Political Science Commons^™

Empowering Women In China: The Role Of Women’S Organizations And Civil Society, Amany Khodair

Political Science

Egypt and china share cultural, constitutional and historical similarities make it possible for Egypt to benefit from the Chinese Model of women empowerment. The ALL-China Women Federation (ACWF) has succeeded to negotiate an effective and instrumental role in the development of the status of women and their empowerment in China through its collaborative efforts with both the Party and the Government. The Egyptian National Council for Women (NCW) can follow in its foot-steps and adopt similar approaches to develop incremental long-term empowerment achievement programs.

A Discernible Impact? The Influence Of Public Opinion On Eu Policymaking During The Sovereign Debt Crisis, Jennifer R. Boyle, Chris Hasselmann

Political Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

The European sovereign debt crisis provides an excellent opportunity for examining the extent to which public preferences constrain member state preferences for EU policy solutions. We examine the influence of public opinion on austerity, spending, and regulation on member state preferences on 4 major EU solutions to the crisis from 20I0-2011: the initial Greek financial rescue, the creation of the European Stability Mechanism, the reform of the Stability and Growth pact, and enhanced EU financial regulation. Our analysis reveals that prior to elections and/or when there is a degree of fragmentation in the governing party or coalition public opinion constrains …

Comparing The Campaign Financing Patterns Of Male And Female Congressional Candidates, Sara M. Thane

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Nearly 100 years after gaining the right to vote, women are nowhere near reaching equal representation in the United States Congress. Although this is likely due to a range of factors, the possibility that women remain underrepresented because of a campaign financing disadvantage is explored in this research. While there is a rich body of literature comparing how male and female Congressional candidates finance their campaigns, previous research has not compared the net worth of male and female members of Congress or how net worth affects the amount of campaign receipts a candidate receives. Additionally, the self-financing patterns of male …

In The Debt We Trust: The Unconstitutionality Of Defaulting On American Financial Obligations, And The Political Implications Of Their Perpetual Validity, Zachary K. Ostro

Student Articles and Papers

Starting in August 2011, America has undergone a series of fiscal and political crises surrounding the threat of defaulting on the national debt and the need to raise the debt ceiling. These crises have caused tremendous stress and irreparable harm to our financial markets and political system, causing a downgrade in United States debt for the first time in history, forcing drastic budget cuts, and contributing to a sixteen-day government shutdown this past October. What is most unfortunate, however, is that all of this was preventable for the simple reason that, as a matter of constitutional law, defaulting on the …

Positive Political Outcomes From Feminist Islam In Afghanistan: Identifying Development Program Features That Raise The Status Of Women, Margaret Courtney Barnard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Existing literature establishes a connection between elevating the status of women in less developed countries and positive political outcomes including: increased national stability, decreased likelihood of civil conflict, and international stability. In particular, the literature suggests that working within the dominant cultural framework of a country makes development projects more successful. This thesis expands upon these bodies of literature and examines the outcomes of the work of two major development agencies in Afghanistan, the UN and USAID in the area of women's education and healthcare. The thesis analyzes some specific characteristics that influence the effects of these programs in the …

The Effects Of Divided Government On Women's Organizations' Political Activity In Developed Democracies, Alexandria Wilson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the relationship between divided government and women's organizations' political activity. In the literature divided government is associated with political openness leading to a decline in the repression of alternative political views and increased organizational activity. In this thesis I hypothesize that divided government is related to increased participation in political activity by women's organizations. Political activity is expected to increase during periods of divided government due to increased opportunities to influence formal government as political parties and elected officials compete for public support. This study analyzes political activity by organizations associated with the women's movement in two …

The Impact Of Self-Objectification On Political Efficacy: Does Self-Image Affect Feelings Of Political Adequacy, Victoria M. Hurst

Honors Program Theses

The phenomenon of self-objectification develops from the internalization of the objectification of the human body by the individual, occurring most prevalently among women, and results in a host of negative psychological effects (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997). Among these effects are increased body surveillance, disrupting one’s ability to achieve peak states of motivation, and body shame. It is possible, then, that feelings of inadequacy, as a result, affect other realms of life, including an individual’s orientation toward the political world. To test this proposition, I conducted an original online survey (N=948) to determine if higher rates of selfobjectification, utilizing measures for …

Nafta 2.0? Looking At Nafta 20 Years Later To Predict Tpp's Effects On Jobs And Income Inequality In The United States, Michael Noone

Washington Semester Program

No abstract provided.

