The purpose of this thesis is to study the relationship between prevalence of swing voters and the occurrence of political protest. Taking a Rational Choice approach, I hypothesize that fewer swing voters will lead to more protests, because it would incentivize polarizing behavior by political candidates. The hypothesis is tested using protest data from US congressional districts during six months of 2020 as the dependent variable, and the concept of voter elasticity as the main independent variable in a multiple regression analysis, along with various control variables. The results tentatively indicate that the hypothesis is correct, but exhibit high levels of uncertainty, highlighting potential for future research.

Changes in persons of parties to civil proceedings in contentious civil proceedings Abstract The subject of thesis' research are changes, which can occur in persons of parties to civil proceedings in contentious civil proceedings. The main focus is therefore naturally concentrated on contentious civil proceedings, nevertheless, there are some passages about uncontentious civil proceedings incorporated into the theses. The reason why is that both proceedings belong to the same category of civil proceedings, original proceedings. They show in certain ways the same features, but it is necessary to clearly define and distinguish them because of their different purpose. The thesis' aim is to entirely cover changes in persons of parties to civil proceedings in contentious civil proceedings. Because of that there is an effective law arrangement described and critically evaluated in thesis, there are also some defects and suggested legislative changes de lege ferenda pointed out. The other subject of research is also case-law of domestic courts related to this issue. On the one hand, there is pointed out in some places on its conclucions, on the other hand, the case-law conclusions are sometimes subjects of criticism. Because the theses is mainly related to parties to civil proceedings, the first part of thesis...

The case of the Ultras’ mobilisation and their subsequent demobilisation in the Egyptian revolutionary and post-revolutionary context raises the question of the relationship between the notion of contention and repression, which are questions that are at the centre of debates in the literature. Based on a thorough analysis of the Ultras groups’ collective actions, this dissertation aims at understanding the mobilisation and demobilisation mechanisms at play in revolutionary and post-revolutionary Egypt. Inspired by the literature of contentious collective action and the sociology of sport in various national contexts, we aim at answering the following question: how and in what ways did the Ultras adapt their tools and spaces of mobilisation to avoid state repression? This further prompted the question of the Ultras’ impact on the making of spaces of contention and the general capacity of football fandom to encourage mobilisation. The generalised context of surveillance and control encouraged the development of alternative means and spaces to avoid state repression. Among these alternatives means and spaces, were the stadium, as well as the Ultras’ street art and songs. By investing and (re)possessing these spaces, we show that the Ultras were able to transform a space into an area of conflict and contestation. In other words, these alternative means and spaces can be seen as a way for them to break away from the shackles of social and institutional norms to oppose the general “paradigm of depression, control and normalisation of apathy”. The return to authoritarianism and the coming to power of General Abdel Fattah al Sisi (since June 2013), however, drastically impacted on collective action, as the various groups witnessed the progressive destruction of the spaces of protest and memorialisation that had been developing since the onset of the uprisings. In this regard, we investigate the issue of the demobilisation of the Ultras groups and progressive effacement of spaces of contention. Looking back on the events of the 2011 uprisings and the subsequent 2013 uprisings against president Morsi and regime response, we establish that the general disappearance of protest is linked to the banalisation of violence, which instilled this idea that brutality was commonplace, almost inconsequential because a part of Egyptians’ daily lives. We conclude the dissertation by reflecting on the delocalisation of dissent through the collective act of remembrance. Indeed, the new laws on social media suggest additional efforts from the regime to contain and control political dissent, further contributing to the expansion of the concept of “tentacular state”. In this regard, the acts of remembrance can be understood as a way for the social actors to redefine their repertoires of collective action. Through the digitisation and subsequent dissemination of narratives, photos, videos and sounds, social actors such as the Ultras repossess new spaces of dissent and resistance beyond their physical borders. Ultimately, the power of digitisation and collective acts of remembrance lies in their capacity and potential to stimulate dissent, thus securing political effects. / Doctorat en Sciences politiques et sociales / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Thesis advisor: Julia Chuang / In China’s overheating housing market, citizen grievances over “unfinished housing” (lanweilou) have become widespread. In lanweilou cases, developers presell housing units in high-rise apartments, initiate construction, then abscond without completing construction and renovation of these housing units. This paper documents the rise of a new social media-driven mode of mobilization now popular among homeowners of lanweilou housing. Based on ethnography and interviews with aggrieved homeowners in a southwestern Chinese city, this thesis argues that social media enables homeowners to report their grievances to a wider audience while providing diverse information about their cases for them to refine mobilizational targets. By combining authentic storytelling with self-censorship, homeowners can transform public attention in media channels into state intervention. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2021. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Departmental Honors. / Discipline: Sociology.

