Political Science Commons^™

Ethiopia And Eritrea: Border War, Sandra F. Joireman

Political Science Faculty Publications

The war between Ethiopia and Eritrea—two of the poorest countries in the world—began in 1998. Eritrea was once part of the Ethiopian empire, but it was colonized by Italy from 1869 to 1941. Following Italy's defeat in World War II, the United Nations determined that Eritrea would become part of Ethiopia, though Eritrea would maintain a great deal of autonomy. In 1961 Ethiopia removed Eritrea's independence, and Eritrea became just another Ethiopian province. In 1991 following a revolution in Ethiopia, Eritrea gained its independence. However, the borders between Ethiopia and Eritrea had never been clearly marked. Following arguments and skirmishes, …

Why Were Chemical Weapons Not Used In World War Ii?, Jeffrey W. Legro

Political Science Faculty Publications

Chemical warfare had played an important enough role in World War I that there was widespread expectation of its use in World War II. Certainly, Germany's army and its chemists had no qualms about adding poison gas to the Third Reich's arsenal. When war began, however, many of the latest chemical warfare agents were not available in deliverable form. The early successes of conventional-war making, combined with an increasing shortage of raw material, led Germany to deemphasize gas warfare even apart from the fear of Allied retaliation that significantly influenced at least the armed forces.

Passports And Passages: Tests Of Yemeni Women's Citizenship Rights, Sheila Carapico, Anna Wuerth

Political Science Faculty Publications

Rights and legal status are often tested at the margins. Questions are less likely to arise about how general principles apply under ordinary circumstances than about how specific articles of particular laws speak to unusual situations. The test of legal status comes through case law in the form of judgments about claims made in the context of specific, even peculiar, fact sequences. Rights are affirmed or asserted on behalf of social groups when courts or tribunals find that they have been violated in individual cases. So it is, too, with citizen rights for Yemeni women. Under ordinary circumstances the daughters …

Representative Bureaucracy And Distributional Equity: Addressing The Hard Question, Kenneth J. Meier, Robert D. Wrinkle, Jerry L. Polinard

Political Science Faculty Publications

Research on representative bureaucracy has failed to deal with whether or not representative bureaucracies produce minority gains at the expense of nonminorities. Using a pooled time-series analysis of 350 school districts over six years, this study examines the relationship between representative bureaucracy and organizational outputs for minorities and nonminorities. Far from finding that representative bureaucracy produces minority gains at the expense of nonminorities, this study finds both minority and nonminority students perform better in the presence of a representative bureaucracy. This finding suggests an alternative hypothesis to guide research: that representative bureaucracies are more effective than their nonrepresentative counterparts.

Is Anybody Still A Realist?, Jeffrey W. Legro, Andrew Moravcsik

Political Science Faculty Publications

Realism, the oldest and most prominent theoretical paradigm in international relations, is in trouble. The problem is not lack of interest. Realism remains the primary or alternative theory in virtually every major book and article addressing general theories of world politics, particularly in security affairs. Controversies between neorealism and its critics continue to dominate international relations theory debates. Nor is the problem realism’s purported inability to make point predictions. Many specific realist theories are testable, and there remains much global conflict about which realism offers powerful insights. Nor is the problem the lack of empirical support for simple realist predictions, …

Capitalism And Human Rights, Rhoda E. Howard-Hassmann

Political Science Faculty Publications

Books Discussed in this Article:

Amnesty Intemational (Dutch Section) and Pax Christi International, Multinational Enterprises and Human Rights: a Report. Utrecht, November 1998.

G.B. Madison, The Political Economy of Civil Society and Human Rights. New York: Routledge, 1998.

William H. Meyer, Human Rights and International Political Economy in Third World Nations. Westport, Conn: Praeger, 1998.

