AbstractIn this bachelor thesis I discuss and analyse the current situation of the Venezuelan democracy. By using a theoretical framework based on the theory of horizontal accountability, I focus on the interaction between different institutions and branches within the state of Venezuela. The analysis focuses on the strenghts and flaws of the newly accepted constitution, and to what extent the institutions of checks and balances remain true to the laws and the constitution of 1999. My conclusions are that in terms of vertical accountability, the Chávez-regime acknowledges a wide popular support for their governmental actions. In contrast, the incumbent administration shows almost no respect for horizontal accountability.

The relationship between free trade and the environment is often considered conflicting and the debates surrounding it are infected. My thesis deal with this conflict and how environmental concerns are integrated in three regional free trade agreements, North American Free Trade Agreement, The common market of the southern cone (MERCOSUR) and Southern African Development Community (SADC). I point out how the organizations differ from each other in this respect and I present a possible explanation to why they differ. The explanation is founded on the theory of the environmental Kuznets curve and that environmental concerns will depend on which level of development the member states in the organizations have. To judge and rank the organizations I have composed a model based on a pre-existing description of the trade and environment conflict.

AbstractIn this thesis we analyze how institutions describe the dichotomy between ?problem? and ?resource? when dealing with young adults. We also analyze the consequences of this dichotomy as it involves the younger generation's participation and group identity in today's society. Dichotomies and New Institutionalism Theory is the base for this case study completed in Malmö, Sweden. We have done eight qualitative interviews with politicians and employees in Malmö municipality and a quantitative content analysis of reference documents from both the Malmö and Swedish governments.

Swedish migration law states that a person who wants to seek a residence permit based on family ties has to apply from the home country. This essay applies to cases when families that live in Sweden have to come apart when one parent has to return to the home country to seek a permit to which he or she is entitled.The rule causes families unnecessary suffering. This essay analyzes the reasons behind the rule and argues that it is compatible neither with Swedish policy of children's rights and gender equality nor with the international conventions that have been ratified.Furthermore, it is investigated whether the migration authorities act in compli-ance with the intentions behind the law. It is concluded that the Migration Board, despite their own critique of the rule, makes an unnecessarily restrictive interpre-tation. This results in a situation where no one takes responsibility for the conse-quences for the affected families.

Whether use of affirmative action can be justified is an ethical dilemma that hasbeen intensely debated. The question raises several conflict dimensions. Thepurpose of this thesis is to separate different arguments of the debate and classifywhich principles they are built upon. To accomplish this, an analytical instrumentis created where three different perspectives of equality, and deontology versusconsequentialism, are compared. A third conflict dimension, individual versusgroup ethical principles, is also considered.

This essay is a normative analysis concerning the question of whether the government should be allowed to use taxes to finance the state. What kind of ethical problems arise when the government use taxation? If it is possible to justify taxation, despite potential moral issues, then what should the government do with the funds they have collected? What kinds of government functions are morally justified? Is it merely the kinds of functions that are supposed to uphold negative human rights; or should the government provide health care, education and even culture for the citizens? This analysis aims to answer those questions and also formulate a principle about what the government should be occupied with, if anything at all. In order to achieve this I mainly use the terms freedom and justice to analyse ethical problems. The ideas of John Rawls and Robert Nozick are essential in this project.My answer is that taxation is justified as long as the purpose is to maintain the most fundamental human rights and also under other special circumstances such as if an individual cannot find a way to finance basic education or necessary health care.

Undersökningen i denna uppsats kretsar kring det civila samhällets roll underfredsprocessen i Moçambique. Trots att ett brutalt inbördeskrig drabbadeinvånarna hårt lyckades de upprätthålla ett stort engagemang för fred. Direkt fred uppnåddes genom det avtal som signerades 1992. Sedan dess har landet haft fred i drygt 15 år, trots att inga vanligt förekommande försoningsverktyg som sanningskommissioner och rättegångar upprättades. Uppsatsen ämnar undersöka det civila samhällets roll för dels den direkta freden men framförallt deras omfattande arbete för att se till att försoning skapades i landet.

The purpose of this study is to examine to what extent the senior level Swedish school can be viewed as supporting, or counteracting, a colonial discourse that legitimizes global and national injustices. The study is executed through a discourse analysis of five textbooks in social science for senior level Swedish schools.Using elements from Foucault and Edward Said a theoretical framework is constructed, in which a colonial discourse is perceived as structured around four clusters of ideas, namely (i) the use of dichotomies, (ii) the concept of progress and civilization, (iii) the construction of -we- as synonymous with (ii), and (iv) the construction of -the others- as the opposite of (ii) and, therefore, the opposite of -us-.The results show that a colonial discourse is still highly present in the textbooks, in that the texts are structured around dichotomies such as tradition/modernity and democracy/dictatorship. Sweden and the Western world are perceived as closely associated with democracy, freedom, and modernity, whereas -the others- of the world are being associated with e.g. poverty, conflict, tradition, and ignorance. -The others- within Sweden, i.e.

