Bakgrund: Svensk migrationslagstiftning har sin grund i en äldre rättsordning som uppkom i och med nationalstatens grundande. Efter andra världskriget växte en ny rättsordning fram baserad på mänskliga rättigheter. Barnets bästa är ett begrepp som har vuxit fram utifrån barns särskilda skyddsbehov och har sedan 1980-talet i ökande omfattning varit del av svensk lagstiftning. Sedan lagändringar i föräldrabalken 2018 ska barnets bästa ges största vikt vid alla frågor som rör adoption av ett barn. Dess-utom ska oftare begäras in ett yttrande från Migrationsverket. Migrationsverket bedömer om en adoption kan vara ett försök att få stanna i landet på ogiltiga skäl. Detta innebär att tingsrätten i beslutsfattandet samtidigt ska förhålla sig till, och resonera kring barnets bästa, och till misstanken om att adoptionen kan vara ett försök att kringgå gällande lagstiftning. Syfte: Att ge kunskap om hur tingsrätten förhåller sig till ett motstridigt område i rättsordningen där mänskliga rättigheter står mot nationens syn på medborgarskapet genom att ställa frågan: Hur resonerar tingsrätten runt barnets bästa i adoptionsärenden gällande barn som inte är svenska medborgare? Metod: Kritisk reflexiv metod och teori som den beskrivs av Alvesson och Sköldberg (2017). Material: Samtliga tingsrättsbeslut i adoptionsärenden från Södertörns tingsrätt under tidsperioden 1 september 2018 till 1 april 2020, gällande barn under 18 år som inte har svenskt medborgarskap. Urvalet resulterade i 16 ärenden. Resultat: Tingsrättens avvägningar och resonerande kring barnets bästa var inkonsekvent. Det tydligaste mönstret var att relationen mellan barn och sökande innan adoptionen avgjorde hur tingsrätten förhöll sig till barnets bästa. Utifrån denna skillnad skapades två resultatkategorier. När det saknades en relation mellan barn och sökande innan adoptionsprocessen utmärktes besluten av kort text med få argument. När en redan etablerad relation fanns mellan barn och sökande, eller då barnets behov var startpunkten för adoptionsansökan, var protokollen till stor del referenser till socialtjänstens och migrationsverkets yttranden. Tingsrätten redogjorde och resonerade både kring barnets bästa och migrationslagarna i större utsträckning, och kunde uttrycka tvivel om adoptionens syfte. Trots att tingsrättens bedömning av barnets bästa ska utgå från det individuella barnet så gjordes detta till stor del utifrån andra faktorer. Diskussion:  Utifrån det individuella barnets bästa borde inte relationen före adoptionsansökan vara avgörande för vare sig omfattningen av tingsrättens utforskande av nationella omvårdnadsmöjligheter eller risken för människohandel. Slutsats: I tingsrättens överväganden, i dessa internationella adoptionsärenden, vägde nationens bästa genomgående tyngre än barnets bästa. Detta tyder på att de nyare rättsordningarna med mänskliga rättigheter och barnets bästa med universella idéer, som det ser ut nu, både domineras av och används som rättfärdigande av den äldre rättsordningen om medborgarskap kopplat till nationalstaten. / Background: The best interests of the child (Sw. barnets bästa) is an expression that has arisen from children's special protection needs and has been a part of Swedish law since the 1980s. Since 2018 the best interests of the child should be given the largest concern in all adoption matters. Furthermore, in more cases an opinion should be received from the Swedish Migration Authority with an assessment if an adoption is an attempt to stay in the country on invalid grounds. This means the court in its judgement at the same time must consider and reason about the best interests of the child, and that the adoption could be an attempt to circumvent current immigration legislation. Purpose: To bring knowledge regarding how the district court reason about a conflicting area in current legislation where human rights stand against the nation's view on the citizenship by asking the question: How does the court reason about the best interests of the child in adoptions cases regarding children who aren't Swedish citizens? Method: Critical reflexive method and theory as described by Alvesson and Sköldberg (2017). Material: 16 district court rulings in adoption cases from Södertörns District Court between 1 September 2018 and 1 April 2020, regarding children under 18 who does not have Swedish citizenship. Results: The district court's reason about what constituted the best interests of the child was inconsistent. The clearest pattern was that the relationship between the child and the applicant(s) before the adoption decided how the court treated the child's best interests. When there was no relationship between the child and the applicant(s) before the adoption process, the decisions in general had short text with few arguments. When there was an established relationship between the child and the applicant(s), or when the child's need was the basis of the adoption application, the protocols was in large references to the Social Service Administration's and the Migration Authority's opinions. The District Court reported and reasoned both to a greater extent about the child's best interests and the migration laws and could express doubts about the purpose of the adoption. Although the district court's assessment of the best interests of the child should be based on the individual child, this was largely based on other factors. The scope of reasoning increased with the child's age, and decreased with the status of adults, respectively. When the applicant had Swedish citizenship, less reason was raised about the best interests of the child. In addition, patterns of gender stereotyped assessments of the applicant's parental ability were shown. Conclusions: In the district court's considerations, in these international adoption cases, the nation's best consistently weighed heavier than the child's best. This suggests that the newer human rights legal systems and the best interests of the child with universal ideas, as it now appears, are both dominated by and used to justify the older legal system of citizenship linked to the nation state.

