This thesis uncovers political culture in Northampton borough from 1768-1868 through the study of parliamentary elections. The thesis provides a comprehensive method of studying political culture at a local level. Northampton is an example of an 'open' pre-reform borough in which a large proportion of men were able to vote in parliamentary elections; pollbooks, political ephemera, newspapers and correspondence have been used to provide both a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the borough's elections. By analysing gender and space history alongside more traditional approaches to political history such as examining party politics, politicians and pollbook analysis, this thesis shows the importance of linking various methodologies to provide a complete picture of political culture. This study argues that the home was used as a political space during pre-reform elections due to election customs and the exchange of property. It shows the involvement of non-elite women in pre-reform elections through their role as homeowners and witnessses. By testing 'new political history' this study argues that the constituency was not solely constructed by politicians, and nor did it mirror national agenda: local political rhetoric was actually of a pragmatic nature, and shifted to suit the electorate and encompass common social terminology. This thesis argues that practical changes made by reforms of parliament facilitated ideological shifts and had unintended consequences. Finally, this thesis suggests that political culture must focus on the practicalities of politics at the local level.

El presente trabajo de investigación realiza un análisis de la cobertura periodística de los diarios La República y El Comercio durante las elecciones municipales de Lima en el mes de septiembre del año 2018. Se ha considerado como parte de este análisis 10 notas informativas de ambos diarios, algunas a favor o en contra de determinado candidato, otras pretenden ser neutrales sin expresar su postura dominante. Asimismo, el motivo por el cual se realiza el presente trabajo es para que los jóvenes puedan informarse y conocer más a profundidad cómo es una campaña electoral municipal en Lima- Perú, mientras que el objetivo de la investigación, tal y como se ha mencionado, es analizar en qué consistió la cobertura periodística de los diarios La República y El Comercio durante las elecciones municipales de Lima en el mes de setiembre del año 2018. Asimismo, el fin de este trabajo periodístico también es que lo dicho a lo largo del trabajo pueda servir como contexto y guía a todo estudiante perdido en el mundo político. La metodología que se emplea en esta investigación es cualitativa, ya que describe y analiza los elementos expuestos en ambos medios escritos. Uno de los resultados es que Renzo Reggiardo y Jorge Muñoz, dos de los candidatos a la alcaldía de Lima, fueron más cubiertos y privilegiados por La República y El Comercio respectivamente. La conclusión principal es que el diario nacional El Comercio cubrió en mayor magnitud la campaña del candidato Jorge Muñoz en el mes de setiembre, mientras que el diario La República lo hizo con mayor notoriedad al postulante Renzo Reggiardo. / This research makes an analysis of media coverage of the daily La Republica and El Comercio during the municipal elections in Lima in September 2018. It has been considered as part of this analysis 10 briefing notes of both newspapers, some in favor or against a particular candidate, others pretend to be neutral without expressing its dominant position. Also, the reason why this work is done is for young people to learn and know more deeply what a municipal election campaign in Lima, Peru, while the target of the investigation, as mentioned, it is to analyze how media coverage consisted of the daily La Republica and El Comercio during the municipal elections in Lima in the month of September 2018. Likewise, the purpose of this journalistic work is also that what has been said throughout the work can serve as a context and guide for every student lost in the political world. The methodology used in this research is qualitative, since it describes and analyzes the elements outlined in both print media. One of the results is that Renzo Reggiardo and Jorge Muñoz, two of the candidates for mayor of Lima, were more covered and privileged by La Republica and El Comercio respectively. The main conclusion is that the national newspaper El Comercio covered in greater magnitude campaign candidate Jorge Muñoz in the month of September, while the daily La Republica did more notoriety to the applicant Renzo Reggiardo. / Trabajo de investigación

in English The aim of this thesis is to explain the institutional setting of the political system of Greater Prague (polity) - especially the electoral system and institutional structures - and then in this located space realize real encounters and cooperation of political parties (politics). Working in its first chapter deals with the identification, evaluation or sources from which it is based. The second chapter briefly depicts the development of public administration in Prague and the creation of Greater Prague in 1922. In the third chapter, there are defined authorities, where the Prague municipal affairs usually took place, and their competence. The fourth chapter explains the functioning of the electoral system, which was an important determinant of the form of the party system. The electoral system with highly proportional effects allowed representation of number of parties (mainly arising from the cleavages in the society). The most powerful political parties, operating in the central council, are briefly introduced, including their prominent protagonists of the Prague City Hall. In the extensive sixth chapter, the results of municipal elections from the years 1923- 1938 are compared in time and space of the city. The observed territorial differences of electoral support are cartographic...

