Internet and social media are technologies that have increased in recent times, does it have potential for solving problems of democracy? Some researchers claim that the new technology brings new forms of communication and eases information gathering. While others believe that the technology leads to an individualization, which in turn weakens democracy. The aim of this study is to recognize causes and consequences of the Swedish citizens use of social media in the representative democracy.To achieve the purpose two tasks will be performed. The first one will be an analytical model to test two hypotheses about how the use of social media affects the individuals support for representative democracy. Second, empirical analyzes of the data from a national survey will be carried out to test the two hypotheses, the data is conducted through a statistical analysis. Based on this, an overall research question is formulated which reads: How does the individual's use of social media effect their support to representative democracy?The analyses reveals that the citizen’s use of social media has raised high expectations of vitalization and change of the representative democracy. This indicates that new technologies may reshape the political system and form new ways of political participation that strengthens democracy.

A tese analisa os determinantes do apoio político aos presidentes em seis países da América Latina (Argentina, Bolívia, Brasil, Equador, México e Venezuela) no período 1996-2004. No final da década de 90 e início da atual, os candidatos vitoriosos nesses países apresentavam algumas características comuns, como a utilização de uma retórica personalista de forte apelo carismático. A emergência do neopopulismo em vários países da América Latina tem sido descrita pela literatura de ciência política (Roberts, 1996, 2003, 2006; Weyland, 1999a, 1999b, 2001; Knight, 1998; Coniff, 1999) como o sucesso de uma estratégia política na qual um líder, geralmente com forte apelo personalista e carismático, busca apoio popular de forma quase direta, sobrepondo-se aos partidos e aos mecanismos de controle externo que definem um regime democrático. A tese investiga 1) a oferta de políticas neopopulistas a adoção de determinadas estratégias por parte de líderes políticos -, 2) a demanda dessas políticas por parte dos eleitores e 3) o resultante processo de legitimação do neopopulismo como a principal força política contemporânea na Região. / The thesis analyses the determinants of political support for presidents in six Latin- American countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico and Venezuela) from 1994 to 2004. By the end of the last decade, electoral winners show some common traits like the strong personalistic and charismatic appeals. Some of these new Latin-American leaders were described as \'neopopulists\' according to political science literature (Roberts, 1996, 2003, 2006; Weyland, 1999a, 1999b, 2001; Knight, 1998; Conniff, 1999). \'Neopopulists\' leaders typically seek a direct support from the public to bypass mechanisms of Democratic control. The thesis study the supply of neopopulists policies or the political strategies adopted by some Latin-American leaders - and the public\'s demand for these policies, leading to the legitimization of neopopulism as the most important political force in contemporary Latin America.

