This study investigates the political, personal, and policy issues that drive citizens to seek unpaid, elected positions on Pennsylvania's public school boards. This research examines whether school board members are recruited to run for office and considers the role of various recruitment agents such as political parties, interest groups, and non-political community organizations. Trends in political and community engagement among school board members, their potential ambition to seek higher office, and the relationship between elected board members and appointed district superintendents are also examined. The study relies upon a unique dataset gathered through a survey distributed to all of Pennsylvania's nearly 4,500 school board members and a series of interviews with current state legislators who began their political careers by serving on their local school boards. Findings suggest that school board members are enormously engaged in the political and non-political life of their communities. It is also determined that school board members are principally self-starters who do not intend to use their positions as springboards to higher office. These findings are analyzed to help determine the implications for governance at the local level as well as to better comprehend the dynamics of party organizations, interest groups, and other community organizations within Pennsylvania school district politics and elections. / Political Science

Previous studies of media bias generally do not consider intra-campaign shifts in the composition of the coverage, leaving unanswered the question of whether coverage is consistently balanced or merely appears so when all the ups and downs of the election are tallied up. Even this aggregate assessment of balance frequently reveals imbalance in coverage, but there are few studies that test for effects of media imbalance. A lack of comprehensive content analysis data makes substantive work in this area challenging and frequently dependent upon single-election studies or those that examine a single variable over multiple years. This project takes advantage of a highly detailed, project-generated content analysis of all NBC Nightly News broadcasts and New York Times articles during the general election period (from just prior to the national party conventions through Election Day) for four election years (1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008) to address the question of whether aggregate and intra-campaign imbalance exists along three axes: volume of coverage (total coverage of the campaign and candidates), share of coverage (percentage of coverage received by each candidate on a given day, not conflated with volume), and tone of coverage (average daily valence score of coverage, positive or negative). Share of coverage is not stable at any point of equilibrium, but swings back and forth, favoring one candidate then the other throughout the general election. Analysis of tone of coverage reveals a surprising correlation between the positive/negative coverage of the candidates, with tone of coverage of the candidates correlating to a statistically significant degree. With this data it is possible to test whether shifts in the composition of coverage cause shifts in electoral support as measured by trial heat polls. Analysis of the data shows a significant relationship between changes in share and tone of coverage and changes in levels of electoral support. The corollary question, "what attracts media attention?" shows that media outlets are attracted by conflict as determined by a qualitative and quantitative analysis of headlines and share of coverage, and a further test shows a significant correlation between media coverage of an issue and both candidates' mention of that issue in their remarks, though not between media coverage and a single-candidate mention of the issue. The end result is a more-comprehensive picture of political reporting, its effect on the electorate, and the ways in which candidates may attract attention than is currently available in the literature. The combination of a multi-election measure with a high degree of intra-campaign diagnostic sensitivity provides a useful benchmark for the further study of media coverage of campaigns, as well as more than sufficient justification for its substantive significance as an area of political study, by virtue of the observed relationship between coverage and levels of electoral support. / Political Science

Should a democracy defend itself against disinformation? This paper investigates how thedebate surrounding this issue is conducted in Taiwan during the buildup to the two mostrecent elections, in 2020 and 2024. This is done by a systematic text analysis that categorizesarticles in to two different frames based on the two sides of the ‘disinformation-dilemma’.The material analyzed is newspaper articles from the Taiwanese newspaper Taipei Times thatwere published in the year leading up to the elections and included statements fromTaiwanese politicians on the subject. The results show that disinformation, in 2020, wasframed as a necessary evil, and democracy should not be limited to protect it. In 2024,however, it was framed as a threat to democracy and that measures must be taken to defendit. This provides us with a good understanding of how the Taiwanese debate has looked, andalso changed, over time.

No

Although the overall effect of labor unions represents a point of disagreement, most companies prefer not to have their employees represented by a union. The interest in preserving nonunion status has lead to the development of many diverse means of deterring unionization. These techniques are primarily provided by academicians who usually engage in empirical research, and by labor practitioners who base their writing on personal experience. This study serves to bring together the various techniques of union-avoidance, presenting those techniques as long-term, "preventive" actions, or as short-term responses to actual organizational activity. Further, the study examined the value of these techniques in actually deterring unionization. Finally, the study examined the possibility that a relatively few, particular techniques of union-avoidance were specially effective in preserving non-union status. Correlation and frequency analysis indicate that several of the techniques appearing in the literature are, in fact, related to company election victory. Other techniques, as identified in the literature, were not related to election outcome. Seven specific union-avoidance techniques were primarily responsible for distinguishing election losers from election winners. Companies which hope to remain non-union must be prepared to implement programs which are actually effective in deterring unionization. Failure to develop such programs will be unnecessarily costly and ineffective. / Master of Science

