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Inom utbildningsväsendet återkommer att stipulera, reglera, föra in klausuler och skapa ramverk för hur lärare kan anamma skolverkets riktlinjer inom de skolämnen som eleverna ämnar studera. Allt som oftast fylls kurser inom såväl universitet som grundläggande utbildningar till en bredd som inte tillåter ämnesöverskridande arbete. Förlusterna när närvaron av ämnesöverskridande arbete uteblir kan mätas såväl höga som låga, inom området demokrati och samhälleligt engagemang tillskrivs förlusten högre på skalan. Ambitionen att undervisa studenter i politiskt engagemang möter hinder i lärares rädsla för det politiska samtalet, Habermas erbjuder den rationella utopin i det deliberativa samtalet, Dewey i egenskap av pedagog betonar vikten av ständigt engagemang för att bibehålla demokratins goda krafter. Behovet av att inkorporera fler aktörer i arbetet mot att skapa mer delaktiga medborgare ur skolelever emanera från brist på samarbete mellan ämnen, lärare men även i relationen mellan  föräldrar, politiker och utbildningsväsendet. Studier belyser hur elever söker efter mer politisk kunskap samtidigt som även studenter vid universitet vill erhålla mer praktiska råd och verktyg för att påverka sitt samhälle. Vikten av att utbildning stödjer eleverna i deras behov efter autonomi och engagemang överskrider enligt flertalet forskare neoliberalismens mål att ge rätt verktyg för bättre jobbmöjligheter. Studier visar att utvecklingen ifrån engagemang för sitt samhälle och mot individualistiska strävan leder till försämrade förutsättningar för elever att agera demokratiskt. Sammanfattningsvis visar studier i området undervisning för att forma aktiva medborgare att mer fokus måste riktas mot hur lärare, resten av samhället och slutligen eleverna bör samarbeta inom utbildningsväsendet för att främja politiskt engagemang. / Within the field of education, rules and maintaining a system where the educators are following a set of rules, is a common recurring structure. These structures often refrain from exchanging information between subjects and are more prone too single-subject focus. Not engaging in cross-subject education gains loses as well as victories, although within the realm of democracy and political engagement the losses are often more prominent. The fear of educating students is a fault with educators which forms an obstacle when ambition strives for more political engagement within education. Jurgen Habermas offers his theory of the deliberative conversation, that emphasizes rationality within discussion and the utopian belief that everyone can converse with one another. The pedagogy John Dewey emphasizes the need for constant development when addressing democracy within education too always keep evil at bay and aspire for good. Autonomy is essential to keep students aspirations for participation within politics, more and more students are in demand for more” hands-on” education. More is needed when one addresses how to make active citizens, studies show that more students lack in democratic values because rest of society is either not addressing political issues or are less interested in politics than obtaining a high-income employment.

Societal risks to disasters are continually increasing and the scope of policy issues surrounding emergency management in the United States remains inundated with a number of challenges. Examining the connection between social capital and political trust is paramount as prior studies have documented that if communal networks are disrupted, there will be a lasting negative impact upon the community. As such, there are specific events that cause added strain which make certain time periods for examining levels of resiliency relevant. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill that occurred on April 20, 2010, represents a large-scale, technological disaster. Not only was there a loss of human life, but a number of social and political impacts also exist with the oil having spewed out into the water. For instance, residents living along the Northern Gulf Coast do represent a heterogeneous population, which span across several geographical boundaries and represent a diverse range of cultures. Further, the economic interests of impacted residents were also likely torn between the oil and gas industry and the fishing and seafood industry, given that many individuals may have been concurrently employed full-time as oil rig workers and supplemented their financial income and/or quality of life as commercial fishermen. The goal of this research is to investigate how social capital and political trust significantly affect communal resiliency among those impacted by the oil spill. Results from this study will extend the limited understanding on the role of disaster responsibility in emergency management. Findings reveal that group belonging as related to race, education, and income significantly impact quality of life and trust in government which, in turn, influences the perception of disaster responsibility. Specifically, when trust goes down, a higher percentage of respondents indicate that the victims themselves should assume the majority of responsibility for taking care of themselves and their families following a disaster. Perhaps, individuals who are the least trusting or most cynical of the federal government feel that victims are better off taking care of themselves and their families in the aftermath of disaster given the storied history of disaster response.

