American Politics Commons^™

Misinformation—How It Plays A Role In Our Perceptions Of The Political Realm, Olivia Murray

Research & Creative Achievement Day

If survey recipients are presented with negative misinformation, then they will be unsatisfied with the president elects time in office. If survey recipients are presented with positive misinformation, then they will be unsatisfied with the president elects time in office. This research takes the form of a survey which will be sent Winona State students to record their responses. I will test my hypothesis with one survey, which will include several demographic questions. These questions will be paired with questions that present “fake news” or misinformation about president elect Donald Trump. The misinformation will present him in a negative light. …

Votes In The Balance: A Statistical Analysis Of Voting Behavior In The 2016 Presidential Election, Evan M. Carter

Harding Undergraduate Research Conference

The 2016 Presidential Election was unprecedented in its results. The predicted winner, Hillary Clinton, ended up winning the popular vote, but lost in the Electoral College count to Donald Trump. I examine voting for the winner, Donald Trump, and what factors caused people to vote for him or for another candidate. Although there are several factors that go into how people vote, I analyze demographic, geographic, and ideological predictors for why people voted the way they did. To do this, I will run a regression model on my dataset. Since my dependent variable is dichotomous, meaning there are only two …

The Complex Relationship Between Veterans And The Va: Veterans' Perspectives Of The Department Of Veterans Affairs., Cowann Owens

Doctor of Social Work Capstone Projects

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is the largest integrated provider of healthcare services in the United States, with 1,298 healthcare facilities available to serve the physical and psychological needs of former military service members. Roughly 15.8 million Veterans live in the United States, yet 43% or 6.7 million are not currently enrolled in services through the VA (United States Census Bureau, 2024). A descriptive qualitative study design was implemented to gain insights into Veterans' perspectives of the VA in hopes of better understanding the factors that contribute to their decision to access care at the VA versus the community …

White Supremacist Beliefs Predict Discrimination But Not Implicit Bias Towards Perceived Arab Middle Eastern Muslim Men, Giuditta Scalco, Samuel A. Venezia, Pete Simi, Jasmin Cloutier, Jennifer T. Kubota

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

In recent decades, prejudices against Arab/Middle Eastern Muslim individuals have risen alongside surging white supremacist hate speech and violence. Perpetrators often subscribe to white supremacist ideology, which overtly supports hate against Arab/Middle Eastern Muslim individuals and attracts followers worldwide. However, research exploring biases against Arab/Middle Eastern Muslim individuals remains limited, leaving gaps in understanding these prejudices and the potential role of white supremacist beliefs. In a pre-registered study involving White non-Hispanic Americans varying in white supremacist beliefs, we examined if these beliefs influenced spontaneous evaluations and hiring bias towards perceived Arab/Middle Eastern Muslim and non-Muslim White men. Results showed negative …

Researching The U.S. Senate Presidential Nominee Confirmation Process, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

The beginning of 2025 has seen renewed public attention and emphasis on the constitutionally mandated U.S. Senate confirmation process. This stems from the beginning of the second Trump Administration as its nominees navigate this process. The presentation provides historical background on this process, demonstrates what nominees, Senate oversight committees, and the full Senate in administering this process and enables readers to find out how to access information resources documenting this process. The confirmation process continues throughout presidential administrations and may involve little public attention and controversy or acute public attention and controversy. The contrasting 2025 confirmation experiences of Secretary of …

The Role Of U.S. Leadership In Resolving Indo-Pak Ensuring Rivalry, Abdul Sadiq Khan

Peace and Conflict Studies Journal Conference

The partition of British India in 1947 and the subsequent events caused a great deal of mutual mistrust that has persisted in the bilateral ties between Pakistan and India for seven decades. Post-Partition India inherited the state infrastructure of the British. Pakistan, on the other hand, has to build its state apparatus from the ground up. Indian leadership was certain that the nascent state of Pakistan would not survive and eventually reunify with India. The two countries are marked by the history of wars like in 1948, 1965, and 1999 over Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan and India appear to be …

Living Networks: Reimagining Social Capital Beyond Institutions, Meghna Pamula

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis investigates the decline of social capital in the United States and explores how community connection can be rebuilt outside of traditional government institutions. Motivated by the question of whether social capital can be rebuilt within bureaucratic structures, the research evaluates the role of alternative, agile models such as local volunteer organizations, mutual aid networks, third spaces, and NGOs. Using a comparative case study approach and qualitative analysis, I examine initiatives across different cultures that foster social trust and connection beyond the limitations of formal systems. The findings illustrate that adaptive models of social capital that are not based …

Political Cults On College Campuses: How Universities Designed To Challenge Totalitarian Thinking May Now Enable It, Ellie Lerner

