Political Science Commons^™

Endpoints After Empire: Explaining Varying Levels Of Democracy In Post-Communist Europe, William John Eger Jr.

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This study seeks to determine the impetus behind varying levels of post-communist democratization in central and eastern Europe. It explores the different theories of democratization. The work takes a regional approach to examining the states. This approach isolates less traditional factors that contribute to democratic quality: history, culture and geography. Qualitative studies of each help explain why the countries of the region have such a varying level of rights and freedoms.

And That’S The Word: Effects Of The Colbert Report On Political Knowledge And Participation, Nicholas Anthony Canfield

Theses and Dissertations

The Colbert Report was a satirical, political, and “fake” news show that lasted for almost a decade on the Comedy Central Network. Although many scholars have argued the program was less impactful and influential than Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show, phenomena such as the “Colbert Bump” show a definite impact on the political lives of many Americans. Using four quantitative surveys from 2008 to 2012, this thesis investigates the effects of watching The Colbert Report on individuals’ political knowledge and political participation. Results indicate non-Republican viewers increased their political knowledge, but not participation, from watching the show. The educational effect …

How The War Over Obamacare Can Erode American Democracy, Daniel Beland, Philip Rocco, Alex Waddan

Political Science Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

American Civil Associations And The Growth Of American Government: An Appraisal Of Alexis De Tocqueville’S Democracy In America (1835-1840) Applied To Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal And The Post-World War Ii Welfare State, John P. Varacalli

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859), a French aristocrat, intellectual, and commentator on American society during the 1830’s, described the United States as a society marked by a general “equality of condition,” that is, by a lack of noticeable social and economic distinctions among the citizenry. For Tocqueville, this characteristic of democracy encouraged the formation of an informal political bloc he termed “the majority” - a group who would often elect demagogues to political offices, since the latter were best able to give voice to majority opinion. Furthermore, de Tocqueville believed that this group was not only …

A Taxonomy Of Independent Electoral Reapportionment Systems, James Ruley

Indiana Journal of Constitutional Design

This paper addresses a means of checking legislative gerrymandering, which I have called the Independent Electoral Reapportionment Commission (IERC). Its purpose is to prevent self-interested politicians from drawing biased constituency lines. While scholars have researched gerrymandering, few scholars have researched commissions designed to limit such gerrymandering, and no comprehensive work details the global means of accomplishing this goal.

Thus, the purpose of this paper is not to normatively prescribe the best practices for composing and empowering an IERC, but rather to descriptively show how different countries conduct this process. While Part II makes some determinations about which commissions may conceptually …

U.S. Democratization Efforts In Haiti And Iraq: Implications For Future Policy Makers, Emma R. Eisenberg

Honors Papers

This thesis examines U.S. democratization efforts in Haiti and Iraq: two instances where the United States used military intervention in its failed attempts to export democracy around the world. If the United States is to continue pursuing democratization, it is necessary for policy makers to modify their practices, as recent attempts have only resulted in failure. Thus, the study of how and why democratization attempts fail is critical in order to minimize the damage created by disastrous attempts at exporting democracy. So, in the Clinton and Bush administration's attempts to implement democracy in Haiti and Iraq, where did the democracy …

Democracy, Minnesota State University, Mankato

Democracy/Government

Bibliography and photographs of a display of government documents from Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Resilient Communists: How Fidel Castro Survived The Soviet Collapse And Cuba's Uncertain Road To Democracy, Max J. Prowant

Commonwealth Review of Political Science

It is easy to conclude that Fidel Castro was nothing more than a pawn of the Soviet Union, and Cuba, a communist satellite throughout the Cold War. The island received an annual subsidy of four billion dollars from the U.S.S.R. and hosted Soviet troops; its economic dependence was so extensive that when the Soviet Union collapsed more than 25 years ago, Cuba experienced a GDP contraction of between 30 and 40 percent. Despite this, Cuba's communist regime survived, even as many formerly communist countries in Eastern Europe embraced new democratic constitutions. This project seeks to explain how--in spite of the …

Civil Engagement In Argentina After The Last Dictatorship, Emily Hoffer

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

How has the legacy of the Argentine dictatorship affected civil engagement? This study helps understand I) dilemmas of an authoritarian regime's transition to democracy; 2) changes in the form of civic engagement, from conventional political participation to social movements; and 3) how civic engagement is influenced by the narratives and symbols that create historical memory. I will compare Argentina with similar political experiences of democratization and new social movements in Latin America since the late 1980s.

