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Challenging The American Empire: A History Of Hypocrisy And Double Standards In Human Rights, Ikran J. Noor

Tapestries: Interwoven voices of local and global identities

Despite having played a significant role in the development and continuation of an international standard of human rights, the United States has a history of hypocrisy and double standards when it comes to protecting human rights both at home and abroad. This essay examines the connection between the United States and human rights in three key parts. Part I examines the concepts of manifest destiny and American exceptionalism that is prevalent in American society and how those concepts influence the United States engagement with foreign countries on human rights. Part II then, through the case studies of Israel and Afghanistan, …

Unique Perspectives On The Spread Of Covid-19, Ekaterina S. Kovatsenko, Grace Mcclurg, Aamira Shah

The Cardinal Edge

News articles and research studies highlighting the changing knowledge about COVID-19 have cast a mundane, yet ever constant glare on our lives. The broad scope of the virus has brought together professionals from diverse research backgrounds, thus providing us unique perspectives into the nature of this pandemic. In this article, we will be highlighting interesting COVID-19 research efforts in three unique fields: geoscience, mechanical engineering, and political science.

Does Poverty Rate Increase Terrorism In A Country?: An Analysis From 1970-2019 ★, Sarah E. Distefano, Matthew Placek

University of South Carolina Upstate Student Research Journal

While terrorism has been a constant product of society, its determinants have been sporadic at best and inconclusive at worst. With the scientific community failing to arrive at a common consensus in reference to poverty as defined by GDP per capita, I hope to find a concrete conclusion by taking a different approach and examining the relationship between poverty rate and terrorism. In order to define the impact of poverty rate on terrorism, I utilized the Quality of Government Index Standard Time Series Dataset and the Global Terrorism Database. Further analysis was conducted by performing an OLS regression on the …

Putting The Pieces Together: Ideology Beyond Policy, Natalia Quevedo De La Espriella

The Review: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Research

Ideological differences exist far beyond policy preferences. Our ideologies are built from much more intrinsic building blocks, and as such the effects of this are seen far outside of what is generally considered the political realm of existence. When explaining these ideologies we must look past the policy preferences and more into the base parts of what makes people who they are. Liberals and conservatives differ on important measures, and these differences between us have a deeper root than most see. Morality, motivations, and personality all combine to form the expression of ideology. This paper explores these three aspects of …

Human Rights? What A Good Idea! From Universal Jurisdiction To Crime Prevention, Daniel Feierstein

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

Over the last decades, Genocide Studies has entered in a “comfort zone.” With fellowships and support from governments or NGOs, we have developed a very comfortable environment in which the knowledge we produce about genocide prevention is neither critical nor useful. We have become trapped by assumptions we have never checked against reality and many of us have chosen to work inside the circle of those assumptions: genocide and mass violence are horrible acts committed by horrible people; we cannot stand by and do nothing; we have the responsibility to protect civilian populations and that responsibility takes the form, as …

Oil Politics And Land Tenure Changes In Uganda: Understanding The Curse Of Dispossession In The Albertine Region, Niringiyimana Julius, Muhumuza William, Murindwa Rutanga

African Social Science Review

Although oil wealth has been applauded for being a sine qua non for development because of its profitability, its lucrativeness to global capitalism has empowered global powers and increased marginalization and poverty in the Oil Village Communities (OVCs) of developing countries. The thrust of this study was to analyze different ways oil politics influences land tenure changes and alienation of local citizens’ land rights through the process of land dispossession in Uganda’s Albertine region. Anchored within accumulation by dispossession discourse, the study used qualitative approach and employed in-depth interviews, focused group discussions, observations and documentary reviews as data collection instruments. …

Understanding The Origins Of Political Duopoly In Ghana’S Fourth Republic Democracy, Kingsley S. Agomor

African Social Science Review

The paper examines political party formation and fragmentation in Ghana. A multi-theory approach was used to explain the political party formation and fragmentations and why Ghana’s party politics in the Fourth Republic is being dominated by the de facto two-party system. The study adopts a content analysis approach and depends mainly on desk reviews of literature. Ghana’s experience shows that the evolution of political parties began with the formation of nationalist movements whose prime objective was to resist specific instances of colonial racism and exploitation. The fragmentation of political parties during the pre-independence era was because the parties held different …

