The central topic of analysis in the master thesis is the general elections in Mexico in 2012 and their influence on the ongoing reform process in the country. The emphasis is put on the effect of conducted reforms and the extent to which they are influenced by the separation of powers in the Mexican presidential system, the Congress itself, the power of the presidents the role of the political parties, the nature of the presidential systems in general, as well as the civil society i.e. the public. There has been a certain amount of criticism that the new, PRI political strategy is simply a portrait of the so called "dinosaur elite" and it is not working towards completing the needs of the people. The aim of the master thesis therefore is firstly to define the nature of the presidential systems, to elaborate any potential deadlocks and limitations that the system might impose in the reform process, and afterwards to represent the extent to which different factors influence the actual reform process in Mexico lead by the President Nieto. The research question aims to respond whether the current structural reforms are well maintained in terms of their effectiveness and in terms of gaining support from the remaining parties in the Congress, or the situation needs to be approved from another angle. In other words, it is crucial to show to what extent the newly elected political leadership in Mexico, as of 2012, had so far reformed the country in regard of strengthening the democracy, improving the economic situation by reducing the growing income inequality amongst the people, as well as working on the security improvement of the country.

Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2013 / Centre for Human Rights / LLM / Unrestricted

Zusammenfassung Die Diplomarbeit beschäftigt sich mit der Problematik der Nomination und Registration der Kandidaten für die tschechische Präsidentenwahl. Im Jahre 2012 genehmigte das Parlament eine Änderung der Verfassung, die die Wahl des tschechischen Präsidenten auf die direkte Wahl änderte. Im Zusammenhang damit kamen viele Fragen über die Nomination und Registration der Kandidaten für die Funktion des Präsidenten. Diese Fragen musste man nicht lösen, weil das Recht auf die Nomination des Kandidaten neu die Bürger bekamen, die eine Petition mit den Unterschriften mindestens 50.000 Bürger mit dem Wahlrecht vorlegen. Die Diplomarbeit bemüht sich diese Probleme zu analysieren und ihre Lösung vorzuschlagen. Nach dem Einführungsteil über die Geschichte der Anträge auf die direkte Wahl im tschechischen Verfassungssystem und nach der Rekapitulation der anderen Rechtsvorschriften, laut den man in einigen Fällen (Kandidatur der unabhängigen Kandidaten in den Komunal- oder Senatwahlen, bzw. Gründung einer neuen politischen Partei) eine Petition mit einer bestimmten Anzahl der Unterschriften vorlegen muss, folgt gerade dieser analytischer Anteil. In dieser Diplomarbeit beschäftigt sich der Autor z.B. damit, auf welche Art und Weise bei der ersten tschechischen Präsidentenwahl das Innenministerium die...

This thesis examines the determinants of presidential success with Congress. Seven essential sources of presidential power in the current era of party polarization were derived from the extant literature, and these factors were delineated into the institutional (formal) and non-institutional (informal) policymaking tools of the presidency. Variables that explain presidential legislative success include: intraparty support in Congress, the use of veto bargaining, executive orders and signing statements (institutional factors); as well as public approval, ‘going public,’ and strategic lobbying of Congress (non-institutional factors). Case studies of the presidencies of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush analyze the role of these policymaking tools in four key legislative battles of each presidency. Regression models were constructed to test the effect of these variables on presidential legislative success. The case studies elucidate the relationship between noninstitutional factors and their subsequent impact on key presidential policy priorities, particularly the interaction between public approval and going public. Findings indicate a positive relationship between a president’s strategic bargaining ability with Congress and subsequent legislative success. Findings also show no significant relationship between intraparty support and presidential success when focusing on only key legislative battles between the executive and legislative branches, contrary to the findings of prior research. Future research might examine the various relationships between these policymaking tools and how they affect the nature of presidential power in the current era of heightened party polarization and ideological homogeneity.

