind the shift in immigration policy. This was done by comparing Moderate party manifestos from the year 2006 to 2018 in three issues (immigration, private actors in the education sector and private actors in the healthcare sector) that saw the public opinion clearly shift away from the party. Mostly through the process of elimination the study concludes that the Moderate party likely shifted their position on immigration issues in order to have better chances of forming more advantageous coalitions in order to change their opposition status in the future.

Den sydsvenska regionbildningen är en förening som tillsammans står bakom en avsiktsförklaring för att slå samman Blekinge, Kalmar, Kronoberg och Skåne till en region med eget utvecklingsansvar. Förslag på att Sverige borde införa regioner med eget utvecklingsansvar lade den statliga utredningen, kallad Ansvarskommittén, fram efter att utförligt undersökt hur Sveriges samhällsorganisation kan förbättras. Efter Ansvarskommittén lade fram sitt förslag diskuterades det kring regionbildningar runt om i Sverige, men dessa diskussioner har en efter en lagts ner, förutom den sydsvenska regionbildningen och denna uppsats vill försöka ta reda på varför. Syftet med denna uppsats utgår ifrån att ta reda på om argumentationen för att bilda region som presenteras i Ansvarskommitténs utredning är drivkraften bakom den sydsvenska regionbildningen. För att ha underlag för att besvara detta syfte utgick jag från följande frågeställning Vilka huvudargument lade Ansvarskommittén i sin utredning fram för regionalisering i Sverige?, Vilka likheter och skillnader finns det i huvudargumenten för regionalisering från Ansvarskommittén i förhållande till den sydsvenska regionbildningens sätt att resonera kring en regionalisering? och Mot bakgrund av forskningslitteratur om regionalism, nyregionalism och regionalisering, i vilken utsträckning kan dessa begrepp kopplas samman med Ansvarskommitténs utredning? För att besvara syftet utgick jag från Ansvarskommitténs utredningsdokument och dokument från den sydsvenska regionbildningen. Genom kvalitativ textanalys i form av idéanalys och argumentationsanalys kom jag fram till att det verkar som att den sydsvenska regionbildningen har sin drivkraft i Ansvarskommitténs argumentation.

The protests at Gezi Park began when a group of environmentalists reacted to the destruction of one of the last green areas in Taksim by peacefully occupying the Park. The AKP government wanted to build a shopping mall where Gezi park was. The defiance of the environmentalist received excessive police brutality. In short what began as an environmentalists occupation of the park turned into a massive country-wide movement against the government. This result in the excessive use of violence by the police and the aggressive rhetoric used by the prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, towards the protesters. This thesis aims to answer the following question: why the Gezi Park movement was unable, despite accomplishing the first two stages of social movement development, “emergence” and “coalescence”, to complete the third stage of “bureaucratization”. In order to be able to answer this question a deeper look at the nature of the Gezi Park protests will be done and most importantly who was there and their ideological similarities and differences.

The purpose of this study is to verify which factors contributed to the democratically elected Government losing political power in Iran in 1953 under the leadership of Mohammad Mossadegh. The study answers why Mohammad Mossadegh was not able to mobilize the people of Iran against the coup and how the coup could be carried out despite his support from the people. The last part of the study examines what kind of relationship the Iranian army had to the US and the UK and why they opposed Mohammad Mossadegh, isolated his Government and took part in the coup. The study uses two theories. Its theories are flowing: The first theory is The Rational Actor Model and the second theory is The Organizational Behaviour Model which has been written by Graham Allison and Philip Zelikow. Analysis units for this case study are UK and the USA and their motives and opinions.

