Political Science Commons^™

Paper House: The Revolution, The Disappeared, And The Historicity Of Lebanon, Elsa Saade

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis will be an attempt to reenact events in relation to the disappeared and the Lebanese civil war, with the help of newspaper cuts, oral history, theories on historical writing, memories, and books on Lebanon. As a prospective historian, the writer will be tapping into the internal event of thought processes and meaning of the past, as advised by R. G. Collingwood in The Idea of History. (Collingwood, 1946 ) That critical inquiry will only be at the service of understanding the present from the lens of a self-reflecting inquisitor that has faced many silences in a past …

Reclaiming Indiana: The Politics Of Crisis Amid The Failures Of Liberal Capitalist Modernity, Chris Grove

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This ethnography examines grassroots political responses to the economic crisis that began in 2008, foremost in the US Midwest, which arguably laid the groundwork both for the election of President Donald Trump and presidential candidacy of Senator Bernie Sanders. President Obama launched his $787 billion stimulus plan in Elkhart, Indiana, in early 2009. At the height of the crisis, unemployment skyrocketed from four to 20 percent in Elkhart, and it became central to struggles over the political direction of the US. With few safety nets, Elkhart residents struggled to meet their basic needs, creating conditions for political organizing on both …

Cultural Policy And The Rise Of Multiculturalism Study Of Fine Arts Exhibition In The 2000s, The National Gallery Of Indonesia, Citra Smara Dewi

International Review of Humanities Studies

This study focuses on the role of cultural policy in the rise of multiculturalism with a case study of the Indonesian Art Exhibition, Pameran Seni Rupa Nusantara (PSRN) 2000s, which was initiated by a cultural institution, the National Gallery of Indonesia (GNI). PSRN exhibition is one of the important programs of GNI because it gives space to the artists of the archipelago - not just Java and Bali - to present works of modern-contemporary art rooted in local wisdom. As a nation that has the characteristics of pluralism, the spirit of multiculturalism in art has become very significant, especially in …

On Guard For Thee: Global Citizenship And Canada-U.S. Relations, Erika Simpson

Political Science Publications

The article explores the evolving dynamics between Canada and the United States amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting divergent approaches and their implications for global perception. It contrasts Canada's cooperative, evidence-based response under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with U.S. policies characterized by isolationism and "me first" strategies. Canada's proactive humanitarian aid efforts, international solidarity initiatives, and commitment to sustainable development goals are emphasized as core elements of its global identity. The piece underscores Canada's bid for a UN Security Council seat, framing it as an opportunity to advocate for multilateralism and solidarity on the world stage.

How The Coronavirus Increases Terrorism Threats In The Developing World, Nisha Bellinger, Kyle Kattelman

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

As the coronavirus reaches developing countries in Africa and Asia, the pandemic will have effects beyond public health and economic activity. As the disease wreaks its havoc in areas poorly equipped to handle its spread, terrorism likely will increase there as well.

We are political scientists who study the developing world and political conflict. Our recently published research identifies a potential link between the pandemic and an uptick in violence. We find that food insecurity – the lack of both financial and physical access to nutritious food, which leads to malnutrition and undernourishment in a population – makes citizens angry …

Immigrants And Their Voting Power In Nevada, Elia Del Carmen Solano-Patricio, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Demography

This Fact Sheet presents the number of both documented and undocumented immigrants in Nevada, synthesizing data provided by New American Economy (NAE), a bipartisan research non-profit organization. To estimate the total number of immigrants in the U.S. and across each of the 50 states, researchers reviewed various data sources including the U.S. Census, the American Community Survey, the Center for Migration Studies, and the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Status Of Mineral Ownership Underlying The Missouri River Within The Boundaries Of The Fort Berthold Indian Reservation (North Dakota), Department Of The Interior, Daniel H. Jorjani

US Government Documents Related to Indigenous Nations

This memorandum, dated May 26, 2020, from the United States Department of the Interior (Office of the Solicitor) to the Assistant Secretary of US Indian Affairs and the Assistant Secretary of Land and Minerals Management rescinds the Solicitor’s January 18, 2017 opinion regarding mineral rights on the Fort Berthold Reservation and asserts that the state of North Dakota, not the Three Affiliated Tribes, is the legal owner of the submerged lands beneath the Missouri River. The Solicitor cites the “Historical Examination of the Missouri River within the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, Precontact-1902” and his interpretation of laws and case precedent …

After The Great Lockdown, Far-Sighted Global Cooperation Will Be Heralded And Lauded As Wise, Erika Simpson