There is a current widespread knowledge about what factors that is of importance when explaining levels of individuals political trust. Unfortunately, the same knowledge is not at hand as to whether these ‘determinants’ of political have changed over time and if so how? In other words, can we assume that citizens form their trust in similar matters over time or has there been a shift? With the purpose of contributing to new knowledge about political trust, this thesis mainly explored if there has been a change in the effects of often argued to be strong determinants on political trust and secondly if there are any trends as to how these effects has changed over time. In order to realize answers to these most likely never posed questions, the theoretical framework departed from Mishler and Rose’s sectioning of cultural and institutional theory which entail very different views on the origin and dynamic of political trust. Later the two theories were operationalized into cultural and institutional related variables in accordance to available variables found in “The SOM Institute Cumulative Dataset 1986-2019”. Through numerous multiple linear regression analyses utilizing Swedish data between 1998 and 2019 it shows that the effect of most explanatory variables on political trust changes, but since these effects were small from the start there are reasons to question what weight the changes are carrying. Onwards, by performing interaction analyses the thesis was able to conclude a handful of positive and negative linear trends arching over the 22-year period meaning that some explanatory variables have become increasingly and decreasingly important when explaining the variation in political trust, which in turn indicates that the Swedish population on average tends to form their trust slightly different in 2019 as opposed to in 1998.

Citizens’ trust in government institutions and their political support for development are important preconditions for a democratic and sustainable form of development. In the context of tourism, it is important that residents of a destination endorse development and tourism policies of the government to ensure sustainability and good governance of the sector. Recognition that communities are central to tourism development and one of the most important groups of stakeholders has led researchers to conduct numerous studies on residents’ support for tourism development and its antecedents. While early studies on this topic were of an atheoretical nature, researchers have increasingly made use of theories such as social exchange theory (SET), originally drawn from sociology, to understand the ways in which residents’ react to tourism development and the circumstances that prompt them to do so. While on one hand use of SET has strengthened the theoretical base of and has made significant contributions to this area of research, on the other hand, some researchers have found the theory to lack predictive power in explaining residents’ support for tourism development. This is probably because researchers have failed to consider all important variables of the theory simultaneously in an integrative framework. Key constructs such as power and trust have been left out by the majority of studies on this topic. It is also important that SET is complemented with other theoretical approaches so that new insights are uncovered in this area of study. Grounded in political economy, this study attempted to make a ‘complete’ use of SET by integrating its key components (trust, power, benefits, costs, and support) in a model that predicted residents’ trust in government actors involved in tourism and their political support for the sector’s development. The research drew widely from the political science literature and made use of two competing theories to investigate the determinants of residents’ trust in government actors: institutional theory of political trust and cultural theory of political trust. Based on the three different theories (SET, institutional theory of political trust, and cultural theory of political trust), the conceptual model of the study was developed. As postulated by SET, the model posited that political support is determined by residents’ trust in government actors, perceived benefits of tourism, and perceived costs of tourism. The latter two variables were also proposed to influence trust in government actors. An inverse relationship between perceived benefits and perceived costs of tourism was also hypothesized. The model further suggested that residents’ perceptions of their level of power in tourism influenced their perceptions of the benefits and costs of tourism development. As predicted by institutional theory of political trust, residents’ perceptions of the economic and political performance of local government actors and their perceived level of power in tourism were proposed to influence their trust in those actors. Drawing from cultural theory of political trust, interpersonal trust was hypothesized to be positively related to residents’ trust in government actors. Twelve hypotheses emanated from the model and were tested using responses collected from 391 residents of Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada, using an online panel. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to test the proposed hypotheses. In addition, the mediating effects implied in the proposed model were investigated (although no formal hypotheses were originally proposed) using Baron and Kenny’s (1986) recommended steps and the Sobel z test. Findings provided support for eight of the twelve proposed hypotheses. Contrary to what researchers have assumed so far, residents’ trust in government actors was a better predictor of political support that their perceptions of the costs of tourism development. Perceived benefits remained the best predictor of political support as advocated in several studies. Residents’ perceptions of the benefits of tourism were also inversely related to perceived costs, suggesting that interactions among residents’ perceptions of the different impacts of tourism exist. Residents’ perceived level of power in tourism was a significant determinant of perceived benefits, but did not significantly predict perceived costs. Residents’ perceptions of the political performance of government actors in tourism was the strongest predictor of their trust, followed by their perceptions of the economic performance of government actors, and their perceptions of the benefits of tourism development. Residents’ perceived level of power in tourism, their perceptions of the costs of tourism, and interpersonal trust were found to be insignificant predictors of their trust in government actors. Findings also suggested that residents’ perceptions of the costs of tourism and their trust in government actors partially mediated the relationships between perceived benefits of tourism and political support. The results partially supported SET because some of the theory’s postulates and predictions were not empirically supported. Findings also confirmed the superiority of institutional theory of political trust over cultural theory of political trust. The theoretical and practical implications of the study’s findings were discussed. The limitations of the study were recognized and some recommendations for improving future research were made. Overall, the study suggested that political trust is a promising construct in studies on community support for development policies and deserves further attention by researchers, scholars, and practitioners given the paucity of research on this topic in the tourism literature. The search also suggests that researchers should recognize that residents’ trust in government actors and their support for tourism development are complex issues that are determined by several factors. A single theory is unlikely to provide a comprehensive understanding of these concepts, raising the need for researchers to investigate these issues from different theoretical perspectives.

