Identidad y decisiones políticas de jóvenes brasileños, argentinos y uruguayos

Basado en datos cuantitativos producidos por la investigación piloto "Jóvenes frente a la Historia", este texto analiza algunas características de la cultura política y conciencia histórica de jóvenes, especialmente relativas a sus referencias de identidad y actitudes políticas. Metodológicamente, el proyecto ha trabajado con cuestionario de escala Likert, aplicado a jóvenes de distintas regiones de Brasil, Argentina y Uruguay. Se discute el tema de la identidad y elecciones políticas en la contemporaneidad, y se analizan algunos de los resultados del cuestionario sobre esos temas. Los resultados demuestran el predominio de valores individuales o individualistas, matizados por algunas preocupaciones en la zona de confluencia entre lo personal y lo colectivo - es decir el bienestar social y la preservación de la naturaleza. El estudio también revela una tendencia general a posiciones menos marcadas, más próximas a la indiferencia o ausencia de opinión

Identidad y decisiones políticas de jóvenes brasileños, argentinos y uruguayos

Basado en datos cuantitativos producidos por la investigación piloto "Jóvenes frente a la Historia", este texto analiza algunas características de la cultura política y conciencia histórica de jóvenes, especialmente relativas a sus referencias de identidad y actitudes políticas. Metodológicamente, el proyecto ha trabajado con cuestionario de escala Likert, aplicado a jóvenes de distintas regiones de Brasil, Argentina y Uruguay. Se discute el tema de la identidad y elecciones políticas en la contemporaneidad, y se analizan algunos de los resultados del cuestionario sobre esos temas. Los resultados demuestran el predominio de valores individuales o individualistas, matizados por algunas preocupaciones en la zona de confluencia entre lo personal y lo colectivo - es decir el bienestar social y la preservación de la naturaleza. El estudio también revela una tendencia general a posiciones menos marcadas, más próximas a la indiferencia o ausencia de opinión

Neo-Nazism in West Germany

The oharaoter of right-wing extremism in the Federal Republic has undergone extensive transformations in the seventies. As electoral support for the extreme Right declined, a whole range of new groupings emerged pursuing a militant extra-parliamentary strategy. Essential charaoteristics are an increasing tendency to use violence and a close ideological affinity to the NSDAP. They attract a growing number of young people. The increasing susceptibility of young people to rightist ideologies coincides with an economic recession of which young people especially are the victims. Widespread ignorance about Nazism and the prevalence of anti-democratic political attitudes constitute important contributary factors and point to a considerable potential for right-extremism in the Federal Republic., This potential can be attributed. to the negative effects of much of the material dealing with the NS past, to serious deficiencies in the area of historical-political education in schools and, above all, to the absence of any :real process of "coming to terms with the past" in the postwar period. Neo-Nazism is not completely isolated from other trends in West German society. Rightist elements within the established party system and broad sections of the population hold similar views and attitudes. This similarity, linked with an over-exaggerated concern with a perceived threat from the extreme Left may explain the absence of any concerted effort to deal with nee-Nazi tendencies. The response of the courts exemplifies a widespread tendency to under-estimate the significance of the extreme Right. Opposition to the Right is restricted primarily to those circles which suffered most under the Nazi regime. The analysis suggests that one must reject the simplistic view that at the present time the Right does not constitute a serious threat to West German democracy. The study evaluates the wide range of views to be found in secondary sources on the subject of neo-Nazism and is :intended, to contribute to the ongoing discussion conceming the potential for right-extremism in West Germany.

Hope comes in many forms:out-group expressions of hope override low support and promote reconciliation in conflicts

In conflicts, political attitudes are based to some extent on the perception of the outgroup as sharing the goal of peace and supporting steps to achieve it. However, intractable conflicts are characterized by inconsistent and negative interactions, which prevent clear messages of outgroup support. This problem calls for alternative ways to convey support between groups in conflict. One such method is emotional expressions. The current research tested whether, in the absence of outgroup support for peace, observing expressions of outgroup hope induces conciliatory attitudes. Results from two experimental studies, conducted within the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, revealed support for this hypothesis. Expressions of Palestinian hope induced acceptance of a peace agreement through Israeli hope and positive perceptions of the proposal when outgroup support expressions were low. Findings demonstrate the importance of hope as a means of conveying information within processes of conflict resolution, overriding messages of low outgroup support for peace.

