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There Is No Such Thing As Freedom Of Religion: How Constitutional Law Complicates The Divide Between Church And State, Annah Mae Heckman Jan 2019

There Is No Such Thing As Freedom Of Religion: How Constitutional Law Complicates The Divide Between Church And State, Annah Mae Heckman

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.


Contested Identity And Making Sense Of Atrocity: Understanding The Rohingya Crisis In Myanmar, Christopher Andrew Long Jan 2018

Contested Identity And Making Sense Of Atrocity: Understanding The Rohingya Crisis In Myanmar, Christopher Andrew Long

Senior Projects Spring 2018

Myanmar’s recent transition towards democracy has caused western leaders to become increasingly optimistic about the future of human rights within the country. However, since emerging on the international stage in 2012, the Rohingya crisis has drastically upset such expectations, leaving the international community in complete shock over the issue. Attempting to shed light on this human rights tragedy, international media coverage has produced an overly simplified depiction of the Rohingya crisis. In addition, very little academic literature exists seeking to explain the root causes of the issue. By utilizing interviews conducted at the University of Mandalay this paper attempts to …


Money Power In Politics, Jonathan Peterson Fisher Jan 2017

Money Power In Politics, Jonathan Peterson Fisher

Senior Projects Spring 2017

Money power in politics has been bolstered over the last thirty years thanks to Supreme Court decisions that hinder the Federal Election Commission’s ability to regulate financial influences on campaigns. Increases in corporate ability to impact campaigns through independent expenditures are principally against democratic values as they create a political climate of inequality favoring wealthy speakers. Additionally, money power’s influences on campaigns lead to impacting policy both directly through access to politicians and indirectly through the broad success of pro-contributor candidates. With an inability to govern over money power in elections comes a trend of anti-majoritarian policies that are inherently …


The War On Terror: And The Erosion Of The Democratic Imaginary, Maximilian Randall Perkins Jan 2017

The War On Terror: And The Erosion Of The Democratic Imaginary, Maximilian Randall Perkins

Senior Projects Spring 2017

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.


The “Reasonableness” Of Poverty: Progress And Pitfalls In South Africa’S Socio-Economic Jurisprudence, Benajmin Oliver Powers Jan 2014

The “Reasonableness” Of Poverty: Progress And Pitfalls In South Africa’S Socio-Economic Jurisprudence, Benajmin Oliver Powers

Senior Projects Spring 2014

The Constitutional Court of South Africa is perhaps the strongest institution in the country today. It is one of the few places for people to pursue institutional redress. In light of this, this thesis critically examines the reasonableness standard, the depoliticizing rhetoric around poverty the Court uses, as well as the practical obstacles for individuals or groups pursuing public interest litigation through the judiciary. It has found that for the Court to be more effective institution in light of the failings of other bodies conceived of by the Constitution, a number of the Court’s approaches must be altered slightly. The …


The Rule That Proves The Exception: A Constitutional State Of Emergency In The United States, Benjamin Salvatore Difabbio Jan 2013

The Rule That Proves The Exception: A Constitutional State Of Emergency In The United States, Benjamin Salvatore Difabbio

Senior Projects Spring 2013

A study of states of exception in constitutional law, this project proposes an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, providing for limited derogations of constitutional rights under declarations of emergency. The project begins with an analysis of US Supreme Court case law dealing with limitations of constitutional rights (e.g. suspension of the writ of habeas corpus and the freedoms of speech and press) during periods of crisis, such as war or the threat of war. This discussion demonstrates the perils of precedent in normalizing the exception in the absence of a constitutional state of emergency. The second chapter …