This study explores contexts of disorder and crisis, in which criminal actors gain legitimacy. By affirming that criminal groups are already social agents, this research argues that they gain... Show moreThis study explores contexts of disorder and crisis, in which criminal actors gain legitimacy. By affirming that criminal groups are already social agents, this research argues that they gain political legitimacy to the extent that criminal groups engage in an authority-building process. Thus, it focuses on two instances in which criminal groups launched campaigns— or at least engaged in planned activities— in order to gain political and social legitimacy. La Familia Michoacana (LFM) and Los Caballeros Templarios (LCT) de Michoacán in Mexico, on the one hand, and Cosa Nostra (CN) in Italy, on the other, offer rich and instructive cases to examine. Precisely, the research asks for how these groups seek to forge legitimacy, as well as for what are their strategies for that purpose. The research opens two avenues of conceptual discussion. Show less
Why did people decide to found political parties? How did they convince others to become members of this new organizational model? In the second half of the nineteenth century, the first party... Show moreWhy did people decide to found political parties? How did they convince others to become members of this new organizational model? In the second half of the nineteenth century, the first party organizations differed from previously existing mass political organizations, because they aimed for and had direct access to parliamentary representation. In contrast to previously existing parties that loosely organized the traditional political elite in parliament, the new mass parties were based on an extensive organizational body that included previously excluded social groups in politics. Combining political history with social science theory, this dissertation studies the ideas and practices of political activists who founded the first party organizations. The comparison of three case studies (the German Social Democratic Workers’ Party, the British National Liberal Federation and the Dutch Anti-Revolutionary Party) is based on primary sources including letters, diaries, autobiographies, minutes of meetings, brochures, newspapers and political programs in three different languages. Show less
The thesis examines what factors contribute to perceiving political authorities as legitimate by individuals socialized in different political regimes. Using experimental vignettes and original... Show moreThe thesis examines what factors contribute to perceiving political authorities as legitimate by individuals socialized in different political regimes. Using experimental vignettes and original survey data, the thesis investigates to what extent normative qualities of political authorities play a role in citizens’ evaluations of these authorities. It challenges the claim that citizens in non-democratic regimes have unique or special expectations about political authorities. It does so by comparing the factors influencing perceived legitimacy of governments in different political regimes: two post-Soviet non-democracies (Russia and Ukraine) and old and new democracies in Europe (France, Netherlands, and Poland). The findings in all five countries support the theoretical model of a citizen who is concerned with both her personal material well-being and the fairness of authorities. The factor that had the largest positive effect on perceived legitimacy across countries was distributive justice—fairness in providing goods and services across the individuals in a society. Furthermore, respondents’ beliefs about what makes political authorities legitimate were similar across regimes and suggest that for evaluating legitimacy, the output aspects of governing (e.g. welfare, order, and stability) are less important than the input (e.g. elections, trust, representation) and throughput aspects (e.g. fair procedures,transparency, and integrity of authorities). Show less
Democratie van onderaf: het is even verleidelijk als problematisch. Dat zien we niet alleen bij de Occupy-beweging en de Arabische lente, maar ook in de geschiedenis. In 1848 trok een golf van... Show moreDemocratie van onderaf: het is even verleidelijk als problematisch. Dat zien we niet alleen bij de Occupy-beweging en de Arabische lente, maar ook in de geschiedenis. In 1848 trok een golf van revoluties over ons continent. Plotseling kregen miljoenen Europeanen de kans hun stem te laten horen in drukbezochte volksvergaderingen en politieke clubs. In dit moment van gekte leek even alles mogelijk. De toekomst lag open. 1848 – Clubkoorts en revolutie neemt de lezer mee naar de onrustige steden Parijs en Berlijn, twee brandpunten van de ‘Europese lente’. Geerten Waling schetst de dromen en verwachtingen achter de honderden democratische experimenten die er een nieuw publiek debat creëerden. En de politieke realiteit waarmee zij werden geconfronteerd. De revoluties van 1848 werden uiteindelijk allemaal neergeslagen of doofden uit, maar de ervaringen van dat jaar zouden de politieke cultuur in Europa blijvend veranderen. Ze maakten de moderne democratieën mogelijk die wij tegenwoordig als vanzelfsprekend beschouwen. Show less
