Digital Commons Network^™

In Their Own Words: Exploring The Political Lives Of Women Legislators In Guam, Sarah G. Elmore-Hernandez

Anthropology

In 2018, Guam experienced a historic political transformation with the election of its first woman governor and a supermajority of women senators. This electoral outcome was widely framed as a feminist milestone, reinforcing dominant narratives that equate increased female representation with progressive policy advancements. This study critically examines these assumptions by shifting the focus from quantitative representation to the political strategies and lived experiences of Guam’s women lawmakers. Employing oral history interviews, this research investigates how lawmakers conceptualize their political roles, navigate institutional structures, and shape legislative agendas. The findings reveal that while many advocate for policy priorities traditionally associated …

A Movement In Process: The Effects Of Post-Dictatorship Politics On The Legalization Of Abortion In Argentina, Corinne J. Robbins

CISLA Senior Integrative Projects

Access to abortion is an inherently critical aspect of sexual and reproductive rights. That is to say that access to safe abortions is of equal importance to guaranteeing a person’s right to safety during the pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum period. This research primarily focuses on the trajectory of the legalization of abortion in Argentina after the end of the last military Dictatorship (1976-1983), the factors that impacted the movement, and how the movement is received in Argentina today. Argentina’s current administration has been unsupportive of the current abortion law, but past successes demonstrate that abortion rights activists in Argentina are …

‘Casar Public Lecture: 100 Days Of Trump: America, The Middle East, And Beyond’, The Prince Alwaleed Center For American Studies And Research Casar

Performances, Events, and Presentations

The entire world is literally getting new updates about Trump's internal & external policies almost everyday now....can you imagine that we are still yet to reach 100 days?? USAID cuts, Chinese and Canadian Tariffs, DEI revokes, Gaza War, Ukraine War, the case of Iran, National Economic Emergency in the US, ICE arrests in the US & so much more to discuss.....Trump's policies impact the US as well as everywhere in the world, but what are the repercussions so far?

Speakers: From AUC: Dr. Sean Lee, Assistant Professor, Political Science Department - Amb. Dr.Alaa El-Hadidi , CASAR Adjunct Professor.

The panel …

Women And Politics In Nigeria: A Typology And An Assessment, Emma Chukwuemeka

Journal of African Policy Studies

The study was carried out to investigate the extent women participate in politics in Nigeria. Abia and Imo states were closely studied. Two hypotheses were formulated. The instruments used for data collection were questionnaire, interview and focus group discussion. A total of 354 copies of questionnaire were distributed, out of this number, 349 copies were completed and returned by the respondents. Z-test statistical tool was used to analyze the data, Based on the analysis, the major findings revealed that violence against women deters women from getting actively involved in politics in Nigeria. Also culture and traditional ethos prevent the advancement …

Partisan Politics And The Supreme Court: A Crisis Of Judicial Independence, Katie M. Cassady

Helms School of Government Undergraduate Law Review

Every nominee to the Supreme Court of the United States must undergo an extensive confirmation process to evaluate his or her qualifications to serve as a Justice. While the Founders designed the federal judiciary to be an independent institution, changes in the confirmation process and American political climate have resulted in increasingly polarized nomination and confirmation proceedings. This Comment will discuss the history of this process, focusing on the slim margins by which recently confirmed Justices have secured their seats on the federal bench. These contentious proceedings are exacerbated by outside influences such as the media and interest groups that …

Politics, Pedagogy, And Public Perception: A Shifting Understanding Of Liberalism In America, Jackson Trahant

Honors Theses

At Harding University, and in broader American political discourse, liberalism has been contorted from a prolific political philosophy into a meaningless misnomer. This paper studies what liberalism is to define what it isn't, by building a foundation of understanding in both modern theorists, like Sheldon Wolin, Alan Ryan, and Ian Adams, and the seminal works of classical liberal thinkers such as Locke, Tocqueville and Mill. Next, I deploy a self-designed survey, consisting of 4 passages derived from the literature written by those above. 80 Harding students responded, and their responses were gathered into SPSS, a data processing software, and ran …

Populism And Religious Rhetoric In Spain's Right-Wing Vox Party, Ainsley Taylor

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

This thesis examines the intersection of populism and religious rhetoric in Spain’s right-wing political party, Vox. By analyzing Facebook posts from Vox’s national and regional accounts in the months leading up to the 2019 and 2023 national elections, as well as key regional elections in Andalusia and Cantabria, this study explores how the party strategically employs religious themes to shape its populist discourse. The findings indicate that Vox primarily uses religious rhetoric to construct an exclusive national identity, framing perceived external threats such as immigration, secularism, and leftist politics. While the party's use of religious rhetoric declined slightly between 2019 …

