Comparing The Us Response To The Soviet Invasion Of Afghanistan And The Russian Invasion Of Ukraine: Learning From The Past And Planning For The Future, 2024 University of Denver
Comparing The Us Response To The Soviet Invasion Of Afghanistan And The Russian Invasion Of Ukraine: Learning From The Past And Planning For The Future, Zachary Hogan
Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals
As the Russo-Ukrainian war continues to rage, the decisions of the present are of paramount importance. In order to make the most positive and well-supported decisions in this ongoing conflict, it would be wise to look to past instances of similar situations. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan is such an instance. The parallels between the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the past Soviet invasion of Afghanistan are extensive and, more importantly, informative for U.S. foreign policy. It is with this lens that this paper will pursue a historical foreign policy analysis of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, its circumstances and …
Discourse And Controversy In The Israel-Palestine Conflict - A Review Of The Literature, 2024 University of Windsor
Discourse And Controversy In The Israel-Palestine Conflict - A Review Of The Literature, Irteza Atique
Major Papers
The Israel-Palestine conflict has been ongoing for more than 75 years and has many historical, geographical, religious, and ethnic components. Despite several attempts at resolution, the war persists, resulting in continued violence, human misery, and regional instability. This study dives into the highly contentious dispute over labelling Israel as an apartheid state, a subject that has prompted heated debate in academic literature, college campuses, the media, and diplomacy. Using a wide range of scholarly literature and trustworthy news sources, we investigate the origins of the war, important historical events, and the numerous factors that have shaped the current conflict. Beginning …
Exploring Possibility Under Constraint: A Human Rights Approach To Higher Education In Connecticut’S Prisons And Jails, 2024 Trinity College
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 …
Presidential Nomination Forecasting 2024: Classic Components In An Atypical Race, 2024 University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Presidential Nomination Forecasting 2024: Classic Components In An Atypical Race, Sophia Coco
Political Science Undergraduate Honors Theses
The topic of American presidential elections has remained central to political discussions since the founding fathers drafted the Constitution. Article Two, Section One of the Constitution lays out the guidelines for presidential elections, yet Article Two neglects to mention the process of how to nominate candidates for the presidential race. Lacking Constitutional guidance, early presidential nomination conventions of the parties in the 19th century and early 20th century did not reflect ideals of democracy. The delegates that voted at the conventions were selected by party insiders and their votes reflected the sentiments of the party bosses, disregarding the …
The Politics Of Gender Affirming Healthcare: A New Battleground For Morality Policy?, 2024 University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
The Politics Of Gender Affirming Healthcare: A New Battleground For Morality Policy?, Reaves Robinson
Political Science Undergraduate Honors Theses
Morality policy as a discipline saw its peak during the transformative years at the turn of the 21st century; however, there has been very little scholarship to follow new social policy issues that have arisen in the past two decades. Anti-transgender policy, specifically, can be considered under the morality policy scope following years of LGBTQ+ scholarship that fell under the morality policy umbrella. In 2023 alone, more than 200 pieces of anti-transgender legislation were introduced in state legislatures across the nation. A trend among the increasingly popular policy realm can be seen from gender affirming healthcare bans, where almost …
News Deserts And Voter Turnout: How Local News Shortages Decrease Voter Participation, 2024 University of Nebraska-Lincoln
News Deserts And Voter Turnout: How Local News Shortages Decrease Voter Participation, Lauren Penington
Honors Theses
How does local news impact a county’s registered voter population, associated voting patterns, and political participation? Electoral turnout is one of the most studied topics in political science, and substantial research exists into demographic factors — including race, age, and socioeconomic status — that influence an individual’s likelihood to vote. Recent studies have begun to examine the impact of societal factors — such as the internet, social media, and news — on an individual’s ability to and likelihood of fulfilling their civic obligation. This paper explores the relationship between expanding news deserts and decreasing voter turnout, proposing that as a …
