This thesis is a report of a survey of a political attitudes at McMaster University. The results are based on the data obtained in interviews with 193 undergraduates chosen in a random sample of the undergraduate population. This information was used to examine the level of interest in politics among the members of the sample, and the different ideological attitudes and party preferences of the students interviewed. The different levels of interest in politics were related to ecological factors such as family and school background, socio-economic status, sex, group involvement and place of residence. Political preferences were related to such factors as socio-economic status, religion, family preferences and academic interests. The more interesting conclusions might be summarized as follows. The students as a whole are more apathetic towards politics than might have been expected. Those who have an above average interest in politics tend to be found among those studying Arts subjects at Honours level and whose parents also have an above average interest. They also tend to be male. Students also tend to agree with their parents’ politics, except those who have a high level of interest in the subject. Finally, the interested students tend to be more radical (at least by the scale set up for this survey) than the apathetic. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

Essay 1: Several countries practice a system where laymen, who lack legal education, participate in the judicial decision making. Yet, little is known about their potential influence on the court rulings. In Sweden lay judges (nämndemän) are affiliated with the political parties and appointed in proportion to political party representation in the last local elections. This paper investigates the influence of their partisan belonging when ruling in asylum appeals in the Migration Courts, where laymen are effectively randomly assigned to cases. The results show that the approval rate is affected by the policy position of the laymen's political parties. In particular, asylum appeals are more likely to be rejected when laymen from the anti-immigrant party the Swedish Democrats participate, and less likely to be rejected when laymen from the Left Party, the Christian Democrats or the Green Party participate. This indicates that asylum seekers do not receive an impartial trial, and raises concerns that laymen in the courts can compromise the legal security in general. / Essay 2: Although economic circumstances have been argued to be a major determining factor of attitudes to redistribution, there is little well identified evidence at the individual level. Utilizing a unique dataset, with detailed individual information, provides new and convincing evidence on the link between economic circumstances and demand for redistribution (in the form of social benefits). The Swedish National Election Studies are constructed as a rotating survey panel, which makes it possible to estimate the causal effect of economic changes. The empirical analysis shows that individuals who experience a job loss become considerably more supportive of redistribution. Yet, attitudes to redistribution return to their initial level as economic prospects improve, suggesting that the effect is only temporary. Although a job loss also changes attitudes to the political parties, the probability to vote for the left-wing is not affected. / Essay 3: A well-functioning labor market is characterized by job reallocations, but the individual costs can be vast. We examine if individual's ability to cope with such adjustments depends on their cognitive and non-cognitive skills (measured by the enlistment tests). Since selection into unemployment is a function of skills, we solve the endogeneity of a job loss by using the exogenous labor market shock provided by the military base closures in Sweden following the end of the Cold War. We find, first, that, on average, labor earnings decrease and unemployment and labor-related benefits increase for those affected. Second, there are heterogeneous treatment effects in terms of unemployment; the treated individuals with high non-cognitive and cognitive skills face lower unemployment effects than the treated individuals with low non-cognitive and cognitive skills.

It is generally accepted that the youth are overall apathetic towards political activities and that such apathy is evidenced in low voter turnout during elections. Such conventional wisdom seems to be based mainly on findings in Western democracies and generates concern as to the future nature and resilience of democracy. When a significantly large proportion of the voting population shows apathetic attitudes towards the processes that enable participation of the public in democracy, it questions the extent to which a democracy can be consolidated. In the past the South African youth played an important role in the process of transformation to democracy and thereby possibly left a legacy of youth involvement. However, in the developing world, which includes South Africa, the youth seems to show the same sort of abstaining behaviour as their Western counterparts towards elections. This is problematic as the South African youth comprises a significantly large proportion of the voting population. This dissertation focuses on South African university youth and their political and voting behaviour. They have been chosen for the focus of this study as they are widely considered to be the future elite and leadership of South Africa. The aim of this study is to determine the extent to which Western scholarly explanations of youth voting behaviour can be applied to South African university youth. Western literature on voting behaviour identifies various models of voting behaviour (which comprise the Sociological Model, Michigan Model, Party Identification Model, Media/Dominant Ideology Model and Rational Choice Model) and age effects on voting behaviour (Cohort Effect, Individual Ageing Effect and Life Cycle Effect). Each of these seeks to explain voting behaviour and in order to determine how applicable they are to South African university youth, an analytical framework was developed in order to analyse and interpret the data gathered by means of questionnaires and focus group discussions. Ultimately it was found that most Western models and age effects are to some extent applicable in explaining the voting behaviour of South African university youth (albeit to a greater or lesser extent). / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Political Sciences / unrestricted

