Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Canadian Action For Zero Nuclear Weapons, Erika Simpson

Erika Simpson

No abstract provided.

Landslide: The "Obama Surge" And The Future Of California Politics, Corey Cook, David Latterman

Corey Cook

The 2008 presidential election in California resulted in a landslide of historic proportions. Barack Obama's victory, fueled as it was by 2.1 million first-time voters, seemingly portends a realignment in California. At the same time, outside the presidential election, the results in 2008 were well within the norms of California politics. Utilizing an original dataset, we unravel this conundrum by examining whether these "surge voters" were substantially different from habitual voters, whether they have stayed engaged in electoral politics, and what might that tell us about the future partisan and political alignment in California?

Nuclear Deterrence In A Second Obama Term, Adam Lowther, Jan Kallberg

Jan Kallberg

In the months prior to the 2012 presidential election in the United States, members of the Obama administration and sympathetic organizations inside the Beltway began floating the idea that the administration would pursue – after an Obama victory – further reductions in the US nuclear arsenal. With the ink still wet on the New ST ART Treaty, efforts to reduce the American arsenal to 1000 operationally deployed strategic nuclear weapons or, as some suggest, 500, is certainly premature. These efforts illustrate a poor understanding of nuclear deterrence theory and practice and the ramifications of a United States that lacks a …

Motivated Reasoning, Political Sophistication, And Associations Between President Obama And Islam, Todd K. Hartman, Adam J. Newmark

Todd K. Hartman

Recent polls reveal that between 20% and 25% of Americans erroneously indicate that President Obama is a Muslim. In this article, we compare individuals' explicit responses on a survey about religion and politics with reaction time data from an Implicit Association Test (IAT) to investigate whether individuals truly associate Obama with Islam or are motivated reasoners who simply express negativity about the president when given the opportunity. Our results suggest that predispositions such as ideology, partisanship, and race affect how citizens feel about Obama, which in turn motivates them to accept misinformation about the president. We also find that these …

Barack Obama And The Partisan Presidency: Four More Years, Richard M. Skinner

Richard M. Skinner

No abstract provided.

Lessons From The Health-Care Wars, Peter Dreier

Peter Dreier

No abstract provided.

What Is A Reasonable Compromise On Health Care Reform?, Peter Dreier

Peter Dreier

No abstract provided.

Revolution In Political Affairs, Dylan Kissane

Dylan Kissane

Extract:

"Recognising the marked impact of the internet on both practical politics and the practices of political scientists, it is not too large a step to paraphrase the US Department of Defence and decree the internet a Revolution in Political Affairs. Akin to its military phrase mate, the internet is effecting all areas of political discourse, exchange and public policy while, at the same time, forcing those who study and theorise politics to change their existing ways of thinking, working and imagining their chosen field..."

To Increase Federal Revenue, Taxes Must Go Up, David S. Mason

David S. Mason

An opinion piece on tax cuts.

A Tale Of Two Campaigns: A Comparative Assessment Of The Internet In French And Us Presidential Elections, Dylan Kissane

Dylan Kissane

French politicians, like those in democracies around the world, were enthralled by the success of Democratic candidate Barack Obama in the 2008 US Presidential elections. Part of that thrall sprung from the candidate’s embrace of internet campaigning and his use of Web 2.0 tools to communicate his ideas, raise campaign funds and break through to voters that might otherwise not be reached through traditional and mainstream media campaigning. In the wake of Obama’s win, speculation emerged that internet and Web 2.0 campaigning would soon become a key tool in French politics, particularly at the personality-driven and high-profile Presidential level. In …

President Obama, Public Participation, And An Agenda For Research And Experimentation, Thomas Bryer

Thomas A Bryer

The Obama Administration has offered citizens and onlookers from other nations a host of innovative efforts to make the United States federal government more open, participatory, and collaborative. In this issue of the International Journal of Public Participation, a set of invited authors consider the varying levels of success of this work demonstrated thus far and raise important research and practical questions for the Administration and others who might learn from the Administration’s experiences. In this introduction, some of these questions are reviewed and notable practices are summarized. Ultimately, it is concluded that, though the Administration is still young, there …

Public Engagement In The Obama Administration: Building A Democracy Bubble?, Thomas Bryer

Thomas A Bryer

Following the Bush Administration, the Obama team enhanced access for citizens to participatory venues. Extending and enhancing access gives citizens opportunity to develop their citizenship skills, potentially influence policy, and potentially become better connected to community life. The Administration can be applauded for participatory innovations, but the Administration needs to proceed strategically to ensure the innovations do not produce more harm than good and to ensure that the real change they are producing is not whisked away in the next Administration as rapidly as an information cascade infects the citizenry. This article develops the idea of a democracy bubble as …

Making Change: A Six-Month Review, Gregory Koger

Gregory Koger

This article surveys President Obama's policy agenda-setting for the first six months of his term. I consider whether the conditions ripe for an ambitious policy agenda and summarize the logic of Presidential agenda-setting. I use this framework to explain the Democrats' agenda for 2009, summarize their progress thus far, and discuss the implications for the Democratic Party in 2010 and after. Although the Democrats have made significant progress on their policy goals, they have not reaped the full political rewards from this success. Instead, the majority party will likely be judged on the pace of economic recovery and whether they …

Obama And Mccain: Running For An Office Not In The Constitution, Craig J. Westover

Craig J Westover

Between now and the November elections, Barack Obama and John McCain will each spend millions of dollars to describe his vision to the American people. From ridding the world of evil to making sure our credit card payments are properly recorded, no task is too sublime or too trivial for the candidates' attention — or voter expectations.

And there's the rub.

The claim of expansive presidential capability to solve the ills of mankind is more than simply over-promising and under-delivering. A president of whom great deeds are expected will demand — or seize — great power to tackle those expectations. …