American Politics Commons^™

Economic Anxiety Or Racial Predispositions? Explaining White Support For Donald Trump In The 2016 Presidential Election, Emmitt Y. Riley Iii, Clarissa Peterson

Political Science Faculty publications

In this article, we examine the degree to which White support for Donald Trump is driven by economic anxiety or racial resentment. Given Donald Trump's rhetoric surrounding racial and ethnic minorities during the 2016 presidential election, it is perplexing that the influence of racial attitudes has been ignored in explaining his electoral success. We argue that Whites with high levels of racially resentful attitudes should be more likely to support Donald Trump and that racial resentment should be a greater determinant of support for Trump than variables measuring economic anxiety. Relying on logistic regression analysis, we utilize data from the …

California As A “Blue-Print’ For Progressive Immigration Reform?: Uncovering Racial Liberalism To Expose Reconfigured Anti-Migrant Hegemony, Edith Jaicel Ortega

Scripps Senior Theses

Using the frames of analysis and language of political whiteness and anti-migrant hegemony, this paper examines the narrative of liberal immigration reformers transforming California’s political landscape within the period of 1994 to 2017. Taken as case studies the following articles of legislation are analyzed: Proposition 187 in 1994, the California Dream Act in 2010, the Trust Act in 2014, up to the present Senate Bill 54 in 2017. The paper finds that while California has experienced a recognizable shift in racial liberalism in rhetoric and legislation, its overall policy continues to work within the framework of anti-migrant hegemony that functions …

Moving Beyond American Conditional Aid To Haiti, Chang-Dae David Hyun

Compass: An Undergraduate Journal of American Political Ideas

A root cause of Haiti’s poverty is the IMF’s structural adjustment plan. A solution based on Chinese aid, unlike neo-liberal policies, allows Haiti to protect its rice and other industries.

Author information: Chang-Dae David Hyun, former sergeant with the Republic of Korea Air Force, earned his Honors B.A (2017) at the University of Toronto specializing political science. He is the winner of the Kathleen & William Davis Scholarship and Saul & Lois Rae Scholarship at University College (U of Toronto), and spent summer 2017 on a full scholarship to Tsinghua University of China.

The Role Of Christianity In Hobbes’S Political Project, David Soper

Compass: An Undergraduate Journal of American Political Ideas

For Hobbes, religion is not inherently beneficial for society. Instead, good theology is required in order to make religion useful.

Author information: David Soper is a recent graduate from Carleton College where he studied political science. He hopes to continue his studies in political theory at the Ph.D. level.

What Does “All Men Are Created Equal” Mean?, Morgan Keith

Compass: An Undergraduate Journal of American Political Ideas

Some have all too quickly used the term “post-racial” to describe America now that a black president has been elected and re-elected for a second term. It will take much more time than just eight years to reverse the wrongdoings of centuries past.

Author information: Morgan Keith is a junior studying investigative reporting at the University of Missouri. She currently works as a beat reporter at the Columbia Missourian.

Should Pornography That Patently Objectifies Women Be Banned?, Jared Kelly

Compass: An Undergraduate Journal of American Political Ideas

The debate around banning pornography that objectifies women fractured the feminist movement. Future attempts to outlaw pornography will follow the precedent set forth in Osbourne v. Ohio and attempt to ban pornography in order to protect public health and safety.

Author information: Jared Kelly is a fourth-year political science and geography student at UC Berkeley. In his free time, he enjoys playing chess, hiking, classic films, and reading historical fiction.

The Problem Of The West[Ern], Kiley Duhn

Compass: An Undergraduate Journal of American Political Ideas

Three great Western films—Stagecoach, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and the contemporary No Country for Old Men—delve deep into the American psyche and make a broad claim that the American way of mixing freedom and rule is inherently flawed.

Author information: Kiley Duhn is a Business Economics and Accountancy double major and Political Science minor at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. After graduating in the Class of 2019, she plans to pursue a career in tax consulting at a public accounting firm.

A Practical Solution To The Death Of The American Dream, Pamela Larkin

Compass: An Undergraduate Journal of American Political Ideas

Has slowing class mobility caused the shift in American culture away from the traditional “American Dream”? Or has this shift in American culture caused slowing class mobility?

