Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Political Science Commons™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Faculty Publications

Discipline
Institution
Keyword
Publication Year
File Type

Articles 181 - 210 of 348

Full-Text Articles in Political Science

Administrative Decentralization: Should Districts And Regions Elect Their Own Leaders In Ghana?, Kwame Badu Antwi-Boasiako Jan 2010

Administrative Decentralization: Should Districts And Regions Elect Their Own Leaders In Ghana?, Kwame Badu Antwi-Boasiako

Faculty Publications

Decentralization, leadership accountability, and empowerment of local leaders in Ghana are the main focus of this analysis. The paper discusses the complexities of decentralization and leadership responsibilities to effect changes toward a better path to socioeconomic development. It examines the problem with the Ghana Constitution as it pertains to local government elections and advocates for a constitutional amendment to empower districts and regions to elect their own leaders so that local governments in each district can be efficient and accountable to the electorate.


In The Wake, Lindsey Mantoan Jan 2010

In The Wake, Lindsey Mantoan

Faculty Publications

Lindsey Mantoan reviews a performance of In the Wake (by Lisa Kron) for Theatre Journal.


Talk Loudly And Carry A Small Stick: The Supreme Court And Enemy Combatants, Neal Devins Jan 2010

Talk Loudly And Carry A Small Stick: The Supreme Court And Enemy Combatants, Neal Devins

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Why We Don't Understand The Rule Of Law, Noel B. Reynolds Oct 2009

Why We Don't Understand The Rule Of Law, Noel B. Reynolds

Faculty Publications

This paper presents an assessment of current theories of law and their continuing failure to account in a convincing way for the rule of law as an ideal that guides and reassures modern democratic societies. It then explores the possibility that emerging understandings of human evolution and brain function may help us understand the process of convention making in a way that could reveal the underlying moral and epistemological context of law and allow us to identify a complete set of standards for the rule of law in human societies.


Creating A "Green Bubble" On Campus: A Model For Programming In A Green Living-Learning Community, David Whiteman Apr 2009

Creating A "Green Bubble" On Campus: A Model For Programming In A Green Living-Learning Community, David Whiteman

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Presidential Unilateralism And Political Polarization: Why Today's Congress Lacks The Will And The Way To Stop Presidential Initiatives, Neal Devins Apr 2009

Presidential Unilateralism And Political Polarization: Why Today's Congress Lacks The Will And The Way To Stop Presidential Initiatives, Neal Devins

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Candles In The Wind: Resisting Repression In Liberia (1979-2003), Robert Press Apr 2009

Candles In The Wind: Resisting Repression In Liberia (1979-2003), Robert Press

Faculty Publications

Scholars have been extending social-movement analysis beyond its base in the industrialized West to Latin America and Asia, but rarely to Africa. Social movements resisting repression in nondemocratic settings have usually had the help of external "opportunities" or favorable circumstances. This study, however, examines a peaceful social movement in Liberia, a movement that resisted repression under two regimes, advocating for human rights and democratic freedom without such "opportunities." How did this happen? The study finds four explanations: the formation of a microsocial movement with no formal leadership and only loosely connected strands of resistance, which were harder to control; a …


“Publishers Did Not Take The Bait”: A Forgotten Precursor To The Nih Public Access Policy, Jonathan Miller Mar 2009

“Publishers Did Not Take The Bait”: A Forgotten Precursor To The Nih Public Access Policy, Jonathan Miller

Faculty Publications

This article compares the recent National Institutes of Health (NIH) Public Access Policy (2005–07) with the United States Office of Education policy on copyright in funded research (1965–70).The two policies and the differing technological and political contexts of the periods are compared and contrasted. The author concludes that a more nuanced approach to copyright, the digital information environment, and the support of an energized user community auger well for the success of the NIH policy, but that it is still too soon to tell.


The Unanimous Decisions Of The Supreme Court Of Canada As A Test Of The Attitudinal Model, Donald R. Songer, Julia Siripurapu Mar 2009

The Unanimous Decisions Of The Supreme Court Of Canada As A Test Of The Attitudinal Model, Donald R. Songer, Julia Siripurapu

Faculty Publications

Most of the empirical work on the decision making of justices on the Supreme Court of Canada has taken as its exclusive focus the divided decisions of the Court. In contrast to this extensive body of research on divided decision, the much more limited knowledge of unanimous decisions is troubling because such decisions constitute nearly three-quarters of all of the formal decisions of the Court. The analysis reported below provides a first step towards understanding the neglected nature of unanimous decisions. This investigation of the nature and causes of unanimity in the Supreme Court of Canada explores two competing explanations: …


God, Civil Society, And Congregations As Public Moral Companions, Gary M. Simpson Jan 2009