Christian Nationalism: Comparing Sociological Critiques To Christian Political Theologies, Daniel Christopher Samms

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The definition of Christian Nationalism which attempts to link White Nationalism to Christian appeals to God as the basis for justice is not reflective of any prominent, contemporary version of Christian political theology. This is demonstrated through an analysis of the prominent definition of Christian Nationalism used by sociologists such as Samuel L. Perry, Andrew L. Whitehead, and Joshua B. Grubbs as well as an analysis of three prominent Christian approaches to Christian Nationalism and their respective approaches to the basis for civil law in the public square.

The Relationship Between Education And Entrepreneurship Within African American Women’S History As Evidenced By Eight Exemplary Success Stories, Louise C. Mckinney

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The educational and economic achievements of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and other institutions of learning parallel the rise of black entrepreneurial history in the 1900s. They contributed to the historical context of the African American narrative through individual development, political and social changes, educational advancement, and national and regional changes in the concept of black wealth. These institutions provided a new platform for African Americans to rebuild their lives and futures in the post-Reconstruction era. This study analyzes the connection between African American educational leadership and entrepreneurship by assessing the impact of black female educators and leaders who …

Making Peace Among The People: The Development Of Brigham Young's Political Thought And Activity, 1838-1846, Garrett R. Elkins

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Brigham Young assumed the role as president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1838, as the Church began to face extreme persecutions by the state of Missouri. Although he was a mostly apolitical individual preceding his new role, over the next eight years Young would hold political office and help the Church navigate challenging relationships with local, state, and federal governments. By the time he led the Latter-day Saints to the Great Basin and became president of the Church in 1847, Young had gained significant experience over several years …

"It's Not Your Job To Save The World, Young Women": Evangelical Women On Social Media, Ilaria P. Johnson

Master's Theses

Masters research thesis on the role of evangelical influencers on social media in spreading their beliefs on conservative politics, Christian motherhood, and Christian womanhood. Five Instagram accounts are analyzed and profiled.

Pathos And Power: Gendered Rhetoric In Ciceronian Rome And The 21st-Century U.S., Alexandra Berardelli

College Honors Program

This thesis explores the power of persuasion in two major eras: in the 1st century BCE in Rome and the 21st-century United States. Marcus Tullius Cicero was a prolific orator, lawyer, and statesman in the late Roman Republic. His orations have been studied for his expertise in rhetorical prowess. This thesis considers his approach to persuading his audience, an all-male jury, and how he effectively uses pathos, or the appeal to the emotions, to target gendered expectations of his male listeners. I explore Cicero’s characterization of two women in two speeches: Sassia in the Pro Cluentio (66 BCE) and Clodia …

Reconstructing Remembrance: Race, Memory, And The Eulogies Of Charles Sumner, Emily Gray

Senior Theses

This research seeks to illuminate the unique ways in which Black and White Americans remembered Charles Sumner, exploring how these distinct perspectives reflect the social and political landscape of a post-bellum America. Rather than exploring Sumner’s legacy itself, this research will examine the broader, enduring impact of his legacy on politics and national identity by examining how Black and White speakers used Sumner’s death and legacy differently. It will highlight the active role African Americans played in shaping historical memory and advancing a vision of America grounded in justice and freedom. The significance of this work lies in its exploration …

Slowing The Decline: How Restoring Congress’S Capacity To Compete With The Executive Branch Can Help Restore The American Republic, Elizabeth Gillanders

Helms School of Government Spring Public Policy Conference

Aristotle is one of the most influential figures both in the realm of philosophy and political science. In one of his most well-known works, The Politics, he explores various forms of government and how they will eventually decline. It is Aristotle’s prerogative that nothing can stop the decline of a state from happening, but citizens can attempt to slow it down if they understand how to spot the symptoms. One of these symptoms includes a major concentration of power in a single ruler (known as the One) as opposed to allowing the people (the Many) to rule. This paper seeks …

Covid-19 Conspiracies: A Bodyguard Of Lies, Chris Hables Gray

Secrecy and Society

No abstract provided.