CMC Senior Theses

Cults are typically associated with fringe religious or spiritual movements rather than political causes. Yet as American politics increasingly supplants religion as a central source of identity and belonging, our political culture has taken on more cult-like characteristics. This thesis develops a framework for identifying political cults by synthesizing scholarly work on ideological totalism, psychological manipulation, and group dynamics. It then applies this framework to assess the rise of anti-Israel protests on U.S. college campuses in the wake of the October 7th terrorist attack. While this thesis finds that this movement should not be classified as a political cult outright, …

Of Monsters And Men: Fantasy, Aesthetics, And The Nation In Pan's Labyrinth (2006) And The Shape Of Water (2017), Ally Fleming

Scripps Senior Theses

ABSTRACT: Guillermo del Toro has established himself as one of Hollywood’s most beloved filmmakers due to his ability to blend popular genres with arthouse flair. This is especially true when it comes to fairy tales, a common thread woven throughout his films that are consistently imbued with political commentary on authoritarianism. This is most apparent in two of his most critically acclaimed films, Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) and The Shape of Water (2017). Part of why these films are so beloved is how they utilize popular culture not just as tools to foreground the story’s setting, but also to guide the …

Increasing Women In Political Careers, Kendall Craig

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Women are underrepresented in political careers and through a series of questions, female, college-aged participants were asked to rank their answers to various questions in regard to inequalities women face on a scale of one to ten. The participants ran through two interventions where they learned about political careers as well as the struggles of women in political careers, the importance and impact. After the interventions, the exact same questions with the same scales were offered to participants to observe whether education on the topic could increase desire to seek careers in politics. The findings show that a small majority …

Voter Apathy And Divided Government, Ty'hier Simon

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The proposed research project will pertain to the voter attitudes associated with our government. The association with our government is critical to document because it may reflect the outlook of how the seats are distributed between the two major parties in our system. Voter apathy is the lack of interest in elections of representative democracies. In this project, a correlation may be drawn between voter turnout and how the delegation of our representatives looks. For example, if there is a low voter turnout there may be a swift change in power in Congress or there might be total gridlock. Using …

Solving The National Security Threat Of The United States Drug Crisis, Anna B. Freehafer

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This thesis analyzes the current drug crisis in the United States with the intention of forming a sound National Security Report and Strategy to equip current and future administrations with the necessary tools and information to adapt to the modern crisis. The number of drug induced and related deaths are rising in the U.S., which arguably is cause for alarm at the federal level. With the country divided on how to properly attack this crisis, which affects hundreds of thousands of lives across the nation, this thesis aims to provide a solution to a drug crisis that is unlike any …

“Emergency Relief As Routine”: The Evolution Of Fsa’S Livestock Forage Disaster Program In An Era Of Persistent Drought, Shae L. Olsen

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis examines the historical origins, current limitations, and future of the Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP), the primary federal drought disaster relief program for ranchers in the United States. Drawing connections between the Dust Bowl-era Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) and LFP, I argue that the AAA, while innovative at the time, prioritized the maintenance of commodity markets over ecological resilience, disproportionately benefiting white, landowning producers. This trend is reflected in LFP today. Through a policy analysis and original qualitative research, including interviews with 23 FSA staff members in nine states, I examine how LFP operates …

The Impact Of Political Party Control On Health Outcomes In U.S. States, Trevor G. Samaha

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation examines the impact of political party control on health outcomes in U.S. states, focusing on three key indicators: infant mortality, Type II Diabetes deaths, and COVID-19 deaths. Using quantitative methods and data primarily from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this study investigates whether the party affiliation of governors and state legislatures significantly influences these health outcomes. While existing literature suggests that Democratic-led states may achieve better health outcomes due to greater public investment in healthcare, the findings of this dissertation challenge these assumptions. Across all three cases, the analysis reveals predominantly null results, suggesting that …

The Position Of The United States Of America Vis-A-Vis The Question Of Western Sahara: Assessing The Role Of Think Tanks In The Conflict, Hamid Baadeche

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

ABSTRACT

The Position of the United States of America Vis-à-vis the Question of Western Sahara: Assessing the Role of Think Tanks in the Conflict

Hamid Baadeche

Think tank organizations, particularly in the United States, have become a prominent feature of the political landscape. They act as advocates for specific policies that they consider beneficial for the country or a particular societal group. They function as a primary source of information, which they then aim to transform into well-informed policies and sound decisions. They are referred to as "the revolving doors," "idea brokers," and "idea factory." As such, their foremost objective …

State Capacity And Covid-19 Responses: Comparing The Us States, Kiran Auerbach, Joshua Y. Lerner, Hannah M. Ridge

