Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Judicial Elections, Public Opinion, And Their Impact On State Criminal Justice Policy, Travis N. Taylor

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

This dissertation explores whether and how the re-election prospects faced by trial court judges in many American states influence criminal justice policy, specifically, state levels of incarceration, as well as the disparity in rates of incarceration for Whites and Blacks. Do states where trial court judges must worry about facing reelection tend to encourage judicial behavior that results in higher incarceration rates? And are levels of incarceration and racial disparities in the states influenced by the proportion of the state publics who want more punitive policies? These are clearly important questions because they speak directly to several normative and empirical …

From Hobbes To Habermas: The Anti-Cultural Turn In Western Political Thought, Ralph Gert Schoellhammer

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

The theme of this dissertation is the anti-cultural turn of Western Political Thought that has emerged out of Enlightenment thinking and was first turned into a comprehensive political idea by Thomas Hobbes.

Beginning with an overview of psychological research into the phenomenon of culture I put forward the argument that human beings are by nature social and individualistic, but that they oscillate between their ability to put group-interests before individual interests and vice versa. Culture is the main mechanism that influences which interest we give priority. This mechanism work through emotional attachments that create intuitions about what is morally right …

Piecing Together Coalition War: Threat, Politics, And Coalition Structure, Stephen Joiner

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

Military coalitions are both a common feature of interstate warfare and an example of the highest level of cooperation between states. Despite their tremendous importance in international relations, military coalitions remain poorly understood. This project investigates critical questions related to coalition structures, and uses quantitative and qualitative methods to show that both the threat and political opportunity facing coalitions helps to determine the shape of their structures. This project utilizes a dataset of all coalition wars since 1816, as well as case studies of six coalitions to investigate these relationships. Key contributions include novel theoretical arguments and the findings that …

Better Devils Of Our Nature: The Role Of Violence-Justifying Ideologies In Opinion Formation, Steven Kaiser

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

Extensive theoretical and empirical research has examined the role that violence-justifying ideologies play in generating violent behavior. Yet, a substantial body of this work employs measures that are consistently associated with sexist attitudes and gender stereotypes. As a consequence, scholars are limited in our ability to fully comprehend individuals’ propensity to endorse, or even promote violent behavior – or how these attitudes influence perceptions of victims and related policy preferences.

I contribute to this line of research by creating a gender-neutral battery of anti-violence questions, in large part divorced from sexist stereotypes, to assess the consequence of those attitudes for …

Why Weak States Balance: National Mobilization And The Security Strategies Of Post-Soviet States, Eteri Tsintsadze-Maass

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the 14 post-Soviet states adopted dramatically differing security strategies towards Russia: some sought security by bandwagoning with Russia while others strove to balance against it. Why did states with similar experiences under Soviet rule and similar asymmetric power positions vis-à-vis Russia adopt such diverse security strategies in the aftermath of the Soviet Union’s disintegration? In contrast to prevailing theories focusing on power, economic interdependence, and cultural similarities, I propose that these variations in post-Soviet states’ security strategies can be best explained by their diverse experiences with national mobilization. The central argument of this …

Predicting Positive Attitudes Toward Immigrants With Altruism, Kati Elizabeth Stafford

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

Immigration is one of the most salient and divisive issues in the US and a host of other countries, with public opinion polarized and elites deadlocked on the issue. One limitation of research on immigration attitudes is the tendency for scholars to focus exclusively on dark motivations driving hostility toward immigrants rather than those leading to compassion and support for immigrants. Using 2016 American National Election Studies (ANES) data, I examine the relationship between attitudes towards immigration and several Big Five personality traits, focusing on Altruism. I find that personality traits, especially those related to Altruism, are crucial determinants of …