Determinants and effects of electoral party coalitions: The case of Brazil

Since the 1985 return to democracy, Brazilian politicians have resorted to vote-pooling arrangements to elect representatives. A puzzle thus presents itself: What drives parties to join these electoral cartels? The dissertation unraveled the incentives party elites have to participate in coalitions under a presidencialist system of government. I also investigated the effect of electoral coalitions on congressional representation. I applied a model of binary outcomes and relied on standard deviations to assess the ideological homogeneity/heterogeneity of electoral coalitions. I also calculated the Index of Disproportionality to measure the gaps between the proportion of votes and seats received by all parties in Brazil with and without electoral coalitions. Finally, I assessed the effects of the electoral formula on proportionality. An unexpected exogenous factor resulted crucial in explaining proportional electoral coalition building: The district's majoritarian election for governor. In each district, political actors often synchronize coalition partners to maximize winning results while minimizing electoral efforts.

An analysis of Venezuela's foreign policy during the period of the Betancourt doctrine and Caldera's ideological pluralism

This thesis examines the foreign policy of Venezuela during the period of the Betancourt Doctrine (1945-1948 and 1959-1963), and Caldera's Ideological Pluralism (1969-1973). The study seeks to determine whether, and to what extent the pursuit of political and economic interests and ideology determined Venezuela's foreign policy. Based on primary and secondary sources, this study examines political economy and ideology and how these affected the outcome of Venezuela's foreign policy. The major finding of this thesis is that Venezuelan foreign policy was a pragmatic one but it was rationalized within an ideological framework. In fact, Venezuela was most concerned in pursuing its domestic economic and political interests but these were hidden behind an ideological facade.

Boy exile turned saint: Elián Gonzalez as a contested religio-ideological symbol among cuban-american catholics

This Master's thesis explores the hypothesis that Elian Gonzalez functions as a religious and ideological symbol for Cuban-Americans similarly to La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre. Both La Caridad and Eliin are contested symbols among most Cuban and Cuban-American individuals, meaning both groups appropriate them toward their religious and ideological ends. The Virgin aids in the formulation of a collective identity for members of the Cuban exile community. Her shrine in Miami bridges the spatial and temporal gap between the exile community and the homeland of Cuba and represents the exile's hope for a return to a free Cuba. Elian functions as a metaphor of the Cuban exile experience, and thus a multi-leveled, transnational, religious and ideological symbol. In order to assess this, theoretical and journalistic materials are used, along with personal interviews and participant observation. This methodology is used to determine the function Elian serves for this community.