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The article analyses the results of a nationally representative survey on local democracy conducted in Ukraine in the autumn of 2017, offering insights into attitudes towards local authorities and ongoing decentralization reforms, as well as participation in local politics. The survey shows that people have very low trust in the authorities, but more trust in them than in national institutions. Respondents feel that they have little influence on local politics and that local authorities do not take their opinion into account. On the other hand, the majority report being active in various forms of local political activity. Further, there is considerable support of decentralization reforms; people have already noted certain local improvements since the decentralization reform was launched in 2015. Differences among the several geographical regions of Ukraine are small. Survey findings are explained through three analytical frameworks that emphasize the historical heritage, important economic and political conditions, and structural adjustment to European institutions. ; Artikkelen er skrevet med finansiering fra det norske Utenriksdepartementet (prosjekt UKR-14/0013) og Norges Forskningsråd (NORRUSS Pluss-programmet, prosjektnr. 287620). Norges forskningsråd 287620 Utenriksdepartementet UKR-14/0013 ; publishedVersion

In this thesis, we compare two organizational reforms within one policy area. How the "Modernization reform for development management" from 2002/03 and the "Reform for the organization of grant management" from 2018/19, affected the relationship between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Norad - the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation. Central is the political choice of the overall organizational model in the reforms, with two main alternatives: an integrated model in which the directorate becomes part of the ministry, and a delegated model that assigns the directorate additional tasks (enhanced vertical autonomy). In the thesis, we examine what led to the reform in 2003, and whether the newer reform can be regarded as a continuation of the 2003 reform. We have chosen to base our analysis on the theoretical framework for reforms by Pollitt and Bouckaert. The thesis is a comparative case study, and the analysis is based on three types of data sources: semi-structured interviews, document analysis, and media coverage. In the thesis, we find that several driving forces contributed to the initiation of reform in 2002/03, but that the Minister of Development's political ambitions must be regarded as a main reason to reform. The result of the reform was a mixed model, which can best be explained by the interaction - or tug-of-war - between two ministers, between foreign policy and development policy and the meeting between political desires and what was administratively feasible. Unresolved issues in the 2003 reform led to constant attempts to find an administrative balance in the years between the two reforms. In 2019, driving forces within the political system, especially party politics, became decisive for the choice of model, after the political party KrF (the Christian Democrats) entered the government. By studying the two reforms over time, we show in the thesis that ongoing discussions about the interface between politics and administration, as well as tensions between foreign policy and development policy interests, were central to the reform processes. This may help explain why reforms are repeated. The thesis is a contribution to understanding reforms in a context that also includes the time perspective. ; publishedVersion

- ; In critically important parts of the cold war era the Democratic Party was the steward of American foreign policy. But since September 11. 2001, the party has, however, mostly been a bystander to the major transformation of U.S. foreign policy carried out by the Bush administration. Will the party continue to play such a passive and reactive role or will it be able to formulate a coherent and realistic alternative the Bush foreign policy? Both the U.S. international behavior and world politics will be greatly affected by the outcome of the ongoing internal debate in the party. This paper takes a closer look at this debate and the various fractions that now compete for being the foreign policy face of the party. It is still too early to tell the outcome of this jockeying for power, and consequently the Bush administration will most likely continue as the dominant force behind American foreign policy.