This dissertation explores the potential for community benefits agreements (CBAs) to serve as instruments towards a more democratic approach to situating urban redevelopment projects into residential neighborhoods. To aid my analysis, I utilize the lens of democratic political theory to describe their most intractable shortcomings as well as prescribe reforms that can better enable them to bridge the oftentimes conflicting ends of economic growth and social justice. Moreover, I consider the conditions that are most favorable for residents to maximize their bargaining power against developers and the conditions where developers are least likely to negotiate with the locals. Drawing from a range of sources including interviews, audio recordings, documents, and investigative reporting, I illustrate their common failings by using three case studies of CBAs from major American cities. I find that the most recurring problem facing CBAs is their susceptibility to co- option by powerful political and economic elites who manage to subvert them into devices for private gain. Up to this point, municipalities have been largely reluctant to regulate them, and this lack of regulation has led to agreements being shaped more by informal networks of powerful interests rather than the wants and needs of everyday residents. This informality leading up to an agreement is a major contributing factor to their failings. Thus, in the absence of a structure that actively promotes inclusive and transparent procedures leading up to the forging of an agreement, residents lack the power to meaningfully influence its terms and conditions. This observation leads critics to contend that their vulnerability to elite influence should force us to rethink, and ultimately abandon CBAs as reliable instruments for popular control over the built environment. However, I argue that this conclusion is misguided; given their proliferation across American cities and increasing salience in land-use debates, a more effective alternative is to find institutional designs that curb the excesses of such projects while also making them more responsive to local concerns. If policy makers, activists, and residents are going to continue to look to CBAs to extract concessionary gains from developers, then it is crucial to devise safeguards that effectively minimize opportunities for abuse while also enhancing residential voice in shaping the resulting agreement. / Political Science

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The attempt of this diploma thesis is to introduce the reader various types of civil procedure. The civil procedure is one of the types of justice besides criminal, administrative and institutional justice. The civil procedure represents the united process, which is internally differentiated. This differentiation is the result of historical development, when the original function of the civil procedure access additional features. The purpose of the civil procedure is not only to provide protection to endangered rights. Another function is to protect the rights against threat. Finally, there is the function of execution and reinsurance. The purpose of this thesis is to provide a comprehensive overview of the various types of civil procedure, their characteristics, common features and differences. The content of this thesis are various types of civil procedure and it is divided into three parts. The first part deals with the civil procedure in general and it's history. The second part, as the main part of the diploma thesis, focuses on characteristics of each types of civil procedure. First there is described civil trial proceedings, which is divided into contentious and non-contentious proceedings. The purpose of civil trial proceedings is to protect the violated or threatened rights or regulation...

Depending on the political environment, economic, cultural and social factors, the digital era provides new opportunities and constraints for mobilization of social movements.The current research was focused on exploring how protest leaders and activists used and perceived social media as a tool for communication and organization during the movement “take a step, #RejectSerzh”; a series of peaceful, anti-governmental protests which led to a shift of governmental power in Armenia. Prior work dedicated to unpacking the relationship between social movements and social media have focused on a few empirical cases. Hence, a case study of a yet underexplored social movement can add to this strand of literature. The methodological approach displayed in this study follows a mixed-method model. Interviews with activists of the movement “take a step, #RejectSerzh” and content analysis of official social media accounts of leaders of the movement “take a step, #RejectSerzh” were expected to provide a diverse perspective on social media tactics during the movement. The results implied that social media were perceived as one of the main contributors to the fulfilment of objectives of the movement “take a step, #RejectSerzh” in multiple ways: social media allowed for fast communication, decentralized organization, testimony of the non-violent nature of the movement, as well as validation of the movement through transparency of action (most importantly, in real-time). There was a strong indication that live video broadcasting function on Facebook was generally perceived as a tool with more capacities for contentious politics. Meanwhile, the results suggest that the movement “take a step, #RejectSerzh” could be perceived as a continuity of previous social movements, the negative experience gained from which curbed the overall tactics of the movement, rather than a result of immediate grievances. Nonetheless, the role of human emotions, such as fear, hope and will, was at the centre of interpretations of how the activists experienced the movement.

