This thesis studies the indirect effects of Europeanization on national political parties.   I argue that Europeanization has affected the way national parties operate, and communicate with the voters, by restricting the national policy space through increased economic and political integration. Furthermore, I argue that the impact of Europeanization is likely to be reflected in electoral manifestos and changed patterns of party competition. Accordingly, Europeanization is hypothesized to change party rhetoric in a cartel-like manner by diminishing voters’ expectations, and also by avoiding EU-affairs in electoral manifestos. The hypothesis suggests, moreover, that Europeanization is reflected in convergence among parties regarding the rhetoric concerning EU-affairs.   The purpose of the thesis is to examine to what extent the rhetoric concerning EU-affairs has changed in electoral manifestos sinceSwedenjoined the European Union in 1995. The political parties examined are Socialdemokraterna, Moderaterna and Miljöpartiet. The parties’ electoral manifestos, from the period 1994-2010, are analysed through quantitative and qualitative content analysis. Subsequently, analyses from a comparison between results from earlier manifestos and older ones are evaluated.   The thesis concludes that the space given to EU-affairs in electoral manifestos consistently decrease and that the rhetoric tends to become vaguer over time. In conclusion, this result might indicate that the parties avoid debating the EU-affairs. Yet, the empirical analysis finds no signs of convergence among the parties.

Terrorism. A word that makes you think about different situations throughout the last decade that has passed. However, in this particular thesis the purpose is to examine both national and international terrorism from a Clausewitzian theory. The main point is to examine whether any of these types of terrorisms can fit in to this theory and as examples in this study are the terrorist organizations ETA and al-Qaida. The questions to be answered in this paper are if their aims can be explained as political and how far are they ready to go to have their way? Furthermore, the reason for this paper is to find an understanding for why the terrorist organizations act as they do. The result of this comparative study is that both terrorist organizations fit in to the theory because their goals can be seen as political and therefore can their aims justify their actions. However, the lack of support makes you begin to doubt about whether this is the right way or even a good way to achieve political aims. Hopefully, this enlightenment can increase our understanding and give us a guideline to how to deal with this threat of the 21th century.

This study deals with the phenomenon of European integration and its impact on national party programs in Poland, a current member state of the European Union. The author will argue that the question of European integration has left a mark on the political party programs of two mainstream domestic parties on opposite sides of the ideological dimension, in the form of a certain degree of convergence regarding the “European issue”. Relating the result of the analysis to the theoretical structure of Europeanization and sociological institutional change, the essay will attempt to show a possible link between them. Although this trend does not seem to indicate any dramatic effects of the membership per se in the programs (the national arena seems, in most cases, be of more value for party activities) there is an indirect effect in the form of the presence of Europarties and a pronounced incentive for social and economic adaptation.

A new reform of immigration in Sweden was introduced in 2006. This implied both a new decision hierarchy and process routine for dealing with asylum-related cases. Furthermore, a new Aliens’ Act came into force. The purpose of the changes was to strengthen the principle of law and order. The Swedish Migration Board, as the authority responsible for immigration cases, has employed Litigation Officers for the Administrative Procedure Unit. The Officers’ task is to reconsider verdicts in asylum cases and represent the authority on personal proceedings in the courts. Proceedings are a new occurrence in the asylum process. The object of this study is the Litigation Officers and how they act as executers of political decisions. The following two questions are precisely defined: i) Under which conditions do the Litigation Officers carry into effect the new directions and rules concerning the principle of strengthened law and order? ii) How much freedom of action do they have when discharging their official duties? Three theories are discussed related to the subject of the study. The first is about the forms of parliamentary steering of the society. The second theory discusses two perspectives of officers’ freedom of action. Finally, the third theory is about the characteristics of conditions necessary for a successful parliamentary steering. In order to answer the questions, six Litigation Officers working in different Administrative Procedure Units in Sweden were interviewed. The investigations showed that the officers were both qualified and willing to carry into effect the directions and rules of the principle of strengthened law and order, but were hindered in their work by serious deficiencies of the Aliens’ Act. The investigation also showed that Litigation Officers were satisfied with their freedom of action when discharging their official duties. They experienced a little more freedom in the procedural part of their work. On the other hand, they felt more limited in interpreting the law of the Aliens’ Act. Otherwise the officers adhered to guidelines in being executers of political decisions.

Elective participation varies considerably among domestic and foreign born young adults. In 2014, there was a difference of 16,1 percentage among domestic and foreign born men in electoral participation and between women there was a difference of 19,3 percentage. In democracies, political equality is important where all citizens have the same political right. The purpose is to answear how political acts are seen among young adults (18-25 years old) domestic and foreign born and if there are similarities and differences and if the political acts are based on their living conditions. This is a qualitative study because I want to get the respondents’ responses at the individual level through interviews. The study showed no difference among domestic or foreign born to political acts based on their living conditions. The reason for that may be the respondents who were foreign born came to Sweden as children and had taken part in society in the same way as a native born.

