Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Preserving Faith Amidst Disruption: The Impact Of Obama And Biden’S Woke Foreign Policy On Christian Values In Africa And Its Effect On American Democracy Promotion, Christophe Mwungura

Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue

In May 2023, Uganda enacted a law criminalizing homosexuality. The Ugandan parliament and President Yoweri Museveni defended the enactment of this law, arguing that homosexuality directly violates Ugandan cultural norms and Biblical doctrines. In response to this legislative action, the United States immediately condemned the law and threatened to withdraw the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), along with other forms of assistance and investments. Despite this, many Ugandans, supported by their leaders, publicly expressed their willingness to accept the aid suspension rather than repeal the law. This article will examine the promotion of LGBTQ rights in Africa, …

China: A Settler Colonial Empire?, Kaleb Horne

Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue

China’s rapid expansion is a growing concern to many in the West, yet the history and pattern of its meteoric rise is deeply misunderstood. Surprisingly, its rise may be similar to that of many Western states. This paper will examine a constellation of China’s territorial and cultural expansions. Furthermore, it will examine ongoing and future expansions of the Chinese empire. It will examine Chinese actions in Tibet, the Yunnan Province, the Guizhou Province, Taiwan, the Belt and Road Initiative, and examine China’s ongoing treatment of Uyghur Muslims. These subjects will also be qualitatively compared to settler colonial theories, as described …

The Federal Reserve And The People's Bank Of China: Taiwan, John Davis

Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue

Throughout time and history, civilizations have risen and fallen. Empires have cultivated massive amounts of land, only to be torn down by internal conflict. Nations have amassed armies to go to war, only for the tactics of war to switch. The extended history of international relations must be summed up into a single word: deception. Because of this, nations seek to grow their militaries, economies, and cultures in ways that rival others. The competition that the United States (US) will encounter over the next decade is through asymmetrical competition with China. However, the United States has historically been economically linked …

Navigating The Threat Posed By The Chinese Communist Party, Adam Opp

Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue

For decades, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the economic growth of China has become a threat to the United States. Beginning in 1978, the CCP issued a series of economic, market-oriented reforms which led to a period of economic growth and productivity increase in China. The CCP turned to diplomacy with the United States and other nations to increase foreign investment and implemented the Belt and Road initiative. The impressive scale of Chinese economic growth poses an economic and hegemonic threat to the United States, as China’s economy is projected to outpace the United States and the CCP has …

An Analysis Of The Abortion Fight's History, Facts, And Strategies In A Post-Roe V. Wade World, Jeremy Kang

Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue

Despite the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision reversing Roe v. Wade - thereby giving states the freedom to regulate abortion as they saw fit - no significant decline in abortion numbers followed, raising the question: what is the right way to fight abortion?

One factor to be considered: how does the Constitution permit the different levels of government to tackle this topic? For half a century the Roe decision allowed the federal government to trump a state’s right to choose the level of abortion restrictions it deemed fit. Now the decision has been returned to the states. But which decision was …

Human Trafficking And Potential Terrorist Ties, Haleigh Perkins

Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue

Human trafficking is a major issue in the United States. It is important not only as citizens of the United States, but as Christian’s that we recognize this issue and strive to make a difference. There are many ways that human trafficking is spread throughout the United States. For instance, controlled substances. “Traffickers may focus and recruit individuals with a history of or existing substance use disorder. This allows traffickers to induce or exploit substance use, using it as a reward or punishment to maintain control” (The Administration for Children and Families, n.d.). Other times, the internet may be involved …

Criminal Justice: Racial Equity In United States Of America, Glenn Bass

Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue

The purpose of this paper is to provide the reader with a spiritual sense of awakening as it pertains to a revelation of the human spirit. A revival, or improvement in the condition of any individual or social infrastructure will re-establish citizenship and further restore virtue within the United States of America. Researchers have articulated that our criminal justice system is broken through police retention/recruitment, lack of resources, ineffective prosecution and public defenders, sentencing disparities, and lack of understanding of the socioeconomic status of the criminal or violent offender. These issues are subtopics underneath the umbrella of racial equity. The …

