This thesis investigates how women's political representation influences foreign aid utilization. While recent contributions show that the impact of foreign aid is highly dependent on the recipient government, there is still limited research on the relationship between women's political representation and aid utilization. Existing work within the research field of female political representation suggests that women are more likely to prioritize resource allocation towards healthcare and education and less likely to prioritize the military. Thus, women’s political representation is predicted to work as a moderating effect on aid utilization, whereby increases in female representation is associated with more aid resources being allocated towards healthcare and education and less to the military. To test the relationship(s) implied, this thesis employs multiple regression analysis on a time series data set of 102 aid-receiving countries from 2000-2017. The hypothesis that women's political representation has a moderating effect on aid utilization could not be supported by the regression analysis. The results do however indicate that female representation in the recipient countries influences government allocation in general.

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the introduction of the first ever Swedish female prime minister, Magdalena Andersson, by comparing her to a theoretical framework consistent with factors which are generally thought to facilitate the emergence of female prime ministers. Factors within two different perspectives: the party political - and the personal perspective, are gathered. The former includes factors concerning the political party of which the woman of interest has become party leader which then led to a prime ministership. The latter includes individual factors about who these women are in terms of their social backgrounds and personalities. Previous research is used as a way of collecting information on what factors have prevailed the emergence of female prime ministers and six different factors especially stand out and thus make up the theoretical framework. In order to analyze Andersson in comparison to the theoretical framework, this single case is tested by using a qualitative text analysis method. Different text material sources are used as dependent on the different factors being tested. The results show that nearly all of the factors were present during the introduction of Andersson. However, it also becomes clear that other factors might also have affected the introduction of Andersson, factors which could be relevant to take into account in further studies on the subject of female prime ministers.

[pt] Este trabalho tem como objetivo analisar as bases sociopolíticas e econômicas da ascensão do populismo de direita conservador-autoritário no Brasil, entre os anos de 2016 e 2022, personalizado e vocalizado pelo então candidato à presidência da República Jair Messias Bolsonaro. Para isso, identificamos e analisamos os fatores conjunturais e estruturais que possibilitaram a ascensão de um ex-deputado federal ao cargo máximo do país, até então sem expressividade política e disputando o pleito por um partido político sem capilaridade nacional. Argumentamos que a vitória do ex-capitão do Exército brasileiro faz parte do fenômeno global do populismo contemporâneo na esteira da crise da representatividade nos países democráticos, mas que no caso brasileiro tem especificidade própria. Uma vez que o Brasil apresenta, ao contrário de boa parte dos Países da Europa Ocidental e dos Estados Unidos, baixa institucionalização do sistema partidário e votos, majoritariamente, personalistas, o que favorece as aventuras populistas. Ainda assim, tivemos fatores conjunturais e estruturais que favoreceram a maior inserção e o crescimento da direita no país, após 13 anos de governos do Partido dos Trabalhadores em nível nacional, bem como fatores associados às Jornadas de Junho de 2013, a Operação Lava Jato, o processo de impeachment de Dilma Rousseff, a emergência da pauta conservadora e de costumes na esfera pública. Essas circunstâncias favoreceram, pela primeira vez na história política brasileira, através do voto popular, a eleição de um candidato diretamente identificado com o campo da direita. Dessa forma, a estratégia político-eleitoral populista se organizou ao redor de cinco pilares de sustentação sociopolítica e econômica: lavajatismo e antipetismo, militares, evangélicos, agronegócio e redes sociais. No exercício do Poder Executivo, a partir de 2019, o populismo de direita de Bolsonaro estabeleceu relações conturbadas com os outros poderes da República, especialmente com o Poder Judiciário, e com os governos subnacionais, além de apoiar manifestações antidemocráticas. Podemos concluir, assim, que o bolsonarismo, como movimento político, tem um caráter mais estrutural do que conjuntural pela sua capilaridade nos segmentos sociopolíticos e econômicos da sociedade brasileira. / [en] This work aims to analyze the socio-political and economic bases of the riseof conservative-authoritarian right-wing populism in Brazil between 2016 and 2022, personalized and vocalized by then-presidential candidate Jair Messias Bolsonaro. To do this, we identified and analyzed the circumstantial and structura lfactors that made it possible for a former federal deputy to rise to the country shighest office, until then without political expressiveness and contesting the election for a political party without national capillarity. We argue that the victoryof the former Brazilian Army captain is part of the global phenomenon of contemporary populism in the wake of the crisis of representativeness in democratic countries, but that in the Brazilian case it has its own specificity. Unlike many Western European countries and the United States, Brazil has a poorly institutionalized party system and a majority of votes are personalist, which favours populist adventures. Even so, there were conjunctural and structural factors that promoted the greater insertion and growth of the right in the country, after 13 yearsof Workers Party governments at the national level, as well as factors associated with the June 2013 protests, Lava Jato Operation, Dilma Rousseff s impeachment process, the emergence of the conservative and customs agenda in the public sphere. These circumstances favored, for the first time in Brazilian political history, through the popular vote, the election of a candidate directly identified with the right-wingmovement. In this way, the populist political-electoral strategy was organized around five pillars of socio-political and economic support: lavajatismo (Lava Jato Operation) and antipetismo (anti left-wing party), the military, evangelicals, agribusiness and social networks. In the Executive Branch, from 2019, Bolsonaro sright-wing populism has established troubled relations with the other branches of government, especially the judiciary, and with sub-national governments, as wellas supporting anti-democratic demonstrations. We can therefore conclude that bolsonarismo, as a political movement, has a more structural than conjunctural character due to its capillarity in the socio-political and economic segments ofBrazilian society.

