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Lasting Impact: Analyzing The Relationship Between Colonialism And Proxy War Onset, Sydney Rehm
Lasting Impact: Analyzing The Relationship Between Colonialism And Proxy War Onset, Sydney Rehm
Honors Theses
Proxy wars are a very specific subset of war that have increased in frequency. Researchers have studied why proxy wars occur, but there are less studies specifically on to what extent, if any, colonialism has on the onset of proxy wars. To fill this gap, I write a historical analysis of past proxy wars—specifically the Vietnam War (1955-1975), Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990), and Yemeni Civil War (2014-present)—to examine the effects of colonialism. Furthermore, I utilize my case studies to assess my argument’s limitations. I also utilize statistical analysis to determine the probability of proxy war if a country has a …
The Pope And The ʿUlamāʾ: A Study Of Religious Institutions And Their Evolving Relationship To Government, Benjamin Newton
The Pope And The ʿUlamāʾ: A Study Of Religious Institutions And Their Evolving Relationship To Government, Benjamin Newton
Honors Theses
How and why have religious institutions changed during historical critical junctures in their relationship with government? The literature on this topic, with notable but limited exceptions (Brown et al. 2024, Koesel 2014, Fox 2008), has tended to focus on one specific institution at a time, even if analyzing its actions within multiple states. Through this project, I focus not on the same institution in different states, but on two major religious establishments in the states in which they are based. I analyze the Roman Catholic Church and the Wahhābi establishment in Italy and Saudi Arabia, respectively, to come to a …
Tribal Statecraft And Freedom Of Expression In Jordan, Taylor Northcutt
Tribal Statecraft And Freedom Of Expression In Jordan, Taylor Northcutt
Honors Theses
In this research paper, I investigate the connection between the policies regarding freedom of speech and expression promulgated by the government of Jordan in the decade following the Arab Spring and Jordan’s tribal Bedouin heritage, with a focus on how traditional Bedouin values and attitudes regarding the nature and purpose of public spaces influence modern state policies regarding freedom of expression. In the investigation of this subject, I surveyed a diverse catalog of research covering politics and issues of freedom of expression in Jordan in the 2010s as well as the political and social values of tribal Arab culture in …
Predicting Our Own Demise: How Media Has Played Nostradamus To The Future Of Artificial Intelligence, Connor Denny-Lybbert
Predicting Our Own Demise: How Media Has Played Nostradamus To The Future Of Artificial Intelligence, Connor Denny-Lybbert
Honors Theses
In this paper, I argue that we should be hesitant and skeptical of the applications of AI technology in government due to the possibility of, and ongoing abuses of this technology by political actors. I do this by first analyzing various pieces of sci-fi media in three parts: how this media approaches crime and punishment, personhood, and human happiness. Then, I explain how these themes intersect with the above framework and how we can use the themes to guide future policy. This is followed by an analysis of what these pieces of media tell us regarding artificial intelligence and how …
A Lost Reference Point: How Placing Our Identities In The State Has Facilitated Social Polarization Among Americans, Dylan Evans
A Lost Reference Point: How Placing Our Identities In The State Has Facilitated Social Polarization Among Americans, Dylan Evans
Honors Theses
We are living in a moment of societal breakdown, as America is increasingly plagued with fractious polarization along political and cultural lines. The potential causes of this are complex and exist within a broad spectrum of possibilities, with the potential solutions being even more contentious. However, it is my contention that identity is the central issue here. As people begin to place their identities in a religious devotion to the liberal state as opposed to a transcendent ideal, once simple, agreed-upon premises become harsh divides, and polarization ensues. To fully evaluate how this has happened, and thus how it may …
Policy Design And The Lived Experience Of The Poor: A Test Of Policy Feedback Effects And Efficacy, Ava Gural
Policy Design And The Lived Experience Of The Poor: A Test Of Policy Feedback Effects And Efficacy, Ava Gural
Honors Theses
As American political actors have framed poverty as a choice made by the unambitious, it has become clear that our society has a pervasive misunderstanding of poverty. Policy Feedback Theorists assert that the design of our welfare policies contributes to this fallacy, raising the question of whether there is a relationship between policy design and the way citizens act and feel. This thesis uses quantitative data from the American Citizen Participation Study and qualitative data from two original interviews to test the existence of “policy feedback effects” on program participants’ feelings of efficacy. Quantitative evidence suggests limited evidence of policy …
Facing Famine: Justice And The Case Of Unilateral Intervention, Tanner R. Brooks
Facing Famine: Justice And The Case Of Unilateral Intervention, Tanner R. Brooks
Honors Theses