God, Civil Society, And Congregations As Public Moral Companions, Gary M. Simpson

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Institutional Pluralism From The Standpoint Of Its Victims: Calling The Question On Indiscriminate (In)Tolerance, Jose M. Gabilondo Jan 2009

Institutional Pluralism From The Standpoint Of Its Victims: Calling The Question On Indiscriminate (In)Tolerance, Jose M. Gabilondo

Faculty Publications

Borrowing from postmodernity, new Right intellectuals have become adept at plucking core terms from the liberal register, stripping away their history and social context, and making them do the conceptual work of backlash. A recent example is the theme of the 2009 annual meeting of the AALS: institutional pluralism. The phrase has a surface resemblance to traditional liberal values but, in truth, acts as a Trojan horse for discrimination projects that many may find troubling. By putting the phrase in its social context, this essay reveals the ideological interests at work in the idea.


Canada (En)Counters Terrorism: Us-Canada Relations And Counter-Terrorism Policy, Veronica Kitchen, Karthika Sasikumar Jan 2009

Canada (En)Counters Terrorism: Us-Canada Relations And Counter-Terrorism Policy, Veronica Kitchen, Karthika Sasikumar

Faculty Publications

This paper examines the role of identity in shaping counter-terrorism policy in Canada. We show that identity functions in three ways: constitutively by defining the range of choices a state is likely to consider; strategically by being a resource to buttress arguments based in economic or sovereignty interests; and heuristically by using identity as a marker for risk. This three-faceted explanation helps explain why, despite close economic, social, and political links between Canada and the United States which might lead us to expect Canada to follow American counter-terrorism policy, Canadian counter-terrorism policy often diverges from the American lead.


Perception And Reality In Congressional Earmarks, Michael H. Crespin, Charles J. Finocchiaro, Emily O. Wanless Jan 2009

Perception And Reality In Congressional Earmarks, Michael H. Crespin, Charles J. Finocchiaro, Emily O. Wanless

Faculty Publications

Earmarks added to appropriations bills have generated a considerable amount of attention from the media, politicians, and fiscal watchdog groups. Taken as a whole, three 'truths' about earmarks are frequently discussed: 1) earmarks are the reason for large budget deficits, 2) using omnibus legislation instead of regular order leads to more earmarks, and 3) 'airdropped' earmarks added at the conference stage compound the problem of pork. In this paper, we examine these 'truths' and find the conventional wisdom does not stand up to empirical tests. Finally, we show how Congress easily worked around new rules concerning the addition of earmarks …


The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same, Neal Devins Jan 2009

The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same, Neal Devins

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Bosnia And Herzegovina's Foreign Policy: A Multi-Level Game, Joan Davison Apr 2008

Bosnia And Herzegovina's Foreign Policy: A Multi-Level Game, Joan Davison

Faculty Publications

Bosnia and Herzegovina's foreign policy is extraordinarily complex and a source of both contention and opportunity. The government negotiates policy with the Office of the High Representative, the EU, its Balkan neighbors, its parliamentary parties, its entities and its ethnic groups. All actors perceive EU integration as essential to future stability and development but the constitutional reform necessary for membership creates conflict. European integration runs contrary to ethnic segregation. Economic interests collide with nationalist sentiments founded in the very real wars and atrocities of the past decades. The prerequisite of reform prior to accession talks delays B&H's membership in the …


Judicial Decision Making In The Supreme Court Of Canada: Updating The Personal Attribute Model, Donald R. Songer, Susan W. Johnson Dec 2007

Judicial Decision Making In The Supreme Court Of Canada: Updating The Personal Attribute Model, Donald R. Songer, Susan W. Johnson

Faculty Publications

This study seeks to add to the current understanding of the political nature of the Supreme Court of Canada. We analyze a data set consisting of all nonunanimous published Supreme Court decisions for the period 1949 to 2000. A prior study by Tate and Sittiwong (1989) suggested a model of judge attributes for the period 1949 to 1985. We build on that analysis by extending the time period to 2000, which allows the impact of gender also to be assessed. We find that since the Court gained substantial docket control, the types of cases the Court hears has changed from …


Allying For Peace: Treaty Obligations And Conflict Between Allies, Andrew G. Long, Timothy Nordstrom, Kyeonghi Baek Nov 2007

Allying For Peace: Treaty Obligations And Conflict Between Allies, Andrew G. Long, Timothy Nordstrom, Kyeonghi Baek

Faculty Publications

We argue that certain provisions of alliance treaties can signal credible commitments to a peaceful relationship among members and establish institutional mechanisms that promote the settlement of disagreements through peaceful negotiation. Nonaggression, peaceful dispute settlement, military institutionalization, and permanent organization provisions should increase the duration of peace between alliance members; we test our hypotheses with a duration model. The analysis generally supports our expectations except that alliances that create permanent organizations, even those specifically established to arbitrate disagreements, are associated with shorter durations of peace. We conclude with some implications of our argument for the study of military alliances and …


