Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Politics and government'
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1
Camacho, David E. "Chicano Urban Politics: The Role of the Political Entrepreneur." University of Arizona, Mexican American Studies and Research Center, 1987. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/218632.
2
Tucker, Penelope. "Government and politics : London 1461-1483." Thesis, Royal Holloway, University of London, 1995. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.297286.
Abstract:
This thesis discusses the nature of London's governmental and political system and the part played by the city in the political, commercial and legal life of the nation in the late fifteenth century. The first three chapters examine the city's electoral processes, the backgrounds of its most senior governors, and the relationships between its governing bodies and other civic organisations, such as the city companies. From this, it emerges that Edwardian London's political system was hierarchical rather than oligarchic, even though its governors were able to secure election to high office without following a lengthy civic cursus honorum. However, change was already under way, as the aldermen came to rely less on the wards and more on the companies for political support and legitimisation. The more oligarchical style of government clearly visible in the sixteenth century can be shown to have had its roots in the late fifteenth century. Chapters Four and Five examine the effectiveness of the city's financial organisations and system of law courts. In raising revenue for both civic and royal purposes, the city was relatively efficient, though its methods were ponderous and their effectiveness was heavily dependent on individual financial officers. The city's law courts remained busy and responsive to the needs of litigants, contributing to the effectiveness and prestige of civic government by their activities. In the final chapter, London's place in national and international political events is considered. The governors' normal aim was, above all, to protect the city's interests. Although London played an important role in the wider political scene, it had that role largely thrust upon it by others. This stance helped to prevent the city from mirroring the national tumults of the late fifteenth century.
3
Dorado, Maria-Cristina. "Local government politics in Pereira, Colombia." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1989. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.670328.
4
Cho, Hye Jee. "Partisan politics and credibility in government bond markets what political institutions help leftist governments build policy credibility? /." Diss., Restricted to subscribing institutions, 2008. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1692119671&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=1564&RQT=309&VName=PQD.
5
Lee, Ronald Arthur. "Government and politics in Scotland, 1661-1681." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 1995. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.295339.
6
Lorman, Thomas Anselm. "The domestic politics of the Bethlen government." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 2002. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.269979.
7
RIBEIRO, BERNARDO BARBOZA. "POLITICS OF GOVERNMENT ADVERTISING: EVIDENCE FROM BRAZIL." PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO, 2017. http://www.maxwell.vrac.puc-rio.br/Busca_etds.php?strSecao=resultado&nrSeq=31792@1.
Abstract:
PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIROCONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO
Usando uma base de dados inédita com informações sobre o gasto do governo federal brasileira com propaganda, nós lançamos luz sobre o comportamento de anunciantes do setor público a relação entre propaganda governamental e voto. Em particular, nós investigamos possíveis motivações políticas por trás da alocação do orçamento dedicado à propaganda governamental e seu impacto sobre voto. No espírito da literatura de distributive politics, primeiro nós calculamos a correlação entre gasto com anúncios por entes públicos e votos no partido do governo no nível local. Em seguida, nós exploramos a variação exógena gerada pela cobertura de sinais de rádio para testar a hipótese de que o gasto com propaganda aumenta os votos recebidos pelo partido do governo. Nossos resultados sugerem que, ainda que resultados de eleições passadas prevêem onde no território o governo anuncia, os eleitores não parecem ser persuadidos pelos anúncios a votar em favor do partido no poder.
Using a unique data set of central government expenditure on advertising in Brazil, we shed light on the behavior of public advertisers and the relation between government ads and voting. In particular, we investigate political motivations behind the allocation of the advertisement budget by the federal government and its impacts on voting. Borrowing insights from the literature of distributive politics, we first correlate ad money and votes for the government s party on the local level. Next, we exploit plausible exogenous variation on radio signal coverage to test if money spent on ads turn into votes for the government s party. Our findings show that although past presidential election outcomes predict where in the territory the government places ads, voters do not seem to be persuaded by those ads to favor the party in power.
8
Hoyland, Bjorn Kare. "Government and opposition in EU legislative politics." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 2005. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/2902/.
Abstract:
This thesis presents a model of EU legislative politics. The model sees national political parties as actors, rather than institutions, countries or trans-national party groups. The empirical focus is on the Codecision procedure after the Amsterdam reform came into effect in 1999. In essence, the thesis argues that governing parties dominate EU legislative politics. The governing parties' advantage stems from two factors. First, they are represented in the Upper House, the Council of Ministers, while opposition parties are not. Second, the shifting majority requirements in the European Parliament (EP) mean that a qualified majority in the Council can impose its preferences on the EP if the Council has the support from a blocking minority in the EP. Nevertheless, the qualified majority requirement in the Council also means that most governing parties would like to see a larger change in policy than what the Council can agree to in their common position. This has implications for the legislative strategy of both governing and opposition parties. Three hypotheses are tested. Hypothesis 1: Governing parties are more active as Codecision agenda- setters (rapporteurs) than opposition parties. Hypothesis 2: Rapporteurs from governing parties are more likely to see their initial legislative proposal being accepted by the Council of Ministers in the first reading. Hypothesis 3: The majority of governing parties and ideologically close opposition parties are more likely to support second reading amendments than other parties. The empirical evidence supports the hypotheses. Thus, there are empirical grounds for arguing that government and opposition exist in EU legislative politics. The governing coalition is the qualified majority of the governing parties and its ideologically close parties in the EP. The opposition is the losing minority in the Council and its ideologically close parties in the EP. The opposition also includes those parties that are neither ideologically close to the minority nor close to the majority of the governing parties. The evidence shows that behaviour differences are more evident between governing and opposition parties from adversarial member states. In non-adversarial states, which often have minority or oversized coalition government, the difference between governing and opposition parties is smaller.
9
Martin, Charles 1975. "The politics of Northern Ontario : an analysis of the political divergences at the provincial periphery." Thesis, McGill University, 1999. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=29838.
Abstract:
From the outset, Northern Ontario has existed as an exploited natural resource region, vulnerable to the vicissitudes of a "boom and bust" verity. This has had profound effects on its ensuing political patterns and political processes. This thesis describes how and why the politics of Northern Ontario are different. This thesis demonstrates that the politics of Northern Ontario, unlike Southern Ontario, are distinguished by disaffection, dependency, domination, pragmatism, and parochialism. This thesis also argues that the North's divergent development and natural resource based economy, as well as pernicious provincial government policies and extensive interventions, provoked the differences apparent in its politics. These differences are evinced in the North's disparate political culture, political priorities, and political structure. Furthermore, this thesis confirms that Northern Ontario politics feature a low level of political efficacy which is primarily the result of its "centre-periphery" connection with Southern Ontario.
10
McCray-McCall, Denise. "Embodying Politics and Administration: The World of Political Appointee in Municipal Government." Cleveland State University / OhioLINK, 2008. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=csu1199384965.
