As the diploma's thesis it was chosen the theoretical analysis of the geopolitical position of Russia. The primary objective of this study is the evaluation of current geopolitics of the Russian Federation after the collapse of Soviet Union and outlines its future development. This work tries to answer a few basic questions. What is the current geopolitical situation in Russia, in what direction it develops, and whether we can declare a major shift to any direction. The work is divided into several main parts. Introduction is followed by a theoretical grasp of key concepts and the main actors involved in geopolitics. The other two parts contain an analysis of the relationship of Russia to key actors such as the US and NATO, the EU, China, the near neighborhood in Central Asia and the Transcaucasia and geopolitics of oil and natural gas. The last is practical part, in which the information from the previous sections are applied to specific examples in Russian foreign policy. Keywords: Geopolitics, Russia, eurasianism, foreign policy, the US, the EU, China, Central Assia, NATO, energy policy, oil, natural gas

In recent years Australia has seen a national change in policy focus for the provision of early childhood services. The change has been from delivery of a discrete education model of sessional preschool to a diverse range of services to families. This policy focus is reflected in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). There has been a move from a discrete preschool provision by the Department of Education and Training to a more cohesive early childhood approach by Children's Services Branch within the expanded Department of Education and Training and Children's, Youth and Family Services Bureau. The purpose of the study is to investigate reasons for, and nature of, the shift in policy focus and the impact on preschool staff in the ACT. The review of literature reveals that implementation of a more cohesive provision of early childhood services in Australia has not been without difficulties. These difficulties are investigated. The research is undertaken at an ACT Government preschool site. At this site the sessional government preschool and a community long day care centre are located in a purpose built shared facility. The research traces the values and practices of preschool staff in the sessional government preschool as they work in the shared facility in the first year of operation. Action research is employed in the form of a single case study, and guided by principles of Problem Based Methodology to clarify the issues involved and develop strategies to address a positive way forward in the ACT. The reflective, qualitative research provides the government preschool staff and the researcher with opportunities to develop and implement strategies to address difficulties. These difficulties are discussed in the context of the review of literature. Drawing on conclusions and recommendations from the case study, the investigation provides management insight into a way forward for more cohesive provision of early childhood services in the ACT.

Common pool resources (CPRs) are noted for their excludability and subtractability issues and early academic commentary stressed that due to the resources' complexity and uncertainty, management efforts were futile and a "tragedy of the commons" was the end result. Recent academic commentary has challenged this end result and has elaborated institutional design principles to sustainably manage CPRs which include the need for nested institutional arrangements (NIAs). However, little is known about how to move between the two extremes, that is, how we change public policy in a move towards and the sorts of institutional innovations that lead us to greater sustainability. This research begins to unravel nested institutional arrangements. It develops a framework for what constitutes a nested institutional arrangement and measures their effect on groundwater policy changes (frequency, type, magnitude) under different conditions of uncertainty as applied to a comparative case study between the Great Lakes Basin (high uncertainty; Ontario, New York) and the Ogallala Aquifer in the U.S. Midwest (low uncertainty; Nebraska). This dimensional mapping reveals the centrality of the nature of the linkages between governance units (especially linkage functionality), linkage complementarity and the effects of diffuse authority structures. In short, it is possible to unravel what an NIA is from the various strands in the literature and to develop linkages between NIAs and outcomes for particular situations (e.g. high vs. low uncertainty areas) in relation to common pool resources (e.g. groundwater). The results provide theoretical guidance for the study of groundwater policy changes by staking out the broad parameters of a strategy for groundwater policy change. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

No description available.

The Master thesis "The Immigration Policy of Norway after 2011" deals with Norwegian immigration policy, specifically with changes of immigration policy which took place after 2011. In July of this year, the attacks of Andres Breivik happened in the downtown of Oslo and on the island of Utøya. In the following years, the Norwegian immigration policy begin to change firstly gradually, than the changes occurred in faster pace, since the new coalition of Conservative Party and Progress Party began to rule after the General Election in autumn 2013. The goal of this Master thesis is to introduce changes in Norwegian immigration policy which took place after 2011, and find out what was behind these changes and thus was the cause of them. The thesis uses theoretical approaches explaining how policy change can happen, Punctuated Equilibrium Theory and Advocacy Coalition Framework. The first approach clarifies change of policy through period of disequilibrium which is caused by critical event. Second approach then illustrates that policy can change because the cooperation of political elite. Main research question of this Master thesis is how the Norwegian immigration policy has changed since 2011. Hypothesis then, that the Norwegian immigration policy has changed during the last for years, and not just...

有關政府採購研究，現行大部分關注在法律層面、制度層面。本研究擬從政策變遷與宏觀角度切入，就發包中心設置過程因果關係，發現決策者信念、政策中間人、聯盟運作等對政策影響。本文擬透過Sabatier & Jenkins-Smith 所建構政策倡議聯盟架構（Policy Advocacy Coalition Framework，[PACF ]），從不同面相研究觀察，以宏觀之政策面，研究分析市府發包中心重新設置之動態過程。 本研究採文獻分析法、深入訪談及焦點團體訪談法，分析探討1995至2015年臺北市政府聯合採購發包中心設置之政策變遷過程。藉由分析架構內外在系統的影響因素，探討執政輪替與決策者的信念是否為影響政策變遷主要因素。經研究發現：第一，市府倡議聯盟間（發包中心與洽辦單位、集中採購與分散採購）透過政策導向的學習，跨越聯盟達成共識。第二，避免陳水扁時代採購案件延宕，改以折衷版集中採購。第三，柯文哲市長主張集中採購，設置發包中心政策是其競選政策白皮書。第四，市府發包中心設置政策變遷主因，決策者信念與執政輪替。 / With regard to government procurement research, most of them focus on the legal and institutional aspects. This study intends to proceed from the perspective of policy changes and macroeconomics. It will investigate the cause-and-effect relationship of the setup process of the contract issuing center, and discover the impact of decision makers' beliefs, policy middlemen, and alliance operations on the policy. Using the policy advocacy coalition framework (PACF) constructed by Sabatier & Jenkins-Smith , we observe and analyze the dynamic process of the resetting of the city's outsourcing centers. This study used document analysis, in-depth interviews, and focus group interviews to analyze and explore the process of policy changes at the Joint Purchasing and Contracting Center of the Taipei City Government from 1995 to 2015. By analyzing the influencing factors of the internal and external systems of the architecture, it is discussed whether the alternation of governance rotation and decision makers' beliefs are the main factors affecting policy changes. The study found that: First, the city’s initiative among the alliances (contracting centers and contact agencies, centralized procurement and decentralized procurement) through policy-oriented learning, reached consensus across the alliance. Second, to avoid delays in Chen Shui-bian’s era of procurement cases , it used eclectic centralized procurement. Thirdly, Mayor Ko Wen-je advocated centralized procurement and set up a contract center policy as a white paper on his election policy. Fourth, the main reasons for the policy changes in the city's outsourcing centers are decision makers' beliefs and governance rotation.