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The central issue studied in this project is the neutrality of a state regarding moral values & life choices, particularly, the view of the state on what marriage is. Particularly, what neutrality regarding values would mean in actual political practice. The project consists of five parts: 1) How should neutrality be formulated theoretically? 2) Same-sex couples' right to marriage, 3) Polygamy & legal marriage, 4) Legality of incest , 5) Evaluation & conclusions. References. Adapted from the source document.

Over the last decades there has been a growing interest in normative theory within the social sciences in general & political science in particular. Timeless questions of good & bad, right & wrong, & of the nature & justification of the good society -- of what the good society ought to be -- have thus surfaced again. However, not much has been written on the specific methodological issues that arise when explicitly approaching normative questions on social scientific, i.e. systematic & inter-subjective, grounds. Departing from a reflection concerning the conceptual meaning of norms & values -- the anchor of normative analysis -- & by confronting different axiological positions, this essay formulates a few guiding principles for a normative methodology. These principles include requirements on internal validity (accuracy, consistency, clarity, coherence, & intersubjective reasoning) as well as external validity (external justification, plausibility, & empirical relevance). 46 References. Adapted from the source document.

Presents a research design on why and how states should manage cultural diversity with the emphasis that different combinations of neutrality and recognition work better depending on the circumstances. The concept of difference, reason for toleration, the concept of harm and the ends of toleration are discussed. Research design from case selection to material is briefly brought up. L. Pitkaniemi

The liberal state, it has been argued, must be neutral between different conceptions of the good. Honoring individual autonomy & embodying ideals such as fairness & impartiality, the doctrine of state neutrality is intuitively appealing. Working as a restraint for state actions it is however problematic. In this paper, a possible solution to this predicament is outlined. Drawing on the distinction between liberty & what gives worth to liberty, it is argued that we must never accept non-neutral restrictions of liberty itself, but may pursue non-neutral policies affecting the distribution of what gives worth to liberty & may impose taxes funding non-neutral state actions, although such taxation inevitable limits the worth of our liberty. It is suggested that we, by adopting such a policy of limited state perfectionism, can recognize the right to individual autonomy without having to restrain the state from doing the good it can. References. Adapted from the source document.

An analysis o f articles about Sweden which have appeared in the Polish press from 1989 to 1999 makes it possible to distinguish the most frequent subjects chosen by Polish journalists. These subjects include the unsolved case of the assassination of Olof Palme, the drawbacks of the Swedish welfare state, the controversies connected with Swedish neutrality, the discussions on how far equality can go and the problems of a multicultural country; as well as Swedish peculiarities such as alcohol policy, liberal morals, the position of the Church in a secularized society and the attachment to the monarchy. This article covers several examples o f these most popular topics. It also examines the way in which they have been presented, with regard to the traditional perception of Sweden by Poles as well as to the sense of Polish national identity noticeable in the journalists' comments. The problems connected with these issues are discussed in greater detail in the author's doctoral thesis in the chapter which deals with the perception of Sweden in Poland.