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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™

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Political Science

Portland State University

2018

Articles 1 - 15 of 15

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Foucault, Simon Springer, And Postneoliberalism, Jaycob Izsó Sep 2018

Foucault, Simon Springer, And Postneoliberalism, Jaycob Izsó

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Scholarship in Foucauldian governmentality has reemerged as a critical area of contemporary political discourse and has had a pronounced effect on neoliberal and postneoliberal research in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Perhaps the most versatile postneoliberal critic is Simon Springer, who has offered dynamic accounts of neoliberalism and its decline via a Foucauldian method. While Springer’s research is novel, I believe it is not a rigorous Foucauldian account of neoliberalism and its future.

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Politics In The Social Media Era: The Relationship Between Social Media Use And Political Participation During The 2016 United States Presidential Election, Kevin Everett Curry Jul 2018

Politics In The Social Media Era: The Relationship Between Social Media Use And Political Participation During The 2016 United States Presidential Election, Kevin Everett Curry

Dissertations and Theses

The growth of social media use raises significant questions related to political information and its effect on political knowledge and participation. One issue is whether social media delivers news and political information in a similar manner as traditional news media sources, like newspapers, TV, and radio, by contributing to political knowledge, which is linked to voter turnout. This dissertation examines the relationship between an individual's social media use, their use of traditional news media sources, and whether they turn out to vote. It utilizes American National Election Survey data from the 2016 U.S. Presidential election to complete three studies. First, …

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At Home And Abroad, Trump Tramples Human Rights, Mel Gurtov Jul 2018

At Home And Abroad, Trump Tramples Human Rights, Mel Gurtov

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

In January 1941, with the prospect looming of US involvement in another European war, President Franklin Roosevelt spoke of America’s purpose in the world: to protect and promote “four freedoms.” FDR drew a clear link between US security and the fulfillment of human rights at home. “Just as our national policy in internal affairs has been based upon a decent respect for the rights and the dignity of all of our fellow men within our gates, so our national policy in foreign affairs has been based on a decent respect for the rights and the dignity of all nations, large …

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Lessons From The Past: Analyzing A Multipolar World And Shifting Transatlantic Relationships, Andrew Russo Jul 2018

Lessons From The Past: Analyzing A Multipolar World And Shifting Transatlantic Relationships, Andrew Russo

Student Work

Rival ideologies and states, some new, some ancient, are emerging to create a multipolar world where regional spheres of influence arise out of the space abandoned by a weakening American ideology and state. New challenges have arisen during this latest shift in global power dynamics. States and the complex mechanisms and relationships that comprise them are now interacting as a power vacuum develops, seeking both standing and hegemony. How these interactions affect rising regional powers will have drastic consequences for future stability, peace, and progress and the current state of affairs, if history is to serve as a lesson, is …

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European Union Defense Integration: The Quixotic Legacy Of The Early Treaties, Amanda Von Trapp Jun 2018

European Union Defense Integration: The Quixotic Legacy Of The Early Treaties, Amanda Von Trapp

Political Science Honors Theses

European defense integration is encumbered by historic disagreement over two questions--what integration model should be used to develop a common defense and who should be included? The outcome the European Union’s earliest and foremost influential security arrangements of the 1940s and 1950s instigated a complex legacy of fault lines and friction. This paper looks at the history of the 1947 Dunkirk Treaty, the 1948 Brussels Treaty, and the failed 1954 European Defense Community to illustrate the emergence of two sets of tensions, Atlanticism versus Europeanism and Supranationalism versus Intergovernmentalism. The tensions between these positions explain Europe’s inability to reach consensus …

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Understanding Asean : An Alternative Approach To International Relations Theory In Asia, Ryan Grimstad Driver Jun 2018

Understanding Asean : An Alternative Approach To International Relations Theory In Asia, Ryan Grimstad Driver

Dissertations and Theses

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was originally formed in 1967 by five members as a means to promote peaceful relations and prevent the spread of communist influence within their sovereign states. Since then the regional organization has doubled in size and now includes communist states amongst its membership as it seeks to establish itself as a strong economic and political hub for the greater region as two large military powers, China and the United States, vie for hegemonic influence. The American presence in the region must be governed by a firm understanding of ASEAN's unique nature and goals. …

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Building Climate Empire: Power, Authority, And Knowledge Within Pacific Islands Climate Change Diplomacy And Governance Networks, Ashlie Denée Denton Jun 2018

Building Climate Empire: Power, Authority, And Knowledge Within Pacific Islands Climate Change Diplomacy And Governance Networks, Ashlie Denée Denton

Dissertations and Theses

Transnational networks are growing in prevalence and importance as states, nongovernmental, and intergovernmental organizations seek to meet climate change goals; yet, the organizations in these networks struggle between the global, technical and local, contextual sources of power, authority, and knowledge used to influence decision-making and governance. This dissertation analyzes these contestations in Pacific Islands climate change diplomacy and governance efforts by asking: i) What do power relations look like among the Pacific Islands' networked organizations? ii) To what authority do organizations appeal to access sources of power? iii) What sources of knowledge are produced and reproduced by these organizations? and …

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Why The Gender Of Traditional Authorities Matters: Intersectionality And Women’S Rights Advocacy In Malawi, Ragnhild L. Muriaas, Vibeke Wang, Lindsay J. Benstead, Boniface Dulani May 2018

Why The Gender Of Traditional Authorities Matters: Intersectionality And Women’S Rights Advocacy In Malawi, Ragnhild L. Muriaas, Vibeke Wang, Lindsay J. Benstead, Boniface Dulani

