Digital Commons Network^™

A Bargaining Theory Of Us-China Economic Rivalry: Differentiating The Trade And Technology Wars, Cathy Xuauxuan Wu

Political Science & Geography Faculty Publications

This article examines the outbreak and persistence of US–China economic war, which comprises both the trade war, featured with retaliatory tariffs, and the technology war, featured with restrictions on Chinese access to US technologies. Building on the analytical framework of bargaining and war, I argue that different components of the economic war emerged from distinct causes. The outbreak of the trade war was primarily driven by the information problem, characterized by mutual uncertainty and the lack of effective communications. The technology war was largely a result of the commitment problem driven by the existing power’s concern regarding potential future changes …

Justice As Fairness Or As Inclusion: Putting Rawls In Conversation With The Bans On Transgender Athletes, Nicole Player

Pomona Senior Theses

The last decade has seen a flurry of anti-transgender bills introduced and passed in the United States, and the topic that has likely been the most hotly debated regards the dozens of state bans on transgender athletes. While most discussions of these bans go straight to a debate about physiology, this thesis centers instead on a question of justice. In the debate of whether to allow a transgender girl to compete in girls’ sports, is it more “just” to prioritize fairness in women’s sport, as these bans do, or is it more just to prioritize inclusion? This thesis, in finding …

Reporting On Un Security Council: Decoding Media Bias, Alessandra Loiero

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis explores Western media's representation of the United Nations (UN), focusing on the Security Council's role in global conflict resolution. It examines how UN-accredited correspondents perceive the effectiveness of the Security Council, particularly when the body faces deadlock. The study employs text analysis techniques to identify biases and perceptions in media coverage, using The New York Times' reporting on the Ukraine conflict as a case study. It illuminates framing effects in journalistic narratives, revealing how journalists subtly interject their views when reporting, often revealing unrealistic expectations and shedding light on the limitations of the UN's mandate or its inability …

Serving With Pride: Analyzing Lgbtq+ Personnel Policy In The U.S. Military, Sonja Woolley

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis examines the evolution of LGBTQ+ personnel policies in the U.S. military, analyzing how these changes reflect broader social transformations and the military’s role as both a mirror and catalyst in societal shifts. It traces the historical roots of discriminatory practices against queer and transgender servicemembers, identifying key periods of reform and resistance. Using institutional theory to dissect the mechanisms of policy adaptation, this paper focuses on coercive, mimetic, and normative isomorphism, which illustrate the complex interplay between external societal pressures, internal demands for legitimacy, and the professionalization of the military. Through detailed case studies, the thesis highlights how …

Roadmaps To Post-Communist Neoliberalism: The Case Of The Baltic States, Jokubas Salyga

Political Science Faculty Publications

This article uncovers the pre-1991 origins of Baltic neoliberal regimes. It highlights the role of the communication networks between reformist economists in the Baltic National Fronts and social forces advocating neoliberalism in Scandinavia and the United States. We assert that those networks functioned as the early carriers of ideational and policy change, even if reform contents were authored by domestic rather than transnational agencies. Firstly, the article previews the structural factors conducive to network formation. Secondly, it examines the networks by highlighting cross-national differences. Finally, it chronicles the idiosyncratic paths of neoliberal reformers’ ascendance to the positions of influence.

Renewing Study Into The Oldest Hatred: Introduction To The Law Vs. Antisemitism Symposium, David Schraub

Lewis & Clark Law Review

This short essay provides an introduction to the Lewis & Clark Law Review's "Law vs. Antisemitism" symposium, which grew out of the conference by the same name hosted at Lewis & Clark in the spring of 2023. In addition to overviewing the contributions to the symposium, the introduction provides some background on the relative paucity of legal scholarship that has addressed antisemitism, and the importance of including antisemitism in the otherwise robust legal academic conversation occurring around other forms of oppression and social discrimination.

Politicizing Antisemitism Amidst Today’S Educational Culture Wars, Lili Levi

Lewis & Clark Law Review

The traditional narrative of American Jewry emphasizes American exceptionalism with respect to antisemitism. But there have been clear signs of a resurgence of public antisemitism in the United States even before the massive rise in antisemitic expression and incidents associated with the Israel-Hamas war of fall 2023.

