Political Science Commons^™

You Don’T Need A Weatherman To Know Which Way The Wind Blows: The Prison Break Of Timothy Leary, Phoebe N. Holman

Young Historians Conference

This paper examines the revolutionary merit of the Weather Underground Organization’s prison break of LSD guru Timothy Leary. Was Leary truly an activist willing to risk everything to introduce the public to the healing powers of psychedelics? Or was he an unprofessional mad scientist using his students to further his own agenda? It also provides an explanation of how the WUO and other anti-war organizations like it brought the United States to the brink of a massive societal shift—and then disappeared.

A War Of Implicit Forces: The Algerian Revolution, Grace I. Graham

Young Historians Conference

The Algerian Revolution, Algeria’s fight against the colonial power of France epitomized the perseverance of the people’s voice. However, with few military battles won by the Algerians, against the resource rich France, how did Algeria ultimately become the victor? This paper explores the F.L.N.’s strategies in approaching the war and how France’s response to such tactics contributed to domestic and international sympathy for the Algerians’ cause, leading to the eventual liberation of Algeria.

Nixon's Southern Strategy: An Examination Of The Role Of Race In The 1968 And 1972 Presidential Campaigns, Ella Feathers

Young Historians Conference

This paper explores the pivotal role of race in the South's political switch. In 1968, Nixon won the Presidential Election with very slim margins. Four years later, with when running for his second term, he won all the vast majority of the vote, including those from Southern states. By catering to Southern voters on issues such as welfare, desegregation, and crime, Nixon was able to gain Southern support, and secure a new base for the Republican party.

Social, Scientific, Litigious: The Birth Of A Queer Americanism, Claire M. Fennell

Young Historians Conference

The queer rights movement is often assumed to have advanced because of the collateral benefit of other social rights movements occurring around the same time, in the 1950s and 60s. However, the inception of an organized queer rights movement did not happen in line with any progressive time in United States public thought. In reality, the movement began at a time when America was at its least forward-thinking, during the Cold War. It was not the times becoming more progressive, but rather the shift in the model of oppression the queer community faced which allowed for the advent of an …

The Power Of A Prince: Machiavelli, Devotion, And The Secularization Of Western Politics, Jason D. Grossmann-Ferris

Young Historians Conference

3rd place winner of the Karen E. Hoppes Young Historians Award for Outstanding Research and Writing.

Although The Prince was clearly not well-recieved in its day by many, its influence is clear in modern realpolitik and the creation of the secular state. This paper examines the role of Machiavelli’s seminal work in Western politics within the timeline of the Catholic Church’s decline. In The Prince, Machiavelli clearly guides the reader towards the pragmatic political use of religion instead of legitimate belief, insinuating that faith is more useful as a tool for social control rather than personal conviction. This paper posits …

The Use Of The Birth Control Movement As A Eugenics Weapon, 1920'S-1960'S, Peyton P. Holstein

Young Historians Conference

While Margaret Sanger made great strides in the crusade for legalization and open access to birth control for women, groups paired her work with ideologies such as Social Darwinism to arm the eugenics movement throughout the Twentieth-century. The eugenics movement was a culmination of racism and newly found scientific theories which led a crusade to purify the American population through reproductive cherry-picking on the basis of race. One of the primary ways that this group attempted to weed out “undesirable” races within the American population was through birth control as well as sterilization. These two movements - birth control and …

Cairo Under Isma'il Pasha: A Divided City, Chloe N. Moehling

Young Historians Conference

The creation of the Suez Canal, in November of 1869, created an opportunity for Isma’il Pasha, Khedive of Egypt, to reintroduce the world to a new, Europeanized Cairo. His vision required spending millions of British pounds to welcome international travelers who came to celebrate the opening of the canal. Isma’il Pasha’s “Europeanization” of the western side of Cairo from 1866 to 1879 ushered his country into decades of economic and political turmoil. While Isma’il’s extravagant spending created European inspired hotels, parks, cafe’s, and the Khedivial Opera House, these expenditures left Egypt indebted to European countries, particularly Great Britain, and international …

The Importance Of Richard Lionheart In The Third Crusade, Stefan Caplazi Mr.

