Political Science Commons^™

Campaign Donations And Political Efficacy, Lauren Ewashko

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

With the marked increase in campaign spending and thus campaign fundraising we have seen an increase of Super PAC donations to political campaigns. The decline of political efficacy and political trust in the United States is sometimes linked to the increase of these kinds of big money donations in elections. It has been argued that the average civilian no longer feels like their donation counts towards achieving a win in political campaigns. There are those who say that the fact that politics is dominated by a small number of big donors has lead to a decline in individual contributions by …

Judicial Activism’S Effect On Judicial Elections, Nick Fernandes

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

High profile Supreme Court cases have become increasingly commonplace, particularly with the Citizens United court decision granting unprecedented rights to corporations. Many in the media have decried these as examples of increasing “judicial activism”. This trend has trickled down to the state supreme courts as justices have increasingly played a more active role in developing policy. Gay marriage has become legalized in numerous states due to this trend. While public sentiment is unlikely to affect the appointed Supreme Court, it could have a substantial impact on state judicial elections.

This paper will specifically be looking at judicial elections in Kentucky. …

Voting Preference, Religion And Ethnicity’S Impact On Party Identification, Benjamin Gourley

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Voting in the Presidential election always comes down to the wire, which leads political scientists to contemplate the most efficient ways for candidates to target and seize voters. The study explores how ethnic and religious values affect a voter’s party identification. This study will identify theories of opinion formation and connect these theories to the values that religious and ethnic voters rely on when voting for a candidate. This study hypothesizes three things: first, religious groups will tend to vote for candidates that hold the same religious values. Second, Ethnic groups will tend to vote for candidates that share the …

Predictors Of Support For A Woman President, Frances Chang

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

In recent years, the number of women holding a higher political position is rising; additionally, more and more women are running for office. Furthermore, female politicians are increasingly being elected as the head of nations globally. Although the number of women in the government is increasing, they are still underrepresented politically compared to men and are still facing obstacles while running for office. The United States is one of the strongest countries around the world, with a successful democracy for hundreds of years. The country emphasizes liberty and equality; however, the United States has not yet had a female president. …

Bowling Online: Youth, Participatory Politics, And New Media, Kathryn Newburn

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Understanding the ways youth engage in politics is vital to the preservation of democracy, as they will eventually be its administrators. Young Americans are disconnecting from formal political participation; election turnout is weak and membership in political parties and organizations is declining. However, the turn away from traditional, institutional political participation has been accompanied by the rise of an alternative political tool: new media. Social networks, blogs, and other virtual communities now offer alternative, informal platforms through which youth have found a political voice. Research has largely been divided into examinations of waning institutional engagement and, separately, the rise of …

Crime Media, Punitiveness, And Fear, Robert Roussel

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

This paper focuses on public opinion of crime salience and punitive attitudes, looking specifically at how crime-news consumption affects such attitudes. Sensationalized local TV news has become heavily focused on crime and accidents in recent decades, and many researchers claim that heavy consumption of local crime news lead one to overestimate crime rates. Not only do people perceive that there is more crime, but they often feel a personal threat to their safety, and consequently advocate more severe criminal justice policies. Even if it does lead people to erroneous beliefs, the quasi-sanctity of freedom of the press in the U.S. …

Civics And Politics: Does Civic Education Affect Levels Of Political Knowledge?, Lauren Siaumau

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

In the midst of a rapid decline of an active youth in the political scene, it would seem appropriate that the causes of such a phenomenon would be researched in an effort to find an explanation and possibly a solution to this problem. Previous research on this issue has yielded various possible factors. I intend to focus on the education aspect, specifically a civic education and how that translates to our youth being more politically active. The question posed in regards to this issue is are civically educated individuals more inclined to be politically active? While other research has brought …

The Angry Electorate - Affect And Voting Decision Making, Negeen Amirieh

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Political scientists do not typically focus on the affect, but rather they focus exclusively on cognition. Relying on the 2012 ANES, the present study seeks to understand and analyze the importance of how a voter’s emotions specifically anger towards a political figure can effect the voter’s actions. In this paper, the factors that are essential in understanding emotions in politics are: effect of anger in comparison to other affects, distrust in media and reliance on party identification, and the role of cognition in relation to affect, the correlation between affect and cognition with voting behavior. The present research answers the …

American Perceptions Of Iran, Avery Bissett

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

American foreign policy in regards to Iran has been among the most visible stories in recent years and will certainly continue to be as negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program continue. Although many factors influence how Americans view other countries, one of the most important factors is the media and how it covers Iran. In addition to investigating how specific media outlets shape our views of Iran, it will also investigate how the medium (print, TV, online, radio) influences our perception. It will use data from the 2012 American National Election Study, which asked participants whether they believe Iran is pursuing …

Somsavat Lengsavad [Laos, Deputy Prime Minister], Somsavat Lengsavad

Digital Narratives of Asia

Somsavat Lengsavad is Deputy Prime Minister of Laos. He joined the People's Revolutionary Movement as a combatant in 1961 and his efforts to liberate and unite Laos found him in government decades later. He speaks to DNA about his time in combat, as well as the lessons he learnt from his role model, former President Kaysone Phomvihane.