A Narrative Review Of The Covid-19 Infodemic And Censorship In Healthcare, Mitchell Liester, Sohaib Ashraf, Patricia Callisperis, Hector Carvallo, Shankara Chetty, Robert Enzenauer, Carlos Franco-Paredes, Raul Pineda, Panagis Polykretis, Rachel Wilkenson, Peter Mccullough

Secrecy and Society

Ideological and financial motivations have undermined science for decades. In this narrative review, we explore how organizations and governments used misinformation, disinformation, censorship, and secrecy to manage the COVID-19 pandemic. Various rationales for employing censorship and secrecy during the COVID-19 pandemic are examined including how organizations and governments create confusion about the risks associated with their products and blame avoidance to shift responsibility and to avoid accountability for their actions. Methods of censorship employed during the COVID-19 pandemic are reviewed, examples are provided, and the consequences of these actions are reviewed. Information included in this review was obtained from scientific …

Religion, Culture, And Politics, Jared Rubin

ESI Working Papers

This chapter presents a conceptual framework for understanding the interaction of religion, ideology, and politics. The framework’s key insights are: i) culture and ideology provide a shared mental framework for interpreting the world; ii) ideology is malleable, and it can be used to justify a wide set of empirical realities in a manner that is consistent with the prevailing mental framework; iii) religion is particularly adept at shaping this mental framework because it attempts to explain the unknown; iv) because co-religionists share a mental framework that depends on a (religious) interpretation of events, religions are particularly likely to be co-opted …

Casar Public Lecture: Will Trump End The Ukraine War?, The Prince Alwaleed Center For American Studies And Research Casar

Performances, Events, and Presentations

Trump wants to become the world’s Peace Maker, the Master of the Art of Making Deals. He promised to end this war in 24 hours. Yet the real question is whether Putin wants to end the war, or whether he is ready for a deal ? If so, then what kind of a deal? Could it be that Putin might have a different deal in mind than the deal Trump is willing to offer?? So what happens then??? The lecture deliberated about the possible answers to this very question from several perspectives, analyzing the impact on Egypt, the region & …

Does Money Buy Happiness? Examining Spending And Approval Of Senators, Steven D. Kaga, April Johnson

The Kennesaw Journal of Undergraduate Research

This project seeks to examine the relationship between approval ratings for US senators who ran in the 2020 election and the amount of campaign spending while controlling for Gender, Incumbency status, Party affiliation and the number of primary challengers to seek greater understanding on how campaign spending impacts the overall sentiment that the voters have for their representatives.

Trump Should Pass On Project 2025'S Disparate Impact Plan, Susan D. Carle

Popular Media

Although President-elect Donald Trump disavowed reliance on, or even knowledge of, the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 agenda, his appointments and policy announcements have substantially tracked Project 2025 so far, suggesting that his administration will look to Project 2025 when choosing its goals.

How Did A Democrat Win In Deep Red Kentucky? A Study Of Andy Beshear's 2019 And 2023 Electoral Victories, Edwin Wilborn

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Democrat Andy Beshear won his first election as governor of Kentucky in 2019, surprising many by defeating an incumbent Republican governor in a GOP-dominated state and a state that Donald Trump had won handedly in 2016. While Democrats had historically been the dominant party in the commonwealth, by the time of Beshear’s 2019 gubernatorial campaign, that was no longer the case. Beshear’s ability to not only win again but to win by a larger margin against a Trump-backed candidate in 2023 begs two questions: how did Beshear win, and is his success replicable for future Democrats?

Following a discussion of …

Witch, Please: The Campy, Sexually Depraved, And Sacrilegious Anti-Morality Tale, David Veatch

Playwriting (MFA) Theses

There will be no explanation, only reputation.

Sky, the little g god, is in their forest on the first Halloween, scheming on how to ascend to Big G God status, will Sky be able to bop their way to the top, or will a fascist plot, accidental immaculate conception, and their hubris ruin the bitchin'est night of the year?

Where’D You Go, Ohio: Progressive Ohio Ballot Initiative Passage In A Republican Aligned State, Colin D. Swearingen, Elizabeth A. Stiles, Barrett Scheatzle*

2025 Faculty Bibliography

Over the span of just three months, Ohio voters went to the polls to weigh in on three issues concerning the threshold needed to amend the state constitution, abortion, and marijuana. Despite being a Republican-leaning state – per an author’s calculations, its Cook’s Partisan Voter Index is R+6 – the more progressive position won all three votes handily. In August, the coalition supporting the status quo of requiring a simple majority to change the state constitution, a longheld progressive position, won 57.1% of the vote (“The New York Times,” 2023a). In November, voters approved a constitutional amendment to give individuals …

