Political Science Commons^™

The Rise Of The Unilateral Executive, Anna Kitsmarishvili

Global Tides

This paper addresses the impact of executive order issuance on the separation of powers among the executive and legislative branches—particularly in the realm of foreign affairs. It concludes that judicial vagueness and avoidance regarding presidential directives has resulted in increased Executive authority. The aggrandizement of presidential powers in foreign affairs is revealed through examples from both the Bush and the Obama Administrations. By reviewing landmark U.S. Supreme Court cases, such as United States v. Curtiss-Wright Corp. (1936) and Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952), the paper examines the traditional framework of the Court regarding presidential direct action and …

Towards A Requirement Framework For Online Participation Platforms, Astrid Hellsmanns, Claudia Niemeyer, Margeret A. Hall, Tom Zentek, Christof Weinhardt

Interdisciplinary Informatics Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

Online participation platforms (OPPs) are frequently used by public institutions to involve citizens in political opinion forming and decision making. A literature re-view reveals different approaches to evaluate these OPPs. These approaches focus only on partial requirements of participation processes. In this research in progress, we develop and pretest an interdisciplinary literature-based requirement frame-work. It includes the categories usability, security, information, transparency, inte-gration, and mobilisation. Our aim is to close the research gap of a context-specific analysis and evaluation of OPPs.

Building Bridges Between Cultural Groups, John Francis Burke

Political Science Faculty Research

No abstract provided.

The Vp Advantage: How Running Mates Influence Home State Voting In Presidential Elections, Christopher J. Devine, Kyle C. Kopko

Political Science Faculty Publications

A widespread perception exists among political commentators, campaign operatives and presidential candidates that vice presidential running mates can deliver their home state's electoral votes in a presidential election. In recent elections, presidential campaigns have even changed their strategy in response to the perceived VP home state advantage. But is the advantage real? And could it decide a presidential election? In the most comprehensive analysis to date, Devine and Kopko demonstrate that the VP home state advantage is actually highly conditional and rarely decisive in the Electoral College. However, it could change the outcome of a presidential election under narrow but …

How Suffrage Politics Made—And Makes—America, Richard M. Valelly , '75

Political Science Faculty Works

Most Americans believe that the franchise has steadily and gradually expanded since the Founding. In fact “suffrage politics” has been far more complex and disjointed. This contribution develops a party-centered approach that identifies several types of enfranchisement and disenfranchisement, as well as suffrage regimes–that is, bundles of institutions and election law that are meant to buttress allocations of voting rights. This party-centered approach allows one to grasp that America’s struggles over the right to vote are, in cross-national perspective, not just unusual but highly unusual, and have been a central force in American political development.

Toward A More Inclusive Community: The Legacy Of Female Reformers In The Progressive State, Carol Nackenoff

Political Science Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Taking Sides In Peacekeeping: Impartiality And The Future Of The United Nations, Emily Paddon Rhoads

Political Science Faculty Works

United Nations peacekeeping has undergone radical transformation in the new millennium. 'Taking Sides in Peacekeeping' explores this transformation and its implications, in what is the first conceptual and empirical study of impartiality in UN peacekeeping. The book challenges dominant scholarly approaches that conceive of norms as linear and static, conceptualizing impartiality as a 'composite' norm, one that is not free-standing but an aggregate of other principles-each of which can change and is open to contestation. Drawing on a large body of primary evidence, it uses the composite norm to trace the evolution of impartiality, and to illuminate the macro-level politics …

Oxford Handbook Of American Political Development, Richard M. Valelly , '75, S. Mettler, R. Lieberman

Political Science Faculty Works

Scholars working in or sympathetic to American political development (APD) share a commitment to accurately understanding the history of American politics – and thus they question stylized facts about America’s political evolution. Like other approaches to American politics, APD prizes analytical rigor, data collection, the development and testing of theory, and the generation of provocative hypotheses. Much APD scholarship indeed overlaps with the American politics subfield and its many well developed literatures on specific institutions or processes (for example Congress, judicial politics, or party competition), specific policy domains (welfare policy, immigration), the foundations of (in)equality in American politics (the distribution …

The Bread She Earns With Her Own Hands: An Examination Of Lincoln's Political Economy, Rodolfo K. Hernandez