One of the notable aspects of the rise and normalization of antisemitic expression is the deployment of antisemitism as a political tool. For example, in addition to Democrats and Republicans accusing each other of complicity in antisemitism, both federal policy since the Trump era and state antiantisemitism legislation have targeted campus antisemitism in …

Why Terrorism Varies In Indonesia, Titik Firawati

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation studies when, why, and how local religious conflicts escalate to campaigns of terrorist violence. To do so, I examine two most-similar cases in Indonesia: Ambon and Poso. Each experienced significant local conflict between Christians and Muslims in the early 2000s. But while a peace treaty in Ambon in 2002 was largely successful, a similar treaty in Poso failed, and violence actually escalated into an organized campaign of terrorism against Christians. To understand why violence escalated to terrorism in one case, but not the other, I conducted six months of field research, including 98 interviews with original interviews with …

The Influence Of Media Usage On The Outcome Of Social Movement Campaigns In Southeast Asia, Rothsethamony Seng

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Does the use of media strategies help social movements or mass protest movements in Southeast Asia achieve their goals? The prominent study in this area argues that social media, in particular, has done more harm than good for grassroots movements. Tufekci (2017) argues that social media provides little help compared to the regime. I argue that social media helps the movement through three important areas, including (1) amplifying the messages of the movements to shape public opinions and counter propaganda and misleading information from the government, (2) facilitating and mobilizing protestors to coordinate virtual or physical protests, sustaining the momentum, …

The Expansion Of Social Assistance Programs: The Politics Of Development In Bangladesh, Sumaya Tamanna

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Why do authoritarian regimes in the global south expand social assistance programs when electoral competition is absent? What are the driving factors behind their willingness to adopt and expand pro-poor social assistance programs? To answer this question in the context of Bangladesh, I did a secondary qualitative analysis to unfold the puzzle of social assistance expansion in Bangladesh. I explored existing literature and tested those in the case of Bangladesh by analyzing existing literature on Bangladesh, as well as data and documents in order to solve the puzzle. I find that, even though electoral competition is absent, the current regime …

Religious Symbolism In Rhetoric Of Right Populist Parties, Serhii Kostiuchkov, Dmytro Garaschuk, Viacheslav Serhieiev, Kateryna Volkova

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This article explores the use of religious symbolism in the populist rhetoric of Poland's Law and Justice (PiS) party and Hungary's Fidesz party. Both parties leverage historical and cultural narratives emphasizing Christianity's role in their national identities to legitimize their political agendas and mobilize support. The study examines how these populist leaders incorporate religious imagery and language to create a moral dichotomy between the “righteous people” and the “corrupt elite,” thereby deepening societal divisions and undermining democratic governance. In Poland, the PiS party's close alignment with the Catholic Church reinforces its nationalist and anti-EU stance, while in Hungary, Fidesz employs …

A Political Theory Of Engineered Systems And A Study Of Engineering And Justice Workshops, Dominic David Carrese

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

Since there are good reasons to think that some engineered systems are socially undesirable—for example, internal combustion engines that cause climate change, algorithms that are racist, and nuclear weapons that can destroy all life—there is a well-established literature that attempts to identify best practices for designing and regulating engineered systems in order to prevent harm and promote justice. Most of this literature, especially the design theory and engineering justice literature meant to help guide engineers, focuses on environmental, physical, social, and mental harms such as ecosystem and bodily poisoning, racial and gender discrimination, and urban alienation. However, the literature that …

Defending The Role Of A Principle Of Proportionality In Just Punishment, Emma Mecklenburg

Honors Theses

What makes a punishment just or unjust is a familiar topic that the public and scholars alike recognize as an important question. Many factors are involved in conversations surrounding the just length of sentences, but this paper will specifically investigate two central questions: First, what makes a punishment just, and second, what role does a principle of proportionality play in thinking about just punishment.

Let Your Head Hang Down: A Narrative Examination Of Cultic & Conspiratorial Romance, Kyle Macy

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

A response to recent cultural trends of radicalization, extremism, and violence in American society, this dissertation, a novel rendered in ephemeral fragments of oral histories, interrogates the romanticist postures that compel a community of musical artists, the so-called “Folk Revival Revival,” toward infamy and tragedy. Where more traditional sociological approaches to cultic formations stress the importance of centralized charismatic authority, and more traditional psychological approaches rely upon a conspiratorial Cold War ethos of cognitive bias and coercive control (i.e. “brainwashing”), this project meets such assumptions with incredulity, asserting instead that cultic and conspiratorial entrancement awakens first from within, and may …

Indigenous Culture And The Path To Democracy: An In-Depth Case Study Of Ghana's Democratization Process, 1992 – Present, Nana Quame Owusu-Nti

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The study sought to ascertain whether introducing democracy has adversely impacted Indigenous cultural practices in Ghana or whether the path to democracy has enhanced, shaped, or strengthened aspects of the country’s Indigenous culture. The study sheds some light on the realistic, symbolic, and pervasive threat(s) that transitional or Indigenous societies like Ghana undergoing the process of democratization face and must deal with. More specifically, the study provides some insights into how traditional societies, where Indigenous values and practices are held with some reverence and esteem, can be integrated into liberal democratic institutions to potentially ameliorate cultural tension and political discord …

