Political Science Commons^™

Factors In Decision Making Of Political Candidates, Levi Ramirez Garcia

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

What factors impact the decision to run as non-partisan over one of the major US parties? It is essential to analyze this phenomenon to determine the real motivations of candidates and the party they represent because they impact society as a whole. The candidates' ideologies and how the candidates feel representing the parties' ideologies are the main reasons for choosing non-partisan over one of the major US parties. This occurs because humans tend to work where they feel comfortable and in places with the same values and ideologies as them. It is the same in the case of candidates; they …

Presidential Nomination Forecasting 2024: Classic Components In An Atypical Race, Sophia Coco

Political Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

The topic of American presidential elections has remained central to political discussions since the founding fathers drafted the Constitution. Article Two, Section One of the Constitution lays out the guidelines for presidential elections, yet Article Two neglects to mention the process of how to nominate candidates for the presidential race. Lacking Constitutional guidance, early presidential nomination conventions of the parties in the 19^th century and early 20^th century did not reflect ideals of democracy. The delegates that voted at the conventions were selected by party insiders and their votes reflected the sentiments of the party bosses, disregarding the …

Social Media And The Collegiate Vote In Indianapolis, Megan Cecelia Mcfadden

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

This study aimed to determine the impact of social media on the civic engagement of active college students in Indianapolis. This was done collecting primary quantitative data from an original survey. The survey measured social media as a source of news, a source of information on voting and registration, a location for political debate, and a place to share one’s voting status. Then, the survey measured aspects of civic engagement/political participation including voting and registration history, political efficacy, and what political activities in which people have partaken. I found that social media is an effective source of information on voting …

Applying Exploratory Learning Methods To Sociopolitical Beliefs And Cognition., Sarah French

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Americans are polarized along party lines across a variety of sociopolitical issues, including climate change and sustainability issues. Sociopolitical messaging often triggers biased processing that results in defensive rejection or biased elaboration (i.e., counterarguing) of belief-incongruent information. The current research examined whether exploratory learning activities, primarily applied in STEM-education research, can foster belief updating about polarized sustainability issues. Exploratory learning encourages people to engage with learning materials and arrive at their own conclusions before receiving direct instruction/messaging. In two experiments, participants reported their beliefs about carbon taxes and electric vehicle incentives (among other issues) before and after receiving counter-attitudinal persuasive …

The Impact Of Federalism On Immigration: A Reconstruction Of The System To Alleviate The Immigration Crisis In America, Theresa Lam

Senior Honors Theses

Illegal immigration is a complex and relevant issue in the United States. In particular, its long-term implications for American communities has elevated its significance. Within America’s federalist system, the immigration dilemma has raised tension among federal, state, and local governments, which have different perspectives on how to approach the matter. The federal government is responsible for enforcing immigration laws but delegates numerous immigration responsibilities to state and local law enforcement. However, the degree to which local officials should cooperate with federal authorities is the subject of intense debate. Should immigration enforcement be a federal or local responsibility? Under federalism and …

Race And Republicanism In The Political Thought Of Simón Bolívar, Jeremy Cumplido

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

This thesis examines how Simón Bolívar’s political thought on race, republicanism, and governance evolved during the Spanish American wars of independence. Early in his revolutionary career, Bolívar drew heavily from Enlightenment ideals, particularly those of Rousseau and Montesquieu, envisioning a future republic grounded in liberty, unity, and the rule of law. However, Bolívar’s initial writings reveal that he paid relatively little attention to the racial divisions that deeply fractured colonial society. Thus, his appeals for independence primarily focused on political subjugation and economic exploitation, reflecting both his Creole background and the broader colonial system’s blind spots.

Yet, as Bolívar faced …

Impact Of Religious Extremism On Government Stability, Jasmine Usmanova

[Archive] Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)

What causes government instability? This question has sparked various arguments. While some attribute government instability to economic factors like income inequality, others point to political dynamics such as the number of effective parties, or social factors like trust in the government. However, this paper argues that religious extremism, particularly when propagated by states through the adoption and enforcement of laws, policies, and practices that excessively integrate religious doctrines into the legal and governance framework, is a significant driver of government instability.

