Digital Commons Network^™

The Expanding Digital Border: Ai, Surveillance, And The Fight For Justice, James Chesser

Immigration and Human Rights Law Review

As artificial intelligence transforms the mechanisms of immigration control, the modern border has become a digital filter—one governed less by geography and more by code. This Article examines the legal, technical, and ethical implications of AI-driven systems now central to global border enforcement, including biometric surveillance, algorithmic risk scoring, and predictive profiling. It explores how states use these technologies not only to manage irregular migration, but to compete for global talent—constructing migration regimes that reward capital and compliance while eroding transparency, due process, and equality.

Through an international and comparative lens, the piece highlights the expansion of algorithmic decision-making across …

Udział Społeczeństwa W Inwestycjach W Elektrownie Jądrowe W Świetle Sprawiedliwości Energetycznej, Artur Tyński, Bartłomiej Kupiec

internetowy Kwartalnik Antymonopolowy i Regulacyjny (internet Quarterly on Antitrust and Regulation)

Artykuł analizuje udział społeczeństwa w procesie inwestycyjnym dotyczącym elektrowni jądrowych w Polsce w kontekście sprawiedliwości energetycznej. Autorzy przedstawiają teoretyczne podstawy partycypacji obywatelskiej oraz powiązanie sprawiedliwości proceduralnej i uznania z akceptacją społeczną inwestycji jądrowych. W artykule omówiono aktualny stan prawny i praktykę udziału społecznego, wskazując na ograniczenia obecnych mechanizmów konsultacji i niedostateczne wdrożenie rozwiązań zwiększających transparentność i wpływ obywateli na decyzje. Przeanalizowano również przypadki panelu obywatelskiego w Republice Korei oraz praktykę konsultacji społecznych przy planowaniu pierwszej polskiej elektrowni jądrowej. W części końcowej przedstawiono rekomendacje de lege ferenda na rzecz wzmocnienia udziału społeczeństwa i realizacji zasady sprawiedliwości energetycznej w krajowych regulacjach.

Res Historica, Volume 5, Alpha Rho Epsilon Phi Alpha Theta, Lindsay Rae Smith Privette Phd

Res Historica

The 2026 journal of historical research by Anderson University students, Res Historica.

The editorial team for this edition of Res Historica was Dr. Lindsay Rae Smith Privette, Julia Ackerman, Callyn Wright, Logan Davis, and John Hinton. Cover art by Mary Beth Lee.

Political Graffiti In Milan, Sylvia Richards

CISLA Senior Integrative Projects

No abstract provided.

Book Bans In U.S. Prisons: A Legacy Of The Prisoners' Rights Movement, Allison Jansen

Honors Projects

The 1950s-1970s saw an unprecedented spike in organized resistance by American prisoners. This long era of rebellion, along with thousands of judicial appeals, made up the “prisoners’ rights movement”-- a political, legal, and social struggle that challenged the conditions of American incarceration and its penological paradigm. The timeline of the movement is abstract and difficult to measure. Nonetheless, what is certain is that it lost its momentum by the 1980s due to overhauling policy changes that quelled prisoner activism without achieving meaningful progress. This research examines the evolution of prison censorship policies within that paradigm shift and how they sought …

Rock On! Examining The Relationship Between Armed Conflict And Rock Protest Music, Dylan Conner Dunn

Senior Theses

This thesis explores the relationship between rock protest music and wars, armed conflicts, and other related events. The purpose of this research is to explore how such specific events, or war and conflict in general, influence rock songwriters. This paper examines a series of nine rock songs ranging across five decades, from the Vietnam War to the 2010s. A variety of artists wrote and recorded these songs, ranging from hard rock to classic rock, to folk rock and beyond. Some are more audially intense, lyrically visceral, and featuring explicit language, whereas others are much more stripped-back and “family-friendly.” Each of …

Bates College Journal Of Political Studies: Volume Iii, Issue 1, Spring 2026, Bates Initiative For Government Studies

Bates College Journal of Political Studies

No abstract provided.

Strategic Leadership Decision-Making At Power Four Aau Schools, Arthur Kraft, John Kraft

Business Faculty Articles and Research

Exogenous events have disrupted higher education and impacted the decision-making skills of university presidents. While all university presidents are affected, the problem is most acute at the thirty-six AAU members of the power four conferences. The exogenous events were the precipitous cancellation of federal research grants, the on again and off again restrictions on both new and current foreign students studying at US universities, the proposed 15% limit on indirect costs, the tax on university endowments, the changes in student loan programs, the annual $20.5 million NIL revenue sharing settlement for Division I (DI) athletes, and their share of the …

“Where Have All Our Children Gone?”: The Detrimental Evolution Of The Juvenile Justice System And The Reform Efforts To Restore Its Original Intent, Sofia Depasquale

Political Science Undergraduate Theses

No abstract provided.