Bakgrunn: Tillit som en del av sosial kapital er et viktig fundament for et helsefremmende og velfungerende samfunn. Til tross for at det i Norge generelt er høye nivåer av tillit og relativt små sosiale ulikheter i befolkningen, er det tidligere funnet forskjeller mellom ulike sosioøkonomiske grupper i grad av tillit. Det er derfor behov for mer kunnskap om nivået av tillit hos befolkningen, og hvordan tilliten fordeler seg. Formål: Å undersøke både grad av tillit til institusjoner (vertikal tillit) og generell tillit (horisontal tillit) i et utvalg av befolkningen i Østfold. Videre var et mål å undersøke om demografiske og sosioøkonomiske faktorer var assosiert med grad av tillit. Metode: Det ble benyttet data fra tverrsnittstudien "Oss i Øsfold 2019" utført av Østfold fylkeskommune, med et representativt utvalg (n=16 558) av befolkningen i Østfold i alderen 18-79 år. Assosiasjonen mellom de sosiodemografiske variablene kjønn, alder, utdanning og opplevd økonomisk situasjon, og grad av tillit, ble undersøkt ved hjelp av logistiske regresjonsanalyser. Institusjonene som ble undersøkt var helsevesenet, skolevesenet, NAV, kommunestyret, politiet, rettsvesenet og massemedia. Forskjeller mellom gruppene ble oppgitt ved odds ratio (OR). Resultater: For utvalget som helhet var helsevesenet den institusjonen flest hadde høy tillit til (83.0 %), mens færrest hadde høy tillit til massemedia (42.9 %). Det var 65.9 % av utvalget som oppga at de generelt hadde høy tillit til andre mennesker. Funnene viste at det var klare sosiodemografiske forskjeller i grad av tillit. Kvinner hadde høyere tillit til institusjoner og høyere generell tillit enn menn. Den generelle tilliten økte med alderen. Funnene viste også at utdanningsnivå og opplevd økonomisk situasjon var positivt assosiert med grad av både institusjonell- og generell tillit. Konklusjon: Det ble funnet en klar sosial gradient i forekomst av både vertikal og horisontal tillit. Dette er viktig å ta på alvor, da økende grad av mistillit kan føre til en utvikling som undergraver demokratiske verdier, og svekker den generelle viljen i samfunnet til å slutte opp om kollektive velferdsordninger. I Østfold kan det være behov for å ha et bevisst forhold til tillitsbyggende arbeid, for å generere sosial kapital som en viktig ressurs i samfunnet. Det bør fokuseres på strategier som sikrer høy sysselsetting, rettferdig inntektsfordeling og gode velferdsordninger. I tillegg, kan det være behov for målrettede tiltak mot grupper med lav sosioøkonomisk posisjon. ; Background: Trust as a part of social capital is an important foundation for a healthpromoting and well-functioning society. Even though there are generally high levels of trust in Norway and relatively small social inequalities in the population, differences between socio-economic groups in levels of trust have been found in previous research. There is therefore a need for more knowledge about the levels of trust among the population, and how trust is distributed. Aim: To study the levels of trust in public institutions (vertical trust) and general trust (horizontal trust) within a representative sample of the population in Østfold aged 18-79 years. Furthermore, examine whether demographic (gender and age) and socioeconomic (education level and economic situation) factors are associated with levels of trust. Method: Data from the cross-sectional study "Oss i Østfold 2019", conducted by the county municipality Østfold was used, with a representative sample (n=16 558) of the population of Østfold. Logistic regression analyses were used to examine whether the sociodemographic variables gender, age, education and perceived economic self-sufficiency were associated with levels of trust. The institutions examined were the healthcare system, the school system, NAV (Social Security office), the municipal council, the police, the legal system and the media. Differences between the groups were measured using odds ratio (OR). Results: Overall, the majority in the sample had high levels of trust in the healthcare system (83.0 %). Fewest in the analysed sample had high levels of trust in the media (42.9 %). 65.9 % of the sample reported high levels of general trust in other people. The findings showed significant sociodemographic factors in terms of trust. The women in the study had higher institutional and general trust, than the male participants. Horizontal trust increased with the age. Education level and perceived economic self-sufficiency were positively associated with the degree of both institutional trust and general trust. Conclusion: A clear social gradient was found in the incidence of both vertical and horizontal trust. It is important to take this seriously, as an increase of distrust can lead to a development that undermines democratic values and reduces the general will in society to support collective welfare schemes. In Østfold there may be a need for a conscious approach to trustbuilding work, in order to generate social capital as an important resource in society. Strategies that focus on high employment, economic equality and good welfare schemes should be in focus. In addition, these findings may imply that targeted measures to build trust in low socio-economic groups are needed. ; M-FOL

