Foreign policy is the nexus between domestic and international political systems. Studies in Canada have so far produced mixed findings related to the role of political parties in foreign policy. Drawing from campaign promise, issue ownership and foreign policy decision-making literature, this dissertation investigates whether there is a foreign policy domain consistently dominated by a particular political party in the Canadian context. Part I uses data from the Comparative Manifesto Project (CMP) combined with manually coded foreign policy promises to determine the content and scope of foreign policy-related election promises in Canada. Part II follows the well-established pledge approach to measure promise fulfilment of foreign policy promises of Canadian governing parties following elections. This dissertation not only seeks to determine whether parties matter in the context of foreign policy, but also whether one party consistently “owns” the foreign policy domain or specific foreign policy issues. Findings from this research will fill an existing gap in the literature related to policy-specific promise fulfillment in Canada and will bridge existing theoretical assumptions related to political party behaviour and foreign policy decision-making. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

There is a shortage of qualitative research inquiring into Swedish election manifestos, which could provide the research field with a deeper understanding of how the EU is discussed in election manifestos. The purpose of this thesis is therefore to examine signs of Europeanisation in Swedish election manifestos, employing a qualitative content analysis and the theoretical concepts of politicisation and Europeanisation. The results show that Swedish parties politicise several different dimensions of the EU in both national and European election manifestos, discussing contextual factors as well constitutional issues. While the parties thus display signs of Europeanisation, they discuss the EU ambiguously which adds complexity to the image of Swedish parties’ election manifestos as Europeanised. This thesis sheds light on how Swedish parties' EU discussion can be approached qualitatively, providinga deeper understanding of EU contents of election manifestos.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: There is more to language than just its formal structural properties and, similarly, more to language function than just its communicative and naming function. Language does not exist independent of society. As a part of society, it is used in a diversity of functions: it influences thought processes, constitutes what people perceive as reality, and produces, reproduces and denies prejudices. It is in pursuit of its ideological function that language plays a significant role in the establishment and maintenance of systematically asymmetrical power relations. This study focuses on the role that language plays in efforts to position the African National Congress (ANC) as more fit to govern than other political parties in South Africa. Adopting a qualitative research strategy, the study provides an analysis of the discourse that is constructed in the ANC’s 1999, 2004 and 2009 national election manifestos. The analysis is presented within the framework of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and is performed in terms of linguistic devices, techniques and strategies such as genre and its sequential structure, pronouns, contrasting expressions, intertextuality, grounding and elision, statistics and numerical figures, and discourse. It is demonstrated that the three election manifestos are situated within a specific socio-economic and political context defined by poverty, unemployment and inequality, which are rooted in the South African history of colonialism and race-based capitalism. The texts draw from resources of the genre of manifesto and show common structural features. It is shown that ambiguous pronouns are used to build up affinities between the ANC and the reader/listener with respect to the achievements of the ANC-led government, what work still needs to be done, and to position the ANC’s vision as one that is generally shared by the people. Contrasting expressions are used to disparage the apartheid system and to extol the post-1994 democratic system. In all three texts the ANC is foregrounded as the organization which not only brought freedom to South Africa, but which in fact led the struggle for freedom and change. At the same time, there is an omission of other political organizations and the role they played in this struggle. It is also demonstrated that the three texts constituted by elements of other texts such as the Freedom Charter (1955), the Reconstruction and Development Programme (1994) and the Constitution (1996) use statistics and figures to bestow the ANC with a systematic and scientific gravitas. Lastly, the three manifestos reflect a discourse of “complete” or “total” freedom, which is inclusive of the social, economic and political aspects of the reality of South Africans’ lives. It is argued that these linguistic devices, techniques and strategies are used in the 1999, 2004 and 2009 national election manifestos to position the ANC as more fit to govern South Africa than other political parties. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Taal behels meer as net formele strukturele eienskappe, en die funksies van taal behels eweneens meer as net benaming en kommunikasie. Taal bestaan nie onafhanklik van die gemeenskap nie. As ’n deel van die gemeenskap, word taal in ’n verskeidenheid funksies gebruik: dit beïnvloed denkprosesse, bepaal wat mense beskou as die werklikheid, en dien om vooroordele te skep, te verhoog en te ontken. Dit is in die uitoefening van sy ideologiese funksie dat taal ’n beduidende rol speel in die vestiging en handhawing van sistematies asimmetriese magsverhoudings. Hierdie studie fokus op die rol wat taal speel in pogings om die African National Congress (ANC) te posisioneer as meer geskik om te regeer as ander politieke partye in Suid-Afrika. Met ’n kwalitatiewe navorsingstrategie as uitgangspunt, bied die studie ’n analise van die diskoers wat gekonstrueer word in die ANC se onderskeie manifeste vir die 1999, 2004 en 2009 nasionale verkiesings. Die analise word aangebied binne die raamwerk van Kritiese Diskoersanalise (“Critical Discourse Analysis”) en word uitgevoer in terme van taalkundige meganismes, tegnieke en strategieë soos genre and sy sekwensiële struktuur, voornaamwoorde, teenstellende uitdrukkings, intertekstualiteit, opstelling en weglating (“grounding and elision”), statistieke en getalle, en diskoers. Daar word aangetoon dat die drie verkiesingsmanifeste ingebed is in ’n spesifieke sosio-ekonomiese en politieke konteks van armoede, werkloosheid en ongelykheid, wat gegrond is in die Suid-Afrikaanse geskiedenis van kolonialisme en rasgebaseerde kapitalisme. Die tekste benut die middele van die manifes-genre en vertoon gemeenskaplike strukturele kenmerke. Daar word aangetoon hoe dubbelsinnige voornaam-woorde gebruik word om ’n affiniteit tussen die ANC en die leser/hoorder tot stand te bring ten opsigte van die ANC-regering se prestasies, die werk wat nog gedoen moet word, en ook om die ANC se visie voor te hou as een wat algemeen deur die mense gedeel word. Teenstellende uitdrukkings word gebruik om die apartheidstelsel te verdoem en die post-1994 demokratiese stelsel op te hemel. In al drie tekste word die ANC vooropgestel as die organisasie wat nie net vryheid na Suid-Afrika gebring het nie, maar wat in feite die stryd om vryheid en verandering gelei het. Terselfdertyd word geen melding gemaak van ander politieke organisasies en die rol wat hulle in dié stryd gespeel het nie. Daar word ook aangetoon dat die drie tekste wat verskeie elemente insluit van ander tekste soos die Freedom Charter (1955), die Heropbou- en Ontwikkelingsprogram (“Reconstruction and Development Programme”, 1994) en die Grondwet (1996) gebruik maak van statistieke en getalle om die ANC te bedeel met ’n sistematiese en wetenskaplike gravitas. Die drie manifeste vertoon, laastens, ’n diskoers van “totale” of “volledige” vryheid, wat die sosiale, ekonomiese en politieke aspekte van die werklikheid van Suid-Afrikaners se lewens omvat Daar word geargumenteer dat dié taalkundige meganismes, tegnieke en strategieë in die 1999, 2004 en 2009 verkiesingsmanifeste gebruik word om die ANC te posisioneer as meer geskik om te regeer as ander politieke partye.