Far-right parties and their supporters have long been associated with climate skepticism and opposition to climate action. However, all far-right supporters do not share these views, and some even emphasize the importance of caring about the environment. Prior research has not paid much attention to this question; this thesis hence aims to investigate which kinds of far-right supporters are more likely to hold pro-environmental views. The study argues that it is essential to disentangle different eco-friendly attitudes related to the (national) environment on the one hand, and to (global) climate change on the other hand. Using prior research on far-right values and climate change attitudes, the study focuses on regional differences and various individual-level characteristics such as attitudes towards the nation- state, state sovereignty, and individuals’ socio-economic background. The empirical analysis uses the European Social Survey’s data from 2016 and employs multiple linear regression. The results demonstrate that there is indeed a “green divide” between concern for the environment and for the climate among the European far-right, particularly in Eastern Europe. Nationalist attitudes were statistically related to caring for the (national) environment, and not as much to climate responsibility. Female and older far-right supporters care more for the environment, while younger far-right supporters have higher climate responsibility. These results demonstrate the heterogeneity of far-right supporters and their pro-environmental attitudes. They also suggest that certain groups within the far right may be more open to environmentally friendly politics than others, and that an emphasis on the environment instead of on climate may greatly impact polarization in modern environmental politics.

Inramade politiska frågor är något de flesta medborgare frekvent exponeras för när observerareller deltar i den offentliga diskursen. I Sverige är kärnkraftsfrågan en viktig politisk frågasom präglas av flera olika inramade narrativ. I denna studie undersökes hur fyra olika vanligtförekommande kärnkrafts-inramningar påverkar svenskars attityder till Sveriges nutida ochframtida användning av kärnenergi i energiförsörjningen. Detta genomfördes via ettsurveyexperiment (n=202). Inga påtagliga effekter från ram-exponering på attityder tillkärnkraft kunde observeras för någon ram. De flesta svenska medborgarna tycks ha ganskafasta övertygelser i kärnkrafts-frågan, och låter ej sina attityder förändras med lätthet.Vänster-högerideologi identifierades som en mycket avgörande faktor i hur svenskarna ställersig i denna politiska fråga, och mycket övertygande fenomen torde krävas för att dessa skallförändra inställningarna, åtminstone på kort sikt. / Framed political issues are something most citizens are frequently exposed to when observingor participating in the public discourse. In Sweden, the nuclear power issue is an importantpolitical issue that is characterized by several different framed narratives. This study examineshow four different commonly occurring nuclear power frames affect Swedes’ attitudes towardSweden’s current and future use of nuclear energy in its energy supply. This was investigatedvia a survey experiment (n=202). No significant effect from frame-exposure to attitudestoward nuclear energy could be observed for any frame. Most Swedish citizens seems to havefairly stable beliefs in this issue, and do not let their attitudes get influences with ease. Leftrightideology was identified a decisive factor in Swedes attitudes toward this issue, and avery convincing phenomena is required to change these attitudes, at least in the short term.

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Eine umfangreiche Literatur zu Framing-Effekten legt nahe, dass Bürger nur über begrenzte politische Präferenzen verfügen. Wenn die öffentliche Meinung so offen für Einflussnahme ist, stellt sie ein wackliges Fundament für den demokratischen Prozess dar. Diese Dissertation stellt daher die Frage, wie sich vorherige experimentelle Erkenntnisse auf komplexe, reale Situationen übertragen lassen und ob Framing auch Wahlabsichten beeinflussen kann. Sie entwickelt eine Methode zur automatischen Identifizierung von Nachrichtenframes. Die Dissertation präsentiert Original- und Sekundärdaten und untersucht den Zusammenhang zwischen Nachrichten-Framing, Migrationseinstellungen und Wahlabsichten. Sie bietet einen Überblick über die Darstellung der Einwanderung in den deutschen Nachrichtenmedien und zeigt, dass weder die Aufmerksamkeit noch das Framing von Migration den Aufstieg der rechtsradikalen AfD erklären können. Anschließend nutzt sie eine Änderung in der Migrationsberichterstattung Deutschlands größter Boulevardzeitung, Bild, und zeigt begrenzte Auswirkungen auf politische Einstellungen und Wahlabsichten ihrer Leser auf. Das letzte empirische Kapitel präsentiert experimentelle Daten, die aufzeigen, dass Framing lediglich die Wahlabsichten eher uninformierter Bürger beeinflusst. Die Ergebnisse tragen zum besseren Verständnis von Framing-Effekten bei und legen nahe, dass Einstellungen von Bürgern nicht so leicht manipuliert werden können und die Macht der Nachrichtenmedien begrenzter ist als oft angenommen. Stattdessen finden Framing-Effekte unter sehr spezifischen Bedingungen statt, die häufig nicht erfüllt sind. Das sich abzeichnende Bild der öffentlichen Meinung zeichnet sich durch kristallisierte Einstellungen aus, die ausschliesslich auf neuartige Ereignisse reagieren. Aus dieser Sicht ist Politik ein Muster aufeinander folgender kritischer Ereignisse, von denen jedes eine einzigartige Gelegenheit bietet, das vorherrschende Verständnis eines Themas zu ändern. / A large experimental literature on framing effects suggests that citizens form rather limited political preferences, open to severe manipulation. If citizens’ attitudes were always so easily malleable for media outlets and political actors, it would not constitute a very meaningful input for the democratic process. This dissertation asks how these experimental findings translate into complex, realworld news environments and whether news frames structure citizens’ voting intentions. It provides a clear conceptualization of frames, on which it builds a method to identify news frames automatically, and theorises a link between news frames and voting intentions. The dissertation presents original and secondary data, exploring the relationship of news framing, immigration attitudes, and voting intentions. Providing a broad overview of immigration framing in the German news media, it shows that neither immigration attention nor framing can explain the rise of the radical-right AfD. It then exploits a change in the immigration framing of Germany’s largest tabloid, Bild, showing that this shift had no effects on immigration attitudes or voting intentions among its readers. The final empirical chapter presents experimental evidence revealing that framing only affects voting intentions among rather uninformed citizens. The findings contribute to the study of framing and public opinion, suggesting that citizens’ attitudes are not as easily manipulated and the power of the news media more limited than often thought. Instead, framing effects take place under highly specific conditions, which are often not fulfilled. The emerging picture of public opinion is one of crystallized and resistant attitudes, which only respond to novel events. In other words: whoever gets to the voter first, wins. Politics, in this view, is a pattern of critical events following upon each other, each presenting a unique opportunity to change the dominant understanding of an issue.

