Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Age, Political Affiliation, And Political Polarization In The United States, Anton Glocar

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This study analyzes the relationship between voter age and party affiliation with political polarization in the form of feelings towards both one’s own party and the opposing party. Using data from the 2020 American National Election Survey, the favorability ratings of voters from both parties towards both their own party and the opposing party were analyzed and grouped based on voter age. The results of this analysis indicate that positive feelings towards one’s own party and negative feelings towards the opposing party, and therefore polarization, tend to increase as age increases.

Illiberal Influences: Extreme Right-Wing Support And Its Consequences, Jeff Borland

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation studies the recent rise of extreme right-wing parties in the European context and explores their origins of support and consequences of their presence. This project follows the three-paper method, studying the movement from three distinct perspectives: immigration, globalization, and party influence. Using a variety of data, I employ hierarchical modeling to test hypotheses concerning these three areas in which extreme parties have an impact. My hypotheses focus on the relationship changes in the local population and economic conditions have on the support these parties receive, and how these parties modify the behavior of other right-wing parties. My results …

Who Is Running Against Me?: The Influence Of District Demographics On Primary Competition Against Black House Incumbents, Stacy Darel Carter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

I seek to answer is there a variation between the number of challengers who emerge against black incumbents in majority-minority and minority-influence congressional districts? This study will examine how demographic composition affects candidate emergence in congressional districts and other factors that might have an influence on candidate emergence such as margin of victory, incumbent’s ethnicity, political party identification, incumbent’s decision to seek reelection and length of time in office by using existing primary and secondary data to address these questions. At the conclusion of this study, one will have a clear understanding of the impact of district demographic composition on …

Economic Development Policy And Economic Growth In The American States, Mohammed Shariful Islam

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The American states routinely adopt various economic development policies but those policies do not always contribute to economic growth in the state. Scholars identify several reasons to explain why the policies do not always work. First, policies that do not address market demand; rather, provide economic incentives to bring inward industrial investments do not contribute to economic growth because the cost it takes to create jobs by such industrial recruitments is too high. Second, policies that are adopted out of inertia chosen from traditionally practiced policies do not work because they are not evaluated for their effectiveness in terms of …

The Impact Of Human Rights Abuses And Emigration In Venezuela, Caroline Hanna

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

My overall goal with my Honors project is to have a better understanding of the human rights situation in Venezuela and how human rights abuses are one of the many factors in the high levels of emigration. The influx of migrants has led to serious issues in many South American countries, especially Colombia, as many countries face economic hurdles, and the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the global economy. I want to address the international response to this crisis as well due to the differing responses of the Syrian refugee crisis and the Venezuelan migration crisis. In order to do this, …

Designing For Democracy: How Democratizing States Design International Organizations, Marissa Wyant

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Building on work by Paul Poast and Johannes Urpelainen that suggests that democratizing states are more likely to form new international governmental organizations rather than join existing ones, I ask the question: how do these states design the organizations they form, and how do those design choices compare to the choices made by consolidated democracies and by nondemocracies? I focus on three design choices made by states regarding membership constraints, voting procedures, and dispute resolution processes. By comparing and analyzing founding charters, I find that democratizing states were more likely to constrain access to membership into these organizations to regional …

Machiavelli On Liberty, John Patrick Coby

Government: Faculty Publications

As an attribute of the people, liberty is self-protection from the abuse of power. It further is republican government, the rule of law, and civic independence, or it is the result of the same. Meanwhile, intelligence is an attribute of the great, and oppression is the goal of their ambitions. Machiavelli designates the people as the guardian of liberty. He appears to be their champion and the champion of republican constitutionalism. But Machiavelli is also an inveterate admirer of expansionist Rome, designating it the republic most worthy for imitation by moderns. He takes this position despite admitting that Rome destroyed …

Information And Policy Innovation In U.S. States, Scott J. Lacombe, Caroline Tolbert, Karen Mossberger

Government: Faculty Publications

Information is a critically important, yet hard to measure, component on policy innovation across state governments. Widespread use of broadband has made it easier for governments to observe other actors, increasing the amount of policy information, while also diversifying the sources of information available to policymakers. This should translate into making governments more innovative over time and quicker to adapt to challenges. At the same time, the Internet may disrupt previous existing flows of information by decreasing the importance of geographic proximity and creating more nationalized or global information networks. We argue that the growth of broadband has made states …

The Initiative Process And Policy Innovation In The American States, Scott J. Lacombe, Frederick J. Boehmke