The Politics of Gender Socialization

This manuscript is comprised of three papers that examine the far-reaching and often invisible political outcomes of gender role socialization in the United States. These papers focus primarily on two areas: political confidence amongst girls and women, and the effects of gender on survey measurement and data quality.

Chapter one focuses on political confidence, and the likelihood that women will run for political office. Women continue to be underrepresented at all levels of political leadership, and their lack of political ambition, relative to men, has been identified as a primary cause. In this paper, I explore the relationship between an individual's masculinity and femininity and her development of political ambition. Using original survey data from the 2012 Cooperative Congressional Election Study (CCES), I first empirically demonstrate that gender (masculinity/femininity) and sex (male/female) are unique elements of identity and, moreover, are both independently related to political ambition. I then explore the relevance of gender for the study of candidate emergence, testing whether and how masculinity and femininity might be related to political ambition are supported empirically. While the results suggest that masculinity is positively associated with the development of political ambition, the relationship between femininity and candidate emergence seems to be more complicated and not what prevailing stereotypes might lead us to expect. Moreover, while the relationship between masculinity and political ambition is the same for men and women, the relationship between femininity and political ambition is very different for women than it is for men. This study suggests that gender role socialization is highly related with both men's and women's desire to seek positions of political leadership.

Chapter two continues this exploration of gendered differences in the development of political ambition, this time exploring how social attractiveness and gendered perceptions of political leadership impact the desire to hold political office.Women are persistently underrepresented as candidates for public office and remain underrepresented at all levels of government in the United States. Previous literature suggests that the gendered ambition gap, gender socialization, insufficient recruitment, media scrutiny, family responsibilities, modern campaign strategies, and political opportunity structures all contribute to the gender imbalance in pools of officeholders and candidates. To explain women's reticence to run, scholars have offered explanations addressing structural, institutional, and individual-level factors that deter women from becoming candidates, especially for high positions in the U.S. government. This paper examines a previously unexplored factor: how dating and socialized norms of sexual attraction affect political ambition. This study investigates whether young, single, and heterosexual women's desire for male attention and fear of being perceived as unattractive or "too ambitious" present obstacles to running for office. The results of these experiments suggest that social expectations about gender, attraction and sexuality, and political office-holding may contribute to women's reticence to pursue political leadership. Chapter two is a co-authored work and represents the joint efforts of Laura Lazarus Frankel, Shauna Shames, and Nadia Farjood.

Chapter 3 bridges survey methodology and gender socialization, focusing on how interviewer sex affects survey measurement and data quality. Specifically, this paper examines whether and how matching interviewer and respondent sex affects panel attrition--respondents dropping out of the study after participating in the first wave. While the majority of research on interviewer effects suggests that matching interviewer and respondent characteristics (homophily) yields higher quality data, little work has examined whether this pattern holds true in the area of panel attrition. Using paradata from the General Social Survey (GSS), I explore this question. My analysis reveals that, despite its broader positive effects on data quality, matching interviewer and respondent sex increases likelihood to attrit. Interestingly, this phenomenon only emerges amongst male respondents. However, while assigning female interviewers to male respondents decreases their propensity to attrit, it also increases the likelihood of biased responses on gender related items. These conflicting outcomes represent a tradeoff for scholars and survey researchers, requiring careful consideration of mode, content, and study goals when designing surveys and/or analyzing survey data. The implications of these patterns and areas for further research are discussed.

Together, these papers illustrate two ways that gender norms are related to political outcomes: they contribute to patterns of candidate emergence and affect the measurement of political attitudes and behaviors.

