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<p>Syftet med uppsatsen är att analysera Gunnar Sjöbloms modell om programrealisering utifrån ett fall, Östersjömiljardprojektet, samt att följa upp modellen med aspekten om Multi-level governance. Detta görs med hjälp av tre frågeställningar. För att uppfylla syftet har jag med hjälp av en textanalys bearbetat material hämtat från Rikslex, Riksdagens arkiv, i form av propositioner, motioner, betänkande, och protokoll. Den teoretiska utgångspunkten har tagits ifrån Gunnar Sjöbloms modell som bygger på partistrategi i ett flerpartisystem. Partiernas främsta mål är att uppnå programrealisering. För att åstadkomma detta krävs inflytande på tre arenor: väljararenan, den interna arenan och den parlamentariska arenan.Östersjömiljardprojektet var ett förslag i sysselsättningspropositionen 1995 som byggde på att en miljard kronor skulle ingå i en fond avsatt för att främja svensk export inom områdena livsmedel, energi, ömsesidigt kunskapsutbyte, stärkt infrastruktur samt samarbete för att miljöskydd runt Östersjön. De områden som ingår i projektet är nordvästra Ryssland, Estland, Lettland, Litauen samt Polen. Resultatet visar att Sjöbloms modell är hållbar för det valda fallet. För att avgöra om det är ett fall av multi-level governance krävs ytterligare forskning på vilka påtryckningar utanför den politiska arenan som var betydande för beslutet.</p>

Syftet med uppsatsen är att analysera Gunnar Sjöbloms modell om programrealisering utifrån ett fall, Östersjömiljardprojektet, samt att följa upp modellen med aspekten om Multi-level governance. Detta görs med hjälp av tre frågeställningar. För att uppfylla syftet har jag med hjälp av en textanalys bearbetat material hämtat från Rikslex, Riksdagens arkiv, i form av propositioner, motioner, betänkande, och protokoll. Den teoretiska utgångspunkten har tagits ifrån Gunnar Sjöbloms modell som bygger på partistrategi i ett flerpartisystem. Partiernas främsta mål är att uppnå programrealisering. För att åstadkomma detta krävs inflytande på tre arenor: väljararenan, den interna arenan och den parlamentariska arenan.Östersjömiljardprojektet var ett förslag i sysselsättningspropositionen 1995 som byggde på att en miljard kronor skulle ingå i en fond avsatt för att främja svensk export inom områdena livsmedel, energi, ömsesidigt kunskapsutbyte, stärkt infrastruktur samt samarbete för att miljöskydd runt Östersjön. De områden som ingår i projektet är nordvästra Ryssland, Estland, Lettland, Litauen samt Polen. Resultatet visar att Sjöbloms modell är hållbar för det valda fallet. För att avgöra om det är ett fall av multi-level governance krävs ytterligare forskning på vilka påtryckningar utanför den politiska arenan som var betydande för beslutet.

This thesis examines the Europeanization process with a focus on the structure of influence and the role of agency in influencing the domestic change of the EU candidate states. In order to understand these qualities of the Europeanization process I discuss the current literature on Europeanization and critically evaluate contemporary conceptualization of the structure of influence. An assessment of the five mechanisms of Europeanization first advanced by Heather Grabbe—models, financial and technical aid, benchmarking and monitoring, advice and twinning, and gate-keeping—is then conducted in order to show that Europeanization can be discussed both conceptually and empirically. The categories reveal the important role that the structure of influence and windows of opportunity play in influencing the outcome of Europeanization. Throughout this thesis I argue that the Europeanization process is governed by a multi-leveled structure of influence that is affected by the actors’ ability to capitalize on windows of opportunity. Moreover, I conclude that the outcomes of the Europeanization process are shaped by the structure of influence and windows of opportunity available to each level of actors. / Graduate

