Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Dynamics Of Creating Strong Democracy In Portland, Oregon : 1974 To 2013, Paul Roland Leistner

Dissertations and Theses

Communities across the United States are experiencing a "civic revival" that is reconnecting community members with local decision-making and civic life in their communities. Since the 1980s, academic researchers and local governance reformers have advocated for a shift away from the traditional top-down, expert-driven approach to governance and toward a governance model in which government leaders and staff and community members work as partners to shape the community and make local decisions. Portland, Oregon, since the 1970s, has been known nationally and internationally as a city with a tradition of strong community involvement. Portland's successes and failures offer a valuable …

Partisanship And Opportunities For Additional Bipartisanship In Tech Immigration And Privacy Reform, Arielle E. Segal

Master's Projects and Capstones

This paper explores the history of technology and government by analyzing the longstanding partisan advantage Democrats have had in the Silicon Valley and other tech hubs. Additionally, this paper seeks out opportunities for bipartisanship, specifically in the legislative realms of tech privacy and immigration reform. Constituencies, committee assignments, fundraising and other environmental factors can help determine a politician's level of interest in tech issues. Specifically, upon analyzing these factors, bipartisanship appears to be more likely in privacy reform than in immigration reform.

Challenges For Good Government Reformers In California: Shadow Lobbying & Astroturfing, Scott Alonso

Master's Projects and Capstones

Lobbying reform in California’s capital presents a complex policy problem for good government advocates and policymakers. Lobbyists have a large influence on political and policy matters in the state legislature and executive branch. Reform proponents naturally see the oversized influence of lobbyists as a problem. However, how big of a problem is lobbying? Further, what efforts underway now address lobbying? Lobbyists are defined in California law with a monetary and time limit requirement. We can look at current law to understand the failings of regulatory bodies and how the law fails to properly oversee lobbying activity. While there is not …

The Evolution Of Statesmanship In The United States: How The Democratization Of Civic Education And Presidential Selection Transformed The American Executive, Andrew Depasquale

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Business and Public Affairs at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Government by Andrew DePasquale on December 6, 2013.

Friendly Fire: Amicus Curiae Participation And Impact At The Roberts Court, David Hooper Scott

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation explores the nature and extent of amicus curiae participation and impact at the Roberts Court. While previous literature has addressed amicus activity and influence in prior eras of the Court, in specific issue areas, and in specific cases, none has focused in a systematic way on the Roberts Court. Compiling data from the 2007-08 through 2011-12 terms of the Roberts Court, this study first examines the levels and categories of amicus participation during this time period. Amicus activity at the Roberts Court is ubiquitous, and exhibits an “arms race” phenomenon, being relatively ideologically balanced.

Second, this study analyzes …

Like A Boss: Presidential Prerogative As A Means For National Security, Joshua E. Darichuk

Honors Theses

Executive power in America is outlined by the U.S. Constitution, but presidents have made decisions which questionably violate the rights American citizens are guaranteed by the same document. How are we able to maintain sovereignty as “we the people,” if our most powerful elected official is able to overstep the rules during a national security threat? The answer is because the constitution would not exist without a state, therefore the union must always be preserved. Niccolo Machiavelli, John Locke, Alexander Hamilton, and Carl Schmitt share very different views on democracy, but their insistence on national security is universally present. The …

The Ethics Glass Ceiling: A Historical Analysis Of Actions By The U.S. House Of Representatives Committee On Ethics, Michael James Gordon

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The breaking of moral and ethical codes has been with humankind since history was first recorded. As such, the public wants to know that their elected officials are held accountable and cannot disregard enshrined legal rights without incurring broader personal and societal consequences. Within the hallowed halls of government, the "unrequested" House Committee on Ethics (HCE) provides the forum of accountability.