The Social Contract And Feminism, Grace A. Albertson

Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue

This paper seeks to prove the value placed on women in society, and disprove the claim that the social contract is inherently patriarchal. Radical feminists claim that society as a whole is irreparably flawed and operates patriarchally. Therefore, they call for a systematic shift and condemn the current fabric of our society and nation. The social contract, an idea centered around the philosophical works of John Locke and Thomas Hobbes served as the primary way that the founders of the United States justified the formation of American democracy and had immense influence on American political thought. However, feminists seek to …

The True Cost Of Education, William J. Norris Iii

Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue

Education, rightfully, has been seen as the best way to train the next generation of citizens. The Founding Fathers held that it was essential for the nation’s growth to teach children citizenship and virtue. With the recent expansion of school choice options across the country, this is a good time to refocus on that goal, and examine the true cost of public education in America. This study will examine data, particularly information published by the Department of Education and the U.S. Census Bureau, to form a picture of the true cost of public education. Even though a large percentage of …

Obligation And Authority: Samuel West And The Christian Tradition Of Resistance Theology, Darren Patrick Guerra

Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue

Is there a Christian obligation to resist tyranny? This has been a controversial question in Christian politics and theology for generations. In the prelude to the American War for Independence, some influential colonial clergy, like Samuel West, argued in 1775 that Christians not only had a right to resist tyrannical rulers, but they had an obligation to do so. This is consistent with a long but controversial strain of thought within the Christian political thought. West’s argument hinges on his commitment to the natural law as a foundation for social and moral order as well as his rejection of theological …

What The Yalta Conference For The Rights And Freedoms Of The Peoples Of Western And Eastern Europe Meant, Denis-Roxana Gavrila

Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue

Many books have been written on the subject of the Yalta conference, but the subject of this article is how the discussions in the winter of 1945 later influenced the fate of peoples around the world. Human rights were born at the end of the war, and among the protagonists who campaigned for them, were the conference leaders. The article below attempts to show the historical role the Yalta conference played, not only in terms of spheres of influence, but also how it shaped the rights and freedoms of the peoples of Eastern and Western Europe.

Citizenship And Virtue’ Are Requirements For Maintaining Liberty, Timothy P. O'Brien

Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue

In the twenty-first century, the United States of America has been caught in a time of increased polarization, the Republic has been fraying as the sense of community has cracked, where fanatics on the extremes of the political spectrum have contributed to the disruption of normal political order driven by normative agendas. The underlying political theories on which the nations was founded emerged from the ancient Greek philosophers and passed through the early Christian philosophers to the Framers of the Constitution of the United States of America. This article explores the foundations of citizenship and virtue as it applies to …

The American Project And The American Soul, Darren Patrick Guerra

Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue

What is the role of virtue in the American political project in the American soul? This is a burning, if not, defining question in American politics today. This paper will briefly examine various contemporary accounts of the role of virtue in the American project and its impact on the future of American politics, and finally in turn the American soul. This paper will examine the works of Patrick Deneen, Robert Reilly, Dyer & Cooper, among others. It will argue that virtue, properly conceived, plays a vital role in American Politics and it must be connected to an objective moral order, …

Mediterranean Security: Italian, United States, Nato, And North African National Interests From A Geopolitical Perspective, Mary Prentice, Umberto Bosna, Kueth Yul

Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue

This paper discusses important international issues related to the region of the Mediterranean Sea particularly focusing on Italy and North African security issues. Security and stability issues were researched. This region is interconnected through important geo-economic issues such as the gas pipelines that supply Italy with methane gas pass through the seabed of the Mediterranean Sea, connecting North Africa with Italy and the whole of Europe. In particular there are the gas pipelines that from Libya and Tunisia, across the Mediterranean Sea, arrive in Italy, supplying the entire nation with methane gas at a good price. Italy has promoted the …

The 5 Disruptions, Anthony Hughes

Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue

The end of GWOT, coupled with Russian failures in Ukraine, has created an uncertain strategic environment—similar to the environment after WWI. The Great War aftermath created a power vacuum exploited by rising powers—likewise, the GWOT and Russian aftermath has created a new multi-polar environment with a new actors competing to revise the balance of power. The emerging era is a Great Power competition marked by competitions between powers across different venues to accrue status relative to their competitors. After WWI, 5 Disruptions emerged to reshape the balance of power between states. These disruptions were: diplomatic, technical, military, economic and social. …

