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The Greek Advantage: Implications Of Greek Affiliation On Student Government At The University Of Mississippi, Lila Osman May 2023

The Greek Advantage: Implications Of Greek Affiliation On Student Government At The University Of Mississippi, Lila Osman

Honors Theses

Greek life is a prominent group at the University of Mississippi, especially when it comes to membership in the Associated Student Body (ASB). ASB is the student governing body at the University so it is important to analyze its membership to understand how reflective it is of the entire university campus it represents. This research answers the question: “How and to what extent does Greek affiliation affect candidates for student government at the University of Mississippi?” Through two mixed methods surveys, one sent to members elected to ASB in the spring 2022 election cycle and the other to the general …


All Bark And No Byte: A Case Study On Nuclear Weapons' Role In Cyber Deterrence, Phuc Nguyen Mar 2023

All Bark And No Byte: A Case Study On Nuclear Weapons' Role In Cyber Deterrence, Phuc Nguyen

Honors Theses

In what some scholars consider a marked departure from its traditional policy, the U.S.' 2018 Nuclear Deterrence Posture Review declared that the U.S. would consider the use of nuclear weapons in response to "significant, non-nuclear strategic attacks." However, despite real-world examples of the type of significant cyberattacks on U.S., allied, or partner civilian population or infrastructure alluded to in the Review, the factors that might trigger multidomain escalation remain underexplored, which creates a credibility gap in the U.S.' deterrence policy. This paper explores these factors by providing a case study of the North Korean WannaCry and Russian NotPetya cyberattacks and …


The Fall Of The Pakatan Harapan (Ph): Contesting Nationalism In Malaysia, Cheng Kidd Sun Dec 2022

The Fall Of The Pakatan Harapan (Ph): Contesting Nationalism In Malaysia, Cheng Kidd Sun

Honors Theses

The collapse of the 22 months-old Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition-government in 2020 was the ultimate manifestation of contestations over nationalism that have continued in Malaysia since the nation’s inception more than six decades ago. The “middle ground” platform — a political moderation strategy to win across ethnic lines to obtain multiethnic support — that helped the PH coalition to win the 14th Malaysian General Election was shattered due to identity tensions. The current political discourse has persistently insisted that the betrayal of politicians and political parties, along with economic insecurity and media fragmentation, had contributed to the downfall of this …


How Religion And Age Are Correlated With Partisan Geographical Sorting In The United States, Claire Monsour May 2022

How Religion And Age Are Correlated With Partisan Geographical Sorting In The United States, Claire Monsour

Honors Theses

This study explores the intersection of two main demographic variables, religion and age, and the ongoing phenomenon of partisan geographical sorting in the United States. Americans have been migrating to areas composed of politically like-minded individuals for the past few decades, resulting in the existence of Republican and Democratic clusters throughout the country. Republicans are sorting into rural areas, while Democrats are sorting into urban areas. Republicans and rural residents as a whole are more religious than are Democrats and urban residents. In addition, on average, Republicans and rural residents are older than Democrats and urban residents. Moreover, religion and …


Campaigning In The Digital Age: How Social Media Changed The Framework Of Elections, Faith Hamelin Apr 2022

Campaigning In The Digital Age: How Social Media Changed The Framework Of Elections, Faith Hamelin

Honors Theses

Throughout the 21st century, it is normal for social media users to see politics on virtually every platform an individual uses, ranging from LinkedIn to TikTok. Broadcast news, including television and radio have always aired political discussions, as mass communication became the most common and favorable way for politicians to communicate with constituents. However, politics were not a prominent aspect of social media use until less than a decade and a half ago. As the internet became further integrated into our daily lives, through radio, television, and cellular or smart phones, we found ourselves invested in politics at a previously …


Exhuming Franco: Polarization In The Debate Over Historical Memory In Contemporary Spanish Politics, Stephanie Gardiner Apr 2022

Exhuming Franco: Polarization In The Debate Over Historical Memory In Contemporary Spanish Politics, Stephanie Gardiner

Honors Theses

In this thesis, I examine political media to show the different ways that the Spanish right and the left have framed historical memory about Franco. In Chapter 2, I give an overview of the development of the HML and political reactions to the law. I then look at the progression of the law’s goals under the leadership of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy in Chapter 3, and in how the law was utilized in exhuming Franco, referenced in Chapter 4. Chapter 5 showcases, through quantitative and qualitative data, the overall relationship of how changing historical memory through exhumation elicited reactions from …