Stimulating A Response: Does Exposure To The Confederate Flag Impact People’S Attitudes Regarding Social Dominance Orientation, Ethnocultural Empathy, And Their Political Beliefs?, Brian M. Goldman, Pearl S. Chang, Joshua R. Meddaugh, Mark F. Daddona

The Journal of Public and Professional Sociology

Minimal psychological research has looked at whether priming participants with the Confederate flag impacts psychological functioning. The current study examined whether Confederate flag priming and people’s political orientation would account for various indicators of how people reconcile in-group/out-group divisions- social dominance orientation (SDO) and ethnocultural empathy (EE). Previous research noted that exposing people to the Confederate flag activates schemas resulting in biased judgments of out-group members (Becker, Enders-Comber, Wagner, Christ, & Butz, 2012; Callahan & Ledgewood, 2016; Kemmelmeier & Winter, 2008). Other studies noted that exposure to the Confederate flag changed voter’s preferences for political candidates, such as Barack Obama …

Supply-Side Fallacy, Sven Eric Brendel

Culture, Society, and Praxis

In this timely article, Brendel explores the economic theory that, according to the author, has generated the staggering budget deficit of the US. The deficit has grown by over 50% in recent years while economic growth has remained below average. With the largest financial meltdown of recent history looming, this article finds the economic ideas of the Bush administration largely at fault. According to Brendel, “the economic upturns believers in supply-side economics promised to the American public never materialized, instead supply-side economics has merely increased income inequality and budget deficits.” The author explains how between 1950 and 1980, the U.S. …

Beyond Sovereignty, G. J. Patton, Max Mark

Naval War College Review

No abstract provided.

Neutralism, F. F. Parry, Peter Lyon

Naval War College Review

No abstract provided.

‘Relational Privacy’ & Tort, Stuart Hargreaves

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

This Article argues that the current interpretation given to the four-part invasion of privacy framework by the courts is inadequate in the face of modern privacy challenges. In particular, it struggles with claims for privacy over public matters or other ‘non-secret’ matters that an individual may nonetheless have some ongoing privacy interest in. This Article suggests that this struggle is the result of the courts adopting a fixed, binary approach to privacy, which is itself grounded in a liberal-individualistic account of autonomy. While this may be a natural response to concerns about limiting the scope of the tort, it is …

Gramsci In Antropologia Politica. Connessioni Sentimentali, Monografie Integrali E Senso Comune Delle Lotte Subalterne, Riccardo Ciavolella

International Gramsci Journal

The current article starts from the hypothesis that, despite their different intentionalities, political anthropology and Gramsci’s thought converge in the attempt to understand the political subjectivity of the subaltern groups and popular masses. The article then goes on to present the way in which Gramsci confronted the question in order to then discuss, in a chronological perspective, from the origin of the discipline to the present day, the contributions of political anthropology – sometimes under the direct influence of Gramsci – in the light of his considerations regarding the political dimension to the cultural expressions of the subaltern classes and …

Egemonia E Gerarchia, Tracce Nei «Quaderni Del Carcere», Piergiorgio Solinas

International Gramsci Journal

We attempt a reading of Gramsci’s Prison Notebooks through the filter of certain specific categories: the “organic”, the “collective will” and “hierarchy”. A number of problematic links are proposed between the social and cultural dimensions of the approaches to the image of the people, classes and power. So far, the anthropological reception of the Notebooks had been confined within the possible codes of translation (culture / Weltanschauung; social morphology / class structure; enculturation / consciousness, and so on). My comments here seek an inner meaning of praxis as a science of power, power physiology and model of its relation with …

Filosofia, Filologia, E Il «Senso Delle Masse», Roberto Dainotto

International Gramsci Journal

Through a close reading of Q1§47, “Hegel and Associationism”, the essay delves into a dominant problematic of the Prison Notebooks: how to organize a revolutionary mass movements when the modern “integral State” establishes its hegemony by organizing public opinion and disorganizing dissent? The question entails, from a Gramscian perspective, the possibility of resolving and organically synthesizing a series of antinomies that State hegemony tends to keep separated, both conceptually and practically: coercion and consent; intellectuals and masses; theory and practice.