City On A Hill: A Reflection On Christian Ethic And Human Morality, Mayce Combs

Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue

In John Winthrop’s sermon A Model of Christian Charity (1630), he spoke to his congregation of the mission God had called them to. With the creation of a new blended nation, the only way to be exceptional was to reflect the gospel in policy, action, and foremost thought. Philosophers from ancient times to today acknowledge that an individual is made up of the soul and their body. From the soul, comes thought, reason, empathy, and a connection to a divine being who deciphers what is morally unjust. The body is a sinful, self-seeking vessel that does not have the ability …

Antislavery White Supremacists And The Mistreatment Of African Americans In Indiana, 1787-1870, Mark A. King

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Conventional wisdom holds that Indiana was always predominantly antislavery because it had begun as a territory of the United States under the Northwest Territory Act of 1787, which prohibited slavery; however, this is incorrect. This northern state had about as much proslavery sentiment as most states in the South. The state wrestled with the issue in the legislative session after the legislative session and court case after court case for decades during the antebellum period. Prominent settlers and state organizers petitioned Congress to allow the Indiana Territory to become a slave region. After statehood, proslavery forces continued to push for …

The Shared Values Society: On The Inability To Validate Beliefs And Its Effect On Pluralistic Governance, Tanner L. Smith

Masters Theses

The nature of truth affects beliefs in such a way that all worldviews are left on a level playing field, each with no more of an objective claim to truth than any other. As a result, no one worldview has an intrinsic right to dominate the government or, through it, other worldviews. Furthermore, philosophical secularism’s noble notion of protecting individual freedoms by limiting the influence of moral values in the government has led to a loss of intergroup bonding and a value vacuum in public life. At the same time, because beliefs constitute some of the most profound aspects of …

Legislating Criminal Justice Reform In Louisiana, Jason Callegari

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

While best practices in criminal justice reform have been studied and identified, the point at which reform legislation is decided upon and factors related to its passage is a traditionally understudied. My research will explore the factors that influence the political will of legislators who pass criminal justice reforms. Using a constructivist view of grounded theory, my research uses qualitative data to determine patterns of words and generalities implicit in decision-making for legislators in the state of Louisiana by way of semi-structured interviews with current and former state legislators. Coded results will show patterns associated with participants' willingness to support …

Keepers Of The Peace Or Soldiers: An Analysis Of The 1983 Beirut Marine Barracks Bombing And The Rationale Behind Deploying Troops In A Peacekeeping Capacity, Brock Bellinger

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

Despite President Reagan’s historic foreign policy success in ushering in the collapse of the Soviet Union and liberation of Eastern Europe, the loss of life during the Beirut Marine barracks bombing marks a substantial failure in Reagan’s foreign policy record. Reagan’s foreign policy failure in Beirut that resulted in the deaths of 241 Americans merits further examination amongst students of international relations as this peacekeeping mission illustrates the dangers of sending American troops into harm’s way without a clear and decisive goal and exit strategy. By evaluating the 1983 Beirut Marine barracks bombing, the hindsight and judgment of history allows …

Introducing Just Competition Theory: Christian Realist Strategic Risk Management In Great Power Competition, Jason A. Byrd

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

How can a Christian Realist approach shape United States security policy to manage strategic risk during Great Power Competition? This work finds that Just War Theory, in particular jus in bello (behavior in war), is a common method used by Christian Realists to determine actions and manage consequences in war; however, it is not optimal for the challenges posed in Competition. A complementary structure uniquely applicable to actions below the threshold of armed conflict is needed. This argument is manifested through Just Competition Theory or jus in contentione. In a complex environment of Great Power Competition, principles of jus in …

Ambitions Of Chinese Hegemony: An Analysis Of The Hundred Year Marathon, Ruben E. Frivold

Liberty University Journal of Statesmanship & Public Policy

Few national security threats challenge the magnitude posed by the People’s Republic of China toward the United States. This current reality is due to various factors, including Chinese persistence in implementing a grand strategy while facing minimal U.S. resistance due to various foreign policy missteps over the last half-century. China’s overarching approach to geopolitics has been a subject of much discussion and has often been referred to by experts as the ‘hundred-year marathon.’ The term derives its name from China’s objective of usurping America’s position as hegemon by 2049, a significant year that falls on the one-hundredth anniversary of the …

