American Politics Commons^™

Book Review: The Way Of The Knife, Michael Neal

The Eastern Illinois University Political Science Review

The author reviews the book The Way of the Knife by Mark Mazzetti, specifically looking at the underlying themes of shifting operations in the CIA, relationships between the CIA and United States military, and the growing private-sector.

The Way Of The Knife: The Cia, A Secret Army, And A War At The Ends Of The Earth, Mariah Wallace

The Eastern Illinois University Political Science Review

The author offers her views and thoughts on Mazzetti’s book and its implications for the future of American foreign policy.

Using The Issue-Attention Cycle To Analyze The Marine Protection, Research, And Sanctuaries Act, Matthew Cain

The Eastern Illinois University Political Science Review

The author uses Anthony Downs' Issue Attention Cycle to analyze the rise and decline of attention to the dumping of sewage, sludge, and industrial waste into the ocean. Through the lens of the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972, the author finds that although Downs' model explains the rise and decline in policy attention in part, much greater emphasis should be put on public opinion.

Cia: The Critical Years, Ryan Freer

The Eastern Illinois University Political Science Review

Our foreign policy agenda in the Middle East is attributed to the decisions of the CIA's Director's of Intelligence (DCI) and the President's they served. The author examines how two DCI's, an a third to a lesser degree, have impacted the agency during their tenures, and how the operations of the CIA in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran in the decades leading up to the attacks of 9/11 culminated in this tragedy.

Article Critique: “Shifting Winds: Explaining Variation In State Policies To Promote Small-Scale Wind Energy”, Luke Eastin

The Eastern Illinois University Political Science Review

This paper is a review of Tomas Koontz and Joshua Wiener's case study analysis that considered the extent of variance among three states in regard to their particular small-scale wind energy policies. Through this critique, the author provides both the benefits and difficulties with the research, along with the future prospects for research in this area of policy studies.

Presidential Job Approval Rating Analysis Through Social Media, Subramanian Venkataraman, Subramanian Venkataraman

Dissertations and Theses

The aim of this study is to identify patterns in President Trump’s approval in the

Twitter universe through Social Media and Sentiment Analysis, and compare

against scientific polling to get meaningful insights on the limitations of Social

Media Analytics. For the purposes for this exercise, results from scientific polling

will be considered the true measure of approval, and will be used as control. In

order to perform sentiment analysis, we have used supervisory learning using

Naive Bayes Classifier algorithm which produced 0.862667 accuracy levels.

Healthcare: What Comes Next?, William H. Lane

English Faculty Publications

Where do we go from here on healthcare?

America has been talking about fixing its fragmented and overly expensive healthcare system for quite a while now. At times, it seems as though we simply keep having the same conversation (or argument, if you prefer) over and over again without making much progress in ensuring access to affordable care to all Americans. In fact, however, some significant gains have been made. Twenty million left without insurance (our situation now) has got to be better than forty million left without (our situation a decade ago).

Withdrawal: Reassessing America's Final Years In Vietnam, Gregory A. Daddis

History Faculty Books and Book Chapters

Withdrawal is a groundbreaking reassessment that tells a far different story of the Vietnam War. Daddis convincingly argues that the entire US effort in South Vietnam was incapable of reversing the downward trends of a complicated Vietnamese conflict that by 1968 had turned into a political-military stalemate. Despite a new articulation of strategy, Abrams's approach could not materially alter a war no longer vital to US national security or global dominance. Once the Nixon White House made the political decision to withdraw from Southeast Asia, Abrams's military strategy was unable to change either the course or outcome of a decades' …

Interior Secretary Zinke Invokes Teddy Roosevelt As Model, But His Public Land Policies Don’T, John Freemuth

Public Policy and Administration Faculty Publications and Presentations

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s recommendations to shrink four national monuments and allow fossil fuel development activities on others is just the latest sign that this administration sees natural resource use and extraction as the highest priority for public lands.

