Political Science Commons^™

Denver And Boston: Why One City Elects Black Mayors And The Other Has Not, Kenneth J. Cooper

Trotter Review

Denver’s population is only 10 percent black, and has never been above 12 percent in any Census, yet in July 2011 the city elected a black mayor. Michael Hancock, a former city councilman, is actually the second African-American mayor of Denver. Wellington Webb served the limit of three terms through 2003. Three of the city’s last four mayors have been of color. Federico Peña, a Mexican American, became the first in 1983.

At 24 percent, Boston’s black population is twice as large as Denver’s and has been so throughout the three decades during which Denver has sent two African Americans …

The Obama Effect In The Arab World, Ryan J. Suto

Exchange: The Journal of Public Diplomacy

This paper tests the Obama Effect hypothesis with respect to the Arab world. The paper first presents popular uses of the term and then discusses the thin scholarly literature on the topic. For quantitative data, the paper uses longitudinal data from the Annual Arab Public Opinion Poll from 2004 to 2011, with supplemental data from the Pew Research Center. Furthermore, the paper analyzed data on the Arab Spring in the context of a possible Obama Effect and policy implications for the future of U.S. foreign policy. The paper found insufficient support for the hypothesis due to a lack of theoretical …

Latino Voters 2012 And Beyond: Will The Fastest Growing And Evolving Electoral Group Shape U.S. Politics?, Sylvia R. Lazos

Scholarly Works

The author reviews two recent books, Marisa A. Abrajano’s Campaigning to the New American Electorate: Advertising to Latino Voters (2010) and Marisa A. Abrajano’s and R. Michael Alvarez’s New Faces New Voices: The Hispanic Electorate in America (2010). These books are part of a growing literature that scientifically studies the evolving Latino electorate, and attempts to answer difficult questions about this ethnic group’s electorate cohesiveness and how candidates might be able to influence the Latino electorate. A careful read of Abrajano’s recent books brings additional understanding to Latino voter behavior, and by implication, how this key group will influence the …

Election Law As Applied Democratic Theory, James A. Gardner

Journal Articles

Democracy does not implement itself; a society’s commitment to govern itself democratically can be effectuated only through law. Yet as soon as law appears on the scene significant choices must be made concerning the legal structure of democratic institutions. The heart of the study of election law is thus the examination of the choices that our laws make in seeking to structure a workable system of democratic self-rule. In this essay, written for a symposium on Teaching Election Law, I describe how my Election Law course and materials focus on questions of choice in institutional design by emphasizing election law’s …

'Counting Votes And Bodies,' Election-Related Conflicts In Africa: A Comparative Study Of Ghana And Kenya, Ibrahim Mahama Nambiema

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Since joining the 'third wave' of democracy in the 1990s, African countries have focused on elections. Some leaders conduct elections to legitimize their authoritarian rule. Many of Africa's transitional democracies are associated with flawed elections and violent conflicts. The literature on electoral conflict places little emphasis on election governance. It is my assumption that the high rate of non-credible elections in Africa can be associated with election management that has exacerbated societal cleavages. Is an effective and independent election management body a necessary prerequisite for election results to be credible? Are credible elections correlated with lower levels of conflicts? Kenya …

The Impact Of Prolonged Nomination Contests On Presidential Candidate Evaluations And General Election Vote Choice: The Case Of 2008, Jeff Dewitt, Richard N. Engstrom

Faculty Articles

The fact that political parties hold competitive nomination contests that require voters to choose among multiple candidates leaves open the possibility that the contest itself could damage the prospects of an eventual nominee. In this study, we employ the American National Election Study panel survey data from the 2008 U.S. presidential election to assess the impact of the Democratic Party nomination process on candidate evaluations and general election vote preference. We find evidence that Barack Obama had greater difficulty uniting his party than his Republican counterpart due to the fact that Clinton voters were slow to coalesce around Obama. These …

The Impact Of Prolonged Nomination Contests On Presidential Candidate Evaluations And General Election Vote Choice: The Case Of 2008, Jeff R. Dewitt, Richard N. Engstrom

