Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Rethinking The Refugee Regime: Would A Human Rights-Based Approach To The Issue Of Climate Refugees Produce Just Outcomes?, Gordon Robinson

Theses and Dissertations

Human rights-based approaches are highly useful for a myriad of issues facing the international community. However, they have yet to be utilized in practice due to norms in the international community that favor sovereignty over human rights and international cooperation. This thesis will demonstrate the utility of such approaches by applying one to the issue of climate refugees. It is estimated that by the year 2050, hundreds of millions of people around the globe will become displaced due to climate change. Because climate-related reasons are not included in the criteria for what makes one a refugee, these people will not …

The Crisis Of Democracy: The Case Study Of Democratic Backsliding And The Rise Of Populism In Poland, Nargiza Yusupova

Theses and Dissertations

Poland made impressive gains during its democratization phrase between 1989 and 2015. Its economy became significantly more open; formal institutions underwent dramatic changes in checks and balances. Yet the task of sustaining the impressive performance of democratic institutions has become increasingly difficult after the victory of the Law and Justice Party (PiS) party during the 2015 elections. A right-wing populist PiS party’s rise to power had clear political mainsprings. A number of changes and amendments to the Constitutional Tribunal Act have been introduced that threaten the Tribunal independence and put constraints on the independence of the media, civil service, police, …

Political Violence In Bangladesh: Explaining The Role Of State, Zunaid Almamun

Theses and Dissertations

Violence has been an integral part of the politics of Bangladesh since after its independence. The government has used the coercive apparatus of the state in order to confront the political opponents and the dissenters. Irrespective of the type of regime and political parties in power, the state always perpetrated violence against its citizens. On the one hand, the government used the law enforcement agencies, and the specialists of violence relied on coercion against the citizens, on the other hand, various groups appeared as the affiliates of the government in perpetrating violence. However, the nature of violence changed over time, …

Increasing Engagement With Student Government Associations: An Examination Of Student Publics, Viraj Patel

Theses and Dissertations

Student Government Associations (SGAs) are campus organizations comprised of student leaders which advocate on behalf of the student population. Participation in SGAs have proven academic, professional, and social benefits, yet the engagement in the organization has declined. This study employs Daft and Lengel’s (1986) Media Richness Theory to examine if different media affect the composition of student publics. These publics are defined using Grunig’s (1979) Situational Theory of Publics (STP). Additionally, the impact of self-efficacy, response efficacy, and perceptions of social norms on the variables in STP is also examined.

How Negative Information And Trust In Government Shape Protest Voting, Rhiannon Lu Stringer

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the issue of protest voting in American elections. Negative information environments have been shown to significantly shape an individual’s propensity to cast a protest vote (i.e. vote for a minor party, write-in candidate, or abstain from voting on a particular race). However, I argue that an individual's trust in government will condition the effect of a negative information environment on the likelihood that he or she will cast a protest vote. Using an online survey experiment conducted in October 2019, I test the hypothesis that individuals with low trust in government will be highly susceptible to negative …

Should States Adopt Overdose Immunity Laws?, Jordan Norton

Theses and Dissertations

From 2014-2015, the CDC saw a 72.2% increase in death rates related to synthetic opioids other than methadone, and a 20.6% increase in heroin related death rates. States have looked to one another for policy examples that would bring these numbers down. One of the earliest of these policies came out of 2001 in New Mexico with the first Naloxone Access Laws (NALs) followed by Drug Overdose Immunity Laws (DOILs) in 2007. These laws sought to remove barriers to people administering Naloxone and calling emergency responders due to overdoses, granting immunity to callers and overdose sufferers. This study looked at …

The Role Of Religious Reformist Discourse In Regime Resilience In Iran, Fatemeh Jamali

Theses and Dissertations

Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Iran has been seen as the primary bastion of radical Shi‘a Islam and a force which fosters the Middle East instability. The Iranian regime has often been labeled as a theocracy, which often overshadowed the attention to nuances about its polity and its mechanisms of survival. The main purpose of this thesis is to shed light on the political system of Iran and its survival mechanism while situating it in the hybrid regime category. Hybrid regime framework is especially useful since it allows us to better understand the resilience of the hybrid political structure …

Beyond The Sentimental Cliche: How Local Communities Impact Residents And Shape Public Opinion, Kate Brunk

