What kind of international actor is the European Union and how shall we define it? These are questions that many have tried to answer often by addressing the apparent uniqueness of the EU itself. One of these theories is Normative power Europe. A theory whose main argument is that the EU is best perceived as a changer of norms. My aim with this thesis is to test this claim and to see if the Union should be regarded as a normative power.

The special relationship between Israel and the US has been subject to questioning, and good many theories have tried to explain why it is so strong. The most common explanation is rooted in the school of realism, where strategy and national interest decide who one's ally is. This essay aspires to examine another possible reason for allianceformation; identity. Several books, which make for the theoretical backbone of this study, have been written on the subject of sharing beliefs, identifying with others and the consequences of this. The question being asked is whether Israel and the US actually share beliefs and, if so, which ones.

Och nu blir det reklamfilm - En kvalitativ innehållsanalys av de sju svenska politiska reklamfilmerna inför EU-valet 2009Seminar date: 2010-01-14Department: Media- and Communication scienceReport category: Degree project undergraduate levelAuthors: Johan Heikensten and Elin LarssonAdvisor: Kristoffer HoltPurpose: When TV4 for the first time offered advertising time to the Swedish political parties for the upcoming election of the European Parliament in 2009, a huge debate broke loose in the media. Regardless of opinions on the matter, we find it safe to say that political television commercials will have a great influence on future election campaigns in Sweden. Hence, we find it of great interest and importance to examine these seven commercials in order to look for tendencies, strategies and trends within the material. Theories: The theory chapter includes Communication, Political communication, Videostyle, Commercial strategies, Rhetoric and Semiotics. Methodology: The survey is based upon two qualitative analyses, a rhetorical analysis and a semiotic analysis.

Doharundan inleddes på initiativ av EU i samband med ministerkonferensen i Doha 2001. Utvecklingen i rundan har varit begränsad, främst på grund av EU: s roll som försvare av egna intressen. Unionens roll har lett till framsteg på många områden. EU har i rollen som ledare varit pådrivande för en ny och ambitiös runda samt gång på gång förmått övriga parter att återkomma till förhandlingsbordet. Dock har ett försvar av unionens jordbrukspolitik orsakat en rollkonflikt i EU.

Denna komparativa studie behandlar regionaliseringen i Skåne och Västra Götaland.Med fokusering på befolkningen's egen uppfattning undersök's de förhållandensom definierar och formar dessa regioner. Uppsatsen grundar sig till stor del på deundersökningar som gjort's av SOM-institutet.Genom att tillämpa ett centrum - periferi försök's sedan delar av utvecklingen inom regionen förklara's. Även identitet då primärt i anknytning till regionenundersök's och kontrollera's jämte andra faktorer.En kort del som undersöker de två regionerna's demokrati arbeten konstaterar att arbetet går framåt men att mer arbete kräv's..

The thesis analyzes the making of Nordic identity after the cold war which brought an end to Nordic exclusiveness of emphasizing ?soft power?. A need for a revitalization combined with an effort to enter History as an active subject, created constructivist project of a narrative style.My study relies on contemporary literature, focusing mainly on the construction of Nordic identity and regional cooperation in the 1990: s.I argue that Nordic identity was, and still is, determined of its comparable weakness in regard to the superpowers of the cold war, and, nowadays, to the EU.The architects of establishing a new Nordic identity, able to challenge a new Europe, fails in their effort, and what is left of their endeavour are separate states, each following their own agenda..

I denna uppsats undersöks huruvida en reform med ekonomiska incitament påverkar hur stor andel dagar med föräldrapenning som tas ut av män. Med hjälp av paneldata för svenska kommuner görs en regressionsmodell som skattar mäns andel av föräldrapenninguttaget. Enligt resultatet av undersökningen har ekonomiska incitament betydelse för fördelningen av uttaget men hypotesen om att reformen skulle leda till ett ökat uttag får inget stöd. Även om resultatet kan ifrågasättas då data på kommunnivå används ges en indikation på att ekonomisk ersättning inte är den avgörande faktorn när det gäller den ojämna fördelningen av föräldrapenningdagar mellan män och kvinnor..

