Political Science Commons^™

Boundary Maintenance: An Examination Of Municipal Political Participation In Rural Bolivia, Spencer Fenniman

Honors Theses

On April 20, 1994, the Bolivian government promulgated Law 1551, the Ley de Participacion Popular (The Law of Popular Participation). This law was considered by policy-makers to be an innovative governance response to a history of rural exclusion from democratic procedures.Through the decentralization of many government functions to the level of the municipality, this new system of governance was heralded as the beginning to a new regime where there would be control social desde abajo-social control from below-and popular power in governance. The operating assumption was that through local control, rural populations would be able to effectively combat their own …

Johann August Weppen's Der Hessische Officer In Amerika And David Christoph Seybold's Reizenstein: The American Revolution And The German Bürgertum's Reassessment Of America, Virginia Sasser Delacey

Institute for the Humanities Theses

While American, British, and French reactions to the American Revolution are well-known, those of the German people are not, despite the presence of almost 30,000 German soldiers in America fighting for the British army and hundreds of German volunteers fighting for the American patriots. The participation of German soldiers on both sides of the conflict inspired numerous works of German poetry, prose, and drama, all largely forgotten in the wake of the French Revolution and the rise of German Classicism and Romanticism. This thesis examines two works that have received brief mention in the past two centuries: Der hessische Officier …

Small-State Foreign Policy: An Analysis Of Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Tonga, Tuvalu And Mauritius, Thomas M. Ethridge

Masters Theses

Small-state foreign policy is often characterized by the types of alliances that form between small and large states. It is rarely disputed that small states fend for themselves in the global milieu that creates today's societies. Rather, the debate usually begins as to why small states seek strategic alliances with large states.

This thesis, on the other hand, questions the very existence of small-state alliances by examining the foreign policy behavior of six small island states. The analysis begins with a quantitative breakdown of United Nation voting behaviors by five Pacific states — Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Tonga, and Tuvalu. Next, …

Women Representing Women's Interests In Congress, Carmen R. Allen

Masters Theses

Do congresswomen try to represent women's interests in Congress? Are congresswomen more likely than congressmen to sponsor bills dealing with women's issues? In the past, research has shown that women do seem to sponsor more legislation than men that deals directly with women. Research has also shown that women legislators feel that they are responsible for representing the interests of all women. This research looks at bill sponsorship in the U.S. House of Representatives during the 106th and 107th Congresses. The data from these two Congresses show that women do sponsor more women's issue legislation than men do. They also …

The Impact Of Congress, Public Opinion, And The Media On United States Foreign Policy: The Case Of The 1994 Rwandan Genocide, Matthew Bergbower

Masters Theses

This thesis analyzes U.S. foreign policy and presidential decision-making during an international crisis. I use a case study analysis of the 1994 Rwandan genocide to determine the impact of Congress, public opinion, and the media on President Bill Clinton's foreign policies during the crisis. To accurately analyze these relationships, I present data on Clinton's behavior and policies during the Rwandan crisis. I argue that in the initial stages of an international crisis Congress, the public, and the media will be more likely to approve of the president's polices while in the latter stages Congress, the public, and the media will …

A Brief History Of America's Republic Empire, James G. Wilson

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

In his recent book, The Imperial Republic: A Structural History of American Constitutionalism from the Colonial Era to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century (Ashgate 2002), Professor Wilson discloses the quest for empire that has lain hidden in the heart of the American democracy since its founding. This essay for Law Notes places his findings in a contemporary context.

The Fair City Production Line: An Examination Of Soap Opera’S Potential Contribution To The Public Sphere, Edward Brennan

Articles

Between December 2000 and February 2001 the Irish soap opera Fair City ran an unprecedented, risky and controversial abortion storyline. This came before a looming referendum on the legality of abortion. Here, Fair City was not just offering entertainment, but provoking debate and discussion on a divisive issue in Irish society. In this case, and many others, it appears that soap opera, by promoting such discussion, may contribute to the formation of public opinion in contemporary civil society. Heretofore, most academic studies have overlooked the possible consequences of soap opera for civil society, public opinion and the democratic process. This …

Protecting Women From Domestic Violence: A Comparative Perspective, Mollie Whitehead '04

Honors Projects

Domestic violence against women is a social problem that occurs in nearly every comer of the world. Recently, some states have begun to recognize that women must be protected from abuse by family members and intimates. While policies and practices designed to protect women have emerged in a number of countries, many lag behind on the issue. This paper will examine the causal factors behind the variation in protection for women. The literature on women and politics suggests that when women are able to directly influence policies, via electoral pressure or participation in decision-making, women-friendly legislation will be more prevalent. …

Transforming Intractable Conflicts, Louis Kriesberg

Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration

No abstract provided.