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Possessing a vision to correct problems is an area of interest for leadership and political studies, as presumably vision provides the goal to orient upon and overcome problems, and should apply at all levels of leadership. The worsening situation in Syria since the end of the Cold War begs the questions of whether any recent U.S. President tried to address the issues in the relationship with Syria, and what was the vision the President sought to achieve. This study reviews Presidential rhetoric from President's News Conferences, major speeches and Executive Orders for a vision to ascertain the intended direction for U.S. policy for Syria. Also, the study reviews the leadership styles of the five Presidents for consistency and effectiveness in conveying a foreign policy message. Broadly, the study concludes that the Presidents need more than a strategy to engage other nation to fix problems. They need an achievable outcome to aim the U.S. government towards and to effectively broadcast their vision to a broad audience. It takes an appreciation for history, realistic expectations and an eye for the future to form a vision for a coherent way forward. Unfortunately, the Presidents in this study did not give the appropriate time or resources to correct the pervasive problems in Syria. Their overall policies ranged from incoherent to stagnant, therefore hampering the U.S. ability to guide progress fixing the situation. / Master of Arts / The pervasive problems within Syria are some of the more important U.S. foreign policy issues that require guidance and direction to overcome. The worsening situation in Syria since the end of the Cold War begs the questions of whether any recent U.S. President tried to address the issues in the relationship with Syria. Broadly, the study concludes that it takes more than a strategy to engage another nation and fix problems. It takes an appreciation for history, realistic expectations and an eye for the future to form a vision for a coherent way forward. Additionally, Presidents require the ability to effectively communicate their vision to a broad audience. Unfortunately, it appears the Presidents in this study did not give the appropriate time or resources to correct the problems, and therefore hampered the U.S. President’s ability to guide progress to fix the situation.

在近現代總統制國家中，「總統」所產生之文物，不論在歷史、經濟、社會、教育、科學及文化等層面，皆具有高度保存價值，記錄總統執政期間之施政表現，見證國家各階段之發展歷程，為國家與全民共享之珍貴資產，後代子孫的歷史寶藏。然而國內自行憲以來，歷經蔣中正總統、嚴家淦總統、蔣經國總統、李登輝總統以及現任之陳水扁總統等五位總統，卻仍未建立總統文物管理之機制，致使歷任總統文物歸屬權責不明，亦缺乏相關之管理規範，造成行憲以來歷任總統文物散佚各處等情況。鑑於美國在總統文物管理實務方面以「總統圖書館」之機制，系統化地典藏總統於任內及任期前後所產生之文物，並有效地開放提供社會大眾應用，本研究希冀取法美國總統文物管理之特點，並配合國內現實環境與現況，提出適用於我國之總統文物管理之建議，以供日後發展總統文物管理機制時之參酌。 本研究採以調查法與深度訪談法進行研究。一方面藉由對蔣中正總統、嚴家淦總統以及蔣經國總統所產生之文物進行實際調查，以瞭解上述三者於內涵、來源、產生方式以及架構等方面之現況；另一方面則運用引導性取向的深度訪談法，訪談國內總統文物之使用者與管理者共計10位，蒐集受訪者對於總統文物管理在定義與範圍、功能導向、管理模式以及法源依據等面向之意見。而後整合實地調查與深度訪談之結果，提出適用於我國之總統文物管理建議。 由實際調查結果發現，我國行憲以來歷任總統文物目前主要典藏於國史館，包括有蔣中正總統檔案、嚴家淦總統檔案以及蔣經國總統檔案等。該館所典藏之總統文物在內容範圍方面涵括十分廣泛，但是在完整性方面則仍有不足之處；而該館所採用之整編方式，乃依循文物原移轉接收時之架構，並未運用現代檔案管理原則重新進行整理編排。另一方面，由深度訪談結果發現，使用者與管理者等不同背景之受訪者對於「總統文物」與「總統檔案」之名稱適用性與定義看法紛歧，但是卻普遍認同「總統個人文件」之名稱，亦認可總統文物可依歸屬權分為公務及私人兩類，並認為兩者間應有不易劃分的模糊地帶。此外，多數受訪者同意我國總統文物管理功能應以典藏與應用為導向，且宜採行集中制管理，同時也提出總統文物管理機關定位不明以及缺乏相關法源依據等意見。 依據研究結果，本研究由以下四方面提出幾項建議。一、實務面：（一）於總統文物產生階段即展開管理工作；（二）回溯徵集現行總統文物中遺缺之部分；（三）積極廣徵總統個人文件。二、應用面：（一）提供總統文物多樣化之應用服務；（二）提升總統文物應用服務之品質。三、制度面：（一）採行集中制管理總統文物；（二）授權國家檔案管理機構負責總統文物之主管與典藏事宜。四、法制面：（一）儘速制訂總統文物管理相關法令；（二）透過法源依據建立總統文物管理規範；（三）提升總統文物管理者與使用者之法律素養。