Author information: Pamela Larkin is a junior at Smith College majoring in Government and minoring in Mathematics. She is also President of the Smith Republicans, as well as a student-athlete who plays soccer

Constitutional Individualism: The Ninth Amendment And The “Natural Rights Of Man”, Lucas B. Drill

Compass: An Undergraduate Journal of American Political Ideas

The Ninth Amendment is not a one-off historical anachronism aimed at protecting nonexistent rights. Instead, it should be construed by the courts as a bulwark against undue governmental interference in people’s private lives.

Author information: Lucas B. Drill is from La Cañada Flintridge, California. He is a rising senior in the Joint Program between Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary, in which he is simultaneously pursuing Bachelor of Arts degrees in Political Science and Jewish History. Lucas is an aspiring lawyer, constitutional scholar, and judge.

Originalism: Reclaiming The American Promise, Ayesh Perera

Compass: An Undergraduate Journal of American Political Ideas

Originalism best reflects the Founding Fathers’ faith in self-government and also best preserves the legitimacy of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Author information: Ayesh Perera arrived in the United States from Sri Lanka in 2014. He graduated (2018) from Miami University with majors in Economics and Political Science, and is pursuing his Master’s Degree at Harvard University.

Omelas And Bensalem: Liberty And Utopias, Alexandria Putman

Compass: An Undergraduate Journal of American Political Ideas

Is it possible for a society to be good without liberty? Bacon’s The New Atlantis and Le Guin’s The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas both aid in exploring this important question.

Author information: Alexandria Putman is a Coastal Carolina University student from Tega Cay, S.C. She is a double major in political science and communication. Her research interests include public opinion and utopian political thought, as well as campaigns and elections. She is currently an Edgar Dyer Fellow, an undergraduate research assistant, and the captain of the mock trial team at CCU. Upon graduating, Alexandria hopes to …

Restoring Civic Virtue: The Buckley Model, Moriah Poliakoff

Compass: An Undergraduate Journal of American Political Ideas

The political life of William F. Buckley Jr. stands as a model for reinvigorating the civic virtue that the American founders recognized as necessary.

Author information: Moriah Poliakoff is a junior at Christopher Newport University majoring in American Studies and minoring in Philosophy and US National Security Studies. She has a particular interest in political philosophy.

Sustaining Collective Self-Governance And Collective Action: A Constitutional Role Morality For Presidents And Members Of Congress, Neil S. Siegel

Faculty Scholarship

In the United States today, the behavior of the political branches is generally viewed as more damaging to the American constitutional system than is the behavior of the federal courts. Yet constitutional law scholarship continues to focus primarily on judges and judging. This Article suggests that such scholarship should develop for presidents and members of Congress what it has long advocated for judges: a role morality that imposes normative limits on the exercise of official discretion over and above strictly legal limits. The Article first grounds a role morality for federal elected officials in two purposes of the U.S. Constitution …

Money Matters: An Analysis Of Campaign Finance In United States House Of Representatives Elections, 2010-2016, Destiny Leitz

Honors Program Theses

Money in politics is the single largest threat to the democratic system in the United States. It influences everything in politics, from the candidates to the issues debated. Every American knows that running for office requires large amounts of funding, and being elected requires even more. People worry that only the wealthiest voices are being heard; of course, candidates who depend on money from wealthy donors for campaign strength would never support unfavorable policies for their donors. Clearly, money in politics threatens the core democratic principles upon which America was founded. However, few people discuss whether the money really makes …

Foreign Policy By Fiat: An Examination Of The United States Decision Making Process On Iraq From 1990-1998, Shawn Mcfall

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis explores how the United States identified Iraq as a threat to its national interest from 1990 to 1998. The international relations literature is heavily skewed toward exploring the question of why states engage in conflict and neglecting how a country identifies a threat. Therefore, this thesis focuses on the threat identification policy process. This thesis examines two security moves – the Gulf War and the Iraq Liberation Act – and uses primary documents to reveal how the foreign policy apparatus concluded that Iraq was a threat. Through the two cases, I found that foreign policy decisions were made …

