Political Science Commons^™

Getting Ahead Or Left Behind? The Politics And Policy Of Education Reform In The United States, Anna Elisabeth Brown

Honors Papers

Are teacher characteristics a significant factor in student learning? If so, which characteristics are effective? An original analysis of reading test scores of 5,000 fourth graders across the United States confirmed the difficulties researchers face when measuring teacher quality; it appears to account for only small variations in scores. Given the complexity, first, of the politics of "teacher quality" and, second, the improvement of primary education in the U.S., I offer some modest recommendations.

The Global War On Terror: Who Wins, Who Loses?, G. Simon Harak S.J.

Theology Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Guidelines For Policy Modellers - 30 Years On: New Tricks Or Old Dogs?, Geoffrey J. Syme, David Bennett, Duncan K. Macpherson, Jonathan F. Thomas

Research outputs 2011

Systems thinking and the use of modelling to assist in natural resources decision making started in the early 1960’s (Forrester, 1961). In the early 1970’s a multidisciplinary program was established in CSIRO’s Division of Land Resources Management to, among other issues, research and develop models to assist in the resolution of persistent and multi-faceted environmental issues. The authors of this paper were members of that group. We recently decided to look at what has been learned about these reasonably intractable problems over the more than 30 years period since. If it is true that the half life of modelling papers …

The Tea Party And Social Movements, David Palmer

Honors Theses

The recent rise of the Tea Party movement has added a new dimension to our discussion of domestic politics. The main question is: what effect will the Tea Party have on the political landscape? The best way to answer this question is to place the Tea Party in historical and theoretical context, in order to discuss what type of social movement the Tea Party is and what impact it might have. To this end, I will define and discuss the two major literatures in socialmovement theory: Issue Evolution and Political Process theory. This theoretical framework will provide the basis for …

The People’S Republic Of China’S Stance On Human Rights In Selected Crises, Brian T. Kopczynski

CMC Senior Theses

This paper examines China’s policy towards human rights internationally with the intent of discerning real support for human rights. It compares China’s responses to two cases of mass human rights violations (the Darfur and Israel-Palestine conflicts) in which it has a serious interest (energy in particular). It finds that China treats human rights self-interestedly, but also has some support for them when its interests are not at stake.

Democratization In Sub-Saharan Africa: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly, Ashley W. Munetsi

CMC Senior Theses

Democracy's advance on the African continent has been mixed, this article analyzes three countries which reflect this situation. Ghana represents the good, a country now considered a liberal democracy; Kenya represents the bad, although possessing the right conditions to advance its democracy the country has slid into an ambiguous zone; the Democratic Republic of Congo represents the ugly, after showing initial promise it still has significant issues halting its burgeoning democratic progress. These three countries represent the prototypical situations facing democratizing Sub-Saharan countries and analyzing them can inform what factors aid or have hindered democratic progress not only for them …

Tort Reform And American Political Economy, Ian J. Drake

Department of Political Science and Law Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The expansion of tort liability throughout the last century was a unique period of American legal history. In the field of products liability the expansion was dramatic; so much that it can be considered revolutionary. Also, the reaction to this expansion was so forceful that it thwarted the larger goals of the expansionary movement. This paper will review the purposes of the expansion of tort law in the twentieth century and the purposes and effects of the reaction it spurred at the state level. In short, it is my conclusion that the expansion of products liability after World War II--the …

Risk Taking And Force Protection, David Luban

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This paper addresses two questions about the morality of warfare: (1) how much risk must soldiers take to minimize unintended civilian casualties caused by their own actions (“collateral damage”), and (2) whether it is the same for the enemy's civilians as for one's own.

The questions take on special importance in warfare where one side is able to attack the other side from a safe distance, but at the cost of civilian lives, while safeguarding civilians may require soldiers to take precautions that expose them to greater risk. In a well-known article, Asa Kasher and Amos Yadlin argue that while …

Iowa’S 2010 Judicial Election: Appropriate Accountability Or Rampant Passion?, Roy A. Schotland

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Although 89% of state judges (appellate and general-jurisdiction trial judges) face some type of election, judicial elections are rarely thought of even by academics interested in elections. Iowa’s 2010 election, in which three Justices were defeated, is one of the most significant judicial elections ever. The Justices lost their seats because they participated in a unanimous 2009 decision upholding gay marriage. That decision stirred intense opposition among “social conservatives”, in Iowa a substantial proportion of the population and actively led by more than 100 ministers.

