Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Polarization In Congressional Committees, Andrew Age

Masters Theses

This thesis analyzes whether polarization is occurring in congressional committees, both the House of Representatives and the Senate standing committees, from 1970-2010. Sean Theirault's (2006) research of polarization on the floor of Congress is the foundation for identifying similar results in the standing committees. In addition, committees will be separated into three different types: regional, national, and power. These types are based on previous categorizing strategies by Glenn Parker and Suzanne Parker (1979), Keith Krebhiel (1990), Garry Young and Valerie Heitshusen (2003), and Gary Cox and Matthew McCubbins (2007). The separation of committees is to find if some committees polarize …

Barack Obama: The Inevitable Nominee, Bradley M. Forsythe

Masters Theses

The 2008 Democratic primary is often regarded as a once-in-a-lifetime political event. Democratic frontrunner and former first lady Hillary Clinton faced off against Illinois junior Senator Barack Obama. Despite a commanding position in national polling that led many pundits to declare the race Clinton's to lose, her campaign faltered during the primary, allowing Obama to find himself in a commanding position to be the Democratic Party's nominee for president. An exploration of the two campaigns, however, reveals stark differences in strategy, messaging, fundraising, and the use of technology.

In terms of strategy, Hillary Clinton's campaign was unprepared to contest the …

Advocacy Coalitions In Iowa And Illinois: Examining Same-Sex Policy Subsystems, Heather (Aiden) Ethington

Masters Theses

Literature on LGBT politics and rights has been limited. at best. Little information exists as to how coalitions form and build on successes and failures. Seeking to expand the body of research. this study examined the interest group coalitions active on either side of the highly divisive issue of same-sex marriage. Through a comparative case study, the research showed that at the subnational level many issues affect coalition success, including political culture, divisiveness, and in what arena policy change is occurring. Unsurprisingly, the study shows that perturbations in the subsystem led to the greatest response from coalitions, which led to …