Reaping What We Sow: The Implications And Outcomes Of Mississippi House Bill 1125, The “Regulate Experimental Adolescent Procedures (Reap)” Act, 2024 The University of Southern Mississippi
Reaping What We Sow: The Implications And Outcomes Of Mississippi House Bill 1125, The “Regulate Experimental Adolescent Procedures (Reap)” Act, Kerigan Brewer
Honors Theses
Mississippi House Bill 1125 (MS HB1125), also known as the “Regulate Experimental Adolescent Procedures (REAP) Act,” was signed into law by Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves in early 2023 (REAP Act, 2023). It is one of multiple policies passed into law that limit the rights of transgender people. This thesis aims to clarify the history of the trans community, dispel myths around gender-affirming health care and the trans identity, and discuss the current state of anti-trans laws and transgender rights. Using a policy analysis framework by DiNitto (2011), MS HB1125 is analyzed on points like its social and economic costs, the …
Autumn In New York: Gotham And The Decline Of The New Deal Order (1967-1975), 2024 Skidmore College
Autumn In New York: Gotham And The Decline Of The New Deal Order (1967-1975), Lisle Jamieson
Political Science Senior Theses
In 1975, the city of New York looked out on the precipice of fiscal collapse. Years of borrowing, a fleeting tax base, deindustrialization, and the thinning of federal investment streams left the city short-changed and vulnerable, reliant on banks with waning interest in funding New York’s robust network of social services. [1] The conversations, contestations, and political resolutions that followed would reshape and remake the politics of a city that had, for four decades, represented a beacon of “social democracy.” [2] New York ultimately surrendered its commitment to urban liberalism and embraced a neoliberal politics of austerity, mirroring shifts taking …
Factors In Decision Making Of Political Candidates, 2024 Chapman University
Factors In Decision Making Of Political Candidates, Levi Ramirez Garcia
Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters
What factors impact the decision to run as non-partisan over one of the major US parties? It is essential to analyze this phenomenon to determine the real motivations of candidates and the party they represent because they impact society as a whole. The candidates' ideologies and how the candidates feel representing the parties' ideologies are the main reasons for choosing non-partisan over one of the major US parties. This occurs because humans tend to work where they feel comfortable and in places with the same values and ideologies as them. It is the same in the case of candidates; they …
The Contemporary Causes Of Americans' Fear Of Illegal Immigration, 2024 Chapman University
The Contemporary Causes Of Americans' Fear Of Illegal Immigration, Amilie Cai
Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters
Annually, the U.S. aspires to extend its liberality by opening its border to more than ten thousand refugees. In this paper, I examine how political party identification, census region, and internet usage influence U.S. adults' fear of illegal immigration. Relying on the 2023 Chapman Survey of American Fears, a representative national sample of U.S. adults, I find that political party has remained a consistent predictor for an American’s fear of illegal immigration, with people who align themselves with the Republican Party in 2022 being more afraid of illegal immigration compared to other political parties, such as the Democrat Party. In …
Navigating Islamophobia: Exploring Attitudes Towards Muslim Immigration And Policing, 2024 Chapman University
Navigating Islamophobia: Exploring Attitudes Towards Muslim Immigration And Policing, Devansh Mehta
Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters
Since the September 11th terrorist attacks, Islamophobic dispositions in the United States have surged within its political and societal arenas. In this paper, I will examine two specific dimensions of Islamophobia such as ceasing immigration from Muslim countries and increased police presence in Muslim neighborhoods and how those behaviors may be influenced by political affiliation and different ways news is consumed using social media and cable news. Relying on the Chapman Survey of American Fears, a representative national sample of U.S. adults completed a forty-question survey in which I tested the above independent variables to see their individual effects on …
Social Isolation-Political Domination, 2024 Ouachita Baptist University
Social Isolation-Political Domination, Charles "Trey" Nichols
Honors Theses
A study on the political drift of college students before and after Covid-19.
