This thesis sets out to answer (1) why the Swedish municipalities of Malmö and Lund choose to become certified as Fairtrade Cities, that is; to adopt and promote Fair Trade regulations as stipulated by the Fairtrade Labelling Organization International, and (2) whether or not municipalities are morally entitled to strive to promote such regulations. In two case studies, interviews with representat

Who influences our notion of the European Union? This paper examines the Swedish discourse of the European Union. The study shows how the Swedish parties in the Riksdag (Parliament) build up the picture of the European Union, including and excluding aspects and issues after their interests. The discursive theory of Laclau and Mouffe is used in order to conceptualize and analyze the discursive con

The state of the Russian Armed Forces during the 1990’s was so critical that experts warned for a collapse. This thesis examines the relationship between rhetoric and measures taken concerning the capacity of the Armed Forces during Putin’s presidency. Studying the Russian Armed Forces is of interest since they influence and affect both the regional and global order. The theoretical foundation of

There is a war raging in our world, our country, our streets and our homes, fought in arenas sizing from courthouses down to the currently smallest electronic devices capable of upholding an internet connection. It is a battle of ideas fought by representatives of the notions that said ideas, respectively, are or are not priceless, a battle in the midst of which the state is held hostage by commer

Jordan is the only Arabic country that has granted full citizenship to all its Palestinian residents, who now constitute half the population and dominate the private sector. Although a reasonable expectation would be that Palestinian-Jordanians hold half of all governmental positions, a 1997 survey reported much lower representation. This thesis attempts to investigate current (early 2009) Palesti

This thesis examines the continuity, change and adaptation of blat – as a Soviet time, informal economic transaction network, that existed as a response to a non-functional economy. The analysis is based on 33 in-depth interviews conducted in 2009 during a field study in Ukraine and Belarus. The main focus is on individuals’ descriptions, justifications and explanations of their ongoing informal p

Unpacking and reconstituting different aspects of the Japanese narrative on China within the context of the Yasukuni controversy between 2001 and 2006, this thesis concludes that the constitution of China is an inherent part of the negotiating processes of the “Japanese we”. With a methodological framework comprised of grounded theory and narrative analysis; in its merged form referred to as groun

This paper takes its starting point with the enormous public attention that blogs got in 2008 regarding the “FRA” debate. In the media there is a consensus that the blogs influenced the parliamentary debate concerning the new law proposal. This essay intends to investigate the bearing of this consensus by comparing the debate in the blog sphere and the debate in the parliament and searching for si

The aim of this study is to understand whether globalization has any effects on modern democracy and if so to see whether it can be replaced by something else – something larger than democracy within the nation-state. The aim was also to find out whether a cosmopolitan democracy is possible among nation-states with the help of cosmopolitan theory. In order to receive this information the author ha

This thesis discusses Ireland’s rapid economic growth in the 1990s, in order to place in in the context of contemporary globalization debate. A great deal of the growth has been cited to stem from the state’s encouragement of globalization, in terms of increasing exposure to global markets. I investigate the interactions between the state and market, in order to determine of the economic growth wa

Discriminating rules of admission exclude accomplished students from universities and colleges in Sweden. Recent court cases have brought to attention that a majority of Swedish universities and colleges use positive discrimination with the intention of promoting equal rights for minority groups. The admission rules are designed to increase ethnic diversity and ensure gender equality but are contr

This study aims to present the media coverage of the period shortly after the Swedish parliamentary elections of 2006. It soon turned out that five of the newly appointed Swedish Ministers of government had committed immoral acts prior they were appointed Ministers. The basis for this study is a hypothesis that media tends to picture politicians in the context of different normative logics. The

Vi har valt att se varför länder väljer att samarbeta kring transnationella vattenresurser. Detta gör vi utifrån exemplet Nilen och tre av de länder som delar på denna vattenresurs, Egypten, Sudan och Etiopien. Utgångspunkten har varit teorin om hegemonisk maktställning och en analysmodell för interaktion gällande begränsade vattenresurser. Utifrån dessa har vi konstruerat en egen analysmodell för

Blogging as a phenomenon has spread far from its initial western context and provides new interesting research topics on the implications of the blogosphere in more authoritarian states. We however face many problems when trying to connect the technological complexity of the new information era and the social scientific theories of our discipline. By applying a framework designed to bring order an

This thesis aims to examine what significance the output of a citizen panel constitutes to a municipality’s administration. Citizen participation projects have increased in popularity due to decreasing electoral participation and fewer members in political parties. This constitutes a democratic problem as well as a problem of weakened information channels for the decision makers. There is a need f

The New Economic Partnership for Africa’s Development constitutes a new initiative to development, created by the African states themselves with an ultimate goal to be more integrated in the global economy on more equal terms and thereby reduce poverty within the continent. NEPAD sees democracy, good governance and human rights as necessary for sustainable development. This thesis examines the ass

The populist pattern in the post-communist Europe has growed and today it has a wide foundation to lean on. Two countries that have experienced several successful populist parties since the collapse of the communist system in 1989, are Hungary and Slovakia. I will here ask what the reasons for this breeding ground are and how the effects of globalisation affect this specific context. In order to d

With the Kyoto Protocol in effect and well into its implementation period, the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change are now in the midst of negotiating an agreement to govern the global policy on climate change in the post-Kyoto period. Recognizing the difficulties of the Parties to agree on the commitments laid out in the Kyoto Protocol and acknowledging in particu

Vetevendosje is a Kosovo-Albanian social movement which main political demand is self-determination. Social movements most commonly disappear or get institutionalized when reaching their political aim. What is interesting is that Vetevendosje did not follow this pattern. Even though the prime minister of Kosovo declared independence on the 17th of February in 2008, Vetevendosje is still alive and

Lobbying within the European Union is an everyday occurrence that provides officers and politicians with information for policy-making and gives organized interests a chance to represent their views. This thesis focuses on subnational interests experienced amount of access to the three major institutions in the EU; the Commission, the Parliament and the Council. The purpose of this thesis is to t