ABSTRACTThis thesis focuses on the OPEC oil crisis of 1973 and its impact on the Scandinavian countries of Sweden and Denmark. Starting from Walter Carlsnaes theory of energy vulnerability, the concepts of vulnerability and national security are tested on the selected cases and an array of policy alternatives are assessed. Posited available options like oil stockpiling, conservation, renewable energy and international coordination are evaluated as means for ameliorating the vulnerability of the nations. The theory chosen is further expounded with a consensus element to reinforce its explanatory power. The thesis utilizes a wide range of material from parliamentary records to daily newspapers in an attempt to shed some light on the interplay between economics and politics.Sweden and Denmark evince diverging developments despite their common starting point with exceptionally high oil dependencies and can be located on different ends of the energy policy gamut.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the level of the uniform way of interpretation from the Swedish asylum officers at the Swedish Migration Board, of asylum investigations for asylum seekers who claim sexual orientation as reason of refuge. The interviews with the officers were analyzed in relation to the policy document with investigation- guidelines and methodology.The results of the study showed that there was a uniform way to conduct asylum investigations and interpret the policy document, this despite that the document was found to be ambiguous in certain aspects. The uniform interpretation of the asylum officers was explained by the knowledge and understanding that exists within institutional organizations. This because the asylum officers at the Swedish Migration Board might have similar experience, knowledge and also the demands related to asylum investigations.The uniform interpretation demonstrated a strong similar common understanding of investigative work within the agency. This suggests a certainty that the investigations are carried out in a similar way regardless of which asylum officer within the institution conducting the investigation which indicates a well-functioning ?rule of law? for the asylum seekers. .

This Master thesis aims to study the relation between Swedish governmental cultural policy and cultural events at two Swedish public libraries. The Masters thesis demonstrates how national cultural policy regulates every part of the public library. This demonstration is a result based upon national cultural policy documents and interviews with employees at two public libraries in Sweden. The conclusion that national cultural policy regulates this part of the public library is drawn with help of the circle of culture as applied in Culture Studies and Michel Foucault theories of power. The thesis contains the answer of four questions, two involving cultural policy and the other two events at the library.

This thesis concerns the policy process of a proposed bill. The specific bill constitute a new penal law which is supposed to replace the old penal law from 1974.The questions asked considers what in the foregoing policy process that has proceeded, affected and also characterizes the proposed bill. In order to be able to produce a deep and reliable analysis to this question I use two different theories.The first theory being used consists of John W. Kingdons theory of ?multiple streams? which I use to answer the specific question ?what can be recognized to have proceeded and characterize the policy process that the penal law bill involve??.The second theory consists of Peter Santesson-Wilsons development of symbolic policy theories which is given a concrete form in the ?taxonomy of symbolic policy? which he presents.

This paper addresses how political parties make decisions. Parties often have to choose between conflicting objectives such as influence on policy, control of the government, and support among the voters. This paper examines the behavior of the two Swedish parties on one of their particular policy positions: Swedish withdrawal from the EU. The aim is to describe why the Left Party (Vänsterpartiet) and the Green Party (Miljöpartiet) retain thisspecific policy position when it on one hand seems damaging to their chances of getting into government, and on the other seems to be an unrealistic policy to realize. I undertake a twocase study of the two Swedish parties, which I assume to represent a population of Nordic parties critical to the EU.

Swedish agriculture faces future challenges regarding food production and land use. Increased competition for agricultural land creates complex situations, where conflicts may arise when productive crop land is in demand not only for food production but also energy- and fodder production. On top of that there is an obvious conflict of goals between agricultural production and non-agricultural exploitation of agricultural land. In several emerging economic regions it is noticeable how agricultural land is being expropriated for development of urban settlement and infrastructure, carrying potentially significant long-term effects. During the last decade the exploitation of agricultural land in activities other than food production has increased in Sweden and is expected to continue in the same manor. Approximately 700 hectare of land in Sweden is diverted from food production, annually, and in 2013, the Uppsala Municipality showed the greatest change in land use of all municipalities (SCB, 2013).

Rooted in Industrial Ecology (IE) theory, this report evaluates how urban agricultural concepts and techniques, can contribute to improved ecological sustainability within the inner city boundaries of Stockholm. An overarching literary study as well as an interview was carried out, resulting in a qualitative analysis followed by suggestions for practical implementations. A substantial convergence was found between the eco-restructuring objectives of IE and the principal motives for urban agriculture. Consequently, eco-restructuring objectives are found in varying degrees in the presented urban agricultural techniques. Industrial symbioses, permaculture and combinations of urban agricultural techniques are tools which are capable of corresponding adequately to the diversity of urban settings.