Charge The Cockpit Or Die: An Anatomy Of Fear-Driven Political Rhetoric In American Conservatism, 2024 Liberty University
Charge The Cockpit Or Die: An Anatomy Of Fear-Driven Political Rhetoric In American Conservatism, Daniel Hostetter
Senior Honors Theses
Subthreshold negative emotions have superseded conscious reason as the initial and strongest motivators of political behavior. Political neuroscience uses the concepts of negativity bias and terror management theory to explore why fear-driven rhetoric plays such an outsized role in determining human political actions. These mechanisms of human anthropology are explored by competing explanations from biblical and evolutionary scholars who attempt to understand their contribution to human vulnerabilities to fear. When these mechanisms are observed in fear-driven political rhetoric, three common characteristics emerge: exaggerated threat, tribal combat, and religious apocalypse, which provide a new framework for explaining how modern populist leaders …
The True Cost Of Education, 2024 Liberty University
The True Cost Of Education, William J. Norris Iii
Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue
Education, rightfully, has been seen as the best way to train the next generation of citizens. The Founding Fathers held that it was essential for the nation’s growth to teach children citizenship and virtue. With the recent expansion of school choice options across the country, this is a good time to refocus on that goal, and examine the true cost of public education in America. This study will examine data, particularly information published by the Department of Education and the U.S. Census Bureau, to form a picture of the true cost of public education. Even though a large percentage of …
Obligation And Authority: Samuel West And The Christian Tradition Of Resistance Theology, 2024 Biola University
Obligation And Authority: Samuel West And The Christian Tradition Of Resistance Theology, Darren Patrick Guerra
Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue
Is there a Christian obligation to resist tyranny? This has been a controversial question in Christian politics and theology for generations. In the prelude to the American War for Independence, some influential colonial clergy, like Samuel West, argued in 1775 that Christians not only had a right to resist tyrannical rulers, but they had an obligation to do so. This is consistent with a long but controversial strain of thought within the Christian political thought. West’s argument hinges on his commitment to the natural law as a foundation for social and moral order as well as his rejection of theological …
The American Project And The American Soul, 2024 Biola University
The American Project And The American Soul, Darren Patrick Guerra
Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue
What is the role of virtue in the American political project in the American soul? This is a burning, if not, defining question in American politics today. This paper will briefly examine various contemporary accounts of the role of virtue in the American project and its impact on the future of American politics, and finally in turn the American soul. This paper will examine the works of Patrick Deneen, Robert Reilly, Dyer & Cooper, among others. It will argue that virtue, properly conceived, plays a vital role in American Politics and it must be connected to an objective moral order, …
City On A Hill: A Reflection On Christian Ethic And Human Morality, 2024 Liberty University
City On A Hill: A Reflection On Christian Ethic And Human Morality, Mayce Combs
Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue
In John Winthrop’s sermon A Model of Christian Charity (1630), he spoke to his congregation of the mission God had called them to. With the creation of a new blended nation, the only way to be exceptional was to reflect the gospel in policy, action, and foremost thought. Philosophers from ancient times to today acknowledge that an individual is made up of the soul and their body. From the soul, comes thought, reason, empathy, and a connection to a divine being who deciphers what is morally unjust. The body is a sinful, self-seeking vessel that does not have the ability …
Demographics Impact On Feelings Towards The Democratic And Republican Parties, 2024 Bowling Green State University
Demographics Impact On Feelings Towards The Democratic And Republican Parties, Quinn Layden
Honors Projects
The purpose of this paper is to determine how the demographics of gender, race, religion, age, income, education, and political party affect feelings toward the Democratic and Republican parties in the United States. The American National Elections Study (ANES) data was used to create a multivariate linear regression for each of the Democratic and Republican parties that modeled how the demographics felt towards the parties. The ANES feeling thermometer was used to represent the group’s feelings towards each party. The model showed that there was a slightly strong correlation between demographics and feelings towards the Democratic and Republican parties. With …
Proposed Charlotte To Atlanta High-Speed Passenger Rail Line: An Economic, Infrastructural, And Developmental Analysis In The Upstate Of South Carolina, 2024 Anderson University - South Carolina
Proposed Charlotte To Atlanta High-Speed Passenger Rail Line: An Economic, Infrastructural, And Developmental Analysis In The Upstate Of South Carolina, Ian C. Macurda, Kimberly Whitehead
SC Upstate Research Symposium
This research paper is an in-depth analysis of the high-speed passenger rail line proposed between Charlotte, NC and Atlanta, GA and its impact on the economy, infrastructure, and future development of the Upstate of South Carolina. Currently, passenger rail service between Charlotte and Atlanta is offered on Amtrak at late hours throughout the night on its long-distance passenger rail line The Crescent from New York City, NY to New Orleans, LA. The train is often delayed and is operating at a deficit for Amtrak, like most of their long-distance routes. Traffic on Interstate 85 through the Upstate is another issue …
Evaluating Macro-Policy Attitudes About Abortion In The United States, 2024 Fort Hays State University
Evaluating Macro-Policy Attitudes About Abortion In The United States, Christopher Olds, Miriam Guadalupe Benavides-Ortega, Madison May Albers, Rocio Figueroa-Castro
SACAD: John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days
Prior research on public opinion demonstrates attitudes about major issues often shift/move together. In other words, public support for government involvement in domestic affairs across multiple policy areas can be indicative of the general policy sentiment or public mood at any given point in time. In exploring specific issue areas in isolation, researchers can assess whether change in opinion on an issue area is significantly linked to fluctuations in views about macroeconomic conditions. The current research project will contrast quarterly public support for government involvement in the issue area of abortion through vector autoregression time series techniques examining whether prior …