Suchergebnisse

This licentiate thesis investigates the decision-making process behind the regulation of winter shipping along the coast of the northern part of Sweden, the Norrland region, in the period 1940-1975. The licentiate thesis examines two aspects of this decision-making process. First, how the regulations in the field of winter shipping were designed in the period. Second, this work examines the underlying factors behind this regulatory outcome on the premise that the regulatory design in the field was the result of an interaction between the regulating actors in the government and their political and economic institutional context. As for the first issue, it is demonstrated that the period 1940-1975 was characterised by a regulatory ambition to expand winter shipping along the coast of Norrland. This meant that the government made substantial investments in ice-breakers during the period, which gradually expanded the shipping season until the target of year-round shipping even to the northernmost ports was established in the first part of the 1970s. Accordingly, those dues for ice-breaker services proposed by several committees that investigated the issue were never introduced. Instead, government-led ice-breaking has served to compensate Norrland as a peripheral region for its relatively high transport costs. Regarding the second issue, it is showed that the decision-making process was influenced by developments at different policy levels of the government hierarchy. In the period 1940-1964, when a public authority within the maritime sector emerged and was consolidated, developments at the maritime sector level affected the decision-making process to a large extent. In turn, the period after 1964 witnessed a change in government policy towards the Norrland region as a more interventionist regional and industrial policy than earlier was implemented. This meant that the decision-making process to a larger extent was influenced by factors originating from a macro policy level. During the decision-making process, actors at both the maritime sector level and the macro level emphasized the importance of government-regulated winter shipping for the regional industrialization of the Norrland region in terms that reflected the aims and interests of their policy levels. In this respect, actors in the maritime sector pointed to the role of winter shipping as a trade policy instrument while actors who represented the interests of regional development policy and industrial policy considered the expansion of winter shipping as crucial in achieving the general ambition to create a geographically egalitarian welfare state, characterised by high levels of growth and low unemployment.

Research on Europeanization clearly shows that membership in the European Union over time affects the national political systems of member states. Given Norway's extensive integration within the EU, it is relevant and important to assess whether and, if so, how the Norwegian political system, too, has changed as a result, and how these effects compare with the general patterns among EU member states. Exploring the Europeanization of Norway in a comparative perspective, the article maps the effects of European integration for four central power relationships in the Norwegian political system: national-supranational authority, executive-legislative-judicial authority, political-administrative authority and national-regional authority. It is demonstrated that integration within the EU to a large extent has had the same effects in Norway as in the member states of the EU, despite Norway's alternative form of affiliation: extensive delegation of power to the supranational level, strengthening of the government in relation to the parliament, an increasingly important role for national courts, expanded power and autonomy of the executive administration in relation to the political leadership, and some strengthening of the regions vis-a-vis the central government. Adapted from the source document.

The doctrine of the separation of powers, which under the influence of Locke became the basis of US society, has had the effect of blocking the organs of gov & dividing their pol'al power & authority. Scandinavia, despite all the centrifugal elements which exist in its geographic & econ sphere, has managed to establish an internordic collaboration both econ'ally & pol'ally. No other project of regional development, except perhaps the European Common Market, has grown so rapidly, & this resurgence is due to historical experience of the association of the Scandinavian peoples. The example of the Scandinavian countries can help in the planning of US cities & towns. Individual interests which divide society can be counterbalanced by a strong executive & by a planner who directs & coordinates community plans. (Tr by J. A. Broussard from IPSA).