The Impact Of Arab Revolutions On Asia: A Study Of Diffusion Theory, Mohammad El-Sayed Selim, Gamal M. Selim

Political Science

يجيب هذا البحث عن أربعة أسئلة، هي: هل تنتشر الظواهر السياسية بالفعل من إقليم إلى آخر، وما العوامل التي تحدد المدى المكاني والزماني للانتشار، وما آثار هذا الانتشار، ولماذا تنتشر الظواهر الثورية في النظم الديمقراطية، ويجيب البحث عن الأسئلة من زاوية نظرية الانتشار مع اشتقاق فروض من تلك النظرية لاختبارها في حالة انتشار ظاهرة "الثورات العربية" إلى آسيا. ومن ثم يعرض البحث لأصول نظرية الانتشار وتطبيقاتها وأدبياتها، مع عرض الإطار النظري لمفهوم الانتشار. ومن هذا الإطار اشتق ثمانية فروض تدور حول محددات انتشار الظواهر، واختبرت تلك الفروض في حالة انتشار ظاهرة "الثورات العربية" في الدول الآسيوية منذ سنة 2011. وقد …

Democracy In The Dark: An Energy Democracy Model Centering Property And People, Feby Boediarto

Pitzer Senior Theses

The United States’ electric macro-grid provides electricity for all people to sustain our lifestyle. The current governing institutions that generate our electricity limit community representation, causing procedural injustice particularly to communities of color. This thesis is a contribution to the Energy Democracy literature, describing a community-based electricity model that includes two components: property and people. I argue to include an in-depth study of John Locke’s theories on property, in addition to Elinor Ostrom’s Institutional Analysis and Development Framework to promote local knowledge in understanding how physical space and governing bodies strengthen the Energy Democracy movement. In addition, I utilize the …

Citizen Security And Democratization In Latin America: Implications Of Law Enforcement Reforms And Demilitarization, Fernanda Andrea Gutierrez Merino

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Latin American region has transitioned to democracy in the last forty-thirty years and along with many policy reforms, citizen security has not been left behind. As these changes evolve, the relationship between internal security and the development of a stable democracy has acquired a great importance in terms of the factors that contribute to a free world. The purpose of this research is to look at how security policy and policing in Argentina, Chile, el Salvador, and Mexico have contributed to the democratization process in regards to how the recent reforms in law enforcement in the region have created favorable …

Political Islam And Democracy, Mikellon S. Browne-Michael

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The Middle East is a predominately Islamic region. Islam is not only a religion, it is the Muslim way of life and law. The western world follows a more modern system of government, in the form of democracy. Democracy is not modern, as in new, since it was started by the ancient Greeks, but it is modern, because it is the main system being adopted in contemporary times.

Muslims follow the ideals found in the Holy Quran, the book dictated by the prophet Muhammad. The Middle East has had a strong Islamic influence since the mid-seventh century. Islam originated in …

Corruption May Worsen In Democratizing Economies: But Don't Let It Erode Our Faith In Democracy, Shaomin Li, Ilan Alon, Jun Wu

Management Faculty Publications

This commentary is based on a recent study we conducted on the relationship between regime type, corruption, and economic development. We build a theory that links corruption and regime type to economic growth and test it on 158 countries, using multiple databases including Polity IV, transparency international, the World Bank, and others. We first distinguish three regime types, autocracy (dictatorship), anocracy (countries in early stage of democratization), and mature democracy. We found that when autocratic countries begin democratize, corruption usually gets worse. As the infant democracies mature, corruption decreases.

