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Honors Theses

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Full-Text Articles in Political Science

As Stable As The Dollar Stretches: The Impact Of Us Foreign Aid On Social Stability In Jordan, Jasmine Renee Jordan Apr 2014

As Stable As The Dollar Stretches: The Impact Of Us Foreign Aid On Social Stability In Jordan, Jasmine Renee Jordan

Honors Theses

After the fall out of the Arab Spring in 2010, most of the countries in the Middle East and North Africa region suffered from extreme political, social, and economical instability. Usually, the citizens of these counties were revolting against the authoritarian regimes that have held power for decades. Jordan stands as the only obvious exception. How has Jordan maintained relative economic stability where others have failed? I have found that it is hard to judge the economic or social stability of Jordan without recognizing the large amounts of foreign aid Jordan has received from the US. This thesis asks what …


Power In Numbers? The Impact Of Female Formed Police Units On Women’S Empowerment, Laura Huber Apr 2014

Power In Numbers? The Impact Of Female Formed Police Units On Women’S Empowerment, Laura Huber

Honors Theses

Advocates hailed the deployment of female formed police units (FFPUs), or all-female units, as part of UN peacekeeping missions as a groundbreaking achievement for women's empowerment. Three FFPUs have been deployed to Liberia, Timor-Leste, and Haiti. Supporters of FFPUs claim that female police are better peacekeepers, less prone to violence, and more responsive to sexual and gender based-violence. Furthermore, FFPUs are expected to act as role models, challenge gender stereotypes, and encourage local women to participate in the security sector. However, little systematic research has been conducted to evaluate these proposed beneficial impacts of FFPUs. Using feminist discourse analysis and …


Protestantism, Liberalism, And Racial Equality, Abraham Uppal Feb 2014

Protestantism, Liberalism, And Racial Equality, Abraham Uppal

Honors Theses

In this paper, I will examine liberalism in Protestantism. Liberals who are Protestant, Mainline Protestants, are an interesting group who are different from the conservative, Evangelical Christian crowd. I will pay special attention to racial issues like affirmative action and racism. Liberalism in Protestantism is often called the social gospel, a theology in which Protestants believe Christian teachings mandate an active role in society in which values such as freedom, equality, and love are pursued. The social gospel contrasts with the theology called individual salvation, often identified with conservative or Evangelical Christianity, in which one’s personal relationship with God is …


A New Balance: National Security And Privacy In A Post 9-11 World, Russell B. Wilson Jan 2014

A New Balance: National Security And Privacy In A Post 9-11 World, Russell B. Wilson

Honors Theses

The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 shocked the American security apparatus, placing greater pressure on the security actions of the U.S. government, particularly regarding information gathering. Laying out a framework that examines different notions of national security and privacy, this paper examine three case studies to illustrate the role of the government and the inherent friction between privacy and security that increased information gathering inherently creates. The shifting balance between the two variables forces us to reexamine how we want our government to protect us and what we will sacrifice in order to ensure our own well being. With …


The Smoke Free Campus Movement, Daniel Roberts Jan 2014

The Smoke Free Campus Movement, Daniel Roberts

Honors Theses

The aim of this thesis is to investigate the rising number of smoke free college and university campuses in the United States and to identify the mechanisms that can be used to implement a national policy requiring all colleges and universities to be smoke free. To fully investigate this topic, I utilized qualitative research through analyses from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, reports from the Surgeon General, a tobacco control legal consortium, newspaper articles, television news reports, websites of colleges and universities with smoke free policies, to consolidate the research into an overarching picture of the current climate …


The Termination Of Government Programs: A Case Study Of The Recovery Audit Contracting Program, Ryan Henry Jan 2014

The Termination Of Government Programs: A Case Study Of The Recovery Audit Contracting Program, Ryan Henry

Honors Theses

One common view is that a majority of government programs persist beyond their useful lifespans giving the impression that once installed, government programs are 'immortal'. However, termination of government programs is an essential element in the policy making process. Several factors determine the projected lifespan of a program, and a program may be effectively terminated using several mechanisms. An analysis of the Recovery Audit Contracting program, a program designed to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse in the Medicare and Medicaid systems, shows that watchdog programs are inherently more prone to termination than other types of government programs.


