Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Virtuous Empire: The Jeffersonian Vision For America, Gavin Palmer

Honors Papers

In structuring this paper I will first consider the argument that Jefferson was an anti-government thinker, and in the same chapter I will show how Jefferson’s embrace of expansive federal authority as president renders this interpretation untenable. In the next section I will present an alternative interpretation of Jefferson’s political thought. In my view, Jefferson was not an enemy to the government, but to its use for corrupt ends that benefitted elites at the expense of the public. This interpretation is consistent with Jefferson’s actions in the three major periods of his political career.

In section 4 I will explain …

Hannah Arendt And The Meaning Of Political Action, Charlie Hartford

Honors Papers

In the first section, I begin with an account of action within the context of the vita activa as laid out by Arendt in The Human Condition. I then proceed to identify some of the more perplexing features of her account, and suggest that they are confounding enough to throw the coherency of what Arendt is saying into question. Taking my cue from Hanna Pitkin, I then argue that we can understand action as activity informed by thinking, by drawing upon Arendt's posthumously published work The Life of the Mind. This account, however, though illuminating with regard to some aspects …

"Twitter Diplomacy": Engagement Through Social Media In 21st Century Statecraft, Owen Henry

Honors Papers

In the Quadrennial Diplomacy & Development Review (QDDR) issued by the U.S. State Department in 2010, there is a stated commitment to expanding interaction with foreign populations. Through statements made by other officials in various venues, it is clear that social media is seen as having a part in this aim. But how effectively are officials now using social media to connect? Are they managing to achieve "two-way dialogue" or are they underutilizing the medium? This paper attempts to start to answer and analyze this question through a review of the existing literature and theories as well as original research …

Evangelical Protestants And Political Trust, Fei-Ran Lee

Honors Papers

Evangelicals in the U.S. tend to support candidates who advocate for a minimal government and significant downsizing, if not elimination, of the welfare state. This phenomenon may be the result of certain components in an Evangelical worldview. Though evangelicals in the U.S. may have higher interpersonal trust, they distrust the government more than non-evangelicals. This research will explore political theories that discuss the political functions of Protestantism and apply such analyses to contemporary American evangelicals. National Election Survey 2004 will empirically qualify some claims in my theoretical discussion.

Education, Citizenship, Political Participation: Defining Variables For Post-Conflict Reconstruction In Bosnia-Herzegovina, Sonia Roubini

Honors Papers

This paper examines the flawed reconstruction process undergone by Bosnia-Herzegovina after the Bosnian War. This paper posits that particular variables (education, citizenship, and political participation) were overlooked in this process - variables that could have led to a better outcome for Bosnia-Herzegovina.