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Full-Text Articles in Other Political Science
The Fall Of The Pakatan Harapan (Ph): Contesting Nationalism In Malaysia, Cheng Kidd Sun
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 …
Campaigning In The Digital Age: How Social Media Changed The Framework Of Elections, Faith Hamelin
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 …
The Struggle For Self-Determination: A Comparative Analysis Of East Timor And Western Sahara, Emma Baratta
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 …
The Evolution Of The Slave Trade In South-East Asia, Rosanna Pathmanathan
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, …
Political Scandal And Party Identification, Michael Sekich
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 Peaceful Transition Of Spain: How Authoritarianism Became Democracy, Emma Haiser
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 …
The Changing Geopolitical Dynamics Of The Middle East And Their Impact On Israeli-Palestinian Peace Efforts, Daniel Bucksbaum
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 …
The Confessional Model And Sectarian Politics: Lessons From Lebanon And The Future Of Iraq, Scott Preston
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
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
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 …
How The Media Covers Lawmaking: The Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act, Savannah Priebe
How The Media Covers Lawmaking: The Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act, Savannah Priebe
Honors Theses
The mass media holds extreme gatekeeping and framing functions. It is the media's ability to frame stories that tells viewers what to think about during a particular period of time, if not explicitly how to think about a topic. Over the course of health care reform in January of 2009 to April 2010 when the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was passed, key concepts in news coverage were analyzed. The New York Times and The Houston Chronicle's articles at this time were researched in order to provide insight on the use of ideological bias in reporting on policy and …