Political Science Commons^™

Asian Americans And Politics: Voting Behavior And Political Involvement, Elizabeth Hoene

Political Science Theses and Capstones

Voting behavior and political involvement are two commonly studied topics among political scientists today, most commonly involving Caucasian, African, and Hispanic Americans. However, there have been relatively few studies done on Asian American and Asian immigrant voting behavior and their political involvement. What causes Asian Americans and Asian immigrants to vote the way they do? How involved are they in American politics and why? These are questions that I am aiming to answer through the studying of the Pilot National Asian American Political Survey 2000- 2001 from the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research. Socioeconomic factors such as income, …

I Will Survive, Robert Funk

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Academics do not often quote 70s disco tunes. At least not in print. But if there is one thing that has been striking about the events in Libya in recent weeks—and indeed looking back over decades—it is the sheer ability of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi to survive. He is, perhaps with Fidel Castro, the world’s greatest survivor. He has indeed learned how to carry on.

We Do Indeed Reap What We Sow, Walter Lotze

Human Rights & Human Welfare

When violence first broke out in Tunisia in January 2011, few observers would have predicted that waves of unrest would engulf North Africa and the Arab world. When demonstrations swiftly spread to Algeria, Sudan, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, and Jordan, observers hastened to place bets on which regime would be the next to fall. That Hosni Mubarak would be felled next came perhaps as no surprise; Egypt had for years been on a knife’s edge, liberalizing and modernizing society while closing all space for political and social participation. Most analysts then turned their attention to Sudan, Yemen, and Bahrain, predicting that …

Romney And Huntsman: Two Answers To The 'Mormon Question', Nathan B. Oman

Popular Media

No abstract provided.

"Eighteen Million Cracks": Gender's Role In The 2008 Presidential Campaign, Gregory S. Parks, Quinette M. Roberson

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

In light of the 2008 presidential campaign, Gregory S. Parks
and Jeffrey J. Rachlinski wrote an extensive analysis, titled A Better
Metric, likening the campaign to an interview process and hiring
decision for a high-ranking job. Though unpublished, their work
spawned a number of published articles, book chapters, and a book
on the role of unconscious race and gender bias in the evaluations of
President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton. In light of the analogy between voting and
hiring decisions, this article argues that questions about sexism and
gender bias along the campaign …

A Dangerous Professor Loses A Friendship, Michael C. Vocino

Technical Services Faculty Publications

A brief essay/short story based on the author's experience as a gay university professor and how creative teaching methods ended one of his vital friendships.

Averting War In Northeast Asia: A Proposal 東北アジアでの戦争勃発を防ぐ ––– 一提言, Mel Gurtov

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

While the United States and South Korea consider whether or not to accept North Korea’s call for an “unconditional” return to the Six Party Talks (6PT) or China’s call for multilateral negotiations, Northeast Asia is sliding in the direction of deepening conflict that could lead to war. China-Japan relations, which had been warming since the departure of Koizumi Junichiro, and especially since the victory of the Democratic Party of Japan in 2009, are again in a deep freeze over disputed territory. One consequence is a reorientation of Japan’s defense strategy southward, in the direction of the Senkakus (Diaoyutai). Washington is …

The Giffords Shooting: Who’S The Fall Guy?, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The author explores the concept of ‘the fall guy’ from a political philosophical perspective.

The End Of The Great Fiscal Compromise, Nathan B. Oman

Popular Media

No abstract provided.

Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?, Minnesota State University, Mankato

Constitution

Bibliography and photographs of a display of government documents from Minnesota State University, Mankato.

The Cost Of Going For The Gavel: Individual Candidate Spending In Intermediate Appellate Court Elections, Brian Frederick, Matthew J. Streb

Political Science Faculty Publications

Substantial research in recent years has studied judicial campaign spending. Most of this research has concentrated on state supreme court elections. Less is known about candidate spending in lower-level judicial elections. Moreover, research has focused on the costs of campaigns with the race as the unit of analysis. This study probes patterns of spending by 470 candidates in all contested races for state immediate appellate court seats from 2000 to 2009. It makes the first comprehensive evaluation of the systematic factors that drive spending in lower-level judicial elections with the individual candidate as the unit of analysis. It explores several …

Buckeye Battleground, Daniel J. Coffey, John C. Green, David B. Cohen, Stephen C. Brooks

Buckeye Battleground

Buckeye Battleground is the result of a decade’s worth of research at the Bliss Institute on elections in Ohio, with special emphasis on the 2004 and 2008 presidential campaigns, and the 2006 gubernatorial campaign. This book seeks to explain why Ohio is, and has been, at the center of American elections. Using historical analysis, demographic data, and public opinion surveys, the authors demonstrate Ohio’s role as the quintessential “battleground” state in American elections. This title is unique in its approach and coverage.