Faculty Articles

The fact that political parties hold competitive nomination contests that require voters to choose among multiple candidates leaves open the possibility that the contest itself could damage the prospects of an eventual nominee. In this study, we employ the American National Election Study panel survey data from the 2008 U.S. presidential election to assess the impact of the Democratic Party nomination process on candidate evaluations and general election vote preference. We find evidence that Barack Obama had greater difficulty uniting his party than his Republican counterpart due to the fact that Clinton voters were slow to coalesce around Obama. These …

Buckeye Battleground: Ohio, Campaigns, And Elections In The Twenty-First Century, Daniel J. Coffey, John C. Green, David B. Cohen, Stephen C. Brooks

University of Akron Press Publications

Buckeye Battleground is the result of a decade's worth of research at the Bliss Institute on elections in Ohio, with special emphasis on the 2004 and 2008 presidential campaigns, and the 2006 gubernatorial campaign. This book seeks to explain why Ohio is, and has been, at the center of American elections. Using historical analysis, demographic data, and public opinion surveys, the authors demonstrate Ohio's role as the quintessential "battleground" state in American elections. This title is unique in its approach and coverage.

Use Of Social Media In Presidential Campaigns: Do Social Media Have An Effect On The Political Behavior Of Voters Aged 18-24?, Samantha Hamilton

Honors Senior Capstones and Theses

Today, the idea of social media is radically different from the media of a decade ago. While a decade ago the Internet was considered new media, our society now turns to Facebook, Twitter, and blogs as sources of information. In the United States during election cycles, the use of social media by presidential candidates has become a way for many voters to find out about candidates. As a result, presidential candidates have had to adapt their campaign strategies to work with these media in a way that will effectively target these audiences. This study examines whether campaigns that are more …

Key Issues That Have Not Been Addressed, Tan K. B. Eugene

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The last nine days of hustings period have provided for a most engaging electoral campaign in recent memory. There seems to be a nascent but growing political consciousness and Singaporeans are not shy to express their political inclinations and loyalties.

When Religion Trumps Ethnicity: A Regional Election Case Study From Indonesia, Edward Aspinall, Sebastian Carl Dettman, Eve Warburton

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The authors analyse the 2010 mayoral election in the city of Medan, North Sumatra. Medan is an ethnically and religiously diverse city and the authors treat the elections here as a case study of inter-communal dynamics in local elections in plural regions of Indonesia. The first round of the vote was contested by 10 pairs of candidates and occurred in a climate of cross-ethnic alliance building and appeals that, the authors argue, are typical of broader Indonesian patterns. The second round confronted voters with a choice between a Muslim candidate and an ethnic Chinese candidate who was also a Buddhist. …

Chasing After Huntington's Third Wave Of Democratization: The Middle East Under Change, Reem Awny Abuzaid

Papers, Posters, and Presentations

Escaping Huntington's three waves of democracy, the Middle East has become a phenomenon. Ever since, the Middle East scholars attempted extensively to rationalize the prevailing authoritarian regimes over the past four decades; a number of theories were proposed to address such a paradox. Studying authoritarianism has denied the Middle East academic society the chance to predict the current wave of political change that is being witnessed in the region. A draw back that could be believed to have left researchers with limited theoretical explanations for the on going experience, but that could always remain superficial. in fact a number of …

Which Egyptian Parties Represent Women And Copts And Young People?, Heba Galal

Papers, Posters, and Presentations

The purpose of this post is to compile research on which Egyptian parties represent women and Copts and young people This had been copied from Dr. Warigia Bowman’s blog, Dr. Warigia Bowman is a Visiting Assistant professor in the department of Public Policy and Administration at AUC .This research had done in collaboration with my professor and me while I was working with her as research assistant during the parliamentary elections in Egypt that took place in 2011. My name’s Heba Galal and I’m doing my master’s degree in Public Administration at AUC.

The Perils Of Walking Fast And Walking Far, Walter Lotze

Human Rights & Human Welfare

When Haitian President René Préval early in January 2011 lambasted the international community for riding roughshod over his country’s sovereignty and his government, and called for greater Haitian ownership over the aid and recovery effort in his country, he highlighted a frustration which has been noted by so many other nations before: while international aid efforts are welcome and usually do provide critical relief to the targeted populations in the short term, they generally tend to undermine governments (and the faith of the people in their government) over the long term.

