<p>The point of departure for this thesis is the divergent fate of organized labor during the last decades in the Western world. Given what we know about actual trends, how are we to explain the variation in the strength of organized labor across time and space? The thesis consists of four self-contained essays.</p><p><b>Essay 1:</b> Using aggregate data from 15 advanced capitalist societies, I show that the estimated effects of domestic cyclical, labor market structural, and globalization variables differ in a predictable manner across nation-specific institutional frame­works.</p><p><b>Essay 2:</b> In the second essay I argue that two institutional properties – the degree of centralization in the bargaining system and the workplace access of the union movement – will interactively influence the unionization process. The empirical results indicate that these institutional variables positively influence the aggregate density levels and cushion the effects of compositional factors on the probability of being a union member.</p><p><b>Essay 3:</b> In the third essay I argue that coordinated wage bargaining alters the causal logic when explaining wage inequality, in the sense that common explanatory factors have different effects depending on the degree of bargaining coordination. The evidence presented supports the theoretical argument.</p><p><b>Essay 4:</b> In this essay I propose a formal model of strike behavior predicting a curvilinear relationship between employer beliefs about union bargaining strength and the probability of a strike. Further, I argue that this curvilinear relationship is valid only under uncoordinated wage bargaining.</p>

The point of departure for this thesis is the divergent fate of organized labor during the last decades in the Western world. Given what we know about actual trends, how are we to explain the variation in the strength of organized labor across time and space? The thesis consists of four self-contained essays. Essay 1: Using aggregate data from 15 advanced capitalist societies, I show that the estimated effects of domestic cyclical, labor market structural, and globalization variables differ in a predictable manner across nation-specific institutional frame­works. Essay 2: In the second essay I argue that two institutional properties – the degree of centralization in the bargaining system and the workplace access of the union movement – will interactively influence the unionization process. The empirical results indicate that these institutional variables positively influence the aggregate density levels and cushion the effects of compositional factors on the probability of being a union member. Essay 3: In the third essay I argue that coordinated wage bargaining alters the causal logic when explaining wage inequality, in the sense that common explanatory factors have different effects depending on the degree of bargaining coordination. The evidence presented supports the theoretical argument. Essay 4: In this essay I propose a formal model of strike behavior predicting a curvilinear relationship between employer beliefs about union bargaining strength and the probability of a strike. Further, I argue that this curvilinear relationship is valid only under uncoordinated wage bargaining.

This doctoral dissertation discusses the willingness of political leaders in illiberal democracies to put national interests before private and factional interests in their foreign policy. Thus, the dissertation examines one variety of a fundamental question underlying much of political science: What do politicians want? Are they in office to pursue private and/or factional interests, or are they in office to enhance national interests?

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<p><strong>Abstract</strong></p><p> </p><p> </p><p>This paper examines the Copenhagen Climate Conference held in the Bella Center in Copenhagen, December 2009. The aim of this paper was to analyse<strong> </strong>the highly anticipated conference, and why it did not result in a binding protocol between the world’s states. The focus of this paper was to examine two key actors in the Copenhagen<strong> </strong>negotiations: the people’s republic of China and the European Union. These two actors were analysed by using Elinor Ostroms nobel prize winning theories on how to make common pool resources function. The method used to compare China and the EU was the qualitative text analysis; the texts that were analysed are official documents from the parts respective websites, as well as a number of second hand sources, such as newspaper articles. This paper presents that the EU acted more<strong> </strong>from a common goods point of view, whereas China acted more out of national interest.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Nyckelord: statsvetenskap, EU, Kina, klimatkonferens, Gemensamma resurser, spelteori, Elinor Ostrom.</p>

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<p>Regional integration has gained keen drive since the 1980s throughout the world. Political and economic considerations complement each other in any kind of process; yet classical economic integration theory would advocate that regional integration is an economic process occurring largely as a result of greater interaction between neighboring states, functioning almost like a kind of invisible hand. This theory is based on the historical example of the development of the European Union, yet it completely discounts the fact that the European Union was first and foremost a political project. Such also has been the case with the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), the world’s oldest customs union, and with the Southern African Development Cooperation Conference (SADCC) and its successor, the Southern African Development Community (SADC).</p><p> </p><p>Using the new regionalisms approach, with focus on SADC as a representative regional economic community, the purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the extent to which politics rather than economic considerations, has determined the establishment and functioning of SADCC (1980-1992) and thereafter of SADC (from August 17, 1992) and to point out the impact, that these political-driven processes has had on the development of the southern African region integration. A qualitative content analysis is used for data collection while policy analysis is brought out using the Institutional Analysis and Development framework. The results of this study reveal divergence between policy formulation (political) and policy implementation (economic) when it comes to enhancing the developmental aspects in the unfolding regional integration process, yet both equally influential.<strong> </strong>Moreover, policy formulation at the collective-action level still lacks concrete strategies and plans for the harmonization and implementation of regional initiatives. Some of the strategies for deepening the regional integration process would include prioritizing regional commitments to external ones and improving policy formulation as well as establishing linkages between different regional policies and strategies.</p><p><strong>Keywords: </strong>Regional integration; regionalism, political economic development; regional and Southern African Development Community.</p>