The Electoral Rise of Populist Radical Right Parties in Europe: Ideological Parameters and Social Motivations

Populist radical right parties have become major political actors in Europe. This paper analyses the path and the different phases that have led them from the fringes of public debate to their present signifi cance, which is based on their capacity to attract electoral support and infl uence the political agendas in their respective countries. Besides, an analysis of the core ideological beliefs of these parties, and of the topics on which their mobilization capacity rests, is provided, as well as of the type of voters that are attracted by them. Finally, the authors discuss the meaning and impact of the growing popularity of the ideas and proposals put forward by the populist radical right parties.

La democracia ¿Para qué? Jóvenes, gobierno escolar y socialización política. El caso de los egresados de un colegio público de la localidad de San Cristóbal

En el año 2014 se cumplieron 20 años de la Ley 115. Uno de los aportes de la Ley fue dar forma y reconocimiento al gobierno escolar como mecanismo de participación y decisión en las instituciones educativas. Es así como en el ámbito de la educación media y básica, el gobierno escolar ha sido visto, entre otros por el Estado, como una apuesta por la ciudadanización de los jóvenes y una forma de favorecer su integración al sistema democrático del país. Sin embargo, la literatura ha sido bastante crítica con los resultados de la implementación del gobierno escolar. Muchos trabajos concuerdan en señalar que el gobierno escolar está contribuyendo a la reproducción de la cultura política y no a su trasformación. El presente trabajo intenta aportar en esta discusión rastreando y analizando las diferencias entre las actitudes políticas de jóvenes egresados participantes y no participantes en el gobierno escolar de un colegio público de una localidad pobre de Bogotá, la localidad de San Cristóbal. Con este trabajo se pretende ampliar la comprensión sobre los procesos de socialización política de estos actores sociales, así como brindar luces sobre la influencia que puede tener el gobierno escolar en la construcción de actitudes hacia lo político. Este trabajo señala la relevancia de tomar una perspectiva biográfica, que tome en cuenta los vínculos entre los distintos espacios de socialización en los que se desarrollan esta población y en los que se forman actitudes políticas duraderas: miradas sobre la política, probabilidad de votar, etc.

Political Violence and Adolescent Out-group Attitudes and Prosocial Behaviors: Implications for Positive Inter-group Relations

The negative impact of political violence on adolescent adjustment is well established. Less is known about factors that affect adolescents' positive outcomes in ethnically divided societies, especially influences on prosocial behaviors toward the out-group, which may promote constructive relations. For example, understanding how inter-group experiences and attitudes motivate out-group helping may foster inter-group co-operation and help to consolidate peace. The current study investigated adolescents' overall and out-group prosocial behaviors across two time points in Belfast, Northern Ireland (N = 714 dyads; 49% male; Time 1: M = 14.7, SD = 2.0, years old). Controlling for Time 1 prosocial behaviors, age, and gender, multi-variate structural equation modeling showed that experience with inter-group sectarian threat predicted fewer out-group prosocial behaviors at Time 2 at the trend level. On the other hand, greater experience of intra-group non-sectarian threat at Time 1 predicted more overall and out-group prosocial behaviors at Time 2. Moreover, positive out-group attitudes strengthened the link between intra-group threat and out-group prosocial behaviors one year later. Finally, experience with intra-group non-sectarian threat and out-group prosocial behaviors at Time 1 was related to more positive out-group attitudes at Time 2. The implications for youth development and inter-group relations in post-accord societies are discussed.

The Economic Basis of Attitudes towards the European Community: Familiarity Breeds Content. Institute for Advanced Studies Political Science Series, 12 April 1994

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the economic basis of mass support for, and opposition to the European Community. In other words the main question is: to what extent, and in what ways, is popular support or opposition to the EC dependent upon economic circumstances and considerations? Behind this research question lies the matter of the legitimacy of the EC in the eyes of citizens across Europe. In some respects the results of this study are frustrating and inconclusive. In other respects, however, the results suggest some clear generalizations and conclusions. First, we have found rather little evidence that the EC or European unification are evaluated in primarily economic terms. Secondly, support seems to be associated more strongly with social and attitudinal variables of a non-economic kind. Thirdly, the figures suggest that diffuse and somewhat idealistic reasons for supporting unification and EC membership tend to outweigh more specific reasons. Fourthly, a solid foundation of inertia, custom, and national tradition seem to maintain support and make it grow.