In 1953 Harry Truman left the President post and was replaced by Dwight David Eisenhower. British agents convinced the new Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles and his brother Allen Dulles, that Mossadegh led Iran to Communism. Dwight Eisenhower and Winston Churchill became the coup's main sponsors. There were some random events that made the coup possible. On 16 August 1953 orders came from the US and UK that the coup should be cancelled and local actors also agreed with this. Three days later, on August 19 of 1953 the coup became possible when the National Police Commissioner General Mohammad Daftary allied with the coup supporters. Local actors in Iran under the leadership of General Mohammad Daftary who became police chief after the first coup attempt at 16 of August 1953 played an important role in the overthrowing of Mohammad Mossadeghs Government. That kind of event was a desired support for the US and UK’s Foreign Policy at that time. Both countries used this in the best way by giving money to the coup supporters in Iran. The coup in Iran becomes the beginning of a chain of similar covert operations conducted by the US and its allies around the world during the Cold War period up to the breakdown of the Soviet Union, 1991.

The coup was planned by the CIA as well as the SIS, and the final green signal was provided by both Governments of the USA and UK. Thus the coup was not a hasty decision taken by the lower levels of the bureaucracy. This was covered by high ranking administrative officials, including President Dwight David Eisenhower and Prime Minister Winston Churchill and their local agents. This study shows how post war USA and UK could not tolerate to see free leaders grow who wanted to work for their own national interests. Mohammad Mossadegh who had a character for loyalty and service to the Iranian people could definitely not be tolerated under such a state of affairs. The new world order required independent states which needed to make their position clear if they were to join the Soviet pact or whether wishing to join themselves with the western world. Mohammad Mossadegh and Iran was one of the Middle Eastern states that became a part of the Cold War politics and economic interests between the USA, UK and the Soviet Union. This type of problem is about the US and the UK financial interests in the oil industry and that there was also an international cold war conflict between the USA and the Soviet Union.

Disasters are a growing international concern that has spurred the development of political strategies and policies from international to local levels. This paper analyzes how disasters are constructed as a policy problem within the UN global strategy for disaster risk reduction. Building on a social constructivist view of policy problems, we analyze how disasters and disaster risks are being represented through these global policies, while we also pay attention to what this representation excludes and de-emphasizes. We show that the UN strategy is mostly concerned with adjusting or adapting societies to hazards, and managing risks, rather than addressing the social processes that render people vulnerable to those hazards. The predominant concern with technological and managerial solutions eclipses the need for changes in the social structures that create disaster risks. We argue that the understanding of disasters represented in the UN strategy supports an emerging holistic paradigm. However, we also argue that the holism it represents is limited rather than radical. By making visible what is excluded or not properly problematized in this representation, we point to the complexity of the task and show where its limitations lie.

Studien berör Uddevalla kommuns arbete med ungdomsfullmäktige. Uppsatsen argumenterar för att det är viktigt att ungdomar har möjlighet till mer inflytande än de har i dag. Uppsatsen bygger på sex stycken kvalitativa intervjuer. Syftet med studien är att identifiera och tolka vilka möjligheter ungdomsfullmäktige i Uddevalla har i dag till inflytande över kommunalpolitiken. Studien innehåller också en analys över hur berörda tjänstemän, politiker och ungdomar tror man kan öka ungdomsfullmäktiges möjligheter till inflytande. Resultatet av undersökningen är att Uddevallas ungdomsfullmäktige inte ger ungdomar möjligheter till verkligt inflytande över den kommunala politiken. Detta då valen till ungdomsfullmäktige och ungdomsfullmäktiges mötesform är bristfälliga. Det finns heller inga garantier att makthavarna låter sig påverkas av ungdomsfullmäktiges beslut. Övriga resultat i studien pekar på att när ett ungdomsfullmäktige har en egen budget så ökar deras chanser till inflytande. Samt att det är viktigt att kommunens övergripande mål med ungdomsfullmäktige är att ungdomarna ska få mer inflytande i politiken om ungdomarnas chanser till inflytande ska öka. Studiens resultat tyder även på att chanserna för att ungdomsfullmäktige ska ha inflytande ökar om de har en egen ung tjänsteman.