The Political Determinants Of Food Security: Democracy, Decentralization, And Federalism, Catherine E. Schmitt-Sands

Wayne State University Dissertations

Food security is partially determined by politics. This dissertation examines three political determinants of food security: democracy, decentralization, and federalism. Each one is operationalized and tested quantitatively against food security using a dataset of all countries from 1990 to 2011, although each model employs a different subset of the dataset. Democracy is divided along two dimensions: political rights and civil liberties. Both are significant positive predictors of food security. Increases in civil liberties are more consistently and strongly associated with food security than increases in political rights.

Decentralization is assessed along three dimensions: fiscal, administrative, and political. Fiscal and administrative …

Pertanggungjawaban Politik Presiden Pasca Amandemen Uud 1945, Hendra Hendra

Jurnal Wacana Politik

After the UUD 1945 amendment, there is fundamental change in the Indonesian governmental system. This changes well-marked with the facts that after amandement there is an alteration to the patern of president or vice president election, and the regulation of the relation between president and DPR. This changes has influence the president political responsibility after amandement.

Demokrasi Dan Pembangunan, Siti Witianti

Jurnal Wacana Politik

The relations between democray and development has become wide discussion since world war two until now. The question rised whether democracy supports development or development supports democracy both in central and local level. Democracy has been choosed in manycountries. Democracy marked by participation needed in development. Furthermore, democracy needs better people’s capacity which only can be done in the development process. Comprehensive development concept stresses on the people. People become subject and object in the development. People’s participation makes the result of development suits with the need of the people. There is an opinion that comprehensive development process might support …

Public Policy And Religious Conflict In Indonesia: The Case Of Ahmadiyah, Ari Ganjar Herdiansah

Jurnal Wacana Politik

among conflict cases is Ahmadiyah sect as struggling minorities who spreading their influence in the middle of Sunni Islam majority. The conflict escalated and manifest in violence during the 2000s. The government eventually enacted Joint Ministerial Decree (SKB 3 Menteri) in 2008, which constrained preaching activities of Ahmadiyah who being accused of heresy. However, the decree did not stop the violence against Ahmadiyah. The conflict of Ahmadiyah was not solely about the heresy that charged on the Ahmadis, but also involving the contest of values, ideas, and authority between the liberal and pluralist Muslim groups versus the conservative Muslim groups. …

Tempered Experience: The Educational Foundation Of Democratic Ideology, Nicholas J. Schwarm

Philosophy Undergraduate

Democracy is a political ideology, one that requires a person to believe in that ideology for it to exist. The contemporary political landscape is dominated by democracies, and for this reason we need to understand how to build and sustain Them. There needs to be a well educated populace of citizens, who are able to engage in democratic actions, and aid the community. What they need is tempered experience, experience that is understood though the knowledge that a citizen already has.

Populism And The Challenge Of Democracy In 2016, Donald Roth

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"Populism really flexes its political muscle when a large enough group of people are just fed up with the current trajectory of the government."

Posting about this turbulent political year ­­­­­­­­from In All Things - an online hub committed to the claim that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has implications for the entire world.

http://inallthings.org/populism-and-the-challenge-of-democracy-in-2016/

The Core Of An Unqualified Case For Judicial Review: A Reply To Jeremy Waldron And Contemporary Critics, Alexander Kaufman, Michael B. Runnels

Brooklyn Law Review

No abstract provided.

Are You Ready For Some Football – I Mean An Election?, Gerrod Lambrecht

UCF Forum

Tuesday, Nov. 8, is Game Day! The election is just days away and the news is all abuzz this morning about “rigged” elections, sexual-assault allegations, FBI investigations, unpaid taxes and more emails.