Did America Have A Christian Founding?, Mark David Hall

Faculty Publications - Department of History and Politics

"Did America have a Christian Founding? This disputed question, far from being only of historical interest, has important implications for how we conceive of the role of religion in the American republic. Mark David Hall begins by considering two popular answers to the query— “Of course not!” and “Absolutely!”—both of which distort the Founders’ views. After showing that Christian ideas were one of the important intellectual influences on the Founders, he discusses three major areas of agreement with respect to religious liberty and church–state relations at the time of the Founding: Religious liberty is a right and must be protected; …

Metropolitan-Rural Voting Patterns In U.S. Legislative Elections, Elizabeth A. Stiles, Larry Schwab

Political Science

This paper examines the relationship between partisan political success, in both the United States House of Representatives and in the lower houses of U.S. state legislatures, and distance from the central city. The increasing Republican success over time, first in suburbs generally, and then in outer suburbs, is illustrated. Correspondingly, the paper shows that Democrats have retained their advantage in the central city, lost advantage in the rural areas and compete most effectively in inner ring suburbs. Also, different measures of distance from the central city (distance in miles, in types of living arrangements (e.g. urban, suburban, and rural) and …

Horse-Trading In Smoke-Filled Rooms: Power In The 2008 West Virginia Republican Presidential Convention, Nora Kay Ankrom

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The 2008 West Virginia Republican Presidential Convention was the first of its kind and presents an intriguing case study of power in politics. A small percentage of West Virginians are Republican and an even smaller percentage of those Republicans participate in politics. Based on this situation, the elite members of the West Virginia Republican Party would be expected to produce their candidate as the winner of the state's first ever presidential convention. This, however, was not the case. A perceived second tier candidate claimed victory instead, much to the anger and dismay of the party regulars. This study interprets and …

Socialist! Hatemonger! Can Democratic Problem-Solving Survive In An Age Of Polarization And Hyperbole? , Benjamin Cole

The University Dialogue

No abstract provided.

The Perseverance Of Neoliberalism: Why Obama Has Not Shifted Trade Policy In Response To The Great Recession, Brian Pratt

Theses & Honors Papers

This thesis examines Obama’s reasons for not shifting trade during the recession. The author goes into depth about how business groups influence Obama and his decisions on trade policies. Obama’s and Clinton’s administrations and their policies, through documents, speeches, and other sources, are also compared due to the fact that Clinton was the last Democratic president. Scholarly literature is also examined in regards to both Clinton’s and Obama’s presidency.

Off To The (Horse) Races: Media Coverage Of The "Not-So-Invisible" Invisible Primary Of 2007, Lori Cox Han

Political Science Faculty Books and Book Chapters

"While it may seem obvious to even the casual observer of U.S. politics how important news media coverage is for a presidential candidate in the heat of the primary or general election battle, it is the media attention garnered during the pre-nomination phase of the campaign that can play a crucial role in deciding if the candidate even makes it to the first nominating contest. Often referred to as the "invisible primary;' the pre-primary period for the 2008 election occurred earlier and lasted longer than in any previous campaign in modern American history...This chapter will consider two aspects of news …

The New American Civil Religion: Lesson For Italy, Andrew Koppelman

Faculty Working Papers

American civil religion has been changing, responding to increasing religious plurality by becoming more abstract. The problem of increasing plurality is not only an American one. It is also presented in Italy, where civic identity has been centered around a Catholicism that is no longer universal. Perhaps Italy has, in this respect, an American future.

Revolutionary Critical Pedagogy For A Socialist Society: A Manifesto, Peter Mclaren

Education Faculty Articles and Research

"As advocates of revolutionary critical pedagogy, we stand at the turning point in this process. Critical pedagogy is an approach that we have chosen as a necessary (albeit insufficient) vehicle for transforming the world. The work that we do has been adapted from the pathfinding contributions of the late Brazilian educator, Paulo Freire, whose development of pedagogies of the oppressed helped to lay the foundations for approaches (feminist, post-structuralist, Marxist) to teaching and learning that utilizes the life experiences of students in and outside of traditional classrooms to build spaces of dialogue and dialectical thinking. We have renamed our critical …

Proposed Constitutional Amendment On War Powers

CACTUS--Citizens' Assembly for Critical Thinking About the United States

The power to declare war or to authorize warfare by the United States, and to regulate the use of funds for military action, shall be vested in the Congress.

