AbstractIn this bachelor thesis I discuss and analyse the current situation of the Venezuelan democracy. By using a theoretical framework based on the theory of horizontal accountability, I focus on the interaction between different institutions and branches within the state of Venezuela. The analysis focuses on the strenghts and flaws of the newly accepted constitution, and to what extent the institutions of checks and balances remain true to the laws and the constitution of 1999. My conclusions are that in terms of vertical accountability, the Chávez-regime acknowledges a wide popular support for their governmental actions. In contrast, the incumbent administration shows almost no respect for horizontal accountability.

The relationship between free trade and the environment is often considered conflicting and the debates surrounding it are infected. My thesis deal with this conflict and how environmental concerns are integrated in three regional free trade agreements, North American Free Trade Agreement, The common market of the southern cone (MERCOSUR) and Southern African Development Community (SADC). I point out how the organizations differ from each other in this respect and I present a possible explanation to why they differ. The explanation is founded on the theory of the environmental Kuznets curve and that environmental concerns will depend on which level of development the member states in the organizations have. To judge and rank the organizations I have composed a model based on a pre-existing description of the trade and environment conflict.

The aim of this study has been to, through a couple of chosen theories, examine in what way Japan as a nation can be said to have dealt with its dark past - concerning their crimes of war just before and during World War II. To do so, I have placed two chosen war crimes, namely the Nanjing Massacre and the matter of the Comfort Women, in the context of remembrance and commemorating of war, through different kinds of aspects. Those aspects are: the textbook conflict, official apologies, ruthless/unnecessary comments, and visits and commemorations at the Yasukuni shrine.I have found during this study that the nation of Japan has not been able to generate a broadly accepted dominant cultural memory of the war. Henceforth a couple of rival cultural memories are competing and becoming an issue of national division rather than national unity. I have come to the knowledge that there are both domestic and international political factors at play, resulting in this division..

AbstractIn this thesis we analyze how institutions describe the dichotomy between ?problem? and ?resource? when dealing with young adults. We also analyze the consequences of this dichotomy as it involves the younger generation's participation and group identity in today's society. Dichotomies and New Institutionalism Theory is the base for this case study completed in Malmö, Sweden. We have done eight qualitative interviews with politicians and employees in Malmö municipality and a quantitative content analysis of reference documents from both the Malmö and Swedish governments.

Swedish migration law states that a person who wants to seek a residence permit based on family ties has to apply from the home country. This essay applies to cases when families that live in Sweden have to come apart when one parent has to return to the home country to seek a permit to which he or she is entitled.The rule causes families unnecessary suffering. This essay analyzes the reasons behind the rule and argues that it is compatible neither with Swedish policy of children's rights and gender equality nor with the international conventions that have been ratified.Furthermore, it is investigated whether the migration authorities act in compli-ance with the intentions behind the law. It is concluded that the Migration Board, despite their own critique of the rule, makes an unnecessarily restrictive interpre-tation. This results in a situation where no one takes responsibility for the conse-quences for the affected families.

Whether use of affirmative action can be justified is an ethical dilemma that hasbeen intensely debated. The question raises several conflict dimensions. Thepurpose of this thesis is to separate different arguments of the debate and classifywhich principles they are built upon. To accomplish this, an analytical instrumentis created where three different perspectives of equality, and deontology versusconsequentialism, are compared. A third conflict dimension, individual versusgroup ethical principles, is also considered.

AbstractUppsatsen syftar till att belysa korrelationen mellan åtnjutandet av mänskliga rättigheter, individens identitetsformande och grundläggande mänskliga behov utifrån ett beteendevetenskapligt perspektiv.Min forskningsstrategi utgörs av en kvalitativ bibliografisk litteraturanalys som vilar på sociologiska och psykologiska teorier. Detta vävs sedan samman med mänskliga rättigheters paradigm och en diskussion kring dess universalism och allmängiltighet.Det individuella identitetsskapandet får mindre utrymme i ett samhälle vars medborgares rättigheter är begränsade. Vidare präglas de mänskliga rättigheterna av västerländska och individualistiska ideal som framhäver individens autonomi. Detta sätts i motsats till de kollektivistiska värderingar som ofta präglar traditionella samhällen vilket i sin tur ofta leder till en identitetskris på både individuell och samhällelig nivå. Vidare förs en diskussion kring identitet som ett grundläggande mänskligt behov och därmed mänsklig rättighet..

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 justified? Is it merely the kinds of functions that are supposed to uphold negative human rights; or should the government provide health care, education and even culture for the citizens? This analysis aims to answer those questions and also formulate a principle about what the government should be occupied with, if anything at all. In order to achieve this I mainly use the terms freedom and justice to analyse ethical problems. The ideas of John Rawls and Robert Nozick are essential in this project.My answer is that taxation is justified as long as the purpose is to maintain the most fundamental human rights and also under other special circumstances such as if an individual cannot find a way to finance basic education or necessary health care.

