Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Unequal City: The Mass Criminalization Of The Urban Poor., Elizabeth Michele Jones

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Exploring and understanding the widespread use of arrests and incarceration in urban neighborhoods of concentrated poverty is the subject of this dissertation. The research addresses gaps in theoretical debates about the causes of mass criminalization that position the phenomenon as the result of either neoliberalism or racism. In addition, the dissertation explores the impact of mass criminalization on urban citizenship. Urban citizenship is a theoretical frame that considers the substance of the economic, social, political, and mobility dimensions of city life. The research methodology is a case study of two impoverished neighborhoods in the city of Louisville, Kentucky that incorporates …

Framing Climate Change As National Security: A Survey-Experiment On Climate Change Perceptions., Adam Lyons

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The issues surrounding climate change continue to have polarizing effects on many Americans. In this thesis I offer a potential bridge to this divide with a comprehensive study on how issue frames can impact how individuals shape their opinions on environmental issues. Focusing on a national security frame, I ask the central research “Will the public perceive issues of climate change differently when they are framed as threats to national security?” For this thesis I design an original experimental survey to measure the impact security framing has on participants’ perception of both climate change and environmental policy options. The survey …

Assessment Of South Korea's Role As A "Middle Power Country": Case Studies Of South Korean Diplomacy In Central Asia, Jiwon Nam

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The concept of “middle power country” existed since several hundred years agointroduced by European philosophers and political scientists. The definition was proposed by many scholars and used by countries in many different status, one specific definition of “middle power” was not set until current days. The characteristics of a “middle power country” range from economic status, and political system, to patterns of diplomacy. By current broad definition, almost 80 percent of the countries in the world can fit into one or more categories of a “middle power country.”

The purpose of this paper is to depict the importance of middle …

Analysis Of The Impacts Of South Korea's Political Relations On Its Bilateral Trade: Focus On South Korea's Political And Trade Relations With China, Japan, Russia, And North Korea, Mingu Lee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Through all chapters, this thesis is finding answers to the following questions: Why are political relations and trade important to South Korea? What are current problems that South Korea confronts in political relations and trade? How are political relations of South Korea with the trading partners and North Korea? Does South Korea’s political relations with the four countries have impacts on South Korea’s bilateral trade with the countries? If it does, how does it affect South Korea’s trade? In answering these questions, this thesis demonstrates how South Korea’s political relations influence South Korea’s bilateral trade as well as presents trade …

Political Journalists Tweet About The Final 2016 Presidential Debate, Hannah Hopper

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Past research shows that journalists are gatekeepers to information the public seeks. Using the gatekeeping and agenda-setting theory, this study used a content analysis of tweets from political journalists during the final 2016 presidential debate to examine social media usage in efforts to convey information to followers and whether social media has allowed for journalists to present a more transparent view of candidates to the public. This study used feminist political theory to further analyze whether the tweets from political journalists portrayed Hillary Clinton, the female candidate, with stereotypical “female” traits, such as more emotional and more trustworthy. Applying these …

The Words Of War: A Content Analysis Of Republican Presidential Speeches From Dwight D. Eisenhower, Richard M. Nixon, George W. Bush, And Donald J. Trump, Patrick Lee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this analysis of public speeches from four American presidents from the Republican party, the ways in which those presidents discuss and position American defense activities and stances are examined, to track the progression from the 1960s to the present. Presidents from one party were chosen, who presided over a period of active armed conflict or cold war. The addresses analyzed comprised public addresses to Congress or the American people. The analysis groups recurring frames--conceptually developed based on framing and agenda setting theories--into thematic categories for each president. Some frames were more salient for certain presidents than for others. Other …

An Analysis Of International Agreements Over Cybersecurity, Lucas Ashbaugh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research into the international agreements that increase cooperation over cybersecurity challenges is severely lacking. This is a necessary next step for bridging diplomatic challenges over cybersecurity. This work aspires to be push the bounds of research into these agreements and offer a tool that future researchers can rely on. For this research I created, and made publicly available, the International Cybersecurity Cooperation Dataset (ICCD), which contains over 350 international cybersecurity agreements and pertinent metadata. Each agreement is marked per which subtopics within cybersecurity related agreements it covers. These typologies are:

