In the new democratic dispensation, the Gauteng Education and Training Council (GETC) is the first statutory council instituted in South Africa, allowing civil society to participate in education policy-making. Against this background, this study explored the policy process and the participation of stakeholders. A literature study investigated the theory on policy and the participation of civil society in the policy process. The inception of the GETC was fully documented and a qualitative study undertaken to determine the role of the GETC in education policy-making. Data gathering was done mainly through semi-structured interviews with GETC members. The data was analysed, discussed and synthesised. The major findings were that stakeholders valued the opportunity to participate and members had high expectations of the contribution they could render in the policy-making process. Although most members had a good grasp of the policy process, lack of administrative resources and participative skills founded in the exclusion of large segments of society from partaking in such consultative structures in the past, was evident in some organisations. The function of the Administrative Secretary is deemed important in facilitating the functions of the GETC and training for this incumbent was emphasised. The lines of communication between the GETC and the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) need to be clearly structured in order to expedite the movement of documents between them. The MEC needs to be more visible to GETC members. The GETC, MEC and the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) have to explore ways and means of establishing a sound relationship to serve the cause. Consensus between the GETC and the GDE should be reached regarding the role and place of the GETC in the GDE Policy Route. Areas for further investigation that would enhance the role of the GETC in the policy-making process have been identified. The study concluded that the GETC renders a valuable contribution empowering citizens to become involved in formal participative structures which will contribute towards broadening the basis of acceptance of responsibility for education, by society This will assist in attaining its declared vision to improve the level of education in South Africa.

The media has an important role to play in providing information to form the perceptions of media users on HIV/Aids. Furthermore, the media has an agenda setting function through which it determines what news consumers think about, and how they think about these topics they are presented with. Extensive media coverage has been given to the subject of HIV/Aids since the start of the pandemic. The nature of the coverage has, however, been widely criticised, mainly by interest groups actively involved in the fight against the disease. Few formal guidelines exist to guide journalists in this field. Moreover, the existing guidelines that originated mainly from the gaps interest groups identified in the coverage on HIV/Aids, are fairly fragmented. Many newspapers follow the general guidelines set by the media industry for ethical news reporting. These guidelines, such as the ethical code of the Press Ombudsman, are a result of self regulation, which is intrinsic to the social responsibility model that is seen as ideal for South Africa. There are several existing codes offering guidance regarding professional standards and general conduct. Only one - that of the now inactive South African Union of Journalists - includes criteria on HIV/Aids reporting. Through formulating guidelines, interest groups have an agenda setting function and a subsequent potential influence on the media and the public agenda. This paper endeavours to analyse and systematically summarise criteria set by the interest groups for ethically acceptable and accountable HIV/Aids reporting against the background of the agenda setting theory and the social responsibility model. In addition, HIV/Aids reporting in three Sunday papers (the Sunday Times, Sunday Sun and Rapport) is verified against these interest group criteria to ascertain how it measures up, and to determine whether a separate interest group code of ethics is desirable. It was found that the Sunday Times views HIV/Aids as a news priority, while the topic does not feature very high on the agenda of the other two papers. The analysis of news items created the impression that journalists have a basic knowledge of HIV/Aids. However, there is little evidence of deeper insight into the potential impact the media could have on the public's perception of the epidemic. Existing ethics codes compare well to interest group guidelines where general professional standards and ethical aspects are concerned. The interest group guidelines, however, focus on specific problems associated with the epidemic, such as stigma and a tendency to focus on the negative. It is within this applied context that such criteria could be useful. / Thesis (M.A. (Communication Studies))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

The ecosystem service (ES) approach to conservation normally uses economic or biophysical assessments for valuating nature's services. In contrast, even though ES are required for human well-being, the actual uses of services by differing interest groups are rarely considered, nor are intangible cultural ES. The aim of this research was to quantify different uses for 15 cultural and provisioning ES indicators across seven groups on a regional scale, as well assess spatial differences in ES across eight groups using participatory GIS. Results demonstrate that different interest groups use ES differently; in terms of ES type, frequency of use, as well as spatial location of ES use. In particular, this work highlights the importance of considering cultural ES (e.g. aesthetic/scenic, sense-of-place) during decision making processes. Spatial locations of ES hotspots were also shown to correspond with established areas of high biodiversity, both required for effective and legitimate decisions regarding land use.

