Cette thèse a pour enjeu de traiter des paradoxes étudiés en théorie du choix social.Le paradoxe d'Ostrogorski sur deux axes programmatiques a été traité, notamment sa probabilité de réalisation par l'ajout d'un critère discriminant sur les axes au moment de réaliser le choix de l'électeur : une formule de calcul exacte a été mise au point pour des valeurs de population finies afin de mesurer son occurrence pour différents effectifs, et une borne maximale émerge autours de 0,085.Parmi, les différentes anomalies étudiées en théorie du choix social affectant le fonctionnement des démocraties, le paradoxe du référendum occupe une place particulière du fait de son observation assez récurrente dans l'histoire électorale récente.L'un des enjeux de cette thèse a été de déterminer une méthode utilisable pour mesurer précisément sa probabilité d'occurrence dans des conditions précises de taille du corps électoral et de découpage.Il a été notamment recherché un moyen de comparer sa fréquence selon le nombre de circonscriptions retenu.Une formule a ainsi été déterminée pour des découpage du corps électoral en 3, 5, 7 et 9 circonscriptions de taille homogène.Un second résultat de la thèse sur le même paradoxe a été d'abolir l'hypothèse d'homogénéité parfaite des effectifs des circonscriptions pour mesurer l'effet de leur variation sur la probabilité de conflit pour un découpage en 3 circonscriptions.Des pistes ultérieures de recherche ont également explorées, en particulier la possibilité d'abolir partiellement l'hypothèse de culture neutre avec un découpage en 3 circonscriptions.Il a également été procédé à un état des lieux des types d'architecture institutionnelle, dont une classification globale en quatre catégories a été établie.Il a été tenté de déterminer leur poids dans les conflits de pouvoirs observés dans certains pays, en ayant notamment recours à des résultats obtenus grâce au paradoxe du référendum. / This thesis has aimed issues to deal with paradoxes studied in social choice theory.The Ostrogorski paradox with two programmatic axes was treated, including its achievement by adding a distinguishing criterion on the axes to realize the voter choice: an exact formula has been developed for a finite population to measure its occurrence for different numbers, and a effective maximum bound has emerged around 0.085.Among the various anomalies studied in social choice theory in the functioning of democracy, the referendum paradox holds a special place because of its fairly recurrent observation in recent electoral history.One of the stake of this thesis was to determine a suitable method to accurately measure its probability of occurrence in precise terms of size of the electorate and cutting.It was particularly sought a way to compare its frequency depending on the number of selected districts.A formula has been determined for cutting the electorate in 3, 5, 7 and 9 homogeneous size constituencies.A second result of the thesis on the same paradox was to relax the perfect homogeneity assumption on the constituencies size to measure the effect of their variation on the likelihood of conflict for a division into 3 districts.Subsequent research directions have also explored the possibility to partially abolish the assumption of impartial culture with a division into three districts.An inventory has been also conducted of the institutional architecture types.A comprehensive four-category classification was established, and we have tried to determine their weight in conflicts of powers observed in some countries,in particular using results deduced from the referendum paradox.

