With background in the acknowledgement of the current period of major change in the characteristics of traditional Swedish foreign policy, considering the membership in the European Union, as well as the new contextual scenarios that Sweden has been situated in after the end of the cold war, this thesis aims at scrutinizing the Swedish Foreign Policy from 1991 to 2010. The purpose of the thesis is further to localize continuity and change in the ideas which Sweden has explicitly stated in its foreign policy. Based on the theory of institutionalism, the thesis also aims to bring forward plausible explanations built on the main empirical findings. This has been done by identifying different types of goals and means within realism and liberalism as well as categorizing each theory within three ideal types. The chosen research method has been a qualitative text analysis with focus on an ideational analysis. The material on which the descriptive analysis is based upon is constituted by the annual statements of government policy in parliamentary debates on foreign affairs. The results of the thesis show that the ideas that are related to solidarity, consensus and active foreign policy are constant through the period of examination. The ideas of neutrality and non-alignment could, based on the conducted analysis, be understood to continue to go through great changes, of which the engagement in the Common Foreign and Security Policy within the European Union is the most obvious example.

This essay conducts a qualitative text analysis on the Swedish foreign policy debates held in February 2015 and 2023. The study aims to enhance understanding of the shift in Swedish security policy following the Swedish NATO application. Using an ideal-type analysis, the occurrence of realistic and liberal assumptions is compared in the two debates. The study reveals that both debates are characterized by liberal assumptions. Additionally, it is evident that the Swedish foreign policy debate in 2023 is characterized to a greater extent by realistic assumptions than the debate in 2015. This difference becomes apparent as the debaters in 2023 more frequently and elaborately discuss the consequences of the international situation for security in Sweden and its vicinity. At the same time, the threat is more extensively linked to states, and a certain skepticism is expressed towards international institutions and their ability to uphold international laws. This enhances understanding of the shift in the Swedish security policy debate, indicating a change in how Swedish politicians talk about security concerns.

Studiens primära syfte är att utveckla ett teoretiskt ramverk som kan bidra till en ytterligare teoretiskförståelse för staters agerande i FN:s säkerhetsråd. Ramverket vilar på en rationalistisk grund ochbygger på tre förklaringsmodeller; en första med fokus på internationell makt och säkerhet, en andrainomstatlig förklaring och en tredje institutionalistisk förklaring. Ramverket appliceras sedan på enfallstudie där Kinas och USA:s agerande i säkerhetsrådet analyseras. Bland studiens slutsatser börframhållas att säkerhetsrådet av stater anses vara en viktig institution och att det råder en påtagligrespekt för rådets prejudicerande makt. Studien visar även att säkerhetsrådsmedlemmars beslut till stordel är resultatet av långsiktiga kalkyler utifrån reciprocitet och ryktespåverkan, samt att den historiskakontexten påverkar hur staters agerande tas emot av övriga medlemmar. Vidare indikerar studien attstaters veton främst kan härledas till inomstatliga faktorer. Uppsatsens ramverk får anses vara välanpassat för att förklara staters agerande i säkerhetsrådet och kan utgöra grunden för vidare forskninginom ämnet. / The primary purpose of this study is to develop a theoretical framework which can contribute to abroader theoretical understanding of the actions of the U.N. Security Council members. Theframework rests upon a rationalistic foundation and it is constituted of three different models ofexplanation; a first one focuses on international power and security, the second is a domesticexplanation of foreign policy behaviour and the third is an institutional explanation. The framework isthen applied on a case study in which the actions of China and the United States in the SecurityCouncil are explained. Among the findings worth mentioning is that the members find the SecurityCouncil to be an important institution and that there is an apprehension of the precedential power ofthe institution. The study also shows that the action of the members largely is the result of long termcalculation influenced by reciprocity and reputational effects. It is further indicated that the historicalcontext influence the way state actions are perceived, hence it also affect the reciprocity andreputational effect. The study as well points out that a permanent member is more likely to use its vetowhen there are strong domestic reasons of so doing. In general the developed theoretical frameworkseems to be well suited to explain states behaviour in the Security Council and may provide afoundation for further theoretical studies on the subject.

Syftet med denna studie har varit att undersöka möjliga förklaringar till den ryska statsledningens beslut att invadera Ukraina. Forskningsfrågan löd: Hur kan den ryska statsledningens beslut att invadera Ukraina förstås utifrån ett rollteoretiskt perspektiv? Forskningsfrågan har undersökts genom att analysera uttalande från centrala aktörer inom den ryska presidentadministrationen och utrikesministeriet utifrån ett rollteoretiskt perspektiv. Tre kompletterande rollföreställningar har kunnat identifieras: (1) beskyddare av landsmän utomlands (2) upprätthållare av principen om odelbar säkerhet (3) återställare av det historiska Ryssland. Rollerna är nära sammanflätade med varandra och används alla av ryska beslutsfattare för att på olika sätt motivera invasion av Ukraina. Jag finner att de tre identifierade rollerna manifesterar sig i Rysslands politiska målsättningar med kriget i Ukraina. Den första Rollen tar sig uttryck i Kremls politiska målsättning att avsätta det politiska styret i Kiev, för att sedan ersätta den med en Moskvavänlig marionettregim. Den andra Rollen manifesterar sig i Kremls politiska målsättning att bevara Ukraina i den ryska intressesfären och ersätta den rådande unipolära världsordningen med en ny multipolär världsordning. Den tredje rollen uppenbarar sig i den överordnande politiska målsättningen att forma ett storryskt rike, bestående av Ryssland, Ukraina och Belarus, likväl erkännandet av en rysk intressesfär i det postsovjetiska området.

The aim of the study is to investigate individual policy entrepreneurs who work to act upon their foreign policy proposals within the US political system.The study is focusing on how the following policy contractors which have acted against Cuba, and how they have succeeded in changing the US foreign policy position towards the country. The aim of the study is to analyse how policy contractors in Congress work and their impact on foreign policy decisions concerning Cuba.The underlying methodology of the study is a case study design with a limited focus on Foreign Policy Analysis, where the underlying material includes several different sources that mixes Congress own documents with news articles. Theories applied to the study are Actor-Specific Theory and Policy Entrepreneurship to explain the actors' roles, methods and motives.The results of the study show that the congressional actors work in a highly unorthodox manner. The actors seek support and financial resources from independent interest groups that have similar agendas concerning Cuba. The actors also form internal interest groups in Congress in order to increase support for each other's policy proposals. There is also a great deal of importance in a policy entrepreneurship that can make an adequate problem formulation to fill the experienced political vacuum. Policy entrepreneurs have a pronounced media profile and do not choose everything to rarely search for the American people by turning to media.