Suchergebnisse

The US strategic shift from nation-building to what has been labelled "light footprint" has carried with it a number of changes in the practices used when waging war on terrorism. These activities include covert and clandestine action by special operations and paramilitary forces, and others, operating under a shadowy mandate. It is essential to analyse these changes, due to the nature of the actions taken and the global reach and consequences of US foreign policies. The concept of "global shadow war" has been used by scholars and journalists alike to describe the practices associated with the light footprint framework, although the concept is ambiguous, lacks clear conceptual boundaries and is yet to be defined. This article attempts to resolve the problem of ambiguity through a systematic analysis of how and when the concept is used, in the process establishing its conceptual boundaries and definitional qualities. Using a method for concept analysis developed by Giovanni Sartori, the article provides a conceptual definition which is more clearly delineated, encompasses the characteristics found in the sources studied, and can be used when theorizing about the many practices taking place within the light footprint framework.

Scholarship in international law aims at addressing global forest governance comprehensively. This article reviews the recent contribution Global Forest Governance - Legal Concepts and Policy Trends by Rowena Maguire and puts it into the perspective of recent political and policy science research on global forests. While finding Maguire's volume being a very timely and valuable contribution to the interdisciplinary discussions on international forest governance, we identify some weaknesses which are mostly rooted in methodological critique and a lack of a systematic framework for analysis.

There is no doubt now that energy is fundamental to our development. Global energy trends such as higher energy demand and prices, big differences across regions, structural changes in an oil and gas industry increasingly dominated by national companies, the prospect of irreversible climate change, as well as demand for energy security all highlight the need for a rapid transition to a low-carbon, efficient and environmentally benign energy system. The search for energy alternatives involving locally available and renewable resources is one of the main concerns of governments, scientists and business people worldwide. As researchers tackle problems according to global trends, an overwhelming body of research focusing on bioenergy in relation to other types of renewable energy might illustrate the role bioenergy has as the most important renewable energy source for the near and medium-term future. Thus, analyzing the amount of existing research, we found that about 50% (4,911 records) of 9,724 renewable energy records available were bioenergy records. We also found that publications on each of the four main sources of biomass (agriculture, forest, waste and other) represent about one quarter of the 4,911 bioenergy records retrieved. Biomass – the fourth largest energy source after coal, oil and natural gas - is the largest and most important renewable energy option at present and can be used to produce different forms of energy. As a result, it is, together with the other renewable energy options, capable of providing all the energy services required in a modern society, both locally and in most parts of the world. Renewability and versatility are, among many other aspects, important advantages of biomass as an energy source. Moreover, compared to other renewables, biomass resources are common and widespread across the globe. The sustainability potential of global biomass for energy is widely recognized. For example, the annual global primary production of biomass is equivalent to the 4,500 EJ of solar energy captured each year. About 5% of this energy, or 225 EJ, should cover almost 50% of the world's total primary energy demand at present. These 225 EJ are in line with other estimates which assume a sustainable annual bioenergy market of 270 EJ. However, the 50 EJ biomass contributed to global primary energy demand of 470 EJ in 2007, mainly in the form of traditional non-commercial biomass, is only 10% of the global primary energy demand. The potential for energy from biomass depends in part on land availability. Currently, the amount of land devoted to growing energy crops for biomass fuels is only 0.19% of the world's total land area and only 0.5-1.7% of global agricultural land. Although the large potential of algae as a resource of biomass for energy is not taken into consideration in this report, there are results that demonstrate that algae can, in principle, be used as a renewable energy source. From all of these perspectives, the evidence gathered by the report leads to a simple conclusion: Biomass potential for energy production is promising. In most cases, shifting the energy mix from fossil fuels to renewables can now be done using existing technology. Investors in many cases have a reasonably short pay-back because of good availability of lowcost biomass fuels. The latter is of course dependant on local incentives, however. Overall, the future of bioenergy is also to a large extent determined by policy. Thus, an annual bioenergy supply covering global energy demand in 2050, superseding 1,000 EJ, should be possible with sufficient political support. Global production of biomass and biofuel is growing rapidly due to the increasing price of fossil fuels, growing environmental concerns, and considerations regarding the security and diversification of energy supply. There are many scenarios that predict a high potential for biomass in the future. There have also been many studies performed in recent decades to estimate the future demand and supply of bioenergy. Overall, the world's bioenergy potential seems to be large enough to meet the global energy demand in 2050. The current stock of standing forest is a large reservoir of bioenergy and in line with the theoretical potential of biomass energy. However, most of the research studies on biomass potentials ignore existing studies on demand and supply of wood, despite the extensive literature and data on the subject. Taking into account data from a variety of international sources, rough estimates of the energy production potential of woody biomass from forestry show that, in theory, the demand for wood fuel and industrial roundwood in 2050 can be met, without further deforestation, although regional shortages may occur. However, the shift in the energy mix requires much more investment in infrastructure, equipment and in some cases R&D. Moreover, a prerequisite for achieving bioenergy's substantially high potential in all regions is replacing current inefficient and low-intensive management systems with best practices and technologies.

