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）资助的。在巴西等民主制度相对较新的国家，成年人是如何参与公民活动的？由于高度贫困和低教育水平，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。这就导致了裙带关系，即政客们将物质资源含蓄或明确地赠给普通公民，以换取政治支持，最终减少了对选民的真正责任。该项目侧重于社会网络，特别是与社区领导人和社区团体的联系，如何传达重要的政治信息，并动员那些本来没有兴趣或动力参与其中的人。研究人员假设，社交网络与社区联系更紧密的人往往更了解并更多地参与当地政治。不过，与此同时，它们应该更容易接触到裙带关系，不太可能遵守反裙带关系的规范。一项针对巴西40个社区1400名居民的调查将检验与其他居民、活动家和政治家的社交网络联系如何影响人们学习的内容以及他们是否选择参与。在这些社区，该项目将侧重于市政选举和一系列地方政府论坛，公民可以在这些论坛上为市政预算提供意见。此外，六个焦点小组将探讨政治讨论的模式：当人们选择讨论政治，为什么，以及他们认为他们从中学到什么。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。这些资料将有助于促进民主化。其次，本研究的结果将提供给两个案例城市的非学术受众，当地利益相关者对传播当地政治行为的研究感兴趣。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.