The Struggle For Self-Determination: A Comparative Analysis Of East Timor And Western Sahara, Emma Baratta Dec 2021

The Struggle For Self-Determination: A Comparative Analysis Of East Timor And Western Sahara, Emma Baratta

Honors Theses

Self-determination is accepted as an international right of all people, yet in many cases it still takes decades of struggle to achieve it. Through comparative analysis of the selfdetermination and independence struggles of East Timor and Western Sahara, conclusions can be drawn as to why some former colonies are able to achieve these goals while others do not. In order to better understand the challenges associated with self-determination, I evaluate the two cases based on four overarching factors which influence the process: statehood criteria and imagined community status, colonialism and occupation, presence of natural resources, and international recognition. I argue …


Unpacking Political Identity In First-Time Voting Christian Women: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, Mary Grace Golden Dec 2021

Unpacking Political Identity In First-Time Voting Christian Women: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, Mary Grace Golden

Honors Theses

As political science tends to focus on polling and statistical analysis to examine individuals’ voting behaviors, the reasoning behind constituents’ decision-making process is often left in the dark. This is particularly true in first-time voting women who come from religious backgrounds that uphold complementarian gender values. This study focuses on the following research questions: How do women experience their political identity in relation to their gender identity? How do women experience their political identity in relation to their religious or faith identity? How do women experience their political identity in relation to voting for the first time? I answer these …


Black Imposterism: Naming & Combating Imposter Syndrome In Student Government Associations Across The South, Joshua Mannery May 2021

Black Imposterism: Naming & Combating Imposter Syndrome In Student Government Associations Across The South, Joshua Mannery

Honors Theses

Beginning in 1978 with its coining by Clance and Imes, imposter syndrome (IP) has been used to describe feelings of unfounded fraudulence, low self-esteem, and low self-efficacy in women, minority groups, and underrepresented populations. The phenomenon of imposterism persists not only in academic spaces, but in professional, medical, and any other areas where a feeling of competition can exist. Many empirical studies have observed the factors that contribute to university students and their development of the physiological effect, but one concentration that has received little to no application is how it develops within a student government, and methods in which …


Strategic Litigation And The Evolution Of Regional Human Rights Norms: Cases From Germany And The Netherlands, Cole Kovarik Apr 2021

Strategic Litigation And The Evolution Of Regional Human Rights Norms: Cases From Germany And The Netherlands, Cole Kovarik

Honors Theses

This study seeks to fill gaps in our understanding of how private actors participate in international human rights politics by examining civil society involvement in European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) cases against long-standing democracies. Descriptive analysis of an exhaustive data set of instances of civil society organization (CSO) participation in ECtHR cases against Germany and The Netherlands is complemented by a comparative case study analysis of networks of organizations that mobilized around German and Dutch cases concerning Articles 8 (right to privacy) and 10 (freedom of expression). The data suggest that civil society organizations not only appear before the …


Neo-Colonial Actors?: Analyzing French Ngos In Francophone West Africa, Katharine R. Kilcoyne Jan 2021

Neo-Colonial Actors?: Analyzing French Ngos In Francophone West Africa, Katharine R. Kilcoyne

Honors Theses

Non-governmental organizations (NGO) have the reputation for being benevolent organizations that help populations in need. Globally, these organizations promote this particular image to the public, but international NGOs also often work in tandem with other neo-colonial structure systems to maintain Western domination over poor and underdeveloped countries in Africa and elsewhere. This thesis looks at this phenomenon through the lens of French neo-colonialism and the Françafrique regime to study the extent to which French NGOs participate in this neo-colonial system in Francophone West Africa. Using interview data and data collected from the European Commission’s ECHO, this thesis looks at the …


The Evolution Of The Slave Trade In South-East Asia, Rosanna Pathmanathan Jun 2020

The Evolution Of The Slave Trade In South-East Asia, Rosanna Pathmanathan

Honors Theses

Modern slavery has managed to persist through the 21st century as it has shape-shifted into new occupations and various forms of entrapments. However, my research will prove that despite its seemingly different situations, multitudes of modern industries continue to employ harsh and unfair working conditions which utilize labor laws that restrict protections for employees. To fully comprehend how these new-age jobs are in fact new forms of old-age slavery, it is paramount to look into past forms of enslavement – primarily looking into Columbus’ discovery of Hispaniola and the Atlantic Slave Trade. To aid us easing into modern-day enslavement, …


