Electoral geographers are mostly concerned with mapping the responses of voters to different political candidates, while they also work to explain the factors that influence those responses. Yet most studies do not consider how different geographic contexts can affect the political perceptions of voters. In particular, people who live in close proximity to one another may come to embrace similar beliefs and values, while broader social and economic processes may divide these individuals into separate camps. Thus, electoral studies performed at the local level may produce different results than those done at the regional or national level. In exploring how different scales of analysis can give different interpretations of voting patterns, this research gathered data from a series of elections that took place in Virginia. These elections, which occurred between 2003 and 2006, span a variety of federal and state offices, with each presiding over a certain geographic jurisdiction. The study proceeded to map the results of each election in terms of three different types of geographic areas: precincts, counties, and legislative districts. The maps displayed the majority winners within each of these areas, giving a rough indication of the bases of support for each of the different candidates. The study then determined the number of instances where two neighboring areas both favored the same candidate, as well as the number of cases where they voted for opposing candidates. These data helped to shed light on the autocorrelation structure of voting patterns in Virginia, revealing how people in the same general vicinity tend to vote together. Overall, the results of this study demonstrate that smaller geographic units (e.g., precincts) exhibit greater autocorrelation in voting than do larger areas. This observation agrees with the concept of sectionalism, which asserts that location and culture are key influences on voting behavior. However, the data also suggest that class differences are a major source of electoral cleavage, as people from different social and economic backgrounds tend to settle in different areas. The use of multiple scales of analysis thus presents multiple explanations for the voting trend of a given location. / Master of Science

This dissertation addresses generalized trust in Post-Communist Europe. I examine trust stressing two sets of factors: the impact of attitudes associated with cleavages coming out of transition to democracy, and the importance of informal interpersonal association over more formal, structured forms of association. I argue that the classic list of cleavages suggested by Lipset and Rokkan (1967) have less importance to trust since those cleavages developed under the communist one-party state and were therefore less connected to the party system. As a result, these classic cleavages did not have the same mobilization functions as they did in Western Europe. Instead, I argue that cleavages that have developed out of the transition to democracy and a free-market economic system bear greater importance to trust. I further argue that due to the experience of forced group association during the communist era, and lingering distaste for formal political participation, the familiar Western models of the benefits of social engagement underestimate the importance of informal association in the post-communist states. Informal association was a key component of survival during the communist era and continues to be a valuable means of conferring information and forming political judgments. The first contribution this dissertation makes is that it brings together theories of political cleavages with theories of trust and social capital development. The dissertation bridges the gap between societal divisions and the position of the individual within these divisions. A second contribution of the dissertation is the testing of established theories of formal social engagement in post-communist states. The secretive nature of association during the communist era differs greatly from the open nature of association in the West. Theories of trust and social capital development must take this fact into account when exploring post-communist states.

This paper explores how religious elites affect public opinion through focusing on the role of the pope, by asking the question if the publication of a papal encyclical can influence attitudes about religion. Using the Unexpected Event during Survey Design, this paper connects data from the European Social Survey 7 to investigate if respondents' answers about their attitudes towards religion changed, due to the publication of a papal encyclical. Situating itself in the theory of elite cues, the object of this research is to show that religion is an important influence in the shaping of attitudes and that the pope, as an example of a religious elite, is a relevant actor in shaping opinions across Europe. This research finds that the publication of the encyclical does not make a significant difference in attitudes among individuals, however there is an increase in level of religiosity, primarily for countries with strong pre-existing attachments towards religion.

First chapters of the final thesis "are paid to brief introduction of the cleavages theory and the possibility of its use in partial system of Czech Republic. Following chapters analyze the origination and development of Green Parties in Western Europe, while greater attention is paid to history of Green Party in Czech Republic, its ideological and political alignment. The content analysis attempts to prove the cleavages theory of Czech Green Party after 2005 and compare it with cleavages of western European Green Parties. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

This thesis considers the education of children of immigrants in Finland, focusing on attainment and transitions around the age of 16. It is the first detailed representative study on the topic in Finland. Compared to international research it is amongst the ones to most fully explore the different aspects of education around this age. For the most part, it is limited to studying structural explanations for differences between students and ethnic groups. The majority of the analyses in the thesis are done using register data. Statistical modelling of this data is done using multivariate regression analyses. The results are supplemented with evidence from interviews with both majority students and children of immigrants. With regards to school achievement at the end of comprehensive school, many immigrant-origin groups are seen to have lower average grades than the majority. However, this is explained by lower parental resources. After controlling for parental resources, very few disadvantages remain. On the other hand, the gender gap evident amongst the majority is not found amongst many immigrant-origin groups. Looking at continuation to upper secondary education compared to dropping out, most children of immigrants are seen to have a higher probability of dropping out than the majority. This is explained by their lower school achievement and higher parental non-employment. Nevertheless, the difference between children of immigrants and the majority remains evident at the very low end of the achievement scale. Considering the choice of upper secondary school type, children of immigrants can be seen to be more likely than the majority to continue to vocational school. Yet, after controlling for prior school achievement and parental resources, almost all immigrant-origin groups are more likely than the majority to continue to general rather than vocational school. Interviews suggest that when considering their school choices, majority students tend to be driven by their interests and see their decision making as being independent of others. On the other hand, children of immigrants tend to have more specific future plans and to take the wishes of their parents more into consideration.