The Decline Of The American Superpower, Earl H. Fry Jul 2007

The Decline Of The American Superpower, Earl H. Fry

Faculty Publications

By 2040, the United States will no longer be considered as a global superpower and the world may be headed toward a long era devoid of any superpowers. This will occur as a result of several negative trends within the United States itself, combined with changing dynamics and exigencies in the global system and the rise of more powerful competitors in Asia and Europe. The negative trends within the United States include unprecedented governmental and international debt, dysfunctional campaign-finance and lobbying systems, unmanageable entitlement and health-care obligations, a deteriorating public education network, an inordinate concentration of wealth and power in …


Politique Partisane Et Indépendence Judiciare, Neal Devins May 2007

Politique Partisane Et Indépendence Judiciare, Neal Devins

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Active Sovereignty, Timothy Zick Apr 2007

Active Sovereignty, Timothy Zick

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Tolerance And Democracy Instead Of Fundamentalism And Empire, Guillermo C. Hansen Jan 2007

Tolerance And Democracy Instead Of Fundamentalism And Empire, Guillermo C. Hansen

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


India’S Emergence As A “Responsible” Nuclear Power, Karthika Sasikumar Jan 2007

India’S Emergence As A “Responsible” Nuclear Power, Karthika Sasikumar

Faculty Publications

In 2005, India and the United States announced a nuclear “deal” that would seek to clarify India’s ambiguous status in the nuclear order. The sole superpower appeared to be recognizing India’s status as a nuclear-armed state by opening up the possibility of nuclear cooperation. This announcement represented the fruit of many years of careful Indian diplomacy aimed at establishing its identity as a responsible possessor of nuclear weapons and forging a closer alliance with the US. This article provides a concise description of the provisions of the 2005 India-US nuclear agreement, and analyzes its global, regional, and domestic implications. While …


Diversity In American Subnational Transportation Agencies: Challenges And Opportunities, Peter J. Haas Jan 2007

Diversity In American Subnational Transportation Agencies: Challenges And Opportunities, Peter J. Haas

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Th Politics Of Hate: Ultranationalist And Fundamentalist Tactics And Goals, Joan Davison Jan 2007

Th Politics Of Hate: Ultranationalist And Fundamentalist Tactics And Goals, Joan Davison

Faculty Publications

Ultranationalist and religious fundamentalist movements frequently use hate to mobilize people. These groups possess a sophisticated understanding of the importance of appealing to the emotions. Leaders often employ xenophobic language intended to inspire fear and justify a defensive reaction. The movements also rely heavily upon symbols, myths, and public events to simplify and communicate the "truths" of their ideologies. The leaders convey messages with tremendous affective appeal. Yet, measures exist to counter and contain the politics of hate. The development of civil society, group rights, a free media, and integrated institutions can contribute to a durable solution in cases of …


Indeterminacy And Society By Russell Hardin, Daniel R. Sabia Dec 2006

Indeterminacy And Society By Russell Hardin, Daniel R. Sabia

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Tom Delay: Popular Constitutionalist?, Neal Devins Jul 2006

Tom Delay: Popular Constitutionalist?, Neal Devins

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


God In Civil Society: Prophetic, Sapiential, And Pacific, Gary M. Simpson Jan 2006

God In Civil Society: Prophetic, Sapiential, And Pacific, Gary M. Simpson

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Weather And The Salem Witch Trials, Franklin G. Mixon Dec 2005

Weather And The Salem Witch Trials, Franklin G. Mixon

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Economic Globalization And Civil War, Katherine Barbieri, Rafael Reuveny Nov 2005

Economic Globalization And Civil War, Katherine Barbieri, Rafael Reuveny

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Creating An Interactive Classroom: Enhancing Student Engagement And Learning In Political Science Courses, Jonathan D. Mott, Danny Damron Jul 2005

Creating An Interactive Classroom: Enhancing Student Engagement And Learning In Political Science Courses, Jonathan D. Mott, Danny Damron

Faculty Publications

Students of the pedagogy of teaching have found that cooperative/problem-based learning activities engage the learner, promote ownership of the material, advance the development of higher-level cognitive skills and increase retention better than more passive learning activities. Despite broad recognition within the political science discipline that classroom activities can and should facilitate better student learning outcomes, political science classes (both large and small) frequently have characteristics that make cooperative/problem-based learning activities more difficult to employ and less likely to succeed. Anonymity in large sections, a steep learning curve of complex concepts, and students who see passivity as the least costly approach …