The professionalization of political parties has significantly altered the means by which parties interact with voters and supporters. The current study is an attempt to examine what these changes in political communication mean for the ability of parties to organize supporters and mobilize them both in a campaign setting and in the longer-term struggle. Habermasian and Gramscian perspectives on the relational aspects of political communication highlight the challenges presented by the growing unidirectionality of communication and the concomitant atrophying of intermediary institutions. Beyond this, the work of Bottici and McLuhan is used to expose the effects of the 'arational' aspects of these changes in both form and content. To test the plausibility of the theoretical insights obtained, the case of the New Democratic Party of Canada is considered. The study concludes by considering the potential of new technological developments for resolving or mitigating concerns identified throughout the thesis. / Graduate

Ever since the military takeover of 1952, the post-monarchic political system of Egypt has been dependent upon a variety of mechanisms and structures to establish and further consolidate its powerbase. Among those, an intertwined web of what could be described as ‘patronage politics’ emerged as one of the main foundations of these tools and was utilized by the regime to establish the fundamentals of its rule. Throughout the post-1952 era, political patrons and respective clients were existent in Egyptian politics, shaping, to a great extent, the policies implemented by Egypt's rulers at the apex of the political system, as well as the tactics orchestrated by the populace within the middle and lower echelons of the polity. This study aims at analyzing the factors that ensured the durability of patronage networks within the Egyptian polity, primarily focusing on the sort of social structural reconfiguration that has been taking place in the popular communities of Egypt in the beginning of the 21st Century. Dissecting the area of Misr Al Qadima as an exemplar case study of Cairo’s popular quarters, the research mainly focuses on examining the role of the lesser notables, those middle patrons and clients that exist on the lower levels of the Egyptian polity within the ranks of the National Democratic Party and the Muslim Brotherhood. Henceforth, the sociopolitical agency of these lesser notabilities shall constitute the prime concern of the writing and, in doing so; this research also attempts to draw some linkage between the micro-level features of the popular polities of Cairo and the macro-level realities of the Egyptian polity at large, in the contemporary period.

The Social Democratic Party and the Moderate Party are two parties with different ideological background. The parties have different opinions in issues of public and private matters. The Social Democratic Party profiles it self, through the local and national party programs, as a party for solidarity and security. The Moderate Party, on the other hand, profiles it self through their programmes as a party with a possibility for the individual to shape his or her own life. Through a survey on members in the local government, and two key persons at national level, the view of municipal self-government has appeared. The party programmes constitute a platform for the parties´ views on municipal self-government. These views have been put together with the result of the survey. Urban Strandberg has designed an analysis frame related to municipal self-government. His concept, municipalities’ basic character, board of directors and administration, is the theoretical foundation of the thesis. The content of the Party programmes and the results of the survey are thendiscussed within the frame of Strandbergs concept and Demokratiutredningens rapport SOU 2000:1. From the collective perspective of the theory, the content of party programmes and the result of the survey an image of the parties’ views on municipal self-government starts to grow. Within each party respectively, they keep a common strategy in important issues, which the local governments and the parties’ basic characters have raised. There are dividing lines due to the administration of the municipalities. Civic participation unites the parties in ideological issues. The opinions, in the issue of municipal self-government, differs between the Social Democratic Party and the Moderate Party. The reason for that is because of their fundamental different views in the fields of social order and ideology, as it is described in the party programmes. In reality when the parties shape the politics they cannot profile themselves as much as in the"vision"in their party programmes. The parties have to find a middle course, which is reflected in the answers from some of the respondents.