In this qualitative, historical case study, HCE documents are analyzed and both the internal and external motivating factors behind the actions of the HCE members are examined. Computer assisted qualitative data analysis software, namely ATLAS.ti, was used to look …

The Future Of American Foreign Policy In The Persian Gulf: How The Study Of Past Presidential Foreign Policies May Predict The Future, Cindy Walters

M.A. in Political Theory Theses

This thesis will argue that future U.S. foreign policy in the Persian Gulf will be neither realist nor idealist, but a combination of both. The thesis will reveal a trend through thirty three years of presidential administrations toward a more integrated approach of international relations. Future foreign policy will likely blend the idealist and realist positions, as well as the postmodernist approach.

Gender And Party Stereotypes In The Evaluation Of U.S. Senate Candidates, Rebecca Madelyn Shafer

Doctoral Dissertations

In the United States, there has been a gradual increase of women elected to office, yet women are still drastically underrepresented at every level. One potential obstacle to the electoral success of women is the propensity of voters to stereotype candidates based on their gender. However, voters also stereotype political candidates based on their party affiliation. Therefore, it is important to understand how stereotypes regarding the Republican and Democratic Parties may interact with stereotypes concerning men and women.

While experimental research has been utilized extensively to test the effect of gender stereotypes on candidate evaluations; almost all of this research …

Service Satisfaction, Competence And Caring: Examining The Influence Of Experience With The Public Bureaucracy On Citizen Attitudes Of Trust In Government, Lauren Kriston Harding

Doctoral Dissertations

Examining the relationship among government performance, service satisfaction and trust in government advocated by the New Public Management, this research contributes to a better understanding of the performance-trust hypothesis and its assumptions. This study evaluates the satisfaction link of the performance-trust hypothesis, investigating influences on service satisfaction and how these translate into trust. In particular, two implicit assumptions of the performance-trust hypothesis are explored. First, citizen experience with public services is examined as a measure of specific support for government. Second, the role of citizen interactions with the bureaucracy is assessed, specifically identifying the influence of citizen attitudes toward public …

The Effects Of The Bi-Partisan Campaign Reform Act On The Process Of The Campaign Finance In The Presidential Nomination Process, Karen Sebold

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act increased the individual donor limit to $2,000 per candidate per election and indexed the limit for inflation every two years. The primary research question guiding this study is how has the increase in the donor limit affected donor behavior. Answering this question should allow a determination to be made about how donors have responded to the increased donor limit. Understanding how donors responded to the doubled limit is important because it provides evidence on the intersection of wealth inequality and political influence. To answer the research question this study considers how the increased donor limit …

Lincoln: Reformer Or Revolutionary? An Analysis Of Lincoln's Legacy As Compared To The Political Ideals Of The Amerian Revolution, Hayley Elizabeth Patterson

Master's Theses

Despite the fact that his greatest legacies departed from American traditions, Abraham Lincoln coveted the political ideals espoused by the Founding Fathers. As president, Lincoln inherited the unprecedented challenges that resulted from decades of politicians tabling the insoluble problem of slavery. He operated within the realms of constitutionally allocated authority to meet those challenges. Where the Constitution provided no direction, Lincoln developed solutions that more closely resembled the political philosophies of the American Revolution than any of his political opponents' alternative solutions. The unprecedented circumstances he faced not only enabled Lincoln to reconcile the right to freedom as described in …

The 2002 National Security Strategy: The Foundation Of A Doctrine Of Preemption, Prevention, Or Anticipatory Action, Troy Lorenzo Ewing

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, initiated a strategic shift in American national security policy. For the United States, terrorism was no longer a distant phenomenon visited upon faraway regions; it had come to America with stark brutality.1 Consequently, the administration of President George W. Bush sought to advance a security strategy to counter the proliferating threat of terrorism.