Alma Mater, Mater Exulum. Jesuit Education And Immigration In America: A Moral Framework Rooted In History And Mission, Michael M. Canaris

Institute of Pastoral Studies: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Book Description: The current daily experiences of undocumented students as they navigate the processes of entering and then thriving in Jesuit colleges are explored alongside an investigation of the knowledge and attitudes among staff and faculty about undocumented students in their midst, and the institutional response to their presence. Cutting across the fields of U.S. immigration policy, theory and history, religion, law, and education, Undocumented and in College delineates the historical and present-day contexts of immigration, including the role of religious institutions. This unique volume, based on an extensive two-year study (2010-12) of undocumented students at Jesuit colleges in the …

The New American Slavery: Capitalism And The Ghettoization Of American Prisons As A Profitable Corporate Business, David A. Liburd

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The labor of enslaved Africans and Black Americans played a large part in the history of colonial America, with the American plantation being the epicenter for all that was to be produced. While the two have never been completely tied together, capitalism and modern day slavery have been linked with one another. Some analysis sees slavery as a remote form of capitalism, a substitute, to an antiquated form of labor in the modern world.

Slave plantations adopted a new concentration in size and management, referred to by W.E. DuBois as a change "from a family institution to an industrial system."1 …

The Politics Of Shorter Hours And Corporate-Centered Society: A History Of Work-Time Regulation In The United States And Japan, Keisuke Jinno

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Shorter working hours drew much attention as a means of fighting unemployment and crisis in capitalism during the first half of the twentieth century. Nowadays, shorter work-time is rarely considered a policy option to fix economic or social issues in the United States and Japan. This dissertation presents a history of work-time regulation in the United States and Japan to examine how and why its developments and stalemate took place.

In the big picture, developments of work-time regulation during the first half of the twentieth century were a part of concessional modifications of class relations, a common phenomenon in many …

Trumping Norms: Whither The International Liberal Order?, Maureen Jones

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This paper’s main objective is to develop potential theories on the future of American foreign policy within the Trump Administration. The paper will begin by evaluating the norm of statehood and will discuss the contributions of John Meyer to the statehood discourse. Through analysis of Meyer’s work, this paper will develop a standardized structure of statehood within the global order. Furthermore, the paper will analyze the Westphalian international order and discuss the viability of this system leading up to 2017. The Westphalian international system has been the primary system for which nation-states aim to gain acceptance and its norms provide …

Do Latinos Still Support Immigrant Rights Activism? Examining Latino Attitudes A Decade After The 2006 Protest Wave, Chris Zepeda-Millán, Sophia Jordán Wallace

Latino Public Policy

The historic and primarily Latino 2006 immigrant rights protest wave occurred in response to proposed federal anti-immigrant legislation (H.R. 4437). Research on the unprecedented series of demonstrations suggests that the draconian and racialized nature of the bill helps explain why it incited large-scale collective action. Utilizing a new survey with a considerable oversample of Latino respondents, the 2016 Collaborative Multiracial Post-Election Survey (CMPS), this paper investigates contemporary Latino support for immigrant rights activism. We examine several factors that influence support such as linked fate, knowing undocumented people, perceptions of anti-immigrant sentiments, concerns about immigration enforcement policies, political party identification, and …

Zero Textbook Cost Syllabus For Paf 1250 (Citizenship And Public Affairs), Aaron M. Zack

Open Educational Resources

This course is a critical introduction to American political institutions and behavior. Attention is given to constitutional theory and principles, the constitutional system, political institutions (congress, the presidency, the judiciary, the bureaucracy), and political participation (public opinion, the mass media, elections, political parties, groups and interests.)

Book Review - Dixie Highway: Road Building And The Making Of The Modern South, 1900-1930, Rebecca Rose

Georgia Library Quarterly

No abstract provided.