La dichotomie « libre-échange versus protection » structure l'analyse de la politique commerciale dans les manuels de la théorie du commerce international. En analysant les impacts respectifs de la politique libre-échangiste et de la politique protectionniste sur l'allocation des ressources et le bien-être, les modèles standard, au premier rang desquels figure le modèle HOS, concluent à l'optimalité parétienne du libre-échange. La prescription normative est alors que tous les pays devraient appliquer une politique de libre-échange qui préserve les prix justes. Cependant, les analyses empiriques mettent en lumière le décalage de cette prescription normative : les politiques commerciales pratiquées incluent, dans des proportions variées entre pays, entre industries et entre biens, des mesures qui visent, de façon simultanée et sélective, la promotion des exportations, la substitution aux importations et la création d'un accès facilité aux importations. Les politiques pratiquées ne sont donc ni strictement libre-échangistes ni strictement protectionnistes, mais mixtes a priori. Ce constat a conduit au développement de modèles analysant les conséquences sur l'équilibre général de l'application de divers instruments de politique commerciale et spécifiant les différentes formes potentielles de cette politique. Notamment, il est expliqué que la politique commerciale mixte constitue une politique alternative. Les interventions sélectives qui la composent sont alors justifiées par la présence d'avantages comparatifs dynamiques qui conditionnent et orientent ces interventions vers des industries singulières dont la production est destinée au marché national et/ou au marché international. Mais l'assise théorique dont bénéficie ainsi la politique commerciale mixte n'aide pas à comprendre le processus politique au travers duquel cette politique est choisie. Elle ne permet pas d'ouvrir la boîte noire et de pénétrer le nucleus des choix politiques. L'économie politique le permet. L'explication théorique de l'objet « politique commerciale mixte » se situe à la croisée des deux approches constitutives du champ de recherche de l'économie politique de la protection : l'approche centrée sur la société et l'approche centrée sur l'Etat. Alors que la première approche explique que la politique est façonnée par les intérêts et les préférences des acteurs privés (ou groupes de) les plus puissants présents sur le territoire national, la seconde considère que la politique est fonction des institutions politiques et des acteurs politiques qui cherchent à satisfaire leur intérêt et leur préférence compte tenu des contraintes nationales et internationales auxquelles ils sont confrontés. La « politique commerciale mixte » peut donc s'analyser dans différentes perspectives selon les déterminants endogènes qu'on entend privilégier. Au final, la mixité de la politique commerciale résulte d'un compromis politique et institutionnel entre acteurs aux préférences hétérogènes, ce qui est partiellement remis en cause par les contraintes politiques et les influences idéationnelles internationales. Le compromis politique et institutionnel résulte de la division du gouvernement induite par un partage inégal du pouvoir de décision (fonction des institutions politiques) entre veto players (acteur composite possédant un droit de véto dans le processus de prise de décision politique), et de l'hétérogénéité de leurs préférences. La politique choisie, et les institutions associées, doivent satisfaire l'intérêt de chaque veto player, ce qui implique des mesures compensatrices et la prise en compte de l'héritage institutionnel. Non sans résistances, la flexibilité avec laquelle la politique commerciale mixte peut être utilisée est alors réduite par les contraintes politiques internationales et/ou, en amont, l'équilibre politique interne à la structure des préférences nationales modifié par celles-ci et par les influences idéationnelles internationales. / The dichotomy “free trade versus protection” structures the analysis of trade policy in the textbooks of international trade. By analyzing the respective impacts of free trade and protection policies on resources allocation and well-being, the standard models, first and foremost the HOS model, conclude on the Pareto optimality of free trade. The normative requirement is then that all countries should pursue a policy of free exchange to get the prices right. However, empirical studies highlight the shift of the normative prescription: trade policies practiced include, in varying proportions between countries, between industries and between goods, measures aimed, simultaneously