« Les philosophes analytiques de l'art et les artistes conceptuels ont en commun de refuser la théorisation et la recherche du beau comme idée ou norme, pour poser à la place une définition de l'art comme fonction symbolique toujours à décrypter à partir d'elle-même et de son langage propre, sans lui appliquer une essence a priori » explique Dominique Chateau (esthéticien français, né en 1948). En d’autres termes, il s’agit de l'esthétique issue de l'empirisme logique et du pragmatisme. La référence à une partie de l'introduction du premier numéro de la Revue francophone d'esthétique, sous la direction de Frédéric Wecker, écrite par Jean-Pierre Cometti, Jacques Morizot, Roger Pouivet, permet de clarifier l'objectif de cette théorie esthétique ; « […] Les problèmes esthétiques se seraient-ils dissous dans la médiatisation généralisée ? Sont-ils condamnés à nourrir un essayisme brillant mais sans portée théorique ? Doit-on laisser la parole aux historiens, aux spécialistes des sciences humaines ou aux professionnels du monde de l'art ? Telle n'est pas notre conviction. Nous voulons faire le pari d'une approche esthétique ouverte sur toutes les manifestations de l'art et qui revendique un parti pris d'analyse conceptuelle et d'argumentation critique. Il ne suffit en effet ni d'en appeler à une dimension anthropologique fondamentale, ni de s'en tenir à la menue monnaie de l'actualité et des événements. Comme toute discipline de quelque ambition, l'esthétique doit être en mesure de construire ses propres objets et de réviser ses résultats et ses procédures : là est sa seule garantie d'échapper au délire d'interprétation » En ce qui concerne cette réflexion, l'esthétique analytique est un dialogue constant avec les œuvres d'art d'avant-garde de l'art moderne et contemporain, notamment celles de Duchamp et de Warhol, mettant l’accent sur un ensemble de théories esthétiques quelquefois hétérogènes ; loin des théories traditionnelles, toutes ces théories refusent le beau en tant que principe essentiel de ce qui est devenu connu de l'art, c'est-à-dire l'œuvre d'art. [...] / "The analytical philosophers of art and the conceptual artists have in common to refuse the theorization and the search for the beautiful as idea or norm, to pose instead a definition of art as a symbolic function always to decrypt from itself and its own language, without applying to it an essence a priori "explains Dominique Chateau (French esthetician, born in 1948). In other words, it is the aesthetics of logical empiricism and pragmatism. The reference to a part of the introduction to the first issue of the Revue francophone d'esthétique, under the direction of Frédéric Wecker, written by Jean-Pierre Cometti, Jacques Morizot and Roger Pouivet, clarifies the objective of this aesthetic theory. ; "[...] Would aesthetic problems have dissolved in the generalized media? Are they doomed to nourish a brilliant essayism but without theoretical significance? Should we give the floor to historians, social scientists or professionals in the art world? That is not our conviction. We want to bet on an aesthetic approach open to all the manifestations of art and that claims a bias of conceptual analysis and critical argumentation. In fact, it is not enough to appeal to a fundamental anthropological dimension, nor to stick to the petty currency of events and events. Like any discipline of any ambition, aesthetics must be able to construct its own objects and revise its results and procedures: this is its only guarantee of escaping the frenzy of interpretation. "Regarding this reflection the analytical aesthetic is a constant dialogue with the avant-garde works of art of modern and contemporary art, notably those of Duchamp and Warhol, emphasizing a set of sometimes heterogeneous aesthetic theories; far from traditional theories, all these theories reject the beautiful as an essential principle of what has become known to art, that is to say the work of art. [...]