Different actors are important during transition from authoritarian rule and democratization, e.g. state institutions, political parties, non-governmental organizations, trade unions, the business sector, and the media. This comparative study looks at the leading political parties in Egypt and Tunisia, the Freedom and Justice Party and the Ennahda Party, and their role during the transitions that started with the 2011 Arab spring revolutions. These parties have certain common features as they are Islamist in their origin and orientation. Focus here is on the roles that they played in central processes during the transition, such as e.g. elections and constitution writing. Whereas Tunisia after the 2011 revolution continued on the road towards democracy, Egypt experienced a second revolution, or rather a coup d´état, which sent the country back to authoritarian rule. In 2016, Tunisia was declared by Freedom House to be the first "Free" (democratic) Arab state since Lebanon lost that status with the outbreak of the civil war in 1975. Egypt, meanwhile, is assessed as being more authoritarian and less free than it was during the Mubarak regime prior to 2011. The purpose of this study is to examine if – and if so, how – the actions and behavior of these political parties and their leaders contributed to the different outcomes of these transitions.

The aim of the study is to examine how well MSB (Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency) prepare the Swedish humanitarian aid workers to face stressful situations, looking at the pre- deployment preparation received. The study investigates how effective and relevant the pre- deployment preparation is in terms of building resilience against stress, according to the humanitarian aid workers’ experience.

This study has been conducted with a quantitative online survey, combined with a qualitative open- ended survey. The surveys were based on research models on work-related stress and on resilience- building among humanitarian aid workers. The frameworks point out criteria needed to be fulfilled by an organization in order to build sufficient stress- resilience among humanitarian aid workers in the pre- deployment phase.

The results reveal that MSB is able to fulfill most of the criteria set in accordance with the theoretical framework. The one and only criterion MSB fails in providing is an open, in- depth discussion about mental health before the aid worker is deployed. This also corresponds to the aid workers experience of not being provided with this. The aid workers’ experience reveals that resilience against stress is important, however, many seem to build resilience independently from MSB.

The aim is first to identify concept of citizenship and the dimensions of the same, in the political science theory, which can be crucial, to that a citizenship may be found available for people who have a cognitive delay. Thereafter examine the prevalence and significance of these, in policy documents from two different organizational forms, through an analysis, in the form of a discussion, on the basis of political science theories in the field. The study's aim in a reflective way, highlighting key requirements for an accessible citizenship for the target audience, and thereby clarify the priorities in daily activities that can support an emancipatory citizenship process for people who have a cognitive delay.

FN-direktivet Agenda 2030 ska avskaffa extrem fattigdom, minska ojämlikheter och orättvisor i världen, främja fred och rättvisa och lösa klimatkrisen. Sverige har som mål att vara ledande i implementeringen av agendan och för att lyckas uppnå det målet krävs ett samarbete mellan den nationella, regionala och lokala nivån. Tidigare forskning visar på att Sveriges kommuner har ett intresse av att implementera beslut som regeringen har beslutat om (Forsberg 2002), samtidigt som Statskontorets delårsrapport (2019) visar att mindre kommuner, med en befolkning under 30.000 invånare, i mindre utsträckning har implementerat Agenda 2030.

Uppsatsen har därför till syfte att undersöka mindre kommuners förutsättningar och utmaningar för att implementera Agenda 2030 i deras hållbarhetsarbete. Genom att utföra kvalitativa, halvstrukturerade informantintervjuer med tjänstemän i mindre kommuner, med utgångspunkt i Lennart Lundquists (1992) implementeringsteori och dess egenskaper förstår, kan och vill, kan jag identifiera de förutsättningar och utmaningar som kommunerna har.

Sammanfattningsvis visar empirin med grund i teorin att förutsättningar och utmaningar i implementeringen av Agenda 2030 varierar mellan kommunerna som deltog i studien. Ett mönster som däremot har visat sig är att kommunerna som tagit ett politiskt beslut om att använda Agenda 2030 har bättre förutsättningar för att lyckas med implementeringen, jämfört med de kommuner som inte har tagit ett beslut. Utmaningarna med implementeringen är många, men framförallt är det resurser i form av kunskap, budget och personal det brister i. Vill är den egenskap som alla kommuner uttrycker att dem har, men att vilja implementera Agenda 2030 räcker inte, vilket indikerar på att vilja endast är nödvändigt om förstår och kan är uppfyllt.

