The thesis examines the relationship between the Norwegian state and the international oil companies from 1965 when the first oil concessions were granted on the Norwegian Continental Shelf to the beginning of 1975. It singles out three variables which were the objects of bargaining between the state and the companies during this period; oil-rent, volume control and Norwegian share of spinoffs from oil. To study in more detail the division of oil-rent over time we have constructed a cash-flow model which incorporates different participation schemes which were negotiated between the state and the companies and which also takes account of different exploration success rates. This framework of analysis makes use of a historical methodology. It attempts to recreate what the likely division of rent would have been at the time when new concessions were granted to the companies in 1965, 1969, 1973, 1974. It is only based on what the state and the companies expected the costs, revenues and tax conditions to be that it is possible to understand the historical development of Norway's oil policies. We have also carried out a number of sensitivity tests to see how changes in the variables which influence costs and revenues would have affected the division of rent and the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of the companies. The most important of these factors was the shape of the production profile. To understand the development of the three chosen bargaining variables over time, and in particular the constantly increasing role of the Norwegian state with respect to all three variables, we have relied on three explanatory factors. First exogenous changes in the expected Present Value from the oilfields in the North Sea; secondly the situation in the international oil industry; and thirdly the special characteristics of the Norwegian state. While development of the first two factors opened up the way for a strengthening of the role of the Norwegian state in the industry and made them easier to achieve, the particular form and manner in which these changes were grasped by Norwegian policy-makers can only be understood with reference to the historical and political peculiarities of the Norwegian state, in particular the weakness of the national Norwegian capitalist class. Norwegian oil policies also operated within a set of ultimate policy constraints. This meant that the Norwegian policies tried to increase the state's share of the total rent by a process of participation and by the creation of a state oil corporation, Statoil, which did not imply any fundamental confrontation with the private companies and which left the IRR of these virtually intact. There are thus no 'unicausal' explanations of the increase in the role of the Norwegian state in the oil industry. Any satisfactory explanation must rely on an interdisciplinary perspective. No purely economic, sociological or political approach to state intervention in a modern society is possible.

No

“Vattenfrågan har alltid varit viktig på Gotland” (Bastani et al. 2015, p. 25)  - “Water questions have always been important on Gotland”. Contrary to the common perception that water shortage does not pose a problem to northern European countries, the case on Gotland provides the example that it is a real issue. Due to several factors, the Swedish island faces severe water shortages during the summer and is in urgent need to address this in the light of an expected growing number of people coming to Gotland. Since water is a topic affecting a wide range of stakeholders, the water issue is already in the focus of attention and occasionally passionately discussed on the island. The aim of this paper was to identify with the help of qualitative research how relevant stakeholder groups perceive and address the water shortage on Gotland. The identified stakeholder groups were from the administrative/political sectors, industrial/business sectors, the research sector as well as engaged citizens. During the research it became clear that the water shortage can be characterized as a wicked problem, which in its nature is impossible to solve but only manageable due to its complexity. Yet, the majority of stakeholders did not recognize the wicked problem as such which explains the multiplicity of existent strategies for how to deal with it. The different approaches lead to outcomes that seem to only address parts of the problem but fail to manage it in its entirety. The study suggests that institutional voids, meaning a lack of clear responsibilities regarding who should manage the problem and how seem to both arise from and contribute to the complexity of the problem. As result of this research, it seems crucial to firstly gain a comprehensive understanding of the situation and then work with multi stakeholder communication and cooperation against prevailing institutional voids in order to address the water shortage effectively.