Quad Angles

Syracuse University Magazine

No abstract provided.

Nasty Or Normal?, Richard Benedetto

Syracuse University Magazine

No abstract provided.

Security Of A Small State: Case Of Kuwait, Shawn Adelwerth

HIM 1990-2015

Kuwait is a small country in terms of size and military might, however, it has an abundance of oil wealth. Kuwaiti rulers have often met their domestic and international security challenges with buying off the problems. This type of policy continued until late 1989, when the tension between Iraq and Kuwait reached a new height. The turning point for Kuwait security was 2 August 1990, when Iraqi military finally invaded Kuwait requested the military power of the United States. This began a new era in the United States-Kuwait relationship. Since Iraqi forces were discharged from this small Gulf State, Kuwait …

Facade Democracy: Democratic Transition In Kazakhstan And Uzbekistan, Robin Nicole Merritt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the reasons behind the stagnation in the transition to democracy in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. According to their constitutions, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are democracies. In actuality, however, there is little evidence to support that these are democratic systems. These states' post-Soviet constitutions outline them as democracies - yet they lack a free press; freedom of association is suppressed; religious freedom is limited; and free speech is constrained as well. While these two countries hold popular elections, much of their electoral processes are under the control of the executive branch of government - calling into question whether or not …

Romania, Bulgaria, The United States And The European Union: The Rules Of Empowerment At The Outskirts Of Europe, Dana Neacsu

Law Faculty Publications

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States came to Eastern Europe spreading the gospel of democracy and the American Rule of Law. In addition to encouraging Western ideology, the United States was there to forge new economic relationships and, following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, to accelerate the creation of military alliances through membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the newly-formed "coalition of the willing." Romania and Bulgaria, among other former Soviet satellites, welcomed the invitation. Romania and Bulgaria are small countries which share similar economic pressures as they attempt to emerge …

The Two Reconstructions: The Struggle For Black Enfranchisement, Richard M. Valelly , '75

Political Science Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

The Politic 2004 Winter, The Politic, Inc.

The Politic

No abstract provided.

Red, White, Blue, And Green: Politics And The Environment In The 2004 Environment, James R. Lyons, Heather S. Kaplan, Fred Strebeigh, Kathleen E. Campbell

Yale School of the Environment Publications Series

No abstract provided.

Receiving The Headian Legacy: International Lawyers, South-To-North Resource Transfers, And The Challenge Of International Development, Obiora Chinedu Okafor

Articles & Book Chapters

Written over fifteen years ago by Ivan Leigh Head, a highly distinguished Canadian international lawyer, foreign policy expert, and international development thinker, the words contained in the above quotation point firmly at this great man's analytic incisiveness and hint at the sheer depth of his fairness of mind. For although the net transfer of resources from the much poorer geopolitical "South" to a far richer "North" remains to this day one of the most important obstacles to international development, rarely have the dominant accounts of international development given this phenomenon the pride of place that it surely deserves.

Wisdom To Know The Difference: The Rhetoric Of Pat Nixon, Linda B. Hobgood

Rhetoric and Communication Studies Faculty Publications

Henriette Wyeth Hurd painted the official portrait of Patricia Nixon. The woman depicted is serene, almost sad. She appears fragile, yet brave. Above all, the face that gazes from the canvas understands--the wisdom in her eyes reflects that sense of tribulation bequeathed by experience. Both the painting and the subject reflect "calm at the center." It is an insightful portrayal of the American first lady known to the world as "Pat."

Us Foreign Aid And Its Effects On Un General Assembly Voting On Important Votes, Leonna Dene Griffin

LSU Master's Theses

The US has made an effective practice of using aid allocations as leverage to reach US foreign policy goals. One way the US reaches its goals is by altering the voting behavior in the UN so that states are compliant with US interests. There has been debate about the ability of the US to alter UN voting behavior, but this study found evidence that the US can effectively use foreign aid to influence UN voting compliance. This study will analyze 149 US aid receiving countries over a 19-year period and uses important votes to the US, not all UN resolutions. …

Predicting Party Switching In U.S. State Legislatures, Dylan Scott Rickards

LSU Master's Theses

Using a strategic politician model, I argue that we should be able to predict when legislators are going to switch parties by weighing the costs and benefits of party switching under different circumstances. Using variables that measure electoral risk and opportunities for advancement to higher office, an event history model is used to predict when individual legislators will switch. Although this is a rare occurrence, and electoral risk seems to play little in the decision to switch parties, we do find that opportunities for advancement and the relative power of the two parties (measured by offices held) has a noticeable …