The change in regional governance in Sweden is regularly understood in terms of a shift from 'government' to 'governance', from a redistributive policy to a policy that aims to encourage regional innovation, competitiveness and growth. This shift also includes the adoption of global policy models, such as 'clusters'. In the literature on the global spread of policies it has been argued that a market for global policies has developed. This is not least evident through the expansion of global consultancy firms, international policy organisations as well as a cosmopolitan elite of travelling policy technocrats. Theoretically and methodologically this study contributes to scholarly discussions of how new forms of governance can be analysed, and especially how governmentality studies can be utilised and combined with analyses of the messy political practices of specific policies and programs. The study analyses the discursive shift in regional policy in Sweden: contested elements erased, conflicts concealed and the political order produced. By empirically departing from a 'cluster policy network' lodged within a Swedish region, cluster policy is analysed as an assemblage of global circuits of knowledge, expertise and local relations of power. A broad range of materials for analysis have been generated through interviews, participant observations and documents. The production of policy knowledge is an overarching political rationality of contemporary forms of regional governance, translated into technologies such as benchmarking, regional comparisons, competitions, evaluations and best-practice. Based on the empirical analyses it is argued that the lack of power critique and a hyper-rational representation of knowledge produce an international market for legitimacy. It is further argued that five characteristics of the policy regime ('the regional cluster orchestra') contributes to the reproduction of the policy regime, and relations of domination. ; Baksidestext Avhandlingen tar sin utgångspunkt i vad som har beskrivits som en marknad för globala policymodeller. I Sverige har klusterbegreppet, med ursprung i ekonomisk och geografisk teoribildning, fått stort genomslag i regionalpolitiken. I den samtida regionalpolitiken har också produktionen av olika former av policykunskap utvecklats till centrala styrningsteknologier: benchmarking, best practice, utvärderingar, uppföljningar, mätningar och konkurrensutsatta tävlingar om regionala utvecklingsmedel. Genom kunskap och ständigt lärande ska Sveriges regioner frälsas. I avhandlingen studeras den scen där ett regionalt förankrat policynätverk agerar och den kunskap som produceras. Regionalpolitikens rationalitet innebär att det blir centralt för regionerna att agera som enhetliga aktörer och visa upp en lyckad och framgångsrik fasad. Det argumenteras för att bristen på maktanalys, och en hyperrationell syn på kunskap i regionalpolitiken innebär att regionalpolitikens styrningsteknologier producerar en internationell marknad för legitimitet som i sin tur reproducerar ordningen och döljer dominansrelationer.