Based on widespread public debate prior to Swedish EMU-referendum 2003, the main purpose of this thesis is to examine and analyze the standpoint of the Swedish parliamentary parties in the EMU-issue, from perspektive of the following questions; 1) What is the official standpoint of the parliamentary parties in the EMU-issue? 2) What claimed effects of a Swedish EMU-membership or non-membership have the parties presented? 3) What rifts can be found within the parties, in relation to their official standpoint in the EMU-issue? The Sweidish parliamentary parties´ standpoint in the EMU-issue will be analyze from the point of view of a number of current theories. These theories are basically democrazy theories that all have transnationalization and Europeanization as a common ground. The conclusions are, among others, that the parliamentary parties` standpoints in the EMU-issue are based on ideological values about whether or not a Swedish EMU-membership is good for Sweden. The Liberal Party, the Christian Democrats, the Moderate Party and the Social Party have a positive view on EMU and a deeper European integration, and basically value the economic efficency of the EMU higher than democratic decision making and a national currency and monetary policy. As for the EMU-critical parties such as the Centre Party, the Green Party and the Left Party, their view in the EMU-issue can be regarded as more nationalistic, since they say no to an exapanded financial cooperation. A contibuting factor to their standpoint in this issue is that they value the national influence over currency and monetary policies, and democratic decision making higher than the economic effciency of the EMU. The Swedish parliamentary parties have suggested a number of effects of a Swedish EMU-membership or non-membership. In general; all parties tend to exaggerate the factors which benefit their own EMU-standpoint, and to some extent discard those which oppose their stand in the EMU-issue. This thesis makes it clear that regarding the EMU-issue all of the parliamentary parties are more or less divided. The Moderate Party and the Liberal Party are seen as the most united for a Swedish EMU-membership, whereas the Left Party and the Green Party are the most united against Sweden joining the EMU. The Centre Party is resonably united in their opposition to a Swedish membership, apart from a small minority of EMU-advocates. The Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats, on the other hand, are the most devided parties in the EMU-issue. / Med anledning av den omfattande debatten inför den svenska EMU-folkomröstningen år 2003 är det huvudsakliga syftet med denna uppsats att undersöka samt analysera de svenska riksdagspartiernas ställningstagande i EMU-frågan utifrån följande frågeställningar: 1) Vilka är de svenska riksdagspartiernas officiella ståndpunkter i EMU-frågan? 2) Vilka påstådda effekter har riksdagspartierna fört fram vid ett svenskt EMU-medlemskap eller ett EMU-utanförskap? 3) Vilka splittringar finns det inom riksdagspartierna i relation till partiernas officiella ställningstagande i EMU-frågan? De svenska riksdagspartiernas förhållningssätt i EMU-frågan behandlas utifrån flera demokratiteorier som har transnationaliseringen och europeiseringen som gemensam bas. Slutsatserna är bland andra att riksdagspartiernas ställningstagande i EMU-frågan bottnar i ideologiska värderingar om att ett svenskt EMU-medlemskap är bra respektive dåligt för Sverige. Folkpartiet, kristdemokraterna, moderaterna och socialdemokraterna är positiva till EMU och till en fördjupad europeisk integration där de i grund och botten värderar EMU:s ekonomiska effektivitet mer än en demokratisk beslutsordning och en nationell valuta- och penningpolitik. När det gäller EMU-kritiska partierna som centerpartiet, miljöpartiet och vänsterpartiet är deras synsätt i EMU-frågan att betrakta som mer nationalistiskt eftersom de säger nej till ett utökat ekonomiskt samarbete. En bidragande orsak till deras uppfattning i denna fråga är att de värdesätter det nationella inflytandet över valuta- och penningpolitiken samt en demokratisk bestlutsordning mer än EMU:s ekonomiska effektivitet. Sveriges riksdagspartier har fört fram många påstådda effekter vid ett svenskt EMU-medlemskap eller ett EMU-utanförskap. Generellt sett tenderar alla riksdagspartier förstora de faktorer som främjar deras egna EMU-ståndpunkter och i viss mån förkasta det som går tvärt emot deras ställningstagande i EMU-frågan. Moderaterna och folkpartiet bedöms vara de mest enade partierna för ett svenskt EMU-medlemskap medan vänsterpartiet och miljöpartiet är de mest sammanhållna partierna mot en svensk EMU-anslutning. Centerpartiet är förhållandevis överens i sitt EMU-motstånd bortsett från en mindre minoritet med EMU-förespråkare. Kristdemokraterna och socialdemokraterna är däremot de mest splittrade partierna i EMU-frågan.