Government: Faculty Publications

We utilize a new policy adoption database with over 500 policies to test whether the initiative process influences the timing of policy adoption. Prior studies have produced both supportive andnullfindings of theeffect ofthe initiative, but typically examine policies one policy or a single composite score at a time. Theoretical accounts suggest that the initiative process should have heterogeneous effects on policy outcomes depending on the configuration of public and governmentpreferences. By pooling hundreds of policies weare able toestimate the average effect of the initiative process on state policy adoption more systematically while also evaluating variation in its effect. We find …

Civil Disobedience, And What Else? Making Space For Uncivil Forms Of Resistance, Erin Pineda

Government: Faculty Publications

Theorists of political obligation have long devoted special attention to civil disobedience, establishing its pride of place as an object of philosophical analysis, and as one of a short list of exceptions to an otherwise binding obligation to obey the law. Yet all of this attention to civil disobedience has left the broader terrain of resistance to injustice relatively under-theorized. What other forms of action are justifiable – even required – in the face of systemic injustice? Candice Delmas’ A Duty to Resist: When Disobedience Should Be Uncivil offers an original and powerful defense of the idea that we have …

Anti-Modalities, David E. Pozen, Adam Samaha

Faculty Scholarship

Constitutional argument runs on the rails of “modalities.” These are the accepted categories of reasoning used to make claims about the content of supreme law. Some of the modalities, such as ethical and prudential arguments, seem strikingly open ended at first sight. Their contours come into clearer view, however, when we attend to the kinds of claims that are not made by constitutional interpreters – the analytical and rhetorical moves that are familiar in debates over public policy and political morality but are considered out of bounds in debates over constitutional meaning. In this Article, we seek to identify the …

Stability Operations In The United Nations: The Changing Norms Of The Use Of Force In Peacekeeping Operations, Sarwar J. Minar

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The United Nations (UN) started undertaking “stability operations” in the beginning of the 21st century. This may be simply defined as the use of proactive offensive force against targeted non-state actors to contain aggressors, establish authority, help enforce law and order, and ultimately ensure the protection of civilians, which also has long-term implications for lasting political solutions. This represents a change in the UN peace operations and adoption of the novel secondary norm, namely the use of proactive offensive force against targeted non-state actors defined as enemies. While primary norms refer to the collective expectations of appropriate behavior, secondary norms …

The Political Imagination: Introduction To American Government, Peter Kolozi, James E. Freeman

Open Educational Resources

The Political Imagination: Introduction to American Government provides realistic, critical analysis as well as a hopeful, engagement-oriented narrative that encourages students to understand the important role they can play in the political system and in crafting a society in which they want to live. The Political Imagination draws on social and political theory and history offering an analytical as well as normative framework to think about the substance of politics, the procedures and institutions of government, and a dynamic, socially contingent definition of political power.

Clinging To Power: Authoritarian Leaders And Coercive Effectiveness, Christian J. Wolfe

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

This study identifies three tactics authoritarian leaders use to attempt to effectively coerce their citizens without losing power: 1) performance legitimacy, 2) nationalist legitimacy, and 3) institutional legitimacy. To demonstrate these tactics of what I call “coercive effectiveness,” the author employs a most-different-systems analysis on the regimes of Xi Jinping (2012 2015) and Bashar al-Assad (2000-2004). The author finds that coercion is more likely to be effective under the following conditions: 1) when leaders use economic performance and institutionalist strategies rather than nationalist tactics, 2) when an authoritarian leader climbs the ladder to power rather than inheriting leadership and 3) …

The State And Cannabis : What Is Success? A Comparative Analysis Of Cannabis Policy In The United States Of America, Uruguay, And Canada, Gideon C. Cunningham

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Globally, the policies that states engage in concerning the cultivation, production, distribution, and sale of recreational cannabis in the 21st century is changing rapidly. Three countries have now legalized, regulated, and implemented recreational cannabis frameworks, albeit in starkly different ways. These countries are The United States of America, Uruguay, and Canada. This research identifies the contradictory nature of cannabis policy goals and compares the similarities and differences of each countries’ recreational cannabis framework. It proposes a theory of understanding the contradictory nature of creating cannabis policies post-legalization and presents a framework from which to analyze the success of individual cannabis …

Exploitation And Domination: A Marxist Analysis Of The Impact Of Class Structure On State Terrorism, Joseph J. Hammons

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

This study qualitatively examines the impact of three socio-economic inequalities on state terrorism: (1) income inequality; (2) unequal collective labor rights; and (3) land inequality. It proposes a theory of class structure and state terrorism based on the Marxist theory of exploitation and domination and uses Marxist class analysis in the comparison of two case studies, Brazil (1985-1990) and the Philippines (1986-1992), to determine which of the three socio-economic inequalities is most likely to lead to class struggle that will prompt the state to respond with terrorism. Findings from this study indicate that issues concerning land inequality may be a …

