Political Science Commons^™

Seeing The Forests For The Trees: A Comparative Study Of The Green Belt And Chipko Movements, Claire E. Elverum

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The Green Belt Movement (GBM) in Kenya and the Chipko movement in India are two examples of social movements that support the ecofeminist ideology. Both of these environmental movements began under similar circumstances at around the same time, but they are now very different. While the GBM broadened its focus beyond planting trees and gained widespread international attention, the Chipko movement maintained its central focus on protecting trees and remained relatively decentralized and informal. This paper uses these two social movements to explore which factors most influence social movement success and international reach.

Too Much Television?: Does Watching Political Ads Influence If And How People Vote?, Andrew Haveles

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The goal of this study was to examine the impact of negative political advertising on a young voters’ emotions and his/her decision to vote in the next election. This was done through the lens of the theory of cultivation analysis. The theory stated that the more television a person watches, the more likely he/she is to believe what he/she sees is reality. Using a cross-sectional survey, 324 participants viewed one of four political ads or a control group ad. Although no significant evidence found that negative political ads would stop people from voting, some significant evidence suggested that negative ads …

Markers Of Social Movement Success: The Case Of Dominican Citizenship After Resolution 12, Kylie N. Skorupa

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Social movements are the basis for social change, started when a group challenges political authority and ending when its goals have finally been met. Social movement theory names many factors commonly found in social movements such as movement structure, leadership, framing, symbolic representation, resources, transnational activism, political opportunity, and media coverage, as well as many indicators of success including advocacy, public awareness, and policy change. It is vital to understand the indicators of success and their interplay within the movement to evaluate how a movement achieved success. This thesis seeks to examine these eight factors within the social movement MONDHA, …

Ngo Collaboration In Natural Disaster Response Efforts- A Comparative Case Study Of Earthquakes In Asia, Richelle S. Grogg

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This paper examines the response of NGOs to natural disasters, specifically in regards to collaboration efforts. The study utilizes a comparative case study methodology of most-similar design to look at three specific disasters- The Kashmir Earthquake, The Sichuan Earthquake, and The Japan Earthquake. Within each of these earthquakes the organizations Doctors Without Borders, the International Red Cross, and Oxfam International’s specific responses will be highlighted. The collaboration efforts will be examined utilizing general questions focusing on willingness to collaborate, commitment, and compatibility of objectives. Ultimately, this study found that all three components seem to be hypotheses worthy of further study.

Hiv/Aids And The European Union, Victor Hammarin

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is an ailment like no other. Despite huge improvements in treatments for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), which causes AIDS, those living with the disease continue to suffer from treatment inequality and discrimination. This is especially true in the European Union (EU), which is a supranational entity that works to improve prosperity, equality, and wellbeing among member-states. Despite extensive EU efforts to improve the standard of living across the inter-governmental body, treatment inequality for those living with HIV/AIDS in the EU continues to be a major issue. This study hypothesized that a strong EU initiative, which …

How Women Of Color Feminists Enabled Coalitional Members To Work Across Difference, Brooke L. O'Neal

Honors Thesis

This research analyzes different theories of coalition in relation to the feminist movement. It first analyzes the model of a leftist hegemony as a type of coalitional model theorized by Laclau and Mouffe. Laclau and Mouffe move outside of a Marxist paradigm by acknowledging that unjust social conflicts exist beyond class. They theorize that a coalition based on multiple groups of oppressed people coming together in the name of liberty and equality will be enough to address sexism. Their model does not account for the inevitable factions that would exist within such a large coalition. The ethical component Laclau and …

Universal Jurisdiction: The Oxymoron Of International Law, Christian Russell Flemming

Senior Theses

The topic of universal jurisdiction is one that is unknown to many people because of its uniqueness. The oxymoronic nature of its title reveals the inconsistency in current international prosecution. Universal jurisdiction allows states to claim criminal jurisdiction over an accused party regardless of where the alleged crime was committed and regardless of the nationality of the accused party. States invoked the principle of universality during the Nuremberg trials, initiating the modern take on international war crimes such as crimes against humanity and genocide. The politicization of universal jurisdiction does not allow for an independent judiciary and so the system …

Same Story, Different Name: A Survey Of The Causes And Effects Of The Medicalization Of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Sarah Elizabeth Truesdale