This thesis is a qualitative study based on semi-structured interviews that were conducted with six highly educated young second-generation immigrants from the deprived neighborhood of Bäckby in Västerås. By aiming to understand how the participants portray their substantive citizenship and its impact upon political participation as an essential pillar of Swedish democracy, the author focused upon how the participants described their perceived discrimination, sense of belonging, transnationalism, and political participation. The answers were transcribed using the intelligent verbatim method and coded deductively based on a wide range of relevant literature. Among many findings, the study showed that the participants were aware of the bright barrier framing their place of comfort as well as they were highly attached to Bäckby. However, the majority of the participants considered the homeland to be a country outside of Sweden. Peregrinus citizenship was the outcome of the author's interpretations of the participants' substantive citizenship, which also was a possible explanation of the low interest in politics that the participants illustrated through their answers. Among the study's conclusions was stated that the second-generation immigrants are not only a risk group because of social risk factors present within the deprived neighborhood, but also because of the similar factors present outside of it. / Det här examensarbete är en kvalitativ studie baserad på semistrukturerade intervjuer som genomfördes med sex högutbildade unga andra generationens invandrare från den eftersatta stadsdelen Bäckby i Västerås. Genom att försöka förstå hur deltagarna framställer sitt substantivmedborgarskap och dess inverkan på det politiska deltagandet som en viktig pelare i den svenska demokratin fokuserade författaren på hur deltagarna beskrev sin upplevda diskriminering, känsla av tillhörighet, transnationalism och politiskt deltagande. Svaren transkriberades med hjälp av den intelligenta Verbatim metoden och kodade deduktivt baserat på ett brett spektrum av relevant litteratur. Bland många fynd visade studien att deltagarna var medvetna om den ljusa barriären som inramade sin komfortplats och de var mycket fästa vid Bäckby. Majoriteten av deltagarna ansåg dock att hemlandet var ett land utanför Sverige. Peregrinus medborgarskap var resultatet av författarens tolkningar av deltagarnas substantivmedborgarskap, vilket också var en möjlig förklaring till det låga intresse för politik som deltagarna illustrerade genom sina svar. Bland studiens slutsatser uppgavs att andra generationens invandrare är inte bara en riskgrupp på grund av sociala riskfaktorer som finns inom det utsatta området, utan också på grund av liknande faktorer som finns utanför det.