U.S. Interagency Coordination On Countering Violent Extremism Abroad, Jason Gush

CMC Senior Theses

CVE is complex. It requires combatting the narratives and ideology of many extremist groups around the globe, constructing environments with appealing alternatives to extremism, and most importantly, sensitivity to the variety of circumstances in which CVE takes place to effectively battle the root causes of extremism. Constructing a complete CVE effort thus requires a great variety of skills, coordinated to efficient implementation. Despite notional commitment, U.S. CVE abroad lacks interagency coordination. JIATF-S offers a strong model of interagency coordination, from which lessons may be applied to the formation of an interagency CVE effort. Interagency coordination would bring extensive expertise and …

Paid Parental Leave In The United States: Reconciling Competing Demands, Sydney Joseph

CMC Senior Theses

The United States is the only developed nation that fails to provide its citizens with paid parental leave. The lack of parental benefit provision operates to the detriment of individuals and society as a whole by contributing to inequity across gender, race, socioeconomic status, and sexual orientation. As the demographics of the American workforce have changed, public policy has not kept pace. Paid parental leave is associated a number of health, economic, and social benefits. However, the greatest barrier to legislating paid parental leave is the philosophical underpinnings of American politics, specifically the strong current of liberal individualism and absence …

‘The Spirit—The Faith Of America’: The Role Of Religious Rhetoric In Presidential Inaugural Addresses From George Washington To Donald Trump, Ellen Lempres

CMC Senior Theses

While the United States was founded upon the premise of religious freedom, religious rhetoric has pervaded presidential addresses since the Founding. While such addresses were rare at the Founding because constitutional interpretation restricted presidents’ ability to campaign and communicate directly with the American people, the inaugural address is one speech that has existed since George Washington’s inauguration in 1789. During presidential inaugurations, presidents introduce themselves as presidents and establish their policy directions for their presidencies. In this context, according to the role of the rhetorical presidency, early presidents used religious rhetoric in order to unite the nation under a unitary …

Strength Through Diplomacy: A Fundamental Review Of The Relationship Between North Korea And The United States, Benjamin D. Blackstone

CMC Senior Theses

At the time that this thesis is printed, we are reminded of the tumultuous relationship between North Korea and the United States every day. If we follow the mainstream news regularly, it seems like we are on a steady path to war. Ultimately, this paper is centered around the question: what is the best foreign policy strategy for both countries to achieve respective goals, without descending into armed conflict? Specifically, I evaluated the failures of the last three U.S. Presidents and used their shortcomings to explain limitations in current foreign policy strategy. I also attempted to show North Korean concerns …

The Great And Widening Divide: Political False Polarization And Its Consequences, Victoria Parker

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

American politics is becoming increasingly ideologically divided, and this cross-party hostility is reflected in pronounced partisan media outrage. However, while actual ideological polarization has indeed been rising, people estimate an ideological gap as being even larger than reality. We focus on whether part of this cross-party dislike can be explained by illusory perceptions of opposing party attitudes, attitudes the majority of the party members do not actually endorse. This illusory gap is referred to as false polarization; it is an interpersonal bias where a perceiver believes an opponent’s position is much farther away conceptually from where that opponent actually reports …

Midterm 2018 And Targeting Latino Community Through Misinformation And Disinformation Online, Manjul Shrestha

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

How has the Latino community been targeted by digital propaganda during the 2018 midterm elections in the US? How might this affect their involvement in and around the election? This thesis starts to answer these questions through a data analysis on two of the most prominent and popular social media platforms for political discussion: Twitter and Reddit. This study analyzed people’s posting patterns over time, the digital traces of the individuals pushing the majority and most popular content, and Latino candidates’ interaction on Twitter. This research provides evidence that on Twitter there are two main actors discussing Latinos and politics: …

Chevron Patterns In The Circuit Courts, Christina L. Boyd, Kent Barnett, Christopher J. Walker

Scholarship@WashULaw

Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. NRDC required courts to defer to federal agencies reasonable interpretation of ambiguous statutes that are administered through the agency. However, recently this “Chevron deference” has been called into question by the judiciary, the legal academy, and Congress. In this essay we briefly describe and highlight three of the most noteworthy findings from our empirical study of over 1,300 decisions of agency statutory interpretation (based on articles published in Chevron in the Circuit Courts, 116 Mich. L. Rev. 1 (2017) (Barnett and Walker); Chevron Step Two’s Domain, 93 Notre Dame L. Rev. 1441 (2018) (Barnett and Walker); …

War Spin: How U.S. Politicians, The President And The Media Frame Foreign Intervention, Samantha White

Masters Theses

In this research, I seek to explain how three different foreign policy actors, the President, key Senators, and the media frame intervention policy when determining if intervention is used for human rights versus U.S. interests. I will be looking at four different areas of turmoil (Bosnia (1992-1995), Rwanda (1994), Syria (2011-present) and Iraq (2003-2011)) to see if the Presidents, Senators, and the media framed their intervention around human rights atrocities being committed, or if they framed it around a national security dilemma.

