Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Democratic Failure: Tracking The Ebb Of Democracy's Flow, 1800–2006, Sanja E. Sray

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Scant attention has focused on the systematic study of democratic failure. This dissertation partially corrects this oversight. Tracing the roots of antidemocratic sentiment across the centuries, it first argues that the advance of institutions, fueled by underlying shifts in values and innovation in political philosophy, was key to freeing democracy from its bondage as a most disparaged form of governance. Focusing on the measurable aspects of these institutions, the study focuses on describing patterns of behavior when democracies fail. First, it shows that there have been clusters of democratic failure. These clusters, or counterwaves, find their roots in ancient antidemocratic …

Good Nietzsche, Bad Nietzsche: The Role Of Friedrich Nietzsche In Richard Rorty’S Political Thought., Paul A. Snell Jr.

CMC Senior Theses

Richard Rorty found Friedrich Nietzsche’s critique of epistemology (perspectivism) to be a helpful tool in getting us to stop thinking of knowledge as something we find, and instead as something that we create. He also found perspectivism to be a helpful tool in that of the private sphere, of private self-creation. The Nietzsche that provides perspectivism is “The Good Nietzsche”. Rorty, however, conceived of Nietzsche’s ideas as being absolutely useless when it comes to politics, along with his ideas regarding morality, the Will to Power, and the Übermensch. These are the ideas of “The Bad Nietzsche”. Rorty’s actual usage of …

Decisions To Abrogate Personal Liberty: Ethics Of Conscription In The United States, Jacqueline Shuttleworth Grady

Honors Theses

The military draft in the United States has been a controversial public policy in the past. Conscription has been used for six different wars; each draft has differed from the others because of the circumstances of the war for which it was enacted and because of the way in which it was implemented. Today, because of the wars the United States is fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, a new public policy has developed, called stop loss. Stop loss affects only those people who have already served in the military, forcing them to remain in military service after the originally contracted …

Latino Representation In U.S. Legislatures: Interests, Behavior, And Influence, Stella M. Rouse

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Despite the growth of Latinos in the general population and in legislatures, their impact on the political process has received little scholarly attention. In this project, I present a theoretical framework of Latino legislative behavior that draws upon two important concepts of representation- descriptive and substantive- to better understand how ethnicity influences legislative activity and whether it is dependent on such factors as institutional context, legislative composition, and constituency characteristics. The project is unique in its comprehensive analysis of the legislative process and in its mixed methodological approach which includes both quantitative and qualitative elements. The analysis involves five parts: …

Party Controls In National Central University And Nanjing University Before And After 1949, Zhendong Xu

Theses & Dissertations

In 1898, with the foundation of the Metropolitan University of the Qing Dynasty (Jingshi da xuetang) in Beijing, the modern higher education system was established in China. After the Qing Dynasty, China has been ruled by two political parties before and after 1949: Kuomintang (KMT) dated from 1911 to 1949 and Chinese Communist Party (CCP)1 dated from 1949 to present.

The history of Nanjing University (NJU) can be traced back to Sanjiang Normal School founded by the Qing government in 1902. The NJU witnessed the development of modern higher education in China. The Nanjing city used to be the capital …

Blog's Growth In Presidential Candidates Campaign Coverage During The Democratic And Republican Nomination Process, Lisa Musante

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Legislative Participation In The American States: Determinants And Consequences, Mileah Kay Kromer

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This research seeks to analyze the variability in participation across legislators at the state level and to consider the potential consequences of participatory behavior. In this dissertation, I draw on theories of political participation, legislative goals, and state political institutions to explain participation in state legislative activities. To begin with, I examine legislative participation across the legislative process, considering the determinants of sponsorship and roll-call participation. Next, I examine the consequences that participation has for legislators focusing on challenger emergence in the general election. My research demonstrates that legislative participation varies systematically across individual, institutional, and state level variables. However, …

State Political Action Committee Financing And The 2008 Presidential Election: A Detailed Look At Mitt Romney And The Commonwealth Pacs, Melyn Heckelman