The aim of this study was to reveal if there is literature about who's still playing Pokémon Go two years after game launch, and whether players report the AR-aspect as part of the reason they're still engaging in the game. Investigating the phenomenon covered widely by news and social media from this angle could be of interest of public health workers with the ambition to replicate the success. We ran a systematic search resulting in 22 articles included, published between 2016-2018. The results revealed that the main part of the included studies were conducted just around game launch (July 2016) and within the first six months Pokémon Go was out "in the wild". AR was in general not questioned about, and there exists different and vague understandings of what augmented reality actually is. We were not able to identify the typical long-term player engaging with the game, and to what extent AR was a part of the prolonged success. The search also revealed a lack of longitudinal studies (with larger, more representative participant groups) about general social and mental health implications of playing the game. The studies imply a successful combination of several game aspects - whether playing for the adventure and discovering new places, family bonding, general game flexibility, "to pass time", a bit of nostalgia – or just for fun. Further studies are needed to understand of which importance it is to implement an AR- or location-based-feature, the importance of branding, what app/game mechanics appeal to the general and how deeply immersive experiences through a mobile screen are able to affect us, dragging us into an augmented world – and keeping us there. ; M-FOL

Begrepet siida er kjent over hele Sápmi. Så langt tilbake i tid vi kan vite, har siidaer vært der som noe som vi kan forstå som samiske lokalsamfunn. Det som i dag gjenstår av videreførte næringsutøvende og levemåtepraktiserende siidaer, er siidaer som har arbeidet med reinflokker som sitt sammenbindende element. Denne siidatradisjonen har vært levende frem til i dag spesielt i Kautokeino- og Karasjokområdet i Norge, det vil si i det området hvor det foreliggende studiet er gjort. Imidlertid lever den fortsatt i krysspresset mellom representasjonen av tidligere østlige siidaer i litteraturen og den forvaltningsmessige praktisering av reindriftsloven. Bildet av en fasttømret organisering i de østlige siidaer og opphør av de såkalte veidesiidaene har usynliggjort forbindelseslinjene mellom tidligere og dagens siidaer og også ført til oppfattelse av siidasystemet som ikke-eksisterende. Reindriftslovgivningen har på sin side skapt og utviklet et alternativt reinbeitedistriktssystem. Etter at siidaen i prinsippet ble anerkjent ved reindriftsloven av 2007, har problemstillinger og forvaltningspraksis med opphav i reinbeitedistriktssystemet allikevel fått lov til å prege tilnærmingen til siidasystemet. For å kunne rehabilitere siidaer og siidasystemet er det ingen veg utenom å plukke opp og ta utgangspunkt i forbindelseslinjene som ligger i videreføringen av siidaer gjennom tidene. Det går ut på å ta utgangspunkt i siidasystemets egne begreper, forståelsesformer og prioriteringer. I dag dreier det seg først og fremst om å ekstrahere og fremlegge siidaers felles begrepsbruk og tradisjonelle kunnskaper i arbeidet med reinflokker, men også å rette blikket mot tradisjonelle anskuelsesformer som ligger bak praksisene i siidautøvelsen. Blant annet ligger i dette et grunnlag for å synliggjøre settinger og tilpasning i forholdet mellom siidautøvelsen og dens naturgitte omgivelser, og også problemstillinger og sider ved avklaring av forhold mellom siidaer i prosessen mot rehabilitering av siidasystemet. Fastsettelse av ytre rammer for reinbeitedistrikter og siidaer har tematisk sett vært et møtepunkt mellom reineierne og offentlig forvaltning, et møte som så langt ikke har hatt siidaers tradisjonelle kunnskaper og tenkemåter som sitt utgangspunkt og sentrum for oppmerksomhet. Det foreliggende studiet tar for seg eksempler på tradisjonell samisk livsanskuelse og måter å nærme seg siidaer ut fra deres egne begreper og praksiser. Som reingjeteren forholder seg til kantene av flokken så forholder disse tekstene seg til betydningsfulle aspekter av siidaer generelt og ikke til det indre liv i noen spesifikk siida. ; Siidadoaba lea oahpis miehtá Sámi. Siiddat leat leamaš juo nu áigá go mii oba diehtit. Dat siiddat mat leat buolvvas bulvii