That active opposition was one of eight elements that created a perfect storm against the …

The Advance Democracy Act And The Future Of United States Democracy Promotion Efforts, Patrick J. Glen

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This article addresses whether and to what extent the Obama administration should continue the Bush administration policies relating to democracy promotion. The focus of the article is on the ADVANCE Act of 2007, a legislative enactment that institutionalized democracy promotion in the State Department. After explicating the key provisions of this Act, as well as their implementation status, the article addresses key critiques leveled at democracy promotion, as well as areas where the Obama administration can expand on what has been accomplished thus far in this field. In the end, democracy promotion should continue to be an integral component of …

The United States Of The World: Human Rights, Political Entrepreneurship, And U.S. Foreign Policy Via Affective And Rational Politics, Marriah Star

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study examines how Political Entrepreneurs in the United States Congress responded to human rights abuses in six countries during the 1970s and 1980s: Cambodia, El Salvador, South Africa, the Soviet Union, Taiwan, and Uganda. It presents a four-point model for approaching the study of United States human rights policy. The key element in all the cases is bonding social capital, also called affective politics. American policy towards the Soviet Union and Uganda both demonstrate the integration of international, transnational, and domestic politics. Taiwan receives special attention because U.S. Taiwan policy continues to exemplify the integration of international relations, transnational …

The Ronald Reagan Paradigm, Taylor Evenson

Whittier Scholars Program

This project is centered on the Ronald Reagan Paradigm, a pervasive ideology that has dominated politics and the U.S. Government for approximately the last 30 years. The pervasive ideology is a neoliberal agenda aimed at increasing the power of corporations within the United States. The ideology is legitimized by Ronald Reagan's Presidency. Furthermore, the ideology is legitimized by think-tanks and few educational institutions. The ideas are disseminated through publications and media outlets. This paper highlights the author’s understanding of this ideology and its creation.

U.S. Development Aid, Its Objectives And Lower-Middle Income Countries, Nazar Muhammad

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The U.S. is investing billions of dollars in developing countries. U.S. development aid is an essential part of U.S. foreign policy. The objectives laid down by the architects of development aid are wide and range from strategic, economic and social uplift of poor countries to humanitarian assistance to alleviate the suffering of residents. There is a tense political and academic debate about the impacts of development aid funded by the U.S. There are many who believe funds support dictators, while others consider aid to be a real help to fragile economies.

Pakistan is one of the biggest recipients of U.S. …

Finding A Lazarus, Keith Reeves , '88

Political Science Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

China’S One-Child Policy, Tyrene White

Political Science Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

How Information Literacy Becomes Policy: An Analysis Using The Multiple Streams Framework, Sharon A. Weiner

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

There is growing recognition that information literacy is a critical skill for educational and workplace success, engagement in lifelong learning, and civic participation. To be considered for allocations of financial and human resources, information literacy must become a policy priority for institutions and societies. There is no published examination of factors that may influence the adoption of information literacy as a policy priority. This article explores aspects of the policy process from a U.S. perspective that can favor or impede the inclusion of information literacy on political agendas. It examines these questions through the multiple streams framework of policy processes. …

Approval Of George W. Bush: Economic And Media Impacts, Gino Tozzi Jr.

Wayne State University Dissertations

George W. Bush's approval rate had its shares of ups and downs. In this time series study I analyze the empirical evidence of the media's and economy's impact on his approval rate from 2001-2009. People tend to hold the president responsible for the country's economic performance and the media influences people's opinions of the president through agenda setting and priming. I operationalize the media influence on people into an independent variable. My economic independent variables are the monthly percent change in inflation rate, unemployment rate, and personal income. The dependent variable is the president's approval rate. This study seeks to …

Slavery And Abortion: The Paradox Of American Liberalism, Mark A. Ladd

Wayne State University Dissertations

Louis Hartz proposed that America possesses a liberal tradition that works toward a Lockean equality for all people. I argue that Hartzs' theory is still applicable to America even though illiberal institutions have and do exist. My contention is that it is the paradox of liberalism that allows for this. Slavery is the quintessential illiberal institution, yet liberal concepts allowed it to exist in America for over 200 years. It is my contention that abortion is another illiberal institution that is being promoted by the paradox of liberalism. With the use of John Rawls theory of distributive justice abortion can …

Democracy And Education Equity In Latin America, Olen Dean Stonerook

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the literature democratic longevity in countries transitioning from authoritarian regimes to democracy is linked to economic development; four factors of economic development are identified: industrialization, education, urbanization, and growing wealth. Education is viewed as a primary factor for effective democratic participation and economic development. This thesis examines the relationship between level of democracy and educational outputs and outcomes. Does the level of democracy (political rights and civil liberties) have an effect on the levels of investment in education and measurable outcomes in education equity toward meeting the educational needs of the newly represented public? The expectation is that the …

Ideology And Influence Balancing Conservative And Neoconservative Power In The Islamic Republic Of Iran, Rachel F. Corsi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The evolution of the Pasdaran over the past thirty years has brought the group further away from its original role as a protector of the revolution and closer to a parallel, if not competing, economic, political and social institution. In the last decade, conflict dominating the political landscape of the Islamic Republic of Iran has shifted from being defined primarily by the Reformists (Islamic Left) and the Conservatives (Islamic Right), to a multi-dimensional struggle between the Reformists, Conservatives, and Neo-Conservatives, represented by the IRGC and President Ahmadinejad. The IRGC‘s defiance against the authority of the clerics, evidenced by President Ahmadinejad‘s …

