Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Federal Roadblocks: The Constitution And The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, Ian Drake

Department of Political Science and Law Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The National Popular Vote (NPV) interstate compact proposes to change the presidential election system from a state-based federal system to a national popular vote system. NPV proponents contend states can implement the compact without federal governmental authorization. This article addresses the constitutional questions of whether the NPV must obtain Congress's approval and whether Congress has the constitutional authority to grant such approval. In addressing these questions, I review U.S. Supreme Court precedents and constitutional history and find the NPV is the type of compact the Supreme Court would conclude requires congressional approval. Most importantly, I contend Congress is constitutionally unable …

Federal Roadblocks: The Constitution And The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, Ian Drake

Department of Political Science and Law Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The National Popular Vote (NPV) interstate compact proposes to change the presidential election system from a state-based federal system to a national popular vote system. NPV proponents contend states can implement the compact without federal governmental authorization. This article addresses the constitutional questions of whether the NPV must obtain Congress’s approval and whether Congress has the constitutional authority to grant such approval. In addressing these questions, I review U.S. Supreme Court precedents and constitutional history and find the NPV is the type of compact the Supreme Court would conclude requires congressional approval. Most importantly, I contend Congress is constitutionally unable …

South-South Relations And The English School Of International Relations: Chinese And Brazilian Ideas And Involvement In Sub-Saharan Africa, Joseph Marques, Tony Spanakos

Department of Political Science and Law Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The rise of large developing countries has led to considerable discussions of re-balancing global relations and giving greater priority to understanding South-South relations. This paper, in exploring the central ideas of Chinese and Brazilian foreign policy and the behavior of these two rising Southern countries toward Sub-Saharan Africa, argues that the English School of International Relations is well suited to understanding the intentions and actions that characterize South-South relations.

O grande aumento de países em desenvolvimento tem levado à ocorrência de discussões consideráveis acerca de um reequilíbrio nas relações globais e dado maior importância à compreensão das relações Sul-Sul. Este …

The First Attempt At Federalizing Tort Law And Why It Failed.", Ian Drake

Department of Political Science and Law Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

In the 1970s, the US Congress meticulously considered the possibility of creating a federal law of torts. The federal effort began almost a decade after many state supreme courts had expanded manufacturer liability for defective products. The state-level expansion caused a reaction among state and federal legislatures. The initial federal presence took the form of investigatory efforts, but those were soon followed by legislative proposals. The federal legislative proposals occurred simultaneously with some states' efforts to enact their own products liability laws. Although the states' tort laws might present variations on a theme, the possibilities for federal intervention in the …

Hell's Kitchen's Prolonged Crisis And Would-Be Sovereigns: Daredevil, Hobbes, And Schmitt, Tony Spanakos

Department of Political Science and Law Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Comic book heroes often have their origins in noir depictions of failed or failing states. The danger involved and the seeming anarchy that necessitates superheroes recall Hobbes's description of a state of nature and Leviathan as resolution. But comic book heroes generally inhabit states that are better identified by the Hobbes-inspired Carl Schmitt. Indeed, this articles argues that while the Hell's Kitchen of Daredevil comics has some characteristics of a state of nature, it is better characterized by the protracted crisis of state that Schmitt sees in liberal democracies. Hobbes and Schmitt elucidate the crisis that generates the need for …