Doctoral Dissertation Research in Political Science: The Party's Over: Citizen Disenchantment in Mexico's Emerging Democracy

这个博士论文研究项目研究墨西哥对政治的态度及其对民主巩固的影响。具体而言，它试图确定（1）是否倾向于区分支持民主的政府绩效是与社会经济期望在民主概念的突出和（2）是否存在条件，特别是新公民价值观的发展，以软化对支持民主和政治参与的社会经济表现不佳的影响。对民意测验（现有的和最初的）进行统计分析将有助于对政治态度和参与情况有一个广泛的了解。定量调查必须用举报人和焦点小组提供的证词来充实。也许是因为一种新的“公民”政治文化已经根深蒂固，足以防止对真正存在的民主的不满转变为对民主作为一种理想的拒绝。长期的政治思想和实证研究认为，民主的生存和发展取决于一个知情的，积极的公民，相信和实践民主价值观的基础。在旧的民主政体中，民主建立在稳定的制度和经济繁荣的基础上，这两个条件都有利于在公民中培养民主习惯。本项目的学术价值在于阐明减轻失败的社会经济期望对新兴民主国家民主支持的影响的因素，这些因素通常缺乏老民主国家的优势。本论文将阐明政治学中的一个重要争论：民主巩固是否主要取决于经济，或者是否以及如何，公众舆论和公民的民主观念也会干预。更广泛的影响本论文的研究将有利于研究界，并可能有利于墨西哥社会，在三个主要方面。在方法上，调查工具将提供新的项目来衡量对民主的态度，询问对民主的满意度，支持民主，民主的概念比任何现有的调查更广泛。这可以帮助研究人员在其他民主国家的背景下，新老的公共舆论，政治心理学和民主化。从实质上讲，所产生的结果应该适用于墨西哥以外的国家，因为它面临着新兴民主国家特有的社会经济挑战。最后，这项研究可能对墨西哥的政策产生影响。墨西哥的研究人员以及墨西哥政府，通过它资助的民意调查，对回答这里提出的一些问题表现出了浓厚的兴趣。目前，联邦选举机构和内政部正在公立学校和通讯媒体开展教育运动，以帮助促进容忍、减少歧视、提高选民投票率和提高对人权的认识。公民对政治和政策制定者的看法，他们希望改善培养公民价值观的方案。

This Doctoral Dissertation research project studies Mexican attitudes toward politics and their implications for democratic consolidation. Specifically, it seeks to determine (1) whether the proclivity to distinguish support for democracy from government performance is related to the prominence of socioeconomic expectations in conceptions of democracy and (2) whether conditions exist-particularly, the development of new citizen values-to soften the impact of poor socioeconomic performance on support for democracy and political participation. Statistical analysis of opinion polls (both existing and original) will provide a broad understanding of political attitudes and participation. The quantitative investigation must be fleshed out with testimonial evidence provided by informants and focus groups. It may be that a new, "citizen" political culture is sufficiently rooted to prevent dissatisfaction with really existing democracy from turning into rejection of democracy as an ideal. Intellectual Merit A long line of political thought and empirical research contends that the survival and growth of democracy rests on the foundation of an informed, active citizenry that believes in and practices democratic values. In the old democratic polities, democracy rests upon a foundation of stable institutions and economic prosperity, both conditions propitious for the development of democratic habits on the party of the citizenry. The intellectual merit of the present project lies in elucidating the factors that mitigate the impact of failed socioeconomic expectations on support for democracy in emerging democracies, which typically lack the advantages of the older democracies. The dissertation will shed light on an important debate in political science: whether democratic consolidation depends mostly on economics or whether, and how, public opinion and citizen concepts of democracy also intervene. Broader Impact This dissertation research will benefit the research community, and could potentially benefit Mexican society, in three main ways. Methodologically, the survey instrument will offer new items to measure attitudes toward democracy, asking about satisfaction with, support for democracy, and conceptions of democracy much more extensively than any existing survey. This could help researchers public opinion, political psychology, and democratization in the context of other democracies, old and new. Substantively, the findings generated should be applicable outside Mexico, since it faces socioeconomic challenges typical of emerging democracies. Finally, the research could have policy ramifications in Mexico. Mexican researchers-as well as the Mexican government, through the polls it has financed-have demonstrated keen interest in answering some of the questions raised here. At present, both the Federal Electoral Institute and the Interior Ministry (Secretaria de Gobernacion) are undertaking educational campaigns in public schools and the communications media to help foster tolerance, abate discrimination, promote voter turnout, and raise awareness of human rights. citizen views of politics and policy-makers who desire to improve programs that foster citizen values.