<p><strong>Abstract</strong></p><p> </p><p>Youths and adolescents have for a long period of time, and at a high degree, beenabsent from the party political stage. The causes for this have been discussed inthis essay through a quantitative survey made in an upper secondary school class,consisting of some 19 subjects in the municipality of Kalmar. Tied together withrelevant literature and discourse on the subject, the essay has dealt with thepossible societal-, system- and individual barriers for political interest andinvolvement. Central questions for this essay has been for instance; age, gender,social background, geographical domicile, as well as the decline of ideology, theforms of current party politics, political interest, political engagement and soforth. The concluding remarks contain not only a mix of these barriers existing,not exclusively, for young and adolescents but different ground for them as well.On the one hand, there exist barriers which exclude youth from the conventionalpolitical life, but on the other, the more individualised youth of today, prefer to agreater extent not to participate under the conventional circumstances that partypolitics has to offer. This adds up to one of the most challenging democraticproblems facing Swedish modern day democracy.Youths and adolescents have for a long period of time, and at a high degree, beenabsent from the party political stage. The causes for this have been discussed inthis essay through a quantitative survey made in an upper secondary school class,consisting of some 19 subjects in the municipality of Kalmar. Tied together withrelevant literature and discourse on the subject, the essay has dealt with thepossible societal-, system- and individual barriers for political interest andinvolvement. Central questions for this essay has been for instance; age, gender,social background, geographical domicile, as well as the decline of ideology, theforms of current party politics, political interest, political engagement and soforth. The concluding remarks contain not only a mix of these barriers existing,not exclusively, for young and adolescents but different ground for them as well.On the one hand, there exist barriers which exclude youth from the conventionalpolitical life, but on the other, the more individualised youth of today, prefer to agreater extent not to participate under the conventional circumstances that partypolitics has to offer. This adds up to one of the most challenging democraticproblems facing Swedish modern day democracy.</p>

This essay studies what is affecting the Swedish people’s trust in the country’spoliticians, police and legal system. This was done by conducting multiple regressionanalyses in SPSS, using the Swedish survey data from the 2016 Europen Social Survey.To determine what is affecting this kind of trust, this study used Caroline McEyvoy’sdefinition of political efficacy from her studies of people’s view on the EuropeanUnion. The theories being used are Robert Putnam’s definition of the social capital,deriving from his studies in Italy and the United States, together with Ola Listhaug’sand Arthur Miller’s theory on how people’s evaluation of the government’sperformance affects their political support.The results show that people’s trust in Sweden’s politicians, police and legal system is,to a varying degree, significantly affected by their political efficacy, social trust andreligious attendance. Across all instances people’s evaluation of the government’sperformance were found to have the strongest effect.

Political trust is by many thought to be an important factor for a society to work efficiently, due in part to trust in political institutions being a motivator for citizens to abide by rules and laws. Political trust is also thought to have an impact on voter turnout, according to some of the previous research. This correlation, however, is debated among researchers. This paper takes off from previous research regarding how voter turnout is impacted by different factors and specifically how voter turnout among young people is impacted. Previous research shows that voter turnout can be impacted by numerous factors on the individual as well as the aggregated level. Gender, age, and level of education are seen as some of the factors for voter turnout on the individual level, whereas the size of the population and proportional representation are seen as some of the factors for voter turnout on the aggregated level. Moreover, specifically voter turnout among young people is well-studied due to the generally lower turnout of this group. Previous research has shown how education and political interest, among other factors, might impact voter turnout among young people. This paper also rests on previous research of political trust in general and political trust as a factor for voter turnout. As mentioned above, the correlation between political trust and voter turnout is somewhat disputed, with some research showing strong correlation and other studies showing no evidence of such correlation. In this paper we therefore aim to study whether political trust, meaning trust for political institutions, has an impact on voter turnout among young people between the ages of 20–26. The term political institutions in this paper include the Swedish Parliament, the Swedish Government and the Swedish political parties represented in the parliament. The method in this study is quantitative, using cross tabulation to analyse the relationship between political trust and voter turnout among young people. The data on which the analysis is based are gathered from the results of the longitudinal research program Political Socialization Program by YeS (Youth &amp; Society), Örebro university. The results suggests that young people have quite high levels of trust with over half of the respondents expressing very high or quite high levels of trust for all three of the political institutions. The results also show that the young people of this population have more trust toward the Swedish Parliament than to the Swedish Government and the political parties. Furthermore, the analysis indicates that low or no trust in each of the political institutions might correlate to a lower voter turnout on the individual level.