Ce travail étudie la réaction des grands partis de gouvernement face au développement d’un clivage entre Écologie et Productivisme dans les démocraties occidentales. Pour ce faire, il croise la théorie des clivages et les théories de la compétition sur enjeux. L’hypothèse centrale de ce travail voudrait que ces partis neutralisent le nouveau clivage, en refusant d’accorder leur attention aux enjeux qui le constituent, en les cadrant de manière générale et liée aux clivages historiques et en prenant des positions qui n’impliquent pas le conflit avec leurs adversaires. L’opérationnalisation empirique de cette recherche combine la comparaison et les méthodes mixtes. Elle permet de montrer que les grands partis de gouvernement s’avèrent pour l’essentiel incapables de mener à bien leur stratégie de neutralisation : l’attention accordée au thème environnemental dans leurs programmes s’est accrue et ils ont dû mettre en avant de nouveaux enjeux environnementaux. La seule manière à travers laquelle ces partis parviennent à neutraliser le nouveau clivage consiste à adopter des positions qui n’impliquent pas le conflit. Toutefois, plusieurs facteurs expliquent les variations des réactions partisanes : l’agenda de l’environnement, la gravité du problème écologique, le positionnement sur l’axe gauche-Droite et les divisions internes. D’autres éléments ont un effet limité : les conditions économiques, la position institutionnelle du parti et la menace posée par les concurrents écologistes. Que les facteurs sociaux et environnementaux aient plus d’influence que les facteurs propres à la compétition politique rend d’autant plus pertinente une approche centrée sur les clivages. / This thesis studies how mainstream parties have reacted to a new cleavage dividing Environmentalism and Productivism in advanced industrial democracies. To do so, it associates cleavage theory and issue competition theories. The central hypothesis of this research is that mainstream parties should neutralize the new cleavage, by granting little attention to the diverse environmental issues that form the new cleavage, by framing those issues in relation to the historical cleavages on which they are funded, and by taking positions that imply no direct conflict with their opponents. The research design rests on comparison and mixed methods. The study concludes that big governing parties mostly fail to follow their ideal strategy. Their attention to the environmental theme has grown considerably over the last four decades, and they have had to deal with numerous new environmental issues that have no connection to the old cleavages. The only way these parties have been able to prevent the expansion of conflict is by taking consensual positions on those issues. Yet, many factors explain variations in parties’ reactions: the environmental agenda in the media and in social movements, the severity of environmental degradation, the left-Right position of parties and internal divisions. Other variables have limited effect: the macroeconomic situation, incumbency, and, more surprisingly, the threat posed by green party challengers do not seem to affect big governing parties’ politicization of the environment. The fact that social and environmental factors matter more than explanations based on party competition’s internal dynamics upholds a cleavage-Based approach.

This research examines how Turkish newspapers approached the Armenian terrorism which emerged in the years between 1973 and 1984 as the third wave since the late 19th century. The Armenian terrorist organizations officially emerged in 1975 in order to show the world their rightfulness in terms of the so-called Armenian genocide, assassinating Turkish diplomats, including ambassadors and their families, in a planned and systematic fashion within these 11 years. These terrorist activities accelerated from time to time. Along with the accelerated Armenian terror, domestic terrorism and political disorder were the other developments in Turkey. Within the context of such difficulties, the extent of Armenian terrorist activities and the changes in the politically varied Turkish newspapers&#039 / regarding Armenian terrorism within these 11 years are examined thoroughly.