From The Personal To The Political: Abortion Salience And Women’S Voting Trends Over Three Decades, Danielle N. Myers

Political Science Theses - Archive

Abortion has shaped American politics for decades, yet its long-term impact on women’s political behavior remains under-examined. This study explores how abortion salience and media framing influenced women’s voter turnout between 1990 and 2020. Drawing on a content analysis of major newspaper coverage and voter data from the American National Election Studies (ANES), I test four hypotheses about turnout, belief alignment, party defection, and media framing effects. The results suggest that while Pro-Choice women consistently vote at higher rates and prioritize abortion in candidate selection, media salience alone does not significantly boost turnout or cause widespread party realignment. Additionally, increased …

Madawaska Ballots: Ralph Owen Brewster's Contested Elections In The St. John Valley, Tyler Wolanin

Original Research

When Ralph Owen Brewster was narrowly defeated in the 1924 Republican gubernatorial primary (initially) and 1932 congressional election, he attempted to have votes from the towns and plantations on the St. John River thrown out on various pretexts. Brewster, a populist who had opposed power company interests as governor, alleged in 1932 that these interests had conspired to defeat him by arranging illegitimate votes in the Francophone border region. Investigation of voting trends, however, shows that the vote against Brewster was likely the result of more routine political partisanship, as well as a rejection of his Ku Klux Klan support …

Our Partisan Supreme Court And An Essential First Step Toward Reclaiming What's Been Lost, Gary Simson

Articles

Partisan decision-making by even only one Supreme Court Justice in a single case is not a trivial matter. The ill effects are greatly compounded when five or more Justices of a similar partisan bent regularly deliberate about, and decide, cases in a partisan way. At that point, we’ve got what can fairly be described as a partisan Supreme Court.

I argue in this Article that, to all of our great misfortune, a partisan Supreme Court is very much what we’ve got today. On a more hopeful note, though, I also argue that although reforming the Court to be a much …

Synthetic Statocracy - Pakistan’S Self-Created Inferno: Examining The Causes And Consequences Of Military Dominance In Pakistan, Umer Lakhani

CMC Senior Theses

This paper examines the history of military rule in Pakistan. Applying the framework of Johannes Gerschewski in The Three Pillars of Stability: Legitimation, Repression and Co-Optation in Autocratic Regimes, this paper looks to explain how military rulers who presided over the three periods of military rule in Pakistan consolidated and maintained their power, as well as the effects that these periods of rule had on Pakistani society. This paper will also supplement Gerschewski’s general framework by applying the findings of various established authors who have been published extensively on Pakistan’s political history, economy and relationship with the military. Such authors …

Between "Hippies In Suits" And "Money Is The Name Of The Game": Farm Animal Advocates' Analyses Of Political Power In The Farm Bill, Jeff Thomas

Theses and Dissertations

The animal agriculture industry annually slaughters roughly ten billion land animals in the United States. What can be done to improve their welfare and lessen their suffering?

Over the past decade, the problem of farm animal welfare and suffering has drawn increasing interest from the effective altruism community, a loose movement of utilitarian advocates seeking technocratic solutions to social problems (Singer, 2015). As effective altruism has become a more potent driver of the animal welfare movement, an increasing number of nonprofits have begun engaging in political advocacy for farm animal welfare. Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz’ Open Philanthropy is the largest …

Reply Stop To Stop, Molly A. M. Garrett

Theses and Dissertations

Over the course of 8 years working in progressive political strategy, 2015–2023, I became increasingly critical of the systems, formulas and tools we were using to communicate with voters. Reply STOP to Stop is documentation of my time at graduate school, of wrestling with ideas of political design, language, communication and distribution. I analyzed my past work — all the texts, emails, social media posts, print ads, web banners, videos and other miscellaneous scripted content — and wondered if we would all be better off without it. Would elections be fairer, would there be less fake news, more community building? …

Challenges Of The Opposition In Cameroon Multipartism, Chick Edmond, Nkenglefack Dessailly Forku

Political Science & Geography Faculty Publications

The main goal of this study was to explore the challenges faced by Cameroon opposition political parties and how these challenges affect presidential electoral outcomes since 1990. We employed both qualitative and quantitative methods to collect data for the study. The research design was the case study design, and the sampling technique was nonprobability sampling (precisely purposeful sampling). We employed the constructivist research philosophy to show that reality resides in the different views of people. Consequently, it finds out that the opposition in Cameroon lacks credibility and vision to achieve victory in presidential elections. They also face challenges of suppression, …