Political Science Commons^™

Restoring The Organization For The Security And Cooperation In Europe’S Role In Human Rights And Security After Russian Invasion, Roman Nekoliak

Human Rights Brief

This Article diagnoses a systemic erosion of rights-based multilateralism driven by geopolitical realignment, reduced leadership by traditional human rights defenders, the rise of authoritarian coalitions, and the growth of transactional and securitized diplomacy. This Article argues that revitalizing the Organization for the Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) around a rights-centered, cross-dimensional concept of security is essential to restoring both regional stability and the credibility of international human rights commitments. It places the war in Ukraine within broader patterns of democratic backsliding, institutional paralysis, and the rise of authoritarian governance, demonstrating how domestic repression and interstate aggression mutually reinforce one …

Ask An Og, Reginald Bess

The Griot - Southern Conference on African American Studies, Inc.

No abstract provided.

Historically Black, Immensely Beautiful, Leonard A. Slade, Jr.

The Griot - Southern Conference on African American Studies, Inc.

No abstract provided.

I Could Not Sleep, Leonard A. Slade, Jr.

The Griot - Southern Conference on African American Studies, Inc.

No abstract provided.

Holiday Prayer Poem, Leonard A. Slade, Jr.

The Griot - Southern Conference on African American Studies, Inc.

No abstract provided.

To Jasmine, Leonard A. Slade, Jr.

The Griot - Southern Conference on African American Studies, Inc.

No abstract provided.

Health And Transportation Equity Issues In Rural Areas Of The Texas Megaregion, Gwendolyn C. Goodwin

The Griot - Southern Conference on African American Studies, Inc.

This study examines health and transportation inequities affecting rural residents within the Texas Triangle megaregion, focusing on the US 290 West and I-10 East corridors. While urban residents benefit from proximate hospitals, public transit, and specialized care, rural communities face physician shortages, hospital closures, and long travel distances for essential services. Data from the American Community Survey and HRSA reveal disproportionate disability rates among seniors and people of color, particularly in counties such as Jefferson and Orange. Transportation costs further burden low-income households, with rural residents traveling longer daily distances and spending a greater share of income on vehicle ownership. …

Into The Fire: An Examination Of Violence In Reconstruction Texas, 1865-1868, John Gorman

The Griot - Southern Conference on African American Studies, Inc.

This article examines the scale, patterns, and political implications of racial violence in Texas between 1865 and 1868, arguing that white terror functioned as a systematic effort to suppress Black freedom and restore antebellum racial hierarchies. Drawing on Congressional testimony, Freedmen’s Bureau records, and the 1868 Report of the Special Committee on Lawlessness and Violence in Texas, the study reveals that violence was not random but structured along social, labor, and political lines. Murders, whippings, intimidation, and organized attacks—such as the Millican riot—intensified when freedpeople asserted labor autonomy or political rights. Despite nearly 900 reported murders, convictions were exceedingly rare, …

Disrupting Power Dynamics In The Archives: The Digital Pv Panther Project, Gatekeeping, And The Texas Black Cooperative Extension & Home Demonstration Collection, T. Dewayne Moore, Evelyn Todd

The Griot - Southern Conference on African American Studies, Inc.

This article examines the Texas Black Cooperative Extension & Home Demonstration Collection at Prairie View A&M University as both a major recovery of twentieth-century Black rural history and a contemporary intervention into archival power. Funded by a National Endowment for the Humanities grant, the Digital PV Panther Project employed undergraduate and graduate students to process sixty-three county-level finding aids, 163 archival boxes, and more than 3,200 folders documenting segregated Black Extension work from 1923 to 1963. Beyond preservation, the project challenges long-standing regimes of archival gatekeeping. Drawing on critical archival studies and Black Digital Humanities scholarship, the authors argue that …

Revisiting Bandura’S Self-Efficacy Performance Accomplishments In Pwi And Hbcu Students: A Sign Of Persistence, Britine Perkins, Douglas M. Butler, Jerrel Moore

The Griot - Southern Conference on African American Studies, Inc.

