Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Rwu First Amendment Blog: David Logan's Blog: Recognizing The Free Press In The Crosshairs Across The Globe 12-12-2018, David A. Logan

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

When The State Turns Against Its Own Citizens: Revisiting Police Brutality As An Obstacle To Peace And Development In Zimbabwe, Tendaishe Tlou

Young African Leaders Journal of Development

This analysis comes at a strategic yet uncertain period in Zimbabwe when the nation is going through a political transition. A lot ofuncertainty surrounds the outcome of this transition. Since the 1980s, Zimbabwe has been entrenched in a plethora of crises including vast human rights abuses hinged on pervasive police brutality. The police have increasingly become predatory against the Zimbabwean populace, followed by disappearances of human rights defenders and activists. Elections have always been marred by political violence perpetrated by both State and non-state actors to the detriment of human rights and good governance. Whilst the leadership in the governing …

Is Judaism Democratic? Reflections From Theory And Practice Throughout The Ages, Leonard J. Greenspoon

Purdue University Press Book Previews

As government by the people, democracy has always had its proponents as well as opponents. What forms of government have Jewish leaders, both with and without actual political power, favored? Not surprisingly, many options have been offered theoretically and in practice. Perhaps more surprisingly, democracy has been at the heart of most systems of governance. Biblical Israel was largely a monarchy, but many writers of the Bible were critical of the excesses that almost always arise when human kings take charge: the general populace loses its freedom. In rabbinic Judaism, the majority ruled, and many principles that support modern democratic …

Candidate-Centric Systems And The Politicization Of Ethnicity: Evidence From Indonesia, Colm A. Fox

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

When and why do electoral candidates politicize ethnicity? From the literature, we might expect this behaviour to occur during democratic transitions or under proportional rules. However, empirical support for these arguments is mixed. This article presents a new approach, arguing that candidate-centric rules offer candidates incentives to politicize ethnicity. The argument is tested in Indonesia with empirical evidence drawn from coding newspaper reports on campaign events, endorsements and group appeals. Indonesia used party-centric rules from 1997 to 2004, and even though the country democratized during this period, the politicization of ethnicity actually declined. I show how party-centric rules, coupled with …

Exit, Voice, And Public Reason, Kevin Vallier

Philosophy Faculty Publications

Public reason liberals appeal to public deliberation to ensure that a legal order can be publicly justified to its citizens. I argue that this voice mechanism should be supplemented by exit mechanisms. By allowing citizens to exit legal orders they believe cannot be publicly justified, citizens can pressure states to change their laws. This exit pressure is sometimes more effective than deliberation. I explore federalism as an exit mechanism that can help public deliberation establish a publicly justified polity.

Who Doesn’T Want Democracy? A Multilevel Analysis Of Elite And Mass Attitudes, Brandon Gorman, Ijlal Naqvi, Charles Kurzman

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Despite its global rise in popularity, a significant number of people still oppose democracy. The present study evaluates three competing theories of opposition to democracy—developmentalist, culturalist, and elitist—using a series of multilevel regression models that combine individual- and country-level variables. Results of our statistical analyses suggest that (1) country-level indicators of social, political, and economic development are unrelated to individual support for democracy; (2) macro-cultural factors have mixed effects on individual support for democracy; and (3) individual income and education have strong effects on individual support for democracy, but this relationship is mediated by country-level economic development. Specifically, we find …

Agrarian Politics And The American Tradition, Jeff Taylor

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

Agrarianism is a political philosophy and way of life known and prac­ticed among peoples of diverse nationalities and religions. While having ancient, medieval, and early-modern roots, agrarian politics blossomed most dramatically in America, during both its colonial and republican periods. Notable spokesmen for American agrarianism include Thomas Jefferson, William Jennings Bryan, and Robert La Follette. It has been in steady decline for the past century as cosmopolitan and centralizing forc­es have displaced tradition and smallness of scale. Still, there have been natural voices lamenting losses in the face of"progress": Distributists and Southern Agrarians, the Counterculture and the Green Party, Wendell …