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia is the only woman in Africa that has ever been voted into presidential office. Uncovering the dynamics perpetuating men's continued dominance in presidential office-holding in this region requires a deeper understanding of presidential candidacies particularly as they relate to gendered patterns of major party support that often occur due to party gatekeeping. As such, this thesis poses the following questions: How prevalent are women candidates in sub-Saharan African presidential elections? To what extent do women run for major party labels versus minor party labels or as independent candidates? What factors explain those patterns of party representation for women presidential candidates in the region? I hypothesize that women are altogether less likely than men to run for president. When women do run, I posit that they forge minor party candidacies as opposed to major party or independent candidacies. While minor parties may signal legitimacy, consolidate policy platforms, and provide resources for women candidates who face gatekeeping from major parties, they will ultimately be unlikely to propel them into viable candidacies let alone presidencies. Using a mixed methodological approach, this thesis aims to assess ways party representation differs between men and women presidential candidates in 26 sub-Saharan African countries that were considered "free" or "partly free" as of their 2020 elections (Freedom House). As the role of women in democratization continues to be in question, this research is vital to understanding how women are incorporated into the politics of new democracies. / Master of Arts / Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia is the only woman in Africa that has ever been voted into presidential office, likely because women face disadvantages in gaining political party support. While major parties have significant dominance over minor parties, minor parties may be more likely to support women due to discrimination from major parties. As such, this thesis poses the following questions: How prevalent are women candidates in sub-Saharan African presidential elections? To what extent do women run for major party labels versus minor party labels or as independent candidates? What factors explain those patterns of party representation for women presidential candidates? I hypothesize that women are altogether less likely than men to run for president. When women do run, I posit that they forge minor party candidacies as opposed to major party or independent candidacies. Minor party representation may have important benefits that independent candidacies do not have due to lack of party support. Party representation, even from minor parties, can signal candidate legitimacy, present a clear policy agenda, and provide resources, but minor parties will ultimately be unlikely to propel women into presidencies. This thesis aims to assess ways party representation differs between men and women presidential candidates in 26 sub-Saharan African countries that were considered "free" or "partly free" as of their 2020 elections, denoting their statuses as democracies or at least semi-democracies (Freedom House). I further substantiate the quantitative evidence with evidence from interviews, surveys, and historical context. As the role of women in democracy-building continues to be in question, this research is vital to understanding how women are incorporated into the politics of new democracies.

This thesis is an exploration of affect theory and emotional rhetoric in the 2016 Presidential Election, and specifically in Donald Trump’s candidacy, first through a series of rhetorical readings of Trump’s rhetoric on the campaign trail and after his election. The first section of this thesis focuses on Donald Trump and the various rhetorical spaces he uses to reach his supporters through affectual means. Next, I will apply affect theory to Trump’s political rhetoric in order to illustrate how affect is intrinsic to his rhetoric and how he communicates to his audience. I find that utilizing texts by cultural rhetoric critics, namely those which discuss affect theory and the culture of emotion such as Sara Ahmed’s The Cultural Politics of Emotion, and culture and rhetorical spaces in Julie Lindquist’s A Place to Stand: Politics and Persuasion in a Working Class Bar, allows us to better understand the underlying cultural impetuses which created the conditions for Donald Trump’s presidency. In the third section, I examine how these theoretical frameworks provide an understanding of how fake news contributed to the current American climate of a post-truth media culture. And in the final section, I explore how satirical rhetoric is employed both as a defense against and as a rhetorical utility for Donald Trump, namely in his use of carnivalesque techniques and rhetoric to appeal to his voter’s sense of rebellion against and cynicism toward the political establishment. In doing so, I argue that Trump’s use of affect, particularly in his targeted approach to appeal to his base’s existential, socio-economic, and racial fears, was essential to his success in the 2016 Presidential election. / Master of Arts / Watching the coverage of Donald Trump’s Presidential campaign and eventual election, one of the most critical aspects not explored in depth by scholarship and academia was his campaign’s use of affect and emotional rhetoric. By appealing to his base’s passions, fueling dissention and anger against the opposition, Trump was able to incite a populist movement that lead him all the way to the White House. This thesis examines Trump’s use of rhetorical spaces such as political rallies and debate stages as avenues to stir up the emotions of his base, as well as becoming a mouthpiece for many on the far right to spread their agenda of isolationism and white nationalism. The use of fake news is also explored, particularly in how it was used to spread a far-right partisan agenda to misinform or mislead Trump supporters to vote against their own interests, and in some cases, even incite violence. Finally, through a brief history of the effects of satire on public opinion post-9/11, I argue that Trump uses carnivalesque techniques to appeal to voters’ sensibilities, particularly their fatigue regarding political correctness and their ire at their perception of being left behind by government insiders. By viewing Trump’s use of affect, I argue that scholars, and the general public, can gain insight as to how not to fall for such emotional rhetorical strategies so that they do not find themselves voting against their own socio-economic and representative interests.