and selectively, export promotion, import substitution and the creation of easier access to imports. Therefore, policies followed are neither free trade nor strictly protectionist, but mixed a priori. This observation led to the development of models analyzing the effects on the general equilibrium of the application of various instruments of trade policy, and specifying the various potential forms of this policy. In particular, it is explained that the mixed trade policy is a true policy alternative. Selective interventions are then justified by the presence of dynamic comparative advantages that determine and guide interventions towards specific industries oriented towards the domestic market and / or the international one. But the theoretical basis enjoyed by mixed trade policy does not help to understand the political process through which this policy is chosen. It does not open the black box to penetrate the nucleus of political choices. This is what political economy can achieve. The theoretical explanation of the object "mixed trade policy" is at the crossroads of two approaches constituting the political economy of protection: society-centered approach and State-centered approach. While the first approach explains that politics is shaped by the interests and preferences of the most powerful private actors (or groups of) present on the national territory, the latter considers that the policy is a function of political institutions and political actors who seek to satisfy their interest and preference given national and international constraints they face. The mixed trade policy can be analyzed from different perspectives as endogenous determinants that intends to promote. Ultimately, the mixed trade policy is a political and institutional compromise between actors with heterogeneous preferences, which is partially undermined by international political constraints and ideational influences. The institutional and political compromise result from the division of the government induced by an unequal distribution of power of decision (based on political institutions) between veto players (composite actor having a veto in the process of political decision-making), and the heterogeneity of their preferences. The policy chosen, and associated institutions, must satisfy the interest of each veto player, implying compensatory measures and taking into account the institutional legacy. Not without resistance, the flexibility with which mixed trade policy can be used is reduced by the international political constraints and / or, upstream, the internal political balance in the structure of domestic preferences changed by them and by the international ideational influences.

In 2014, European heads of state selected new targets for the EU as part of the 2030 climate and energy framework. The targets will guide the ambition and nature of EU policy in this area until 2030 and are likely to have important implications for Europe’s transition to a low-carbon economy. The decision taken by the European Council was preceded by several years of vigorous interaction between interest groups, the European Commission and the member states. The outcome of this interaction set the agenda for EU climate and energy policy but the role of interest groups in climate and energy policy, especially relative to important economic ideas, is relatively under researched. By augmenting and applying the multiple streams approach developed by John Kingdon in the 1980s and using process-tracing techniques, this thesis contributes a detailed case study of this important instance of European interest representation. It is found that the complex and dynamic political context for the interaction made planning and executing advocacy campaigns challenging for all actors. The debate about the 2030 framework is shown to hinge on the idea of technology-neutrality and its status on the policymaking agenda. A number of policy coalitions are observed with a wide range of characteristics, some novel. Several attempts at ‘policy entrepreneurship’ by interest groups are recorded but most were disrupted by the confused and fast-changing political situation. It is shown that a combination of spill-over between policy windows, framing and coalition building activity served to push the idea of technology neutrality up the agenda. The multiple streams approach is shown to be broadly applicable to the research context and aims but greater agency over policy windows than originally assumed must be granted to actors and the possibility for successful policy entrepreneurship to yield unintended policy outcomes allowed for.