A Model Of Regime Change: The Impact Of Arab Spring Throughout The Middle East And North Africa, Omar Khalfan Bizuru

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the catalysts for social movements around the globe; specifically, why and how the Arab Spring uprisings led to regime change in Tunisia, why they transformed into civil war in some countries of the Middle East and North Africa (Syria), and why they did not lead to significant change at all in other places (Bahrain). The overall results of the study confirmed that political and socio-economic grievances caused the Arab uprisings in Tunisia, Bahrain, and Syria. Tunisian protesters succeeded in regime change because of a united and structured social movement leading to an effective transitional democracy in the …

China’S Legal Environment For Domestic Ngos: Standardized Policies For Greater Party-State Control Over Civil Society, Kelly E. Tursic

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines one angle of state-society relations in authoritarian states through the lens of Chinese nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and their legal environment. While grassroots organizations have not prompted political liberalization in China, they have not been entirely co-opted by the party-state either. Through an examination of policy changes, a study of 120 organizations, and a case study of a non-profit incubator, this thesis explores whether the political environment for China’s domestic NGOs varies by geographic region and issue area. The findings suggest there is not significant variation as the party-state has implemented standardized policies for increased control over civil …

Reframing Hegemonic And Fragmented Identities Through Subjective In-Betweenness: A Postcolonial Political Theology Of Care And Praxis In Ethiopia’S Era Of Identity Politics, Rode Shewaye Molla

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Modern Ethiopian imperial religious and political evangelization generated and imposed externally-defined hegemonic fictive identities on all Ethiopians. This fictive identity (based on Amhara) contributes to current identity politics that cause ethnic violence, political instability, war, identity fragmentation, and, most of all, the elimination of in-between spaces where boundaries of identity can be crossed for peaceful co-existence. This dissertation integrates the study of Ethiopian religion and politics to advocate the restoration of in-between spaces and in-between subjectivities of Ethiopians. In-between spaces include political, social, religious, and geographical spaces that enable Ethiopians to live as a diversified community with solidarity, equity, care, …

The Nana Yaa Asantewaa War: Analysis Of The Political Institutions Of The Asante During The War Of The Golden Stool And The Existing Narratives, Angela Danso Gyane

Senior Independent Study Theses

The War of the Golden Stool was the last in the Anglo-Asante Wars, where the Asante fought against the British colonial agenda. According to the Asante oral history, Nana Yaa Asantewaa was at the forefront of this war. She was the commander, but most of the literature to not reflect this oral history. Therefore, this study seeks to address two essential questions: how did gender dynamics in the Asante Kingdom's political system shape their Resistance against the British in 1900- 01? Moreover, how does the analysis of oral histories from the matrilineal culture of the Asante decenter Western narratives of …

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

Political Science Faculty Publications

This article presents data on social capital at the United States’ county-level. Following Rupasingha et al. (2006), the social capital index captures the common factor among density measures of 10 different types of associations, voter turnout rates, U.S. decennial census participation rates, and the number of non-profit organizations. Based on Knack (2003), we create associational densities measures as a proxy for both bridging and bonding social capital. Including data on income inequality, racial diversity, minority group size, average household income, educational attainment, the ratio of a family household, the size of migration population, and female labor market participation rates, the …

Agricultural And Food Security Impacts From The 2010 Russia Flash Drought, Eric D. Hunt, Francesco Femia, Caitlin Werrell, Jordan Christian, Jason A. Otkin, Jeff Basara, Martha Anderson, Tyler R. White, Christopher Hain, Robb Randall, Katie Mcgaughey

Department of Political Science: Faculty Publications

The flash drought and its associated heat wave that affected western Russia in the summer of 2010 had significant cascading agricultural and socioeconomic impacts. Drought indicators sensitive to soil moisture and evapotranspiration (ET) showed that the flash drought began in June 2010, then intensified rapidly and expanded to cover much of western Russia. By early July, almost all of the major wheat producing regions of Russia were experiencing extreme water stress to the winter and spring wheat crops. The timing of the onset of the flash drought was particularly devastating as the period of most rapid intensification overlapped with the …

Litigating Socio-Economic And Women’S Rights In Benin’S Constitutional Court, Alice J. Kang, Susanna D. Wing