Senior Theses

As society sees a rise in the addition of medical issues to the DSM that were previously deemed non-medical conditions, there is reason for a multi-variate analysis to take place. Post-traumatic Stress Disorder was added to the DSM-III in 1980 and has seen change both in the DSM-IV and DSM V. To understand these transitions, we start with a historical analysis of the mental health condition to legitimize its need for medicalization. This will then be followed by an analysis of the medicalization process in order to understand the progress that has been made as a mental health condition that …

Assessing The Feasibility Of An Attack Of Iran's Nuclear Infrastructure In The Event Of A Violation Of The Jcpoa, Cameron Nicholas Rentschler

Senior Theses

Few issues have dominated American foreign policy over the past 30 years than the contentious relationship that America holds with Iran. Of particular concern has been how the US should respond to the existence of an illicit nuclear program within Iran. As of January 16^th of 2016 however, US-Iran relations entered a new era with the full implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action which outlines actions that Iran must take and maintain in order to rejoin the international community as a country with a legitimate interest in nuclear power. However, as we have learned from past nuclear …

Tale As Old As Time: Storytelling And The Art Of Dark Ride Design, Creighton-Elizabeth Radcliffe Boggs

Senior Theses

This senior thesis project is an exploration of the dark ride not as a commercial product, but as an underappreciated art form. It examines the history and development of the dark ride, as well as recent trends and technologies in theme park design. This information is illustrated through the development of a dark ride proposal, complete with detailed concept art and a scale model.

Causes And Consequences Of The Syrian Civil War, Chelsea Marie Baltes

Senior Theses

This senior thesis is an in depth analysis of the historical causes of the Syrian civil war. I argue that the main components leading to the civil war under Bashar al-Asad were as follows; Sectarian division, French intervention and mandates, Israeli & Syrian conflict, Egypt & Syrian Union, and Hafiz al-Asad’s rise to power. My research and analysis provided demonstrates that these previously mentioned historical stimuli have all amalgamated leading to the instability under Bashar al-Asad and ultimately the modern civil war we see today. The paper will also analyze the consequences of this instability seen in government and society, …

Beyond Metropolises: Hybridity In A Transnational Context, Raihan Sharif

disClosure: A Journal of Social Theory

Beyond metropolises and within transnational contexts, investigating hybridity discourses is long overdue. This article argues that the epistemic violence embedded in such discourse has grave implications for the very impoverished nations and peoples with whom it claims solidarity and that, because this discourse is trendy in academia, its service to neoliberal capitalism is both easy to miss and important to expose. Interstices of postcolonial hybridity discourses, development discourses, and environmental justice discourses—dominant versions of which are segregated from contextual issues—as produced in Western academia and exported to third world countries for appropriation as developmental efforts—reveal epistemic violence, the manipulation of …

How Voters Hold The European People’S Party Accountable In European Parliament Elections, Douglas D. Page

Political Science Faculty Publications

The established consensus is that voters do not hold European Union leaders accountable for their management of the economy in European Parliament elections, which contributes to the EU’s democratic deficit. However, the existing research misses a comparison between those who feel that the national government is responsible for their economic situation and those who feel the EU is responsible. The analysis is based on surveys of the 28 EU members. I find that when one assigns more responsibility to the EU than the national government for national economic conditions, satisfaction with the economy increases the likelihood of voting for the …

Scatter 1: The Politics Of Politics In Foucault, Heidegger, And Derrida [Table Of Contents], Geoffrey Bennington

Philosophy & Theory

“Bennington’s Scatter 1 is a sophisticated, detailed, and strikingly original demonstration of the political efficacy of deconstruction. As always with Bennington, to read him is to undergo an education in reading.” —Robert Bernasconi, Pennsylvania State University

“The Union Forever”: Frederick, Maryland In The Elections Of 1860 And 1864, Megan E. Mcnish

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

Frederick, Maryland has been remembered as a bastion of Unionist sentiment during the Civil War. However, in the Election of 1860, on the eve of the nation’s internal conflict, a large portion of the city’s 8,000 residents voted for a secessionist candidate. The Election of 1860 is famous for straying from the typical bi-partisan election; four candidates ran for office and each appealed to different political sentiments. [excerpt]

Resettling Syrian Refugees In The U.S.: Regional Stability And Saving Lives, Alexander Kochenburger