Hannah Arendt And Natives As Extras: Towards An Ontology Of Palestinian Presence?, Francesco Melfi

Cultural Encounters, Conflicts, and Resolutions

The essay grew out of Hannah Arendt’s reflection on the roles and uses of the mask, a meditation on the ontology of the transient public figure or persona vs. one that restitutes the person to the unadulterated Selbstdenken dimension of the Epicurean philosopher-in-hiding. The author individuates in the resulting caesura between the donning and the taking off of the mask the primal source of that paradox in Hanna Arendt’s political behavior that alternately compelled her to confront the ontological presence of the Palestinian people, and made her withdraw into philosophical hiding without ever really coming to terms with it. In …

State Funding Of Political Parties In Ghana: Exploring The Views Of Card-Holding And Non-Card Holding Party Members, Emmanuel K. Sakyi, Kinsley S. Agomor

African Social Science Review

Although Ghana has made significant progress in the establishment and consolidation of democratic politics since 1992, the vexatious issue of the use of scarce public resources to support political party activities remained unresolved. Using quantitative data an attempt is made in this study to examine the views of Ghanaians on the arguments for and against state funding of political parties. The data for the study was obtained through survey of 1600 self-declared card-holding and 200 self-declared non-card holding members of the seven political parties that contested the 2012 general elections. Convenience and stratified sampling procedures were deployed for the selection …

It Is Political: Using The Models Of Judicial Decision Making To Explain The Ideological History Of Title Vii, Kate Webber

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

In Part I, this Article details the key features of Title VII’s history, explaining the statute, the significant role the Supreme Court has played in its interpretation, and the history of congressional intervention to override Supreme Court decisions on key issues. Part II reviews the existing evidence for and against an ideological interpretation of Title VII’s case law. Part III introduces the political science models of judicial decision making and applies the models to Title VII. Part III also details the models’ evidence of ideological voting by the Supreme Court and matches this evidence with voting patterns in Title …

Winter 2015

Insights

Notes from the interim dean; Ethnographer uncovers America's hidden history; Beck Research Initiative for Women, Gender and Community empowers through community-based research; Program spotlight: Master of Social Work; Professor offers a glimpse into the World of Wine; North-South Dialogue explores key figures across hemispheres; Political Science, WRD take the lead on reframing traditional liberal arts education; Community engagement is at the core of community service studies; In brief; Faculty publications

Is The Corporate Elite Fractured, Or Is There Continuing Corporate Dominance? Two Contrasting Views, G. William Domhoff

Class, Race and Corporate Power

This article compares two recent analyses of continuity and change in the American power structure since 1900, with a main focus on the years after World War II. The first analysis asserts that the “corporate elite” has fractured and fragmented in recent decades and no longer has the unity to have a collective impact on public policy. The second analysis claims that corporate leaders remain united, albeit with moderate-conservative and ultra-conservative differences on several issues, and continue to have a dominant collective impact on public policies that involve their major goals. After comparing the two perspectives on key issues from …

Liberalism: An Obstacle To Black Unification, Christine E. Ohenewah

Tapestries: Interwoven voices of local and global identities

International discourse has long rendered liberalism as an ideology of optimism, aiming to attain specific objectives: the proliferation of democracy, support for human rights, capitalist expansion, international cooperation, and pacifism. However, in analyzing the mission to spread liberalism to other non-democratic countries, we must interrogate which actors are promoting preferred norms and practices for the international community and at whose expense these norms are being enforced. I thus contend that liberalism augments cultural hegemony and homogenization, assuming the guise of world peace to ensure the global jurisdiction of dominant nation-states. Using Ghana as a case study to delve into Kwame …

The Evolution Of Judicial Power: How The Supreme Court Effectively Legalized Rape On Indian Reservations, Clara Martinez

Quercus: Linfield Journal of Undergraduate Research

According to the 2010 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, nearly one in five women in the United States have experienced sexual violence. While the statistics are staggering, the rate of sexual assault on Indian reservations is more than twice the national average. According to the Department of Justice, one in three American Indian and Alaska Native women have been raped or have experienced an attempted rape during their lifetime. Moreover, the primary assailants are males who are not members of tribal communities. Why has rape, perpetrated by non-Indian males, become effectively legalized on reservations? What explains tribal courts’ …