Partisan Conflict, Policy Uncertainty And Aggregate Corporate Cash Holdings, Chak Hung Jack Cheng, Ching Wai (Jeremy) Chiu, William B. Hankins, Anna Leigh Stone

Research, Publications & Creative Work

This paper distinguishes political uncertainty from policy uncertainty shocks and uncovers new empirical facts about how each impacts the aggregate cash holdings of US firms. Our baseline structural vector autoregression model shows that an exogenous one standard deviation shock to political and economic policy uncertainty is followed by 1 and 1.8% increase in aggregate corporate cash-to-total assets after five and eight quarters, respectively. The baseline result also shows that policy uncertainty shocks tend to raise financial market volatility while political uncertainty shocks tend to lower financial market volatility. Moreover, we find evidence that political uncertainty exerts asymmetric effects on aggregate …

Real Fake News: The Colbert Report And Affective Polarization, Jeffrey J. Skoroda

Senior Independent Study Theses

This Independent Study examines the relationship between political satire and affective polarization. Affective polarization is a newly growing form of political polarization wherein partisans are polarized based on mutual dislike for opposing partisans rather than ideological disagreements. Political news has been linked to this recent trend in polarization. Over the past two decades, political scientists have taken an interest in investigating the impact of political satire programs like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report through the same lens as traditional political news. These satirical news programs implement satire, a more complex form of comedy that can require more cognitive …

When The Tables Are Turned: The Effects Of The 2016 Us Presidential Election On In-Group Favoritism And Out-Group Hostility, Burak Oc, Celia Moore, Michael R. Bashshur

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The outcome of the 2016 U.S. Presidential election was a big surprise to many, as the majority of polls had predicted the opposite outcome. In this two-stage cross-sectional study, we focus on how Democrats and Republicans reacted to this electoral surprise and how these reactions might have influenced the way they allocated resources to each other in small groups. We find that, before the election, Republicans showed greater in-group favoritism than Democrats, who treated others equally, regardless of their political affiliation. We then show that Democrats experienced the election outcome as an ego shock and, in the week following the …

Inter-Female Hostility: Attractiveness And Femininity Vs. Likeability, Savanah Henshaw, Lydia Estes, Lauren Olsen

Sigma: Journal of Political and International Studies

No abstract provided.

Religious Targets: Where 2016 Presidential Candidates Used Religious Rhetoric, Rachel Day, Adam Johnson

Sigma: Journal of Political and International Studies

No abstract provided.

Is There “Hope For Every Addicted American”? The New U.S. War On Drugs, B Stone

Publications and Research

The U.S. has been waging a War on Drugs for the last forty years. But in the mid-2010s, a series of reforms have rejected this militant approach. How did these policies manage to break through a gridlocked Congress? What is the nature of these reforms, and what are their political implications? Using critical discourse analysis, I demonstrate that a new policy framework of “addiction recovery” defines the political crises of the opioid epidemic, the failure of the War on Drugs, and mass incarceration in terms of disease, attributing Drug War injustices to prejudice against “addiction,” rather than a constellation of …

Political Opportunism, Position Taking, And Court-Curbing Legislation., Laura Moyer, Ellen M. Key

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Although there is extensive scholarship on court-curbing efforts directed at the U.S. Supreme Court, much less is known about bills targeting the lower federal courts. This article argues that members of Congress also engage in position taking with respect to the U.S. Courts of Appeals, by proposing legislation to divide up the Ninth Circuit. Over seven decades, no other circuit has attracted as much court-curbing legislation as the Ninth Circuit, and yet no bill has succeeded. What accounts for this persistent focus on one court? We argue that bill sponsors are motivated primarily by electoral considerations and capitalize on the …