Political Science Commons^™

Croatia Joins Europe, Nikola Kovač

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

On 1 July 2013 the Republic of Croatia will officially become the 28th member of the European Union. History of Croatia has always kept it on the brink of Europe. The case study of this enlargement examines the relations between Cr9atia and the European Union since Croatia became independent in 1991. This relation is divided into two eras, one of mutual distancing and the other of mutual rapprochement. The thesis aims to identify the dimensions of Croatian road to the EU membership which differ it from other accessions. Now, in the eve of enlargement both Croatia and the European Union …

Who Will Tell The Story? Terrorism's Relationship With The International News Media, Katherine Eugenis

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Terrorism feeds on an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty. In order for a terrorist group to achieve its purpose, its activities must be known to a mass audience. Due to the often isolated nature of the conflicts in which they are involved, terrorists groups must attract and maintain the attention of the mass media, through which they access a broader audience and gain salience. This relationship begs the question: will less media attention lead to less terrorism as groups lose their audience and are forced to use legitimate means of enacting change? This thesis analyzes the pattern of media trends …

Congressional Preferences And The Advancement Of American Nuclear Waste Policy, Rhoel Gonzales Ternate

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The problem of nuclear waste disposal has existed since the time of the Manhattan Project in World War II. Although there exist a number of technological hurdles, the main cause that has consistently plagued a solution to nuclear waste has been the politics behind it. This thesis attempts to add to the political literature behind nuclear waste disposal by examining the nuclear waste disposal preferences of members of the United States House and Senate. It then compares and contrasts those preferences with a report by President Obama's Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future. The hope was to determine if …

Exiting The Porkway: The Transformation Of Transportation Politics, Jeffrey A. Brauner

Political Science

Over the past two decades, there has been a decisive shift in how transportation policy is developed. For years, this policy area was viewed as one of the least combative arena in Washington. That is no longer the case. Theodore Lowi and James Q. Wilson’s views on policy arenas and political types will provide the framework for a discussion of the shift that transportation politics have undergone. Additionally, R. Douglas Arnold’s theory from “The Logic of Congressional Action” that reelection is the main force behind the votes of legislators will be used to gain an understanding of how individual legislators …

Transforming Schools Through Positive Youth Development, Briana Young

Political Science

Many of our schools in the United States are struggling to produce high school graduates due to many challenges such as poverty, lack of community support, drug and crime stricken areas, disengagement of youth, and the list goes on. Educational reform is necessary and crucial at this time in order to lessen the achievement gap. Although some policies, such as No Child Left Behind, have made some headway into reform, greater change is needed. I propose that educational policy needs to implement a positive youth development approach. Research has shown that PYD practices have the power to transform some of …

The Innocent Face Of Rights: An Exploration Of Children’S Rights And Its Influence On Community Development In The Dominican Republic, Hillary Anne Smith

Capstone Projects – Politics and Government

The protection of basic human rights and a higher level of community development are two closely connected elements that have the power to drive a nation. Over history, we have seen case after case in which human rights violations are closely linked to the plaguing occurrences of conflict, exclusion, and poverty, all of which are directly related to the quality and pace of development of a country (OECD, n/d). Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary General once said, "Humanity will not enjoy security without development, it will not enjoy development without security, and it will not enjoy either without respect for …

Death By Bullet, Fire, Or Vapor: Examining The Decision To Use The Atomic Bomb To End World War Ii In The Pacific Theatre, Jonathan Keenan

The Exposition

The atomic bomb is one of the most destructive devices man has created for warfare. Able to wipe out entire city blocks and dissolve a person’s body leaving only a shadow behind. How can any good be found in such a weapon? The paper will evaluate the process Americans went through to create this weapon and then use it. It will convey how different key players felt about the Bomb, such as politicians, scientists, and military figures. Both sides of the argument will be looked at whether the Bombs should have been dropped or if there was a way around …

Spying: A Normative Account Of The Second Oldest Profession, Ronald E. Watson

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

My dissertation attends to the urgent ethical problems raised by government spying. It asks and answers three principal questions: What is spying? What principles should regulate government spying? And how can government agents be constrained to follow these principles?