In this paper, we specifically utilize data from the year 2013. We employ the Gini index to account for …

Review Of Playing God: American Catholic Bishops And The Far Right, Daniel R. Dileo

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Poverty And Inequality: A New Deal For America’S Most Disadvantaged Communities, Thomas St. Hilaire

Theses and Dissertations

The United States, often hailed as the most affluent nation globally, paradoxically grapples with rates of poverty, disadvantage, and inequality that surpass those of its advanced democratic counterparts. The persistence of poverty and inequality in the United States have often been justified by beliefs of welfare dependency, “free market” thinking and utilitarianism. This master's thesis explores the far-reaching moral, political, and economic consequences of America’s high rates of poverty and inequality. It contends that federal action is urgently needed on more robust social programs that target poverty, such as affordable housing, accessible healthcare, greater worker protections, and deepened social capital …

I'Ve Registered To Vote... Now What?, Gabriel Giberson, Jasmine Cintron Soto, Lauren Shelton, Hayley Piazza

Student Zines

This zine was created by students from the Center for Community Action and Research to support voter outreach during the 2024 presidential election.

An Exploration Into How Print And Online News Journalists Manage Political Fake News In Ireland, John William Hogan

Conference papers

This paper examines how a number of Irish political journalists, working for both traditional newspapers and an online news website, deal with the problem of fake news. The aim is to gain an understanding of what the journalists’ perception of political fake news is and the methods they employ to manage it - a sorely under researched topic. Our findings show that the journalists we spoke with feel there are a range of forms that fake news assumes, many of them insidious and challenging to overcome with facts. The paper highlights the important role journalists play in confronting political fake …

The Role Of Prejudice In Political Campaigns, Sara Steffens

A with Honors Projects

A research paper examining traits of the highly prejudiced person according to Gordon Allport, how prejudice leads to the ten stages of genocide and an analysis of highly prejudiced political ads.

The Female Force: Gender Salience And Political Interests In The 2011 Tunisian Revolution, Katherine Meagor

Scripps Senior Theses

To acknowledge the role of women and their rights in Tunisian society, the 2011 Tunisian Revolution offers a case study for the multi-faceted dimensions of political movements that affect civil society. With the understanding that women exercised political agency differently and were affected by the changing political opportunity structure, this study aims to address the following questions: how did women navigate their female gender identity and political interests during the 2011 Tunisian Revolution? How did gender identity affect female participation during the Revolution? How did the Revolution prompt activism among women? How did the intersection of various identities contribute to …

Demagoguery And Political Rhetoric: A Comparative Analysis Of Father Charles E. Coughlin And Donald J. Trump, Charlotte Moody

History and Political Science | Senior Theses

Many Americans can still recall James Madison’s warning against mob rule in The Federalist Papers. What Madison did not articulate as memorably, however, was that it is not the mob we need to fear, but the demagogue. Who is the one fueling the fire through their use of sensational rhetoric? A term from ancient Greek mythology, a demagogue generally means a persuasive orator and leader of the people. The historical demagogue has many iterations in modern American politics that continue to undermine democracy and justice. However, there has not been a comprehensive study comparing two of the arguably most influential …

Power Dynamics And Oppression: Analyzing Structural Control In Suzanne Collins’S The Hunger Games, Hannah Micciolo

Capstone Showcase

The Hunger Games is a popular novel universe that describes a totalitarian dictatorship through the lens of the oppressed. Through the book, the viewer is given insight into how Panem operates the way it does even though the majority of its citizens are oppressed by the minority in a much more obvious manner. However, within modern society, the tactics used by the oppressors are much more ambiguous and distorted. This essay will explore the structures put in place by the Capitol in tandem with modern examples to mirror each other and increase awareness of the the tactics governments use both …

