Political Science Commons^™

Deterring Nuclear Attacks On Japan: An Examination Of The U.S.-Japan Relationship And Nuclear Modernization, Alyssa M. Minamide

CMC Senior Theses

This paper evaluates the effectiveness of the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal in covering security commitments with its foreign allies, particularly Japan. The U.S. has promised to defend allies all over the world with nuclear forces, and consequently has been forced into a delicate and precarious position. President Barack Obama wants to reach nuclear zero, which would make the world safe from nuclear destruction in the future; yet he also wants to provide security for allied nations in the present, using the
very weapons he has marked for destruction. And he is facing an aging Cold War-era nuclear arsenal that needs …

County Level Economic Voting In U.S. Presidential Elections, Martin R. Sartorius

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis seeks to understand the relationship between county level economic voting and county level economic voting by demographic group on county level vote shares for U.S. presidential elections. Using an entity and time fixed effects regression model, I study the effects that county level growth in real per capita personal income and unemployment rate change have on county level two-party vote share for the Democratic Party. Additionally, I observe the responsiveness of a county’s voting behavior due to the demographic makeup of that specific county. I then compare my initial results to those of Eisenberg and Ketcham (2004) for …

Against The Grain: The Imf, Bread Riots, And Altered State Development In The Hashemite Kingdom Of Jordan, David M. Leathers

CMC Senior Theses

Since the end of World War II, and especially over the past three decades, there has been a dramatic increase of interactions between international financial institutions (IFIs) and states. This paper will explore these interactions by examining the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This paper rests on the assumption that the complex implications of these interactions are not yet comprehensively understood and will move towards that goal by setting forth a collection of new approaches to further understand IFI-state interaction. It will discuss Jordan’s economic and political history, structural adjustment policies implemented by the IMF, …

Would You Like It Hot Or Cold? An Analysis Of U.S.-China Climate Policy, Alice Chang

CMC Senior Theses

As the world’s largest emitters and economies, the United States and China play a critical role in global climate mitigation. Using Putnam’s two-level game showcases how the domestic political context of each country impacts their international policies. However, Putnam’s framework does not differentiate between bilateral and multilateral circumstances. The clarity and concentration of perceived costs and benefits for the United States and China from climate policies lead to differing outcomes on the multilateral and bilateral stage. Fear of the free-rider effect makes players assume payoffs that resemble the Prisoner’s Dilemma during multilateral climate negotiations, whereas bilateral negotiations usually result in …

Feasibility Analysis And Strategic Measures For Promoting Viable New Urban Development, Elizabeth J. Farr

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis demonstrates that New Urbanism is both an advisable and feasible method for reducing carbon emissions to mitigate global climate change. New Urban areas commonly generate lower carbon emissions compared to conventional suburban development due to lower car use and higher levels of walking and use of other forms of transportation. Economic and political feasibility of New Urban development is determined by analyzing case studies, housing price premia, financing, and fiscal impact. The many contexts and perspectives involved in the planning process are analyzed to determine if New Urbanism is advisable in the larger setting in which developers, advocates, …

Piecing Elections Together In The 21st Century: Social Media, Outreach Strategies, & Community Engagement, Joshua Acevedo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This Thesis analyzes the role of social media usage in campaigns and explores methods for operationalizing this campaign phenomenon. Understanding social media and its connection to politics is challenging, for countless researchers have found it difficult to try to explore a relationship between social media and political campaigns. While social media is relatively new and has been on the rise in recent years, there are challenges associated with measurement and capturing relationships. I will first provide a literature review noting key works on the subject that offer valuable insights on the importance of social media and its influence on the …

Cultural Diplomacy Strategies For Mexico In The Xxi Century, Alejandro Siqueiros

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This Thesis analyzes cultural diplomacy (CD) and how the utilization of the strategies of inserting Mexico into foreign cultures, using cultural activities based on similarities and differences, and expanding CD into other areas, may have the ability to positively influence Mexico`s political, economic, social and cultural foreign policy objectives.

