This study aims at examine if an Europeanization is affecting the bilateral diplomatic relation between Sweden and Italy as managed by the national embassies. The questions asked to pursue the aim are; how the bilateral diplomatic work is managed between the countries, are there any signs of Europeanization within this relation or is it still contingent on intergovernmental principles? In this study an analytical model is created and used to analyze how the bilateral diplomacy between Italy and Sweden is managed through the embassies. The discussion on top –down Europeanization by Tanja Börzel is central to the development of the analytical model. Indicators of Europeanization are generated and applied in the empirical analysis. The empirical material is based on documents and interviews.   One general conclusion of this study asserts that there is no direct top-down Europeanization going on within the national bilateral diplomacy. Another one affirms that an indirectly top-down Europeanization on an embryonic stage may be going on within the embassy-driven bilateral work carried out between the EU member states.

This thesis analyses the &lsquo / dualistic&rsquo / structure of Greek political culture formed by traditionalist and modernist wings in a historical context by concentrating on post-1974 era. The dissolution of the dictatorship in 1974 constituted a turning point both for Greek politics and Greek political culture. In this point, political parties played the key role in the process of transition and consolidation of democracy and reshaping Greek political culture. Accession into the EC was another historical step for Greek politics and political culture. Deepening of integration with the EC (EU) and Europeanization process has profoundly affected socio-political, economic structure and institutional modernization of Greece. Europeanization of Greece reformulated the hegemony struggle between traditionalist and modernist wings in favor of the latter. Especially, coming to power of Simitis with a pro-European understanding and &lsquo / modernization&rsquo / discourse reinforced the hegemony of modernist wing over the traditionalist one.

This thesis analyzes the transformation of the European Nation State and the effects of the discourses on Europeanization and Governance on the European Union Integration process. European policies had penetrated into the political systems of its member states as a result of European Integration process. As a result, discourses on Europeanization changed domestic political structures and modes of governance. This process of Europeanization requires a new system of governance and the recent debates are shaped on this discourse.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (2016/679) can be described as a comprehensive regulation that was adopted by the European Union (EU) with the purpose of regulating the protection of personal data in all EU member states. The regulation will take effect on May 25th 2018 and will apply to all organisations that process the personal data of  EU- citizens. This study will explore the implementation process of the General Data Protection Regulation (2016/679) through the lens of the phenomenon of Europeanization.  The context of the phenomenon for this study is that EU seeks to adapt the member states’ political and administrative institutions into a common judicial framework through the implementation of EU-law. However, this requires member states having the ability to adapt to the common framework. This study’s purpose is therefore to study a local municipality’s implementation process of the regulation to evaluate its ability adapting to EU- law. The study has been conducted through a case-study design where interviews have taken place with employed public officials who are in the process of planning the implementation process. Through the interviews that have been conducted and the documentation that has been available, material, informative, personal resources and preferences in the shape of objectives in the implementation process have been deducted through Lennart Lundquist’s model for analysis of an organisation’s capabilitites and priorities in the implementation process. In conclusion, resocurces have been extracted mainly to prepare for the implementation in the shape of educational measures and recruiting new employees with the intent of coordinating the process. Through local cooperation common resources have been extracted for judicial support and for the use of a common Data Protection Officer (DPO). It is difficult to estimate the municipality’s ability to adapt to EU- law due to the fact that the process is still in its initial stages, but since the municipality is still preparing to implement measures to increase and ensure safeguards of information, the municipality will not be able to reach the requirements as of May 25th 2018.

This thesis is a literature study examining how EU is affecting or governing Swedish educational politics. The theoretical framework for this study is europeanization and governance-theory explored through the Open Method of Coordination. The questions to be explored are: 1. What are the goals promoted by EU in Educational politics and how do these goals relate to Swedish knowledge- and value-goals? and 2. In what ways is the EU trying to influence Swedish educational politics and finally is there any signs of educational harmonization between EU and Sweden? This study sets out how EU has had an impact on Swedish educational politics symbolizing signs of top-down europeanization and harmonization. The EU impact on Swedish educational politics has been based on EU use of the Open Method of Coordination through monitoring, assessing and reporting on Swedish educational politics and through the creation of common goals and strategies.