Citizens’ trust in government institutions and their political support for development are important preconditions for a democratic and sustainable form of development. In the context of tourism, it is important that residents of a destination endorse development and tourism policies of the government to ensure sustainability and good governance of the sector. Recognition that communities are central to tourism development and one of the most important groups of stakeholders has led researchers to conduct numerous studies on residents’ support for tourism development and its antecedents. While early studies on this topic were of an atheoretical nature, researchers have increasingly made use of theories such as social exchange theory (SET), originally drawn from sociology, to understand the ways in which residents’ react to tourism development and the circumstances that prompt them to do so. While on one hand use of SET has strengthened the theoretical base of and has made significant contributions to this area of research, on the other hand, some researchers have found the theory to lack predictive power in explaining residents’ support for tourism development. This is probably because researchers have failed to consider all important variables of the theory simultaneously in an integrative framework. Key constructs such as power and trust have been left out by the majority of studies on this topic. It is also important that SET is complemented with other theoretical approaches so that new insights are uncovered in this area of study. Grounded in political economy, this study attempted to make a ‘complete’ use of SET by integrating its key components (trust, power, benefits, costs, and support) in a model that predicted residents’ trust in government actors involved in tourism and their political support for the sector’s development. The research drew widely from the political science literature and made use of two competing theories to investigate the determinants of residents’ trust in government actors: institutional theory of political trust and cultural theory of political trust. Based on the three different theories (SET, institutional theory of political trust, and cultural theory of political trust), the conceptual model of the study was developed. As postulated by SET, the model posited that political support is determined by residents’ trust in government actors, perceived benefits of tourism, and perceived costs of tourism. The latter two variables were also proposed to influence trust in government actors. An inverse relationship between perceived benefits and perceived costs of tourism was also hypothesized. The model further suggested that residents’ perceptions of their level of power in tourism influenced their perceptions of the benefits and costs of tourism development. As predicted by institutional theory of political trust, residents’ perceptions of the economic and political performance of local government actors and their perceived level of power in tourism were proposed to influence their trust in those actors. Drawing from cultural theory of political trust, interpersonal trust was hypothesized to be positively related to residents’ trust in government actors. Twelve hypotheses emanated from the model and were tested using responses collected from 391 residents of Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada, using an online panel. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to test the proposed hypotheses. In addition, the mediating effects implied in the proposed model were investigated (although no formal hypotheses were originally proposed) using Baron and Kenny’s (1986) recommended steps and the Sobel z test. Findings provided support for eight of the twelve proposed hypotheses. Contrary to what researchers have assumed so far, residents’ trust in government actors was a better predictor of political support that their perceptions of the costs of tourism development. Perceived benefits remained the best predictor of political support as advocated in several studies. Residents’ perceptions of the benefits of tourism were also inversely related to perceived costs, suggesting that interactions among residents’ perceptions of the different impacts of tourism exist. Residents’ perceived level of power in tourism was a significant determinant of perceived benefits, but did not significantly predict perceived costs. Residents’ perceptions of the political performance of government actors in tourism was the strongest predictor of their trust, followed by their perceptions of the economic performance of government actors, and their perceptions of the benefits of tourism development. Residents’ perceived level of power in tourism, their perceptions of the costs of tourism, and interpersonal trust were found to be insignificant predictors of their trust in government actors. Findings also suggested that residents’ perceptions of the costs of tourism and their trust in government actors partially mediated the relationships between perceived benefits of tourism and political support. The results partially supported SET because some of the theory’s postulates and predictions were not empirically supported. Findings also confirmed the superiority of institutional theory of political trust over cultural theory of political trust. The theoretical and practical implications of the study’s findings were discussed. The limitations of the study were recognized and some recommendations for improving future research were made. Overall, the study suggested that political trust is a promising construct in studies on community support for development policies and deserves further attention by researchers, scholars, and practitioners given the paucity of research on this topic in the tourism literature. The search also suggests that researchers should recognize that residents’ trust in government actors and their support for tourism development are complex issues that are determined by several factors. A single theory is unlikely to provide a comprehensive understanding of these concepts, raising the need for researchers to investigate these issues from different theoretical perspectives.

