Political Science Commons^™

Labor Rights And Foreign Direct Investment In Latin America: The Empirical Analysis Of Proximity Hypothesis, Cesar H. Villegas

Theses and Dissertations

What impact do labor rights practices have on foreign direct investment (FDI) in Latin America? While existing research shows how participation in the global production network influences host country’s labor standards, few studies delve into reversed causal mechanisms whereby changes in labor standards affects FDI inflows. While conventional wisdom says protection of labor rights has negative influence on FDI, I argue that for Latin American countries, practical protection of labor rights attracts FDI. Practical protection of labor right acts as a proxy and signals that host government could protect foreign assets that are under the risk of expropriation. I expect …

Challenging Bosnian Women’S Identity As Rape Victims: The Fetishization Of Sexual Violence In Post-Conflict Discourse, Rebecca Jacobi

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

How does one call attention to the gender dimensions of war violence or postwar inequalities without reproducing images of passive female victimhood and support for patriarchal notions of the protection of women? In the case of the Bosnian War, because of the large scale of sexual violence and the attention focused on this violence, Bosnian women have been stereotyped and relegated to the role of rape victim. Although women suffered from grave violations of human rights, this stereotypical portrayal is not adequate, and neglects the active role played in the perpetration of violence by some women. It also neglects women’s …

Returning To Complex Strategic Analysis: A Discussion On The Diminishing Window Of Opportunity For United States Nuclear Policy Preparation With Respect To China, Christopher Keith Giuliano

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

American upheaval over the Chinese technologically advanced strategic threat permeates throughout the government and political culture. The response to this fear is a somewhat nascent reactive U.S. policy toward China as it relates to strategic weapon systems. The U.S. currently is responding by attempting to revitalize an aging nuclear architecture, and re-prioritize strategic weapons in U.S. defense spending. However, U.S. policy must move beyond justifying nuclear weapons and requesting increased funding. What is necessary for this balance beyond an arms race is the intellectual prescription for the calculated employment or fielding of those arms.

Ultimately, this paper suggests the U.S. …

Mind Your Youth: Youth Unemployment And Islamic Radicalization, Caleb Ray

Honors Theses

This study examines the potential existence of a correlation between youth unemployment and Islamic Radicalization in the MENA using data from the World Bank, the Global Terrorism Database, and the Arab Barometer. It aims to add to the current body of research regarding socioeconomic drivers for radicalization and terrorism.

Measuring Religious Demographic Group Threat Among Americans And Its Impacts On Their Political Beliefs, Karsen Bailey

Honors Theses

Identity is one of the key drivers of American political behavior. Among these identities, be it partisan, ethnic, class, etc., religious identity has been more or less assumed to be one of the more powerful identities. I set out to measure how the threat of Christianity’s decline in the United States impacts the salience of religious identity and feelings towards religion-adjacent policies. Building off of an experimental design from Major et al (2016), I hypothesized that when exposed to data showing the decline of religiosity in the United States, subjects would demonstrate both a stronger religious identity and more conservative …

Hello Girls On Strike: Telephone Operators, The Fort Smith General Strike And The Struggle For Democracy In Great War Arkansas, Kyra Schmidt

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In September 1917, Fort Smith telephone operators formed a local of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Soon after, company leaders dismissed two of the women who were instrumental in the formation of the union. After many attempts to meet and negotiate with the company leaders, the remaining operators walked out and began striking on September 19. This strike lasted almost four months and brought chaos into the city including the indictments, trials, and convictions of the mayor, J. H. Wright, and chief of police, Jim Fernandez. The election after Wright’s conviction saw the first female votes in Arkansas history. …

Lobbying On The German Federal Level: The Unknown Shift Through Digital Transformation, Kathrin Stürmer, Gearóid Ó' Súilleabháin, Pio Fenton, Lars Rademacher

Dept. of Marketing & International Business Publications

Against the background of technological change, increasing information flow, and a rising number of communication channels, new opportunities and challenges are arising for communication between interest groups and federal policymakers in Germany. To keep up with further technological developments and the increasingly fast-paced political communication system, it is crucial to analyze lobbying in the context of digital transformation in greater detail. Lobbying as a traditionally non-public part of political communication has been a challenging setting for research. Understanding the general contours of this activity is an important public need - especially for digital lobbying, where a lack of academic research …

