Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Previous research on post-conflict elections has found several criteria important in determining if an area is ready to hold elections and whether or not it is likely to succeed. Although rarely ranked in any determination of importance, several concepts are present in most post-conflict election research. Additionally, there is not an agreed set of standard criteria upon which success can be assumed. When researching the post-conflict election literature two questions arise: (1) is there a set of criteria established to determine if an area is ready to conduct post-conflict elections, and (2) do all criteria need to be present in order to ensure successful post-conflict elections? Most research agrees on common criteria but highlights or researches one dominant criterion, to which is then often attributed to the success of an election. This is found in Krishna Kumar’s focus on international assistance (Kumar, 1998), Staffan Lindberg’s attribution of success to repetition of the election process (Lindberg, 2006), Paul Collier’s focus on per capita income (Collier, 2009), and Marie-Soleil Frere’s research on post-conflict elections and the media (Frere, 2011). When reviewing multiple research sources, it is likely several factors at various times and in various elections will be credited with being the single source criterion for success. This kind of past research is well supported and conclusively argued, but still fails to provide a scope of understanding outside of a single event. In other words, it is case specific and not comparatively applicable across cases. Although this thesis does not intend to “McDonaldize” (Ritzer, 2009) the process of democratization, it does propose to define a common set of criteria necessary, even if in varying degrees, to conduct successful elections in post-conflict environments.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / This research project proposes to try to isolate and measure the influence of “regime fatigue” on gubernatorial elections and senatorial elections in the United States where there is no incumbent running. The research begins with a review of the negativity effect and its potential influence on schema-based impression forming by voters. Applicable literature on the topics of social clustering and homophily is then highlighted as it provides the vehicle through which the negativity effect disseminates across collections of socially-clustered individuals and ultimately contributes to changing tides of public opinion despite the fact that the political party identification can remain relatively fixed in the aggregate.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / While the Arab spring succeeded in ousting the long-term dictator led governments from power in many Arab countries, leading the way to a new democratic process to develop in the Arab world, it did not end the old suspicions between Arab Muslims and the West. This research investigates the beginning of the relations between the Arab Muslims and the West as they have developed over time, and then focuses its analysis on perceptions from both sides beginning with 9/11 through the events known as the Arab spring. The framework for analysis is a communication perspective, as embodied in the Coordinated Management of Meaning (CMM). According to CMM, communication can be understood as forms of interactions that both constitute and frame reality. The study posits the analysis that the current Arab Muslim-West divide, is often a conversation that is consistent with what CMM labels as the ethnocentric pattern. This analysis will suggest a new pathway, one that follows the CMM cosmopolitan form, as a more fruitful pattern for the future of Arab Muslim-West relations. This research emphasizes the factors fueling this ethnocentric pattern, in addition to ways of bringing the Islamic world and the West to understand each other with a more cosmopolitan approach, which, among other things, accepts mutual differences while fostering agreements. To reach this core, the study will apply a direct communicative engagement between the Islamic world and the West to foster trusted relations, between the two.

Abstracts in English, Zulu and Afrikaans / This Grounded Theory study focused on understanding how South Africa’s two numerically-dominant political parties, the African National Congress (ANC) and Democratic Alliance (DA), used micro-blogging site, Twitter, as part of their electioneering arsenal in the 2016 municipal elections to promote party-political digital issue ownership within an urban context. Using each party’s 2016 election manifesto and corpus of tweets, this three-phased study found that while both the ANC and DA used Twitter as a digital political communication platform to communicate their election campaigns, the DA notably leveraged the social networking site for intense ‘focused’ messaging of its negative campaign against the ANC while simultaneously promoting positive electoral messages around its own ‘core’ issues and metro mayoral candidates. ‘Battleground’ metros were identified by the DA in Ekurhuleni, Johannesburg, Tshwane and Nelson Mandela Bay, leading to an emphasised urban campaign here to either activate