Trust in elected representatives and the political institutions within which they operate is often emphasised as a prerequisite for citizens’ political participation. While research has indeed shown a positive correlation between political trust and participation, it has contrarily also been suggested that low levels of trust might function as a driving force for participation. With empirical evidence remaining equivocal, the relationship between political trust and political participation is yet to be fully comprehended. By focusing on one case, using the latest available European Social Survey data, and examining trust and participation rates over time, this study aims at yielding further insight into this matter. The results from the study show that the relationship between political trust and political participation is indeed ambiguous. As anticipated, political trust correlates positively with voting and negatively with so-called non-institutionalised political participation. However, political trust also correlates negatively with so-called institutionalised participation, contrary to expectation and perhaps quite notable. The results additionally suggest that the categorisation of different participation types might benefit from a revision. Moreover, also perchance remarkable, the results show that levels of political trust and political participation have been stable over time. No decline can be noted for either trust or participation, despitere occurring claims of such developments. Based on the results of this study, low levels of political trust have neither become more widespread nor had a negative impact on political participation.

This essay is a theory testing study that aims to examine to what extent modernisation promotes democratisation. This is done by applying and testing aspects of Inglehart’s and Welzel’s revised modernisation theory to a case study of a specific country, namely Mongolia. The aspects studied are 1) trust in politicians and the political system, 2) how widespread literacy is within the nation and 3) the mass belief among the Mongolian people. The study shows that elements of each aspect are present in Mongolia and that they have indeed influenced the country’s democratisation. The study concludes by summarising the result of each aspect and stating that Mongolia’s democracy is still developing.

My dissertation explores how authoritarian governments use language policy to impact public political trust. Based on a comprehensive examination through survey analyses, experiments, and large-scale text analyses, my research demonstrates that authoritarian governments, such as in China, can use language policy as a political tool to influence citizens’ political attitudes. In particular, language policy empowers the official language used by government representatives, such as street-level bureaucrats, reinforcing their political identities and enhancing citizens' trust in them. Using an original randomized experiment in China based on a new sociolinguistic technique, my research finds robust evidence that listeners hold significantly more trust in bureaucrats who speak the official language than in those who speak dialects, even if the respondent and government representative share the same dialect. Furthermore, my research shows that language not only influences citizens' political trust but also their understanding of political concepts. Using a computer-assisted text analysis of over one million articles from the official newspaper of the dominant party of China from 1946-2003, I indicate a refocusing strategy by which the official discourse about democracy manipulates the meaning of democracy in the Chinese political language without contradicting with the Western democratic values, while simultaneously preserving the authoritarian regime. Drawing on multiple waves of nationally representative surveys from China, my dissertation also identifies distinctive effects of improving listening, speaking, and relative proficiencies of Putonghua on Chinese citizens' political interest, efficacy, pursuit, and institutional-based political trust. This study contributes to political science, and even the entire social science by justifying the important role of language in human social and political lives and turning the research focus from language content to language context.

<p>The purpose of this essay is to study causes for the lack of political trust in Europe and especially in Sweden. The essay starts with a presentation of two theories about the reasons for low political trust. Robert D. Putnam among others presents a theory that gives social capital an important role when viewing the low political trust. As Putnam sees it a person that participates in any kind of organization, political or not, develop trust for other human beings that in the long run affects political trust. Pippa Norris on the other hand is convinced that political trust is connected to the performance of political institutions. She claims that for example corruption is strongly relates to political trust. The citizens of a country in which corruption is common will not trust politicians as much as the citizens in a nation where corruption is lower. In this essay, I present the current levels of trust in politicians and parliament in the countries that participate in the cross-national public opinion survey European social Survey (ESS). The investigation shows that Denmark, Finland and Switzerland have got the highest levels of political trust and that Poland, Czech Republic and Portugal have got the lowest. My analysis shows that neither gender nor age makes any difference in political trust. The comparison between political trust and participation leads to the conclusion that citizens that participate in politics have more political trust irrespective of which kind of organization they participate in. I also compare political trust and a corruption index. That comparison shows that a high level of corruption is related to a lowlevel of political trust.</p>