Dealing with environmental problems has become one of the most challenging political issues of our time. Since the Brundtland report in 1987, environmental policy integration (EPI) that is, the mainstreaming of environmental issues in all policy sectors has emerged as a viable policy solution. This has meant that responsibility for implementing environmental policy rests to a large extent on local authorities where environmental problems with both local and global consequences are expected to be handled. However, there is still a disagreement on what EPI means in day-to-day decision making. With a theoretical framework drawing from theory on policy change, policy entrepreneurship and the neoinstitutional "logic of appropriateness" the aim of this dissertation is to analyze how the integration of environmental considerations manifests itself in local policy processes, highlighting what factors foster or hinder EPI. To reach this aim, I have followed two urban development processes in Kristianstad. This research offers insights on how EPI varies through the policy process and how focus is placed mainly on certain environmental issues and chiefly defined as of local importance. My study suggest that arenas for coordination are critical to overcoming the perceived "gap" between EPI on a strategic level and its implementation. This can help to clarify responsibility allocation among bureaucrats and their leeway for interpretation when new issues comes up continuously during the processes and affect the conditions for EPI. Furthermore, the dissertation gives insights on how acting "entrepreneurially" can enable an environmental issue to be included and given priority. This can also be a barrier if the ones acting entrepreneurially are not part of the entire process because the issue might receive less attention. In addition, if too much attention is given to one issue it might overshadow other environmental issues. Conversely, acting according to "the logic of appropriateness" can enable EPI by enhancing a more all-encompassing perspective on environmental considerations and also function as a cautious approach to radical change by preventing measures taken in absence of democratic legitimacy. By using the two theoretical perspectives, "entrepreneurial" and "appropriate" agency, this dissertation offers important insights into how different ways of acting interact and affect EPI and its outcome.

In recent years knowledge has been brought forward as an important political issue both in the EU and in Sweden. It is said to be of the uttermost importance not just for education but for society as a whole. As a result of increased globalization and a European striving for economic growth, knowledge has come to be associated with both individual and national competitiveness, and education and learning in schools and workplaces have become a political priority. In this global competition the EU has become an important policy actor in the educational field trying to create a common European education policy field. Despite this development, only a limited number of reports relating the European arena to Swedish educational reforms have been published. Against this background the aim of this thesis is to deepen the understanding of the knowledge discourses which struggle for legitimacy in Swedish and European education policy and how these discourses relate to each other and change over time. The empirical material consists of a number of fundamental official policy texts produced by the EU and the Swedish state. The study takes its theoretical point of departure in critical discourse analysis using an analytical grid where production, content and communication are seen as three aspects constituting every knowledge discourse. The result shows a process of silent Europeanization in Swedish school reform where European knowledge discourse is being re-contextualised and in many cases re-interpreted without any declaration in terms of explicit references. It also confirms the general trend towards increased focus on learning outcomes and demands for measurability. Furthermore, the result shows how competition rhetoric dominating the EU contributes to an increased sense of crisis in both European and Swedish educational reforms. As a result of this crisis rhetoric the study shows how the proactive reform-perspective is being replaced by a retrospective where solving already existing problems replaces the planning of an ...

The 2016 American presidential election has been described as 'a race like no other', with reference to the tone and nature of the campaign and the stark contrast between the policy platforms of the two main contenders, as well as the unusually high stakes involved for America, the transatlantic link, and beyond. The analysis contained in this memorandum discusses the foreign, security and defense policy platforms of Hillary Clinton and Donald J. Trump, the leadership styles of the two main candidates, and their respective approaches to transnational alliances and partnerships. In each of three areas of comparison Clinton emerges as the markedly more predictable, more competent and better prepared contender, also reassuringly focused on strengthening ties to close allies and partners in the coming years. From the vantage point of the global order, international trade, security and stability in Europe and the Baltic Sea region, Sweden is therefore significantly more likely to benefit from a Clinton presidency than from an administration led by Trump, and might even be in a position to forge closer ties to the United States in the realm of foreign, security and defense policy following a victory for the Democratic Party candidate on 8 November.

The European Union (EU) has for a long time had ambitions to achieve some form of 'Strategic Autonomy', often understood as a capability to conduct security pol- icy independent of the United States. With the EU's Global Strategy (EUGS) from 2016, this objective, albeit without a clear definition, is part of the public EU strat- egy. This new level of ambition places high demands on the independent intelli- gence capacities for the member states as well as for the EU at the collective level. at national level as well as for the EU at the collective level. As the world moves towards multipolarity and the geopolitization of the economic sphere, the ambi- tion for strategic autonomy has a broader meaning, such as the ability to conduct an independent trade policy or to choose a supplier of 5G infrastructure. In light of this, this article aims to analyse strategic autonomy as a security policy objective and the various intelligence needs it raises. We analyse autonomy in three different functions, or areas of application: political autonomy, operational autonomy and industrial and digital autonomy. We will then make an overview of how these needs currently are meet and how additional intelligence capacity could be created.