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on how Abraham Lincoln’s idea of “liberty to all” affected his political thought about the intersection of government and the economy. It is a search for Lincoln’s political economy. While contemporary economists focus on a single aspect of the person such as self-interest, Lincoln following thinkers such as Francis Wayland viewed economics as a moral science. I do this by examining the speeches and deeds of Abraham Lincoln. I explore topics such as what he meant by “liberty to all”, his valuing of a commercial society over an agrarian one, and his understanding of the importance of …

Review Of 'Republican Theology: The Civil Religion Of American Evangelicals', John Compton

Political Science Faculty Articles and Research

"Although I find Lynerd’s characterization of the Christian Right unpersuasive (for reasons explained below), Republican Theology nonetheless performs a valuable service in highlighting the reciprocal influence of religious and political ideas, particularly in the early years of the republic... Lynerd makes a strong case that American evangelicals, while aware of the potential for tension, viewed each commitment as indispensable to the formation of a Godly republic."

The Aesthetics Of Propaganda: Modern Design At The 1959 American National Exhibition In Moscow, Charlotte Hecht

American Studies Honors Papers

No abstract provided.

Burning Bridges: American Security Assistance And Human Rights In Mauritania, Isabel Wade

CMC Senior Theses

This paper examines the intersection between human rights and security assistance in Mauritania. In American security assistance broadly, and within the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership specifically, there has been an over-securitization of “whole of government” counterterrorism policy. While the United States recognizes the need to address the social, economic, and political roots of extremism, it has failed to do so in practice. If the United States continues to support Mauritania with conventional security assistance but does not tackle the root causes of extremism, it will ultimately fail in fighting terrorism in the Sahel. In order to succeed, the U.S. government must …

Lessons In Micropolitical Management: A Case Study Of China's Investment And Political Intervention In Zambia, Eugene Daryl Nandwa

CMC Senior Theses

China continues to invest in natural resources in Africa to fuel its economic growth.China’s expanded presence in Africa has contributed to growing tensions within the Sino-African relationship. This thesis examines a variety of historical factors that have contributed to the increased presence of China in Africa, and how these factors have evolved into the foundations of the tensions observed today.

By exploring the historical patterns of the Sino-Zambian relationship, this thesis will shed light on the foundations of the underlying tensions between the two countries. With the Zambian election of 2006 as a focal point, China faced a political crisis …

Assessing Access To Social Services In Emerging Systems: A Conceptual Approach, Steven G. Anderson, Meirong Liu, Xiang Gao

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

There has been considerable concern about systemic factors that serve as access barriers for vulnerable groups in need of services, but conceptual and empirical work related to such issues have been limited. This article presents a new conceptual approach for considering and assessing access, which we call the “Funnel Framework”. The framework is explicated abstractly, and is illustrated with use of the U.S. child care subsidy system. We argue that the framework can usefully guide the analysis of access to any social benefit system, and can be helpful to administrators and program developers as they design and implement benefit systems.

Ethnic Political Parties And Civil Conflict, Erin Nicole El Koubi

LSU Master's Theses

The lack of consensus on the significance of ethnicity on civil conflict derives from the measures used, not from the concept’s lack of merit. Current measures, such as the ethno-linguistic fractionalization index (ELF), examine differences in demographics rather than how the diversity becomes politically relevant or when the diversity leads to conflict. By using Horowitz’s (1985) theory of ethnic voting and a measure for how closely a state’s political parties are aligned with ethnic groups, one can better assess how countries’ ethnic groups are politically organized and how this organization is associated with civil conflict. Using an original measure derived …

Maternal Mortality: A Policy Comparison Between Nigeria And India., Rachel Quarles

Dissertations and Theses

A staggering number of women die from preventable deaths each year from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. India hosts the greatest number of actual maternal deaths in the world, although Nigeria’s ratio of maternal deaths to live births is greater than India’s. This thesis focuses on the experience of these two countries in order to determine if India’s governmental policies, level of government corruption, and traditional practices directly lead to its comparably better maternal health statistics. India has demonstrated lower ratios of maternal mortality and more consistent improvement in maternal health indicators than Nigeria as a result of stronger …

Restauración De La Diplomacia Y Sus Implicaciones: Los Próximos Pasos En Las Relaciones Entre Los Estados Unidos Y Cuba, Emily Chambard

