In this essay the question of why the European civilisation was the first to rise and expand will be analysed. As there is more than one answer to this question two of the explanations: the Eurocentric and the anti-Eurocentric have been chosen for a comparison and analysis. The Eurocentric explanations see the expansion of Europe as caused by its inner qualities such as: environment, state-system,

In the present case, the conception of policy hitchhiking gets evaluated in terms of its implications for democracy. This task is executed through the accomplishment of a case study of the use of social- and environmental clauses in the Swedish competitive tendering. A useful definition of policy hitchhiking, including different types of actors, is created. Through the defining of democracy and

Abstract In the literature on multiculturalism and group rights there is a strong tradition that sees diversity as something directly paradoxal to unity. In this tradition, scholars put forward a view of multiculturalism as a divisive and exclusionary process which breaks down the cohesion and unity of society. Related to this notion is that of a neutral and universally valid frame of reference i

Abstract Large states are not as interdependent as small countries are. Due to the extent of the home market, producers in large countries can sell the greater part of their products at home. Accordingly large countries become less dependent of other states. Large states are consequently in a better position to promote their self- interests internationally than smaller states are. Applying this r

Denna uppsats inleder med att visa hur orsakerna bakom Darfurkonflikten till stor del ligger på strukturell nivå, det vill säga att socioekonomiska och politiska faktorer varit avgörande konfliktutlösare. Uppsatsens utgångspunkt är dock att ovan nämnda strukturella konfliktorsaker ej fullt ut kan förklara varför konflikten fått en så våldsam utveckling som folkmord och etnisk rensning. Utifrån et

By the same time as the recent enlargement of the European Union, where Poland became a member, it was officially stated that the gender mainstreaming-policy was to be integrated into every area of EU. NGO:s working as entrepreneurs for the gender mainstreaming norm in Poland supported the accession largely because they believed it would help spreading the norm also on a national level. Qualitativ

The purpose of this study is to examine to what extent the senior level Swedish school can be viewed as supporting, or counteracting, a colonial discourse that legitimizes global and national injustices. The study is executed through a discourse analysis of five textbooks in social science for senior level Swedish schools. Using elements from Foucault and Edward Said a theoretical framework is co

The aim of this essay is, with reference to a close study on the negotiation delegations of the Tenant Association, to examine the principals of democracy in relation to distribution of power and participation, efficiency and professionalism. This is done with the intention to understand the Tenant Association's view on its own commission as negotiator, according to democracy. The investigatio

Vår uppsats är en komparativ studie av Rwanda och Burundi. I fokus står på vilket sätt etnisk polarisering har skapats och lett till återkommande konflikter. Den övergripande frågeställningen lyder: Varför har Rwanda upplevt svårare konflikter än Burundi? Vad har de båda länderna gemensamt och vad skiljer dem åt? Båda Rwanda och Burundi är rankade etniska system där social klass och etnicitet samm

On December 20, 2001, the Swedish citizen Mehdi Ghezali was captured on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Ghezali spent the following 930 days in U.S. captivity, without being charged with any crime. My aim in this essay is to analyze how Ghezali was portrayed in three Swedish newspapers under and after his captivity, two nationwide and one local newspaper based in Ghezali's hometow

The fact that we apprehend certain phenomena as more convenient than others generate questions about what constitute and decide what we think of as normal and appropriate. The aim of this thesis is to explore the immense conception of power and authority through a narrower approach that focuses on the EU. With this in mind I examine the penetration of the neo-liberal ideology in the Treaty establ

In Montessori pre-schools early reading and writing is an important feature. By tracing sandpaper letters with their fingers and voicing the sound simultaneously the children connect phonemes to graphemes and normally learn to write between the ages of four and five. 24 sixyear old children who attended Montessori pre-school and 26 six-year old children who had not attended Montessori school were

Democratization of plural societies is an oft-cited source of identity-based conflict. It has come to a point where concepts such as transition and stability sometimes are polarized by scholars and politicians and this is the case in Uganda. This study challenges the notion that elections must underpin identity-based conflicts and presents a more optimistic view on the role of democratic instituti

Abstract: The aim of this study is to critically analyse the discourse of linkworkers, a integration project in a ?multicultural? school in Malmö. In the project, four persons with different ethnic / cultural background where employed to work as a link between the school and the parents, and between the Swedish culture and the children's and the parent's ?original? culture. My material co

In 1988 the Swedish Social Democratic Party decided to reform the tax system. In this essay I analyse the motives behind their acting on a basis of the party strategic theories of Przeworski and Sjöblom. The reform commonly referred to as the tax reform of the century, was although they considered that it was a high risk project pursued together with the Liberal Party. The new tax system implicate

This thesis examines the logics underpinning local political practises in a rural African context, from a democratic theory perspective. The thesis carries a threefold aim. Firstly, the empirical aim is to contribute to better empirical understanding of local political practises in a rural African context, by visualising democratic practices previously not sufficiently acknowledged. Secondly, the

Problem: I dagens teknologiskt och kulturellt globaliserade värld skapas nya tendenser och riktningar för vår kultur. Möjligheten för språk- och kulturmöten av olika slag ökar och med dessa följer blandandet av kulturer med alla dess implikationer, innefattande språket, som grundläggande sammanhållningsfaktor. Språk- och kulturmöten kan resultera i en företeelse som spanglish, vilken är en blandni

This thesis title starting from zero alludes to storstadssatsningen's democratic work being accomplished among immigrants in Malmö. My thesis examines which types of political participation storstadssatsningen were trying to increase. The goal was to turn the immigrants into political participants, but in many of the projects the democratic work had to focus on building a ground for democratic

This paper develops a theory for understanding negotiation situations involving states and indigenous peoples. Using relevant constructivist theory as a starting point, the paper develops a theory about understanding the relationship between power and culture implicit in the concept of the state. This relationship is examined in negotiations situations involving states and indigenous peoples. Stat

The state of Israel is known as the only democracy in the Middle East. The purpose of this study was to examine if there is aspects in the Israelis society that can be questioned in terms of liberal democracy. Areas of concerns in the study are the Israeli official policy's concerning inclusion and exclusion of their citizens in areas of property owning, personal status and the duty of milita