11
Alketbi, Hamad. "An evaluation of e-government effectiveness in Dubai smart government departments." Thesis, Southampton Solent University, 2018. http://ssudl.solent.ac.uk/3809/.
Abstract:
This PhD thesis examines the E-government implementation in Dubai and examines the critical success factors and barriers to a successful E-government implementation. The study is based on primary research conducted on the subject of E-government in the United Arab Emirates. The thesis critically reviewed extant literature on E-government implementation. The methodology used for this research is a mixed-methodological design comprising of quantitative survey of 450 employees of the Dubai Smart Government Department. A survey questionnaire was designed to assess the impact of various independent and dependent variables on the effectiveness of E-government implementation. To complement the shortcomings of the high level of abstraction often associated with quantitative methodology, a qualitative methodology was used which involved in-depth interviews with 25 middle and high ranking officials in the Dubai Smart Government Department. The results of these questionnaires and interviews helped provide a theoretical framework for the postulation of standard operating procedures, which could ensure the success of E-government implementation, in Dubai. The research analyses and discusses the primary data (questionnaire and interviews) to generate insights regarding the success of E-government implementation in Dubai. The analysis also examines the various factors which limit and hinder successful E-government implementations and offers recommendations for improvement. The study finds that some of the major barriers to E-government in Dubai include: technology, security, legal, monetary and strategic. Employees surveyed also generally expressed fear of complexity, system integration, data security, and job losses. Researchers have repeatedly shown that there is need for empirical based studies to understand contextually relevant aspects of E-government implementation in non-western contexts. This PhD thesis contributes to this debate with fresh empirical data sets from Dubai on E-government implementation including the identification of critical successes factors and barriers of a successful E-government implementation. This study also contributes theoretically by challenging the popular normative stage models with a more robust theoretical framework encompassing both human centeredness and context relevance. In so doing, the study came up with a tripartite approach comprising management support, cultural change, and system design. The study concludes that dynamic interplay between internal and external forces; socio-economic and technological factors (including maturity of ICT capabilities) are all relevant for a successful implementation of E-government in Dubai. This study’s key significance lies in its contribution to improve the implementation of a successful E-government in the UAE context, thereby leading to a development of a road map for facilitating practical implementation of strategies and reversing the declining trend of E-government participation in Dubai. In addition, the study’s emphasis on the public sector, could lead to strengthening of the role of E-government for administrative and institutional reform and inclusion in the public sector. The study could provide a useful guide both for the Dubai Smart Government Department and other E-government agencies in Arab regions and for internal stakeholders in the field who wish to gain insight into the process of E-government globally.
12
Durazo, Herrmann Julián. "Subnational politics and regime change in Mexico." Thesis, McGill University, 2006. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=102799.
Abstract:
What happens to subnational states when the parent federation undergoes a regime change process? This is a crucial question in understanding political processes in federal countries. The visible political differentiation amongst subnational states belonging to the same federation underscores the fact that some processes are at work that are being ignored by the literature's current focus on national developments. To fill this lacuna, I develop an analytical model that seeks to explain regional differentiation during federal regime change by focusing directly on subnational politics and institutions in comparative fashion, while accounting for the inescapable influence of broader federal actors and processes. In constructing this model, I draw extensively from the theories of federalism, regime change and political parties. I argue that the decision to initiate a transition in an authoritarian setting belongs to the federation. However, regional political actors mediate federal processes in their territory and give them a profoundly subnational logic. Regionally specific institutions, interests and histories thus become intangible frontiers between subnational politics and external processes. The constant repetition of this mechanism throughout the transition creates distinct subnational polities. To test my hypothesis, I study three cases in central-northern Mexico: Guanajuato, San Luis Potosi and Zacatecas.
13
Greig, Lorne Cameron George. "Court politics and government in England 1509-1515." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 1996. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/1733/.
Abstract:
The aim of this thesis is to provide an overview of the period 1509-1515 in England, this being the first six years of the reign of Henry VIII. Within this timespan it is possible to witness the rise of Thomas Wolsey and also to examine the political situation before his ascendancy. Reaction to the new king will be examined on a number of fronts. His succession and the expectations placed on him will be looked at, expectations not only from his own people but also from those abroad. The highly visual natural of Henry VIII's court heightened this sense of expectancy and set the boundaries of the succeeding years. That group of men which attached itself to the king at work and play provides the starting point for this thesis. These were the middling courtiers, the men who sought favours and provided services. The desire for promotion at court provided a common bond for this diverse group. Young courtiers on the up, seasoned campaigners seeking rejuvenation and men of service, all sought promotion, through patronage, pedigree, personal ability or the grace of the king. Many men continued in positions of responsibility as held under Henry VII, creating a certain amount of continuity in administration. Edmund Dudley and Richard Empson felt the wrath of a monarch anxious to clear the air at the start of the reign and stamp his own brand of kingship on the court. Their associate Thomas Lovell continued and prospered under a king with no intention of embarking on a purge. William Compton rose from humble beginnings to become one of the king's closest confidants, recognised by many as the man to befriend. Opportunities were available for the ambitious courtier.
14
Pratchett, Lawrence. "The politics of new technologies in local government." Thesis, De Montfort University, 1997. http://hdl.handle.net/2086/4107.
15
Brydon, William. "Politics, government and society in Edinburgh, 1780-1833." Thesis, Bangor University, 1988. https://research.bangor.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/politics-government-and-society-in-edinburgh-17801833(c9331ddf-c99a-4f2f-9972-74b42eba0a8c).html.
Abstract:
The aim of this thesis is to analyse the development and impact of popular political consciousness in Edinburgh during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Particular attention is drawn to the growing political assertiveness of the middling orders in Edinburgh and to the threat which this posed both to the traditional political establishment in the city and to the established political constitution. The first section of the thesis examines some of the mechanisms by which popular political consciousness was nurtured and expressed. The structure, membership and influence of the myriad clubs and societies which flourished in Edinburgh are examined in Chapter Two. The role and influence of the press in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries are examined in Chapter Three. The second section of the thesis (Chapter Four) looks at the Town Council of Edinburgh, the lynchpin of government in the city. The third section of the thesis examines the impact which growing popular political consciousness had on the pattern of politics and government in Edinburgh. Chapter Five examines the municipal and parliamentary elections of 1780, in which disputes within the political establishment helped fuel growing politicisation out-of-doors. Chapter Six examines the radical Friends of the People reform movement of the 1790s and the reaction to it within the community. Chapter Seven discusses the origins and development of the Edinburgh Police Commission, which was set up in 1805. The role of the Commission is discussed in depth, as are the social and political themes which the controversies surrounding the Commission helped develop. Chapters Eight and Nine chart the course of reform in Edinburgh between the end of the Napoleonic Wars and the coming of the great reforms of the 1830s.