Media Citations (2004-2011), Matthew Hale

Political Science Publications

No abstract provided.

Sectarianism And Citizenship: Church And State Debates In Nineteenth Century New York, Sean Mcgonigle

American Studies Senior Theses

My senior thesis for American Studies, entitled “Sectarianism and Citizenship: Church and State Debates in Nineteenth Century New York,” examines the origins of Catholic integration into mainstream American Society, particularly by looking into the changing landscape in New York during the mid-1800’s. American citizenship was defined in terms of Protestant nationalism, and, as such, American institutions also had strains of American Protestantism. I contend that this American Protestant hegemony was challenged in New York by the growing presence of Catholics in the city. Through natural birth rates and immigration, the Catholic population in New York dramatically increased, and forced the …

We The People, Minnesota State University, Mankato

Constitution

Bibliography and photographs of a display of government documents from Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Oppositional Identities: The Military Peace Movement’S Challenge To Pro-Iraq War Frames, Lisa A. Leitz

Peace Studies Faculty Articles and Research

In the United States, rhetoric in support of the Iraq War often focuses on discourses of patriotism and supporting the troops. These discourses hold enormous sway over the American public because of the discursive legacies of the Vietnam War and the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. In response, members of the peace movement who are veterans, soldiers, and military families stress their military identities during activism. These individuals have organized as an important branch of the U.S. antiwar movement that challenges the pro-war framing of patriotism and troop support by strategically deploying 'oppositional identities.' The oppositional identity strategy involves highlighting …

The Declaration Of Independence And The Constitution Of The United States Of America, Deborah G. Stevenson, Gary L. Rose

Sacred Heart University Press Books

Preface by Deborah G. Stevenson, J.D. Attorney Stevenson practices Constitutional Law, Appellate Law, Educational Law, and Criminal Law in a variety of courts, including Connecticut Appellate and Supreme Courts, federal District Courts, and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. She has written many articles on Constitutional Law, and has given many lectures on the Constitution and individual rights in workshops held in several States across the country. She also serves as Chief Counsel for We the People of Connecticut, Inc., the nation’s first lobby devoted solely to preserving, protecting and defending the Constitution.

Introduction by Gary L. Rose, Ph.D. Gary …

Non-Partisan ‘Get-Out-The-Vote’ Efforts And Policy Outcomes, Dan Kovenock, Brian Roberson

Economics Faculty Articles and Research

This paper utilizes a simple model of redistributive politics with voter abstention to analyze the impact of nonpartisan ‘get-out-the-vote’ efforts on policy outcomes. Although such efforts are often promoted on the grounds that they provide the social benefit of increasing participation in the electoral process, we find that they have a meaningful impact on policy outcomes and are an important political influence activity for nonprofit advocacy organizations. In equilibrium, nonpartisan gotv efforts are more likely to arise in those segments of the electorate that are sufficiently small and disenfranchised (as measured by the ex ante voter abstention rate). Among those …

The Cold War's Last Battlefield: Reagan, The Soviets And Central America, Edward A. Lynch

Books by Hollins Faculty and Staff

"Central America was the final place where U.S. and Soviet proxy forces faced off against one another in armed conflict. In The Cold War's Last Battlefield, Edward A. Lynch blends his own first-hand experiences as a member of the Reagan Central America policy team with interviews of policy makers and exhaustive study of primary source materials, including once-secret government documents, in order to recount these largely forgotten events and how they fit within Reagan's broader foreign policy goals. Lynch's compelling narrative reveals a president who was willing to risk both influence and image to aggressively confront Soviet expansion in …

Art Of Representation: Portraits Of The Founding Fathers, Ellen Kathryn Corrigan

Faculty & Staff Research & Creative Activity

Text panel from “The Art of Representation: Portraits of the Founding Fathers,” a local exhibit in support of the Booth Library installation of the ALA-PPO/NEH traveling exhibition Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World, on display January 12-February 25, 2011.

The Bible And The Ballot: The Christian Right In American Politics, Terence L. Burns

Theses and Graduate Projects

The year was 2004. It was late October in Minnesota and winter was corning. So was an election. The Presidential election of 2004 pitted the sitting President George W. Bush against Senator John Kerry. As a self-described "political junkie", I had been watching the debates and developments during the long campaign with great interest. Of particular interest to me was watching the political involvement of Evangelical Christians and their leaders develop and grow. On this particular Sunday in 2004, I was at my post as musician at an evangelical "mega" church in the western suburbs of Minneapolis. The church was …