County jurisdictions in America are increasingly exercising self-government in the provision of public community services through the context of second order federalism. In states exercising this form of contemporary governance, county governments with “reformed” policy-making structures and professional management practices, have begun to rival or surpass municipalities in the delivery of local services with regional implications such as environmental protection (Benton 2002, 2003; Marando and Reeves, 1993). The voter referendum, a form of direct democracy, is an important component of county land preservation and environmental protection governmental policies. The recent growth and success of land preservation voter referendums nationwide reflects an increase in citizen participation in government and their desire to protect vacant land and its natural environment from threats of over-development, urbanization and sprawl, loss of open space and farmland, deterioration of ecosystems, and inadequate park and recreational amenities. The study’s design employs a sequential, mixed method. First, a quantitative approach employs the Heckman two-step model. It is fitted with variables for the non-random sample of 227 voter referendum counties and all non-voter referendum counties in the U.S. from 1988 to 2009. Second, the qualitative data collected from the in-depth investigation of three South Florida county case studies with twelve public administrator interviews is transformed for integration with the quantitative findings. The purpose of the qualitative method is to complement, explain and enrich the statistical analysis of county demographic, socio-economic, terrain, regional, governance and government, political preference, environmentalism, and referendum-specific factors. The research finds that government factors are significant in terms of the success of land preservation voter referendums; more specifically, the presence of self-government authority (home rule charter), a reformed structure (county administrator/manager or elected executive), and environmental interest groups. In addition, this study concludes that successful counties are often located coastal, exhibit population and housing growth, and have older and more educated citizens who vote democratic in presidential elections. The analysis of case study documents and public administrator interviews finds that pragmatic considerations of timing, local politics and networking of regional stakeholders are also important features of success. Further research is suggested utilizing additional public participation, local government and public administration factors.

Abstract New nationalist ideologies have permeated politics for the last decade. New leaders, followers, and conducive environments have emerged to cause the most controversial and unique episodes in recent politics. Brexit was selected by having a set of exclusive characteristics, factors, and social elements which resulted in the UK leaving the EU after 47 years. Additionally, two academic attributes were considered to be politically researched, which were leadership and communication techniques. The former established the relationship between two parts of society (leaders and followers) and how their roles developed during the Brexit referendum campaign, and the latter examined political language by extracting the most representative rhetorical means used by the British leaders to run it.   The set of rhetorical techniques was thoroughly investigated using a specially adopted analysis. Several examples were included in how they were performed politically and strategically to create that democratic result. To execute this study, we developed qualitative research based on a study case strategy, descriptive purpose, and by having an inductive approach. Consequently, we selected a sampling method which met specific research criteria and allowed us to analyse this political phenomenon rhetorically. Besides, our empirical data was formed by using interactive and visual material which provided a credible source of study to approach, identify, and answer our research questions. Finally, Brexit’s outcome was viewed as the end of an era in terms of faith in the benefits of globalisation, open labour markets, European integration (Norris and Inglehart, 2019), loss of identity from British individuals, and the reflection of a fractured society (Gherghina and O’Malley, 2019).