[pt] Essa pesquisa visa compreender a participação das mulheres dentro da política sindical brasileira, através de um estudo de caso sobre o Sindicato dos Servidores da Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz), Asfoc-SN. Este sindicato sempre teve a presença de mulheres em cargos de poder, no entanto, a pesquisa visa perceber quais modificações o protagonismo feminino traz ao movimento sindical, predominantemente masculino. A principal hipótese da pesquisa é: a presença de mulheres em cargos de direção da Asfoc favorece demandas femininas nas pautas e eventos sindicais. A partir disso, a pesquisa foi desenvolvida através de uma investigação bibliográfica, análise de dados e entrevistas com os principais líderes sindicais da Asfoc-SN para investigar se, de fato, com a presença feminina ocupando cargos de liderança no sindicato dos servidores da Fiocruz houve uma mudança do olhar para pautas específicas das mulheres da Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. A hipótese é parcialmente confirmada, pois somente com o ingresso de uma mulher na presidência da instituição Fiocruz e não necessariamente em cargos sindicais, segundos os dados analisados, há alguma mudança na forma de retratar as mulheres e consequentemente, nas pautas. Entrentanto, a presença feminina ganha certo destaque e os diretores veem a necessidade da transformação depois da ocupação destes cargos por algumas mulheres. Pode-se destacar a relação de homens e mulheres nestes cargos de liderança sindical e como ocorrem as disputas dentro desta arena de poder que tem por objetivo máximo proteger os trabalhadores e melhorar suas condições de vida e trabalho. / [en] This research aims to understand the participation of women within the Brazilian union policy, through a case study about the workers union of the Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz), Asfoc-SN. This union has always had the presence of women in positions of power; however, the research aims to understand what changes bring to the union movement, predominantly male, with female protagonism. The main hypothesis: the presence of women in management positions at Asfoc favors their presence on union agendas and events was developed through a bibliographic investigation, data analysis and interviews with the main union leaders of Asfoc-SN. To investigate whether, in fact, with the female presence occupying leadership positions in the Fiocruz civil servants union, there was a change in looking at specific guidelines of the women of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation. The hypothesis is partially confirmed, since only with the entry of a woman in the presidency of the Fiocruz institution and not necessarily in union positions, according to the data analyzed, there is some change in the way of portraying women and, consequently, in the change of agendas. However, the female presence gains some prominence and the directors see the need for transformation after the occupation of these positions by some women. It is possible to highlight the relationship between men and women in these union leadership positions and how disputes occur within this arena of power whose ultimate objective is to protect workers and improve their living and working conditions.

