This thesis treats the development of the European Union asylum- and migration politics and the EU member states transfer of authority to the European Union. The main purpose has been to look closer with the use of the application of theory of neofunctionalism and liberal intergovernmentalism on the European Union case. The focus will be to answer the following questions: How has the political development within EU asylum and migration policy developed through the period of The Single European Act to the ratification of the Stockholm program? And how can the chosen theory explain European countries transfer of national decision regarding asylum policy in favor of a supranational European asylum policy? Based on the available material of European Union programs and harmonization measures for this area I have attempted to understand to what extent the European Union?s development in the area of the asylum and migration politics can be explained through the theories of neofunctionalism and liberal intergovernmentalism. The result of my analysis is confirmation of the European Union development of the area of the asylum and migration policy and also a series of explanations according to the theories regarding the member states transfer of authority to the EU.

Equal opportunity issues are considered to have a clear position in Swedish policy and the making of Swedish gender policy is considered a precursor. Though many experts and scientists have shed light on the fact that the issue of women assault has had a less stable development than other gender issues such as child care, the labour market etc. within the Swedish society, and that it does not attract the wide political support it needs. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the Municipalities', in the county of Kronoberg, policy on the issue of women assault within their local policies of equality. In my thesis I have chosen a theoretical framework that is built on a dilemma of justice based on three different dimensions; the extent, content and influence of the local policies.

Participating in peace support operations has been and remains a significant part of the Swedish defense and security politics. Since the end of the Cold War, the Swedish national defence has been more and more dismantled, in favor of international peace support operations which have become an increasingly important task for the Swedish defence. Why then, is Sweden so engaged in conflicts so far from home? Using two classic theories of international politics, realism and liberalism, this study aims to shed light on arguments from the Swedish parliament on why it is important for Sweden to participate in international peace support operations. After analyzing arguments of the Social Democrat Party, the Moderate Party, the Green Party and the Liberal Party concerning three different peace support operations which Sweden has participated in, the result shows that although both realism and liberalism are influencing the parties? argumentation, liberalism is the theory which is used more often.

Which general outlines are preferable in the relation between organizations and government? From normative theory and method I throw light upon this question by defining and comparing two different democratic standpoints. The substantial democratic standpoint focuses on political effectiveness and the procedural democratic standpoint focuses on equal representation. The normative discussion aims at comparing how well the different standpoints function in political praxis. Since the ambition is to discuss concrete praxis I have also chosen to analyse an extensive case of interest influence in Swedish politics empirically.

The tradition of a strong church ruling in the Swedish society ages back to the very first start of Christianity reaching the country.  Due to the separation between the church and state in 2000 in Sweden, there have been a lot of changes. No longer would the church be able to influence the politics as it had been able to do before. Since Sweden is a democratic country, the decision had to be made in a voting amongst the parties. The purpose with this paper is to understand the argumentation made by the Swedish parties Socialdemokraterna, Kristdemokraterna and Centerpartiet. This has been made using a text analysis, which studies the argumentations made by the parties in their motions.

In this study our aim is to display a series of possible mechanisms which operateswithin the regions and societies were child soldiers were frequently andextensively used in combat tasks. Our study is based on the assumption thattoday's peace-building strategies are inadequate to describe certain problemsfaced by many post-conflict countries, especially in Africa. We argue that largeformations of child soldiers will, if not properly and immediately addressed, causeserve and structural problems in society, gravely hampering growth andinstitutional capacity. The Issues of Post Traumatic Stress and societal insecuritybrought on by the use of child soldiers poses a serious threat to society as a whole.In this study we use Uganda as an illustrative case to describe the mechanisms atwork..

The thesis aims to examine the occurrence of Earnings Management (EM) preceding Seasoned Equity Offerings (SEOs) on the Swedish capital market. EM refers to activities and adjustments carried out by managers. The underlying purpose of these actions is to adjust net income. The procedure is typically done by borrowing income from future periods. Evidence of EM around SEOs has been documented on capital markets around the world, and the effects on firms' post-offering performance are severe.

The purpose of this thesis is to explain why states obtain nuclear weapons and the role variousactors and interests play in the making of states´ nuclear policies. The main questions are asfollows: (1) What big theories exist concerning states obtaining nuclear weapon and nucleararmament in International Relations and what relevance do they have of the post cold-war period?,(2) What is the meaning of the perspective of the Military-Industrial Complex (MIC)?, and (3)Arethere empirical studies which supports the existence of a MIC in the United States?The focus lies on actors and driving forces that are internal to states and it is also important toinvestigate if the theories have relevance for the post 9/11-era. The study uses the method ofqualitative literature-study with some quantitative segments. It is claimed that states might beinterested in justifying their behaviour in a morally appealing way and that real reasons may behidden.

