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Articles 1 - 30 of 51
Full-Text Articles in Political Theory
A General Model Of Good Executive Leadership In Policy Contexts, Thad Williamson
A General Model Of Good Executive Leadership In Policy Contexts, Thad Williamson
Interdisciplinary Journal of Leadership Studies
This commentary stipulates a general model of policy leadership, encompassing decision-making, implementation, and evaluation. The model stresses attaining clarity about the nature of the issue being addressed, the values at stake, and the possible outcomes of alternative courses of action. While focused on the context of elected executives in municipal government, the stipulated model has broader applicability to other contexts. The article contends that following the model may both improve the effectiveness of political leaders and help build consensus (or compromise) among distinct political actors.
Mill's Harm Principle: A Study In The Application Of 'On Liberty', Sandra J. Peart
Mill's Harm Principle: A Study In The Application Of 'On Liberty', Sandra J. Peart
Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications
English philosopher and political economist John Stuart Mill argued that people learn by choosing: this is how they become creative and productive individuals. For this reason, and because he felt that individuals are typically the most capable people to make their own choices, Mill was highly skeptical of restrictions on choice placed by a third party, such as the state.
Mill famously separated actions into two categories: (1) self-regarding actions that do not affect others; and (2) other-regarding actions that do affect, and may harm, others. In the former category he placed thought and discussion, tastes and pursuits, and association, …
Policy Design And The Lived Experience Of The Poor: A Test Of Policy Feedback Effects And Efficacy, Ava Gural
Policy Design And The Lived Experience Of The Poor: A Test Of Policy Feedback Effects And Efficacy, Ava Gural
Honors Theses
As American political actors have framed poverty as a choice made by the unambitious, it has become clear that our society has a pervasive misunderstanding of poverty. Policy Feedback Theorists assert that the design of our welfare policies contributes to this fallacy, raising the question of whether there is a relationship between policy design and the way citizens act and feel. This thesis uses quantitative data from the American Citizen Participation Study and qualitative data from two original interviews to test the existence of “policy feedback effects” on program participants’ feelings of efficacy. Quantitative evidence suggests limited evidence of policy …
Magic As Political Might: Harry Potter, Authoritarianism, And Youth Political Behavior, Alexis Cobbs
Magic As Political Might: Harry Potter, Authoritarianism, And Youth Political Behavior, Alexis Cobbs
Honors Theses
This thesis examines how authoritarian structures found in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series affect the political thoughts and behaviors of its readers, particularly those who read them at young ages. By examining how Rowling depicts authoritarianism and its opposition in the books, I hypothesized that increased exposure would correlate to an increased impact on readers’ political opinions. To test this hypothesis, I created an original survey designed to measure levels of exposure and participation in the Harry Potter fandom as well as respondents’ political opinions. I asked respondents to provide different examples of authoritarianism and its opposition in the books …
Facing Famine: Justice And The Case Of Unilateral Intervention, Tanner R. Brooks
Facing Famine: Justice And The Case Of Unilateral Intervention, Tanner R. Brooks
Honors Theses
Through the course of this year, 900 thousand people will have to struggle through conditions of famine, and a total of 345.2 million will experience food insecurity of some kind. These concerning figures represent an over twofold increase since 2020.1 This presents a serious problem, as access to food is so plainly vital to every aspect of an individual’s existence. It should therefore be uncontroversial to assert the grave nature of the occurrence of famine and other food emergencies faced by so many today. Food emergencies are not merely a result of insufficient food, but rather the institutional policies enacted …
Chinese Celebrities’ Political Signaling On Weibo, Dan Chen, Gengsong Gao
Chinese Celebrities’ Political Signaling On Weibo, Dan Chen, Gengsong Gao