This thesis contains three chapters. Chapter One provides an analysis of Carter's campaign for president. Carter's battle with Kennedy in the Democratic primary is examined. Additionally, an analysis of Carter's acceptance speech at the Democratic convention and an overview of the fall campaign is provided. Chapter Two has two foci. First, to present a holistic analysis of the debate, this chapter presents an analysis of the questions which were posed to the debaters. Moreover, it argues that Carter's debate preparation books enabled Carter to ignore certain questions and to recite a pre-written answer which reflected the overall strategy of his campaign. The second portion of this chapter delineates Carter's debate tactics, and in the closing portion of this analysis, it will become evident that Carter attempted to use the debate to appeal to specific segments of the population as well as to deny Reagan the "credibility threshold." It will be argued that Carter's debate strategy was fundamentally guided by this concept. Chapter Three will demonstrate that Carter did not achieve either of his debate objectives: Carter was unable to make a persuasive case to blue-collar males, and he was unable to deny Reagan the "credibility threshold." Finally, this chapter evaluates the relative success of Reagan and Carter in achieving their primary debate objectives. / Master of Arts

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Africa has made tremendous progress over the past decades in its transition to democratic regimes. When evaluating the leverage such an enormous change has, and the haste Africa was in when making this change, the continent has been able to achieve a considerable amount of revision in their regimes. One fundamental aspect of a democracy is competitive Presidential elections. This has however shown to be a problem in Africa as many cases of violent elections have been reported on, with Nigeria’s 2011 elections being the latest example. The focus of this thesis is on the causal factors behind electoral violence in African democracies. More specifically, a comparative analysis of Kenya’s 2007 Elections and Zimbabwe’s 2008 elections is presented. The five possible causal factors under analysis are 1) free and fair elections, 2) international assistance, 3) political/electoral systems and 4) socio-economic factors and 5) ethnicity. Additionally, background information on the history of Kenya and Zimbabwe is presented. The research is conducted around the framework of one of the foremost African scholars in the field, Gilbert Khadiagala. His typology suggests two angles ‘In the first order of causes, electoral violence is the outcome of events and circumstances that emanate from broader political conflicts, particularly in societies that are beset by ethnic, communal and sectarian fissures. In the second category, electoral violence is a consequence of imperfect electoral rules; imperfections that allow some parties to manipulate elections through electoral fraud, vote buying, and rigging’ (Khadiagala, 2010:17). Next to this a discussion on Khadiagala’s fourth wave of democracy is analysed which proves of major importance for Kenya and Zimbabwe to prevent election violence. Not only because of the fact that the contemporary form of their democracies clearly show major flaws, but also because a democracy has proved to encourage socio-economic development. Firstly, the findings suggest that the people are fed up with stolen elections and they are demanding the free and fair conduct of elections. The use of violence is the means to express this ‘demand’. Furthermore, in both Kenya and Zimbabwe, the land occupation of colonizers caused the start of deep social cleavages and ethnic tensions. In Kenya it is concluded that the cause of violence was not purely the flawed election process, this was merely a trigger for underlying ethnic tensions. In Zimbabwe in turn, the violence was mainly sparked by President Mugabe’s government who used extreme means to gain votes. The system was highly manipulated and due to weak institutions and electoral rules, President Mugabe was able to rig the elections. The role of international assistance is discussed