D’une portée inédite dans le voisinage maghrébin et arabe, à un moment crucial de l’évolution du monde arabo-musulman, la réforme constitutionnelle globale annoncée par SM le Roi Mohammed VI à la nation le 9 mars 2011, constitue l’aboutissement d’un processus de réformes économiques, politiques et sociales entamé depuis la fin des années 90. Fruit d’une démarche participative inédite dans l’histoire du Maroc, la constitution adoptée par référendum trois ans auparavant a jeté les bases d’une nouvelle phase dans le processus de consolidation d’un modèle démocratique marocain. Cette démarche, a été saluée par l’ensemble de la communauté internationale, l’estimant un pas important dans le développement politique en cours au Maroc, et une preuve significative de l’engagement de toutes les forces vives de la nation au projet de société porté par la nouvelle loi fondamentale. La nouvelle constitution est basée sur plusieurs fondements majeurs, qui concernent la séparation et l’équilibre des pouvoirs, la consolidation de l’Etat de droit, l’élargissement du champ des libertés individuelles et collectives, le renforcement du système des droits de l’Homme. Elle consacre pour la première fois, la reconnaissance de la composante culturelle amazighe, la volonté d’ériger la justice en un pouvoir indépendant. Elle prévoit également le renforcement du statut du premier ministre qui devient chef du gouvernement, la mise en place et la constitutionnalisation des instances en charge de promotion des droits de l’Homme et de la bonne gouvernance. En dehors de ces grands sujets, la nouvelle loi est riche de plusieurs dispositions qui touchent aux fondements de la société marocaine et à son insertion dans le concert des pays modernes et démocratiques. Elle ouvre de nouvelles perspectives, et va au-delà des aspirations exprimées, il s’agit d’une véritable révolution dans la vie politique du pays et un point de départ d’une ère nouvelle. Ce travail vise à montrer que la présente réforme n’est pas conjoncturelle ou due à un facteur unique, ce formidable sursaut de réforme n’est guère une affaire de circonstance, appelée désormais printemps arabe. Cette évolution constitutionnelle qui s’inscrit dans la stabilité du régime, semble démontrer sa maturité politique à travers son choix de mettre en œuvre de nouveaux mécanismes. Il s’agit donc d’un contexte institutionnel nouveau mais qui a pour objectif essentiel de consolider tous les acquis démocratiques qui ont été concrétisé tout au long de l’histoire contemporaine du Maroc et que nous nous proposons d’étudier. La nouvelle loi vient confirmer une fois encore l’exception du modèle marocain et son caractère singulier qui s’articule notamment autour d’une scène politique active et dynamique, puisant sa force d’une monarchie constitutionnelle, vieille de plusieurs siècles. Son exception est en fait un particularisme, une singularité due à la nature monarchique du régime et aux spécificités propres du Royaume, qui font que le changement ne s’opère pas par les mêmes canaux et ne s’exprime pas de la même façon. / In an unprecedented scope in the Maghreb and Arab neighborhood, at a crucial moment in the evolution of the Arab-Muslim world, the comprehensive constitutional reforms announced by HM King Mohammed VI to the nation on 9 March 2011, is the culmination of a process of economic reforms, political and social begun since the late 90s. Fruit unprecedented participatory approach in the history of Morocco, the constitution adopted by referendum three years ago laid the foundations of a new phase in the process of consolidation of a Moroccan democratic model. This approach was welcomed by the entire international community, considering an important step in policy development underway in Morocco, and a significant proof of the commitment of all forces of the nation to the project company carried by the new constitution. The new constitution is based on several major foundations, which concern the separation des powers, consolidating the rule of law, expanding the scope of individual and collective freedoms, strengthening the system of human rights. It enshrines for the first time, the recognition of the Amazigh cultural component, the desire to build justice in an independent power. It also provides for strengthening the status of the Prime Minister is head of government, the establishment and entrenchment of bodies responsible for promoting human rights and good governance. Apart from these major issues, the new law is rich with several provisions affecting the foundations of Moroccan society and its insertion in the concert of modern and democratic country. It opens new perspectives, and goes beyond the aspirations expressed; it is a revolution in the political life of the country and a starting point of a new era. This work aims to show that this reform is not cyclical or due to a single factor, great burst of reform is hardly a matter of fact, now called the Arab Spring. This constitutional change that is part of the regime's stability seems to show political maturity through his choice to implement new mechanisms. It is therefore a new institutional context but essential objective to consolidate all the democratic gains that have been materialized throughout the modern history of Morocco and we propose to study. The new law confirms once again the exception of the Moroccan model and its singular character that revolves around a particularly active and dynamic political scene, drawing its strength from a constitutional monarchy, centuries old. His exception is actually a particularism, a singularity due to the nature of the monarchical regime and the specificities of the Kingdom, which make the change does not take place through the same channels and is not expressed in the same way.