Chile Se Moviliza: Protest Movements And Inequality In Post-Dictatorship Chile, Shruti Jaishankar Jan 2014

Chile Se Moviliza: Protest Movements And Inequality In Post-Dictatorship Chile, Shruti Jaishankar

Honors Theses

On March 11, 1990, Augusto Pinochet, one of Latin America's most infamous dictators, left office after Chileans ordered him to step down in a nationwide plebiscite. Since Pinochet harshly punished any and all dissenters, protests re-emerged in Chile as a popular form of political action. In this thesis, I examine the relationship between economic and political inequality and the frequency of protests and peaceful demonstrations in the country. I examine the theory behind why people protest, and later examine the history of individual protest movements (such as the Chilean Education Movement). Lastly, I run a regression to evaluate the relationship …


The Evolution Of A Social Movement: A Study Of The Madres De Plaza De Mayo, Grace Anne Boyd Jan 2014

The Evolution Of A Social Movement: A Study Of The Madres De Plaza De Mayo, Grace Anne Boyd

Honors Theses

This thesis investigates the evolution of the Madres de Plaza de Mayo social movement in Argentina from 1979-2014. The Madres de Plaza de Mayo are a social movement that initiated protests against the military junta that controlled Argentina from 1976-1982. The Madres were the mothers of people the junta had disappeared during its regime, and the protests were a demand for information about the missing children. After the fall of the dictatorship, the movement continued its protest for information. During this time, the movement underwent a structural split that coincided with ideological structure. I analyzed both internal and external factors …


Investment In The Developing World: Democracy And/Or Transparency, John Carter Jan 2014

Investment In The Developing World: Democracy And/Or Transparency, John Carter

Honors Theses

This thesis examines the concept of transparency and its role in international investment in the developing world. Investment is essential to developing nations because of its overarching economic benefits, such as new avenues of employment, exposure to new markets and the financing of diverse development projects. The desire for increased capital from foreign investors has influenced and shaped the economic policies of developing democratic and autocratic states. One of the most recent trends in economic policy is the formulation and adoption of transparent vehicles, such as access-to-information legislation, which address perceived investor risk through certain actions, such as publishing various …


The Trajectory Of The Argentine Economy From 2001 To The Present: What Comes Next?, Mary Morgan Gladney Jan 2014

The Trajectory Of The Argentine Economy From 2001 To The Present: What Comes Next?, Mary Morgan Gladney

Honors Theses

This thesis looks at global economic factors and Argentina's internal economic policy and political conditions of the last decade to determine the near-term future of the economy. By analyzing the factors that previously influenced the trajectory of the economy of Argentina, I will try to answer this question: What is the trajectory of the Argentine economy in the current political climate? In 2001 after a ten-year period of economic policy reform, the Argentine economy collapsed. Over a decade has passed since the crash of 2001, and now Argentina is once again in a precarious position. The dependent variable of this …


Changes In United States Foreign Assistance Allocation And Its Effect On Terrorism, Mary Anna Smith Jan 2014

Changes In United States Foreign Assistance Allocation And Its Effect On Terrorism, Mary Anna Smith

Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis was to study what, if any, affect foreign assistance given by the United States had on terrorism around the world. In order to study this issue, the question, How have changes in United States foreign assistance allocation since the end of the Cold War affected observable terrorist activities?. To answer the research question, foreign assistance data from the United State Overseas Loans and Grants was compared to observable terrorist activities data from the Global Terrorism Database. This data was analyzed through statistical regression to find that there are fewer observable terrorist activities when more foreign …


How The Case United States V. Windsor Paved The Way For Same-Sex Marriage Legalization In The United States, Olivia C. Watkins Jan 2014

How The Case United States V. Windsor Paved The Way For Same-Sex Marriage Legalization In The United States, Olivia C. Watkins

Honors Theses

This thesis looks at how the United States Supreme Court came to decide upon the issue of same-sex marriage. Starting in the lower courts and moving to the Supreme Court in 2013 and how the decision handed down by the court changed the law of the land. As well as how this decision has allowed for future changes in the law. Furthermore, how the new land has led individual states to overturn laws restricting marriage equality and how the Fourteenth Amendment can be used as a vehicle to legalize same-sex marriage across the states using the Courts decisions in United …