and proves to be of little influence towards election violence. In the case of Zimbabwe, no international observers were invited, in the case of Kenya, international observers were invited and present. In both cases violence broke out. The establishment of a stronger socio-economic society proves vital for the development of a democracy. The connection between ethnic, social and economic differences to the electoral system recognizes that further deepening and strengthening of the democratic institutions needs to become a reality in order to conduct more peaceful elections. The elections are far from free and fair and as a result of weak democratic institutions the possibility of rigging is created. With the underlying ethnic tensions and broader political cleavages, Kenya and Zimbabwe proved prone to violence. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Wanneer daar in ag geneem word dat Afrika onder moeilike omstandighede en in ‘n baie kort tydperk, beweeg het van meerderheid autokratiese state na demokrasieë, is dit regverdig om te argumenteer dat Afrika ‘n kenmerkende vordering gemaak het in die laaste dekades om ‘n demokratiese samenleving te berwerkstellig. Helaas, n fundamentele aspek van n demokrasie is die beoefening van gereelde en kompeterend verkiesings. Oor die jare is daar bewys dat verkiesings n problematiese aspek van demokrasie is in meeste Afrika state, meerderheid van verkiesings in Afrika is geneig om uit te loop in konflik en geweld. Dus is die fokus van die studie op die faktore wat bydra tot konflik gedurende n verkiesings tydperk in jong Afrika demokrasieë. Meer spesifiek sal daar n vergelykende studie gedoen word van die 2007 verkiesing in Kenia en die 2008 verkiesing in Zimbabwe. Die vyf faktore wat bydra tot konflik gedurende verkiesings is : 1) vry en regverdige verkiesings, 2) internasionale hulpvelening, 3) politiese en verkiesingsstelsels, 4) sosio-ekonomiese faktore, 5) etnisiteit, word elk bespreek. Ook word die agtergrond van beide die verkiesings in Zimbabwe en Kenia bespreek. Die teoretiese aspekte van die studie is gebaseer op die werk van Gilbert Khadiagala, n hoogs ge-respekteerde kenner op die gebied. Sy teorie veronderstel dat konflik plaasvind as gevolg van politiek konflikte en etniese verskille. Tweedens, beweer hy dat verkiesingskonflik n produk is van foutiewe verkiesingsstelsels, veral waar een groep die ander groep kan manipuleer en waar bedrog moontlik is. Langs dit is 'n bespreking oor Khadiagala se vierde golf van demokrasie ontleed en bewys dit van groot belang vir Kenia en Zimbabwe om verkiesings geweld te voorkom. Nie net as gevolg van die feit dat die demokrasieë duidelik groot foute toon nie, maar ook en meer belangrik, omdat 'n demokrasie sosio-ekonomiese ontwikkeling aanmoedig. Daar word gevind dat meeste mense eenvoudig keelvol is met ‘gesteelde’ verkiesings en dat hulle begin aandring op vry en regverdige verkiesings en konflik en geweld is die enigste manier om hulle wense te verwesenlik. Ook, in beide Kenia en Zimbabwe het kolonialiseerders n groot skeuring veroorsaak tussen verskillende etniese groepe in beide lande, wat vandag voordurende etniese spanning veroorsaak. In Kenia blyk dit dat dit die etniese verskille was wat gelei het tot die verkiesingsgeweld in 2007 eerder as foutiewe verkiesingsstelsels. In Zimbabwe was dit verkiesingskorrupsie en President Robert Mugabe se oneerlike wyse van stemme werf wat gelei het tot konflik. Dit is aangetoon dat die aanwesigheid van internationale hulp min invloed het op verkiesings geweld. In die geval van Zimbabwe, is daar geen internasionale waarnemers genooi nie en in die geval van Kenia, is daar wel internasionale waarnemers is genooi en was hulle daadwerklik aanwesig. In beide gevalle het geweld uitgebreek. Daar word gevind dat ‘n sterke sosio-ekonomiese sameleving belangrik is vir demokratiese ontwikkling van ‘n land. Verder word daar geargumenteer dat sterk en onafhanklik politieke en demokratiese instansies bevorder moet word ten einde meer vreedsame verkiesings te hou. Tans in Afrika is verkiesings ver van vry en regverdig, gesamentlik met etniese spanning kan dit n plofbare situasie veroorsaak soos bewys in Kenia en Zimbabwe.