Young Historians Conference

The impact that King Richard III of England had on the third crusade is apparent through his limited strategic victories on the battlefield. Richard III did well with his limited resources, but ultimately failed to retake Jerusalem. Due to unforeseeable events, Richard III lost his military support before embarking on much of the campaign to regain the Holy Land. These events proved detrimental to his task. While he was an excellent strategist and fearsome leader, Richard III simply lacked the resources and troops to succeed. This paper argues that with more military support, Richard “The Lionheart” would have retaken the …

The Spies That Founded America: How The War For Independence Revolutionized American Espionage, Masaki Lew

Young Historians Conference

Prior to the American Revolutionary War (1775-1883), tensions rose as American colonial smugglers circumvented British taxes. By the onset of the conflict, Continental General George Washington faced a daunting British military invasion. Washington's strategy to outmaneuver and tire enemy forces necessitated a way to anticipate incoming attacks. Thus, he looked to espionage, but found few colonists with professional experience. So who would have the deceptive skills to fulfill the task? An exploration of Washington’s dilemma provides compelling evidence explaining how the colonial smugglers who started the war became the Patriot spies who ended it.

Rhetoric Of Conflict Towards A Schmittian Understanding Of The Public Sphere, Colin Kubacki

Featured Research

No abstract provided.

Surviving A Batterer: An Ideal Policy Approach To Combating Intimate Partner Violence (Ipv), Samantha Molisee-Sherman

Featured Research

Gender violence has plagued developed and developing societies for centuries, embedded in culture, structures, and ways of life. Women have been seen as pieces of property with no autonomy or individualism, just as extensions of their husbands. My research centers around finding an ideal policy solution to diminish rates of intimate partner violence (IPV) in the case of California. Interviews and data collection with legislators concerning education, rehabilitation or batterer intervention programs (BIP), and care providers in emergency shelters regarding victims’ services provided insight on a three-pronged approach targeted at curbing rates of IPV in California. My findings yielded that …

“Don’T Cry For Me, International Monetary Fund” How Politicians Sold Or Rebuked Imf-Loan Conditions In The 2019 Argentine Presidential Election, Chase Manson

Featured Research

This paper examines how politicians sell International Monetary Fund (IMF)-mandated economic reforms as a long term solution to constituents. IMF loans are difficult for citizens in the short term, and Argentina’s 2019 presidential election provides a natural experiment to examine how politicians get voters to accept short term costs for longer term gains. Two candidates for the presidency, President Macurio Macri and Alberto Fernandez, used different strategies in how they claimed they would, or would not, adopt conditions attached to Argentina’s 2017 IMF loan. By using a content analysis of politician speeches leading up to the October 2019 election, this …

Democratization Prospects In The Arab World, Duncan Espenshade

Political Science Student Work

The Arab Spring protests were massive pro-democracy protests which occurred throughout the Arab world in the early 2010s. These protests were primarily met with failure, with Tunisia being the only state involved in these protests that democratized following them. In response to this movement, authoritarian and semi-democratic countries in the Arab World have been cracking down on freedom of speech, limiting the civil society in their states, and increasing the oversight of international non-government organizations in their countries, in the hopes to hinder the development of future democratization attempts. This study, titled “Democratization Potential in the Arab World Post Arab-Spring” …

The Cd & The Creek - Take The Time To Do It Right, Evan Barrett

Highlands College

A Guest Column for The Montana Standard by Evan Barrett, published on April 26, 2020. A link to the publication can be found here.