Honors Theses

This study looks at the historical context in which PACs developed, as well as the current legal environment in which they operate. It will also briefly discuss the legal and procedural challenges that candidates face and the ways in which PACs alleviate some of these pressures in ways that presidential committees cannot. An understanding of the strategic dilemmas which cause candidates to seek extraneous structures through which to establish campaign networks is essential to extrapolating the potential future of campaign finance strategy. Furthermore, this study provides an in-depth analysis of the state Commonwealth PACs both in terms of fundraising and …

Confrontation Cinema In The Age Of Neoliberalism; Where Brazil And The United States Meet, Rachel F. Rosenfeld

CMC Senior Theses

Contents: Introduction; The Smell of Revolution and Popcorn; Filling the Gaps: Historical Context; Brazilian Cinema in the Age of Neoliberalism and Political Discourse of the New Brazilian Left; US Films and the Iraq War: This isn’t my America; Epilogue

Gender Differences In Media Coverage For Candidates Running In Presidential Nomination Races : A Close Look At Clinton And Dole, Nichole Horn

Political Science Theses

The media plays an interesting and intricate role in the election process. Theinformation the media presents to voters is used by voters to form opinions on candidates and issues. As a result, voters take these opinions into the voting booths with them. Female candidates running for elected office often find themselves being treated differently by the media than the male candidates they are running against. Previous research has indicated that female candidates receive less overall coverage than their male counterparts. In addition, themedia often chooses to focus on female candidates' personal lives, personality, and horserace positions more so than male …

Women Candidates And Television Advertising: An Examination Of The 2006 Mid-Term Elections, Sharlin Aldao

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Legislation And Litigation On The Education Of Students With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Selena Michelle Joy

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The purposes of this study were to review and analyze legal issues related to the provision of education for students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Specifically (1) an examination of federal laws that affect the education of students with ASD; and (2) case law pertaining to the education of students with ASD.;This study focused on the No Child Left Behind Act (2001) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (2004) as well as the litigation related to the education of students with ASD adjudicated in the United States Courts of Appeals between January 2001 and December 2007. The legislation …

Roe V. Wade And Its Progency: The Impact Of State Legislative And Judicial Actions On Abortion Rates In Five States, Maria Klimash

LSU Master's Theses

By looking at the courts and legislatures as agents of social change, this study seeks to assess the impact of judicial decisions in a particularly contentious area, the right to bodily privacy. Specifically, I seek to understand the competing effects of state supreme court decisions and state statutes on the consumers of their public policy choices. Past studies have found conflicting results concerning the impact of court decisions. Literature assessing the effect of legislation finds that statutes, which are specific in nature, engender significant effects. For this study I focus specifically on court decisions and legislation that are concerned with …

Institutional Influences Of State Legislators' Voting Behavior, Jessica Jordan Self

LSU Master's Theses

Representation of citizens by elected officials is a core principle of American democracy (Eulau et al. 1959; Key 1961). Assuming the delegate approach to representation (Pitkin 1967), state legislative districts give voters the opportunity to elect representatives that will act in accordance with their wishes in the state policy arena. The extent to which a legislator’s policy votes reflect his constituents’ preferences is often referred to as “policy responsiveness” (Eulau and Karps 1977). While the make-up of the constituency shapes legislators’ positions in policy areas, legislative voting behavior also is indirectly influenced by personal and institutional factors. Previous research has …

Factors Driving Turkish Foreign Policy, Betul Dicle

LSU Master's Theses

Evaluation of Turkish foreign policy events suggests that both external and domestic factors have affected its determination. While a consistent pattern in foreign policy has been observed since Ottoman times, the 20th century has led to substantial challenges. Long-established Turkish foreign policy, based exclusively on external factors, was reshaped to include domestic factors as well. With the new Republic in 1923, the process of reshaping foreign policy, based on Western values, has started. The end of the Cold War started a new era in which domestic factors gained predominance. The aim of this study is to evaluate the factors that …

Institutional Conditionality And State Compliance: The Czech And Slovak Accession To Nato And The Eu, Eva Svobodova