Al Qaeda, Boko Haram, And Isis: A Study On The Life Cycle Of Terrorist Organizations, Taylor Dedic May 2020

Al Qaeda, Boko Haram, And Isis: A Study On The Life Cycle Of Terrorist Organizations, Taylor Dedic

Honors Theses

This paper discusses the internal activities of terrorist organizations during their different periods of high and low activity. The research in this paper focuses on the case studies of three organizations, al Qaeda, Boko Haram, and ISIS, and analyzes the shifts in their activities throughout their life cycles. By focusing on terrorist organizations rooted in Salafi-Jihadism, this paper aims to point out the importance of analyzing these organizations through the context of their own ideology. Due to their ideology, these groups view their fight to be centuries-long, thus they do not view a period of reduced activity as their defeat. …


Can Cities Be Feminist? A Cross-National Analysis Of Factors Affecting Local Female Representation In Latin America, Katie Davis May 2020

Can Cities Be Feminist? A Cross-National Analysis Of Factors Affecting Local Female Representation In Latin America, Katie Davis

Honors Theses

Women are underrepresented in mayor’s offices and on city councils across Latin America. In this paper, I examine gender-based differences in individual opinions toward running for office in Argentina and Uruguay, as well as conduct a twenty-six country analysis on factors related to female representation in municipal government. Based on these analyses, I make three main conclusions about female local representation in Latin America. The first conclusion is that women in Latin America are significantly less likely to want to run or feel qualified to run for office. The second conclusion is that cross-national variation in the percentage of female …


Should The United States Collect Intelligence On Its Close Allies?, Shannon Brophy May 2020

Should The United States Collect Intelligence On Its Close Allies?, Shannon Brophy

Honors Theses

The United States does not collect intelligence against all countries with the same intensity. Members of the so-called Five Eyes alliance—the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand— are believed to be excluded, and allegedly so is the United Arab Emirates. Should this policy continue in today’s unpredictable and fast-changing geopolitical environment? The Five Eyes alliance has given the United States an unmatched level of integration with its allies by increasing intelligence sharing between its members—but does this mean the United States should still not collect intelligence on them? Especially now that the UAE has allegedly been …


Tyranny Plagued The French Revolution, Christy Leigh Salinari May 2020

Tyranny Plagued The French Revolution, Christy Leigh Salinari

Honors Theses

Liberty, equality, and fraternity were the three original pillars of the French Revolution at the start in 1789. The slogan became the rallying cry for the embittered French people in their initial pursuit for political and social transformation. The French Revolution is perhaps the most prominent contemporary illustration of a violent revolution which ultimately was successful, resulting in a model of democratic government. The French Revolution reached a decade in length wherein there were countless demonstrations, massacres, wars, civil unrest, and political enlightenment. The disorganized nature of the revolution cultivated a vast array of political beliefs, which ranged from radical …


Nationalism Beyond A Nation: Non-Iberian Spanish Nationalism Examined, George Ruggiero Iv Apr 2020

Nationalism Beyond A Nation: Non-Iberian Spanish Nationalism Examined, George Ruggiero Iv

Honors Theses

In this thesis, I explore differences between certain non-Spanish nationalist movements within Spain. To do this, I examine similarities and differences in economic, political, and cultural factors that may explain why some Spanish autonomous communities exhibit major nationalist movements and some do not. These factors include the presence of proclaimed nationalist political parties, strongly identified cultural identities, and historical elements that point to the existence of a non-Spanish identity or nationalist movement.


Political Scandal And Party Identification, Michael Sekich Apr 2020

Political Scandal And Party Identification, Michael Sekich

Honors Theses

How do voters react to political scandal, especially when a like-minded partisan is involved? We look to answer that question by utilizing the concept of self-monitoring. Before collecting the data, expectations were that high self-monitors would identify as an independent when exposed to the partisan political scandal. But, when presented with a non-partisan political scandal, high self-monitors would feel more comfortable identifying as their own partisanship. This study offers mixed results. We found that high self-monitors had the only meaningful differences, and low self-monitors did not display significant differences across the versions. The Republican scandal yielded the most meaningful response, …


