Political Theory Commons^™

Exploring Possibility Under Constraint: A Human Rights Approach To Higher Education In Connecticut’S Prisons And Jails, Emma Hersom

Senior Theses and Projects

This thesis investigates the landscape of higher education in prison (HEP) programs in Connecticut, aiming to evaluate their efficacy in ensuring a genuine right to education for incarcerated individuals. Through a comprehensive exploration grounded in human rights principles and informed by abolitionist perspectives, the research scrutinizes the availability, accessibility, acceptability, and adaptability of these programs. Drawing on insights from incarcerated students, program leaders, and existing scholarship, it delves into the intersection of education and incarceration, challenging prevailing neoliberal narratives. Furthermore, the thesis proposes actionable strategies for everyday abolition, emphasizing the need to dismantle carceral cultures and foster transformative approaches to …

A Case For Abolition: Analyzing The Death Penalty In The United States, Abigail E. Nick

Senior Theses and Projects

This thesis delves into the multifaceted debate surrounding the death penalty in the United States, exploring its constitutionality, morality, and implications for the justice system. Drawing from legal, philosophical, and empirical analyses, it argues against the continued practice of capital punishment, contending that it violates fundamental human rights, inhibits rehabilitation efforts, and fails to align with evolving societal norms. The discussion navigates through historical contexts, international perspectives, and philosophical theories of punishment, examining the right to life, methods of punishment, and evolving standards of decency. It underscores the tension between retributive justice and the protection of human rights, highlighting the …

Backsliding: Donald Trump, Conspiracy Theory, & Democratic Decline, Hannah Kessel

Senior Theses and Projects

The relationship between conspiracy and democratic decline is well established in political theory. The tradition of American conspiracy imposes fear, mistrust, and unreality on citizens, which threatens the legitimacy of democratic institutions. Democratic electoral processes rely on a shared sense of objectivity and truth. Without this, electoral legitimacy crumbles. Twitter’s emergence as a new medium for political discourse alongside the Donald Trump presidential administration have jointly posed unique challenges to American democracy within this theoretical framework. The impacts of social media on the electoral process are unmeasured, and the implications of a conspiracy-minded president are unprecedented. I observe this relationship …

The Peronist Paradigm: The Impact Of Peronist Traditions On The Economic Recovery Of Argentina In The Wake Of Covid-19, Jay Park

Senior Theses and Projects

First elected to the presidency in 1946, Juan Domingo Perón has remained one of the most seminal – yet controversial – figures in the history of Latin America. His rise to power brought about not just a new era in Argentine political history, but also resulted in the emergence of one of the longest lasting political movements in the world: Peronismo, or Peronism. Since its inception, it has been the salient driving force within the realm of Argentine politics for the better part of seven decades; indeed, since 1946, the Peronists have won 10 of the 13 presidential elections …

Pandemic Public Policy: Social Capital And Italy's Covid-19 Crisis, Matthew Conover

Senior Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

The Architecture Of Violence: The Reign Of Terror And The Character Of Bloodshed, Aidan Turek

Senior Theses and Projects

Revolutions are pivotal event in political history, compressing far-reaching social changes into the space of a few years. The French is the best understood revolution, and yet political scientists have focused more on the causes of revolution, its initial phase, and the consequences. This scholarship ignores the Reign of Terror, and revolutionary violence more broadly, despite the central importance of violence in shaping the course of revolutions. This thesis breaks down the Reign of Terror as an exemplary phase of violence via three broad ecumenical theoretical approaches, and in so doing makes vital connection between social and political developments on …

Foucault, Power And The Modern Panopticon, Connor Sheridan

Senior Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

Art Institutions And National Identity In A Post - Conflict Society, Pooja Savansukha

Senior Theses and Projects

Post-conflict societies inhabit a prolonged identity crisis. This crisis defines the scenario in present day Bosnia and Herzegovina, where ethno-centric narratives embody the consciousness of the Bosniak, Croat, and Serb populations, inhibiting the prevalence of an overarching national identity.

In this thesis, I contend that realizing a national identity, as defined by Benedict Anderson, is crucial to the reconciliation of a post-conflict country such as Bosnia. In light of the limitations of parliamentary structures (such as those defined by Bosnia’s Dayton Agreement) within a society affected by mass atrocity, I argue that art institutions are capable of negotiating the question …

Illusory Democracy: A Platonic Examination Of Perception, Opinion, And Neoliberalism, Gregory A. Palmer

Senior Theses and Projects

This thesis sets out to define and investigate the problem of "Illusory Democracy" as well as, how it relates to the modern American political system. This thesis uses Plato, through a Straussian lens, to interpret and analyze the nature, causes, and possible solutions to this modern problem facing the American democratic system.

Federalism And The Modern Presidency From Eisenhower To Obama: If All Men Were Angels, Daisy Chastain Letendre

Senior Theses and Projects

American government is an experiment. It is theory in application based on a design principle which specifies the terms and conditions of the experiment’s proper extent and structure. Federalism in American government is the original design principle specifying representation, divisions of power, checks and balances, and the capacity for self-government as the terms and conditions of the experiment of the American Republic. Federalism in this sense is the “republican remedy for the “diseases most intrinsic to a republican government.” (Publius 1787-1788 [2003], 46) The experiment has continued for over 200 years although the terms and conditions have …

International Security & Failed States: Embracing Identity-Centric Strategies Of State-Building, Paul S. Holland

Senior Theses and Projects

In the twenty-first century, the balance of power between states is no longer the only source of global insecurity, but is joined by non-state threats that lurk behind a curtain of de jure sovereignty in failed states. Diseases, piracy, terrorists, criminal cartels, and rapacious corporations all take advantage of the poverty and lack of institutional capacity endemic to failed states. The resulting instability spreads across entire regions, affecting the global core and periphery states alike. It is therefore the security threat posed by failed states that necessitates state-building. This paper examines the evolution of state sovereignty and the role identity …

Inside Or Outside The Whale: George Orwell's Art And Polemic, Richard H. Walker

Masters Theses

This chronological study of the evolution of the works of George Orwell is helpful for the futurist, the citizen awash in groupthink, scholars of standpoint epistemology, of mind and nature, of radical humanism, and others. A former British officer and Spanish revolutionary, he became a Democratic Socialist who believed in intellectual freedom above all and was a champion of the common man. Described as the leading exemplar of the public intellectual, he focused on activism vs passivism (and pacifism), and transforming art and politics into cultural power with mind and nature as the foundation. Like few others, he understood cultural …