Political Science Commons^™

Tracing The Impact Of Migration In Bangladesh: From Partition To The Pandemic, Sabrin Sarwar

International Journal on Responsibility

The challenge of migration has been multidimensional, with ramifications that range from economic, social, cultural, and even psychological. People have suffered deep trauma, which is reflected through their experiences of homelessness, the act of leaving their homeland or known habitat behind and being forced to travel due to societal pressure. This paper attempts to study migration-based literature and films with a special focus on two films from Bangladesh, Chitra Nodir Pare (Quite flows the River Chitra) and Maati (Back to its Roots). The first part of the paper examines how partition affected the subcontinent and caused trauma to multiple people …

Migration And Terrorism In Europe: A Nexus Of Two Crises, Shreya Sinha

International Journal on Responsibility

The migration surge into the borders of the European Union has become a major problem in Europe as it has led to several challenges to societal integration and political legitimacy. It is also a danger to cultural identity, domestic and labour market stability as well as internal security, such that a migrant is often perceived as a threat to European society. The first part of the paper attempts to throw light on this migration-security nexus in Europe and how migration has developed into a security issue. The second part discusses how the two crises of migration and terrorism have come …

Intercorrelations Between Essentialist Beliefs And Religious, Political, And National Identities, Truman Deree

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

Research on essentialist beliefs has largely focused on a few identities associated with biological traits that have socially constructed significance and meanings placed on them (e.g., skin color for race or voice pitch for gender). Identities that are more choice-based (e.g., religion or politics) or otherwise non-physical (e.g., nationality) have been underrepresented in research on essentialism. The concept of essentialism is important because the action of regarding natural biological factors as immutable and determinant has been found to lead to racial and political discrimination. The current study surveyed participants on their national, religious, and political beliefs to investigate the relationships …

Predictors Of College Student Support Toward Colin Kaepernick’S National Anthem Protests, Brooke Coursen, Nicole Peiffer, Sakira Coleman, Philip Lucius

VA Engage Journal

Racial discrimination and inequality have perpetuated within the U.S. since its inception. In 2016, Colin Kaepernick initiated the national anthem protests to oppose the oppression of people of color in America. This study was developed in 2018 to identify social determinants of health underlying discriminatory beliefs and behaviors. The objective was to investigate the impacts of college students’ race, gender, political ideology, socio-economic status [SES], NFL interest, patriotism, and general protest support on support for the national anthem protests. We administered paper-and-pencil surveys across locations on the James Madison University campus using a convenience sample. There were 408 participants included, …

Reflective Writing In Prisons: Rehabilitation And The Power Of Stories And Connections, Sandeep Kumar

VA Engage Journal

The United States has the highest rate of incarceration in the world. Even though the rate of crime is dropping, incarceration rates remain fairly steady. What’s more, recidivism (i.e., re-offending after conviction for other crimes) is also very high in the US. If offenders continue to offend, even after completing their sentences in a correctional system designed to address their underlying criminal activity, what is the point of having such a system? Can the system be made more accountable and better? Have we considered all the options for criminal reform? This article explores these questions using effective rehabilitation principles to …

Confronting An Unprincipled America: Lessons In Leadership From Barack Obama, Chloe Harper

VA Engage Journal

Ethical leadership is a concept valued, and even inherently understood, by most Americans, but today, we are seeing fewer individuals committed to making ethical decisions in leadership roles. Moreover, we are often unable to recognize when an ethical decision-maker is before us. Drawing on the works of such scholars as Edgar Schein, Reinhold Niebuhr, and Jonathan Haidt, I evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of Barack Obama, 44th president of the United States and the first African American to hold executive office, in order to determine what factors distinguish ethical leaders from simply respectable leaders. I focus on the role leaders …

Collective Identity In Germany: An Assessment Of National Theories, Sean Starkweather

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

Beginning in the 18th century, the question of what makes a nation has occupied a prominent place in German politics. From the national theories of the 18th-century German Romantics, who identified cultural and ethnic factors as being the key determinants, to modern civic nationalists and postnationalists, who point to liberal civic values and institutions, the importance of collective identity and how it is oriented has remained an important topic for German scholars and policymakers. Using survey research, I assess the accuracy and relevance of these theories in contemporary German society. I find that, contrary to the optimism of modern thinkers, …