Examining The Effects Of Political Trust, Attribution Of Responsibility, And Media Framing On Public Support For Outside Intervention In The Mexican Drug War, Rodrigo Alberto Borunda

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

To what extent does the Mexican society support cooperation with foreign authorities to combat the drug cartels? Who does the Mexican society trust in combating the drug cartels? Employing survey data from the Roper Center along with original experimental data, I examine the determinants of public support for foreign cooperation to combat drug cartels. Focusing on different forms of the U.S.-Mexico cooperation, I explore which type and form of foreign intervention is most acceptable to the Mexican public. Specifically, I examine public support for the following forms of cooperation: training Mexican police and military personnel, providing money and weapons to …

Rents, Loyalty, And The Economy: How An Unstable Economy Plays A Role In The Occurrence Of Coups D'État, Alexandra Elizabeth Infanzon

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This Thesis examines why coups d'état still occur, regardless of institution type, in some states but not others. Building off Wintrobe's and Hiroi and Omori's observations, an elite theory is presented that attributes the success of avoiding coups lies in both the stability of economic growth and a system of internal incentives that create a direct link between the government and the people. Without either present, the elite in government are not constrained from engaging in undemocratic behavior and usurping power, ultimately resulting in coups. Using a zero-inflated negative binomial logistic regression, indicators of economic stability and internal loyalty systems …

The New Dynamics Of El Paso's Post Industrial Development: An Analysis Of The El Paso Chihuahua's Ballpark Controversy, Alan Matthew Serna

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This Thesis has sought to highlight a controversial event that occurred in El Paso, Texas when a wealthy group of local business interests, entered into a public/ private agreement with the City of El Paso to bring Triple-A baseball to the city. In doing so, the partnership drew large amounts opposition to their plan, when it was revealed that the city hall building would be demolished to make way for a new stadium, and that the issue would not be put to a vote. After analyzing all of the behaviors utilized by both opponents and proponents of the ballpark during …

Effective Number Of Parties And Mass Political Behavior In Europe, Jakub Pawel Zajakala

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Participation is perhaps the most essential component of democracy, as its humane facet, people, is indispensable for it to occur. However, some aspects of this phenomenon have been disregarded in the existing literature. A discernible decrease in the quality and quantity of democratic participation is deemed to endanger the representative capacity of democracy, and consequently, stability of parliamentary and presidential regimes. Using Prais-Winsten regression, the condition of democratic institutions, with an emphasis on the number of parties, is examined by looking at all the European democracies between 1946 and 2014. This Thesis posits that the number of effective actors on …

Mario Rufino Méndez Y La Caricatura Política En Nuestra Raza: Estudio Testimonial De Una Rica Producción Cultural De Los Afro-Uruguayos (1933-1948), María Cristina Burgueño

Modern Languages Faculty Research

This work is a one volume published by the National Library of Uruguay with a prologue by Dr. George Reid Andrews. It provides an in depth analysis of the corpus of caricatures made by Mario R. Mendez, an afro-Uruguayan artist, for the magazine “Our Race” during its second period 1933-1948. These editorial caricatures made a strong statement against the Fascism in Europe and the League of Nations’ attitude towards the invasion of Ethiopia ordered by Benito Mussolini. They also satirized the political and social reality in Uruguay. Both, the caricatures and the magazine provide a testimony of an extensive cultural …

Will Open Access Get Me Cited? An Analysis Of The Efficacy Of Open Access Publishing In Political Science, Amy Atchison, Jonathan Bull

Library Faculty Publications

The digital revolution has made it easier for Political Scientists to share and access high-quality research online. However, many of these articles are stored in proprietary databases that some institutions cannot afford. High-quality, peer reviewed, top-tier journal articles that have been made open access (freely available online) should theoretically be more easily accessed and cited than articles of similar quality that are only available to paying customers. Research into the efficacy of Open Access (OA) publishing has thus far focused mainly on the natural sciences, and the results have been mixed. Because OA has not been as widely adopted in …

Qatari Foreign Policy And The Arab Spring: From Mediation To Intervention, Basma Mahmoud Eletreby

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the controversial role that Qatar has been playing in the Arab Spring, specifically from 2011 to 2013. Evidently, Qatari foreign policy will be assessed to comprehend the power this small state has been gaining in Middle East politics in a region plagued by never ending manifestations of power struggles and turbulent developments. The case studies of Egypt, Libya and Syria in which Qatari foreign policy involvement deployed the same rationale will be investigated to examine the increasing involvement of Qatar in Middle East politics. It concludes that the foreign policy of Qatar was both opportunistic and pro-Islamist …

