Political Science Commons^™

Empowering Positive Youth Development In Saudi Arabia: Youth Civic Engagement, Agenda Setting And Policy Formulation, Abdullah M. Alshanbri

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate what issues youth are facing in the city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and to examine how these issues can be brought to the forefront for decision-makers' agendas. Additionally, the study determines whether the concept of youth civic engagement "youth councils" could help to address youth issues and identify the constraints to implementing such a policy proposal. This study utilizes Kingdon's Agenda Setting Theory as a theoretical framework. Additionally, this study used a qualitative methods approach. High school students and public officials from the government were participants in the study. The literature review …

The New Capitalism: Asia And The Future Of Business, Government, And Society, Ann Florini, Bindu Sharma

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

To have a conversation, the appropriate language is needed. The language is just starting to emerge in both Asia and the West for one of the most important conversations the world is now having—the discussion about the future of business and capitalism. Thailand’s King Bhumibol refers to the sufficiency economy. Harvard’s Michael Porter speaks of shared value. Ellen MacArthur’s eponymous foundation supports the transition to the circular economy. John Elkington proposes breakthrough capitalism. Bhutan’s call to measure progress by gross national happiness (GNH), rather than the narrow metric of gross domestic product (GDP), is now attracting attention around the globe. …

The Influences Of The American Boxer Indemnity Reparations Remissions On Chinese Higher Education, Xiaojuan Zhou

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this study was to consider the influences of the American Boxer Indemnity Reparations Remissions (ABIRR) on Chinese higher education. These remissions were used to establish two universities, to establish the American Boxer Indemnity Scholarship Program (ABISP) to support Chinese students’ studying in America, and to support other higher education- related projects.

This study focused on higher education considering ABISP as an individual case. The ABISP students were selected from all the students who studied in America in the corresponding period in part because of the inconsistencies of research before 1949.

Through tracking 1,152 ABISP students of Type …

Human Torches: The Genesis Of Self-Immolation In The Sociopolitical Context, Ryan Michael Nixon

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

In 2012 there was a record number of self-immolations globally. This phenomenon has been associated with the civil unrest and the collapse of regimes. Most recently, self-immolations in Tunisia sparked a revolution that led to the collapse of the Tunisian government. In the study of politics, self-immolations frequently appear merely as footnotes in the discussion of other phenomena. Where research has been previously conducted, focus has rested mainly on how it initially became a tool of contention and how it spreads. This paper seeks to understand the conditions that lead individuals to choose this method of protest. To do so, …

Adapting An American Non-Profit Model To An International For-Profit Model: A Case Study Of Clean The World Business Model In Hong Kong, Yun Guan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The non-profit sector in the United States had grown at a fast pace in the recent decades, partially as a result of the economic development and the influence of social and political factors. By pursuing mission rather other bottom line, nonprofit organizations faced fierce competition for government grants and private donations. Limited financial resources constrained their efforts to create social and environmental value. The emerging hybrid nonprofit business model offered a new approach for nonprofits to pursuing self-sustainable development both domestically and internationally. However, adapting a unique American nonprofit model into an international for-profit model could be challenging because of …

Jlia 3:1 - The Future Of International Criminal Justice

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

No abstract provided.

Post-Conflict Reconstruction Lessons In Technology, Kevin Wheeler

Senior Honors Theses

The United States of America has accomplished some advanced technological and developmental achievements recently. However, in order to better its abilities to reconstruct and stabilize nations in the future it must utilize the lessons it has learned from the past as well as these technological advancements. From both Africa and the Middle East, the United States has learned some valuable lessons in helping nations rebuild in the face of danger. Currently, the United States can use internet technologies to better educate those who would want to reconstruct their own nations as a united people group with as little foreign interference …

The Role Of The Federal Government Regarding Regulation In The Entertainment Industry, Christian S. Hamilton

Senior Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to identify the function of the federal government in regard to the various facets of the entertainment industry, including, but not limited to, the film, video games, and pornography industries. Does the United States government have the constitutional authority to regulate all forms of entertainment? If not, is it the Church’s duty to regulate the entertainment industry? How might this occur? In order to answer these questions, extensive research of secondary sources was conducted that explained of the government’s limitations via the First Amendment, as well as the entertainment industry’s effects on human beings. …