Minimum Dogma And Religious Toleration, Clinton Bryan Barron

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis examines issues that emerge from the investigation of the relationship between John Locke's arguments for religious toleration as found in his Letter Concerning Toleration and his construction of a minimum dogma for Christianity in his The Reasonableness of Christianity. The first chapter follows the development of minimum dogma from its origin in the experience Eric Voegelin terms the leap in being, through Xenophanes' concept of "seemliness," to the minimum dogmas of Plato. The second chapter examines the use of minimum dogma in theories of religious toleration by More and Spinoza. The final chapter examines the work of John …

Accepting Authoritative Decisions: Humans As Wary Cooperators, John R. Hibbing, John R. Alford

Department of Political Science: Faculty Publications

Why are people more willing to accept some governmental decisions than others? In this article, we present results from a series of original experiments showing that people’s reactions to a given outcome are heavily influenced by the procedure employed to produce the outcome.We find that subjects reactmuch less favorably when a decision maker intentionally keeps a large payoff, thereby leaving the subject with a small payoff, than when that same payoff results from a procedure based on chance or on desert. Moreover, subjects react less favorably to outcomes rendered by decision makers who want to be decision makers than they …

[Introduction To] Universal Coverage: The Elusive Quest For National Health Insurance, Rick Mayes

Bookshelf

Universal health coverage has become the Mount Everest of public policy in the United States: the most daunting challenge on the political landscape. But, despite numerous attempts, all efforts to achieve universal health care have failed. In Universal Coverage, Rick Mayes examines the peculiar and persistent lack of universal health coverage in America, its economic and political origins dating back to the 1930s, and the current consequences of this significant problem.

A Nonkilling Society Resists Evil And Injustice And Asserts Our Human Dignity And Solidarity, Benjamin T. Tolosa Jr

Political Science Department Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

War And State Formation: A Mennonite Critique, Sandra F. Joireman

Political Science Faculty Publications

This paper is an attempt to tackle the theory of war as a tool of state formation. Though I use the tools of my discipline to refute the theory in its contemporary manifestation, the paper is motivated by a theological belief regarding the sinfulness and depravity of war. I begin the paper by thoroughly exploring the benefits of strong states from a comparative historical perspective, since this has been critical to the theory's revival. Then I will discuss the theory that war makes strong states, looking first at the work of Charles Tilly, the best-known theorist in the area of …

A Study Of The Decision Of The Czech Republic To Join The European Union, Harold Conard Mock Iii

The Corinthian

Since its establishment as the European Coal and Steel Community in 1951, the European Union has provided more than half a century of peace and prosperity to the continent. The people of the European Union have been guaranteed justice through strict adherence to democratic ideals and respect for human rights; economic stability through transition to a common currency, job creation, development of infrastructure, and fiscal globalization; environmental protection through rigorous membership credentials and legislative policy; and security through the formulation of a single, strong, powerful voice in world affairs. The initial members were Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg, and the …

A Painless Tax Or Robin Hood Reversed? The Ethical Dilemmas Of State-Sponsored Lotteries, William Hatcher

The Corinthian

Over the last forty years, states and localities have been faced with the dilemma of how to raise sufficient revenue without upsetting great portions of the electorate with a tax increase. One manner by which they have dealt with this predicament is to institute state lotteries. New Hampshire started the trend in 1964 when it instituted a lottery system to supplement its dire revenue situation. New York and New Jersey soon followed suit by establishing their own lottery system. Today, thirty-nine states operate some type of lottery system. It definitely can be asserted that lotteries are the most widely accepted …

Chinese Environmental Attitudes And Climate Change : Survey Findings On Precursors Of China's Domestic And International Policies On Global Warming, Paul G. Harris

CAPS Working Paper Series

Attitudes toward the environment in China are ambiguous at best and anti-environment at worst. These attitudes are indicators of how the Chinese view the natural environment and how they are likely to behave toward it and respond to efforts to protect it—whether they will practice "green" development and preservation of nature, or instead contribute to practices that are turning China's air, land and water brown (or even black) with pollution. These attitudes are also important precursors to individual Chinese behaviours and the policies and actions of the Chinese government to combat global warming and climate change. As such, attitudes toward …

American Conversations With(In) Catholicism, Richard W. Garnett

Journal Articles

CATHOLICISM AND AMERICAN FREEDOM: A HISTORY. By John T. McGreevy. New York and London: W.W. Norton & Co. 2003. Pp. 431. $26.95.

John T. McGreevy's Catholicism and American Freedom tells the story of how America or, more particularly, American liberalism has reacted and responded to Catholic claims about the nature and purpose of freedom. It also addresses how these claims were, in turn, shaped by Catholicism's own interactions with, internal conversations about, and adjustment to American liberalism. As McGreevy shows, for many people and for many years, the Roman Catholic Church served as a foil for American values and …