Political Science Commons^™

Women's Roles In Peacebuilding, Yu Nagahama

Senior Theses

How can we restore peace after conflicts? And how can we maintain it? The institution of successful peacebuilding has been a critical task for the international community since the end of the Cold War. The United Nations, the Member States, scholars, and civic organizations have been searching for the perfect solutions to establish sustainable peace. However, in many cases, conflict resolutions are fragile, and many of them end up with the recurrence of violence. According to the United Nations, countries that have experienced wars are more likely to have successive wars within a decade (United Nations 2017). In 2000, the …

America's 'Just Wars' In The 21st Century: Implications Of Just War Theory On The Middle East, Sara Bakhtiar

Senior Theses

This paper will examine the presence of just war theory in the rhetoric and actions of U.S. leaders and policymakers. I look at Afghanistan to highlight the United States' misuse of just war doctrine, which led to highly destructive consequences. I then look at Syria and how just war language is already being used to justify a potential intervention in the state. Last, I assess the United States' intervention in Yemen to argue that the U.S. does not intervene in the Middle East for strictly humanitarian purposes, but rather to pursue and advance its own interests like policies of regime …

Kim Davis Denied His Marriage License. Will Voters Let Him Try To Oust Her?, Will Wright

Media Collection

No abstract provided.

The Significance Of Mongolia's Foreign Policy And Security Apparatus On A Global And Regional Scale, Bolor Lkhaajav

Master's Projects and Capstones

Mongolia, land-locked between two politically, economically, and militarily powerful nations — Russia and China — often must balance its foreign and security policies with its two neighbors and countries beyond. When discussing Mongolia’s foreign policy and security apparatus, historians and scholars look at the international relations of East Asia as a whole. This is the case not because Mongolia’s foreign policy is insignificant but because greater powers impose greater influence on smaller states. Mongolia’s partial involvement in World War II (WWII), and the Cold War introduced new challenges as well as opportunities for Mongolia to modernize its foreign policy principles …

Betraying Revolution: The Foundations Of The Japanese Communist Party, Matthew J. Crooke

Master's Projects and Capstones

With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 and China’s restoration of capitalism, it is easy to dismiss the relevancy of socialism today. Yet, the Japanese Communist Party (JCP) has enjoyed success at the polls and recognition as a serious opponent of the government of Abe Shinzō. The JCP however is not making a push for power. Instead, it supports liberal opposition parties, most recently throwing its weight behind the new Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP) in the October 2017 general election. A future CDP government in Japan could include the JCP as a coalition partner. Does …

Currents Of Consumption: How National Narratives Of Japanese Cuisine Collide With Localized Forms Of Sushi In Northern California, John Ostermiller

Master's Projects and Capstones

This paper examines how national narratives of Japanese cuisine collide with the expectations, preferences, and perceptions of American consumers (particularly Northern California). The global economy has benefited the circulation of positive images of Japan managed by the Japanese government, but the commercialization of Japanese cuisine is also at odds with government efforts. In Japan, sushi is often synonymous with nigirizushi: sliced seafood and a daub of wasabi atop vinegared rice. As part of Japan’s washoku tradition, this singular image of sushi (allegedly) reflects the deepest essence of Japanese cultural sensibilities tied to simplicity, perfection, and nature. But in America, consumers’ …

Mineral Warfare: The Dark Side Of Technology And International Mediation, Priyanka Basnyat

Master's Theses

Conflict surrounding the extraction and trade of natural resources is not an uncommon phenomenon. Especially in the case of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which has historically suffered from the negative impacts of the resource curse since their mineral wealth was first discovered by their Colonial administrators. The importance of Congo’s minerals has fluctuated over the years but has peaked during recent times, as their use in technological advancements are becoming more vital. The global demand for these mineral ores have sky rocketed and consequentially, the largely informal trade has benefitted certain rebel groups, playing a pivotal role in …

Political Revolutions And Women's Progress: Why The Egyptian Arab Spring Failed To Deliver On The Promises Of Women's Rights, Anne Song

