The aim of the study is to assess the potential for the development of political volunteering among young people. The main research methods were document analysis, expert interviews, questionnaires, and observation included. In the process of research, data on the classifications and specifics of volunteer activities were systematized, the functions of political volunteering were determined; analyzed the legal regulation of the political participation of citizens; the concept of determining the potential of political volunteering is formulated, a methodology of sociological research aimed at determining the potential of political volunteering is developed and implemented. The result of the work was the development of a number of recommendations and measures for the development of political volunteering in the Sverdlovsk region and in the Russian Federation. The recommendations are addressed to state and municipal government bodies, as well as to organizations-operators of political volunteering. / Цель исследования – оценка потенциала развития политического волонтерства в молодежной среде. Основными методами исследования являлись анализ документов, экспертное интервью, анкетирование, включенное наблюдение. В процессе исследований были систематизированы данные о классификациях и специфике волонтерской деятельности, определены функции политического волонтерства; проанализировано нормативно-правовое регулирование политического участия граждан; сформулирована концепция определения потенциала политического волонтерства, разработана и реализована методика социологического исследования, направленного на определение потенциала политического волонтерства. Результатом работы стала разработка ряда рекомендаций и мероприятий по развитию политическое волонтерства в Свердловской области и в Российской Федерации. Рекомендации адресованы органам государственного и муниципального управления, а также организациям-операторам политического волонтерства.

Cette thèse traite de la formation progressive, à partir des années 1990, d’un tissu associatif dédié à l’eau potable et de la manière dont cette « nébuleuse bleue » contribue à la régulation du secteur. Elle analyse comment des usagers, ayant expérimenté un problème vis à vis du secteur de l’eau, se rassemblent en publics au sens de Dewey (1927) pour mener une enquête sociale à son propos. Ces individus s’indignent, s’engagent et acquièrent des connaissances et des compétences relatives à la gestion du service. Ils exercent, dans des registres à la fois critiques et contributifs, une régulation qui leur est propre et que nous qualifions de civique. Cette régulation civique est constituée de trois composantes complémentaires : la politisation de l’eau qui permet de maintenir une attention publique sur le sujet, l’exercice d’une vigilance sur les responsables du secteur, et la participation dans et hors des arènes prévues à cet effet. Cette régulation civique, qui s’exerce souvent en conflit avec les élus et les opérateurs, va agir sur le secteur de l’eau comme un contre-pouvoir démocratique au sens de Rosanvallon (2006) / This thesis focuses on the progressive creation of a “blue nebula”, an associative network dedicated to drinking water, and how it contributes to the regulation of its sector. It analyses how water users facing a problem gather in publics, as understood by Dewey (1927), in order to lead a social investigation. Those local activists express indignation, commit and proceed to the acquisition of knowledge and competencies for the service management. They exercise their own form of regulation, referred to now on as civic regulation. It consists of two faces, one being corrective and the other projective, and is composed of three complementary components: the politicisation which enables them to keep public attention on drinking water, the use of vigilance over the sector stakeholders, and civic participation. This civic regulation in the field of water management often expresses itself through conflict with local decision-makers and water operators, and can be conceived as a democratic counter-power (Rosanvallon, 2006).

The recent growth of social media and other internet technologies is believed to diminish the control of political elites over information flows and enable citizens to be active participants of political processes. Practice shows, however, that this general tendency acquires different forms in different geopolitical contexts. This master thesis intends to investigate how social media are used for the purposes of daily communication of political opposition in Belarus, where dominant traditional media channels are monopolized by the government. The analysis involves mixed approach methodology, which combines content analysis of Facebook posts of Belarusian opposition representatives and qualitative interviews with them. The research articulates an important role of social media in Belarus as one of a few mediums where opposition politicians can exist without pervasive control of authorities. However, the results show that the presence of opposition on social media doesn't necessarily increase their chances to gain political weight or activates civic participation in the country. The effectiveness of their communication is to a large extent predefined by social and political environment in the country. A practical implication of the study is that potentially effective directions for political communication of Belarusian opposition have been outlined.