Theses and Dissertations

The Trump administration has recently established a rule that will prohibit abortion services providers from receiving Title X funds for the non-abortion family planning services they provide. Little public opinion research has focused on family planning and reproductive health topics outside of abortion. I find statistically significant experimental evidence that increasing perceptions of local need for a local reproductive health clinic caused subjects to be more supportive of federal reproductive health funding for local clinics. I did not find statistically significant correlational evidence that objective measures of poor reproductive health at the county level influence public opinion on federal reproductive …

Sovereignty In Islamist Political Thought: Continuity And Change, Md Mizanur Rahman

Theses and Dissertations

Sovereignty is a contested issue in Islamist political thought. Although Islamists practically accepted liberal democracy in various forms across the world, they are yet to solve the normative paradox: how to reconcile Islam’s divine sovereignty to nation-state’s popular sovereignty. Normatively, Islamists advocating the divine sovereignty reject any human-constructed system that intervenes in the divine order and distorts God’s divine design. Some Islamists, however, attempt to move away from this interpretation of absolute sovereignty of God and consequently reinterpret Islamic thoughts and practices in a manner that is compatible with the ethos of liberal democracy. This study examines this shifting concept …

Redline Erased: U.S. Foreign Policy In Syria And The Criteria For Humanitarian Intervention, Caroline A. Kernan

Theses and Dissertations

The United States’ involvement in the Syrian conflict remains rather contentious and unclear. The world is currently experiencing the worst refugee crisis since World War II due to the ongoing Syrian conflict which has produced approximately 6 million refugees. The United States’ actions in the Syrian conflict may have prolonged this refugee crisis by refusing to take a more hardline stance in the conflict against Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s regime. While the United States has acted in Syria, it is much more limited in comparison to that of the recent Libyan intervention. The Libyan intervention serves as a basis for …

Achieving Development In Destinations: Effects Of Tourism On Poverty, Inequality, And Quality Of Life, Jessica R. Linder

Theses and Dissertations

For decades, political scientists and development practitioners have focused on poverty and inequality alleviation, as well as increased quality of life as key goals for the field of development. Research focused on key concepts such as social capital and tools like microfinance and trickle-down tax structures for achieving these goals. Tourism, however, remained largely unstudied as a development tool, with most prior research focusing on sustainability and the economics of the industry. This study seeks to determine the effectiveness of tourism as a tool for development by examining its effects on poverty, inequality, and quality of life, as it becomes …

Gender-Exclusive Language: Women’S Perception Of Linguistic Ostracism, Voice, And Power In Politics, Michelle Roxanne Grzybowski

Theses and Dissertations

Gender-exclusive language is a type of subtly sexist language that makes reference to a single gender group thereby excluding other gender groups (Stout & Dasgupta, 2011). Two studies examined how the use of gender-exclusive language impacts the experiences of women who were elected members of county boards. Specifically, the studies surveyed county board members in the states of Illinois and Wisconsin to determine whether the naturally occurring variation between the use of gender-exclusive language (e.g., using chairman to indicate both men and women) or gender-neutral language (e.g., chair or chairperson) was related to perceptions of ostracism and a sense of …

Future Melting Away: Water Stress As A Threat To Human Security In Bangladesh And The Role Of International Community, Farzana Afroz Chowdhury

Theses and Dissertations

Bangladesh is considered as one of the frontline states in the global climate change; its policy agendas attempt to respond to the perceived security threats emanating from such changes. Water stress is one of the key problems the country is facing. Yet, links between glaciers in the Hindu Kush Himalaya, Bangladesh’s climate, growing water stress, and its implications for human security have seldom been studied. Drawing on the concepts of climate change, human security and water stress, the thesis examines the causes of Bangladesh’s freshwater crisis and its contribution to the human insecurity. Here in this study, the influence of …

The Relationship Between State Effectiveness And State Legitimacy: A Quantitative Test, Bich Thi Ngoc Tran

Theses and Dissertations

Legitimacy is a contested concept in political science. The question of legitimacy has been addressed in various topics, including state formation, state building, and state failure. This research is an attempt to quantitatively test the relationship between state legitimacy and state effectiveness and development in the economy, politics, and society. By examining the literature on legitimacy and its sources, the research tests the following hypothesis: a state with better performance in macro issues, including economic performance, social welfare, and political participation, is more likely to enjoy a higher level of legitimacy. In other words, this study attempts to establish a …