Class In-Formation: The Intersection Of Old And New Media In Contemporary Urban Social Movements, Peter N. Funke, Todd Wolfson

Government and International Affairs Faculty Publications

This starts out by distinguishing between communication and communication mediums when examining social movement-powered formations of collective identity and collective action. We then focus on communication mediums to examine the different ways that old and new media are utilized in urban social movements under neoliberal capitalism. Based on shifts in the political economy and correspondingly in the contemporary composition of the working class, we focus on the Media Mobilizing Project in Philadelphia to argue that contemporary urban social movements and networks utilize a multi-media platform to further class-based politics. The respective use of old or new media depends on important …

Introduction To Deliberation, Democracy, And Civic Forums: Improving Equality And Publicity, Chad Raphael, Christopher F. Karpowitz

Communication

Innovative forums that integrate citizen deliberation into policy making are revitalizing democracy in many places around the world. Yet controversy abounds over whether these forums ought to be seen as authentic sources of public opinion and how they should fit with existing political institutions. How can civic forums include less powerful citizens and ensure that their perspectives are heard on equal terms with more privileged citizens, officials, and policy experts? How can these fragile institutions communicate citizens' policy preferences effectively and legitimately to the rest of the political system? Deliberation, Democracy, and Civic Forums proposes creative solutions for improving equality …

Sigma: Journal Of Political And International Studies

Sigma: Journal of Political and International Studies

No abstract provided.

Populism And The 2005 Iranian Presidential Election, John Gibbons

Sigma: Journal of Political and International Studies

No abstract provided.

Aiming For Certainty: The Kanun, Blood Feuds And The Ascertainment Of Customary Law, Sandra F. Joireman

Political Science Faculty Publications

Customary law is an alternative legal framework to statute or public law. In the past the existence of customary law was viewed as problematic due to the uncertainty which accompanies legal pluralism. Increasingly, scholars are recognizing legal pluralism as simply a reality to be negotiated, rather than a problem. One frequently proposed solution to the difficulties posed by the existence of customary law is to write it down, or ascertain it, in order to provide for legal certainty. This article addresses this goal in three parts. The first part describes customary law and how it functions in its uncodified form …

Yemen Between Revolution And Counter-Terrorism, Sheila Carapico

Political Science Faculty Publications

This chapter juxtaposes these seemingly two quite different storylines - one about Yemeni aspirations for social justice and better governance and the other about American and Saudi operations undertaken in the name of combating terrorism. The so-called GCC Initiative, and in particular the National Dialogue Conference process playing out as this book goes to press, provides the link between them. From the perspective of domestic politics, the Dialogue can be read as the outcome of agitation by the new generation of 'peaceful youth', as well as an outgrowth of Yemen's tradition of dialogue - an historic effort to resolve crisis …

Rebuilding Communities After Violent Conflict: Informal Justice Systems And Resource Access, Sandra F. Joireman

Political Science Faculty Publications

A community recovering from war or ethnic conflict has to find ways of reweaving the fabric of economic and social life with new patterns of interaction and changed demographics.² In post-­‐‑conflict settings customary law has a particular attraction because of the moral authority it brings to the establishment of order. Customary law is familiar, tied to the identity and history of a community, and operates independently of outside resources. Although the term evokes images of a universal acceptance and ancient origin, customary law has always been dynamic, defined by those in power, and subject to political interests.³ Informal …

A Discussion Of The Impact Of Political And Economic Forces On Equitable Access To Potable Water In Ecuador And Recommendations For Improvement Through Better Watershed Management, Eliza States

Pitzer Senior Theses

This thesis will address the impact of political and economic forces on the equitable access to fresh water in Ecuador. Demographic factors such as the rural-to-urban migration and the political and economic forces have strongly influenced the debate over the privatization of the provision of potable water and sanitation services. Within the context of Ecuador, two different approaches by the largest cities, Quito and Guayaquil, are analyzed; in Guayaquil, the services were privatized, while in Quito, the public utility was corporatized, remaining under public control. It concludes arguing that in the face of political instability and a lack of regulatory …

