Strikes are according to Lindvall most probable in countries where 35 to 40% of the working people are members in trade unions. France has shown to be a deviant case to the empirical findings of Lindvall with low number of members in trade unions, but high number of strikes.  The overarching question is: Can the political culture explain the high number of strikes in France and if so how? Ronald Inglehart's theory of political culture as well as the theory Civic culture by Almond and Verba have been used.  Considering the empirical findings and with support of the theories used I conclude that political culture to an extent can explain the high number of strikes in France. There are no implications that trust in others as well as institutions, government and political parties have an impact on strikes. The economic situation of the household or the state are not found to be explanatory factors either. Dissatisfaction with one's life situation, work situation, or situation in the country did not either show any statistical significance. When analysing the answers to the questionnary I can state that the respondents not only supported strikes to have better work conditions and see changes. They also went on strike to support others, because they considered it as a duty and because they found it important to show participation. There were also those who considered that it was important to celebrate the French history. Strike is also supported by people who did not go on strike themselves. It is clearly understood that strikes are respected by a majority.  The conclusion is that if you have a country with a democratic system and a political culture which to a greater extent is participatory ( even if there are subcultres or tendencies of parochial and subject culture ) and the historical context as France does have, that might well be the explanation for its high number of strikes. The reason for France being the deviant case can lie within the combination of its political culture as well as its history. It cannot be stated that a specific political culture alone explains strike density. It can however be stated that specific variables are seen to have more impact or vary with higher number of strikes and these are in this study positive expectations and satisfaction with the democratic system which are characteristic of participatory political cultures.  Keywords: strikes, civic culture, political culture

The purpose of this essay is to analyze the pension protests in France to explain the politicalparticipation and culture of the country characterized by manifestations, demonstrations andstrikes. The analysis of the pension protests is based on the perspective of the national tradeunions and student unions. With the explanation of the political participation and culture ageneral opinion behind the pensions protest could be interpreted. The material for the essay is thetrade- and student unions posts on their websites that either urges the people to protest or arguesagainst the pension reform. The theoretical framework for the essay is based on Russel J Dalton’s(2020) theory for political participation and Thomas Denk’s (2009) theoretical compilation aboutpolitical culture. This essay is a case study of the pension protest in France 2023. With aninterpreter oriented strategy the analysis is based on an explanatory idea analysis of the tradeandstudent unions posts. Previous research has shown that political participation and politicalculture affect each other. It has also been proven that low participation in conventional forms forexample electoral participation is affected by political dissatisfaction, distrust of voting andpolitical interest. In this study the analysis shows that the pension protest in France is a politicalparticipation that expresses a political dissatisfaction and a political alienation. The analysis alsoreaches the conclusion that political participation in the pension protests follows the modernpatterns of protests and that the trade unions pension movement has a big support from thefrench population. In the analysis of the political culture the conclusion is that from the tradeunions perspective the French political system is illegitimate and that their political roles are nottaken seriously by the French government. The results of the essay are important because it cangive a new perspective on political participation in France and it can serve as a contribution toresearch about the connection between political participation and political culture.

The aim with this study is to compare the American newspaper The New York Times and the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter and its framing of the organization the Islamic State. The study uses a selection of articles during the period when Barack Obama ordered airstrikes against the Islamic State. The period is 2014/07/27-2014/08/14 and it gave 107 articles to the analysis. The study undertakes a methodology based on the quantitative content analysis. The study leans on the theory of framing and theories of war journalism which is a common and well suitable theory for the study’s aim. The result shows both differences and similarities between the two newspapers frame. The most notable difference between the newspapers' articles were the appellation of the Islamic State and also how the newspapers used sources and statements. The Swedish newspaper had a more religious orientation in the appellation of IS, while the American newspaper had a military orientation in the appellation of IS.