The Impact Of State Legislative Activity On Judicial Independence, Alec Haas

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The role of judicial officials to release independent decisions remains a vital component to the very existence of the judicial branch. However, due to disagreement over various individual court’s interpretation of their respective state constitution, numerous state legislatures have begun to introduce bills that significantly weaken state judiciaries. Many of these bills have statutes that lower the burden for judicial impeachment, remove jurisdiction over subject matter, change the election system for judicial officials, reduce the resources of the court, and introduce politics into seemingly non-partisan matters. Influenced by the passage of bills that weaponize state legislatures against the courts, this …

Poisoning The Blood Of Our Country: Donald Trump And The Rhetorical Dehumanization Of Migrants, Cy Conley

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Donald Trump has made various claims and statements throughout his campaigns targeting migrants to the United States, specifically those entering illegally. From phrases that nearly replicate ones made by individuals who have led mass-dehumanization efforts in the past, such as Adolf Hitler, to policies that will displace millions of individuals and rip families apart. It can be determined that Donald Trump is dehumanizing immigrants with his rhetoric and plans for action. If Donald Trump is elected to be President of the United States, he plans to enact mass deportation efforts, removing illegal migrants who have been residing in the United …

The Quest For Racial Equality After The Revolution: How Black Intellectuals Envision The Struggle For Equality After Jim Crow And Apartheid, Shelby Morgan

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This paper examines the ideas presented by Black public intellectuals from South Africa and the United States regarding their solutions on how to achieve real racial equality after the achievement of equality under the law. It will provide a historical comparative analysis of the two countries by examining the works of George Fredrickson, as well as some contextual background on the existence of racial disparities in the modern day. It will then present various publications by American intellectuals Ibram X. Kendi, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and Cornel West, and South African authors Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh, Songezo Zibi, and Tembeka Ngcukaitobi that discuss their …

Multipolar Melting Pot: A Spatial Analysis Of Political Orientation In The United States, Nathanael Baumann

CMC Senior Theses

Politics at the national level seems increasingly polarized – but what does polarization really mean in a political context? Is the American political landscape so unidimensional that voters throughout the country can be represented by a linear left-right spectrum? By classifying gubernatorial candidates across the country based on their distinct social and economic positions, then mapping them in a two-dimensional space, I posit a very different kind of political landscape – one made up of diffuse, fluid political preferences.

Vote Like A Man, Act Like A Woman: An Exploratory Analysis Of The Political Behavior Of Contemporary American Conservative Women, Alex Hawkins

Masters Theses

This article seeks to establish a baseline for the political behavior and participation levels of Republican women by measuring six political activities. Using CCES 2020 self-selected survey data, the six political activities measured were: made a political donation, attended a march or protest, attended a political meeting, worked on a campaign, contacted a public official, displayed political signage. The political behavior and participation levels of Republican women were compared to the levels of Republican men and non-Republican women. This comparison was established to provide further insight into the political behaviors of Republican women, including the relationship between gender and partisanship …

Freedom, Vulnerability, And Capitalism, Jeremy M. Johnson

Culture, Society, and Praxis

This project will explore how economic vulnerability plays a role in the functioning and maintenance of today’s economic and political systems while investigating how substantive freedom is threatened by economic precarity, why widespread vulnerability is minimally addressed by the state, and potential reforms to the current economic and political arrangement that could be made to ameliorate material harm. Much focus has been dedicated to the study of the coercive power of capitalism, but by analyzing how vulnerability is caused, perpetuated, and taken advantage of, a comprehensive understanding of the lived experiences of the working class, as well as their ability …

Amid Senegal’S Most Tumultuous Year In Recent History, The Senegalese Diaspora In New York Grapples With The Uncertainty Of Their Home Country’S Political Future., Mark Banchereau

Capstones

On February 25th 2024, Senegalese voters will be heading to the polls to elect a new president. Often hailed as one of the most stable and transparent democracies in Africa, Senegal has seen a rise in political violence surrounding the sentencing of the main opposition leader Ousmane Sonko this year.