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis explores the implications of the recent restoration of diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba. Through historical analysis and discussion of the ‘Cuban Thaw’ beginning in 2009, it proposes certain courses of immediate and long-term action for both nations, but specifically the United States, to guarantee future collaboration and mutual gain. Its conclusions emphasize the unique nature of current circumstances, which have opened a window of opportunity never before seen in the history of US-Cuban relations. The causes are one, the succession of Fidel Castro by his brother, Raúl, who has already demonstrated more progressive policy action …

Is Bipartisanship Dead? Policy Agreement And Agenda-Setting In The House Of Representatives, Jesse Richman

Political Science & Geography Faculty Publications

The title of Laurel Harbridge’s book Is Bipartisanship Dead? poses an important question, even if the answer is ultimately ambiguous. Although Harbridge persuasively concludes that “bipartisanship is not dead” (170), this book provides plenty of reason to worry about its health.

Review Of Alice Kang, Bargaining For Women’S Rights: Activism In An Aspiring Muslim Democracy, Jaimie Bleck

Department of Political Science: Faculty Publications

In Alice Kang’s Bargaining for Women’s Rights: Activism in an Aspiring Muslim Democracy, readers are introduced to the contentious debates about the inclusion of women’s rights policy in Niger. Based on fourteen months of fieldwork, the author provides a vivid exploration of domestic politics as the Muslim-majority state negotiates its transition to democracy. Kang shows that political actors adopt some women’s rights policy, while simultaneously rejecting comparable legislation on women’s rights.

This book offers an important step forward for research trajectories that seriously consider domestic determinants of policy outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa, but also Muslim-majority democracies more broadly.

Review Of Muslim Women In Postcolonial Kenya: Leadership, Representation And Social Change By Ousseina D. Alidou, And: Bargaining For Women’S Rights: Activism In An Aspiring Muslim Democracy By Alice J. Kang.", Lisa Mueller

Department of Political Science: Faculty Publications

Alidou offers an important lesson for scholars who study Muslim women in contemporary Africa: gender and religion are transnational identities, but “being a Muslim in a predominantly Muslim area has different implications for Muslim women and men than being a Muslim in a predominantly non- Muslim area” (103). This is an implicit invitation to read Muslim Women in Postcolonial Kenya alongside literature on regions of Africa where Muslim women are in the religious majority.

Enter Bargaining for Women’s Rights: Activism in an Aspiring Muslim Democracy by Alice J. Kang, who studies women in the context of Niger, a country whose …

Review Of Joe Renouard, Human Rights In American Foreign Policy; From The 1960s To The Soviet Collapse (Philadelphia: University Of Pennsylvania Press, 2016), Isbn 9780812247732, 324 Pages., David P. Forsythe

Department of Political Science: Faculty Publications

There are historians who do dense narrative history with great attention to documenting the details. And there are other historians who use history to paint a big conceptual picture whose accuracy often leads to much debate. Joe Renouard is in the former camp, with his new book on human rights in US foreign policy during the middle and late stages of the Cold War. Samuel Moyn is in the latter camp, with his stimulating and widely read but controversial interpretations in The Last Utopia: Human Rights in History.

Representation And Governance In International Organizations, David P. Rapkin, Jonathan R. Strand, Michael W. Trevathan

Department of Political Science: Faculty Publications

What does representation mean when applied to international organizations? While many scholars working on normative questions related to global governance often make use of the concept of representation, few have addressed specifics of applying the concept to the rules and practices by which IOs operate. This article examines representation as a fundamental, albeit often neglected, norm of governance which, if perceived to be deficient or unfair, can interfere with other components of governance, as well as with performance of an organization’s core tasks by undermining legitimacy. We argue that the concept of representation has been neglected in the ongoing debates …

[Introduction To] Arabia Incognita, Sheila Carapico

Bookshelf

In 2011, millions of Yemenis calling themselves the Peaceful Youth joyfully joined the “Arab Spring.” Four years later, popular aspirations for social justice and a serious attempt at national dialogue were thwarted by deadly domestic power struggles. When the pro-Saudi, US-supported government fled to Riyadh in April 2015, the Kingdom led a multinational military intervention inside Yemen. By December, daily bombardment had killed thousands of fighters and civilians, injured and displaced hundreds of thousands, and decimated homes and infrastructure. A naval blockade cut off access to fuel, medicine, and food for millions. In addition to this humanitarian catastrophe, the ensuing …

[Introduction To] Transnational Capitalism In East Central Europe's Heavy Industry: From Flagship Enterprises To Subsidiaries, Aleksandra Sznajder Lee