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation studies the interaction between international institutions and nation states. More specifically, it examines how the membership conditionality of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU) was adopted by candidate states. It uses the Czech and Slovak accessions to NATO and the EU to argue that, in order to understand the external phenomenon of conditionality, we need to study its effects within states. Critical to this process is national leadership. National leaders determine whether and how conditionality is implemented. Furthermore, this dissertation asserts that successful compliance with NATO and EU conditionality is decisively determined by …

Women Politicians: Why The United States Has So Few, Rebecca Kurtz

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

The United States has very few women political representatives, especially at the federal level. Many reasons exist for why women’s representation is not equal, including the power of incumbency and the persistence of gender roles which keep women from entering politics because of a general lack of education and a responsibility to care for one’s family. With the emergence of strong women like Hillary Clinton, the factors historically known to keep women from participating may not be applicable to today. These factors will be evaluated in expectation of finding what makes women politicians successful and what measures can be taken …

The Iowa Caucuses: Effects Of Presidential Campaigns On State Politicians, Amy Kathleen Meyers

Honors Program Theses

The Iowa caucuses have been a topic of fascination for many political scientists, the media, and political junkies. Their prominent nature attracts media from all over the United States and can significantly impact the day-to-day lives of Iowans. In studying this topic, close attention must be paid to how campaigns necessarily treat elected state officials differently than ordinary Iowans. More specifically, legislators are treated differently in the processes by which campaigns lobby state legislators for support, the benefits officials receive, and the ways in which such lobbying can detract from their roles as state legislators. All of these factors are …

Voting Rights For Felons: An Analysis Of Felon Voting Rights Restoration Laws In Illinois And New York And The Factors That Affect An Elections Official's Willingness Or Reluctance To Implement The Law, Barbara Dongu Smith

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Migrant Workers In South-East Asia:Economic And Social Inequality In Indonesia, Malaysia, And Singapore, Patricia Hajek

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores migrant labor in South-East Asia by addressing the topic of migration, specifically its causes and consequences. Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore are countries that experienced rapid industrialization from the mid-1960s throughout the 1990s. Simultaneously, the migration of people within the region increased. A key focus is how regional development has contributed to migration flows and to the position of migrants in these countries. Using a migration systems framework from Castles' and Miller's The Age of Migration (2003) that draws on theoretical elements from economics, historical-structuralism and transnationalism, this thesis finds that several factors explain the causes of migration …

Opportunity, Tools And Support: Ngo Engagement In The Security And Disarmament Field, Sarah Estabrooks

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

NGOs have been consistently excluded from multilateral proceedings in the security and disarmament sector where states are concerned about their national security interests. And yet, they have found avenues to participate in the multilateral process through the negotiation of treaties, provision of expert research and testimony, systematic monitoring of state compliance, documentation of UN proceedings, and even as members of government delegations. This paper explores the conditions that enable NGOs to engage directly in the state-centric system of the United Nations, addressing political opportunity, enabling resources, and institutional support. I explore how NGOs contribute to international politics, using a constructivist …

Social Politics And Freedom: Incorporating Civil Society Into Arendt's Political Thought, Grant J. Rozeboom

Honors Program Theses

The possibility of human freedom has captivated philosophers throughout the ages, often leading them to conclude that freedom is a unique capacity of humanity, exemplifying our potential for politics, contemplation, and/or religious salvation. In the modern age, beginning with the political writings of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, freedom has been understood (at least within the early liberal tradition and common discourse) as unhindered and individuated economic movement, motivated by self-interest and actualized most fully in institutions such as the consumerist free market. Yet, we find that the more we devote our actions to fulfilling our individual interests and needs, …

Western Involvement In The Middle East: Imperialism And Its Effects, Jamie Elizabeth Dewitt

Theses Digitization Project

This study explores Britain's and the United States' relationship with the Middle East, as specific examples of the theory of imperialism. The economic motivations for Britain's involvement in the Middle East are shown to be similar to those of the United States' involvement, and both of these are consistent with the theory of imperialism.