The aim of this thesis is to map the intellectual base, and identify the general research interests, of Cultural Policy studies. In addition to this the thesis also aims to trace the uses of theoretical and conceptual approaches within the identified research interests. This is done by analysing citations from 130 articles published in the leading scientific journal International Journal of Cultural Policy between the years 2002-2007 using the bibliometric method author cocitation analysis (ACA). The results of the ACA confirm the overall notion that the research field of cultural policy studies is an ambiguous one, even when it?s studied with a quantitative method specialised in uncovering hidden structures within a given field as ACA.

This thesis compares political participation by the public through the Swedish Parliamentary Ombudsman (PO) and the German Petitions Committee of the Bundestag (PC). Through studies of literature and statistics I examine how citizens can participate through the institutions, how frequently they do and the likelihood of sparking a debate while participating.Using media theories as well as theories of participatory and representative democracy I study how citizens can use these institutions for purposes of control and proposition.Both institutions deal with complaints but the PC also deals with propositions for legislation, making the institution more versatile. The PO deals with more cases than the PC and has more far-reaching competences and areas of inspection, although neither institution has binding decisions. Thus the direct advantage for citizens using the institutions is the chance of reaching out to media and the public through freedom of information laws and the German online petition forum.The PC to a larger extent fits the representative model while the PO in some respects is more a legal than a political institution, being managed by lawyers instead of MPs. Neither institution meets the ideals of participatory politics although the German official petition is closer to it..

This thesis is set out as a testing of the crosscutting cleavages theory on twocontemporary cases. The aim is to test the explanation process of the crosscutting theory applied to the political and social situations in Belgium and Switzerland and furthermore to examine potential conflicts in pluralistic states. Our main questionis: How can the crosscutting cleavages theory explain the different outcomes ofsocial coexistence, even with the states numerous similarities? We have examined the two federal states through their social divisions of language, region, religion and socio-economy. Our findings show that both Belgium and Switzerland possess divisions in the above mentioned variables, which in most cases are cumulative structured.

This study treats cultural policy, it´s view of the value of literature, and how this view varies within different fields of cultural policy. The aim of the essay is to find different competing approaches through an investigation of texts from three different fields within cultural policy. The fields investigated are: The publishing subsidy of the National Council for Cultural Affairs, which values above all quality literature. En bok för alla, concentrates on spreading quality literature to new groups in society. Centrum för lättläst, which values that the contents of a text are successfully delivered to, and understood by, the reader.

This Masters thesis aims at presenting a picture of, and critically examining, the Swedish debate concerning the public library and the future by way of 21 articles in three library periodicals. The questions examined are: -What are the views concerning the future public library in Swedish library press? -What characterizes the debate and why? Theories on political institutions and information society are used and the method is hermeneutic, a type of idea-analysis. The first step in the analysis consists of a categorized presentation of the material. The themes concern the form and content of the library as well as competence and hopes/fears.

The overall purpose with this thesis has been to study the strategic development of the Swedish Green Party, Miljöpartiet de Gröna. From its first appearance in the Swedish parliament 1988 to its decision to cooperate with the Social Democrats and the Left Party in 1998, the Greens has gone from a radical antiparty to a pragmatic support party. The analysis has concentrated towards identifying the causal factors behind this strategic move made by the Greens, and to determine how this party change has affected the party's strategic goals. In order to do so, a qualitative case study has been conducted where an integrated theoretical approach has been used. By studying official statements and internal debates the thesis concludes that the strategic change made by the Greens was due to the evolvement of a new dominant coalition of within the party.

This thesis aims to study the indirect effects of the Europeanization on national parties and the presence of an established national opposition towards the European Union (EU) and its effects in Sweden, as a result of the so-called conflict of Vaxholm. The questions asked were whether or not it existed an established national opposition towards the EU, and if so, what the opposition consists of substantially. The research method, which was used, is a quantified text analysis on the chamber debates of the Swedish Riksdag and the party congresses of Socialdemokraterna. The study shows that there is an ambivalent opposition towards the EU and its effects in the aftermath of the conflict of Vaxholm.  Socialdemokraterna presented resistance, but did not manage to present apparent alternatives, which left the party with a rather indistinctive opposition. In contrast to the right-wing party, the left-wing party had some profound difficulties in positioning itself in the new and globalized economy. I therefore suggest, that it might be more providing and exhaustive to introduce Azmanova?s ideal-type analysis, which instead of positing parties on a left-right continuum, posit parties after respective party?s opinions concerning the risks or opportunities which the EU and the internal market?s effects. .