Bookshelf

Focusing on the steel industry during the post-communist transition from 1989 through 2009, Aleksandra Sznajder Lee traces the transformation of flagship state enterprises in the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia into the subsidiaries of large, international corporations. By analyzing this transformation at the three levels of enterprise, sector, and national-international nexus, she identifies the players—from international investors and European Union members to national labor unions and local industry managers—in the political economy of reform. Even in the midst of the transition to a capitalist, democratic system, Sznajder Lee finds, the state plays a key role in mediating between domestic …

[Introduction To] Memory, Invention, And Delivery: Transmitting And Transforming Knowledge And Culture In Liberal Arts Education For The Future, Richard Dagger, Christopher Metress, J. Scott Lee

Bookshelf

In a time when liberal arts education is increasingly under attack, this volume reminds readers that dedicated teachers at colleges and universities are passing on the heritage of liberal education as well as constructing its future. Future citizens, businesswomen and men, scientists, artists and those working in educational or social programs will all benefit from the insights of this volume into historical, ethical, literary and philosophical perspectives provided by core text liberal arts education.

Call For Papers 2017: The Social Practice Of Human Rights, University Of Dayton

Content presented at the Social Practice of Human Rights Conference

The University of Dayton Human Rights Center invites proposals from scholars, practitioners, policymakers, and advocates on a broad array of human rights topics. The Center welcomes both theoretical and applied research proposals that capture important trends in human rights scholarship and research. We encourage the submission of individual papers, complete panels, roundtables, workshops, and practitioner presentations, as well as interdisciplinary and scholar-practitioner collaborations.

To submit a paper or proposal, see the conference's section in the repository: http://ecommons.udayton.edu/human_rights/

Trauma And Free Speech In Higher Education: Do Trigger Warnings Threaten First Amendment Rights?, Jordan Doll

Honors Papers

This paper considers the constitutional questions posed by trigger warnings in higher education. Specifically, I look at the relationship between trigger warnings and First Amendment rights. I show that trigger warnings, a hot button issue in academia and the cultural discourse today, are neither exempt from constitutional concerns nor do they automatically violate First Amendment rights.

The Court often interprets the First Amendment’s central goal as promoting the pursuit of truth through the uninhibited free flow of ideas. The Court defines institutes of higher education as crucial spaces to forward this pursuit. Do trigger warnings aide or hinder the pursuit …

Attracting Foreign Direct Investment In Pakistan: The Role Of Governance, National Security And Global Investment Trends, Sakina Lavingia

Honors Papers

Private sector investment has become one of the most essential sources of international capital flows to developing countries. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) as one type of private sector investment has the potential to drive economic growth and development. Understanding the factors that motivate or deter foreign investors from investing in a developing country therefore is crucial. This thesis examines the particular case of Pakistan and analyzes internal and external factors that have affected the inclines and declines in inflows of FDI to the country between 2000 and 2014. By performing a comparative sectoral analysis, this thesis examines the effects of …

Prosperity In The On-Demand Economy: Reinvigorating The American Labor Force, Ziya Mehmet Smallens

Honors Papers

In the 21st century, the American labor market is best defined by instability. Since the 1970s, more and more Americans have been forced into precarious work arrangements that fail to ensure job security, livable wage-rates, or employee satisfaction. A dark cloud swirls around the labor market in the form of contingent work. Contingent workers are not guaranteed the same protections and securities as traditional employees. Firms revel in an employment landscape that allows them to deploy and terminate workers with ease. Contingent work has carved its own position in the economy in the form of the Gig economy. The Gig …

Waging Wars In Cyberspace: How International Law On Aggression And Self-Defense Falls Short Of Addressing Cyber Warfare. Could Iran Legally Retaliate For The Stuxnet Attack?, Willa Rubin

Honors Papers

The technical capabilities of the Stuxnet worms-launched by the US and Israel against Iran's nuclear facility-prove that the operation could be considered an act of aggression, as defined in the Rome Statute. Further, this paper asserts that Article 51 of the UN Charter is insufficient to addressing malignant cyber operations.

The paper is organized as following: 1) Introduction, 2) Research Limitations, 3) Context: International Relations Theory and Types of International Law, 4) Understanding “Cyber” Within The Scope Of This Paper, 5) The Stuxnet Operation, 6) Historical and Legal Roots of “Aggression” and “Self-Defense”, 7) Stuxnet as an act of aggression, …