The main goal of this diploma thesis is the analysis of political influences on a municipal budget in municipality Kamenický Šenov. Thanks to solving problems of municipal budgets, it is possible to analyze relationship of political decisions and municipal budget. Most of political science's dissertations focus on elections, voting systems or mayor's election, but the question of influence of political relationship on municipal budget is not in public interest. This topic is very important, but unfortunately neglected. This diploma thesis is divided into four chapters. The first three chapters theoretically embed this work. The first chapter introduces the horizontal typology of the municipal systems, public administration, fiscal federalism, incomes and expenses of municipalities and formation of the municipal budget in France and Sweden. The third chapter is dedicated to the Czech Republic and it proceeds from the structure of the first chapter. The fourth chapter of this work is arranged as the unique case study of municipality Kamenický Šenov. The municipality Kamencký Šenov has been ruled by a coalition of KSČM and ČSSD from 1998 to 2009; in 2002 a new member SNK Naše město joined this coalition. This coalition stood up for investment policy, which is represented by the construction of the...

Abstract not available.

A comparative content analysis was conducted to determine whether the Russian (ITAR-TASS) and the American (UPI) wire service coverage of President Boris Yeltsin in the April 25, 1993, referendum was balanced and unbiased. Also, the amount of space dedicated to this topic was measured. Study results indicate that ITAR-TASS was more critical of Yeltsin prior to the referendum than UPI, and that there was no statistically important difference between the two wire services in their post referendum coverage. UPI articles were almost 30% longer than the ITAR-TASS articles. Each UPI article was on an average more than 220 words longer than were the ITAR-TASS articles.

Historiquement sceptique au sujet d’une intégration à la Communauté Européenne, la Suisse s’est engagée ces vingt dernières années sur une voie de rapprochement, à travers les premiers accords bilatéraux signés en 1999 dont un des chapitres fondamentaux est la libre circulation des personnes. Certains ont vu dans cet engagement un premier pas vers une intégration toujours plus étroite avec l’Union Européenne (UE), d’autres une nécessaire concession pour permettre à la Suisse de préserver sa souveraineté tout en bénéficiant des opportunités économiques du géant européen. Que ce soit par le premier volet des accords bilatéraux précédemment évoqué ou par le second volet entériné en 2004, une volonté politique forte a prévalu de la part de la classe politique suisse pour un rapprochement avec l’Union Européenne. Dans ce cadre, la spécificité helvétique a fait que le peuple a été amené à se prononcer sur ces jalons essentiels de la coopération grandissante entre la Suisse et l’UE. C’est ainsi que les partis politiques ont du se livrer à une compétition ardue opposant le camp en faveur de l’ouverture à l’UE à leurs détracteurs, farouches opposants à tout accord bilatéral présenté par l’UE. Ainsi, entre 1999 et 2014, le peuple suisse a été sollicité à huit reprises par voie de référendum pour se prononcer sur la poursuite des accords bilatéraux, cette « troisième voie » à mi-chemin de l’isolationnisme et de l’intégration européenne, entre leur pays et l’UE. Durant ces quinze années et au gré de ces campagnes référendaires, les partis politiques ont été amenés à se positionner sur chacun de ses objets en produisant un matériel de campagne conséquent portant sur l’UE. La période 1999-2014 correspond donc à un ‘momentum’, une période intense autour de l’enjeu européen. Ces huit votations ont mises en avant un aspect des relations bilatérales entre la Suisse et l’Union Européenne. Le thème de cette recherche s’inscrit ainsi dans l’analyse de la représentation de l’UE et des dynamiques de compétition en Suisse à travers l’étude du discours que les partis politiques majeurs de la vie politique suisse ont tenu aucours des campagnes référendaires dites ‘européennes’. / Known to be reluctant on European integration, Switzerland has been taking significant steps towards rapprochement with the European Union (EU) over the last twenty years through the first bilateral agreements signed in 1999, one of the fundamental chapters of which is the free movement of persons. On the one hand, this has been considered by some scholars and political observers as a first commitment towards an ever closer integration with the EU. On the other hand, some have seen through this agreement a necessary concession allowing Switzerland to preserve its sovereignty while benefiting from the economic opportunities of the European giant. Whether through the first set of bilateral agreements previously mentioned or the second set endorsed in 2004, a strong political will has prevailed from the Swiss political elite for a rapprochement with the European Union. In this context, the specificity of the country has led the Swiss people to decide on