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Modern political thought tends to associate citizenship with democracy, equality, and political participation. This article demonstrates that citizenship can be profoundly important also for authoritarian rule. In Fascist Italy, citizenship remained central to political life, not as a vehicle of democratic participation, to be sure, but as a category through which the regime redefined belonging, hierarchy, and sovereignty. Drawing on citizenship legislation, imperial ordinances, racial laws, police reports, and ministerial commentary between 1912 and 1943, this article shows how the dictatorship hollowed out liberal citizenship within the peninsula, stratified it across imperial territories, consolidated it across diasporic populations, and ultimately …

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Author Biographical Notes Apr 2026

Author Biographical Notes

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

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Statement From The Indiana Academy Of The Social Sciences And Board Of Directors Apr 2026

Statement From The Indiana Academy Of The Social Sciences And Board Of Directors

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

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Why Publish With Mssj? Apr 2026

Why Publish With Mssj?

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

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Volume 28, Issue 2 Full Contents Apr 2026

Volume 28, Issue 2 Full Contents

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

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Mission And Editorial Policy Apr 2026

Mission And Editorial Policy

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

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The Courts Closest To The People: The Battle Between Populism And Democracy In The U.S. District Courts, Shruti Rana Apr 2026

The Courts Closest To The People: The Battle Between Populism And Democracy In The U.S. District Courts, Shruti Rana

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

The U.S. district courts have emerged as a critical site of contested terrain amid the chaos and controversies consuming American law and politics since the start of the second Trump administration. This article examines these frontline courts through the theoretical lens of populism, arguing that they have become a critical institutional flashpoint in the populist assault on constitutional democracy in the United States. As the courts closest to the people, the district courts occupy a unique structural position: They are the fact-finding courts, the most geographically dispersed and professionally diverse tier of the federal judiciary, and often the first institutional …

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Rising Numbers, Rising Risks: Population, Growth, And Natural Disasters, Sophia Becker-Toro, Yu Ouyang Apr 2026

Rising Numbers, Rising Risks: Population, Growth, And Natural Disasters, Sophia Becker-Toro, Yu Ouyang

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

How does population size and growth affect the risk of natural disasters? On October 7, 2024, before Hurricane Milton makes landfall in the Tampa Bay area, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor issues a dire warning to affected citizens: “I can say without any dramatization whatsoever. If you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you’re going to die.” While there is an extensive literature which focuses on the impact of climate change and/or natural disasters, there is a dearth of works on how population affects the risks of natural disasters. As both the frequency and severity of storms and …

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Editorial History Apr 2026

Editorial History

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

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Call For Papers: 97th Annual Conference Of The Indiana Academy Of The Social Sciences Apr 2026

Call For Papers: 97th Annual Conference Of The Indiana Academy Of The Social Sciences

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

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Submission Guidelines Apr 2026

Submission Guidelines

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

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Mission And Editorial Policy Apr 2025

Mission And Editorial Policy

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

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Editor-In-Chief's Note, Surekha Rao Apr 2025

Editor-In-Chief's Note, Surekha Rao

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

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The Impact Of Religiosity And Violence Prevention Programs On Violence Amongst Adolescents In The U.S., Ngoc Nguyen, John Paulson, Quentin Maynard, Thu T. Ha Apr 2025

The Impact Of Religiosity And Violence Prevention Programs On Violence Amongst Adolescents In The U.S., Ngoc Nguyen, John Paulson, Quentin Maynard, Thu T. Ha

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

Youth violence is a societal concern in the United States due to its negative consequences on individuals and communities. The current study aimed to examine the potential mitigating factors of violence prevention programs and religiosity in reducing youth violence among African American, White, Hispanic, and Asian American adolescents in the United States. It also tested the moderation effects of sex on religiosity and violence prevention programs with youth violence. Results of the main effects revealed that adolescents who attended violence prevention programs were generally less likely to engage in violence than those who did not; and that adolescents who were …

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Reviewers And Referees Apr 2025

Reviewers And Referees

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

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Best Businesses For New Urbanist Communities: A Retake, Karl Besel, Tonya Thornton, Yusuf A. Nur, Kenneth Chilton Apr 2025

Best Businesses For New Urbanist Communities: A Retake, Karl Besel, Tonya Thornton, Yusuf A. Nur, Kenneth Chilton

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

Place defines the linkages between space and representation. Several theoretical concepts attempt to examine how people perceive a place and even their purpose as a part of it, including it being as a prescribed way of life, a public ideology to ascribe to, and as a set geographical residence. More often than not, this “sense” is simply categorized by a rural-urban continuum dictated by health and wealth. New Urbanism communities is an urban design movement that promotes a sense of community by designing walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods that are environmentally friendly and provide a wide range of housing and job types. …

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96th Annual Iass Conference Call For Papers Apr 2025

96th Annual Iass Conference Call For Papers

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

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Statement From The Indiana Academy Of The Social Sciences And Board Of Directors Apr 2025

Statement From The Indiana Academy Of The Social Sciences And Board Of Directors

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

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Volume 27, Issue 2 Full Contents Apr 2025

Volume 27, Issue 2 Full Contents

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

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Mobilizing Discord On The United States’ Many Borders: Critical Social Science And Geopolitical Complexity, Margath Walker Apr 2025

Mobilizing Discord On The United States’ Many Borders: Critical Social Science And Geopolitical Complexity, Margath Walker

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

Attention to the political landscape connecting the United States, Mexico, and Central America has returned with glaring intensity, highlighting the visibly geostrategic elements of bordering practice. Scholars have focused on how state power materializes at multiple scales while at the same time being attentive to the contestable and mutable nature of myriad agentic forces. This talk operates similarly by considering prospects for a frictional and at times ambiguous spatial politics. I extend the notion of discord as a productive lens through which to consider securitization, mobility, and migration. I use two short examples—the border-industrial complex and migrant caravans—to illustrate my …

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Author Biographical Notes Apr 2025