The purpose of this study was to examine whether the success of theconcept of empowerment in the field of social science can be explained by referring to it as the new paradigm replacing the former paternalistic era. Therefore, I investigate if the character of its history, domicile and practice has the same distinguishing features as the scientific progress. The analysis is based on Thomas Kuhn's definition of a scientific paradigm through the concepts of consensus, crisis and revolution. I also look for alternative ways to explain the sudden appearance of empowerment at the world agenda. Due to the lack of a uniform definition of the concept and the absence of common approaches in the stimulation of empowerment it's difficult to argue that the situation is marked by consensus.

While conducting our practical training we experienced how the structure and the complexity of the municipal administration could, from a white-collar workers perspective, become a limitation and burden for efficient work. Deriving from this experience we found an interest in how politicians reasoned with regards to their relationship with supervisor in municipal old-age care. Kouzes och Micos (1979) ?Theory of organizational behavior in human service? became our point of departure. Their framework was therefore the foundation for our research and work throughout this paper.Our aim with this research was to examine how politicians viewed their relationship with supervisor in municipal old-age care.

The purpose of this essay has been to find out how adolescents from Södermöre in the municipality of Kalmar experience the central place Kalmar. It has also been the intention to make clear, whether the relation between the adolescents and the central place Kalmar could be described as a centre-periphery-relation. The basis of this essay has been interviews of all together nine adolescents.A centre-periphery-situation can according to the theory be discovered by analyzing three categories: culture, economy and politics. If the centre dominates the periphery in one of these three categories, a centre-periphery-situation exists. The theory also says that the people living in the periphery experience less kinship with the people living in the centre.The adolescents from Södermöre showed to experience the central place Kalmar in a way, that can be described in five categories: travelling mostly by bus, unfair distribution of the resources of the municipality, political equality, social equality and the awareness of the central place Kalmar as the place ?where everything is located?.When it came to economy and politics, no indications of a centre-periphery-situation were found during the interviews with the adolescents.

In this thesis we study the development of post-earnings announcement drift (PEAD) in the Swedish equity market from 2000 to 2009. By forming portfolios based on the stock price reaction to quarterly reporting we show that the characteristics of PEAD have changed. We demonstrate that negatively surprising companies show a positive drift during a holding period of six months sufficiently large to render the trading strategy unprofitable. This development holds from 2005 and onwards and these results contradict many a study which finds the same portfolio construction to be indeed profitable. We argue that this development is a trend that will not only affect our study but future studies as well..

The purpose of this paper is to examine and to analyze the arguments about a possible Swedish law against the veil. I have therefore highlighted how notions about the veil creates and reproduces power-structures and meaning-systems. I structured the arguments in a pro et contra schedule and then analyzed them by using a theoretical framework consisting post-colonial feminism, orientalism, multi-culture and intersectionality together with research produced by Joan Wallach Scott (2010), Pia Karlsson Minganti (2007) and Anne Sofie Roald (2003). The results of the study shows that the people who either argue for or against a veil-law agree that the veil is an oppression of women and that it must be resisted. To be objective in the discussion of the veil seems to be impossible and the women it affects deprived voice.

National identity, multiculturalism and invisible norms are three conceptions focused on in this essay. They are discussed and analysed with the purpose of deepening deepen the understanding of their meaning. Further on they become instruments in a study of the Liberal Party's proposal for new politics of integration. My ambition is to distinguish signs of a Swedish national identity in this proposal and to interpret the party's relation to multiculturalism.The method of this essay comprises partly a literature study and partly a qualitative analysis of text.My discussion and analysis ended in an understanding of national identity and multiculturalism as complex and interrelated conceptions. I found parts of a Swedish national identity in the value of working, in the fear of the cultural unknown and of eventual anti Swedish culture, in the idea of Sweden as the best country in the world considering gender equality and in the strong defence for the Swedish language.

This essay analyzes three Swedish cartoon artists: Elias Ericson, Lisa Ewald and AmandaCasanellas. The aim is to examine how they construct feminist strategies through their workand how they convey this visually. The issue of whether these Swedish cartoons can be seenas a part of a bigger political platform is central. Through semiotics and post-colonial andqueer feminist theory, some answers to these questions are searched for.The result shows that all three of the artists can be seen in a bigger activist context, even ifthey work in and through different platforms. Casanellas questions the racism in Swedenand how we should prevent it.