The St. Louis Desegregation Transfer Program: Do African American Students Perform Better In An Integrated Setting, Marquita Lanee' Bowers-Brown

Dissertations

The academic achievement gap between the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County students indicates educational and racial disparity between the city and county schools. The City of St. Louis and St. Louis County school districts have tried to solve this racial disparity in public education through St. Louis’ interdistrict student transfer program, the Voluntary Interdistrict Choice Corporation (VICC). Starting in the 1980s, this transfer program aimed to desegregate the predominantly white, higher performing county school districts and the predominantly black, low performing city school district. This dissertation focuses on the effectiveness of this program. Do African American students …

About The Contributors

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

No abstract provided.

Gendered Legislation: Effects Of Percentages Of Females In Legislatures On Policy, Elizabeth Gribbins

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Does the amount of women in the legislature have an effect on the type of legislation passed? Wide variation exists in gender parity across countries; however, whether or not the amount of women in legislatures has an effect on the type of policy that is proposed and/or passed by the government is largely overlooked. In this analysis, I analyze the percentage of women in the legislature and six measures of women’s rights in 139 countries. I have found that there exists a small positive statistical relationship between the percentage of women in the lower legislature and the more legislation passed …

The Foumban "Constitutional" Talks And Prior Intentions Of Negotiating: A Historico-Theoretical Analysis Of A False Negotiation And The Ramifications For Political Developments In Cameroon, Fonkem Achankeng

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

This paper links the nationalist conflict in postcolonial Cameroon to the prior intentions of the parties at the 1961 Foumban “Constitutional” Talks characterized by a false negotiation experience. I argue that the political developments in the Cameroon post-Foumban and the tensions that have led to outcomes such as the desire of British Southern Cameroons to “restore independence and sovereignty” resulted from the fact that the parties at the Foumban Constitutional conference had divergent prior intentions of the meeting, including false negotiating. In exploring the 1961 Foumban Talks, the framework through which the two former and separate UN Trust Territories under …

Anglo-French Negotiations Concerning Cameroon During World War I, 1914-1916: Occupation, "Condominium" And Partition, Lovett Z. Elango

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Anglo-French disagreements over Cameroon during World War I and the efforts to resolve them both during the Allied campaigns in the territory and at the end of the war suggest that negotiation can occur even in wartime successfully. At the outbreak of the war Cameroon was a German territory like Tanganyika, South West Africa, and Togoland. The Anglo-French grand strategy and war aims were to seize these territories and oust the Germans from them. Consequently, Cameroon became the theater of an intense military struggle and a pawn of Anglo-French imperial rivalry fuelled by the conflicting territorial ambitions and claims of …

Faith-Based Organisations And Conflict Resolution In Nigeria: The Case Of The Christian Association Of Nigeria (Can), Paul Ilo

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

With so much emphasis on religion as a source of conflict, the role of religion and by extension religious actors as strong forces in conflict resolution is usually overlooked. For a long time, research in the Conflict Resolution field failed to focus on the role religion plays in conflict resolution (as opposed to its role in making conflicts intractable) or specifically to the unique features and strengths of faith-based actors in conflict resolution. In Nigeria, as well as in Africa and other parts of the world, faith-based organizations (FBOs) have been increasingly involved in attempts to end conflicts and make …

Lexicons Of Colonialism: A Grounded Theory Examination Of Indian And Supreme Court Definitions Of Sovereignty, Jacob Daniel Bosley

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Sovereignty has served as an important political principle in the United States in both its founding and its relations with Native peoples. While the United States signed hundreds of treaties with Native peoples that recognize tribal nations as separate political entities, the political status and legitimacy of Native peoples has constantly come into question. Sovereignty has been cited throughout America’s founding documents and major Supreme Court opinions as the measure of political authority used to judge the status of Native peoples relative to the United States overriding political authority. The precedent established by these citations of sovereignty remains unclear, and …

Factors Driving North Korean Military Provocations, Adam F. White

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This paper examines the causal factors underlying North Korea’s decision to use military actions against South Korean and U.S. personnel, both military and civilian, from the post-Korean War until the present day. It tests hypotheses at the systemic, domestic, and individual levels of analysis and draws conclusions as to what forces and theories appear to explain North Korean behavior across three different leaders. It concludes that North Korea is largely leadership-driven and that there has been a shift away from military provocations since the time of Kim Il-Sung in favor of nuclear weapons development.