This study focuses on students in upper secondary school and their experiences of citizenship related to the school subject of social science. Education is a central part when describing adolescents’ citizenship because the school has a democratic commitment to form democratic citizens. The subject of social science has for various reasons become the subject where civic knowledge is mediated. The purpose of the study is to describe students experiences as citizens and to provide further understanding of how they relate to citizenship. The study also aims to examine their perceptions of the content in social science as part of the development of their citizenship. The empirical data consists of semi-structured interviews with seven upper secondary students between the ages of 17-19. The theoretical outset is based on a feminist approach to adolescents’ citizenship but is mainly focused on Lister’s four building blocks. Biesta’s three functions for good education is used to analyse the students’ perceptions of the subject social science. The results of this study indicate that social science is a superficial and broad subject. The subject contributes with knowledge and skills that can be related to what the students think is appropriate for a citizen to know. The knowledge and skills mentioned are to understand the structure of society, to discuss and be able to form an opinion and to be critical of what sources are being used. A citizenship, according to the students, is based on belonging, respect and solidarity, skills and to obey the laws. The results also show that their own experiences as citizens vary depending on situations that appear within their school. Their role as citizens is degraded because of their age and they are met with a lack of respect from older citizens. One of my conclusions is that the citizenship of upper secondary students can seem ambivalent because they are sometimes seen as adults and sometimes, they are seen as children. Another conclusion is that social science contributes to different civic skills which is also considered important for their interpretation of citizenship.

This study aims to explain the experiences that individuals with visual impairments in higher education undergo. In this study, I focus on people who consider themselves braille readers, as my objective is not only to investigate the reality regarding the process of acquiring accessible literature but also to understand the importance of braille literacy in a broader sense. I also want to show the connection and interdependency between education, citizenship, and disability in contemporary Sweden but also in historical retrospect.My study shows that there is an inequality in access to course literature and education in Sweden. The literature is not always available on time and is often inaccessible for individuals who are braille readers, though accessibility is required through laws and regulations that demand that every citizen be treated equally and have the same opportunities, disregarding disabilities. The conclusion is that authorities, including universities, have a lot of work to do to follow regulations such as the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Discrimination Act. One of the solutions to this problem is to increase the status of the braille language.

The present study investigates high school students' knowledge for concepts that are common in civic education teaching. The concepts that the study investigates are linked to democracy and the Swedish constitution, in order to make connections between conceptual understanding and democratic citizenship. The purpose of the study is to investigate differences between year one and year three and to make visible connections between conceptual understanding and the goal of raising democratic citizens. The experience has been gained through surveys completed by a total of 105 high school students in year 1 and year 3. The results show that students in year 3 generally have a better understanding of concepts than students in year 1. The study also shows that there are interesting connections between understanding of concepts and democratic citizenship.

Conscientious objection to military service is a widely studied subject in many fields, peace and conflict studies included. The military institution has been an integral part of Israeli society and culture since its inception. However, what happens when you resist not only military service but also significant norms of society? This study explores the experiences of conscientious objectors in Israel with seven semi-structured interviews to understand how it affects their feeling of belonging and rejection within society. By using a thematic analysis and applying an analytical framework consisting of three notions; citizenship, discipline, and redefinition of citizenship, this study seeks to understand the power dynamics in society that shapes their experience of resisting military service. This study argues that conscientious objectors are deviating from the norms and, therefore, are experiencing various forms of discipline that consequently affects their sense of belonging and rejection within Israeli society. It also finds that the objectors themselves are rejecting the hegemonic attitudes of Israeli society which in turn leads them to redefining their belonging and notion of citizenship. This study contributes to the understanding of the intersections between citizenship, military service, and individual conscience.

In this thesis, I aim to gain a deeper understanding of how integration projects are made, and work in reality based on the positions of different actors within a municipality. Through a qualitative interview study, the essay has explored how the integration project is viewed and how integration is implemented. Even though the project has had to go through challenges due to the pandemic, I have found in this study that in general the project is perceived as a positive project. I have also found that the great commitment within the municipality means that the respondents feel that they are on the way to successful integration. The integration is done through the meetings between the people, and this leads to a sense of meaningfulness and personal development. By volunteering and meeting newly arrived, the community is also strengthened. This means that the project actively works to counteract exclusion.

