The function of traditional leaders in the modern states of Africa has been under debate for decades. The dominant research discourse suggests that these institutions should be integrated into the state in order to minimize the amount of parallel political spheres, since the latters are considered to affect state legitimacy negatively. But are the states in a situation where they need to compete with the traditional institutions in order to gain more legitimacy? If so, is the struggle for legitimacy a zero-sum game where there can only be one winner? Or is it possible for these institutions to co-exist or even benefit from each other? The aim of this bachelor?s thesis is to research if, and to what extent, African citizens? confidence in traditional institutions has an effect on state legitimacy. This has been done by statistically analyzing the data from the latest completed round of the Afrobarometer survey, a study that has been conducted in 20 different countries across West- and Northeast Africa.

This paper deals with institutional and structural factors' influence on democratic transition in limited multiparty regimes in Sub-Saharan Africa. Comparing the cases Kenya and Tanzania, of which the former has made a transition to democracy and the latter has not, this paper reaches the conclusion that political traditions, the coalescing of the opposition, and the elites ability to learn from the electoral process is essential for a transition to democracy. In the specific cases, the harshness of the Moi regime and the Tanzanian vision of national unity may possibly carry some explanatory power, alongside the pressure from international actors.These results have been reached through the application of a comparative case study, where democratic transition constitutes the dependent variable. It should be noted that a harsh definition of the term transition has been applied, according to which the incumbents actual loss of an election is a necessary indicator for transition. However, the Freedom House and Polity scores have been brought up as complement of this definition.

The Swedish legislation (Socialtjänstlagen, SoL 5 kap 1§ 6 st.) state that the social welfare committee is particularly responsible for those children whom are in need of support and help after an adoption or custody matter has been decided. "Adoption - but at what price?" SOU 2003:49 is a state report with the purpose to investigate different aspects around international adoptions, which brings up and discusses what supports there is for adoptive families in Sweden. With this background and a special attention towards adoptive children's health conditions when arriving to their new country we decided to study the subject adoption. By interviewing different professionals and volunteers that work with adoptive families in Sweden the aim with this study was to acknowledge how they look upon the support the Swedish community offers for adoptive parents and also how they consider the knowledge about adoption among those who in their line of work can meet adoptive children is.

During the last years a discussion has emerged around problems with Swedish state boards trying to influence the public opinion and even political bodies through different kind of information efforts. Several observers inside and outside the academy have studied how state boards increasingly use information as an instrument and also how political bodies increasingly have given such instructions to state boards. This essay put those studies into the context of both information political history and previous theoretical interpretations in that field of research.The analytical tool consists of four ideal typical ways ('state opinions') to arrange relations between the state and the citizen. Some critics focus on problems with too much political steering and how political majorities uses state boards to spread ideological propaganda. Others highlight problems with autonomy and bureaucratic organizations taking initiatives by themselves to spread normative information.

On December 1th 2009 the Lisbon Treaty entered into force, and through Article 13, the recognition of animals as sentient being was given a more visible part in the very core of EU law. This was an effect of a political decision to commit to the issue, partly because of the will to further harmonize the EU market, but also due to increased societal concern for the wellbeing of animals. Over the last decades, ethical awareness is growing in many countries, one reason being new scientific discovery. This influences legislators and policy makers to take proper action, and in this way, ethics and science often work together as the very basis for the development of new legislation and policies. There is yet to be seen what the actual consequences of Article 13 will be, since the legal obligation remains the same and there are still some reservations in it.

Abstract:The aim of this study has been to investigate (theoretically as well as empirically) the problematic notions of state neutrality and political perfectionism and, in particular, the potentially vast continuum existing between these concepts both in theory and in actual political practice. In order to accomplish this, a conceptual analysis has examined (some of) the arguments for and against state neutrality and political perfectionism, different aspects of neutralism and perfectionism as well as the exact definition of the concepts of ?neutrality of justification? and ?conceptions of the good?. Using a specific (though not entirely uncontested) definition of these concepts, an empirical analysis was made of Swedish parliamentary parties and their cultural policies. The empirical part of the study seemed to confirm one of the basic premises of this study; that state neutrality and perfectionism are often (as has indeed been recognized by critics of state neutrality) intertwined in the business of everyday politics..

This essay analyzes the market for entertainment software by identifying and explain the products typical properties, in addition i clarifies the behavior of consumers and producers. One of the most important property related to software is the ease with which it can be reproduced. When such reproduction is done illicit it´s called piracy. The software industry often claims that piracy leads to big losses for the companies as well as in welfare, the essay clarifies that this doesn´t has to be the case. On the contrary the possibility to cheap production and distribution may lead to an increased welfare.

