American Politics Commons^™

A Fake Future: The Threat Of Foreign Disinformation On The U.S. And Its Allies, Brandon M. Rubsamen

Global Tides

This paper attempts to explain the threat that foreign disinformation poses for the United States Intelligence Community and its allies. The paper examines Russian disinformation from both a historical and contemporary context and how its effect on Western democracies may only be exacerbated in light of Chinese involvement and evolving technologies. Fortunately, the paper also studies practices and strategies that the United States Intelligence Community and its allied foreign counterparts may use to respond. It is hoped that this study will help shed further light on Russian and Chinese disinformation campaigns and explain how the Intelligence Community can efficiently react.

The Violence Of Nostalgia: Conspiracy Theorism, White Nationalism, And Restoring American Exceptionalism, Candice K. Travis

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation serves three interconnected ends: (1) highlight the connections between nationalism, nostalgia, mythology, and conspiracy, (2) research and articulate the deeper story behind the resurgence of conspiracy fueled white nationalism, and (3) analyze increasing popular support for racialized hatred across the United States as coalesced through the nostalgic desire to restore “our lost great America.” I adapt John Dewey’s pragmatism to interpret how publics take political action in response to evolving technologies and cultural shifts, and accordingly develop a typology of groups on the right wing of American politics. The Proud Boys are chauvinist white nationalists, Patriot Prayer are …

Re: Beyond Fake News, Nate Floyd, Jaclyn Spraetz

Journal of Media Literacy Education

A student success librarian with a Ph.D. in mass communication and an information literacy librarian with an M.A. in secondary English education describe their efforts to innovate in the field of news literacy by incorporating the media effects research tradition. By highlighting the emotional, behavioral, and cognitive elements of information processing, the authors hope to show students how professional norms, institutional and market pressures shape the news while their own predispositions influence how they interpret the news they consume. The authors emphasize agenda-setting and framing, two fundamental media effects paradigms, and report on their effort to develop news literacy classes …

The Right To Bear: Measuring Gun Control Policies Against Violent Crime, Balazs Varga

Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)

Especially in United States politics, gun control legislation is a controversial topic, with much debate dedicated to which gun control policies are implementable as a countermeasure to violent crime rates, if any. In American public discourse on the topic, U.S. gun control doctrine, which is characterized by an individualistic gun culture engrained in the Second Amendment of the Constitution, is one which is described as lax in comparison to gun control measures implemented by other nations. These gun control policies include a wide array of measures, such as automatic firearms regulation, a state-mandated national firearms registry, and background checks, among …

The Intersection Of Judicial Interpretive Methods And Politics In Supreme Court Justices’ Due Process Opinions, Julie Castle

The Compass

The Supreme Court, a nine seat bench of unelected and lifetime tenured Justices, determines the constitutionality of dozens of cases each year. In this thesis, I research to what extent the political affiliation of the Justices affects the judicial decision making process and, ultimately, case outcomes. Using pattern matching, I evaluate due process opinions from Justice Breyer, Justice O’Connor, and Justice Scalia, all of whom have established constitutional analysis methods, in order to determine if they reasonably adhere to their established method. Due to the highly political nature of due process cases, variance between the expected (adherence to the Justices’ …

Backfire: How The Rise Of Neoliberalism Facilitated The Rise Of The Far-Right, Jacob Fuller

The Compass

Since the election of President Donald Trump in 2016, it is indisputable that there has been a notable rise in the visibility and activity of the far-right in the United States. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, there was a 30% increase in the number of operating hate groups across the United States, a number that has coincided with the rise of the Trump campaign and his subsequent election as President of the United States.¹ Therefore, much attention has been drawn to the rise of these movements and thus scholars have sought to seek out and identify the …

No Refuge From The Fields Vol. 2: Revitalization Of Farmworker Housing Research, Manda Laporte

Capstone Projects – Politics and Government

Farmworkers in the U.S. are often subjected to substandard living situations. However, since they are primarily seasonal, migrant, or temporary work visa holders, limited attention is focused on their quality of life. Although farmworkers are some of the hardest working people, they are typically exposed to extreme weather and working conditions, have the highest percentage of people among the working poor, face restrictive access to education and health care, etc. While service providers, such as housing developers and healthcare specialists, are concerned about these individuals’ well-being, there is still minimal research available about current farmworker trends. This report seeks to …

The Rise Of Agenda Diversity In America: Its Cause And Consequences, John K. Wagner

Political Science ETDs

More than ever, Americans disagree on what issues are important. This diversity in the public agenda has received scant attention in recent years. Consequently, our understanding of why agenda diversity developed relies on a single analysis method, and we know next to nothing about the consequences for the American polity. Using a novel approach to measuring agenda diversity and an advanced experimental design, this dissertation demonstrates the causal connection between issue-based selective exposure to news and higher agenda diversity. Concerning its consequences, this work investigates congressional responsiveness. Results from a complex analysis of constituency public opinion, Congress bill sponsorship, and …

Congressional Oversight Of U.S. Government Programs, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Provides detailed overview of how the U.S. Congress conducts oversight of federal agency programs. Contents include a letter from a member of Congress to an agency head concerning an environmental development in Indiana, information on the foundations of congressional oversight, details on how Congress may require agency reports on various subjects in public laws, an example of a congressionally mandated report by the Department of Defense, documentation of congressional funding of individual federal agencies, examples of congressional committee hearings, congressional committee issuance of oversight and investigative reports which may include dissenting opinions, Congressional Budget Office cost estimates on congressional committee …

Bans Off All Bodies, Emily Davis Ryalls

Feminist Pedagogy

No abstract provided.