Variation In Women's Political Representation Across Countries, Julianna Heck

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

This cross-national study examines the ongoing gender imbalance in positions of power in local and national governments. While some countries have gone to great lengths to combat disproportion and inequality, others have taken steps backwards and have made it almost impossible to achieve equal opportunities for women. Despite the fact that women make up almost half of the world’s population, men still far outnumber women in government in the majority of countries worldwide. This quantitative study analyzes variation in women’s political representation in four categories: domestic roles, wage parity, political systems, and gender quotas. The results suggest that although the …

The Russo-Japanese War: Origins And Implications, Benjamin E. Mainardi

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

The 1904-1905 Russo-Japanese War was the first major conflict of the twentieth century and a turning point in the balance of power in East Asia. In the short term, Russia’s defeat helped precipitate the 1905 Russian Revolution and the 1917 October Revolution. More broadly, the aftermath of the war informed Japan’s imperial ambitions in Manchuria—the early stages of World War II in Asia during the 1930s—and continuing Russo-Japanese enmity over Sakhalin Island and the Kuril Island chain. Studying this historical conflict in terms of international relations provides valuable insights into the nature of the conflict and how the past continues …

Lobbying The Regulatory State: An Examination Of Regulation And Revolving Door Lobbying, Charles Lowrance Iii

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

The prominence of lobbying activity in Washington, D.C., is well-known and often discussed by pundits and legislators alike. For those familiar with the practice of lobbying, it is not a secret that many former government employees become lobbyists and vice versa in a phenomenon often called the revolving door. Yet to be determined, however, is what leads to these so-called revolving door lobbyists and what factors contribute to a heightened number of them working on similar issues.

This study sought to determine if there is a relationship between the degree to which the federal government regulates a certain industry and …

Special Issue, December 2018

International Journal on Responsibility

Contents:

5 – 7 Terry Beitzel, Gjylbehare Muharti, and Hysen Nimani, Responsibility in the Balkans: Justice, Media and Arts.

8 – 22 Mujë Ukaj and Qendresa Jasharaj, International Criminal Responsibility in Kosovo: Establishment of the International Criminal Court - de lege lata, de lege ferenda.

23 – 41 Avdullah Robaj and Sabiha Shala, Responsibility in Building Rule of Law: Kosovo Challenges.

42 – 54 Mujë Ukaj, The Irresponsible Persons: the Imposition and Execution of the Mandatory Treatment Measures on Criminal Procedure of Kosovo.

55 – 64 Gani Asllani, Bedri Statovci, and Gentiana Gega, Development and Protection of Economic …

Volume 1, Issue 2 (2017) Inaugural Issue

International Journal on Responsibility

Contents:

Introduction: Terry Beitzel, Types of Responsibility: Challenges and Opportunities

3 – 5 Howard Zehr, Restorative Justice and the Gandhian Tradition.

6 – 26 Richard E. Rubenstein, Responsibility for Peacemaking in the Context of Structural Violence.

27 – 64 Marc Pufong, Terror, Insecurity, State Responsibility and Challenges: Yesterday and Today?

65 – 77 Ron Kraybill, Responsibility, Community and Conflict Resolution in an Age of Polarization.

78 – 96 John Fairfield, Beyond non-violence to courtship.

97 – 98 Call for papers for forthcoming issues of the International Journal on Responsibility and instructions for authors.

Acknowledgments, Howard S. Carrier

International Journal on Responsibility

Serious work to bring the International Journal on Responsibility to life commenced during the summer of 2015. In the intervening period between conceptualization and publication, many organizations and individuals within James Madison University and the wider community have contributed enormously to bringing the journal to fruition.

Who Is Responsible For Ethical Legal Education, For What And To Whom? Case Of Kosovo, Sabiha Shala, Gjylbehare Muharti

International Journal on Responsibility

Legal education continues to be one of the most demanded areas of study from the younger generation in Kosovo. As result, the number of law graduates is quite high. On the other hand, the rule of law sector is quite fragile, judges and lawyers are perceived by parts of the society to be ethically dysfunctional. The trust in judicial institutions is quite low. The debate which is going on now is whose main responsibility for such a situation that is. Is the duty of the higher education institutions providing legal education, or is it a responsibility of educational institutions at …

Resolving The Paradox Of Holding People Responsible, Hal Pepinsky

International Journal on Responsibility

Regardless of justification, it is commonplace throughout the U.S. criminal justice system as in everyday life to teach our offenders and children alike that wrong actions “have consequences,” namely, those authority figures promise to impose upon them. We do so in the name of holding people responsible for their actions, or in legal parlance in civil law, holding them accountable or liable. I noticed that in Norwegian, responsibility, accountability and liability translate into one word, ansvar, which I have translated from Germanic to Latin roots as “responsiveness.” In practice, the state of being responsive to others with whom one conflicts …

Political Flip-Flopping, Political Responsibility, Current Governance, And The Disenfranchised, T.Y. Okosun

International Journal on Responsibility

No abstract provided.