• Discussion and Dialogue

• Research

• Confidence Building Measures

• Incident Response

• Crime …

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Why Is Democracy In Decline: Democratic Backsliding In Venezuela And Turkey, Fatih Bayraktar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

It has long been argued that the end of the 20th century marked the triumph of liberal democracy. The third wave of democracy has increased the number of democracies in the world unprecedentedly and gave hope to many that democratic revolution is underway. However, in the last decade, this democratization process seems to have halted; there has been decline both in the number and quality of democracies. This thesis proposes an agent-based theory of democratic backsliding. More specifically, it is argued that leaders with undemocratic normative preferences and their ability to mobilize previously persecuted segments of society are the driving …

The African Puzzle: A Study Of Democratic Backsliding In Sub Saharan Africa, Ailbhe Rice

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The following study examines the future of democratization and the apparent trend towards autocratization within the context of democratic backsliding in Sub-Saharan Africa. Initially, the findings indicate that regionally, backsliding is not acting fundamentally different in Sub-Saharan Africa when compared to other regions. The analysis finds that regime duration and civil conflict are both significant when it comes to the study of democratic backsliding. The variable for the prior military regime's is extremely significant in all of the models and is, therefore, a strong indicator of backsliding in Africa. The chief takeaway from the study is in the variable for …

Ethnic Exclusion & Conflict In The Caspian: Comparing Kazakhstan & Azerbaijan, Danny Krikorian

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Political science explains various motives for political violence. This research focuses on a particular kind of motivation: ethnicity. The 20th century has seen many instances of ethnic violence, and this research seeks to understand why it occurs in one place and time and not the other. Traditionally the literature on ethnic violence reflects on economic conditions, regime type, geopolitics and historical context as significant variables. This research posits that Kazakhstan managed to avoid ethnic violence because it is more politically developed. The existence of an accommodative legislative assembly, which assures the rights of ethnic minorities, is an example of Kazakhstan's …

Anti-Capitalism In The Contemporary Age: The Case Of The United Socialist Party Of Venezuela, William Maddens

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the popularity of anti-capitalist parties around the world has fallen. However, there are still surviving anti-capitalist political parties that survived this fall. In examining these parties, it must be determined whether they have any fresh ideas to overcoming the challenges of transitioning to a socialist society, and if they have any answers to the problems that plagued past attempts at socialism. One such party that has enjoyed much electoral success is the United Socialist Party of Venezuela. When taking a look at party programs, platforms, and statements made by party leaders, …

Tides Of Cooperation: The Ebb And Flow Of Regional Cooperation In Latin America, Amaleia E. Kolovos

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Regional organizations have developed into important global actors as they negotiate inter-regional trade agreements, regulate economic policies, and develop international security communities. States have much to gain from such regional cooperation efforts particularly in emerging regions such as Latin America. Such gains can include increased trade and economic relations, enhanced security, attracting external investment, and increasing bargaining power at the international level. With such gains to be had, one might expect states in these regions to regularly cooperate in order to achieve their common interests. However, this is clearly not always the case. Latin America has struggled for decades with …

Restive Subjects: Russian Protest, 2007–2013, Carey C. Neill

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation develops and evaluates a structural theory of protest onset, applied to the Russian case. Russian stability has become a pressing international political concern, as Putin has annexed the Crimea, fomented one war, in Ukraine, and become a major player in another, in Syria. In December 2011, thousands of Russians gathered in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and other cities for the largest set of protests since the fall of the USSR. Waves of protest have reappeared sporadically since. Each time, events create islands of dissent, spread widely, but unevenly, throughout the country - in a picture reminiscent of the pre-collapse …