Through the course of this year, 900 thousand people will have to struggle through conditions of famine, and a total of 345.2 million will experience food insecurity of some kind. These concerning figures represent an over twofold increase since 2020.1 This presents a serious problem, as access to food is so plainly vital to every aspect of an individual’s existence. It should therefore be uncontroversial to assert the grave nature of the occurrence of famine and other food emergencies faced by so many today. Food emergencies are not merely a result of insufficient food, but rather the institutional policies enacted …
Magic As Political Might: Harry Potter, Authoritarianism, And Youth Political Behavior, Alexis Cobbs
Magic As Political Might: Harry Potter, Authoritarianism, And Youth Political Behavior, Alexis Cobbs
Honors Theses
This thesis examines how authoritarian structures found in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series affect the political thoughts and behaviors of its readers, particularly those who read them at young ages. By examining how Rowling depicts authoritarianism and its opposition in the books, I hypothesized that increased exposure would correlate to an increased impact on readers’ political opinions. To test this hypothesis, I created an original survey designed to measure levels of exposure and participation in the Harry Potter fandom as well as respondents’ political opinions. I asked respondents to provide different examples of authoritarianism and its opposition in the books …
Man In The Arena: The Evolution Of The Executive Office, Jack Sandone
Man In The Arena: The Evolution Of The Executive Office, Jack Sandone
Honors Theses
Through an historical case study, this paper will answer the question: just how powerful has the presidency become? Has it really, through various tangible tools and the evolution of institutions, become a king-like figure, rising above the vaunted Legislative and Judicial Branches? The conclusion is this: based on the precedent of “prerogative,” a term to be explained and analyzed, presidents have been granted access to extraconstitutional actions that were not outside of the purview of the founding fathers. The usage of unilateral legislation, like the executive order, creates a surgeon’s knife of a political tool, allowing presidents to force legislation …
Feminism And Women's Representation In Argentina, Devyn Murphy
Feminism And Women's Representation In Argentina, Devyn Murphy
Honors Theses
The theory of feminism has proved essential in the transformation of the patriarchal society in Argentina. Feminism paved the way for the emergence of various women’s movements, such as the Encuentros and Movimiento Nacional de Mujeres. These movements redefined the roles that women could play in society. It was because of this theory, and the movements, which made the theories a practice that advanced the political rights of Argentine women.
Convergence And Hegemony: The United States And China In The 21st Century, Daniel Wilcox
Convergence And Hegemony: The United States And China In The 21st Century, Daniel Wilcox
Honors Theses
The extreme economic growth of the Republic of China is neither a new phenomenon nor a topic that has not been extensively examined, however, how this convergence of economic power between the United States and rising China translates to potential political power is an important area of discussion. The US has been forced to face a tumultuous beginning to the 21st century. Characterized by unprecedented terrorist attacks, subsequent wars that have brought economic and moralistic costs, increasing domestic partisan division, and a questioning of what it is to be an American, it is an unthinkable reality following the 1991 …
Media Framing And Respectability Narratives In #Blacklivesmatter: A Twitter Analysis, Sherrice Wright
Media Framing And Respectability Narratives In #Blacklivesmatter: A Twitter Analysis, Sherrice Wright
Honors Theses
The purpose of this study is to examine community dialogues on the social media platform, Twitter, in order to better understand how conventional media framing influences conversations on social media. The Black Lives Matter movement, one of the most prominent, current social justice movements, was founded on Twitter. Since then this platform has played a pivotal role in gaining awareness for issues of marginalized citizens. While Black Lives Matter has had a key role in the development of public perception, so has the traditional media. Through the use of media framing, the dominant class has the ability to reinforce or …
Voting Behavior And Motivations Across Generations: Evidence From A Nationally Representative U.S. Survey, Angela Alexander
Voting Behavior And Motivations Across Generations: Evidence From A Nationally Representative U.S. Survey, Angela Alexander
Honors Theses
The four generations of Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and Generation Z are all distinct in nature as it relates to their characteristics, which are shaped by the American culture in which they were born. These generations as a whole also have different levels of political participation and political ideals. The purpose of this study is to examine how these differences correlate to voting behavior. The goal is to draw conclusions about the differences between voting behavior across generational lines, discovering patterns especially as it relates to motivations for voting. Through the use of a nationally representative survey, I was …
Social Media Agenda Setting Of Environmental Policy Issues In Switzerland, Canaan Vaughan
Social Media Agenda Setting Of Environmental Policy Issues In Switzerland, Canaan Vaughan
Honors Theses