The September 12, 2012 Rose Garden Address: President Barack Obama’S “9/11” Moment, Michael Eisenstadt

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

Albert Einstein once said memory is deceiving given it is colored by the events of today. The old adage “history repeats itself” fails to illustrate the powerful capacity for memory to sustain and revise historical events. Presidents often inject memories of the past into public address to define troubling situations in ways that broad, national audiences can make sense of them. Barack Obama’s Rose Garden Address rejuvenates and exploits the public memory of September 11 in three ways: by (1) situating the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi as an extension of its timeline; (2) reaffirming the identity of …

Urban/Rural Spatial Identity And Legislative Behavior In Nebraska, The Impact Differences On Economic Development And Environmental Legislation, Melissa L. Trueblood

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses

The urban/rural divide is pervasive in policy-making in Nebraska. In this nonpartisan state, coalitions based on spatial identity or whether the legislator is urban or rural seem to have greater weight than party especially in the creation of economic development policy. Often, economic development policies include locational considerations which give areas such as rural areas and economically distressed areas greater weight when distributing program funds. In my study, I investigate whether constituency or party has a greater impact on the legislative behavior of Nebraska state legislators when voting on economic development and environmental legislation. I expect that constituency would have …

Learning From Our Mistakes: The Belfast Project Litigation And The Need For The Supreme Court To Recognize An Academic Privilege In The United States, Kathryn L. Steffen

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

Through the Belfast Project, researchers sponsored by Boston College began to compile an oral history of the period of violent political conflict in Northern Ireland known as “The Troubles” in a series of interviews. The interviewees’ participation in the project was conditioned on a strict promise of confidentiality. However, when authorities in the United Kingdom became suspicious that the interviews contained evidence of criminal activity, the United Kingdom, pursuant to a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty, requested the United States to subpoena the materials on its behalf. Satisfaction of the subpoena would mean not only turning over the interview recordings, but …

National Security And The Protection Of Constitutional Liberties: How The Foreign Terrorist Organization List Satisfies Procedural Due Process, Aaron Schwartz

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

Foreign terrorist organizations pose a real and constantly evolving threat to U.S. national security. The Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) List seeks to temper that threat by extending the U.S. government an effective legal tool to identify and sanction members of terrorist organizations and those who support them. At the same time, however, the government must also ensure that its efforts to protect U.S. citizens do not trample constitutionally protected rights. This comment begins by exploring the FTO List's authorizing legislation and the policy and goals of that legislation. The comment then reviews and analyzes a series of cases discussing the …

Third Time’S The Charm: Will Basel Iii Have A Measurable Impact On Limiting Future Financial Turmoil?, Erin Pentz

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

The Great Recession of 2008 caused banking failures around the globe. The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision responded swiftly to create new minimum capital requirements for financial institutions in hopes of preventing additional failures and warding off future crises. Although the new capital standards that Basel III proposes are a step in the right direction, those standards alone will not be sufficient to prevent future bank failures in times of economic decline. Rather, true financial sector stability requires adequate capitalization of all institutions in terms of quality and quantity of capital, a strong regulatory framework, and a limitation on the …

International Institutions And The Resource Curse, Patrick Keenan

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

Many countries that are richly endowed with natural resources have failed to turn that resource wealth into sustained development. In many places, a small coterie of elites has become rich while most citizens see little benefit from their country’s vast resource wealth. A principal cause of this problem, often called the resource curse, is weak domestic institutions that permit leaders to enrich themselves and ignore the development needs of the country. From this, most scholars and policymakers have concluded that the way to fix the resource curse is to reform domestic institutions.