Great Powers Have Great Currencies: Popular Nationalist Discourse And China's Campaign To Internationalize The Renminbi, Michael Stephen Bartee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Why did the Chinese government begin promoting the internationalization of its currency, the renminbi, after the 2008 global financial crisis? Only a few years earlier, Beijing balked at U.S. demands to reform its currency regime, which would require dismantling many of the country's long-preferred tools for promoting growth and maintaining domestic stability. Similar concerns about the dilution of monetary policy independence motivated previous rising economies Germany and Japan to proactively discourage the internationalization of their currencies. While China's central bank had long explored promoting greater international use of the renminbi, and such a policy would generate some benefits for China, …

The Political Economy Of Sandinismo 2.0: Environmental And Social Implications Of Paradoxical Economic Ideologies In Post-Revolutionary Nicaragua, Sarah Mccall Harris

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research investigates the political economy of Nicaragua's development, with specific emphasis on Venezuela and China's influence, energy policy, and environmental and social justice related to the Nicaragua canal. The first section focuses on the political economy of the current Ortega administration in Nicaragua, as part of the return of left-leaning leadership in Latin America since the early 2000s. This study examines the Ortega administration's selective interpretation of the concept of imperialism and its effect on the environment as it pertains to US interests, Venezuelan oil financing and socialist rhetoric, and China's control over a large piece of Nicaraguan territory …

Defections And Democracy: Explaining Military Loyalty Shifts And Their Impacts On Post-Protest Political Change, Kara Leigh Kingma Neu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Why do militaries shift their loyalty from authoritarian regimes in some instances of anti-regime protests and not others, and why do these shifts sometimes lead to democratic change? These questions are crucial for understanding the role of the military in democratization, given competing expectations in the literatures on civil-military relations, pacted transitions, and civil resistance. They are also important for understanding the outcomes of protests and other nonviolent campaigns for regime change, a topic of increased attention in recent years. To answer them, I propose an argument rooted in the bases of military authority. Militaries are delegated authority by regimes …

National Interests And Security Policies In The Arctic Region Among Arctic States, Hilde-Gunn Bye

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The United States, Canada, Russia, and Norway are all Arctic states; however, they prioritize the region to different degrees in terms of investments of security assets and military presence. What explains why some Arctic countries prioritize the Arctic more than others? This thesis explores this question through using an issue-based approach, which looks at the salience of issues as having implications for foreign policy tools and measures. This thesis finds that having interests and stakes in the region of high overall salience contribute to an explanation of why some countries prioritize the region more, while low overall salience is linked …

The Foundations Of Aleksandr Dugin's Geopolitics: Montage Fascism And Eurasianism As Blowback, Grant Scott Fellows

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is an examination of Aleksandr Dugin's The Foundations of Geopolitics, of which I have translated important sections into English and these are included as an appendix. Despite the importance of Foundations of Geopolitics to Russian strategic thought there has not been a translated edition published in English. This work was published in 1997 and has been quite influential for Russian political and military leadership. I strive to provide context for the setting in which Foundations of Geopolitics was created through an analysis of the social and political conditions that existed in Russia while the text was being …

A Theory Of Cultural Tolerance For Preventing Ethnic Conflict: Evidence From Former Soviet States, Ajara Boulibekova

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The prevention of ethnic conflict has been examined and debated upon within the Political Science community; studies involving economic standing, government structure, and historical background have been credited with reducing or preventing ethnic conflict. In the years leading up to the demise of the Soviet Union ethnic conflict was felt heavily throughout the Socialist Republics. After the fall of the U.S.S.R. scholars were certain that ethnic conflict would arise in Kazakhstan but alas it did not, while other post-Soviet states, such as Moldova and Russia, had experienced ethnic conflict. What prevents ethnic conflict from occurring in one state but not …

From Dissent To Democracy? The Promise And Perils Of Civil Resistance Transitions, Jonathan C. Pinckney

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Under what conditions will successful nonviolent revolutions be followed by democratization? While the scholarly literature has shown that nonviolent resistance has a positive effect on a country's level of democracy, little research to date has disaggregated this population to explain which cases of successful nonviolent resistance lead to democracy and which do not. In this study I present a theory of democratization in civil resistance transitions in which I argue that political actors' behavior in three strategic challenges: mobilization, maximalism, and holdovers policy, systematically affect the likelihood of democratization. I test this theory using a nested research design that begins …