Political Science Commons^™

Toward A Political Theory For Private International Law, John Linarelli

Scholarly Works

Private international law presents a dilemma for legal and political philosophy. Legal and political philosophers have ignored private international law, with only a few scattered attempts to evaluate its claims. Private international law offers a powerful set of counterexamples that put into serious doubt attempts to link law’s authority only or primarily to relationships between states and citizens. No society, state, or other practice-mediated relationship can serve as grounds for the authority of private international law to persons to whom it applies but who are outside of such relationships. Private international law affects the normative situations of persons entirely outside …

The Polis Artist: Don Delillo’S Cosmopolis And The Politics Of Literature, Joel Alden Schlosser

Political Science Faculty Research and Scholarship

Recent work on literature and political theory has focused on reading literature as a reflection of the damaged conditions of contemporary political life. Examining Don DeLillo’s Cosmopolis, this essay develops an alternative approach to the politics of literature that attends to the style and form of the novel. The form and style of Cosmopolis emphasize the novel’s own dissonance with the world it criticizes; they moreover suggest a politics of poetic world-making intent on eliciting collective agency over the commonness of language. As a “polis artist,” DeLillo does not determine a particular politics but shapes the conditions and spaces …

Corporations And The Limits Of State-Based Models For Protecting Fundamental Rights In International Law, David Bilchitz

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

At the heart of international law lies a central tension. On the one hand, the fundamental rights recognized in international treaties protect the fundamental interests of individuals, obligating all actors who can affect these rights. One the other hand, international law has often been conceived of as a system in which the only legitimate actors are states. In turn, only states can be bound by the fundamental rights obligations in international treaties. To address this tension, two models have been proposed. The first is an "Indirect duty" approach, whereby the state remains the primary duty-bearer and must itself "create" the …

Fractured Territories And Abstracted Terrains: Human Rights Governance Regimes Within And Beyond The State, Larry Catá Backer

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

The problem of representation has become a central element for the development of human rights norms, not just within international organizations, but within states as well. The problem has been made acute by two significant changes in the organization of power that became visible after the 1950s. On one hand, the idea of the individual became more abstract. Mass democracy became symptomatic of a general trend toward the dissolution of the individual within a mass population, which was incarnated as the aggregation of its group characteristics, its statistics, and data. On the other hand, states were becoming less solid; the …

Statehood, Power, And The New Face Of Consent, Sheldon Leader

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

Individuals and groups are often subjected to power, both public and private, by eliciting their consent. Debate usually focuses on whether or not that consent is freely given or is vitiated by imbalances of strength between the bargaining parties. This essay focuses on a different issue, one that is largely passed over in legal and moral analyses: how far does and should consent bind one to accepting in advance changes in the future? There are signs of a fundamental shift in answering this question-a shift that particularly concerns the control of power in the economy. Industrial democracies may be abandoning …

Is The First Amendment At Risk?, Devin Darrow

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

Since the establishment of the Bill of Rights on December 15th 1791, Freedom of Speech has been one of the more controversial topics found within the first ten amendments. The Supreme Court has changed their interpretation of the 1st Amendment, Freedom of Speech clause, due to the cultural shifts of each generation. Recent cases have made technology a major factor for laws needing to be changed in order to protect people’s rights.

In conclusion, the definition of freedom of speech will continuously change due to the progress in technology. The last 10 years have demonstrated the need for changes. There …

Some Newly Emergent Geographies Of Injustice: Boundaries And Borders In International Law, Upendra V. Baxi

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

This conversation examines the relationship between the boundaries and borders in international law and the production of geographies of injustice through the lens of the colonial epistemologies, especially of private international law in the face of mass social disasters like the archetypal Bhopal catastrophe. I also address the languages and logics of coloniality and postcoloniality, as states of consciousness and social organization, under the complex and contradictory unity of neoliberalism.

Authoritariansim And Collectivism: Antecedents And Consequences Among College Students, Jasmine Samuel Ms.