The Effectiveness Of Education Aid In Kenya: Using Women's Access To Education As An Indicator Of Welfare, Dawn Dimick

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The Global Journal reported an estimated 10 million NGOs worldwide and in Kenya alone, the number rose to 11,262 by June 2019 (Non-Governmental Organizations Co-ordination Board, 2019). Though committed to alleviating the same issues, the existence of so many organizations breeds vast differences in approaches. Are the issues simply too complex for a handful of organizations to fix or are the organizations themselves becoming an integral part of the problem? Most organizations fall short in evaluating their effectiveness, partly because there is no standard model by which to measure success. While it would be nearly impossible to design a perfect …

Participate For Peace: The Impacts Of Participatory Deliberative Democracy On Post-Conflict Peacebuilding In Central America, Marcia D. Mundt

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Liberal peacebuilding is at the center of a critical debate amongst scholars and practitioners due to the horrific consequence of conflict relapse or escalation in the wake of failed international interventions. Despite international efforts to promote durable peace, empirical research suggests that up to one half of all civil wars relapse into conflict within five years of negotiated settlement (Collier & Hoeffler, 2002; Suhrke & Samset, 2007). As an alternative to top-down liberal peace, locally-led post-conflict peacebuilding has been proposed as an innovative solution (Mac Ginty & Richmond, 2013). Participatory deliberative democracy, when applied in post-conflict contexts, aligns with this …

Homefront Rising: A Military Spouse's Guide To Running For Office, Elizabeth Jamison

Master's Projects and Capstones

Libby Jamison, an attorney and Navy spouse, created a "how to" guide for military spouses interested in running for office and taking the skills learned from supporting the homefront to Capitol Hill, city hall, and state houses across this country. Over the years, military spouses have become adept at calling on Congress and our elected officials to demand that they meet the needs of those who serve in uniform and the families serving alongside them. But Jamison believes that military spouses should also be included among the elected officials making decisions that affect us, military and non-military alike. Instead of …

With Liberty And Justice For Some: How Felony Disenfranchisement Undermines American Democracy, Kiley Staufenbeil

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

This paper examines the damaging effects of felony disenfranchisement on American democracy. The premise of American democracy is to include citizens in government processes, thus, felony disenfranchisement is inherently anti-democratic. The first section analyzes the historical timeline of the origins and prominence of felony disenfranchisement dating back to Ancient Greece. The paper considers the legal standing of felony disenfranchisement by examining relevant court cases, such as Richardson v. Ramirez (1974). Following this, a case study of the states that practice distinct levels of felony disenfranchisement, ranging from the most punitive states to the most permissive, is presented. The paper then …

Media Content Analysis Of Governmental Impact On Terrorist Reporting, Maggie Kaliszak

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

When terrorism occurs, the government has to respond to it. The media also has the need to respond to terrorism if it is to report the news. Therefore, if both have a connection to terrorism, how do they work together, how do they impact each other, and is the Agenda Setting Theory useful to them? Using three recent attacks, the Boston Marathon Bombing, the Manchester Arena Attack, and the Orlando Nightclub Shooting, this paper analyzes the kind of wording used by the media reporting on terrorism and how the government influences that wording through press releases. The study hypothesizes that …

A Search For Aristotelian Political Friendship In Thomas Jefferson’S Ideal American Regime, Christopher Hiatt O'Connor

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

In this project, I elucidate the presence of Aristotelian political friendship within Thomas Jefferson's ideal American regime. The project considers the aspects of Aristotle's political thought that are relevant to political friendship, and draws parallels to Jefferson's political philosophy through: (1) the organization of the regime and its citizens (the constitution and construction of the regime, the class demographics of its citizens, etc.); and (2) the philosophical principles that inform the aim(s) and end (telē) of the regime.