Diploma thesis focuses on one of the most important variables of proportional electoral systems - electoral districts. This problematic is researched in the context of municipal elections to the Prague City Assembly. In the Czech municipal electoral system this variable can be changed very flexibly and in Prague we can find three variations of electoral districts. The aim of thesis is to explore these variants of electoral districts from the point of proportionality and efficiency of governance. The topic is researched in three cases of municipal elections in Prague in 2010, 2014 and 2018. In the introduction of diploma thesis two research questions are defined. The first part is theoretical, and it is focused on the municipal electoral system in the Czech Republic, electoral district in the theory of electoral systems, variants of electoral districts in Prague and academic debate about proportionality and efficiency. Results of three researched elections are analysed as well. The analytical part of thesis is focused on models of seats distribution in accordance with electoral districts. In the conclusion results are evaluated and compared. Research questions are answered in this part as well.

In 2010 the municipal elections took place in the Czech Republic. In this theses there are applied some of the knowledge from the area of the public choice theory and the game theory to the results of the pre-election surveys and results of the elections. Firstly the methods for allocating seats are applied on data from the surveys and election results. The power indices are calculated for all the proportion of allocation of mandates in order to qualify the bargaining power. The results of elections are analysed and compared with two previous periods and with the pre-election surveys. The bargaining power is confronted according to the indices with the results of post-elections negotiations.

When votes are cast in an election and a winner is declared, people can accept the result, they can challenge it or they can turn against democracy. This thesis seeks to understand why in some cases elections are accepted while in others they are challenged and their outcomes rejected. Conventional wisdom holds that when elections are held according to international standards, acceptance will follow. I challenge this notion. As experience shows, sometimes even elections classified as free and fair evoke protests, while less technically perfect elections are sometimes widely accepted. So, when, where and under what conditions are election results accepted? And what can we do to increase their credibility? There are many aspects than can influence this but I focus on three main areas that deserve especial attention. A first research phase relies on Qualitative Comparative Analysis. It shows that holding free and fair elections is necessary but not sufficient for the acceptance of election results. Two other factors are needed: a) political parties need to support electoral institutions and b) election results need to be transparent. A second research phase uses multilevel regression to explore the first of these factors in greater detail. Findings show that including political parties in the appointment of the members of the electoral management body has a positive impact on election credibility. A third research phase consisting of a small N structured comparison focuses on election results. It shows that having visible and inferable results contributes to preventing and mitigating post-election protests. In short, an election not only has to be “free and fair” but also needs the legitimacy and credibility obtained when political parties support the main election institution and when results are clear, widely available and completely beyond doubt.

Various questions regarding Latinos’ descriptive representation in the mayoralty are examined in this dissertation including: Where and why are Latino mayors elected? Why do Latino mayoral candidates emerge and win? And, is there is a link between Latino ethnicity and electoral outcomes in municipal elections? The empirical results of a cross-sectional analysis of U.S. cities from 1981-2006 suggest that institutions such as term limits and mayor-council governments influence the representation of Latinos in the mayoralty. These effects, however, are conditioned by Latinos’ numerical strength in a city – which suggests that Latino descriptive representation in the mayoralty is largely a function of population size. Despite the prominence of this factor, the results further reveal that Latinos need to swell the ranks of the city council to provide a steady supply of qualified Latino candidates to ultimately win the mayoralty. An analysis of 648 mayoral elections in 113 cities in the Southwest further tests theories of Latino candidate emergence and success based on city-level factors – that supply elections with Latino candidates – as well as strategic factors in elections – that influence Latino candidates’ cost-benefit decision calculus. The results reveal a combined effect of supply and strategy on candidate emergence and success. For example, in cities where Latinos are sizeable (+40 percent) and the electoral context is more competitive (i.e., where turnout is high, more candidates are on the ballot, and when incumbents are not vying for reelection), Latino candidates are more likely to emerge. A similar pattern occurs with regard to the success of Latino candidates except that the individual candidate’s previous political experience is particularly influential in improving their chances of winning. Given the theoretical expectation regarding the impact of ethnicity on electoral outcomes in municipal elections, I also examine whether Latino ethnicity shapes turnout rates and the margin of victory. Latino ethnicity is not statistically associated with these outcomes. However, other factors such as the election timing and the type of election (i.e., runoff election, open seat) seem to be more influential. In sum, the research here examines various aspects of Latino representation in the mayoralty that is the most comprehensive to date.