Coattailing For Regime Continuity?: Unraveling Duterte's Legacy In Marcos Jr.'S 2022 Electoral Victory, Gabrielle Ann S. Mendoza, Imelda B. Deinla, Cristine Lian C. Domingo, Jurel K. Yap

Ateneo School of Government Publications

The electoral victory of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has been attributed to a range of factors such as misinformation, patronage, and populism. We argue that Marcos’ electoral victory should not be treated as an isolated instantaneous event, but rather a result of a shift in the country's political narrative due to the legacy of his predecessor. The shift to illiberal populism is tied to the public's continued support for Duterte's flagship policies as well as in the proliferation of populist rhetoric on social media. Using a non-probability survey of 1500 Filipinos, we find that support for President Duterte and his …

Anglo-Saxon Res Judicata Culture For Civil Law Systems, Cesare Cavallini

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

One traditional aspect distinguishing the common law system from the civil law one lies in the perceived disparities in the inspiration of the law-making process. The Anglo-Saxon system typically grounds its rules in explicit and discernible policies spanning social, anthropological, and economic realms directly relevant to the circumstances. In contrast, the civil law tradition frequently necessitates a fixed conceptual framework, sometimes detached from the practical needs of society. Or, at least, this dynamic persisted until recent changes prompted by the “doing business” model, which has timidly ascended to the forefront of the State agenda, particularly across Europe, notably in Italy. …

Race, Inequality, And Social Capital In The U.S. Counties, Mi-Son Kim, Dongkyu Kim, Natasha Altema Mcneely

Political Science Faculty Publications

This study examines how the interplay between racial diversity and economic inequality affects variations of social capital in the U.S. counties. In general, racial and economic heterogeneity is assumed to provide a negative environment for the growth of social capital. Building on this, we argue the effect of economic inequality is weaker than that of racial diversity because increased economic heterogeneity is felt less visibly and acutely than racial heterogeneity. Moreover, economic inequality can positively condition the adverse impact of racial diversity on social capital when the two interact. Based on the crosscutting cleavages theory, income inequality in a racially …

The Border Wall And Policies As Simulacrum And Spectacle: Transborderisms And Security Before And After Covid-19 In The Rio Grande Valley, Terence Garrett

Political Science Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

#Politicalcommunicationsowhite: A Call For Considering Race In The Undergraduate Political Communication Course, Ant Woodall, Lindsey Meeks

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

The field of communication has been working to reconcile its historic omission of race from research and pedagogy. The subfield of political communication has begun this process in its research but has yet to consider the implications of race missing from pedagogy. This essay offers an argument for including race in the political communication course, in the form of more focus on race in course content and more work by scholars of color. We offer reasons for these inclusions, ways for instructors to begin this incorporation, and what considerations instructors must be mindful of throughout the process.

Consumer Preference In Politics: Polarization In The Us Two-Party System, Jocelyne Y. Bisson

Honors Theses and Capstones

This paper uses marketing analytics to analyze the current segmentation and positioning of the US two-party political system. In the literature review, the political parties will be illustrated as they exist in 2024 after a brief historical outline beginning with party politics post WWII. The current 2024 platforms and most polarizing issues will also be outlined in this section. This research aims to answer the following questions. Can marketing segmentation and positioning reveal the most and least polarizing party issues in the United States today? How do current presidential front runners fit into the larger US two-party system? Do their …

Resilience Amidst Barriers: Understanding The Plight Of Undocumented Filipino Tnts In The Broken Us Immigration System, Eileen Linchangco

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis examines the plight of undocumented Filipino immigrants, referred to as “TNT” or “tago nang tago” (hiding and hiding), within the context of an increasingly restrictive US immigration system. I argue that two key factors have driven more Filipinos to pursue unauthorized entry into the US since the 1980s despite heightened risks. First, US immigration policy changes enacted in the 1980s and 1990s implemented stricter numerical caps that severely limited available visas for Filipino immigrants to use legal immigration pathways into the United States. Second, enduring sociocultural constructs propagate the notion that Filipinos represent immigrant desirability for US citizenship. …

What's Up With White Women?: Anti-Feminist Resistance To Second-Wave Feminism And The Rise Of The Conservative Woman, Sadie N. Matz

Scripps Senior Theses

A staggering number of White women voted for Trump in 2016. Why did this demographic, whose racial and gender identity so closely resembled that of the Democratic candidate, deny themselves descriptive representation in the Oval Office? A closer look at the political history of feminism and anti-feminism reveals that these results should not have been surprising. The sexual liberation movement of the 1960s, the fight over the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s, and the rise of neoliberalism in the 1980s cultivated an environment that made political conservatism attractive to White women of the 20^th century, priming White women …