Curiosity Or Manners: The Values That Shape American Political Mindsets, Ryan Winter

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

In the late 1990s, political analyst and linguist George Lakoff proposed an intriguing new way to understand what separates liberals from conservatives in American politics. His theory was based on the premise that there are two opposing frames through which Americans view politics, and that parenting values determine which frame one chooses. Those who adhere to the strict father model hold conservative beliefs on a wide range of issues, while nurturant parents are more liberal. Lakoff's writings have since become widespread and his parenting theory has convinced many political strategists and activists, despite the fact that his hypotheses lacked empirical …

The Myth Of The Clash Of Civilizations: Confucian Values And Democratic Support, Xinlin Xu

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

Literature on political culture claims Confucianism is incompatible with modern liberal democratic values. However, little empirical evidence has been presented to prove the validity of this statement. This paper quantitatively studies the relationship between Confucian values and democratic support in East Asian society and finds no negative correlation between the two.

No Smoking: Policy Diffusion And Its Prevailing Factors, Brad Gresik

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

Over the past few years, many states have taken steps to ban smoking in public areas. The process of specific polices spreading across state lines is called policy diffusion. Statewide anti-indoor smoking bans are utilized to demonstrate what the most prevailing factors in policy diffusion are. A two-step approach to analysis is implemented, first looking only at simple policy adoption among the 50 states, and secondly the rate at which the policy expands across the country. A strong presence of local ordinances, nearby neighbors with statewide bans in effect, and a history of smoking preemption laws are found to be …

The Least Dangerous Branch: The Dark Horse In American Democracy, Lexi Baltes

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

This research examines the extent to which the Supreme Court has the power to influence public opinion. There is a good deal of consensus in the literature regarding the influence of public opinion on the Supreme Court. However, a relatively small pool of contradictory research attempting to turn the casual arrow from the Court to the public underscores the fact that the question of whether or not a dynamic, back-and-forth relationship exists is still open for debate. Using a portion of the work done by Erikson, MacKuen and Stimson in The Macro Polity (2002) as a model, and relying heavily …

Mass Shootings, Mass Media, And Mass Opinion: An Examination Of How The News Media Affects Public Opinion In The Aftermath Of Mass Shootings, Patrick Cavanaugh

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

This research looks at how newspaper mentions of mass shootings correlate with the percentage of people in the U.S. who view gun control as the most important issue facing the country. While the agenda-setting effect of the news media has been theorized and demonstrated for a number of different issues, scholars have yet to consider how the news media may set the agenda for the public’s view on the importance of gun control through its coverage of mass shootings. Utilizing designs put forth by Smidt (2011), Tan and Weaver (2007), and Winter and Eyal (1984), this paper seeks to fill …

Vicious Cycle Or Business Cycle?: Explaining Political Violence In Northern Ireland After The Troubles, Lauren Burke

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

There are currently two schools of thought that seek to explain the persistence of political violence in Northern Ireland, one with a sociopolitical focus and the other with an economic focus. Expanding on past economic theory, this paper utilizes several multiple regression models to test the applicability of the economic school's relative deprivation theory in the fifteen years since the Troubles were formally ended with the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. The basis of this theory is that as economic conditions worsen in a given area, the number of acts of political violence should also increase. This study specifically …

Authors' Biographies

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

Radical Right Populist Parties In Britain And The Netherlands: Explaining Electoral Success, Casey Plach

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

Radical right-wing populist parties have recently emerged throughout Europe, but the electoral success among these parties is incredibly inconsistent. In the Netherlands, Geert Wilders’ Dutch Party for Freedom (PVV) has become established in the country’s political system, while the British National Party (BNP) and the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) struggle to gain even a single seat in British parliament. Models outlining a formula for the rise and success of populist parties can help explain why some parties achieve an electoral breakthrough and others do not. Researcher of radical right populism Pippa Norris’ model of electoral success is divided into …

Editors' Introduction, Nick Desideri, Ryan Winter

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.

Table Of Contents

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

Res Publica Xix

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

Complete copy of the 2014 volume of Res Publica.