A Generational Study Of Collectivism In The United States, Tyler Carter

Theses and Dissertations

A number of past sociopolitical studies have attempted to highlight the ways in which generational identity, which develops when people come of age in different times, affects political attitudes. In this study, I investigate generational influence on the degree to which individuals embrace collectivist values, as considered by examinations of social policy attitudes and trust in government. A measure of attitudes towards social policies arguably represent collectivist values because social policy is designed to prioritize the group over the individual. A subsequent measure of trust in government augments the discussion of collectivist values because the formation of democratic political institutions …

Learning A Language: The Gateway To Cosmopolitanism, Caleb Griffin

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the relationship between language acquisition and ethnocentrism. Specifically, does learning additional languages reduce ethnocentrism in an individual? After reviewing the literature on social groups, ethnocentrism, and language acquisition, a quantitative test was carried out. This consisted of a survey design implemented in Morocco using Moroccan subjects. Although learning additional languages was correlated with less ethnocentrism, the results did not meet the threshold for statistical significance. The variables that did have a statistically significant impact on ethnocentrism and prejudice were contact and age.

How Low Can Transparency Go? Secrecy In The Iran-Contra Affair As An Effect Of Power, Taryn Butler

Theses and Dissertations

The Iran-Contra Affair is subjected to hermeneutical discourse analysis to uncover, examine, and question the formation of secrecy as an effect of power in democratic society.

Children In Trouble With The Law And The United Nations Convention On The Rights Of The Child, Jennifer L. Swick

Theses and Dissertations

Children in trouble with the law are the focus of much research in the US, but when the scope broadens to include these children across the world, few studies can be found. The United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) articulates a set of universal rights for children. For children in trouble with the law, there are seven articulated rights across Articles 37 and 40; these are: protection against cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment; the right not to be detained in jails or prisons with adult convicts; the right to maintain contact with family …

And That’S The Word: Effects Of The Colbert Report On Political Knowledge And Participation, Nicholas Anthony Canfield

Theses and Dissertations

The Colbert Report was a satirical, political, and “fake” news show that lasted for almost a decade on the Comedy Central Network. Although many scholars have argued the program was less impactful and influential than Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show, phenomena such as the “Colbert Bump” show a definite impact on the political lives of many Americans. Using four quantitative surveys from 2008 to 2012, this thesis investigates the effects of watching The Colbert Report on individuals’ political knowledge and political participation. Results indicate non-Republican viewers increased their political knowledge, but not participation, from watching the show. The educational effect …

Does All The Excitement Really End At Marriage? An Assessment Of Same-Sex Marriage Legislation And Lgbt Activism, Kelsie Diaz

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between the legalization of same-sex marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships with LGBT political participation and activism. There has long been a debate between several groups of LGBT activists on what the legalization of same-sex marriage will do to LGBT activism. Will achieving same-sex marriage ultimately hinder the movement or will it open new realms of possibility for change? This study aims to survey the arguments offered by a few prevalent sides of the same-sex marriage debate, then provide empirical information as support for one of those claims. This study …

Rights Of Nature And The Political Implications Of Post-Humanist Ecologies, Jaimie Kent

Theses and Dissertations

Several countries have adopted legal frameworks that recognize ‘nature,’ or nonhuman things in ‘nature,’ as rights-bearing entities in their own right. In this thesis, I ask what these laws can tell us about the possible political implications of post-humanist perspectives regarding nonhuman entities and ‘nature.’ To answer this question, I analyze the similarities and differences between recent post-humanist ecological perspectives (Bennett 2010; Latour 2014, 2004) and indigenous imaginaries that informed rights of nature laws in Ecuador, Bolivia, and New Zealand. This comparative analysis reveals a promising path for achieving sustainable relationships with nonhuman entities that promote environmental protection. Finally, I …

Asian Anxieties And Alliances: Balancing The Rise Of China, Adam David Crank

Theses and Dissertations

China’s rise has been met with both hope and apprehension. However, with its recent actions in the South and East China Seas, surrounding nations are becoming increasingly concerned that China may have expansionist or even hegemonic ambitions. China has taken what many of these countries consider to be aggressive actions in the past several years and months. One of the main questions now is how the surrounding nations, as well as the United States, will react to China’s actions. As of now diplomatic means of failed to resolve the crisis in the South and East China Seas.