This paper seeks to develop methodologies and testing methods for the agenda setting power of Swiss political organizational accounts on Twitter to determine who sets agenda about environmental topics. Previous research has examined social media’s agenda setting power over traditional media but has been unable to draw conclusions on which political organizations set agenda on other organizations. Research has suggested that larger organizations might have an agenda setting role over smaller ones, and organizations perceived as experts may set agenda over others. Twitter data from official organizational accounts was collected, encoded as environmental or not, and then fitted to a …
Assembling Ideal Actualization In Viennese Social Housing, Jack Day
Assembling Ideal Actualization In Viennese Social Housing, Jack Day
Honors Theses
The central aims of this paper are to create a potential concept for what an ideal social housing program could look like and then to determine the extent to which the social housing program in Vienna, Austria has brought this ideal to reality. The social housing program in Vienna was chosen due to its popularity as a program and its generally positive reputation. The paper proceeds by first offering potential definitions for social housing, its ideals, and potential indicators for ideal fulfillment. Then, I take influence from the frameworks of assemblage theory and path-dependency theory to analyze the material, temporal, …
Employing A Public Policy Evaluative Framework: An Analysis Of Domestic Theme Park Development, Anthony Gray Houser
Employing A Public Policy Evaluative Framework: An Analysis Of Domestic Theme Park Development, Anthony Gray Houser
Honors Theses
The intention of the thesis is to examine the relationship between the development of the Walt Disney Company’s theme parks and public policy. Using the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California and the Walt Disney World Resort outside of Orlando, Florida as case studies, this thesis will execute a comparative analysis to better understand the relationship between the Walt Disney Company’s theme parks and public policy. Using an evaluative framework, this thesis will provide a deeper understanding of how public policy affected the development and the current operations of these theme parks. The driving research question in this thesis is, ‘what …
Economic Predictors Of Democratic Backsliding: A Comparison Of Populist And Non-Populist Leaders, Jacob Winter
Economic Predictors Of Democratic Backsliding: A Comparison Of Populist And Non-Populist Leaders, Jacob Winter
Honors Theses
The initial motivation of this research was to develop a better understanding of the primary causes of democratic backsliding, and by extension, how pro-democratic governments, NGOs, and other institutions can most effectively combat democratic backsliding. Previous research has examined the effects of economic conditions (Waldner and Lust 2018) as well as populism (Kyle and Mounk 2018) on a country’s democracy, but to my knowledge, no study has examined whether the effect of economic conditions on a country’s democracy differs between populist and non-populist countries. My research attempts to provide an answer to this question by examining how personal wealth, price …
Bystanders Without An Excuse: On The Moral Duty To Revolt, Meghna Melkote
Bystanders Without An Excuse: On The Moral Duty To Revolt, Meghna Melkote
Honors Theses
Che Guevara, an Argentine revolutionary who served as a key player in the Cuban Revolution, was known for his forceful rhetoric calling people to action to engage in revolution. His language was the language of duty - when he called on people to act, he did so with moral force behind his words. In the face of nascent revolution and discontent, he called upon those aggrieved to “tremble with indignation every time that an injustice is committed in the world” and act accordingly1. Guevara is appealing to a common intuition many leaders in social justice seem to have; there is …
How To Combat The Negative Effects Of Punishment Drift On Children, Madison Alliston
How To Combat The Negative Effects Of Punishment Drift On Children, Madison Alliston
Honors Theses
Approximately 2.7 million children have a parent that is currently incarcerated in the United States. Despite the fact that these children are innocent, they face a myriad of negative consequences due to the separation from their parents. The negative effect of incarceration on children is known as punishment drift. Because the effects of incarceration tend to “drift” onto children, these individuals typically face psychological impacts (e.g., social anxiety and depression), economic impacts (e.g., poverty and food insecurity), and environmental impacts (e.g., foster care) from punishment drift. Despite all of the detrimental effects, there have been very few policy solutions implemented …
Is France Having A Populist Moment?, Emma Gilmore
Is France Having A Populist Moment?, Emma Gilmore
Honors Theses
The word populism is often thrown around in news media and academic scholarship, but there is a lack of understanding of what it actually means as a political theory. In France, the two presidential candidates that made it to the second round in 2017, Emmanuel Macron and Marine le Pen, were both called populist, despite having vastly different campaign strategies and messages. This study used a computer-based method to analyze Campaign books from 24 candidates beginning in 1981 that determined that Populist language is on the rise, but not as aggressively as news media suggests.