This essay is a contribution to the process of reconstructing the meaning of a concept that has been long forsaken and somewhat forgotten. It examines the way in which the Swedish nobility perceived the politically active peasantry during the 1740s as an expression of the prevailing political culture of the period. The aim of this study is thus to understand a bygone world of thought that once existed in a very turbulent political culture. I focus on the words formed and articulated in the halls and rooms of the Swedish estates by which the thoughts, opinions and power of the Swedish government came to the fore. In doing so it is possible to say something about how the nobility, in their relationship with the peasantry, constructed an object which represented their perception of the Swedish peasant and what this meant. In other words the persona that the nobility attributed the peasants. The new political culture of the Age of Liberty (1719–1772) allowed the peasants to enforce a political offensive that gave raise to new ways of expressing themselves, new ways of performing and new ways of positioning themselves in relation the other estates. This also meant a change in how the other estates perceived and acted in relation to the peasantry. The peasant persona was mainly characterized by negative traits and qualities. He was foolish, unqualified and naïve in his quest for increased political rights. However, he was also regarded as humble, benevolent and as a dedicated man. He was a Swedish citizen, just as the members of the nobility, and therefore he had an inherent value because of his love for his homeland. This made it possible for the nobility and peasantry to protect themselves against intruders, to strive forward and to live in harmony with each other. / <p>Författaren har bytt namn till Jakob Starlander.</p>

This Bachelor thesis investigates how young feminists seek information related to their political engagement, the sources they use and what they use the information for. The study focuses on feminists aged 16-23 years old who are active in an alternative political movement. Qualitative interviews were carried out with four feminists. Theoretically, the study takes its departure point in the notion of communities of practice developed by Wenger (1998). In this view feminist groups and their circle of like-minded friends are seen as communities of practice where they share information, learn and create a common history together. McKenzie’s (2003) model of information practices was used in the analysis. The findings show that active scanning is the most common method of keeping informed about feminist issues. The informants often scan Internet sources for information about feminism, but seldom search for information on specific questions. It was also found that information was used as a form of resistance in order to meet challenges. It was also used in conversations and discussions with other feminists as a way of creating deeper knowledge on specific issues.

Syftet med denna uppsats var att bidra med ökad empirisk kunskap om psykologiska mekanismers betydelse för att förklara variansen i människors politiskt deltagande och politiska orientering. Detta genom att undersöka sambandet mellan 9566 deltagares upplevda kontroll och deras politiska orientering samt grad av politiska deltagande. Det psykologiska konceptet upplevd kontroll myntades av Rotter (1966) och undersöker i vilken grad människor uppfattar sig ha kontroll över händelser i livet. En persons kontroll över händelser kan vara intern, stor kontroll över situationer omkring sig, eller extern, liten makt över händelser i livet. Resultaten visade på att det fanns ett signifikant samband mellan deltagarnas upplevda kontroll och politiska deltagande samt politiska orientering. Personer med upplevd intern kontroll deltog mer politiskt, placerade sig mer högerut på en vänster-höger skala samt var mer högerorienterade i sin uppfattning om ekonomisk politik. Personer med upplevd intern kontroll var också mer positivt inställda till en öppnare invandringspolitik och en mer aktiv miljöpolitik.

Yttrandefrihet är en nödvändig förutsättning för det demokratiska statsskicket, men det går att argumentera för att andra värden i vissa fall bör beredas företräde. Interaktion mellan medborgare och politiker ses ofta som något demokratistärkande, men i kontaktytorna kan även negativa konsekvenser uppstå, exempelvis i form av hot. Inom deliberativ demokrati har kommunikationen en central roll. Den här uppsatsen har till syfte att undersöka hur yttrandefrihet som är kompatibel med deliberativ demokrati bör se ut. Detta görs genom en analys av Waldron, Benhabib och Youngs teorier och mot bakgrund av samtal med politiker om deras upplevelser av yttrandeklimatet. Politiska och filosofiska aspekter av rättigheten berörs, inte de primärt juridiska. Slutsatserna omfattar att yttrandefriheten bör vara långtgående men inte absolut; yttranden som omfattar hot eller kränker värdighet bör begränsas. Vidare att förhållningssätt mellan samtalets aktörer är av stor betydelse; detta ska omfatta en vilja och förmåga att anta andra perspektiv än det egna. Medvetenhet om maktasymmetrier och en vilja att eliminera dessa bör finnas för att ett gott demokratiskt samtal ska åstadkommas. / Freedom of speech is a fundamental condition for democracy, but it can be argued that sometimes other values should be given priority. Interaction between citizens and politicians is often viewed as something that is strengthening the democracy, but these interactions may also cause damage, for example if trustees are threatened. Communication is fundamental within the theory of deliberative democracy. The aim of this thesis is to examine how to approach freedom of speech in a way that is compatible with deliberative democracy. To do so, I analyze the theories of Waldron, Benhabib and Young against the background of the narratives of politicians about their experiences of the political discussion; focusing on the political and philosophical aspects rather than the legal. The conclusion is that freedom of speech should be extensive but not absolute; limiting speech that is threatening or that is violating the human dignity of others. I also conclude that the attitude of the participants is of essence, as well as awareness of differences in influence and power.