Esta pesquisa trata da política externa da Bolívia, no período de 2006 a 2014, e de suas consequências para o apoio dos grupos de interesse do país ao partido governista nas eleições presidenciais de 2009 e de 2014. O texto aborda três temas da política externa boliviana: as nacionalizações de recursos naturais e serviços, a defesa do uso tradicional da folha de coca e a reivindicação marítima. Quanto aos grupos de interesse, o estudo versa sobre os trabalhadores mineiros, os campesinos indígenas e os cocaleiros. Analisa-se como o governo tratou os três temas de política externa para responder à seguinte questão: em que medida os interesses e preferências dos cocaleiros, dos campesinos indígenas e dos trabalhadores mineiros afetaram as ações do governo de Evo Morales nas nacionalizações dos recursos naturais e serviços, na defesa do direito ao cultivo da folha de coca e na reivindicação de um acesso soberano para o Oceano Pacífico no período de 2006 a 2014? A hipótese é de que as ações foram afetadas na medida em que o governo procurou alinhar tais ações com as preferências dos grupos de interesse como forma de atender seus próprios propósitos eleitorais, pois almejava os votos dos grupos de interesse nas eleições. Utiliza-se a teoria de Helen Milner, que trata das relações entre grupos de interesse e agentes políticos – executivo e legislativo – nas questões de política externa, bem como da relação entre as arenas da política exterior e da política interna. Utiliza-se a metodologia qualitativa e o método de estudo de caso. Concluiu-se que a influência variou de acordo com o tema tratado e com o grupo de interesse, alterando-se também entre uma eleição e outra. / This thesis deals with Bolivia's foreign policy from 2006 to 2014 and about the consequences for the support of interest groups to the ruling party in the presidential elections of 2009 and 2014. The text addresses three themes of Bolivia's foreign policy: nationalization of natural resources and services, protection of the traditional use of the coca leaf and the maritime claim. As for interest groups, the study deals with the miners, indigenous peasants and coca producers. It analyzes how the government treated the three foreign policy themes to answer: to what extent the interests and preferences of coca producers, indigenous and peasant miners affected the actions of the Evo Morales government in the nationalization of natural resources and services, in defense of the right to the cultivation of coca leaf and claim a sovereign access to the Pacific Ocean, from 2006 to 2014? The hypothesis is that the actions were affected in the extent that the government sought to align these actions to the preferences of interest groups in order to meet their own electoral purposes because craved the votes of the interest groups in elections. It uses the theory of Helen Milner, which deals with relations between interest groups and political agents - executive and legislative - on foreign policy issues as well as the relationship between the arenas of foreign policy and domestic policy. It uses a qualitative methodology and the case study method. It was concluded that the influence varied with the treaty issue and the interest group, also altering between one election and another.

Esta pesquisa trata da política externa da Bolívia, no período de 2006 a 2014, e de suas consequências para o apoio dos grupos de interesse do país ao partido governista nas eleições presidenciais de 2009 e de 2014. O texto aborda três temas da política externa boliviana: as nacionalizações de recursos naturais e serviços, a defesa do uso tradicional da folha de coca e a reivindicação marítima. Quanto aos grupos de interesse, o estudo versa sobre os trabalhadores mineiros, os campesinos indígenas e os cocaleiros. Analisa-se como o governo tratou os três temas de política externa para responder à seguinte questão: em que medida os interesses e preferências dos cocaleiros, dos campesinos indígenas e dos trabalhadores mineiros afetaram as ações do governo de Evo Morales nas nacionalizações dos recursos naturais e serviços, na defesa do direito ao cultivo da folha de coca e na reivindicação de um acesso soberano para o Oceano Pacífico no período de 2006 a 2014? A hipótese é de que as ações foram afetadas na medida em que o governo procurou alinhar tais ações com as preferências dos grupos de interesse como forma de atender seus próprios propósitos eleitorais, pois almejava os votos dos grupos de interesse nas eleições. Utiliza-se a teoria de Helen Milner, que trata das relações entre grupos de interesse e agentes políticos – executivo e legislativo – nas questões de política externa, bem como da relação entre as arenas da política exterior e da política interna. Utiliza-se a metodologia qualitativa e o método de estudo de caso. Concluiu-se que a influência variou de acordo com o tema tratado e com o grupo de interesse, alterando-se também entre uma eleição e outra. / This thesis deals with Bolivia's foreign policy from 2006 to 2014 and about the consequences for the support of interest groups to the ruling party in the presidential elections of 2009 and 2014. The text addresses three themes of Bolivia's foreign policy: nationalization of natural resources and services, protection of the traditional use of the coca leaf and the maritime claim. As for interest groups, the study deals with the miners, indigenous peasants and coca producers. It analyzes how the government treated the three foreign policy themes to answer: to what extent the interests and preferences of coca producers, indigenous and peasant miners affected the actions of the Evo Morales government in the nationalization of natural resources and services, in defense of the right to the cultivation of coca leaf and claim a sovereign access to the Pacific Ocean, from 2006 to 2014? The hypothesis is that the actions were affected in the extent that the government sought to align these actions to the preferences of interest groups in order to meet their own electoral purposes because craved the votes of the interest groups in elections. It uses the theory of Helen Milner, which deals with relations between interest groups and political agents - executive and legislative - on foreign policy issues as well as the relationship between the arenas of foreign policy and domestic policy. It uses a qualitative methodology and the case study method. It was concluded that the influence varied with the treaty issue and the interest group, also altering between one election and another.