<p>I denna jämförande studie analyseras det partistrategiska handlandet i Sverige och Österrike gällande regeringsbildande med en jämförande ansats. Analysen av strategierna har gjorts med hänsyn till den institutionella och politiskt kulturella kontexten. Studien visar att de institutionella arrangemangen mellan länderna liknat varandra men att den politiska kulturen och partisystemen skiljt sig åt vilket påverkat det partipolitiska agerandet.</p><p>En skillnad mellan länderna är att det i Österrike traditionellt bedrivits en koncensusinriktad och kompromissvillig politik medan det i Sverige präglats av konflikt mellan det socialistiska och borgerliga blocket. Vid det österrikiska valet 1999 infördes konflikt som en följd av det frihetliga antietablissemangspartiet FPÖ:s framgångar och det partistrategiska agerandet kom att ändras. Självbindningar och kompromisslöshet hade ersatt koncensus och samförstånd, och den traditionella ”stora koalitionen” mellan det socialdemokratiska och konservativa partiet ersattes med en regering bestående av det populistiska frihetliga partiet. Ett mönster som höll i sig vid det österrikiska valet 2002. Vad som varit nytt för dessa två val har varit att den socioekonomiska konfliktdimensionen fått större betydelse än tidigare och de politiska partierna har kommit att uppdelats i två block, ett röd-grönt till vänster och ett högerblock med de konservativa och de frihetliga. I Sverige har den socioekonomiska konfliktdimensionen varit den dominerande sedan 1930-talet. Den parlamentariska situationen var, efter 1998 års val, ny då den traditionella blockindelningen hade fått ett alternativ när en mittenbaserad regering diskuterades. Det visade sig dock att blockuppdelningens tradition, att inte ingå oheliga allianser mellan borgerliga och socialister, var stark. Socialdemokraterna bildade minoritetsregering med vänstern och miljöpartiet. Inför valet 2002 cementerades blockpolitiken ytterligare och samarbete över gränserna visade sig än mer otänkbara.</p><p>Framtiden får utvisa huruvida den österrikiska blockuppdelningen kommer att bestå eller om en återgång till den traditionella stora koalitionen kommer att göras vid kommande val. I Sverige finns en förutsättning för en mittenregering i framtiden, vilket vore ett nytt inslag i svensk politik, men detta kräver en ny syn på blockpolitiken.</p>

Abstract   Nydahl, Erik; I fyrkens tid. Politisk kultur i två ångermanländska landskommuner 1860-1930 [Voting by income: The political culture of two Swedish municipalities, 1860–1930] Department of Humanities, Mid Sweden University, SE-871 88 Härnösand, Sweden ISBN: 978-91-86694-05-0, ISSN 1652-893X, Doctoral thesis nr: 100 (2010). Swedish text with a summary in English   This dissertation analyses the development of political culture in two Swedish municipalities between the 1860s and the 1930s – a period during which Swedish society underwent major changes. The purpose is to examine the direct and indirect consequences of an evolving industrial society's economic, social and political structures on political culture at local levels. The following factors are the base of the study. At the start of the 1860s, a long-standing Swedish tradition of local self-government was reinforced through a major reform, the Local Government Ordinance of 1862 (1862 års kommunalförfattningar). From this point, each parish formed its own municipality. The new municipalities were given the right to levy taxes and made responsible for welfare and schools, thereby becoming a prominent arena for the exercise of power at local levels. The municipal reform of 1862 was carried out at a time when Swedish society was transitioning as the industrialisation process accelerated during the latter part of the 1800s. Gradually, the old structure of an agricultural society was cast aside in favour of a new, modern industrial society. Naturally, also the municipalities changed – directly and indirectly. For some municipalities, adjustments were significant; for others, less so. Part of this process was the reformation of voting rights from plutocratic to public and equal. Another part was the reorganisation of municipal government from direct government via municipal meetings to representative government via municipal councils. Two main issues are formulated and answered in the dissertation. The one addresses who or which had the power over local politics and how the situation changed over time. The second addresses in what way municipal representation changed form with the modernisation of the municipalities. The empirical survey comprises a comparative case study between two municipalities in the northern part of Sweden. The one municipality, Ytterlännäs, was early the site for large-scale sawmill industry. The second municipality, Stigsjö, retained its agricultural structure throughout the entire period in question. The comparison makes it possible to analyse the impending industrial society from two different poles. In the 1800s, local politics was considered to be a completely different sort than politics at a national level. The difference was that local politics, referred to as “the municipal”, was seen as non-political and unaffiliated with those conflicts addressed at national levels, referred to as “the political”. The dissertation demonstrates two different models of how modern municipal politics evolved from the municipal meetings of the 1800s. While the starting point was the same in both municipalities, the paths diverged in the early 1870s. In the agricultural municipality of Stigsjö, it was “business as usual”. In the industrial municipality of Ytterlännäs, however, confrontation arose between enterprises and farmers and eventually, a labour movement emerged demanding the right of participation. The dissertation shows that the distinction between “municipal” and “political” was obliterated in the beginning of the 1900s, paving the way for a new concept – municipal politics. This process occurred in a very palpable way in Ytterlännäs but eventually, Stigsjö was forced to conform. The new municipal politics was, so to speak, the final station in both municipalities. In conjunction with party politicisation of local politics, the criteria and seats for the municipal representatives changed. When party affiliation became an important criterion, professional affiliation became less relevant. Party bloc seats replaced the independent seats, and representatives were eventually paid remuneration.     Keywords: Political culture, politics, voting right, municipal politics, industrial society, industrialisation, elected representatives, representation, temperance movement, labour movement, popular movements, political parties, modernisation