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Traditional leadership often coexists with modern political institutions, yet we know little about how traditional and state authority cues—or those from male or female sources—affect public opinion. Using an original survey experiment of 1,381 Malawians embedded in the 2016 Local Governance Performance Index (LGPI), we randomly assign respondents into one of four treatment groups or a control group to hear messages about a child marriage reform from a female or male traditional authority (TA) or parliamentarian. In the sample as a whole, the female TA is as effective as the control (i.e., no endorsement), while other messengers elicit lower support …

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Exploring District Judges' Decision Making In The Context Of Admitting Expert Testimony, Andrew Bryan Dzeguze May 2018

Exploring District Judges' Decision Making In The Context Of Admitting Expert Testimony, Andrew Bryan Dzeguze

Dissertations and Theses

Over the last several decades, multiple schools of thought have emerged regarding what impacts judicial decision making. In contrast to the classic legal model, studies have argued alternatively that judges are policy actors who rule consistent with their political attitudes; that behavioral traits such as race, gender and socialization influence judicial conduct, both consciously and unconsciously; that whatever policy interests judges may have, these are moderated by institutional constraints and strategic considerations; and that judges are subject to some common cognitive shortcuts in decision making, although they may be moderated or present differently than in the general population in light …

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What Is It Like To Become A Bat? Heterogeneities In An Age Of Extinction, Stephanie Erev May 2018

What Is It Like To Become A Bat? Heterogeneities In An Age Of Extinction, Stephanie Erev

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

In his celebrated 1974 essay “What Is It Like to Be a Bat?,” Thomas Nagel stages a human-bat encounter to illustrate and support his claim that “subjective experience” is irreducible to “objective fact”: because Nagel cannot experience the world as a bat does, he will never know what it is like to be one. In Nagel’s account, heterogeneity is figured negatively— as a failure or lack of resemblance—and functions to constrain his knowledge of bats. Today, as white-nose syndrome threatens bat populations across North America, might figuring heterogeneity positively, as a condition of creativity, open up new modes of receptivity …

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Portland Msa Economic & Population Outlook April 2018, Portland State University, Northwest Economic Research Center, Thomas Potiowsky Apr 2018

Portland Msa Economic & Population Outlook April 2018, Portland State University, Northwest Economic Research Center, Thomas Potiowsky

Northwest Economic Research Center Publications and Reports

NERC's biannual forecast of employment, income, housing permits, and house prices for the Portland MSA. The April release also includes the annual forecast of population and households.

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Using The Syrian Civil War To Measure Hierarchy: Regional Power Transition In The Middle East, Eric Michael Clary Mar 2018

Using The Syrian Civil War To Measure Hierarchy: Regional Power Transition In The Middle East, Eric Michael Clary

Dissertations and Theses

In 2018, the Syrian Civil War will enter into its ninth year of conflict. From an international relations perspective there are few, if any, studies on state actors in regional sub-state systems. What can an intrastate conflict teach us about future dynamics of the regional interstate hierarchy? It is worthwhile to examine The Syrian Civil War for three reasons. First, Syria lies in the heart of the Middle East lending proximity to regional actors. Second, the breakdown of order in Syria represents a microcosm of the global anarchic environment. Third, Syrian Civil War is an intrastate war that encapsulates both …

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Evaluating The Impact Of Oregon's Citizen Initiative Review (Cir) On Voter Decisions, Ari Joaquin Wubbold Mar 2018

Evaluating The Impact Of Oregon's Citizen Initiative Review (Cir) On Voter Decisions, Ari Joaquin Wubbold

Dissertations and Theses

Voters are getting information from more and more sources. Along with this proliferation of sources has come an increasing distrust of traditional mass media. This has created a challenge for voters who seek reliable information when making decisions in the voting booth; including on ballot initiatives. Because voters tend to find ballot initiatives confusing and not easily informed by traditional party cues, the Citizen's Initiative Review (CIR) and the non-partisan, fact-based recommendations they produce have now spread into multiple states. This thesis seeks to gauge whether the CIR is effective at achieving the goals of increasing voter knowledge and encouraging …

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Biodiversity Gains? The Debate On Changes In Local- Vs Global-Scale Species Richness, Richard B. Primack, Abraham J. Miller-Rushing, Richard T. Corlett, Vincent Devictor, David Johns, Rafael Loyola, Bea Hass, Robin J. Pakeman, Liba Pejchar Jan 2018

Biodiversity Gains? The Debate On Changes In Local- Vs Global-Scale Species Richness, Richard B. Primack, Abraham J. Miller-Rushing, Richard T. Corlett, Vincent Devictor, David Johns, Rafael Loyola, Bea Hass, Robin J. Pakeman, Liba Pejchar

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Editorial: Do changes in biodiversity at local scales reflect the declines seen at global scales? This debate dates back at least 15 years...

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Survey Research In The Arab World: Challenges And Opportunities, Lindsay J. Benstead Jan 2018

Survey Research In The Arab World: Challenges And Opportunities, Lindsay J. Benstead

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Survey research has steadily expanded in the Arab world since the 1980s. The Arab spring marked a watershed when surveying became possible in Tunisia and Libya, and questionnaires included previously censured questions. Almost every Arab country is now included in the Arab Barometer or World Values Survey and researchers have numerous datasets to answer theoretical and policy questions. Yet some scholars express the view that the Arab survey context is more challenging than other regions or that respondents will not answer honestly. I argue that this reflects biases of “Arab exceptionalism,” more than fair assessments of data quality. Based on …

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