This study revisits Bandura’s theory of self-efficacy by examining performance accomplishments among students attending a predominantly White institution (PWI) and a historically Black college or university (HBCU). While academic self-efficacy has long been linked to college success, much of the existing research centers on students at PWIs and often overlooks the cultural contexts shaping students’ beliefs about their academic abilities. Using the Academic Self-Efficacy Scale (ASES), the authors compare self-efficacy perceptions across institutional type and explore how performance accomplishments influence persistence. Findings highlight the importance of culturally responsive frameworks when assessing self-efficacy, particularly for minoritized and first-generation students. By incorporating …

The Role Of Socioeconomic Development In Preventing Violent Extremism, Caelan Stewart

CISLA Senior Integrative Projects

No abstract provided.

How The Sui Generis Principle Has Been Historically Abused In International Law: From The British To The Israelis, Ahmad Hamdan

Human Rights Brief

I. Introduction

For over a century, powerful actors have used a single Latin phrase, sui generis, as a shield to evade accountability under international law. Meaning “of its own kind,” this theory dictates that a situation is so unique that ordinary rules should not apply. In international law, sui generis typically refers to situations or entities that cannot easily be categorized under existing legal frameworks or conventions. Its use indicates that there is no directly applicable precedent and that, as a result, no legal principles apply; instead, the situation itself will set the precedent. While some researchers argue that …

Stability And Accountability In Nagorno-Karabakh And The Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict, Callum Heath

Human Rights Brief

I. Introduction

On August 8, 2025, President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia were hosted at the White House by U.S. President Donald Trump to announce the Agreement on Establishment of Peace and Inter-State Relations (the Agreement) in a Joint Declaration. The Agreement sets out to end the decades-long conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Armenian ethnic enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh within Azerbaijan, and the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan, which is separated from the rest of Azerbaijan by Armenia. While the White House hails the Agreement as a “historic peace deal,” the reality is more …

“Durable Solutions” Revisited: Italy’S Train-To-Hire Pathway Under The Cutro Decree As Alternative Refugee Protection, Tim Streit

Human Rights Brief

I. Introduction

If the average person were asked to imagine a refugee, they might conjure the image of a migrant fleeing war or persecution, showing up at the border of a new country with a few belongings in hand, and asking not to be sent back to the dangerous place from which they came. In fact, it is not only the hypothetical “average person” who pictures this scenario. The international refugee protection system, developed after World War II through the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (Refugee Convention) and its 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees …

Status Anxiety And Public Support For Reactionary Political Movements, Timothy E. Randall

Political Science Theses

In this enquiry, I explore the conditions that make members of the public receptive to the appeals of reactionary political movements. I also explore the means by which reactionary movements leverage those conditions to gain support. I argue that crisis and status threat conditions prime members of the public to be receptive to the appeals of reactionary movements and that the strategic leveraging of these conditions in their narratives gives rise to status anxiety which, in turn, moves members of traditionally dominant groups to support these movements. I develop an explanatory theoretical framework for understanding status anxiety and its role …

Examining The Dynamics Between Criminal Justice Campaign Messaging, News Coverage, Public Policy Mood, And Voter Participation In Judicial Elections, Hayley Munir, Marcy Shieh, Michael Catalano

Faculty Publications - Criminal Justice Sciences

Objective

In low-information elections, any amount of information can be decisive in voter behavior, including the choice of whether to make a choice in each race. In judicial elections, often low-information affairs, rhetoric about criminal justice typically attracts the most attention of potential voters. Given the nature of these judicial races, voter knowledge on candidates relies on a variety of state- and race-level contextual factors, including issues of law and order, a key feature of judicial races as highlighted in campaign advertising. We examine the impact of crime rhetoric in judicial campaign ads, front-page news coverage of criminal cases, and …

