American Politics Commons^™

Lincoln's Defense Of Politics: The Public Man And His Opponents In The Crisis Over Slavery (Book Review), Julie Mujic

History Faculty Publications

Book review by Julie Mujic.

Schneider, Thomas E. Lincoln’s Defense of Politics: The Public Man and His Opponents in the Crisis over Slavery. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2006.

ISBN 9780826216069

The Election Cycle, And The U.S. Withdrawal From Vietnam, Steven Thomas Stoddard

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Few events in American history have proved to be as divisive and controversial as U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. Although U.S. policy in Indochina has its roots in the Truman Administration, the two presidents most closely associated with the conflict are Lyndon B. Johnson, and Richard M. Nixon. These two are particularly important because they both occupied the White House during the highest levels of direct U.S. involvement in the war. In terms of troop deployments to Southeast Asia, the level and intensity of U.S. involvement peaked under the Johnson Administration and it was at this time that the …

Soft Power: The Means To Success In World Politics (Book Review), Donna A. Cristo

WCBT Faculty Publications

Book review by Donna A. Christo.

Nye, Joseph S. Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics. New York: Public Affairs, 2004. ISBN 9781586482251; 9781586483067 (pbk.)

The Evolution Of Congress: A Citizen's Ability To Influence Politics Today, Rebecca Ashley Nudd

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

-Constitution of the United States

Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus and spurred a year long political bus boycott that helped later change the U.S. Constitution. A mother with a cause rallied a million other moms to march onto Capital Hill and …

Falsities On The Senate Floor, John Cornyn

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

State Efforts To Expand Health Coverage: One Bite At A Time, Christopher Stream

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Research

For more than twenty years, health scholars and advocates have warned us about the lack of adequate health coverage among a growing number of Americans. Health insurance premiums are rising. Many employers, especially small employers who employ over half of the country’s workforce, and individuals are seeing premium increases of 30, 40, and even 50 percent. Not surprisingly, America’s uninsured population is rising— to more than 41 million people. States are feeling the budget crunch as the economy sags and more and more people turn to state Medicaid and other public health care systems. This all means that state policy …

American Statecraft, The United Nations, And Iraq, James W. Skillen

Pro Rege

James Skillen gave a special lecture at Dordt College on October 10, 2002, in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Center for Public Justice and the Association for Public Justice. The following article is Dr. Skillen's expanded and revised version of that lecture.

The Justice Of War On Iraq, Brian Stiltner

Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies Faculty Publications

The author argues that the U.S. and its partners have rightly arrived at war on Iraq as a just and necessary last resort. The potential problems with the just-war case are notable, particularly concerning the after-effects of the war, but they do not incurably undermine the case for going to war. Instead, both supporters and critics of the war around the world should strive to keep their governments committed to post-war reconstruction and a transition to a free and stable government in Iraq. Several just war criteria, particularly as these are articulated in the Catholic tradition, are used to assess …

The Confessional Basis Of Lutheran Thinking On Church-State Issues, Mary Jane Haemig

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Sanctimony On Sanctions: What The United States And Russia Have In Common, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article describes political psychological issues related to consequences stemming from political sanctions.

Trends. The United States Presidential Election: Curds And Wheys, Words And Cays, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article discusses the corruption of language and meaning in U.S. politics, particularly involving the U.S. presidential election.

Trends. In Absurdio Redux: The Real Message Of The Bush-Gore Elections, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article discusses voting in U.S. presidential elections, and why people vote the way they do.

Apologies For Apologies Towards Iran And By The Vatican, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article describes psychological difficulties in making apologies for past misbehavior in the political world.

The Price Of Democracy: Pakistan, India, And The United States, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article explores some likely consequences of a United States (US) foreign policy that emphasizes the spreading of democracies throughout the world.

Trends. Immigration And Naturalization Service V. Aguirre, No. 97-1754: Can Crime Be Nonpolitical?, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This articles discusses a recent Supreme Court case revolving around whether foreigners who have committed serious nonpolitical crimes outside the US are ineligible for refugee status regardless of the severity of persecution that would await them at their countries of origin.

Trends. Good Kurds, Bad Kurds, Curds And Whey, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The author discusses the US foreign policy towards the Kurds in Turkey and northern Iraq, and how the perspective varies by geography and national borders.

Trends. Humane And Inhumane Rights: President Clinton's Trip To China, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The editor discusses President Clinton's performance in China as one that variously exacerbated, paid lip service to, discounted, and/or ignored the human rights violations of his hosts.