The ensuing 2002 National Security Strategy articulated the willingness of the United States to oppose terrorists, and rogue nation-states by merging the strategies of "preemptive" and "preventive" warfare into an unprecedented strategy of "anticipatory action," known as the Doctrine of …

The Impact Of Marriages And Extramarital Affairs On Political Careers: A Selection Of Roman Politicians And American Presidents, Shelby Cuomo

Honors Theses

This thesis explores four historical figures who engaged in extramarital affairs while holding political office. These figures include Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Bill Clinton. I assess the varied public responses to these men’s affairs by researching their relationships with women – that is, their wives and mistresses. In Ancient Rome, one politician was exiled from society and eventually killed in battle for his extramarital romance, whereas the other was – and still is – praised as one of the most successful politicians while he was sleeping with the wives of his allies and friends. Both presidents, …

Southern States’ Lower Legislative Districts And The Perverse Effects Thesis, Shannon R. Sinegal

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

In the post-1990 round of redistricting a number of majority-African American legislative districts were created, especially in the South. The new majority-African American districts were created by “pulling” many of the African Americans from surrounding districts into a single district, leaving the adjacent districts with a higher percentage of whites. These adjacent districts are often referred to as “bleached” districts. As the number of African Americans elected in the new majority-African American districts increased, so did the number of Republicans. This is referred to as the “perverse effect thesis.” This thesis has been widely acclaimed, but scholars have found minimal …

Political Polarization : An Exploration Of Its Effects On Congressional Action And Public Opinion., Jennifer Henry

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

An Examination Of Interest Groups : Impact On Public Opinion., Olivia Feldkamp

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

The Cost Of Primacy: The Potential Impacts On American Domestic Health, Peter James Crosby

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

While scholars, soldiers and politicians have argued about the international consequences of American grand strategy, relatively little attention has been paid to the potential domestic consequences of American hegemony versus isolationism. This paper is an effort to start the process of understanding the relationship between American primacy (the current strategy) and its domestic impact. It looks at general areas of measurement, economic and social indicators, to determine if primacy has a positive or negative impact on the American people. Though additional research is necessary, this paper suggests primacy has not had the negative consequences suggested by proponents of isolationism.

Presidential War Powers, Matt Scott Formisano

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Even before the framing of the Constitution, the Framers feared an executive power that would grow too strong. This fear was reflected throughout debates held before, during, and after the American Revolution. Even today, debate still continues as to what the executive power entails when it comes to acts of war and treaties. The United States Constitution was framed with the purpose of dividing power between the branches of government in order to avoid abuse and tyranny. “The Constitution bestows enormous power and responsibility on the President to protect the nation’s security and safeguard the people’s liberty” (Matheson 1). Throughout …

Imagining Jazzocracy: Notes Toward A New Democratic Subject, Mario Tofano

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

What does participatory democracy look like? This essay finds an answer in the indigenous art form of the United States—jazz. Political engagement in America must learn from the jazz aesthetic which realizes the communal projects of individuals in concert. After a brief survey of the biological, historical, and cultural formations that construct our political environment this essay advances equaliberty as the foundational concept for the Jazzocrat, the new political subject for tomorrow’s participatory democracy.

Department Of Defense Resource Allocations And Progress Toward U.S. Foreign Policy Objectives In Latin America, Melissa Rene Rodriguez

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This research addresses the issue of insufficient or stagnated progress toward U.S. foreign policy objectives for Latin America through an analysis of Department of Defense resource allocations toward the region. These resources are critical to achieving progress toward U.S. foreign policy objectives because the relationships and engagements the DOD establish with Latin American partner nations largely precede and characterize the role of the U.S. in the region.

First 'efficiency' is defined, and then U.S. foreign policy objectives for the region and the regional issues are outlined. Next, Department of Defense resources are characterized and their posture and allocations in the …

Political Twittoric : The Rhetorical Use Of Twitter By The Obama 2012 Presidential Campaign, Kainat Najmi Abidi

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

With the entrance of the digital age, the Presidential campaign has begun accommodating the growing trend of new technologies. A campaign can reach an audience in person, on the radio, through the newspaper, on television, and on the Internet. In 2008, President Barack Obama broke the limitations of campaigning by going social, which he continued in his run for reelection in 2012. Obama tapped into the popular social network of Twitter to run a portion his 2012 campaign. By utilizing this new network, Obama’s campaign accessed the multimodal quality of Twitter to benefit their goal of winning the 2012 election …