FRA-lagen har varit omdiskuterad och kritiserad. Ett parti som stått på båda sidor

av diskussionen har varit Socialdemokraterna. Syftet med denna uppsats har

främst varit att analysera motiven bakom Socialdemokraternas vändning i frågan.

Metoden för undersökningen har varit en deskriptiv fallstudie med Rational choiceperspektiv

och idéanalys som analysverktyg. Metoden gav mig tillförlitliga resultat.

Ett resultat av studien visade bland annat att Socialdemokraterna handlat

rationellt i hopp om att återfå ett större väljarstöd.

After about 40 years of dictatorship of the Assad family the people of Syria were fed up and at the time of the Arab Spring 2011 a revolution in Syria started, which later on turned into a civil war which has been going on for seven years. This has led to the civilian population suffering from both the regime and the oppositional side. The UN has repeatedly submitted resolutions but none have gone through when Russia and China have used their veto rights. They point out that other countries should not get involved with Syria's internal affairs without the consent of Syria.

The question that arises is why Russia prevents the UN from actin in Syria despite the humanitarian disaster that occurs in the country. By analyzing Syria based on the realism theory I will be able to map out the underlying reasons for why the UN are being prevented from acting. The method I will use is intentional analysis to reveal the hidden intentions and motives Russia has in Syria.

The results of this study are that the action by the Russian side clearly shows that Russia has strategic motives in Syria to preserve its interests and to strengthen its structural position in the international politics. Russia's economic and geopolitical interests in Syria mean that they act according to their interests, thus preventing the UN from acting, as a possible regime change would represent an economical and geopolitical backlash for Russia. This means that realism explains the case best because it stresses that states act according to their own interests and that international organizations are meaningless.

Studiens övergripande syfte är att försöka fastställa de bakomliggande faktorerna som låg till

grund för Sveriges erkännandepolitik då Sveriges regering valde att stödja Kosovos

självständighetsdeklaration. Genom att söka svar på min forskningsfråga om vilka internationella

och nationella faktorer som påverkade Sveriges erkännandepolitik då Sveriges regering

beslutade att erkänna Kosovo som självständig stat används den kvalitativa fallstudien som

metod. Med utgångspunkt från det teoretiska ramverket för utrikespolitisk analys där första

steget i Jakob Gustavssons modell används försöker den här studien fastställa dessa faktorer.

Mina slutsatser är att de bakomliggande faktorerna som låg till grund för Sveriges

erkännandepolitik då Sveriges regering valde att stödja Kosovos självständighetsdeklaration är

internationellt på systemnivån Sveriges medlemskap i EU som har inneburit deltagande i GUSP

där även om medlemsländer inte överlämnat sin suveränitet till EU ändå inneburit anpassning av

sin egen politik efter EU:s målsättningar, nationellt på statsnivån Sveriges organisatoriska

anpassning till EU där samordning mellan medlemsstater samt inom medlemsstater har varit ett

krav och på individnivån dåvarande utrikesministern Carl Bildt med sin utrikespolitik, sitt

egenintresse och sina idéer.

This thesis intends to establish whether and to what degree possible explanations for the Visegrad Group´s response to the 2015-2016 migration crisis can be provided by Postfunctionalism and Intergovernmentalism. The purpose of this study is not to explicitly test the two theories but to use them as tools to better understand the case under analysis, by applying a non-competitive approach. Based on the elaboration of 21 official statements released by the Visegrad Group between 2015-2016, findings show that both theories could (partially) confirmed my initial hypotheses. I conclude that security matters (as Intergovernmentalist suggests) consisted in the lion´s share in the statements, while economy matters (as also suggested by Intergovernmentalism) did not. When it comes to identity matters (as Postfunctionalism suggests), I conclude that those were used in connection to security matters, with the aim of forging a common European response to the crisis and to justify the partisan reaction of the Visegrad Group.

