Political Science Commons^™

Leonard Bagalwa, Leonard Bagalwa, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Leonard was forced to join the military at the age of 17 in his home country of the Congo. A Catholic priest smuggled me out of the country and I lived in refugee camps in several different countries until 2004 when he came to the United States.

In 2005, a couple came to Leonard when he was homeless in the Provo library. They found out that he needed help and offered to let me live with them. They ended up paying my tuition for my education and I went to college for five years.

Leonard uses his experiences to teach …

2017 Constitution Day Essay Contest Honorable Mention--On The Consequences Of “Free Speech”, Duncan Barron

Constitution Day Essay Contest

No abstract provided.

Selfhood, Historical Consciousness, And The State In International Relations Theory, Edinson Oquendo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This work seeks to examine the role of the state in international relations. While international relations treat states as institutions endowed with agency, they lack any means of explaining how the state can gain agency, autonomy, and rationality.

My dissertation seeks to reorient the theoretical assumptions of international relations in two ways. I develop a theory of the of the state that seeks to explain the mechanisms by which individuals are able to form collective social institutions and to endow them with authority and agency. I examine the relationship of the individuals to collective bodies such as states that can …

The Great Divide: The Political Implications Of Southern Regional Identification In Kentucky, Joel Turner

Commonwealth Review of Political Science

Kentucky occupies a unique place on the American political landscape. The Commonwealth has never been fully embraced as Southern by most observers, but at the same time it is not necessarily a Northern state. As the intersection of North and South in the United States, Kentucky presentes a unique opportunity to study the impact of regional identity on public opinion. Utilizing data from a 2014 survey of a random sample of Kentucky residents, we are able to demonstrate that Southern regional identification is fairly high in Kentucky, and that this identification has a significant influence on opinion regard politicians and …

Holding School Leaders Accountable: Estimating The Effects Of Retrospective Evaluations Of Kentucky School District Superintendents, Martin Battle, James C. Clinger

Commonwealth Review of Political Science

This research represents an attempt to apply the theory of retrospective voting to the issue of turnover among Kentucky school district superintendents. The analysis tests the hypothesis that poor school district performance should increase superintendent performance. The hypothesis is tested using accountability data compiled by the Kentucky Department of Education. The analysis reveals somewhat mixed support for the hypothesis. Different performance measures have different kinds of impact. Schools with students scoring high on math and writing were more likely to experience superintendent turnover than other school districts were. The index scores for science and social studies had a negative, statistically …

Consequences Of Sexual Violence During Civil Conflicts For Post-Colonial Democratization, Kathleen Clark

Commonwealth Review of Political Science

Countries face large obstacles in the post-civil conflict period, including democratization. The nature of the warfare during the civil conflict may have important implications for the prospects for future democratization. Specifically, the experience of sexual violence during civil conflicts may hinder democratization. I argue that countries that experience prevalent sexual violence during civil conflicts have lower chances for post-conflict democratization than those without. This occurs through the psychological consequences of sexual violence on victims and communities. Sexual violence negatively impacts victims, but it can also have more widespread negative consequences for society. Communities of the victims may collectively respond to …

Red Dog, Blue Dog, Yellow Dog: How Democrats Can Use Strategic Communications To Attract Republican And Conservative Voters, B. Gammon Fain

Commonwealth Review of Political Science

In recent election cycles, a rightward shift among white Southerners, and in some cases the loss of African-American supporters through racial redistricting, turned many long-held Democratic districts in the South red. Kentucky is an excellent example of this shift in voting behavior. Even though registered Democrats outnumber Republicans, the GOP controls the Governor's mansion, most other statewide elected offices, both chamber of the state legislature, and all but one of Kentucky's congressional seats. To win back those seats, Democrats in states like Kentucky will need to appeal to conservative voters. Unfortunately, little scholarly research directly addresses the practical question they …

Resilient Communists: How Fidel Castro Survived The Soviet Collapse And Cuba's Uncertain Road To Democracy, Max J. Prowant

Commonwealth Review of Political Science

It is easy to conclude that Fidel Castro was nothing more than a pawn of the Soviet Union, and Cuba, a communist satellite throughout the Cold War. The island received an annual subsidy of four billion dollars from the U.S.S.R. and hosted Soviet troops; its economic dependence was so extensive that when the Soviet Union collapsed more than 25 years ago, Cuba experienced a GDP contraction of between 30 and 40 percent. Despite this, Cuba's communist regime survived, even as many formerly communist countries in Eastern Europe embraced new democratic constitutions. This project seeks to explain how--in spite of the …

Complete Issue - Volume 4, Number 1 (2017)

Commonwealth Review of Political Science

Complete Issue

In Defense Of The Electoral College, Allen C. Guelzo, James H. Hulme

Civil War Era Studies Faculty Publications

There is hardly anything in the Constitution harder to explain, or easier to misunderstand, than the Electoral College. And when a presidential election hands the palm to a candidate who comes in second in the popular vote but first in the Electoral College tally, something deep in our democratic viscera balks and asks why the Electoral College shouldn’t be dumped as a useless relic of 18th century white, gentry privilege. Actually, there have been only five occasions when a closely divided popular vote and the electoral vote have failed to point in the same direction. No matter. After last week’s …

2017 Constitution Day Essay Contest 2nd Place, Kelsey Mattingly

Constitution Day Essay Contest

No abstract provided.

