Political Science Commons^™

What Influences Reproductive Rights Policy? State Abortion Restrictions And The Level Of State Democracy, Dylan C. Naughton

Scholarly Horizons: University of Minnesota, Morris Undergraduate Journal

The overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022 greatly altered the way reproductive rights policy is regulated in the United States. Sole policy-making jurisdiction was given to individual states, and many states have already passed legislation that both expands and restricts abortion access. This research examines what factors have the most influence on state-level abortion policy-making, specifically testing to determine how significant the level of democracy is in deciding how restrictive reproductive rights policies are implemented. Multiple regression models were run using various other variables to examine their impact on state reproduction restriction ranking using multiple subsets of data. Through …

Public Perceptions Of Corruption In East Asia: A Comparative Study Of Japan, Singapore, And South Korea, Isaiah Nielsen

Scholarly Horizons: University of Minnesota, Morris Undergraduate Journal

This research analyzes perceptions of corruption through comparative case studies of South Korea, Japan, and Singapore. It looks to political party affiliation and socioeconomic status for effects on an individual’s perception of corruption. It hypothesizes that individuals more affiliated with the ruling party will perceive the government as less corrupt and individuals that are less affiliated will perceive it as more. Socioeconomic status is split into income, social status, and education variables. Individuals with a lower income and status will perceive the government as more corrupt, while overall higher status and income individuals will perceive it as less. On the …

Fighting Gerrymandering By Automating Congressional Redistricting, Jacob Jenness

Scholarly Horizons: University of Minnesota, Morris Undergraduate Journal

Gerrymandering is a political problem that the United States has had for more than 200 years. Politicians have taken the dull and routine process of drawing congressional districts and turned it into a highly-partisan process. However, with recent improvements in redistricting algorithms, researchers Harry Levin and Sorelle Friedler have introduced their recursive Divide and Conquer Redistricting Algorithm. This algorithm has the potential to automate the process of congressional redistricting, thereby removing the potential for bias. By utilizing a set of partitioning and swapping algorithms, the Divide and Conquer Redistricting Algorithm achieves desirable goals, such as low population deviation, and high …

Electronic Voting Implementation Through Bitcoin Blockchain Technology, Cassie Schultz

Scholarly Horizons: University of Minnesota, Morris Undergraduate Journal

Even with all the advances we have seen in secure digital technology, the most secure way to currently cast a vote on election day consist of a hand-marked paper ballot. When extenuating circumstances arise, offering a voting environment that is accessible and safe for everyone, but also secure can be a difficult task under the current voting system. This paper discusses one proposed electronic voting system which uses blockchain technology. Based on a review of literature on blockchain technology and specific implementations of voting systems, a summary of relevant background information as well as implementation protocol are provided. Even though …

The Path To Eliminating Oppression: Why Anarchist Thinkers And Intersectional Practitioners Should Work Together, Samantha Montgomery

Scholarly Horizons: University of Minnesota, Morris Undergraduate Journal

In this paper, I examine the similarities between the tenets of anarcha-feminism and the practices of those with intersectional viewpoints. During my research, I interviewed 3 women of color who are leaders in the elimination of oppression in Denver, CO, and learned that having an increased experience with interlocking oppression, as those with multi-marginalized identities do, results in having the expertise to recognize where oppression exists, and, in most cases, developing the empathy to fight against it. This paper thus concludes that if the United States of America was to systemically implement an intersectional perspective, it would then take measurable …

The Rise Of The Ideological Left? Testing The Asymmetrical Party Theory Through Case Studies Of 2018 Primary Elections, Wyatt Anderson

Scholarly Horizons: University of Minnesota, Morris Undergraduate Journal

During the mid-term elections of 2018, primary challenges against Democratic incumbents in Congress captured the attention of national media. One of the most prominent cases of this was the victory of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in New York’s 14th Congressional District against the ten-time incumbent and Democratic Caucus Chair Joe Crowley on June 26. While her successful primary challenge could be attributed to many different factors, of interest is the way in which she campaigned – bringing into question how primary campaigns have changed in recent years and the rhetoric that hopeful-nominees adopt to secure their party’s nomination. The central question of …

Immigrants Or Elites?: Contextualizing The Motivation Of The Rural American Vote In The Trump Era, Annika Johnson

Scholarly Horizons: University of Minnesota, Morris Undergraduate Journal

The rural American vote was central to Donald Trump’s presidential victory in 2016. In an attempt to unpack the strongest motivators for rural Americans who voted for Trump, analyses explored the importance of anti-immigrant and anti-elite sentiment using a subset of rural participants in the 2016 American National Elections Study. Through a combination of quantitative data work, qualitative case studies and an extensive literature review, it was found that both anti-immigrant and anti-elite sentiments are indicators of a vote for Trump. However, the research and analyses suggest anti-immigrant sentiment is a stronger indicator.

