Political Science Commons^™

Crafting Chaos: The Classification Of Unilateral Transfers Under The Current Account At Bretton Woods And Its Impact On Remittances To The Indian State Of Kerala, Anish Gawande

Undergraduate Economic Review

This essay aims to analyse the classification of unilateral transfers under the current account at Bretton Woods despite significant opposition from larger delegations of major Allied powers, bringing to the forefront the global liquidity of remittances in the post-War years permitted by their fully currency convertible nature. Using the example of the Indian State of Kerala, this paper charts the relevance of their sustained uninterrupted flow to their subsequent exponential growth in the last three decades, using the case study as a pivot to argue for better policy measures that maximise their multiplier effect.

Kathleen Montgomery, Charlie Schlenker

Interviews for WGLT

Donald Trump's rise as the Republican Party standard-bearer is reminiscent of how some far-right, populist European leaders took power in the 1980s. IWU political scientist Kathleen Montgomery on Trump and how he compares to other far-right world leaders of recent past.

A transcript of this interview is available at the download link above and to the right on this page.

Conceptualizing Congressional Organization: The Legacy Of Keith Krehbiel’S Informational Theory, Madalyn Browning-Perry

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

A small-scale replication of Keith Krehbiel’s original test on the 99th Congress is carried out in this paper. This replication consists of four committees in the 112th Congress selected because of their symptomatic distributive tendency. The aim in this paper is to characterize committees as diverse in composition with heterogeneous high demanding members who possess different bits of information. Furthermore, this heterogeneity of membership is associated with a higher percentage of closed rules assigned to the committee by the House Committee on Rules. Though evidence supports Krehbiel’s assessment of committee composition, there does not appear to be a relationship between …

Offline Student Political Activism: Supported Or Thwarted By Online Political Engagement?, Nicole M. Jovicevic

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

Social media is an integral part of everyday life for the current generation of college-age students. Researchers debate whether the time invested into these sites has a positive or negative influence on offline political activism. Drawing on an original survey of undergraduate students at Illinois Wesleyan University, this study finds that online political engagement has a significant, positive relationship with offline political activism, and this relationship holds even when controlling for the respondent’s political efficacy and natural political inclination. There is a positive relationship between online and offline political activism for students who believe that social media is an appropriate …

Belarus After Communism: Where To Now?, Preslav Mantchev

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

This paper examines the political development of Belarus since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Attention is devoted to the country’s internal politics, along with its foreign relations. Especially scrutinized is the de-facto dictatorial rule of president Alexander Lukashenko, along with the deteriorated relations between Belarus and powerful European states including Russia. A thorough historical context is provided, which identifies political violence and demographic change as causal factors for the country’s current political environment.

Are Women Winning? Does Descriptive Representation Of Women In Parliament Lead To Woman-Friendly Policy In Sub-Saharan Africa?, Molly Willeford

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

Under what conditions will women’s presence in elective office promote woman-friendly policies? The research outlined here will examine this question through a comparison of six Sub-Saharan African democracies (Benin, Botswana, Lesotho, Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania). Women have been elected into sub-Saharan African parliaments in record numbers, but is this leading to increased substantive representation, or the enactment of policies that focus on benefitting women? Following a Most Similar Systems design, this research develops an original composite scale to measure woman-friendly policy and finds that there is no clear relationship between descriptive and substantive representation. The remainder of the analysis …

When Equal Is Not Always Fair: Senate Malapportionment And Its Effect On Enacting Legislation, Lindsey Alpert

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

A brief and concise analysis on the current apportionment rules in the Senate and whether or not those rules affect enacted legislation. This was done to monitor whether the malapportioned Senate votes in accordance with the House. It is acknowledged in empirical literature that due to population variance some states are under-represented while others are over-represented. However, it has not been determined what effect, if any, this has on policy. The study was conducted by comparing pass rates of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate on enacted legislation over the last decade. I conclude that, on average, the …

The Happiest Xenophobes On Earth: Examining Anti-Immigrant Sentiments In The Nordic Countries, Maggie Zeisset

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

The Nordic countries (Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Iceland) are widely known as progressive, open and tolerant. However, in recent years these countries have witnessed growing intolerance towards immigrants, particularly Muslims. This intolerance is manifested in violent attacks against foreigners and the rise of far right, exclusionary populist parties. This paper seeks to understand what causes some citizens in these Nordic countries to embrace anti-immigrant xenophobic attitudes and other citizens to, not only reject, but to fight such views.

Authors’ Biographies

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

Letter From The Editors, Austin Aldag '15, Melissa Guzman '15

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

Letter From The Department Chair, Greg M. Shaw

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

Title Page

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

It Takes A Latina Candidate, Melissa Guzman, Kathleen Montgomery, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

Oral presentation abstract.

Are Women Winning? Does Descriptive Representation Of Women In Parliament Lead To Woman-Friendly Policy In Sub-Saharan Africa?, Molly Willeford, Kathleen Montgomery, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

Oral presentation abstract.

The Happiest Xenophobes On Earth: Examining Anti-Immigrant Sentiments In The Nordic Countries, Maggie Zeisset, Kathleen Montgomery, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

Oral presentation abstract.