Political Science Faculty Publications
In China, celebrities can dominate public discourse and shape popular culture, but they are under the state’s close gaze. Recent studies have revealed how the state disciplines and co-opts celebrities to promote patriotism, foster traditional values, and spread political propaganda. However, how do celebrities adapt to the changing political environment? Focusing on political signaling on Weibo, we analyze a novel dataset and find that the vast majority of top celebrities repost from official accounts of government agencies and state media outlets, though there are variations. Younger celebrities with more followers tend to repost from official accounts more. Celebrities from Taiwan …
Economic Predictors Of Democratic Backsliding: A Comparison Of Populist And Non-Populist Leaders, Jacob Winter
Economic Predictors Of Democratic Backsliding: A Comparison Of Populist And Non-Populist Leaders, Jacob Winter
Honors Theses
The initial motivation of this research was to develop a better understanding of the primary causes of democratic backsliding, and by extension, how pro-democratic governments, NGOs, and other institutions can most effectively combat democratic backsliding. Previous research has examined the effects of economic conditions (Waldner and Lust 2018) as well as populism (Kyle and Mounk 2018) on a country’s democracy, but to my knowledge, no study has examined whether the effect of economic conditions on a country’s democracy differs between populist and non-populist countries. My research attempts to provide an answer to this question by examining how personal wealth, price …
Bystanders Without An Excuse: On The Moral Duty To Revolt, Meghna Melkote
Bystanders Without An Excuse: On The Moral Duty To Revolt, Meghna Melkote
Honors Theses
Che Guevara, an Argentine revolutionary who served as a key player in the Cuban Revolution, was known for his forceful rhetoric calling people to action to engage in revolution. His language was the language of duty - when he called on people to act, he did so with moral force behind his words. In the face of nascent revolution and discontent, he called upon those aggrieved to “tremble with indignation every time that an injustice is committed in the world” and act accordingly1. Guevara is appealing to a common intuition many leaders in social justice seem to have; there is …
Book Review: Political Argument In A Polarized Age: Reason And Democratic Life By Scott Aiken And Robert Talisse, Brandon W. Kliewer
Book Review: Political Argument In A Polarized Age: Reason And Democratic Life By Scott Aiken And Robert Talisse, Brandon W. Kliewer
Interdisciplinary Journal of Leadership Studies
Book Review NA
The Rawlsian Mirror Of Justice, Jessica Flanigan
The Rawlsian Mirror Of Justice, Jessica Flanigan
Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications
Libertarians(like me) generally disagree with orthodox Rawlsians (like Samuel Freeman) about whether Rawlsian principles of distributive justice are compatible with libertarianism.1In this essay, I set out to explain why. In section 1, I describe the problem, which is essentially that libertarians think the Rawlsian framework does not rule out anti-statist, capitalist, and broadly libertarian approaches to distributive justice and orthodox Rawlsians think that it does. I propose that this problem arises because the Rawlsian framework is underspecified in two ways. First, the Rawlsian framework has a lot of moving parts, so people with different pre-theoretical intuitions can use …
Party Capability And The U.S. Courts Of Appeals: Understanding Why The “Haves” Win, John Szmer, Donald R. Songer, Jennifer Barnes Bowie
Party Capability And The U.S. Courts Of Appeals: Understanding Why The “Haves” Win, John Szmer, Donald R. Songer, Jennifer Barnes Bowie
Political Science Faculty Publications
While many studies have examined party capability theory, few have empirically examined the potential causal mechanisms underlying the theory. We do this by combining quantitative analyses with qualitative data drawn from interviews with over 60 US courts of appeals judges. We find that the “haves,” or repeat players, hire better lawyers and that these lawyers independently contribute to the success of the repeat players. We also find that the advantages of the haves extend to all parties, though to a lesser extent than the advantages enjoyed by the US government. These results remain robust after controlling for ideology.