Despite notable differences between their political philosophies--such as Jefferson's inclusion of Christian moral philosophy in his thought--I conclude that Jefferson's attempts to …

Holcombe's "Liberty In Peril: Democracy And Power In American History" (Book Review), Nathanael Davis

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Dyregrov, Raundalen, And Yules' "What Is Terrorism? A Book To Help Parents, Teachers And Other Grown-Ups Talk With Kids About Terror" (Book Review), Xin "Lucy" Bai

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Twice Migration And Indo-Caribbean American Identity Politics, Jessica Ramsawak

Political Science

Being an Indo-Caribbean American can be a confusing and inspiring experience. It is marked with a desperation for understanding oneself and one’s mother, while simultaneously traumatized and burdened with a history of displacement. Migration history can inform the ways in which members of ethnic communities view themselves, their heritage, and their ethnic identity. This is particularly true of the first-generation Indo-Caribbean community in America. The term Indo-Caribbean describes the waves of Indian indentured laborers that were sent to the Caribbean in the early 1800s, developed an Indo-Caribbean culture, and then emigrated in the 1980s to join the Indian diaspora in …

A Thumb On The Scale: Chinese Investment And Influence In Ecuador And Colombia, Christina Pendergrast

Honors Theses

Over the past two decades, Chinese involvement in the developing world has increased dramatically, raising concerns over the intentions behind the provision of development packages. Critics have accused China of a practice known as debt-trap diplomacy, a method of ensnaring less developed nations by providing more loans than those nations have the ability to feasibly pay back. While China denies that their loan and investment packages are provided with any ulterior motive, the influence held by an investor like China has the potential to impact these partner countries for decades to come. In light of the scope of China’s role …

Globalization: A Veto Player Perspective, Alec Brown

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Different countries have varying levels of globalization. Many features, such as size, play a part in determining the level of globalization in countries. I argue that globalization is influenced by veto players in systematically different ways. To understand these different relationships, globalization must be broken apart into three dimensions (political, economic, and social). Political globalization is negatively affected by veto players. Economic globalization is not affected by veto players directly but is influenced by related phenomena. Social globalization is positively affected by veto players. To test my arguments, I employ a Time Series Cross Section (TSCS) method to analyze a …

The Unintentional Gerrymandering Of America: How Population Shifts In Congressional Districts Contribute To The Wasting Of Votes, As Measured By The Efficiency Gap, Hannah Sharp

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Thanks to the foresight of our Founding Fathers we are required by law to redraw legislative boundaries every ten years, after the decennial census. These boundaries create districts at both the state and federal legislative level, and there are many guidelines which govern how districts can be drawn in order to provide for fair competition and accurate representation. Population distribution is key to how electoral districts are drawn at all levels. In recent decades, increasing concentrated populations of Democrats in urban areas and decreasing population in rural, more Republican areas has made it harder to draw competitive districts at the …

Organized Crime And Development In Low And Middle-Income Countries, Katie Kelshaw

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The presence of organized crime is common across all income levels, but the effects of organized crime differ between low-income and middle-income countries. Institutionally, socially, and economically, criminal organizations make contributions which affect the states they are in. This paper theorizes that the contributions made by organized crime help development in low-income countries, then later harms development in middle-income countries. Empirical tests find that the direct effects of organized crime are not significant in low and middle-income countries. The indirect effects of organized crime – corruption in the public sector — have a negative effect on development.

The Working Class Pandemic In The Us, Robert Ovetz

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

No abstract provided.

The Intersection Of Free Speech And Abortion: How Federal Courts Are Influencing Doctrine To Further Anti-Abortion Goals, Gina Tan

Political Science

Maintaining the accessibility to abortion has been a longstanding battle. While funding for Crisis Pregnancy Centers is increasing, states are cutting funding for abortion clinics (Ludden, 2015) and they are closing at a rate of 1.5 each week (Redden, 2015). Since Roe v. Wade (1973), hundreds of cases have been brought to challenge its legality and limit it as much as possible. The inability to challenge Roe directly has led many conservative legislators to play abortion politics by proxy, regulating what goes on inside and outside clinics, and the federal courts’ play a pivotal role in reviewing these regulations. During …

How Political Engagement Helps Indigenous Communities In Their Fight For Rights, Danielle Duguid

Political Science

How does political engagement help indigenous communities in fighting for their rights? Indigenous communities have faced immense levels of oppression and discrimination throughout history. A growing global trend shows that more communities are fighting back and gaining their rights through political means. This paper looks at the multiple ways communities have mobilized, focusing specifically on non-violent, political methods of resistance. This is done by examining politically active indigenous populations from North, Central, and South America and the states that they reside in. Even though the Inuit, Mayan, and Quechua communities have faced similar discrimination, have the same goals, and reside …

