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- Albrecht, Frederike
(författare)
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The Social and Political Impact of Natural Disasters : Investigating Attitudes and Media Coverage in the Wake of Disasters
- 2017
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Natural disasters are social and political phenomena. Social structures create vulnerability to natural hazards and governments are often seen as responsible for the effects of disasters. Do social trust, political trust, and government satisfaction therefore generally change following natural disasters? How can media coverage explain change in political attitudes? Prior research suggests that these variables are prone to change, but previous studies often focus on single cases, whereas this dissertation adopts a broader approach, examining multiple disasters. It investigates the social and political impact of natural disasters by examining their effect on social and political attitudes and by exploring media coverage as a mechanism underlying political consequences.The results reveal that natural disasters may have a comparatively frequent, although small and temporary, effect on social trust. Substantial effects are less likely. Social trust was found to decrease significantly when disasters cause nine or more fatalities (Paper I). Political attitudes were expected to be prone to change after natural disasters, but Paper II illustrates that political trust and government satisfaction among citizens are generally hardly affected by these events. Finally, media framing and the political claims of actors explained the variation in political consequences after disasters of similar severity. Paper III also illustrates the importance of the political context of natural disasters, as their occurrence can be strategically exploited by actors to further criticism towards the government in politically tense situations.This dissertation contributes to existing disaster research by investigating more cases than disaster studies typically do. It also uses a systematic case selection process, and a quantitative approach with a, for disaster research, unique research design. Hence, it offers methodological nuance to existing studies. A broader analysis, factoring in the variation of disaster severity and the increased number of cases offers new answers and tests assumptions about underlying patterns. The main contribution of this thesis is that it examines how common political and social effects of disasters are. Furthermore, this dissertation contributes to existing disasters research by emphasizing contextual and explanatory factors, e.g., properties of disasters and the political context that affects the media coverage of natural disasters.
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| 2. |
- Carlberg Larsson, Elis, et al.
(författare)
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Variations in vaccination uptake : COVID-19 vaccination rates in Swedish municipalities
- 2022
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Ingår i: PLOS Global Public Health. - : Public Library of Science. - 2767-3375. ; 2:10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Facing the threat of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, vaccines are important for limiting the spread and consequences of the pandemic. In this study, we provide a descriptive overview of the within-country variations of vaccine rates by examining to what extent voter turnout , support for an anti-establishment political party (Sweden Democrats), presence of first-generation immigrants, and Evangelical religiosity are associated with the within-country variation in vaccine uptake rates. We use official register data for municipality-level vaccine rates and municipality-level regressions with regional fixed effects. Our analyses show that vaccine uptake, on average, is lower in municipalities where the anti-establishment political party Sweden Democrats has higher vote shares and where a larger share of the population is first-generation immigrants. We discuss that potential explanations for these associations between vote shares for an anti-establishment party and shares of first-generation immigrants could be lower levels of trust in institutions and language barriers.