<p>Författaren har bytt namn till Jakob Starlander.</p>

The purpose of this master thesis is to understand how political culture was negotiated during times of extreme external conditions, through the example of the parliamentary debates during the famine years 1726–1727. The result is based on the parliamentary protocols of 1726–1727 under the Age of Freedom. To answer the purpose of this study, four questions have been constructed. How was the crop failure and its consequences described? During the summer of 1726 Sweden was struck by a severe famine as a result of a poor harvest. The livestock were weakened and the farms had fallen into destitute. The peasants had to gather roots, bark, and moss to survive. Even the nobility described their own cultural habits and assets as being threatened and damaged. The local community felt that they could not live up to the demands made by the central power. What solutions did the local community propose or demand from the central power to tackle the consequences of the crop failure? The high taxation and lack of money, together with a strictly regulated trade, made the peasants feel forsaken, especially compared to other groups. The main strategies to gain the central powers approval was to show submission, refer to the law and try to compromise. But, when the central power did not respond to the peasants demands they threatened to leave their political duties. If the peasants had left, the entire political system could have collapsed. With what arguments did the central power respond to these problems? The central power feared that if they allowed the peasants to trade to a greater extent, they would perhaps engage in trade rather than in agriculture. They also feared an increased risk of fraud if the market opened up for a more mobile trade, which reflected the suspicion of a lack of morality among the peasants. The lack of trust was also an excuse to exclude the peasants from the Secret committee. The political distribution of power was considered by the peasants to be a political failure. Without the insight into the Secret committee, the peasants could not use economic arguments in the debate. How can the debate about crop failure and famine be understood as an example of political culture? Instead of the peasantry protesting with rebellion against the central powers levies, the Riksdag can be regarded as a safety valve, where the central power and the local society could find middle ground. If the demands of the local community did not collide with other groups' interests, then there was a good chance of getting temporary reliefs or increased freedom of trade.

No description available.

This study focuses on the Swedish coalition government during World War II. The purpose of this study is to examine the creation of and the resolution of this government and to see if there were any disagreements in the Social Democratic Party during the creation and resolution of this government. The study also focuses on the attitude towards the Swedish Communist Party. The method that has been used is a content analysis and argumentation analysis to see how eventual disagreements has been expressed in the Social Democratic Party. The study is based on the theory of consensus and conflict which we have applied to the material. The empirical material of this essay is based on protocols from the Swedish Labor Movement’s Archives and Library and examines protocols from different political meetings. The study concludes that in general we can see a tendency of political consensus among most of the representatives from the Social Democratic Party even though there were differences of opinions on the way to democratic decisions.

Democratic backsliding is a growing threat against peace in Europe. In the 1990s, Europeunderwent extensive democratization, including Poland and Hungary, who were painted asexemplary in the transition. In recent years, however, the countries have shown the opposite development and are today the two countries in Europe that have the fastest declining democracy. The aim of this thesis is to understand this phenomenon and investigate the democratic developmentin Poland and Hungary through process tracing from the end of World War II to the year 2020. To do so, the theory of political culture is applied to elaborate the explanations of the development. Furthermore, there is a need to do further research concerning democratic backsliding in Poland and Hungary as they are often considered equals in the academic debate. Additionally, the purpose ofthis thesis is therefore to rebut this inaccurate presentation of the countries. The results are achieved by using process tracking and most different design as main methods. Thefindings of the thesis are based on the results of the analysis, concluding that the anti-democraticdevelopments in Poland and Hungary do indeed have differences. Through the process tracking, differences are found in the explanatory variables. The countries have similar critical events whichhave shaped the countries collective memory differently. This difference is also found in how the parties have created legitimacy among the population.