Essay in Political Science, C-level, by Camila Alvarez Cea, spring semester 2010.   Tutor: Alf Sundin “Reality or a Political Mirage? – A Study of the Swedish Press Views on the Health Insurance Reform in the USA”   The purpose of this essay is partly to examine whether the picture that Swedish press presents of the health insurance reform in the US, which is part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Act bill, will be of crucial importance to the possibilities that the American population has to receive health insurance. The main research question is accordingly: “Does the picture that Swedish press presents of the health insurance reform in the USA, seem like something that will be of radical importance to the possibilities of the population to receive healthcare?” The purpose is also to examine in which model (demand or market) the opinions of the Swedish press fits. This purpose will be answered by using three specific questions asking whether their opinions differ when it comes to three criterions: organization, financing/resources and delivery systems. These criterions come from a model from Milton I. Roemer’s book “National health systems of the world,” which also is the theoretical foundation of this essay.   The methodological approach of this essay is a qualitative text analysis along with an analysis chart, where the three criterions have been examined from the reporting of the four Swedish newspapers chosen for this essay. The conclusions that have been reached from the analysis chart are that the opinions differ greatly within Swedish press, and that the picture that Swedish press presents of the health insurance reform is that it will become easier for the American population to receive health care.

This study uses variables derived from Rational Choice Theory to examine the theory’s predicted covariancebetween public opinion and the parties’ policies. The collection of material has been guided by three arenas: the parliamentarian, the media and the voter’s. It has categorized the analysis based on the strategy concept, using ends, means and ways. It asks how the Moderate Party and the Social Democratic Party changed their strategy within the period of 31 May 2013 and 14 September 2014, and how this can be understood from a rational choice perspective. The purpose of the study is to examine the assumptions of Rational Choice Theory in the Swedish context in front of the election in 2014, and to understand this from the perspective of the theory. This can help in our understanding of defense policy formation and to our understanding of states’ relations on the international arena. The results show that there has been a more ambitious change in defense policy which covariates with the indicated positive change in public opinion on defense issues, but this did not make defense issues one of the 2014 election’s most important questions for the voters in choice of party to vote for. This can be understood as rational, seen from a RCT-perspective, since the other issues renders more support, a circumstance that is in line with the history of Swedish elections.

In this study I examine the decisions to sign and later terminate the so called Saudi agreement, a military memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Sweden and Saudi Arabia, understood as a gateway agreement for future arms deals as well as exchange of defense technology knowledge. Comparing statements from the Social Democratic Party (SAP), who held government both in 2005 when the agreement was signed as well as in 2015 when it was terminated unilaterally by Sweden, I examine the ideological preferences of Swedish foreign policy. Could the shift in policy be explained by ideology?

Title: Similarities or differences within the centre-right? A study of the potential for party fusions within in the Swedish centre-right Author: Charlie Weimers Aim: The thesis seeks to find the potential for party fusions within the Swedish centre-right by analyzing the ideological similarities and differences between the parties. Method/Material: In the thesis, four dimensions of the parties’ ideologies are analyzed: view of man, theory for societal structures, fiscal theory and moral values. The results of the study of the ideologies are then compared. The investigation is done with the party manifestos as starting point and with the analysis of ideas as theoretical tool. Main Results: The comparative analysis, based on the parties’ ideological views, shows specific party constellations are more probable than others. The biggest ideological similarities are to be found between the Liberal People’s Party and the Centre Party, out of which I conclude that these two parties have the best potential for a fusion. The Moderate Party and the Christian Democratic Party also have clear similarities, thus there is a potential for fusion to a certain degree. The Moderate Party also shows some similarities with the Liberal People’s Party and the Centre Party, hence the possibility for a merger can not be excluded. My conclusion is based upon social liberalism and neo-conservatism as ideal types, which gives the Christian Democratic Party a position to the right. Thus, it would possible to claim that this party has the least options regarding fusion partners. The Moderate Party has the most alternatives, since the party is in a kind of “middle ground” between social liberalism and neo-conservatism. Number of pages: 49 Course: Political Science C University: Faculty of Social and Life Sciences, Karlstad University Period: Fall, 2006 Tutor: Anders Broman Keywords: centre-right, Sweden, party fusion, ideology, Moderate Party, Liberal People’s Party, Christian Democratic Party, Centre Party