Political Science Publications

The article argues against prioritizing military spending in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, advocating instead for global cooperation and investment in human security and development. It critiques the allocation of resources towards defense capabilities, urging governments to redirect funds to critical sectors like healthcare, education, and employment to address economic challenges exacerbated by the pandemic. Highlighting UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' call to cease armed conflicts in favor of combating COVID-19 collectively, the piece emphasizes the need for a paradigm shift towards sustainable, cooperative solutions rather than militarization. It questions the effectiveness and ethical implications of continued military investments amid …

Sanctuary Cities And Their Respective Effect On Crime Rates, Adam R. Schutt

Undergraduate Economic Review

According to the U.S. Center for Immigration Studies (2017), cities or counties in twenty-four states declare themselves as a place of “sanctuary” for illegal immigrants. This study addresses the following question: Do sanctuary cities experience higher crime rates than those cities that are not? Using publicly available data, this regression analysis investigates the relationship between crime rates in selected cities and independent variables which the research literature or the media has linked to criminal activity. Results of this research reveal that sanctuary cities do not experience higher violent or property crime rates than those cities that are not sanctuary cities.

La Habana: A History Of Society, Livelihood, Movement, And Land Use On The Iquitos-Nauta Highway, Katie Brown

Undergraduate Honors Theses

With increasing infrastructural projects and land titling in the Peruvian Amazon, many changes are occurring within small roadside communities. In this case study, we investigate how these changes impact livelihoods, land use, travel patterns, and social relations within the broader concepts of development, privatization of land, and commodification of nature. Specifically we focus on the caserío La Habana situated on the Iquitos-Nauta highway in the Loreto region of Peru. Semi-formal interviews and ethnographic methods were conducted to gather information on social organization, history of the community, land use practices, migration patterns, opinions on the road, and livelihood strategies. After data …

Collective Identity In Germany: An Assessment Of National Theories, Sean Starkweather

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

Beginning in the 18th century, the question of what makes a nation has occupied a prominent place in German politics. From the national theories of the 18th-century German Romantics, who identified cultural and ethnic factors as being the key determinants, to modern civic nationalists and postnationalists, who point to liberal civic values and institutions, the importance of collective identity and how it is oriented has remained an important topic for German scholars and policymakers. Using survey research, I assess the accuracy and relevance of these theories in contemporary German society. I find that, contrary to the optimism of modern thinkers, …

Present At The Destruction? Grand Strategy Imperatives Of Us Foreign Policy Experts During The Trump Presidency, Hermann Kurthen

Peer Reviewed Articles

This article discusses the grand strategy imperatives of 37 foreign policy experts in Washington, DC. in response to President Donald Trump's nationalist challenge to the post-WWII international order concept. Using an abductive reconstructivist methodology to analyze in-depth interviews, five grand strategy imperatives or rules for action shared by all actors were identified: safeguarding US global leadership, maintaining alliances, securing US prosperity, value orientation, and the belief in a mission. Based on the interpretation of these rules for action, four types of foreign policy experts were distinguished: nationalists, realists, pragmatic liberals, and liberals. The latter three expert types, also labelled globalists, …

Propaganda: Ussr And Us - Comparing Propaganda From The Us And Ussr Produced For The Advancement Of Public Approval For Hydro-Projects In The 1930s, Wendolyn Judith Martinez

2020 Symposium Posters

The Soviet Union (USSR) came into power in the late 1910s tearing down the tsar regime in Eastern Europe. Known for its massive propaganda scheme and anti-United States (US) rhetoric, Soviet propaganda was engrained in history books throughout the western world. The United States continually denounced the massive use of propaganda in the Soviet Union through the regimes lifespan, from it’s beginning to its collapse. Unknown to the public of this era is that the United States contributed in similar practices of states sponsor artwork, photographs, music, and publications rebranded as promotional work instead of propaganda. For example, when building …

Early Voting Versus Election Day Voting: Identifying Individual Indicators Of Election Stage Participation In Louisiana Elections, 2015-2016, Anthony Licciardi Jr.

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Does early voting advance the democratic process in achieving political equality? Does it create more equity in the representativeness of an electorate? According to rational choice and economic theory, the expanded opportunity to vote should reduce an individual’s cost to vote, thus resulting in higher voter turnouts where traditionally marginalized voters will take advantage of early voting opportunities.

This research conducts an individual-level analysis of more than five-million voter cases over four consecutive Louisiana statewide elections of all individuals who voted in each of the elections from 2015 to 2016. These elections include the 2016 U.S. presidential election, a …

The U.S. Creation Of The South Vietnamese Air Force, 1955-1975, James C. Jumper Jr.