Master's Theses

The mass participation of women in the 2011 Egyptian Arab Spring began what many thought would be a new feminist movement. As news cycles started showing the central role of women in the Arab Spring, many people including the women who demonstrated believed women’s rights were on the horizon. This study shows why the 2011 Arab Spring did not deliver on the promises of women’s rights in Egypt. Explaining the historical, religious, and societal influences on women’s rights in Egypt, and using data from the Arab Barometer and reports from the World Bank and UN, this study shows that the …

The Electoral Value Of Executive Power In Mexico: 1994-2012, Enrique Quezada

Andrews Research Conference

Incumbency advantage, coattail effects, and reverse coattail effects refer to different ways in which a candidate’s chances of winning are tied to her party’s past and present electoral success. While incumbency advantage pertains to the likelihood of winning reelection and coattail effects are those present in concurrent races at different levels of government, this paper focuses on the electoral advantage a presidential candidate receives when his or her party controls the executive branch of a state or municipality. Focusing on the Mexican case, while partisanship may be a driving factors behind this party incumbency advantage, mayors and governors can employ …

Card: Inaugural Ball Information

Saffy Collection - All Textual Materials

Card listing Transportation, Inaugural Ball Times and Security procedures. No date given.

Paranormal Beliefs And Their Effect On American Fears And Political Identification, Tyler James Ferrari

Political Science Student Papers and Posters

Urban legends and conspiracy theories have been a cornerstone of American culture for many years, and these stories and theories have permeated into many aspects of society, from tourism to pop culture, but how have these stories and theories affected politics? Conspiracy theories and urban legends all revolve around the distrust of institutions, ranging from governments to the media, but there is very little research to indicate how beliefs in these types of phenomena affect political self-identification, and fear in real-world disasters. This paper seeks to answer the following: How do paranormal and abnormal beliefs influence political identification? And how …

Nationalism, Tribalism, And The Future Of Women’S Rights In Iraqi Kurdistan, Adena Moulton, Dr. Donna Lee Bowen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Iraqi Kurdistan refers to the mountainous region in northern Iraq, which is home to a majority of Iraq’s Kurdish minority. As a distinct ethnic group, Iraqi Kurds have consistently lobbied for greater autonomy and even independence. After the American invasion in 2003, Iraqi Kurdistan gained enough self-autonomy to develop into a “de-facto” state (Stansfield 2001; Voller 2014). In an effort to develop international legitimacy, the Kurdish government has enacted a series of legal reforms to improve women’s rights (KRG Addresses Women’s Rights 2008; Women’s Rights Campaign 2008). My research explored the extent to which these legal reforms improved the daily …

An Illiberal Union, Sonu Bedi

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

This Article breaks new ground by applying the philosophical framework of liberal neutrality (most famously articulated by John Rawls) to the United States Supreme Court’s jurisprudence on marriage. At first blush, the Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges—the culmination of marriage rights—seems to affirm a central principle of liberalism, namely equal access to marriage regardless of sexual orientation. Gays and lesbians can finally take part in an institution that celebrates the union of two committed individuals. But perversely, in its attempt to expand access to marriage, the Court has simultaneously entrenched values that are antithetical to the basic tenants …

The Year In C-Span Archives Research: Volume 4, Robert X. Browning

The Year in C-SPAN Archives Research

C-SPAN is the network of record for US political affairs, broadcasting live gavel-to-gavel proceedings of the House of Representatives and the Senate, and to other forums where public policy is discussed, debated, and decided––without editing, commentary, or analysis and with a balanced presentation of points of view.

The C-SPAN Archives, located adjacent to Purdue University, is the home of the online C-SPAN Video Library. The Archives has copied all of C-SPAN's television content since 1987. Extensive indexing, captioning, and other enhanced online features provide researchers, policy analysts, students, teachers, and public officials with an unparalleled chronological and internally cross-referenced record …

The Impact Of Contextual Political Factors On Personnel, Rulemaking, And Partisanship, Emily Moore

