Doctoral Dissertation Research in Political Science: Networks and Neighborhoods in Local Politics: The Case of Brazil

该奖项是根据2009年《美国复苏和再投资法案》(公法111-5)提供资金的。在巴西等民主制度相对较新的国家，成年人如何成为公民参与者？由于高贫困和低教育水平，以及巴西政治制度的新颖性和复杂性，巴西成年人往往对政治知之甚少，也不参与政治。这导致了裙带主义，这意味着政客们或暗或明地向普通公民赠送物质资源，以换取政治支持，最终降低了对选民的真正问责。这个项目的重点是社交网络，特别是与社区领导人和社区团体的联系，如何传达关键的政治信息，并动员那些本来几乎没有兴趣或动机参与的人。研究人员假设，拥有更深入社区的社交网络的人往往更了解当地政治，也更多地参与当地政治。不过，与此同时，他们应该有更多机会接触裙带主义，不太可能持有反裙带主义的规范。一项针对巴西40个社区1400名居民的调查，将考察与其他居民以及活动人士和政客之间的社交网络联系如何影响人们的学习内容以及他们是否选择参与。在这些社区，该项目将专注于市政选举和一系列地方政府论坛，市民可以在论坛上就市政预算提供意见。此外，六个焦点小组将探索政治讨论的模式：当人们选择讨论政治时，为什么，以及他们认为自己从中学到了什么。这项研究将产生许多社会影响。首先，它将帮助国际和国内政策专业人士了解当地民间社会团体如何影响民主态度。这些信息将有助于促进民主化。其次，这项研究的结果将提供给两个案例城市的非学术受众，那里的当地利益相关者有兴趣传播关于地方政治行为的研究。第三，该项目将为巴西社会科学专业的学生提供研究方法方面的实践培训。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). How do adults in countries with relatively new democratic systems, such as Brazil, become civically engaged? Brazilian adults often know little about and are unengaged in politics because of high poverty and low educational levels, as well as the newness and complexity of the Brazilian political system. This leads to clientelism, meaning politicians' gifts of material resources to private citizens implicitly or explicitly in exchange for political support, and it ultimately reduces true accountability to voters. This project focuses on how social networks, and especially connections to neighborhood leaders and community groups, can convey critical political information and mobilize people who otherwise would have little interest or incentive to get involved. The researchers hypothesize that people with social networks that are more embedded in their neighborhoods tend to know more about and get more involved in local politics. At the same time, though, they should have greater access to clientelism and be less likely to hold anti-clientelistic norms. A survey of 1400 residents in 40 Brazilian neighborhoods will allow for an examination of how social network connections to fellow residents as well as activists and politicians affect what people learn and whether they choose to participate. In these neighborhoods, the project will focus on both a municipal election and a series of local government forums in which citizens are able to provide input on the municipal budget. In addition, six focus groups will explore patterns of political discussion: when people choose to discuss politics, why, and what they believe they learn from doing so. This study will have a number of social impacts. First, it will help international and domestic policy professionals understand how local civil society groups affect democratic attitudes. This information will be useful in promoting democratization. Second, the results of this research will be made available to non-academic audiences in the two case cities, where local stakeholders are interested in disseminating research on local political behavior. Third, the project will provide hands-on training in research methods to Brazilian social science students.