The aim of the thesis is to study personal identity development of the participants who move from active civic engagement within the civil society to active political participation within the political sphere at the reginal level. The thesis focuses on personal identity and the method of its construction through life stories. The theoretical part of the thesis deals with terms such as civic engagement, political participation and concepts based on narative identity. The second part contains a research methodology. Specifically is presented which presents the narrative approach with the use of narrative interview as a research method. The third part is based on deals with the research itself. The research works with a specific case based on political and socio-historical context of the city of Usti nad Labem. The data is obtained in the form of narrative interviews with local policiticians. The results of the research have shown that there are three different ways in which the actors are self- presenting their identity in relation to the environment. It was the identity of the politician, the identity of the activist / active citizen and the identity of the politician joined with the identity of the activist. Personal identity has completely changed in the case of one person, one person has changed...

This thesis analyses selected program documents of the Czech Pirate Party for the period 2009- 2017 in terms of content of its themes. Specifically, these are the Statute and all election programs created at that time. The aim of the thesis is to determine whether the program development of the Czech Pirate Party occurred during the monitored period. From a methodological point of view, this is a content analysis supplemented by a comparative method. The thesis is based on the characteristic of the theoretical concept of the niche party, which will be presented in the first, theoretical part of thesis. The second part of the thesis takes a closer look at methodology. The third and at the same time the most comprehensive part deals with the introduction of pirate parties and the Czech Pirate Party, the actual content analysis of selected program documents and the subsequent comparison.

How to invite men? Project Patron - the case study of engaging men in the areas of civic, public and private life which needs their deeper participation Abstract The support of engagement of men in the areas of civic, private and public life which showing the lack of their involvement becomes a topic in the last decade on the level of EU and some national states. But there is just little social research focused on the practical ways how to support the engagement of men in these areas. This paper offers the view from perspective of the studies of civil society - which is especially focused on the motivations to volunteering - combined with the perspective of the studies of men and masculinities. The core of this paper is a case study of the project Patron in which the adult men creates friendly-based relationships with the young men from the institutional care and help them to manage the leaving of this care to the "real life". The aim of this research is analyze the motivation of these men which leads to their participation on this project - mainly in the relations to the experience of manhood and masculinity. This paper offers the basic findings in the form of assumptions which can be used in the following social research and also as the practical inspiration for projects and organisations which want to...

In this research, the “Smart City-edifice” of Lisbon has been examined through qualitative field work carried out in the city. The concept of the Smart City- edifice has been designed by the author in an attempt to grasp the ambiguous Smart City ambition as an assemblage of (i) specific techniques incorporated into the urban environment (ii) the modes of governance which these techniques allow for, particularly real time data collection & (iii) issues of city branding, placemaking and urban, Smart regeneration. The highlighted empirical material has been produced in collaboration with interlocutors from three different projects, and relate to the three different facets of the Smart Cityedifice: A developer of a gamification scheme (e-governance), a sustainable neighbourhood project (Tech-driven sustainability and governance/civic participation) and lastly a creative hub (branding, creativity & regeneration). These facets are being examined in the context of Lisbon, a city which has gone through a re-formulation of urban agendas in the capitalist restructuring of the economy in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. The post-crisis strategy in Lisbon is interpreted as a sort of “attraction hysteria” (Anttiroiko, 2014), as much effort has been placed on attracting global capital and tourism, incentivised not least by a liberalized, profitable housing market. This attraction hysteria is understood by the author as producing specific implications for the development of the Smart Cityedifice. Main findings include the hinderances that said politics have produced for ambitions of civic participation and other democratic visions of the Smart City. These findings are understood in the light of the Lefebvrian framework of the “right to the city” and critical understandings of the touristified city. The field work itself has been guided by two key research questions, these being: a) How are Smart City narratives being operationalized locally by actors in Lisbon? B) What possible tensions could arise between Smart aims of global urban competitiveness and aims of civic participation, in the context of Lisbon?