An Analysis Of Democracy’S Effect On E-Government Development Globally., Frank Bencomo

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

This study looks to examine E-government’s relationship with Democracy on a global scale to assess the impact of how democratic a state is on how much it invests in E-government. I use the Economist’s democracy index and compare that to the United Nations E-government index in the years between 2008 to 2016 to find a pattern between the two factors. Once I identify the pattern, I use GDP per capita as a control variable to ensure that the relationship holds when how much capital a state has for each of its residents is taken into account. After that, I analyze …

Political Accountability And Determinants Of Governance Under Principal-Agent Theory, Matthew Bluem

Dissertations

This study examines the theory that quality of governance is largely dependent upon political accountability, and that the effect of political accountability on governance varies based on three main determinants: level of democracy, level of information available to the public, and diversification of the economy (Adserà et al. 2003). With quality of governance, represented by the World Bank’s World Governance Indicators (WGI), as the dependent variable, this study considers how these three independent variables, and several control variables, affect governance quality. Incorporating data from 2010 – 2015 for 143 countries in both cross-sectional OLS and fixed effects panel regression analysis, …

The Defenestration Of Democracy, Peter Mclaren

Education Faculty Books and Book Chapters

Peter McLaren wrote this afterword to Dissident Knowledge in Higher Education, edited by Marc Spooner and James McNinch, which "delve[s] into the effects of colonialism, neoliberalism, and audit culture on higher education".

Why No Democracy In Egypt?, Mary Levine

Honors Program Contracts

This paper will work to discover why the attempt at democracy in Egypt was a failure. It will analyze the aspects and features of democracy, and look at the features that Egypt lacked that made their democracy fail. It will also look at the results of the Arab Spring, and how that played a role in the deterioration of a democracy. Lastly, it will discuss what regime Egypt is currently under, and what it will need in order to become a functioning democracy. Through the use of scholarly articles, this paper will be able to better understand what is currently …

Egypt's Perilous Journey, David Nguyen

Senior Theses

Citizens of the United States have been conditioned to believe that rule by democracy is the most free and fair method of governing. If we hold this to be true, I inquire: why do some postmodern Arab states appear resistant to the spread of democracy within government? In order to fully evaluate the merits of a democratic form of government, it is important to analyze the obstacles that hinder its success. Within this research, the gap that I have identified concerns how the overall quality of a nation’s economy affects its ability to transition to democracy in the Middle East …

Unequal Democracies: Economic Sanctions' Impact On Human Rights In Democratic Systems, Daniel Partin

Masters Theses

In the past, research into the field of human rights has treated regime as a dichotomous variable and divided the type of governmental structure into either autocracies or democracies. By lumping all democracies into one category, all variation between different categories of governmental composition is discarded and it is difficult to examine the differences between types of democratic governments and their human rights capacities. Due to their tendency to accrete power centrally, presidential democracies are thought to repress the rights of citizens more often and severely than parliamentary systems. Further, an exogenous shock to the political system, such as the …

A Democratic Critique Of The Common Core English Language Arts (Ela) Standards, Nicholas Tampio

Democracy and Education

Parents, educators, and students have criticized the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects for expecting students to regurgitate evidence from assigned texts rather than think for themselves. This article argues that this popular critique is accurate and that the Common Core, regardless of its advocates’ intentions, has undemocratic consequences. Initially, the essay considers a democratic argument for the Common Core. Then, I show that the standards themselves, faithfully implemented, lead to assignments and assessments that give students few opportunities to articulate their own thoughts or responses. I argue that …

Making African Civil Society Work: Assessing Conditions For Democratic State-Society Relations In Rwanda, Fiacre Bienvenu

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation offers a single case in-depth analysis of factors precluding civil society from democratizing African polities. Synthesizing existing literature on Rwanda, I first undertake an historical search to trace the origins and qualities of civil society in the colonial era. This effort shows, however, that the central authority—commencing before the inception of the Republic in 1962—consistently organized civil society to buttress its activities, not to challenge them. Next, using ethnographic research, I challenge conventional economic and institutional accounts of civil society’s role in democratization. I show that institutional change and the economic clout of organized groups are marginal and …

Speech Excerpts: Democracy And Human Rights

Saffy Collection - All Textual Materials

Excerpt from speeches given by Bill Clinton on democracy and human rights worldwide. No date given.