This doctoral dissertation examines whether incumbency affects democracy, and if it does, how re-election impacts on the political system. This thesis links and extends two theoretical traditions that hardly ever have been combined: political support theory and incumbency theory. Political support theory is used as a proxy to examine democracy from a multidimensional perspective. In this theoretical tradition, there has been a considerable concentration of studies on developed nations, and which take a comparative approach. Also, there is persistently inadequate attention given to measuring the form of a government, with a strong predominance of parliamentarian systems. Likewise, most of the research is focused at the individual level, in where the use of statistical techniques is prevailing, and the mixed methods are, nearly, non-existent. On the other hand, there are no studies that explain incumbency effects on democracy directly. Despite there being plenty of inferences which can be taken from incumbency analysis and its extrapolations about democracy and elections, there is a scarcity of studies that associate both political phenomena. In most cases, scholars analyse incumbency as an advantage in popular elections in developed countries, mainly the U.S. The main argument of this thesis proposes that incumbency has effects on democracy and that those impacts will have adverse consequences on the democratic system. Taking Chile as a case-study, a developing country with a presidential system and with similarities to Western party systems, this research seeks to respond three hypotheses. 1) The categories of support identified by Booth and Seligson in 2009 could, to an extent, be modified by including questions that gauge the role of the presidential institution in the Chilean political system. 2) It is expected that incumbency will be shown to have distinct impacts on democratic political legitimacy. 3) The effect of deputies' re-election on political legitimacy dimensions will depend on the composition of legislative pairs at the electoral district level in Chile: two newcomers, one newcomer and one incumbent, or two incumbents. This investigation uses a mixed method strategy. From a qualitative perspective, I characterise all law bills proposed to the NC to limit the re-elections of public authorities in Chile, between 11th March 1990 and 31st December 2016. In line with this doctoral dissertation's aims, a context analysis is used to analyse the content of draft laws related to incumbency. From a quantitative approach, I examine the legislative incumbency effects on political legitimacy dimensions in Chile, from 2008 to 2014. In line with this doctoral dissertation's aim, a series of statistical techniques are used to analyse the effects of incumbency on political support. The findings suggest that: 1) The effects of incumbency are distributed differently according to the component of political legitimacy. 2) The rotation of political elites (seniority and the circulation of elected deputies) is the most substantial incumbency dimension to explain political support in comparison with the competition dimension. 3) The three indicators based on the margin of victory are only related negatively to support for government management. 4) The HDI has effects on political support, but they were inconsistent. 5) The legislative pair composition produces a moderator effect on incumbency indicators. 6) Politics and ideology play a pivotal role in understanding and explaining political support theory. This research concludes that is necessary to keep expanding studies that relate incumbency and democracy by taking other countries with different electoral systems, that arguments hold by politicians should be adjusted considering evidence, and it is imperative to reduce the perception-facts gap in citizens.

This bachelor’s thesis examines the causes behind the support of radical right and anti-immigration parties by those with a non-native background. Building on findings of previous research and the funnel of causality, a set of variables consisting of anti-immigration views and socio-economic factors are examined to determine their causal effect on the support for the Sweden Democrats among the non-native swedish population. Utilising data from Syd-SOM 2015 and Väst-SOM 2015, no support were found for the hypothesis that those with a non-native background support the Sweden Democrats on the basis of socio-economic factors. Support were found however for the hypothesis that anti-immigration views among non-natives are an important cause for their support of the Sweden Democrats.

A tese analisa os determinantes do apoio político aos presidentes em seis países da América Latina (Argentina, Bolívia, Brasil, Equador, México e Venezuela) no período 1996-2004. No final da década de 90 e início da atual, os candidatos vitoriosos nesses países apresentavam algumas características comuns, como a utilização de uma retórica personalista de forte apelo carismático. A emergência do neopopulismo em vários países da América Latina tem sido descrita pela literatura de ciência política (Roberts, 1996, 2003, 2006; Weyland, 1999a, 1999b, 2001; Knight, 1998; Coniff, 1999) como o sucesso de uma estratégia política na qual um líder, geralmente com forte apelo personalista e carismático, busca apoio popular de forma quase direta, sobrepondo-se aos partidos e aos mecanismos de controle externo que definem um regime democrático. A tese investiga 1) a oferta de políticas neopopulistas a adoção de determinadas estratégias por parte de líderes políticos -, 2) a demanda dessas políticas por parte dos eleitores e 3) o resultante processo de legitimação do neopopulismo como a principal força política contemporânea na Região. / The thesis analyses the determinants of political support for presidents in six Latin- American countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico and Venezuela) from 1994 to 2004. By the end of the last decade, electoral winners show some common traits like the strong personalistic and charismatic appeals. Some of these new Latin-American leaders were described as \'neopopulists\' according to political science literature (Roberts, 1996, 2003, 2006; Weyland, 1999a, 1999b, 2001; Knight, 1998; Conniff, 1999). \'Neopopulists\' leaders typically seek a direct support from the public to bypass mechanisms of Democratic control. The thesis study the supply of neopopulists policies or the political strategies adopted by some Latin-American leaders - and the public\'s demand for these policies, leading to the legitimization of neopopulism as the most important political force in contemporary Latin America.