During the Syrian conflict the number of European Foreign Fighters has increased exponentially and has become an ever-growing concern for European policymakers. This phenomenon presents host of major security challenges for European policymakers and governments. Among European countries, France provides the highest number of citizens who have gone to Syria to fight against Assad´s regime. The French authorities have estimated that by mid-2014, over 700 French citizens have left France and travelled to Syria to fight. Historically France has had a relationship with Syria which started with its role as a border-drawing colonial power. Grounded in a framework of realism, that emphasizes nation-states as the primary actor within the international system, the analysis concentrates on the role of France´s foreign policy on the Syria as push factor for terrorism and radicalization. This paper attempts to determinate a specific correlation between the policy that France has been conducting towards Syria between 2000 and 2015, and the phenomenon of French Foreign Fighters. Findings suggest that France´s foreign policy towards Syria is the main root cause of the French Foreign Fighters phenomenon.

This report assesses the ways in which the semi-presidential form of government can be best structured to promote stable, democratic and inclusive governance in Ukraine.

Constitutional stability in Ukraine has faced four main challenges: (a) recurring institutional conflict among the president, legislature and government; (b) a presidency that has fallen prey to autocratic tendencies; (c) a fragmented and weak party system that has undermined the capacity of the legislature to act coherently; and (d) a weak constitutional culture and a weak Constitutional Court.

The report presents comparative knowledge from other semi-presidential systems, and reflections on the Ukrainian context, which could benefit a wide range of stakeholders, such as legislators, policy advisors, think tanks and civil society. It is based on an earlier report, Semi-Presidentialism as Power Sharing: Constitutional Reform after the Arab Spring, co-published by International IDEA and the Center for Constitutional Transitions in 2014.

Many countries face growing challenges of democratic governance from political polarizationand the increasingly complex nature of policy problems. The question is then how can governments build consensus and confer legitimacy on policy proposals in an environment where negotiating agreement among competing interests is increasingly difficult? In the past, many governments have dealt with these types of challenges by appointing ad hoc, independent commissions of experts and stakeholders from both sides of the political aisle to provide independent policy advice and to serve as an arena for political negotiation. Such commissions have been especially prevalent in Sweden, known for its rational and consensus-oriented policy making process. Drawing on a unique database, we investigate whether Swedish commissions can still fulfill their role as the cornerstone of the Swedish policymak-ing process. We analyze commissions with regard to their membership, political independence, and resources. We find that broadly representative commissions with policy stakeholders and parliamen-tary politicians, which havehistorically constituted about 50 percent of Swedish commissions of in-quiry, are now only a small fraction of commissions. The government is also exerting more control over commission outcomes by giving a greater number of directives. However, commission resources have stayed about the same, and commission do not appear to be used as a tactical electoral tool.