Tracking Public Support For Japan's Remilitarization Policies: An Examination Of Elitist And Pluralist Governance, Cory S. Madison

Student Publications

Has Japan’s post-Second World War transformation into one of the most militarily capable nations been the result of 60 years of truly representative government? This research compares government-collected opinion polls to policy trends and actions, to determine whether the case of Japan’s remilitarization argues for or against the country’s democratic quality. For the purpose of this research, the size of Japan’s military and its legislative freedom to act as a more conventional military were considered the most pertinent militarization policies. Results indicated that those policies were consistently unjustified by measured opinion, suggesting elitist policy formation. However, other policy areas, such …

Rwu First Amendment Blog: David Logan's Blog: Media Centralization Imperils Marketplace Of Ideas 04-05-2018, David A. Logan

Law School Blogs

No abstract provided.

The "Double Standard" Of Nonproliferation: Regime Type And The U.S. Response To Nuclear Weapons Program, Alina Shymanska

International Journal of Nuclear Security

There is no doubt that the NPT regime is far from being equal for all states involved. As the predominant hegemonic power since WWII, the United States plays a major role in deciding the fates of non-great power proliferators. This article tries to find the logical explanation of the phenomenon whereby some nuclear proliferators are absolved regardless of their active accumulation of nuclear arsenals while others are labeled as “rogue states” and ordered to disarm. The article suggests that a particular proliferator’s political regime could affect the way in which its state is approached by the U.S., known for its …

Is “This Guy” A Dictator? On The Morality Of Evaluating Russian Democracy Under Vladimir Putin, Amir Azarvan

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Is it morally defensible to single Russian president, Vladimir Putin, out as a dictator? The popular impression that he is a dictator has been used to legitimize a dangerously adversarial policy towards what a U.S. Army general described as “the only country on earth…that could “destroy the United States.” I argue that this perception is in some ways misleading, and has contributed to escalating tensions with Russia, which is both unnecessary and harmful both to Russia and the U.S.

Quality Journalism In The Digital Age: Strategies To Adapt And Remain Profitable, Jack Brewster

Honors Papers

In the United States, the news media is commonly referred to as the “fourth estate” because we rely on it to fulfill a variety of functions essential to a healthy democracy. We trust the media to, among other things, tell us what is going on in the world, contextualize and provide historical background on current events, filter politicians’ spin, fact-check, be a “watchdog,” promote robust civil discourse, and enable understanding of complex issues.

Up until the last decade or so, the media could meet this “standard” without sacrificing its financial well-being. The internet and the smartphone, however, changed everything. The …

The Rise Of Trump And The Death Of Civility, Keith Bybee

Institute for the Study of the Judiciary, Politics, and the Media at Syracuse University

According to supporters and opponents alike, Donald Trump has been an unconventional candidate and president. In this article, I evaluate the relationship between Trump’s unconventional behavior and the requirements of civility. I provide a definition of civility, and I explain why it makes sense to relate Trump’s actions to civil norms. I then discuss how civility is enacted, I examine criticisms of civility’s triviality, and I explore the ways in which civility may repress dissent and maintain hierarchy. Although I consider the degree to which Trump’s actions are strategic, I ultimately argue that Trump’s incivilities should be understood as an …

Snowden Is (Not) A Whistleblower: An Analysis Of Ideographs And Anti-Democratic Rhetorical Strategies Within The U.S. Government’S Response To Edward Snowden, Joshua Guitar