The first chapter takes up the conceptual question. I defend the following definition of spying: agent A spies on agent B, if and only if she collects information that relates to B and intends to conceal her information collection from B. The main challenge any conception of spying faces is to cover a relatively wide range of agents often thought to …

The Cowl: Former Chilean President Ricardo Lagos Visits Pc, Andres Taborda

Symposium on Peacebuilding and Justice

An article from PC's student newspaper, The Cowl, describing the Lagos lecture.

Lynch Poster, Mark Lynch

Symposium on Peacebuilding and Justice

Poster promoting Lynch lecture

A Step Toward Understanding Trust In The Government, Ted Delicath '13

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

Over the last fifty years, trust in government has declined. This paper seeks to further the understanding of trust in government. Using ordinal level survey data from 1998-2012, a crosstabular analysis is used to test governmental trust with broad and specific policy areas. This research challenges part ofPopkin and Dimock’s (2000) research, which asserts that citizens use trust as a heuristic for both broad and specific questions about the government. The empirical findings suggest that citizens distrust the government broadly but trust a wide range of programs implemented by the very government they distrust.

Promoting Democracy In Ethnically Divided Societies: The Benefits Of Combining Partition And Power-Sharing, Abigail Carter '13

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

Recent conflict resolutions have attempted to explain the best route ofresolving ethnic conflicts within divided societies. This research attempts to engage in the recent debate surrounding conflict resolution which highlights the effects of partition and power-sharing programs upon democratic consolidation. By using a focused-structured comparison of three cases, partition is found to be insufficient in attaining democracy. A combination of partition and power-sharing leads to more democratic consolidation within divided societies. Further, a society which is affluent and gender equal, neighbors other liberal democracies, and fully develops power-sharing institutions will enjoy significant advantages in securing stable and lasting democratic outcomes.

It's My Party And I'Ll Institutionalize If I Want To: Party System Institutionalization In Young Democracies, Zoe Gross '13

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

Scholars today mostly agree that party system institutionalization (PSI) is a key ingredient in the transition to a functioning democracy. The question of whether PSI matters is more or less resolved. What is less clear is a general theory of what can help new democracies reach a high level of PSI. The aim of this research is to discover the pre-conditions and elite choices that enhance the level of PSI in new democracies. This research uses two Most Different System designs to explore the results of ten hypotheses that test the relationship between the level of PSI and an array …

Bubble Pop: An Analysis Of Asian Pop Culture And Soft Power Potential, Nick Desideri '13

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

Despite scholarly work on Northeast Asia’s growing economic influence, few authors have adequately addressed the region’s increasing cultural clout as well. This paper aims to address this cultural impact in a specific diplomatic context in regards to the South Korea and Japan, and whether their respective pop cultures can be viewed as a source of soft power. An analysis of various academic works and media stories concludes that 1) neither country has been able to turn their soft power resources into actual political leverage, though 2) Japan’s mishandling of its national branding puts South Korea in a much more advantageous …

Why They Rise Up, Or Not: A Study Of Linguistic Minorities And Ethnic-National Mobilization, Yelei Kong '13

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

Most theories ofnationalism focus on majority nationalism and do not provide an adequate explanation of the inaction of most ethnic minorities. This paper adopts the political process model from social movement theory to study the factors that prompt linguistic minorities to mobilization on ethno-national grounds. Using a large-N statistical model with data drawn from the Minority at Risk database, the results indicate that the higher capacity, the more opportunity for action, and the better the issue is framed, the more likely linguistic minorities would mobilize.