Motivating Climate Activism Through Framing: Hope, Fear, Injustice, And Sacrifice, Josiah Gregg

Scholarly Horizons: University of Minnesota, Morris Undergraduate Journal

Climate Change is considered by many scientists to present a dire threat to world through its catastrophic potential. When this potential is combined with a political reality where political climate action seems impossible, citizens concerned by climate change are often paralyzed from climate activism through despair. It would thus be useful to discover how citizens can frame climate change in order to motivate themselves to action. In this project, I explore how political theorists have linked fear, hope, injustice, sacrifice, and the economic theories that have caused climate change, to their ability to inspire climate activism. I argue that political …

Russia's Use Of The Energy Weapon: How Russia Manipulates Ukraine, Georgia, And The Baltic States, Sierra Brown

Scholarly Horizons: University of Minnesota, Morris Undergraduate Journal

Russia’s stranglehold on oil and gas as a resource, and use of energy as a weapon is a long standing humanitarian crisis as shown by the cut off of oil exports to former Soviet Republics, in efforts to gain political and economic dependence, resulting in, as one example shows, electricity and heat suspensions of innocent citizens homes. Other concerted efforts of Moscow include control over export routes, the attempt to reinstate the Soviet Union, and the intimidation of the Western World. The Soviet Union may have collapsed, but the drive for state control over resources, people, and land did not. …

Climate Refugees: Establishing Legal Responses And U.S. Policy Possibilities, Steven Tetrick

Scholarly Horizons: University of Minnesota, Morris Undergraduate Journal

“Climate Refugee” describes a person who is forced to leave their home or community due to changes to the local environment, such as rising sea level, drought, famine, or other side effects of climate change. A study from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees estimates that with the current rate of climate change, 250 million people will become climate refugees by 2050. Under the current global institutions, climate refugees are not granted legal refugee rights and there are no specific legal frameworks protecting them at the international or national levels. This paper will focus on refugee and immigration policy …

Why Can't We Be Friends? Rapprochement In Us Foreign Policy, Karyssa Scheck

Scholarly Horizons: University of Minnesota, Morris Undergraduate Journal

This comparative case study examines which factors lead the United States to reexamine its policies toward countries with which it has severed diplomatic ties. I theorize that two particular factors are instrumental in foreign policy decision-making when it comes to reversing US foreign policy to improve bilateral relations: perception of economic benefit for the US and perception of international pressure on the US to change its policy. I evaluate the presence and importance of these factors in the cases of US rapprochement with Iran, Libya, Vietnam, and Cuba, as they represent recent, major changes in the course of US foreign …

The Resource Curse: A Look Into The Implications Of An Abundance Of Natural Resources In The Democratic Republic Of Congo, Erin Nichols

Scholarly Horizons: University of Minnesota, Morris Undergraduate Journal

This paper’s purpose was to look at why the Democratic Republic of the Congo faces consistent economic and political instability despite having an abundance of natural resources. The goal was to connect the economic instability and overall downfall of the Congolese government with the notion of the resource curse which focuses on the concept that countries who have an abundance of natural resources tend to have less economic growth and experience more conflict. This has been done by examining the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s past of colonization as well as its current issues such as conflicts within and near …

Elections, Rhetoric, And Policy: Comparing The Rise Of Far-Right Nationalism In Western Europe And The United States, Ruby Debellis

Scholarly Horizons: University of Minnesota, Morris Undergraduate Journal

Western Europe and the United States have both seen an increase in the number of elected officials who represent the far-right ideologically. In this paper, I investigate the reasons behind the rise of far-right nationalist parties, as well as the impacts it has on policy and implications for international relations. To do this, I compared recent election results from Western Europe and the US, the populist rhetoric used by these parties and their candidates, and the subsequent changes in immigration and trade policy due to far-right politicians enacting their agenda. Through this comparison, I concluded first that the elections in …