American Attitudes on European Political Integration — The Nixon-Kissinger Legacy. IES WORKING PAPER 2/2007

This paper concentrates on the Nixon-Kissinger view of European political integration. In contrast with the mainstream position of the American Administrations during the 1950s and 1960s, Kissinger was convinced that by encouraging European unity, the United States was in fact creating its own rival. The start of a new system of European foreign policy cooperation in 1970 was seen by Kissinger as a particularly important example of Europe’s attempt to challenge the American hegemony. Kissinger emphasized the need to maintain Western Europe in a subordinate role. Three main lines of action were pursued to keep the development of the European Community under control: maintaining bilateral contacts with key European allies, requesting a seat at the Community's decision-making table, and linking "obedient" European behavior to American military presence in Europe. The legacy of this policy still seems to influence the current American policy on the European Union. The Nixon-Kissinger term was, however, detrimental to rather than conducive of harmonious transatlantic relations. Tendencies to emulate it should therefore be discouraged.

Great hatred, little room Northern Ireland and the European Union: Attitudes, perspectives and the role of religion. Bruges Political Research Papers 48/2015.

Little academic attention has been given to the study of Northern Irish Euroscepticism despite the fact that it is a unique and interesting example of citizens’ relationships with the EU. Northern Irish Euroscepticism is defined by the divergence in attitudes towards European integration between Catholics and Protestants. This is a divide that is rooted in historical and religious interpretations of the project, as well as the widespread belief that membership of the EU will somehow lead to a united Ireland. Membership in the EU has not had a significant political impact on Northern Ireland, with citizens’ attitudes being largely characterised by a clear lack of interest in the project. Participation at the European level provided limited opportunity for cooperation by both sides while it may be argued that European elections contributed to the sectarian divide.

Political participation in Australia : contingency in the behaviour and attitudes of citizens

Political ideologies and attitudes towards income inequality in the US: a critical discourse analysis of CNN and Fox News opinion articles

The topic of the thesis is media discourse about current state if income inequality in the US, and political ideologies as influences behind the discourse. The data consists of four opinion articles, two from CNN and two from Fox News. The purpose of the study was to examine how media represents income inequality as an issue, and if the attitudes conveyed are concerned or indifferent. Previous studies have indicated that the level of income is often seen as a personal responsibility, and such perspective can be linked with Republican ideology. In contrast, the Democrats typically express more concern about the consequences of inequality. CNN has been previously considered to have a Democratic bias, and Fox News has been considered to have Republican bias, which is one reason why these two news channels were chosen as the sources of the data. The study is a critical discourse analysis, and the methods applied were sociocognitive approach, which analyzes the social and cognitive factors affecting the discourse, and appraisal framework, which was applied to scrutinize the expressed attitudes more closely by identifyind specific linguistic features. The appraisal framework includes studying such features as affect, judgment and appreciation, which offer a more detailed analysis on the attitudes present in the articles. The sociocognitive approach, additionally, offers a way of analyzing a more broad context affecting the articles. The findings were then compared, to see if there are differences between the articles, or between the news sites with alleged bias. The findings showed that CNN, with alleged Democratic bias, had a more symphatetic attitude towards income inequality, whereas Fox News, with more Republican views, showed clearly less concern towards the issue. Moreover, the Fox News articles had such dubious claims that the underlying ideology behind the articles could be even supporting of income inequality, as it allows the rich to pursue all the wealth they can without having to give anything away. The results, thus, suggest that the political ideologies may a significant effect on media discourse, which, in turn, may have a significant effect on the attitudes of the public towards great issues that could require prompt measures.