Syftet med kandidatuppsatsen är att förstå och analysera ledamöternas syn på kvinnor i politiken i Mauritius. Denna avhandling fokuserar på politikernas erfarenheter efter implementering av könskvotering i den lokala politiken som resulterade i en ökad kvinnorepresentation och dess konsekvenser. Det empiriska materialet för avhandlingen har samlats in genom kvalitativa intervjuer med manliga och kvinnliga ledamöter från tre kommuner i Mauritius. Det teoretiska ramverket är uppdelad i tre delar som används för att analysera olika punkter från det empiriska materialet. I det teoretiska ramverket har vi inkluderat teorier om de tillvägagångssätt att öka kvinnors representation, varför kvinnor bör vara aktiva i politiken, och om könskvotering. För att analysera empirin från en teoretisk synvinkel har resultaten delats upp i tre underkategorier vilket är respondenternas inställning till könskvotering och kvinnors representation i politiken, teorin om kritisk massa och förändringar i den politiska agenda, samt kommunpolitikernas attityder gentemot kvinnliga politiker. Resultaten från vår avhandling visar att föreställningen att politiken enbart är en mans domän har börjat förändras. Den ökade kvinnorepresentationen har visat att kvinnor är lika kompetenta som män att verka i den politiska världen. Dock visar inte resultaten någon märkbar förändring i den politiska agendan. Kvinnor i Mauritius är numera accepterade att delta i politiken, men det är fortfarande en lång väg att gå för dem att betraktas som likvärdiga medlemmar som män i den politiska världen. / The purpose of the thesis is to understand and analyse councillors’ view on women in Mauritian politics. This thesis focuses on their experiences after the implementation of gender quota in local government which led to an increased women’s representation in local politics as well as the consequences derived from it. The empirical material for this thesis has been gathered through qualitative interviews with male and female councillors from three municipalities in Mauritius. The theoretical framework is divided into three parts which are used to analyse different points from the empirical material. In the theoretical framework we have included theories about the ways to increase women’s representation, why women should be active in politics, and about gender quota. To analyse the empirics from a theoretical point of view, we have divided the results into three sub-categories which are the respondents’ stance to gender quota and women’s representation in politics, the theory of critical mass and the change in political agenda, as well as the councillors’ attitudes towards female politicians. The results from this thesis show that the notion that politics is solely a male domain has begun to change. The increased women’s representation has shown that women are as competent as men in the political field. However, the results do not show a notable change in the political agenda, because not enough time has passed to see any differences. Women in Mauritius are today more accepted to partake in politics but there is still a long way to go for them to be considered equal members as men in the political world.

