Restructuring Local Democracy: Political Activism Under Economic Transformation

9412302 Staeheli这项研究项目将考察随着美国经济结构调整而增加的灵活就业对政治激进主义的影响。最初的前提是，灵活就业(即兼职工作、非轮班工作、临时合同、自雇和在家工作)以及随之而来的工资水平、工作保障和可获得性的变化导致对政治激进主义潜力的重新评估。家庭及其所包含的广泛的财务和人际资源是作出关于激进主义的决定的背景。地方政治结构和对地方政治结构的看法是影响政治激进主义决策的关键中介因素。因此，将采用两阶段研究策略，在四个不同的城市考察就业和激进主义的趋势。第一阶段将涉及为经济结构调整设定结构背景的叙事构建。第二阶段将涉及广泛的电话调查，家庭成员在电话调查中重建他们的就业和政治历史。这一阶段还将包括对政治活动人士进行密集的面对面采访。电话调查将提供有关就业结构调整、政治活动和家庭调整战略的性质的基线信息，而密集的访谈将侧重于工作、政治、家庭和当地背景相互关联的方式。政治激进主义是维持和加强民主机构的关键因素。这项研究项目将增加与重组、国家和公民身份相关的理论，并将为经济变化影响地方民主的形式和特征提供有价值的新见解。因此，研究结果将对理解和改进民主化进程具有重要的理论和实践意义。

9412302 STAEHELI This research project will examine the ways that political activism has been affected by the increase in flexible employment that has accompanied economic restructuring in the United States. The initial premise is that flexible employment (i.e., part-time work, off-shift work, temporary contracts, self-employment, and work undertaken at one's home) and the concomitant changes in wage levels, job security, and time availability lead to re- evaluations of the potential for political activism. The household and the broad range of financial and interpersonal resources it encompasses is the context in which decisions about activism are made. The local political structure and perceptions about the local political structure are crucial intervening factors that also affect decisions regarding political activism. Trends in employment and activism therefore will be examined in four different cities using a two-stage research strategy. The first stage will involve the construction of narratives that set the structural context of economic restructuring. The second stage will involve extensive telephone surveys in which household members reconstruct their employment and political histories. This stage also will involve intensive in-person interviews with political activists. The telephone surveys will provide baseline information regarding the nature of employment restructuring, political activities, and household adjustment strategies, while the intensive interviews will focus on the ways that work, politics, household, and local context are interconnected. Political activism is a crucial element for maintaining and strengthening democratic institutions. This research project will add to theories related to restructuring, the state, and citizenship, and it will provide valuable new insights about the ways that economic change affects the form and character of local democracy. The results of the study therefore will have significant theoretic al and practical implications for understanding and improving democratization processes.