This essay is about North Korea, Kim Jong Il and how the future looks for the states political system. The purpose is to explain how Kim Jong Il and the North Korean regim rules the state and with help of Machiavellis theory about the Prince, tell about the states future. The essayinvestigates how well Kim Jong Il and the North Korean regime are keeping their power overthe state and if their possibilities to continue in the same way are good or bad. The essayinvestigates North Koreas possibilities for further reign through Niccolo Machiavellis theory.The argument is that the North Korean state and Kim Jong Il have few or noneconditions to continue with the same political system that the state in this time have.The result shows that, through a Machiavellian perspective, Kim Jong Il and the North Korean regime have bad conditions to continue ruling the state in same way as now. The investigation, unfortunately, do not show when and how North Korea will be exposed to a government switch , but the result points to a change..

This essay is about North Korea, Kim Jong Il and how the future looks for the states political system. The purpose is to explain how Kim Jong Il and the North Korean regim rules the state and with help of Machiavellis theory about the Prince, tell about the states future. The essayinvestigates how well Kim Jong Il and the North Korean regime are keeping their power overthe state and if their possibilities to continue in the same way are good or bad. The essayinvestigates North Koreas possibilities for further reign through Niccolo Machiavellis theory.The argument is that the North Korean state and Kim Jong Il have few or noneconditions to continue with the same political system that the state in this time have.The result shows that, through a Machiavellian perspective, Kim Jong Il and the North Korean regime have bad conditions to continue ruling the state in same way as now. The investigation, unfortunately, do not show when and how North Korea will be exposed to a government switch , but the result points to a change..

Electrical stunning is the method that has been used in Sweden to stun broilers prior to slaughter. However, for reasons of animal welfare and meat quality, research has been made in the EU to develop new stunning methods. Gas stunning is now regarded as the best alternative. In this study literature has been reviewed with focus on different gas stunning systems and observations have been made at two different slaughterhouses regarding animal welfare before, during and directly after stunning. At one slaughter plant carbondioxide was used in a two-stage system where the birds were standing on a conveyer belt during the stunning procedure.

Animal welfare issues are not considered as high priority in Malawi, a developing country in south east Africa, due to problems affecting the human population. In Lilongwe, the capital city, education programs are used to increase the awareness of animal welfare issues among primary school children. A study was undertaken to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practice of animal welfare in primary school children as well as two different teaching methods for animal welfare, namely humane lessons (HL) and Animal Kindness Clubs (AKC). The gender perspective, in terms of differences in attitude towards and knowledge in animal welfare, was also evaluated as well as the link between domestic and animal violence. The study was performed in collaboration with Lilongwe Society for the Protection and Care of Animals (LSPCA). A questionnaire of multiple choice character was handed out to 249 children aged between 9 and 15 from six different schools.

The purpose of this essay is to study how the local creators of a "master plan" for the swedish city Kristinehamn, the years between 1940 to -43, looked on their planning. It is an analysis of ideas case study. A hypothesis is upheld for the research: that the local physical planning had largely extended ambitions what regards central state control in a way that is similar to planned economy. Questions that are asked include: Was the planning assumed to be a tool for the state to regulate the environment? Can the planning be seen as a mean to control the society in time and space? The essay search for verification of the hypothesis by a theoretical analysis apparatus made upp of ideal types.

The Swedish reindeer husbandry has had economic difficulties for some years. Due to this, and the fact that the reindeer husbandry plays an important role in Sámi culture, the Swedish state has chosen to support the industry. If these grants where to be withdrawn, the reindeer husbandry as well as the Sámi culture would decrease, which would cause welfare losses for the people living in Sweden. The aim of this study was to elicit what the Swedes are willing to pay to maintain the amount of reindeer husbandry and Sámi culture. By using Contingent Valuation and a survey the willingness to pay was estimated.

This thesis deals with the ethical attitudes of professionals working with Methadone or Subutex assisted rehabilitation, concerning the constructed guidelines and directions from the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare. The central themes in the thesis are: 1. What do professionals think of the rules concerning admissions to the rehabilitation programme? 2. What do professionals think of the rules/criteria for being excluded from the programme? 3.

The focus of this thesis is on social workers? knowledge in assessing and making decisions in child welfare cases. The primary aim is to identify what skills or knowledge social workers find most useful within child welfare agencies in Swedish municipalities. Six different types of knowledge, social policy and the approach of child welfare cases are perspectives considered in the analysis. The interviews with social workers were held in three agencies in southern Sweden, in 2014.