The European Union In The World Community., Peter H. Loedel

Political Science Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Sandelian Republic And The Encumbered Self, Richard Dagger

Political Science Faculty Publications

In Democracy's Discontent, Michael Sandel argues for a revival of the republican tradition in order to counteract the pernicious effects of contemporary liberalism. As in his earlier work, Sandel charges that liberals who embrace the ideals of political neutrality and the unencumbered self are engaged in a selfsubverting enterprise, for no society that lives by these ideals can sustain itself. Sandel is right to endorse the republican emphasis on forming citizens and cultivating civic virtues. By opposing liberalism as vigorously as he does, however, he engages in a self-subverting enterprise of his own. That is, Sandel is in danger …

Budgeting In Virginia: Power, Politics, And Policy, Daniel Palazzolo, John T. Whelan

Political Science Faculty Publications

In this chapter, we will first sketch out how budget making has evolved from an executive-centered, Democratic dominated process to one in which the executive and the legislature, Democrats and Republicans, share power. Secondly, the makeup of the budget will be analyzed, the major revenue sources and spending programs identified, as well as the trends in those realms. In doing so, we will highlight the constraints and opportunities facing the participants in the budget process. Finally, we will discuss how budgeting during the 1998 session illustrated several institutional and partisan features that had been in place before the session began.

Are (Should) Human Rights (Be) Universal?, Rhoda E. Howard-Hassmann

Political Science Faculty Publications

Many critics of the concept of human rights argue that it undermines indigenous cultures, especially in the underdeveloped world. I agree that the concept of human rights often undermines cultures. Culture rapture is often a necessary aspect of the entrenchment of respect for human rights. Culture is not of absolute ethical value; if certain aspects of particular cultures change because citizens prefer to focus on human rights, then that is a perfectly acceptable price to pay. Human rights are rights held by the individual, without regard to status or position, merely because she or he is human. In principle, all …

Turnout And Partisanship In Tennessee Elections, Lillard E. Richardson Jr., Grant W. Neeley

Political Science Faculty Publications

To understand the forces shaping current Tennessee politics, we discuss two fundamental concepts of Tennessee's electoral system: voting turnout and partisanship. These two concepts are easily illustrated by two questions. First, how many people participate in elections in the state? Second, whom do Tennesseans elect to represent them? While we use a historical perspective to inform the analysis, we are generally more interested in the forces shaping politics in Tennessee today.

Legalism And Realism In The Gulf, Sheila Carapico

Political Science Faculty Publications

In his State of the Union address in January, 1998, President Clinton won thunderous applause for threatening to force Iraq "to comply with the UNSCOM regime and the will of the United Nations." Stopping UN chemical and biological weapons inspectors from "completing their mission," declared the President, defies "the will of the world." In the next three weeks, the White House ordered a massive show of force in the Gulf. Even traditional hawks, however, realized that a bombing mission could undermine American hegemonic interests in the Gulf that are served by a continuation of the sanctions regime.

Pluralism, Polarization, And Popular Politics In Yemen, Sheila Carapico

Political Science Faculty Publications

Among the nations of the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen is the most populous, the poorest, and the most politically liberal. It is the only republic where sovereignty theoretically rests with its 16 million inhabitants, not with a monarch. The constitution promulgated in 1991 and amended in 1994 guarantees many basic rights and liberties to all adult citizens, including rights to vote, run for office, and join political parties. Since Yemeni unification in 1990, two rounds of contested, multiparty parliamentary elections in 1993 and 1997 involved women as well as men in the political process as voters, candidates, volunteers, and reporters. Yemenis …

Early Voting In Tennessee: Removing Barriers To Participation, Grant W. Neeley, Lillard E. Richardson Jr.

Political Science Faculty Publications

In 1994. the Tennessee General Assembly mandated a new early voting system that allowed voters to cast a ballot in a two-week period prior to any election. Unlike absentee balloting, which requires registrants to justify why they cannot participate on election day, early voting is available to any registered voter who chooses to do so.

