Political Science Commons^™

Biodiversity Gains? The Debate On Changes In Local- Vs Global-Scale Species Richness, Richard B. Primack, Abraham J. Miller-Rushing, Richard T. Corlett, Vincent Devictor, David Johns, Rafael Loyola, Bea Hass, Robin J. Pakeman, Liba Pejchar

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Editorial: Do changes in biodiversity at local scales reflect the declines seen at global scales? This debate dates back at least 15 years...

National Interests And Security Policies In The Arctic Region Among Arctic States, Hilde-Gunn Bye

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The United States, Canada, Russia, and Norway are all Arctic states; however, they prioritize the region to different degrees in terms of investments of security assets and military presence. What explains why some Arctic countries prioritize the Arctic more than others? This thesis explores this question through using an issue-based approach, which looks at the salience of issues as having implications for foreign policy tools and measures. This thesis finds that having interests and stakes in the region of high overall salience contribute to an explanation of why some countries prioritize the region more, while low overall salience is linked …

The Ins And Outs Of Advocacy, Stacy Etheredge

Articles

No abstract provided.

The African Puzzle: A Study Of Democratic Backsliding In Sub Saharan Africa, Ailbhe Rice

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The following study examines the future of democratization and the apparent trend towards autocratization within the context of democratic backsliding in Sub-Saharan Africa. Initially, the findings indicate that regionally, backsliding is not acting fundamentally different in Sub-Saharan Africa when compared to other regions. The analysis finds that regime duration and civil conflict are both significant when it comes to the study of democratic backsliding. The variable for the prior military regime's is extremely significant in all of the models and is, therefore, a strong indicator of backsliding in Africa. The chief takeaway from the study is in the variable for …

On The Defensive, Erika Simpson

Political Science Publications

Just before Christmas, the U.S. Congress rushed through the Pentagon’s request for US$4 billion to detect, defeat and defend against ballistic missiles.

“We are ordering $4 billion worth of missile defence equipment and missiles themselves. Very important,” President Donald Trump said at the White House. “Top of the line. Best in the world. We make the best military product in the world, and nobody is even close.”

Cultural Diplomacy And Trade: Making Connections, North American Cultural Diplomacy Initiative

FIMS Publications

The North American Cultural Diplomacy Initiative’s (NACDI) approach to cultural diplomacy is based on: an expansive and nuanced approach to the term culture; a belief in the necessity of relational, rather than transactional engagement; and an interest in understanding the significance of non-state actors in the current network environment of diplomacy. Rather than seeing the multifaceted nature of cultural diplomacy as a challenge, NACDI points to complexity as a reason to advance nuanced discussions, including the recognition of a wide range of actors and activities, and well-developed indicators that have specific qualitative and quantitative measurements. The report, Cultural Diplomacy and …

Reflection/Commentary On A Past Article: “A Practical Iterative Framework For Qualitative Data Analysis”, Prachi Srivastava, Nick Hopwood

Education Publications

This submission is a reflection by Srivastava and Hopwood on their earlier article, A Practical Iterative Framework for Qualitative Data Analysis, originally published in International Journal of Qualitative Methods in 2009, and selected for the journal’s special anniversary issue, “Top 20 in 20.” They discuss how they have applied the framework in their various studies since then, Srivastava, primarily in field-based international research in education and global development, and Hopwood, in education and health. Based on a brief analysis of the paper’s citations, they identify its impact to have been: in a wide variety of fields crossing disciplinary boundaries, studies …

Explaining Civilian Attacks: Terrorist Networks, Principal-Agent Problems And Target Selection, Max Abrahms, Matthew Ward, Ryan Kennedy

Department of Political Science

Terrorist groups exhibit variation in their targeting choices. Why do some groups direct their violence against civilians while others limit this occurrence? This study analyzes the network relationships between terrorist groups to elucidate their targeting behavior. Drawing upon insights from the organizational ecology and conflict literatures, we predict that terrorist group affiliates will be significantly more likely than their parent group to attack civilian targets. Our original principal-agent theory consistently outperforms extant explanations in a multi-method analysis of 238 terrorist groups from 1998 to 2005. These results shed new light on why certain terrorist groups are more likely than others …

Human Rights, Sharon Sliwinski

Data and Test Instruments

It is one of the most recognizable passages in the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) – that slightly oblique, and yet grave reference to the Nazi death camps: ‘Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind…’ These barbarous acts were front-page news in most of the Allied countries in the spring of 1945, at the very moment when the United Nations was founded at a conference in San Francisco. The newsstands were filled with photographs from the newly liberated Dachau and Buchenwald camps. Illustrated magazines such …

Sexual Violence In The Field Of Vision, Sharon Sliwinski

Data and Test Instruments

Meditating on a single photograph from a recent Human Rights Watch report concerning police violence in Northern British Columbia, Canada, this paper pursues two lines of questions about the visual politics of human rights. One concerns how our ways of seeing—our modes of attending to the vulnerability and integrity of particular persons—can itself be understood as a form of human rights practice. The other aims to widen space in contemporary political theory for thinking about how sexual violence functions as a central technology of sovereignty and how we might make this phenomenon more perceptible. The paper explores the ways photographs …

The Right To An Image, Sharon Sliwinski

Data and Test Instruments

No abstract provided.