Fear In The Forecast: Do You Believe The Government Controls The Weather?, Gabriella Bartsch

Honors Papers and Posters

Weather manipulation by the government is among the most widely believed conspiracy theories in America, with over 49 percent of Americans subscribing to this belief. As belief in weather-related conspiracies continues to gain traction, understanding the political and social factors that drive these beliefs becomes increasingly essential. In this study, data from the Chapman Survey of American Fears, a representative national sample of U.S. adults, as well as a qualitative content analysis of X/Twitter posts from 2020 to 2026, are used. This research examines how political partisanship and conspiratorial predisposition are reflected in media consumption and levels of institutional trust, …

How Did We Get Here? The Rise Of Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric As A Sociopolitical Force In U.S. Immigration Discourse And Enforcement Policy Through A Latino Lens, Andrea Maldonado

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Migrants In Media: A Tri-National Study Of The United States, Trinidad & Tobago And Mexico, Courtney Butts

Political Science Undergraduate Theses

Media portrayals of Venezuelan immigrants¹ in the United States have been studied extensively.  However, less scholarly attention has addressed how countries—particularly Trinidad & Tobago and Mexico—frame and portray Venezuelan migrants in news coverage. Arguably, narratives of migrants significantly shape public understanding and influence political rhetoric and policy outcomes, as such a significant research gap exists. Through a tri-national news media comparison, this study examines narratives about Venezuelan migrants and explores how these portrayals differ in the triad of national contexts. Importantly, these three experience migration differently: the U.S. is a large receiving state Trinidad & Tobago is a small …

Partisanship And Patriotism: How Political Parties Influence Citizen Perceptions Of American Symbols And National Unity, Carl Picerno

Political Science Undergraduate Theses

Over the past decade, there has been an increase in political polarization across the United States. National symbols such as the American flag, the national anthem, the Pledge of Allegiance, and the military have become disputed markers of unity and identity. This study explores the following research question: How does political party affiliation influence Americans’ perceptions of key symbols of American pride and patriotism, and further, what do these perceptions reveal about national unity and political polarization? This study examines the following hypotheses more specifically: first, Republicans are more likely to associate national symbols with unity and patriotism and therefore …

Next-Generation Democratic Cyber Statecraft - Balancing The Signal: Shutdown Shocks And Democratic Digital Governance, Scott M. Di Panni

School of Public Policy Capstones

This paper develops Next-Generation Democratic Cyber Statecraft (NG-DCS), a unified strategic doctrine for democratic governments to contest the cognitive domain against authoritarian adversaries. Drawing on twenty-six years of cross-national panel data (1999–2024) spanning 213 countries, game-theoretic modeling, and qualitative case analysis, the paper establishes three interconnected empirical and theoretical foundations. First, cross-national OLS regression across 160+ countries demonstrates that regime type is the dominant structural determinant of internet freedom (R²=0.615, β=2.513, p< 0.001), explaining more than twice the variance attributable to per-capita wealth (R²=0.268). Democratic governance, not economic development, produces open digital environments. Second, a two-way fixed effects (TWFE) difference-in-differences study exploiting government-ordered internet shutdowns as discrete policy interventions finds that digital restrictions causally degrade V-Dem governance quality by 0.21–0.38 standard deviations (p< 0.001 across all specifications). Treatment effects are immediate (β=−0.302 at k=0) and persist through five post-treatment years (β=−0.246 at k=+5), indicating structural rather than transitory governance damage. Parallel trends validation (p=0.352) and Callaway–Sant’Anna heterogeneity-robust estimation (ATT=−0.230, SE=0.077) support causal identification. Instrumental variable triangulation (2SLS β=−0.949, p=0.005) confirms that simultaneity was attenuating, not inflating, the primary estimates. Third, formal game-theoretic analysis reveals that the current U.S.–adversary equilibrium is (Restrain, Escalate)—the risk-dominant but Pareto-inferior outcome of a Stag Hunt structure. China, Russia, North Korea, and Venezuela each occupy structurally distinct positions (Stackelberg commitment, asymmetric two-level, autarky, and reactive trigger, respectively), requiring differentiated doctrinal responses rather than a uniform strategic playbook. Generative AI and algorithmic governance are shown to accelerate cognitive vulnerability by collapsing influence operation costs and exploiting engagement-optimized platform architectures that systematically degrade deliberative capacity in democratic populations.