The Platform Strategy: Concession To Win Elections, Jon R. Antonsen

Scholarly Horizons: University of Minnesota, Morris Undergraduate Journal

This paper sought to provide one answer to the question: when do parties incorporate centrist ideas in a platform? This question came about from the 1988 election: the Democrats controlled the Congress, but they wanted to regain footing in the presidency. Their previous election performance was fraught with inter-partisan conflict: the liberal House of Humphrey had fallen victim to the Vietnam War and Ronald Reagan had effectively poisoned the word “liberal.” Centrist Democrats fought with liberal Democrats over trivial issues, and the 1984 convention ended in fiery disunity. After being out of power for a long time, to reconcile their …

The Role Of Government In Cases Of Faith Based Child Medical Neglect, Megan Jacobson

Scholarly Horizons: University of Minnesota, Morris Undergraduate Journal

In the United States, parental rights have been defined by a strong liberal conception of individual rights, giving parents huge leeway in determining how their children are raised. In this paper, I examine one extreme example of parental rights gone wrong: faith based child medical neglect, a phenomenon that occurs when parents turn to faith healing for their children instead of standard medical care, resulting in the child’s death. First, I show how liberal theory has failed to address key questions regarding the limits of both parental and child rights as they apply to faith healing. Then I apply the …

Presidential Modernity: Harry Truman And The Foreign Policy Decision Making Process, Samuel Gill

Scholarly Horizons: University of Minnesota, Morris Undergraduate Journal

Harry Truman is an overshadowed figure in presidential politics and history. His presidency was wedged between two titans of the office, the politically savvy Franklin Roosevelt and universally beloved war hero Dwight Eisenhower, and his overall influence and impact is downplayed when compared these two men. This research examines what influence Truman exerted upon the executive branch by asking “how has Harry Truman influenced the foreign policy decision making process of office of the presidency and how, if at all, could his actions be considered modern?” Through a comparative case study analysis of four foreign policy events, this paper highlights …

Do Human Rights Matter? An Analysis Of Presidential Human Rights Rhetoric From 1993-2014, Nathan Bean

Scholarly Horizons: University of Minnesota, Morris Undergraduate Journal

My research examines how and why American presidents speak about human rights issues around the world, using rhetoric about human rights from the Clinton, George W. Bush, and Obama administrations. I theorized that rhetorical attention to human rights issues would be dependent on the strategic value of the region where the abuses take place, and that the president would shy away from criticizing countries where high numbers of U.S. military personnel were stationed. Using descriptive statistics and a measure of bivariate correlation, I found compelling evidence that presidential human rights attention was influenced by regional location, but only weak evidence …

Avoiding The Escalation Of Homelessness Through Public Policy, Peter Goldstein

Scholarly Horizons: University of Minnesota, Morris Undergraduate Journal

This paper examines public policies related to homelessness in America.

Responding To The Global Ecological Challenge: The Persuasive Power Of A Local Approach, Iris A. Burniece

Scholarly Horizons: University of Minnesota, Morris Undergraduate Journal

Climate change threatens to impact our planet in ways that will have far-reaching effects on both human populations and the ecological foundations humanity depends on for its survival. The urgent task of reforming environmental policy has proven to be rather complex, which is in large part due to the abrasive relationship between the transboundary character of ecological problems and the inherent sovereignty of states. On the international level, the UN strategy has focused on multilateral treaties; although, it has failed to produce any real affect due to institutional weaknesses. States pursuing their own variants of environmental reform have—at least in …

Integrating Women's Voices Into Public Policy, Mollie Hoben

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

Women are Minnesota's greatest untapped resource. Despite significant growth in the visibility of women in public life, the talents and contributions of Minnesota's female citizens are not yet being fully utilized. In this last decade of the century, the state faces policy challenges in human services, the environment, the economy. To most effectively meet these challenges, we need to find ways to integrate women's voices more fully into public policy.