Detta arbete utforskar utvecklingen av demokratisk kompetens hos mellanstadieelever inom samhällskunskap. Studiens syfte är att ge lärare en fördjupad förståelse för praktisk implementering av demokratiuppdraget, en central aspekt i den aktuella läroplanen för grundskolan (Lgr 22). Genom en kritisk granskning och syntes av befintlig forskning identifieras fem nyckelfaktorer som är avgörande för att skapa en demokratisk lärandemiljö: professionellt ledarskap, innehållskunskap, inflytande, kommunikativ kompetens och aktivitet. Analysen fokuserar på hur dessa element kan integreras i klassrummet för att effektivt främja demokratiskt engagemang och förståelse hos eleverna.  Resultaten pekar på vikten av en integrerad ansats i undervisningen där alla fem faktorer samverkar. Professionellt ledarskap och innehållskunskap bildar grunden för en stabil och informativ miljö, medan inflytande, kommunikativ kompetens och aktivitet aktivt engagerar eleverna i demokratiska processer och främjar deras förståelse och deltagande. Dessa faktorer bidrar inte bara till elevernas förståelse och deltagande i demokrati, utan främjar även en djupare insikt i och engagemang för demokratiska värderingar och processer. Arbetet erbjuder därmed viktiga insikter och konkreta tips för lärare som strävar efter att integrera demokrati i sitt pedagogiska arbete och förbereda eleverna för ett aktivt samhällsengagemang.

Sustainable consumption is seen as a crucial political issue on the global agenda by politicians, the scientific community, and citizens who are worried about unsustainable consumption. However, several studies have shown that some consumers with "green" values do not consume sustainably – there is often a gap between attitude and behavior. One explanation is that the commitment to sustainable consumption is discouraged by barriers to action. For example, the supply of sustainable goods may be inadequate or the products too expensive. Such goods may be perceived as ineffective in their purpose to promote sustainable development, or perhaps it is believed that there are not enough other people who consume sustainably to make the individual effort worthwhile. However, some studies have indicated that there are also "reverse gaps". That is, there are people who are not particularly motivated to engage in sustainable consumption, but who do so anyway. The study examines why consumers sometimes engage in sustainable consumption (operationalized as a choice of environmental and Fairtrade certified products) but do not at other times. Research questions include which individual prerequisites (motivation and resources) are important for sustainable consumption, how they are distributed among citizens in Sweden, and finally whether perceived opportunities for sustainable consumption can form not only barriers but also "bridges" for engagement and how these are formed. The latter could explain the "reverse gaps" mentioned above. The author builds on the discussion about the challenges that sustainable development poses for the concept of citizenship. Researchers argue that sustainable development requires a transformation of traditional citizenship theory into a "sustainable citizenship". This is not limited by nation-state borders, takes into account past and future generations, and is open to the idea that responsibility-taking can, and sometimes should, be carried out in the private sphere. The dissertation is based on quantitative analysis of a (Swedish) representative survey and shows how consumers can be divided into different clusters based on their individual prerequisites: "Capable Critics", "Capital Weak Critics", "Conditionals" and ”Skeptics". Even if it is only the Capable Critics who have both the high motivation and a high level of resources that theoretically could be assumed to be necessary, there are a significant amount of consumers who choose environmental and Fairtrade labeled goods regularly across all clusters. These types of consumers encounter bridges to action by particularly positive perceived opportunities that make the engagement a little less demanding on individual prerequisites. The bridges are not the same for all clusters though. Their particular approach to sustainable consumption determines which factors are most important. / Det hållbara medborgarskapet