U.S.- China Policy: How Mistreatment Of The Uighurs Affects Foreign Policy, Divya Forbes

Political Science

The United States and China have a complex relationship that is influenced by security issues, climate change, combatting terrorism, strategic stability, and human rights violations. The United States has held the position that China is a crucial trading partner due to the vast level of economic interdependence between the two nations. However, the United States is a protector of human rights and has not shied away from intervening to protect persecuted religious groups from human rights violations. This paper seeks to distinguish the plight of the Uighur Muslim population in the Xinjiang province in China. It discusses how United States …

Argumentative Synthesis Essay On Enhanced Interrogation Techniques, Gwendolyn D. Wheatley

The Downtown Review: An Interdisciplinary Journal Written and Peer-Reviewed by Mandel Honors College Students at Cleveland State University

This essay discusses enhanced interrogation techniques. For reference, enhanced interrogation techniques are interrogation techniques that involve “physically coercive interventions” (Duke & Puyvelde, 2017). The U.S. government supported these techniques after the attacks on September 11, 2001. This essay argues that enhanced interrogation techniques should not be used in interrogations because they are unethical, ineffective, and negatively impact the mental health of the interrogators using these techniques. Additionally, the essay references articles on the varied viewpoints as well as explains information on these interrogation techniques. Also, the essay argues that enhanced interrogation techniques encourage people to be cruel and inhumane. Moreover, …

Political Parties And Demographic Transformation In Nevada, Elia Del Carmen Solano-Patricio, Caitlin Saladino, William E. Brown

Demography

This Fact Sheet presents projections of demographic change in Nevada’s political party coalitions using data provided in the report “States of Change: How Demographic Change is Transforming the Republican and Democratic Political Parties.” Using the composition of the two parties’ electorate in the 2016 presidential election as a baseline, researchers explore age, race, and education characteristics of voters in 14 U.S. swing states to predict the demographic makeup of voting groups in future elections. This Fact Sheet makes comparisons to other swing states, but focuses primarily on Nevada data.

Four's A Crowd? Side-Taking And Strategic Intervention Decision-Making Among Networks Of Third-Party Actors, Colin Hannigan

Political Science ETDs

Why do states intervene in civil conflicts? I argue that a third-party actor's decision to intervene relies in part on the behavior of other potential interveners. Because other interveners have their own interests in the conflict outcome and resources to contribute, intervention decision-making is multi-actor game theoretic problem: external actors contemplate their roles in civil conflicts by weighing the projected impact of their own prospective contributions against their preferences for the internal combatants. However, the impact that a given third party can expect to have on the conflict outcome depends on the contributions of fighting effort that others make when …

Nationalism Beyond A Nation: Non-Iberian Spanish Nationalism Examined, George Ruggiero Iv

Honors Theses

In this thesis, I explore differences between certain non-Spanish nationalist movements within Spain. To do this, I examine similarities and differences in economic, political, and cultural factors that may explain why some Spanish autonomous communities exhibit major nationalist movements and some do not. These factors include the presence of proclaimed nationalist political parties, strongly identified cultural identities, and historical elements that point to the existence of a non-Spanish identity or nationalist movement.

Hong Kong, Alvaro Harrison Hucker '22, Blake Barth '22, Philip Yi '22

Student Leadership Exchange (SLX)

The relationship between China and Hong Kong has been very tense for years ever since Britain allowed Hong Kong to become for 50 years in 1997, before the region would have to officially return to China. Knowing that their 50 years of having a self-governing body will end in 2047, Hong Kong citizens are constantly afraid of their rights. Now to add to the tension, China attempted to pass the Extradition Bill, which would have any citizen of Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau who has committed a crime, be tried in China instead of where they live. This created an uproar …

The History And Workings Of Virginia’S Community Services Boards: An In-Depth Look At Rappahannock Area Community Services Board, Molly Gehman

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

This thesis studies the historic development of mental health care in the Commonwealth of Virginia and conducts a detailed examination of the mandated mental health services provided by the Rappahannock Area Community Services Board (RACSB). To conduct this review, the mental health services provided by RACSB were compared with two other Community Services Boards (CSBs), the Loudoun County CSB and the Dickenson County CSB. Results show the importance of community health care and jail diversion programs when compared with the historic mental health care methods of institutionalization and imprisonment. Results also show that health care in Virginia is operated out …