Abstract 3200 years ago a massive battle took place at the river Tollense in MecklenburgVorpommern, Germany, possibly involving thousands of people. 130 victims have been found so far. Several show signs of former violence. Axes, wooden clubs, knives and a vast number of arrowheads have been found among the human skeletal remains. According to isotope analyses on tooth enamel from human remains at the site, a considerable amount of the victims did not originate from the local area. The isotope analyses divided the victims into two major groups, one local and the other probably originating from Central Europe. In other words, the battlefield of the Tollense were not fought by local farmers and craftsmen. This, together with the extent of the battle, the weapon finds and traumata on the human remains, has led archaeologists to assume that the battle was fought by professional warriors. If this is true, the battlefield of the Tollense would be the first of its kind in the Northern European Bronze Age. Sammanfattning Uppsatsen diskuterar omfattningen och karaktären av slaget vid floden Tollense som utspelade sig för 3200 år sedan i vad som idag är Nordtyskland. Slagfältet har uppmärksammats för att vara den första konflikten med professionella krigare i bronsålderns Nordeuropa. Tidigare forskning om ämnet saknar en konsekvent definition av begreppet professionell krigare. För att avgöra om det var professionella krigare som stred vid Tollense definierar uppsatsen begreppet utifrån teoretiska perspektiv såsom antropologiska klassifikationer av hövdingadömen, krigare och soldater, men också genom att belysa kontaktnätverken och den långväga handel som växte fram under bronsåldern. Omfattningen och karaktären av slaget vid Tollense beskrivs utifrån hur många människor som deltog på slagfältet samt vilka arkeologiska fynd som talar för huruvida de var professionella krigare och inte lokala bönder och hantverkare som drabbade samman. Uppsatsen är en klassisk litteraturstudie. Utgrävningarna vid Tollense pågår i skrivande stund, vilket innebär att det inte finns någon slutpublikation med färdigställda resultat. För att besvara frågeställningarna om antalet deltagare i konflikten samt huruvida de var professionella krigare eller inte, redogör uppsatsen för analyser av de mänskliga kvarlevorna som återfunnits vid Tollense och vapnen som användes på slagfältet. Avslutningsvis ger uppsatsen en personlig tolkning av vad fyndmaterialet säger om hur många människor som var involverade i konflikten och vad som talar för att de var professionella krigare. Diskussionen lyfter fram hövdingadömen som centraliserade och hierarkiska samhällsstrukturer och hur detta möjliggör organiserad krigföring.

Crusading and the military orders have, at their roots, a strong focus on place, namely the Holy Land and the shrines associated with the life of Christ on Earth. Both concepts spread to other frontiers in Europe (notably Spain and the Baltic) in a very quick fashion. Therefore, this thesis investigates the ways that this focus on place and landscape changed over time, when crusading and the military orders emerged in the Baltic region, a land with no Christian holy places. Taking this fact as a point of departure, the following thesis focuses on the crusades to the Baltic Sea Region during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. It considers the role of the military orders in the region (primarily the Order of the Teutonic Knights), and how their participation in the conversion-led crusading missions there helped to shape a distinct perception of the Baltic region as a new sacred (i.e. Christian) landscape. Structured around four chapters, the thesis discusses the emergence of a new sacred landscape thematically. Following an overview of the military orders and the role of sacred landscpaes in their ideology, and an overview of the historiographical debates on the Baltic crusades, it addresses the paganism of the landscape in the written sources predating the crusades, in addition to the narrative, legal, and visual evidence of the crusade period (Chapter 1). It then proceeds to a chapter-by-chapter analysis considering specific sacralising elements expressed in the sources, which structure the definition of sacred landscape used in this thesis (outlined in the Introduction). Chapter 2 considers the role martyrdom in sacralising the landscape, followed by a discussion of the role played by relics (Chapter 3), ritualization, and sacred space (Chapter 4). By incorporating Geographical Information Systems (GIS) into the analysis of the texts, a new spatial map of the Baltic campaigns emerges from the present study, providing a fresh approach to studying contemporary views of holy war in a region with no holy (i.e. Christian) shrines.

A number of charred surface residues, adhering to ceramic containers, were obtained from various coastal and inland sites in north-west Europe dating from the sixth to the fourth millennium cal bc. In order to investigate the use of these vessels and in particular to identify any marine products, the residues were subjected to carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis. Variation in carbon isotope ratios between different samples indicated that some vessels may have been used to process marine products. This analysis was corroborated by specific identification of aquatic products following structural and isotopic characterization of lipids extracted from selected samples.