Voting The Bums Out Or Echoes Of Weimar?: The Fdp, Greens, Afd, Left Party, And Bsw In The 2025 Bundestag Election, David F. Patton

Government and International Relations Faculty Publications

In all likelihood, Germany’s 2025 federal election has driven a final nail in the coffin of a party system marked by two traditional catch-all parties and several small parties. The FDP, Greens, AfD, Left Party, and BSW together received a record vote share. However, not all of them were electoral winners. Led by the AfD, smaller opposition parties on the ideological extremes surged, while hinge parties in government lost ground. A clear pole position offered an edge in a polarized and fragmented field. This article examines pre-election developments, manifestos, candidates, results, and outlooks of five parties that have emerged as …

The Spread Of Conspiracy Theories And Social Media Radicalization: “Stop The Steal” On Social Media, Zaynab Saleem

Honors Theses

This study examines how conspiracy-related content spread across social media platforms following the 2020 U.S. Presidential election, specifically the “Stop the Steal” (STS) movement. While conspiracy theories are often seen as influential on niche parts of the internet, less is known about how they compare to non-conspiracy content in terms of engagement, visibility, and how they change over time. To address this gap, this study uses a quantitative approach to compare STS and non-STS content across two distinct types of social media platforms: a text-based platform (Platform A) and a video-sharing platform (Platform B). Data was collected using keyword searches …

Digital Strategy Exposed In The Global South: A Comparative Analysis Of China And Uganda, Christian Pierre

The Dialogue

No abstract provided.

Indigenous Yet Suspect: The Securitization Of Saudi Arabia’S Shi'a Minority, Farah Balut

The Dialogue

This paper examines the marginalization of Saudi Arabia’s Shi’a minority through the lens of securitization theory. It argues that discrimination against Shi’a citizens is not periodic but embedded within the kingdom’s nation-building project, where Wahhabi orthodoxy has been fused with political loyalty. From early incorporation of the Eastern Province to the upheavals of 1979 and the reform era of Vision 2030, Shi’a identity has been framed as a potential internal threat. By tracing institutional practices, geopolitical anxieties, and lived experiences, the paper demonstrates how securitization structures conditional citizenship while highlighting Shi’a resilience within an evolving Saudi state.

Three Paths To Justice: Comparing Feminist Strategies Against Gender-Based Violence In East Asia, Ashley Chon

The Dialogue

No abstract provided.

Writ And Roe: How And Why American Evangelicals Responded To Abortion And Roe V. Wade (1960-Present), Caiden Hooks

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

Beginning in 1925, evangelical Protestants largely left American politics. During the late 1960s, the pro-life movement was a largely liberal, Roman Catholic cause focused on reversing liberal state abortion laws. After the Supreme Court's ruling on abortion in Roe v. Wade (1973), the political landscape changed dramatically. Over the next decade-and-a-half, evangelicals, including Southern Baptists, re-entered American politics, eventually becoming the face of the pro-life movement and the conservative Religious Right. Southern Baptists in particular, were motivated to join the pro-life movement by statements and material put out by prominent evangelicals, including books, documentaries, and biblical commentary material that laid …

Catholicism, Islam, And Intersectional Feminism In Ireland And Morocco: A Fatima Mernissi And Sinead O’Connor Study, Tralee Pomerleau

All Theses And Dissertations

This research contends that the interpretation of the relationship between feminism and religion is rooted in the Western feminist framework, making it seem like they cannot work together. This framework does not look at feminism through an intersectional lens, which it needs to, so women can use their life experiences, culture, and religion to fight for equal rights for women from all over the world. Looking at feminism through an intersectional lens proves that there is a way to keep religion and faith while fighting for women’s equality in every aspect of life.

