Thesis (Ph. D.)--UCLA, 2009. / Vita. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 334-354).

Diss. Göteborg : Göteborgs universitet, 2009.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Notre Dame, 2004. / Thesis directed by David Soloman and Paul J. Weithman for the Department of Philosophy. "January 2004." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 312-314).

No description available.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate if the political participation has increased in practice for the former excluded indigenous people in Bolivia during the Morales administration and with the establishment of a new constitution, in order to see whether democracy has been deepened in the country or not. The thesis is carried out with a case study design and material consists mainly of qualitative interviews with different indigenous organizations and NGOs, as well as previous research on the area. The theoretical framework is based on dimensions on participation in where the three areas of inclusion, spaces for participation and influence are examined in order to investigate the purpose. The thesis argues that the political participation has not increased for all of the different indigenous groups, but for some; the smaller indigenous groups in the lowland have not experienced an increased political participation, whilst the three biggest indigenous groups, Aymara and Quechua in the highland, and Guaraní in the lowland, feel that their political participation has increased. Since some indigenous groups have experienced change and an increased political participation it is argued that the democracy has been deepened to a small degree.

Situated between the state and civil society, the role of the public sphere is seen to be one of mediating between the two through the circulation of information, ideas, and the subsequent formation and propagation of public opinion. However, there is an ambivalence within conceptions of the public sphere in terms of how it is to best effect this mediation. This sense of ambiguity in the understandings of the public sphere is a reflection of a deeply rooted and unresolved tension about whether democracy should mean some kind of popular power or an aid to decision-making. This dissertation argues that defining democracy as a political method provides a means by which to navigate the ambiguity imbued within current understandings of the function of the public sphere. Understanding democracy as a public, instrumental process underscores the extent to which the character of the public sphere should be seen as being derived from and shaped by the institutions and practices that make up the state. Of all the institutions within the public sphere, it is within perceptions of the media that the conceptual tensions underlying the public sphere and democratic theory are best reflected. While the media are a major forum for political communication, the nature of this forum remains theoretically underdeveloped and conceptually misconceived in the literature. It is the contention of this dissertation that the political role of the media should not be understood in relation to some abstract idea of democracy and public opinion, but rather in contrast with and connection to the concrete political institutions and practices of democracy.

Prominent theories in political participation literature predict that those with higher levels of income and education are more like to engage in politics. Given the perception of Asian New Zealanders as wealthy and well educated it is puzzling not only to find that this community has low levels of political participation, but that a similar pattern emerges in the United States. It is to this background that this thesis aims to shed light on the political attitudes and participation of young Asian New Zealanders, and reports on results from depth interviews held in Christchurch between December 2007 and early 2008. A small pilot study of six Asian New Zealanders aged between 18-24 years and five of their parents were interviewed regarding their voting habits, their participation in other political activities, and their interest in politics. This thesis identifies six prominent theories of political participation and assesses their ability to explain the political participation of this small sample of young Asian New Zealanders. The results of this study are also compared with research conducted on Asian participation in the United States so as to gain a more in depth perspective of Asian immigrant political participation. This thesis finds that while the participants in this study relate closely to their ethnic and cultural backgrounds, they often identify New Zealand as ‘home’ and see their future in New Zealand. The participants also discussed politics and participation in terms commonly associated with a typical youth cohort, rather than what might be expected of a minority youth cohort. While the six youth participants in this study did not participate extensively in political activities, the interviewees indicated they are interested in politics and feel that they can influence politics in New Zealand, should they choose to do so. Furthermore, this research highlights how theories which have been found to be influential in predicting the political engagement of majority groups may not adequately explain the engagement of immigrant communities. While most theories of participation have had their widest application in relation to majority communities, minority groups are faced with a unique set of informational, legal and linguistic barriers. Thus, traditional assumptions about what serves to influence political engagement may not fully explain immigrant political participation.

The effects of two measures of alienation on political participation were examined. The hypotheses were contained in a theoretical model which predicted a relationship between powerlessness, meaninglessness, knowledge seeking and participation.Powerlessness was found to be an inadequate prediction of participation and was subsequently excluded from the model.Political knowledge seeking was found to be highly related to participation.Meaninglessness contributed only moderately to the predictive ability of the model.The thesis suggests that an individual's ability to comprehend his political environment and/or the comprehensibility of the political environment must be improved in order to boost citizen participation.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio University, August, 2007. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Dept. of Politics, University of Adelaide, 1990. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 779-813).