Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Restricted At Home, Impeded Abroad: A Study Of Domestic Human Rights Practices And Women’S Global Economic Power, Cameron Elizabeth Cheatham

Honors College Theses

To what extent does the practice of human rights as universal or culturally relative impact women’s status in the global economy? While there is already evidence to show how women have less power in countries that practice culturally relative human rights, this study aims to explore how the domestic practice of human rights influences women’s global power through an analysis of women’s financial inclusion. Using a cross-national, quantitative analysis, I show that human rights practices in the domestic arena directly impact the economic power of women in the global economy. When human rights practices at home are more universal in …

What Doesn’T Kill You Makes You Stronger: The Shifting Strategies Of Japan’S Yakuza In Response To Economic Globalization And Securitization, Benjamin P. Murkison

Honors College Theses

The Yakuza in Japan is a deeply traditional and infamous ethnic mafia, which has historically based their profits off of the protection of gambling rings and street vendors, but have developed into one of the most sophisticated and wealthy criminal institutions in the world. Reaching their peak in the 1960’s with around 200,000 members, the Yakuza has been in a slow decline ever since. However, the past decade has seen the most dramatic drop in Yakuza numbers in recorded history, as a result of increasing securitization by the Japanese state. As their power has declined within Japan, they have only …

Middle Savannah River: An A/R/Tographic Ecopedagogical Ethnography Experimenting With Rhizomatic Perspectives, Lisa Augustine-Chizmar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research is an experiment in perspective. Using the four commonplaces (Schwab, 1978), I practiced letting the Savannah River teach me what there is to know about the water, the land, the people, and the other entities that depend on ki through artistic, ethnographic, and ecopedagogical lenses. The ethnographic findings describe the social actors that depend on ki and give a voice to the River. The a/r/tographic findings display the River on a canvas map through two hundred years using paint, clay, photography, video, abstract acrylics, and fabric. Together, these methods contribute to a unique ecopedagogical journey. This word cloud …

Presidents And Media During Initial Federal-Level Hurricane Relief: A Study Of Presidential Crisis Communication Efforts, Emily A. Ball

Honors College Theses

Public relations serves a huge role in almost every sector, including politics. Crisis communication, a subset of public relations, is very important in a setting that constantly undergoes crises. The response to these crises matters a great deal on the federal level because the outcomes can affect such a wide variety of policies and even elections. Because of this, I wanted to focus on one type of crisis that every president is almost guaranteed to face: hurricanes. To examine the effectiveness of federal-level crisis communication, I look at Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden’s responses to the worst hurricane during their …

Juries And The Effects Of Priming, Keondra Williams

Honors College Theses

How do jurors' responses to Non-White defendants in the Criminal Courts change when they are primed to think about police discrimination? There are general disparities within the Criminal Justice System of the United States that negatively impact racial minorities. This paper discusses these general disparities within the Criminal Justice System of the United States. Black and Latinx individuals are charged and sentenced for crimes involving drugs at higher rates than Whites. They are also more likely to face the death penalty or longer sentences. I look at whether or not priming jury members to think about police discrimination will decrease …

Targeted Sanctions Against Human Rights Violators: A Question Of Efficacy, Jennifer F. Dillard

Honors College Theses

Human rights violations occur all too frequently, with authoritarian regimes at the forefront of abuses. Countries that respect human rights engage in various initiatives, one such example being targeted sanctions to try and stem the tide of human suffering at the hands of unscrupulous dictators. Currently, Uyghurs are victims of genocide in China, dissidents in countries such as Russia and Belarus are falsely imprisoned, and individuals in Saudi Arabia are persecuted and imprisoned solely for advocating for freedom of speech and equality for women. Each of these countries have been the subject of sanctions. This paper seeks to answer the …

Defund The Police: Snappy Slogan Or A Viable Solution? A Case Study Of Savannah, Georgia, Michayla F. Knox

Honors College Theses

The notion of defunding the police remains a hot-button political topic since the protests of Summer 2020. The forefront of the debate concerns how defunding the police will impact crime rates. Still, the topic has scarcely been investigated empirically. This thesis provides an early examination into the relationship between "defunding the police", reallocating funding, and crime rates in Savannah, Ga. Several experiments are performed to answer three research questions that involve comparing and manipulating the budget provided for policing and the budgets for neighborhood vitality and poverty reduction. The findings show that Savannah allocates significantly more money to the policing …

The Universal Periodic Review: Determining An International Organization’S Impact On Women’S Rights In A State, Miranda R. Peterson Ms.