The European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) was introduced as a way to strengthen the democratic legitimacy of the EU by involving ordinary citizens in the political process. The aim of this study has been to examine whether this plan has been successful, and it has done so by looking at the responsiveness of the Commission and at how equal the participation is. The ECI can be launched by at least seven EU citizens wishing to propose new EU laws. The seven citizens will form a Citizens’ Committee. The study has been conducted by asking these Committees about their experiences using a survey.  The results show that the participation is generally equal with some exceptions, notably in the inclusion of non-active citizens when gathering signatures. However, the Committees show a lot of dissatisfaction with the ECI’s potential to invite to equal participation and with the responsivity of the Commission. The conclusion is therefore that the ECI has helped move the democratic legitimacy of the EU in the right direction, but that a lot of work still must be done both within the area of equal participation and responsivity in order for it to properly help the democracy of the EU.

The forms of political participation is changing and the number of members of political parties and organizations decreases and even faster in youth assossiations. Though studies show that the political interest among youths are high and that they participate politically in other ways. The school as a whole must therefore adapt the teaching as society changes, which places new demands on participation. This survey focuses on three upper secondary school teachers who teach the subject of civic studies and are conducted with kvalitative semi-structured interviews. The purpose of the study is to find out which teaching in democracy that the teachers pursue against society's demands for new forms of participation. The analysis of the interviews are performed with theories of ideal participation democratic models. The theory models are, electoral ideal model, demoratic participation ideal model and deliberative democratic ideal. The teachers' perception of students' political participation is also of interest and is analyzed based on Ekman and Linde's definition table on political activity. The semi-structured interviews has generated useful data that is presented in the Result-chapter. The main conclusion that the study has landed in is that the teachers whom has participated, mainly are making the democratic electoral ideal model visible in their class room for participation. Teachers’ perception of students’ political participation varies. / Formerna för politiskt deltagande står i förändring och antalet medlemmar i politiska partier och organisationer sjunker och desto snabbare i ungdomsförbund. Studier visar dock att det politiska intresset bland unga är stort och att de deltar i det politiska på andra sätt. Skolan som helhet måste därför anpassa undervisningen i takt med att samhället förändras som ställer nya krav på deltagande. Den här undersökningen fokuserar på tre gymnasielärare som undervisar i ämnet samhällskunskap och genomförs med kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer. Studiens syfte är att ta reda på vilken undervisning i demokrati som lärarna bedriver mot samhällets krav på nya deltagandeformer. Analysen av intervjuerna görs med teoridemokratiska idealmodeller för deltagande vilka synliggörs i undervisningen enligt lärarna själva. Valdemokratisk idealmodell, deltagardemokratisk idealmodell samt deliberativt demokratiideal. Lärarnas uppfattning om elevers politiska deltagande är också av intresse och analyseras baserat på Ekman och Lindes definitionstabell om politisk aktivitet. De semistrukturerade intervjuerna har genererat användbart material som presenteras i resultatkapitlet och slutsatserna har landat i att de medverkande lärarna synliggör till största del en valdemokratisk idealmodell för deltagande. Lärares uppfattning om elevers politiska deltagande varierar.

<p>Uppsatsens syfte är att söka förklara politiska våldet i Indien utrifrån tre perspektiv; territoriell odelbarhet, nationalism och fundamentalism. Avgränsningen är de etniska minoriteterna; assameser, bodo, kashmirer, muslimer, naga, sikher, tripura och ursprungsstammar. Åren som uppsatsen har fokus på är 1985-2000. Uppsatsen är en fallstudie av Indien där åtta olika etniska minoriteter är studieobjekt. Maryland Universitys MAR-databas, Uppsala universitets UCDP-databas samt South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP-databasen) fungerar som huvudsakliga källor.</p><p>Resultatet visar att den territoriella odelbarheten har stark förklaringskraft i de flesta av fallen (sju av åtta) i Indien. Nationalismen är en förklaring i vissa av studieobjekten medan fundamentalismen i endast i fåtal av fallen. För muslimernas del ger dessa perspektiv ingen förklaring för det politiska våldet.</p>