16
Freier, Ronny. "Incumbency, divided government, partisan politics and council size : Essays in local political economics." Doctoral thesis, Handelshögskolan i Stockholm, Institutionen för Nationalekonomi, 2011. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hhs:diva-2221.
Abstract:
This thesis comprises four empirical papers, each devoted to a specific topic in local political economics. Paper one and two evaluate the importance of the mayor position to the future electoral success of the mayor’s party. In the first paper, the focus is on the party’s electoral outcome in subsequent mayoral elections, while the second paper is concerned with the interdependencies between the mayor’s office and elections on other levels of government. The third paper investigates the causal effect of individual parties on policy in the context of German town council politics. The objective is to measure the impact of political representation in a proportional election system on core fiscal decisions of the municipalities. The final paper studies the specific concerns when using population thresholds in regression discontinuity designs for causal inference (in the German case). The analysis reviews the German evidence on the link between the size of the legislation and government spending.Diss. Stockholm : Stockholm School of Economics, 2011. Introduction together with 4 papers.
17
Sundet, Geir. "The politics of land in Tanzania." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1997. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:1f73c896-4495-4aa7-89c5-a7cbc69a44c4.
Abstract:
This is a study of the politics of public policy. It provides analysis of land policy and a study of policy making and of the Tanzanian state. Rather than deducing the state's agenda from its actions and the policies it produces, this thesis seeks to examine the interactions between the significant factions and personae of the Tanzanian political and administrative elites. This approach goes beyond identifying the divisions within the state between the Party leadership, the technocrats within the Government, and the Presidency. The thesis demonstrates how the ways in which conflicts are resolved, or deferred, and compromises are reached can lead to outcomes which do not necessarily constitute the sum of identifiable interests. In particular, a 'hidden level of government' is uncovered which consists of a technocratic elite which has, to a large extent, managed to depoliticise otherwise sensitive and controversial policy decisions and thus impose their stamp on policy outcomes. This approach to the analysis of rural land policies reveals the continuities in the state's approach to land issues. Since the colonial period, the objective of Tanzania's land policies has been to transform the countryside from the presumed inefficiencies of the 'traditional' modes of land use to fit the needs of a 'modern' and monetised economy. The modernising policies have provided the rationale for an authoritarian approach to land tenure and have been implemented by a centralised land administration. This thesis' historical analysis of the policies associated with the period of ujamaa and villagisation, and of the case studies of the 1983 Agricultural Policy and the 1995 National Land Policy, show that a modernising discourse and centralising administrative practices have remained at the centre of the policy agenda, despite dramatic changes in economic strategies and political institutions, and controversies over the future direction of land policies. The resulting land tenure regime relies on discretionary decision making by politicians and land officials and fails to provide workable procedures of checks and controls against malpractice. This study's detailed examination of the formulation of the National Land Policy reveals how a small elite of senior civil servants were able to hijack the policy making process and side-step political pressure for reform. They ignored, or appropriated selectively, the evidence and recommendations produced by comprehensive policy reviews, including the 1992 Presidential Commission of Inquiry, to maintain their direction of land policy while failing to address the evident shortcomings of the existing land policy regime.
18
Watson, Patrick Gordon. "The interface of (social) science with government and politics : An ethnography of political action." Thesis, University of Manchester, 2009. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.514429.
Abstract:
This dissertation explores the possibility of conducting an ethnography of political action through the detailed examination of politician's use of a specific political phenomenon: performance measurements. Performance Measurements are a combination of actuarial, managerial and social science assessments of which culminate, in the UK case, as a ranking of municipal performance, on each individual publicly (municipally) provided service as well as an overall ranking of local authorities in England. Using performance measurements as a departure point from which to explore the structures of politics more generally, I will illustrate how ethnomethodologically informed ethnography responds to Foucault's proposed examination of the arts and sciences of government in light of recent developments in politics and public policy in the Western world. Over the last thirty-or-so years, governments in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have been, nearly unanimously, incorporating what are considered business management techniques for monitoring and assessing public service provision. This ranges from various levels of government (central/federal, provincial/state/regional, municipal) and reforms have been implemented in a variety of ways. As a general description, it can be said that the advent of cost-benefit accounting combined with business management expectations and assorted social science techniques have furnished the assessment regimes with varying degrees of acceptance and success. At the same time, political scientists, management theorists, and social scientists, aware of this paradigm shift in the practice of governance, have been examining methods for approaching the phenomenon of the governmental actor. In a handful of cases (c.f. Gains, 2009; Yannow, 2006; Rhodes, 2005; Abram and Cowell, 2004) ethnographic approaches to the phenomenon of political action have been proposed, explored developed and implemented. However there is a great deal of deliberation on what might properly be said, ethnographically, about government activity, and the new field of ethnography of government or governance is struggling to come to terms with a mode a purpose. I will propose an ethnomethodologically informed ethnography of government can provide insights to what Foucault (1991) described as governmentality: the rational and practical features of government action. While Foucault proposed a historically informed examination of the discourses of government, I will suggest that an observationally informed inquiry garners knowledge on "rational action", as well as organisational rule usage, decision making practices and accountability structures or practices in a way that other forms of inquiry cannot achieve. In a time of flux in the structures and practices of governance, I will suggest that ethnomethodologically informed ethnography is one approach with rich insights towards the inquiry of these new governmental arrangements.
19
Telford, Hamish. "Federalism in multinational societies : Switzerland, Canada, and India in comparative perspective." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1999. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape10/PQDD_0016/NQ46433.pdf.
20
Çetin, Elif. "Political debates, policy objectives and outcomes in British and Italian immigration politics, 1997-2010." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2014. https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.708065.
21
Kalseth, Jorid. "Politics and resource use in local government service production." Doctoral thesis, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Department of Economics, 2003. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:no:ntnu:diva-184.
Abstract:
This thesis included five essays studying the performance of local governments in Norway. Four of the essays address variation in resource allocation and efficiency between the local governments, the fifth analyses variation in service level. The thesis has mainly an empirical orientation. One essay, presented in Chapter 4, provides a theoretical contribution to the study of efficiency variation in public sector service production. The empirical analyses concentrate on two spending components local government administration and long-term care. Chapter 2 and 3 study variation in the size of local government administration. Administration is a necessary input in both service provision and in the political decision-making process, and administrative spending competes with the welfare services for resources. The size of the administrative component determines the amount of resources available for the production of welfare services. Cost efficiency and service level within long-term care are the topics of Chapter 5 and 6 respectively. Long-tem care for elderly and disabled persons is, besides primary education, the major expenditure component of the municipalities.
Chapter 2 is reprinted with kind permission from Elsevier, sciencedirect.com
22
Fleming, David Anthony. "The government and politics of provincial Ireland, 1691-1761." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2006. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.439735.
23
Nazarahari, Reza. "Early Islamic politics and government in Nahj al-balaghah." Thesis, University of Kent, 1995. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.294321.