Cette thèse interroge les continuités de l’extrême droite allemande après 1945 en s’intéressant aux femmes du Parti national-démocrate d’Allemagne (NPD) créé en 1964 en République fédérale. Focalisée sur les actrices, elle éclaire les spécificités des générations de femmes qui s’y sont succédé, des militantes « postfascistes », légalistes et républicaines des années 1960 aux militantes « néofascistes », nationales-révolutionnaires et antisystème des années 2000. Partant du constat de leur marginalité politique, ce travail étudie les rapports de genre et questionne l’agency féminine dans une extrême droite masculiniste. Afin de surmonter leur isolement, les femmes nationales-démocrates ont ponctuellement élaboré des stratégies d’auto-affirmation, passant notamment par des rassemblements féminins : après la fondation d’un Conseil des Femmes en 1968 et de groupes de femmes en 1976/1977, le Cercle des Femmes nationalistes, fondé en 2006, marque l’aboutissement de leurs revendications antisexistes, revendications qui posent également la question du rapport ambivalent qu’elles entretiennent avec le féminisme politique. Cette thèse propose, enfin, une analyse de l’idéologie des femmes nationales-démocrates : en politisant le « domaine féminin » (famille, culture, société), elles ont contribué à définir la ligne du NPD qui, au gré des transformations historiques, est passé de son souverainisme nationaliste initial à un nationalisme identitaire dans les années 1970/1980, avant d’aboutir, après 1990, à un nationalisme völkisch. Cette thèse pose ainsi un regard inédit sur les processus de féminisation dans l’extrême droite allemande et propose une lecture différente de l’histoire de la République fédérale. / This PhD thesis deals with the continuities of the far right in Germany after 1945 by examining the special case of extremist women in the National Democratic Party of Germany, founded in the Federal Republic of Germany in 1964. It analyses the characteristics of the generations of national-democratic women who succeeded each other, from the “postfascist” legalist and democratic activists of the 1960s to the national-revolutionary and anti-system “neofascists” of the 2000s. It examines their political marginality within the party and therefore questions the female agency in the masculinist far right. In order to break out of their isolation, national-democratic women have occasionally developed some self-affirmation strategies : after the foundation of a Federal Women’s Council in 1968, they founded Women’s Groups in 1976/1977 and a Circle of nationalist Women in 2006. This women’s organisation can be considered as the culmination of their antisexist claims, it therefore puts into question their relationship with political feminism. This thesis finally analyses the women’s ideology : through their “female domain” (family, culture, society), they have contributed to the definition of the NPD’s general party line which changed from a sovereigntist nationalism in the 1960s to an identitarian nationalism in the 1970s/1980s, and finally to a völkisch nationalism from 2000 onwards. Thus, this thesis sheds a light on feminisation processes on the far right and offers a different understanding of German history.

This thesis discusses the rise of the Republican party in Texas and specifically Harris County. The time period is the decade between the Presidential election of Dwight D. Eisenhower and the campaign of Jack Cox for Governor. Changes in the structure and leadership of the Republican party at the state level and specific precincts are examined in detail in chapter one. Leaders in Houston during this time period, such as Jesse Jones, Roy Cullen, and Oveta Culp Hobby are discussed in chapter two. The elections of Eisenhower, Cox, and Republican John Tower are analyzed in chapter three. The conclusion finds six major factors for the political changes occurring in Harris County, including economic and demographic changes. Main sources for this work included the Harris County Democratic party records and the Jack Cox Papers at the Center for American History, the Eisenhower Library, and the John Tower Papers.

This thesis represents a comprehensive analysis of the geographical and geopolitical position of the Kurdistan regional government (KRG) as an official political institution of the Kurdistan region of Iraq (KRI). Firstly, it focuses on the internal issues of this institution and its division between two main Iraqi Kurdish political parties: KDP and PUK. Secondly, it examines the form of the relationships between the KRG and central government in Baghdad. The regional position of the KRG is explained by capturing the relationships among the KRG, the governments of the key regional countries (Turkey, Syria, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Israel) and important Kurdish political parties operating in this area (PKK, PYD, PJAK, HDP, ENKS and KDPI). Thirdly, the global actors (United States of America, Russian Federation and China) and their position towards the Iraqi Kurds, is also included. And finally, this thesis deals with the problematics of the Kurdish referendum of independence in 2017 and the role of ISIS as an "game changing" actor in the regional dynamics. This thesis builds on extensive search of scientific literature (about 70 titles), field research in the Kurdistan region of Iraq in the form of the interviews with 20 respondents and media reports on this topic and region. Additionally, this thesis...