Participatory processes are becoming widely established in areas such as policy and planning. They promise to achieve more inclusive, sustainable, and democratic outcomes. However, this is often only an ideal that is not achieved in reality due to dynamic power relations that shape planning practice in various forms. Moreover, planning contexts differ between countries, producing different power dynamics that affect participatory processes. Planners have an essential role in identifying and facilitating different power relations, so their role is often linked to guiding participatory planning processes towards more balanced outcomes. Yet, the issue of power is insufficiently addressed and analyzed in the planning literature of the Global North and the Global South. To contribute to the discussion on power in participatory planning in the Global South and beyond, this study investigated how planners understand and experience power in Latin America. Therefore, interviews with planners from Argentina, Bolivia, and Colombia were conducted. Their practice stories were analyzed by drawing on the framework of the three dimensions of power. After being introduced to the three dimensions of power, they could relate to the second and third dimensions of power to varying degrees through their practical experience. The planners' practice stories illustrate how power can be exercised differently in the three dimensions and in the interplay of these dimensions in participatory planning processes. The practice stories make less visible power exercises in the second and third dimensions in planning practice more visible. Thus, they provide practical examples for planners that can promote reflection and understanding of how power works in practice. Furthermore, the findings point to the importance of looking beyond the formal, invited spaces of participatory planning processes and considering exercises of power that take place outside of planning processes. Therefore, the value of this work is that it provides valuable insights ...

This article analyses the relationship between EU security, integration and associated members using insights from security studies and the literature on Europeanization. While much of the recent literature emphasizes either the EU's insignificance as a security actor or its importance as a normative and global actor, I investigate its role as a security actor in its own region, arguing that the EU is primarily a regional security actor. I make two general claims: (1) it is the development of common rules and values in various policy areas that constitutes the basis for the EU as a security actor; and (2) it is the successful projection of these rules and values beyond EU borders that will determine the impact of the EU as a security actor. The aim is therefore to show how the EU promotes security and stability through the externalization of rules and values through various processes, association agreements and neighbourhood policies. Adapted from the source document.

The study examines the European coverage in four leading Nordic newspapers during two periods in 1993 and in 1996. During the first period, three countries were negotiating for membership in the European Union. During the second period, work on a new European Constitution was ongoing, to be negotiated by the Intergovernmental Conference at the end of the period. Two of the applicant countries, Finland and Sweden, were then members of the union since Jan 1, 1995. Voters in the third country, Norway, opted to stay outside the union. Norway is, however closely linked to the union by the previous EEA agreement. Finally, the fourth country, Denmark, had limited its longstanding membership in four important areas. Results of the main study in 1993 indicate a great difference in the degree of Europeanness of the coverage of European affairs, as indicated by the share of European issues, sources, players, institutions etc. The Danish paper, the Politiken, was on all counts genuinely European in its coverage. This could, to begin with, be understood in terms of a relational context - Denmark was a member of the European Community, the other countries were not. In 1996, as could be expected, the Norwegian paper, the Aftenposten, reduced its coverage of European affairs to about half the previous volume, the Finnish and Swedish papers, the Hufvudstadsbladet and the Dagens Nyheter, increased their volumes to new highs. The Danish paper maintained its previously comparatively high volume of European coverage, and was still distinctly more European in its outlook on transnational politics. This could be understood in terms of a new Maturity proposition - it may take a long time for the national media to come to terms with a new political environment. The study also puts forward the proposition that Danish political culture requires a different coverage of European affairs, and also requires an opportunity to discuss and evaluate European politics. On a theoretical level, the study supports the idea that national experience, historical and relational contexts influence media content. National agendas powerfully determine the orientation of transnational political communication . Three in-depth studies by and large confirm results from the content analysis. A separate exercise inspired by Grounded Theory gives rise to three theoretical concepts that seem to be fundamental dimensions of European political communication: Legitimacy (media coverage contributes to status conferral and encourages deliberation of cooperation as an idea), Participation (media coverage as expressions of intrinsical and instrumental motives for joining and taking responsibility towards European cooperation), and Mondialization/Universalism (media coverage of Europe's efforts in the global arena) ; digitalisering@umu