Möjligheten till politiskt ansvarsutkrävande är något som är centralt för legitimiteten för den representativa demokratin. Inom den svenska statsvetenskapliga forskningen har på senare tid allt mer uppmärksamhet riktats mot en grupp aktörer med politisk makt som är anställda snarare än valda för att bedriva politik, de politiska tjänstemännen. Väljares bristande möjligheter till ansvarsutkrävande mot dessa har i tidigare forskning ansetts utgöra ett hot mot legitimiteten för den representativa demokratin. Genom att undersöka politiska tjänstemäns inflytande inom politiken i Sveriges kommuner, samt hur ansvarsutkrävandet mot dessa förhåller sig till ansvarsutkrävandet mot politiker strävar denna uppsats efter att besvara frågan om huruvida politiska tjänstemäns politiska inflytande på kommunal nivå verkligen utgör ett demokratiskt problem. Detta har undersökts genom en kvantitativ analys av Kommun- och landstingsfullmäktigeundersökningen 2012. Studien visar att politiska tjänstemän i relation till politiker har litet inflytande inom den kommunala politiken. Vidare visar studien att den enda faktor som är unik för ansvarsutkrävandet mot politiker i förhållande till politiska tjänstemän, direkt ansvarsutkrävande genom personröster, även är en av de faktorer som är av minst avgörande för vilken politiker som blir vald. Ansvarsutkrävandet sker därmed i realiteten indirekt genom partiet för både politiker och politiska tjänstemän. Då problemet snarare ligger i bristande möjligheter till direkt ansvarsutkrävande mot politiker anses politiska tjänstemäns inflytande i den kommunala politiken i sig inte utgöra något demokratiskt problem.

From a democratic viewpoint, the way in which the media frames politics is essential. Should issue frames be left out in favor of other types of frames, it could result in voters struggling to make informed decisions come Election Day. What is more, research shows that game frames may cause lack of confidence in politicians and declining political interest. Against this background, the present study aimed to find out how two broadsheets, Dagens Nyheter and Svenska Dagbladet, and two tabloids, Aftonbladet and Expressen, framed politics in connection with the 2014 Swedish parliamentary elections. The thesis also intended to identify possible differences between the two newspaper types and to make tentative comparisons with previous studies so as to be able to comment on framing developments. The method that was used is content analysis. More specifically, the thesis examined the existence of a number of frame types in selected articles. A total of 235 articles were analyzed, 62 in Dagens Nyheter, 46 in Svenska Dagbladet, 52 in Aftonbladet and 75 in Expressen. The results of the study are rather depressing. Considering the average numbers for all four newspapers, the issue frames amount to only about a fourth or a fifth of all frames. In addition, the issue frame percentage seems to decline with each election. However, there are substantial differences between the broadsheets and the tabloids. As in the vast majority of previous studies, the broadsheets contain a much larger share of issue frames that the tabloids. Thus, the former satisfy the needs of democracy to a larger extent than the latter. Further studies are, however, of the essence to confirm the results that are presented in this thesis. It is very important, for the sake of democracy, to continue investigating the media’s framing of politics, as well as framing effects.

Flera politiska teorier har under 1900-talet talat om hur moderna demokratiska partier riskerar bli mer lika varandra. Denna undersöknings syfte är att undersöka om detta förefaller vara fallet i Sverige mellan åren 1994 och 2014. De teoretiska utgångspunkterna består av två sätt att betrakta demokratisk politisk representation, samt de tre ideologierna liberalism, konservatism och socialism som används för att kategorisera partierna. Program, valmanifest och hemsidor från partierna har studerats med metoden etnografisk innehållsanalys. Resultaten tyder på att partierna var relativt ideologiskt utspridda år 1994 men har 2014 kommit att bli övervägande liberala. Alla partier utom Vänsterpartiet bedömdes höra till den statliga representationsformen, vilken innebär att partier i första hand inte representerar en utpräglad politisk bas av väljare eller särskilda intressegrupper, utan snarare nationen, staten och befolkningen mer som helhet. Överlag indikerar resultaten att de svenska partierna har blivit mer lika varandra mellan 1994 och 2014.

This thesis aims to examine the nature of the medial compartment regarding the reporting of problems in conjunction with suburbs. Previous research on discrimination in the media shows that people living in the suburbs considers suburbs being portrayed negatively in the media. They perceive that this has a negative effect on integration which in turn increases the risk of stigmatization. This study strives to contribute to the clarification of whether medias means of reporting around this area can help in the development of problems in suburbs by examining whether there is a reflection of actual political focus in the media or if media only plays a stigmatizing role.   The research method used has been quantitative content analysis, making an overview of how much space is given to the different types of reporting. The thesis concludes that the reporting examined in this study did not appear to be of a structurally discriminatory nature, even if that type of reporting occurred. Overall, the study showed that when media reported about problems in conjunction with suburbs, there actually was a slightly larger space given for reporting of stigmatizing character than that was given to reporting with focus on illustrating problems in combination with how to politically enable their solutions.

This paper explores femicide and social movements impact on politics, a phenomenon where national, international and transnational politics overlap. The Mexican anti-femicide movement belongs to the global justice movement and struggle for women’s right to life. This study highlights the differences the movement faces even within a state, on the subnational level, through a comparative and theory developing case study. The variables of mobilization structure and political opportunity are examined in the three cases of the Mexican states Chihuahua, Yucatán and the Federal District. The study indicates the movement’s alliances and its connection between the local and international level in the post-2007 context. The hypothesis which connects the anti-femicide movement as part of the political opportunity on subnational level and varying rates of femicide is explored. The study concludes that the aspects of repression, threats of violence and impunity, aspect most prominent in Chihuahua, impact the anti-femicide movement and consequently femicide rates to some extent.