these crucial milestones about thegrowing cooperation between Switzerland and the EU. This is why the political parties had to engage in a though competition opposing those in favor of more EU and those being euro-skeptical, fierce opponents of any bilateral agreement presented by the EU. Consequently, the Swiss people have been involved eight times between 1999 and 2014 into referendum voting to decide if bilateral agreements and European integration should be pursued. This is known to be the Swiss "third way", halfway between isolationism and European integration. During these fifteen years, the political parties had to develop their arguments and strategies on every EU topic brought into the political arena. Hence, a sizeable amount of texts, speeches and discourses have been produced in the framework of these campaigns about the EU. The period 1999-2014 fits to a 'momentum', an intense period around the European challenge. These eight referendums shed the light on an essential aspect of the bilateral relations between Switzerland and the European Union. The scope of this research is about the analysis of the EU representation and competition dynamics in Switzerland through the study of the discourse that the major political parties of the Swiss political arena have been producing during the 'European' campaigns of these referendums.

Scholarly research on the subject of the swift pace of change in support for same-sex marriage has evolved significantly over the last ten years. The shift has gone beyond the scholarship's initial description amongst demographic groups on how opinion has changed on gay rights issues, like same-sex marriage, to an examination of why the change has occurred. A great deal of the initial research on the topic seemed to focus on demographic traits that suggested a greater propensity toward support for same-sex marriage as time went on. Is the existent literature sufficient to explain why such a dramatic change in public opinion has occurred in the United States? My goal in this paper is to explore the plausibility that electoral events and the public dialogue/debate that surround them have accelerated the impact described in the four predominant theories, cohort succession, contact theory, intracohort theory, and media exposure. This paper includes three separate hypotheses to explore the possible connections between efforts to restrict gay rights at the ballot box and the ever-increasing support for same-sex marriage in public opinion polls. The results provide some preliminary indication that there are plausible connections between individual statewide efforts to restrict gay rights and increases in national public opinion support for same-sex marriage. The first analysis examines electoral events concerning gay rights in states where these issues have faced voters most frequently; California, Maine, and Oregon. The first hypotheses posits a potential connection between exposure to gay rights at the ballot box and greater support for gay rights in subsequent elections concerning gay rights in the same state. No clear or consistent pattern of support emerges for successive electoral measures concerning gay rights where voters have been previously exposed to gay rights question in an electoral context. The second analysis explores national public opinion support for same-sex marriage as statewide ballot measures increase in popularity across the United States. The second hypotheses posits a connection between an increase in statewide electoral events concerning questions of same-sex marriage and an increase in national public opinion support for same-sex marriage with state-to-nation diffusion occurring and prodding upward national public opinion support for same-sex marriage simultaneously. The hypotheses is confirmed by data that suggests as election events on same-sex marriage increase across the United States at the state level, so too increases national public opinion support for same-sex marriage. The third analysis explores the rate of change in support for legal same-sex marriage across the three states where gay rights referenda and ballot initiatives have been most frequent; it posits that in states where voters have greater familiarity with gay rights at the ballot because of previous exposure to them, their support will be greater over time than public opinion measured in other states that have similar political cultures but have not faced the same level of electoral activity on gay rights. The final hypothesis is inconclusive because of the fluid nature of the same-sex marriage debate in the universe of states within the United States. States are handling this salient issue in a number of ways; some legislatures now seem to be taking steps to legalize same-sex marriage statutorily; others may take no action to propel the provision of same-sex marriage equality or end constitutional bans on the practice; while another group of states are leaving activists to litigate the policy in Federal courts or shift the debate toward statewide popular votes on the issue of authorizing same-sex marriage at the ballot box via ballot initiative or referendum.