24
October, Lauren Sue. "Liberation movements as governments : understanding the ANC's quality of government." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/96657.
Abstract:
Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2015.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Liberation struggles and the way liberation movements are organised can leave a lasting impact on post-liberation societies. This research project was conducted in order to research liberation movements as governments and how the quality of governance is affected in post-liberation societies when liberation movements become governments. The South African liberation movement is seen as having contributed to one of the most peaceful transitions of power on the African continent. However, the stigma surrounding liberation movements prompted a study of the South African liberation movement and to establish whether or not the ANC as ruling party has made a success of its governance of South Africa. This thesis uses South Africa as a case study to determine how quality of governance is affected when liberation movements become governments. This thesis focused on the lingering effects of the structure and organisation of liberation movements. It is thus an exploratory as well as descriptive study where the legacies of the South African liberation movement are investigated and where the ANC as a liberation movement is compared to the ANC as a ruling party. Using historical analysis to discover the structure and internal governance of the liberation movement, this thesis seeks to explain the legacies that still influence the ANC today after its transition from a liberation movement into a political party. To do this the thesis used the theoretical framework of quality of government taken from Rothstein and Teorell (2008), who define it as impartiality. These legacies of the South African liberation movement are believed to have had an impact on the quality of governance of the ANC as a ruling party in post-liberation South Africa. By researching the last twenty years of ANC rule in South Africa’s post-liberation society, this thesis investigated the impartiality of government institutions in order to evaluate the quality of governance in South Africa, and thereby to discover what happens to the quality of governance when liberation movements become governments. The findings of this thesis indicate three conclusions. First, the legacies of the South African liberation movement still have a great influence on the modus operandi, the structure and the goals of the ANC today. Second, these legacies have contributed to the decline of the impartiality of government institutions, in particular through the National Democratic Revolution (NDR) project and its cadre deployment strategy, where appointments are made without the consideration of the principle of impartiality. The legacies of the South African liberation movement have thus had a negative impact on the quality of the ANC’s governance. Finally, this thesis has found that in the case of South Africa, when the ANC as liberation movement took over as the ruling party in a post-liberation society, it negatively affected the quality of governance. Further research in this field is needed in order to compare these findings with other countries that have liberation histories so as to be able to generalise about other liberation movements and to improve the quality of governance in other countries.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Bevrydingstryde en die manier waarop bevrydingsbewegings georganiseer is kan 'n blywende impak op post-bevryding samelewings laat. Hierdie studie is uitgevoer om bevrydingsbewegings as regerings na te vors en ondersoek in te stel oor hoe die kwaliteit van staatsbestuur beïnvloed word in post-bevryding samelewings wanneer bevrydingsbewegings regerings word. Die Suid-Afrikaanse bevrydingsbeweging het bygedra tot een van die mees vreedsame oorgange van mag op die Afrika-kontinent. Die stigma rondom bevrydingsbewegings het egter gelei tot die implementering van 'n studie oor die Suid-Afrikaanse bevrydingsbeweging en of die ANC as regerende party wel 'n sukses van sy staatsbestuur van Suid-Afrika gemaak het. Hierdie tesis gebruik Suid-Afrika as 'n gevallestudie om te bepaal hoe die kwaliteit van bestuur beïnvloed word wanneer bevrydingsbewegings regerings word. Hierdie tesis is gefokus op die voortslepende gevolge van die struktuur en organisasie van bevrydingsbewegings. Dit is dus 'n verkennende asook beskrywende studie waar die nalatenskappe van die Suid-Afrikaanse bevrydingsbeweging ondersoek word en waar die ANC as 'n bevrydingsbeweging staan in vergelyking met die ANC as 'n regerende party. Die gebruik van historiese ontleding om die struktuur en interne bestuur van die bevrydingsbeweging te ontdek, is in hierdie tesis gebruik om die nalatenskappe, wat vandag nog ’n invloed het op die ANC selfs ná sy oorgang van 'n bevrydingsbeweging na 'n politieke party, te verduidelik. Om dit te kan doen het die tesis gebruik gemaak van Rothstein en Teorell (2008) se teoretiese raamwerk van die gehalte van bestuur wat gedefineer word as onpartydigheid. Hierdie nalatenskappe van die Suid-Afrikaanse bevrydingsbeweging het kwansuis 'n impak op die gehalte van die staatsbestuur van die ANC as 'n regerende party in 'n post-bevryding Suid-Afrika gehad. Deur navorsing te doen oor die laaste twintig jaar van die ANC-regering in Suid-Afrika se post-bevryding gemeenskap, ondersoek hierdie tesis die onpartydigheid van staatsinstellings om sodoende die gehalte van regering in Suid-Afrika te evalueer, en om daardeur te ontdek wat word van die kwaliteit van staatsbestuur wanneer bevrydingsbewegings regerings word. Die bevindings van hierdie studie dui aan op drie gevolgtrekkings. Eerstens, die nalatenskappe van die Suid-Afrikaanse bevrydingsbeweging het vandag nog 'n groot invloed op die modus operandi, die struktuur en die doelwitte van die ANC. Tweedens, hierdie nalatenskappe het bygedra tot die agteruitgang van die onpartydigheid van staatsinstellings, in die besonder as gevolg van die Nasionale Demokratiese Revolusie (NDR) projek en sy kaderontplooiing strategie waar aanstellings gemaak is sonder om die beginsel van onpartydigheid in ag te neem. Die nalatenskappe van die Suid-Afrikaanse bevrydingsbeweging het dus 'n negatiewe impak op die gehalte van die ANC se staatsbestuur. Laastens het hierdie tesis bevind dat in die geval van Suid-Afrika, toe die ANC as bevrydingsbeweging oorgeneem het as die regerende party in 'n post-bevryding samelewing, die gehalte van bestuur negatiewelik geaffekteer is. Verdere navorsing in hierdie gebied word benodig om hierdie bevindinge met ander lande wat ’n soortgelyke geskiedenis deel te vergelyk en om sodoende te veralgemeen oor ander bevrydingsbewegings en gevolglik die kwaliteit van bestuur in ander lande te verbeter.
25
Goodwin, Mark. "Education governance, politics and policy under New Labour." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2011. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/1771/.
Abstract:
This thesis investigates the political management of state schooling under New Labour from 1997-2010. The thesis considers and rejects two mainstream approaches to the analysis of New Labour‟s education strategy which characterise the New Labour education project as either a process of marketisation or as a symptom of a shift to a new governance through networks of diffused power. Instead, the thesis argues that the best general characterisation of New Labour‟s education strategy is as a centralising project which has increased the power and discretion of the core of the core executive over the education sector at the expense of alternative centres of power. The thesis proposes that the trajectory of education policy under New Labour is congruent with a broader strategy for the modification of the British state which sought to enhance administrative efficiency and governing competence. Changes to education strategies can then be explained as the result of changing social and economic contexts filtered through the governing projects of strategic political actors. The thesis argues that New Labour‟s education strategy was largely successful in terms of securing governing competence and altering power relations and behaviour in the sector despite continuing controversy over the programmatic and political performance of its education policies.
