Political Science Commons^™

Participation And The Poor: Social Accountability Institutions And Poverty Reduction In Brazil, Michael Touchton, Brian Wampler, Natasha Borges Sugiyama

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Democracy, according to a large body of research, contributes to human development by improving citizens' lives (Prezeworkski et al. 2000; Gerrign et al. 2012; McGuire 2010; Baum and Lake 2003; Gerring et al. 2015). Broad evidence demonstrates that democracies provide higher standards of living, on average, for their citizens than authoritarian countries (Boix 2001; Brown and Hunter 2004; Brown and Mobarak 2009; Besley and Kudamatsu 2006; Lake and Baum 2001). But what is it about democratic practice that enhances the quality of its citizens' lives? Proponents argue that democratic practices such as competitive elections, checks and balances, and protection of …

Rules And Rocks: The Us-China Standoff Over The South China Sea Islands, Mel Gurtov

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

The article discusses ongoing territorial tensions in the South China Sea.

"The long-running, multi-party dispute over control of islets in the South China Sea (SCS) is worsening both in rhetoric and provocative activity. Meeting in late May at the Shangri-La Dialogue on regional security, US and Chinese defense officials sparred over responsibility for the increased tension, though they stopped short of issuing threats. In fact, all sides to the dispute say they want to avoid violence, prefer a diplomatic resolution, and support freedom of navigation. Both the US and China insist that the dispute notwithstanding, their relationship overall is positive …

Is George W Bush A Burden Or Blessing For Jeb Bush’S 2016 Campaign?, Justin S. Vaughn

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Now that Jeb Bush has finally officially announced his bid for the White House, the chattering class can shift its conversation to whether he will win and what hurdles stand in his way.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership: A Deeply Flawed Partnership, Mel Gurtov

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

The American people have become used to government trickery in foreign affairs—wars and interventions based on lies and falsified evidence, “national security” used to justify the whittling away of privacy, classification of documents to hide embarrassing disclosures, massaging of budget figures to mask outrageous spending on arms, and demands for new weapons when already in possession of an unmatched conventional and nuclear arsenal.

Now comes trickery in a different domain: the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which has substantial bipartisan support and strong presidential endorsement. Eleven countries are awaiting the outcome in Congress as President Obama seeks approval to put the TPP …

Urban, State, And Federal Regimes In Local Politics: The Role Of The Judiciary, Christopher Shortell

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

The study of urban politics often focuses on the ability of urban regimes to successfully pursue their interests and goals. However, scholars of urban politics only peripherally consider the role that courts play. And when courts are incorporated, they are treated as exogenous to the political system. This paper argues for the importance of treating the judiciary as endogenous to the local political system. Courts are themselves political institutions and should be understood as such in the study of politics at the local level. Doing so offers several benefits, including accounting for the ways in which state-level preferences operate as …

Lobbying From Inside The System: Why Local Governments Pay For Representation In The U.S. Congress, Matt W. Loftis, Jaclyn J. Kettler

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Why do cities spend scarce resources lobbying the federal government? The hierarchy of U.S. government provides various pathways for local representation. Nevertheless, cities regularly invest in paid representation. This presents a puzzle for American democracy. Why do cities lobby, and do they lobby strategically? We quantify for the first time the extent of this phenomenon and examine its determinants using new data on 498 cities across forty-five states from 1998 to 2008. We find that economic distress pushes cities to lobby, but does not impact expenditures. Cities in competitive congressional districts, and therefore crucial to national politics, spend more on …

Global Power Transition And The Future Of The European Union: Will Eu Leaders Stop Missing Key Opportunities?, Birol A. Yeşilada, Osman Goktug Tanrikulu

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper applies power transition theory to EU’s future as a global power. It assesses economic and political/strategic capabilities of the EU vis-à-vis other global contenders as Transatlantic Alliance is challenged by rising powers in the east - China and India. Analysis includes simulations of how structural reforms (i.e fiscal union) and membership enlargement(s) are likely to affect EU’s ability to achieve its goal of becoming a global actor.

Flipping The Classroom And Student Performance In Advanced Statistics: Evidence From A Quasi-Experiment, Michael Touchton

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

I administer a quasi-experiment using undergraduate political science majors in statistics classes to evaluate whether “flipping the classroom” (the treatment) alters students’ applied problem-solving performance and satisfaction relative to students in a traditional classroom environment (the control). I also assess whether general student characteristics such as when and where students took the prerequisite course, grade point average (GPA), and gender influence performance. I find flipping the classroom gives students statistically significant advantages in difficult, applied areas emphasized in class. Furthermore, students in the flipped classroom feel they learned more and enjoyed the course more than those in a traditional classroom. …