Threat, Violence, And Voters: Race And Context In The 2008 Presidential Election, Matthew Fowler

LSU Master's Theses

The 2008 Presidential Election brought into office the first African-American president in U.S. history. This paper analyzes variations in White support for Barack Obama based on a number of county-level contextual factors, which are hypothesized to influence aggregate White voter support for the Democratic candidate. Based on the well-known racial threat theory, this paper will explore how racial composition and income inequality effect White support for Barack Obama. Another key explanatory variable, violence, is thought to influence White voter support because of the preconceptions some of these voters hold about African-Americans. Violence helps shape the stereotypes White voters hold, and …

The Scourge Of Occupation, Christina Cerna

Human Rights & Human Welfare

“Haiti’s Blame Game” suggests that Haitians are wondering why they should bother voting when it is unclear that their government is running the country. The anger of the Haitians, according to the author, is focused on MINUSTAH, the UN mission that was created in 2004 to stabilize Haiti and to coordinate the work of the different UN agencies active in the country.¹ Some Haitians perceive MINUSTAH to be an occupying force, but is it really, and who is running the country?

Bring Back Aristide, Louis Edgar Esparza

Human Rights & Human Welfare

My friend Annie recently had her trip to Haiti postponed because of the political instability surrounding the November elections. Annie totes modest sums of cash, medicine, and clothing collected from sympathetic friends and has a resolute willingness to help. Together with the partner organizations she is working with, she is hiring Haitians to build an orphanage. Another colleague of mine, Tonya, traveled to the country very soon after the earthquake. She described her experience in The Nation, lamenting that the major US airlines, which had agreed to waive baggage fees for relief aid to Haiti, did not do so for …

Prosperity Versus Equality At The Polls, Nathan B. Oman

Popular Media

No abstract provided.

Presidential Elections, Southwest Minnesota State University

Elections/Voting

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

Proportional Representation Or Plurality Voting Electoral System: Its Positive And Negative Aspects On Democracy, Martin Okolik

Student Theses and Dissertations

Free and fair elections are crucial elements for defining democracy. Fair elections will have to represent voters' true intent in the sense of proportionality between the votes gained in the election and the seats obtained in parliament. My project compares both the Majoritarian model and the Consensus model of democracy in terms of their electoral fairness. I ask the fundamental question: Which of the two systems promotes fairness and legitimacy in the electoral process? Most scholars have looked at this issue from different perspectives. Thus far, no study exists which explores both systems (Majoritarian and Consensus) from a fairness perspective. …

A Solution Looking For A Problem: Testimony Before The 2010 Maryland General Assembly On Senate Bill 570/House Bill 986: Campaign Materials – Stockholder Approval, Larry S. Gibson

Faculty Scholarship

The U.S. Supreme Court in Citizens United v Federal Elections Commission declared unconstitutional under the First Amendment right to freedom of speech federal statutory limitations on corporate political expenditures. Before Citizens United, Maryland was already among the 26 states that permitted corporations to make direct political contributions and to make independent political expenditures. Consequently, Citizens United did not change Maryland election law and practice. The Maryland General Assembly has steadfastly resisted efforts to change the Maryland approach. Over the past several years, the General Assembly has repeatedly rejected bills that would have banned political contributions by business entities. Many in …

The Potential Return Of Nationalism In Iraq, Jeffrey Knapp

Political Science Theses and Capstones

Over the past decade, Iraq has experienced a tremendous amount of change from once being a dictatorial regime to becoming a new and developing democracy. Iraq is dominantly composed of three main and distinct groups known as the Shiites, Sunnis, and Kurds. This paper attempts examine whether or not, Iraqi individuals see themselves first and foremost as Iraqis or as being Muslims first. There has been little research conducted that specifically examines the relationship between nationalism and ethnic identity in Iraq. However, some research suggests that most Iraqis see themselves as being Iraqi first instead of being Muslim first. This …

