The topic of this thesis interest is the relation between branding as a place making/marketing technology and the process of regionalization. The main proposition advocated is that the officially communicated image of the Øresund Region, as a cohesive place and community, is a space that has been configured with branding and can be described as a territorial simulation. The concept of territorial simulation consists of two conjoined terms: simulation which aim at explaining the idiosyncratic brand image, as a social formation, which does not represent the place it imitates but commoditise it; and territorial which seeks to visualize the process of the unfolding of this image as a territory. The main argument is made in the third chapter, which traces the process of actualization of the brand image as a territory: ?Øresund?.

The democratic conditions in national states have change radically at the same time as the society has changed. Because of social and economic globalization processes, the states and government has lost power for the benefit of transnational and global institutions. That affects the democracy since the nation state earlier defined the domain of citizenship. At the same time, citizens? confidence towards political parties and politicians has gone down.

Mexiko har under de senaste decennierna gått från ett auktoritärt styre mot ett mer demokratiskt samhälle. Detta är en kvalitativ fallstudie där vi studerar vilka hinder och möjligheter det finns för Mexikos civilsamhälle att bidra till demokratisk fördjupning. Vi finner att civilsamhället varit drivande i Mexikos demokratiseringsprocess, och fortfarande spelar en viktig roll för demokratins fördjupning. Civilsamhället verkar dock i ett samhälle som fortfarande präglas av de strukturer som skapats av den tidigare auktoritära regimen. Detta medför hinder för att denna demokratiska fördjupning ska äga rum.

AbstractSedan Kubas revolution 1959 har landet genomgått stora förändringar. Denna uppsatsundersöker hur utvecklingen av Kubas sjuk- och hälsovårdssystem mellan åren 1959-1996 harpåverkats av såväl interna som externa faktorer. Detta har gjorts ur ett empiriskt och ettteorikonsumerande perspektiv. Statistik har legat till grunden för den empiriska delen och deteoretiska perspektiv som används är hämtade ur legitimitetsteori, biståndsteori ochsanktionsteori. I denna uppsats har vi använt oss av ett avvikande-perspektiv på Kubas sjuk-och hälsovårdssystem.

This master thesis was initiated with the aim to answer at what level of installed capacity of wind power in the northern parts of Sweden it would be beneficial to improve the transmission capacity from the northern Sweden. During the process of this work the aim has changed to try and create a model that can be used to analyze how well the hydro power installed in the northern Sweden can even out the quick changes in wind power production.To create a good model of all hydro power in northern Sweden is a very large job, unfortunately too large for a master thesis. This report therefore ends with an extensive analysis of the simplifications that have been made and their effects as well as a list of the future work that has to be done.The model that has been created have shown to be effective and produce good results. The conclusions that can be made is that the northern Swedish hydro power have very good possibilities to balance the wind power production. Only a few cases where water have been spilled even though there has been some free capacity has been discovered.

I den här uppsatsen försöker vi förklara vad som orsakar problematiska civila samhällen, det vill säga civila samhällen som inte bidrar till demokratisk konsolidering. Undersökningen är en fallstudie av Bosnien-Hercegovina, ett etniskt splittrat land som fått mycket internationellt bistånd. Vi utgår från ett eget teoretiskt ramverk där vi främst knyter samman befintliga teorier, men även skapar nya begrepp.Vi kommer fram till att både den nationella politiska kontexten och det internationella givarsamfundets roll är av stor betydelse för att förklara problemen i det bosniska civila samhället. De inhemska politiska strukturerna och aktörerna har cementerat den etniska polariseringen och otryggheten, vilket främjat framväxten av odemokratiskt, intolerant civilt samhälle. Det internationella givarsamfundet har genom sitt massiva, villkorade bistånd berövat det goda civila samhället dess autonomi, vilket gjort det svagt..

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 purpose of this study is to examine the relations of power within the discourse of integration and my focus will be on power relations and structural discrimination. The study origins from four qualitative interviews with employees from the County administrative board as well as from the Employment office.The theoretical framework is based upon Social Constructionism, Postcolonial Theories and with an intersectional perspective. The recent critical research from The Official Report on power, integration and structural discrimination (Utredningen om makt, integration och strukturell diskriminering) is used as well as Foucault's theory of biopower which is discussed within the analysis.The study indicates that although integration often is addressed as a reciprocal process, it is still assumed that They should be integrated by Us. The present government's one-sided focus on employment has proved difficult for the employees to put into practise and when the responsibility of obtaining employment is based upon the individual alone, she/he becomes responsible for her/his own integration..