doalahuvvon otnážii birgejumi ja eallinlági vuođđun, lea dat siiddat main boazoealut dahket siiddastallama. Dát siidavierut lea leamaš eallevaččat gitta otná rádjái, Norgga bealde erenoamážit Guovdageainnus ja Kárášjogas. Dat dattege ain almmolašvuođas cahket duvdahuvvan dilis, girjjálašvuođa dološ nuortalaš siiddaid ja boazodoallolága hálddahuslaš meannudeami gaskkas. Nuortalaš siiddaid čavga organiserema ja bivdosiiddaid bieđganeami govat leat jávkadan ovdalaš ja dálá siiddaid čanastagaid ja dagahan vel dan ipmárdusa ahte siidavuogádat ii leat šat doaimmas. Boazodoallolágaiguin fas lea ásahuvvon ja ovddiduvvon boazoguohtundistriktavuogádat dasa buohta. Maŋŋel go 2007 boazodoallolágain siida vuođđojurdagis dohkkehuvvui leat buorrin ieš sadjásis, leat aŋkke boazoguohtundistriktavuogádaga vuolggahan áššečoavdimušat ja hálddahuslaš doaibmavuogit beassan báidnit vugiid mainna lágiin ipmirdišgoahtit siidavuogádaga. Jus galgat máhttit fastain árvvosmuhttit siidda ja siidavuogádaga, de eat sáhte garvit bargamuša geaži gávdnat dain čanastagain mat leat doalahan siiddaid áiggiid čađa. Das ii leat earágo vuođđun atnit siidavuogádaga iežas doahpagiid, ipmárdusvugiid ja vuoruhemiid. Dálá dilis ovddemussan fertet lavdit ja ovdan bidjat siiddaid oktasaš doabageavaheami ja árbevirolaš máhtu eallogohkkema birra, muhto maiddái geahččalit čalbmat ipmárdusvugiid mat leat dagolaš siiddastallama duohken. Earret eará lea dás vejolaš oidnosii dahkat siiddastallama ja eatnamiid gaskavuođa meriid ja heivehusaid, ja nu maiddái siiddaid gaskavuođa gažaldagaid ja čilgejumi dárbbuid das go galgat bargagoahtit fastain árvvosmuhttit siidavuogádaga. Siiddaid ravdameriid čilgejupmi lea leamaš boazoeaiggádiid ja almmolaš hálddahusa deaivvadeami sáhkafáddán, deaivvadeapmi mas dán rádjái eai leat adnon siiddaid árbevirolaš máhtut ja jurddavuogit sáhkavuođđun. Čállagiin maid dás bijan ovdan, guorahalan ovdamearkkaid das maid sápmelaččat leat árbevirolaččat diđoštan ja vugiid beassat siiddaid lagabuidda alddeset doahpagiid ja doaibmavugiid bokte. Dáid čállagiid lean jurddahan lohkamuššan sihke siiddaid olbmuide ja earáide. Nugo guođoheaddjit bissot ealloravddain, de dáid tevsttaid guorahallamat nai bissot siidaravddaid diđošteapmin, eaige mana guđege siidda sisa. ; The concept of siida is well-known throughout the Sápmi. Far back in time there have been local Sámi communities called siidas. Siidas having reindeer herding as their unifying element are today the only ones representing a continuous practice of traditional siida livelihood and way of life. They represent an ongoing siida tradition up to now, especially the siidas in Guovdageaidnu and Kárášjohka in Norway, i.e. in the region where the present research has been carried out. This tradition, however, still lives under pressure from the representation of the eastern siidas in literature on the one side and the administrative way of practicing the Reindeer Husbandry Act on the other side. The image of a stable organization in the eastern siidas and the end of the hunting siidas has veiled the connecting lines between the past and present siidas and also led to an understanding of the siida system as non-existent. On the other hand, legislation on reindeer husbandry has led to construction and development of an alternate organization, the Reindeer Herding District system. The new Reindeer Husbandry Act now has acknowledged the siida as a basic unit, but issues and governing practices originating from the reindeer herding district system have still been allowed to shape the approach to the siida system. The process towards rehabilitation of siidas and the siida system contains no ways round the method of picking up the connecting lines between past and present siidas and taking them as our starting points. This implies taking the siida system's own concepts, premises of thought and priorities as our starting point. Today it means primarily to extract and present the siidas' shared concepts and traditional herding knowledge, but also to look towards the traditional world view behind the siida practices. This provides, among other things, a basis to elucidate settings and adaptation in the relationship between siida and its natural surroundings, and also issues and ways of settling different matters in the process of rehabilitation of the siida system. Determination of outer limits for reindeer herding districts and siidas has been a thematic meeting point between reindeer herders and government. So far these meetings have not taken the siidas traditional knowledge and ways of thinking as their primary starting point and focus of attention. The present research examines examples of traditional Sámi beliefs and ways to approach siidas based on their own concepts and practices. These texts are meant to be read by both siida members and others. As the reindeer herder primarily relates to the edges of the herd, likewise these texts relate to important aspects of all siidas and not to the inner life of any specific siida.