The economic policy of the Swedish Social Democrats has undergone major changes during the last thirty years. From using a so-called Keynesian policy to promote full employment in the economy, the Social Democrats have switched to a more monetaristic policy to promote low inflation instead. What I intend to do with this study is to see if the policy change also can be noticed in how the party describe their own policy. Have the Social Democrats been open and transparent with their change in priorities, or have they tried to hide this in their rhetoric?The purpose of this thesis is to examine if one can notice a change from a Keynesian to a monetaristic policy in the Social Democrat?s descriptions of their economic policy.

The following study is dedicated to investigate what kind of problems an organisation might stumble upon in the process of implementing a policy related to information security. Alongside investigating the eventual problems occurring in the implementation process of an organisation, the study also sets out to analyse how an organisation can motivate staff in order to follow the guidelines of a policy. The collection of empirical data was done using interviews. In order to seek answers to our research questions a theoretical background is presented that illustrate the need for information security after which motivational theories are applied to our collected data.To summarise the results of the study we find a gap of knowledge between the employees of the organisation. The organisational level of an employee together with the degree of participation in working with a policy seems connected to both the employee?s knowledge of a policy as well as how well the employee are motivated to learn about and follow the guidelines provided from a policy..

This study is set out to examine if there is any kind of influence between the EU and Swedish gender policy. More specific the Swedish efforts within the gender policy area, especially in the area of social policy and employment, during the Swedish presidency in the Council of Ministers 2001. And also to examine the impact of Europeanization in Swedish gender policy. We have decided to delimit our study to care of elderly and children when it comes to the area of social policy. We are using a descriptive, examining qualitative method.

Denna uppsats belyser vilka frågor som lyftes fram för några kommuners framtidsarbete, vilka aktörerna var i de policyskapande processerna samt visar varför dessa framtidsvisioner fördes upp på dagordningen på 1990-talet. Metoden för studien är en jämförande, kvalitativ fåfallsstudie av kommunernas framtidsprogram. De utvalda kommunerna är Gävle, Halmstad, Karlskrona, Karlstad, Kristianstad och Luleå. Uppsatsens analysbegrepp är Policy Windows och Policy Networks. Dessa innefattas i en korporativ och elitistisk statsteori.

Trade was assigned as a Community responsibility at the founding of the European Community in 1957. It was then recognized that Europe would achieve a greater international influence if it were to negotiate trade deals with one voice. Since then, the basic rule has been that the European Commission negotiates agreements on behalf of the EC, and presents the agreements negotiated for approval in the European Council. Today, the 25-member European Union is the largest trading power in the world, and most member states have decades of experience of coordinating their national trade interests into a common position. However, partly as a result of the complex nature of the trade decision-making processes it is sometimes problematic to identify who or what really influences EU trade policy.

Abstract During the last 15 years, the former ?really existing socialist? economies have undertaken an extensive transition process. In this paper the development, measured as GDP growth, is analyzed using variables for economic policy. The analysis is both theoretical, taking as starting point current positions in academia, and econometrical with the linear regression model. We show that while economic policy variables of inflation, economic freedom and institutional quality affect economic growth, the results are not only the ones predicted by the theory.

After the appointment of a new European Commission in 2004, ?communication? was made a top priority on the agenda. The Commission presented a new communication policy, which would establish a dialogue with the citizens, thereby bringing more democracy to the union and bridging the gap to the citizens. Three documents containing the policy were published, namely an internal action plan for the Commission, Plan D which establishes the framework for national debates and a whitepaper on EU communication policy. These documents were met by mistrust and criticism from many different actors such as journalists and experts.The aim of this master thesis is to examine this new communication policy from a deliberative democratic perspective.

The legitimacy of the European Union is being questioned, and this has put focus on the democratic deficit, as the main reason for the negative outcome of the referendum about implementing the last initiated treaties of the union. In this essay the credibility of the problem solving strategy through the communication policy of the commission is being put under the scope. The objective is to treat the credibility of the solution to the main problems of the EU as an important part of how the democratic, political system works and how it deals with taking care of its? supporting and demanding channels of communication. The importance of a citizen platform to form common interests and a strictly European dialogue using media, common debates and several other possible ways to advocate this solution throughout the whole union is stressed here..