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| 4. |
- Ehrhart, Anna
(författare)
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Between Strategic Political Power and a Daunting Task : Exploring Dimensions of Women’s Political Participation in Hybrid Regimes
- 2023
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Hybrid regimes combine elements of both democratic and authoritarian governance, with potentially flawed democratic processes, suppressed civil liberties and uneven political playing fields. Increasingly, scholarship signals the longevity and resilience of hybrid regimes, especially within broader discourses on rising authoritarianism and democratic decline around the world. The lack of gender perspectives in hybrid regimes research is notable. This oversight largely neglects women's roles and their impact in such regimes and fails to focus on the potential implications these regimes may have on women's opportunities for effective participation. However, recent research has increasingly highlighted the gendered aspects of policymaking in hybrid regimes, such as shrinking and changing civic space and democratic backsliding. Moreover, women also face challenges in hybrid regimes that are tied to contested norms and less access to important social networks.This dissertation explores women's political participation (WPP) in hybrid regimes. It proposes a framework that conceptualizes WPP as occurring in two interconnected dimensions, civil society and formal political institutions. Therefore, it draws on three previous and emerging research fields: feminist institutionalism (FI), women's organizing research, and gender and democratization research. Each of these perspectives solely and taken together provide entry points to conceptualize the mechanisms that illustrate how women participate in and across both dimensions – despite and because of the challenges to WPP experienced in hybrid regimes. The dissertation asks the following research questions: first, what is the association between women's political participation in formal institutions such as parliaments and civil society across different hybrid regimes and over time? Second, what opportunities for political participation in formal political institutions and civil society do women perceive in hybrid regimes? Finally, what obstacles to their political participation in formal political institutions and civil society do women experience in hybrid regimes? In this article-based dissertation, a mixed-methods approach is employed to study the dimensions of WPP, combining a quantitative study of hybrid regimes over time with three qualitative studies focused on the empirical case of contemporary Turkey. Turkey is a typical example of a hybrid regime with both democratic and authoritarian characteristics, and the incumbent government's strategic targeting of gender politics and its actors makes Turkey a significant case to better explore challenges and opportunities for women's political participation in hybrid regimes. The dissertation's findings suggest three main aspects of women's political participation and political influence in hybrid regimes. First, exploring women's political participation across civil society and formal political institutions illustrates the interlinked nature of both dimensions and the relevance of these linkages for women's opportunities to participate in hybrid regimes. Second, hybrid regimes pose complex contexts for women's political participation, where opportunities to exert influence may change but where incumbent government actors retreat to different strategies targeting women and (anti-) gender equality claims. Hence, women's political participation across both dimensions must be dynamic to adapt and resist such changing circumstances. Last, the dissertation illustrates the importance of exploring how informal structures, such as norms or gendered practices, interfere with women's political participation in hybrid regimes. In sum, the dissertation advances gender perspectives in hybrid regime research and illustrates insights from the Turkish case that are relevant for other regime settings.
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| 5. |
- Ehrhart, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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Examining the relationship between women’s descriptive political representation and women’s possibility to participate in civil society across regime types
- 2024
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Ingår i: Journal of Civil Society. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1744-8689 .- 1744-8697. ; 20:2, s. 150-169
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study examines the link between women’s representation in national parliaments and their possibility to participate in civil society. Utilizing panel data from the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) dataset, covering 1975–2019, we investigate how the presence of women in parliaments influences the possibility for women to participate in civil society, especially in non-liberal democratic settings. The results indicate a positive association post-1990, coinciding with an international emphasis on civil society and a rise in women’s parliamentary representation in both liberal democracies and autocratic regimes. The study however highlights that in hybrid and autocratic regimes, increased female representation can also be used to project a gender-equal image without genuine democratization intentions. These findings suggest a correlation between the increase in women in parliaments and greater opportunities for their participation in civil society, but do not imply that the results reflect processes towards democracy. The findings contribute to understanding women’s possibilities in non-democratic regimes and underscores the need for further qualitative analysis to fully grasp the implications of these trends.
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| 8. |
- Erlingsson, Gissur Ó, 1974-, et al.