Tillkännagivanden från riksdagen till regeringen är ett statsvetenskapligt ämne inom svensk politik som är bristfälligt studerat. Syftet med denna beskrivande studie är att öka kunskapen om tillkännagivandet och vilka funktioner det fyller. Den grundläggande frågeställningen bryts ned till tre preciserade delfrågor om innebörden av begreppet tillkännagivande, hur man använder sig av det och hur man förhåller sig till det. För att placera forskningsproblemet i sitt sammanhang utgår jag från begrepp inom parlamentarisk demokrati och relationen mellan riksdag och regering. Delfrågorna undersöks genom litteraturgranskning och genom metoden kvalitativ textanalys med inriktning klassificerande analys. Som kompletterande metod till kvalitativ textanalys har samtalsintervjuer genomförts. Genom kvalitativ textanalys undersöks fyra tillkännagivanden samt regeringens redogörelser för behandlingen av riksdagens skrivelser till regeringen som avser svar på de fyra tillkännagivandena. Samtalsintervjuer genomförs med två tjänstemän vid utskottskanslier och med två politiska sekreterare vid socialdemokraternas respektive moderaternas partikanslier i riksdagen. Resultatet visar att riksdagens tillkännagivanden till regeringen är uttalanden av riksdagen i obestämd beslutsform som inte är bindande konstitutionellt men däremot politiskt bindande för regeringen genom en tradition av konstitutionell praxis. En av tillkännagivandets funktioner är möjligheten för riksdagen att uttala sig i denna form. Det som utgör en möjlighet för riksdagen kan i förlängningen bli politiskt bindande för regeringen och bidra till att riksdagen indirekt stärker sin makt. Genom att använda analysnivåerna individ-, parti- och parlamentarisk nivå visar resultatet att aktörer på olika nivåer använder tillkännagivanden som ett verktyg för olika syften. En annan av tillkännagivandets funktioner är att användas som verktyg för att kunna lyfta, kanalisera upp, ett förslag från en lägre individ- eller partinivå till den parlamentariska nivån där korrespondensen av skrivelser mellan riksdagen och regering sker.

This paper argues that a State can reconstruct it’s own politics in such a way

that allows for more reliance on conflict resolving international organizations and

institutions and can reduce the need for military force and/or power politics. Accordingly,

the complexities of the security dilemma can be reduced or eliminated. I utilize a single

case study approach that analyzes the 2010 territorial conflict known as the ‘Isla Calero’

dispute between Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Using both an inductive approach and semistructured interviews, this paper analyzes how the dispute was settled without the use of power politics. It is argued that Costa Rica was able to halt the cycle of the security

dilemma through their decision to demilitarize. Moreover, I argue that Costa Rica’s

approach is relevant and applicable to other states and could contribute to successful

conflict resolution between States without the use of power politics.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore and elaborate on how institutional conditions work to the advantage and disadvantage of disaster risk reduction (DRR) policies on different levels in two countries. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative case study design is used to study empirically two countries with very different traditions when it comes to political-administrative institutions: Argentina and Sweden. Findings: As expected, the institutional foundations of DRR policy in Sweden are shown to be more consistent and stable than in Argentina. However, this difference is of less importance when considering the crucial role of local practices. National institutional foundations can function as support – but is not a necessary condition – for building disaster preparedness on the ground. The authors argue that national governments cannot do without institutionalized praxis-based preparedness, which is vital for both effective emergency management and learning. Originality/value: This paper contributes to the disaster research debate by elaborating on institutional arrangements that can facilitate or hinder DRR strategies in a multi-level context. The main argument is that institutional practices on the ground are important to compensate for insufficient national institutions, either because they are weak or too distant from practical DRR. The authors also elaborate on how institutional practices can function as a source for learning and for building legitimate practical authority from the bottom up. © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Miljö- och klimatfrågor är något som fått allt större fokus i den politiska sfären de senaste åren samt inför riksdagsvalet 2018 ansågs frågan vara den viktigaste hos de svenska medborgarna. Uppsatsen har som avsikt att undersöka Sverigedemokraternas och Miljöpartiets miljöpolitik utifrån fyra aspekter och vi kommer då undersöka vilken vetenskaplig teori som ligger närmast partiernas miljöpolitiska ståndpunkter. Detta undersöks genom att studera politiska dokument i form av partiprogrammen, där respektive miljöavsnitt valts ut och ligger till grund för analysen. Med utgångspunkt i det teoretiska ramverket har vi satt djupekologi och ekologisk modernisering i relation till partiernas miljöpolitiska ställningstaganden, och därmed synliggjort partiernas åsikter i relation till dessa teorier. Eftersom vi syftat att studera det textuella materialet mer djupgående har studien genomförts genom en kvalitativ innehållsanalys där vi formulerat ett analysverktyg utifrån fyra kategorier som varit fördefinierade. Med utgångspunkt i empirin och det teoretiska ramverket kan vi urskilja att Miljöpartiets miljöpolitik har en relativt stark djupekologisk karaktär. Sverigedemokraternas miljöpolitik, å andra sidan, går inte tydligt i linje med någon av de valda teorierna utan varierar något, men vår bedömning är att den mest innehar ekomodernistiska drag.