The Leveling Spirit: Violence And Inequality In Postwar Iraq, Griffin Perrault
The Leveling Spirit: Violence And Inequality In Postwar Iraq, Griffin Perrault
Honors Theses
The Iraq War (2003–2011) constitutes by some estimates one of the deadliest and most destructive conflicts of the 21st century (Hagopian et al., 2013). In addition to the disputed figures of excess violent civilian casualties––generally ranging from 180,000 to 210,000 deaths––the war has created one of the major refugee crises of modern times, with 1 in 25 Iraqis estimated to have been displaced from their homes by the 2003 invasion (Costs of War, 2021). While much of this violence has been wrought by American and Iraqi coalition troops, violence against civilians has also been perpetuated by insurgent groups and paramilitary …
The Digital Yuan And The Beidou Satellite System: China’S Increasing Structural Power In An Interdependent World, Marina Angelopoulos
The Digital Yuan And The Beidou Satellite System: China’S Increasing Structural Power In An Interdependent World, Marina Angelopoulos
Honors Theses
For decades, concerns over a rise of a powerful China have dominated mainstream media. China's unprecedented economic ascent, growing voice in global decisions, and publicized industrial plans like Made in China 2025, have propelled the nation to the center of the world stage. In my thesis, I break down this subject to examine how China is attempting to increase its structural power and create new interdependencies through the buildup of certain networked technologies. Guided by foundational international political economy literature regarding structural power and interdependence, I explore the implications of two technological advancements: China's digital yuan (DCEP), and the BeiDou …
Rethinking “Representative” Democracy, Tawreak Gamble-Eddington
Rethinking “Representative” Democracy, Tawreak Gamble-Eddington
Honors Theses
The rapidly changing dynamism of the 21st century has left democratic institutions in shambles as populists rise to power and, arguably, threaten to undermine the very fabric of the democratic way of life through increasingly exclusionary politics. The prominence of populist leaders and re-emergence of ethnonationalism demonstrates a shortcoming of many representative democracies, their elites’ ability to adequately represent the masses. In this paper, I will argue that recent trends in the decline of democracy can be partially attributed to a lack of democratic legitimacy that has been caused by a failure to intentionally account for demographic diversity in the …
Partisan Cues, Emotion, And The Efficacy Of Corrections To Misinformation About Democratic Norms, Julia Ruth James
Partisan Cues, Emotion, And The Efficacy Of Corrections To Misinformation About Democratic Norms, Julia Ruth James
Honors Theses
Political misinformation and threats to democratic norms are major problems for American democracy. This thesis examines belief in misinformation about democratic norms and the efficacy of corrective information (fact-checking) in multiple circumstances, specifically analyzing the effects of emotions, partisan cues, and conspiracy thinking on the efficacy of the corrective information. To measure these effects, a survey of 45 questions was fielded through Lucid. Approximately 2000 respondents answered questions about their demographics, political beliefs/participation, and media habits. These respondents were subsequently randomly sorted into 1 of 8 experimental groups and received an emotional priming activity and a simulated news article containing …
A Historical Analysis Of The Causes Of The French And Indian War, Jake Althouse
A Historical Analysis Of The Causes Of The French And Indian War, Jake Althouse
Honors Theses
The current study attempted to answer the following research question: what were the causes of the French and Indian War between Great Britain and France in 1754? To do so, the current study researched secondary sources from a historical perspective, political theories regarding the causes of war, and primary sources from individuals involved in the build-up to conflict. Previous research by historians and political scientists have mainly attributed the causes of the French and Indian War to a security dilemma and the spiral theory of war. The current study does not support this assertion. Instead, the current study asserts that …