Honors College Theses

How does official criticism from the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) affect the level of government respect for women’s rights in a state? International governmental organizations (IGOs), such as the Universal Periodic Review, play an important role in the overall global community. Although there is some evidence that IGOs can improve respect for human rights in a state, scholars do not yet know the impact on women’s rights specifically, especially when it comes to naming and shaming. I investigate this relationship, theorizing that the UPR will positively impact women’s rights, but this effect will be contingent on the level of terrorist …

Assessing Thematic Correlations Between Extremist Political Organizations Of The Past And Present, Andrew C. Eunice

Honors College Theses

The Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, saw more than five hundred protestors teamed with dozens of militia groups, all representing anti-government and white nationalist groups. Also present were over one thousand counter protestors, many representing far-left and antifascist groups, leading to a violent confrontation between the two sides. As we have developed our core themes of what defines the United States of America, we have also fostered a strong division along the way, enough to the point where some individuals feel the necessity to act with violence to “save our nation” so to speak. This conviction exists within …

The Influence Of Misinformation From The American Perspective, Tyler W. Nelson

Honors College Theses

Over the last decade, conspiracy theorists and larger groups have become much more prominent across the United States, despite conspiracies being present for decades. Previously, they have been dismissed by most, however over the last decade due to an explosive political climate and growing numbers, these groups have begun to act on their beliefs. Events such as the January 6th Insurrection on the United States Capitol building is an unfortunate example as to how far these groups are willing to go. This study’s purpose is to use a nationwide survey to help determine who exactly are these types of individuals …

Breaking The 'Cis' Binary: Examining The Role Model Effect Among Cisgender Women And Transgender And Gender Non-Conforming Individuals, Elizabeth A. Diamanduros

Honors College Theses

While recent strides have been made regarding more transgender and gender non-conforming individuals (TGNC) running for and being elected to political office in the United States, only 64 individuals who identify as part of the community are currently serving elected office (LGBTQ Victory Institute 2021). Though cisgender women have also faced political underrepresentation, higher rates of cisgender women have campaigned for and won elected office at all levels of government in recent years. Previous research illustrates the differences between the political and societal situations of these groups, including drawing attention to the elements of visibility and viability the Role Model …

Nurturing Democracy? Mediating Between Women Chief Executives And Voter Turnout, Gabrielle A. Peterson

Honors College Theses

Does the presence of female candidates in executive elections increase voter turnout for that election? Does the presence of female chief executives in states increase voter turnout following their tenure? While there is little research surrounding female chief executives and candidates, past research on women in parliament has shown that the increased prevalence of female legislators increases voter turnout rates due to role modeling and socialization. Overall, a more diverse government will feel more democratic and thus more welcoming of participation by both men and women. I theorize that this phenomenon remains true with both female candidates in executive elections …

A Sign Of The Times- How Ethnonationalist Executives Affect Democracy, Adam M. Sikes

Honors College Theses

In the immediate post-Cold War era, proponents of democracy envisioned a world with few barriers to the spread of democracy and its institutions globally. However, a clear trend has been definitively established in the recent academic discourse pointing to a marked decline in the quality of democracies in several democratizing states. While the root causes for this decline continue to be a contentious subject, much of the existing literature depends on institutional theory to explain the cause of democratic backsliding. Concurrently, we have seen a dramatic stream of news about the state of democracy in two of the world’s most …

The New Open Forum: Social Media Use In Georgia Gubernatorial Elections, John Mack

Honors College Theses

In 2018, Georgia saw one of the most contested elections in recent memory with Brian Kemp narrowly defeating Stacey Abrams. As a part of that election, social media would play a critical role in how campaigns are run. This thesis takes a look at previous literature on voter turnout and social media. This thesis asks: How did the campaigns use social media to spread their message, and in what stage of the election was social media most effective? To answer that question this thesis features a content analysis of Facebook posts and Tweets from the 2018 elections compared to posts …

Transnational Perspectives And Euroscepticism: A Strategical Rhetoric Of Blame, Madeline F. Bercher

Honors College Theses

The increasing success of Eurosceptic parties in national and European elections is undeniable. In the last twenty years, the European Union (EU) has faced economic, social, and political crises without much time in between. As a result, we are now the witnesses to an institutional crisis rendered even more real by the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU in January 2020. In this paper, I analyze the changes in rhetorical strategies employed by Eurosceptic parties to gather stronger electoral support.