Trends. Campaign Funds, Satellite And Missile Technology, And The People's Republic Of China: The Real National Security Problem, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The author discusses a potential national security problem concerning a myriad of stories about (1) Chinese military intelligence funneling funds to the Democratic National and (2) antecedent, concurrent, and/or subsequent decisions to facilitate Chinese launching of US commercial satellites; and (3) the consequences of (1) and (2).

Trends. Nato Expansion And Rabelais: Approaching The United States Senate Vote, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The author discusses the US Senate vote, that will soon be happening, on whether to expand NATO by adding the countries of Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary.

Trends. A Strategic Defense Initiative Against Biological Warfare: Sense? Nonsense? Mal Vu, Mal Dit?, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The author discusses the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) that was initiated by United States (US) President Ronald Reagan during his first term.

Trends. The Phallic Presidency, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The author discusses the illicit behavior of many of America's presidents.

Trends. United States Government (Usg) Policy Towards Cuba: Holier Than The Pope?, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The author discusses the failing policy of sanctions against the Cuban government.

Trends. Chairman Arafat And The United States (U.S.) Holocaust Museum: What Is Good, What Is Evil, What Is Human?, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The author discusses the possible visit of Yasir Arafat to the US Holocaust Museum.

Trends. From Pumpkin Papers To Pumpkin Capers: Washington Scandals, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The author discusses how in the late 1940s and into the 1950s--an era of both Communist hysteria and significant Communist threat within the United States (US)--pumpkin connoted scandal, as in the infamous pumpkin papers.

Trends. The Inspection Crisis: The Iraqi-Us Scorecard, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

In this analysis, the author further discusses the UN inspections for nuclear arms in Iraq.

A Statistical Analysis Of U.S. Foreign Aid And Latin American Human Rights, 1977-1988, Quentin Kidd

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This paper is set in a time when, quite frankly, situations and events around the world are changing much faster than the perceptive abilities of the academic community. During the Cold War period it was relatively common to focus one's research toward a particular direction or specialty and feel safe that the rug would no be pulled out from under it. Many of this century's great political scientists carved their niches and made their names by studying and commenting on the status of the world as defined by the Cold War. Times have changed though. The Cold War has ended …

The Impractical Ideal Costa Rica, The United States And Central America Reunification, 1902-1932, Donald R. Lam

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This thesis examines the motivations of Central American Unionists and the failure of their movement in the early years of the twentieth century. The existing literature attributes the failure of Central American unification during this era to U.S. policies meant to maintain a divided isthmus in order to economically and politically exploit the region. A closer analysis of the primary sources, however, reveals that union failed because of internal factors, and that Washington's actions generally favored efforts to rejoin the nations to reduce isthmian tensions. Attempts to reunite the republics failed because of regional and domestic political rivalries, weaknesses in …

The Implementation Of The Reagan Administration's Counterterrorist Policy, Howard Lawrence Steinberg

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This thesis investigates the implementation of President Ronald Reagan's active counterterrorist policy. The paper attempts to determine why the stated policy of "swift and effective retribution" was not carried out. This paper concentrates on the discrepancies between the numerous statements advocating retaliation made by Reagan and his top officials and the failure of these officials to administer the necessary orders for such retaliatory policies. This research indicated numerous causes, although the primary cause is attributed to the divergent opinions of the reticent Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger and the more retributive views of the two successive Secretaries of State, Alexander …

Inter-American Indemnity: Internal Security And The Mutual Security Program For Latin America (1951-1961), Robert George Baker

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This thesis examines the purpose of U.S. military aid in the American Republics from 1951 through 1961 and proves that concern for internal security became dominant during that period. At first military aid supported hemispheric defense against communist aggression, which Washington orchestrated through mutual defense agreements, but by 1953 maintenance of internal security emerged as the major aim of aid to several Central American nations. In 1956 the National Security Council determined that internal security was a vital goal of the military aid program for Latin America. The ascendance of internal security concerns is described and analyzed in three parts: …

The Origins Of The Department Of Defense Recommendation To Cross The 38th Parallel During The Korean War, Wayne A. Kirkbride

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This thesis considers the reasons the Department of Defense (DOD) developed its recommendation concerning the U.S. involvement in the Korean War. The United states initially committed its forces to restore the status quo antebellum. However, by 31 July 1950, the DOD recommended that a free, unified, and representative Korea should be the policy object of the war and that the occupation of all of Korea and the defeat of the North Korean armed forces north and south of the 38th Parallel should be the military objectives.

Several factors contributed to the recommendation of a change in policy and strategy. A …