For Estonia and Latvia, the collapse of the Soviet Union entailed a return to national independence after decades of enforced communist rule. At the same time, the legacy of Soviet rule included large Russian-speaking minorities. Previous research has demonstrated significant differences in political orientations between the titular populations and the Russian-speaking minorities in the region. But it also shows systematic variation between the countries. Drawing on a collection of public opinion surveys conducted in 2014, this paper will analyse the effects of institutional performance on political orientations in the two countries. More specifically, by contrasting the ethnic majority to corresponding attitudes among the Russian-speaking minorities, as well as contrasting the cases of Estonia and Latvia, it discusses the aspects of democratic political culture in the two countries. Several processes have shaped this culture: the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the creation of majority-dominated states for ethnically diverse resident population, closely intertwined political and economic integration into the EU, while high levels of geopolitical insecurity emanating from the proximity to Russia. In the light of these, many of the expressions of populist politics found in Central and Eastern Europe have been absent or weak in Estonia and Latvia. This might be a matter of supply rather than demand: This paper discusses the support for several attributes of democracy revolving around the relative value of liberty versus order and open-mindedness towards diverging opinions. The purpose of the paper is to offer explanations to variation found in between social, including ethnic groups by comparing the two countries. These are similar in several respects but differ significantly in relation to institutional performance and satisfaction with democracy, which as we find are the key issue to explain popular and populist attitudes towards civil liberties and/or expressions of tolerance towards out-groups.

• Offers a comparative case study of the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania
• Revolves around the Baltic Barometers from 1993 and onwards and presents new data from 2014 and 2015 for the first time
• Analyzes one of the geographical hotspots in the current conflict between Russia and the West 

In several political systems, presidents may benefit from the image of being disassociated from a single party and, in a slightly Gaullist manner, project themselves as above-party politics and remain somewhat elevated from the usual political mud-slinging (Sedelius 2004). In the Baltic states, there have been – 25 years after national independence –relatively few presidents and, hence, the institution represents greater continuity than parliamentary politics. For many years, the Baltic presidents enjoyed greater levels of trust than other political actors, such as parties, MPs and PMs (Duvold 2006). Still, the greater popularity of the presidents, as compared with prime ministers and parliamentarians, undoubtedly owes something to the very limits on their governmental powers: the presidents are not closely associated with unpopular economic decisions or with the day-to-day partisan squabbling in parliament (Duvold and Sedelius 2004). Some of them have, on the contrary, acted as mediators during potentially damaging conflicts. In fact, their position may allow them to act as spokesmen for popular discontent (Baylis, 1996, 304). 

Drawing on a collection of public opinion surveys conducted in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in 2001–2014, this paper deals with two main questions: 1) Has trust in the Baltic presidents increased or decreased over time and and to what extent does trust in the president follow trust in other institutions? 2) What are the determinants of trust in the presidents? To what extent can it be explained in terms of background variables, such as age, socio-economic position or ethnic belonging; by political performance and satisfaction; by attitudes towards the current political regimes; or by a sense of belonging to the country and its society?

Drawing on public opinion surveys conducted in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in 2014–2015, the chapter updates the empirical basis of contemporary studies of public opinion and ethnic divides in the Baltic states. By contrasting political orientations among the ethnic majority populations to corresponding attitudes among the Russian-speaking minorities, the chapter demonstrates clear, albeit unsystematic cross-national attitudinal differences when it comes to regime performance and support for democracy. Inter-ethnic differences are also evident when it comes to external threats: the Baltic majority and minority populations perceive Russia in very different ways.