Political Social Media Use, Self-Efficacy, And Physical Participation, Paloma Ayala-Abellar

Scripps Senior Theses

Social media has become an integral part of daily life, particularly among Generation Z, transforming the way individuals engage with political movements and activism. This study explores how political social media usage influences feelings of self-efficacy and physical political participation among Generation Z in Los Angeles County. Leveraging survey data from 126 participants, the research examines the role of social media platforms—Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Twitter/X—in fostering self-efficacy and mobilizing individuals to engage physically with social movements. Findings reveal that frequent engagement with political content on social media, such as liking, sharing, and following, enhances feelings of self-efficacy, empowering users …

Narco Service Provisions In Tierra Caliente: La Familia Michoacana, Los Caballeros Templarios, And Los Zetas, Itzel Mendoza

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

This article analyzes the mutual relationship of dependency between civil society and narco cartels in Tierra Caliente, focusing on civilian experiences in Michoacan, Guerrero and el Estado de México. This paper will examine the functions of La Familia Michoacana, Los Caballeros Templarios and Los Zetas through community service provisions and cartels’ governance. Additionally, socioeconomic factors of Tierra Caliente will be examined to determine which types of communities lend themselves to cartels to provide community provisions as I argue that socioeconomic factors drive cartels’ operations and behaviors.

Ireland, Intellectual Property And The Political Economy Of Information Monopolies, Kenneth W. Murphy

Articles

Ireland’s policies towards US-owned global digital intermediaries (Big Tech) have emerged as an international political issue and received global media attention. So far, political and media focus has been on the impact of Ireland’s tax policies on the revenue-raising ability of other European states and perceptions of light touch regulation of those corporations based in the Republic. The current paper will focus on how Ireland’s switch to a focus on capital allowances for the sizeable American tech corporations has enabled the latter to sustain their dominance in the digital transition through incentivizing and subsidizing their switch to assetization as a …

An Exploration Into How Print And Online News Journalists Manage Political Fake News In Ireland, John William Hogan

Conference papers

This paper examines how a number of Irish political journalists, working for both traditional newspapers and an online news website, deal with the problem of fake news. The aim is to gain an understanding of what the journalists’ perception of political fake news is and the methods they employ to manage it - a sorely under researched topic. Our findings show that the journalists we spoke with feel there are a range of forms that fake news assumes, many of them insidious and challenging to overcome with facts. The paper highlights the important role journalists play in confronting political fake …

Reverse-Engineering Of Disinformation Campaigns During The War In Ukraine, Lora Pitman, Ava Baratz, Kelly Morgan, Marcy Alvarado

School of Cybersecurity Faculty Publications

Information operations have long been a part of warfare. Disinformation campaigns, in particular, are usually launched by states in order to mislead and confuse populations in adversarial countries, but also to obtain support for their actions from domestic audiences. These campaigns threaten human security, at the individual level, but also state- and even international security. The invasion of Ukraine by Russia came with a new wave of disinformation not only in Ukraine itself, but also in countries from various other continents. This paper studies the characteristics of the spread of disinformation from the first day of the war in February …

To What Extent Are The United States And Nigeria Able To Balance Economic Growth Against Emission Reduction Goals, Bolu Ayankojo

Political Science & Geography Faculty Publications

The paper examines the link between economic growth and greenhouse gas emissions reduction, focusing on the United States and Nigeria. The study addresses the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets that ensure average surface temperatures do not exceed 1.5°C above preindustrial levels and are intended to achieve net-zero GHG emissions by 2050. It examines emission reduction strategies in five common sectors: electricity, transportation, industry, cooking, and building. The United States is ahead of Nigeria in achieving its emissions-reduction goals, but challenges persist in some sectors. The study suggests that economic prosperity can be achieved without relying solely on fossil fuels, but …

The Regenarrative: How To Change The Story In Order To Change The Future, S. Rose Bigheart O'Leary

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

Abstract

In the era of Climate Change, many are concerned that the end of the Anthropocene, or the end of the era of human life on Earth, is upon us. Western European colonialism and its subsequent systems (settler-colonialism, colonial-capitalism, and globalization - sometimes termed “neocolonialism”) have all been implicated in contributing to unsustainable behaviors linked to accelerating climate change. In searching for possible solutions, some have called for listening to Indigenous Peoples, citing ethics of sustainability found among many Indigenous cultures. However, the cultural products of settler-colonialism are still dominant in ways that do not allow for Indigenous worldviews to …