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Political Theory Commons

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Articles 1 - 7 of 7

Full-Text Articles in Political Theory

Myth Busting: Rethinking Social Contract Theory And Reorienting Sovereignty From John Locke To Georges Bataille, Mandalay Maelee Win Jan 2019

Myth Busting: Rethinking Social Contract Theory And Reorienting Sovereignty From John Locke To Georges Bataille, Mandalay Maelee Win

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.


In Fear We Trust: Anxious Political Rhetoric & The Politics Of Punishment, 1960s-80s, Stella Michelle Frank Jan 2019

In Fear We Trust: Anxious Political Rhetoric & The Politics Of Punishment, 1960s-80s, Stella Michelle Frank

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.


A History And Analysis Relevant To The Us Border: A.K.A. "Fuck The Border”, Cole Rainey-Slavick Jan 2019

A History And Analysis Relevant To The Us Border: A.K.A. "Fuck The Border”, Cole Rainey-Slavick

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

Borders are proliferating throughout the world today; dividing the core from the periphery, racially excluding vulnerable peoples, and facilitating the exploitation of labor. But, it has not always been like this. Borders were once limited only to a small scattering of city states, and even these borders looked little like those of today in terms of their enforcement or function. Where do borders come from? What do they do? What social forces produce and alter them? What is the history of the US border? What is the border …


Faulty Vision And Political Realism, Quinn F. Lewis Jan 2019

Faulty Vision And Political Realism, Quinn F. Lewis

Senior Projects Spring 2019

This project responds to and expands upon Sheldon Wolin’s magnum opus, “Politics and Vision.” It critiques Wolin’s unnecessarily fragile conception of democracy, as being by nature “ephemeral,” and thus fundamentally non-institutional, by comparing it with the more pragmatic, realist approaches of two historical organizers, Saul Alinsky and V.I. Lenin. The project uses Wolin’s insightful analysis of the state of American politics under late capitalism, to ask, “What is to be done?” exploring the possibilities of organizing and political realism for the Left in the current day.


The Fortress State: How The American System Protects Vested Interests And The Status Quo, Axel Clavier Jan 2019

The Fortress State: How The American System Protects Vested Interests And The Status Quo, Axel Clavier

Senior Projects Spring 2019

The Founders consciously designed the American system to divide majoritarian energies, gridlock the government, and skew the political game towards vested interests and knowledgeable insiders. The result is a political system which disproportionately caters to small and intensely-motivated constituencies while raising the bar very high for majoritarian change. But, if majoritarian forces are persevering enough, if their repeated assaults are able to muster the forces needed across many places and long stretches of time, the system is able to integrate and domesticate change without breaking, and without fundamentally altering itself. Judged by its longevity, the Fortress State is the most …


"The Noblest Cause Of All": The Moral Turn In American Libertarianism, Addison C. Dowell Jan 2019

"The Noblest Cause Of All": The Moral Turn In American Libertarianism, Addison C. Dowell

Senior Projects Spring 2019

A study of the 'moral' libertarianism which emerged in America during the 1960's and 1970's, and exploring the intellectual history and possible theoretical implications of the moral libertarianism.


Private Lives Of Public Figures, Charlotte Miriam Albert Jan 2019

Private Lives Of Public Figures, Charlotte Miriam Albert

Senior Projects Fall 2019

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.