Political Science Commons^™

International Regime, Domestic Politics And Telecommunications Technology: Jamaica In The Information Age, Judith A. Duncker

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In September of 1988, the government of Jamaica heralded its official entry into the information industry with the establishment of the US{dollar}2 million Jamaica Digiport International facility. The significance of this announcement was surpassed only by the state's decision to close the domestic telecommunications sector to competition as the global satellite regime and the global market embarked on its own course of liberalization. This decision spelt victory for one of two contending factions. On the one hand was Jamaica Promotions (Jampro), Jamaica's economic development agency, which attempted to liberalize the sector's use of satellite technology with the operation of the …

Including Organizational Cultural Parameters In Work Processes, Holly A. H. Handley, Nancy J. Heacox

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Recent work in modeling decision-making work processes has focused on including the national culture of individual decision-makers in order to emphasize the differences in decision criteria between decision-makers of different nationalities. In addition to nationality, a decision-maker is also a member of an organization and brings this organizational culture to his role in the work process, where it may also affect his task performance. In order to represent the organizational impact on the work process, five organizational cultural parameters were identified and included in an algorithm for modeling and simulation of cultural difference in human decision-making. While the five modifiers …

The Domestic Origins Of International Agreements, Rachel Brewster

Faculty Scholarship

This paper examines how international agreements are substitutes for statutes. The statutory law-making system and international agreement negotiations are separate, but sometimes rival, processes for setting national-level policy. International agreements have several advantages over domestic statutes. Under United States law, international agreements can entrench policies that might otherwise be subject to change; they can transfer agenda-setting power from the Congress to the President; and they can delegate authority to international organizations. Each of these effects can lead domestic interest groups to seek international negotiations rather than domestic legislation. Little difference exists between the politics of international and domestic law: Interest …

Compellence: An Empirical Perspective, Michael G. Dziubinski

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Compellence, the use of a contingent threat of force to get a target state to modify a behavior, is an understudied area of international relations. An empirical examination of this area reveals patterns of the frequency of attempted compellence and successful compellence that are not explained by current research or broader international relations theories. In the post-World War II period (1946–2001), the pattern is a rapid drop and continued suppression of success, but a continuation of compellence attempts at the historic level. Existing compellence research and international relations theory do not explain this puzzling disparity of low success and continued …

The Midwest Quarterly; Vol. 45 No. 2, Peter Firchow, Ira Brooker, Tom Henthorne, Tim Conley, Adam Brooke Davis, Barry Ballard, Baloian Baloian, Raymond Barfield, Thomas Robert Barnes, Alan Britt, T. Alan Broughton, Jaime Curl, Chris Dombrowski, Gary Duehr, Taylor Graham, Robert King, Shelly Krehbiel, Matthew Scott Lapierre, Donna J. Gelagotis Lee, G. C. Waldrep, Donald Wayne Viney, Midwest Quarterly Editors

The Midwest Quarterly: A Journal of Contemporary Thought

PETER FIRCHOW views H. G. Wells's Time Machine not as a "facile work of scientific fantasy" but as a novel valuable for "its extraordinary innovativeness ... that is as literary as it is scientific." Among Wells's distinctions in this work is that he "is the first writer of Utopian fiction to argue that the achievement of Utopia will inevitably lead to stagnation and degeneration.,, Professor of English at the University of Minnesota, Firchow has also served as Visiting Professor at universities in Europe, Central America, and Asia, most recently at the University of Graz in Austria. The author of more …

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 …

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 …

Proportional Representation Electoral Systems And Indigenous Representation: Case Studies From Bolivia, Ecuador, And Peru, Arne Romanowski

Masters Theses

The central question of this analysis is how the proportional representation electoral systems in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru are linked to indigenous political representation. I argue that the electoral system and its affect on party structures and party development are part of the reason why indigenous people, who make up a great part of the population in these three countries, are chronically under-represented in their political systems. In these case studies, district and national level data from the two most recent elections for the national legislatures was analyzed in terms of indigenous party formation and success. The study concludes that …

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, …

U.S./Nato Relations After 9/11: U.S. Contributions To Nato Missions, David E. Heinz

Masters Theses

Since the end of the Cold War, the future of NATO has been discussed amongst scholars. Critics argue that NATO is no longer relevant, while proponents argue that is still has a viable function in the international community. This thesis asks the question, what the United States contributes to NATO missions and what does this mean to NATO's future. This thesis examines NATO mission in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq, looking at the background of the mission, how and why it was created and how has the mission evolved. The evidence suggests that since September 11, 2001, the United States has …

Futures Thinking To Achieve Sustainable Development At Local Level In Ireland, Lorcan Sirr, Ruth Kelly, John Ratcliffe

Reports

We are living in times of unprecedented global change and upheaval and over the next ten to 20 years governments, organisations and individuals will face increasing difficulties in an environment of growing complexity, heightened uncertainty and a quickening pace of change. The concept of sustainable development implies the reconciliation of long-term socio-economic development, environmental protection and quality of life; essentially it is concerned with the future. Unfortunately, the potential for linking “futures thinking” to debates about sustainable development at local and regional government levels is relatively undeveloped, particularly in Ireland. Responding to this challenge, The Futures Academy at Technological University …

Being Otherworldly In The World: Michael Oakeshott On Religion, Aesthetics And Politics, Elizabeth Campbell Corey

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation is a study of the thought of Michael Oakeshott with particular emphasis on his writings about the character of religion and aesthetics. The dissertation as a whole makes the case that a certain moral vision-one informed by religious and aesthetic considerations-lies at the center of Oakeshott's thought and informs his political philosophy. The dissertation begins as an examination of Oakeshott's debts to St. Augustine and to British Idealist thinkers such as F. H. Bradley, and moves to a study of Oakeshott's own views on religion and aesthetics. It turns next to a consideration of Oakeshott's two essays entitled …

