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The “teenage deportations” emerged from more austere migration politics and have received considerable medial attention in Sweden since early January. This paper broadens the literature on the depiction of migrants through this contemporary case and expands previous research, primarily focused on ethnicity, gender and religion. A qualitative critical discourse analysis (CDA), combined with mediat
This study explores how expert knowledge is perceived and how the government adjusts to expert knowledge within the Swedish referral system, by studying the case of the Security Zones Act (Lagen om säkerhetszoner, SFS 2024:200). The purpose is to analyze how experts and officials perceive the referral systems’ instrumental and symbolic meaning, and how the Swedish government adjusts to the expert
This study examines how the reform from the Department of Education (SOU 2021:30) aimed at improving students’ achievement through additional study time and expanded school programs is implemented in elementary schools. The focus is on teachers’ perceptions and the importance of their room for maneuver and organizational conditions. The study addresses two research questions; how teachers perceive
Sweden and its Nordic neighbours have for a long time been understood as norm entrepreneurs on the international stage. This role appears to be challenged by events, changes and legitimacy crises in the international order. With a theoretical underpinning in role theory this essay aims to explore whether and how Sweden can be understood as a norm entrepreneur by constituting an ideal type over a n
This study examines how the Danish government responded to American pressure regarding Greenland between December 2024 and February 2026, and how this response can be understood in light of Denmark’s position as a small state in an asymmetric alliance relationship with the United States. Drawing on shelter theory and pragmatic idealism, the study applies explaining outcome process tracing to anal
Since the end of World War II, the relationship between China and Japan has been complicated. A lot of which has to do with the Japanese handling of atrocities committed by the Japanese empire. Collectively dubbed the history problem, it serves as an example of when constructed ideas and narratives shape international relations. With the Chinese side accusing Japan of denying the events and the Ja
In post-conflict societies, transitional justice processes must navigate the tension between victimhood and perpetratorhood in relation to child soldiers. This study examines how the Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission constructs and negotiates this relationship in its representations of child soldiers. One chapter of the Commission’s Final Report is analyzed through three dimensions
The introduction of soft policy instruments is increasing across multiple policy domains. One example of this is the national coordinator for voluntary repatriation (frivillig återvandring) appointed in 2025 by the Swedish government. The purpose was to improve coordination between municipalities and governmental authorities in order to increase voluntary repatriation. The reception of this policy
Our study examines how the asymmetric economic relations between Russia - Ukraine and China - Taiwan are constructed by national leaders and governments in speeches and official documents. The study concludes that the realities of the economic relations do not match how asymmetries are envisioned in the examined material, and that the leaders of the countries express the economic circumstances in
Bureaucracy and politics have a tension-filled relationship. A more complex democratic system is dependent on bureaucracy and its ability to implement the decisions made, and the Weberian ideal of the neutral implementer is still the dominating one. In light of increasing reports of democratic erosion even within established representational democracies, however, this ideal comes into question. Dr
This thesis examines and analyses how masculinity is constructed and politicized in selected parts of manosphere-discourses. Drawing on Raewynn Connell's theory of masculinities, Laclau & Mouffe´s discourse theory and Mouffe's distinction between antagonism and agonism, the thesis analyzes three YouTube-based podcasts/interviews, featuring the four most prominent figures associated wit
This study examines whether Ibadi principles can be identified in Oman's diplomatic behavior in two cases: the US-Iran nuclear negotiations leading to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and the Yemeni civil war. Drawing on constructivist theory, the analysis operationalizes three principles derived from the literature on Ibadism and Omani diplomacy: neutrality, consensus-seeking, a
This thesis aims at analysing the political representation of young political candidates and how their representation may vary depending on municipality types. Furthermore, the paper seeks to highlight how youth are sidelined on the party lists in terms of ballot placement. Using a quantitative approach, Swedish electoral ballots from the municipality election of 2022 are studied to distinguish ho
This study examines whether Swedish arms exports have become increasingly shaped by security-policy considerations during the period 2020-2024 compared to 2014-2019. The study is based on a quantitative panel design which aims to analyze Swedish exports of military equipment in relation to geographical, political, institutional and economic factors. The theory used in the study is neorealism com
In 2024, a historically low birth rate of 1,43 children per woman was documented in Sweden, which is the lowest figure since measurements began in 1751. The Tidö government has therefore appointed the state-inquiry Utredningen för en framtid med barn. In the state-inquiry, the declining birth rate is presented as an economic crisis whose solution is a return to a higher fertility rate. In this pap
Renewed scholarly interest in the category of history within the field of International Relations has prompted a revival of the so-called English School and its analytic emphasis on the concept of international society. This study examines the expansion of nineteenth century European international society through the theory of legal reception applied to the cases of Japan and the Ottoman empire. M
This thesis investigates how internal structures of responsibility and external accountability procedures function during an administrative crisis by examining the 2017 IT scandal at the Swedish Transport Agency (Transportstyrelsen), where large-scale IT outsourcing led to severe security breaches and a major political crisis. The case is studied in the context of contemporary reforms, such as New
The healthcare system is a crucial component of the civil defence and plays an essential role in an increasingly unstable security landscape. Meanwhile, the Swedish healthcare system is characterized as an institutionally complex environment, where public and private healthcare providers coexist. The aim of this qualitative case study is to explore the institutional conditions within this relation
This research originates in how the political landscape surrounding national security has experienced a shift in recent years. In Sweden this has reflected in an increased defense expenditure within the state budget. The purpose of this study thereby surrounds how the necessity for an increased expenditure could be explained through how the concept of security is discursively constructed within Sw
This essay aims to analyze how the problem representations of terrorism threats in the Council of Europe's “Counter Terrorism Strategy” has changed over time, comparing the strategy for 2018–2022 with the strategy for 2023–207. The analysis derives from the theoretical framework of the Copenhagen School's securitization theory, through a Mixed Method Research combining the What's the p