Washington Semester Program

In the greatest humanitarian catastrophe since World War II, millions of Syrians have fled their homes since the start of the Syrian conflict in 2011. This thesis argues that the United States needs to resettle more Syrian refugees to prevent further destabilization in Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey. Specifically, the United States should go above President Obama’s current proposal to accept 10,000 Syrians this year and follow the recommendation of former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and resettle 65,000 additional Syrian refugees over the next five years. In addition, most of these 65,000 refugees should be families with young children and …

Pantsuits And Public Opinion: An Analysis Of Media Coverage Of U.S. Female Political Candidates, Mary Kate Martin

Senior Capstone Theses

Although women comprise over half of the population of the United States, they are vastly underrepresented in all levels of American government. This paper seeks a possible explanation for the small number of females in American political leadership positions. Some scholars have suggested that media portrays female candidates negatively, which influences public opinion negatively. This paper examines the extent to which this is the case, analyzing articles about Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin, Nikki Haley, Wendy Davis, and their male opponents from The Washington Post and The New York Times for examples of media framing, media bias, and reporting using gender …

Mentoring Environment Grant Final Report (2014-2015), Quinn Mecham

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The academic objectives of this proposal were largely met, including the collection of a global database on Islamist political parties, which has informed scholarship published in the last two years and which will be published in the coming years. Extensive bibliographies of Islamist parties in more than 20 countries around the world were developed. Coded data collection on Islamist movement behavior, including protest and violence, was collected for 9 countries in the Arab world that were convulsed by political change during the Arab uprisings of 2011-­‐12. Much of the material developed during this grant period will also be used in …

“Bracketing” Foreign Policy From Domestic Affairs: A New Paradigm For International Negotiation And Decision-Making, Scott Gerschwer Ph.D.

Journal of Interdisciplinary Conflict Science

This paper argues that geo-political negotiators must separate domestic issues from their calculations and consider only strategic goals and international concerns when working through issues with other global leaders. The impetus for this paper is a recent poll that shows that 52% of Americans want to bomb Iran, apparently without considering the consequences. I will give some history, present some recent cases and attempt to create a mechanism for separating international and domestic issues to relieve a source of pressure on negotiators.

Race Prominent Feature In Coverage Of Trayvon Martin, Erin Willis, Chad Painter

Communication Faculty Publications

This textual analysis examines news framing of the shooting of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman. After studying coverage from The Sanford Herald (North Carolina), The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and The Denver Post, the authors conclude national media perpetuated racial stereotypes, thus heightening the issue of race and making the case more emotional than factual.

Readers outside of Sanford, N.C., had few details about the physical altercation, the heart of Zimmerman’s self-defense claim.

Breaking The Legacy: Recognizing And Prosecuting Sexual Violence As A Violation Of Human Rights In The Democratic Republic Of The Congo, Miranda L. Weinstein

Sustainability and Social Justice

This paper aims to outline the existing policies aimed at providing protection for sexual abuse survivors in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In an attempt to provide justice for the survivors of sexual abuse, an analysis of the 1992-1995 Bosnia and Herzegovina post-conflict reconstruction is included. In particular, prosecution of sexual violence and rape as a weapon of war will be provided in order to weigh the benefits and weaknesses of international criminal law. The conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo witnesses widespread and systematic sexual violence abuses. With over 60 armed groups at any given day, …

Fascism Revisited Or Millennial Eurosceptic Populism? Analysis And Rationale For A New Political Movement In The 21st Century, Prebble Q. Ramswell

Dissertations

Euroscepticism has steadily increased since the late 1990s, culminating in the emergence and success of numerous Eurosceptic and anti-establishment parties at the national and international level. Though often considered fascist and extremist, these groups have successfully achieved recognition and mainstream support as their once non-traditional ideas have become the norm. It is argued that these groups are a new class of social movement organization, a modern-day manifestation of fascism to be called Millennial Eurosceptic Populism. What conditions have allowed for these groups to emerge and attain such levels of success? Analysis utilizing fsQCA will test variables from McAdam’s Political Process …

Nuclear Power Plant Policy Comparison Between The U.S. And Republic Of Korea, Vara Ha

Sustainability and Social Justice

Five years after the Fukushima accident, people and countries still argue about the opportunity costs of denuclearization. While nuclear power generation has safety and waste issues, it is carbon free. Climate change has created more pressure for greenhouse gas reduction, so a few countries have decided to maintain or even increase nuclear power generation. The United States ranks first for using nuclear power produced by electricity generation, while the Republic of Korea, the closest country in proximity to Japan, ranks fourth in countries that use nuclear power. In fact, Korea even rapidly increased nuclear business after the Fukushima accident. Despite …