Micronutrient malnutrition is a leading worldwide health problem that affects billions of people particularly in the developing countries resulting in serious health conditions. The domestication of crops produced high yield and larger seed size but with a reduction in nutritious quality. The locus NAM or Gpc-1 affects both the seed size and nutrient content in wheat and barley. A non-functional allele of the gene increases the seed size but at the expense of protein and micronutrient content. However, this gene was found to be lost in wheat during the early domestication resulting in lower nutrient content. Therefore, the selection for high yield has lead to lower grain nutrients. Our aim of the present study is to investigate when the selection for yield occured in barley and to check the existence of the wild type allele in the 19th century of landrace barley crops. In addition, to analyse the barley grain concentration of protein, iron and zinc among the landrace and cultivars from various time periods of northern Europe. The grain nutrient concentration of Nitrogen, Iron and Zinc did not show significant difference among the investigated 80 Scandinavian barley accessions. The grain nutrient concentration did not correlate with the seed size and chlorophyll content. The polymorphism was not observed among the allelic diversity of HvNAM-1 gene indicating that the NAM-B1 gene still prevails in the 19th century barley cultivars.

Par un regard géographique sur les espaces protégés urbains, cette thèse propose d’appréhender les politiques de protection comme des choix de production de naturalité métropolitaine. Le propos, qui s’appuie sur l’étude de cinq métropoles nordiques (Oslo, Göteborg, Stockholm, Copenhague, Helsinki) situées dans quatre contextes nationaux différents (Norvège, Suède, Danemark, Finlande), développe un raisonnement sur les fondements, les pratiques et les représentations relatifs aux espaces et aux spatialités de la protection. La thèse ne propose pas une compilation monographique, et c’est de manière transversale et critique qu’elle invite à considérer l’espace protégé comme un espace urbain à part entière. À l’aune de la nordicité, elle questionne l’existence, les modalités et les spécificités d’un supposé modèle scandinave qui transparaîtrait à travers les politiques de protection. La démonstration suggère surtout un renversement des schèmes habituels de la protection : ici, la ville n’est pas comprise comme une menace pour la nature, elle est au contraire questionnée comme un facteur protecteur. En retour, la protection peut renforcer certaines fonctions urbaines et peut même apparaître comme un levier de métropolisation. En mobilisant différentes formes d’observation et divers matériaux, ce travail de géographie sociale et politique de l’environnement est aussi une réflexion épistémologique plus large sur les notions de ville et de nature, et sur les liens qu’elles entretiennent. En confirmant l’indispensable dépassement des dualismes issus de la modernité, cette thèse questionne les formes spatiales hybrides produites par l’instauration de réglementations protectrices au sein des espaces métropolitains. Alors que la protection peut apparaître comme un moyen de régulation de l’urbanisation, elle est surtout un vecteur de valorisation de certains espaces urbains et, à ce titre, elle renforce souvent l’urbanité. Parmi la diversité des situations rencontrées, l’urbanité des espaces naturels devient même parfois la raison d’être de la protection. En somme, certains espaces protégés urbains sont davantage des espaces urbains protégés. Initiée politiquement, la protection se doit néanmoins d’être validée socialement pour vraiment exister. En portant une attention particulière aux pratiques des habitants, ce travail constate des décalages entre les assignations politiques de la protection et leur réception par les citadins. Ainsi, l’espace protégé peut déborder du simple périmètre réglementaire de protection ou être condensé en certains lieux : les limites normalement bien établies de cet objet spatial se meuvent et les lignes de la protection s’avèrent labiles. Étudier les politiques de production et de protection des espaces naturels et les modalités d’appropriation des espaces protégés s’avère donc être un angle d’approche original et fécond du fait urbain et des logiques métropolitaines. En filigrane, cette thèse est aussi une réflexion sur la mise en œuvre d’une démarche géographique et sur la construction d’un regard de géographe.Mots-clés : espaces protégés urbains, politiques de protection, ville, urbanisation, métropolisation, urbanité, nature, environnement, naturalité, Europe du Nord, nordicité / Through a geographical approach to urban protected areas, this doctoral dissertation proposes to consider conservation policies as production choices of metropolitan naturality. Based on the study of five northern European metropolises (Oslo, Gothenburg, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Helsinki) in four different national contexts (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland), it develops a reasoning on the foundations, practices and representations relating to spaces and spatialities of conservation. We do not propose a monographic compilation, and it is in a transversal and critical way that we invite to consider the protected space as an urban space in its own right. In the light of nordicity, this doctoral thesis questions the existence, the modalities and the specificities of a supposed Scandinavian model which would show through the conservation policies. The demonstration suggests above all a reversal of the usual patterns of conservation: here, the city is not understood as a threat to nature; rather, it is questioned as a protective factor. In return, conservation can strengthen some urban functions and may even appear to be a leverage of metropolisation. By mobilizing different forms of observation and various materials, this work of social and political geography of the environment is also a wider epistemological reflection on the notions of city and nature and on the links they maintain. By confirming the necessary overcoming of the dualisms resulting from modernity, this dissertation questions the hybrid spatial forms produced by the introduction of protective regulations within metropolitan spaces. Thus, conservation may appear as a means of regulating urbanization, but it is above all a means of enhancing the value of certain urban spaces and, as such, it can often strengthen urbanity. Among the diversity of situations encountered, preserving the urbanity of natural spaces sometimes becomes the primary objective of protection. In short, some urban protected areas are more protected urban spaces. Conservation is politically initiated, but it must nevertheless be socially validated in order to truly exist. Thus, by paying close attention to the practices of the inhabitants, this work has observed mismatches between the political objectives of conservation and their reception by city dwellers. As a result, the protected space may extend beyond the ordinary protective perimeter or be condensed in certain places: the normally established boundaries of such an object move and the lines of conservation are labile. Studying the policies for the production and conservation of natural spaces and the ways in which protected areas are appropriated thus proves to be an original and fruitful approach to urban development and metropolitan logics. Finally, this doctoral dissertation is also implicitly a reflection on the implementation of a geographical approach and on the construction of a way of being a geographer.