the party’s own support base and/ or to suppress the ANC’s turnout in these highly-contested areas. Additionally, it was found that both the ANC and DA used Twitter for explicit and implicit partypolitical issue ownership claiming in the 2016 municipal elections. Lastly, this study also culminated in the proposal of three but interconnected different elements of a conceptual framework for digital political communication that political parties could use to promote digital party-political issue ownership within a pronounced urban electioneering setting. These elements – ‘coordinating and managing how an election is tweeted’, 'focus' messaging the election’ and ‘audience-segmenting as a message-tailoring strategy’ – when used in unison can help political parties communicate better and ultimately more effectively in a highly mediatised technological media landscape / Hierdie Gegronde Teorie Studie fokus op die verduideliking hoe Suid-Afrika se twee numeriese dominante politieke partye, die African National Congress (ANC) en Demokratiese Alliansie (DA), van die mikro-blog platform, Twitter, gebruik gemaak het tydens hulle verkiessingsstrategie in die 2016 munisipale verkiessings om die party politieke digitale kwessie rondom eienaarskap binne ‘n stedelike verband te bevorder. Deur elke party se 2016 verkiessings manifesto en arsenaal van twiets te gebruik, het hierdie drie-fase studie bevind dat beide die ANC en DA, Twitter gebruik het as ‘n digitale politieke kommunikasie platform. Die DA het egter die sosiale media netwerk kenmerkend gebruik vir ‘n intense gefokusde negatiewe veldtog teen die ANC terwyl hulle terselfdertyd ‘n positiewe verkiessings boodskap rondom die party se eie kernkwessies en metro burgermeesters kandidate gesentreer het. ‘Oorlogsgebied’ metros is deur die DA in Ekurhuleni, Johannesburg, Tshwane en Nelson Mandela Bay geidentifiseer wat ‘n defnitiewe stedelike veldtog tot gevolg gehad het om die party se eie ondersteuningsbasis te bevorder en/of die ANC se ondersteuning in hierdie hoogs betwiste areas te onderdruk. Daar was ook bevind dat beide die ANC en DA van Twitter gebruik gemaak het vir eksplisiete en implisiete party politieke kwessies rondom eiernaarskap tydens die 2016 munisipale verkiessings. Hierdie studie kan saamgevat word in drie onderskeie maar verwante elemente om ‘n raamwerk te vorm van die digitale politieke kommunikasie wat politieke partye kan gebruik om digitale party politieke kwessies binne ‘n stedelike verkiessings omgewing te bevorder. Wanneer hierdie elemente – ‘koordinering en bestuur van hoe twiets tydens ‘n verkiesing gebruik word’, ‘’die focus van die boodksap tydens die verkiessing’ and ‘die gehoorsegmentasie can ‘n boodskap strategie’ – in ‘n eenheid gebruik word kan dit politieke partye help om beter en meer effektief te kommunikeer binne ‘n baie kompiterende en tegnologiese medialandskap. / Inkcazo-bungcali yesisifundo ibigxile ekuqondeni ukuba uMzantsi Africa lo unamaqela amakhulu amabini ezopolitiko, ukutsho, iAfrican National Congress (ANC) kunye ne Democratic Alliance (DA), la maqela asebenzise iwebhusayithi encinane uTwitter, njengenxalenye yezixhobo zonxibelelwano kunyulo loo masipala ngo-2016. Bekwenza oku ngelikhuthaza amaqela ezopolitiko nebango lawo kwimiba yezinto abathi bazithethe kwisithuba sedijithali,kumxholo wendawo zase dolophini. Esi sifundo sisebenzisa imanifesto kunye nothotho lwe tweets zeqela ngalinye, nesenziwe ngokwezigaba ezithathu, sifumanise ukuba nangona iANC kunye ne DA zisebenzise uTwitter njenge qonga lonxibelelwano lwezopolitiko zedijithali (ngokolwimi lwasemzini) ukunxibelelana namaphulo onyulo, iDA izibonakalise amandla kwindawo yokuncokola kwiqonga uTwitter,ngokuthi imiyalezo yayo igxile kwaye itsole. Miyalezo leyo ithe yagxila ngokungafanelekanga kumkhankaso weANC. Ngaxeshanye, imiyalezo yayo yona iDA ibeyeyakhayo, kwaye incedisana nephulo layo kwimiba ephambili kunye nabagqatswa bosodolophu bo masipala abambaxa. Oomasipala abambaxa abathi babenongquzulwano bachongwe yiDA Ekurhuleni, eRhawutini, eTshwane nase Bhayi. Lonto ibangele ukuba bagxininise ekukhokeleni iphulo ledolophu ukuze bavuselele inkxaso ye DA apho okanye bacinezele ukuvela kwe-ANC kwezi ndawo kuphikiswana kakhulu ngazo. Ukongeza, kufumaniseke ukuba iANC kunye neDA zisebenzise uTwitter ngokwendlela ecacileyo nengathanga ngqo kwimeko yobunini bemicimbi yepolitiki ukuze bafumane ibango kunyulo loomasipala lwango 2016. Okokugqibela, esisifundo sigqibele kwisindululo sezinto ezintathu azahlukeneyo kodwa ezidityaniswe yinkqubosikhokelo eqingqiweyo kunxibelelwano lwezopolitiko zedijithali. Ezi zinto zizinto ezisenakho ukusetyenziswa ngamaqela ezopolitiko ukukhuthaza ubunini bemicimbi yezopolitiko ngaphakathi kulungiselelo lonyulo lwedolophu olubhengeziweyo. Ezi zinto- 'ukulungelelanisa nokulawula indlela unyulo luthunyelwe ngayo kusetyeziswa uTwitter', 'kugxilwe' kwimiyalezo yonyulo kunye nokuhlukaniswa kwabaphulaphuli okanye ababukeli njengecebo lokulungisa umyalezo '- xa zisetyenziswa ngazwinye zinokuwanceda amaqela ezopolitiko anxibelelane ngcono kwaye ekugqibeleni ngokuyimpumelelo kakhulu kuxhamlo olunamandla kakhulu kubume beendaba kumhlaba wetekhnoloji (ngokolwimi lwesiNgesi). / Communication Science / D. Litt. et Phil. (Communication)