The overall purpose of this paper is to investigate how the concept of democracy was used in Swedish parliamentary debates before the great franchise reform 1919-1921. To use conceptual history to study parliamentary debates is a relatively recent phenomenon and when it comes to Sweden it has mostly been about the period around and after the mentioned great reform. This paper therefore takes a step back and concentrates on the years 1902, 1907 and 1912 when bills and motions were presented that advocated more inclusive voting rights. It is not only a period that has been less researched but an inquiry into these years also complete and enhance the understanding of the later great reform. Since the concept of democracy rarely appears in the parliamentary debates during the first years studied the paper also investigates the context in which the concept was used with a special focus on who were to be allowed to take part in an enlarged franchise. The final analysis shows that the concept of democracy went through substantial change during the period in question. Not only did it become used more frequently in the debates, but most politicians also accepted the future-oriented quality of the concept. The context of the debates shifted during the period but most importantly the view of who among the people were supposed to be included in a democratic society changed. Some of the uses of the concept of democracy that was to reverberate during the debates leading up to the great franchise reform 1919-1921 can also be found during the period here studied.

This dissertation contributes to an increased understanding of democracy promotion. Empirically, the study focuses on the multi-faced democratisation process in Macedonia; the official Swedish policy for democracy promotion; and actual Swedish attempts to promote democracy in Macedonia in the period 2000–2006. Theoretically, the study advances an analytical framework, which serves to bring clarity to democracy promotion as a concept. It is argued that democracy promotion embodies six structural components, and should be understood as activities adopted and/or supported by foreign actors, as part of a relationship between the democracy promoter and the recipient country, based on a set of motives and shaped through the use of different strategies, methods and channels. Moreover, the issue of impact is investigated. The analytical framework is used to investigate the character of Swedish democracy promotion, and to develop a typology of the roles of democracy promotion in democratisation processes. It is argued that the Swedish policy for democracy promotion is permeated by a Swedish democratic self-image, eclectic theoretical reflection, and flexibility. In addition, it is argued that Sweden is primarily driven by altruistic and ideological motives, and acts to promote legal and societal democracy, and that the allocation of democracy promotion resources is based on theoretical as well as practical considerations. Macedonia’s democratisation process is analysed, and on the basis of the Swedish attempts to promote democracy in Macedonia, the study advances a typology of the roles of democracy promotion in democratisation processes, these being: educator, initiator, and supporter. Together with the analytical framework, this role typology provides new possibilities to study, and understand, democracy promotion. / Denna avhandling bidrar till ökad förståelse av demokratifrämjande aktiviteter. Empiriskt fokuserar studien på den flerdimensionella demokratiseringsprocessen i Makedonien, den officiella svenska policyn för demokratifrämjande aktiviteter, och de faktiska svenska försöken att främja demokratiutvecklingen i Makedonien under perioden 2000-2006. Teoretiskt bidrar studien med ett analytiskt ramverk, som ämnar ge ökad insikt om demokratifrämjande aktiviteter som begrepp. Det hävdas att dessa aktiviteter är uppbyggda av sex beståndsdelar, och bör förstås som aktiviteter verkställda eller understödda av utländska aktörer, som del av en relation mellan den demokratifrämjande aktören och mottagande land, baserat på en uppsättning motiv och format genom olika strategier, metoder, och kanaler. Betydelsen av effekt inkluderas även i studien. Det analytiska ramverket används för att undersöka den svenska policyn för demokratifrämjande aktiviteter, samt för att utveckla en typologi av de roller som sådana aktiviteter har i demokratiseringsprocesser. Studien visar att den svenska policyn för demokratifrämjande aktiviteter är genomsyrad av en svensk demokratisk självbild, eklektisk teoretisk resonerande, samt pragmatism. Studien visar även att Sverige som demokratifrämjare primärt driva av altruistiska och ideologiska motiv, och strävar efter att främja etableringen av en konstitutionell och samhällelig demokrati, samt att fördelning av demokratifrämjande resurser görs utifrån teoretiska såväl som praktiska överväganden. Makedoniens demokratiseringsprocess analyseras, och med utgångspunkt i de svenska försöken att främja demokratiutvecklingen i Makedonien utvecklas en typologi över de roller som demokratifrämjande aktiviteter kan ha i demokratiseringsprocesser, nämligen: pedagog, initierare, och understödjare. Tillsammans med det analytiska ramverket, skapar denna roll typologi nya möjligheter att studera, och förstå, demokratifrämjande aktiviteter.