Ethical Decision Making And Leadership: Merging Social Role And Self-Construal Perspectives, Crystal L. Hoyt, Terry L. Price
Ethical Decision Making And Leadership: Merging Social Role And Self-Construal Perspectives, Crystal L. Hoyt, Terry L. Price
Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications
This research extends our understanding of ethical decision making on the part of leaders by merging social role and self-construal perspectives. Interdependent self-construal is generally seen as enhancing concern for justice and moral values. Across two studies we tested the prediction that non-leading group members’ interdependent self-construal would be associated with lower levels of unethical decision making on behalf of their group but that, in contrast, this relationship would be weaker for leaders, given their social role. These predictions were experimentally tested by assigning participants to the role of leader or non-leading group member and assessing the association between their …
[Introduction To] Leadership Ethics, Joanne B. Ciulla, Mary Uhl-Bien, Patricia H. Werhane
[Introduction To] Leadership Ethics, Joanne B. Ciulla, Mary Uhl-Bien, Patricia H. Werhane
Bookshelf
Research into the topic of leadership ethics has grown and evolved gradually over the past few decades. This timely set arrives at an important moment in the subject's history. In a relatively new field, such a collection offers scholars more than articles on a topic; it also serves to outline the parameters of the field. Carefully structured over three volumes, the material runs through an understanding of the key philosophic and practical questions in leadership ethics along with a wide range of literature - from disciplines including philosophy, business and political science, to name a few- that speaks to these …
Politics And Philosophy In Aristotle's Critique Of Plato's Laws, Kevin M. Cherry
Politics And Philosophy In Aristotle's Critique Of Plato's Laws, Kevin M. Cherry
Political Science Faculty Publications
Whether on matters of politics or physics, Aristotle's criticism of his predecessors is not generally considered a model of charitable interpretation. He seems to prefer, as Christopher Rowe puts it, "polemic over accuracy" (2003, 90). His criticism of the Laws is particularly puzzling: It is much shorter than his discussion of the Republic and raises primarily technical objections of questionable validity. Indeed, some well-known commentators have concluded the criticisms, as we have them in the Politics, were made of an earlier draft of the Laws and that Plato, in light of these criticisms, revised the final version. I hope …
[Introduction To] Executive Power In Theory And Practice, Hugh Liebert, Gary L. Mcdowell, Terry L. Price
[Introduction To] Executive Power In Theory And Practice, Hugh Liebert, Gary L. Mcdowell, Terry L. Price
Bookshelf
Since September 11, 2001, long-standing debates over the nature and proper extent of executive power have assumed a fresh urgency. What is executive power? When did it first emerge, and why? And what is the role of the executive within the American regime? In this book, eleven leading scholars of American politics and political theory address these and related questions, in essays on topics ranging from Aristotle and the Roman Republic to the presidencies of George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
Play Fair With Recidivists, Richard Dagger
Play Fair With Recidivists, Richard Dagger
Political Science Faculty Publications
Retributivists thus face a difficult challenge. Either we must go against the social grain, and perhaps our own intuitions, by insisting that a criminal offense carry the same penalty or punishment no matter how many previous convictions an offender has accrued; or we must find a way to justify the recidivist premium. I shall take the second route here by arguing that recidivism itself is a kind of criminal offense. In developing this argument, I shall rely on Youngjae Lee's insightful analysis of "recidivism as omission." I shall complement his analysis, however, by grounding it in a conception of criminal …
The Principle Of Fairness And States’ Duty To Obey International Law, David Lefkowitz
The Principle Of Fairness And States’ Duty To Obey International Law, David Lefkowitz
Philosophy Faculty Publications
Philosophers and political theorists have developed a number of different justifications for the duty to obey domestic law. The possibility of using one (or more) of these justifications to demonstrate that states have a duty to obey international law seems a natural starting point for an analysis of international political obligation. Amongst the accounts of the duty to obey domestic law, one that appears to have a great deal of intuitive appeal, and that has attracted a significant number of philosophical defenders, is the principle of fairness (or fair play). In this paper, I examine the possibility of using the …
Republicanism, Richard Dagger
Republicanism, Richard Dagger
Political Science Faculty Publications
Republicanism is an ancient tradition of political thought that has enjoyed a remarkable revival in recent years. As with liberalism, conservatism, and other enduring political traditions, there is considerable disagreement as to exactly what republicanism is and who counts as a republican, whether in the ancient world or contemporary times. Scholars agree, however, that republicanism rests on the conviction that government is not the domain of some ruler or small set of rulers, but is instead a public matter - the res publica - to be directed by self-governing citizens.