Many scholars have now agreed that Euroscepticism and the parties representing it have become mainstream and accepted by …

Cannot Afford To Publicly Surrender: The Public's Influence On Ronald Reagan's Strategic Relationship With South Africa, Jessica P. Forsee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Reagan’s administration used the policy of constructive engagement to bring gradual reform to the apartheid system and build peace in the southern African region. The coordination of anti-apartheid activist organizations and members advocating for harsher economic pressure on South Africa successfully raised US public awareness and shifted public opinion against constructive engagement’s gradualist policies. As a result, leading Reagan staffers like Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Chester Crocker recalibrated constructive engagement’s focus to quicken regional peacebuilding maintain stability and control of US foreign policy in the public eye. This thesis analyzes the early influences on constructive engagement and …

Influence Of Political Affiliation On Perceived Media Bias And Trustworthiness In The Covid-19 Pandemic, Tabitha Lamberth

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Partisanship and news source attribution may influence perceived media bias and trust in COVID-19 information. This study aimed to explore how the similarity liking effect relates to political identity and perceived credibility. Our main hypothesis was that individuals would find news sources that shared their political affiliation as more trustworthy than other news sources. To test our hypothesis, 216 undergraduate students participated in a study that measured participants’ trustworthiness of a news article with randomized source attribution from a liberal, conservative, and neutral source. A 2X3 ANOVA tested the relationship between our participants’ political affiliation, measured by the 12-item Social …

The Culture Gap: The Role Of Culture In Successful Refugee Settlement, Chelsea Lorraine Riley

Honors College Theses

Globally, the displacement of persons is reaching record numbers, including millions of refugees seeking safety outside of their native countries. The existing literature on factors of successful refugee settlement lacks specific quantitative analysis, and most of the available information on the role of culture is limited to psychological and social research. I expect that large perceived differences in the culture of the refugee and the culture of the country in which they settle will cause a combination of xenophobic public responses and restrictive government policies, and therefore will be negatively related to successful social integration of those refugees. I assess …

The Ubiquity Of Patronage, Mykaela Brown

Honors College Theses

Patron-client relations affect politics in various ways, especially the efficacy and implementation of policies. My research question is how does patronage politics affect policy change in democracies. I examine four democracies, two from the Global North (Canada and the United States) and two from the Global South (Botswana and South Africa). Using news articles and government websites surrounding a major issue in each of my four cases, I use qualitative methods (document analysis) to analyze patron-client relations in order to determine key actors in patron-client relations.

Silence As A Strategy, Jarvis L. Steele

Honors College Theses

Understanding the struggle that is peaceful protest is a task that has two unexplored components. The first is how leaders of political movements and protest groups are able to influence the masses to not waiver in their non-violent, peaceful approach. The second is how political groups learn from the failures and successes of the previous campaigns. We are given these circumstances where governmental violence and abuse would normally lead to a retaliatory response from groups, but in order to maintain the fidelity of the movement leaders of these political protests have to protect the nonviolent approach. These are instances where …

Genocide Masquerading: The Politics Of The Sharpeville Massacre And Soweto Uprising, Jessica P. Forsee

Honors College Theses

Apartheid South Africa represented a paradox as a US ally and human rights pariah. “Genocide Masquerading” uncovers the implications of US foreign policy on the rise and decline of apartheid, looking specifically at the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre and the 1976 Soweto Uprising. By comparing Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Ford, and Carter foreign policy responses, this thesis creates a comparative analysis of how effective, or ineffective, the United States was during pivotal moments in apartheid history. This thesis will not only expand on the developing South African literature but add to the conversation of international aid, diplomacy practices, and North-South relationships.

Immigration Policy Reform: International Students And Higher Education, Anna M. Kwiatkowski

Honors College Theses

How has the rise in immigration around the world affected international students in obtaining student visas? Many states in the Global North are implementing restrictive immigration policies to combat the high influx of immigrants. Using the United Kingdom (UK) as a case study, I investigate how these policies have led to a decrease in the number of international students enrolled in higher education institutions (HEIs) throughout the UK. This has led to negative impacts on the higher education sector and economy, forcing politicians to reconsider and backtrack on immigration policies regarding international students in late 2017. Through the lens of …

Better Left Unsaid: The Connection Between Members Of Congress, Presidents, And Political Ambiguity, Grace Alexa Pittman