Undersökningen i denna uppsats kretsar kring det civila samhällets roll underfredsprocessen i Moçambique. Trots att ett brutalt inbördeskrig drabbadeinvånarna hårt lyckades de upprätthålla ett stort engagemang för fred. Direkt fred uppnåddes genom det avtal som signerades 1992. Sedan dess har landet haft fred i drygt 15 år, trots att inga vanligt förekommande försoningsverktyg som sanningskommissioner och rättegångar upprättades. Uppsatsen ämnar undersöka det civila samhällets roll för dels den direkta freden men framförallt deras omfattande arbete för att se till att försoning skapades i landet.

Uppsatsen redogör för svenska undantagsregler för småföretagare på anställningsskyddets område. Den utreder även under vilka omständigheter som undantagsregler kan behövas samt varför just småföretagare i så fall skall omfattas av dessa undantag. Syftet har varit att ta reda på ovanstående samt redogöra för den tidigare utformningen av 22 § 2 st lagen om anställningsskydd. Förslag på olika utformningar av undantagsregeln tas upp och de svenska förhållandena belyses genom internationella jämförelser och den historiska utvecklingen på arbetsrättens område i Sverige. Slutsatserna är att undantagsregler inom arbetsrätten generellt behövs i de fall där flexibiliteten på arbetsmarknaden inte är tillräckligt stor för att kunna tillgodose marknadens behov av arbetstillfällen.

Syftet med den här uppsatsen är att undersöka valda delar av Allmänna bestämmelser, AB. AB är en avtalsbilaga till det centrala huvudavtalet mellan parterna inom den kommunala och landstingskommunala sektorn. I uppsatsen undersöks AB:s regler om arbetsskyldighet, förflyttning och avstängningar. Resultatet visar att arbetsskyldigheten kan sägas vara mer begränsad inom den kommunala och landstingskommunala sektorn än på den privata arbetsmarknaden. I allmänhet anses arbetsskyldigheten omfatta hela kollektivavtalets tillämpningsområde i varje given bransch.

The purpose of this master thesis is to investigate and analyse how the concept of lifelong learning is expressed in political documents concerning public libraries and education and how it can be related to earlier concepts of education within the discourse of public libraries. Focus is the official approach to the concept of lifelong learning and public library. The documents examined contain the political aims for education and culture policy on a national and local level. The theories used in the study concern the background and meaning of the concept of lifelong learning, they describe public libraries and their earlier perspectives of education and they also give a picture of practices of governing within the framework of public libraries. The purpose is to see how the speech in the documents is reflected in discourses of society and public library.

Den första juli 1997 firades Hongkongs återförening med Kina med pompa och ståt. Den brittiska kolonin blev Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) inom Kina. Hongkong skulle behålla sitt politiska system sida vid sida med fastlandets under principen "ett land, två system". Vi har identifierat att principen innebär en konflikt i den specifika situationen och använder oss av Browns teori om tre typer av nationalism. Kinas kommunistparti använder två typer av nationalism för att samla invånarna i en nation och legitimera sitt styre.

Denna komparativa studie behandlar de faktorer som spelat in i militärregimernasfall i Grekland och Argentina. Som teoretiskt ramverk för analysen utgår vi ifrånO´Donnell och Schmitter "Transitions from Authoritarian Rule" samtHuntingtons teorier i "The Third Wave". Studien är av "mest lika design", varssyfte är att finna de faktorer som de båda transitionerna delar, för att därmedkunna dra generella slutsatser om faktorer bakom militärregimers fall.Resultatet visar att bakomliggande faktorer i de båda fallen ärlegitimitetsproblem, liberalisering, civil society, liberalisering, hard och softliners,mobilisering av civila politiska aktörer, samt de slutgiltiga militära nederlagensom transitionsutlösare. Studien visar att den viktigaste av dessa faktorer ärlegitimitetsproblemet, eftersom denna faktor på ett eller annat sätt är kopplad tillövriga. Vidare visare studien att ekonomisk instabilitet spelar en stor roll imilitärregimernas fall, vilket inte lyfts fram i teorin..

In this thesis I have criticized traditional nationalism theories formulated by Eric Hobsbawm, Ernest Gellner, Benedict Anderson and Anthony D. Smith. The critique has been based on my belief that nationalism theories do not explain nations whose foundation is built on forward-looking, dynamic aspects such as economy, human and civil rights, and democracy. Traditional nationalism theories have been focused on historicizing perspectives whereas I want to draw attention to non-historicizing perspectives within the field of research. So far nationalism theories has had a shared past or a shared ethnicity as its focal point.