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Majority Rule: A Dysfunctional Polity Consensus: An Inclusive Democracy, Peter Emerson

International Dialogue

Numerous electoral systems have been devised over the years but, in decision-making, many forums still rely on the same procedure that was used in ancient Greece: majority voting. Hence, majority rule. In many plural multi-ethnic and/or multi-religious societies, the effects have often been negative. This article considers voting procedures in three inter-related contexts: decision-making, elections, and governance. With regard to conflicts in Northern Ireland, the Balkans, and Ukraine, it shows, both in decision-making and in elections, how simplistic win-or-lose ballots have exacerbated tensions. And it then suggests a more inclusive polity in which win-win voting systems might help to alleviate …

Deliberative Democracy: Issues And Cases, Clodagh Harris

International Dialogue

Deliberative democracy, a theory of political legitimacy, argues citizens should be given a more central role in political processes, contending that collective decisions are legitimate to the extent that those subject to them have the right, opportunity and capacity to contribute to deliberations on them. It has been at the forefront of political theory in recent decades and has evolved theoretically, empirically and in praxis overtime.

Post-Katrina Suppression Of Black Working-Class Political Expression, Taunya L. Banks

Journal of Public Management & Social Policy

New Orleans politicians, with the aid of the federal government, used the destruction and displacement caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 to implement policies that discouraged low-income and working class black residents from returning to New Orleans. Impacted communities felt the need to revitalize street parades (second-line parades), a traditional communal neighborhood activity, as an instrument of political protest. In response the City used minor municipal ordinances to more vigorously regulate these parades, doubling the fees imposed for street parades and effectively shutting them down. The City’s response raised important constitutional questions about government suppression of speech and freedom of …

Working Toward World Peace In Non-International Armed Conflict: In A World Of Uncertainty, Terrorism, And Disagreements, Is It Ossible?, Victoria Carlton

Brigham Young University International Law & Management Review

No abstract provided.

Why Orientalism Still Matters: Reading ‘Casual Forgetting’ And ‘Active Remembering’ As Neoliberal Forms Of Contestation In International Politics, Shiera S. Malik

Shiera S el-Malik

Editor's Note, Padraig O’Malley

New England Journal of Public Policy

In this edition of the journal several articles address a range of important, and in some cases too often overlooked policy issues, too broad in scope for their conclusions and recommendations to be encapsulated adequately in a brief paragraph. Their diversity, however, highlights a key characteristic of the New England Journal of Public Policy – that of being open to publishing articles that have insightful bearings on how public policy is addressed, not only in the New England states, but throughout the country and in the international community – a community of nations increasingly interdependent with constraints on national sovereignty …

The Implementation Of Communication Theories To Assist In Resolving Perennial International Conflicts, Kelly Witkop

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

The Archdiocese Of New York: Transition From Urban Powerhouse To Suburban Institution, 1950-2000 A Case Study, Henry A. Sheinkopf

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

From 1850-1950, the New York Archdiocese welcomed newly arriving Irish and Italian Catholics and forged a political block that influenced local, state and national politics with political leverage sufficient to influence the city's commercial sectors. This mobilization transformed the once penniless and discriminated-against Irish, and later Italians, by enabling the Archdiocese of New York, through the power of the vote, to promote its religious interests as its adherents rose to positions of political and economic power. The Archdiocese of New York became the owner of vast real estate, a provider of social and educational services, and an arbiter of morality …

"To Organize The Sovereign People": Political Mobilization In Pennsylvania, 1783-1808, David William Houpt

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Political mobilization is the connective tissue between the people and their government. Whether through petitions, voting, parades or even riots, it is the tool political actors use to engage in the deliberative process. Scholars have explored a variety of facets of the political culture of the early American republic and have noted the importance of certain forms of political mobilization such as parades and fêtes. These studies have not, however, fully explained how elections emerged as the primary means for citizens to express their will and the boundaries of political expression changed accordingly. This dissertation explains the evolution of Americans' …

Transitional Justice In Sri Lanka: Rethinking Post-War Diaspora Advocacy For Accountability, Mytili Bala

International Human Rights Law Journal

Sri Lanka’s 26-year civil war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam came to a bloody end in May 2009, amidst allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity on both sides. Since then, Tamils in the diaspora, long accused of funding the war, have become vocal proponents for war crimes accountability. Some might label certain forms of diaspora advocacy as “lawfare” or “long-distance nationalism.” However, these labels fail to account for the complex memories and identities that shape diaspora advocacy for accountability today. In order for Sri Lanka to move forward from decades of conflict, transitional justice mechanisms to …

Vicious Cycle Or Business Cycle?: Explaining Political Violence In Northern Ireland After The Troubles, Lauren Burke

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

There are currently two schools of thought that seek to explain the persistence of political violence in Northern Ireland, one with a sociopolitical focus and the other with an economic focus. Expanding on past economic theory, this paper utilizes several multiple regression models to test the applicability of the economic school's relative deprivation theory in the fifteen years since the Troubles were formally ended with the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. The basis of this theory is that as economic conditions worsen in a given area, the number of acts of political violence should also increase. This study specifically …

Res Publica Xix

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

Complete copy of the 2014 volume of Res Publica.