Since the 1980s, regions have taken a strong interest in EU policy-making and increasingly demanded representation in the process. This has given rise to the concept of multi-level governance (MLG) in EU policy-making, which stipulates that subnational and supranational actors will interact and thus to some extent erode the authority of central governments. However, due to the scarcity of case study research looking at concrete instances of policy-making, a number of questions remain about the extent and the effectiveness of the interaction between regional governments and European actors. In addition, the extent and origins of differences in regional activity across regions and member states remain unclear. This thesis aims to contribute to the MLG debate by developing a theoretical framework with a set of hypotheses about regional activism in EU policy-making on the basis of rational choice institutionalist assumptions. It then investigates how seven legislative regions from four member states (the UK, Germany, Belgium and Austria) represent their interests in two concrete instances of EU policy-making and tests the core hypotheses against these fourteen cases. The thesis contributes to the MLG debate in three ways. Firstly, the principal objective of the thesis is to analyse the impact of different types of domestic intergovernmental relations on the strategies of regions at the European level. It is argued that the level and nature of a region's activity on the European level depends on the opportunities for influence in the domestic European policy-making process and the constraints that domestic rules place on European level activity. Secondly, a number of factors that could account for different levels of regional activity both within and between states are analysed. Domestic conflict and the capacity of a region are found to be particularly relevant for regional mobilisation. Finally, the thesis discusses the relative importance of domestic channels compared to European channels of regional interest representation, thus addressing one of the fundamental questions in the MLG literature. It is argued that unmediated interaction between European actors and regional governments is less common than predicted by the MLG literature, but that it can be effective, especially in cases where regions devise a comprehensive strategy of interest representation.

This thesis explores the capacity of local government to influence intergovernmental organizations’ policy frameworks during the formulation and implementation of their instruments and policies. It provides empirical insights into the decision making and implementation of international policy regimes, specifically within a European context, and contributes to the broader theoretical understanding of these regimes through the development of multi-level governance as a framework of analysis. The thesis extends multi-level governance as a theoretical framework in two ways. First, it does so by going beyond its usual development and application within the European Union. The role of local government is examined in the pan-European political context shaped by the Council of Europe. Second, it pays special attention to the upstream link between local authorities and international actors in the context of multi-level governance settings. To date, most research on local government in multi-level governance settings has focused on the new challenges brought by extended multiple tiers of jurisdictions and how local government has been affected by the internationally shaped political arrangements. Little attention has been placed on the upward flow of interaction of local authorities or their capacity to influence international decision making and policy implementation. Empirical research in this thesis has focused on the capacity of local government to share the meta-steering role with the multi-level governance framework. The potential of local government to influence the international policy frameworks has been investigated based on its unique value in enhancing good governance in line with international norms and principles. At the theoretical level, the research argues multi-level governance reflects not simply the redistribution of power resources among various actors, but also the process of reshaping understanding and preferences through direct communication between actors at different territorial levels. It suggests that local political preferences can be shaped and reframed by broader values and consequently generates significant influence on higher level policy outcomes. However, despite the existence of specific constitutional devices for involving local development in the legislative processes of the Council of Europe, empirical evidence shows local authorities have largely failed to take up this opportunity, and their influence remains limited. Implications hence can be drawn for wider utilization of local engagement in intergovernmental organizations; for example, within the context the Committee of the Regions of the Europe Union.

The aim of this thesis is to study the role and the influence of the Swedish local government association, SALAR, which is an interest group representing all of the Swedish local authorities and regions. As a result of a change in exercising public power from government to multi-level governance that has reinforced subnational level, including local authorities and regions, SALAR is today a significant actor. It has an intermediating role in the relation between the government and local and regional authorities. SALAR is a hybrid organization that has interest group and governmental characteristics. It is a player competing with other interest groups in a pluralistic system but it is also a corporatist negotiation partner of the government that has a privileged access to central government decision-making. This study uses a comparative case study method analyzing two policy processes to study and describe what kind of role and influence SALAR has in these processes and how the role and the influence of SALAR can be understood from an interest group perspective and a multi-level governance perspective. The described and analyzed policy processes are Kömiljarden, an effectivity effort in Swedish public health care system, and the introduction of the teacher license system in Swedish schools. The empirical material used in this thesis consists of official publications published by public authorities, the parliament and the government as well as interviews with officials representing public authorities, the government and SALAR. The results presented in this thesis show that SALAR in line with previous research on local government associations in other countries, has a role as an intermediator with a privileged access to central government and central decision-making. It is a partner that central government negotiates with and which has the task of informing about the local and regional circumstances. Its influence can also be analyzed in connection to these negotiations. SALAR is in many ways stuck in the structure of decision-making, which is operated by central government while still being in competition with interest groups, such as the teacher unions.