Strategic Reconsolidation Of U.S. Foreign Policy, Kaden J. Kosniewski

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

Is the United States' global hegemony sustainable if its society continues to decline? It is undeniable that global U.S. power is declining as a plethora of internal crises weaken the country from the inside out. Over many years, the U.S. has spent trillions of taxpayer dollars overseas to garrison and develop many countries, while millions of its citizens struggle weekly to maintain a respectable quality of life. The cries of injustice from the American people grow louder as the Pax Americana weakens under internal and external pressures. This research examines the rationale and advantages of the United States reorienting its …

Should Citizens Or Politicians Draw The Lines: A Michigan Case Study, Grant M. Clark

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

The American system of government requires that voters be able to choose their politicians, not the other way around. For centuries, politicians of all stripes have utilized the redistricting process to draw electoral districts that benefit themselves and their political party. This practice has triggered calls for redistricting reform at the national and state levels, including in Michigan. This research provides a case study of the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (MICRC). It focuses on the commission’s activities as part of a national conversation about redistricting reform and the use of Independent Redistricting Commissions (IRCs), composed of ordinary citizens, compared …

Lifestyle Factors' Effect On Political And Religious Behavior, Madison A. Price

SPARK Symposium Presentations

There is a general understanding of an individuals’ political/religious beliefs when you analyze predictors like support of same sex marriage or views on abortion, but there is not a ton of research on how everyday lifestyle factors might affect how someone aligns themselves politically or religiously. Researchers have begun to expand the horizons of political and religious research by investigating how income, health, and politics affect religion (Francis-Tan & Tian, 2022), but there is a need to expand into more specific lifestyle factors. Which brings reason to question a few things: what lifestyle and demographic factors predict how religious someone …

Crimes Of The Powerful And The Looting Of Contemporary Nigeria: An Integrated Theoretical Perspective, Charles Ubah

African Journal of Criminology and Justice Studies

Crime of the powerful is a humongous social problem with the potential to ravage development and threaten the corporate existence of nation states. The case of contemporary Nigeria is the focal point of analysis in this paper. The objective of the paper, therefore, is to investigate the menace in Nigeria from an integrated theoretical perspective. The methodology was exploratory survey and review of literature which were content analyzed. The theoretical framework is a kind of Modified Multiple Reinforcing Social Forces Theory. Findings indicate that, beside its high prevalence rate, elite criminality in the various forms of corruption, property and environmental …

Beyond War: Building Wisdom Civilization To Rescue Humanity, Andrew Targowski

Comparative Civilizations Review

This paper presents a comparative civilizational analysis of humanity’s transition from a War Civilization to the emerging Wisdom Civilization. Drawing on the works of Toynbee, Sorokin, Quigley, Huntington, Spengler, and Koneczny, it interprets the present global disorder — marked by the tension between Western, Chinese, Russian, and Muslim civilizations — as a transformative moment in human history. War and militarism, once adaptive mechanisms of civilizational growth, have become self-destructive in an era of technological interdependence. It is proposed that the next evolutionary stage of civilization must integrate knowledge with conscience to form a Wisdom Civilization founded on empathy, sustainability, and …

The Jevons Filter: Why Civilizations May Fail Before Reaching “Type I” Status, Giray Fidan

Comparative Civilizations Review

Humanity’s accelerating energy use poses profound questions about the long-term viability of technological civilization. This paper introduces the “Jevons Filter” hypothesis: a self-reinforcing feedback loop between efficiency improvements and rising aggregate consumption, rooted in the classical Jevons Paradox that systematically drives civilizations toward resource depletion and environmental thresholds. Here we argue that this feedback constitutes a critical developmental barrier, hindering sustainable progression toward Kardashev “Type I” energy mastery. We develop a simplified thermodynamic model linking energy efficiency, economic expansion, and civilizational dynamics, and engage with counterarguments regarding absolute decoupling and transformative technological innovations. Building on the classical Jevons Paradox, this …

Toward The Ideal Of A World Civilization: Progressive Exploration By Japanese Scholars, Kōji Yoshino

