The fact that we apprehend certain phenomena as more convenient than others generate questions about what constitute and decide what we think of as normal and appropriate. The aim of this thesis is to explore the immense conception of power and authority through a narrower approach that focuses on the EU.With this in mind I examine the penetration of the neo-liberal ideology in the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe to see if there are any implications for hegemony. This is achieved through a discourse analysis which is strengthened with empirical cases of EU policies.The result of the discourse analysis of selected parts of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe reveals that there are in fact tendencies which indicate that our society and reality is dominated by a neo-liberal hegemonic discourse. Subsequently the contemporary discourse broadly infiltrates the entire European Union, and therefore also its member states..

Within the political science research it is common to examine the effects on the national parliaments caused by European integration. In this Bachelor Thesis the aim is instead to show what involvement of the national parliaments in the European Union implicates to the European integration process.The object of examination is the introduction of the parliaments as supervisors of draft legislative acts, this is also known as ?the Early Warning Mechanism?, through the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty. An analysis of answers from the national parliaments in the tests of three pilot cases, conducted by the COSAC, is made with help of Institutional theory and an Europeanization perspective.The main findings show that the mechanism of early warning probably will not become an obstacle for continued European integration, but it could slow down the process in some areas. Most probably though is that the mechanism forces the national parliaments to adapt and to be better equipped to react at events taking place at the European level.

In 2005 the Swedish social democratic government settled a defense treaty with Saudi Arabia. Ten years later, a new Social democratic government ends the treaty. This thesis will study the Social democratic party?s motives behind their actions regarding the treaty. Kjell Goldmanns theory regarding the three fields of interest concerning state?s foreign policy, security policy, economy and international values, will serve as the theory and operationalization of this thesis.

The aim of this paper is to explain how the European Union?s common strategy for theCommon Foreign- and Security Policy (CFSP) will change with the implementation of the Treaty of Lisbon. A comparative case study and qualitative method is used. On the basis of Smith?s theory of institutionalization we will analyze two member states: France and Denmark.

The European Union has faced lots of criticisms over the last couple of years when it comes to how refugees are treated in Europe. The Lisbon Treaty states in Article 2 that the European Union is founded on respect for human freedom, dignity and equality. Values such as democracy, rule of law, respect for human rights and that the rights of persons belonging to minorities should be respected are also something that the Union should be based on. How is it then that the Roma people, which are Europe's largest minority, are being persecuted all over Europe, that they get deported and have their camps destroyed? Why are refugees from North Africa being sent back before they even have a chance to seek asylum?  In this essay I have examined how the EU are treating refugees and tried to distinguish if there are any differences in how they treat internal and external refugees.

ABSTRACTUniversity: Växjö University, school of social science, department of political scienceLevel: Bachelor?s thesis in political scienceTitle: SHIFTING BALANCE OF POWER? ? an analyze of the new EU-treaty?s consequences for the EC-court.Academic adviser: Associate professor Stefan HöjelidAuthor: Magnus NordahlThis study focuses on the increased role of the European Court of Justice through the establishment of a Constitution for Europe and its impact on the balance of power, both horizontal and vertical.To do this, the study takes its aims from the research problem, formulated as follows:Does the establishment of a constitution for Europe contribute to an increased role for the European Court of Justice and does it create a more legible horizontal and vertical division of power?To reach the relevant analyses and conclusions two precise questions are presented as well as an analytical model. The precise questions are:? Which are the relevant contributions for the balance of power from a perspective of juridification in the new EU-treaty?? What impacts do those contributions have on the so called ?European federalism??The theoretical perspective of this study is rooted in the concept of federalism with special emphasizes on constitution and sovereignty as well as a part about the process of juridification. Along with the presented analytical model consisting of a horizontal and vertical division of power, the empirical material is presented with focus on the new EU-treaty about a constitution for Europe and the European Court of Justice.

The taxation of various kinds of income which Sweden requires taxpayers to pay results in people undertaking sophisticated tax schemes to avoid paying tax . As a result of this Sweden had to develop its tax laws and insert a general clause in the legislation because the legislator wanted a more preventive effect. This preventive effect results in that the clause is applicable to more various types of tax situations. The clause, found in § 2 law (1995:575) against tax treaty override, states four requisites that must be met for a procedure to be considered tax treaty override. The relevant point for this paper is the fourth item which created interpretation problems among courts.