Un Análisis Comparativo Sobre Las Políticas Migratorias De Alemania, Argentina Y Los Estados Unidos, Jessica O. Garcia

CMC Senior Theses

Este papel tratará y comparará las experiencias migratorias de Alemania y Argentina, para así entender la política migratoria de los Estados Unidos. ¿Pero que tienen que ver las políticas migratorias de Alemania y Argentina con la política migratoria de los Estados Unidos? Los Estados Unidos se encuentra en el “fork in the road” proverbial en cuanto a la política migratoria. Desde este punto hay muchas voces dentro del discurso sobre la política migratoria. Estos discursos enfatizan diferentes aspecto sobre las migraciones desde quienes pueden y deberían inmigrar, hasta como es que se debe de integrar el inmigrante. Voy a profundizar …

A New Balance: National Security And Privacy In A Post 9-11 World, Russell B. Wilson

Honors Theses

The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 shocked the American security apparatus, placing greater pressure on the security actions of the U.S. government, particularly regarding information gathering. Laying out a framework that examines different notions of national security and privacy, this paper examine three case studies to illustrate the role of the government and the inherent friction between privacy and security that increased information gathering inherently creates. The shifting balance between the two variables forces us to reexamine how we want our government to protect us and what we will sacrifice in order to ensure our own well being. With …

Online Social Networking And Political Participation: The Role Of Social Media And Students' Engagement In Politics, Ellen M. Eckert

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Perils Of Ignoring (Or Misunderstanding) Politics And Organizing, David Johns

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Conservation scientists and advocates were surprised by the U.S. Congress stripping away protection for wolves in the US northern Rocky Mountains. If they had paid attention to earlier political lessons in which court victories had been undermined by determined political organizing they would not have been surprised and could have adopted strategies that would have given them much more leverage with elected officials. Instead conservationists were out-organized and elected officials normally supportive of the U.S. Endangered Species Act responded to anti-wolf groups because they brought more pressure to bear than conservationists. Although political lessons are specific to the system in …

Arab Authoritarianism And Us Foreign Policy, Ki Chun Luk

Bachelor of Social Sciences – Senior Theses

This qualitative research aims to examine the nature and reasons for America support for Arab authoritarian regimes in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, and to provide further details by examining the inferiority of liberal cultures and superiority of realist approach and continuation/discontinuation of this existing approach after/during the Arab Spring by case studies. In order to have a systematic analysis, alternative theoretical models, including a revised national interest model, the neoclassical realist US grand strategy model (Dueck ,2008),the international conditions analysis by Petras (2011),and US domestic politics model will be examined. Currently, the issue under study suffers from little systematic …

El Salvador: The Case Of Credicampo, Alexandria J. Trimble

Capstone Projects – Politics and Government

The study of community development is constantly exploring new methods and ideas to improve the living conditions and opportunities for people who live in poverty. Governments, financial institutions, non-governmental organizations, and grassroots community groups coordinate efforts to bring about profound change and growth through a variety of mechanisms such as public grants, education, small business development, and microfinance. Whereas the study of community development is rarely viewed as a scientific endeavor, the qualitatively measured relationships between communities and outside development intervention may allow for more understanding and exploration into the field.

Working to include and utilize the abilities of local …

Not So Private: A Political Theology Of Church And Family, Jana Marguerite Bennett

Theology and Religious Studies Faculty Publications

The words used to describe that relationship are public and private, words that frequently appear in both secular and Christian conversations about marriage and family. We name "family" and "church" as private matters, parts of life that are necessarily held distinctly from public matters, as in political life. At the same time, because Christians rightly understand family as a place where people learn discipleship and a place where formation and evangelization happen,³ we care very much about how to think about families in relation to church and state. There is a relationship between these three entities, American Christians …

The State Of The Parties (Seventh Edition), John C. Green, Daniel J. Coffey, David B. Cohen