Growing economic inequality and cultural heterogeneity has brought increased attention to the issue of 'unity in diversity', that is, the state of being joined together or being in agreement in the presence of actual and perceived differences among people. Despite the growing interest in 'politics in divided societies', many political-sociological aspects of this issue remain largely unexplored. At the heart of this thesis lies an interest in explaining how social forces shape political preferences regarding the tension between unity and diversity in contemporary democracies. More specifically, this research seeks to understand how social (and identity-based) cleavages affect public responses to the idea of solidarity-based welfare provision and the reconciliation of increased ethnic diversity with national unity (including the functioning of the welfare state). Drawing on the institutionalist view that pre-existing policy creates mass politics (policy feedback effect), the study also investigates whether institutional structures condition the association between social forces and political attitudes. Although several chapters put particular emphasis on policy feedback effects (e.g., Chapters 2, 3, and 5), they are still within the general scope of this thesis, that is, the 'social embeddedness of political attitudes'. The thesis consists of two parts: the first assesses the explanatory power of socioeconomic status and social policy structures in predicting public attitudes toward income inequality, redistribution, and taxation policies (Chapters 2 to 4), and the second examines how differences in occupational status and national identity result in differences in reactions to welfare chauvinism and multiculturalism (Chapters 5 and 6). Taken together, the findings of this study underscore the importance of social cleavages, identity, and institutional structures in explaining why and under what conditions people are more likely to sacrifice part of their private interest or particularistic identity for the common good or the general welfare of all individuals in a community, in a situation of growing economic inequality and increased cultural plurality.

Cette thèse de doctorat étudie les évolutions électorales et partisanes qui se sont produites en France depuis les années 1980, en avançant l'hypothèse d'une rupture lors des élections de 2007. L'analyse du changement électoral s'opère à travers le prisme de la théorie des réalignements et de la théorie de clivages. Ces théories permettent d'articuler les changements de moyen terme, qui relèvent d'une redéfinition du contenu de l'affrontement politique et les changements de long terme, qui renvoient aux mutations de la société et aux grandes lignes de fracture qui la traversent. Pour comprendre le sens d'une élection, il est nécessaire de la replacer dans son enchaînement historique, afin de prendre en compte le chemin de dépendance dans lequel elle s'inscrit ou avec lequel elle rompt. A ce titre, cette thèse souligne l'importance de la périodisation pour rendre plus intelligible la complexité de la vie politique et différencier le changement « spectaculaire » du changement « fondamental ».A partir de la mise en évidence d'un ordre électoral qui s'est cristallisé en 1984, ce travail de thèse analyse les éléments de remise en cause de cet ordre en 2007, en étudiant les résultats électoraux et des données d'enquêtes. La rupture de 2007 ne découle pas d'un choc extérieur au système politique, mais de la stratégie de droitisation de Nicolas Sarkozy, qui débouche sur un rapprochement des électorats de l'UMP et du FN. Depuis 2007, l'ordre électoral ne s'est pas rétabli malgré le redressement du FN. La « révolution Sarkozy » de 2007 n'a pas été effacée, en raison de la poursuite de la radicalisation de l'UMP, tandis que le centre demeure isolé et que la gauche se retrouve dans une impasse, après être revenue au pouvoir. Le désordre observé depuis 2007, avec une forte volatilité électorale et le développement de nouveaux enjeux, correspond à une nouvelle phase de réalignement à l'issue encore incertaine. / This doctoral thesis studies partisan and electoral evolutions in France since the 1980s. The main hypothesis is that the 2007 elections represent a moment of rupture. Analysis of electoral change relies on realignment theory and cleavage theory. These theories help to articulate medium-term changes, which result from a reshaping of the political competition and long term changes, which stem from evolutions of society and of its main lines of division. An election, in order to be understood, needs to be replaced in a historical perspective, taking into account the path dependence in which it stands or from which it departs. This PhD thesis stresses the importance of periodization for making sense of the complexity of political phenomena, while distinguishing ‘spectacular' change from ‘fundamental' change.Using electoral results and survey data, we first analyze the electoral order instituted in 1984, and second, we explore the features which mark its collapse in 2007. We show that the rupture of 2007 does not result from an external shock, but rather from Nicolas Sarkozy's ‘race to the right' political strategy which put the FN and UMP electorates closer together. Since 2007, the old electoral order has not been reestablished, despite the recovery of the FN. The ‘Sarkozy revolution' of 2007 has not been erased because of the continuing radicalization of the UMP, while the centre is isolated and the left is in disarray following its comeback to power. The disorder observed since 2007, characterized by a high electoral volatility and the rise of new issues, represents a new realignment era with an uncertain future.

The master thesis "Development of the Czech party system between 2010-2013" focuses on an analysis of the state of the Czech party system with an emphasis on political developments over the past few years as well as the last two Czech Parliamentary elections in 2010 and 2013. The results of the elections deviate from the long term developments in the country since the 1990s and the fall of the communist regime. The goal of this work is to define phases which capture the essential developments of the Czech party system and what trends it currently demonstrates using quantitative methods which will help us to calculate things such as the index of the effective number of parties in the party system. The main question that this work will try to answer is whether or not we can consider the Czech party system to be consolidated.