This thesis will …

A Vision Of Peace Through U.S. Leadership: President Jimmy Carter's Moral Foreign Policy Vision And The Panama Canal Treaties, Holly L. Welsh De Paula

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines President Jimmy Carter’s foreign policy and his administration’s campaign to promote the ratification of the Panama Canal treaties from 1977 to 1978. I argue that President Carter’s administration developed a coherent foreign policy vision that was inspired by moral convictions and aimed to promote international peace. The fundamental aspects of this vision are reflected in the Panama Canal treaties. During the turbulent Senate debate over the treaties, opposition arguments attacking President Carter’s moral policy encouraged the Carter administration to favor more pragmatic arguments in support of the treaties, which ultimately obscured President Carter’s overarching foreign policy vision. …

A Quantitative Analysis Of Sex Trafficking Law On The Decriminalization Of Youth Involved In Commercialized Sex, Nay Petrucelli

Theses and Dissertations

Legislators have been responding to the growing push to treat youth in the sex industry as victims of a crime instead of perpetrators. Recent legislative changes have occurred in every state and nationally as part of anti-trafficking legislation, not prostitution law directly. While the content of these laws has been studied, its outcomes for youth have not. This study uses a cross-sectional time-series model to test the impact that changes to state trafficking law has had on juvenile prostitution arrest rates. Findings support the hypothesis that legislation passed with a juvenile protection component decreases the juvenile prostitution arrest rate. It …

Bystanders Or Pedagogues? Voter Preferences And Senator Voting Behavior, Steven M. Richardson

Theses and Dissertations

The recent political atmosphere in America has reflected a perceived lack of constituent representation in the political process leading to a volatile 2016 Presidential race. This paper examines voter preferences and their effect on senator voting behavior and finds that depending on the party, voter preferences have different levels of effect on Senators. Republicans struggle between meeting the demands of their more numerous moderate statewide constituency and their smaller yet more extreme core supporters which reflect contemporary attitudes expressed by conservative constituents and Republican candidates. Democrats do not suffer this problem, being mindful of their statewide constituency while being able …

In The Shadow Of The Great Firewall: Censorship And Surveillance During Hong Kong's Umbrella Movement, Christine Andrelczyk

Theses and Dissertations

Through a case-study analysis, this project investigates why the People's Republic of China eschewed overtly repressive tactics and instead relied on subtle methods of coercion, such as surveillance and censorship, to mitigate activism during Hong Kong's pro-democracy Umbrella Movement. Drawing on historical evidence, reports, and quantitative data, this research explores the significance of subtle repression and coercion as it relates to the process of authoritarian consolidation in China and Hong Kong.

Expect The Unexpected: An Autoethnography Of Typhoon"Yolanda"( Haiyan ), Ashley Conrad

Theses and Dissertations

On November 8, 2014 one of the most powerful typhoons in recorded history made landfall in the Philippines leaving the country in a declared state of national calamity (NPR 2013; BBC 2013). This research seeks to place in sociological context my experience as a Peace Corps Volunteer serving in the Philippines during the landfall of typhoon "Yolanda". I utilized autoethnographic methods with a focus in personal narrative to analyze my experience.

Revisiting Gender Equality In Millennium Development Goal 3: Establishing Education For Women As A Human Right, Colleen Renee Kahl

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate Millennium Development Goal 3 and to propose a new goal based in a human rights-based approach. This goal promotes gender equality and women's empowerment and is primarily measured by gender parity in education. For many countries in the developing world, this goal is far from being reached and has resulted in millions of children, particularly girls, out of school. The primary focus of this thesis will be on the secondary level of education as gender parity is far from being obtained. This thesis will review the goals and the human rights-based approach …

Troubled Waters: Security, Economic Development, And The Senkaku / Diaoyu Islands., Kevin Mckenzie

Theses and Dissertations

This project uses a case-study approach to determine the causes of the Senkaku/Diaoyu Island dispute between Japan and the People's Republic of China.

Padania Or Federalism? An Examination Of The Spatial Demands Of Italy's Northern League, Anthony Vincent Pierucci

Theses and Dissertations

This study will analyze what factors affect the oscillation of the spatial demands of ethno-regionalist parties between more moderate and more radical objectives. The factors under examination are electoral, economic, internal organization, and the "other" that the party defines itself against. The study analyzes the relationship between these factors and spatial demands utilizing a case study of the Lega Nord. Ultimately, the study concludes that there is some relation between these factors and the Lega Nord's spatial demands, even if they are not directly causal of the change in spatial demands themselves. The findings also suggest that the generalized findings …