Politiska ungdomsförbund är viktiga arenor där unga människor diskuterar och formulerar frågor som kan bli en del av den politiska dagordningen. Sättet som en politisk fråga diskuteras skapar också gränserna för hur det är möjligt att förstå och tala om den. I denna studie undersöks det socialdemokratiska ungdomsförbundets (SSU) könspolitik under perioden 1970- 2000. Mer specifikt analyseras hur frågan om kvinnors politiska representation framställts inom förbundet och vilka lösningar som varit möjliga att föra fram på förbundskongresserna. Avhandlingens utgångspunkter är feministisk teori och teori om problem konstruktion. Studien baseras på källmaterial som kongressprotokoll, handlings- och principprogram, stadgar, motioner från individuella kongressledamöter och från distrikt, förbundsstyrelsens utlåtande över motioner, förbundsskrifter samt tidskrifterna Tvärdrag och P- Information. Avhandlingen visar att SSU, trots sin radikala självbild, haft liten egen drivkraft att driva frågan om att öka kvinnors representation i förbundets beslutsfattande organ. Problem med låg representation av kvinnor inom förbundet erkänns, men fram till 1990-talet är det någon annan, någon annanstans, som ska lösa underrepresentationen. Avhandlingen visar också att problemkonstruktionerna ofta innehåller motsägelsefulla förståelser av frågan om kvinnors representation. Sammantaget bidrar en rad antaganden som, normer om frivillighet, samarbete mellan män och kvinnor, könskomplementaritet, samt även passiva och symboliska hinder och utlyftande praktiker, till att forma gränserna för hur kvinnors politiska representation kan diskuteras inom SSU. / Political youth associations are important political arenas where young people discuss and formulate issues that can become part of the political agenda. The way a political issue is discussed and problematized also creates the borders for how it is possible to talk about it and to understand a particular issue. In this thesis, the Swedish Social Democratic Youth League’s (SSU) gender politics are explored. More specifically, the question of how women’s representation is constructed and what solutions are seen as possible is analysed. The analytical points of departure are feminist theory and theory of problem construction. The source material consists of congress material from 1970 until 2001: congress protocols, motions from individuals and district committees, League committee reports on the motions and debates in the congresses. Other source materials are debate publications, booklets, written documents, internal material about women’s representation, programs of action and ideas and the periodicals Tvärdrag and P-Information. The study shows that the Social Democratic Youth League, despite of its radical self image, has few ambitions of its own to politicise the question of women’s representation. Problems with women’s low representation within the league are admitted, but until the 1990’s, these problems are always associated with someone else, somewhere else, who is going to solve the under representation. The study also shows that the problem constructions often contain contradictory understandings of the question of women’s representation. A number of assumptions such as norms for volunteering, cooperation between men and women, gender complementary, barriers as passive and symbolic barriers, and ‘externalizing practices’, contribute to shaping the borders of how the question of women’s representation can be discussed within the League.

Cette étude porte sur la représentation politique des minorités visibles en France. Près de 10% au sein de la société française, moins de 2% au sein de la sphère politique, les Français de la diversité sont sous-représentés, aussi bien au Gouvernement qu’au Parlement. Adoptant une double perspective structurelle et culturelle, nous essayons de suggérer plusieurs pistes de recherches qui expliqueraient la sous-représentation politique des minorités visibles en nous concentrons sur les trois étapes du processus électoral, soit le recrutement, la sélection et l’élection. Le dessein de cette étude est double. D’une part, il s’agit de mettre en lumière les principaux obstacles qui semblent affecter la sous-représentation politique des minorités visibles, sans pour autant prétendre à l’établissement de liens de causalité directs entre les obstacles évoqués et la sous-représentation des minorités visibles dans la sphère politique françaises. D’autre part, il s’agit de déblayer un terrain d’étude encore trop peu appréhendé en France afin de permettre une opérationnalisation et une évaluation des hypothèses articulées dans d’éventuelles études futures. / This research investigates the political representation of ethnic minorities in France. Nearly 10% of the French population is from an ethnic minority, however, only 2% of the politicians are from an ethnic minority. Thus, ethnic minorities are underrepresented in both Parliament and Government. From a twofold structural and cultural perspective, this study focuses on the three steps of the electoral process — recruitment, selection, and election — to suggest several research paths to explain the political underrepresentation of ethnic minorities. The purpose of this study is twofold. First, we try to identify the main barriers that hinder ethnic minorities’ political advancement, without claiming a causal effect between these barriers and the political underrepresentation of ethnic minorities. Second, we try to propose several hypotheses that can be operationalized and evaluated in potential future researches.