This study explores the Swedish non-alignment policy from a European Union perspective. Spanning the period 1995-2018, i.e. from the year when Sweden joined the European Union to the present day, the study concerns the way the EU membership has affected Sweden’s defence policy. Given a variety of noted political decisions and developments, mainly in terms of Swedish defence policy propositions during the target period, the key question presents itself as follows: Does the Swedish membership undermine its possibilities to remain as a true case of non-alignment? To be able to answer this question, the study will look into the extent to which the Swedish policy can be seen as a case of Europeanization regarding its EU membership. Thus, the investigation takes as its starting-point the theory of Europeanization. Relying on a variety of previous research, the discussion uses this theory to provide a perspective of this concept as “Goodness of fit”, essentially an analytical tool for identifying processes and changes within this framework. On a practical level, this means that if the different terms and policies fit perfectly between the union and its member states, there is no need for a change. On the other hand, if there is incompatibility in this context, a process of Europeanization is likely to be identified through the lens of “Goodness of fit”. In general terms, it is concluded that the Swedish defence policy has gradually assumed more of a European identity. Arguably, the country’s official non-alignment policy raises questions for its future involvement in the union. Rather, there is indication that political rhetoric has been only one side of the coin, practical reality another. Yet, one thing is clear: it all seems to happen on Swedish terms.

Why Serbia’s path towards EU membership has been so contentious and fraught with difficulty? Why did Europeanization happen more ‘smoothly’ in some countries, while it stalls or fails in others? This study shows Serbia’s reluctance to Europeanize by exploring how the Serbian ruling elite received the EU’s norms of peace, media freedom and rights of migrants and refugees. As such, it contributes to the emerging research agenda on norm diffusion and Normative Power Europe. Through an analysis of key public statements of Serbian political leaders over the past four years, the present thesis examines how politicians discursively framed EU’s ideas, standards and normative convictions within the Belgrade-Pristina normalization dialogue, in light of the refugee crisis and in terms of media freedom. The findings indicate that the Serbian governing elite has responded differently to the EU’s normative influence in different policy domains with resisting and rejecting certain norms while adopting and adapting other. In general, the thesis evaluates that despite the significant efforts of the EU to export its ideas and values, it has only had a limited effect on Serbia. I conclude that these results further cast doubt on the future of Serbia’s accession to the EU.