What Does Responsibility Mean To Me?, Arun Gandhi

International Journal on Responsibility

No abstract provided.

Who Is Responsible To Do What For Whom? A Letter From The Editor-In-Chief, Terry Beitzel

International Journal on Responsibility

No abstract provided.

To Build The Fire Of Revolution, Stephen Roddewig

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

Scholarly examinations of naturalism in Jack London’s 1908 short story “To Build a Fire” often overlook the influence of the socialist political movement. After surveying the American Socialist Party movement and London’s activism in “How I Became a Socialist,” this essay uses the frame of Marxist rhetorical criticism to inspect sociopolitical themes in London’s famous story. London’s critiques of Individualism in “How I Became a Socialist” parallel one of his concerns in “To Build a Fire” as his unnamed protagonist progresses through the Yukon with the larger ideals of American society and the capitalist economy guiding his actions. Although masculinity, …

Volume 1, Issue 1 (2017) Inaugural Issue

International Journal on Responsibility

Contents:

1 – 4 Terry Beitzel, Who is Responsible to do what for Whom? A letter from the Editor-in-Chief.

5 – 20 Arun Gandhi, What Does Responsibility Mean to Me?

21 – 42 T.Y. Okosun, Political Flip-flopping, Political Responsibility, Current Governance, and the Disenfranchised.

43 – 54 Hal Pepinsky, Resolving the Paradox of Holding People Responsible.

55 – 66 Kendra A. Hollern, Dying with Dignity: Where is the Compassion in Compassionate Release Programs?

67 – 82 Sabiha Shala & Gjylbehare Muharti, Who is Responsible for Ethical Legal Education, for what and to whom? Case of Kosovo.

83 Acknowledgments.

The Journal Of Conventional Weapons Destruction Issue 21.2 (2017), Cisr Jmu

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Feature: The Evolving Nature of Survey | Special Report: 21st Century Survey in Eastern Ukraine and the use of Technology in Insecure Environments | Spotlight: Southeast Asia | Field Notes | Research and Development

Interpreting Submunition Fragmentation Marks On Hard Surfaces For The Survey Of Cluster Munition Strikes, Roly Evans

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Submunition fragmentation can produce distinct patterns on hard surfaces that can assist in establishing if a cluster munition has been used. This article will review some of the submunition fragmentation impact patterns seen in current and former conflict zones around the world. It will also underline the risks of misidentifying such patterns and the need to corroborate them with associated evidence such as the submunition fragmentation itself. Trying to accurately identify evidence of cluster munition strikes is an important skill, not just for those surveying contamination for subsequent clearance, but also for journalists and human rights advocates seeking to document …

From The Director, Ken Rutherford

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

This June, the Center for International Stabilization and Recovery (CISR) partnered with Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) to facilitate the Southeast Asia Cluster Munition Remnants Survey (CMRS) Workshop in Washington, D.C. This two-day event, hosted by the Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs (PM/WRA), brought together a number of organizations working in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam to discuss best practices in CMRS in the region.

The Contact Hypothesis And The Diffusion Of Public Opinion Toward Undocumented Latino Immigrants In The United States, Sawyer Hackett

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

Negative and positive attitudes between population in-groups and out-groups are matured through a variety of experiences, chief among them being the extent of interaction between the two groups. The contact hypothesis observes the extent of interaction between in-groups and out-groups—distinguished by a particular demographic descriptor—and asserts that the extent of the two groups’ interaction is positively correlated with favorable attitudes directed toward the out-group. This research analyzes the potential effect that the undocumented Latino immigrant population has on the sentiments of the established native population. In addition to attitudes toward the undocumented Latino population, the importance that U.S. residents place …

Justice, Democratic Inclusion, And Empowered Governance In Richmond’S Development Policy, Rand Irons

VA Engage Journal

After surviving a car crash, a fish fry owner finds her store in disrepair and smelling of rotting fish. Without access to resources to clean her store, she sets up shop on the sidewalk to make ends meet. On the same block, a florist sells fake flowers because he lacks the capital to purchase refrigerators to sell real flowers. These small businesses located on the same block in Northside Richmond, VA are a microcosm of the inequalities present in this city. As gentrification accelerates, many minority businesses and residents lack the resources to respond. This research gathered evidence on the …