o movimento de lésbicas, gays, bissexuais, travestis e transexuais (LGBT) e o movimento cristão pró-vida e pró-família se engajaram em um confronto político em torno das demandas do primeiro desses movimentos ao Governo Federal. Ao longo desse período – em especial, a partir do primeiro Governo Dilma Rousseff (2011-2014) – os resultados políticos desse confronto variaram, passando a favorecer em maior medida o movimento cristão conservador. Essa variação vai de encontro às expectativas de estudos sobre os impactos de oportunidades políticas sobre os resultados políticos de confrontos, na medida em que, ao longo do período analisado, em primeiro lugar, um mesmo partido se manteve a frente da chefia do Executivo e, em segundo lugar, ativistas LGBT se mantiveram ativos em ministérios e secretarias do Governo Federal. Essa tese tem como principal objetivo explicar as variações nos resultados políticos desse confronto. Para atingir esse objetivo, realizei entrevistas com ativistas desses movimentos, com burocratas ativistas LGBT que atuaram em órgãos do Governo Federal e com assessores ligados à Frente Parlamentar Evangélica (FPE) e à Frente Parlamentar de Defesa da Cidadania LGBT (FPLGBT). Também utilizei dados do Portal da Transparência e de outras fontes oficiais para mapear iniciativas e recursos do Governo Federal transferidos por meio de ações voltadas às demandas do movimento LGBT. Por fim, mobilizei dados do portal da Câmara dos Deputados e do Senado para identificar variações na presença de parlamentares da FPE em coalizões de governo, na sua ocupação de espaços estratégicos no Congresso Nacional e em seu uso de requerimentos de informação e de projetos de decreto legislativo. A partir da análise desses dados, identifiquei os mecanismos de oportunidade e ameaça que conformam o processo político de gerenciamento de coalizões governamentais e que impactaram os resultados políticos desse confronto. Os resultados dessa investigação sugerem que as dinâmicas e os resultados do confronto político entre a FPLGBT e a FPE no Congresso Nacional passaram a favorecer essa última frente a partir do primeiro Governo Dilma. Com suas vitórias nesse confronto, a FPE se consolidou como um jogador importante no processo de gerenciamento de coalizões de governo, algo inesperado para literatura sobre esse tema, que indica que os partidos políticos são os atores capazes de negociar acordos com a chefia do Executivo. Assim, a FPE passou pressionar a chefia do Executivo em direção aos seus interesses e preferências que, por sua vez, passou a intervir sobre sua burocracia de forma a obstaculizar a ação de ativistas LGBT que se engajavam em confrontos políticos na Esplanada dos Ministérios. Dessa forma, apesar de sua penetração em instituições políticas, burocratas ativistas LGBT não puderam manter o nível de produção de resultados políticos positivos para o movimento LGBT. A partir desses resultados, sugiro como principal contribuição dessa tese que, para explicar variações nos resultados políticos de confrontos políticos no Brasil, é necessário compreender como processos de gerenciamento de coalizões governamentais afetam oportunidades e ameaças que facilitam ou obstaculizam a ação de movimentos sociais. / During the first three Partido dos Trabalhadores’ federal administrations, the Brazilian lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders movement (LGBT) and pro-life and pro-family christian movement engaged in an episode of contention around the demands of the first of these movements to the Federal Government. During this period – and particularly since the first Rousseff administration (2011-2014) – the political outcomes of this episode of contention varied in favor of the christian conservative movement. This variation challenges the studies on the impacts of opportunities over the political outcomes of political contention, first, because the same party was chief Executive of the country during this period and, second, because LGBT activists maintained their actions inside federal state secretaries. This dissertation aims at explaining the variations of this political contention’s political outcomes. To achieve this goal, I interviewed those movements' activists, LGBT bureaucrat activists that worked in federal state secretaries, and parliamentary assistants related to the Frente Parlamentar Evangélica (FPE) and to the Frente Parlamentar de Defesa da Cidadania LGBT (FPLGBT). I also mobilized data from official sources to map state initiatives and investments on actions related to LGBT demands. Finally, I used data from the Câmara dos Deputados’ and the Senado’s web pages to identify variations in the number of FPE parliamentarians in government coalitions, in the occupation of strategic spaces in the National Congress by these parliamentarians, and in their use of two legislative instruments, the requerimentos de informação and the projetos de decreto legislativo. Analyzing this data, I identified the mechanisms of opportunity and threat which conform the political process of government coalition management and affected the political outcomes of this episode of contention. The data suggests that the dynamics and outcomes of the political contention between the FPLGBT and the FPE in the National Congress began to favor the last of these parliamentary fronts since the first Rousseff administration. With those victories, the FPE consolidated itself as an important player in the government coalition management political process, something unexpected for the literature on this subject, that suggests that political parties are the actors capable of negotiating agreements with the chief of the Executive. The FPE started to press the chief Executive toward its interests and preferences who, on its turn, stated to intervene over its own bureaucracy, creating obstacles for the actions of LGBT activists that were engaged in contentious politics in state secretaries. Therefore, despite of its penetration in political institutions, LGBT bureaucrat activists could not afford to maintain their level of production of political outcomes for the LGBT movement. From this data, as the main contribution of this dissertation, I suggest that, in order to explain the variation of political outcomes of contentious politics in Brazil, it is necessary to understand how government coalition management processes affect the opportunities and threats which facilitate or hinder the action of social movements.