The aim of this study is to get a better understanding of the Iranian regime. My theory is that the Iranian regime is a semi-dictatorship, based on the soul fact that semi-competetive elections take place. The main question this thesis tries to answer is what characterizes the political construction of the Iranian regime and by what means does it implement its political goals. In trying to answer this question the case of Iran is applied to four specific typologies being, semi-dictatorship, military rule, single party rule and personal rule. The aim has not been to categorically analyze if the Iranian regime matches one typology or the other perfectly, as this is seldom the case when it comes to typologies.After analysis of the four typologies, the conclusion is that the Iranian regime utilizes semi-competitive elections to give a guise of democracy, as is in line with a semi-dictatorship.

Lack of political interest and will to deal with human rights violations carried out under the civil- military dictatorship, has characterized the transition and post-transition in Uruguay. The systematic use of torture, arbitrary imprisonments and forced disappearances in the relatively small country created a culture of fear that has been present through out the post-transition phase. Human rights groups have been central actors in the fight for truth and justice and against impunity. This study analyzes how these groups multiple democracy-building functions have contributed to democratic development. It also analyses how the democracy-building functions have been constrained by the political context.

ABSTRACTEssay in political science, C-level by Cecilia HolmbergSpring semester 2006, Tutor: Arne Larsson- Ideological similarities between the Swedish Socialdemocratic and the Swedish conservative party- An idealanalysis of different political issuesThe purpose of this essay is to examine wheater the political ideologies have lost their importance in the Swedish political system. The study will focus on the ideological similarities or differences between the two largest parties in Sweden, the socialdemocratic and the conservative party. Therefore, the main research question is:? Are there any ideological similarities or differences between the socialdemocratic and the conservative party?To be able to answer this question, I have used Herbert Tingsten?s idealanalysis. This type of analysis examines how someone, in this case a political party, describes reality.

The aim of this thesis is to study discursive change in the Swedish environmental political discourse between 1987-2005. The text of three Swedish budget propositions are analysed for this purpose.The results from the analysis are related to a few relevant theoretical perspectives that hold partly different views on what constitutes ?sustainable development? and ?ecological modernization?. Through these theories the thesis continues the discussion around the two central but somewhat blurry terms sustainable development and ecological modernization. The aim of this discussion is to conclude whether the discursive change in Swedish environmental politics can be said to go more in the direction of sustainable development or ecological modernization, or if elements of both perspectives can be found.The analysis shows that the Swedish environmental discourse has come to include more and more political fields such as general welfare politics, during the period.

This thesis analyzes the media debates generated by the election of Omar Mustafa to the board of the social democratic party, and the appointment of the conservative Minister of Labour, Elisabeth Svantesson. More specifically, the aim is to analyze newspaper material through a discourse analyze, to see if and how religious affiliation effects the possibilities to act as a political representative. Theories of othering and intersectionality serve as theoretical points of departure. Further, chains of equivalence from Laclau and Mouffe?s discourse theory are used to study how categories as ?us? and ?the other? are constructed in the material, and how these processes of categorization relate to the intersection of religion, gender and ethnicity.

Young councillors are currently under-represented in Sweden's municipalities. Young councillors are also stepping down in greater numbers than older members. This paper explores the reasons why young councillors choose to resign from their mission, so to identify possible remedies to the problematic trend of underrepresentation of younger people in local authorities in Sweden.This qualitative essay intends, through interviewing politically-active young people who has left their assignment, to study the reasons for resignations from elected posts. To see what could be the reason I have looked at previous studies and theories about opting out but also tried to remain open to identifying new and emerging trends previously undetected in existing surveys.The results showed that the political assignment proved to be too time-consuming, with young people choosing to spend their time on career and leisure. Those who resign from political life often express criticism towards the Municipal Council; they consider it tedious and many complain of having little influence.

The present Equality Project in the Swedish preschool has been studied according to its view on sex and equality. The purpose was to find out how the Equality Project is described, interpreted and implemented.The research questions focused the central concepts sex (gender identity, gender roles and gender patterns) and equality in the political level, the educational level and the executing level of the Equality Project. From each level some central texts were chosen and analysed.The results indicated that equality is interpreted as connected to an absence of gender patterns and gender roles. The concept of gender identity is differently understood in the different texts. The normative focus and the lack of psychology in the Equality Project are discussed..