Welcome To Dignity, Donna M. Hughes

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

What Do Chinese Really Think About Democracy And India?, Devin K. Joshi, Yizhe Xu

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

There has been much speculation about whether China will democratize and avoid conflict with India in the twenty-first century. Yet, few studies have investigated how contemporary Chinese view India and its democracy. Addressing this gap in the literature, the authors examined Chinese media coverage of India’s two-month long April–May 2014 parliamentary election, the largest election in world history, through systematic analysis of over 500 articles from ten major mass media outlets and over 27,000 messages transmitted on Sina Weibo social media. As might be expected, Chinese mass media generally portrayed India and its elections in a condescending fashion while avoiding …

Democracy And Development In Africa: What Africans Require, Ugochukwu M. Ifoh

Young African Leaders Journal of Development

According to the 2009 African Governance Report (AGR II), by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), many democracies in Africa are suffering from an authoritarian hangover. Many African countries adopted the system of democracy because it enjoys global endorsement as the best form of government and panacea for underdevelopment. But it is a truism that development in Africa remains impeded. This is because many African leaders are ignorant and negligent of the philosophical principles upon which democracy is formed. This paper seeks to discuss, within an African framework, the link between democracy and development. The clamour for democracy …

The Revival Of Representative Democracy In Nigeria And Its Impact On Sustainable Development, Olanrewaju Ojo Emupenne

Young African Leaders Journal of Development

Nigeria was under military rule for near to 30 years out of her 55 years of existence after independence. During this period, corruption reached peak levels causing societal retrogression. The dawn of the Fourth Republic in 1999 heralded the revival of elections in the country. It is against this background that this study investigates the extent to which democracy has advanced and improved the living standards of citizens and increased per capita income among others. A total of 642 people, 393 males, 236 women and 13 respondents took part in the case study. The study underscores the need for a …

Demokrasi Dan Gerakan Sosial (Bagaimana Gerakan Mahasiswa Terhadap Dinamika Perubahan Sosial), Idil Akbar

Jurnal Wacana Politik

The inception of social groups nowadays believed as positive indication cultivation of democracy in some country, including Indonesia. The existence of social group aims to create a social change better and gratify the people interest. One of the social group is student movement that in any political event has become the pioneer for social change. This article aims to analyze how does democracy become important factor to a social movement, particularly student movement to an occurrence of social change in Indonesia. This research using a qualitative descriptive method to analyze how is social movement and democracy in Indonesia, especially related …

Constructive Engagement Indonesia Dalam Mendukung Keberlangsungan Demokrasi Di Myanmar, Windy Dermawan

Jurnal Wacana Politik

As a country which has attention to democracy and human rights, also has the strategic role of Indonesia in regional and international level, Indonesia has a political will to help Myanmar in continuing the survival of democracy there. Through the values which upheld ASEAN, namely the principle of non-intervention, Indonesia seeks to use constructive engagement approach, which emphasizes consensus and avoid confrontation with the inclusive spirit and persuasive attention. Indonesia’s efforts shaped positive support by promoting diplomatic role, involvement in co-operation, foreign aid presence in the investment, dialogue, and exchange of ideas related to a variety of issues. This approach …

Sanitation As A Measure Of Development: A Rationale For Its Use, With Global And Subnational Analyses Of Its Factors, Catherine J. Harthorn

Student Theses and Dissertations

Sanitation is an ideal non-monetary measure of broadly distributed development. Compared to other global development indicators, it reduces volatility, resolves equivalency, achieves closer concept fidelity, and features greater data availability. Factors affecting rates of sanitation in cross-national comparisons include democracy (with less influence in the developing world), fewer restrictions to political freedoms or civil liberties, better governance, communism, greater wealth, less poverty, urbanization, population density, and slower population growth. Factors affecting change in sanitation rates include microfinance activity. Subnational factors which influence rates of sanitation in India are wealth and communism. The factors affecting the change in sanitation in India …

The House That Propaganda Built: Historicizing The Democracy Promotion Efforts And Measurement Tools Of Freedom House, Emily A. Zerndt

Dissertations

Democracy promotion has been an overt objective of American foreign policy ever since Woodrow Wilson declared it the goal of WWI. This dissertation examines the influence of Freedom House on those policy decisions as well as academia. Freedom House was created in 1941 with the “quiet encouragement” of both Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt to combat the pervasive isolationism in the United States. Erected as the Western counterpoint to the Braunhaus, the Nazi propaganda center, Freedom House has distinctly political origins. Over the course of its institutional life, Freedom House has evolved from keeping a “balance sheet” on the level of …