The European Union is originally an economic organization that has developed into including more social and cultural questions. These questions are especially important when the Union expands with so many different cultures and traditions to take into concideration.I have from an identity perspective studied the relation between the European Union and the candidate country of Turkey. Using theories including the Other I have discussed the relationship between us (Europe) and the Other (Turkey) and Turkey's possibilites to become a member of the Union. My conclusion will include a discussion on the basis of three dimensions; History, Economy/Politics and Religion. I believe there are hindrances for Turkey to become a member of the European Union.

AbstractThe aim of this study was to highlight who represents elderly immigrants and apply the theory of social exclusion. We chose channels for representation that we found important in relation to this group. The first part is a study of available litterature of the subject. We found three main arenas: participation in elections, participation in associations and clubs and representation in political institutions. The findings showed a democratic deficit among elderly immigrants, which gave an indication of social exclusion from the political arena and from participation in associations.For the second part we decided to concentrate on the arena of participation in associations and clubs that represent the elderly and/or immigrants.

In Sweden, prostitution is politically defined as a social problem, more precisely, as a form of male violence against women. The definition is distinctly manifested in the government bill Kvinnofrid, characterised by the unique Swedish law that prohibits the purchase of sexual services.This thesis examines how the Swedish solutions of prostitution are carried out. By interviewing central actors working with prostitution in different ways we aim to answer the question: What measures are taken to decrease prostitution and what implications does the Swedish solution have?The analysis is divided into two parts. First, we analyse the concrete measures taken against prostitution ? what is done, how, and why? Second, we analyse the complexity of prostitution measures by applying complementary analytical perspectives: the symbolic and the discourse perspective.The study shows that measures taken to decrease prostitution vary and depend on individual actors? understandings of the political definition.

Japan's foreign and security policy has seen some substantial changes as a result of events like the first Gulf war and 9/11th. This has been taken as proof, by some, that Japan is abandoning its antimilitaristic stance and pursuing a more traditional hard power role through military means. This essay aims to explore if these shifts have coincided with any substantial shifts away from antimilitarism, which has had a strong influence on the country's security policy since the end of WW2.To do this I use constructivist theory, specifically regarding the impact of norms and identities on states security policy and briefly look into the problem of actor designation. The thematic focus is on security policy, from a narrow perspective, and thus I examine areas like the input and output to the Japanese military and the actual applications of this force. State identity is used to explore the prevalence of nationalistic sentiments and support for anti militarism in the public opinion and the political elite.The result of this study points to the further relevance of constructivist theory and especially the application of norms and identity.

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 purpose of this thesis was to gain an understanding of how Swedish political parties gain knowledge of their voters. The assumptions taken in the thesis were that political parties are using same methods as businesses do to find interesting segments. To attain insight into the purpose of the thesis, two research questions were formulated: how are Swedish political parties obtaining insights in who their potential voters are? With the second question, an attempt is made to answer how the very same parties are using their knowledge about their voter segments. To find answers to those questions, personal interviews were performed with seven political parties.

This master thesis is about art activity in the public library. The essay takes its starting point from Government cultural political directives and my purpose has been to study how these are followed up in the municipal level. My survey takes place at the main library of Flen in the county of Södermanland. What I am looking for is, what the art activity looks like, what is decided regarding it and what the strategies are. Furthermore I look into how library visitors understand and participate in the art activity.

This essay presents an alternative approach to the predominant democratic analysis of the European Monetary Union. As the Treaties stipulate the political conduct within Monetary Union and put certain restrictions on the European politicians they are to some extent constitutional in their character. Essential for constitutional theory is the concept of precommitment; according to which a decision is made in t1 purposing to obstruct certain actions in t2. In light of this the aim of this essay is to investigate whether or not delegating monetary responsibility to the ECB can be seen as an example of constitutional precommitment and if so, if this constitutional perspective can add something to the predominant democratic analysis of the EMU. According to the author the EMU is by and large a form of precommitment as the leading politicians in Europe figuratively have tied their hands from intervening in the common monetary policy.

Political marketing has changed the way political parties internationally behave in relation to the voters. The purpose of this study was to investigate how political marketing is conducted on a local level in Swedish political parties, and how the local and national level of the political parties coordinate the message they send out to the voters. An explorative study was performed by interviewing experts in the field in the form of politicians on both a local and a national level. Initially the local parties' methods were investigated, followed by a second stage where we researched the link between parties on the local and the national level. Marketing of parties on a local level turned out to a large extent to follow traditional methods.

AbstractWhy do Political Parties emerge? ? A Study of "Sjukvårdspartiet i Värmland"Political Science, Johan UtterThe political parties have important roles to play in contemporary society. They act as bearers of power and presents the voters with finished packages of ideas on how society should grow, develop and change. Political parties are essential to the survival and wellbeing of representative democracy. Many theories have been developed over the years concerning matters related to political parties, but one area of research remains largely unexplored, namely the topic on why political parties do emerge in the first place.

Var står ursprungsfolk i den internationella politiken?.

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 globalization of political and economic processes is a growing moral concern for theologians and political philosophers alike. My thesis aims to outline, analyze, and compare church studies of globalization with global theories of justice.To do this, I draw upon recent studies of globalization made by the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF). The WCC and LWF are two global reaching church organizations. They have a common aim of uniting churches for ecumenical dialogue and are involved in social, economic, political, and ecological questions. The WCC and LWF analyze globalization by applying biblical and theological principles from the Christian tradition.

The purpose of this paper is to examine teachers' approach to popular culture in preschool. The questions we want answered are: What approach do educators have to popular culture in preschool and what underlies that approach? Is there a high - and low culture in preschool? If educators bring popular culture into the preschool, how then is it used? Do children?s culture influence everyday life in preschool? We have employed qualitative methods to seek answers to our questions. We conducted seven interviews with educators from four different preschools. The starting point for our study was the socio-cultural perspective because we examined people's cultures and how the meeting between them unfolds. We concluded that educators have a very ambivalent attitude towards popular culture in preschool.

 The purpose of this essay is to study the republican and socialist Northern Ireland political party Sinn Féin and to examine its legitimacy in the eyes of the citizens of Northern Ireland. Is it possible to have a political agenda that includes violence and still maintain legitimacy? The Irish Republican Army?s (IRA) military struggle was for a long time a part of the party?s political agenda. This strategy has been described as to have a ballot paper in one hand and an Armalite in the other, and successfully made Sinn Féin one of the province?s largest political parties.