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Moral Foundations Theory (MFT) suggests there are five distinct moral dimensions, which define morality as a whole. MFT can be broken down into two groups binding: in group/loyalty, authority/respect, and purity/sanctity-which encompass group morality. Harm/Care, fairness/reciprocity are individualizing dimensions, which highlight individual morality. Recent work has found MFT predicts sociopolitical ideologies, as well as sociopolitical attitudes. In an effort to better understand the existing relationships we investigate MFT as a predictor of sociopolitical parties, and attitudes Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) and Social Dominance Orientation (SDO). We also draw on similarities between Individualism/Collectivism and MFT. Specifically we demonstrate individualizing foundations, and dimensions …

Review Of 'Republican Theology: The Civil Religion Of American Evangelicals', John Compton

Political Science Faculty Articles and Research

"Although I find Lynerd’s characterization of the Christian Right unpersuasive (for reasons explained below), Republican Theology nonetheless performs a valuable service in highlighting the reciprocal influence of religious and political ideas, particularly in the early years of the republic... Lynerd makes a strong case that American evangelicals, while aware of the potential for tension, viewed each commitment as indispensable to the formation of a Godly republic."

The Influence Of Economic Ideologies On U.S. K-12 Education Policy: Testing, Markets, And Competition, Corinna M. Svarlien

Scripps Senior Theses

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was first passed in 1965 and has since been reauthorized several times, including as No Child Left Behind in 2001 and the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015. The ESEA seeks to address the needs of low-income students; however, decades of reform efforts and government reports documenting inequality have done little to close gaps in educational resources or outcomes for marginalized groups. Accountability systems based on standardized testing are seen by policymakers on the Left and Right as the best way to improve education for marginalized groups, improve students’ economic preparedness, hold schools …

Can We Really Claim ‘Full Responsibility’? The Problem With Normative Luck Egalitarianism In A Luck-Pervasive World, Emilie Ho

Scripps Senior Theses

In the last four decades, luck egalitarianism has emerged as a hotly debated theory of distributive justice. The tenet, in its most normative sense, calls for distribution or assistance when circumstances of disadvantage arise from bad luck that is independent of human influence. Disadvantages that can be traced back to individual choice and responsibility, on the other hand, are left for the sufferer to bear. In this paper, I argue that luck egalitarianism should be abandoned as a standard for determining whether a disadvantage should be addressed, because the assumption that there are instances of disadvantage completely attributable to individual …

Life, Liberty, And The Pursuit Of Happiness: Measuring What Matters, Laura Musikanski, Carl Polley

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

This essay focuses on ways in which the governments of Bhutan and the United Kingdom are measuring subjective well-being as well as on how other governments including Norway, Spain, China, Canada, and New Zealand, are exploring the development of subjective well-being indicators. It concludes with recommended actions to aid in the formation of a consistent and comparable subjective well-being indicator for use by governments globally. The third in a series for which the purpose is to provide information to grassroots activists to foster the happiness movement for a new economic paradigm, this essay builds on the previous essays, Happiness in …

The Incongruence Of Development Assistance: An Overview Of World Bank Policies, Elizabeth Garcia-Polanco

Dissertations and Theses

In post-conflict countries were instability has intensified, it becomes apparent how inadequate development assistance can be and why even after large sum of investments development assistance has not been able to completely alleviate poverty. For agencies like the World Bank that provide first hand assistance, we question whether there are prerequisites needed in order for their policies to be effective and whether these policies are targeting the core reasons for the countries’ poverty dilemma. African countries continue to hold intricate predicaments that may at times be too complicated to be analyzed without sufficient resources provided by the international community. While …

The European Union At Stake? A Comparative Analysis On The Dimensions Of Eu Decisionmaking In Crisis Settings, Franziska Kipp

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis examines how the EU as an international organization deals with international crisis situations by looking at its functions and imperfections in its decision-making process. Drawing from theoretical organization theory insights, particularly realism and constructivism, as well as empirical findings derived from two case studies, the goal if this study is to identify the dimensions of crises and find an answer to the question which factors influence decisions on crisis management. The Eurozone crisis and the Refugee crisis serve as case studies to investigate the narrative of crises in order to explain process outcomes. In both case studies I …

The International Community's Response To The Hypothetical Emergence Of Superheroes, Brittany Nicole Woods

CMC Senior Theses

In a golden era for comic based media, this paper uses the hypothetical emergence of superheroes to analyze the assumptions and predictions of three international relations theories: realism, liberalism, and constructivism. Comics consistently reflect the real world, paralleling events and concepts discussed in foreign affairs dialogues. The thought experiment, and the comic genre itself, provides a vehicle for thinking broadly about the political and social ramifications of successful or failed problem solving, state interaction, and scientific advances.

