<p>Essay in political science, D-level by Lisa Kringsberg, spring semester 2008.</p><p>Tutor: Michele Micheletti.</p><p>“Civil Society in Singapore</p><p>– can it make democratization possible”</p><p>The third wave of democratization and the end of the cold war has together increased the interest of the civil society as an impact on democratization. Singapore is a country which is higly-developt in both the socie-economic and economic field. Dispate this Singapore has not yet achieved to become a democratic state. The purpose of this essay is to study how the civil society can affect democracy in a country. My main research question is to test how civil society in Singapore can figure as a force to introduce democracy.</p><p>The methodological approach is a qualatative case study. To come to any conlusions about my main research question I’ve used an analyse chart which focuses on three variables; freedom of speech, liberty of press and freedom of association.</p><p>The theoretical approach that my thesis takes its aim from is based on research done about civil society.</p><p>The conclusion of this thesis is that the possibilities for the civil society to figure as a force to introduce democracy in Singapore is limited.</p>

<p>Active environmental activity?– a comparative study of the municipalities environmental activity</p><p>Thesis in Political Science D-Level at Karlstad University by</p><p>Jenny Ljung Spring 2008</p><p>Tutor: Michelle Michelleti</p><p>The threat against our climate is one of our biggest challenges today. The awareness of the problem has grown rapidly for the last years in governments on international, national and regional level. The Swedish government is recognized as one of the leading countries in the climate and environmental work internationally. The Swedish municipalities play a big role in this successful work. The Swedish non-governmental organisation Naturskyddsföreningen has done a project called Klimatindex 2007, where they examine the work for the environment in all of Sweden’s municipalities. In their survey the municipalities has been asked to answer questions about transports, purchases, climate goals, information to the citizens etc. This has than been compiled and given scores on how well they been doing. Out of all Sweden’s municipalities I have chosen six that is of the size categorised as “bigger cities” that I will examine in this thesis. These are Trollhättan, Karlstad, Södertälje, Norrköping, Luleå and Halmstad. Trollhättan was classified as the best one and Halmstad was the worst one in Naturskyddsföreningens klimatindex 2007.</p><p>The purpose of this thesis is to examine the importance of factors as political composition, administration, public media, non governmental organisations and geographic situation in regard to the the municipalities activity in the policy area. The activity is based on the results from Naturskyddsföreningens klimatindex 2007.</p><p>The main research question that I intend to answer is:</p><p>• Have the factors been important for how active the municipalities have been in the environmental policy?</p><p>To be able to answer the main question I also have six precise research questions that I intend to answer.</p><p>The material that I have chosen to study is documents about the political composition, interviews with civil servants about the administration regarding the climate and environment, local newspapers, NGO:s local work and membership statistics and SOU:s report about the affects of the climate change in Sweden.</p><p>After analyzing the material I present an answer to my main research question: I have found that all the factors except the factor geographic situation are important for the activity.</p>

<p>Abstract</p><p>Essay in political science, C-level, by Samanta Pudic´, spring semester 2008. Tutor: Susan Marton. “The relationship between national government and local municipality when a refugee centre shall be located.”</p><p>The purpose of this essay is to examine the relationship between government and municipality with the help from the interdependens theory when a refugee centre is located. To be able to say something about the relationship between those two actors I have been using two municipalities as examples. I have interviewed two politicians who work in two municipalities and two head employees who work at the Swedish Migration Board. I have, on the basis of the interdependency theories four identified factors which affect the relationship between the government and the municipalities and I have designed seven assumptions which shall help me implement the interviews, the analysis and the conclusion.</p><p>The examination is thereby a case study, so that I can examine the relationship deeper between national government and local municipality with help from my two examples and the elite interviews. My purpose is not to generalise my conclusions for the whole of Sweden, but rather from the historical examples, examine how a relationship between government and municipalities can look like when a refugee centre shall be located.</p><p>The answer to my research question is that the relationship between the government and the two municipalities are symmetrical with low dignity. By this it means that both the state and the municipalities are mutual dependent on each other and it isn’t so difficult for them to have a mutually beneficial relationship.</p>

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<p>ABSTRACT</p><p>“Crisis Management– New York Citys management of the terroristattack against World Trade Center”</p><p>Essey in political science, C-level, at Karlstad University, by Sara Kringsberg.</p><p>Spring 2006. Tutor: Susan Marton</p><p>The purpose of this essay is to study New York Citys management of a larger crisis and to see how states are coping with stress. It is important to study how states manage stress so that states can learn to cope with larger crisis. That is important for the survival of the state and the protection of its citizens. David Easton is a political science author that write about this. There are four authorities under study in this essey and the following question will be poised for all of them : did the FDNY, the NYPD, the EMS and the PAPD manage the terroristattack against World Trade Center according to relevant crisis management?</p><p>This essay will be in the form of a case study and to be able to answer the specific questions I have studied three kinds of crisis management theories. I have taken some of the most central points from these theorys and used them to study the response of the different departements of New York City. The result of my study is that the different authorities did not act according to relevant crisis management. The biggest flaws where the lack of cooperation, the break down in almost all communications systems and the lack of preperation for large terroristattacks.</p>