The Influence Of Agriculture Policy: The Effects Of The Farm Bill On Farm Size, Crop Choice, And Trends In Agriculture, Emma Cotnoir

Sustainability and Social Justice

The agricultural sector in the United States is accounts for a large portion of the economy as well as environmental degradation, yet agricultural policy is often overlooked. This paper will look at one longstanding piece of legislation known as the Farm Bill, specifically the 2008 and 2014 versions, and the way the Commodity and Crop Insurance measures steer the industry. Secondary data was taken from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), along with peer reviewed journals and studies.

Trends would suggest that while other factors are involved, the Commodity subsidies encourage larger farms as well as a shift towards …

Analysis Of Strides For Peace In The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict With The Application Of Theories By Butler And Buber, Rebecca Katherine Buchanan

Student Scholarship

In the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, social norms, media pressures and government policies promote division and fear of the other. This constructed understanding of the other often prohibits relationship and harvests fears that lead to perpetuated violence and injustice in the region. However, two organizations, the Abrahamic Reunion and the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, exist to combat the hatred and violence by promoting understanding across conflict divides. These two groups design spaces where individuals on opposing sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can foster relationships and develop more complete understandings of the other that contradict the polarized stereotypes promoted by their government and media. …

America's Dangerous Political Polarization And Moderate Stigma, Dan Sicorsky

Washington University Undergraduate Law Review

This paper addresses the underlying causes of polarization and moderate stigma, and proposes methods for increasing the number of nonpartisan politicians. A reemergence of moderate, non-binary voices in representative bodies can remedy Washington's historic unproductiveness and voting center's shameful desertedness. If we do not alter the ways we think, act, and vote, the two aisles will keep bloodily drifting apart, voting will end up an antiquated tradition, and Washington will cement its image as the battleground of unproductiveness.

Corporate Responsibility In Peace Building, Conflict Prevention And Development: The Role Of The Mining Sector In Ghana, Abdul Karim Issifu

Journal of Interdisciplinary Conflict Science

This article seeks to explore the role of the mining sector in peace building, conflict prevention and community development in Ghana. After thoroughly reviewing secondary data, including articles, books, journals, newspapers, etc., via critical document review and qualitative research approaches the research found that, there is no legal document on CSR in Ghana, yet mining companies in a free will, have executed CSR programs laying down for peace, security and development in the country. More so, this article provides a theoretical support for the Integrative theory of CSR on the basis that, the socio-economic, political, cultural and environmental needs of …

Graphic Editorials Fighting The Status Quo: Artists And Social Critics During The World Wars, Rhoda Terry-Seidenberg

Lander College of Arts and Sciences Publications and Research

The author discusses the works of political posters, caricatures, and cartoons and how the artists used their craft to make graphic editorials against the status quo during the two World Wars.

The Priorities And Accomplishments Of Kentucky Legislators : Is There A Gender Difference?, Amanda Allen

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

This thesis uses Kentucky as a case study of gender differences in the policy priorities and perceptions of accomplishments of state legislators. The research question is, “are there gender differences in the legislative priorities and perceptions of accomplishments of Kentucky legislators?” The legislative priorities of the legislators seemed to be similar, along with their own classification of women’s issues. The perceptions of success demonstrated that male legislators were not necessarily more likely to attribute success to themselves, whereas women would attribute success to collaboration efforts. The research was completed through confidential interviews with Kentucky legislators and analysis of the 2015 …

Heart Of Darkness: New Hampshire Campaign Finance Law Since Citizens United, Jay Surdowski

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

[Excerpt] “Perhaps one of the greatest election law paradoxes in the United States is that New Hampshire—the First in the Nation Presidential Primary State—a State whose citizenry famously prides itself on political engagement—is also a State with some of the most complicated and sporadically enforced campaign finance laws in any jurisdiction. The post-Citizens United world, wherein vast quantities of unlimited and anonymous corporate and individual donations by some of the wealthiest citizens are freely flowing (so-called “Dark Money” because the identities of donors are shielded by law), has only exacerbated the loud creaks of the rickety campaign finance law firmament …