Beyond Urban Versus Rural:, Dante J. Scala, Kenneth M. Johnson

Carsey Publications

In this brief, authors Dante Scala and Kenneth Johnson examine voting patterns over the last five presidential elections. They report that although rural voters and urban voters are often portrayed as polar opposites, their differences are best understood as a continuum, not a dichotomy. From the largest urban cores to the most remote rural counties, they found significant variations in voting. Hillary Clinton nearly matched Barack Obama’s 2012 performance in most urban areas. Clinton’s defeat was due, in part, to her failure to match the performance of recent Democratic Presidential nominees in less populated areas. Though many commentators argued that …

The Boundaries Of Partisan Gerrymandering, John M. Greabe

Law Faculty Scholarship

[Excerpt] “In my most recent column, I expressed concern about the effectiveness of the constitutional decision rules that currently govern gerrymandering – the redrawing of electoral districts in a manner that favors the incumbent majority at the expense of those out of power.

Briefly, the Constitution has not been interpreted to prohibit redistricting with an eye toward advancing the interests of the political party in power. But it has been interpreted to bar legislators from redistricting on racial grounds – at least in most circumstances.

The problem is that voters from certain racial groups tend to vote overwhelmingly for …

The Cross-Cultural Experiences Of Saudi Sojourners In The United States: A Study Of Intrapersonal Identity Conflict, Ahmed M. Asfahani Ph.D.

Journal of Interdisciplinary Conflict Science

What are the cross-cultural experiences of Saudi sojourners studying in the United States that lead to intrapersonal identity conflict? Sojourner identity conflict is a foundational issue in culture shock and can promote or limit positive relationships between Saudi and American students. It is important to study Saudi sojourners’ cultural backgrounds and the factors that inhibit or promote assimilation into their host culture to ensure the success of cultural exchange through providing data needed to learn how to best ameliorate the dissonance caused by identity conflict. By employing a phenomenological approach, this research provides findings relating to acculturation strategies of sojourners …

Sloan On Geopolitics, Geography, And Strategy History In Geopolitics, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Geopolitical literature is experiencing a renaissance and scholars representing classical and critical perspectives in this field bring multifaceted assessments to historical and current international political and security issues. Sloan’s Geopolitics, Geography and Strategic History, which is part of Routledge’s Geopolitical Theory Series, examines connections between geography, strategy, and history and is the subject of this review and analysis. Three thesis questions examined by the author include why the geographical scope of political objectives and following strategies of nation states change, how do these changes occur, and over what time period do these changes occur. Sloan examines why the geopolitical theories …

Liberalism Or Immigration Restrictions, But Not Both, Christopher Freiman, Javier S. Hidalgo

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

This paper argues for a dilemma: you can accept liberalism or immigration restrictions, but not both. More specifically, the standard arguments for restricting freedom of movement apply equally to textbook liberal freedoms, such as freedom of speech, religion, occupation and reproductive choice. We begin with a sketch of liberalism’s core principles and an argument for why freedom of movement is plausibly on a par with other liberal freedoms. Next we argue that, if a state’s right to self-determination grounds a prima facie right to restrict immigration, then it also grounds a prima facie right to restrict freedom of speech, religion, …

Race, Partisan Gerrymandering And The Constitution, John M. Greabe

Law Faculty Scholarship

[Excerpt] “For the most part, the Constitution speaks in generalities. The 14th Amendment, for example, instructs the states to provide all persons the "equal protection of the laws." But obviously, this cannot mean that states are always forbidden from treating a person differently than any other person. Children can, of course, be constitutionally barred from driving, notwithstanding the Equal Protection Clause. Thus, there is a need within our constitutional system to refine the Constitution's abstract provisions.”

Gendered Activism And Outcomes: Women In The Peace Movement, Lisa A. Leitz, David S. Meyer

Peace Studies Faculty Books and Book Chapters

"In this chapter, we look at the history of women's activism in the peace movement over the course of U.S. political development, examining the ways that women expanded the goals of peace activism to include gender and other social justice issues. We then examine which women actually participated in these efforts, and how that has changed over time. In the following sections, we explore distinct tensions in women's activism focusing on the role of gender (essentialism versus social constructionism) and radicalism versus pragmatic realpolitik. We conclude by looking at the outcomes of such mobilizations, which have been very limited in …

Latina Political Leadership In Massachusetts, Center For Women In Politics And Public Policy, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

This Fact Sheet offers an analysis of Latina leadership and political representation in the Massachusetts, as of the 2017.