Professor Anatol Rapoport’S Contribution To Game Theory And Peace Research, Erika Simpson

Political Science Publications

At the forefront of the game theoreticians who conceived of concepts that contributed to peace research and conceptualized strategies that could promote international cooperation, Professor Anatol Rapoport used simple game theory in the classroom to generate ideas about how to enhance world peace. The basic logic of game theory is explained using his game models of ‘Chicken’ and ‘Prisoner’s Dilemma’. Rapoport’s revolutionary ideas about how to promote international and national cooperation are overviewed; for instance he developed a simple strategy, Tit for Tat, to help minimize conflict that won two computer tournaments, and he taught scholars to consider the risks …

Documenting Sociopolitical Development Via Participatory Action Research (Par) With Women Of Color Student Activists In The Neoliberal University, Jesica S. Fernández, Jasmyne Y. Gaston, Madeline Nguyen, Jaia Rovaris, Rhyann L. Robinson, Danielle N. Aguilar

Ethnic Studies

Political activism attests to the sociopolitical development and agency of young people. Yet the literature sparingly engages the intersectional subjectivities that inform the sociopolitical development of young people, especially women of color. Important questions remain in the theorizing of sociopolitical development among youth engaged in political activism within higher education settings. Thus, we focus on the following question: What experiences informed or catalyzed the sociopolitical development of women of color student activists within a racialized neoliberal university in the United States? In addressing this question we demonstrate how student-led participatory action research (PAR) within the neoliberal university can facilitate and …

Bionic Wings, Jacob Bruggeman

Compass: An Undergraduate Journal of American Political Ideas

In an infinite expanse such as the one we inhabit, we are mere mites in the soil, “creatures weak and fragile, small and helpless, finite and mortal” (Tucker, First Things, online). Our eyes always fixed upon the future, blooming ad infinitum, we will “run faster,” “stretch” ourselves farther, yet never fail to fall back to the ground. Our hands in the dirt, our fingers moving upon blades of grass, we still hunger for a future of our own design. We are born without wings and bogged down by both our human history and our only true human birthright: to fail, …

The Proof Is In The Pudding: The Myth Of Equality, Emma Lentchner

Compass: An Undergraduate Journal of American Political Ideas

Equality is treated as a universal and invariable concept, yet in practice authors manipulate it constantly to articulate their own interpretations, inadvertently transforming it into a political conception.

Author information: Emma Lentchner recently graduated from Smith College (‘18), and majored in Political Theory and Philosophy. She is particularly interested in the underlying patterns that subliminally govern our known world and is continuously looking to explore and deconstruct these mental and institutional constructs.

Women Vs. Men—Who Makes Better Use Of Financial Aid?, Colton Keddington, Nichole Keddington

Sigma: Journal of Political and International Studies

No abstract provided.

Why The U.S Should Not Deport Immigrants, Pedro Serrano

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

Illegal immigrants are people who come the the U.S illegally or come in legal through visa and stay over their stay period. There are many reasons why one would cross the boarder such as wanting a better life for themselves and families but some people, such as the President, do not see that. An estimated 381.5 billion between 623.2 billion dollars would be lost within the country if they were all deported. Illegal immigrants make up 65% of the agricultural production. It will cost millions and millions of dollars to deport every single illegal immigrant and also take about 20 …

When Free Speech Disrupts Diversity Initiatives: What We Value And What We Do Not, Reshmi Dutt-Ballerstadt

Faculty Publications

In this essay, I argue that the debate on free speech as pushed by the conservative right is a strategic apparatus to undermine the various diversity initiatives on college and university campuses. While supporters of the right wing extremists around the globe have pushed for various modes of exclusions (social, racial, ethnic, cultural, religious and sexual), here in the United States, such exclusions are most evident in the collapse of academic freedom and the rise of civility codes as students and educators use the platform of free speech to promote various forms of injustices and exclusions. Our neoliberal college and …

Rhetoric, Public Policy, And Security, Jose Villalobos, Cigdem Sirin

Departmental Papers (PS)

No abstract provided.

Rhetoric, Public Politics, And Security, Cigdem Sirin, José Villalobos

Departmental Papers (PS)

No abstract provided.