Master's thesis Innovative governance and public management ME523 - University of Agder 2019 ; Developing schoolsexualityeducation policies is a complex matterdue to the controversial and politicized nature of sexuality. This thesisaims at understanding the development of institutional change in the presence of complex policy systems that involvemultiple actors in the policy process. To achieve this aim, itanalyses the actionsof an advocacy coalition that works to change sexuality education policies in Norway.The study adopts the Advocacy CoalitionFramework (ACF)for understanding the interconnections among the macro-level of the political and historicalcontext, the micro-level of the actor's motivationsand the meso-level ofcoalition's goals and strategies. Moreover, it supports the ACF with the Historical Institutionalism (HI) approach toexplain the struggle between the actors' effortsto achieve policy change and the persistence of cultural and political institutions.Through the conduction of interviews and the analysis of relevant policy documents, this study identified aclose interaction and co-dependence among differentelements of the political system. In implementing its strategy, the coalition encountered facilitating and hindering factors that determined the achievement of aslow incremental change. The advocacy coalition started and continuouslyinfluenced the change process through a strategy of knowledge production and sharingthat contributed inchangingattitudes and perception of policy participantson sexuality education.The active agency of the coalition's actors in creating arenas and channels of sharing and coordination facilitated the learning process. Nonetheless, fixed institutions and conflictsof interests hindered the achievement of a major policy change.Therefore, this thesis identifiesthe policy process as a complex interaction among different factors and elements that generate reciprocal influence and jointly determine the process' outcomes. Hence, the study concluded that the institutional setting is essential in determining rules and constraints for the actors.However,the active agency of policy participantscan strategically exploit the historicaland institutional setting for achieving the actors' goals.Keywords: Sexuality education, Norway, advocacy coalitions, institutional change, policy-learning, historical institutionalism

Centre of Excellence (CoE) is a politically initiated financing scheme from the Research Council in Norway aiming for long term, high quality and innovative research, contributing towards solving the big challenges of our society. Two evaluations conclude that this scheme is a success. These evaluations does not however pay much attention to the role of the administration in that regard. This master-thesis investigate how administrative leaders in the CoE contribute towards goal achievement. This has not previously been studied. For the data collection individual interviews was chosen, because they provide an open and investigative approach, well suited to gather relevant information. The analysis are based on organizational theory for public organizations, theories about organization types and previous research regarding the role of administrative personnel in research and higher education. The administrative leaders in CoE work in the interface between academic work and administration. My research shows that most of them have an academic background. They are highly educated, on master or PhD level, and some have research experience beyond that. Most of them have relevant work experience with a good overview of how the research and university systems work. The administrative leaders can further be recognised by their ability to create a good work environment and their social integration skills. This is very important in CoE, not the least because the centres depends heavily on recruitment of international research staff. In this regard good language skills and intercultural competence are also important. These leaders contribute to goal achievement through relieving the researchers and facilitating research related tasks, like conferences and meeting places, and haveing a good overview and ensure internal and external information flow. They also organize social activities and function as a central hub or connector. The administrative leader role demands a mix of knowledge and competencies, resembling the role of the classic middle range leader in the professional bureaucracy of today. With a great variety of different assignments coupled with being a connector for tasks and functions, both vertical and horizontal in the organization. In addition the administrative leader in a CoE