This essay is a contribution to the process of reconstructing the meaning of a concept that has been long forsaken and somewhat forgotten. It examines the way in which the Swedish nobility perceived the politically active peasantry during the 1740s as an expression of the prevailing political culture of the period. The aim of this study is thus to understand a bygone world of thought that once existed in a very turbulent political culture. I focus on the words formed and articulated in the halls and rooms of the Swedish estates by which the thoughts, opinions and power of the Swedish government came to the fore. In doing so it is possible to say something about how the nobility, in their relationship with the peasantry, constructed an object which represented their perception of the Swedish peasant and what this meant.

The purpose of this thesis is to describe and understand the existing factors behind the selection of foreign newspapers in Swedish public libraries. We wanted to study this subject because the political situation in many countries is reflected in the newspapers and can cause difficulties in the selection process. Examples of this can be how to avoid newspapers with political propaganda and with censored content. Another reason for our interest in this subject is based on our prejudice that newspapers from other countries are important for people with foreign background. To answer the question we have conducted qualitative interviews with five persons who are responsible for the purchase of foreign newspapers at four libraries.

Aim: To investigate how three of the biggest political parties in Sweden made use of socialmedia in the election campaign in 2010, and to get a picture of how the parties perceive therole of social media in political communication today and in the future.Method: The research is conducted through personal interviews and qualitative textualanalysis.Theory: The theory that the study is based on is Habermas theory of the public sphereMain results: Social media is today an excellent channel for communication and informationbetween politicians and voters, and they will probably become increasingly important inpolitical communication in the future. So far, they are only an addition to the traditional mediaand are in no way substituted for them. Internet and some social media is an excellent forumfor political debate and opinion-former..

My essay explores the public view on smoking in Sweden over the last few decades. I've studied how changes in social structures through media, laws, studies and education has brought about a change in the opinions about smoking. I found that even though there have always been different opinions on smoking it seems to have become less accepted in the Swedish society, particularly in the past twenty years. I discuss the different reason as to why (and how) the view on smoking might have changed the last decades amongst the Swedish people. To be able to do this I have done interviews on which I have applied narrative analysis..

This essay is a comparative research between pupils' experience of how the headmaster, teachers and other school staff interpret and apply the democratic education. The results are based on a survey carried out in senior high school, as well as interviews with the school staff. The democratic education charge has a long history of Swedish school system and is the basis for the maintenance of a democratic society. Both policy paper of state investigations and researchers in the field, regard to school as the primary and unique instance in order to promote and develop democratic skills in children and young people. However, it is shown that those who come out from school lack of knowledge and awareness of democracy and the will to speak their mind.

This essay researches how newspapers created fictional reader identities through their content. Three newspapers have been studied from the week first to eight of February 1890, Nya Dagligt Allehanda, Dagens Nyheter and Stockholms Nyheter. The question that the essay is attempting to answer is which fictional readers were created. This is done through both a content analysis and a deeper language analysis of the newspapers. The text is seen as an active agent, creating the identity of the reader that they imagine when they write, an ideal reader.

Few issues have been exposed in media recently as much as the climate change issue. Afterthe documentary film ?An Inconvenient Thruth? presented by Al Gore was released in 2006,most of the world saw a lot of attention directed towards global warming. This was a turningpoint that is refered to in this dissertation an history-graded critical event, which is assumed tohave a significant impact on peoples lives.The purpose of this dissertation is to examine whether or not political parties in Swedenresponded to this critical event in the way that they, in their party programmes, haveformulated policies related to climate change. Alternatively if media produces an image ofpolitical activity which does not comport with the forming of actual political standpoints.

This thesis investigates if privatization of the Swedish healthcare system influences our view on the meaning of equality. This system is based on the principle that all people are equals and that healthcare should be provided on the basis of need. I apply critical ideology analysis to investigate how our view of equality might change because of the evolvement of society. A critical view may be explained as an interest in exploring things that seem obvious to many. Important questions to answer are why equality is regarded as such a natural concept in the society and how healthcare is actually provided.