Wayne State University Dissertations

This dissertation is a rhetorical criticism of the U.S. government’s response to Edward Snowden, the whistleblower who exposed illegal and unethical surveillance tactics of the National Security Agency and U.S. government. Informed by contemporary theories of democracy, this synchronic ideographic analysis examines the rhetorical strategies of U.S. government officials following Snowden’s disclosures. This dissertation contends that in laboring to absolve themselves of culpability, U.S. officials obfuscated Snowden and operationalized as an ideograph. This reification provides methodological development to ideographic analysis as it demonstrates how a political figure can become a rhetorical abstraction used for ideological purposes. The rhetorical interplay between …

Aristotle On Democracy And Democracies, Kevin M. Cherry

Political Science Faculty Publications

It is a commonplace that Aristotle, like his teacher Plato, was a critic of democracy. This is, to a certain extent, true: Plato and Aristotle both saw democracy, at least as practiced in Athens, as prone to tumultuousness and imprudence. The failed Sicilian expedition, the execution of Socrates, the failure to heed Demosthenes's warnings about Philip of Macedon and Aristotle's own reported flight from Athens all highlighted the weaknesses of Athenian democratic institutions. Yet Aristotle's understanding of political science requires him to consider not only what the simply best regime might be, as Socrates purports to do in the Republic, …

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 …

Government And The Intelligence Community: A Case Study On Russia And The United States Government's Effect On Intelligence Systems, Jessica M. Lago

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The United States and Russia are two major superpowers with governments that are run in different manners. Central to a government's and country's defense is their intelligence systems. The intelligence systems of these two countries are run as part of the government and are integral to its functioning. The purpose of this thesis is to discuss how both the governments and intelligence systems are structured and do they coincide with their respective systems. Using a case study on the United States and Russia, their intelligence systems and governments a comparison was drawn. While looking at the history of both governments …

Sustaining Collective Self-Governance And Collective Action: A Constitutional Role Morality For Presidents And Members Of Congress, Neil S. Siegel

Faculty Scholarship

In the United States today, the behavior of the political branches is generally viewed as more damaging to the American constitutional system than is the behavior of the federal courts. Yet constitutional law scholarship continues to focus primarily on judges and judging. This Article suggests that such scholarship should develop for presidents and members of Congress what it has long advocated for judges: a role morality that imposes normative limits on the exercise of official discretion over and above strictly legal limits. The Article first grounds a role morality for federal elected officials in two purposes of the U.S. Constitution …

Education As Democratic Persuasion: Addressing Systemic Inequalities In Brettschneider's Value Democracy, Kyla L. Eastling

CMC Senior Theses

In Corey Brettschneider’s book, Democratic Rights: The Substance of Self- Government, he builds the value theory of democracy wherein procedural and substantive rights are both grounded in the core values of democracy. In his second book, When the State Speaks, What Should It Say? How Democracies Can Protect Expression and Promote Equality, Brettschneider elaborates on his theory to provide an account of how a liberal democracy can address hateful and discriminatory views. In response to both theories, critics have charged that the ideal value democracy does not sufficiently account for systemic inequalities that women and black citizens face. In this …

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 …

Deepening Democracy: Inclusion, Deliberation, And Voice In The Grassroots South, Annie L. Boiter-Jolley

Theses and Dissertations

Through an exploration of grassroots challenges to shallow democracy in South Carolina, this dissertation offers a model of democratization based on inclusion, deliberation, and empowerment as a remedy for democratic insufficiency. I posit that greater emphasis on inclusive democratic deliberation, both inside and outside formal political structures, will help deepen the South’s shallow democracy, and that inclusive deliberation fostered through grassroots organizing that priorities consciousness raising, empowerment, and activism training will positively affect participants, deliberation, and policy outcomes. Taking a grounded theory approach, I consider case studies of three organizations based in Columbia, South Carolina, and their attending theories of …