26
Nikolenyi, Csaba. "Party politics in a non-western democracy : a test of competing theories of party system change, government formation and government stability in India." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2000. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp02/NQ48684.pdf.
27
BIRNIE, Rutger Steven. "The ethics and politics of deportation in Europe." Doctoral thesis, European University Institute, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/61307.
Abstract:
Defence date: 19 February 2019Examining Board: Professor Rainer Bauböck, European University Institute (Supervisor); Professor Matthew Gibney, University of Oxford; Professor Iseult Honohan, University College Dublin; Professor Jennifer Welsh, McGill University (formerly European University Institute)
This thesis explores key empirical and normative questions prompted by deportation policies and practices in the contemporary European context. The core empirical research question the thesis seeks to address is: what explains the shape of deportation regimes in European liberal democracies? The core normative research question is: how should we evaluate these deportation regimes morally? The two parts of the thesis address each of these questions in turn. To explain contemporary European deportation regimes, the four chapters of the first part of the thesis investigate them from a historical and multilevel perspective. (“Expulsion Old and New”) starts by comparing contemporary deportation practices to earlier forms of forced removal such as criminal banishment, political exile, poor law expulsion, and collective expulsions on a religious or ethnic basis, highlighting how contemporary deportation echoes some of the purposes of these earlier forms of expulsion. (“Divergences in Deportation”) looks at some major differences between European countries in how, and how much, deportation is used as a policy instrument today, concluding that they can be roughly grouped into four regime types, namely lenient, selective, symbolically strict and coercively strict. The next two chapters investigate how non-national levels of government are involved in shaping deportation in the European context. (“Europeanising Expulsion”) traces how the institutions of the European Union have come to both restrain and facilitate or incentivise member states’ deportation practices in fundamental ways. (“Localities of Belonging”) describes how provincial and municipal governments are increasingly assertive in frustrating deportations, effectively shielding individuals or entire categories of people from the reach of national deportation efforts, while in other cases local governments pressure the national level into instigating deportation proceedings against unwanted residents. The chapters argue that such efforts on both the supranational and local levels must be explained with reference to supranational and local conceptions of membership that are part of a multilevel citizenship structure yet can, and often do, come apart from the national conception of belonging. The second part of the thesis addresses the second research question by discussing the normative issues deportation gives rise to. (“Deportability, Domicile and the Human Right to Stay”) argues that a moral and legal status of non-deportability should be extended beyond citizenship to all those who have established effective domicile, or long-term and permanent residence, in the national territory. (“Deportation without Domination?”) argues that deportation can and should be applied in a way that does not dominate those it subjects by ensuring its non-arbitrary application through a limiting of executive discretion and by establishing proportionality testing in deportation procedures. (“Resisting Unjust Deportation”) investigates what can and should be done in the face of unjust national deportation regimes, proposing that a normative framework for morally justified antideportation resistance must start by differentiating between the various individual and institutional agents of resistance before specifying how their right or duty to resist a particular deportation depends on motivational, epistemic and relational conditions.
28
Escobar, Barbra Bastidas. "Militarization of Venezuelan politics under Hugo Chávez's government 1999-2003." FIU Digital Commons, 2004. http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/2309.
Abstract:
Since President Hugo Chávez Frias came to power in 1999, the Venezuelan political space has become militarized. The study focused on examining how and why the military entered into the traditional civilian space in Venezuela and militarized the political system. The purpose of this thesis was to analyze the participation of the Venezuelan military in state affairs, the reasons why this institution became such an active political actor, and how this process evolved over the last five years.
Findings revealed that the Venezuelan military became involved in national politics through a series of prerogatives granted by the government of Hugo Chávez. These military prerogatives were granted in key state areas such as the cabinet, legislature and police/intelligence. Also, by using the Rational Choice Model it could be examined of why President Chávez, as the purposive actor, made the choice of militarizing Venezuelan politics. This was a value-maximizing alternative among a set of other alternatives to accomplish Chávez's major political goals.
29
Henry, Ian P. D. "The politics of leisure and leisure policy in local government." Thesis, Loughborough University, 1987. https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/28329.
Abstract:
The period since 1974, when major reorganisation led to the development of new local government structures in most parts of England and Wales, has seen the growing politicization of local government activities, and the emergence of leisure policy as a significant concern for local authorities. This thesis examines the implications of party poll tics at the local level for leisure policy by reviewing expenditure on leisure by all English local authorities and by undertaking a case study of the development of leisure policy in a Metropolitan District.
30
Begum, Shahinoor. "The role of government and politics in fostering financial systems." Thesis, University of Leicester, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/2381/10168.
Abstract:
State ownership in banking has received considerable coverage in the academic literature. However, there are a very few recognised case studies of state ownership of banks in developed countries. This thesis explores how bank ownership structure affects capital allocation efficiency within developed countries. This paper uses a new dataset comprises of 306 large private and public banks in 35 major developed and emerging markets in the 1990’s to provide a bank-level empirical analysis on government ownership of banks. This study focuses on bank lending pattern during election years to determine political influence on government owned banks amongst both developed economies and emerging markets. By utilizing annual data on both fixed effect and dynamic panel estimation techniques, evidence suggests that during election years government owned banks increase their lending compared to private banks in developed economies which contradicts findings from previous study. Key macroeconomic variables have been used to check for robustness of the results.
31
Opoku, Darko Kwabena. "The politics of government-business relations in Ghana, 1982-2000." Thesis, SOAS, University of London, 2005. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.416780.
32
Robinson, Nick. "Major government, minor change : the politics of transport, 1990-1997." Thesis, University of Warwick, 1998. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/4311/.
Abstract:
This thesis looks at the politics of transport in the Major era, arguing that transport has emerged as an issue of high political salience in the 1990s. In this period transport, and most particularly the motor car, increasingly came to be blamed for a combination of economic and environmental problems including rising congestion, noise, land-use impacts and a deterioration of air quality and traffic safety standards. The primary. aim of this thesis is to explain these developments and their effects by utilising agenda setting theory. This thesis argues that the operation of the agenda setting dynamic in the transport case illustrates aspects of a number of models of agenda setting. It looks at the role of actors, problems, external events and non-decision making and argues that, in part, they all make a useful contribution to the study of political change in the Major era. However, it also argues that different models of agenda setting apply in different circumstances and that a model which may provide a useful explanation of situation A may provide a less satisfactory explanation of situation B. The explanation for this is that transport is a multi-faceted issue which affects mobility, the environment, and economic development as well as issues of lifestyle and personal freedom; the priorities which central government attaches to transport policy outcomes reflect this diversity. These different aspects of the transport issue are affected by different agenda setting processes, depending on the extent to which they challenge the dominant policy imperatives of the state. For example, in a situation in which the policy imperatives of the state are threatened, the agenda setting process will be highly constrained and proponents of change, will find it very difficult, if not impossible, to alter the agenda. In such a case, the models of non-decision making will be an important, often the dominant, explanation of the agenda setting process. Overall, this study argues that the transport agenda setting process operates in, and is constrained by, a policy making environment which is dominated by the policy imperatives of the state.
