Political Science Commons^™

The Global Reach Of China’S Economy, Jillian Fournier

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has been establishing an edge over its competitors through its long-term strategic rise to power. The process of pursuing avenues for soft power and economic influence allows China to increase its presence in the global economy. The Belt and Road Initiative is an example of China’s economic development. This plan targets new trade routes and grows the economic reach of China through providing loans to underdeveloped regions. The process of investing in infrastructure around the world and providing financing leads to these countries becoming tied to China on an economic level. The competition between …

Political Rhetoric And Civility: A Challenge To “The Legacy Of ‘Life, Liberty, And The Pursuit Of Happiness’”, Timothy P. O'Brien, Melissa O. Stewart

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

“As you stand for your values do so with gentleness and respect—that’s how we move our country forward.”

Mike Pence, 48^th Vice President of the United States of America (2017-2021)

Since the founding of the United States of America, political discourse has often taken an unpleasant and nasty tone. Partisan disagreement concerning public policy is normal and policy should be the subject of vigorous debate. Disagreement, bickering, and even fights on the floor of Congress, are not new phenomena. However, today there is a growing sense in the country that civility and intolerance are on the rise. This study …

Ambitions Of Chinese Hegemony: An Analysis Of The Hundred-Year Marathon, Ruben Frivold

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

This is a book review and analysis of "The Hundred-Year Marathon" by Michael Pillsbury.

Examining The Effects Of Student Loan Forgiveness And The Christian Perspective, Sarah Rogers

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

On August 24, 2022, President Joe Biden announced his plan for federal student loan forgiveness. The program allows individuals who make less than $125,000 a year and families under $250,000 relieve up to $10,000 of their loan debt. Those who fall under the Pell Grant program are able to relieve up to $20,000 of their debt. The reactions to this “revolutionary” program were mixed. Typically, those who the program would directly affect were very enthusiastic about this idea while those, most notably Republicans, were less than thrilled. While the idea is good in theory, the execution of debt forgiveness will …

Unequal Democracies: Economic Sanctions' Impact On Human Rights In Democratic Systems, Daniel Partin

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

In the past, research into the field of human rights has treated regime as a dichotomous variable and divided the type of governmental structure into either autocracies or democracies. By lumping all democracies into one category, all variation between different categories of governmental composition is discarded and it is difficult to examine the differences between types of democratic governments and their human rights capacities. Due to their tendency to accrete power centrally, presidential democracies are thought to repress the rights of citizens more often and severely than parliamentary systems. Further, an exogenous shock to the political system, such as the …

The American Debate Between Toleration And Liberty Of Conscience, Zachary Federico

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

No abstract provided.

From The Ground Up: Restoring The Problem Of Education, William J. Norris Iii

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

This paper will examine the impact of families and how they can restore the promise of education. At the local level, parents and concerned citizens should review the impact of their local school boards and how they can become involved to effect positive change. Education policies that promote school choice and educational flexibility should be promoted at the local, state, and federal levels. A comprehensive approach is needed to help ensure equality of opportunity for each child in America.

Reforming Illinois K-12 Public Education Through A Four-Pronged Approach, Seth Brooks

Senior Honors Theses

Public education in the United States has produced lackluster results in the past decades. Various forms of school choice have emerged in recent years to combat the poor results seen in the public education system, but these private schools are financially unattainable for many Americans. Bureaucratic overload, city corruption, inequities in funding, and frequent teachers’ strikes have certainly contributed to the destitute state of Illinois’ public education. In this thesis, the attainability of fiscal relief for Illinois families who choose alternative education and the necessity of the state in permitting such alternatives is discussed.

Current school choice policies in the …

The Globalization Of Mexican Cartels: How Mexico And The U . S. Governments Have Fallen Two Steps Behind, Mackenzie Casey

Liberty University Research Week

Undergraduate

Textual or Investigative

Helms School Of Government Newsletter- Spring 2023, Liberty University

The Helms School of Government Newsletter

Helms School of Government Newsletter- Spring 2023

Bigger Is Better? Re-Evaluating Nato Enlargement In The Post-Cold War Period, Matthew Mccracken

Senior Honors Theses

Since the end of the Cold War, the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance has grown substantially from its pre-1990 boundary between the two Germanys to encompass 15 new members with its border pressing eastward toward the former Soviet states and up to Russia proper. At the same time, East-West relations have sunk from a high point in the 1990s to a new low unseen since the Cold War culminating in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Top-ranking officials on both sides of the Atlantic cautioned successive U.S. administrations against heedlessly seeking to admit new members into NATO for fear that it …