The State of the Parties Seventh Edition

Continuing a three-decade tradition, The State of the Parties 7th edition brings together leading experts to evaluate change and continuity in American electoral politics. Political parties in America have never been more contentious and divided than they are right now. Even splits within the parties themselves have the power to elevate relatively unknown candidates to power and topple established incumbents. With sections devoted to polarization and the electorate, polarization and political elites, tea party politics, super PACS, and partisan resources and partisan activities, the contributors survey the American political landscape. They pay special attention to polarization between and within the …

Individual Differences In Pyschological Evaluations Of Electoral Risk: Furthering The Explanation Of The Gender Gap In Candidate Emergence, Jennie Sweet-Cushman

Wayne State University Dissertations

Despite decades of movement towards gender parity in other aspects of American society (e.g. education, business), women remain significantly underrepresented in the political realm. Electoral bias against women cannot be blamed; when women run, women win. However, women don't seek political office in high numbers. This project builds on previous examinations of the gender gap in political ambition by proposing that a contributing factor to the likelihood someone will seek political office is their perception of electoral risk. While there have been no studies of gender-based differences in psychological response to electoral risk, differences in risk assessment have been documented …

Herodotean Realism, Joel Alden Schlosser

Political Science Faculty Research and Scholarship

With the renaissance of political realism has come an insistence that the study of politics be historically located. While many political realists trace their conception of historical inquiry to Thucydides, this article shows how Herodotus can offer a more realist approach to political phenomena. Herodotus crafts a self-conscious form of historical inquiry that foregrounds the actual activity of the historian as intersubjective, reflective, and particular. Herodotus thus models a historical investigation that shows its own limits while demanding the evaluation of its readers, offering a way to address criticisms of political realism’s singular and unacknowledged historical narratives. Moreover, Herodotus’s Histories …

Shifting Gears: Industrial Policy And Automotive Industry After The 2008 Financial Crisis, Seung-Youn Oh

Political Science Faculty Research and Scholarship

Apart from being one of the hardest hit sectors during the 2008 financial crisis, the auto sector is also a prominent sector where emerging auto markets such as China have fared relatively well compared to their competitors in North America and Europe. This paper examines various ways that nations have shifted their policy gears to revive and restructure the automotive industry by using the case studies of the USA, France, and China. New sets of policy initiatives are contingent on particular industrial and institutional contexts, but both developed and developing countries have employed wide range of “murky” protectionist measures. This …

Suburban Sustainability: Favorable, Forgotten, Or Fantasy?, Tessia Melvin, Tessia G. Melvin

School of Business Student Theses and Dissertations

In the decades after World War II, the United States became a prosperous nation and world superpower. Reinventing itself through the development of suburbs, many communities were created by suburbs. Years later, criticized for suburban sprawl and aging communities, suburban communities today are faced with the dilemma of what changes to make in order to create sustainable suburban communities.

Most of the literature on sustainability and its success comes from the private sector. Much available literature provides sustainable indicators and concepts on corporate sustainability. As a result, many public administrators are faced with a reality that changes need to occur …

Structural Limits Of Liberal Neutrality: Understanding Problems For Sustainabiity, Madison R. Williams

Scripps Senior Theses

Liberalism is a political philosophy that is “committed in the strongest possible way to individual rights, and, almost as a deduction from this, to a rigorously neutral state” (Walzer 99). It takes its “constitutive morality” to be a “theory of equality that requires official neutrality amongst theories of what is valuable in life” (Dworkin 203). For this reason, some theorists say Liberalism and the idea of environmental sustainability are not in conflict with one another. According to Mike Mills, because the commitment to neutrality means there is “no given set of policies associated” with Liberalism, any outcome is plausible (168). …

What Happens When You Throw The World’S Biggest Party: The Political Impact Of Hosting Fifa’S World Cup, Branden A. Green

Phi Kappa Phi Research Symposium (Archived)

This research effort is a comparative study on the political impact on host countries holding the World Cup. Specifically, are the impacts different for a developed country compared to a developing country? The two countries that I will use as case studies are Germany (host of the 2006 World Cup) and South Africa (host of 2010 World Cup). Such cases offer excellent insight into the immense amount of political power associated with the World Cup -- especially the preceding year of the tournament due to the host country being under a proverbial microscope. A survey of FIFA officials will form …