Politics

Browse by

Politics @ Otago

Politics involves the operation of power in society: physical power, economic power, legal power, and power over opinion. Power is used to pursue the interests of human beings. These interests are often aggregated into alliances, both within countries and across national borders. Politics is the academic discipline that tries to establish how power operates, how people use it to pursue common ends, and how conflict can arise as a result.

For further information go to the Department of Politics.

Recent Deposits

The Dollar-Wall Street Regime and New Zealand: The Political Implications of Financial Market Liberalisation for Macroeconomic Management in New Zealand, 1994 to 2011

Richards, Byron Anthony James (Thesis, Doctor of Philosophy, 2017)

This is a study of New Zealand’s retention and entrenchment of a neoliberal policy regime, focusing on the role played by international finance. The study examines the influence that international private financial markets ...
The Economic Vote in New Zealand. An analysis of how macroeconomic conditions and perceptions of the economy affect voter behaviour

Gardener, Luke Thomas (Thesis, Master of Arts, 2017)

A large body of research suggests the performance of the economy has a significant effect on voter behaviour. However, there has been limited analysis of this issue in relation to New Zealand. This thesis seeks to correct ...
The Development of Consociational Politics in Lebanon 1825-2015

Aboultaif, Eduardo Wassim (Thesis, Doctor of Philosophy, 2016)

The aim of this research is to interpret consociational democracy as a political framework for deeply divided societies using Lebanon as a case study. I claim that consociational practices in Lebanon are hampered by three ...
Democratic Theory an Democratic Education: A New Zealand Case Study

Parker, Amee (Thesis, Master of Arts, 2016)

The history of democracy and various theories of democracy indicate that democracy is not a static practice or philosophy, rather it is adapted for those who make use of it and question it. It is not, however, a practice ...
Justifying RAMSI: Geopolitical reasoning, security and New Zealand’s involvement in the Solomon Islands conflict

Stansfield, Matthew (Thesis, Master of Arts, 2016)

This thesis investigates the factors that influenced New Zealand’s decision to intervene in the Solomon Islands Conflict, and will argue that its involvement in the decision to establish the Regional Assistance Mission to ...
Aim for the Heart? A Study of New Zealand Voters' Responses to Emotional Appeals in Televised Political Advertising

Murchison, Ashley Samantha (Thesis, Doctor of Philosophy, 2016)

Political advertising plays a fundamental role in enabling political parties to communicate with their constituents. This communication process is intensified during elections when parties seek to not only inform but also ...
Reclaiming utopia and the political imagination: Revisiting Firestone's dialectics of sex

Jepson, Stevie (Thesis, Master of Arts, 2016)

Utopianism is a way to imagine and conceptualise images of an-other world, to critique the current world, and to generate a desire to move to a better place. It is an endeavour aimed at the root of social and political ...
Superannuation and ideology : the search for an effective policy for the aged in New Zealand, 1974-1984

Field, Mark (Dissertation, Postgraduate Diploma in Arts, 1987)

The development of a superannuation policy in New Zealand since 1970 has been the result of a search for effectiveness in an area of large Government spending on welfare. The positions developed by the two major political ...
Japan’s Identity in International Society: Constructing Identity as a ‘Peacebuilding State’

Iwami, Tadashi (Thesis, Doctor of Philosophy, 2015)

Since the end of the Cold War, the development of Japan’s foreign policy has shown a great level of relevance to regional and international security affairs. Regional instability and conflict in regions such as Asia, Eastern ...
The Welfare Reforms of the Fourth (1990-99) and Fifth (2008-14) National Governments : A Critical Analysis and Evaluation

Loughrey-Webb, Ben (Thesis, Master of Arts, 2015)

This thesis seeks to describe, critically analyse and evaluate the welfare reforms of the Fourth (1990-99) and Fifth (2008-2014) National Governments. I develop a theoretical framework for these tasks, drawing from the ...
ASEAN and the Sovereignty Principle: Explaining the Dynamics of Resistance to Sovereignty Violation

Southgate, Laura (Thesis, Doctor of Philosophy, 2015)

This thesis investigates the history of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) stance on external intervention in regional affairs. It addresses the question: When has ASEAN state resistance to sovereignty ...
Digital Diplomacy & Social Capital: Analysing Relational Components of Trust in US & Israeli Online Social Networks

Deos, Anthony (Thesis, Doctor of Philosophy, 2015)

For diplomatic relations, the ability to influence through attraction, or soft power, rather than hard power is preferable in the interconnected 21st century global society. Although debate remains regarding the objectives ...
The Role of Identity in India’s Expanding Naval Power

SinghSan, Sandeep (Thesis, Master of Arts, 2015)

Since the end of the Cold War Indian political elites have demonstrated a remarkable predilection towards naval power in India’s grand strategy. Today, a naval modernization program is on the Indian agenda with emphasis ...
Reinventing the left? : the third way and New Zealand's fifth Labour governments

Connew, Scott Joseph (Thesis, Master of Arts, 2006)

This thesis analyses the emergence of the 'third way' and the policy approaches implemented by the Labour-led Governments elected at the 1999 and 2002 New Zealand General Elections. Evaluating Anthony Giddens' claims that ...
How Rebellious Non-State-Actors acquire weapons

Zohar, Eran (Thesis, Doctor of Philosophy, 2015)

Recent events in world politics, such as the civil wars in Syria and Iraq and conflicts between powerful rebel groups and weak governments in Africa, underline the need for a comprehensive theory to explain how Non States ...
Union officials in a small capitalist state: A study in the composition and ideology of the New Zealand Trade Union leadership fraction

Olssen, Mark E H (Thesis, Doctor of Philosophy, 1983)

There has been a crisis in socialist thought in the post-war era and increasing pessimism concerning the political effectiveness of the working class as a force for change. A study is presented of the New Zealand Trade ...
The Soviet Legacy and Post‐Communist Civil Society in the Caucasus

Aliyev, Huseyn (Thesis, Doctor of Philosophy, 2014)

This study argues that the weakness of civil society in the post-Soviet Caucasus is not only a result of post-communist political and economic problems but is also due to the effects of historical legacies which continue ...
The Mapuche Struggle for/of Recognition. Identity and Self-Determination in Chile

Pirsoul, Nicolas (Thesis, Master of Arts, 2014)

The theory of recognition argues that identities are the product of a struggle to be recognised by a significant other so that the nonrecognition or misrecognition of an identity can lead to a type of social suffering which ...
A fractured identity, a fractured democracy: the national facet of Ukraine’s transition

Lewis, Amy Alice (Thesis, Master of Arts, 2014)

After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, Ukraine became an independent state. Despite an initial period of optimism regarding the future of the state, after twenty two years, Ukraine has continued to remain politically ...
Social media: a solution to declining youth engagement in politics?

Diesing, Juana (Thesis, Master of Arts, 2014)

New Zealand is no exception to the decline in political participation, particularly among youth, observed in nearly every developed democracy around the world. Attempts have been made to use social media to increase youth ...