In the face of climate change, the urgent need for sustainable food systems has brought agroforestry under the spotlight in the Global North, for its provision of ecosystem services. Despite being less known in the Danish and Swedish context, the traditional practice of managing livestock in the semi-natural pastures, similar to the cut-and-carry systems in the tropics, is undeniably a form of agroforestry system. With an agroecological perspective, the study adopted a quantitative statistical analysis, and identified the perceptions of farmers in Denmark and southern Sweden towards temperate agroforestry systems via an online survey. Moreover, the study conducted a qualitative document analysis on grey literatures to review national policies related to agroforestry under the framework of the European Union Common Agricultural Policies (CAP). The connection of motivating and discouraging factors to adopt agroforestry pointed out by the farmers were examined along with the current policies. Farmers' behaviour and attitude were further analyzed by conducting logistic regression modelling to distinguish the tendencies within Danish and Swedish farmers. The results revealed that 'animal health and welfare', 'landscape aesthetics', 'soil erosion', 'microclimate moderation', 'pollination', and 'carbon fixation' were perceived as positive factors by farmers from both Denmark and southern Sweden; while 'administrative burden' and 'regulation' were regarded as hurdles to include trees and bushes on farmlands. The study further identified the practice of organic operations and high diversity of livestock to be common indicators observed amongst farmers' positive attitude towards agroforestry, regardless of the discrepancy between attitude and behaviour amongst Danish farmers. At the policy level, Denmark offered many agroforestry-related financial support schemes, while the similar schemes in Sweden were generally more restricted in practice and options, except for the diverse and detailed schemes for semi-natural pastures. It was thus concluded that the silvopastoral systems had a great potential amongst Danish and Swedish farmers if the density restriction was withdrawn. To establish more agroforestry systems, 'pollination' and 'carbon sequestration' could also be further promoted in both regions, while 'soil conservation' and 'microclimate moderation' should be included in the Swedish financial support schemes. Other suggestions followed the two streams to increase landscape heterogeneity and to have more pollinators, fruits and berries. An interdisciplinary collaboration between agriculture and forestry policy makers, and farmers' participation in the policy-making process were further recommended.

[From clash of interests to symbiosis? Environmental policy and welfare in times of economic boom and recession]Global challenges such as climate change, the free flow of international capital, and growing political transnational cooperation, together with two major financial crises, have put pressure on the national welfare state during recent decades. During the same period, the concepts of sustainable development and ecological modernization have contributed with an understanding of economic growth and environmental awareness as complementary. In that context, Karin Edberg's article discusses whether environmental policy can be said to be part of the modern Swedish welfare state. Edberg makes use of the annual inaugural speeches given by the prime minister in connection with the opening of the Swedish parliament. This implies that the article's results rather than reflecting political practice points at issues of political interest and their articulation. Edberg shows how environmental questions have fluctuated between being a de-ideologized and normalized part of the political landscape, and a political watershed. Today, the idea of sustainable development is the glue that connects environmental policies with the welfare state – at least on a rhetorical level – and which makes the environment a consensus issue.Publication history: Published original.(Published 7 October 2016)Citation: Edberg, Karin (2016) "Från motsatsförhållande till symbios? Miljöpolitik och välfärd i ekonomiska upp- och nedgångar", in Arkiv. Tidskrift för samhällsanalys, issue 6, pp. 7–37. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.13068/2000-6217.6.1 ; Globala utmaningar som klimatförändringar, transnationella kapitalrörelser och politiskt gränsöverskridande samarbete har satt den nationella välfärdsstaten på prov under de senaste decennierna. Två större finansiella kriser har också de påverkat politikens utformning. Under samma tid har begreppen hållbar utveckling och ekologisk modernisering bidragit med ståndpunkten att tillväxt och miljömedvetenhet kan gå hand i hand. Utifrån den kontexten diskuterar Karin Edberg i sin artikel huruvida miljöpolitiken kan sägas vara en del av den nutida svenska välfärdsstaten. Till grund för sitt resonemang använder sig Edberg av de årliga regeringsförklaringar som ges av statsministern i samband med riksdagens öppnande. Detta innebär att artikelns resultat inte speglar politisk praktik utan snarare vilka frågor som anses vara i den politiska hetluften och hur de artikuleras. Edberg visar hur miljöfrågan pendlat mellan att utgöra en avideologiserad och normaliserad del av det politiska landskapet, och en politisk vattendelare. I dag är idén om hållbar utveckling kittet som binder samman miljöpolitiken med välfärdsstaten – åtminstone på en retorisk nivå – och som gör miljö till en konsensusfråga.Publiceringshistorik: Originalpublicering.(Publicerad 7 oktober 2016)Förslag på källangivelse: Edberg, Karin (2016) "Från motsatsförhållande till symbios? Miljöpolitik och välfärd i ekonomiska upp- och nedgångar", i Arkiv. Tidskrift för samhällsanalys, nr 6, s. 7–37. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.13068/2000-6217.6.1

