Sedan det kalla krigets slut har en förändring i konflikters karaktär ägt rum, från mellanstatliga till inomstatliga, varav alltfler idag beskrivs som "etniska". Arend Lijpharts teori om "consociational democracy" ger en lösningsmodell för att skapa och behålla en stabil demokrati i ett pluralistiskt samhälle. Han identifierar fyra grundläggande element för teorins tillämpning: grand coalition, proportionalitet, ömsesidigt veto och federalism.Just nämnda teori prövar vi på Malaysia - som har ansetts vara en "consociational democracy" - för att kunna dra slutsatser om dess för- och nackdelar. Dessa erfarenheter använder vi sedan för att modifiera och applicera teorin på Sri Lanka, i syfte att ge ett konstruktivt förslag till att minska de etniska motsättningarna där.En "consociational democracy" har visat sig vara svår att i sin helhet omsätta i praktiken, eftersom förutsättningarna för dess optimala effekt är tämligen orealistiska. Vi anser dock att vissa delar kan vara fruktbara för att minska etniska motsättningar i pluralistiska samhällen..

The starting point of this thesis is the debate surrounding the two referenda?s in France and the Netherlands in May and June 2005, regarding the proposal of a European constitution. The aim of this study is to analyse how democratic legitimacy and the role of the citizens portrays within the democratic discourse of the European Union. The empirical material is based upon both speeches from the European Commission and news articles from the French newspaper Libération and the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter. Discourse analysis is used as a theoretical frame of reference combined with models of democracy.

The purpose with this paper is to examine if tertiary education and democracy have an impact on economic growth. In order to decide how democratic the examined countries are the democracy index constructed by The Economist is used. Besides the two central theories the purpose is also to explain why these variables could affect growth and to examine direct and indirect effects. Indirect effects mean that one variable affects another variable which thereafter has an impact on economic growth.34 OECD countries are compared in order to investigate whether education and democracy are strongly correlated with BNP per capita. Therefore a statistical design is used as method.The empirical results suggest that there is significant correlation between democracy and economic growth.

In contemporary Sweden political participation among foreign-born Swedes is viewed as low and it is well known that foreign-born individuals do not use their voting rights to the same extent as the general population. At the same time there are numerous ethnic associations around the country who work with various activities involving political, democratic and integration issues. This study aims to study how four members of a Somali association regard, relate to and work with politics, democracy and integration. The study is based on these four people, but also on their relationship with authorities and other agencies in the community. The conclusion of this study shows in brief that the desire to participate politically is great, but that democracy and politics is accessible to all, depending on the level of language skills and what political knowledge the individual has.

The purpose with this paper is to examine if tertiary education and democracy have an impact on economic growth. In order to decide how democratic the examined countries are the democracy index constructed by The Economist is used. Besides the two central theories the purpose is also to explain why these variables could affect growth and to examine direct and indirect effects. Indirect effects mean that one variable affects another variable which thereafter has an impact on economic growth.34 OECD countries are compared in order to investigate whether education and democracy are strongly correlated with BNP per capita. Therefore a statistical design is used as method.The empirical results suggest that there is significant correlation between democracy and economic growth.

When Sweden acceded to the European Union in 1995 the term social economy was introduced to the Swedish context, gradually replacing the term civil society. This replacement can be seen as an indicator of a changing meaning of what the concept of civil society used to stand for.The aim of this essay is to study if it is possible to identify changing perceptions of the role of civil society for democracy in Sweden in government bills between 2002 and 2008, and, if so, what effect does this have on the delineation between the civil society and the government.An analytical model is proposed consisting of two dimensions which both capture the roles of civil society for democracy and the model examines how those roles relate to the government.The conclusion is that the government still sees the main function of civil society as a democratic school and a change agent for democracy. However, there is strong evidence to suggest that the civil society is increasingly regarded as more of a welfare producer than a fosterer of democracy..

Syftet med denna studie är att försöka förstå vilka ideal som påverkar grundskoleflickors självbild.Metoden vi använt oss av, har bestått av kvalitativa intervjuer, genom vilka vi har intervjuat nio grundskoleflickor enskilt.Resultatet av vår undersökning visar att dagens flickor är på väg att bli mer jämlika pojkar, än tidigare. De uppfattar sig inte som ett andra kompletterande kön, utan vill själva bejaka sina egna intressen, och själva ta ansvar för sina liv. Dessa flickor har som ambition att ta livet och världen i besittning, såsom aldrig tidigare..

AbstractEssay in political science, C-level, by Line Säll, spring semester 2007.Tutor: Susan Marton.?To do things by the rule of law -A study in the discretion of front-line bureaucrats?This essay has it´s starting-point in the theoretical problem of social science to unite democracy and bureaucracy. The purpose is to illustrate the problems with the discretion of front-line bureaucrats in a democratic state. The theoretical approach is front-line bureaucracy-theory. Certain characteristics of the work of street-level bureaucrats makes it impossible to severly reduce discretion.

