Abstract Why do Political Parties emerge? – A Study of "Sjukvårdspartiet i Värmland" Political Science, Johan Utter The political parties have important roles to play in contemporary society. They act as bearers of power and presents the voters with finished packages of ideas on how society should grow, develop and change. Political parties are essential to the survival and wellbeing of representative democracy. Many theories have been developed over the years concerning matters related to political parties, but one area of research remains largely unexplored, namely the topic on why political parties do emerge in the first place. Why do some individuals become creators of political parties? Since this is a weak theoretical field an attempt will be made to contibute to the understanding concerning what makes new political parties emerge. This is done by relating previous contributors theories to the results obtained from a case study undertaken on the emergence of "Sjukvårdspartiet i Värmland", a political party risen from a protest-movement concerning the preservation of the local hospital in Kristinehamn. By testing this case against earlier research a foundation will be created and from which new ideas about political parties can be generated. By interviewing the creator of the political party "Sjukvårdspartiet i Värmland" an attempt is made to reveal the incentives which led to the party formation. These results are then compared to the causal mechanisms proposed by earlier research. The purpose is to analyze if theories from earlier research is able to explain the emergence of "Sjukvårdspartiet i Värmland". The results show that party formations are cryptic political phenomena, which needs larger and more developed theoretical constructions before the question "Why do political parties emerge?" can be properly answered.

The well-known outcome of the 1988 federal election – a Conservative Party majority in Parliament and an effective “yes” to the question of whether or not the Free Trade Agreement between Canada and the United States was desired – tends to obscure the importance of the process by which a large non-party based opposition movement sought to cultivate and organize the public’s understanding of the election’s central premise. While the opposition movement failed to have Prime Minister Brian Mulroney removed from power, the discursive process that the movement both created and was the driving force behind, is key to understanding the historical context of the debate over free trade itself. This thesis will illustrate that there existed a discursive process amongst the efforts of the anti-free trade movement from 1985-1988 to cultivate, organize, and mobilize public opposition to Mulroney’s neo-liberal economic policies, through re-framing those objections into a larger and more deeply-rooted Canadian historical narrative. A discourse analysis was conducted using the various public education materials produced by major anti-free trade civil society organizations in Canada. The examination of that discourse revealed three major stages in the overall process: First, organizations relied heavily on classic paradigms of an anti-continentalist narrative to reinforce what was different between the two countries creating an us and them paradigm and building a case for Canadian exceptionalism. Second, there was an intensification of the us and them language into a more defined us versus them, or them against us, dichotomy. Third, the anti-free trade movement sought to effectively translate the previously established civic opposition into pragmatic political action in preparation for a national election campaign. The results show that there was an evolution in the ways members of the civil society opposition framed and evolved their arguments in order to turn their “issues” into more of a “crisis.” By employing (and expanding on) discursive tools used within that public narrative to generate fear of the other to validate illusions of self, and to construct believable threats to the collective, the more “micro” discussion over the growing pervasiveness of neo-liberalism took on a hyper-nationalistic and symbolic routine, one that mirrored the iconic political and electoral debates in 1891 and 1911, both of which had also been based upon the potential for free trade with the United States. Most of all, the evidence points to a popular opposition movement against free trade, which not only significantly pre-dated the official political opposition, but in some respects created its message and focus.

Diploma thesis "The Interest Group the Union of Cities, Towns and Communities of the Czech Republic in the Process of Public Policy in the Czech Republic" is a deeper analysis of one of the important interest groups associating cities, towns and communities in the Czech public space, the Union of Cities, Towns and Communities of the Czech Republic. Activities of the Union and its contribution to the Czech public policy are in depth analyzed against a background of social movements and the theory of interest groups. The Union is assessed from the perspective of its history, types of interest groups and resources it manages (namely the membership base, financial means and means of public policy lobbying). The analysis indicates that the negative image that lobbying has in the Czech Republic needs not necessarily be fair. As an organization addressing peer groups, yet defending public interests due to the fact that the Union's members are as a part of public administration municipalities, the Union advocates those things that finally bring positive effects to lives of all citizens in the Czech Republic. In relation to challenges the Union currently faces the thesis covers also a case study of emergence of Sdružení místních samospráv. This Association of Local Governments that pursuant to the amended...

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Dans un contexte d’intérêt croissant pour le véganisme en Occident, cette recherche exploratoire se propose de brosser le portrait des acteurs collectifs du mouvement végane québécois. Loin d’être une pratique individuelle seulement, le véganisme est porté, au Québec, par différents groupes (groupes de base, organisations à but non lucratif et organismes de charité) qui défendent aussi bien les droits des animaux que la nécessité de se tourner vers une alimentation végétale pour la santé et l’environnement. À l’aide d’une analyse de réseaux, nous définirons, sur le plan organisationnel, la configuration du mouvement et ses frontières, montrant la présence d’une structure fragmentée. La recherche se proposera par la suite de cerner les éléments constitutifs de l’identité collective du mouvement, qui repose sur une idée revendiquée plus ou moins frontalement : l’abolition de l’exploitation animale. Cette identité s’incarne dans des actions diverses, non violentes et la plupart du temps légales, qui ciblent tant la culture dominante, c’est-à-dire la consommation normalisée de produits animaux, que les sphères politiques et juridiques, malgré l’absence relative du mouvement dans l’arène politique conventionnelle. / In the context of growing interest in veganism and animal advocacy in Western countries, the research focuses on the current vegan movement in Quebec. Far from being only an individual-level practice, veganism in Quebec is led by collective actors such as grassroots groups, non-profit organizations and charities. These organizations both advocate for animal rights and promote a plant-based diet for health and environmental reasons. We will define the movement’s structure and boundaries at an organizational level, using network analysis, and showing a fragmented structure. The research will then assess some constituent parts of the movement’s collective identity, centered around abolishing animal exploitation. This collective identity is embodied in various non-violent and often legal actions targeting dominant culture (i.e., the normalized consumption of animal products) and the legal and political spheres. Yet, the movement is still relatively absent on the conventional political scene.