2017 Constitution Day Essay Contest Honorable Mention--Liberty And Responsibility, Callum Case

Constitution Day Essay Contest

No abstract provided.

2017 Constitution Day Essay Contest Honorable Mention--On Freedom Of Expression, Emily Baehner

Constitution Day Essay Contest

No abstract provided.

The Politics Of Engagement In The Digital Age, Sherlynn Allen-Harris

The Journal of Traditions & Beliefs

No abstract provided.

The Value Of Black Lives: The Effect Of The Digital Age On African American Identity And Political Participation, Lauren Grimes

The Journal of Traditions & Beliefs

No abstract provided.

Drowning In Rising Seas: Navigating Multiple Knowledge Systems And Responding To Climate Change In The Maldives, Rachel Hannah Spiegel

Pitzer Senior Theses

The threat of global climate change increasingly influences the actions of human society. As world leaders have negotiated adaptation strategies over the past couple of decades, a certain discourse has emerged that privileges Western conceptions of environmental degradation. I argue that this framing of climate change inhibits the successful implementation of adaptation strategies. This thesis focuses on a case study of the Maldives, an island nation deemed one of the most vulnerable locations to the impacts of rising sea levels. I apply a postcolonial theoretical framework to examine how differing knowledge systems can both complement and contradict one another. By …

Linguistic Imperialism And Volunteer English Teaching: A Neo-Colonial Practice?, Sarah K. Hamburg

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Colonial era tactics of oppression may seem obsolete; however, the United States continues to exploit the same peripheral nations that it, and other world superpowers, have dominated for centuries. In Latin America, the influence of the American hegemony penetrates every aspect of life. Unable to escape the grip of the capitalist system, Latin America has become culturally subservient to the United States, whose supremacy has, over time, led to the extinction and endangerment of hundreds of indigenous languages and cultures. Through years of exposure to American mass culture (i.e. television, music, media, and consumer products), and an unyielding economically dependent …

Guide To The Presidential Debate Records, University Of San Diego University Relations

University Records

This collection contains planning records, videos, and news clippings associated with both the 1992 and 1996 Presidential Debates. 1992 Debate records cover the selection and subsequent cancellation of USD as a host site. News clippings also cover the controversy between the Bush and Clinton campaigns over why the debate was canceled. 1996 Debate records include correspondence, site selection and visitation information, planning meeting records, and contract information with the Commission on Presidential Debates. Design records featuring the debate logo which was placed on Media Kit items, t-shirts, lapel pins, and stationary are included. Short news cast videos are included along …

Explaining The Rise Of Isis, Anas Alqaed

Political Science Theses and Capstones

In this paper I study the circumstances that led to the rise the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS/Daesh) and its economic power. I use articles, testimonies before US House of Representatives and analyze economic data to generate facts and draw conclusions. All references rely on primary source documents that were not released in an official capacity by ISIS. These are documents that have been released online by pro or anti-ISIS activists or information that was gathered and analyzed by research centers and international organizations. It is worth noting that non-officially released documents were very helpful in shedding more …

The Wwi Middle East: Western Intervention And Modern-Day Political Conflict, Pauline Park

Global Tides

This paper analyzes three conflicting agreements made by the Allied powers between 1915 and 1917: the Husayn-McMahon correspondence, the Sykes-Picot arrangements, and the Balfour Declaration. It reveals the agreements as demonstrative of deeper patterns of political power and strategy in the Middle East that persist today. This paper moreover compares the Middle East with the European colonization of Rwanda in the 1880s, and how the nation's internal division was caused by external global powers seeking political and economic gain. This analysis seeks to connect global events as part of a wider political agenda propagated by Western powers.

Considering Clausewitz Across Contexts, Laura Salter

Tenor of Our Times

Carl von Clausewitz’s On War has been heralded as one of the most influential theories of war. It has influenced statesmen as diverse as Dwight Eisenhower, Vladimir Lenin, and Adolf Hitler. After having been incorporated into various schools of thought, taught to soldiers and studied extensively, it begs the question: what explains the continuous relevance of Clausewitz’s theory, despite changing contexts and technology? This paper posits that Clausewitz presented war as an extension of politics composed of a trinity of forces, used methodology that would transcend eras, and wrote about war’s very nature. In doing so, On War gained its …

A Theory Of Veteran Identity, Travis L. Martin

Theses and Dissertations--English

More than 2.6 million troops have deployed in support of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Still, surveys reveal that more than half feel “disconnected” from their civilian counterparts, and this feeling persists despite ongoing efforts, in the academy and elsewhere, to help returning veterans overcome physical and mental wounds, seek an education, and find meaningful ways to contribute to society after taking off the uniform. This dissertation argues that Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans struggle with reassimilation because they lack healthy, complete models of veteran identity to draw upon in their postwar lives, a problem they’re working through collectively …