<p><strong>Abstract</strong></p><p><em>Bachelor thesis in political science by Alexander Hassan, autumn 2008, “Effects of external factors on a nations democratisation process during the transition from authoritarian to electoral democratic rule – A categorical analysis”</em></p><p><em>Supervisor: Tomas Sedelius</em></p><p>In recent years globalization has become a hot topic in understanding the world we live in today. Globalization has indeed had a great impact on international relations and with it a great influence on the domestic conditions that determine a nation’s possibilities. It is therefore rational to hold true that this also would apply to a nation’s democratic process. This basic notion is what lies as a foundation for the thesis, where the purpose of the study is to examine the relatively new field of the international context and its significance on democratisation.</p><p>The aim of the study is to examine and determine, through a categorical analysis, the different forms and roles that the external factors can take during the process leading up to the transition and implementation of an electoral democracy, the most basic form of democracy.</p><p>The thesis thus has demanded the study and infusion of all discourses within the field of democratisation processes, as the only way to produce the roles and forms of the international contexts impact on the domestic process is through the study and determination of the different domestic spheres associated with the process.</p><p>The different forms of external influences have been studied within the confines of the third wave of democracy, and their roles in the democratic process determined depending on the respective domestic spheres they affect. The significant result of the studies where chiefly that all forms of external influence have the possibility to affect the democratisation process indirectly as well as directly. Where direct influence is exerted within the political sphere of the nation; where the actual transition takes place, and the indirect influence is exerted through the socio-economical and cultural sphere; which exerts its influence in the process through the political sphere. </p><p>The results thus show that it is hard to draw the conclusion that an indirect form of influence would be superior to the direct approach or vice versa, as both are prevalent in successful democratic transitions.</p>

<p><strong> </strong></p><p>In this essay the aim was to investigate how the EU is trying to function as a democracy promoter in three particular countries, the so called candidate-countries Croatia, Macedonia and Turkey. The aim was also to analyze if there exist any differences in how the EU functions in these countries as a democracy promoter with a focus on how acts of democracy promotion is taken place. In order to fulfil the purpose of the essay two questions were addressed, how does the EU perform in promoting democracy in the three candidate-countries Croatia, Macedonia and Turkey? And also, is it possible to identify any differences in how the EU functions as a democracy promoter in those three countries?</p><p>The method used to fulfil purpose and answering research-questions was qualitative text-analysis.  The results of the study were that the EU does perform in a number of ways to promote democracy in the three countries. The main differences are that the EU is using primarily political tools in Croatia and Macedonia which are channelized top-down and economic tools in Turkey channelized mainly top-down to promote democracy. The extent between the tools used differs.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p>

Uppsatsen syftar till att undersöka kulturtidskrifternas roll och status i det svenska samhället idag, bland annat genom intervjuer med verksamma redaktörer på olika kulturtidskrifter. Som problembakgrund presenteras den paradoxala situation som kulturtidskrifterna ställs emot: de anses som viktiga för yttrandefrihet, demokrati och mångfald men blir ändå försummade och underprioriterade inom politik och forskning. Utifrån detta formuleras tre frågeställningar: Hur ser redaktörerna på den politik som drivs kring kulturtidskriften? Vad anser redaktörerna att kulturtidskriften har för roll och status i samhället? Hur kan kulturtidskriftens roll och status tolkas utifrån de intervjuade redaktörernas svar, den rådande kulturpolitiska diskussionen, kulturteorier och tidigare forskning? Dessa frågor analyseras utifrån intervjusvaren, tidigare forskning, Horkheimer och Adornos teoretisering av kulturindustrin, Habermas teorier om det offentliga rummet samt Bourdieus fältteori och teori om ekonomiskt och kulturellt kapital. Uppsatsens metodologiska utgångspunkt är i kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer med tio verksamma redaktörer på olika kulturtidskrifter. I slutsatserna bekräftas den inledande problemformuleringen – kulturtidskrifterna är viktiga men försummade. Statens kulturråd har stor makt över kulturtidskrifterna eftersom de styr över ett årligt tidskriftsbidrag. Få kulturtidskrifter klarar sig enbart på prenumerant- och annonsintäkter, vilket gör det statliga stödet livsviktigt för många. Kulturtidskrifterna har flera viktiga roller i samhället. Framförallt har de som roll att fördjupa och vidareutveckla det offentliga samtalet och bidra till så att obundna, oetablerade och alternativa röster kan komma till tals som inte är påverkade av kommersiella intressen. I förlängningen kan man säga att det leder till en ökad mångfald, yttrandefrihet och demokrati. Kulturtidskrifternas har generellt sett låg status bland allmänheten, vilket leder till att den får låg status i andra sammanhang också, bland annat inom kulturpolitiken. Den låga statusen verkar hänga ihop med uppfattningen om att kulturtidskrifterna är finkulturella och exkluderande snarare än lättillgängliga och kommersiella.