also works close with the research leaders and the research activities at the centre. CoE are organized as time-limited projects with high demands and expectations. My study shows that the administration apparatus in CoE is important for goal achievement, but also that it is necessary with one 100% administrative leader or coordinator in a CoE, in order to take care of and coordinate the interests of the centre, both internally and in relation to the host institution. These CoE administrative leaders are a highly selected group regarding qualifications and background, which is something to be aware of when planning these kinds of research units, but also concerning the status- and role of administrative research personnel in general. ; publishedVersion

Master i styring og ledelse ; 2017, the city council of Oslo decided that trust-based governance and management should be its guiding principle in the governance of the city. The purpose of this assignment is to provide a better understanding of the model of trust and how the boroughs in the city of Oslo have put this into practice. We have explored how trust-based governance and management is perceived by Oslo's district directors. The key issue we are addressing is: How has the idea of trust-based governance and management changed the governance practices in the management of Oslo's city districts? The study has a qualitative approach and we conducted a total of five in-depth interviews with district directors. Their subjective reflections and thoughts about trust-based governance and management provide information about how this has changed governance practices across city districts. We have looked at the instrumental and cultural perspective, as well as the theory of trust, governance and leadership and implementation. Furthermore, the City Council case from 2017 on trust-based governance and management is central. The study shows that trust-based management has no clear, standardized practice in the districts. The study also reveals that there have been few major changes related to governance and management since the introduction, but that the districts are constantly changing. By contrast, the trust model has contributed to increased awareness of the concept of trust, goal and performance management and empowerment of employees. In addition, there is a shift towards seeing things from the perspective of the user, rather than simply keeping the user in mind, in the effort to improve services across city districts. ; publishedVersion

This master's thesis seeks to map the discourse on trust-based management and leadership (TBML) in some of the largest Norwegian newspapers. Namely to assess 1) the Norwegian discourse compared to tendencies otherwise in Scandinavia, 2) which actors are most active within the discourse, 3) the terminology used to frame TBML, as well as aspects of the newspapers, 4) attitudes towards TBML and their development, and 5) the development in the spread (mention) of TBML over time. Over 180 newspaper articles have been selected, covering a period of eleven years (2010-2020). They are registered and analyzed by utilizing a combination of quantitative and qualitative content analysis. Concepts from discourse analysis are drawn upon throughout. The results are viewed and discussed within the frame of the initial five-part division of focal areas and discussed in light of relevant theory on the fields of trust, discourse, and the spread of management and leadership ideas. The findings indicate that the Norwegian discourse gains momentum simultaneously as the rest of Scandinavia, though with a few more odd peaks in mention, related to specific, highly politicized and debated topics. By sector, political representation and attitudes, the actors that are most active within the discourse are political, social-democratic and positive towards TBML. The most positive actors towards TBML, by level of position, are political and public leaders. I tie these individual groupings of actors to different theoretical contributions on the spread of management ideas, hereunder diffusion theory, the translation of ideas, the life-cycle perspective, and the analogy of resistance. Pronounced negative mention of TBML does not occur, however, TBML is often problematized by individual actors through a line of thought that sees "trust" as a phenomenon that cannot be united with a professional reality that calls for control. The problematization of TBML is also more frequent in regional newspapers and by actors on employee level. The findings also indicate that the shift in conceptual focus from "leadership" exclusively, to "management (steering) and leadership" over the last three years, results from a process of learning. "Steering" as a counter-concept, paradoxically becomes more common at the same time. This is tied to the leader-employee division and its impact on the spread, reception and implementation of ideas. To the degree the spread of TBML can be mapped by article frequency over time, it seems to follow an S-shaped diffusion line. However, other important aspects than the visual development in article frequency are in line with different approaches to the spread of management ideas, as highlighted throughout the analysis. ; publishedVersion