Latinas In Congress: Lack Of Party Support And Disproportionate Underrepresentation, Rebecca Fitzgerald

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

Latinx are the fastest-growing demographic group in the United States, and as such many researchers have looked into Latinas as political candidates and as voters, establishing that Latinas in particular run stronger candidacies than their male counterparts (Bejarano, 2014; Holman & Schneider, 2018; Ocampo & Ray, 2019). Despite this, Latinas hold fewer than 25 percent of seats than Latinos in all levels of government, with their success concentrated under the Democratic Party (Bialik, 2019; Vital Statistics, 2019). In order to determine whether a partisan-gap is present in recruiting and supporting Latina candidates, I looked at four Congressional House primary election …

Finding Aid For The Ed Perry Collection (Mum01707)

Archives & Special Collections: Finding Aids (alphabetical)

Collection of correspondence from various state leaders to Dr. William J. Hooper, Director of the Mississippi Law Research Institute, and materials related to the Mississippi Capitol Centennial Celebration in 2003.

Canadians' Views About The 2019 Federal Election Process, Jacob Allin, Laura Stephenson, Allison Harell

Reports

No abstract provided.

Public Opinion On Capital Punishment, Sydney Young

Undergraduate Research Symposium

The death penalty in the United States has its set of controversies from the people who support and those who oppose the policy. I want to examine how the death penalty and public opinion has changed over time. I also want to examine if there are statistical differences in regard to gender and political party. I would also like to compare different generations, such as millennials and baby boomers, to see if they vary in support for the death penalty. The last variable I would like to analyze is difference in regard to race and ethnicities. As a Deputy Juvenile …

A Crisis Of Masculinity: The Rise Of The Afd And The East German Man, Chandler Molpus

Honors Theses

In this thesis, I examine how a crisis of masculinity in the former German Democratic Republic has contributed to the rise of the far-right party, Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD). In the first chapter, I argue that east German men feel left- behind politically, economically, and demographically. In the second chapter, I compare results from the 2017 Federal Bundestag election to demonstrate that east German men are more likely to vote for the AfD than any other demographic group in Germany.

Sustainability Trends In Higher Education: An Analysis Of The International Journal Of Sustainability In Higher Education, Jessica Poling

Honors Theses

Since the onset of the Industrial Revolution, human activities have substantially harmed the biosphere and, if continued, pose a substantial risk to life on Earth. Recognizing this, educated people have advocated widespread adoption of sustainable practices and, in particular, have increased the amount of sustainability efforts associated with higher education. The International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, established in 2000, is devoted to such practices. For my honors thesis, I examined articles published in the journal from 2010 through 2019 to determine the countries, and the institutions within those countries, that were the primary contributors to the journal. …

Who Supports Wealth Redistribution? Self-Interest, Symbolic Politics And American Exceptionalism Approaches Towards 1990 Public Opinion, Maggie Wood

Global Tides

Economic inequality has been significantly rising in the United States, making it the most unequal advanced industrialized democracy. Understanding factors that influence public attitudes towards inequality and potential remedies such as redistribution of wealth, gives a reference point for tracking subsequent preference-policy links. This research utilizes survey data from the 1990 General Social Survey to explore factors influencing preferences towards redistribution as gross wealth consolidation among the top 10% was only starting to remerge. Empirically applying theories of economic self-interest, symbolic politics and American exceptionalism to wealth redistribution preferences, the research finds economic self-interest as having the biggest role in …

International Impact Of The Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use Of Data (Cloud) Act And Suggested Amendments To Improve Foreign Relations, Jordan A. Klumpp

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Residential Segregation By Caste In The Indian States Of Gujarat And Karnataka, Alicia Terrero

Global Studies Student Scholarship

Major: Global Studies and Political Science

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Trina Vithayathil, Global Studies

This project looks at the Indian states of Gujarat and Karnataka and tries to identify why Gujarat has a higher degree of residential segregation than Karnataka. One factor that could explain this is the difference in level of solidarity at the subnational level for both states. Based on social expenditure data and inequality data, we find that Karnataka has higher levels of support for policies that further the collective good of the subnational (i.e. Kannada within Karnataka) community. This higher level of subnationalism and unity across social …