nÃo hà / O papel das instituiÃÃes no desenvolvimento econÃmico vem ganhando cada vez mais espaÃo nos debates acadÃmicos. Nessa discussÃo, o Estado desempenha uma funÃÃo fundamental. Mas, para entender melhor a relaÃÃo entre esses trÃs: instituiÃÃes, Estado e desenvolvimento, à necessÃrio conhecer o fator que os une, ou seja, a polÃtica.O principal objetivo deste trabalho à analisar a relaÃÃo entre a competiÃÃo polÃtica, a aÃÃo dos grupos de interesse e a oferta de serviÃos pÃblicos nos municÃpios do CearÃ. A competiÃÃo polÃtica foi medida por variÃveis que indicam alternÃncia de poder no executivo e legislativo, bem como o alinhamento polÃtico entre as diferentes esferas de governo. Os grupos de interesse foram denotados pelos doadores, Pessoas FÃsicas e Pessoas JurÃdicas, de campanha dos prefeitos e vereadores eleitos e a oferta de serviÃos pÃblicos foi medida pelo Ãndice de Desenvolvimento Social de Oferta (IDS-O).Montou-se um painel com os anos de 2005 e 2009 para todos os 184 municÃpios cearenses. Estimou-se um painel com efeitos aleatÃrios. Foram feitas duas estimaÃÃes, em uma delas excluiu-se o municÃpio de Fortaleza por este se destacar dos demais em termos de desempenho econÃmico. NÃo foram encontradas diferenÃas significativas nas duas estimaÃÃes. Os resultados mostram que, os municÃpios que possuem menor nÃvel de competiÃÃo sÃo os que apresentam maior IDS-O. Quanto à aÃÃo dos grupos de interesse, os grupos formados por Pessoas JurÃdicas, desde que sejam nÃo coesos, sÃo preferÃveis na medida em que impactam positivamente na oferta de serviÃos pÃblicos. / The role of institutions in economic development is gaining more space in academic debates. In this discussion, the State plays a key role. To better understand the relationship between institutions, State and economic development, it is necessary to explore the factor that connects them, namely, politics. The main objective of this paper is to analyze the relationship between political competition, the action of interest groups and public provision of services in the counties. Political competition was measured by variables that indicate alternation of power in the executive and legislative branches, as well as the political alignment between the different spheres of government. Interest groups were denoted by donors, Individuals and Legal Entities, for the campaign of mayors and elected councilors, and the provision of public services was measured by the Index of Social Development of Supply (IDS-O). With information from the 184 cities in the state of CearÃ, for the years of 2005 and 2009, the data was assembled in a panel which estimated considering random effects. There were two models: the city of Fortaleza was excluded from one of them because its economic performance was superior to the other citiesâ; in the results, however, there were no significant differences. The results also show that the municipalities that have lower competition level are those with higher IDS-O. Regarding the action of interest groups, the ones formed by corporations, provided they are not cohesive, are preferable to society since they influence public services in a positive way.