This paper examines participation in water management, more specifically in implementing the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) in Norway. Attainment of the goals of the WFD depends on new ways of coordinating the activities, knowledge and resources of many sectors and levels of government, including the private sector. The WFD explicitly emphasizes broad stakeholder involvement and public participation. The new network arena of River Basin District Water Boards at the regional level and Sub-District Boards at the sub-regional level, cut across existing municipal, regional and national borders. In each River Basin District, broad reference groups are established. Through surveys and qualitative case studies, we examine how this norm of participation is operationalized in the River Basin Districts, and how different actors evaluate it. We find that the reference grou ps have mobilized many actors from civil society and the private sector, but they do not report having influe nce. The role of the reference group is unclear. ; Artikkelen er skrevet i forskningsprosjektet «Water Pollution Abatement in a System of Multi-level Governance: A study of Norway's implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive (WAPABAT), finansiert av MILJØ2015-programmet i Norges forskningsråd.

Master i sosialfag ; This master thesis examines citizen participation through the Citizens Committee (Lokalstyret), a local board in the area of Grønland and Tøyen. The Citizens Committee was established in the spring of 2018, and Bydel Gamle Oslo is the only district that has chosen such a form of organization as part of the participation in the area-based initiative. We examine the justifications made by the borough's key players for creating the Citizens Committee and analyze what forms of legitimacy such an organization permits. In the literature, there is often a three-part operation: input-legitimacy, output-legitimacy and throughput-legitimacy. We have chosen to use this three-part operation as a framework for our thesis, which is as follows: "Does the local government safeguard various forms of legitimacy in Grønland and Tøyen, and in what ways?". The study was designed as a qualitative study with a case-design that combines interviews, observations, and document studies. The Citizens Committee safeguards input-based legitimacy through its localized network. Although its representatives are not formally elected, the Citizens Committee safeguards input-based legitimacy through its localized network. Clearly linking the citizens committee to the District Council (Bydelsutvalget) will further strengthen input-legitimacy. It can also safeguard output legitimacy in the form of contributing to solutions that actually meet the needs of the inhabitants within the framework of the area-based initiative. After clarifying the responsibilities and role of the Citizens Committee through a recent update of the mandate, it is now easier to assign responsibilities and, in doing, so preserve throughput-based legitimacy ; publishedVersion

Master i styring og ledelse ; I denne masteroppgaven har jeg undersøkt hvorfor Haugesund og Karmøy har kommet frem til ulikt utfall i kommunereformen. Haugesund ønsker en storkommune på Haugalandet, mens det politiske flertallet i Karmøy, vil at Karmøy skal være egen kommune også i fremtiden. Kommunene er store i norsk sammenheng med rundt 40.000 innbyggere hver. De har en rekke likhetstrekk, likevel er de ulike på noen sentrale punkt. Haugesund er en sentralisert by, mens Karmøy er desentralisert, med tre byer og flere bygder. Reformen er initiert nasjonalt, mens gjennomføringen skjer lokalt. Regjeringens argumentasjon ligger hovedsakelig i reformens mål og virkemidler. Tidligere undersøkelser viser imidlertid at ulike lokale forhold også kan virke inn på sammenslåingsprosesser lokalt. Hensikten med undersøkelsen har vært å finne ut hvorfor kommunene har kommet frem til ulikt utfall i reformen, om Regjeringens argumentasjon har hatt ulik betydning i beslutningsprosessene, og hvilken betydning lokale forhold har hatt for utfallet. Undersøkelsen har vært gjennomført som en komparativ casestudie, med personlige intervjuer. Informasjonen fra intervjuene danner grunnlaget for analysen. Reformens målsettinger har vært vesentlige for begge kommunene. Særlig aktuell er målsettingen om en mer helhetlig og samordnet samfunnsutvikling. Kommunene er