The Rise Of Left-Wing Populism In Europe: A Comparative Study, Daniel Iturri Calvo

Global Tides

The aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis left Europe in a state of shock, out of which political transitions occurred across the country. One of these transitions was the rise of left-wing populist parties. Their rise was most successful in Southern Europe, particularly in Spain and Greece. In these two countries, left-wing populist parties gained power swiftly and eventually began governing their respective governments. This essay compares the rise of Podemos in Spain and SYRIZA in Greece by looking at the main reasons for their mass popularity. The comparison reveals that the 2008 crisis was at the core of the …

395— Problems Of Representation: How Reforms Can Change Democracy, Vincent Meccariello

GREAT Day Posters

The electoral system in America is inherently undemocratic due to campaign finance corruption and the electoral college. Due to super PACs and large corporations donating unlimited money to fund campaigns, the values and opinions of citizens aren’t being heard. I propose four changes to the electoral system that would give substantial power to every American citizen, as well as theorize the impact of such drastic change. I attempt to summarize what reforms are and how they highlight the corruption in certain aspects of the American electorate system.

200— The Political Clout Of Wealthy And Poor American Indian Tribes, Katie Shepard

GREAT Day Posters

Since the passage of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, casinos on reservations have become lucrative sources of income for not only tribal governments but also state governments. With an increase in wealth, many tribes have increased their lobbying forces to become major political actors in state and federal government. But, while some tribal governments have become financially stable due to gaming others have become physically and economically isolated making some tribal governments extremely poor. Poor tribal governments continue to have problems and when lobbying is not an option grassroots movements such as protests become the most viable source of political …

181— Same Day Voter Registration And Increasing Voter Turnout, Alexander Short

GREAT Day Posters

Among major democracies, the United States has one of the lowest voter turnouts. Presidential elections in the United States see a turnout of only about 60% and turnout for midterm elections is even lower. These percentages are made worse when one considers that the population that does vote isn’t representative of the demographics of the nation as a whole. One of the reasons that voter turnout is so low is because many states require potential voters to register months before election day. A remedy to this problem that has been utilized by other nations and some states within the U.S. …

507— Partisan Polarization: American Democracy's Silent Enemy, Bryan Sokolowski

GREAT Day Posters

During a time of intense partisan polarization our democracy and its respective institutions have experienced several instances of gridlock. Our elected representatives’ failure to pursue crucial pieces of legislation has provoked the general public to disapprove of government and politicians. Partisan polarization has changed the entire political environment in the United States. Today, politics is a field most people distance themselves from, fearing to expose their beliefs, or intolerant of opposing partisan views. Some are also led to believe that their views or opinions do not matter, nor would they change the results of an election. For politicians it has …

306— The National Popular Vote Plan: A Possible Course Of Reform For The Electoral College, Ian Kirkpatrick

GREAT Day Posters

Does the Electoral College establish a system to elect U.S. presidents that truly represents the will of U.S. citizens? This question is subject to much debate in political science. Advocates of Electoral College reform assert that it fails to uphold the democratic principle of majority rule. One possible course of reform is the National Popular Vote Plan, in which member states pledge to award their Electoral College votes to the winner of the national popular vote. In order to determine the validity of this proposal, the advantages and disadvantages of this reform must be considered.

410— Analysis Of Public Opinion On Social Welfare Programs In The United States, Timothy Condon

GREAT Day Posters

Political platforms on social welfare issues that directly affect the lives of millions of citizens can make or break a candidate’s campaign for office. Therefore, it is important to view and understand public opinion towards these programs. Not only the general public’s attitudes, but the attitudes of specific sub-groups as well, such as political affiliation, ideology, age, gender, race, religion, education, and class. The opinions of sub-groups have important implications for how candidates will campaign on social welfare issues and how policymakers will shape public policy regarding welfare programs. This paper will both summarize and analyze datasets of public opinion …