Since the 1990s, the Swedish school system has become increasingly more diversified. Decentralization, the introduction of private schools, the challenge of globalization & increased ethnic diversity among pupils have contributed to an increasing heterogeneity. This project analyses the prospects for civic education in different institutional settings & contexts, in both public & private schools. Using unique survey data 1999 & 2009 we ask which effects different institutional settings have on "citizen competences," i.e., civic engagement, political efficacy, knowledge about democracy & political issues, & democratic values & tolerance. The project breaks down into three distinct but interrelated parts. The first deals with changes over time in young Swedes' civic competences. The second subproject focuses on the way & consequences when controversial issues are taught in different schools & institutional settings. The third sub-project adds a comparative perspective by analyzing similarities & differences among young people & schools in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland & England. Adapted from the source document.

This article confronts some general methodological issues involved when analyzing 'euroscepticism,' ie., opposition to European integration. Reviewing the literature on party-based & public euroscepticism, the article proceeds with a presentation & critical examination of conceptual frameworks & models suggested in previous research on public attitudes towards the EU. Drawing on eg., the Eurobarometer surveys, the strengths & weaknesses of different analytical frameworks arc demonstrated. The article concludes with a discussion about measurement issues related to empirical analyses of public opposition to European integration. Adapted from the source document.

A reply to Marie Demker on Swedish, European and international political science arguing that while Demker's analysis points towards potential real problems, these issues are not as pronounced as one might believe. It is problematic and innovation threatening that theories and models in political science are driven by social scientists in the United States. However, it is not true that Sweden in this case would merely become a case study; instead Swedish political scientists are experts in the political relations of Sweden and this information can directly benefit the political scientists in other countries and thus advancing the science. While English is clearly the linuga franca of our time, Swedish is still the most popular dissertation language and Sweden is by far the most common research subject in Sweden. L. Pitkaniemi

Project Hybrid regimes has democratization and non-democratic regimes as its focus. In recent years, research has shown how a number of authoritarian regimes have adopted a blend of democracy and authoritarianism rather than converting outright to full democracy. A country might for instance hold free elections but show little regard for the political and human rights of citizens. Project collaborators are operating on the premise that this type of blended or hybrid regime constitutes a distinct regime type alongside democracies, full authoritarian regimes, or totalitarian governments. They seek to explore the question of whether outside aid from full democracies can aid hybrid regimes in converting into full democracies. While the number of democratic governments around the world has increased in recent years, researchers have noted that hybrid regimes often resist efforts on the part of foreign democratic organizations to aid them toward a process of greater democratization. Citing the case of post-Soviet countries, and the Ukraine, the authors question the widely held perception by researchers that countries possessing a blend of democratic and authoritarian elements are at a transition point on the way to full democratization and that non-democratic elements of their governments merely constitute temporary setbacks. The authors, noting that heads of such regimes resist full democracy because they aren't prepared to accept challenges to their political power, argue for a new for the recognition of a new, lasting hybrid type of government characterized by elements of both democracy and authoritarianism. Adapted from the source document.

In recent Swedish political debate a former anonymous group has been noticed, political appointees in the political executives. In media they are often characterized as politicians and in the last decades an expansion of them has taken place, both at governmental and municipal level (Stockholm). However, studies of this key group are surprisingly few. The study is related to "politicization", a concept widely used in international political science. Not only the expansion (and the recent feminization) of the group is here discussed. Even more important is the changing patterns of careers and the creation of staffs of political appointees that surround the politicians. The changes can be viewed as an effort from the politicians to regain control of the bureaucracy. By studying this, at least in Sweden, neglected group, the concept on politicization also is developed. Adapted from the source document.

Introduktion till temanummer om Politikens medialisering

In Russia, as in some other countries around the world, we are currently witnessing a wave of politically sanctioned homophobia, most concretely manifested in the 2013 law against “homosexual propaganda”. By examining Russian mainstream media reporting, this article aims to reconstruct a dominant narrative on homosexuality and LGBT rights. It is found that this narrative revolves around three tropes: 1) that non-heterosexuals are a threat to the nation, 2) that LGBT rights are about imposing the minority´s norms onto the majority; and 3) that LGBT rights is bound up with Western modernity, to which Russia offers an alternative. Discussing the findings in light of theories on nationalism, gender and sexuality, I argue that homophobia in Russia must be understood in a global geopolitical perspective: as an attempt to negotiate a meaningful international role for Russia in a world order where LGBT rights have become a symbolic marker of Western modernity.