This article challenges the conventional wisdom and argues …

The Arab Spring’S Four Seasons: International Protections And The Sovereignty Problem, Jillian Blake, Aqsa Mahmud

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

In December 2010, public demonstrations erupted throughout the Middle East against autocratic regimes, igniting a regional political transformation known as the Arab Spring. Depending on events, modern international criminal and humanitarian law provided certain protections to vulnerable populations. However, international law did not provide a uniform degree of protection to civilians and combatants who faced similar circumstances. This Article argues for a uniform standard of protections for all populations affected by armed conflict, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. It evaluates each of five major Arab Spring uprisings (Tunisia, Bahrain, Egypt, Syria, and Libya) and describes the legal protections that …

The Impact Of The Icty On Atrocity-Related Prosecutions In The Courts Of Bosnia And Herzegovina, Yaël Ronen

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

The International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia was not mandated to proactively promote domestic prosecutions of war-related crimes. However, its operation may have had some impact on domestic proceedings concerning war-related crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The object of this article is to identify and explain this impact, with respect to qualitative (institutional legal capacities), quantitative (rates of prosecution and trends in sentencing), and normative (the adoption and application of criminal law norms) benchmarks.

The Limits Of Judicial Idealism: Should The International Criminal Court Engage With Consequentialist Aspirations?, Shahram Dana

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

Idealism about what international criminal justice mechanisms can achieve has lead to ideologically driven judicial decision-making in international criminal law (ICL). ICL idealism manifests itself in the belief that international criminal prosecutions can achieve an awesome array of goals. These include retribution, deterrence, reconciliation, rehabilitation, incapacitation, restoration, building a historical record, preventing revisionism, expressive and didactic functions, crystallizing international norms, general affirmative prevention, establishing peace, preventing war, vindicating international law prohibitions, setting standards for fair trials, combating impunity, and more. Ironically, this idealistic overreach, although usually well intended, has actually contributed to the politicization of the international judicial process.

The …

No Witness, No Case: An Assessment Of The Conduct And Quality Of Icc Investigations, Dermot Groome

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

The conduct and quality of investigations pursued by the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court have come under increasing scrutiny and criticism from judges on the Court. Criticism is directed at the time and length of investigations; the quality of the evidence advanced in court; the inappropriate delegation of investigative functions, and the failure to interview witnesses in a way that is consistent with the Prosecution’s obligation to conduct investigations fairly under Article 54 of the Rome Statute. This essay explores these criticisms and concludes that the judges are justified in their concerns regarding the Prosecution’s investigative …

Foreword, Claudio Grossman

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

No abstract provided.

Massresults – Building A More Effective, Accountable, And Open State Government, John W. Mccormack Graduate School Of Policy And Global Studies, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Edward J. Collins, Jr., Center For Public Management, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Russ Meekins, Amy Branger

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

Through strategic plans, performance reports, and a program-based performance budget, the Patrick administration is using data to manage, making government more transparent and accountable. Working with the Executive Office of Administration & Finance, and partnering with the Commonwealth Performance, Accountability and Transparency office, the Collins Center at UMass Boston has been charged with implementing the MassResults program throughout the executive branch.

The Emergence Of Feral And Criminal Cities: U.S. Military Implications In A Time Of Austerity, Robert J. Bunker

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

This Land Warfare Paper considers the nature of the emerging global security environment. With the spread of economic liberalism that gained foothold after the conclusion of the Cold War, one might think that the 21st century is the perfect time for the modern democratic state to be a ubiquitous institution. However, between power vacuums developing in formerly autocratic states and economic troubles becoming more prevalent, the atmosphere of the world is increasingly toxic to the values upheld in Western democracy. With that being the case, nation building, and even city building, is presently beyond the scope of the diminishing resources …

Obama Suka Nasi Goreng! American Foreign Policy And Cultural Affinity With Indonesia, Mario Feola

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This essay will first focus on the historical legacy of United States foreign policy towards Indonesia, arguing that security exigencies and military-to-military linkages have historically driven the US-Indonesian relationship. I will also briefly explain the current diplomatic consensus of how best to “broaden” the US-Indonesia bilateral relationship. The second section will explain roadblocks towards strengthening the relationship, including strategic, economic and cultural barriers to cultural affinity. The third and final section will use public opinion polling data and collected primary source information in order to make recommendations about how to implement future US-led cultural programs in Indonesia.