Honors College Theses

During the course of an election cycle, candidates often deliver vague statements regarding their positions on policies. Furthermore, incumbent candidates typically have a record of obscure actions unknown to the voter. Presently, existing literature maintains ambiguity in terms of an interaction between the candidate and the constituent. According to this literature, candidates use ambiguity to exploit voter uncertainty on policy issues. However, I argue that congressional members, motivated by re-election, will act similarly to candidates by utilizing ambiguity. In this research, I propose that it is the president’s popularity that triggers a congressional member’s ambiguity. Using a method of linear …

Millennial Voting Patterns In A Politically Polarized America, Nic Matthews

Honors College Theses

As the millennial population has grown into adulthood, this generation has been labeled as an entitled group which is politically inactive, with lower voter turnout than older generations. At the same time, existing literature shows that the federal government in America has become increasingly polarized over the past decades and less representative of the general population which still generally moderate. I argue that low voter turnouts for millennials are a direct result of this increased polarization as a more moderate young people feel like they are not represented by elite politicians, who generally fall into older generations and the highest …

Reverting To The Right: Analyzing The Recent Reversion Of Western Liberal Democracies, Kevin Crosby

Honors College Theses

This paper will investigate and analyze the rise of the far right movement’s influence and legitimacy in European Union (EU) states. The far right movement has been characterized by its nationalism, nativism, and skepticism of global and regional integration. In Europe the global financial crisis of 2008 and the current European immigration crisis have shaken public faith in EU integration efforts and led to the legitimization of far right political movements that previously represented a bare minority in political discourse. The expansion of such movements has led to massive policy shifts throughout Europe, such as the United Kingdom’s decision to …

Navigating The Double Bind: Exploring The Relationship Between Gender, Political Ideology, And Human Rights, Ashley Archer

Honors College Theses

Do female chief executives on the political left exhibit better respect towards human rights than their counterparts on the political right? This paper explores the relationship between a female political leader and her ideology and how this relationship may influence policy attitudes, specifically, human rights practices within a country. I argue that women leaders face a political double bind in their actions and that their ideologies affect how they navigate this bind. Past research has found that women leaders must fulfill two roles: their role as leader and their role as woman (Paxton and Hughes 2014). Women leaders must work …

The Music And Politics Of Willy Chirino, Nancy N. Balcziunas

Honors College Theses

Cuban musician and singer Willy Chirino, the self-proclaimed inventor of the “Miami Sound,” was sent to the United States as a teenager in the 1960s under Operation Pedro Pan to escape the influence of Fidel Castro's communist regime. Throughout his career, he has used his music to spread a personal and political agenda; his rejection of communism and the Castro regime can be seen through his song lyrics, humanitarian efforts, and direct engagement in the world of politics.

Policing The Traffic: The Capacity Of Legal Change To Arrest Human Trafficking In The European Union, Charlotte Mcdonald

Honors College Theses

Intense violence in the Middle East continues to force millions of displaced people to immigrate to Europe. Governments tighten border controls to stem the influx, and desperate individuals fall victim to human traffickers. Though European Union members have made progress in developing a legal framework for combatting this evil, past attempts to coordinate national laws failed to address the growing need. Research is needed to understand the causes of success and failure in this endeavor. Through a comparative case study of three states from different parts of Europe- Germany, Hungary and Turkey- I examine the extent to which to adoption …

Savannah's Ethnic Irish Neighborhoods In The Nineteenth Century: A Historical Multimethod Examination, Sarah A. Ryniker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to identify residency patterns and neighborhoods for Savannah-Irish immigrants in the mid-nineteenth century. Using a multimethod approach, this thesis explores historical, social, and economic factors that influenced settlement patterns and cultivated the conditions for an Irish-American identity, particularly in two neighborhoods, Old Fort and Yamacraw. Guided by Yancey et al.’s (1976) emergent ethnicity theory, this study uses archival materials, as well as chi-square tests for association, and the 1860 Federal Census of Chatham County, Georgia, to geolocate Irish immigrants. With an emphasis on County Wexford, Ireland, the results suggest residency was associated with Irish …

Impacts Of Prisons In Rural Communities: Economic And Social Factors, Ashleigh T. Rasheed

Honors College Theses

Rural communities in the United States have been declining economically for the past four decades. Some local government officials have seen prisons as a golden opportunity to revitalize their economies. Why and how do local officials decide to invest in prisons? What process do local officials go through to decide to invest in prisons? What are the economic impacts associated with a prison siting? What effects do stigmas associated with prisons have on the residents living in the community? I argue that prisons provide a short term economic gain for rural communities by providing jobs for the residents, thus boosting …