Link :

https://medium.com/@banchereau.mark27/e716d027c0f3

Politics And Country Music: Analyzing Why Country Music Is Associated With The Political Right, Christa Noe

Musicology and Ethnomusicology: Student Scholarship

The general perception that country music aligns itself with the political right is perhaps most exemplified by the songs, “Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue (The Angry American)” by Toby Keith and “Okie from Muskogee” by Merle Haggard. Both songs speak of patriotic values that are traditionally associated with that side of politics. However, At the same time, some country songs, particularly older music, align more with the political left, such as “Man in Black” by Johnny Cash and “9 to 5” by Dolly Parton. Nadine Hubbs (2014) has shown how country music is often associated with the poor …

Unmaking Egalitarianism: Comparing Sources Of Political Change In An Amazonian Society, Christopher Von Rueden

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

Politically egalitarian societies were likely more common in pre-history than in recent millenia. Why did societies become more hierarchical? Answers to this question remain debated, based on evidence largely drawn from archaeological case studies or comparison of societies from the ethnographic record. I suggest that modern small-scale societies transitioning to market economies can provide complementary tests of the sources of political inequality. I first describe moderate variation in men's influence during community meetings (i.e. political inequality) across four relatively egalitarian Tsimane villages in the Bolivian Amazon, as well as within one of these villages over twelve years. I then assess …

Partisan Selective Exposure On Social Media During The 2020 Presidential Election, Grayce Lemon

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

This study examines selective exposure and selective avoidance on social media during the 2020 presidential election. 147 voters participated in the survey conducted using Qualtrics. The purpose of this study was to understand whether selective exposure and avoidance behaviors differed based on voting outcome (Trump or Biden), and to test whether political ideological polarization was reflected in news consumption through social media. Taken together, the results indicate that although both voting bases engaged in selective exposure and avoidance, the propensity was the same between Trump and Biden voters. Additionally, results confirm existing hypotheses that strength of political ideology positively correlates …

“I Am A Sincere Believer”: Rethinking Religiosity And Identity In The Early Soviet Union, Francesca Silano

Political Science Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Governance System For Local Governments : Part 2, Ishrat Husain Dr.

Faculty Research - Newspaper and Magazine Articles

Within the political dimension, the provincial governments should devolve the following functions completely to the local governments: one, school education up to matric. Two, primary and secondary health up to district hospitals. Three, water supply, sewerage, solid waste disposal. Four, population planning. Five, sports. Six, mass transit. Seven, roads, bridges within the district limits. Eight, prosecution. Nine, social welfare and community development and, ten, women’s development. All staff up to Grade 16 should be transferred along with their salary and allowances budgets. Future recruitment and promotion etc would be decided by the local governments themselves according to their needs and …

Decolonizing Kyiv’S Politics Of Memory: Current And Potential Implications Of Russia’S 2022 Invasion Of Ukraine On Ukrainian Monuments And Toponyms., Camilla Gironi

The Journal of International Relations, Peace Studies, and Development

History is the basis of our identity, but it sometimes represents a trap. As well explained by Keith Lowe, monuments are representative of our values, and every society deludes itself that its values will be everlasting. However, in a world changing at an unprecedented pace while we move on, urban furnishment such as monuments or streets’ names remain frozen in time. Statues and toponyms that were erected and chosen a long time ago may no longer be representative of the values we now treasure. While Russia’s aggression is still raging, a lot has been written on the potential implications of …

Effects Of Primary Competitiveness On The Emergence And Success Of Female Candidates In U.S. House Primary Elections With No Incumbent, Grace Gillespie

Women’s Leadership

No abstract provided.

Prosecutorial Discretion: District Attorneys, Public Opinion,And The Localized Rule Of Law, Yu-Hsien Sung

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation addresses three fundamental questions regarding the politics of prosecutorial behavior. Specifically, it examines how the selectors of prosecutors influence prosecutorial decision-making under different selection methods, including electionbased systems and appointment-based systems. By using a political responsiveness framework and utilizing empirical strategies, including an experiment and the construction of prosecutor policy position data, this study offers novel insights into the subject. First, I find that voters care about prosecutors’ issue positions and rely on various cues to identify candidates whose policy positions align with their preferences, even in low-information elections. Second, elections show promise as a mechanism for holding …