Feet In The South, Eyes To The West: Fort Smith Enters The Sunbelt, Adam Morrison Carson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This paper examines the political realignment of Fort Smith, Arkansas and argues that the standard historiographical argument about the process of realignment does not explain what occurred in this city. Much of the historiography of political realignment currently revolves around the belief in a white backlash against the federal government and the national Democratic Party for their support of African American civil rights. Though historians have moved toward a "suburban synthesis" that downplays the backlash thesis, historians still argues that many white southerners moved to the suburbs to avoid integration.

I argue that this process did not occur in the …

Federalism And The Modern Presidency From Eisenhower To Obama: If All Men Were Angels, Daisy Chastain Letendre

Senior Theses and Projects

American government is an experiment. It is theory in application based on a design principle which specifies the terms and conditions of the experiment’s proper extent and structure. Federalism in American government is the original design principle specifying representation, divisions of power, checks and balances, and the capacity for self-government as the terms and conditions of the experiment of the American Republic. Federalism in this sense is the “republican remedy for the “diseases most intrinsic to a republican government.” (Publius 1787-1788 [2003], 46) The experiment has continued for over 200 years although the terms and conditions have …

In-Group Bias—Coloring Public Opinion And Spurring Public Backlash: A Comparative Analysis Of Affirmative Action And Title Ix, Samuel Joseph Knehans

Honors Capstone Projects - All

The Civil Rights and Women’s Rights Movements were two parallel rights revolutions in American history. Each spurred noteworthy social change for a disadvantaged group, through affirmative action for African Americans and through Title IX programs for women. However, when one looks at the college enrollment data, it becomes clear that these programs achieved success at different rates—at least in higher education. This thesis is an attempt to explain why these seemingly analogous programs produced such disparate results. It attempts to answer the question: Did in-group bias influence public opinion and public backlash in the form of Supreme Court litigation, impacting …

Why American Voters Decide To Vote For Third Parties In Presidential Elections, Harmen Rockler

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Not a single person representing a third party has ever been elected president. Yet, year after year, there are candidates and voters who support individuals who have no chance of winning. Being able to understand why people decide to vote for third party candidates helps us to be better able to predict presidential race outcomes and could also lead to more successful third party candidates.

I find that third party voters in presidential elections tend to be more independent voters who have not committed to one political party. Younger voters are often supporters of third parties. Because they have not …

From Left To Right? White Evangelical Politicization, Gop Incorporation, And The Effect Of Party Affiliation On Group Opinion Change, Devon B. Shapiro

Honors Projects

While most white evangelicals in America have advocated moral, cultural, and social conservatism since the Founding, the group’s fiscal and social welfare preferences have been more volatile. Early 20^th century evangelicals tended to be socially conservative, fiscally liberal, and, to the extent that they were politicized, mostly Democratic partisans. Since that time, not only have white evangelicals abandoned the Democratic Party, but also they have largely become fiscal and social welfare conservatives. I attempt to explain that transformation. I first examine the dynamics of white evangelical politicization and GOP incorporation, providing social and historical context to the political and …

Who We Are: Incarcerated Students And The New Prison Literature, 1995-2010, Reilly Hannah N. Lorastein

Honors Projects

This project focuses on American prison writings from the late 1990s to the 2000s. Much has been written about American prison intellectuals such as Malcolm X, George Jackson, Eldridge Cleaver, and Angela Davis, who wrote as active participants in black and brown freedom movements in the United States. However the new prison literature that has emerged over the past two decades through higher education programs within prisons has received little to no attention. This study provides a more nuanced view of the steadily growing silent population in the United States through close readings of Openline, an inter-disciplinary journal featuring …

The Choice Is Yours: A Study Of The East Tennessee Voter's Decision Process, Alice E. Brading

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Institutional Veto Players On Education Policy Reform In The United States And Finland, Isham C. Hewgley Iv

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.