Elyse Nelson Winger On Religion And The Presidetial Race, Judith Valente

Interviews for WGLT

WGLT'S Judith Valente speaks to IWU Chaplain Elyse Nelson Winger.

More information from the WGLT interview is available at the Download link above and to the right of the page.

The Local American Voter: Mayoral Election Turnout In Midsize American Cities, Austin Aldag

Students' Professional Presentations and Publications

This poster was created for a presentation at the annual meeting of the Midwestern Political Science Association (MPSA) in Chicago, Illinois. The paper this poster is presenting is Austin Aldag's honor thesis, which will be linked here after his defense.

The Local American Voter: Mayoral Election Turnout In Midsized American Cities, Austin Aldag

Honors Projects

While the determining factors leading to the dismally low levels of voter turnout in national and statewide elections have been well studied, nowhere is turnout lower than in local elections, a particular area that is significantly understudied. Of the limited literature on local and mayoral elections, few examine cities below 250,000 in population. Rather, many examine mega-city elections, which are comparable to congressional or statewide elections. Utilizing an original dataset of 356 midsized (50,000-250,000 in population) American cities from the Midwest, South, and Northeast, this study examines the drivers of mayoral election turnout: election day circumstances, stakes in the game …

Curiosity Or Manners: The Values That Shape American Political Mindsets, Ryan Winter

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

In the late 1990s, political analyst and linguist George Lakoff proposed an intriguing new way to understand what separates liberals from conservatives in American politics. His theory was based on the premise that there are two opposing frames through which Americans view politics, and that parenting values determine which frame one chooses. Those who adhere to the strict father model hold conservative beliefs on a wide range of issues, while nurturant parents are more liberal. Lakoff's writings have since become widespread and his parenting theory has convinced many political strategists and activists, despite the fact that his hypotheses lacked empirical …

The Myth Of The Clash Of Civilizations: Confucian Values And Democratic Support, Xinlin Xu

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

Literature on political culture claims Confucianism is incompatible with modern liberal democratic values. However, little empirical evidence has been presented to prove the validity of this statement. This paper quantitatively studies the relationship between Confucian values and democratic support in East Asian society and finds no negative correlation between the two.

No Smoking: Policy Diffusion And Its Prevailing Factors, Brad Gresik

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

Over the past few years, many states have taken steps to ban smoking in public areas. The process of specific polices spreading across state lines is called policy diffusion. Statewide anti-indoor smoking bans are utilized to demonstrate what the most prevailing factors in policy diffusion are. A two-step approach to analysis is implemented, first looking only at simple policy adoption among the 50 states, and secondly the rate at which the policy expands across the country. A strong presence of local ordinances, nearby neighbors with statewide bans in effect, and a history of smoking preemption laws are found to be …

The Least Dangerous Branch: The Dark Horse In American Democracy, Lexi Baltes

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

This research examines the extent to which the Supreme Court has the power to influence public opinion. There is a good deal of consensus in the literature regarding the influence of public opinion on the Supreme Court. However, a relatively small pool of contradictory research attempting to turn the casual arrow from the Court to the public underscores the fact that the question of whether or not a dynamic, back-and-forth relationship exists is still open for debate. Using a portion of the work done by Erikson, MacKuen and Stimson in The Macro Polity (2002) as a model, and relying heavily …

Mass Shootings, Mass Media, And Mass Opinion: An Examination Of How The News Media Affects Public Opinion In The Aftermath Of Mass Shootings, Patrick Cavanaugh

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

This research looks at how newspaper mentions of mass shootings correlate with the percentage of people in the U.S. who view gun control as the most important issue facing the country. While the agenda-setting effect of the news media has been theorized and demonstrated for a number of different issues, scholars have yet to consider how the news media may set the agenda for the public’s view on the importance of gun control through its coverage of mass shootings. Utilizing designs put forth by Smidt (2011), Tan and Weaver (2007), and Winter and Eyal (1984), this paper seeks to fill …

Vicious Cycle Or Business Cycle?: Explaining Political Violence In Northern Ireland After The Troubles, Lauren Burke

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

There are currently two schools of thought that seek to explain the persistence of political violence in Northern Ireland, one with a sociopolitical focus and the other with an economic focus. Expanding on past economic theory, this paper utilizes several multiple regression models to test the applicability of the economic school's relative deprivation theory in the fifteen years since the Troubles were formally ended with the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. The basis of this theory is that as economic conditions worsen in a given area, the number of acts of political violence should also increase. This study specifically …

Authors' Biographies

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

Radical Right Populist Parties In Britain And The Netherlands: Explaining Electoral Success, Casey Plach

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

Radical right-wing populist parties have recently emerged throughout Europe, but the electoral success among these parties is incredibly inconsistent. In the Netherlands, Geert Wilders’ Dutch Party for Freedom (PVV) has become established in the country’s political system, while the British National Party (BNP) and the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) struggle to gain even a single seat in British parliament. Models outlining a formula for the rise and success of populist parties can help explain why some parties achieve an electoral breakthrough and others do not. Researcher of radical right populism Pippa Norris’ model of electoral success is divided into …

Editors' Introduction, Nick Desideri, Ryan Winter

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

Letter From The Department Chair, James Simeone

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.