The OMX-case entailed considerable uncertainty about the relationship between tax treaties and Swedish domestic law. Previous approaches to handle rule conflict between them was put out of action for the first time when an internal rule took precedence over tax treaties. The Greece-case came a few years later where there were hopes that it would be decided in plenary session to return to the view that prevailed before the OMX-case, which did not happen. Instead the Supreme Administrative Court ruled that the tax treaties shall in principle be given preference, but that in exceptional situations tax treaties can be infringed to an internal rule's benefit, so called tax treaty override. Such procedure is acceptable if the legislature gives "clear expression" of the intention of a certain type of income is to be taxed in Sweden, or that a particular new rule applies regardless of the provisions in tax treaties.The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the supreme administrative courts management of rule collision between domestic law and tax treaties in the Greece-case.

In 1998 Sweden accepted the Treaty of Amsterdam which contained a development of the common foreign and security policy (CFSP) towards a European security and defense policy (ESDP). This thesis aims at studying the decision making process behind the Swedish foreign policy decision to further develop its security policy within the European Union. The purpose is to explain which factors and conditions that did affect and influence the Swedish foreign policy decision. The research applies foreign policy analysis, a theoretical perspective that analyzes both domestic and international conditions using different levels of analysis. The research methods being used has been qualitative as well as quantitative, complemented by interviews, since the research is a process tracing case study.The thesis conclusion is that the Swedish decision is explained by several factors.

SammanfattningFör att underlätta gränsöverskridande transaktioner ingår stater idag internationella överenskommelser av olika slag. Traktat som de även kallas utgör en del av folkrätten och är reglerade i Wienkonventionen om traktaträtten från 1969. En av de vanligaste formerna av traktat är idag dubbelbeskattningsavtal vilka huvudsakligen syftar till att fördela beskattningsrätt mellan stater för att undvika en dubbelbeskattningssituation. Sveriges dubbelbeskattningsavtal inkorporeras i intern rätt vilket ger uttryck för det dualistiska synsättet. Inom folkrätten är principen att avtal ska hållas en viktig grundsats som kommer till uttryck i artikel 26 Wienkonventionen. Wienkonventionens artikel 27 stadgar vidare att en part inte kan åberopa sin interna rätt som grund för sin underlåtenhet att fullgöra ett avtal.

Uppsala universitet The aim of this master?s thesis is to investigate, through text analysis, the role of copyright in development, with particular interest of how the concepts knowledge and access to knowledge are used in Access to Knowledge Draft Treaty and WIPO Development Agenda. The definition of the concept knowledge, as it is used in copyright, is based in a Western historical and philosophical context and therefore excludes knowledge created in another type of society. The consequences of this exclusion have effects on development. Further it is stated that knowledge according to the global copyright scheme will be reduced to a commodity, which will have consequences not only in societies in the global South.

AbstractThis essay discusses the negotiation of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and the process that led up to a signed agreement. The CTBT forbids all nuclear weapon test explosions and all other types of nuclear explosions. The purpose of the study was to distinguish the critical steps of the negotiations that resulted in the success of the CTBT. Based on these insights, my intention was to identify relevant events and actors in the process around the Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT), which has been on the nuclear disarmament agenda for over a decade. Furthermore, my ambition was that the examination of the CTBT negotiation would give me some clarity in what the next step would be to get the FMCT back on track.

What is the European Union (EU) and which countries should be part of it in the future? These questions became topical during the first part of the 21st century when political and geographical changes hasten the need to decide the nature of the European cooperation. In the European Constitution, that never come into force, the European values that a key role but was taken away in the succeeding Lisbon Treaty. Nevertheless EU continues to expand, recently to the East and non-European countries asTurkey are now on the ?waiting-list?.

The fundamental prohibitions against anti-competitive agreements and abuse of a dominant position are set out in the EC Treaty, articles 81 and 82 respective CL 6 and 19 §. EU: s objectives can be said to promote economic and social development within the community. These objectives will be achieved, among other things, through the establishment of a common internal market. In order to achieve a common market, where companies from different nations compete on equal conditions, it is not enough to prevent the member states from distortion of competition in the market. The free competition and thereby the advantages the common market is assumed to create, can also be limited through measures taken by companies.

AbstractThis essay discusses the negotiation of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and the process that led up to a signed agreement. The CTBT forbids all nuclear weapon test explosions and all other types of nuclear explosions. The purpose of the study was to distinguish the critical steps of the negotiations that resulted in the success of the CTBT. Based on these insights, my intention was to identify relevant events and actors in the process around the Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT), which has been on the nuclear disarmament agenda for over a decade. Furthermore, my ambition was that the examination of the CTBT negotiation would give me some clarity in what the next step would be to get the FMCT back on track.