Blending Reproductive Justice Into General Education Courses, Ophra Leyser-Whalen, Adelle D. Monteblanco

Feminist Pedagogy

Despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, there is still work to be done by reproductive justice advocates. As educators, we can integrate reproductive justice topics into our existing courses or we can create new courses. In this paper we briefly define reproductive justice and provide some learning resources for educators. The bulk of our paper describes our special topics Introduction to Sociology: Sociology of Reproduction course as an example and potential model for educators as we urge them to think about how they might integrate reproductive justice into their existing courses and texts, such that students …

Perceptions Of Political Perspective-Takers, Ian Beatty

INSPIRE Student Research and Engagement Conference

This study investigates the responses by conservatives and liberals to Republican and Democratic party candidates that take the perspectives of out-group members on topics being discussed.

One Among Many: Charlotte Kolmitz,Assistant U.S. Attorney In Seattle, 1918 -1925, Anna Synya

Digital Legal Research Lab

No abstract provided.

A Historical Evaluation Of The Position Of The United States On Genocide Designations: Framing Implications For Xinjiang, Marley Taylor Belanger

Graduate Capstone Projects

This paper evaluates the historical stances of the United States with the international norm against genocide. It further examines how U.S. positions in precedent cases of genocide may help frame the U.S. response to the current crisis in Xinjiang, China. This paper reviews the historical record of the instances when the U.S. government has designated past atrocities to be considered genocides, and identifies patterns of continuity and change in the decision-making process of the U.S. This work then applies the theories of liberalism, constructivism, and realism to interpret the actions of the United States when deciding to recognize genocide formally. …

Do Our Eyes Deceive Us?: Polarization And The American Electorate, Lukus Perry

Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)

The political divide in the American electorate seems to have increased in recent times. In order to address and hopefully mend the division we need to look deeper into the causes of political polarization. Religiosity, media usage, class, and location all play roles in this equation and the goal is to see which factor is more divisive. Are religiously active people more polarized than others? The idea of perception vs reality also arises in this discussion, but based on moral alignments with candidates and issues, I presume that the most polarizing factor is religiosity. Using survey data from the American …

The Impact Of Candidate Sex On Electoral Success In Nonpartisan State Supreme Court Elections, Emma Dickson

Senior Theses

Women in the United States remain underrepresented in politics, both in the legislature and the judiciary. As the court of last resort in each state, state supreme courts serve as important judicial policymakers, and women should be involved in their decision-making processes. This study examines the impact of a judicial candidate’s gender on electoral success and competitiveness to determine if voters hold biases against women fueled by gender stereotypes. I test my theory using general election data from the 15 states that held nonpartisan state supreme court elections from 2000 to 2020. The influence of candidate sex is assessed using …

How Can Social Media Improve Youth Voter Engagement?, Anton M. Kopti

Honors Projects

This study examines the impact of social media on political engagement and its potential to strengthen democratic participation, focusing on the nonpartisan Valley Votes Project. By implementing literature-based social media tactics, the project aims to measure the success of each tactic based on digital interaction and viewership. The findings suggest that social media can be an effective tool to promote youth civic engagement in the political process. The study concludes that further research is needed to explore the effectiveness of these methods in different contexts and settings. Ultimately, promoting youth civic engagement is essential for a healthy democracy, and social …

The Future Of Bail Reform In The United States, Mary Gorham

Senior Theses

This thesis examines bail reform, specifically cash bail reform, across several jurisdictions in the United States. The goal of this research is to provide a synthesis of the literature and reform efforts at the state and federal levels. Importantly, this thesis will examine recent modifications to the cash bail systems in four states. in order to get a balanced perspective on the success of these reform efforts. In the pages that follow, there will be a presentation of the literature review and a discussion of the reforms that have been undertaken since 2015. Additionally, this thesis will discuss how the …

Running For Political Office: These Dentists Did . . . How About You? Insights From Two Dentist-Legislators, W. Erick Rupprecht Dds, Lynn Aronoff

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

The Michigan Dental Association encourages members to seek political office. Why? Having a member dentist hold an elected office improves the profession's visibility and builds relationships with other elected officials and community leaders who can support dentistry's goals. A dentist-legislator becomes a resource with their legislative colleagues when they debate health policy, regulations, and business initiatives. Having member dentists on the inside provides receptive ears when the Association advocates for the profession's needs and priorities.

To give insight into what public service by a dentist looks like, the Journal interviewed two colleagues who have made that commitment, State Representative Steven …

Ideology And The Incumbency Advantage, Gabe Degraeve

Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)

Incumbents win reelection at a staggering rate (upwards of 75%) the causes of this are well understood and examined. The numerous material benefits (access to a larger staff, fundraising ability, name recognition, etc.) paired with the psychological benefits (scare-off effect, lack of high-quality candidate, etc.) make it very hard for a potential challenger to win in an election against an incumbent. There however has been a decrease in the incumbency advantage over the past several election cycles. Since both the material and psychological benefits are still present, another factor is likely contributing to this decrease. Ideology has become …