Political Science Faculty Articles and Research

This article addresses the interstate differences in outcomes from the coronavirus disease COVID-19 pandemic by focusing on state capacity. State capacity refers to states’ ability to create and implement policy. We posit that states want to limit death and destruction within their borders. COVID-19 created an instance in which states had a shared, preferred outcome but had very different levels of success. Using a novel measure of state capacity that allows for subnational comparisons – and is independent of ideological political will – we show that states with greater capacity experienced fewer excess deaths during 2020 and more successfully distributed …

Casar Student Discussion Series #6: 'The 2024 Us Election Results Are Out!The 2024 Us Elections Results Will Affect The Middle East Region Positively', The Prince Alwaleed Center For American Studies And Research Casar

Performances, Events, and Presentations

Every semester, CASAR AUC holds miscellaneous student debates discussing the hot controversial topics in the US, Egypt and from around the world in hopes of raising awareness about these topics & broadening the perspectives of our students as they learn to engage in fruitful discussions as they share different opinion on the topic being deliberated. At this CASAR Student Discussion event #6 in light of the current 2024 US Elections, we debated this statement: 'The 2024 US Elections results will affect the Middle East Region positively' A brief into was given followed by short videos to watch before opening the …

The Personality Profile And Leadership Style Of U.S. Vice President And 2024 Democratic Presidential Nominee Kamala Harris, Aubrey Immelman, Anne Marie Griebie, Elise Vomacka

Psychology Faculty Publications

The paper presents the results of an indirect personality assessment of U.S. vice president Kamala Harris, Democratic presidential nominee in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, from the conceptual perspective of personologist Theodore Millon.

Psychodiagnostically relevant data about Harris were collected from biographical sources and media reports and synthesized into a personality profile using the Millon Inventory of Diagnostic Criteria (MIDC), which yields 34 normal and maladaptive personality classifications congruent with DSM-III-R, DSM-IV, and DSM-5-TR.

The personality profile yielded by the MIDC was analyzed in accordance with interpretive guidelines provided in the MIDC and Millon Index of Personality …

Selected U.S. Government Statistical Agencies And Their Data, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Provides introductory and detailed overview of U.S. Government agencies statistics. Includes examples of how an individual U.S. law authorizes government agencies to compile statistics for particular congressional committees and the general public. Statistics cover topics such as demography, defense, foreign assistance, economic growth, criminal justice, energy, Social Security, and Medicare.

Intersectional Marxism And The Dialectic: Interpreting Marx For Our Times, Lilia Monzó, Cristal B. Flores

Education Faculty Articles and Research

"Many on the radical left are increasingly seeking a humanist alternative to the white supremacist capitalist patriarchy that has produced immeasurable suffering and destruction. Amidst the fascism ignited within this era’s supra-conservatism, many of us turned to the Democratic Party to ensure Trump’s defeat only to be reminded that both major political parties in the United States have always moved to the tune of capitalist interests.¹ Thus, at this time, especially, we must remain hopeful in order to continue our struggle to develop a viable alternative to the current system.

This new PM Press edition of Karl Marx’s Critique …

Socially Racialized And Statistically Invisible: U.S. Census Recognition Of The Middle Eastern And North African Diaspora, Aliana J. Jabbary

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis delves into the recent decision by the U.S. Executive’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to revise the statistical categorization of Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) individuals within federal statistical collection, particularly focusing on the U.S. Decennial Census’ racial and ethnic classifications as outlined in the OMB’s Statistical Policy Directive no. 15. Historically classified solely as racially White, the MENA diaspora’s statistical invisibility within federal data has significant impacts on policy eligibility and access to legal protections, contributing to their social erasure from the national identity. Through a comprehensive analysis of racialization and Orientalism scholarship, alongside an …

Is No News Good News?: Exploring The Impact Of Social Media Use On Misinformation Beliefs, Corbin Poyer

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

Does diminishing access to print news have an impact on people’s propensity to believe misinformation? What if this misinformation emanates from an online source as opposed to a print source? The focus of recent research on misinformation has been narrow: (1) recognizing its existence and acknowledging its potential impact, and (2) generating and categorizing potential analytical types of misinformation. However, the ramifications of vanishing print media have so far been overlooked. This paper asserts a connection between news sources and misinformation beliefs, further positing that the decline in the quality and availability of quality print journalism predicates an individual’s belief …

City On A Hill: A Reflection On Christian Ethic And Human Morality, Mayce Combs

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

In John Winthrop’s sermon A Model of Christian Charity (1630), he spoke to his congregation of the mission God had called them to. With the creation of a new blended nation, the only way to be exceptional was to reflect the gospel in policy, action, and foremost thought. Philosophers from ancient times to today acknowledge that an individual is made up of the soul and their body. From the soul, comes thought, reason, empathy, and a connection to a divine being who deciphers what is morally unjust. The body is a sinful, self-seeking vessel that does not have the ability …