This paper outlines the broad relationship between …

A National Security Strategy For The Middle East, Vanessa Rice, Rudy Torres, Addy Horgan, Joy Omosa, Mark Westfall

School of Public Policy Capstones

This National Security Strategy addresses the persistent national security challenges the United States faces in the Middle East, a region vital for global energy supply, economic connectivity, and a source of anti-American extremism. Recognizing the failures of past "haphazard experimentation," the strategy proposes a thoughtful, pragmatic plan prioritizing five distinct and congruent interest areas: Maintaining Regional Access, Supporting Regional Stability, Ensuring Energy Security, Defending American Citizens and Personnel, and Preserving and Protecting Western Ideals. The strategy outlines actions such as: countering Chinese and Russian influence through intelligence sharing and defense incentives; containing Iran via a new, permanent nuclear deal and …

“He Should Be Primaried, And I Will Lead The Charge Against Him”: An Autopsy On The Decline Of Grassroots Organizing And Rhetoric In A Monetized Democracy, Chiara H. Baez

Research and Creativity Symposium

Protest movements in the US have been steadily declining, unable to keep up with changing rhetoric and societal expectations regarding First Amendment free speech. Seemingly overnight, protests have lost the ability to directly input the people’s voice into policymaking. Grassroots protest movements are being priced out of the political participation that was once accessible to them by Political Action Committees (PACs), and politicians are favoring pollsters’ skewed data over the public opinion expressed in organized protest. This has created a systemic barrier, halting the voice of the American people. Grassroots protest movements have not disappeared from the American political landscape; …

3rd Place Contest Entry: "More Money, More Votes? Not Always", Levi Ramirez Garcia

Kevin and Tam Ross Undergraduate Research Prize

This is Levi Ramirez Garcia's submission for the 2026 Kevin and Tam Ross Undergraduate Research Prize, which won third place. It contains their essay on using library resources, and a summary of their research project on the relationship between money and elections, and their bibliography.

Levi is a fourth-year student at Chapman University, majoring in Political Science and Strategic Corporate Communication. Their faculty mentor is Dr. Ann Gordon.

"Transgender Insanity" And Scapegoating: President Donald Trump's Political Rhetoric Regarding Transgender Americans, Savannah Torres

Presentations - 2026

The political rhetoric used by President Donald Trump to refer to transgender Americans results in their scapegoating.

America First: U.S Justification For Intervention In Latin America, Lenardo Buentello

Posters - 2026

In November 2025, the United States released a new National Security Strategy that strongly focuses on securing key resources before rival countries, especially in the Western Hemisphere. This approach is like policies like the Monroe Doctrine, which emphasized U.S. influence in the region. This strategy is already being put into action in Venezuela, where U.S. forces captured President Nicolás Maduro and his wife on drug trafficking charges. These actions reflect the strategy’s focus on national security and resource control. Many countries question whether the U.S. acted legally and argue that it ignored international norms. Latin America has become a region …

The Digital Divide: Voter Perceptions In The Age Of Social Media, Molly E. Griffin

Senior Theses

This thesis examines how social media shapes voter perceptions of candidate ideology and economic issues, and how these perceptions influence electoral decision-making. As digital platforms increasingly serve as primary sources of political information, exposure to negative content and patterns such as doom-scrolling can affect voters’ understanding of political realities. The study explores how social media reinforces preexisting beliefs, amplifies stereotypes, and creates echo chambers that shape both perceptions and choices in elections. Using survey data on US senators collected during the 2016, 2018, 2020, and 2022 election cycles, the research investigates the mechanisms by which digital media influence voter behavior. …

The Dangers Of Social Media In Political Theory, Eden M. Shimanek

Global Tides

Increasing political polarization is a prominent feature of the twenty-first-century political landscape, with social media playing a significant role. This essay evaluates social media as a political platform through Hannah Arendt’s notion of the Vita Activa, which describes the political realm and the ideas of totalitarianism. Using this framework, I argue that the surging political use of social media creates digital “echo chambers” that result from the loss of human plurality, which ultimately marks the diverse nature of the political realm. I would continue to argue that these chambers evolve into the notion that Arendt notes as world alienation or …

Super Soapbox

Emerging Writers

American superhero comics have always had some sort of political/socio-political spin to them. During the Golden Age of the 1930's to 50's, characters such as Superman and Captain America appeared in World War II propaganda fighting the Axis Powers. The following Silver Age from the 50's to 70's became infamous for its self-censorship under The Comics Code Authority, which in practice banned LGBTQ+ representation. However, the gradual retirement of the CCA's regulations allowed titles such as Uncanny X-Men and The Dark Knight Returns to cover heavier topics such as racism and political corruption during the Bronze Age of the 70's …

Shu World Review- March 30th 2026, Diplolab, Seton Hall University

SHU World Review

No abstract provided.