(författare)
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Centrum mot periferi? : Om missnöje och framtidstro i Sveriges olika landsdelar (version 2)
- 2021
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Runt om i världen har en ökad polarisering mellan geografiskt skilda landsdelar– mellan ”stad” och ”land” – observerats. I flera länder har invånare i mer rurala områden rest sig mot storstädernas ekonomiska, politiska och kulturella eliter och givit antietablissemangspartier och populistiska rörelser sitt stöd. I ljuset av en svensk utveckling där avlägsna landsbygdskommuner kontinuerligt tappat invånare och storstadsregionerna vuxit, och en tilltagande debatt om att det offentliga har övergivit den svenska landsbygden, är det angeläget att studera om centrum versus periferi är en relevant politisk skiljelinje också i Sverige. Mot den bakgrunden har den här rapporten två delsyften.Rapportens första delsyfte består i att beskriva tre aspekter: 1) förekomsten av stad-landpolarisering avseende attityder och värderingar i riket som helhet, 2) om den sortens polarisering har ökat över tid, och 3) huruvida antietablissemangspartier har större väljarmässiga framgångar på landsbygden än i övriga delar av landet. Utifrån våra analyser kan vi konstatera att de skillnader i attityder och värderingar som finns är dels påfallande små, dels förhållandevis konstanta över tid. Trots att vi studerat områden där stad-landkonflikter borde uppenbara sig, finner vi inga tecken på någon bördigare mark för antietablissemangsrörelser på svensk landsbygd. Med det sagt går det inte att helt utesluta att potential finns för partier som önskar slå mynt avspänningen mellan stad och land. Vi identifierar några små, men intressanta skillnader, framför allt när det gäller nöjdhet med hur demokratin fungerar. Därför går det inte att utesluta att ett parti som envetet och strategiskt arbetarmed att väcka landsbygdens animositet gentemot storstäder skulle kunna mobilisera väljare.Rapportens andra syfte gör att vi skiftar analysnivå – från riket till enskilda kommuner som territorier. Vi har explorativt analyserat förekomsten av ”lokalurbanisering” och “lokala centrum-periferiproblem” och studerat ifall detta materialiserar sig i form av inomkommunal polarisering. I detta avseende ger rapporten ett viktigt och originellt empiriskt bidrag. Utifrån analyser av ett omfattande datamaterial – SCB:s medborgarundersökningar inkluderandeanalyser av svar från cirka 113 000 individer – finner vi att individer som bor utanför kommunens centralort i något mindre utsträckning uppleveratt politiker lyssnar på invånarnas synpunkter, att politiker arbetar förkommunens bästa, att tjänstemän arbetar för kommunens bästa, samt att de har möjlighet att påverka beslut. Något förvånande finner vi emellertid små skillnader mellan centrum och periferi när det kommer till nöjdhetmed de tunga välfärdsområdena äldreomsorg och skola. Vidare kan vi, med grund i data från Tillitsbarometern, konstatera att invånare utanför centralorter har en dystrare syn på framtiden än vad centralortsbor har. I syfte att illustrera vilken huvudvärk detta kan ge för styrande i en kommun, har vi därför kompletterat den kvantitativa analysen med en fallstudie av en svensk kommun. Den visar på de spänningar som kan uppstå mellan en centralort och andra tätorter i kommunen, men även hur kommunen aktivt kan arbeta med att mildra det missnöje som dessa spänningar kan ge upphovtill. Sammantaget ger resultaten vid handen att det är minst lika viktigt att studera centrum-periferispänningar inom kommuner som i riket som helhet.
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| 9. |
- Erlingsson, Gissur Ó., et al.
(författare)
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Geographical Tensions Within Municipalities? Evidence from Swedish Local Governments
- 2023
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Ingår i: Rural sociology. - : WILEY. - 0036-0112 .- 1549-0831. ; 88:4, s. 1033-1068
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- When Sweden transformed its geography of local government in 1952 and 1962–1974, the number of municipalities was reduced from 2,498 to 278. The reforms were infused by the “central place theory,” which aimed to identify a larger town as the “local capital” (centralort) for each municipality. The centralort became the municipalities' political and administrative center, responsible for providing public services to surrounding settlements. Taking our point of departure in this historical legacy, as well as the literature on “geographies of discontent,” we ask whether there are geographical tensions within today's Swedish municipalities. Are there differences in satisfaction, trust, and views on the future of one's place of residence when comparing the centralort with its surrounding settlements? Using two datasets—Statistics Sweden's citizen survey carried out in 241 municipalities and Trustbarometer in 49 municipalities—we find that citizens in the centralort are more satisfied with democracy than those in peripheries, where individuals residing in the municipalities' most rural parts are the most dissatisfied. Moreover, different issues are perceived as more pressing and salient in the centralort compared to surrounding settlements.
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