Prior to the end of the Cold War, China's foreign policy was in large shaped by a confrontational, power-based discourse. However, since the early 1990s, China's foreign policy in general and its regional policy in particular has undergone significant change. Today, China operates in large with, and within major international and regional institutions and regimes. This is also notable conc

The purpose of this thesis is to study how homosexuals and homosexuality were represented in the press during the trials against the Pentecostal pastor Åke Green, and to what kind of social representations and narratives these representations can be related. Using critical discourse analysis and theories about the differentiation between in- and outgroups I try to unveil implicit meanings and att

Scholars, philosophers, politicians, and citizens alike have been fascinated, since their first implementation in old Athens, with the conceptualisation of separation of powers principle, and the checks and balances mechanisms. Through a case study of the US constitution, this essay analyzes how the separation of powers principle and checks and balances mechanisms, with regards to foreign policy,

Every now and then new political ideas appear which creates debate. A current example of political debate is the one which concerns the creation of a feminist political party in Sweden -Feministiskt initiativ. Apparent in the current debate is that there are two existing conflicts of ideas present. The liberal thought of politics of ideas stands against feminism's demand for presence in the po

The special relationship between Israel and the US has been subject to questioning, and good many theories have tried to explain why it is so strong. The most common explanation is rooted in the school of realism, where strategy and national interest decide who one's ally is. This essay aspires to examine another possible reason for allianceformation; identity. Several books, which make for th

The aim of this thesis is to discuss the construction of Taiwanese identity in Shanghai and compare with the studies on identity formation in Taiwan itself. The thesis is divided into three parts: cultural identity, ethnic identity and political identity. A total of 10 male and female students from Taiwan who had resided a year and above and enrolled in higher education in Shanghai were interviewe

Japanese model was viewed as an exemplary capitalism model of successful long-term economic growth. However, after 1990s, Japanese ?bubble economy? burst and Japan turned into the phase of economy winter. Under the new international conditions, the Anglo-American model seems more suitable for globalization and liberalized market, whereas the Japanese model was becoming more problematic and the fea

The purpose of this study was to understand how the young Shanghainese use the Internet in the??, the Internet café; the demographic determinants that are associated with the use; and the motives and habitsrelated to using the Internet café as an access point to the Internet. The central questions were: "Within the Internet café environment, how do the café users use the Internet and what are

Chinese women have, by international standards, a comparatively low rate of birth control pill use. This study attempts, through interviews with social scientists and pharmacy surveys, to determine why women do not choose contraceptive pills more often. Interviews with patients and doctors reveal that there are several factors which combine to strongly dissuade women from using birth control pills

The intention of present thesis was to investigate the linkages between social capital and household's well-beings in rural fishing community in which a community based a fisher's management project (CBFM) promoted some essential element of social capital such as group association life, level of trust, and mutually benefits collective actions. This paper has brought attention to role of CB

De flesta individer, myndigheter och samhällsinstitutioner erkänner idag att mäns våld mot kvinnor är ett stort samhällsproblem. Det finns emellertid inte någon gemensam syn på orsakerna till våldet, och som en följd av detta inte heller kring vilka åtgärder som är lämpliga att vidta. En uppdelning av förklaringsmodeller kan göras i dels avvikelseperspektiv som fokuserar på faktorer genom vilka vå

The purpose of this paper was to evaluate how the single child daughters born under the one-child policy perceive gender equality and their experience of gender equality or inequality in their everyday lives. China, despite today having the world largest population, implemented the one-child policy in 1979 in order to curb the exploding population. As the one-child policy implied, each couple is o

Ever since Lipsky wrote about street-level bureaucrats in 1980 the main belief has been that certain characteristics of their jobs make it exceptionally difficult to severely reduce their discretion. However, discretion comes at a price and if public servants abuse their power the legitimacy of government is at risk and ultimately even the democracy. This thesis address this question by analysing

This study discusses why trade unions at the European level do not play as an important role as early neofunctionalist theory (E.B. Haas) had foreseen. The study thereby provides a twofold answer, as both, the accuracy of the theory as such and the weaknesses of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) in particular, are problematised. Structurally, the research is conducted with the help of

In September 2003 the Swedish minister of foreign affairs Anna Lindh was murdered. The murder shocked Sweden and the picture of a safe homeland was challenged. The Swedish people joined together in different manifestations and rituals to show their appreciation for the minister and to mourn together. A few days later the nation was going to vote on whether Sweden should join the euro and the minis

Abstract In this essay I discuss narrative in the reconstruction of national identity. I discuss exclusion as a side effect in thick identities. That means that thick national identities always exclude another part. From this I´ve discussed the Swedish identity and its effects in the European co-operation. Identity is a discourse that reconstructs linguistically. Therefore I?ve analysed 92 letter

In this theses I discuss and analyse how nationalism effects local conflict reporting with a field study in Israel and the occupuied territories. Since 2000 Israelis and Palestinians have not been able to meet each other. The Israelis do not enter the occupied palestinian territories because of fear and Palestinians are not allowed to enter Israel without a special permitt. Instead they met throug

What role should science play in democracy? Political scientists often assume that it is possible to demarcate between ?instrumental? and ?moral? knowledge, and argue that citizens and/or politicians should use their moral knowledge to agree upon political goals and then apply the instrumental knowledge of scientists to achieve them. This straightforward view is challenged by writers in science st

Detta är en undersökning av hur två tidningar som riktar sig till kvinnor konstruerar bilden av kvinnan. Analysen grundar sig på ett nummer av vardera tidningen (Femina Nr 9, september 2004 och amelia Nr 20, 16 september 2004) med fokus på ledarna och därtill en artikel som porträtterar en kvinna eller kvinnor. I Femina analyseras ledaren ?I kålrotens tecken? och artikeln om Marie Göranzon. I amel

When the rural Aymara migrate to El Alto they experience a cultural alienation as their culture and identity is contested by the global influences and western values of the city. The migrants have to reconstruct their identity in a process of identity-formation, which can be located on a range between the opposing tendencies of assimilation and revalorization. Revalorization or to revalue, is to a