<p>I studien genomförs en analys av begreppet hållbar utveckling och dess koppling till de tankar som brukar förknippas med ekologisk modernisering. Vidare beskrivs och diskuteras relationer och samband mellan den hållbara utvecklingens tre dimensioner; miljön, ekonomin och det sociala. Arbetet för hållbar utveckling på den regionala nivån sker utifrån nationella ramar men det är på den regionala och kommunala nivån som ansvaret för initiativtagande och prioriteringar ligger. Det är viktigt att ha kunskap om hur begreppet hållbar utveckling har kommit till och diskutera vad som menas med begreppet för att förstå vad begreppet syftar till och hur det bör tillämpas i det regionala utvecklingsarbetet. Med hjälp av indikatorer är det möjligt att följa och utvärdera arbetet för hållbar utveckling. Uppsatsen diskuterar förhållningssätt och problem i kringoperationaliseringen av hållbar utveckling i ett regionalpolitiskt sammanhang samt vilka svårigheter som är förknippade med framtagandet av hållbarhetsindikatorer.</p>

<p>Abstract</p><p>The aim of this study is to investigate the implementation process and the implementation steering of the social development aspects, gender equality and integration, in the program for regional development of the region Kronoberg in the period of 2004-2007.</p><p>The study asks three questions: 1) How have the social development aspects, gender equality and integration, been implemented in the program for regional development of the region Kronoberg? 2) What has facilitated or hindered the implementation of the two social development aspects? 3) What possibilities to steer the implementation process of the two social development aspects exist at the governmental and at the regional level?</p><p>In order to answer these questions a qualitative method has been used. To be able to analyse the empirical material, which consists of documents and interviews, the theoretical framework comprehends the policy process and implementation steering. The conclusion is that the incorporation of the social development aspects in the regional development program does not fully correspond with the central intentions, and that is due to circumstances at the regional level.</p>

This thesis aims at analyzing why the municipality of Flen, in the eastern part of Sweden, has experienced strong depopulation for the last forty years in spite of its relative vicinity to Stockholm. The study uses current theories on regional developement, population theory and theories on regional enlargment to help explain and to evaluate the different regional factors that affect the developement of Flen on the local level. The thesis is primarily focused on the subject of regional policy and strategies to meet regional depopulation. The study also gives a presentation of the strategies of major regional institutions as well as analyzing what impact regional policy have on local policy in the municipality of Flen. Interviews with local officials, politicians and other people representing the population of Flen were carried out to achieve a better understanding of the specific challenges that the municipality faces and of the measures that are taken to meet them. Regional policy in Sweden prioritises measures that promote regional enlargment to link the housing and labour markets together with the regional infrastructure. Each region should promote and develop its own unique qualities as a way of stimulating growth. This disregards the former notion that the state should strive for regional growth to be achieved equally distributed within its boundaries. The thesis puts forward the view that this development could lead to an allowance for some regions to be neglected by the state. The findings in this study show that the measures that are put in to curb the stagnation in the municipality of Flen are made with difficulty and cannot be financed without external aid. The challenges are to a growing extent no longer managable by the municipality itself which brings me to a final conclusion that predicts that Flen could befavoured in a future municipal reform in which there are clearer connections to Stockholm and to other larger towns in the region, as well as a new delimitation that better takes the functional relationships of the population into account.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität, Giessen, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [377]-399).

Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Uppsala universitet, 2002. / Härtill sju uppsatser.

Diss. Linköping : Linköpings universitet, 2005.

Univ., Habil.-Schr.--Kassel, 2004.

Univ., Diss.--Linz, 2004.

Univ., Diss.--Potsdam, 2006.

Katholische Universiẗat, Diss.--Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, 2004.