The Role Of Earmarking In Modern Day Congress, Charles Owen Jan 2014

The Role Of Earmarking In Modern Day Congress, Charles Owen

Honors Theses

This thesis is meant to analyze the correlation between earmarks and bi partisan voting behavior in the United Sates Congress. I collected earmarks data for the 111th Congress in order to understand how much was spent on both solo and joint earmarks. I then used this data to create a list of the top 87 bi partisan earmark partners for the 111th Congress. After creating the list of partners, I analyzed their voting behavior to see how often these bipartisan partners voted together in the 111th Congress because earmarks were present during this session. I then used the same partnerships …


Festivals And Revelry: A Study Of Identity In The Cantons Of Modern Switzerland, Courtney Gayle Taylor Jan 2014

Festivals And Revelry: A Study Of Identity In The Cantons Of Modern Switzerland, Courtney Gayle Taylor

Honors Theses

The following paper seeks to address the question of whether or not Fribourg and the other Swiss cantons are able to maintain a cantonal identity in the increasingly globalized political system and what methods are used for this identity preservation. This reproduction of identity in the cantonal system (also referred to as cultural reproduction) will be the focus of my thesis. After looking at the literature on identity formation, familiarizing myself with the history of Switzerland, the cantonal system, and the canton of Fribourg, and finally collecting and analyzing data on identity formation practices in the guise of festivals, I …


The Success Of An Ethnic Political Party: A Case Study Of Arab Political Parties In Israel, Samira Abunemeh Jan 2014

The Success Of An Ethnic Political Party: A Case Study Of Arab Political Parties In Israel, Samira Abunemeh

Honors Theses

Israeli Arab political parties are observed to determine if these ethnic political parties are successful in Israel. A brief explanation of four Israeli Arab political parties, Hadash, Arab Democratic Party, Balad, and United Arab List, is given as well as a brief description of Israeli history and the Israeli political system. The total performance as well as individual party performances is compared to the percentage of Israeli Arabs in Israeli society in order to determine that overall Israeli Arab political parties are not successful, although there are nuances to the term of success that the parties achieve.


Ncaa At The Crossroads: How O'Bannon V. Ncaa Could Change College Sports, Evan Brewster Jan 2014

Ncaa At The Crossroads: How O'Bannon V. Ncaa Could Change College Sports, Evan Brewster

Honors Theses

This thesis investigates the current model of American college athletics and how football and basketball, specifically, have become extremely commercialized. This piece begins with an analysis of the current state of amateur college athletics and the changes that have taken place recently. O'Bannon v. NCAA signifies the one of the most recent challenges to NCAA power, attempting to change the unjust system that requires student-athletes to remain amateur while universities profit off the athletic contests. An evaluation of previous legal challenges to the NCAA help frame an assessment of the case itself thus far. To conclude, cases like O'Bannon and …


What Variables Affect The United States Decision On The Level Of Involvement During An International Crisis?, Britany Higdon Dec 2013

What Variables Affect The United States Decision On The Level Of Involvement During An International Crisis?, Britany Higdon

Honors Theses

The question being researched is what variables can better explain the level of involvement by the United States in an international crisis? This research question will better explain why the United States decides to use military force in some international crises while in others, they are not involved in at all. Answering this question will help predict if the United States will use military force in future international crises. This research will also show the importance of domestic politics in decisions made on an international level. To test this question, there will be a set of variables used to compare …


Like A Boss: Presidential Prerogative As A Means For National Security, Joshua E. Darichuk Dec 2013

Like A Boss: Presidential Prerogative As A Means For National Security, Joshua E. Darichuk

Honors Theses

Executive power in America is outlined by the U.S. Constitution, but presidents have made decisions which questionably violate the rights American citizens are guaranteed by the same document. How are we able to maintain sovereignty as “we the people,” if our most powerful elected official is able to overstep the rules during a national security threat? The answer is because the constitution would not exist without a state, therefore the union must always be preserved. Niccolo Machiavelli, John Locke, Alexander Hamilton, and Carl Schmitt share very different views on democracy, but their insistence on national security is universally present. The …