Federal Law Enforcement Reform: Depoliticization Into A Constitutional Framework To Restore Public Confidence, Christopher J. Boosey

Senior Honors Theses

This thesis proposes that there is a lack of public confidence in federal law enforcement agencies and that this is because these agencies have become political weapons, investigating individuals rather than crimes, in violation of the U.S. Constitution. Following multiple scandals, from the historical targeting of the Civil Rights movement to present attempts to designate parents critical of school administrators as domestic terrorists, wholesale reform of these agencies is urgent. Therefore, this thesis will address the issue of politicization, political corruption, and the lack of adherence to constitutional principles through the problem, significance, and solution method. This thesis will first …

The 1776 Report And The Historical Establishment: A Review, Joseph E. Esparza

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

The Trump Administration’s 1776 Final Report was instantly condemned by nearly all professional historical organizations in the United States upon its public release. This review of the 1776 Final Report seeks to understand why the historical establishment so quickly dismissed it as irrelevant and dangerous. It sheds light on the academic context behind the report, and comments on the state of the historical establishment in the United States. This article also gives an honest review of the final report from an historical perspective. This review demonstrates that the 1776 Report was never intended as a comprehensive narrative of American history …

Kowtowing And Paying Tribute To China: How China’S Self-Perception And The Mandate Of Heaven Shapes China’S Foreign Policy, Brock Bellinger

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

Throughout the course of history, the ancient Chinese notion of the Mandate of Heaven has played a fundamental role in guiding China’s foreign relations. The Mandate of Heaven is based upon the idea that the ruler of China has the authority to reign from Heaven. However, the Mandate of Heaven could be revoked if the Chinese leader did not adhere to strict moral guidelines, as evidenced by the fall of numerous dynasties throughout China's history. To better understand 21^st century foreign relations with China, it is instructive to explore and recognize how China views itself historically. Through an improved …

At Any And All Hazards: Manifest Destiny, The Monroe Doctrine, And The Balance Of Power In North America, Keith Thomas Ressa

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Contrary to the beliefs of New Left historians seeking to revive the once discredited theory that American territorial expansion was driven by a motivation to expand the institution of slavery, a position that I have dubbed the Neo-Abolitionist view, rather that Manifest Destiny developed as an early national security strategy and primitive strategic doctrine, what might be termed in today’s vernacular as a kind of preemptive threat displacement theory. That is, early on in the history of the Republic, many American statesmen believed that the most effective means of preventing a “balance of power” geopolitical system from being established in …

American Policy Discourses On China: Two Centuries Of National Imagination And Constructed Reality, Yan Chang Bennett

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

In the 2022 U.S. National Security Strategy (NSS), the United States government has declared that the world is at an inflection point in which there are tremendous challenges that the American people face with regard to their collective continuing security and prosperity. One of those challenges that the Biden administration has identified is the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), which, according to the NSS, “harbors the intention and increasingly, the capacity to reshape the international order in favor of one that tilts the global field to its benefit.” As the administration believes, The PRC threatens the U.S.-led …

The Correlates Of Right-Wing Extremism, Michael Damian Tucker

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Research into the correlates of right-wing extremism has been focused on the group level, mainly ignoring the individual right-wing extremist behaviors, characteristics, and traits. Although group milieu strongly affects the ideology of individuals, personal decisions making often comes from a combination of unique experiences, cognitive abilities and biases, and differences in individual traits. This biographical study aimed to examine the life course events of twenty-five individual right-wing extremists identifying common biological and circumstantial correlates among and between the subjects. By analyzing the different correlates, this study created a matrix that identifies the correlates for significance. The results of the analysis …

Submission To The State As An Act Of Submission To God: A Call For Total Submission Within The Nature And Commands Of God, Jesse David Krystowiak

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Christians must view their interactions with the state as a direct line of submission to the supremacy of God's own rule. Within God's call to submit to those in positions of civil leadership is the understanding that one's submission to the state is placed within the confines of bringing glory to God on the basis of God's nature and commands.