Previous research has found that civil resistance has a positive impact on democratic development. Still, despite increased academic attention to how civil resistance affects democratization and democracy, no systematic study has yet examined how the nature of inclusion in a civil resistance impacts various elements of democracy. This study addresses this research gap by comparing how inclusive civil resistance and non-fully inclusive civil resistance uprisings between 1943-2013 affected the development of liberal, egalitarian, participatory, and deliberative democracy. Two theoretical arguments are presented for how the nature of inclusion in civil resistance affect its impact on democracy: one arguing that inclusion should generate higher levels of participatory democracy and another underlining how the nature of inclusion in civil resistance generates higher levels of deliberative democracy. The arguments are tested with a quasi-experimental difference-in-difference measure combined with a nearest neighbour matching propensity score method. The results give tentative support for that inclusive civil resistance compared to non-fully inclusive civil resistance increase democracy in general and deliberative democracy in particular up to five years after civil resistance ended. The impact of inclusion in civil resistance does however vary considerably, and further research is needed to strengthen the theory and generate more statistically significant results.

No description available.

This thesis analyses the democratization process of Mongolia by applying a qualitative, theory consuming and theory developing case study. The study analyses if three national factors: governance, values and civil society can be claimed to be driving forces behind the Mongolian democratization process. The finds are positive in that all three factors are found to have played some part in the forenamed process. Though all factors are claimed to be visible in this study they are not equally so as governance as a factor has been given a much larger role in previous studies of the Mongolia democratization process. The study also tries to discover new factors for democratization, previously not defined as such. One find is claimed in redefining of history and through this an emergence of a new national identity. This redefining of history was caused by the oppositions tries to gain legitimacy but also might be a driving force behind the democratic process. The study also argues that one plausible truth for the emergence of more democratic values and the rise of civil society might lie in the method that the opposition managed to redefine the country’s history and in so doing created a new Mongolian identity.

This thesis aims to examine when democratic consolidation took place in Costa Rica from a maximalistic perspective. The hypothesis is that it’s likely that the democracy was not consolidated as early as 1953 which would be the case if applying a minimalistic perspective. Linz and Stepan’s theory about democratic consolidation has been chosen as the theoretical framework of the thesis and the research has been conducted by using a qualitative text analysis. The thesis comes to the conclusion that Costa Rica’s democracy completed its consolidation 1978 when the previously banned communist party Partido Vanguardia Popular was allowed to compete for votes again in the 1978’s presidential and parliamentary elections. From that point no party was excluded from taking part in free and fair elections.

This study focuses on the influence a user may have over his or her welfare service, personal assistance. A county, an assistance firm and a user cooperative are compared with the thesis that the organisation that surrounds the users shapes the possibilities the user have to influence his or her personal assistance. There are questions that try to answer if there are outspoken social goals within each organisation. Questions regarding influence of the user when she or he is choosing the assistance provider and the users possibility to influence and his or her power to decide who and when anyone works as an assistant are asked. / Examination skedde vid Mittuniversitetet den 8 juni 2010 på campus Östersund. Betyget för uppsatsen är VG, väl godkänd enligt den äldre betygsmodellen. Uppsatsen är skriven som en del av min magisterutbildning med inriktning mot välfärdsstatens sociala och politiska ekonomi.