This report deals with various aspects, on countermeasures taken to diminish the impact of the Chernobyl accident, in critical fallout areas of Jämtland county, in order to reduce the contamination of the farmers produce and food stuff items with Cs-137 in the years 1986 – 1992. At the time of the Chernobyl radioactive fallout in Sweden the growing season had not yet started in Jämtland county (middle east Sweden), where two moun-tainous agriculture areas were critically contaminated with Cs-137. There was thus time for consideration if these areas, sensible for transfer of Cs-137 to crops, could be used for further agricultural produce, or had to be excluded. According-ly, the Swedish government delegated to Swedish radiation safety authority (SSI) to set up acceptable limits for contents Cs-137 in food stuff items, and to inform regional authorities (Agricultural boards) to facilitate the accomplishment of investigations and field research, which effectively could decrease the transfer of Cs-137 to agricultural crop and animal products. In Jämtland county, agriculture animal and soil advisers were to take part in the direct information of the farmers. Agr Dr I. Bjäresten, animal adviser, is initiator and head author of the report. She was much engaged on all levels of developing and testing the countermeasures to be employed by the farmers, and especially so in the years 1986 and 1987. Agr B. Jönsson, soil adviser is author of the supple-ment, where he re-ports about soil conditions and experiences from the field con-tamination areas investigated in years 1986-1990. Docent K. Rosén, research scientist in radioecology and soil sciences, SLU, is a staff member of research teams on the Jämtland county. He was engaged to get the report published. The report comprises a description of steps taken between the national authori-ties and the Jämtland county administration board in the unexpected situation after the Chernobyl serious fallout. The administration board made many delega-tions to the regional farming advisers, of which the latter in turn cooperated with the farmers concerned, of the "mysterious" radioactive fallout on their fields, and with university departments working with radioecology in Sweden. Their task was to estimate effective decrease of the different countermeasures recommend-ed and to a great extent implemented by the farmers on field and animal levels. The report can be considered as a narrative or account of experiences obtained by Bjäresten during her work with suitable countermeasures to decrease conta-mination of plant and animal products from the contaminated area considered.

This study starts out with the hypothesis that the integration process in Europe is connected to cross-border régionalisation, a process which supports the institutionalization of subnational cross-border cooperation - region-building. Cross-border régionalisation is characterized by the decentralisation of vertical links and enhanced opportunities for horizontal links across state borders. In addition, political integration is expected to have some impact on the cross-border institutional forms that emerge at the subnational level. Three different approaches are utilized in order to establish the empirical connection between political integration and region-building. These are: an analysis of the factors which determine the general pattern of cross-border cooperation in Europe, an analysis of the policy network related to the regional and structural policies of the European Union (EU), and case studies of cooperation in the heartland of Europe, the Regio Basiliensis along the external border of the EU, and the EUREGIO along one of the internal borders. Two institutional factors are found to have a significant impact on the number of subnational cross-border cooperations, EU-membership and centrality. Federal constitution was shown not to be significant. It is suggested that the interaction between actors at different politico- administrative levels creates network relations, which typically bring both private and public actors together. More precisely, region-building is described as the outcome of the interaction which takes place between actors. A closer examination of the emerging policy network shows that community initiatives, the Interreg-programme in particular, improve the prospects for multi­level interaction. The EU plays a crucial role in providing the incentives for cooperation by increasing resource dependency and by establishing direct ties between the European Commission and a large number of subnational actors through partnerships. It appears as if the Commission wishes to demonstrate its capacity to deal with problems relevant to individual citizens. By, in part, bypassing central governments, it seems to increase its own importance vis- à-vis member states. The modus vivendi of cross-border region-building and régionalisation is the degree to which institutional actors at different levels share the same objectives. As shown by the case studies, there is a common interest in cross-border cooperation up to the point were public statues are introduced. Interests seem to coincide as long as the structures and contents of cross-border cooperation do not ultimately challenge the authority of state institutions. Therefore, it is not surprising that it seems impossible to give cross-border regions any rights under international law. Functional cooperation, rather than regionalist manifestations of cultural or political unity across borders, constitutes the backbone of region-building. Activities transcending borders are less controversial than those that may contribute to the establishment of new borders. It is concluded that region-building is a process which is embedded in the institutionalization of a multi-level interaction pattern. More favourable multilevel relations have been achieved through the transfer of some authority to the supranational level. This is the main reason why traditional integration theory fails to explain why there is a connection between political integration and cross-border cooperation. ; digitalisering@umu