Helms School Of Government Newsletter - Fall 2022, Liberty University

The Helms School of Government Newsletter

Helms School of Government Newsletter - Fall 2022

An Alternate Route: How Ronald Reagan Defied Expectations With His Approach To The Crosswinds Of The Patco Strike, Brock Bellinger

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

One challenge which reveals an executive’s leadership ability involves making the decision to fire an employee. President Ronald Reagan did not enjoy firing employees, due in part to his own father struggling to maintain employment. When the 1981 PATCO strike occurred, several obstacles arose which tested Reagan’s ability to act. The Professional Air Traffic Controller’s Organization (PATCO) had publicly supported Reagan during his 1980 presidential campaign when other unions did not. Additionally, Reagan was sympathetic to unions, even serving as President of the Screen Actor’s Guild. These potential obstacles proved challenging from a political and personal perspective. However, when the …

Reviewing John Maynard Keynes: The Economic Consequences Of The Peace, John C. Daniel

Liberty University Journal of Statesmanship & Public Policy

The 1919 Treaty of Versailles is one of the most impactful documents in world history. The treaty effectively ended World War I, decimated Germany, and laid the foundation for World War II. In his analysis The Economic Consequences of the Peace, John Maynard Keynes gives a first-hand account of the influence of world leaders President Woodrow Wilson, English Prime Minister David Lloyd George, and French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau and the roles they played during the Paris Peace Conference. Keynes explains the treaty from a geopolitical lens, argues against the treaty’s reparations clause, and advocates for alternative solutions. Almost …

“The United States’ Broken Immigration Policy: The Labor Shortage And A Public Policy Solution”, Timothy P. O'Brien, Melissa Beaudoin

Liberty University Journal of Statesmanship & Public Policy

The United States is a nation divided. The recent surge of illegal immigration into the United States has been the source of contention and debate among the American public. While some want to welcome all immigrants, others insist that immigrants enter the United States legally. With an emphasis placed on the accommodation and the placement of illegal immigrants, less attention has been paid to the United States’ need for immigration. This article asserts that while illegal immigration is a problem that must be addressed, more immigrants are needed. With sinking birth rates and an aging population, the United States needs …

Biblical Principles Of Reform And Regeneration: An Intellectual Framework For Christians Addressing Social Change, Kahlib Fischer

Liberty University Journal of Statesmanship & Public Policy

This paper seeks to provide Biblical perspective on social and cultural reform. At the time of this writing, much upheaval in the form of a pandemic, race riots, and political protests have manifested both within America and abroad. In turn, these disputes have carried over into conflict within various denominations of the Church itself. This paper will provide some guiding Biblical themes from Scripture that are relevant to these very difficult issues today. It will also address common pitfalls the Church can easily fall into in dealing with these issues, and how these extremes can be avoided.

China Containment In East Asia: Preventative Or Provocative?, Rachel Solsman

Montview Journal of Research & Scholarship

Since the end of World War II, the United States has developed and maintained its strategic alliances with Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, and Taiwan, and has worked to contain China through bolstering its deterrence strategy. However, after a century of humiliation, China is modernizing its military capabilities, improving in trade, and increasing political cohesion to become a regional hegemon. In light of these changes to the international order, the United States must re-evaluate its involvement in East Asia, particularly concerning its alliances and current military and economic deterrence strategy against China. This paper will draw on a variety of …

A Convention To Save America, Andrew Todd Looker, Jr.

Masters Theses

Article V of the United States Constitution articulates the methods for amending the Constitution. Amendments are formally recommended by either a two-thirds vote of both Houses of Congress or by a vote of two-thirds of the state legislatures. This latter method is known as a Convention of States. Despite its inclusion in Article V, no amendment has yet been proposed for ratification by such a convention. This research aims to explain the history of Article V, the process for an Article V Convention, the current efforts to call such a convention, and amendments that should be considered at this convention. …

Compassion, Respect And Governance: How Legislative Gender Quotas Influence Physical Integrity Rights, Daniel Partin

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

This paper addresses the substantive political outcomes of legislative gender quotas and considers the influence of gender quota rules upon the governmental respect for physical integrity rights that are observed within states.

The Nature Of Mimicry: An Evaluation Of Political Party Conflict And Its Implications In The United States, Bridget Gallagher

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

No abstract provided.

The Twilight Of Liberty: Lessons For The United States From Rome’S Dying Republic, Matthew Mccracken

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

A historical comparison of the rise of ancient Rome and the United States as great republics, how the former dissolved under the weight of social, political, and cultural strife, and how the latter may avoid a similar breakdown.

Biblical Basis Of Civil Government, Analeise E. Wasenius

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

No abstract provided.

Economist's Moral Reasoning On Foreign Aid, Stephen Langeland

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

No abstract provided.