In the field of European studies, the notion of ‘differentiated integration’ (Stubb 1996) was developed in the late 1990s as an alternative to the crude membership/non-membership dichotomy. While the theoretical benefits of this approach are broadly discussed in the existing literature, further empirical studies have been deemed necessary (Holzinger and Schimmelfennig 2012). The Nordic states constitute a particularly interesting laboratory in order to study this phenomenon. Indeed, while these states share several socio-economic and political characteristics, they also differ in terms of their relationship with the European Union. Several studies on these relationships emphasise the relevance of certain contextual variables as key explanatory factors for the variation in attitudes between the Nordic states. However, there is also lack of analysis that looks into the domestic political features that these countries share. Furthermore, most studies in the field tend to ignore the respective government’s positions on European integration, and mostly adopt a top-down approach when focusing on the nation-state as a whole. Adopting a most similar systems design, this thesis aims to answer the following question: have Nordic government preferences on European integration been influenced by domestic political factors? In order to answer this question, four domestic variables are introduced and analysed: relative strength of parties in parliament; composition of government; type of government; and government ideology. Within this comparative framework, three Nordic countries have been selected: the first one belonging to the ‘inner core’ of the European Union (Finland);; while the second is located at its ‘outer core’ (Sweden);; and the third one serves as a control case as an ‘EU-outsider’ which is still located in the Union’s ‘inner periphery’ (Norway). For each state, the analysis starts in the early 1990s, when ‘Europe’ developed into a politically salient issue in domestic politics. The focus is furthermore set on their respective government’s positions regarding five distinct policy areas: participation in the European Economic Area; application for European Union membership; participation in the Schengen Area; participation in the Economic and Monetary Union; and participation in European Battle Groups. The main findings of the thesis suggest that when analysing governments’ positions on (differentiated) European integration, the domestic political features should not be downplayed. For instance, the Swedish government’s opposition to participation in the EMU in 1997 is mostly explained by a lack of party consensus over this issue, unlike in Finland where a broad inter-party agreement was secured for this policy area. The analysis further suggests that studies on party and government preferences on Europe should focus on policy areas rather than on the issue of integration as a whole. Such a focus provides for better understanding of the nature of ‘Euroscepticism’ in the Nordic region and, to a broader extent, in Europe.

Diploma thesis deals with the Northern Europe region, its economical situation and its position in the international tourism market. Thesis is mainly focused on two countries -- Finland and Sweden. The aim is to analyze Finnish and Swedish potential for tourism development and their share in the global tourism market. Beside that it is also focused on the economic situation in both countries. Thesis defines basic terms connected with Northern Europe region in the first chapter. Then there are two chapters with similar structure, one dealing with Finland and the other one dealing with Sweden. In both chapters there is a detailed analysis of the country's economy, study of conditions for tourism development and different forms of tourism, which have been or might be developed regarding these conditions. Both chapters contain the SWOT analysis with a few recommendations for the future progress.