nÃo hà / A presente dissertaÃÃo buscou investigar de que maneira o apoio polÃtico do Governo Estadual ao Governo Federal seria capaz de influenciar os orÃamentos da saÃde e da educaÃÃo levando-se em consideraÃÃo o perÃodo 2008-2012. Os resultados sugerem que o orÃamento pÃblico em cada Ãrea pode sofrer influÃncias distintas com relaÃÃo ao apoio do governo estadual ao governo federal. Esse à um resultado ainda nÃo relatado e que contribui para a literatura que versa sobre o tema de barganha polÃtica. Os modelos estimados captam efeitos distintos para o impacto do apoio polÃtico do estado ao presidente em termos do orÃamento liberado para educaÃÃo e saÃde, fato que pode refletir maior prioridade para os investimentos em educaÃÃo e/ou, segundo, que os demais governos tenham prioridade baixa com relaÃÃo à SaÃde. Ademais constata-se que maior autonomia financeira e menor dependÃncia de recursos da UniÃo determinam positivamente o orÃamento disponÃvel em cada Ãrea analisada. / This thesis investigates how the political support of the State Government to the Federal Government would be able to influence the budgets of health and education taking into account the period 2008-2012. The results suggest that the public budget in each area can undergo distinct influences with regard to the support of the state government to the federal government . This is a result not reported and that contributes to the literature dealing with the subject of political bargaining . The estimated models to capture the impact of different policy support to the president of the state in terms of the budget released for education and health , which may reflect higher priority to investment in education and / or effects , according to which other governments have low priority regarding Health Furthermore it appears that greater financial autonomy and less reliance on federal funds positively determine the budget available in each study area.

This dissertation is an empirical study of the political benefits of decentralization. It examines the effects of decentralization on citizens’ evaluations of the political system. Despite the large number of empirical studies on the costs and benefits of decentralization, most studies focus on economic benefits (typically in terms of fiscal efficiency) and pay little attention to potential political benefits. This dissertation seeks to fill these gaps by explicitly modeling the role decentralization plays in shaping citizens’ attitudes toward a political system. Drawing on work in political behavior and decentralization, a theoretical framework is developed to explain the manner in which citizens’ attitudes are shaped by election outcomes and their post-electoral win-loss status in multi-tier government. This dissertation not only offers a general argument with which to understand how a decentralized political structure may lead to greater stability in a democratic regime, but also offers guidance to policymakers on whether decentralization should be pursued as an option for institutional reform.

The essential cornerstone of society and the state is political support. Studying political support is therefore very important in political sciences. The purpose of this study was to research political support and its interrelation with the economic indicators of unemployment and relative income inequality. The study built on previous research. Using social data from the ESS, the results from 15 European countries were in line with previous findings in the field. Decreased unemployment is at all times found interrelated and increases political support. Income inequality is likewise found interrelated to a great extent with political support. When one of the two economic conditions notably decreases while the other increases, unemployment weighs heavier on citizens’ political support. Unemployment may have more direct effects on individuals' lives, life satisfaction and personal well-being. Income inequality has solid results of interrelation to political support when looking at the longest 12 year period. This may be due to income inequality not being as directly discernible for citizens as unemployment. Income inequality may need more time to result in negative effects and eroded political support.

This study investigated the perceptions of election stakeholders with regard to the management of the 2011 electoral processes in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The involvement of civil society organizations, electoral experts and academia, including party agents as domestic observers and stakeholders in Congolese electoral processes, is crucial as they help electoral and participatory democracy to take root in the DRC. This study was underpinned by political trust, political support and neopatrimonial theories. Furthermore, a mixed methods research design was used in order to understand the perceptions of stakeholders on the management of the 2011 electoral processes in the DRC. The findings of the study showed that stakeholders‟ perceptions on the management of the 2011 electoral processes in the DRC were driven by both internal and external factors pertaining to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that have the potential to affect the electoral processes as well as the level of trust in the INEC and other institutions involved in the electoral processes. / Political Sciences / M.A. (Politics)