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

The context in which an institution operates structures the way political actors respond to it. Broadly, this dissertation explores these contextual variables. The first chapter provides an overview of the arguments I will make in the dissertation and the results I find. The second chapter considers political context as it relates to excepted political appointees. I argue that presidents utilize Schedule C appointees more frequently in ideologically proximate agencies and when ideological conflict in the Senate is high. I show some evidence for these arguments using an original OPM dataset on Schedule C appointees from 1998 through 2013. The third …

Advanced Methods In Comparative Politics: Modeling Without Conditional Independence, David George Carlson

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

One of the most significant assumptions we invoke when making quantitative inferences is the conditional independence between observations. There are, however, many situations when we may doubt this independence. For instance, two seemingly distinct data-generating processes may in fact share unobserved relations. Time-series and cross-sectional studies are also plagued by a lack of independence. If we ignore this common violation of our fundamental modeling assumptions we may draw improper conclusions from our data. This dissertation introduces two methods to the political science literature: a zero-inflated multivariate ordered probit and Gaussian process regression for time-series cross-sectional analyses. This latter model is …

You're Out! Explaining Non-Criminal Diplomatic Expulsion, Anthony Jordan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The practice of diplomatic expulsion, as well as expulsion of other foreign personnel by an executive, has received little attention in the field of International Relations or in Political Science more broadly. If expulsion were analyzed under the broader category of diplomatic relations, then studying the variation in expulsions could improve our understanding of international relations. It would be understood as one of the many tools executives use in negotiation between states. Executives, however, appeared to treat expulsion specially. Although no international convention requires executives to notify the public of the expulsion of a diplomat, ambassador or other personnel, it …

Is It Still Impossible To Be Black And American?, Darrian Carroll

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This thesis engages Bill Clinton’s presidential rhetoric to investigate how liberal rhetorical practices can be used to extend and sustain the oppression of Black Americans. By adopting Du Bois’ concepts of the color-line and double-consciousness this thesis examines how Bill Clinton was able to recreate the color-line in the Mason Temple speech and benefit from and recreate a world devoid of consciousness in other selected speeches from his corpus. This project takes up three separate speeches by Bill Clinton as texts. The second chapter focuses on Bill Clinton’s “Remarks to the Rainbow Coalition” and “Remarks announcing the initiative” to make …

What’S At Steak? The Political Discourse Of Emissions Intensity And Implications Of Animal Agriculture, Kalyn Simon

Master's Theses

This thesis analyzes the international discourse of greenhouse gas emissions in relation to livestock production. Specific government ministries, research institutes, and multilateral organizations are framing a new strategy to mitigate emissions by using emissions intensity metrics. Emissions intensity is a ratio comparing emissions produced per unit of animal product as oppose to measuring absolute emissions. This research is acknowledged as a win-win scenario which allows for a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions while continuing production more efficiently. This thesis outlines the emergence of this metric in international discourse and the implications this shift has on the livestock sector globally. Ultimately, …

Institutional Dissonance And Reserved Cooperation: Theory And Evidence From International Environmental Agreements, Erika Komura Masaki

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

As global environmental problems have received more attention in the international arena, questions of global environmental governance have become more salient. The increase of international and multilateral environmental agreements has raised questions about participation, compliance, and ultimately, effectiveness of these institutions. Consequently, this dissertation seeks to understand what factors affect participation in and compliance with international environmental agreements. Specifically, I find that treaty design plays a critical role in levels of participation. Using both qualitative and quantitative analysis, I also examine the case of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) as a case study, and find that …

Correspondence: Letter Of Apology To Dr. Chikane, Desmond Tutu

Archbishop Desmond Tutu Collection Textual

A letter of apology written by Archbishop Tutu to Dr. Chikane and copied to the ex TRC Commissioners. Undated and handwritten.

Spain: Energy Policy And Proposal, Justina Dibacco

Political Science Student Papers and Posters

This paper aims to analyze Spain's different energy resources and uses. Within this paper. there will be an background of Spain and their current energy resources, along with a proposal about how to better their energy use.

Rethinking Reporting On Polls In Time For Midterm Elections, Stephen Utych

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Associated Press, a nonprofit news wire published by 1,300 papers and broadcasters, has updated its stylebook to clarify that “poll results that seek to preview the outcome of an election must never be the lead, headline or single subject of any story.”