Esta pesquisa trata da política externa da Bolívia, no período de 2006 a 2014, e de suas consequências para o apoio dos grupos de interesse do país ao partido governista nas eleições presidenciais de 2009 e de 2014. O texto aborda três temas da política externa boliviana: as nacionalizações de recursos naturais e serviços, a defesa do uso tradicional da folha de coca e a reivindicação marítima. Quanto aos grupos de interesse, o estudo versa sobre os trabalhadores mineiros, os campesinos indígenas e os cocaleiros. Analisa-se como o governo tratou os três temas de política externa para responder à seguinte questão: em que medida os interesses e preferências dos cocaleiros, dos campesinos indígenas e dos trabalhadores mineiros afetaram as ações do governo de Evo Morales nas nacionalizações dos recursos naturais e serviços, na defesa do direito ao cultivo da folha de coca e na reivindicação de um acesso soberano para o Oceano Pacífico no período de 2006 a 2014? A hipótese é de que as ações foram afetadas na medida em que o governo procurou alinhar tais ações com as preferências dos grupos de interesse como forma de atender seus próprios propósitos eleitorais, pois almejava os votos dos grupos de interesse nas eleições. Utiliza-se a teoria de Helen Milner, que trata das relações entre grupos de interesse e agentes políticos – executivo e legislativo – nas questões de política externa, bem como da relação entre as arenas da política exterior e da política interna. Utiliza-se a metodologia qualitativa e o método de estudo de caso. Concluiu-se que a influência variou de acordo com o tema tratado e com o grupo de interesse, alterando-se também entre uma eleição e outra. / This thesis deals with Bolivia's foreign policy from 2006 to 2014 and about the consequences for the support of interest groups to the ruling party in the presidential elections of 2009 and 2014. The text addresses three themes of Bolivia's foreign policy: nationalization of natural resources and services, protection of the traditional use of the coca leaf and the maritime claim. As for interest groups, the study deals with the miners, indigenous peasants and coca producers. It analyzes how the government treated the three foreign policy themes to answer: to what extent the interests and preferences of coca producers, indigenous and peasant miners affected the actions of the Evo Morales government in the nationalization of natural resources and services, in defense of the right to the cultivation of coca leaf and claim a sovereign access to the Pacific Ocean, from 2006 to 2014? The hypothesis is that the actions were affected in the extent that the government sought to align these actions to the preferences of interest groups in order to meet their own electoral purposes because craved the votes of the interest groups in elections. It uses the theory of Helen Milner, which deals with relations between interest groups and political agents - executive and legislative - on foreign policy issues as well as the relationship between the arenas of foreign policy and domestic policy. It uses a qualitative methodology and the case study method. It was concluded that the influence varied with the treaty issue and the interest group, also altering between one election and another.

O escopo desta pesquisa é examinar a relação entre grupos de interesse e o Poder Legislativo em política comercial exterior, desafiando a percepção de que tal instância tenha um papel insignificante no policy-making da política externa brasileira e, portanto, não se configure como âmbito de interesses do empresariado. Mesmo admitindo que a atividade constitucional do Congresso se restrinja à ratificação, existe uma série de fatores que fornecem incentivos para sua utilização como alvo alternativo de pressões do empresariado: intensificação dos custos das negociações para o setor privado, divergência destes grupos com o Executivo, insulamento do Executivo na condução da política externa, ampliação da participação do Brasil em diversos foros negociais, melhor organização do próprio setor privado nacional, entre outros. Para averiguar tal hipótese, além do embasamento teórico, foi empreendida uma análise empírica do período de 1998 a 2008 em política comercial, objetivando um levantamento das matérias concernente, e posterior análise dos movimentos do empresariado em relação a estas peças legislativas. Com essas informações, foi possível realizar uma análise qualitativa dos dados e obter um panorama da relação do Poder Legislativo com grupos de interesse nesta temática. / The scope of this research is to examine the relationship between interest groups and the legislative branch in foreign trade policy, challenging the perception that this body has a minor role in policy-making of Brazilian foreign policy and therefore not set up as scope of business interests. Even assuming that Congresss constitutional activity is confined to the ratification, there are a number of factors that provide incentives for its use as an alternative target to business pressures: increased costs of negotiations for the private sector, their disagreement with the Executive, isolation in the Executive\'s conduct of foreign policy, expansion of Brazil\'s participation in various negotiating fora, better organization of the domestic private sector, among others. To investigate this hypothesis, beyond the theoretical framework, it was undertaken an empirical analysis of the period from 1998 to 2008 on trade policy, aiming at a survey of issues concerning, and further analysis of the movements of the business community in relation to these pieces of legislation. With this information, it was possible to perform a qualitative analysis of the data and get an overview of the relationship of the legislature with interest groups on this topic.