Piety And Redistributive Preferences In The Muslim World, Thomas B. Pepinsky, Bozena C. Welborne

Government: Faculty Publications

This article tests two competing theories of the relationship between piety and redistributive preferences in the Muslim world. The first, drawn from the new political economy of religion, holds that more pious individuals of any faith should oppose redistributive economic policies. The second, drawn from Islamic scripture, holds that pious Muslims should favor more redistributive economic policies. Employing survey data from twenty-five countries, the authors find that there is no clear relationship between piety and redistributive preferences among Muslims. The authors find that more pious Muslims are less likely to favor government efforts to eliminate income inequality, but they find …

Commitment Beyond Morality: American Complicity In The Massacre At El Mozote, El Salvador, 1981, Dustin Hill

Online Theses and Dissertations

In order to highlight the complicity of the American government, this thesis will discuss in depth the most important massacre perpetrated by the Salvadoran military. While the American government maintained publicly that respect for human rights was one of the main goals of its mission in El Salvador, the six billion dollars of aid and American actions in the region belied another reality. This examination argues that it is clear that the massacre at El Mozote in late 1981 was the direct result of U.S. foreign policy initiatives. Although the Americans kept themselves insulated to provide for plausible deniability, the …

We Hold These Truths And The Problem Of Public Morality, Gerard V. Bradley

Journal Articles

This essay maintains that although We Hold These Truths represented an important milestone in Catholic reflection on the American regime, Murray's analysis of public morality and the state's role in its promotion and enforcement is notably weak and of little assistance to us today. More specifically, it argues that Murray’s analysis is insufficiently philosophical and too concerned with the pragmatic task of forging an approach widely acceptable in the America of his day; that it rests on an artificial distinction between “private” and “public” morality that fails to sufficiently appreciate the essential dependence of sound morals legislation upon the government’s …

The Progressive Presidency And The Shaping Of The Modern Executive, Andrea Scoseria Katz

Scholarship@WashULaw

The contemporary presidency, with its expanded foreign policy, administrative and public duties, is largely a brainchild of the Progressive Era. The Progressives envisioned an enlarged executive, one outside the original guidelines of the U.S. Constitution, which they deemed “archaic,” “undemocratic,” and unsuited to the demands of the modern age, in which mass capitalism dislocated, alienated and disenfranchised the common man. The Progressives wanted to bring about a more energetic, streamlined, and unified state at the helm of which stood the presidency, an office of popular leadership and swift action. To accommodate this new, active figure, some Progressives believed it necessary …

Congress, The Supreme Court, And Judicial Review: Testing A Constitutional Separation Of Powers Model, Stefanie A. Lindquist, Jeffrey A. Segal, Chad Westerland

Scholarship@WashULaw

Recent scholarship suggests that the U.S. Supreme Court might be constrained by Congress in constitutional cases. We suggest two potential paths to Congressional influence on the Court's constitutional decisions: a rational-anticipation model, in which the Court moves away from its preferences in order to avoid being overruled, and an institutional-maintenance model, in which the Court protects itself against Congressional attacks to its institutional prerogatives by scaling back its striking of laws when the distance between the Court and Congress increases. We test these models by using Common Space scores and the original roll-call votes to estimate support in the current …

The Multiple-Stage Process Of Judicial Review: Facial And As-Applied Constitutional Challenges To Legislation Before The U.S. Supreme Court, Stefanie A. Lindquist, Pamela C. Corley

Scholarship@WashULaw

The Supreme Court’s decision to invalidate a legislative enactment involves both the choice to strike as well as the choice whether to invalidate the statute on its face or as applied. Both choices implicate the possibility of counteraction by the legislature. In this paper, we evaluate the justices’ choices to invalidate a state or federal enactment on its face or as applied and find that the justices are responsive to congressional preferences concerning the substance of the legal challenge at both stages of judicial review. Other factors systematically affect the justices’ decisions as well, including the legal basis for the …

Museveni's Centralization Of Power: The Political Economy Of Development In Uganda, Nathan Vasher

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis develops a model of structural power in society that builds upon Weber's notion that several types of power exist in societies and that these types of power operate differently within societies. The purpose of this model is to help explain the political economy of development during Museveni's tenure. The thesis argues that Museveni has centralized power through a complex system of patronage and repression. Furthermore, Museveni's transformation from the leader of a cadre of `new breed leaders' to `just another African big man' results from his choice to centralize power as a means of achieving his revolutionary goals. …

201101 Obiter Dicta: Late January 2011, Steven Alan Samson

Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Arkhonskaya: A Terek Cossack Community, Stephen Bowers, Anna Vladimirovna Chekashkina, Oleg Abzaletdinov, S. Reed Bowers Ii

Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Lord Peter Bauer: From Subsistence To Exchange And Other Essays: Study Guide, 2006-2011, Steven A. Samson

Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.