The Confessional Model And Sectarian Politics: Lessons From Lebanon And The Future Of Iraq, Scott Preston May 2013

The Confessional Model And Sectarian Politics: Lessons From Lebanon And The Future Of Iraq, Scott Preston

Honors Theses

This paper uses education policy as a case study in order to examine the issues affiliated with the Confessional model of government and compares Lebanon’s education sector with Iraq to inspect the universality of those issues. There are many features that make the country of Lebanon unique, but perhaps none more characterizing than its one-of-a-kind Confessional government. According to the tenants of Confessionalism specific government offices are to be reserved for specific ethnic groups. The system was an innovative experiment imposed by the French as a means to guarantee various communal groups representation within the government in an effort to …


Warning Signs: A Study In The Proximate Causes Of Genocide, Bradley Ryktarsyk Apr 2013

Warning Signs: A Study In The Proximate Causes Of Genocide, Bradley Ryktarsyk

Honors Theses

This paper analyzes the cases of genocide in Bosnia and Rwanda as well as the humanitarian interventions in Kosovo and Libya to study the proximate causes of genocide. Proximate cause, defined as any event or condition, leading directly, or indirectly, to genocide, or the intervention by foreign powers, occurring within the immediate generation preceding the genocidal acts, or perceived threat thereof, is herein explored through Gregory Stanton’s “Eight Stages of Genocide” (1996). “The Eight Stages of Genocide” allows these cases to be examined through a preexisting, though imperfect, framework which compartmentalizes the process of genocide into stages allowing for analysis …


The Reaction Of Small States To The Advancement Of The People's Republic Of China In The South China Sea, Michael Miller Apr 2013

The Reaction Of Small States To The Advancement Of The People's Republic Of China In The South China Sea, Michael Miller

Honors Theses

This paper will outline the internal and external factors that have spurred the People's Republic of China (PRC) to issue strong rhetoric and naval expansion in the defense of their claims to territory in the South China Sea (SCS). An analysis of the PRC's posturing will provide the contextual background necessary for answering the following research question central to this paper. What strategies have relatively less capable states engaged in the region as a reaction to the advancing capacity of the PRC? The escalation of tensions between the PRC and other states in the region, namely , the Republic of …


The Nuclear Triangle: A Case Study In Nuclear Operations Policy, Jordan Lewis Apr 2013

The Nuclear Triangle: A Case Study In Nuclear Operations Policy, Jordan Lewis

Honors Theses

As nuclear power has evolved from the mid-twentieth century to today, it has experienced phases of rapid growth, regulation, and distrust concerning operations and waste disposal. This study will analyze the policy community active in these changes as they have progressed through the policymaking process and will examine the actors within an "iron triangle" framework to evaluate the community's relationships, power structure, and effectiveness. Specifically, this thesis seeks to answer two research questions: 1) how does interest group behavior influence nuclear policy communities, and 2) does the iron triangle framework explain the nuclear policy community relationships and outcomes. While historical …


Choosing The Nominee: How Presidential Primaries Came To Be And Their Future In American Politics, Ryan Rainey Apr 2013

Choosing The Nominee: How Presidential Primaries Came To Be And Their Future In American Politics, Ryan Rainey

Honors Theses

The presidential primary is an event that is crucial to determining potential presidents. It allows the public to see how these politicians stack up against one another and how they conduct a campaign. While the general public has a basic idea of how presidential primaries work, very few know the history and details of them. That is what this thesis will do. In part one, the early history of presidential primaries and how nominees were first chosen will be covered. Also in this section, the different reforms that the Democratic Party has undertaken in order to reform the primary and …


How The Media Covers Lawmaking: The Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act, Savannah Priebe Apr 2013

How The Media Covers Lawmaking: The Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act, Savannah Priebe

Honors Theses

The mass media holds extreme gatekeeping and framing functions. It is the media's ability to frame stories that tells viewers what to think about during a particular period of time, if not explicitly how to think about a topic. Over the course of health care reform in January of 2009 to April 2010 when the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was passed, key concepts in news coverage were analyzed. The New York Times and The Houston Chronicle's articles at this time were researched in order to provide insight on the use of ideological bias in reporting on policy and …