El Orden De La Libertad, De Mauricio García Villegas, Gabriel-Ignacio Gomez

Gobernar: The Journal of Latin American Public Policy and Governance

No abstract provided.

El Derecho De Acceso A Información Pública Como Mecanismo De Control Social: Análisis Comparado En Cinco Países Latinoamericanos, Erik Moreno R., Christopher Ramírez S., Matías Salazar S.

Gobernar: The Journal of Latin American Public Policy and Governance

El presente estudio busca revisar el estado y el desarrollo institucional de las políticas en materia de transparencia y derecho de acceso a la información presentes en la región. Una vez dentro de la conceptualización pertinente, donde se consultan diversas fuentes que tratan el Accountability, se realiza una comparación que permite identificar posteriormente las condiciones para que las herramientas presentes en cada uno de los países analizados, conforme a su propia legislación, permitan ejercer el Accountability y configurar el acceso a la información, tanto como derecho autónomo como medio efectivo de control social a la gestión pública.

La Artesanía Del Orden Social, Luis Felipe Dávila

Gobernar: The Journal of Latin American Public Policy and Governance

Lo que pretende exponer este artículo tiene que ver con la importancia de descartar la idea de que toda institución eficiente es fruto de la intencionalidad de un poder político centralizado que puede cambiar la historia por medio de herramientas artificiales, desconociendo los procesos históricos y evolutivos del orden social, en un espacio-tiempo determinado. Además, los diferentes fines que persiguen los actores involucrados pueden ser incluso antagónicos entre sí, pero en conjunto pueden llegar a producir armonía y beneficios para los sujetos involucrados, aunque el resultado sea diferente al que buscaban individualmente. Para dicho propósito, se abordan en este artículo …

Frictions In Transitional Justice Processes: Colombia's Victims Law, Integral Reparation And The Temporality Of Multiple Victimization In Displaced Women, Sophie Rähme

Gobernar: The Journal of Latin American Public Policy and Governance

This article addresses the challenges that integral reparation programs meet when aiming to respond to multiple victimization experienced by displaced women. By adopting the ethnographic concept of “frictions” (Tsing, 2005), I analyze four dimensions of discursive frictions that occur surrounding reparative practice backed by the Law on Victims and Land Restitution and its multiple local encounters and dis-encounters when compensating multiple victimization in the post-conflict of Medellín. Like other studies have identified shortcomings of the idealistic and innovative Colombian reparation program, it becomes evident that the integral reparation efforts fall short in addressing the real complexity of interrelated and multiples …

Analysis Of The Perceptions About The Organizational Environment In Colombia’S Public Sector, Fabian Telch, Pablo Sanabria

Gobernar: The Journal of Latin American Public Policy and Governance

Public servants are conditioned by perceptions about their jobs environments that can lead them to have less appreciation for their organizations. There are few studies that focus on a theoretical and practical understanding of the organizational environment as a factor that may lead public workers to low motivation and job satisfaction levels. We aim to explore organizational environment of Colombia’s public-sector entities as a key organizational aspect, considering the demographic characteristics of Colombian public servants. Through multivariate statistics we explore whether some demographic and organizational traits of public officials play a role on their appreciations of their organizational environments. To …

Observing And Measuring Government Openness. A Conceptual Discussion And Application To Mexico, Guillermo Cejudo, Cynthia L. Michel, Armando Sobrino, Marcela Vázquez

Gobernar: The Journal of Latin American Public Policy and Governance

Open government has become a goal for countries all over the world, but it remains an elusive concept. Despite innovative methodologies to assess open government policies, action plans, and interventions in different countries, scholarly research and practical decisions are hindered by the lack of a precise concept and an operationalization. In this paper, we make two contributions to this discussion. First, we argue that the discussions about open government would benefit from taking the grammatical structure of the concept seriously (open is an adjective, government a noun). Second, we propose that, in order to be conceptually and practically useful, open …

Editorial Spanish, Nadia Rubaii, Santiago Leyva

Gobernar: The Journal of Latin American Public Policy and Governance

No abstract provided.