A Kantian Revision Of The Doctrine Of Double Effect, Andrew H. Chung

CMC Senior Theses

In this paper, I will present a Kantian revision of the Doctrine of Double Effect (DDE). In order to do so, I will explain the concept of jus in bello – focusing in particular on the distinction between intent and foresight. I will then argue that we ought to take an agency-inspired look at the DDE. Finally, I will conclude by arguing for my thesis that Boyle’s theory of agency, while good, needs to be revised in order to accommodate concerns stemming from Kant’s Formula of Humanity… namely consent.

"I Voted": Examining The Impact Of Compulsory Voting On Voter Turnout, Nina A. Kamath

CMC Senior Theses

Over the past few decades, falling voter turnout rates have induced governments to adopt compulsory voting laws, in order to mitigate issues such as the socioeconomic voter gap and to bring a broader spectrum of voters into the fold. This paper presents evidence that the introduction of mandatory voting laws increases voter turnout rates by 13 points within a particular country through an entity- and time-fixed effect panel model. Moreover, it includes a discussion of the implications of adopting mandatory voting policies within the United States, finding that compelling citizens to vote would have increased participation rates to over 90 …

Executive Federalism Comes To America, Jessica Bulman-Pozen

Faculty Scholarship

This Article proposes a different way of thinking about contemporary American governance, looking to an established foreign practice. Executive federalism – “processes of intergovernmental negotiation that are dominated by the executives of the different governments within the federal system” – is pervasive in parliamentary federations, such as Canada, Australia, and the European Union. Given the American separation of powers arrangement, executive federalism has been thought absent, even “impossible,” in the United States. But the partisan dynamics that have gridlocked Congress and empowered both federal and state executives have generated a distinctive American variant.

Viewing American law and politics through the …

Religious Pluralism At The Crossroads, Barbara A. Mcgraw

Center for Engaged Religious Pluralism

No abstract provided.

Are Refugees Special?, Chandran Kukathas

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Advocates of restricted immigration usually make an exception for refugees who are described as having special claims to admission on humanitarian grounds. This chapter raises doubts about the plausibility of the distinction between refugees and economic or other non-humanitarian migrants. It argues that the distinction is difficult to draw conceptually and that the institutions designed to serve the interests of refugees in fact aim to limit their capacity to move despite claims that they are intended to serve refugee interests. The chapter also argues that if we want to serve the interests of those who have claims on our help …

Food Rebellion: Contemporary Food Movements As A Reflection Of Our Agrarian Past, James Gordon

Pomona Senior Theses

This thesis considers the influence of agrarian thought on contemporary food movements.

Evolving Standards Of Decency: The Intersection Of Death Penalty Theory And Supreme Court Jurisprudence, Rachel S. Sullivan

Senior Independent Study Theses

The American death penalty must be abolished in order to establish a more just system of punishment. This thesis examines the arguments of eight political theorists and their connections with five essential Supreme Court cases on capital punishment in order to determine the Court's theoretical view of the American death penalty. This theoretical view is that justices who affirm the constitutionality of capital punishment use philosophical theories, while justices who critique capital punishment rely upon context-dependent analyses. If the Court ever rules that capital punishment is unconstitutional in all circumstances, these latter theories will be dispositive.

Custom Framing: An Analysis Of Camille Pissarro's "Les Turpitudes Sociales" Within A Base-Superstructure Model, Robin S. Klaus

Senior Independent Study Theses

No abstract provided.