The Swedish integration policy acts upon that all citizen should have equal rights and possibilities no matter ethnic and cultural background. In today's Sweden it is more or less a self-evident that immigrants ought to prepare the possibility to preserve their original cultural distinctive character according to the Governments Proposition 1997/98:16. Simultaneously the term integration and its actual meaning and its political significance are not always clear.Immigrants as a categorization are often overloaded with negative overtone and risk to seem discriminated. The category reinforces also a ?we? and ?them? thinking.

The purpose of this thesis is to critically investigate how to understand the regional transformations that are occurring in Sweden and Denmark. At a higher level of abstraction the results can be generalised to a wider context and I have found that there is an ideological hegemony that explains the regional transformation. Nation states are reterritorialising due to a changing world where global capital is becoming increasingly flexible and competition between states, regions and municipalities is needed to adjust. By using Sandberg's model of structural reforms I have shown that the differences between Sweden's and Denmark's reterritorialisation are due to differences in national political culture and existing administrative systems. In fact these two structural reforms are based on the same regionalist ideology as a reaction to the changing global economy.To investigate the regional transformations I have carried out an idea and ideology analysis on the recent Swedish proposal from Ansvarskommittén, Strukturkommissionen in Denmark and the proposal by the Danish government which was carried out in 2007.

It seems like Swedish municipalities are dominated by beliefs that all citizen participation is good for the development of local democracy. A critic of this certainty is rising among Swedish scholars of political science. However, a critic with an ambition of such generalization is harsh. Different democratic projects contents different qualities and thereby diverse problems in the democratic process. If these democratic problems within the process can be recognized, a deeper understanding can be found and in the prolongation a strengthening of the democracy.This essay examines the democratic process of Lomma municipality's democratic project of citizen participation.

I denna D-uppsats studeras förslaget att ersätta dagens län med 6-9 storregioner. Studien syftar till att analysera och diskutera hur detta förslag kommer påverka Norrbottens län, samt jämföra förslagets förväntade effekt med resultatet som har påvisats av försöksverksamheten i Region Skåne och Region Västra Götaland. De frågeställningar som uppsatsen behandlar studerar vad regionaliseringen skulle innebära för Norrbottens län, vad gäller demokratiska och ekonomiska aspekter, med utgångspunkt från Ansvarskommitténs del- och slutbetänkanden, samt Statskontorets utvärdering av försöksverksamheten i de ovan nämnda regionerna. Två regionindelningsförslag identifieras, bestående av antingen Norrbottens och Västerbottens län, eller dessa tillsammans med Jämtlands och Västernorrlands län. Uppsatsen resulterar i att effekter på samordning och resursutnyttjande inte är tillräckliga argument för eller emot regionalt självstyre, att det är oklart om decentraliseringsprocessens effekt på Norrbotten kommer ha den effekt som regeringskansliet ämnar, nämligen att verksamhetsansvar och beslutsfattande ska ligga så nära de människor som berörs av besluten som möjligt.

Den första juli 1997 firades Hongkongs återförening med Kina med pompa och ståt. Den brittiska kolonin blev Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) inom Kina. Hongkong skulle behålla sitt politiska system sida vid sida med fastlandets under principen "ett land, två system". Vi har identifierat att principen innebär en konflikt i den specifika situationen och använder oss av Browns teori om tre typer av nationalism. Kinas kommunistparti använder två typer av nationalism för att samla invånarna i en nation och legitimera sitt styre.

Syftet med uppsatsen är att beskriva och analysera om Kosovo har de ekonomiska och sociala förutsättningrna för att skapa en grogrund för ett demokratiskt styre. Som grund för uppsatsens teoretiska del ligger demokratiteoretikerna Robert D. Putnam och Robert A. Dahl tankar kring vad som krävs för att kunna skapa en väl fungerande demokrati. Maktstrukturen i Kosovo har varierat över tiden.

Denna komparativa studie behandlar de faktorer som spelat in i militärregimernasfall i Grekland och Argentina. Som teoretiskt ramverk för analysen utgår vi ifrånO´Donnell och Schmitter "Transitions from Authoritarian Rule" samtHuntingtons teorier i "The Third Wave". Studien är av "mest lika design", varssyfte är att finna de faktorer som de båda transitionerna delar, för att därmedkunna dra generella slutsatser om faktorer bakom militärregimers fall.Resultatet visar att bakomliggande faktorer i de båda fallen ärlegitimitetsproblem, liberalisering, civil society, liberalisering, hard och softliners,mobilisering av civila politiska aktörer, samt de slutgiltiga militära nederlagensom transitionsutlösare. Studien visar att den viktigaste av dessa faktorer ärlegitimitetsproblemet, eftersom denna faktor på ett eller annat sätt är kopplad tillövriga. Vidare visare studien att ekonomisk instabilitet spelar en stor roll imilitärregimernas fall, vilket inte lyfts fram i teorin..