Diss. Örebro : Örebro universitet, 2004.

Studiens syfte har varit att undersöka hur två gymnasieskolor med olika huvudmän arbetar med elevinflytandet och elevers påverkansmöjligheter och hur detta kan förhålla sig till begreppet en likvärdig skola. Fyra kvalitativa djupintervjuer har gjorts med två rektorer och två elever på skolorna. Den teoretiska utgångspunkten för studien har visat att skolorna gått igenom olika faser kring elevinflytandet som liberalisering, transition och konsolidering vilket ses som en demokratisk lärprocess för att utveckla elevinflytandet. Resultatet visar att rektorerna arbetar på olika sätt med elevinflytandet där såväl formella och kollektiva som informella och individuella påverkanskanaler, används för att säkerställa elevinflytandet. Eleverna på skolorna hade möjligheter att påverka liknande intresseområden som exempelvis skolmiljön och undervisningsrelaterade frågor och menade att de kunde vara med och påverka och nå ett inflytande över skolan. På så sätt fanns det en form av likvärdigt inflytande som skapades genom olika tillvägagångssätt och påverkanskanaler.

Slovenia and Latvia are two examples of countries which have gone through a successful democratic transition. They were both under authoritarian rule and command economy up until their declarations of independence in the early 90s. Today they have a functional market economy and political pluralism. I have examined transition theories highlighted by Jonas Linde and Joakim Ekman and from these theories sought the explanations to what lies behind the successful transitions of these two countries.   The transition in Slovenia was affected by liberalization from within the ruling communist party which then controlled much of the transition process. A relatively large civil society and the fact that Slovenia was not involved in the Balkan War also contributed to the short process. In the case of Lativa was the strong public support for independence an important factor. The communist party could be defeated in the parliament in 1990, giving the Popular Front of Latvia legitimacy to declare the country independent. A constitution was created based on the one Latvia had created in 1922 when the country was an independent state for the first time.   In neither Slovenia nor Latvia was violent revolutionary action a significant force for political change. Despite Latvia’s economical problems after the collapse of the Soviet economy and the ethnic segregation a political consensus remained that the democratic system had to withstand. The strive for full market economy and independence was an important factor in Slovenia as well as in Latvia. In Slovenia however, the political liberalization occurred before the economic. The state remained in partial control of the economy for a few years in order to secure a successful transition.

<p>This study examines Romania’s way from being a candidate country, to full membership in the European Union in January 2007. The main focus is how the EU has handled the Human Rights accusations directed towards Romania, particularly in the area of Child Protection. The case is analyzed by using a maximalistic definition of democracy, examining the importance of social rights in a country’s ongoing process of democratization. The results of the study reveal that the European Union, throughout the years of accession negotiations, has imposed much pressure on Romania to fulfill the EU-criteria. It is also apparent that while the European Union accepted Romania as a new member state, and considered these serious child abuses to be solved, many other international organizations are still critical. The concluding chapter analyses the findings of the study, actualizing the questions of whether the children’s situation have vitally been improved and if the Romanian process of democratization has reached its consolidating phase.</p>

Diss. Örebro : Örebro universitet, 2006. / På titelsidan felaktig numrering: 13.

<p>Slovenia and Latvia are two examples of countries which have gone through a successful democratic transition. They were both under authoritarian rule and command economy up until their declarations of independence in the early 90s. Today they have a functional market economy and political pluralism. I have examined transition theories highlighted by Jonas Linde and Joakim Ekman and from these theories sought the explanations to what lies behind the successful transitions of these two countries.</p><p> </p><p>The transition in Slovenia was affected by liberalization from within the ruling communist party which then controlled much of the transition process. A relatively large civil society and the fact that Slovenia was not involved in the Balkan War also contributed to the short process. In the case of Lativa was the strong public support for independence an important factor. The communist party could be defeated in the parliament in 1990, giving the Popular Front of Latvia legitimacy to declare the country independent. A constitution was created based on the one Latvia had created in 1922 when the country was an independent state for the first time.</p><p> </p><p>In neither Slovenia nor Latvia was violent revolutionary action a significant force for political change. Despite Latvia’s economical problems after the collapse of the Soviet economy and the ethnic segregation a political consensus remained that the democratic system had to withstand. The strive for full market economy and independence was an important factor in Slovenia as well as in Latvia. In Slovenia however, the political liberalization occurred before the economic. The state remained in partial control of the economy for a few years in order to secure a successful transition.</p>