This thesis explores the constitutionality of compulsory electoral quotas for women imposed by law. The central question this thesis attempts to answer is what makes these quotas constitutional or unconstitutional in a given jurisdiction. A double methodology was employed to answer this question: theoretical and comparative. From a theoretical perspective, it is proposed that the constitutionality of electoral quotas for women depends on the approach that domestic legal orders adopt to four issues: political representation, equality, affirmative action and political rights. An additional crosscutting factor that influences the constitutionality of these quotas is gender, mainly through its effects on the understanding of political representation and equality. From the comparative law perspective, three jurisdictions were analysed: France, Spain and Mexico. After exploring these systems' approaches to political representation, equality, affirmative action and political rights, the process of adoption of electoral quotas for women is discussed, particularly the constitutional litigation about quota laws. Finally, the relationship between the theory and the practice of assessing the constitutionality of electoral quotas for women is analysed, concluding that although courts use a theoretical framework formed by political representation, equality, affirmative action and political rights, they adopt a somewhat simplistic approach to these issues, using only one of these theoretical factors as the primary determinant, often side-stepping the most controversial issues connected with these factors, and almost completly ignoring the particularities of the target group (women). Additionally, in each jurisdiction the decisions of the courts are also influenced by domestic political and legal factors.

United States federal law regulating leaves of absence for maternity-related purposes pales in comparison to other nations' policies, an observation only recently receiving attention from political scientists. Providing an understanding of how maternity leave is handled by individual organizations in the United States only, a quantitative study is conducted that examines local variation in policy formulation. Employee leave due to maternity is primarily a women's issue and its treatment will vary depending on the socio-political context that the policy dictating the leave is found in. Three main determinants of a policy's level of comprehensiveness are identified as being the political representation of women on local legislative bodies, the bureaucratic representation of women in their place of employment, and the level of women's movement activity in the community. Moreover, the gendered context of the organization is considered by comparing two historically distinct institutions on the gender continuum, public education and law enforcement. After analysis involving a national comparison of public school district and police department maternity leave policies, it was found that the presence of the women's movement in a community significantly impacts the dependent variable, policy comprehensiveness. The effects of political and bureaucratic representation, however, seem to differ between police departments and school districts. In consideration of the most comprehensive policies found, it seems police departments are highly influenced by larger proportions of women officers whereas women teachers might be at a disadvantage precisely because of their over-representation in school districts. Seemingly counterintuitive, this finding suggests that gendered institutions are predicated on more than just women's presence. Evidence that maternity leave policy in individual U.S. institutions is a product of the gendered culture of the organization was found by observing the differential impact of political and social variables on police departments and school districts.

O presente estudo se propõe a investigar em que medida o Parlamento é capaz de exercer, eficazmente, o controle do poder político, no contexto da globalização capitalista, com o objetivo de contribuir com a concretização dos direitos humanos econômicos e sociais. Compreende-se o controle do poder político como o direcionamento das ações do Estado para a realização de seus fins, por meio da fixação de metas e diretrizes, da supervisão e da responsabilização dos agentes políticos. Reconhece-se a importância do Parlamento no desempenho deste papel, porém sua atuação apresenta grandes limites, decorrentes, entre outros fatores, do fenômeno da globalização e da característica histórico-cultural patrimonialista do Estado brasileiro. Diante disso, a sociedade precisa desenvolver outras formas de controle para complementar o parlamentar. / This study wants to investigate in which level the Parliament is able to exercise, with efficacy, the control of the political power, in the context of the capitalist globalization, with the objective to contribute with the concretization of the economics and socials human rights. The control of the political power is understood like the direction of de States actions to the realization of its finalities, by the fixation of objectives and directives, the supervision and the responsabilization of the politics agents. The Parliament has so much importance realizing this paper, but its actuation presents big limits, because some factors, how the phenomenon of the globalization and the historic-cultural characteristic patrimonialista of the Brazilian State. So, the society needs to develop other forms of control to complement the parliamentary.