The purpose with this essay was to examine how the European Union is working totransfer norms to states they signed an agreement with and provide support for inframe of the Barcelona process and the Tacis programme. The theory which weused was Ian Manners (PhD in Political Science) theory of "the EU as a uniquenormative power". The aim was to examine whether the EU - which Manners mean- has had a normative power to influence states to change. We used a qualitativeapproach through the use of a multiple case study and qualitative text and contentanalysis. The States which formed the basis of our study were within the BarcelonaProcess; Morocco and Tunisia as well as Azerbaijan and Armenia funded by theTacis programme.

Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) within the European Union are currently facing many challenges one being access to financing due to high risk and probability of default, another being cross-border taxation issues with double taxation and information asymmetry. Since the aim within the EU is to be the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world with sustainable economic growth and social cohesion it is essential that the EU operates as a single market. Despite this need, harmonization continues to be far from achieved in the area of direct taxation which also affects the integration and growth opportunities for SMEs. In the Agenda for Entrepreneurship, the Home State Taxation regime, which is based on formula apportionment, has been proposed by the Commission as one option in order to mutually recognize the different Member States? taxation systems to facilitate cross-border activities and reduce ?red-tape?.

The aim with this essay is to examine in which way self-realizing and solidarity can bereconciled in a multicultural society. The essay is a sociological literature study whichexamines the self- realizing process and puts it in a multicultural perspective.The issues areWhich role does self-realizing play for solidarity?How is solidarity created in a multicultural society?Can everyone be self-realized in a multicultural society?Conditions and problems for self-realizing processes are examined and are treated mainly onthe basis of Jeffrey C. Alexander and Axel Honneth theories. In the essay is established thatself-realizing and society-solidarity is mutually interdependent and that solidarity requires aform of shared value, but it doesn?t need to be based in the traditional values that commonhistory, ethnicity or culture.

A group of companies that only recently has caught the attention of Swedish designers, enterprises and media are the so -called "furniture pirates". In Sweden it?s mainly two companies that have ended up in the spotlight. The online stores Ikon M and Designers Revolt are two companies which currently sell replicas of famous Swedish and foreign designers. Although the designs sold are copyright protected in Sweden, and most other European countries, the right holders can only stand by and watch as more or less exact copies are sold for a fraction of the price of the originals.The business model - to exploit the EU?s free movement of goods and the UK's short term of copyright protection in matter of mass-produced art (industrial design) - has proven successful for the companies that practice it.

This thesis examines the European Union's sanctions policy regarding human rights and interdependence. Previous research has discussed whether sanctions are effective or result in desirable outcomes. This paper aims to take a step back and understand motives by analyzing consistency in the EU?s decisions to impose sanctions. The question is relevant because formal justification can be used to cloak actual motives, and by examining actual decisions, the analyses shed light on motives.

The aim of this paper is to describe and explain which policy instruments for human rights (HR) the United States and the European Union use towards Burma and to examine the priority given to HR in their respective foreign policy. From the results of an empirical analysis this paper seeks to analyze the US and the EU as powers in the international system and aims to explain their behavior from this theoretical perspective. From the theoretical approaches used I conclude that these actors act in different ways regarding the Burmese issue. This is partially due to the structure of the international system. Both actors primarily use different forms of diplomatic tools and sanctions to try to force change for HR in Burma.

The study seeks knowledge about the Swedish euro-scepticism and about the work of the Swedish euro-sceptical Members of the European Parliament (MEPs). How do they work in an environment where the norm is to have a positive attitude towards a future federal state of Europe? How do they regard their own situation and possibilities to make a change?The study includes a debate on today's Swedish euro-scepticism as background. My finding about the MEPs? work is that their way of acting in the European Parliament does not distinguish from other MEPs? in large.

This essay investigates the integration of the school library into teaching in one of Sweden?s senior high schools and the effects of the new education act which gives school libraries a stronger standing. A second purpose is to investigate teachers? views on professional responsibility with regard to the development of information literacy. Through an email survey different aspects of library integration are investigated.