The base for the study is laid during an internship at a regional office in Brussels. The study initially concentrates on the function and activities of different regional offices located in Brussels, in order to answer the core question.The main focus is to reveal an eventual change of cooperation patterns between different regional offices, and in particular the eventual redirection away from a main cooperation between offices deriving from the same national state.Through an empirical material, based on a series of interviews, an analysis is made using three hypotheses concerning the patterns of cooperation among regional offices.The notion of a coming change stated by, in particular, two older studies is used as a theoretical steppingstone with the conclusion that a change, in the way offices collaborate, has taken place..

This theory consuming thesis is concerned with why Iran's uranium enrichment has become a security issue, and will focus on the five most important and involved actors: China, Russia, Iran, the US and the UN. I will do this by using instruments of analysis such as securitization and strategic analysis. With these instruments I will examine different factors, such as deterrence, the action-reaction model and armament. Since, according to my opinion, security matters include more sectors than military I will also examine the political, societal and economic sectors. China and Russia have acted differently compared to the US in this matter and this thesis will highlight the factors that can explain the different actions made by these countries.

The purpose of this essay is to explore how social media affect the political orientation and commitment of youths. Three scientific questions highlight the purpose from different angles. The didactic perspective is discussed in the initial and closing discussion, and is analyzed in the corresponding chapter. Two methods are involved in the study; one survey and one interview with a focus group. The survey had a total of 98 respondents from four different classes, all in the first grade of upper secondary school.

Den här uppsatsen diskuterar expertproblematik inom organisationer. Olika kunskapsnivåer hos de anställda kan leda till att vissa inte har någon insyn i arbetet och en dålig uppfattning om var ansvaret finns. Samtidigt kan de som besitter en specialkunskap få ett för stort inflytande och utöva makt över andra inom organisationen. Vi har i den här uppsatsen undersökt hur problematiken ser ut i Lunds kommun genom att intervjua ett antal anställda. Intervjuerna har sedan analyserats genom ett antal begrepp som vi framtagit med hjälp av tidigare forskning.

Den 11 september 1973 avsattes den chilenska presidenten Salvador Allende under en militärkupp. Senare har det kommit till känna att den amerikanska regeringen under lång tid varit inblandade i motarbetandet av Allende. Den amerikanska underättelsetjänsten CIA var den organisation som genomförde de olika hemliga operationerna som utgjorde en stor del av den amerikanska utrikespolitiken mot Chile. Vi har i detta arbete undersökt hur pass autonomt CIA kunnat agera i genomförandet av den amerikanska utrikespolitiken samt hur man skulle kunna förklara detta. Vi har kommit fram till att CIA:s autonomi har varierat över tid, men varit som mest påtaglig i samband med mordet på den chilenska generalen Rene Schneider..

Den svenska sjukvården är i städig förändring. För att möta de ekonomiska och tekniska krav som ställs på verksamheten har sammanslagningar och storsjukhus blivit en vanlig företeelse. Något som har resulterat i en debatt angående huruvida detta är en lämplig organisering av sjukvård. I vår undersökning analyserar vi denna debatt och dess aktörer genom att belysa två genomförda sammanslagningar samt den debatt som förts kring en eventuell omstrukturering av sjukvården inom Region Skåne. Med hjälp av en argumentationsanalys undersöker vi de värdemässiga grunder på vilka argumenten är baserade.

The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate the extent of the civil rights political participation on a municipality level. The starting-point is the participatory democratic theory. I have chosen to make a case study of the extent of participation among KPR ? the board of the pensioners in the municipality of Skara. KPR is represented by fourteen members from the seven existing associations for pensioners.

In this examination project I look into what ways upper secondary school students conceive themselves as politically influenced before they voted for the general election of 2010. The purpose is to examine which influences the upper secondary school surroundings and the classes of civic education are contributing with to students before they voted. As a method, I have used personal, semi-structural interviews on eight upper secondary school students who all voted for a party represented in the parliament. I have asked questions about how they believe their parents, the surroundings of their school and the classes of civic education have influenced them. To separate which influences primarily the upper secondary school and the classes of civic educations have had on the students, I have selected two comparison groups of four students in each.