By enacting early voting in Tennessee, the state legislature hoped to achieve increased turnout and easier access for citizens unable to vote at a regular polling site on election day. The purpose of this chapter is to ascertain whether the program was able to increase …

Trends In Public Opinion, 1989-1996, John M. Scheb Ii, William Lyons, Grant W. Neeley

Political Science Faculty Publications

In this chapter, we examine the party identifications and ideological orientations of Tennesseans from 1989 through 1996, as revealed through survey research. We also look at Tennesseans' positions on several issues of public policy that have been salient in state politics during this period. Our intent is to isolate any trends in the partisan and ideological character of the state while examining citizens' positions on key issues.

Mission: Democracy, Sheila Carapico

Political Science Faculty Publications

Incumbent national leaders invite foreign election monitors only when it is in their interest to do so. Rarely is significant financial assistance "conditional" on holding elections, although it does improve a regime's image abroad to do so. For governments being observed, the trick is to orchestrate the process enough to win, but not enough to arouse observers' suspicions.

Introduction To Part One, Sheila Carapico

Political Science Faculty Publications

The end of the Cold War brought with it a temporary euphoria about prospects for a worldwide "third wave" of democratization to sweep the globe. If civil society had triumphed in the former Soviet bloc, perhaps political liberalism would spread elsewhere. No sooner had the sweet taste of victory over communism subsided, however, than Western observers turned their attention to another, allegedly uniquely, antidemocratic current- Islam-whose civilizational values seem to clash with Western liberalism even more fundamentally than Marxism. Whereas people in other parts of the world crave civil society, so the argument goes, political openings in the Muslim world …

Research Methods, Daniel J. Palazzolo

Political Science Faculty Publications

An undergraduate course on research methods and analysis is fertile ground for service-learning in political science. Research methods courses teach students a variety of data-collection and analysis methods, and many community service agencies and nonprofit organizations typically benefit from research on how their services are provided and how such services can be improved. This essay illustrates how undergraduate students can use survey design techniques to help community service organizations collect data on program effectiveness and program development.

Implementation Of Early Voting, Lillard E. Richardson Jr., Grant W. Neeley

Political Science Faculty Publications

We examine the early voting process in Tennessee during the election of 1994. By conducting a mail survey of all 95 county registrars, we ascertained the methods and costs of early voting implementation. Generally, the survey reveals a strong belief that early voting encourages greater participation by voters, with turnout data supporting this belief. We find that the ballot type and location of early voting sites play an important role in determining both the costs of early voting and the rate of voter participation.

Gender And Status Inequalities In Yemen: Honour, Economics, And Politics, Sheila Carapico

Political Science Faculty Publications

The aim of this national case study, a synthetic summary of the work and evidence on women in a tribal, Muslim, Arabian, rapidly changing society, is to contribute to the intersection of the Middle Eastern and women-in-development literatures by situating women first within tribal and Islamic settings and then in the context of rapid changes in political and economic circumstances during the past thirty years. It therefore considers feminine roles in the different historical social strata before examining how new services brought by modernization, class formation associated with the penetration of capitalism, and political struggles between right and left all …

Bidayat Al-Mujtama' Al-Madani Fi Al-Yaman, Sheila Carapico

Political Science Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

House Leadership, Daniel Palazzolo

Political Science Faculty Publications

In 1959, political scientist David Truman described the complexity of congressional leadership: "Everyone knows something of leaders and leadership of various sorts, but no one knows very much. Leadership, especially in the political realm, unavoidably or by design often is suffused .by an atmosphere of the mystic and the magical, and these have been little penetrated by systematic observation" (Truman, 1959, p. 94). House leadership remains a complex concept, but it has been defined more clearly and more systematically in the years· since Truman's observation.