Challenges To Women In Political Leadership In Samoa, Kiki Martire

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Samoan women hold an integral and valued place within their families and communities. Despite this, Samoa continues to report some of the lowest representation of women in political office in the world. The newly instated Constitutional Amendment guaranteeing 10% of Parliamentary seats for women will bolster female political involvement in the upcoming 2016 elections. An investigation into the challenges that face women entering political leadership roles at the village and Parliamentary level will bring awareness to the struggles encountered by women and contribute to dismantling the barriers which stand against them. Fourteen female politicians and experts in the field were …

The Futility Of Insurgent Leader Assassination, Arian Sharifi

Ex-Patt Magazine

Questioning the utility of using drones to kill insurgent leaders. Lessons for policy makers.

Becoming Politically Informed In The College Dorm: Fostering Political Engagement In Binghamton University Students, Allison E. O'Brien

MPA Capstone Projects 2006 - 2015

Binghamton University's Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) is interested in developing programs to foster political engagement in Binghamton University students. The CCE provides students, faculty, and staff with a wide range of community service and volunteering opportunities but does not have a strategy to engage students in formal programs of political education. This capstone paper examines what programs CCE can implement to develop civic skills and foster political engagement in Binghamton University students.

Zero-Sum Politics As A Trust Dilemma? How Race And Gender Affect Trust In Obama’S And Clinton’S Representation Of Group Interests, Shayla Nunnally

Ralph Bunche Journal of Public Affairs

- 103 - Zero-Sum Politics as a Trust Dilemma? How Race and Gender Affect Trust in Obama’s and Clinton’s Representation of Group Interests Shayla C. Nunnally University of Connecticut This analysis deploys multiple regression Models and uses embedded survey experiments from a 2007 national web-based survey to determine African American, Latino, and Caucasian Democrats’ trust in Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to represent racial, gender, and intersectional interests. Three hypotheses are tested to discern whether respondents’ trust varies based on their: 1) race trumping gender, 2) gender trumping race, and/or 3) intersectionality enhancing trust, when their race and gender mirror …

Mixed Motives? Explaining The Decision To Integrate Militaries At Civil War's End, Caroline A. Hartzell

Political Science Faculty Publications

Book Summary: Negotiating a peaceful end to civil wars, which often includes an attempt to bring together former rival military or insurgent factions into a new national army, has been a frequent goal of conflict resolution practitioners since the Cold War. In practice, however, very little is known about what works, and what doesn't work, in bringing together former opponents to build a lasting peace.

Contributors to this volume assess why some civil wars result in successful military integration while others dissolve into further strife, factionalism, and even renewed civil war. Eleven cases are studied in detail—Sudan, Zimbabwe, Lebanon, Rwanda, …

Facing The Apocalypse: Bomb Shelters And National Policy In Eisenhower’S Second Term, Angela A. Badore

Student Publications

This paper explores the issues of civilian defense from a federal perspective during Eisenhower’s second term, particularly focusing on the issue of bomb shelters during the period from 1956-1958. Despite widespread efforts to promote bomb shelters, or fallout shelters, during this period, no significant progress was made toward a federal program. By examining federal efforts such as the Holifield Committee, the Gaither Committee, Operation Alert, and the National Shelter Policy, this paper shows that efforts to set up shelter programs actually made the public and the Eisenhower administration less likely to trust such programs at all.

Juvenile Diversion Programs: High-Risk Youth And Their Effect On Offense Targeting, Chelsey R. Warner

Political Science Theses and Capstones

One of the largest problems that plague the juvenile justice system today is how to better handle juvenile crime without causing the juvenile to revert back to that behavior, but still helping them understand and acknowledge the crime they have committed. The state of Minnesota has created juvenile diversion programs as an attempt to aid in that endeavor. These programs however are under researched. The goal of this article is to shed some light on what those programs look like and how some counties programs vary from other programs on other counties; specifically focusing on the variation between offense-targeting for …

The War Powers Resolution Of 1973 And Its Relevance In The “War On Terror”, Samuel Day

Political Science Theses and Capstones

In September of 2013, President Obama asked Congress to take a vote that would authorize the United States to use military drones against the Syrian army and provide support for the Syrian rebels. This action by President Obama raised the question that many have been wondering since the creation of our country, who has the power to declare war and initiate hostilities against those who threaten the United States? My thesis focuses on the War Powers Resolution of 1973 and the arguments surrounding its Constitutionality, specifically the arguments supporting the Executive or Legislative branches. For my research supporting the argument …