Department of Political Science: Faculty Publications

Scholars debate the role of legal institutions in promoting human rights in Africa. Much of the discussion focuses on Anglophone countries and does not examine the gender of litigants. We propose a constitutionalism constrained perspective that argues that which and whose rights are adjudicated are shaped by the context of constitutional reform. Where reformists are primarily concerned with safeguarding civil and political rights, high courts may protect civil and political rights claims more often than socio-economic ones. Examining hundreds of human rights decisions issued by Benin’s Constitutional Court, we ask, which and whose rights does the court protect? We find …

American Government 3e, Glen Krutz, Sylvie Waskiewicz

Open Access Textbooks

American Government 3e aligns with the topics and objectives of many government courses. Faculty involved in the project have endeavored to make government workings, issues, debates, and impacts meaningful and memorable to students while maintaining the conceptual coverage and rigor inherent in the subject. With this objective in mind, the content of this textbook has been developed and arranged to provide a logical progression from the fundamental principles of institutional design at the founding, to avenues of political participation, to thorough coverage of the political structures that constitute American government. The book builds upon what students have already learned and …

Neighbouring Horizons: Migration, Squatting, And Citizenship In São Paulo, Diana Zacca Thomaz

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This dissertation examines the shared struggles and political horizons of citizens and non-citizens living together in squatted buildings in central São Paulo, Brazil. Building on six months of ethnographic fieldwork, it focuses on the coalition forged between the MSTC (Movimento Sem Teto do Centro, i.e. Central São Paulo Roofless Movement) and international migrants and asylum-seekers who have taken up residence in the movement’s squats. This dissertation argues that the problem of political subjectivity and belonging at the urban margins is deeply shaped by the struggles for adequate housing. Further, that looking at the divergent aspirations and claims-making of …

The Politics Of The Visible/Invisible Border: Canada's Responses And (In)Actions Towards Refugee Claimants' Protection, Monica Romero

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis explores Canadian responses towards unexpected arrivals of asylum seekers at their borders. Grounded in critical and feminist geopolitics, it aims to unveil hidden and concealed policies that are implemented behind a narrative of humanitarianism. In particular, it takes the land border crossings from the US to Canada that occurred after the implementation of restrictive asylum policies in the US in 2017 and following years. Although migratory movements can be attributed to several factors, this displacement was triggered by Trump’s anti-immigrant narratives and policies aimed to decrease refugee and immigrant arrivals to their territory.

The dissertation’s central argument is …

The Combined Transitions Of Great Power Politics And The Global Energy System A Comparative Analysis Of China, The United States And Russia, Roger Boyd

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The objective of this study is to provide a framework that allows for a holistic and integrated analysis of what will become, if they are not already, the two most significant determinants of foreign policy – the need for a fundamental change in the global energy system and the nature of major power competition within the international system. It specifically rejects the eco-modernist framing of the required energy transition as simply a technocratic challenge, and instead accepts the large-scale nature of the social, political and economic changes and disruptions that will be required. By framing these changes within the dynamic …

นโยบายรัฐบาลอัฟกานิสถานต่อการพัฒนาสิทธิสตรีในสมัยประธานาธิบดีฮามิด คาร์ไซ ระหว่าง ค.ศ. 2001 - 2014, มุกขรินทร์ ลาวัณลักขณา

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

บทความวิจัยนี้ศึกษาและวิเคราะห์นโยบายรัฐบาลอัฟกานิสถานต่อการพัฒนาสิทธิสตรีในสมัยประธานาธิบดีฮามิด คาร์ไซ ภายหลังการล่มสลายของตาลีบันระหว่าง ค.ศ. 2001 – 2014 โดยใช้หลัก “วัฏจักรของบรรทัดฐาน” (Norm Life Cycle) ภายใต้แนวคิดพลวัตรของบรรทัดฐานระหว่างประเทศ (International Norm Dynamics) เป็นกรอบวิเคราะห์นโยบายของรัฐบาลอัฟกานิสถานต่อการพัฒนาสิทธิสตรี ใน 3 ด้านสำคัญ ได้แก่ ด้านการดำเนินชีวิตในสังคมและสิทธิทางการเมือง ด้านการศึกษาและการทำงาน และด้านสาธารณสุข เพื่อวิเคราะห์ว่า อะไรคือปัจจัยสำคัญที่ทำให้รัฐบาลอัฟกานิสถานในสมัยประธานาธิบดีฮามิด คาร์ไซ ระหว่าง ค.ศ. 2001 – 2014 ไม่สามารถดำเนินนโยบายส่งเสริมสิทธิสตรีได้อย่างมีประสิทธิภาพ บทความวิจัยนี้ศึกษาและวิเคราะห์ข้อมูลจากข้อตกลงระหว่างประเทศ เอกสารราชการของอัฟกานิสถาน หนังสือและบทความจากวารสารทางวิชาการที่นำเสนอเกี่ยวกับนโยบายรัฐบาลอัฟกานิสถานต่อการพัฒนาสิทธิสตรีในสมัยประธานาธิบดีฮามิด คาร์ไซ ระหว่าง ค.ศ. 2001 – 2014 รวมถึงรายงานสรุปสถานการณ์ด้านสิทธิมนุษยชนในช่วงเวลาดังกล่าว เพื่อสนับสนุนข้อเสนอของบทความวิจัยนี้ คือ ปัจจัยสำคัญที่ทำให้รัฐบาลอัฟกานิสถานไม่สามารถดำเนินนโยบายพัฒนาสิทธิสตรีได้อย่างมีประสิทธิภาพ คือ ปัจจัยระดับรัฐบาลและระดับสังคม