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

From 1962 until 1973 the United States Air Force (USAF) built a small but effective South Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF). VNAF grew from approximately 4,000 personnel in 1963, flying ninety-six aircraft in six squadrons, to 60,000 personnel and sixty-five squadrons with over 2,000 aircraft by 1973. There was continuous change in the type of aircraft provided to the VNAF as the USAF upgraded VNAF’s capabilities. Training VNAF personnel was a continuing problem for both pilots and support personnel because of the almost constant aircraft upgrades and increase of size of the VNAF. VNAF was growing, developing doctrine, establishing its mission …

Troublemaker: An Exploration Of Praxis In Leftist Political Theory, Emerson Hamlin

University Honors Theses

This project seeks to make recommendations on praxis, or the actions that embody theory, to present and future leftist organizers. I will do so by completing a literature review: in this case, reading and analyzing works of some of the foundational thinkers in leftism, and by reading the works of the leftist thinkers of today. By doing this review, I seek to find my own, and other activists’ answers to Lenin's eternal question: What is to be done?

Developing A Conceptual Framework For Research On Social Media And Political Polarization, Audrey C. Sanders

University Honors Theses

Americans in 2020 live in a time of unprecedented political polarization. Scholars often study this trend of increased polarization in conjunction with the use of social media platforms, or social networking sites (SNSs). Despite a nearly twenty-year existence, however, the discourse community surrounding the relationship between SNS use and political polarization has yet to develop past a scattered and largely theoretical body of literature. What follows is a description of the current state of the literature followed by a description of a conceptual framework scholars can use when approaching the field and designing their own research in order to make …

Pregnancy And The Apocalypse: The Enlistment Of Reproductive Futurism In Aid Of Nationalism, Emily E. Horger

University Honors Theses

While America has long held a fascination for the end of the world, the apocalypse has enjoyed a surge in popularity over the past twenty years, rising the ranks from cult classic to mainstream media - many examples of which include representations of pregnancy. Reproductive futurism is exemplified in such varied recent sources as A Quiet Place, Bird Box, Train to Busan, The Walking Dead, and more through their representations of pregnant women in apocalyptic settings. The prevalence of this trope, in addition to specific messages found within the contexts of each example, coincide with recent …

The Lasting Effects Of U.S. Intervention In Guatemala, Katherine A. Gaffey

University Honors Theses

Guatemala today faces a national femicide, exceedingly high rates of human trafficking and drug trafficking, as well an increase in migration to the U.S. This paper attempts to understand the current situation in Guatemala through a historical analysis of Guatemala’s tumultuous relationship with the U.S. Specifically, it looks at the role of the 1954 CIA backed coup and the United Fruit Company as key causal factors in fostering the Guatemalan Civil War and the implications of that war for ongoing crime and instability in Guatemala today.

The Impact Of Vote By Mail On Native American Turnout, Nathaniel J. Torry-Schrag

University Honors Theses

When Vote by Mail was fully implemented by the state of Oregon in 2000, it quickly became the subject of study by the Political Science community. While there is not yet an academic consensus about the impact of vote by mail, its growing popularity is undeniable. Mail voting has now been fully adopted in four states, with several others extensively offering mail ballots as an alternative to in-person voting. As this form of convenience voting spreads across the county, it is important to once again try to determine its impacts. This study examines a voting group often overlooked by academic …

The Zabaleen Of Egypt: Citizenship Of Exception In Cairo's Urban Sphere, Kathryn Vallis

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the relationships between citizenship, space, and the state, using the Zabaleen community in Cairo as a lens of analysis. The thesis argues that citizenship is both an institution and a practice of exclusion. It explores the social, political, and economic exclusions that the Zabaleen experience due to their position in a state of exception.

Theory Of Black Racial Forgiveness: The Expectation Of Black Sacrifice, Kayla Weston

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Forgiveness is traditionally seen as an inherently virtuous act, but contemporary anti-racist activists have pointed to repeated high-profile examples of Black people forgiving white people for unspeakably violent and racist actions to call into question our normative understanding of forgiveness’s meaning, and implications. For this reason, this project critically analyzes the political implications of interracial Black forgiveness, to understand how its significance goes beyond merely being an expression of grace, and instead helps to define, and re-substantiate current and future race relations. The goal of this thesis is to conceptualize the ways in which acts of Black racial forgiveness function …

Conflict Of A Nation, And Repatriation In Collapsed States: The Case Of South Sudan, Emmanuel Bakheit

Master's Theses

The purpose of this paper is to intervene in the discourse about South Sudan’s civil war to express and provide insights into the broader reality of South Sudan’s civil war. This is to highlight challenges for democracy, possible interface in the peace process, and repatriation of refugees and resettlement of internally displaced persons (IDPs). The aim of this paper is, therefore, to transcend the current literature that lacks critical analysis in capturing the true nature of the civil war. South Sudan’s civil war has been portrayed as a conflict of two tribes, Dinka and Nuer. This is the imprecise politics …

Time Machine Research And Approach, Tarek Bouraque

Theses and Dissertations

Time Machine is a hybrid documentary that explores the logics of enslavement, colonialism, eurocentrism and their interconnectedness in our globalized world. Mustapha Azemmouri, born in 1502, undertakes a journey to the 21st century to recount his own story of enslavement and exploration, and reflects on a collective puzzle of 500 years of hidden history.

