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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

No More 9/11s: Reconceptualizing National Security And The Creation Of An American Garrison State., Jacob M. Waxman May 2014

No More 9/11s: Reconceptualizing National Security And The Creation Of An American Garrison State., Jacob M. Waxman

Political Science Honors Projects

The NSA’s electronic surveillance program unsettled many Americans as an abuse of government power. In my research I reconcile this program with traditional American civil-military relations and conceptions of national security. I apply these theories to the Cold War and War on Terror, exploring how in both cases the US built a national security state using legislation, bureaucracy, and legitimizing rhetoric to respond to the Soviet and terrorist threats. I find that 9/11 expanded the American conception of national security, which precipitated the NSA surveillance program. Without significant public and Congressional pushback, the current national security state is likely to …


Biting The Bullet? Assessing The Genuine Advancement Of Human Security In The Arms Trade Treaty, Selja Vassnes May 2014

Biting The Bullet? Assessing The Genuine Advancement Of Human Security In The Arms Trade Treaty, Selja Vassnes

Political Science Honors Projects

The Arms Trade Treaty is hailed as a historic achievement in advancing human security by requiring states to put human lives over profit in decisions about conventional arms sales. In this thesis, I critically examine this claim. First, I assess the extent to which the ATT text represents a genuine advancement of human security, and second, I consider whether the ATT's operationalization is likely to change states' priorities in arms transfer decisions. Through a textual analysis of the ATT and case studies of the arms control experiences in the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, and Canada, I argue that …


"Like Building A Human Being": The Construction Of Democracy In Contemporary Russia, Mary Kennedy May 2014

"Like Building A Human Being": The Construction Of Democracy In Contemporary Russia, Mary Kennedy

Political Science Honors Projects

This thesis explores the themes and tropes of democracy that appear in Russian Presidents' Federal Assembly Addresses from 2008-2013. Based on its analysis of these important political texts, the thesis argues that Presidents Medvedev and Putin's democratic discourse places more value on economic security as a marker of citizens' ability to participate in society than on Western liberal values such as free speech, fair elections, etc. Additionally, the thesis suggests that this conception of democracy as a regime defined by the values of economic security and socio-political stability is fueled by a sense of nostalgia for the Soviet era.


Touchline Democracy: How Soccer's Civil Society Shaped Democratization In Egypt And Turkey, Kai Wilson Apr 2014

Touchline Democracy: How Soccer's Civil Society Shaped Democratization In Egypt And Turkey, Kai Wilson

Political Science Honors Projects

No abstract provided.


Constituting The Entrepreneurial Poor: Social Capital, Development, And The Contemporary Microfinance Industry, Luke Allen Apr 2014

Constituting The Entrepreneurial Poor: Social Capital, Development, And The Contemporary Microfinance Industry, Luke Allen

Political Science Honors Projects

The contemporary microfinance industry struggles to manage the tensions that arise from its competing roles as a tool in the fight against poverty and as a lucrative financial market. I contend that the microfinance industry manages these tensions through discourses that emphasize the entrepreneurialism of the poor in the Global South. Furthermore, I argue that the industry attempts to constitute the entrepreneurial "microfinance subject" through networks of coalitions, discourses, personnel, and technologies. These networks produce and distribute new forms of risk onto these subjects, necessitating a critical response.