33
Cockett, Richard Bernard. "The government, the press and politics in Britain 1937-1945." Thesis, Royal Holloway, University of London, 1988. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.363469.
34
Knox, Colin Gerard. "Local government leisure services : planning and politics in N. Ireland." Thesis, Queen's University Belfast, 1989. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.335979.
35
Choi, Young-Chool. "Privatisation of local government services : the politics of transaction cost." Thesis, University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, 1998. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.242380.
36
Pattie, Charles J. "Policy and politics in local government : Sheffield in the 1980s." Thesis, University of Sheffield, 1988. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.385616.
37
Williamson, P. "The formation of the National Government : British politics 1929-1931." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 1987. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.382332.
38
Cornell, Stephen. "Processes of Native Nationhood: The Indigenous Politics of Self-Government." UNIV WESTERN ONTARIO, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/621710.
Abstract:
Over the last three decades, Indigenous peoples in the CANZUS countries (Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States) have been reclaiming self-government as an Indigenous right and practice. In the process, they have been asserting various forms of Indigenous nationhood. This article argues that this development involves a common set of activities on the part of Indigenous peoples: (1) identifying as a nation or a people (determining who the appropriate collective "self " is in self-determination and self-government); (2) organizing as a political body (not just as a corporate holder of assets); and (3) acting on behalf of Indigenous goals (asserting and exercising practical decision-making power and responsibility, even in cases where central governments deny recognition). The article compares these activities in the four countries and argues that, while contexts and circumstances differ, the Indigenous politics of self-government show striking commonalities across the four. Among those commonalities: it is a positional as opposed to a distributional politics; while not ignoring individual welfare, it measures success in terms of collective power; and it focuses less on what central governments are willing to do in the way of recognition and rights than on what Indigenous nations or communities can do for themselves.
39
Corbett, Colin. "The 'politics of metropolitan power', Local Government and the 'politics of support' in Scotland, 1979-1997." Thesis, University of Warwick, 2003. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/56933/.
Abstract:
This thesis analyses the Conservative Party's electoral demise in Scotland from 1979 to 1997. This subject has already been extensively explored elsewhere. However, whilst acknowledging the validity and importance of what might be described as the canon of traditional reasons given for the Party's problems north of the border, this thesis identifies and explains the importance of a previously undervalued dynamic in the Scottish party political process. The central argument of this thesis is that the role of local party politics in Scotland has a significant impact on General Elections. The hypothesis under consideration is whether the Conservative Party found it particularly difficult to recover in General Elections subsequent to notable losses in levels of Local Government representation north of the border. Thus, the more qualitative aspects ofthis thesis establish why this might have been the case. This extra aspect of the party political system in Scotland is developed through a series of studies that analyse primary and secondary sources and the results of an elite and Local Councillor interview programme. These studies assess what Conservative Governments in London were hoping to achieve with their policies, how Local Government in Scotland reacted and what effect these dynamics had on the electorate north of the border. After a case study on Stirling that examines how the matters in hand impacted upon a specific community, the Conclusion is then informed by a study of General and Local Government Election results from across the whole of the UK from 1979-1991. This thesis is not a comparative study of Local Government in Scotland and England. However, as the results in Chapter 1 demonstrate, the Conservatives did seem to find it much more difficult to recover from Local Government representation losses in subsequent General Elections north of the border. This suggests that the variable under consideration is a significant addition to the canon of reasons for their electoral demise in Scotland.
40
Dunn, Elizabeth Margaret. "Women's issues and politics : getting the childcare issue onto a municipal political agenda." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 1991. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/30544.
Abstract:
This thesis examines women's issues and the political agenda. Several factors affect the likelihood of a women's issue getting onto the formal political agenda of government (municipal, provincial, and federal). The nature of the issue (the degree to which it challenges the status quo) affects the political outcome: those issues which have fit into current and historical legislative patterns (such as welfare state guidelines) have been more successful. A patriarchal family ideology places limitations on the proper role of women: women have held primary responsibility for the care of children and family. Women's labour force participation creates parameters for government involvement in issues such as childcare. The lobbying and organizational skills of the political actors involved are prerequisites for gaining access to government decision-makers. While the entry of women into the political arena has not insured the entry of women's issues onto the political agenda, female politicians have been especially important in bringing women's issues forward for debate and action. However, government bureaucracy has often been a barrier in the implementation of legislation concerning women's issues.
I present a case study of a particular women's issue (childcare) at the municipal level of government. Five locations are examined in the Greater Vancouver area, using a combination of qualitative methods (personal interviews) and quantitative research
techniques (government statistics, official documents, and reports from a variety of community organizations). In spite of the steadily increasing labour force participation of women in all locations, the response of local governments to the childcare issue has varied greatly — childcare is on Vancouver's political agenda but not that of the four district municipalities examined. Vancouver's involvement has been more comprehensive and longterm (more childcare spaces, an involved Social Planning Department, two task forces, a Children's Advocate, and buildings and sites for childcare purposes). The response of municipal councils continues to reflect patriarchal notions of the family (where childcare is a private, family responsibility). Alternatively, Vancouver council has recognized a permanent restructuring of the family and the ongoing involvement of the larger community in childcare. At the same time, the lobbying approach of Vancouver childcare advocates has followed long established patterns concerning childcare and governments -- the argument has been based on child welfare, not the rights or welfare of women.Arts, Faculty of
Sociology, Department of
Graduate
41
Jhappan, Carol R. (Carol Radha). "The language of empowerment : symbolic politics and Indian political discourse in Canada." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 1990. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/30656.
Abstract:
The question of how subordinated groups in democratic states set about shifting their political relationship with their encompassing societies has received little attention among political scientists in Canada. Groups which lack significant political, legal, and economic resources, and which are stigmatized by an inferior status (reinforced by law and policy) do not enjoy the level playing field predicted by pluralist interest group theory. Yet they are sometimes able to overcome these obstacles and to renegotiate their political and legal status. The question is how some groups are able to do this, and what strategies are available to or obligatory for groups wishing to initiate political bargaining.
According to the theory of symbolic politics developed here, disadvantaged minorities seeking political benefits from the state will typically conduct politics at the symbolic level. That is, they tend to invoke a range of political symbols and myths: first, to build in-group solidarity by presenting an analysis of a common past and present, as well as a vision of the future society, and thereby legitimate their political aspirations.