The Louisiana Granting Resources And Autonomies For Diplomas Act: Exploring The Impact Of A Performance-Based Funding Policy On Higher Education Effectiveness, Bridget S. Peters

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

In 2010 the Louisiana legislature adopted the Louisiana Granting Resources and Autonomies for Diplomas (GRAD) Act, a statewide performance-based funding policy designed to improve performance among public colleges. This study, utilizing data collected from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) on 15 two-year public colleges over eight years, applied Generalized Least Squares (GLS) regression to retention rates, graduation rates, and degree productivity. Results suggest that the introduction of the policy had little immediate effect on overall institutional performance; however, there were some modest increases in long-term certificate productivity. Additionally, there were significant improvements in data quality throughout higher education …

Proliferating A Culture Of Fear: Islam In A Post 9/11 America, Setareh Motamedi

Political Science Student Papers and Posters

The threat of terrorism perceived by the American public has been shaped by a series of traumatic events over the past decade. In the years following the attacks of September 11, 2001, fear of terrorism has extended beyond the threat of terrorist groups. Much of the American public considers not only terrorist groups like al-Qaeda, but the entire religion of Islam to be a security threat. In much of this security discourse, ideas of hatred, violence, and terror have become associated with Islam. This study explores that association, and aims to identify what motivates existing stereotypes. Drawing on research from …

The Dream Act: A Retrospective On Immigration Policies Across Time And Nations, Ernest M. Oleksy

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

The United States has a long tradition of assimilating diverse peoples into a shared culture and thus developing a transformative, holistic national identity. Despite this historical affinity for immigration, there have also been points during which rose issues with migrants entering the country illegally. Once this happens, politicians must decide how to deal with an influx of undocumented aliens. This paper focuses on amnesty acts, particularly ones past through the American Congress in the past century. The relationship between amnesty legislation and immigration flow will be investigated. Also, an exploration of European policies towards immigration will all be conducted in …

Examining The Intersection Of Refugee Policies And Contemporary Protracted Displacement, Christopher M. Owens

Sustainability and Social Justice

Article 33 of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees states that host nations shall not expel or return a refugee to their home nation ‘where his life or freedom would be threatened.’ However, as demonstrated in three contemporary case studies in protracted displacement the interests of the sovereign state drive nations to craft strategies to limit cross-border refugee mobility. The refoulement of refugees escaping drug cartel violence throughout the Americas, internally displaced Haitians, and Syrian refugees in Jordan are all ‘managed’ by one of two methods. First, some destination nations either strategically blur refugees into other mobility …

American Immigration: Differing Views On The Threat From Immigrants, Carl Karpinski

Political Science Theses and Capstones

Immigration has been a hot button issue in politics across the world, especially in recent years in the United States. People’s views on immigration vary broadly among political parties and from every corner of the country. Why do people believe the things they do about immigrants? I researched this question to determine why immigration is at the forefront of American politics and how different aspects of one’s life affect his or her sentiments. Using General Social Survey data, I explored why some people feel threatened by immigrants coming to their country and others do not. Variables analyzed include income, church …

Beyond Pluralism And Elitism: How Much Influence Do Special Interests Have On The Content Of Congressional Legislation?, Kyle Johnson

Political Science Theses and Capstones

Do powerful special interests have too much influence over what is written in congressional legislation? There has been ongoing debate about how influence should be distributed between interest groups in affecting legislation. A central question in this debate asks whether interest groups with more financial clout have more influence in policy-making than interests that have fewer resources? Furthermore, much research has been on interest groups influence on the lawmaker’s vote instead of the interest’s influence prior to the vote. My research seeks to determine the extent to which interest groups influence the content of legislation in the U.S. Congress. My …