Cette thèse est organisée en trois chapitres. Chaque chapitre correspond à un article dans les domaines de la finance internationale et du commerce international. Chapitre 1: Une analyse empirique du cycle électoral des taux de change réel: Asie de l'Est vs. Amérique Latine. Dans cet article, nous analysons les fluctuations des taux de change réels pendant les élections en Asie de l'Est, et nous effectuons une comparaison avec les expériences des pays d'Amérique latine. Tout d'abord, nous avons trouvé un nouveau type de cycle électoral de taux de change réel pour l'Asie de l'Est, qui s'oppose à celui des pays d'Amérique Latine. Ensuite, nous étudions les politiques utilisées par les politiciens pour influencer le taux de change pendant des élections. Chapitre 2: Populisme du taux de change. Les résultats empiriques ont montré que les économies d'Amérique Latine et de l'Asie de l'Est présentent des cycles électoraux du taux de change opposés. Les taux de change ont tendance à se déprécier pendant la période qui précède les élections et à s'apprécier ensuite pour les économies d'Asie de l'Est alors que le phénomène opposé se déroule dans les économies d'Amérique Latine. Cet article propose un modèle théorique qui explique le cycle électoral du taux de change dans ces deux régions. Le mécanisme derrière le cycle est engendrée par les politiciens qui essaient de signaler qu'ils sont du type de l'électeur médian, biaisant leur politique en faveur de la majorité de la population avant les élections. Les forces motrices du populisme d'inversion du taux de change dans ses deux régions sont les effets distributifs du taux de change réel et les différences de taille relative des secteur des biens échangeables et le secteur des biens non échangeables dans ses deux régions. Chapitre 3 : La décomposition du déclin du commerce international pendant les crises financières. La crise financière mondiale de 2008-2009 a été accompagnée d'une forte baisse du commerce international, ce qui pose la question sur le rôle de la finance sur le commerce international. Nous contribuons à cette littérature en étudiant l'impact de la crise sur les échanges bilatéraux, en utilisant les données de 103 exportateurs, 188 importateurs et 27 secteurs pour 1995-2009. Tout d'abord, nous analysons les réponses des échanges bilatéraux à la crise financière quand le choc frappe soit le pays exportateur soit le pays importateur. Ensuite, cet article contribue au débat sur l'effondrement du commerce international pendant les crises. Est-ce que la chute du commerce international est provoquée par des chocs de demande ou des chocs d'offre? Enfin, nous étudions l'impact de la crise financière sur la marge extensive du commerce, qui peut être une indication de l'impact permanent sur le commerce. / This thesis is comprised of three chapters. Each chapter corresponds to an article in the field of international finance and international trade. Chapter One: An Empirical Analysis of Real Exchange Rate Election Cycle: East Asia vs. Latin America. Empirical literature depicts an exchange rate cycle around elections in Latin America: exchange rates tend to be more appreciated before than after elections. In this paper we analyze the behavior of real exchange rates (RERs, hereafter) around elections in East Asia, and perform a broad comparison with the experiences of Latin America countries. Our contributions to the empirical literature on exchange rate election cycle are threefold. First, we find a new type of RER election cycle in East Asia region, which is opposite to one of Latin America. Second, we investigate the possible policies used by the policy-maker to influence the RER around elections. We find that RER variation around elections can be partially captured by changes in international reserves. Our results are consistent with international reserves being used by policy-makers to influence exchange rates and produce its election cycle, and we find that international reserves increase in the month preceding elections in East Asia, but decrease in Latin America. Third, we show that in both regions the RER election cycle is clearly identified before central bank reform, but the cycle disappears in the post-reform data, indicating that monetary policy is one of the channels through which the RER election cycle is generated. Chapter Two: Exchange Rate Populism. Empirical findings have shown that East Asian and Latin American economies present opposite exchange rate electoral cycles: exchange rates tend to be more depreciated before and appreciated after elections among East Asian economies, and the opposite is true in Latin America. This paper proposes a theoretical model that explains the opposite exchange rate electoral cycle in these two regions. In a setup where policy-makers differ in their preference bias towards non-tradable and tradable sector citizens, the RER is used a noisy signal of the incumbent's type in an uncertain economic environment. The mechanism behind the cycle is engendered by the incumbent trying to signal he is median voter's type, biasing his policy in favor of the majority of the population before elections. The driving forces of the opposite exchange rate populism in these two regions is the RER distributive effects and the difference of the relative size of tradable and non-tradable sectors in these two regions. Chapter Three: The Decomposition of Trade Collapse during Financial Crises. The global financial crisis of 2008-2009 was accompanied by a sharp decline in international trade, which raises the question on the role of finance on international trade. We contribute to this literature by investigating the impact of financial crises on bilateral trade, using data of 103 exporters and 188 importers at 27 sectors-disaggregation from 1995 to 2009. Firstly, we analyze the responses of bilateral trade to financial crisis and the shock hits the exporting country or the importing country. Secondly, this paper investigates whether the trade collapse following crisis is caused by demand or supply shocks. Thirdly, we investigate the impact of financial crisis on the extensive margin of trade, which may be an indication of its permanent impact on trade.