Physical design for testability (PDFT) is a strategy to design circuits in a way to avoid or reduce realistic physical faults. The goal of this work is to define and establish a speci c methodology for PDFT. The proposed design methodology includes techniques to reduce potential bridging faults in complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) circuits. To compare faults, the design process utilizes a new parameter called the fault index. The fault index for a particular fault is the probability of occurrence of the fault divided by the testability of the fault. Faults with the highest fault indices are considered the worst faults and are targeted by the PDFT design process to eliminate them or reduce their probability of occurrence. An implementation of the PDFT design process is constructed using several new tools in addition to other "off-the-shelf" tools. The first tool developed in this work is a testability measure tool for bridging faults. Two other tools are developed to eliminate or reduce the probability of occurrence of bridging faults with high fault indices. The row enhancer targets faults inside the logic elements of the circuit, while the channel enhancer targets faults inside the routing part of the circuit. To demonstrate the capabilities and test the eff ectiveness of the PDFT design process, this work conducts an experiment which includes designing three CMOS circuits from the ISCAS 1985 benchmark circuits. Several layouts are generated for every circuit. Every layout, except the rst one, utilizes information from the previous layout to minimize the probability of occurrence for faults with high fault indices. Experimental results show that the PDFT design process successfully achieves two goals of PDFT, providing layouts with fewer faults and minimizing the probability of occurrence of hard-to-test faults. Improvement in the total fault index was about 40 percent in some cases, while improvement in total critical area was about 30 percent in some cases. However, virtually all the improvements came from using the row enhancer; the channel enhancer provided only marginal improvements. / Ph. D.

La presente tesis analiza el proceso de cambio organizacional experimentado por la Asociación Civil Transparencia, una organización no gubernamental peruana, entre los años 2012 y 2016, que involucra la adopción de decisiones estratégicas para su supervivencia y mejor posicionamiento para ejercer incidencia en la política nacional, expresado en su tránsito de ser fundamentalmente una entidad independiente de observación electoral a convertirse en una organización de advocacy e incidencia política. La investigación es de tipo cualitativo y utiliza como método el estudio de caso de Transparencia, centrándose en episodios claves del periodo temporal 2012-2016. De este modo, se realizaron entrevistas a profundidad a los distintos elementos que conforman la organización (asociados de la asamblea, personal del área operativa y voluntarios de Transparencia) para obtener una visión más completa acerca del proceso de cambio experimentado en la organización. Se incorpora adicionalmente información obtenida de documentación interna, informes anuales y publicaciones propias de la institución de Transparencia que nos permiten corroborar lo expresado por los entrevistados. Además de determinar y describir los factores que contribuyeron al proceso de cambio organizacional, la tesis procura brindar una visión crítica del proceso y sus consecuencias. En esa línea, expondrá las limitaciones y retos que supone para estas nuevas formas de representación que surgen en la sociedad civil del Perú de hoy el adoptar decisiones estratégicas y llevarlas adelante. Finalmente, se da cuenta de las tensiones propias del rol que la sociedad civil debe o no jugar en la política nacional.

Electoral violence in democratizing countries results in hundreds of deaths each year and undermines democratic practices and the legitimacy of elections. Although identifying several societal and institutional factors increasing the risk of electoral violence, prior research has largely failed to consider gender equality when exploring the causes of electoral violence. This essay aims to fill this gap by addressing the following research question: How does gender inequality affect the occurrence of government-initiated electoral violence during the pre-election period in democratizing countries? By arguing that the norms of respect, tolerance and inviolability prevalent in societies with high levels of gender equality heighten the cost of violent tactics, I hypothesize that gender equality reduces government-initiated electoral violence. Through a qualitative cross-case analysis of the national elections in Liberia in 2011 and Guinea in 2015, this study finds evidence suggesting that gender equality has a pacifying effect on government-initiated electoral violence in the pre-election period. To some extent, the empirical data also supports the underlying mechanism, although evidence for potential alternative explanations for the relationship was also recognized. This could potentially make the observed relationship spurious and call for further research on the topic.

Elections are a core democratic process in the world to ensure a peaceful transition of power between governing actors, yet it is too often the case that violence is employed to disturb the democratic process. Incumbents’ use of violence in order to maintain power and control over the procedure has become common as political violence and autocratisation has seen an upsurge in recent years. There is a lack of previous research in how electoral violence perpetrated by incumbents against the opposition affects democratisation. This thesis aims to fill the gap and analyse the proposed relationship. Based on previous theories on the topic I suggest that electoral violence by incumbents against the opposition negatively affects democratisation. Using a time span of 1974-2018 in a quantitative analysis the results support the hypothesis. This outcome is of relevance to the future literature of electoral violence as well as policy makers looking to understand how the consequences of electoral violence fits into the greater picture of democratic consolidation.