Do Muslims Vote Islamic?, Charles Kurzman, Ijlal Naqvi

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Islamic parties have won parliamentary elections in several countries in recent years, leading some observers to speculate that Muslims vote Islamic whenever they are given the chance. However, a review of every parliamentary election in Muslim societies over the past 40 years shows that Islamic parties often compete and rarely win—and the freer the election, the worse these parties perform. In addition, an unprecedented collection of Islamic party platforms shows that Islamic parties have transformed since the 1980s, publicly endorsing democracy and women's rights and de-emphasizing shari'a and jihad. This record suggests that Islamic parties have embraced elections more than …

Can Mature Democracies Be Perfected?, Guy-Uriel Charles

Faculty Scholarship

One of the more vexing questions about democracy that is often debated among political theorists, political scientists, and legal scholars is whether the democratic character of mature democracies can be improved. From one view, that of democratic realists, mature democracies are perfected as a matter of definition and as a matter of realistic expectations. Because mature democracies are those that respect core democratic principles, variations outside the core are simply policy differences based upon each democratic polity’s willingness to engage in a different set of trade-offs. For democratic realists, variations in democratic practice that are not related to core democratic …

Finding A Voice: Using The Internet For Free Speech And Expression In Iran, Chelsea Zimmerman

Human Rights & Human Welfare

In July 2009, many Iranians took to the streets to protest the results of the presidential election in which Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won with a reported 62% of the vote. The protests, stemming from allegations of electoral fraud, quickly exposed the government's limited tolerance for dissent. In addition to street demonstrations, protestors utilized social networking websites to express their opposition to the election results. The world, following Internet feeds, witnessed the restrictive mechanisms Iran’s government placed on expression and speech. People throughout the world admonished Iran for the government's interference with cell phone and Internet networks. Iran’s free speech and expression …

The Dignity Of Voters—A Dissent, James A. Gardner

Journal Articles

Since the waning days of the Burger Court, the federal judiciary has developed a generally well-deserved reputation for hostility to constitutional claims of individual right. In the field of democratic process, however, the Supreme Court has not only affirmed and expanded the applications of previously recognized rights, but has also regularly recognized new individual rights and deployed them with considerable vigor. The latest manifestation of this trend appears to be the emergence of a new species of vote dilution claim that recognizes a constitutionally grounded right against having one’s vote “cancelled out” by fraud or error in the casting and …

Have Nominating Conventions Lost Power?, Tyler Branz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Do conventions still have relevance in the modern political world? Some call them glorified television infomercials for presidential candidates while others refer to them as admired pillars of American political history. Whichever viewpoints one identifies with, presidential conventions are interesting to study historically, and can be studied analytically. The following case studies examine the institution of the nominating convention: what they do, how they form, what they have accomplished and how they affect the voters. This study finds that conventions are still meaningful in American politics, particularly for affecting party unity, candidate image and, to a lesser degree, party platform.

Tea Leaves Of The Economy: General Elections In 2010?, Eugene K. B. Tan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Incumbent governments with good economic track records would typically capitalise on economic downturns to seize a political advantage by calling for early elections. Will the ruling People's Action Party do so next year in view of the strong economic performances in recent months?

Barack Obama, Implicit Bias, And The 2008 Election, Jeffrey J. Rachlinski, Gregory S. Parks

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

The election of Barack Obama as the forty-fourth president of the United States suggests that the United States has made great strides with regard to race. The blogs and the pundits may laud Obama’s win as evidence that we now live in a “post-racial America.” But is it accurate to suggest that race no longer significantly influences how Americans evaluate each other? Does Obama’s victory suggest that affirmative action and antidiscrimination protections are no longer necessary? We think not. Ironically, rather than marking the dawn of a post-racial America, Obama’s candidacy reveals how deeply race affects judgment.

Political Islam In Jordan And Morocco: Changing Tides?, Andrew Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study seeks to assess if the 2007 electoral failures of the Islamic Action Front (IAF) in Jordan, and the Justice and Development Party (PJD) in Morocco, represent a weakening of power, or merely a minor diversion in the quest of Islamists to attain greater political voice in both countries.