En fallstudie av svensk-kinesiska vänortssamarbeten - Ett miljöpolitiskt kinderägg

In the present thesis the author tries to examine how cooperation and exchange between friendship cities/sister cities in the environmental field can enlarge our understanding of interactions on environmental problems on the international arena. The thesis takes the form of a case study over Swedish and Chinese friendship cities/sister cities involved in environmental issues. Both decentralisation and vertical links to national and international levels are key features in friendship cities. Therefore the author uses a combination of theories on subsidiary principle and allocating responsibilities for environmental issues in a multilevel system. In the analysis the author examines Swedish friendship cities prospects to do international environmental work where legal regulations and vertical linkages to national level function as an obstacle to autonomy for friendship city cooperation. Also the Swedish municipalities attitude to the responsibility for environmental issues in friendship city cooperation is examined. The conclusion shows that there are potential for the friendship cities to fill an important role in the international environmental work. The Swedish municipalities both have possibilities and interest to do international work, which in friendship city cooperation to a large extent is based on mutual concern for each other. Friendship cities both work as a link between local, national and international levels and a coordinator among actors in the local community