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<p>The UN was established after the Second World War. The organization’s primary goal was to maintain peace among all nations. When the UN intervenes in other states affairs, it is violat-ing the principles it is set to defend, principles of non-intervention and respect for sover-eignty. The outcome from such interventions is very important, a result that can legitimize the action. It is important that interventions give birth to democratic processes and respect for human rights, values that constitute the organisation.</p><p>Why some countries go to war and others don’t is hard to say but one thing can be said about war – democratic states don’t wage war against each other. Thus, democracy would be a guarantee for mutual peace among all nations.</p><p>The purpose of this essay is to find out if the prospects for democracy, as result of UN-interventions, were fulfilled. Did the interventions created conditions for democracy in the future.</p><p>• Did the interventions result in a democratic process?</p><p>• Is there something special in comment for countries with a similar democratic develop-ment?</p><p>• Can the current situation legitimize the actions?</p><p>Cease studies, comparisons between intensions of democracy and the current situation, is one way to find an answer to the question mentioned above and will correspond to the purpose of this essay. In order to see the whole picture I will use different criteria to define democracy.</p><p>Democracy and UN-interventions (Karlstad University Press 2002), a disputation by Andreas Andersson, will be my starting point. He states that democracy is an aspect of interventions that many countries consider as most relevant for commitment and legitimacy.</p><p>Not one of the countries can be called a democracy today and the situation for the people has not improved much. The result of the intervention can not give legitimacy to the action. The UN-interventions has consolidated the situation more than creating the necessary conditions for democracy.</p><p>I could not through my research find anything specific that does unite or separate some of the cases. The only thing the countries of my essay have in comment is the lack of success from the UN-interventions, from a democratic point of view.</p><p>The countries are facing many problems that disturb the democratic transition. Discrimination is one obstacle, there can not be a democracy when half of the population is being excluded from the political arena. Illiteracy and restriction of press freedom is an other problem, the Opposition can not reach out to people by newspapers, an important channel for exchange of opinions.</p><p>Democracy in all areas of the community is a way to secure peace and should be a priority even for already democratic states. The next question to be answered, an invitation to further research, is: What do democratic states do in order to deepen and consolidate democracy within their own society?</p>

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<p>This essay is about democracy and how a democracy index can be used as a tool to illustratethe gap between reality and ideal. The purpose of this study can be expressed by two researchquestions: Does the Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) democracy index illustrate thedistance between reality and the ideal of democracy presented by Dahl? and Can the EIU'sdemocracy index be modified by a) internal adjustments and b) using the variables includedin World Economic Forum’s (WEF) equality index?</p><p>By using a combination of theories (Dahl’s theory of democracy, Rawls theory of justice andchosen theories critical to liberal democracy) as an analytical framework the following twoquestions have been answered:1) Which of the variables included in the EIU's democracy index have the potential to capturethe level of political equality?2) Which of the variables included in the WEF’s equality index have the potential to capturethe degree of political equality?</p><p>By using a quantitative method the study’s third and last question has been answered:3) How strong is the rank correlation between the EIU’s democracy index and the WEF’sequality index, that is; how strong is the rank correlation coefficient (rho)?</p><p>The data presented by the WEF’s equality index indicate that women are systematicallydiscriminated against as a group. From a democratic perspective the EIU may need tomeasure inequalities at a group level in order to capture the lack of political equality betweenindividuals. By reformulating some of the EIU’s variables, by revising the EIU’s point systemand by using the variables included in the WEF's equality index to extend EIU’s democracyindex, the chances of capturing the gap between reality and the ideal of democracy presentedby Dahl would likely increase.</p>

<p>Abstract</p><p>“Political participation by the citizen”</p><p>- Citizen proposals in Karlstad municipality</p><p>Essay in Political Science, C-level</p><p>Author: Tobias Gustafsson</p><p>Tutor: Michele Micheletti</p><p>In Sweden the political parties are losing more and more of their members. That in combination with a tendency that the participation in the elections is getting lower is a problem for the representative and parliamentary political system in Sweden.</p><p>In order to strengthen the democracy in Sweden and to make the gap between the citizens and the elected smaller there has been some democracy-projects. The purpose of these democracy-projects is to make the political participation by the citizens, between the elections, higher. One of them is “citizen proposals to the municipality”.</p><p>The purpose of this essay is to examine this democracy-project in order to see what influences it might have on the local democracy. The local democracy is defined as “the big democracy” within Karlstad municipality. The study is mainly conducted as a survey.</p><p>In order to determine the purpose three specified research questions has been constructed:</p><p>1. How is “citizen proposals to the municipality” dealt with?</p><p>2. Who are the citizens which utilize the right to “citizen proposals to the municipality”?</p><p>3. How effective is “citizen proposals to the municipality”?</p><p>The answer to the first question is: There is a developed formal way of dealing with the proposals at Karlstad municipality. The dealing with the “citizen proposals to the municipality” is a procedure that is time-consuming and there is a lack of information of the right to give “citizen proposals to the municipality”. The answer to the second question is: those citizens most likely to be political active are a man with high education, in his middle ages with an average income. He has an occupation and is political active in the local elections, but he is not a member of a political party. Observe though that there is a broad spectrum of those who propose suggestions in the examine group. The answer to the third question is that it is possible to get your proposal sanctioned. However the citizens feel’s that there is a problem with how the municipality handles the proposal after it has been sanctioned. Most of the citizens are not happy with how their proposal has been handled after it has been sanctioned. They feel that there pass to much time between the sanction and that the proposal is accomplished.</p>