台灣在新興民主國家當中具有相當特殊的地位，一方面由威權轉型至民主的過程相對而言十分平和，另一方面社會上又呈現出民主運作的紊亂與不和諧。台灣民眾對於民主政府與民主政治的態度可作為觀察台灣未來民主發展的重要依據。因此，本研究即從微觀的角度出發，並將分析的焦點集中在民眾對於「支持」（support）的概念，以探索民眾對台灣民主政治的感受，並釐清台灣民眾對政治現實與民主理念的差距，並從政治支持的角度來觀察台灣民眾的分布情形。 本研究採用二手資料量化分析的方式，運用行政院國家科學委員會補助之研究計畫，2003年「台灣選舉與民主化調查研究」之調查資料，就台灣民眾政治支持的態度進行分析。本研究將政治支持的具體含意界定為Easton所指涉的廣泛性支持（diffuse support）與特殊性支持（specific support），並透過因素分析的方式釐清屬於廣泛性支持層次的「民主價值因子」、「民主政治因子」與特殊性支持層次的「權威當局因子」、「國會與政黨機構因子」、「官僚與司法機構因子」等五個政治支持因子。 為釐清五個因子中廣泛性支持與特殊性支持之間的差異，本研究以八個政治社會學解釋變數進行相關分析，發現與廣泛性支持因子都有關聯性的是「人際互信程度」，顯示社會上人與人之間若能累積一定程度的互信基礎與社會資本，對於體系裡廣泛性支持的養成具有正面的幫助。與特殊性支持因子都有關聯性的是「全家收入狀況」與「藍綠意識型態」，全家平均收入越高的民眾，對於「官僚與司法機構」因子的信心就越高，而全家平均收入越低的民眾，則對「權威當局」以及「國會與政黨機構」因子的信心越高；在藍綠意識型態方面，傾向泛綠的民眾對於「權威當局」因子的信心越高，而傾向泛藍的民眾則對於「國會與政黨機構」以及「官僚與司法機構」因子的信心較高。 此外，進一步將政治支持分別依照廣泛性支持與特殊性支持的高低程度，可區分為四個政治支持類型，即「穩定型」（廣泛高、特殊高）、「支持型」（廣泛高、特殊低）、「順從型」（廣泛低、特殊高）與「疏離型」（廣泛低、特殊高）等四類。本研究一方面進行四個政治支持類型與台灣社會主要之社會人口特徵（性別、世代、教育程度、職業、省籍、政黨認同）的關聯性分析，同時透過多元勝算對數模型（multinomial logit model），檢驗四個類型與社會人口變項及政治疏離感的關係。結果發現，政治疏離感對於模型的影響力最明顯，民眾的疏離感程度越高，越傾向屬於「疏離型」；而影響廣泛性支持的因素還有民眾的教育程度，隨著受教育年限的增加，落於高廣泛性支持的「支持型」的機會較高，此外，當民眾的廣泛性支持不高時，教育程度的提高會使他們對執政當局感到失望，而轉往「疏離型」當中。而特殊性支持主要受到政黨認同的影響，對民進黨認同的因素影響特殊性支持較高的類型（即「穩定型」與「順從型」），至於民進黨世代的因素顯示，在民進黨成立時取得公民權的民眾有較高的比例屬於廣泛性支持高且特殊性支持也高的「穩定型」而非兩種支持屬性都偏低的「疏離型」。 最後透過政治支持類型與投票經驗的比較發現，在廣泛性支持不高的情形下，特殊性支持也低的「疏離型」民眾，在總統選舉中投廢票與不投票的比例也較高，顯示當體系成員無法對政治體系提供任一種支持時，成員的行為傾向於不去投票，換言之，對台灣這樣的新興民主國家，由於在過去威權體制統治的結構下，即使進入民主政治的時代，體系成員的特殊性支持往往較廣泛性支持容易獲得滿足，因此為順利的邁向民主鞏固，應該提高體系成員的廣泛性支持，而非一味提高特殊性支持以避免社會動員過度熱情，尤其在民主價值與民主政治的層面上，更需要體系成員培養共同守護的信念，從而使民主運作更加根深蒂固。