Since the Civil Rights era, African Americans have come a long way. In the years since the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act, there have been dramatic increases in education, political representation, business ownership, and occupational position. Yet, for all of the economic, social and political advances made in the African American community, many young people are still subjected to inferior schools, housing and depressed communities where crime, drugs, police brutality and HIV/AIDS run rampant. As a result, there is a growing tension among the community over the root causes of their predicament and the most adequate way of dealing with them. Based on the generational political theory, this dissertation examines generational effects within the African American community since 1964. From this period, three distinct cohorts are analyzed: the Civil Rights, Integration, and Hip Hop generations. The objective is to determine if different experiences over this period have modified political values, attitudes, and behaviors from one generation to the next. Using data from the 1996 National Black Elections Study (NBES), I examine public policy preferences and political attitudes of African Americans. I use bivariate and multivariate analysis to show generational gaps in attitudes about issues related to major party performance. I draw three major conclusions from this analysis. First, racial group interests remain powerfully important across all cohorts. Next, the Hip Hop generation tends to hold more conservative attitudes than either the Civil Rights or the Integration generations. Finally, I conclude that at the very core of black politics, political values have not changed. However, there is a tension among the Hip Hop cohort between the impending attitudinal changes and the more traditional values of the Civil Rights cohort. The proposed dissertation contributes to the body of research by analyzing generational politics and behavior to better understand the future of black politics in the 21st century.

Cette thèse analyse la socialisation politique de 92,6% des eurodéputés polonais au Parlement européen pendant leur premier mandat entre 2004 et 2009. Son objectif est de comprendre ce processus en détail dans cette institution par définition, supranationale et pro-européenne - et donc de préciser concrètement quels acteurs politiques (première partie) se conforment à quoi, pourquoi, où, en combien de temps, comment, grâce à qui ou quoi (seconde partie) et jusqu’à quel point (troisième partie). L’étude montre que la socialisation politique pendant les cinq premières années n’est pas un processus très puissant car elle provoque seulement l’ajustement aux spécificités formelles et informelles de la vie quotidienne et, possiblement, l’approfondissement plus ou moins léger des attitudes et du comportement de base (dans un sens pro- ou anti- européen, en fonction de l’orientation). Autrement dit, elle transforme les novices en experts mais pas en natifs. Soit elle n’intervient que partiellement et il serait alors préférable de qualifier ce qui se passe réellement tout simplement d’intégration politique et non de socialisation politique soit elle nécessite plus de cinq ans, en commençant par l’acquisition des spécificités europarlementaires, puisque cette étape-ci prend déjà parfois même tout le mandat. / This thesis analyses the political socialization of 92.6% of the Polish Members of the European Parliament during their first mandate from 2004 to 2009. Its aim is to understand in full this process in this institution which is by definition supranational and pro-European and therefore to specify concretely which political actors (first part) comply with what, why, where, how long, how, thanks to whom or what (second part) and to what extent (third part). The study shows that political socialization in the first five years is not a very powerful process as it causes only the adjustment to everyday formal and informal specificities and, possibly, a more or less weak deepening of initial attitudes and behavior (in a pro or anti-European sense, according to the orientation). In other words, the process turns newcomers into experts without making them natives. It either occurs only in part, in which case it would be preferable to characterize what actually happens simply as political integration and not as political socialization, or it takes more than five years, starting with the acquisition of Euro-parliamentary specificities, as this stage sometimes already takes the whole mandate.