This dissertation explores the role of masculinity as a component of social formation. Although research on masculinity has increased considerably since the early 1990s, the topic remains ill-defined and poorly explored. Scholars from a variety of disciplines have only been able to offer a limited amount of theoretical and practical insight on the subject primarily because masculinity has too often been conceptualized as a homogenous foundation that undergirds all social formation. Contrary to these perspectives, I suggest that masculine identities do not emerge from any single category, but rather, are constituted and reflected through a complex coherence of cultural and historical markers coming together to produce particular meanings. More specifically, I feature style as the most theoretically and politically useful grounding category capable of explaining these complex configurations. Style uses all the aesthetic dimensions of public presentation including dress, trappings, grooming, posture, body shape, stance, and voice and vocabulary to offer a clearer and more accurate answer to how identities come together in a struggled over, contested, and dynamic way and a more clear and accurate explanation for why reductive and overly homogeneous characterizations of identity are inaccurate and untenable. Utilizing style as a rhetoric, theory, and method, I analyze two case studies – the evangelical men’s movement Promise Keepers and the Presidential Style – to demonstrate how identity functions as a form of social style with important theoretical and political implications. Thus, this dissertation maps intersecting territories of masculinity, but also femininity, class, sexual orientation, and ethnic and racial identities in a way that illuminates how identity reinforces and coheres around particular stylistic markers. / text

Throughout the course of history, presidential campaigning has evolved commensurate with the advancements in technology. FDR mastered the radio, JFK the television and President Barack Obama, the Internet. In both the 2008 and 2012 Presidential campaigns, President Barack Obama used social media via the Internet to understand the voter better than any candidate before his time. Through revolutionary data collection techniques, both offline and online, the Obama campaign obtained vital electorate information. This data was used by the campaign to: target online social media users who were most likely to become politically engaged; and attempt to influence their voting habits, two of the most crucial measures of a successful presidential campaign. This paper analyzes whether the social media campaign strategy deployed by President Barack Obama in both the 2008 and 2012 elections was successful in its attempt to influence the electorate. This is accomplished by evaluating voter turnout and engagement based on targeted demographic groups. Next, I assess how social media has impacted fundraising in the 2st1 century, particularly following the aftermath of the Federal Elections Campaign Act (FECA) in 1974. Finally, I analyze how social media effectively assisted President Obama’s campaign in mobilizing the electorate both online and offline to his benefit.

For years political fundraising was structured around who could raise the most to outlast their opponent. The 2016 presidential elections showed that this standard was no longer the case. Fundraising was a core aspect of campaign finance that was further advanced with the introduction of Citizens United. It established new outlets of fundraising known as super PACs that changed the dynamics in campaign finance. This further incentivized presidential candidates to raise as much funds as they could. Former Governor of Florida Jeb Bush embodied this new gold standard in his 2016 campaign run. On the other hand, celebrity mogul Donald Trump completely defied all standards with his self-funded 2016 campaign. Bush’s defeat and Trump’s victory represents a new era of campaign finance for future elections.