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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Revolution, Regime Change, And Rosewater: The United States’ Role In The Arab Spring, Grace Lewis Jan 2022

Revolution, Regime Change, And Rosewater: The United States’ Role In The Arab Spring, Grace Lewis

Capstone Showcase

This thesis seeks to determine which international relations theory best explains the United States involvement in the Arab Spring, and to ascertain if the goals set by those theories were met. Through the literature, I determine that two theories offer reasonable yet competing explanations of US involvement, and that these theories are first, defensive realism, and second, democratic peace theory. I employ the analytic method of pattern matching to compare each theory against the empirical record. In my analysis, I match empirical data from five affected countries to determine the strategic importance to the United States of the outcome of …


Nation Over State: Analyzing The Condition Of The Nation-State In The 21st Century, Hayley Pierson Jan 2022

Nation Over State: Analyzing The Condition Of The Nation-State In The 21st Century, Hayley Pierson

Capstone Showcase

The nation-state as a concept is an ever-evolving one throughout history. As we delve deeper into the 21st century, the nation-state is beginning to undergo another evolution as there is an unprecedented rise in secessionist movements globally. This thesis explores the causation of a separatist movement and the complexities of having a competing, subnational identity within a state, embodied by case studies of Catalonia, Spain, and Quebec, Canada.


How Sociological Factors Influence Political Party Affiliation In The U.S., Christa Mcdowell Jan 2021

How Sociological Factors Influence Political Party Affiliation In The U.S., Christa Mcdowell

Capstone Showcase

There are several factors that contribute to political party affiliation in the United States, but it is not clear precisely to what extent. Two theories in particular, Social Force Theory & Parental Value Transmission Theory, argue that identity politics, a child’s perception of the parent, and shared racial struggles are all factors which contribute directly to political party affiliation. Using pattern matching, I operationalize several concepts or factors such as race, gender, and religion as indicators. Compiling data from the Pew Research Center, Gallup, and case studies, I found that most of these factors are intersectional and that intersectionality is …


Backfire: How The Rise Of Neoliberalism Facilitated The Rise Of The Far Right, Jacob Fuller Jan 2021

Backfire: How The Rise Of Neoliberalism Facilitated The Rise Of The Far Right, Jacob Fuller

Capstone Showcase

The U.S. far right has become increasingly mainstream in contemporary American politics. In this paper, I analyze the theory that the far right has gained ground due to a backlash from neoliberal policies beginning in the 1980s under Ronald Reagan. Using Process tracing, I operationalize claims made by those arguing that the white working class has moved towards the far right due to their loss of status, as well as the theory that specific wealthy actors have mobilized these groups and altered the movement against neoliberalism to suit their interests. I find that these arguments have merit, and further the …


The Codification Of American Federalism: An Analysis Of Events Preceding The Ratification Of The United States Constitution, Timothy Spangler Jan 2020

The Codification Of American Federalism: An Analysis Of Events Preceding The Ratification Of The United States Constitution, Timothy Spangler

Capstone Showcase

The focus of my project is American Federalism, a cornerstone of American political thought for centuries. American Federalism is a political system where power is divided between federated states and a central government, and the federated states retain a large portion of their original independence and police powers. The question this project seeks to answer is: How and why did the idea of a federated system, where the states retain their own sphere of sovereignty, become codified in American political thought? Scholars have attempted to answer this question, but their arguments look at American Federalism in a vacuum and ignore …