The Rising Risk Of Terrorism In The Philippines And Natural Resource Corruption, Blair Mills Mar 2020

The Rising Risk Of Terrorism In The Philippines And Natural Resource Corruption, Blair Mills

Honors Theses

As foreign fighters, who had previously traveled to the Middle East to conduct operations under the flag of ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant), return to the Philippines and other countries in Southeast Asia, they are bringing their ideologies and knowledge of terrorist operations with them. In addition to tracking the growing trend of terrorist attacks being conducted in the Philippines in the name of ISIL, it is crucial to determine how these returning fighters are gathering the funds and resources necessary to carry out these attacks and establish new terrorist cells. This question of how returning terrorists …


An Examination Of Nebraska’S Law Setting The Age Of Majority At Nineteen, Lauren Mcneal Mar 2020

An Examination Of Nebraska’S Law Setting The Age Of Majority At Nineteen, Lauren Mcneal

Honors Theses

My proposed research covers the actions of the Nebraska legislature surrounding the age of majority. During the summer of 2019, I interned with Senator Adam Morfeld to draft a bill lowering the age of majority in Nebraska from nineteen to eighteen for healthcare services. Many eighteen-year-olds, especially students, face complications when they seek healthcare services but need parental consent. This is because young adults tend to move away from their homes at this age but are still not considered independent from their parents under Nebraska state law. In this thesis, I use the information I gathered from my interim research …


Can We All Just Get Along?: Affective Polarization And Its Impact On College Campuses, Sam Rosenblatt Jan 2020

Can We All Just Get Along?: Affective Polarization And Its Impact On College Campuses, Sam Rosenblatt

Honors Theses

American politics have become increasingly polarized, but not just in how sharply we disagree on issues. There has also been a rise in affective polarization, or how positively we view members of our own party and how negatively we view those of the opposite party. This behavior manifests on college campuses, where some students struggle to discuss politics with those who disagree with them while others refuse to engage in such conversations at all. While affective polarization is not a new phenomenon, it appears especially pronounced on college campuses following the 2016 U.S. presidential election. My thesis seeks to understand …


The Peaceful Transition Of Spain: How Authoritarianism Became Democracy, Emma Haiser Dec 2019

The Peaceful Transition Of Spain: How Authoritarianism Became Democracy, Emma Haiser

Honors Theses

The peaceful transition from authoritarianism under Francisco Franco to a democratic constitutional monarchy after Franco’s death stands as a critical juncture in modern Spanish history because of the uniqueness of the historical event. The transition occurred without direct foreign intervention to manipulate Spanish politicians into passing democratic legislation; instead, the transition was initiated by Francoist leaders who willingly enacted the regime’s change which undermined their initial place in society. The Spanish transition was caused by three main factors: societal opposition to the Francoist regime, democratic international influence, and progressive leaders taking office after Franco’s death. This paper will explore the …


What Do Women Want? The Feminist Pursuit Of Happiness, Hannah Ruth Ellen May 2019

What Do Women Want? The Feminist Pursuit Of Happiness, Hannah Ruth Ellen

Honors Theses

“What do Women Want?” My thesis asks whether women can genuinely seek freedom while also hoping for happiness. I look closely at how male theorists define happiness and liberty for themselves and for others, and in particular for feminized others. My two central chapters focus on theories of individual happiness, happiness sought through another or others, and the ways feminist thinkers reimagine happiness in relationship to women’s freedom. I apply feminist critiques to the concept of psychodynamic therapy as an anti-revolutionary tool designed to isolate and silence women into believing that coping with oppression is equivalent to genuine happiness. I …


The Changing Geopolitical Dynamics Of The Middle East And Their Impact On Israeli-Palestinian Peace Efforts, Daniel Bucksbaum Apr 2018

The Changing Geopolitical Dynamics Of The Middle East And Their Impact On Israeli-Palestinian Peace Efforts, Daniel Bucksbaum

Honors Theses

In this thesis the status and feasibility of the two-state solution, the primary and most widely-accepted potential resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will be analyzed. It considers aspects such as physical challenges (geography and topography of the land), regressive and damaging actions to the peace process by Israelis and Palestinians, and the newly developing changes in regional alliances and interests in the Middle East. The status of the traditional two-state solution, due to its history, obstacles, and current regional developments, has implications for future negotiations and have changed the direction of peace talks. Dramatic shifts in regional interests and the …