På det individuella planet handlar politisk konsumtion till stor del om att uttrycka en etisk, politisk eller miljömässig åsikt genom att välja och välja bort varor på marknaden. Denna uppsats flyttar fokus till kollektiva aktörer och betraktar politisk konsumtion som ett verktyg. Syftet är att besvara huruvida sociala rörelser kan och faktiskt använder sig av detta. I uppsatsens teoretiska ramverk identifieras och operationaliseras sex så kallade metoder för politisk konsumtion. Vidare undersöks huruvida tre sociala rörelser med olika intresseområden använder sig av dessa.

Power, Criminality and the gamble about bordering normality. From theperspective of Foucault. This study is about how criminality becomes a strategy of power used by the individual to overcome difficulties and gain advantages. This strategy of power sets loose a process of identity formation within the individual that gives shape to his own norms which are opposite to the one of the society. The individual norms and the normative society cooperate with one another in a cultural teamwork.

Denna uppsats behandlar frågan: Hur bör det amerikanska kampanjfinansieringssystemet till val av president reformeras - mot ett system som fokuserar på frihet eller ett system som fokuserar på rättvisa? Som frågeställningen vittnar om är uppsatsen skriven ur ett normativt analysperspektiv där de klassiska värdena frihet och rättvisa i kombination med insamlad data om amerikansk kampanjfinansiering mynnar ut i en analys. Två alternativa väga presenteras, antingen att släppa systemet fritt eller att öka kontrollen för att minska skillnaderna som finns. Argumentationen ger en bild av hur annorlunda systemet skulle kunna se ut givet en förändring. Resultatet påvisar att det amerikanska systemet hade gynnats av att röra sig mot en mer rättvis och kontrollerad finansieringsstruktur.

Aim: The nuclear accident in Fukushima, Japan, raised global criticism against nuclear power. In Sweden, the criticism has not been very visible and the government now allows a renewal of the nuclear power plants. The purpose with the study is to have a closer look on how Swedes in position of power motivate their positive attitude to nuclear power and how they conduct themselves to each other and to their opponents. The rhetorical perspective will be in focus for the analysing.Method: Four different artifacts represented by Swedes in position of power having a positiveattitude to nuclear power were chosen. Three rhetorical theories (the rhetorical arena, stasis andethos, pathos and logos) were used with the research question in focus.Result & Conclusions: The analyses resulted in conclusions about the strategies used by the participants such as: the importance of contexts, meaning for example that the greenhouse effect legitimizes nuclear power as a source of energy with important benefits.

The thesis of this essay is that the concept of governance is a product of the neo-liberal dominant ideology and that the implementation of governance ideas will lead to a weaker nation-state. Using critical theory the essay constructs an ideal type of neo-liberalism and compares its core values with these of the governance concept as treated by the main literature in the area. The essay then focuses on the issue of the state, and discusses whether the changes leading to a demand for governance have actually weakened the state. Furthermore, the essay presents the practical use of the term governance in the EU and Sweden and problemizes the changes that the neo-liberal domination has led to in terms of power and democracy. Finally the essay discusses alternative views on the changing role of the state.

In 1989 the Cold War ended and in 1991 the Soviet Union ceased to exist, over night the ruling paradigm of International Relations was obsolete. What would happen now? Samuel Huntingtons answer was that in the future, cultural identity would be the most important factor behind international conflict. And that the threat of world war would come from clashes between civilizations instead of clashes between ideologies like during the cold war. Was he correct? This thesis is an attempt to find out if Huntingtons theory was right in its predictions of the world to come.

United States is one of the two countries in the world that have not ratified the convention on the rights of the child, and one of the few countries that sentences children less than 18 years to life in prison without parole. Besides this, corporal punishment is legal in all the states of USA. This essay is aimed at researching how these three factors affect one another in the American context and what consequences may come out of it. By the use of reports from NGO's and UN treaties together with various theories about the subject in question, I have looked into the juridical climate for today's young Americans.The conclusion of the essay shows that there is a tendency in the United States to control violence with violence, from a local level and further to a state level. As long as this attitude proceeds, the situation for children at risk for being sentenced to life sentence will not improve..