Undersökningens syfte är att studera läraridealgenom dödsrunor för att se vilka ideal som den avlidne framställdes i samt sehur dessa skiljer sig åt i ett genusperspektiv. Minnesrunorna finns publiceradei Sveriges allmänna folkskollärarföreningstidningsorgan Svensk läraretidningoch undersökningsperioden är åren 1928- 1930. Undersökningen visade på att bådeden manlige och den kvinnliga läraren framställdes i stort sett lika även omdet skiljer sig åt procentuellt sett. Läraridealet för denna tid var enpliktrogen och nitiskt lärare/lärarinna som på ett dugligt, intresserat ochsjälvuppoffrande sätt utförde sitt kall. Därtill tillkom ideal såsom glad,avhållen och godhjärtad.

Den här studien undersöker egna resurser och ideal som fyra studerande på den grundläggande utbildningen i psykoterapi vid Sankt Lukas utbildningsinstitut ger uttryck för. Vidare intresserar sig studien för hur de fyra studerandes uttryckta resurser och ideal överensstämmer med CER-modellen av Skovholt och Rønnestad. CER-modellen beskriver vad som gör en psykoterapeut framgångsrik, en så kallad master therapist. Undersökningsmaterialet består av åtta intervjuer som ingår i ett forskningsprojekt som är ett samarbete mellan Sankt Lukas utbildningsinstitut och Psykologiska institutionen vid Stockholms universitet och som fokuserar på frågan: Vad händer med studenter under en psykoterapi- och psykoterapeututbildning? Materialet har bearbetats enligt en deskriptiv metod och har sedan prövats mot CER-modellens kriterier.

The purpose of this essay is to examine what can be considered as obscene in the work of JoelPeter Witkin and Marc Quinn, what the similarities and differences are. The essay concerns thehuman body, the norms around it and the old vision of the ideal body. To get closer to myquestion I’ve been examine the meaning of anti-ideal, what it means and what kind of history ithas. The works I’ve been using to reach to my purpose are Marc Quinn’s sculpture Alison Lapper(2005) and Joel Peter Witkin’s photography Abundance (1997). Both of the works are taking theposition that use to belong to the classical beauty.

The purpose of this essay was to research the level of condition and requirements of democracy which faces states applying for a membership in the European Union. The focal point was to research the levels of democracy requirements on two set enlargements which are the cases of the 1981 and 1986 enlargements together with the 2004 and 2007. The states that did reach the goal of becoming member states had similar political backgrounds that made them suitable for a most- similar system study. By using my theoretical framework which consists of democracy theories, together with the chosen method was I able to find answers to my research questions when examining the material. The result of the study is that even though the condition might have been quite similar but the reality of them was different.

Abstract?Political participation by the citizen?- Citizen proposals in Karlstad municipalityEssay in Political Science, C-levelAuthor: Tobias GustafssonTutor: Michele MichelettiIn Sweden the political parties are losing more and more of their members. That in combination with a tendency that the participation in the elections is getting lower is a problem for the representative and parliamentary political system in Sweden.In order to strengthen the democracy in Sweden and to make the gap between the citizens and the elected smaller there has been some democracy-projects. The purpose of these democracy-projects is to make the political participation by the citizens, between the elections, higher. One of them is ?citizen proposals to the municipality?.The purpose of this essay is to examine this democracy-project in order to see what influences it might have on the local democracy.

Information technology (IT) with its enormous capacity involves more and more in our daily activities and public sector is using IT to make their activities more efficient. The government goal with electronic government (e-government) among other things is increasing the availability and service to the public as well as improving the democratic process. Democracy can be strengthened by involving citizens in public decision making process but this goal has not been achieved yet and the development of e-government has mostly been focused on improving efficiency within administration and electronic services (e-services). Promoting the democratic process has been postponed in the development of e-government because of the lack of political commitment and decision. Digital divide is also preventing public sector to promote democracy with the support of IT.

In recent years the concern about the future of the European Union and itssupposed lack of democracy, efficiency and legitimacy has increased. Thisconcern has resulted in extensive debates and the establishment of a conventionwith the task to create a draft treaty for a European Constitution.The aim of this essay is to study how the three theoretical concepts,democracy, efficiency and legitimacy, have been described and used in the debateabout the future of the European Union. My main interest is to see how theseconcepts are described in a debate regarding a political system that goes beyondthe borders of the nation-state. I have made a comparative textual analysis of thedebates taken place in Sweden and Spain during a period of over two years. Ihave, for instance, found out that openness and clearness have a prominentposition as democratic values together with equality and justice (in Spain) and theinstitution of accountability (in Sweden).