In the first stage of minority politicization, such groups must: (a) build a sense of community of interests and goals which can be said to represent the reference group as a whole; (b) reverse the stigmatic identity ascribed to them by the dominant society; and (c) find ways of competing with the dominant society, not on the latter's terms, but on alternative ideological grounds. In the second stage of politicization, minorities must: (a) create appropriate demands; (b) learn to use the mechanisms, methods and institutions of the mainstream political process; and (c) eventually routinize conflict by negotiating stable norms to guide on-going relations with government.
Subordinated groups do not normally seek purely material benefits. They usually seek symbolic benefits in the form of rights, and a redefined status within society. Thus, much of their politicking is conducted in public, and is largely devoted to capturing public sympathy which can be used as a resource against government. The political myths and symbols employed are characteristically emotive and imprecise. Political goals are presented in symbolic terms, and are advanced at the level of principle rather than substance.
When applied to the case of Native Indian politics in the Canadian context, the evidence confirms the accuracy of these hypotheses. Indians have pursued the symbolic strategies predicted by the model: the essence of their political aspirations has been captured in the symbols of aboriginal title/aboriginal rights, land claims, and ultimately, self-government; at the macro level, they have sought predominantly symbolic benefits, as represented by legislative and constitutional recognition of certain rights and privileges; and they have attempted to win public support to use as a bargaining chip vis-a-vis government. However, they have not been entirely successful in their use of the symbolic strategies outlined, and the evidence suggests that they have reached a public opinion impasse. Despite their efforts, public opinion on native and native issues has remained remarkably stable over the last twenty years, so that further effort in this area is likely to bring diminishing returns. In the end, symbolic politics, while necessary for subordinated groups in their fledgling stages of politicization, must eventually give way to more conventional political methodologies as groups become institutionalized in the mainstream political process.Arts, Faculty of
Political Science, Department of
Graduate
42
Fohrig, Alberto. "The origins and consequences of factions in Argentine provincial politics." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2011. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.711632.
43
張逸峯 and Yat-fung Cheung. "Modernization and rural politics in Hong Kong." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2004. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B27772718.
44
Madsen, Steven K. "Precinct Government in Salt Lake County, Utah 1852-1904." BYU ScholarsArchive, 1986. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/4897.
Abstract:
This thesis traces the origin, development, and decline, from 1852 to 1904, of Salt Lake County's judicial precincts. A precinct functioned as the basic subdivision of county government. Its boundaries were generally coterminous with those of local communities. It was established to allow for a degree of local control by the people.Chapter two reveals that precinct justices experienced over time a marked decline in socio-political prominence. This is largely due to legislative statutes that decreased their jurisdictional powers. Chapter three examines the evolution of precinct boundaries. It is demonstrated that geographic distribution of individuals played a major role in the growth and eventual consolidation of community precincts. The relative availability of government services also fostered the development of county districts. Chapter four studies the role of the minor precinct officials in local government--constables, estray poundkeepers, and fenceviewers. The last chapter devotes attention to the factors that influenced the institution. The appendix lists the county's justices of the peace from 1852 to 1904.
45
Jones, Benjamin. "Local-level politics in Uganda : institutional landscapes at the margins of the state." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 2005. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/662/.
Abstract:
Uganda has been considered one of Africa's few "success stories" over the past decade, an example of how a country can be transformed through a committed state bureaucracy. The thesis questions this view by looking at the experiences of development and change in a subparish in eastern Uganda. From this more local-level perspective, the thesis discusses the weakness of the state in the countryside, and incorporates the importance of religious and customary institutions. In place of a narrow view of politics, focused on reforms and policies coming from above, which rarely reach rural areas in a consistent or predictable way, the thesis describes political developments within a rural community. The thesis rests on two premises. First, that the state in rural Uganda has been too weak to support an effective bureaucratic presence in the countryside. Second, that politics at the local-level is an "open-ended" business, better understood through investigating a range of institutional spaces and activities, rather than a particular set of actions, or a single bureaucracy. Oledai sub-parish, which provides the empirical material for the thesis, was far removed from the idea of state-sponsored success described in the literature. Villagers had to contend with a history of violence, with recent impoverishment, and with the reality that the rural economy was unimportant in maintaining the structures of the government system. The thesis shows that the marginalisation of the countryside came at a time when central and local government structures had become increasingly reliant on funding from abroad. Aside from the analysing the weakness of the state bureaucracy, the thesis goes on to discuss broader changes in the life of the sub-parish, including the impact of a violent insurgency in the late 1980s. The thesis also looks at the role of churches and burial societies, institutions which have been largely ignored by the literature on political developments in Uganda. Religious and customary institutions, as well as the village court, provided spaces where political goals, such as settling disputes, building a career, or acquiring wealth, could be pursued.
46
Cooper, Ian David. "Parties, factions and votes : a comparative study of electoral politics in post-colonial Namibia." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2013. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:41d3105a-4d05-4604-9944-75b34de64e26.
Abstract:
Since Africa’s ‘second liberation’ from authoritarianism at the beginning of the 1990s, political parties have assumed a critically important role in the processes by which social interests are articulated, institutions are legitimised and conflicts are managed. Many authors question the extent to which these organisations recognise the intrinsic value of free political competition, personal liberty, political accountability and social inclusion, although relatively few studies have attempted a comprehensive exploration of either party or voter behaviour. This research project represents a hypothesis-building case study of Namibia and addresses three areas of concern. First, it builds upon existing party system research to demonstrate that Namibia’s opposition vote is characterised by acute volatility and attributes this phenomenon to weak parties, salient ethnic identities and a permissive electoral system, all of which serve to encourage party fragmentation. Second, it investigates the more proximate causes of party fragmentation and concludes that leadership succession contests tend, in Namibia, to trigger splinter group formation either when factional support has been mobilised around a divisive issue or when defeated contenders are coerced into submission. Third, it explores the nature and drivers of dominant-party motivation, challenging an assumption that ruling elites are primarily interested in gangster-style theft and demonstrating that Namibia’s governing party has pursued, not only a formally legitimate path to wealth accumulation, but also a set of progressive social policies designed to empower its support base. Finally, it argues that Namibia’s opposition parties are not primarily motivated by a desire to secure ministerial office through election or co-optation, as the literature would suggest, but by a determination to capture the salaries, party income and media opportunities associated with parliamentary office. Each of these four arguments is tested through comparative analysis, using secondary literature, of Namibia, South Africa and Botswana.
47
Poata-Smith, E. S. Te Ahu, and n/a. "The political economy of Maori protest politics, 1968-1995 : a Marxist analysis of the roots of Maori oppression and the politics of resistance." University of Otago. Department of Political Studies, 2002. http://adt.otago.ac.nz./public/adt-NZDU20070508.153703.
Abstract:
This thesis provides a Marxist analysis of the political economy of contemporary Maori protest politics in the years from 1968 to 1995. It is argued that Maori protest politics embraces a range of competing political ideologies, which are informed by different assumptions about the causes of Maori inequality in wider society, and in turn, different sets of strategies for ameliorating and transcending that inequality.