Power And Fear: Explaining The Authoritarian Personality, Ryan Winter '13

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

As the ghost of Franklin Delano Roosevelt once said, “There is nothing to fear but fear itself. And also me.” Truer words were never spoken. Actually, these words were never spoken, but were lifted from an article in The Onion, in which the deceased Roosevelt advises Americans to lay aside all other fears and come together in mutual terror of his haunting specter. Sadly, many Americans pay no heed to this sage advice, and continue to be scared stiff by gays, foreigners, taxes, global climate change, and anything else that threatens to interrupt the flow of their life. Bob …

Authors' Biographies

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

Letter From The Department Chair, James Simeone

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

Editors' Introduction, Zoe Gross '13, Yelei Kong '13

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

Res Publica Xviii

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

Complete copy of the 2013 volume of Res Publica.

Looking Beyond The Allegory: The True Depiction Of Race In X-Men, Danielle Mueller

Symposium on Research and Creative Expression (SORCE)

In 1963, the first issue of X-Men was published, introducing the Marvel Universe and the world to mutants, super-powered individuals born with amazing powers. Feared and hated by the world they have sworn to protect, the mutant X-Men are often interpreted as representing a variety of marginalized groups. Modern scholarship generally focuses on the Bryan Singer film series and mutants as representative of homosexuals and Jews. Despite the validity of these modern readings, this focus has neglected the depiction of race in the original X-Men comics and has reduced the racial message of X-Men to a simple allegory in which …

The Language Of Human Rights: Applying The Communitarian Critique To Global Human Rights Language, Anna Wiersma

Symposium on Research and Creative Expression (SORCE)

There is a well-known critique of human rights talk in America, often named “the communitarian critique of rights”; however, except for a few hints and moments in the authorship of communitarian thinkers, such as Mary Ann Glendon, this critique is rarely applied to global human rights. Indeed, thinkers like Michael J. Perry say that this critique simply cannot be applied to global human rights. I will argue that the application is there to be made. In her book, Rights Talk, Glendon argues that Americans have particularly harmful rights rhetoric when compared to the rhetoric of other nations. The characteristics of …

Why So Special? The Israel Lobby, Human Rights, And United States Foreign Aid, Stephanie Volz

Symposium on Research and Creative Expression (SORCE)

Considered as Israel’s strongest ally, the United States has long maintained a special relationship with Israel. The alliance has remained strong even through challenges such as war, terrorism, and global opinions against Israel. Throughout the lengthy Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the United States has made Israel the top annual recipient of its foreign aid. In addition, the United States defends Israel from accusations regarding the legality of its actions toward Palestine and the Palestinian people. In this paper, I argue that U.S. aid to Israel is predicated on domestic political and special interest concerns. Specifically, I argue that increases in aid to …

Restoring Right Relationships: Restorative Justice And Post-Conflict States, Danielle Mueller

Symposium on Research and Creative Expression (SORCE)

A view has developed among peace and conflict scholars that peace cannot persist in post-conflict societies without also establishing justice. This means peace scholars and practitioners need to think about justice and use a conception of justice to guide their peacemaking actions. However, even though most people have an intuitive assumption that "justice" is an obvious and commonly understood concept, there are conflicting conceptions of justice. Many adopt a Kantian position on justice and assume it is synonymous with retribution. However, retribution is not the only conception of justice. In this project, I argue that the conception of retributive justice …

Immigration, Integration, And Public Opinion In The European Union, Andreas Jozwiak

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

No abstract provided.

To Act And Not Be Acted Upon: Embeddedness, Conformity, And Bad State-Building In Bosnia, Kurt Hepler

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

No abstract provided.

The European Union In The Quartet: Acceptance And Influence In The Middle East Peace Process, Cassandra V. Emmons

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

No abstract provided.

Disadvantages To Turkey’S Eu Accession: Turkish Perspective, Madison Campbell, Elisa Demartino

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

No abstract provided.

Peer Pressure: Social Psychology And The Political And Security Committee, Bryce Comstock

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

No abstract provided.