The Future Of Geography In Health Policy : The Applicability Of The Dartmouth Atlas To Health Reform In The United States, Catherine Chase Eager Apr 2013

The Future Of Geography In Health Policy : The Applicability Of The Dartmouth Atlas To Health Reform In The United States, Catherine Chase Eager

Honors Theses

Regardless of political ideology, most policy makers agree that the United States health care system is severely flawed and significant reform is crucial.1 However, consensus ends there. Numerous reform efforts have been made over the past few decades, but the only major successful reform has been through the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in March 2010.2 With each reform effort there are many conflicting proposals considered and much controversy arises. The Affordable Care Act, as the law is more commonly called, is a controversial law and does not have unanimous support.3 However, to many, this landmark …


Attending Law School: Lucrative Or Lunatic?, Anna Lennep Jan 2013

Attending Law School: Lucrative Or Lunatic?, Anna Lennep

Honors Theses

The total number of law school graduates for the class of 2011 was 43,979 and of the 42,411 graduates whose employment status was known by March 15, 2012, less than 55% of graduates had found long-term, full-time jobs in a field that required bar passage. Less than 63% of graduates had found any job in a field that required bar passage. With so many graduates and so few jobs, prospective law students must consider the risk that at- tending law school has become for many of its graduates. This thesis uses recent graduate data to analyze the current woes of …


The Failures Of Intelligence Reform, Amber Ciemniewski Dec 2012

The Failures Of Intelligence Reform, Amber Ciemniewski

Honors Theses

Intelligence reform is the legislation implemented by the federal government that's purpose is to improve the effectiveness and success of the intelligence community. It would seem evident that intelligence reform has failed, but the more important questions lie in where it has failed and how to fix it. In this thesis, it will be argued that reform attempts have failed by focusing on surface problems rather than addressing their sources. Future reforms should focus on the relationship dynamic between the intelligence community and the policymakers it serves. There has been extensive literature published on the problems in the intelligence community …


Education, Employment, And Coastal Carolina University: What Are Ccu Students' Plans After Graduation?, Thomas M. Fernandez Dec 2012

Education, Employment, And Coastal Carolina University: What Are Ccu Students' Plans After Graduation?, Thomas M. Fernandez

Honors Theses

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has shown that while unemployment amongst young college graduates is high, joblessness decreases as students pursue post-baccalaureate degrees. And with national unemployment near 8 percent, it is important for college students to consider what obstacles they may face when entering the workforce. Challenges may include sociohistorical (parent educational attainment) and socioeconomic factors as well as obstacles surrounding various forms of human capital. Using some of these challenges youth face when entering college and/or the workforce, this study predicts the decisions Coastal Carolina University (CCU) students will make post-graduation based upon four elements: parental education, academic …


9/11 And The Butterfly Effect, Taylor Eubanks May 2012

9/11 And The Butterfly Effect, Taylor Eubanks

Honors Theses

September 11, 2001, is a day that forever changed and impacted this nation. Following the worst terror attacks in our nation's history, the citizens of this nation showed the absolute best parts of humanity and simultaneously the lowest depths of ignorance and hate. Immediately in the days following 9/11, an incredible sense of solidarity and pride for our nation was felt no matter what part of the country you were in. It seemed as though every home had an American flag hanging from their porch in unison. This level of Patriotism can be a truly beautiful thing, however, it can …


The Effect Of Weight On The Perception Of Political Candidates, Kennedy Alix Costantino Apr 2012

The Effect Of Weight On The Perception Of Political Candidates, Kennedy Alix Costantino

Honors Theses

Chris Christie recently visited the famous “Wailing Wall” in Jerusalem, Israel, during his first trip abroad as governor of New Jersey. The New York Post reported on his trip with the headline “The Whale at the Wall” (Campanile 2012). Given headlines like this, it is easy to see anecdotal evidence of the stigmatization that surrounds obesity within contemporary American society. What’s more important is that these social stigmas that Americans are faced with every day are not merely surface level jokes bantered about for a cheap laugh. They are often prejudices that permeate every aspect of human life. Whether it …