The Representation Of Women In Brazilian Politics, Pedro A. G. Dos Santos, Kristin N. Wylie

Political Science Faculty Publications

Book Description
With contributions from leading international scholars, this Handbook offers the most rigorous and up-to-date analyses of virtually every aspect of Brazilian politics, including inequality, environmental politics, foreign policy, economic policy making, social policy, and human rights. The Handbook is divided into three major sections: Part 1 focuses on mass behavior, while Part 2 moves to representation, and Part 3 treats political economy and policy. The Handbook proffers five chapters on mass politics, focusing on corruption, participation, gender, race, and religion; three chapters on civil society, assessing social movements, grass-roots participation, and lobbying; seven chapters focusing on money and …

Coin Doctrine For The 21st Century Gwot: Improvements For Battling Al Qaeda In The Western Sahel, Caleb Archuleta

Honors Program Theses

This paper takes an interdisciplinary approach in examining the United States role in the conflict in Mali and Niger. As a strategic locale in a region that is plagued with conflict, the U.S. is faced with increasing involvement across Africa, specifically the Western Sahel. With an Al Qaeda that continues to shift, change, and grow, the U.S. is faced with a War on Terror that is increasingly difficult to contain or succeed in. In an effort to shift the narrative to one from counterterrorism to one of counterinsurgency, this paper takes an in depth look at the political, geographical, sociocultural, …

Terrorist Celebrity: Online Personal Branding And Jihadist Recruitment And Planning, Ari Weil

Pomona Senior Theses

Shifts in culture and technology have changed the manifestation of celebrity in modern society, culminating in the practice of internet microcelebrity, where one views followers as fans, produces content consistent with a personal brand, and engages in strategic interaction with devotees. This thesis examines how those effects have also changed how terrorists present themselves and operationalize celebrity status. An original typology of terrorist celebrity is presented: traditional, martyr, and internet micro-celebrity. Two in-depth case studies of terrorist micro-celebrities are analyzed: Anwar al-Awlaki of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and Junaid Hussain of the Islamic State. The case studies are …

2018 Constitution Day Essay Contest 2nd Place, Courtney Vice

Constitution Day Essay Contest

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Unemployment On Democratic Warfare, Andres Rakower

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This study was done to see the effects of a war on the economy and the internal politics of the United States. In selecting the engagement, we would study we agreed the Iraq War would be aided by a large amount of sampling of public opinion that was more nuanced than in previous wars. The Iraq War was a very complicated war, as it was controversial from the beginning and became a political issue while continuing to be a war fought by Americans abroad. Based on the literature, there were many starting effects and assumptions that were accounted for such …

Irgc And Iranian Soft And Hard Power Influence Within The Middle East, Daryl F. Urbina

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The IRGC, or the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Iran have utilized soft power to increase their influence within the Middle East. By using military superiority; ideological influence; and trade, both the Iran and the IRGC established dependency between themselves and patron states. Of these patron states, the research focuses on Iraq; Syria; and Yemen, and how Iran and the IRGC affect them through soft power. This research suggests that Iran and the IRGC is using the disability of the aforementioned states to increase their own influence by making them dependent on Iranian military supplies; cultural indoctrination to align with …

Explaining The Difference In Support For President Trump And Senator Rubio In The 2016 Election In Florida, Florencia Miguez Devesa

Honors Undergraduate Theses

What explains the difference between the county level vote received by President Donald Trump and U.S. Senator Marco Rubio in the 2016 Florida general election? Over the last couple of decades, Florida has earned a reputation for being a highly competitive state that impacts control of the White House and congress. As Florida’s electorate becomes increasingly diverse, will the Democratic Party begin to win more often as their usual base grows, or will the Republican Party figure out a way to remain competitive? The 2016 general election presents an opportunity to analyze the structure of support for two Republican candidates …

The Student Debt Crisis And Political Polarization In The Millennial Generation, Dylan Wallace

Honors Undergraduate Theses

According to the Pew Research Center, the modern wave of political polarization began in 1994, and is the strongest today than it has ever been during the 23-year period. (2007) Polarization in the US party system is evidenced by several factors including: growing consistent partisan views, partisan antipathy, ideological bubbles, growing difference in preferences, a shrinking political center, and the lack of political compromise. (Pew Research Center 2014) The question I attempt to answer in this thesis is on the factors associated with political polarization within the millennial generation. One of the most pressing issues to this generation is what …

When The Clocks Strike Thirteen: Political Repression In Modern America (1990-2015), Faiza Begani

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Abounding acts of repression committed in democracies have continued to be overlooked and under-analyzed by many researchers and scholars due to "democratic exceptionalism". As the United States enters yet another consecutive year of declining political satisfaction and freedom. It has become pertinent that as conflict study researchers, scholars, and readers alike that there is a basic understanding of coercion including acts that have been committed within our own countries. Countless scholars have focused conflict study research on underdeveloped or emerging democracies, yet many have overlooked the seamy side of developed ones. This article aims to explain the relationship between the …

The Political Development Of Central Florida's I-4 Corridor From 1944 To 2016, Ethan M. Conkwright

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The intent of this thesis is to analyze the political development of the six counties comprising the I-4 Corridor from 1944 to 2016. The literature review will develop an understanding of realignment theory and its application to Southern and Florida politics. The data analysis will analyze Presidential, Gubernatorial and Senate Election Results from the six counties, compared with census data for each of the six counties to show voting trends at a county-level basis. U.S. Census Data from 1940 to 2010 will also be used to analyze population and population density of the region at-large, and at a countywide level, …