Social Contracts, Fair Play, And The Justification Of Punishment, Richard Dagger
Social Contracts, Fair Play, And The Justification Of Punishment, Richard Dagger
Political Science Faculty Publications
In recent years, the counterintuitive claim that criminals consent to their own punishment has been revived by philosophers who attempt to ground the justification of punishment in some version of the social contract. In this paper, I examine three such attempts—“contractarian” essays by Christopher Morris and Claire Finkelstein and an essay by Corey Brettschneider from the rival “contractualist” camp—and I find all three unconvincing. Each attempt is plausible, I argue, but its plausibility derives not from the appeal to a social contract but from considerations of fair play. Rather than look to the social contract for a justification of punishment, …
Putting Experts In Their Place: The Challenge Of Expanding Participation While Solving Problems, Thad Williamson
Putting Experts In Their Place: The Challenge Of Expanding Participation While Solving Problems, Thad Williamson
Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications
This essay critically examines possibilities for expanding democratic participatory governance in light of Mark Bevir's treatment of the subject in his book Democratic Governance. The essay argues that a theory of participatory governance should retain an explicit role for expert analysis, and that the appropriate scope given to such analysis will vary by policy area. The essay also argues that the present organization of capitalist economies mandates a heavy reliance on experts, and that a full-blown account of expanding participatory governance thus must be paired with an account of how to achieve a more democratic political economy. Such an account …
Political Traditions: Left Political Movements And The Politics Of Social Justice, Thad Williamson
Political Traditions: Left Political Movements And The Politics Of Social Justice, Thad Williamson
Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications
Left political traditions, in this chapter, refer to systems of political thought and theories of political action that aim to transform existing political and economic institutions so as to increase substantially the political and economic power of ordinary people, to eliminate or reduce invidious forms of social inequality, and to prevent private interests from trumping the common good. Although the Left (so defined) shares some goals with liberalism, civic republicanism, and even conservatism, it differs from those political traditions (as generally understood) in that it does not seek to legitimate existing political, economic, and constitutional structures or provide an account …
Virtue, Richard Dagger
Virtue, Richard Dagger
Political Science Faculty Publications
In political theory, the word virtue usually refers to the disposition or character traits appropriate to a citizen. Someone who takes the responsibilities of citizenship seriously, to the point of putting the common good ahead of his or her personal interests, is thus said to display civic virtue. Political theorists have frequently warned that such virtue cannot be taken for granted, however, and many of them have urged that steps be taken to promote or foster civic virtue. This concern for the fragility of civic virtue is a clear theme in ancient (or classical) political thought, but it has …
Political Traditions: Conservatism, Liberalism, And Civic Republicanism, Thad Williamson
Political Traditions: Conservatism, Liberalism, And Civic Republicanism, Thad Williamson
Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications
How unequal authority and power can be justified is a central question of political theory and of leadership studies (Price & Hicks, 2006). Indeed, while in everyday language leadership is commonly viewed as a positive term and the word leader connotes respect, in some political vernaculars, the very idea of leadership is suspect, if not embarrassing. For instance, one of the most influential public intellectuals of the late 20th century, Noam Chomsky, consistently refers to leadership in disparaging way. In Chomsky's (2005) view, leadership is a code word intended to justify class rule, vastly unequal political and economic power, and …
The Sources Of International Law: Some Philosophical Reflections, David Lefkowitz
The Sources Of International Law: Some Philosophical Reflections, David Lefkowitz
Philosophy Faculty Publications
It seems only natural to begin the study of international law with a description of its sources. After all, whether as practitioner or scholar a person cannot begin to ask or answer questions about international law until he or she has some sense of what the law is. This requires in turn a basic grasp of the processes whereby international legal norms and regimes come to exist. Thus students of international law must engage immediately with some of the most basic questions in the philosophy of law: what is law, and what is a legal order or system.