The Socioeconomic Impact Of Indian Gaming On Kumeyaay Nations: A Case Study Of Barona, Viejas, And Sycuan, 1982 - 2016, Ethan L. Banegas

Theses

This study will use the reservations of Barona, Viejas, and Sycuan to measure the socioeconomic impacts of gaming within the Kumeyaay nation. It will also draw on information available from other gaming tribes. To organize my research, I will use the following categories: health, education, economics and infrastructure. Within these four topics I will cover: investment capital, poverty, higher education, internet access, alcohol addiction, suicide rates, obesity, diabetes, and other socioeconomic indicators. Once this is accomplished I will assess the social and economic impact of gaming on Barona, Viejas, and Sycuan and include the possible implications to heal historical trauma …

The Phantom Segregationist: Kentucky's 1996 Desegregation Amendment And The Limits Of Direct Democracy, D. Stephen Voss

Commonwealth Review of Political Science

Decades after Kentucky abolished de jure racial distinctions in education, the state legislature asked voters to strip segregationist language from their venerable constitution. Political elites were stunned when a third of the state's voters, and majorities in five countries, rejected the change. However, the prime culprit for Kentucky's 1996 constitutional amendment vote was not white racism, because African-American voters endorsed segregation at rates similar to whites. Rather, the Kentucky vote offers a particularly clear and particularly dramatic example of the limits of ballot-box policy making. It should alert scholars that highly publicized referenda in high-profile states - the focus of …

A Case Study On American Social Media Privacy: Facebook And Government Oversight, Sarah Fink

Commonwealth Review of Political Science

As we move further into the age of technology, there is no reason to expect the use of social media and the internet will decline. The government's inability to create a uniform technological landscape across offices and departments around the nation along with the shifting view of privacy in America has created openings for non-governmental companies, like Facebook, to collect the information freely given by citizens. This makes the privacy policies of social media companies civil rights and liberties issues for individual citizens as well as a national security concern. This paper argues that until the public, and policy makers, …

The Paradox Of The Progressive Presidency: How The Democratization Of The Presidential Selection System Has Degraded The Office, Jeffrey T. Syck

Commonwealth Review of Political Science

Every U.S. president leaves a lasting mark on the institution, few more significantly than the small number who have impacted the way presidents are selected. This paper examines how the presidential selection system has evolved over time and the negative effects this evolution has produced. The Framers created a complicated selection process hoping the Electoral College would attract and elevate "men of first character." Although the system failed to operate as its architects intended as a result of the early and inevitable development of political parties, Martin Van Buren helped to adapt the selection system to the new environment in …

[Introduction To] The Dream Is Lost: Voting Rights And The Politics Of Race In Richmond, Virginia, Julian Maxwell Hayter

Bookshelf

Once the capital of the Confederacy and the industrial hub of slave-based tobacco production, Richmond, Virginia has been largely overlooked in the context of twentieth century urban and political history. By the early 1960s, the city served as an important center for integrated politics, as African Americans fought for fair representation and mobilized voters in order to overcome discriminatory policies. Richmond’s African Americans struggled to serve their growing communities in the face of unyielding discrimination. Yet, due to their dedication to strengthening the Voting Rights Act of 1965, African American politicians held a city council majority by the late 1970s. …

La France Contemporaine Face Au Défi De La Créolisation, Nathalie Etoke

Publications and Research

Inspired by Jane Gordon's book, Creolizing Political Theory: Reading Rousseau through Fanon, this article examines the paradoxes of Creolization within the French context. How do post-colonial French identities of Maghrebi, Sub-Saharan African or Caribbean descent Creolize French society? Instead of being an opportunity that must be seized by the Nation, why is creolization perceived as an imminent threat to the Republic? How can one think of Creolizing politics in the former colonial power? How does Creolization compel us to rethink how we live together? And how does it require us to rethink freedom and equality for all? These are …

A Multi-Causal Approach To The Thirty Years’ War, Ethan Haan

Grand Valley Journal of History

The Thirty Years’ War was arguably the most consequential war of the Wars of Religion and of the wider European conflicts in the 17th century. The historiography on the causes of the war has been present ever since literature on the conflict became available shortly after its cessation. Since 1900, the debate over the underlying motivations has intensified and has become muddied in some areas. This study aims to summarize and clarify the previous positions that historians have taken on what caused the war, from religious urges to socio-economic and political factors. This study also attempts to clearly define where …

Partisanship In Mexico: Influence Of Violence And State Spending, Christopher White

CMC Senior Theses

This paper serves to further investigate factors influencing partisanship in Mexican politics with a focus on state spending and drug violence. With state spending, this paper builds on prior literature about political effects of federal social spending (Handelman 1997, Domínguez and Chappell 2004, Díaz-Cayeros 2009) to propose a similar theory regarding state social spending. The proposed panel data model for national elections between 2000 and 2012 finds that for diputados elections, a thousand-peso increase in state spending had a statistically significant influence on party voting – boosting PRI candidates (typically incumbents) by 0.66% and hurting both PAN and PRD candidates …