การดำเนินนโยบายความมั่นคงของฟิลิปปินส์ต่อจีนในกรณีพิพาททะเลจีนใต้ ค.ศ.2010-2016, ณัฐเชษฐ์ เสงี่ยมพงษ์

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

การวิจัยนี้มีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อต้องการศึกษาการดำเนินนโยบายของประเทศจีนในการขยายอาณาเขตทางทะเลบริเวณทะเลจีนใต้ และศึกษาการดำเนินการของประเทศฟิลิปปินส์หลังจากการดำเนินการของจีนที่ส่งผลกระทบต่อความมั่นคงของชาติทางทะเล เพื่อนำมาสู่งการวิเคราะห์การกระทำของฟิลิปปินส์หลังถูกกระทบด้านความมั่นคงจากการขยายอิทธิพลของจีนในพื้นที่พิพาททะเลจีนใต้ ผลวิจัยพบว่าจากการที่จีนยังคงยืนยันการอ้างสิทธิ์ในกรณีพิพาททะเลจีนใต้ เป็นความพยายามที่ต้องการครอบครองทรัพยากรธรรมชาติในพื้นที่ทะเลจีนใต้ อีกทั้งต้องการขยายเศรษฐกิจประเทศของตนเพื่อตอบสนองต่อวิสัยทัศน์ Chinese Dream ซึ่งมีความต้องการครอบครองเส้นทางคมนาคมในพื้นที่ เพื่อเป็นประตูทางทะเลของประเทศออกสู่มหาสมุทรอินเดียและมหาสมุทรแปซิฟิก ส่งผลกระทบด้านความมั่นคงต่อประเทศพิพาทอย่างประเทศฟิลิปปินส์ ทำให้การดำรงชีวิตของประชาชนฟิลิปปินส์มีความไม่ปลอดภัยจากการดำรงชีพตามวิถีเดิมของตน อีกทั้งประเด็นทรัพยากรธรรมชาติในพื้นที่ทับซ้อน ฟิลิปปินส์จึงต้องมียุทธศาสตร์ขึ้นมาเพื่อรองรับสถานการณ์ที่เกิดขึ้นในการขยายอิทธิพลทางทะเลของประเทศจีน เพื่อเป็นการเพิ่มประสิทธิภาพในการป้องกันตน อีกทั้งได้พยายามสร้างพันธมิตรเพื่อสร้างความสมดุลขึ้นในระบบระหว่างประเทศ โดยได้ใช้ความสัมพันธ์ที่มีมายาวนานกับมหาอำนาจโลกอย่างสหรัฐฯ และญี่ปุ่น เข้ามามีบทบาทสำคัญในการกำหนดยุทธศาสตร์ของประเทศ ซึ่งงานวิจัยนี้จะทำให้เห็นความพยายามของฟิลิปปินส์ที่ดำเนินนโยบายในการป้องกันประเทศในการถูกผลกระทบจากประเทศมหาอำนาจที่พยายามขยายอิทธิพล จนกระทบต่อความมั่นคงของประเทศตนเองแล้วกำหนดออกมาเป็นยุทธศาสตร์ของประเทศ ซึ่งนับได้ว่าเป็นตัวอย่างในการดำเนินการที่ดีในการป้องกันประเทศ

Exploring Voting Habits And Attitudes Of Lgbtq+ College Students In The United States, Jordan Weber

Honors Program Theses

Citizens of the United States are regularly reminded of the importance of voting in elections. However, data shows the youngest voters turnout at the polls in far fewer numbers than older generations. The same cannot be said for marginalized and minority groups, such as members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) community. Past studies have shown that these individuals are more likely to vote than their peers who are not members of this community. While there is information about voting habits of both the youngest voters and LGBTQ citizens, there has been little research done about the …