The national parks in the Carpathian Mountains along the Polish and Slovak border represent encompassing policy agendas that strive to balance biodiversity conservation and social welfare tasks. These countries have, during the last 25 years, undergone rapid transformation from socialist regimes to liberal democracies, and this transformation has affected the political, social and economic spheres. The accession to the European Union (EU) introduced demands for further changes, such as closer integration of conservation and socioeconomic development and inclusive, transparent and accountable decision-making that are based on participatory mechanisms. This thesis explores key challenges and opportunities for nature conservation policy and practice at the local level in a context of post-socialist legacies and Europeanization. Multi-level governance, Europeanization, and post-socialist studies are used as theoretical vehicles for the analysis of four transboundary national parks: Pieninsky national parks (NP) in both Poland and Slovakia and Bieszczady NP [Poland] and Poloniny NP [Slovakia]. The results of this study show that the early designation of the studied parks as protected areas prevented their exploitation and enabled preservation of important landscapes, which currently are highly valued at the European level. These nature conservation regimes have created tangible restrictions on the possible economic uses of these areas. However, rural development alternatives depend on a broader set of local, national and global factors such as the structure of the local economy and employment, the prioritization of nature conservation in national policies, investors’ interest, and increasing urbanization. Europeanization provided opportunities for local actors to benefit from additional funding made available for nature conservation and rural development. At the same time, demands for participatory decision-making posed significant procedural and conceptual challenges to achieving transparent, inclusive and accountable governance. The prevalence of informal practices in local policy-making and the lack of trust in state authorities pose further challenges to formal participatory processes. The opportunities of local actors to reach out across levels to express their interests remain scarce and are not institutionalized, whereas the multi-level characteristics of modern governance indirectly shape local processes by defining common legal and policy frameworks. / Förvaltningen av nationalparkerna in vid gränsen mellan Polen och Slovakien i Karpaterna är framför allt inriktad mot att uppnå balans mellan bevarande av biologisk mångfald och social välfärd. Polen och Slovakien har under de senaste 25 åren genomgått en snabb förändring från socialistiska regimer till liberala demokratier, vilket har inneburit genomgripande politiska, sociala och ekonomiska förändringar. Medlemskapet i EU innebar ytterligare förändringar, som till exempel integrering av naturvårdsarbete och socioekonomisk utveckling, liksom främjande av inkluderande, transparent och deltagarinriktat beslutsfattande. Därmed bygger den moderna beslutsprocessen inte längre på den tidigare hierarkiska strukturen, utan har nu fått en aningen diffus karaktär, innefattande mängd olika aktörer som interagerar i såväl horisontella som vertikala beslutsprocesser. I denna avhandling utforskas nyckelutmaningar och möjligheter för beslutsfattande och implementering av naturvårdsarbete på lokal nivå, relaterade till de post-socialistiska arven och medlemskapet i EU. Multi-level governance (politiskt beslutsfattande på flera nivåer), Europeanization (europeisering) och post-socialistiska studier används som teoretiska verktyg för analysen av fyra gränsöverskridande nationalparker: Pieninsky, som innefattar såväl polska som slovakiska områden, Bieszczady (Polen) och Poloniny (Slovakien). Studien visar att det tidiga inrättandet av naturskydd i nationalparkerna hindrade exploatering och möjliggjorde bevarandet av värdefulla naturområden, vilka idag är högt värderade utifrån ett europeiskt perspektiv. Reglerna för detta naturskydd har dock skapat begränsningar för hur områdena kan användas för, till exempel, agrara verksamheter och turism. De mer övergripande landsbygdsutvecklingsmöjligheterna beror av lokala, nationella och globala faktorer som exempelvis den lokala ekonomins struktur, tillgång på arbetstillfällen, hur naturskydd prioriteras i nationellt beslutsfattande, intresse för investeringar i området och urbaniseringsprocesser. Medlemskapet i EU har medfört utökade möjligheter för finansiering av naturskydd och landsbygdsutveckling. Samtidigt har medlemskapet för dessa länder lett till ökade förväntningar på politiskt deltagande och nya utmaningar vad gäller transparens i beslutsfattande och inkluderande beslutsprocesser. Vidare har informella beslutsvägar i lokalt beslutsfattande och lågt förtroende för statliga myndigheter lett till ytterligare utmaningar i deltagandeprocesser. Möjligheter för lokala aktörer att kunna kommunicera och påverka beslut på högre nivåer har förblivit begränsade och är ännu inte tydligt institutionaliserade, samtidigt som det moderna, interaktiva beslutsfattandet på flera nivåer indirekt formar lokala processer genom att definiera legala och politiska ramverk inom vilka förvaltningsbeslut fattas.

From 1971 UK has committed herself to the new brand name of Europeanism. Since that time Britain is continuously forced to adjust itself to the EEC regulations. The questions brought up in this thesis are about an outcome from the EU membership as well as reflection on Britain's regional policies. The work is streamed towards better understanding of main roles and activities that Britain was, is and will consign to the European Union. Moreover, there are several issues which bringing up a point of having some disadvantages from EU member. But with a time people could be concerned of more benefits that EU membership brought as an effective economic strategy is proved.

The Social Democratic MEP mandate performance has certain specific features which distinguish it from mandates of members of other EP fractions. The theoretical part of this thesis focuses on the historical context of European Social Democracy and challenges which it must currently face (euroscepticism, consequences of economic crisis etc.). Furthermore, it considers the role of the Party of European Socialists the whole process. The practical part of this thesis consists of guided interviews with EP Members for ČSSD and SMER - sociálna democracia. The aim of this thesis is to assess the degree of European Social Democracy's Europeanization and differences in national and European aspects of the character of Social Democratic MEP mandate.