I den här avhandlingen är intresset riktat mot svensk utbildningspolitik och medborgarskap. I tider av globalisering, och med ett etablerat svenskt medlemskap i Europeiska unionen, har det nationella policyskapandet kring utbildningens medborgardanande funktion hamnat under ökat tryck. I studien undersöks hur detta hanteras i svensk utbildningspolitik under 1990-talet, en tid som utmärker sig genom betydande förändringar på utbildningsområdet i Sverige. Frågan är, mera precist, vilken riktning för skolans, enligt lag befästa, uppdrag att fostra demokratiska medborgare som utstakas i svensk utbildningspolitik vid denna tid. Genom att fästa vikt vid mål, visioner och motiv som formuleras i utbildningspolitiska 1990-talstexter klarläggs förståelser av medborgarskap som karaktäriserar svensk utbildningspolitik under denna tid. Även en bredare historisk analys görs, ur vilken historiska målsättningar med skolans medborgarfostran som föregår 1990-talets framträder. Studiens syfte är kritiskt. Förståelserna granskas utifrån vad de innesluter och vad de utesluter, vilka möjliga konsekvenser de kan tänkas få för olika individer och grupper i samhället, och om det finns öppningar för tänkbara alternativ. Studien visar på två historiska skiften vad gäller medborgarskapets innehåll och mening i det inhemska policyskapandet. Det första skiftet äger rum under 1990-talets tidiga del. Då bryts en etablerad samhällsbyggande medborgarroll upp, till förmån för andra mera marknadsorienterade medborgarroller. Under 1990-talets senare del, då marknadsorienteringen förstärks i neoliberal riktning, sker ett andra skifte; en historiskt vedertagen gemenskapstanke – nationen – bryts upp som grund för medborgerlig gemenskap. Denna tanke ersätts av en annan som är globaliseringsinriktad, vilken visar sig ha andra inne- och uteslutande mekanismer för olika individer och samhällsgrupper. Utifrån dessa forskningsrön tecknas avslutningsvis några konturer till ett alternativt sätt att tänka kring medborgarskap och gemenskap. Detta alternativ tar form i ambitionen att, i högre grad än vad som blir synligt i svensk utbildningspolitik, resonera kring möjligheter för ett medborgarskap bortom förhandstecknade indelningsgrunder för ett “vi”. Språk som politisk och samhällelig förändringskraft ges en central betydelse i avhandlingen. I analysen av texternas tal om skolans medborgarfostrande roll undersöks pågående politiska motsättningar när det gäller att vinna tal- och tolkningsföreträde till skolans fostransmål. Utgångarna av dessa motsättningar belyses genom tre områden för medborgarfostran som urskilts som centrala; ett politiskt, ett kulturellt samt ett ekonomi- och arbetslivsriktat. Genom dessa har rådande medborgarskapsdiskurser tagit form, ur vilka de utbildningspolitiska förståelserna av medborgarskap gestaltas och diskuteras. / In this thesis attention is drawn to Swedish education policy and citizenship. In times of globalization, and with Swedish membership of the European Union, national policymaking concerning the commissioned role of citizen upbringing has come under increased pressure. In this study, light is shed on how this issue is given shape in Swedish education policy in the 1990s, a period marked by significant changes in the field of education in Sweden. The core question is, more precisely, what direction is being marked out for the Swedish schools´ commission, laid down by law, to foster democratic citizens during this period. By taking an interest in how objectives, visions and motives are formulated in education policy texts from the 1990s, understandings of citizenship are mapped that characterize Swedish education policy during this period. In addition, a more extensive analysis is carried out, by means of which historical goals of the schools’ fostering of citizens prior to those of the 1990s are presented. The aim of the study is critical. The understandings are reviewed in order to revise what they include and exclude, as well as what possible consequences they may have for different individuals and groups, and whether there are conceivable alternatives. It is emphasised that two historical changes take place during the 1990s concerning the subject of the content and meaning of citizenship in Swedish education policymaking. Firstly, during the first part of the 1990s, a historically established citizen role is changed and replaced by other, more market-oriented roles. During the latter part of the 1990s, when the market orientation is reinforced in neo liberal courses, a second change emerges, the historically accepted basic idea of inclusion – the nation – as the “we”-creating reference for civic spirit is shattered. It is replaced by another – globalization – with other qualities that include and exclude different individuals and groups. Finally, on the basis of these findings, some conditions for a possible alternative are sketched. This alternative is given shape with the ambition of, to a greater extent than is made visible in Swedish Education policy, reasoning about possibilities beyond presupposed dividing properties for a “we”. The power of language for political and societal change has an important role in this dissertation. Political clashes concerning achieving preferential access to talk and interpretation about upbringing objectives are examined by analyzing the texts’ talk about the schools’ commission to foster citizens. Light is shed on the outcomes of these clashes by examining three vital areas for citizen upbringing, found to be crucial in this context: a political one, a cultural one and an economical and working-life oriented one. These citizenship discourses are elucidated and understandings of citizenship in Swedish education policy are given form and alternatives are discussed.