en del av det Regjeringen kaller flerkommunale byområder. Kommunegrensene samsvarer ikke med de funksjonelle samfunnsutviklingsområdene. Dette gir utfordringer i forhold til arealplanlegging. Haugesund er regionsenter med regionsenter-utfordringer, den mangler eksempelvis areal til videre vekst. Kommunen ser kommunesammenslåing som løsningen på mange av sine utfordringer. Det politiske flertallet i Karmøy, ser ikke at reformens målsettinger nås ved kommunesammenslåing. Karmøy er en stor, veldreven kommune. Den har lite å hente på å inngå i en storkommune. De interkommunale problemene løses gjennom interkommunalt samarbeid. Når det gjelder styringsvirkemidlene har disse hatt liten betydning for utfallet. De fleste informantene etterlyser hardere virkemiddelbruk for å lykkes med reformen. Alle informantene beskriver at lokale forhold har vært viktige i reformprosessen. Langvarige, historiske og kulturelle konflikter mellom kommunene har gjort sammenslåing vanskelig. Lokale forhold som ulik kommuneøkonomi, forholdet by-land, identitet og til dels tjenestelokasjon har bidratt til det negative utfallet i Karmøy. Til tross for at Karmøy er større enn Haugesund, ser det ut for at sentrum-periferi konflikten har vært viktig for utfallet i de to kommunene. ; In this study, I have tried to find out why Haugesund and Karmøy have reached different outcome in the local government reform. Haugesund wanted one large municipality in the region, while the political majority in Karmøy, wanted Karmøy to remain as one municipality, further on. The municipalities are big in a Norwegian scale, with approximately 40.000 citizens. They are very much alike, but differ at some points. Haugesund is a city with centralized structure, while Karmøy is decentralized, consisting of three villages and several rural centres. The reform is a national initiative from the government, but is carried out locally. The arguments from the government contain both political goals and -instruments. According to previous studies, several local conditions may influence on local merging- processes. The intention of the study is to find out why the two municipalities have reached different outcomes in the reform, whether political goals and instruments have different impact on the local decision making processes, and whether local conditions have influenced on the outcome. The study is a comparative case study using personal interviews. Information from the interviews is used in the analysis. According to the political goals, they seem to have been important to both municipalities. Most relevant is a more holistic and coordinated community development. The municipalities are a part of what the government calls multi-communal city areas. These are areas where the administrative boundaries no longer reflect people's daily-life areas. This gives certain challenges according to spatial planning. Haugesund is the center of the region with some typical city-problems. One is lack of space to further growth. Haugesund sees the reform as the solution to their problems. The political majority in Karmøy do not think that the reform will contribute to goal achievement. Karmøy is large, and does well. It will not have much to gain by joining a merged municipality. Inter-municipal cooperation solves regional problems. The political instruments of the reform, have been quite unimportant to the outcome in the municipalities. Most informants believe that the instruments should be harder, for the government to succeed. All informants report that local conditions have been important to the outcome. Longlasting historical and cultural conflicts have complicated the process. Differences in economy, the center-periphery relation, identity and partly location questions, have contributed to the negative outcome in Karmøy. Even though Karmøy is the largest of the two, it seems that the center-periphery conflict has been important in both municipalities. ; acceptedVersion

Masteroppgave samfunnskommunikasjon KOM500 - Universitetet i Agder 2018 ; This thesis project is a rhetorical analysis of Jonas Gahr Støre, leader of the Norwegian Labour Party, in the televised party leader debate on 08.14.2017. Støre had been accused of being unclear in his communication style for a long time, but was named the winner of this debate in several major Media. With a hermeneutic approach, the task examines the rhetorical devices Støre used in the debate. By using theoretical perspectives from political communication and mediation, the project also explores why Støre appeared the way he did. The analysis shows that Støre assumed an active role in the debate, especially when the debate was dealing with matters where the party is seeking issue ownership. He repeatedly attacks the government and the prime minister, framing issues to stress the need for a change of government.