Over time, the position of the regions within the European integration process was gaining on significance. The emancipation processes of the 1970s and 1980s set off by advancing decentralization on one hand, and a wave of new regionalism on the other later evolved into a debate about a "Europe of the regions". Although it is obvious that this concept does not have a broad support any more, the regional level was able to seize the opportunity and secure itself a better position in the integration process -- not only as an object and instrument of EU policies, but also as another actor in the decision-making process. The aim of the thesis was to analyze the position of the regions in the European integration process as well as to deal with the topic in a broader theoretical perspective (regionalism, multi-level governance, paradiplomacy). To fulfill this aim the thesis answered following research questions: "What incited the debate about the Europe of the regions and what were the imminent outcomes of the debate?" "Which structures can the regions use to access the European policy level and what influences their efficiency?" and "To what extent are these structures used by Czech regions? Methods used to answer these research questions included analysis of available sources and literature, historical analysis and a survey.

We live in the Anthropocene – an age where humans dominate natural systems – and there is ample evidence that our current practices degrade the capacity of natural systems to provide us with natural resources. How we, as humans, organize and learn, in communities and among state and other societal actors, constitute a decisive factor for both local management of natural resources and the functioning of the planet Earth. In other words, the outcome of learning has become a matter of governance across multiple levels. This thesis studies the role of social learning in governance of natural resources, asking the following three overarching questions: i) What are the institutional barriers limiting better environmental governance at different scales? ii) Is there a causal connection between social learning and better environmental governance? iii) What are the normative challenges with better environmental governance or social-ecological resilience being linked to the adaptive capacity of actors to learn socially? The primary method is semi-structured in-depth interviews. Papers provide results on institutional barriers such as competency traps and show how customs and current practices and collaborations limit better environmental governance. It is found that social learning might, and might not, lead to better environmental governance, and the causal connection between social learning and better environmental governance is found to be rather weak, with both variables depending on other factors. Enabling policy, a mandate to make broad assessments, or an engaged leader facilitating social learning, are examples of factors that explain the existence of both social learning and outcomes in terms of better environmental governance. It is concluded that since conditions for, and facilitation of, social learning are so important, research should focus more on what initiates social learning and how social learning can be mainstreamed across multiple levels of governance / At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 3: Submitted: Paper 4: Submitted; Paper 5: Submitted.

<p>The intention of this study is to perform a content analysis based on a theoretical framework founded on multi-level governance, MLG. The thesis examines the formal changes within employment politics between 1999 and 2004 (Sweden´s action plan for employment) and 1998 and 2007 (the spring budget proposition). I will investigate how multi-level governance has effected the Swedish employment politics. Furthermore, the purpose of the thesis and the questions under consideration are: How have the formal structures within Swedish employment politics changed since Sweden’s admission to the European union, particularly during the periods 1997-2008 and 1999-2004? And: How do the changes in Sweden, together with the European union directive concerning employment, coincide in the so-called employment strategy?</p><p>While performing the analysis I have focused on multi-level governance. The method used is quantitative content analysis in order to explain the co-variation between Swedish employment politics and the employment politics of the European union - the employment strategy. The conclusions from the research are that there is a clear influence by the EU in Sweden, and between the two groups of documents is Sweden´s action plan for employment, which is more influenced than the spring budget propositions.</p>