Communities, Wildlife Conservation, And Tourism-Based Development: Can Community-Based Nature Tourism Live Up To Its Promise?, Robin L. Turner

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

This paper analyzes the opportunities and tensions generated by efforts to use conservationbased tourism as a catalyst for economic development. By exploring how historical legacies position actors and influence relationships between them, characterizing the nature tourism sector and its logic, and examining how liberalizing states are likely to engage with community-based tourism. I situate community-based nature tourism ventures in a broader political economic context. The paper draws from research on the Makuleke Region of Kruger National Park, South Africa to illustrate how these factors influence prospects for community benefit from protected area tourism. Like many other protected areas in Africa, …

Are Parties True To Their Word? Platform Politics In The 1996 Election, Catherine Louise Olexa

Honors Program Theses

There is a certain cynicism that prevails in our American culture when it comes to politics. Many people view politicians in a negative light, believing that a politician will say whatever voters want to hear while he or she is on the campaign trail, but that those promises are not made good upon after the election. It is for this reason that l chose to write on this issue of political promises. Despite the common attitude of skepticism, the question must be posed: Do parties and politicians keep their promises? There is no easy way to answer this question, because …

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."

The Case For Open Immigration, Chandran Kukathas

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

People favor or are opposed to immigration for a variety of reasons. It is therefore difficult to tie views about immigration to ideological positions. While it seems obviousthat political conservatives are the most unlikely to defend freedom of movement,and that socialists and liberals (classical and modern) are very likely to favor more openborders, in reality wariness (if not outright hostility) to immigration can be foundamong all groups. Even libertarian anarchists have advanced reasons to restrict themovement of peoples.

Nationalism And Multiculturalism, Chandran Kukathas

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

If any issue dominates contemporary political theory, it is how to deal with cultural diversity and the claims –moral, legal, and political – made in the name of ethnic, religious, linguistic, or national allegiance (Kymlicka,2001: 17). Today, governments are confronted by demands from cultural minorities for recognition, protection,preferential treatment, and political autonomy within the boundaries of the state. Equally, international societyand its political institutions, as well as states themselves, have had to deal with demands from various peoplesfor political recognition as independent nations, and for national self-determination. The turbulent politics ofthe contemporary world may account in part for this development: …

Multiparty Split-Ticket Voting Estimation As An Ecological Inference Problem, Kenneth Benoit, Michael Laver, Daniela Giannetti

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The estimation of vote splitting in mixed-member electoral systems is a common problem in electoral studies, where the goal of researchers is to estimate individual voter transitions between parties on two different ballots cast simultaneously. Because the ballots are cast separately and secretly, however, voter choice on the two ballots must be recreated from separately tabulated aggregate data. The problem is therefore of one of making ecological inferences. Because of the multiparty contexts normally found where mixed-member electoral rules are used, furthermore, the problem involves large-table (R × C) ecological inference. In this chapter we show how vote-splitting problems in …

A Regional Approach To Human Security In East Asia: Global Debate, Regional Insecurity And The Role Of Civil Society, James T. H. Tang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The concept of human security as a new paradigm presents a particular challenge for East Asia. While the region experienced dramatic political, economic and social transformations in the last few decades, much of the region’s key security concerns are state-focused. In fact East Asian regional security structures that are products of the Cold War era have remained largely intact.

From Principle To Practice: Constitutional Principles And The Transformation Of Party Finance In Germany And Italy, Riccardo Pelizzo

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The paper investigates the development of party finance and party finance legislation in Germany and Italy. The main claim of the paper is that the differences between German and Italian party finance reflect differences in the party finance legislation enacted in the two countries, which, in their turn, are a result of how the German and the Italian constitutional principles were translated into practice.

Trends In Parliamentary Oversight: Proceedings From A Panel At The 2004 Southern Political Science Association Conference, Riccardo Pelizzo, David Olson, Rick Stapenhurst

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

Does The Parliament Make A Difference? The Role Of The Italian Parliament In Financial Policy, Carolyn Forestiere, Riccardo Pelizzo

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

A recent survey conducted in a sample of 83 countries by the Inter-Parliamentary Union in collaboration with the World Bank Institute on the Relations between the Legislature and the Executive in the Context of Parliamentary Oversight allows cross-national comparison for the role of legislatures in the budgetary process. One of the survey’s most significant indications is that legislatures in presidential systems are generally more involved in the preparation of the budget than legislatures in either parliamentary or semi-presidential systems. The picture, however, is very different when we look at legislatures’ oversight of the budget. Parliaments are generally more involved in …

Tools For Legislative Oversight: An Empirical Investigation, Riccardo Pelizzo, Rick Stapenhurst

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Parliaments are the institutions through which governments are held accountable to the electorate. They have a wide range of tools with which to carry out this oversight function, but until recently little analysis had been undertaken on the characteristics or use of such tools. This paper uses data for 83 countries that was collected in 2001 to investigate whether the oversight potential relates to three variables, namely the form of government (presidential, semi-presidential, or parliamentary), per capita income levels, and the level of democracy. The paper finds that oversight potential is greatly affected by the form of government, per capita …

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.

José Ortega Y Gasset: Revolt Of The Masses Study Guide, Steven Alan Samson

Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Jacques Barzun: From Dawn To Decadence Study Guide, Steven Alan Samson

Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

George B. N. Ayittey: Africa In Chaos Study Guide, Steven Alan Samson

Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Erik Von Luehnelt-Leddihn: Liberty Or Equality Study Guide, Steven Alan Samson

Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

American Constitutional History Selected Bibliography, Steven Alan Samson

Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

William Anthony Hay: Geopolitics Of Europe Study Guide, Steven Alan Samson

Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.