The Etiology Of A New Era: Where Heroes Become Zeros And Victims Become Villains, Traci Jo Harmon

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The United States is in a state of turmoil. Unlike any time before this, division in the country is overtaking the COVID-19 pandemic as the biggest threat to life and liberty. Previous research is contradictive in identifying the etiology of anti-police rhetoric, anti-Christian rhetoric, and victim-blaming. The current research attempts to find out if mainstream and or social media is the etiology of the racial, religious, and victim division in The United States. Attitudes towards law enforcement, Christians, and victims were measured against platforms for current events, hours per day on mainstream and social media, age, gender, and race/ethnicity. Significant …

The Evolution Of The Artesh: 1980 To Present, Ryan Charles Touchstone

Masters Theses

Despite the large media coverage around Iran’s military actions, the role of the Artesh in Iran’s national security structure is often unmentioned. Looking at the evolution of the Artesh since the fall of the Shah of Iran, this study uses firsthand accounts, recent research, and governmental statements and reports to trace the Artesh’s journey to present day. It examines several battlefield successes and failures during the Iran-Iraq War to gauge the ability of the Artesh to adjust in a wartime environment. These adjustments are mixed with some valuable lessons being implemented to later battles while other important lessons remained unapplied. …

Irregular Competition: Contemporary Lessons Learned And Implications For The Future, Jeremiah Carl Lumbaca

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Irregular Competition is defined in this study as “State and non-state actors proactively engaging in activities to influence populations and affect legitimacy during times of peace, competition, and conflict.” The research question asked by this study is “Derived from contemporary case study lessons learned, what are the implications for the future of Irregular Competition in support of greater US national security objectives?” In answering the research question, Hans Morgenthau’s Realist Theory of International Politics was applied, although other aspects of realism and theories of international relations theory were considered. The rationale for this study is that despite a general reprioritization …

The Intellectual And Diplomatic Discourse Of American Progressives And The Late Ottomans, 1830–1930, Brigitte Maricich Powell

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The American intellectual and diplomatic discourse with the late Ottoman Empire is an understudied field of history. Major works to date are primarily focused on the US relations with the Turkish Republic starting in 1924, which at best may highlight the Barbary Wars and the Treaties of 1830 and 1862 as a precursor. Few works offer, if any, a comprehensive insight into the diplomatic relationship that evolved between the US and the Near East from 1830 to 1930. This research is meant to fill the absence by probing into the service of key American diplomats and intellectuals who visited and …

The Departure From The Original Intent Of The 14th Amendment, Johnny B. Davis

Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue

No abstract provided.

The Economic Ferocity Of Policy, Giana Depaul

Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue

Each day, as the Dow Jones rises and falls, Congress similarly passes and fails legislation. These two seemingly continuous cycles intersect to the point that the two structures appear affixed. For centuries, this has posed an age-old question: is it policy that influences the economic system or is it the economic system itself that molds policy decision-making? Renowned economist Adam Smith is famous for his works detailing the autonomous nature of the economic system. Smith views policy as only a small roadblock in the master strategy of the economic flow of life. The Great Depression and the 2008 Recession, however, …

The Impact Of The Deinstitutionalization Policies On Homelessness, Henrique Krigner

Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue

Homelessness is a growing issue in America. In 2019 there were 567,715 homeless individuals in the United States, distributed in emergency shelters (63%) or residing unsheltered on streets (27%). In 2021, even though specialists argue that the Covid-19 restrictions greatly harmed an accurate counting, the total number of unsheltered homeless in America increased in 20%. Such increase became a central discussion not only to regular citizens and neighborhood associations, but it also became a great concern within the federal government which has been appropriating billions of dollars each year to “end homeless”.

Specialists point out that the growth of the …

Prostitution And Pornography: Reforming A Perspective, Mayce Combs

Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue

Happiness is a subjective emotion that can quickly be twisted by the depravity of humanity’s sinful nature. Human trafficking deprives an individual’s natural right to life, liberty, and their pursuit to happiness. Of the two divisions of human trafficking, sex trafficking, especially involving children, is the most despicable and most evolved. The United States and further the state of Virginia is a crucial player in combating human trafficking. While there are currently many successful tactics state governments and nonprofit groups are utilizing in order eliminate human trafficking there are further more intense strategies the Virginia State Government should implement. One …