Interests And Identities In Peace Negotiations: Nigeria, Cameroon, And The Bakassi Peninsula, Rebecca K. Lefebvre

African Social Science Review

For close to fifty years, the territorial dispute between Nigeria and Cameroon continued over the region along their border known as the Bakassi peninsula. The dispute almost led to war in the mid-1990s, was settled by the International Court of Justice in 2002, and resulted in hand-off of the territory by Nigeria to Cameroon in 2008. Content analysis of newspapers from Nigeria and Cameroon for the year 2010 revealed underlying identity-based needs that had been left largely unaddressed. Analysis of Nigerian newspapers showed a prevalent discussion of unfulfilled identity needs and an unresolved identity-conflict potential. Analysis of Cameroonian newspapers revealed …

The Bush Administration, U.S. Democracy Promotion, And Elections In Africa, George K. Kieh Jr.

African Social Science Review

Since the emergence of the United States as a major global power, it has claimed to be the “leader of the free world” and the “champion of democracy.” During the Cold War, the pro-democracy rhetoric was a major staple on the United States‟ foreign policy menu. For example, the U.S. claimed that its support for democracy and the former Soviet Union‟s endorsement of authoritarianism was the main distinguishing feature between the ideological-political systems of the two superpowers. Thereafter, each succeeding American administration recited the pro-democracy rhetoric, which was elevated to new heights during President George W. Bush‟s second term. In …

Invisible Ink: Intersectionality And Political Inquiry, Dara Z. Strolovich

Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality

No abstract provided.

The Bush Administration, Democracy Promotion And Elections In Africa, George K. Kieh Jr.

African Social Science Review

Since the emergence of the United States as a major global power, it has claimed to be the “leader of the free world” and the “champion of democracy.” During the Cold War, the pro-democracy rhetoric was a major staple on the United States‟ foreign policy menu. For example, the U.S. claimed that its support for democracy and the former Soviet Union‟s endorsement of authoritarianism was the main distinguishing feature between the ideological-political systems of the two superpowers. Thereafter, each succeeding American administration recited the pro-democracy rhetoric, which was elevated to new heights during President George W. Bush‟s second term. In …

A Case For Undocumented Students In Higher Education: The Pursuit Of Social Justice In Oregon Senate Bill 742, Clara Martinez

Quercus: Linfield Journal of Undergraduate Research

Should undocumented students be able to pay resident tuition rates at public universities? In the spring of 2011, the Oregon Senate introduced Senate Bill 742. The bill would allow undocumented students to pay resident tuition rates at the state's seven public universities. This article presents philosophical arguments in support of the bill by using the ideologies outlined in egalitarian and communitarian ideas. Moreover, the liberal ideas of political philosophers Robert Nozick and Friedrich Hayek present counterarguments to my thesis. Senate Bill 742 could help to rectify the injustice inherent in the college admissions system.

Do Embryos Have Constitutional Rights: Doe V. Obama, Sara I. Salehi

South Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Living Without The State: A Rear View Mirror Of Nigeria's 50 Years Of Independence, Emmanuel Olugbade Ojo, P. F. Adebayo

African Social Science Review

The purpose of this analysis is twofold. First, it undertakes a critical review of Nigeria’s performance within the five decades of its nationhood. Second, it compares its performance vis-à-vis a number of new states which started almost at the same time in both Africa and Asia using basic economic and political indicators. The article, however, infers that Nigerian political-economic performance is appalling, which has subjected citizens to living almost without the state in all ramifications. For a balanced view, the analysis argues that although there are few giant strides in terms of educational development and reduction in infant mortality as …

The New Diplomacy: Devising A Relational Model Of Public Diplomacy, Anne E. Buckle

Pursuit - The Journal of Undergraduate Research at The University of Tennessee

Public diplomacy, an open form of international politics, is essential for building state relations and improving the American image in current times, particularly in light of the recent leakage of some 250,000 classified State Department cables. The ways embassy officials conduct diplomacy must be more candid if they are to gain trust from local populations. Contemporary technology and new media have drastically modified the ways states conduct foreign policy, and embassies must cater to this environment by reaching out to mass publics using novel approaches. Additionally, a new kind of public diplomacy is emerging, one involving private sector networks. In …