This study is mostly based on previous research, which includes Sub-national actor?s attitudes and regional action towards the European Union. The purpose of the study is to investigate if four Swedish municipalities in Värmland operate internationally towards the European Union and deepen an understanding of their actions. The main research question is: - How can we increase our understanding of municipal action against the European Union? The research questions of this study are answered through qualitative method and semi-structured interviews were conducted.

The main aim of this study is to examine the development policies of Sweden and the European Union from a postcolonial perspective. Sweden and the European Union are increasingly coming to be viewed as normative powers rather than military powers. So how does the colonial past of the western societies affect the policies of today? Are there any signs of the power structures of the past, and if so, how are these power structures manifested in the development policies of today? Since both Sweden and the European Union have come to be viewed as normative powers they are compared with each other to highlight their similarities and differences. The results of the study shows that both Sweden and the European Union can be seen as carriers of western values and interests.

Symbols in the hands of politicians can be a powerful tool of manipulation. The usage of symbols in speeches or texts can change a person?s will, without him or her ever knowing it.We have compared the usage of symbols in the articles surrounding the ratification of the constitution in 18th century America with that of today?s European Union, to see if any similarities between these two cases exists, and what implications this could have for the future of the EU. We have divided the symbols in both cases into different categories so as to enable us to compare the cases to each other. With the help of Masters Theory and the writings of Benedict Anderson and Murray Edelman we have concluded that there indeed exist some similarities between 18th century America and the EU.

The common asylum and migration policy of the European Union is a struggle between a strong belief in the protection of human rights and the need of strong and secured borders. This paper highlights the dilemma that occurs in the common asylum and migration policy of the European Union. What happens when the union have to choose between liberal standards with high priorities to human rights and a realistic focus on security? The aim is to study the asylum policy presented in the Stockholm Program, and thereafter evaluate what kind of character the union has itself. By an ideal type analysis of the Stockholm program from 2009, the common asylum policy is divided into either liberal or realistic ideas.

The main aim of this study is to examine the development policies of Sweden and the European Union from a postcolonial perspective. Sweden and the European Union are increasingly coming to be viewed as normative powers rather than military powers. So how does the colonial past of the western societies affect the policies of today? Are there any signs of the power structures of the past, and if so, how are these power structures manifested in the development policies of today? Since both Sweden and the European Union have come to be viewed as normative powers they are compared with each other to highlight their similarities and differences. The results of the study shows that both Sweden and the European Union can be seen as carriers of western values and interests.

AbstractThe aim of this thesis is to examine Interreg as an instrument for regional policy in the European Union. Interreg is an initiative designed to strengthen economic and social cohesion throughout the European Union by fostering balanced development through cross-border, transnational and interregional cooperation. But how does it work in practise? Three main questions are asked to answer this:How well does the implementation in the programmes work?How does the programme management look and how well does it work?What degree of efficiency does Interreg show in financial and physical effectiveness?With evaluation and implementation as theories the questions are answered together with a qualitative method. The conclusions that can be drawn is that Interreg strengthen European unions economic and social cohesion in form of integration and regional development that in many ways make it easier to travel and trade over the borders.

The world is getting smaller. Global markets, political processes and communication technology bring people together. Even though many of these processes are dynamic and constructive, they have also resulted in a need for better and more effective ways of international conflict resolution. This thesis investigates central issues connected to the concept of humanitarian interventions in relation to current and future legislation of the European Union. The overall question is whether the rapid globalization process has resulted in a change of international law towards more liberal view where authorization of the security council is not always needed? And, if there has actually been such a liberalization, how does that affect the legal possibilities for the European Union to carry out armed operations without the consent of the global community?The conclusion of the thesis is that international law has been modified mainly in two aspects: First, the concept of sovereignty is no longer seen merely as a right of the nation, but also as a responsibility.

In this paper I attempt to analyze the ways the European Union defines its external borders in cross-border co-operation with its neighbours. The analysis is based on case study examining the founding components of a updated version of the Northern Dimension policy of the European Union.The analytical framework of the study is composed of three different perceptions on the cross-border co-operation; regionalisation, integration and flexible integration. I conclude that the model of cross-border co-operation laid by the Northern Dimension policy would have an impact on the EU's external border with Russia, making it more flexible and vague.As far as the geographical terms of the co-operation are concerned, they seem to shift from regional co-operation to greater emphasis the role of networks as basis for co-operation instead of traditional regions..

Until the 1st of January 2003 there were thirteen processed meat products provided with name protection in Sweden. These products had to contain a certain amount of meat and/or a certain amount of fat to be allowed to carry a recognized name. Among these thirteen products, one could find, for example, meat balls (köttbullar), liver pâté (leverpastej), and Falun sausage (Falukorv). While imports of these products started to increase, the system with name protection lost its ability to guarantee a certain quality for all products sold in Sweden and the legislation was removed on December 31st 2002. At the same time, a common definition of meat was adopted in the European Union.

There are intense discussions within the European Union regarding the introduction of a European Public Prosecutor (EPP). The proposed EPP will have jurisdiction in the entire union, and will work under a unified set of rules of procedure. These procedural rules will differ from the Swedish rules of criminal procedure, especially regarding the handling of illegal evidence. The thesis describes the European legal history, especially regarding criminal procedure. The thesis also describes what the purposes and principals are in Swedish criminal procedural law, and the purposes and principals in the proposed European criminal procedural law.

The European Union is a self proclaimed leader in the field of climate change and has a common target for reductions of greenhouse gas emissions. In spite of this, there are great differences between the member states capacity and dedication to the cause of implementing the Unions climate policy and reduce their emissions. The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to an understanding of how different European states construct their identity in the context of climate change mitigation. By analyzing national documents from three European states and using tools deriving from discourse analysis, I aim to illuminate differences and similarities in their rhetoric. The result is that due to the states relationship to the European Union and the United Nations, there are great similarities in the way they construct mitigation and their identity.

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..

The world is getting smaller. Global markets, political processes and communication technology bring people together. Even though many of these processes are dynamic and constructive, they have also resulted in a need for better and more effective ways of international conflict resolution. This thesis investigates central issues connected to the concept of humanitarian interventions in relation to current and future legislation of the European Union. The overall question is whether the rapid globalization process has resulted in a change of international law towards more liberal view where authorization of the security council is not always needed? And, if there has actually been such a liberalization, how does that affect the legal possibilities for the European Union to carry out armed operations without the consent of the global community? The conclusion of the thesis is that international law has been modified mainly in two aspects: First, the concept of sovereignty is no longer seen merely as a right of the nation, but also as a responsibility.

This work is an attempt to study how the ambivalent demands of normativity in the Swedish curriculum is implemented in schoolbooks used for education in the course Samhällskunskap A. For this purpose, different normative theories are applied in conjunction with a qualitative text analysis method comprising the sections which describe the European Union in three different schoolbooks. The results indicate that not one of the selected books uphold all of the demands of normativitity as described by the Swedish curriculum..

This thesis examines the interaction between European football and the European Union and if it can generate Europeanization. By using theories of Johan P Olsen and Claudo M Radaelli a theoretical framework was constructed in which Europeanization is seen as an interaction between the European level and the domestic level. The Europeanization is regarded as a two way process with elements of top-down and bottom-up pressures. The study focus on the changes and the actors in the Europeanization process and how the European Union as a top-level and European football as a bottom-level influence each other to European changes. The theoretical framework is used to analyze the Bosman case and the Cotonou agreement's implementation in a Swedish football context.