Fair Weight : Empowering Member States Through Goal-Based Voting Weight For Effective Implementation Of Imo Instruments, Ashish Wankhede

World Maritime University Dissertations

This dissertation is an endeavour to introduce the concept of ‘‘Fair Weight’’ defined as a goal-based voting weight that would empower Member States to ensure effective implementation of IMO instruments. The evolution of IMO as an international organization for maritime related matters shall be studied to understand the existing decision making process of IMO instruments. In addition, the dimensions of voting weights utilized for equality of representation in the decision making process of IMO shall be studied. Furthermore, the impact of the tacit acceptance procedure and open registry on these dimensions of voting weights shall be evaluated to understand the …

As The Ruble Tumbles, Putin Stumbles — And Upheaval Looms In Russia, Nicholas Hayes, Louis D. Johnston

University Chair in Critical Thinking Publications

No abstract provided.

China's Triangle Diplomacy 中国の三角外交, Mel Gurtov

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Back in the days of Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger, the "strategic triangle" with the Soviet Union and China was the great game. The idea was to play off the two communist powers against one another, relying on their ideological warfare under Mao, deep cultural differences, and open conflict in border regions to sustain their mutual suspicions and fears of attack. Now the shoe is on the other foot, so to speak: China seems to be in charge of the game, using US-Russia enmity and its own on-again, off-again competition with the US to keep both those countries cooperative with …

Private Diplomats, Mediation Professionals, And Peace Activists: Can Non-Governmental Actors Bring Peace To Civil Wars?, Christina Kiel

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates how actors without the means of state power can affect the behavior of warring parties in order to end civil conflicts. Drawing on the intervention and mediation literature, I propose a theoretical framework that presents causal mechanisms for various forms of non-state conflict management to contribute to conflict resolution. The research distinguishes between direct mediation, capacity-building, and problem-solving approaches, and analyzes the approaches’ potential contributions to shorter wars and more sustainable peace.

On the one hand, non-state actors can be substitutes for governmental or inter-governmental mediators. They derive legitimacy from long-standing relations with the conflict parties, and …

Has Adam Gadahn Forsaken The Lawful Jihad For Anti-Americanism? A Case Study Of Ideological Contradictions, Paul Kamolnick

ETSU Faculty Works

Despite his importance as a senior Al-Qaeda spokesman, no detailed examination exists of Adam Yahiye Gadahn’s employment of fiqh al-jihad—that branch of Islamic jurisprudence regulating the lawful waging of jihad—to condemn or condone violence committed in the name of Al-Qaeda. This article first provides a detailed exposition of Gadahn’s sharia-based critique of affiliates’ conduct deemed by him in violation of Islamic law and involving the commission of major sins. Second, Gadahn’s conception of fiqh al-jihad is contextualized and contrasted with the comprehensive fiqh al-jihad-based critiques produced by respected militant Islamist scholars. A key finding here is that Gadahn (unlike these …

We Wear The Mask: Exploring The Talented Tenth And African American Political Philosophy In 21st Century Politics, Lauryn T. Minter

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Researchers have suggested that Blacks who express linked racial fate are ideologically liberal. Given the prominence of Black philosophical thought and salience of race, I suggest that linked racial fate results in conservative ideology, which exists on a separate ideological dimension than the traditional conservative ideological dimension. This new ideological dimension, referred to as conservatism among Blacks, is vital to understanding Black political thought in the 21^st century. Using data from the 1996 National Black Election Study, 2008 National Annenberg Election Study, and focus group data I argue that the conservative ideas espoused by Blacks, specifically members of the …

Women In Kazakhstan: A Multifaceted Approach To Female Political Representation, Ashley Gaile Benedict

Dissertations

This investigation focuses on two competing theories (historical institutionalism and social constructivism) and their explanatory value in regards to female political representation in Kazakhstan. Historical Institutionalism maintains that current institutional dynamics are constrained by past institutional formations, even when these past institutions are no longer relevant. Social Constructivism challenges this theory by upholding that institutions are culturally situated and a reflection of shared ideas rather than material forces as argued by historical institutionalism. Based on Hanna Pitkin’s (1967) four dimensions of representation (formal, descriptive, substantive, and symbolic), I examine how Kazakhstan’s Soviet past and its creation of a Kazakh ethnic-national …