Despite global progress on gender equality, women continue to be underrepresented in politics. One widely debated policy measure aimed at tackling this issue is gendered public funding – which has been adopted in more than 30 countries worldwide yet remains understudied in the literature on gender and politics. In this thesis, I address that research gap and examine the broader impact of electoral, political, and cultural factors on gendered political funding by conducting quantitative cross-national analyses. I used data from four different sources, such as the International IDEA Political Finance Database, the IDEA Quota Database, QOG, and V-Dem, to examine the relationship between these factors and the probability of gendered public funding adoption. It is evident from the findings of this thesis that the presence of quotas has a significant influence on determining the likelihood of adopting gender-specific public funding policies, with countries implementing quotas demonstrating a higher likelihood of adopting such policies. Contrary to theoretical expectations concerning electoral and cultural variables and earlier research, no significant effects are found. The thesis offers valuable insights into the interplay between political trends, electoral institutions, cultural dynamics, and financial mechanisms in shaping gender equality initiatives. While gender quotas may enhance the probability of gender public funding, exploring all relevant contextual factors is critical.

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This study examines how Sweden’s changing security situation in 2023 affects political elections by investigating the planning of two elections in two Swedish municipalities, Borås and Båstad. Through interviews with five officials within these municipalities, the study has examined potential differences between two EU elections. The study links the concepts of legitimacy and electoral integrity to the polling station where citizens encounter Sweden’s central electoral authority through poll workers who are tasked with guiding citizens through the voting process. The thesis mainly relates Sweden’s changed security situation to Mark. C Suchmans perspective of legitimacy and the importance of training poll workers in the creation of three pillars of legitimacy-pragmatic, normative and cognitive. The second research question the study investigated was whether there have been changes in the planning of training of poll workers between two elections due to the changed security situation in Sweden 2023. Previous research has shown an increased interest in electoral integrity in Sweden, especially due to global events that threaten the legitimacy of democracies. This thesis demonstrates changes in the planning of the training of poll workers due to the changed security situation in 2023.  Valmyndigheten, Sweden's central voting institution, has guided the municipalities through an operational security analysis, and the municipalities have also taken their own initiatives, such as systematizing security thinking throughout the education of poll workers. The thesis emphasizes the importance of training poll workers to create legitimacy based on Suchmans three pillars of legitimacy. Through training, poll workers learn democratic values and approaches that can be disarming in potentially threatening situations. The result of this study has confirmed that the two municipalities aim with educating poll workers is to create mostly pragmatic and normative legitimacy 2024. This study is of relevance because Sweden in 2023 has experienced a changed security situation, and global trends have discussed electoral integrity in democracies and in political elections.  Key words: Legitimacy, Electoral integrity, Political election, Poll workers, Security Sweden 2023.

This thesis examines through the means of a comparative perspective, factors which have allowed the British National Party to enjoy recent electoral success at the local level under the leadership of party chairman Nick Griffin. Such electoral successes have arisen despite the seemingly relative obscurity of the party at the turn of the century. A number of different aspects are examined in order to achieve this aim. The history of the far right in the UK is examined to establish whether the BNP have changed their stance in comparison to previous far right movements. The BNP are also investigated comparatively with other West European parties who have enjoyed national success, as a means of discovering whether the party are similar to their far right neighbours and why they have not enjoyed similar national success. The press coverage of the BNP is examined at a local and national level, using content analysis and the LexisNexis database. The thesis looks at the role played by the BNP in local elections and the decline of participation in political activity, to establish if there is a link between these two factors. Finally a case study is taken of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, to establish directly if any of the above factors can be directly applied to BNP electoral success in this district. The research discovers that there are opportunities for the BNP to establish a connection with the electorate in local politics which are not necessarily available at times of general election.

El presente trabajo hace un repaso sobre las reformas electorales en América Latina desde los distintos parlamentos en la región. En un primer momento, se indaga en la literatura de estudios parlamentarios sobre los procesos de toma de decisión y los actores políticos. En un segundo momento, se repasa por los procesos de reforma electoral en los distintos países de la región. Finalmente, se revisa literatura alrededor de las tendencias de reforma electoral para cambios los métodos para la inscripción de partidos en países de la región, y en particular, en Perú. Dado que desde la ciencia política se ha analizado a las reformas electorales con una mirada enfocada en los procesos sociales que la producen, este trabajo de investigación propone un análisis más enfocado en el proceso de una reforma electoral al interior de los parlamentos, que tome en consideración a los distintos actores políticos que intervienen en el proceso de decisión, y que comprenda los cambios por los que pasa un proceso de reforma durante el debate y discusión en el Parlamento.