Navigating Murky Waters: State-Level Strategies For Wetland Preservation And Tile Drainage Regulation After Sackett V. Epa, Caleb M. Swanson

Honors Thesis

Wetlands are some of the world’s most valuable ecosystems, serving as provisioners of species habitat, carbon sequestration, flood mitigation, water quality purification, and other ecosystem services. Human development has resulted in substantial wetland loss the world over. In the 1970s, the United States Congress passed the Clean Water Act, giving the EPA broad authority over wetland protection. However, in the summer of 2023, the United States Supreme Court decided Sackett v. EPA, limiting the EPA’s jurisdiction over wetlands to those indistinguishably connected to generally recognized “Waters of the United States” and removing federal protection for millions of acres of wetlands, …

The Lawgiver And "The Progress Of Evil", Andre Chang

Senior Theses

The study advances a reinterpretation of Madison’s concept of “constitutional liquidation,” presenting it not merely as a theory of legal interpretation but as a broader political strategy for preserving republican government amid recurring crises. Through an analysis of Madison’s responses to the Alien and Sedition Acts, the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions, and the nullification controversy, the thesis demonstrates how Madison sought to balance constitutional stability with principled conflict, allowing fundamental questions of authority, justice, and union to be resolved through disciplined public deliberation rather than force or procedural formalism.

Finally, the thesis contends that Madison’s commitment to national supremacy and …

Examining Active News Avoidance Across Countries: A Multilevel Moderation Analysis Of News Interests, News Trust, And Press Freedom, Gabriel Miao Li, Fan Liang, Qinfeng Zhu

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Previous studies have identified various individual factors explaining news avoidance, but the understanding of how these factors function within the broader political information environment is limited. This study, leveraging a large-scale cross-national survey, reveals that the relationships between individual news interests, news trust, and news avoidance differ across countries with varying levels of press freedom. In nations where the press is strong and free, personal preferences minimally influence individuals’ active avoidance of hard news. News avoidance is not solely a product of individual-level attributes. Rather, the impact of these individual factors is significantly shaped by the overarching political information environment.

Casar Public Lecture: ‘The U.S. Civil Rights Experience And The Freedom Riders’, The Prince Alwaleed Center For American Studies And Research Casar, Mark W. Deets

Performances, Events, and Presentations

CASAR Public lecture titled: ‘The U.S. Civil Rights Experience and the Freedom Riders’ In celebration of Black History Month, join us in an intriguing discussion about U.S. history with Ms. Joan Trumpauer-Mulholland , an American civil rights activist and one of the Freedom Riders, a group of black and white activists who challenged the legally segregated buses and bus stations of the South by refusing to travel separately. This event was a collaboration between the Public Diplomacy Section at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo and the Prince Alwaleed Center for American Studies and Research (CASAR), School of GAPP, The American …

Identifying Youth Appeals In Alcohol Alternative Social Media Content Through Framing, Melina Oneal

West Chester University Master’s Theses

Proposed regulations for alcohol advertising prevent beverage companies from targeting people under the legal drinking age. However, similar regulations for alcohol alternative beverages are less explored, which could allow alcohol alternative products to create awareness for alcoholic beverages among youth. Alcohol alternatives beverages, including no-alcohol and low-alcohol products, are increasing in popularity and can function as compliments to alcoholic products to decrease the total alcohol volume consumed or as substitutes for alcoholic products. Framing theory can be operationalized through the Content Appealing to Youth Index, an index of content elements found in research literature to be appealing to youth, to …

Rhetorical Demagoguery: An Exploration Of Trump’S And Hitler’S Rise To Power, Tanner Horne

Undergraduate Honors Theses

While many scholars have examined the rhetoric of President Donald Trump and Adolf Hitler individually, there is a void of scholarly work that highlights the similarities between the two leaders’ use of grandiloquent language to stoke the passions of their perspective nations. In the past one hundred years, rhetoric and propaganda have been employed to push political agendas that are divisive and dangerous. Trump’s incendiary vocabulary–“enemy of the people,” “vermin,” “retribution,” etc., employed frequently throughout his campaign and presidency, in many ways echoes Hitler's speeches and declarations. While their political strategies ultimately differed greatly, a close analysis of their speeches, …

Recommendations For Generation Z Civic Engagement On College Campuses, Grace A. Edwards

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Because there is little existing research specifically about Generation Z civic engagement in higher education in the United States, comparisons must be made with research about different generations’ voting and civic engagement patterns, specifically Millennials, since they share many similarities with Gen Z, and Gen Z civic engagement in different countries. This, paired with survey data and statistics about Gen Z civic engagement, provide a strong foundation for this project. To supplement this literature review, interviews with industry professionals were held to learn more about the environment of Gen Z civic engagement on college campuses. From these different sources of …