The Somewhere We Wish Were Nowhere: Dystopian Realities And (Un)Democratic Imaginaries, Benjamin B. Taylor

Senior Independent Study Theses

How do political practices influence mass culture? Conversely, how does mass culture influence political practice? This project addresses these questions by turning to the concepts of utopia and dystopia. Imagined utopic and dystopic visions express both the hopes and anxieties of the societies producing them. Dystopias also highlight the mechanisms of power that function within particular social orders. Through readings of Lois Lowry’s The Giver and Phillip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, I demonstrate how utopia and dystopia function and how we can respond to dystopic realities by theorizing solutions that are more conducive to the …

Authoritarian Member States In International Organizations, Matt Barg

Master's Theses

This thesis investigates under which conditions do authoritarian Member States exist in International Organizations that require democratic governance in their treaty law. The European Union is used as a case study along with two of its Member States that are in the process of transitioning to democracy from previous authoritarian regimes—Hungary and Romania. This thesis employs stealth authoritarian theory to analyze how a democratizing Member State may violate these laws and revert to authoritarian governance. It also critiques international enforcement mechanisms to consider their effectiveness to enforce their laws and norms as well as prevent an authoritarian reversal. Finally, cultural …

A Comparative Case Study Of Georgia Delegations At The 2012 National Party Conventions, Carolyn S. Carlson, Jeff R. Dewitt, Kerwin Swint

Georgia Journal of Public Policy

From August 26 to September 8, nine political science students and four supervising faculty traveled from Kennesaw State University to the 2012 Republican National Convention and the Democratic National Convention as part of special topics course on a course titled “Party Conventions Field Study”. While in Tampa and Charlotte, the students and faculty immersed themselves in a “real world” educational environment and in doing so gained extraordinary first-hand exposure to a fundamental, yet not well understood, part of the American political process. Students directly engaged with convention proceedings and participants, primarily the Georgia state party delegations, and implemented pre-approved research …

Power, Subjectivity, And Life In Spain: A Continuation Of Elite Power, Matthew Mason

Master's Theses

On December 20, Spain will hold national elections to determine the new prime minister and national and local parliaments. These elections will be another crossroads in the long history of Spain. The elections come about in a political and social atmosphere of ‘change’ and ‘regeneration,’ marked by the rise of two new political parties, Podemos and Ciudanos. These parties are the new forces in the political scene in Spain. This atmosphere of change is the result of the 2008 economic crisis. The economic crisis of 2008 was not only an economic crisis in Spain, but it provoked a political and …

Evolution Of A Nation After A Dictatorship: How Law, Politics And Society Of The 1973 Dictatorship In Uruguay And Of The Subsequent Return Of Democracy In 1985, Potentially Helped Evolve The Nation Of Today., Jonathan A. Fein Proaño

Master's Theses

In 1973, Uruguay’s president authored a coup d’état with the military and changed the history and fabric of Uruguay. Once democracy returned to Uruguay in 1985, it was a chance to see if an evolution of the law, politics and society would occur. This thesis aims to analyze and understand the patterns of change and de-evolution or evolution that happened during the dictatorship and then over the last 30 years. I break down the process of changes that happened legally and politically, how the dictatorship and its leaders used law to destroy rule of law, and how society changed.

This …

Europe’S Refugee Crisis: Assessing The Factors Preventing A Coordinated Eu Response, Ali Albassam

Master's Theses

In order to escape increasing political violence in the Middle East and Africa, many refugees are fleeing by sea to seek asylum in Europe. As a result, Europe has witnessed the highest influx of refugees since World War Two. European Union member states have scrambled for a solution, seemingly unable to form a collective response. The reemergence of nationalism amid the arrival of thousands of refugees not only clouds Europe’s moral compass, but also weakens the EU and its founding principles. In an effort to contribute to the protection of refugees and the EU and its values, this thesis aims …

Voter Trust And The Power Of Direct Democracy: An Exploration Into The Importance Of Legitimate Forms Of Governing In A Democracy, Emma Brent

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Legitimacy is the only concept that gives a government control of a population. For a democracy, legitimacy is especially imperative to its function. Current polling in the United States reflects the lowest approval ratings of Congress in history, and a sense of hopelessness in the system. Civil unrest has become a trademark of the 21st century, and much of the unrest has spawned from voters believing their voice is lost in a system that never valued it to begin with. When it comes to direct democracy in the U.S., initiated through ballot measures, many studies point to trust in government, …