People in society with high levels of generalized social trust and political trust are more likely to engage in civic activism and participation. Therefore, people involved in social and political groups will likely have higher levels of generalized social and political trust than the general public. What lacks in this realm of scholarship is a solid comparison of trust among people involved in social and political groups. This case-study analysis of generalized social trust and political trust among social and political groups shows the trust that is not only generated within each group, but also which types of groups are more effective at developing citizens that participate in society. Using a researcher-designed survey instrument, two social groups and two political groups have been evaluated and compared to demonstrate members' propensity to trust others in society and those in political office at all levels of government. Sample size is 115 respondents. Among other demographic data analyzed and compared to a larger population data set in the World Values Survey, six hypotheses have been tested. Typical analysis shows demographic data or group membership as the independent variable with trust values acting as the dependent variable. Graphic and cross-tabular data show that social groups recorded higher levels of political trust than political groups. This is probably due to the ideological leanings of the political groups. Political groups showed higher levels of generalized social trust than social groups. Political group members probably feel that their actions are benefiting the greater good. Additionally, participation variables showed that not only are political group members more interested in politics than social group members, but they also have higher levels of registering to vote and to participate in the voting process. They are probably seeking to make significant change in the political system through their actions. The research conducted does not seek to provide a comprehensive analysis of trust among members of social and political groups. However, it is intended to promote the analysis of trust among people in society that have a predisposition to trust as they have shown through the act of participating in a social or political group. As foci for the development of trust, analysis of social and political groups provides a shortcut for scholars interested in the development and proliferation of trust in society. This research provides analysis of four case-study groups at one point in time. Further research using larger sample sizes and time-series analysis could advance trust analysis among social and political groups.

The object of the research is civil participation of the population in the activities of local self-government bodies. The purpose of the work is to develop recommendations for enhancing civil participation of the population in the activities of local self-government bodies of the Nevyansk city district. The main methods of research were statistical methods, methods of theoretical analysis and resource planning, document analysis, questionnaire method, interviewing method, project management method. During execution of the qualification work was theoretical and legal aspects of participation of citizens in activities of local governments, the analysis of the participation of citizens in activities of local self-government in Nevyansk urban district based on which recommendations were developed to enhance social participation in the activities of local authorities. Because the recommendations are non-commercial in nature, no economic effect was predicted. As a result of the implementation of the recommended measures, a significant increase in the level of participation of the population in the activities of local self-government bodies of the Nevyansk city district is expected. / Объектом исследования гражданское участие населения в деятельности органов местного самоуправления. Цель выпускной квалификационной работы – разработка рекомендаций по активизации гражданского участия населения в деятельности органов местного самоуправления Невьянского городского округа. Основными методами проведения исследования стали статистические методы, методы теоретического анализа и ресурсного планирования, анализ документов, метод анкетирования, метод интервьюирования, метод проектного управления. В процессе выполнения выпускной квалификационной работы были исследованы теоретические и правовые аспекты участия граждан в деятельности органов местного самоуправления, выполнен анализ участия граждан в деятельности органов местного самоуправления в Невьянском городском округе, на основе чего разработаны рекомендации по активизации социального участия населения в деятельности органов местного самоуправления. В связи с тем, что рекомендации носят некоммерческий характер, прогнозирования экономического эффекта не производилось. В результате осуществления рекомендуемых мер ожидается существенное повышение уровня участия населения в деятельности органов местного самоуправления Невьянского городского округа.

This dissertation studies a critical facet of Chinese politics, inspections by higher Chinese government to villages. Principally, it looks at how village economic development determines government inspection decisions and how inspections, once conducted, impact village politics. Specifically, I argue that villages perceived as destabilizing to the Chinese regime, villages with higher levels of economic inequality and villages located at the two extremes of economic development, should see more inspections. In addition, I argue that inspections, in return, drive village politics: they increase village leaders' governing efficacy and raise villagers' political awareness. This theory has received strong support from both field work and quantitative empirical tests using the Chinese Household Income Project (2002) dataset.