Standing outside the EU and the EES, Switzerland is a unique state characterized by federalism, direct democracy and neutrality. Though always focused on preserving these features and its sovereignty, Switzerland has managed to gain access to some sectors of the single market through bilateral agreements with the EU. The purpose of this thesis is to examine what level of integration Switzerland has reached in those bilaterally regulated sectors of the single market. As integration cannot easily be assessed, the extent of the Swiss adoption of the acquis is seen as an indicator of the level of integration and is thus examined. The conclusion is that Switzerland, mostly due to the economic interest of common rules, but partly due to pressure from the EU, almost completely adopts the acquis in the bilaterally regulated sectors, including the interpretation of the ECJ.

The main purpose of this essay is to study the Swedish labor law concerning employees who are, aspire to be, or are expected to become parents, both men and women. Thereby accomplishing a gender perspective on the issue at hand. The study also take in to account the laws issued by the European Union, and their impact on the Swedish law system, so as to gain an international perspective. The laws regarding parental leave, both Swedish and European, involve protection for workers from being treated in a less favorable way than someone in a comparable situation, as employers are forbidden to disfavor any employee or job-seeker in basically all situations in the work place or in a recruiting context, if the disfavor is in any way related to the parental leave. The only situation where an employer is allowed to disfavor an employee regarding his or her parental leave, is if the disfavoring is a necessary consequent of the employee?s absence.

Corruption is a very broad definition which is not easy to define. It happens due to the phenomenon?s complexity and its many different forms and syndromes. Before fighting corruption it is therefore necessary to find its roots and form. Furthermore, many countries aspire today for a better democracy but find visible barriers on their ways in a form of corruption i.a.

Denna rapport tar upp ett verkligt scenario där ett företag köpt upp ett annat och behöver slå samman sina IT miljöer. I rapporten går man först igenom teorin som behövs för att kunna planera flytten av en rad olika komponenter. Där efter tar metoden oss igenom hur flytten gjort i detta fall med de olika delkomponenterna. Resultatet av denna fusion får ses som lyckat då de uppsatta målen kunnat nås..

The purpose of the essay is to discuss from the theory about the established and the Outsiders if the Culture Centre Blå Stället can serve as a meeting point between the majority of the people and the minority of the people in Gothenburg. The idea of Blå Stället is that it shall work as a house available for everyone and as a cultural meeting point between people in and outside Angered. I argue if Blå Stället really is a place where people from Gothenburg as a whole go or if there are some hindrances for their visions. My study is comprised of interviews with three of the staff at Blå Stället. With the theory about the established and the outsiders I want to show that the division in the city between ?them? and ?us? has to do with differences of power.

The purpose of this thesis is to explore what possibilities Swedish public library has to work with and promote integration. The possibilities are examined on the basis of internal requirements of integration, the role of public library in the civil society and its policy documents. Further, the thesis examines what Swedish National library politics could contribute to this particular field. The experience of integration politics shows that a genuine commitment from all parts of the society is required in order to build an integrated society. The part of a society that public libraries are closest to and have the greatest impact on is undoubtedly the civil society.

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze how museums, seen as heterotopic places where time and space act simultaneously, can, with the help of museum educators and guides, integrate the foreign citizens in Sweden. The analysis is done with the help of three institutions: The Vasa Museum, the Royal Armory and The Great Synagogue in Stockholm.The author of the thesis argues that recruiting trained personnel with foreign roots by museums would help significantly in the creation of a sense of collective identity and belonging among those citizens who are just adapting to the country. Through the use of Swedish, in conjunction with their mother tongue, as well as analogies, an important contribution can be attained in their integration.In this work, concepts such as the accent, are treated in a categorical manner, as the author, with the assistance of other researchers, concluded that the accent should not influence the perception of the intellectual and work capability of a professional museum educator/guide.History represents another key element in this thesis, as it discusses the way to find a new narrative form to channel history and refer to it, thus sharing historical roots with these new immigrants in Sweden..