Co-Predatory Rule: International Cooperation With Respect To Cryptocurrency Taxation In Russia And Belarus, Jim Mignano

Hatfield Graduate Journal of Public Affairs

This article presents an example of how globalization and digitization force states to rely on international organization. Examining tax policy with respect to cryptocurrency—an innovative, global technology—the implication is that a state levying taxes on cryptocurrency must turn to international monitoring and enforcement regimes to support effective taxation. Based on Margaret Levi’s theory of predatory rule, I submit a theory of “co-predation” to explain international cooperation with respect to taxation of novel, cross-border technologies such as cryptocurrency. The Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI), an anti-tax evasion framework promulgated by the OECD, serves as an example of international cooperation. A comparison …

International Migration, Development, And Policy: Reconsidering Migration Transition Theory—A Way Forward, Karin A. C. Johnson

Hatfield Graduate Journal of Public Affairs

Migration transition theories have been contested as they informed immigration policy in the Global North, which—based on assumptions that immigrants from developing countries may be a threat to social stability and economic opportunity—aimed to diminish emigration from the South. Development policies were proposed that could produce a “migration transition” in the South, where it was assumed that improved economic development would act as a substitute for migration and lead to minimal emigration, thus reducing overall immigration to the Global North. However, policies did not result in a migration transition. Acknowledging problematic rhetoric and contradictory policy and outcomes, this paper addresses …

Religious Nationalism And The Coronavirus Pandemic: Soul-Sucking Evangelicals And Branch Covidians Make America Sick Again, Peter Mclaren

Education Faculty Articles and Research

This article investigates the response to the coronavirus crisis by Evangelical Christian nationalists in the USA. The article outlines the curious mediaverse of religious nationalism—its post-truth and fake news aspects in particular—links religious nationalism to American exceptionalism, and analyzes conflicts between secular and religious authorities. Drawing upon some lessons from the past, the article addresses the wider implications of Christian nationalism on American politics, and capitalist ideology, as it has been played out virally in the corporate media. The article shows that the ideological underpinnings of evangelical Christianity prevent its proponents from understanding the virus in an historical and materialist …

Education As Commons, Children As Commoners: The Case Study Of The Little Tree Community, Yannis Pechtelidis, Alexandros Kioupkiolis

Democracy & Education

This paper presents the emergent paradigm of the "commons" as an alternative value and action system in the field of education, and it critically draws out the implications of the commons for refiguring education and its potential contribution to democratic transformation. The paper delves into an independent pedagogical community, Little Tree, which is active in early childhood education and care, aiming to explore the ways in which children conduct themselves in accordance with the ethics and the logics of the commons and to show how they thereby unsettle the conventional meaning of citizenship. Proceeding from an enlarged notion of the …

Understanding The Relationship Between Economic And Institutional Trends And Public University Presidential Turnover, Jeffrey P. Levine

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Presidents are leaving public colleges and universities at higher rates than they previously were over the last several decades. Previous studies on college and university presidential departure primarily have focused on internal institutional factors to offer explanations of understanding of why they leave office. Public university presidents earn less than private ones, and have to add successful (or unsuccessful) navigation of state politics to their skill sets. This study focused on both internal institutional factors and external environmental factors specifically within each state the public college or university is located. These include both external economic and political factors.

These external …

"The Aftermath Of Terrorism: The Islamophobic Rhetoric Of Donald Trump And Narendra Modi", Joshua Jonathan Somrah

Senior Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to compare the Islamophobic rhetoric of Trump after the 2015 San Bernardino Attack and the 2016 Orlando Nightclub Shooting with the Islamophobic rhetoric of Modi after the 2016 Uri Attack and the 2019 Pulwama Attack and to analyze how the Anti-Muslim rhetoric of Trump and Modi affected the lives of Muslims within their countries and abroad. I argue that Trump and Modi used Anti-Muslim language in the wake of the four terrorist attacks mentioned above for their own political agendas, which resulted in Anti-Muslim political decisions that affected the lives of many Muslims within …