This thesis examines which function the information technology may have in thechildren's library, with the example from two library computer programmes. One is anexpert system, Hedvig, which will help children to choose and to find books, and theother is a computer game, The mysterious signs, that will teach children library user education.The main question is: What conceptions do the project-leaders, the children'slibrarians and the children have concerning the function of these two programmes in thechildren's library?The study is based upon qualitative interviews with two projects-leaders, fourlibrarians, three computer programmers and twenty-eight children.The theoretical material consists of examples on other library computer programmesfor children developed in Denmark and USA, some American studies in children'sabilities to use computerized information retrieval systems, and studies concerningchildren's relations to computers.The adult's conceptions of the computer programmes are divided into categories asfollows: Democracy, aspect of sex, complement, marketing, reading promotion,development of competence, information technology development, pedagogics, adulteducational activities, compensation and armusement, pedagogics, usefulness,effectiveness and information. These categories shall be seen as the conclusions of the thesis..

Abstrakt I detta arbete undersöks hur konceptet lek går att applicera på digitala spel och hur man presenterar ett fiktivt universum och de regler som definierar det universumet. Syftet med denna undersökning är att öka kvaliteten på digitala spel för spelare genom att öka förståelsen för hur sådana regler introduceras. Frågeställningen som ämnas att besvaras är ?hur kan man introducera realistiska, semi-realistiska och fiktiva regler i ett spel??. Undersökningen baseras delvis på analyser kring varför vissa introduktioner av regler ofta accepteras och andra inte, dels på utvärdering av en gestaltning och dels på tidigare forskning.

Citizenship is fundamental for participation in a democracy. It gives us rights but also responsibilities in the state that we are citizens of. Citizenship provides us with the opportunity to vote in order to influence who should govern us. However, not all living in a state are citizens. Some individuals are not included in the political life of the state.In recent years, there has been a rise of nationalist political parties in Europe.

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.

This essay aims to examine Martha Nussbaum's proposal for a classical defense of reform in liberal education and her critique of utility thinking in higher education. I want to explore how Nussbaum uses history to create an ethical alternative that cultivates both moral and intellectual virtues, which she considers to be crucial for the survival of democracy. In examining Nussbaum's use of Aristotle, I focus on her work as a proposal for institutional implementation of an Aristotelian epistemology and the cultivation of the individual as an ethical political subject. This study highlights the epistemological, educational and political ideas that form the basis of Nussbaum's ideals. I intend, however, to go beyond a contextualizing reading and thus establish a dialogue with a radical intersubjectivity to respond to Nussbaum's ambitions to recognize human vulnerabilities as assets for reason.

? Does Karlstad municipality have adequate institutional conditions to make the best use ofthe citizens? proposals??The purpose with the thesis is to investigate if citizens? proposals lead to a broader politicalinfluence. To answer that, I have done a case study about how Karlstad municipal administers citizens? proposals. The research assignment is: Does Karlstad municipal have adequate institutional conditions to make the best use of the citizens? proposals? The perspective is a democracy perspective and the theory is institutional theory and policy process theory.A selection of citizens? proposals that have arrived to Karlstad municipal between 2008 and 2010 have been studied in detail to analyze how the proposals have been administered and if it matters how the proposals are phrased.

During the last two decades, the elementary, - secondary-, and upper secondary schools of especially Europe and USA have gone through a change. From being formed in the post war time and, in Europe, very influenced by the ideas of social democracy, the school today has more and more come under the influences of neo liberalism, entrepreneurship and the political and economical situations during the late 1980´s.This undergraduate work brings up the changed discourses of education and knowledge in relation to the traditional free school system for adults in Sweden, the popular education, and especially in relation to folk high schools (folkhögskolor). By using, first and foremost, the idea of Norman Faircloughs critical discourse analysis (CDA) the rules and documents concerning the folk high schools are analyzed. The purpose of the paper is to identify and recognize the movement in the discourse to reach an understanding about the political situation for folk high schools in Sweden. In the end you can see that it is possible to define a similar development in discourse surrounding the popular education, as has been in the case with the elementary, - secondary-, and upper secondary schools..

? Does Karlstad municipality have adequate institutional conditions to make the best use ofthe citizens? proposals??The purpose with the thesis is to investigate if citizens? proposals lead to a broader politicalinfluence. To answer that, I have done a case study about how Karlstad municipal administers citizens? proposals. The research assignment is: Does Karlstad municipal have adequate institutional conditions to make the best use of the citizens? proposals? The perspective is a democracy perspective and the theory is institutional theory and policy process theory.A selection of citizens? proposals that have arrived to Karlstad municipal between 2008 and 2010 have been studied in detail to analyze how the proposals have been administered and if it matters how the proposals are phrased.