Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

A Nordic Anomaly: Examining The Establishment Of An Anti-Immigrant Party In Sweden, Louise Paulsen

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis examines the establishment of an anti-immigrant party (AIP) in Sweden. Until recently, Sweden was known as the Nordic anomaly with no AIP in spite of high levels of immigration and high rates of right-wing violence. This has now changed, and the AIP, Sweden Democrats, are rising to popularity in high speed. I examine the causes given for the anomaly up until 2006 and show that a change in these has since created a favorable environment for an AIP to become successful. First, socio-economic cleavages have become less salient through decreasing party loyalty and increasing numbers of party switchers. …

Mafia And Globalization: The Consequences Of Economic Integration Without Legal Symmetry, Benjamin White

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This project will examine the relationship between mafia and globalization through the lenses of two case studies, focusing on the Calabrian criminal organization known as ‘Ndrangheta. The first case study revolves around the Port of Gioia Tauro, which serves as the drug trafficking hub of ‘Ndrangheta and is emblematic of the overall trends in global commercial traffic and security deficits. The purpose of this case study is to demonstrate how ‘Ndrangheta exploits the advanced economic integration that began in the 1990s and continues to exist in the gap between frantic commercial activity and limited government oversight. This case study begins …

Comparing U.S. And French Approaches To Counterterrorism In Africa, Alexa Audino

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Although terrorism is typically associated, in the U.S., with the Middle East, there is also a significant presence of terrorist groups in Africa. Both the United States and France are involved in counterterrorism in the Sahel region, where the two states often work together. However, the strategies of the U.S. and France in this region also frequently diverge. This project analyzes the differences in the strategies taken by France and the United States in counterterrorism interventions in the Sahel, specifically studying the ways in which these two countries are fighting Boko Haram, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, and Al-Shabab. …

Under Strain: A Robust Russian Foreign Posture Despite Limitations, Chiara Sutton

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The geopolitical maneuverability held by the Russian Federation has been considered to be intrinsically connected to the prices of hydrocarbons, as roughly half of the government’s budget derives from hydrocarbon revenues. The year 2008, with oil prices flitting above $150 per barrel, was a particular boon for the Kremlin and its international significance- incidentally, 2008 also oversaw the Russo-Georgian war and the start of that now-frozen conflict. In the quite different current climate, as hydrocarbon prices stay remarkably collapsed for the third year, the Kremlin’s revenue problems are compounded by international sanctions and a level of international mistrust still rippling …

Investing For Peace And Peace For Investing: Motivations Behind China’S Involvement In U.N. Peacekeeping Operations, Fred (Wen Jie) Tan

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper seeks to explore the motivations behind China’s increased involvement in international peacekeeping operations. Specifically, I seek to explore the motivations behind China’s increased involvement in international peacekeeping operations. This involves looking to the past to understand China’s actions, but also forecasting to the future to derive expectations for subsequent action. I also seek to determine if constructivist theories are able to explain China’s peacekeeping strategies. Using historical records, I first build a narrative of China’s peacekeeping ideology. I then examine China’s numerical contributions to peacekeeping to see how constructivist arguments might explain China’s strategy. Using regression analyses, I …

The Effect Of Belief Of Victory On Third-Party Vote Share: Duverger's Law & Why Evan Mcmullin Lost Utah In 2016, John Geilman

Undergraduate Honors Theses

A key reason Duverger’s Law is valid is a voter’s belief that a third-party does not have a chance at winning an election in a “first past the post” electoral system. Duverger’s Law has traditionally been explained through two reasons—a mechanical factor and a psychological factor. The mechanical factor focuses on aspects of electoral systems that work against third parties, while the psychological factor focuses on what voters think and feel about third parties. In the 2016 presidential election in the United States, voters in the state of Utah demonstrated that their perception of the electability of a third-party candidate …

Fake News: Agenda Setting And Gatekeeping In The Media, Chelsea Sydnor

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This piece will examine the ideas of agenda setting and gatekeeping theories, as well as how they affect modern media coverage. Agenda setting theory is the idea that the media sets the agenda by selecting the topics that it covers. Gatekeeping refers to the idea that too many events occur for the media to cover all of them, so it must therefore choose which ones to specifically cover. It will review multiple studies and events in which the theories have played a part in the outcome. Particularly, it will analyze how campaign coverage has been found to influence voters in …

Are Indigenous Peoples Better Off Under Evo Morales? Towards Understanding The Effects Of Decolonization Policy On Social Inclusion In Bolivia, Cailin Campbell

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This undergraduate thesis examines how to measure the influence of the Evo Morales administration’s decolonization policies on the social inclusion of indigenous peoples in Bolivia. Given the ongoing colonial legacy of exclusion of indigenous peoples in Bolivia, the Morales administration has created a national agenda to decolonize the state and improve conditions for the marginalized, oppressed, and excluded indigenous peoples. In examining the nacionalización de los hidrocarburos, the ley de la reconducción comunitaria y reforma agraria, the plan nacional de desarrollo, the ley de la educación, the ley de deslinde, the ley de marco de …

The Politics Of Gentrification In Charlotte, Nc: A New South City Meets The Urban Realities Of 21st Century Prosperity., David Cole

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Excerpt from Introduction

In the Fall of 2017, Amazon Inc. opened an unprecedented nationwide bidding competition.[1] The huge online retailer was seeking a home for its second headquarters, dubbed “HQ2,” which could potentially include 50,000 high-paying jobs and billions of dollars of investment into a local economy.[2] The company completed a request for proposal (RFP) that detailed the baseline amenities that cities applying for the headquarters must have. This included Interstate access, a metropolitan population of over 1 million, an international airport, and the presence of a research university.[3]

Corruption And Soccer In Africa: Empirical Evidence On The Determinants Of Association Soccer Success In The Continent, Mustafa Zahid

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Despite the popularity of soccer in Africa, African teams tend to underperform in international competitions such as the World Cup relative to European and South American teams. Studies have been conducted on what determines performance in international soccer. These studies stress the importance of wealth, talent pool, and soccer culture on determining performance. However, these studies focus more generally on the entire world, and, in some instances, omit African nations due to a lack of data. Additionally, the focus on a wide sample of the world results in the omission of some potentially crucial variables in relation to Africa, specifically …

Making Japan Great Again: Japan's Liberal Democratic Party As A Far Right Movement, Wesley Yee

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In recent years, far right-wing political parties have gained power around the world. Far-right movements build a populist, anti-establishment support base through the use of ethno-nationalism and xenophobic policies and slogans. This article applies the models and party frames used to study European far-right movements and applies them to the case of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan (LDP), a party whose policies under prime ministers Junichiro Koizumi and Shinzo Abe have pushed the party from having a center-right stance to having more of a far-right nationalist and populist one. Using this framework I find that the LDP has utilized …