Contracting, Contesting, And Co-Optation: Civil Society Organizations’ Strategies Under New Institutional Arrangements In Brazil, Brian Wampler, Michael Touchton

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Civil society has exploded in Latin America as democratization has continued over the last 30 years. Civil society organizations (CSOs) are thought to improve governance and oversight and to increase social capital. Nonetheless, we have limited knowledge about what motivates CSOs’ political strategies, which include participating in formal political institutions, attending demonstrations, and providing services. We build knowledge here by evaluating data from a unique survey of nine hundred CSOs across seven Brazilian cities. Our findings showcase several parallel processes: poorer CSOs continue to rely on the state and actively participate in political processes despite protesting at greater rates than …

Introduction: Controlling The Message In The Social Media Marketplace Of Ideas, Victoria A. Farrar-Myers, Justin S. Vaughn

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

The presidential candidate's campaign faced the threat of being derailed following a scathing depiction of him posted by an individual citizen. Regardless of whether the claims made against the candidate were truthful, the message already had gone viral, and the candidate's campaign flailed in its efforts to respond. Finally, one of the candidate's supporters not affiliated with his campaign repackaged the critic's depiction into a new theme, one that resonated positively with voters. The repackaged message itself continued well beyond its original posting as it was replicated in different forums time and time again.

Making Progress In Idaho State Budgeting: The Sequel, Dick Kinney

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper examines Idaho state budgeting decisions for Fiscal Year 2014 and assesses what progress has been made to return to the state’s revenue and spending levels before the hard times in 2009 and 2010 (Kinney 2010; Kinney 2011). After briefly describing Idaho’s population and politics, the report discusses the state’s economic and General Fund revenue contexts for budget decision making. It then analyzes the governor’s budget and the legislature’s appropriations and considers two important potential impacts of these decisions. Progress in Idaho state budgeting continued to be mixed. The state economy generally gained since the recession years although prospects …

Comparing Islamism, Fascism, And Communism, Martin W. Slann

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

The character of totalitarian systems is at all times an emphasis on control, primarily the control and manipulation of the individual. Communism, fascism, and Islamism are all willing (and, at times, even eager) to delay or ignore economic advancement and scientific progress if either would compromise control or diminish power. In fact, it is often the mission of totalitarians to vanquish economic and scientific progress if at possible since they both interfere with or systematically undermine control.

Conclusion: Message Control At The Margins, Victoria A. Farrar-Myers, Justin S. Vaughn

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

In the introduction, we identified four key themes that would guide the series of independent yet intersecting analyses that would follow. As those themes were explored and answers were provided to the questions being asked, a series of lessons for operating in the social-media-driven political environment emerged. These lessons shape the larger conclusions that can be derived from the collective efforts of the analyses herein.

Prospects For Campaign Finance Reform: The Role Of Policy Narratives, Cultural Predispositions, And Political Knowledge In Collective Policy Preference Formation, Paul D. Jorgensen, Michael D. Jones, Geoboo Song

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Objective: Although campaign finance is a growing concern, pollsters rarely ask the public about reform. We use the variation in public support for campaign finance reform to determine factors important to collective policy preference formation.

Methods: Using a national survey, we factor analyze the latent dimensions of various reforms, and rely on an experimental design to explain the role cultural theory, policy narratives, and political knowledge plays in preference formation.

Results: The reform debate groups along two dimensions: adding or removing limitations, or ending the dependence on money altogether. We show policy narratives are most influential, and cultural theory has …

U.S. Drug Policy And Supply-Side Strategies: Assessing Effectiveness And Results, Michelle Keck, Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

The illegal drug trade in North America continues to prosper despite a 45-year war on drugs. Border enforcement is a key U.S. policy tool for preventing the flow of illegal drugs, and the U.S.-Mexico border has become the frontline in the war. Several scholars have questioned the ability of states, with their inflexible bureaucracies, tight budgets, and electorates, to effectively stop drug trafficking networks, which have considerable advantages, including flexibility, transnational connections, and market forces on their side. This article uses statistical data to determine if border enforcement along the southern U.S. border influences the illegal drug supply.

Urbanization And Inequality In China's Mega-Cities: A Perspective From Chinese Industrial Workers, Jake Lin

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Who Commits To The Rule Of Law? Constrained Government And Foreign Direct Investment In Postcommunist States, Michael Touchton

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Research linking credible commitments to the rule of law in terms of property rights and contract enforcement is a hallmark of recent efforts to explain economic growth and development. However, many postcommunist states have had difficulty making such commitments and spurring growth. Many argue political polarization prevents states from reforming laws and protecting property rights in some countries whereas single-party governance renders state promises incredible in others. I analyze pooled cross-sectional time-series data for twenty-four postcommunist countries and provide evidence effective constraints among elected officials act as democratic commitment mechanisms rendering government policies credible.