This thesis addresses indigenous groups agency in trade governance to enhance their ability to affect international decision-making that benefits their capability to sustainable development. It conducts a case study of Articulation of Indigenous People Brazil (APIB) in the EU-Mercosur Agreement and utilizes Eimers (2020) theory of subaltern social movement theory to establish: what strategies the APIB have used in the decision-making processes of the “Mercosur Agreement?  This theory allows consideration of indigenous agency and the effect of post-colonial structures on their capability to keep control over their realties. To collect data on this topic the author uses qualitative semi-structured interviews and qualitative thematic text analysis. The thesis finds that framing strategies of claims enabled alliance-building in Brazil and Transnational Advocacy Coalitions, which used international norms to enhance indigenous interests. However, has post-colonial structures hindered APIB´s ability to enhance interest in Brazil and silenced indigenous interests in governmental representation in the making of the EU-Mercosur.

The work deals with the phenomenon of so called watchdog organizations. The increasing number and influence of these organizations indicates a creation of new social movement. The authoress defines them as a type of public benefit nongovernmental organizations focused on the controlling of the public sphere or advocating and asserting a "public interest" in relation to the democratization of society. The authoress target is to understand this type of action, so she asks herself the question: Which frameworks are used by watchdog activists for the interpretation of their acting? At first there is briefly presented the concept of watchdog in the context of wider reflections of contemporary society, mainly in the context of reflexive modernity, monitory and participatory democracy and information society. Secondly there is introduced Goffman's framework analysis and the related conceptualization of framework of social movements by Benford and Snow. The authoress highlights a definition of frames as the principles of selection, emphasis and presentation about what happens, and what matters. In the next part of this work, there are presented the methodology and results of the qualitative research based on semi-structured interviews with watchdog activists. The research is settled in the area of...

Cycling advocacy has taken a form of a popular worldwide social movement in the beginning of the 21st century. Cyclists demand not only improved conditions for cycling, but also a reform in the way the city is being run in order to be "livable" and saturated with "quality public spaces". This dissertation attempts to put the phenomenon in the context of the theory of risk society and it attempts to incorporate impulses from the theoretical tradition of ANT. The cycling controversy is being read as a re-invention of politics in urban arenas. What is political about the bicycle? More than it may seem. The bicycle has endured a long trajectory of political appropriation by various groups in order to arrive at a point where it began to be conceived as the default starting point of the critique of automobility and Western modernity. As a consequence the bicycle emerges as a loaded political symbol that is being appropriated by cycling advocates in order to problematize the alienated city colonized by cars, appropriated by business interests and neglected by the political representation. The bicycle is being reinvented as a symbol of urban revolution. This dissertation introduces the results of an empirical research undertaken between June 2013 and April 2015 that maps the shape of the cycling controversy in...

The phenomenon surrounding news media’s power to alter group identity and group cohesion is something that rarely a point of focus in communication studies. In this study I worked with a local social movement group called Stockton Stands with Minneapolis. This group illustrated the importance of maintaining shared values. Utilizing relational Interviewing, SSWM members provided evidence showing the connection between news media and group success. News media has had a role in shaping group members’ understanding of SSWM and activism. SSWM has faced internal conflict as a result of negative news representation. SSWM is a relatively small and young (2 ½ years) group when compared to more established groups and movements (such as black lives matter and #MeToo), the impact of losing any amount of membership to news representation is important and deserves attention. Therefore, in this paper I argue researchers must go beyond the conventional protest paradigm and media effects research that has commonly only examined the impact of the outgroup. There is a need for a new area of focus within media effects and activist representation, one that examines the impact of news media through multiple lenses of analysis. I argue this area would benefit from incorporating theories and concepts across the communications studies discipline. Utilizing research from the fields of media effects, interpersonal communication, and organizational communication can bring new insights to already existing understandings of activism and activist success. To help lead the charge into this new area of focus; I introduce a new paradigm and research approach called social movement splintering.

This thesis project is an act of solidarity research with the Berlin based Latin American women’s organization Xochicuicatl. Along the idea that research should be based on the interests and needs of oppressed groups, the research design was developed in cooperation with the organization. The study centers on migration movements between Latin America and the Caribbean and Germany. Moreover, it investigates the dynamics of inner-outer interplay between the organization the beneficiaries and the overall migrant group. The main method isa qualitative content analysis of documents out of the organization’s archive. The organization’s response to transformations is thereby analyzed through action within invited (coping) and invented (resistance) spaces of citizenship. In this regard, the organization’s space is understoodas a subaltern counterpublic which enables a connection between coping and resistance.