This study aims to analyze whether an ideological resemblance has occurred between the Moderate Party and the Sweden Democrats during the electoral periods 2018 and 2022. As such, an ideology focused systematic qualitative analysis has been applied with the additional lens of ideal type Liberal, Conservative and Nationalist values. The research questions for this study are: (1) What are differences and similarities between the Moderate Party and the Sweden Democrats in terms of Liberal, Conservative and Nationalist values during the two electoral periods? (2) Did an ideological resemblance occur between the two parties in two measuring points? The main findings of the study points to the implication that there is some degree of pathological normalcy when it comes to the Moderate Party’s election manifestos as there is a widespread use of all three ideal type ideologies in the election manifestoes from both chosen years. At the same time one could argue to a lesser extent that the Sweden Democrats have neared the Moderate Party as the ideal type Liberal values can be found abate to a far lesser extent compared to the the ideal type Nationalist and Conservative values in the election manifestos. As such, one can argue that an ideological resemblance between the two parties is apparent to a degree in the chosen measuring points though differences can also be found within the study between the two parties.

Thesis (MPA.) -- University of Limpopo, 2018 / This study analyses the national election manifestos of the African National Congress on the subject of service delivery between 1994 and 2014. One of the arguments advanced in this thesis and corroborated in the theory of democratization by elections is that elections play an important role in the struggle for better governance and democracy. The election manifestos, in this regard, serve as instruments of ensuring accountability to the voters as well as gauging the performance of those in government. The party in government must implement its election manifestos; otherwise it must face electoral consequences through a democratic election process. However, there is a view aptly sustained in the study that elections are at times not a reliable or credible measure of a democratic outcome because many voters do not have the necessary knowledge to make rational choices in order to counteract the effects of poor or lack of implementation of election manifestos regarding service delivery. Therefore, as cautioned in the thesis, conscious public participation will remain an empty slogan if the majority of the electorate is left and forgotten languishing in poverty and arrogance. The sustainability of participation by citizens is hugely compromised in an environment infested with rampant corruption and runaway impunity. The study followed an interpretivist paradigm with a qualitative approach. ANC members in four villages –Duthuni, Tshisaulu, Ha-Mushavhanamadi and Ha-Ratshiedana (ward 35, Thulamela Municipality) were purposively targeted as the research population for the study. For practical reason, not all members of the ANC in the villages were reached to participate in the study. Ultimately, 42 members of the ANC in the villages formed the research sample. Data collection techniques used were face-to-face interviews, semi-structured questionnaire and document review (data triangulation). The rationale for using data triangulation in the study was to ensure that the weaknesses of a single data collection strategy were minimized and to ensure that the strategies complemented and verified one another. A total of 12 interviews were conducted, 30 questionnaires were administered and five ANC national election manifestos were perused. Three qualitative data analysis strategies were adopted, namely, conversation analysis, discourse analysis and content analysis. Analysis and interpretation of qualitative data consisted of words and observations and not numbers or statistics because the researcher did not want to quantify nor generate numerical data for purposes of statistical analysis.