Essays On Battle Clusters In Internal Armed Conflicts And Insurgencies: Concept, Causes And Consequences, Chifeng Liu

Theses and Dissertations

With the purpose to re-conceptualize the intensity of internal armed conflicts, I argue that the characteristics such as location, scale and duration of “major battlefields,” i.e. the spatio-temporal clusters of combat events are important in the evaluation of impact of modern civil wars and insurgencies. I start with elaborating and constructing a new concept of conflict magnitude with battle clusters using up-to-date geo-referenced data and spatial statistic methods. In the second article, I first explain the location and duration of major battlefields. The findings indicate that an area with multiple non-state armed groups (NSAGs) is more likely to become main …

Power To Appoint: A Model Of Appointments To The United States Federal Judiciary, Alicia Bernice Uribe

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation project considers judicial appointments in a new light. The project, first, considers how appointments to the United States Federal Judiciary might be thought of differently if the appointment to multiple positions were thought of as interdependent decisions rather than independent decisions. I create a simulation based model that matches judges with vacant positions in the judiciary to see how our expectations of appointments should differ for different levels of the judiciary and in different political environments. I then consider how this approach might translate to other selection mechanisms comparing the selection system for the federal judiciary with other …

Absentee Voting & Expanding Electoral Participation, Alyse Marie Frederick

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

If liberalization of absentee voting has the ability to increase voter turnout, then it is significant to distinguish what demographics an absentee voter is most likely to be a part of. In the United States an individuals’ right to vote absentee is regulated by the state. Therefore, not every state in the United States grants their residents the choice to vote absentee. Initially, absentee voting was established as a means to allow soldiers displaced by war to participate in voting. Over time disabled citizens were granted the right to apply to vote absentee. Eventually, many states began to liberalize eligibility …

The Effect Of The Okavango River On Angola's Economic Stability And The Effect Of Its Policy On Surrounding Countries, Loren Marie Stoehr

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This study examines natural resources as a source of international conflict. Without proper management of these resources, conflict will continue to occur. An overview of natural resources and how they pertain to conflict is examined using examples from different parts of the world. Then water conflicts are focused upon and how proposals and resolutions through legal framework and guidance from outside entities can help provide better usage practices. Furthermore, the Okavango River is researched and how Angola’s use of the water effects the countries of Namibia and Botswana. In addition, future proposals to move forward and increase international water security …

Reforming The U.S. Intelligence Community: Successes, Failures And The Best Path Forward, Christopher John Sheehy

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

In the wake of the 9/11 and Iraqi WMD catastrophes, an increased spotlight was placed upon the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC). The widespread criticism of the IC, from both government and public sources, ultimately culminated in the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act (IRTPA) in 2004. Today, with a wide array of transnational threats to the homeland, as well as the complex, globalized, high-tech world they thrive in, the role of intelligence remains essential to the national security apparatus.

A new shape for the intelligence reform debate is necessary, one that recognizes the unique role the IC plays in policy …

Who Decides? A Study Of The Effects On Decision Unit Dynamics In Crisis And Crisis Transition, Janet Leigh Drake

Dissertations

Foreign policy decision-making is often an obscured process, particularly when it involves threats to national security or national interests. Despite the lack of transparency, though sometimes necessary, foreign policy decisions can have far-reaching consequences. Policymakers establish and affect relationships with other governments, and can commit state resources for cooperation or for conflict. The purpose of this study is to determine what types of decision units make foreign policy decisions and what factors influence the dynamics of the unit. I employ the decision units (DU) framework developed by Margaret Hermann to decisions made by the United States and Israel during the …

Transparency Rules In U.S. Elections Need Updating To Reflect 21st Century Realities, Rebecca Green

Popular Media

No abstract provided.

Navy, Russian (1991-), Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Provides a historical overview and analysis of events affecting the Russian Navy from 1991-present. Emphasizes how this force still has mammoth strategic ambitions despite limited resources and an obsolete infrastructure. Stresses the ongoing presence of nuclear weapons, the increasing importance of the Northern Sea Route in Russian and international trade and strategy, and how U.S. and NATO countries budget constraints may make it hard for them to resist Russian assertiveness in areas such as Ukraine.

State Defense Council, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Provides an overview and analysis of the Russian Federation's State Defense Council which was Russia's equivalent to the U.S. National Security Council for a few years after 1996.