Overall, the thesis has two central concerns: firstly, it identifies the critical economic, political and ideological conditions and context that have allowed particular competing political ideologies and strategies to dominate contemporary Maori protest politics. This involves a particular focus on understanding and explaining the rise of identity politics and cultural nationalism as the dominant political strategy within Maori protest politics. This involves a particular focus on understanding and explaining the rise of identity politics and cultural nationalism as the dominant political strategy within Maori protest politics. Secondly, the thesis critically assesses the effectiveness of contemporary Maori struggles against racism and oppression on the basis of whether they involve, or are likely to contribute towards, the transformation of the generative structures that give rise to manifest inequalities between Maori and non-Maori. It is argued that the systematic alienation of land and the inequality that exists between Maori and non-Maori are not simply the result of the underlying cultural values of individual non-Maori but are rather the result of the historical process of capitalist development in Aotearoa and the economic, political and ideological requirements necessary for the generalised commodification of indigenous labour-power.
The thesis explores how the politics and practice of Maori protest has been shaped and influenced to a large extent by the underlying social, economic, political and ideological forces of global capitalism. It is argued that the international collapse of the long boom, the global upturn in class struggle and the emergence of the New Left internationally from the late 1960s had an enormous influence on the political direction of Maori protest in the New Zealand context. The success of the working class offensive and the growing political influence of rank and file Maori workers ensured that Maori protest groups formed part of the progressive social movements of the time. Indeed, although some were explicitly nationalist in their orientation, these movements were consciously part of the Left.
The balance of political forces within the Maori protest movement changed considerably during the late 1970s and early 1980s with the rise of the New Right as a political force internationally together with the rise of employer militancy, the defeat and demoralization of the working class movement internationally, the decline of the social movements and the absence of mass struggle. This had important implications for the influence of the various ideological factions that co-existed uneasily in the Maori political milieu from the early 1970s onwards. The downturn in militant mass struggle saw the rise in the influence of identity politics as cultural nationalist strategies came to dominate Maori protest politics, representing a fundamental retreat from Left-wing ideas. In practice this entailed a rejection of the class politics and mass struggle that had informed the politics and strategies of Maori protest groups from the late 1960s, and its replacement with a politics of cross-class alliances and a personal rejection of �Pakeha society�. In practice this was a recipe for passivity and divisiveness within the Maori protest movement itself.
The politics of cultural nationalism left Maori ill-equipped to resist the ruling class counter-offensive and the anti-working class policies that successive governments introduced to restore the conditions for profitable capital accumulation. In particular, the rejection of a class analysis of Maori inequality in capitalist society has undermined the capacity of working class Maori to resist the neo-liberal agenda and a Treaty of Waitangi settlement process that has resulted in a substantial shift in resources to those sections of Maori society already wealthy and powerful. Although the settlement process represented an important concession by the state, it has never compensated for the anti-working class policies of governments since 1984, which have widened the social and economic inequalities in New Zealand society. In this way, the emphasis on cultural identity alone as the determining factor in Maori oppression has been counter-productive for working class Maori as successive governments shifted the costs of the economic crisis on to the weakest sections of the community.
As New Zealand entered a new period of economic and social crisis in the 1990s, the commercial interests of Maori tribal executives, Maori corporate enterprises, and the Maori bureaucracy were clearly at odds with the material interests of the vast majority of working class Maori families. This fundamental conflict in class interests was to set the scene for a revival of militancy on scale not seen since the 1970s.
48
Gould, Derek Bruce. "Improving policymaking in the Government Secretariat." Thesis, Click to view the E-thesis via HKUTO, 1990. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record/B31963778.
49
SABA, RAUL PHILLIP. "POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT AND DEMOCRACY IN PERU: CONTINUITY WITHIN CHANGE AND CRISIS (BELAUNDE, VELASCO, MORALES-BERMUDEZ, COMPARATIVE POLITICS)." Diss., The University of Arizona, 1985. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/188128.
Abstract:
This study examines the development of Peruvian politics and government from 1962 to 1985. It describes the programs and policies of the interim military junta (1962-63), the Velasco (1968-75) and Morales Bermudez (1975-80) phases of the Armed Forces Revolution, and the two Belaunde administrations (1963-68, 80-85) and posits a basic commonality of goals and continuity of reforms despite differences in policy orientation and emphasis. The study begins with a contextual discussion of the ideological underpinnings of contemporary Peruvian political reform, establishing linkages to the revolutionary thought of Gonzalez Prada, Mariategui, and Haya de la Torre, as well as to the more moderate reformist positions of Víctor Andres Belaunde, Bustamante y Rivero, and Basadre. Continuing with an in-depth historical analysis of the period under study, the contextual discussion demonstrates the underlying continuities of political reform in the programs and goals of the several regimes. The focus of the study then shifts to an analysis of the reformist and democratic evolution of the Peruvian polity. It analyzes the central government's budgets according to administrative, social, and economic categories. The analysis demonstrates all the governments since 1962 pursued generally common reformist policies and none reversed the progressive trend set. An analysis of Peruvian foreign policy reorientations vis-a-vis the United States, the Socialist bloc, and the Third World shows that the progressive changes and reforms begun under one administration continued to evolve and crystalize under the policies of succeeding governments. The point is highlighted by an analysis of Peru's voting pattern in the United Nations General Assembly, where divergence with U.S. policy became greater with each change in government after 1963. Finally, in looking to overall political development as political modernization and institutionalization, the analysis shows that Peru has undergone progressive and incremental changes heightening political awareness and participation and thus strengthening its potential for political democracy and social development. Each government since 1962 made substantial, if varying, contributions to the increase of political legitimacy and stability within the polity. In sum, a continuum of political development prevailed.
50
Pellegata, A. "Government Alternation and its Implications on Democratic Performance." Doctoral thesis, Università degli Studi di Milano, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/2434/170243.
Abstract:
The thesis deals with the concept of government alternation and its potential implications. The purpose of the thesis is twofold. On one side it gives an appropriate definition of the concept of alternation both in theoretical and empirical terms. On the other side the thesis aims at testing empirically the effects of government alternation on two important dimensions of democratic performance: accountability and responsiveness. Government alternation, enhancing the degree of competitiveness of political systems, strengthens the relation of accountability between voters and their representatives and makes governments responsive to voters preferences. The concept of alternation is analysed according to two fundamental dimensions: the possibility of alternation, determined by the political-institutional setting of countries, and its empirical occurrence. The present work distinguishes among three different types of alternation: partisan, ideological and complete ideological alternation. Accountability is operationalized with the capacity of states to control political corruption, whereas responsiveness is defined by the levels of ideological congruence among the median voter, the median legislator and the government. Empirical results show that the possibility of alternation has no effects on democratic performance, whereas its empirical occurrence, especially in the ideological dimension, plays a positive and significant role