Interview With Reverend Dr. Stan Davis, Dawn Butler

Chicago 1968

Length: 116 minutes

Interview with Reverend Stan Davis by Dawn Butler

Rev. Davis begins by sharing details about himself, his family, and his early years in Lansdale, Pennsylvania, and his religious community, the Church of the Brethren. He talks about growing up during World War II and how he first became aware of prejudice, witnessing the internment of the Japanese-American community. He recalls his studies at Juniata College and his decision to attend Bethany Theological. He describes moving to North Lawndale, a diverse immigrant community that underwent drastic demographic changes as a result of unscrupulous lending practices designed to move …

Interview With Father Dominic Grassi, Paul Brennan

Chicago 1968

Length: 105 minutes

Interview with Father Dominic Grassi by Paul Brennan

Fr. Dominic Grassi begins his interview by detailing his childhood, growing up the youngest of five to Italian immigrant parents on the North side of Chicago, He credits his high school work with the children at Cabrini Greens for introducing him to the community service aspect of religious life and recalls the significant role the priests played in his early years. He describes daily life at the college seminary and the formation of his religious vocation amidst “almost a tsunami” of worlds events: the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights …

Central Government And Secession, Tyler Zuch

Political Science Capstone Research Papers

Governments and countries throughout history have risen and fallen while some have carried on through the years. However, some countries look very different from when they existed in previous times. Rulers and leaders have utilized many responses to rebellions and secessionist movements. These responses range from bloody and/or political repression, devolution, simply declaring secession unconstitutional or illegal, economic concessions/incentives, or even simply ignoring the problem. There is not only the debate as to what is the best way to put down a rebellion or secessionist movement, but also what is the right/moral response that the government should do to keep …

Baby Bells, Teri Sforza

Local Government Reconsidered

After Bell scandal broke, many officials asserted that these sorts of startling public payouts were tremendous aberrations, when in reality these scandals have occurred multiple times before. In this white paper Sforza brings attention to municipal corruption scandals throughout the state of California and the lack of attention they recieved when the scandals broke in comparison to Bell's.

Waiting For Giorgio, Ananya Vajpeyi

Ananya Vajpeyi

No abstract provided.

Constructing A Shared Identity In Deeply Divided Societies, John M. Nagle

John M Nagle

In order to bolster sustainable peacebuilding in violently divided societies, a normative suggestion is that efforts should be made to construct a shared public identity that overarches ethnic divisions. A number of different centripetal/transformationist processes are identified as engendering a shared identity in comparison to consociational arrangements, which are accused of institutionalizing ethnic differences and perpetuating conflict. These transformationist approaches essentially rest on the premise that since ethnicity is constructed it can be reconstructed into new shared forms. Looking at Northern Ireland, we argue there are limits to the extent that ethnicity can be reconstructed into shared identities. By analysing …

Public Corruption In Liberian Government, Stephen H. Gobewole

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is a widespread public perception of corruption in Liberia's election process, yet there is little documentation on the characteristics of voters and their perceptions of electoral corruption. The purpose of this correlational study was to explore the relationship between gender, ethnicity, physical location, and perceptions about political activity during the 2005 national election. Roderick Chisolm's conceptualization of the internalist view of justification served as the theoretical construct. Data were acquired from the Afrobarometer survey (n = 1,200), which used a representative cross-sectional sample design, and were subjected to cross-tabulation analysis, a chi-square test, and a correlation analysis. The results …

Working On The Troubles In Northern Ireland: The Role Of International Funding Bodies In The Peace Process, Brianna Masciel

CMC Senior Theses

Abstract

This senior thesis is a study of international funding bodies in the case of Northern Ireland peace process. I examine the role of the European Union PEACE Fund and International Fund for Ireland. Particularly, I focus on creating, structuring, and maintaining these funds and their impact the local community. In conclusion, I find there are several recommendations for the formation and sustaining of international economic and political support from the Northern Irish case that can be applied in future cases. This includes utilizing multiple strategies that adjust to the needs of the community and creating networks for support and …

Neither War, Nor Peace: Everyday Politics, Peacebuilding And The Liminal Condition Of Bosnia-Herzegovina And Northern Ireland, Branka Marijan

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis focuses on cultural and everyday practices of local populations in post-conflict peacebuilding. It builds on the “everyday” turn in critical peacebuilding literature by recognizing the everyday as political. Rather than examining the practices of political elites this thesis is concerned with the ordinary citizens of these societies. In other words, I show that it is through practices and cultural forms of expression that local populations enact their agency, at times supporting and at times contesting the broader peacebuilding project. Moreover, rather than viewing the everyday acts as hidden or as evidence of resistance to the dominant peacebuilding approaches …

The Myth Of The White Minority, Andrew Pierce

Andrew J. Pierce

In recent years, and especially in the wake of Barack Obama’s reelection, projections that whites will soon become a minority have proliferated. In this essay, I will argue that such predictions are misleading at best, as they rest on questionable philosophical presuppositions, including the presupposition that racial concepts like ‘whiteness’ are static and unchanging rather than fluid and continually being reconstructed. If I am right about these fundamental inaccuracies, one must wonder why the myth of the white minority persists. I will argue that by re-envisioning whites as a minority culture struggling against a hostile dominant group, and by promoting …