Failure Or Adjustment?: An Analysis Of The Slowing Growth Of The Chinese Economy, Kay G. Degraw Jan 2017

Failure Or Adjustment?: An Analysis Of The Slowing Growth Of The Chinese Economy, Kay G. Degraw

Honors Theses

With GDP growth for the 2016 fiscal year reported at 6.7%, it appears that the Chinese economy has departed from the three-decade period in which GDP growth averaged plus-10%. While both academic journals and media outlets have accredited this slowdown to a variety of factors, existing research has failed to conflate the economic and political factors into a comprehensive explanation. Consequently, this thesis examines the causative factors behind the slowing of the Chinese economy though the analysis of three contesting plausibility probes centered on the impact of corruption, statism, and structural economic change. The results of the plausibility probes indicates …


A Comparative Analysis Between The Histories And Methods Of The Pro-Life And Lgbt Movements, Savanna B. Fox May 2016

A Comparative Analysis Between The Histories And Methods Of The Pro-Life And Lgbt Movements, Savanna B. Fox

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the connection between the elite theory and social movements by comparing the success of the pro-life and gay rights movements in America and investigating the effects that elite influence has had on these movements. The research is deductive in nature, investigating the elite theory in relation to social movements. The methodology of this project is organized as a comparative analysis between the gay rights and pro-life causes. The research discovers that elite influence, whether a social movement appeals to morality politics or interest group politics, and what kind of policy changes a movement seeks to affect all …


From King Leonidas To Lord Farquaad: Popular Culture And How Authority Is Portrayed In Popular Film Of 2000-2009, Solai N. Wyman May 2015

From King Leonidas To Lord Farquaad: Popular Culture And How Authority Is Portrayed In Popular Film Of 2000-2009, Solai N. Wyman

Honors Theses

In a modern age dominated by technology, the role of entertainment such as film is steadily growing in American culture and politics. Film and politics “inform” one another, meaning that film reflects the politics within a society in which they are placed (Christensen & Haas 2005). Using this as justification, the central research question of this thesis is, "What is the political content of popular films of the 2000s in terms of authority, and what does this suggest about the culture and view on authority of the Millennials as a generation?" A content analysis of popular films from 2000-2009 was …


The Confessional Model And Sectarian Politics: Lessons From Lebanon And The Future Of Iraq, Scott Preston May 2013

The Confessional Model And Sectarian Politics: Lessons From Lebanon And The Future Of Iraq, Scott Preston

Honors Theses

This paper uses education policy as a case study in order to examine the issues affiliated with the Confessional model of government and compares Lebanon’s education sector with Iraq to inspect the universality of those issues. There are many features that make the country of Lebanon unique, but perhaps none more characterizing than its one-of-a-kind Confessional government. According to the tenants of Confessionalism specific government offices are to be reserved for specific ethnic groups. The system was an innovative experiment imposed by the French as a means to guarantee various communal groups representation within the government in an effort to …


Choosing The Nominee: How Presidential Primaries Came To Be And Their Future In American Politics, Ryan Rainey Apr 2013

Choosing The Nominee: How Presidential Primaries Came To Be And Their Future In American Politics, Ryan Rainey

Honors Theses

The presidential primary is an event that is crucial to determining potential presidents. It allows the public to see how these politicians stack up against one another and how they conduct a campaign. While the general public has a basic idea of how presidential primaries work, very few know the history and details of them. That is what this thesis will do. In part one, the early history of presidential primaries and how nominees were first chosen will be covered. Also in this section, the different reforms that the Democratic Party has undertaken in order to reform the primary and …


The Nuclear Triangle: A Case Study In Nuclear Operations Policy, Jordan Lewis Apr 2013

The Nuclear Triangle: A Case Study In Nuclear Operations Policy, Jordan Lewis

Honors Theses

As nuclear power has evolved from the mid-twentieth century to today, it has experienced phases of rapid growth, regulation, and distrust concerning operations and waste disposal. This study will analyze the policy community active in these changes as they have progressed through the policymaking process and will examine the actors within an "iron triangle" framework to evaluate the community's relationships, power structure, and effectiveness. Specifically, this thesis seeks to answer two research questions: 1) how does interest group behavior influence nuclear policy communities, and 2) does the iron triangle framework explain the nuclear policy community relationships and outcomes. While historical …