How do governments cope with lurking crises that call for behavioral change among a wider citizenry? The global warming threat is a topical case in point. In this article, we explore the Swedish government response to the 1973 oil crisis, from which we draw lessons. In terms of policy instruments, Swedish policymakers deployed a twopronged, strategy. The government simultaneously initiated a package of quick/ soft as well as slow/hard instruments in the hope that the first package with information campaigns would be successful enough to make the second package with formal rationings redundant. The substantive goal was that the Swedes must save in homes, offices, and premises so that the large exporting industry should get the oil it needed to continue with full employment. The strategy worked. All pertinent actors, households as well as foreign oil concerns, heeded government persuasion efforts (sermons, a negotiated agreement) and took measures voluntarily. Why? One explanatory factor is the creative organization of the national crisis authorities. To a large extent, the strategy was implemented by organs stacked with a mixture of public agencies, private oil distributors and all kinds of organized non-governmental energy-use stakeholders to promote outreach, transversal co-creation, and collaborative governance. The government succeeded in its meaning-making efforts and created a strong narrative (sermon), which clearly pointed out the serious anticipated effects of the crisis in Sweden, according to which it became obvious that households and commerce needed to save energy in order to secure oil supply for industry to protect jobs and impede mass unemployment.

The IENE 2014 conference puts emphasis on the "greening" of transport infrastructure: both in respect to a wiser use of marginal infrastructure habitats to favour biodiversity and certain ecosys- tem services, and in respect to a more permeable and safer infrastructure that minimises the direct impact on wildlife. Transportation and infrastructure are recognised as signi cant drivers in the global loss of biodiverity. Their impacts on nature are well described and there is ample evidence for the negative effects of traffic and transportation infrastructure on nature. Even though roads and railroads may occupy but a small proportion of an area, they a ect the entire landscape, cause the death of millions of wild animals, and disturb surrounding habitats through pollution, noise and alien species. The overall impact is evident, but there are means to minimise the pressure, to adjust infrastructure facilities and, to some degree, introduce beneficial services for wildlife. Such measures can and should be implemented as a standard in infrastructure development and maintenance. Knowledge about their functionality and e cacy is, however, not always satisfying. Technical innovations and new mitigation concepts need to be tested and evaluated. Their func- tionality and e ectiveness also depends on the interplay between the transport sector and other sectors of society. Communication, knowledge transfer, and public education are just as essential here, as legal frameworks, policy, technical development and environmental science. European policy (e.g., Green Infrastructure) is developing clearly in this direction, recognizing the transport sector and transportation facilities as important players in the endeavour towards a greener and sustainable future. Obviously, this calls for international collaboration in research and practice, for enhanced exchange of knowledge between disciplines, and for the development of harmonised standards and pro- cedures that can be referred to by international actors. IENE provides this interdisciplinary arena through its conferences and workshops. The IENE 2014 international conference emphasises that transport infrastructure can be planned and designed as an ecologically well-adopted, safe and e cient system, while acknowledging that certain impacts can never be avoided. IENE, together with the Swedish Transport Administration, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, the Danish Road Directorate and numerous other partners, invites scientists, practitioners and planners, governmental agencies and private companies, NGO's and anybody with an interest in the above to the IENE 2014 conference in Sweden. We welcome new partner- and sponsorships and o er a well-approved and international network for communication and presentation.