Military Culture And Inadvertent Escalation In World War Ii, Jeffrey W. Legro

Political Science Faculty Publications

How can the use of "unthinkable" means of warfare be avoided? How can states successfully observe mutually desired limitations on "taboo" forms of combat? These questions are important because of concern that nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and terrorism will spread and be used. The growing number of states--e.g., Israel, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Ukraine--that have such means of inflicting harm increases the likelihood that any future conflict will involve a desire for restrictions. Countries may pursue restraint because popular opinion vilifies certain weapons; because leaders calculate that escalation would damage their domestic and international political support; or because states …

Land Contracts And Traditional Tenure, Sandra F. Joireman

Political Science Faculty Publications

The goal of this project is to identify the current day policy implications of a traditional tenure system, rist or risti, with particular reference to the types of contractual agreements that existed under that system. In order to achieve this, the paper will begin with a reference to the importance of understanding the traditional systems of land tenure. Then, a brief description of the data set and available information will be given, followed by the preliminary results of the data and a description of the kinds of contractual arrangements found under the traditional system. This will be followed by …

Yemen: Human Rights In Yemen During And After The 1994 War, Sheila Carapico, Jermera Rone

Political Science Faculty Publications

During seventy days of conventional warfare between the government forces commanded by the Republic of Yemen Council President, General ’Ali ’Abdallah Salih, and the separatist southern army fighting in the name of the Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP), the government army won a military victory over the rebels and presided over the destruction of institutions and property of the former YSP-ruled People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen. The terms of national unity between the two Yemens, never fully resolved in either the May 1990 accord or elections in April 1993, were thus settled on the battlefield in favor of Salih’s northern-dominated military …

The Speaker And The Budget, Daniel J. Palazzolo

Political Science Faculty Publications

The Speakers of the House, from Carl Albert to Tom Foley, have faced various challenges in the budgetary process since the passage of the Budget Act in 1974. That act required the Congress to fix budget targets in authorizations and outlays in each of thirteen functional categories for each fiscal year and to reconcile annual authorizations and appropriations to those targets. It created separate budget committees in each chamber and altered the legislative process in an attempt to enforce budget discipline. Some challenges have been defined by the individual Speakers themselves; others have emerged from institutional changes in the budget …

The State, Civil Society, And Citizenship, Richard Dagger

Political Science Faculty Publications

In large, modern societies, then, we should make the most of "partial societies" by encouraging the development of a vital civil society--a sphere of life that promotes freedom through private activity and the voluntary associations that serve as a buffer between individuals and the state. Indeed, the question is not whether civil society is a prerequisite for a good society, but what form it should take. With this in mind, I want to offer three observations about the proper form of civil society.

Play Fair With Punishment, Richard Dagger

Political Science Faculty Publications

If we want to provide a justification for legal punishment, then, we must answer two distinct questions: (1) What justifies punishment as a social practice? and (2) What justifies punishing particular persons? The principle of fair play is an especially attractive theory of punishment, I shall agree, because it offers plausible and compelling answers to both these questions. I shall also suggest that there is a third question - How should we punish those who commit crimes? - that fair play cannot answer without help from other sources.

Older Americans' Attitudes Toward The Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act Of 1988, Christine L. Day

Political Science Faculty Publications

Congress repealed the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act of 1988, which expanded Medicare benefits, after vigorous protests by groups of older people nationwide. Surveys show, however, that older Americans were deeply divided in their opinions. This study examines four explanations for divisions among the elderly on this issue: symbolic politics, socioeconomic status, distrust in government, and direct self-interest. The results of probit analysis indicate that high income, younger age (under 75), Republican partisanship, and distrust in government all contributed to older Americans' opposition to government catastrophic health care coverage. Direct self-interest—that is, perceived direct impact on one's own taxes and benefits—was …

The Entrepreneurial State Goes To Europe, William E. Hudson, John Carroll, Mark Hyde

Political Science Faculty Publications

This article investigates state-level export programs in response to the emerging new economic and political regime of Europe 1992. Little related export promotion activity is found, even in states reputed to have the most active entrepreneurial policies. The authors conclude that states have few resources to invest in export promotion and are inappropriate jurisdictions around which to organize such policy, despite the much touted "entrepreneurial state."