These questions …
Republicanism And Crime, Richard Dagger
Republicanism And Crime, Richard Dagger
Political Science Faculty Publications
These are but two of the difficult questions that arise when one examines the claim that crime is a public wrong. I take it, though, that their difficulty is an indication of the importance of thinking through the presuppositions and implications of this conception of crime, not a reason to abandon it. A thorough 'thinking through' is too large and complex a task for this chapter, but it is possible to make a case here for the right way to proceed with such an undertaking. That right way, in my view, is to look to the republican tradition of political …
Property-Owning Democracy And The Demands Of Justice, Thad Williamson, Martin O'Neill
Property-Owning Democracy And The Demands Of Justice, Thad Williamson, Martin O'Neill
Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications
John Rawls is arguably the most important political philosopher of the past century. His theory of justice has set the agenda for debate in mainstream political philosophy for the past forty years, and has had an important influence in economics, law, sociology, and other disciplines. However, despite the importance and popularity of Rawls's work, there is (rather surprisingly) no clear picture of what a society that met Rawls's principles of justice would actually look like.
On The Foundation Of Rights To Political Self-Determination: Secession, Non-Intervention, And Democratic Governance, David Lefkowitz
On The Foundation Of Rights To Political Self-Determination: Secession, Non-Intervention, And Democratic Governance, David Lefkowitz
Philosophy Faculty Publications
From a justificatory standpoint, perhaps the most basic question with respect to secession is what, if anything, provides the moral foundation for a group’s right to secede. My aim here is to make a start to answering this question. I do so, however, by considering a different, albeit closely related, question, namely what is the nature of the wrong done to members of a qualified group denied secession by the state that currently rules them? A compelling answer to this latter question, I suggest, will contribute significantly to a satisfactory answer of the former one.
(Dis)Solving The Chronological Paradox In Customary International Law: A Hartian Approach, David Lefkowitz
(Dis)Solving The Chronological Paradox In Customary International Law: A Hartian Approach, David Lefkowitz
Philosophy Faculty Publications
As traditionally conceived, the creation of a new rule of customary international law requires that states believe the law to already require the conduct specified in the rule. Distinguishing the process whereby a customary rule comes to exist from the process whereby that customary rule becomes law dissolves this chronological paradox. Creation of a customary rule requires only that states come to believe that there exists a normative standard to which they ought to adhere, not that this standard is law. What makes the customary rule law is adherence by officials in the international legal system to a rule of …
Simmons’ Critique Of Natural Duty Approaches To The Duty To Obey The Law, David Lefkowitz
Simmons’ Critique Of Natural Duty Approaches To The Duty To Obey The Law, David Lefkowitz
Philosophy Faculty Publications
In his most recent book on the moral duty to obey the law, A. John Simmons considers and rejects a number of natural duty approaches to justifying political authority. Among the targets of Simmons’ criticism is the account defended by the book’s co-author, Christopher Heath Wellman. In this essay, I evaluate the force of Simmons’ objections to Wellman’s account of political obligation. As will become clear below, I think Wellman’s defense of the duty to obey the law defective in certain ways—but not in all of the ways that Simmons argues it is. By rebutting some of Simmons’ criticisms and …
A Theory Of Political Obligation: Membership, Commitment, And The Bonds Of Society By Margaret Gilbert (Book Review), David Lefkowitz
A Theory Of Political Obligation: Membership, Commitment, And The Bonds Of Society By Margaret Gilbert (Book Review), David Lefkowitz
Philosophy Faculty Publications
Does membership in a political society, in and of itself, involve obligations to uphold that society’s political institutions? Margaret Gilbert offers a novel argument in defense of an affirmative answer to this question, which she labels the membership problem. Given a plausible construal of the concepts obligation, political society, and membership in a political society, Gilbert argues that it follows analytically that to be a member of a political society just is to have an obligation to uphold and support that society’s political institutions. The key to Gilbert’s argument is the idea of a joint commitment; those …