Comparative Civilizations Review

What kind of academic discipline is the comparative study of civilizations? To begin with, it can be described as a scientific field that takes civilization as its object of study, researching the various civilizations of the world, both ancient and modern, Eastern and Western, through the method of comparison. However, what exactly is this object of study, "civilization"? Specifically, to what does it refer? Furthermore, when we speak of "comparison," what kind of method does this entail? It is difficult to provide clear answers to these numerous questions. The primary reason for this difficulty stems from the inherent polysemy and …

Review:Linklater, Andrew. Violence And Civilization In The Western States-Systems. Cambridge University Press, 2017., Stephen T. Satkiewicz

Comparative Civilizations Review

The late Andrew Linklater (1949-2023) has been considered one of the most influential scholars within the field of International Relations. This was the result of his innovative synthesis into the field, with others, of the historical sociology of Norbert Elias (1897- 1990), work that addressed the long-term figuration processes of societies. This synthesis was enriched with the insights of the English School of International Relations, as devised by Martin Wight (1913-1972) and Hedley Bull (1932-1985), scholars who analyzed the many and differing interlocking networks and connections amongst geopolitical actors on the world stage. These efforts led Linklater to his final …

Full Issue

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Deterrence Without Peace: Nuclear Weapons And The Rising Threshold Of Warfare, Catie Clarke

CISLA Senior Integrative Projects

Nuclear weapons fundamentally changed the international political landscape, leading to the emergence of deterrence theory and the notion of the Long Peace. This paper challenges these claims, arguing that nuclear weapons facilitated a more violent and volatile international system rather than stability. Drawing on constructivist theory, this paper develops the Threshold of Violence framework – a normative model which asserts that nuclear weapons elevated the perceived upper limit of tolerable violence in international politics. This raised threshold generated three trends in the nuclear era: increased frequency of proxy wars, escalating levels of benefactor involvement, and greater severity of conflicts fought …

Reading Wars, Don Herzog

Books

Once again, we’re fighting wars over reading. Who gets to read? What do they get to read? These days, the right is obsessed with removing LGBTQ books from school and public library shelves and ensuring students read only the Correct version of American history. The left is obsessed with eradicating right-wing fantasies, not to mention outright lies, from the internet, and with airbrushing or even purging racist texts. You don’t have to stoop to whataboutery to notice a suspicious resemblance. But once again is wrong. We’ve always fought these wars, even if the enemies come and go. In this book, …

Review Of Hayek's Bastards: The Neoliberal Roots Of The Populist Right, Michael Kirby

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

The Paradox Of Intellectual Property At The U.S. Supreme Court, Tonja Jacobi, Matthew Sag

Faculty Articles

The Supreme Court is dramatically more politically polarized in the Roberts Court era, and the justices have been criticized for highly ideological and partisan decision-making. Yet, we show that there is one area of law that is becoming less ideologically divided and predictable: intellectual property (IP). In an earlier study, we showed that, prior to the Roberts Court, IP case outcomes were predictable based on judicial ideology, with more conservative justices embracing IP rights, as they do for real property. In the last two decades, IP has become more influential on the economy and society, through the increasing dominance of …

Digital Diplomacy And Activism: Sustaining Institutional Legacy Through State-Proxy Discursive Competition In The Aftermath Of The Usaid 2025 Suspension, Maryam Alaa Elprince

Capstone and Graduation Projects

This study examines how the 2025 suspension of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) transformed the arena of U.S. foreign-aid diplomacy by eliminating the agency’s operational capacity and erasing its digital presence, thereby redistributing discursive authority across a fragmented communicative field. The research aims to determine how diplomacy adapts when a bilateral institution central to American soft power is dismantled through top-down decision, and whether discursive power exercised online can extend institutional relevance and legitimacy beyond structural collapse. Using an interpretivist qualitative design that combines digital-forensic reconstruction, document-based content analysis, and elite interviews  with top ranking officials, the …