Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Framing And Immigration Through The Trump Era, Rudy Alamillo, Chris Haynes, Raul Madrid

Political Science Faculty Publications

For the last decade, undocumented or illegal immigration has been one of the most contested policy issues in the United States, with significant news attention on policies affecting the undocumented population, ranging from deportations to comprehensive immigration reform, the DREAM Act, and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. Despite these prominent and multifaceted policy debates, scholarship on media framing and public opinion remain more focused on the portrayal of immigrants rather than policies affecting them. In general, we find that policy frames are far more consequential to public opinion than equivalency frames (variations in how news media describe unauthorized immigrants, either …

Polls And Elections: Is Loyalty A Powerful Thing? Republican Senate Campaign Strategy And Trump Coattails In The 2016 Election, Neilan S. Chaturvedi, Chris Haynes

Political Science Faculty Publications

Presidential candidates provide a boost to their congressional candidate counterparts, in which congressional candidates should ride the proverbial coattails into office (Campbell and Sumners 1990; Stewart 1989). The 2016 election, however, provides an instance in which the presidential coattails were less than desirable. In this article, we argue that state politics determines the optimal strategy for how candidates should position themselves vis‐à‐vis a controversial presidential candidate. Based on our findings, voters rewarded candidates at varying levels for distancing themselves from then candidate Trump. Specifically, the disloyal strategy, in which candidates completely disavowed Trump, worked best in swing states and among …

Mraps, Irregular Warfare, And Pentagon Reform, Christopher J. Lamb, Matthew J. Schmidt, Berit G. Fitzsimmons

Political Science Faculty Publications

The controversial MRAPs raise two questions. First, does the MRAP experience support the contention that the Pentagon is not sufficiently able to field irregular warfare capabilities? Second, what factors best explain the MRAP failure, whether that failure is determined to be their delayed fielding or the fact that they were fielded at all? We conclude that MRAPs are a valid irregular warfare requirement and that the Pentagon should have been better prepared to field them, albeit not on the scale demanded by events in Iraq. We also argue that the proximate cause of the failure to quickly field MRAPs is …

A Guerra Como Trabalho Político: Como Utilizar As Ciências Sociais Para O Êxito Estratégico, Matthew J. Schmidt

Political Science Faculty Publications

As Ciências Sociais estudam fenômenos sociais em termos de variáveis interdependentes, em vez de variáveis independentes e dependentes. No caso de fenômenos compostos de variáveis interdependentes — como a guerra — tentar estabelecer teorias claras sobre causa e efeito é algo frustrante até para cientistas sociais acostumados com esse tipo de pesquisa. Com efeito, variáveis interdependentes fazem com que seja impossível fazer previsões como as das ciências exatas. Isso não significa, porém, que se devam desconsiderar abordagens qualitativas. Ao contrário, compreender o valor e as limitações dos métodos qualitativos é essencial para uma profissão incumbida de empregar a força para …

La Guerra Como Una Labor Política: Cómo Usar Las Ciencias Sociales Para Lograr El Éxito Estratégico, Matthew J. Schmidt

Political Science Faculty Publications

En las ciencias sociales contemporáneas, se estudian los fenómenos sociales en términos de variables interdependientes —en lugar de dependientes. Aún para los científicos sociales acostumbrados a ese tipo de investigación, resulta frustrante establecer claras teorías de causa-efecto para los fenómenos que constan de variables interdependientes —fenómenos tales como la guerra. De hecho, los variables interdependientes hacen imposibles las predicciones tipo ciencias duras. Sin embargo, esto no significa que los planteamientos cualitativos deben ser descartados. Más bien, una comprensión del valor y limitaciones de los métodos cualitativos es crucial para una profesión que tiene la tarea de usar la fuerza para …

War As Political Work: Using Social Science For Strategic Success, Matthew J. Schmidt

Political Science Faculty Publications

Army culture favors a quantitative/predictive approach to analyze problems. The author argues, however, that strategic thinking requires the relative subjectivity of a qualitative approach to problem solving.

A Science Of Context: The Qualitative Approach As Fundamental To Strategic Thought, Matthew J. Schmidt

Political Science Faculty Publications

(from book introduction, pp. 6-7) "Schmidt describes the differences between quantitative and qualitative approaches, research questions, and thought processes. Schmidt argues that quantitative methods are appropriate for tactical engagements and can inform strategic thinking, but a completely different thought process (i.e., qualitative) is necessary for success when asking questions with strategic implications. Schmidt also discusses how time delays can affect the perceived impact of qualitative modes of thinking."

Winning The Presidency: The Vision And Values Approach, Joshua H. Sandman

Political Science Faculty Publications

This paper will deal with the presidential election contest. It will suggest, based on research on the presidential election process, that the presidential candidate who best articulates, verbally and symbolically, the visions and values most traditional to American society, of the broadest section of the middle class, will win the presidental election. The results of the 1988 presidential election affirm the soundness of this thesis.

Voting in a presidential election is influenced by numerous forces. This visions and values concept, to be more fully discussed below, appears to have emerged, however, over the past two decades as a decisive element …

A Prescriptive Model For Handling Nuclear Age Crises In The Executive Office, Joshua H. Sandman

Political Science Faculty Publications

From a study primarily of the Cuban missile crisis and several similar type of crises a prescriptive model will be offered to provide the President with a coherent strategy and a workable decision-making pattern to deal with possible future nuclear age crisis situations.