Meeting this challenge is in everyone's interest for several reasons. For one thing, it will make our public endeavors more equitable. Any society that makes decisions for all based on …

Minnesota's 1990 Environmental Education Act, Mark A. Davis

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

The development of new technologies and effective environmental management by communities, states, and nations will not be enough to arrest and repair the environmental degradation that exists in the world today. Nor will technology and management alone be able to prevent significant environmental degradation in the future. Extensive pollution and other types of environmental degradation have occurred because societies have not sufficiently understood and valued their environments. The development of environmentally sound societies will require changed attitudes and a citizenry which is informed about the environment. Thus, it is essential that environmental education be a part of the long range …

Global Agricultural Trade Negotiations And Their Potential Impact On Minnesota, Mark Ritchie

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

The two main factors determining the financial well-being of our family farmers, market prices and government payments, are primarily established by Congress through federal legislation, commonly called the Farm Bill. Although these two factors are likely to remain the main economic ingredients in Minnesota's farm economy for the foreseeable future, the political control over these issues appears to be shifting out of the hands of Congress and into the hands of our international trade negotiators. For the very first time, all price support, income subsidy, and supply management programs are on the table for alteration or elimination in this new …

The Legislative Commission On Minnesota Resources Involvement In Water Resource Programs, John Velin, George Orning

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

ABSTRACT :--The Legislative Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCMR) has funded over $32 million worth of projects m three water-related areas since 1963. The authors describe the process the Commission uses to allocate money and summarize the general nature and accomplishments of many of the water projects.

Interbasin Water Transfers: An Economic Panacea Or A Political Ploy?, K. William Easter, Nir Becker

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

ABSTRACT-New concern about the open access nature of the Great Lakes was sparked by the 1982 Sporhase Supreme Court Decision which limited states' power to prevent interbasin water transfers and was intensified by the 1988 drought in the Midwest. In response to the court decision, the Great Lakes Charter was adopted which established a set of management rules for new interbasin water transfers and other consumptive water uses. However, not all Great Lakes states have implemented the Charter provisions and, even if they did, it is not clear that the Charter objectives could be reached. The big losers from a …

Right To Know Legislation In Minnesota, Leo Uzych

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

In June 1983, Minnesota approved a right to know law pertaining to the disclosure of information to workers about chemical hazards emanating from the workplace. A federal hazard communication disseminated in November 1983 may affect Minnesota's right to know law.

The Impact Of Judicial Reform On The Minnesota Supreme Court, Steven H. Hatting, Joseph F. Keller

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

On November 2, 1982, a majority of Minnesota voters approved a constitutional amendment that transformed the state's appellate judiciary. A newly created Court of Appeals, currently consisting of 12 judges, began accepting cases on August 1, 1983, and deciding them on November 1, 1983. To assess the consequences of this change, ·the authors explored the rationale underlying the amendment, examined the anticipated costs and benefits of implementation, and analyzed case load data. Questionnaire responses from members of the Supreme Court are discussed, jurisdictional relationships between the two courts are explained, and decision· making practices are compared (including oral argument and …

The Development Of Elementary And Secondary Education Policy In The Minnesota Legislature, Joyce Krupey, Gene Mammenga

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

This discussion of the political climate in which elementary and secondary education is funded in Minnesota begins with the Minnesota Miracle of 1971. In each successive legislative session some adjustments have been made in this formula. In this paper we describe the various lobbying groups that try to affect education legislation. We also discuss the role played by the governor, key legislators, legislative and Department of Education staff, the State Board of Education, and the commissioner of education in educational policy formation. In conclusion, we summarize major formula changes since 1971 and review the many education-related issues before the legislature …

Acid Rain: A Complex Issue For Minnesota

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

The Minnesota Budget And Inflation, James Cecil

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

The Minnesota state budget is a policy document which reflects programmatic priorities of the state in terms of size, direction and rank order. Major causes for budget increase are inflation and increased state conversion of what were once local government programs into joint programs. Accompanying greater state support is more state regulation through the use of uniform statewide standards. The two most important Minnesota services are education and welfare. Concern for property tax burden by the legislature has resulted in a comprehensive property tax relief program. Because these programs are very costly, Minnesota, except for property and sales, is a …

The Politics Of Pollution, Another Fallout Of Acid Rain, Cynthia L. Anderson

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

The threat of acid rain is a side effect of the switch to coal as a major fuel for producing energy in the United States. Despite the existence of technology to reduce the pollutants that cause acid rain, the emissions of sulfur and nitric oxides are likely to increase because among several factors of political resistance to regulatory controls. The politics of pollution pit energy production and economic growth against environmental quality. Developing a regulatory policy is further complicated by the difficulty of isolating specific environmental effects attributable to acid rain apart from natural causes within the ecosystem. The question …