[pt] Esse artigo examine se eleitores reagem a informação sobre a qualidade dos serviços públicos. Exploramos um experimento natural no Brasil, no qual divulgou-se uma medida objetiva de qualidade para algumas escolas públicas, mas não outras. Isso cria variação na quantidade de informação disponível dentro de um município. Para explorar essa variação, olhamos para locais de votação localizados em escolas municipais e comparamos resultados eleitorais em eleições municipais em grupos de eleitores informados e não informados, antes e depois da divulgação de informação. Os resultados indicam que, quando os eleitores recebem boas notícias, o apoio pelo incumbente aumenta. Para as escolas com pior desempenho em nossa amostra, divulgar informação sobre qualidade das escolas leva a uma redução na proporção de votos recebida pelo prefeito incumbente concorrendo a reeleição. Esses efeitos são maiores em municípios com menor cobertura de mídia local. Não há heterogeneidades interessantes com relação a escolaridade dos eleitores. / [en] This paper examines if voters act upon information about the quality of public service delivery. We explore a natural experiment in Brazil, which provided an objective measure of quality for some public schools, but not others. This creates variation in the availability of information to voters about the quality of schools inside a municipality. To use this variation, we look at polling stations located in municipal schools and compare electoral outcomes in mayoral elections in informed and non-informed groups of voters, before and after the information release. We find that, when the information received by voters is good news, the support for the incumbent increases. For the worst performers in our sample, providing information about school quality implies a decrease in the vote-share of the incumbent. We find that these effects are stronger in municipalities without local radios and/or newspapers. We do not find relevant heterogeneities when decomposing our effects according to schooling.

Municipal elections that were held on 5 December 2000 ushered in a developmental system of local government, with specific political, economic and social challenges. This first democratic term of municipal councils was based on newly developed local government legislation, and reduced the number of councillors from approximately 12 000 to approximately 9 000. The system was unique, in that it provided for, amongst other things, the designation of certain full-time councillors, and also introduced the office of Speaker. The roles and responsibilities of councillors were clearly stated in law, and this distinguished the envisaged functions for councillors from their former ceremonial duties. Based on recommendations made by the Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office-bearers, the Minister for Provincial and Local Government introduced a remuneration system to coincide with the new term of municipal councils. However, due to certain shortcomings in the newly introduced system, stakeholders expressed their misgivings with the remuneration dispensation that was introduced. This study investigates the evolution of local government in South Africa, and then elaborates on recent advancements made in this regard. The study shows how the roles and responsibilities of councillors evolved. More specifically, it initially attempts to identify relevant provisions that deal with the remuneration of all public officebearers, and then focuses on the remuneration for members of municipal councils. Due to the constantly changing provisions relating to the remuneration of councillors, this study examines all interventions made by government until 14 November 2005, when the Minister for Provincial and Local Government published the upper limits of remuneration to be paid to councillors in terms of the relevant provisions in the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers Act, 1998 (Act No. 20 of 1998). It would be most feasible to implement the recommendations made in this dissertation with effect from the date of commencement of the financial year for municipalities during the second term of municipal councils, in terms of section 64 of the Local Government: Municipal Electoral Act, 2000 (Act No. 27 of 2000). Additional information available on a CD stored at the Merensky Library / Thesis (PhD (Public Affairs))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / School of Public Management and Administration (SPMA) / unrestricted

Master's thesis focuses on stability of local elites and their influence on the development of municipalities in Czech Republic. The stability of local elites is for the purposes of this thesis defined as the number of election of the same representatives in communal elections in between 1994 and 2010. There are three main objectives in the thesis. Firstly, to prove a dependence between stability of local elites and population of the municipality. Secondly, to find if there is statistically significant dependence between stability of local elites and selected development factors. Thirdly to identify spatial patterns of high and low stability of local elites in the Czech Republic. To complete this objectives required to design methodology and calculate stability of local elites for the municipalities of Czech Republic and then to categorize it according to its level of stability (low, medium, high). On behalf of several quantitative analyses the indirect dependence between stability of local elites and the municipality population has been proven as well as the dependence between the selected development factors (intensity of flat construction, unemployment and percentage of undergraduates). Significant clusters with high and low stability of local elites were identified by the method of spatial...