Den grundläggande frågan i det här arbetet är: vad innebär delande i och av det offentliga rummet? Texten är uppbyggd som en fiktiv diskussion situerad i staden och den tar upp några av de frågeställningar som dyker upp i samband med delande av resurser och rum; Delandekultur, Tillit och Konflikt. Kapitlet Om Läktaren diskuterar den praktiska delen av arbetet som resulterade i en broliknande struktur framtagen med den framväxande Jubileumsparken i Göteborg i åtanke. Strukturen - Läktaren - är ett våningsplan ovanför mark- och parkplan och därmed delvis ett rum vid sidan av. Det skapar en annan form av handlingsutrymme än det som finns mitt på öppen gata. Designprocessen är illustrerad i en samling bilder i slutet av essän. / The underlying question in this thesis is: what is sharing in and of public space? The text has the form of a fictitious discussion about sharing of assets and space, taking place in the city. Culture of sharing, Trust and Conflict are the main topics, followed by a chapter About The Bleacher. This chapter is about the practical part of the thesis, which ended up in a bridge-like structure designed for the future Jubileumsparken in Gothenburg. The structure - The Bleacher - is a second floor above ground level and is therefor a somewhat distanced space. It creates a different room for action than in the middle of the street. The design process is illustrated in the end of the essay.

This essay have examined why Tunisia succeeded in democratizing when Libya did not. The two questions that this paper has set itself are the following: How can Tunisia's evolution from dictatorship to democracy after the Arab Spring be explained? How can the Libyan failure of democratization after the Arab Spring be explained? Based on four of Larry Diamonds nine factors in the book "The Spirit of Democracy: The Struggle to Build Free Societies Throughout the World", these two questions are answered. When answering these two questions, this paper applied a research design that is a comparative “Few Case Study”, more correct, a reversed "Most Similar Research Design" (MSRD). The analysis of the four factors showed that Libya is not democratized because the country did not receive any support after the international military intervention took place. It is known that “democracy by force” does not bring democracy overnight and the country would have needed help with evolving democracy. In Tunisia's case, the Arab spring was relatively peaceful, and the transition to democracy could happen in a calm way.

Diss. Uppsala : Uppsala universitet, 2006.

<p>Det svenska biståndet inriktat mot demokratisering uppgick 2008 till ca 4 miljarder kr. Det civila samhällets roll i demokratiseringsprocesser har fått ökad uppmärksamhet de senaste 15 åren och är numera ett av de vanligaste fokusområdena inom demokratibistånd. Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka det svenska demokratibiståndet inriktat på det civila samhället och dess effekter och dess möjligheter att påverka demokratiseringsprocesser Genom att undersöka utvärderingar av olika projekt, vars syfte varit att stärka det civila samhället, har biståndets egentliga effekter kunnat redovisas. De länder som undersöks i denna uppsats är Moldavien, Etiopien, Zimbabwe och fyra län-der i Latinamerika; Bolivia, Guatemala, Peru, Nicaragua. De resultat som redovisas i upp-satsen ligger först och främst i attityd- och beteendeförändringar på individnivå hos de som varit inblandade i organisationer, men även bland vanliga medborgare. Människor har blivit mer medvetna om deras politiska och civila rättigheter. I vissa fall har även förändringar skett främst på lokalnivå, där kommunalpolitiker blivit mindre rädda för det civila samhäl-let, och dialoger kunnat föras och där organisationer och vanliga medborgare vågat ställa krav på vissa av deras rättigheter. På detta plan har biståndet alltså kunnat påverka det civila samhället.Vad som dock utgör ett hinder för det civila samhällets möjligheter att påverka på nationell nivå är den bristande respekt som de statliga institutionerna visar. För att det civila samhäl-let ska kunna påverka beslut och öka demokratin i de länder som undersöks behöver en ömsedig respekt utvecklas mellan staten och det civila samhället.</p> / <p>The Swedish aid focused on democratization amounted to approximately 4 billion SEK in 2008. The role of civil society in democratization processes have received increased atten-tion in the last 15 years and is now one of the most common focus areas of democracy as-sistance. The aim of this thesis is to examine the Swedish democracy assistance focused on civil society and its effects and its ability to influence the processes of democratization. By examining evaluations of different projects, which aim was to strengthen civil society, the actual effects have been possible to show.The countries examined in this thesis is Moldova, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe and four countries in Latin America, Bolivia, Guatemala, Peru, Nicaragua. The results shown in the thesis is primarily in attitude and behavior change at the individual level among those who have been involved in organizations, but also among ordinary citizens. People have become more aware of their political and civil rights. In some cases, even changes primarily at the local level, where local politicians have become less fearful of civil society, and dialogue, and where organizations and ordinary citizens dared to make demands on some of their rights. On this level, the aid has been able to influence civil society.What, however, is an obstacle to civil society's ability to influence at the national level is the lack of respect which the state institutions show. For civil society to be able to influence decisions and increase democracy in the countries under study there need to be a reciprocal respect developed between the state and civil society.</p>