Human Rights Activism: The Catalyst Of Transitional Justice?, Kathleen Sinatra
Human Rights Activism: The Catalyst Of Transitional Justice?, Kathleen Sinatra
Honors Theses
This thesis demonstrates the essential role human rights activists play in the process of transitional justice. Through an analysis of the conceptualizations of transitional justice, in which I argue we must understand the process in broader terms that include both judicial and non-judicial practices, I enter into a comparative analysis of the case studies of Argentina and Spain. I explore Argentina’s Dirty War and the wound that was subsequently created. I question how this wound came to be and how the country chose to deal with it. I then turn my attention to the case of Spain, who unlike Argentina, …
No Longer The 'Exception:' An Unraveling Of Global Incarceration Systems, Bridgit Sullivan
No Longer The 'Exception:' An Unraveling Of Global Incarceration Systems, Bridgit Sullivan
Honors Theses
This thesis aims to critique, amend and offer original analysis on the existing theoretical framework that denotes an internment camp. By utilizing Giorgio Agamben’s “What is a Camp?” (2000), and analyzing six case studies of specific camps, this thesis combines political theory and empirical research to offer a more comprehensive explanation of what an internment camp is and how it can be categorized. In “What is a Camp?”, Agamben examines one case study––Nazi concentration and extermination camps––to support his claims. It is very common among political theorists to study just one camp and apply Agamben’s theory to that one example. …
Can Cities Be Feminist? A Cross-National Analysis Of Factors Affecting Local Female Representation In Latin America, Katie Davis
Can Cities Be Feminist? A Cross-National Analysis Of Factors Affecting Local Female Representation In Latin America, Katie Davis
Honors Theses
Women are underrepresented in mayor’s offices and on city councils across Latin America. In this paper, I examine gender-based differences in individual opinions toward running for office in Argentina and Uruguay, as well as conduct a twenty-six country analysis on factors related to female representation in municipal government. Based on these analyses, I make three main conclusions about female local representation in Latin America. The first conclusion is that women in Latin America are significantly less likely to want to run or feel qualified to run for office. The second conclusion is that cross-national variation in the percentage of female …
Mao Zedong And The Cultural Revolution: In Theory And Impact, Marissa Bryan
Mao Zedong And The Cultural Revolution: In Theory And Impact, Marissa Bryan
Honors Theses
Across the globe, the 20th century witnessed several instances of tyrannical regimes and leaders; Chairman Mao Zedong was argued by many to have been one of the most merciless tyrants that this era witnessed. A founder of the Chinese Communist Party, Mao Zedong was one of the most significant and controversial political actors in the last century. Chairman Mao became the leader of the People’s Republic of China after declaring its existence in 1949, marking the beginning of both a communist regime in the East Asian territory and Mao’s tyrannical reign. Zedong can be remembered for several of his …
Tyranny Plagued The French Revolution, Christy Leigh Salinari
Tyranny Plagued The French Revolution, Christy Leigh Salinari
Honors Theses
Liberty, equality, and fraternity were the three original pillars of the French Revolution at the start in 1789. The slogan became the rallying cry for the embittered French people in their initial pursuit for political and social transformation. The French Revolution is perhaps the most prominent contemporary illustration of a violent revolution which ultimately was successful, resulting in a model of democratic government. The French Revolution reached a decade in length wherein there were countless demonstrations, massacres, wars, civil unrest, and political enlightenment. The disorganized nature of the revolution cultivated a vast array of political beliefs, which ranged from radical …