American Politics Commons^™

Judicial Supremacy Revisited: Independent Constitutional Authority In American Constitutional Law And Practice, Mark A. Graber

William & Mary Law Review

The Supreme Court exercises far less constitutional authority in American law and practice than one would gather from reading judicial opinions, presidential speeches, or the standard tomes for and against judicial supremacy. Lower federal court judges, state court justices, federal and state elected officials, persons charged with administering the law, and ordinary citizens often have the final say on particular constitutional controversies or exercise temporary constitutional authority in ways that have more influence on the parties to that controversy than the eventual Supreme Court decision. In many instances, Supreme Court doctrine sanctions or facilitates the exercise of independent constitutional authority …

Why Congress Does Not Challenge Judicial Supremacy, Neal Devins

William & Mary Law Review

Members of Congress largely acquiesce to judicial supremacy both on constitutional and statutory interpretation questions. Lawmakers, however, do not formally embrace judicial supremacy; they rarely think about the courts when enacting legislation. This Article explains why this is so, focusing on why lawmakers have both strong incentive to acquiesce to judicial power and little incentive to advance a coherent view of congressional power. In particular, lawmakers are interested in advancing favored policies, winning reelection, and gaining personal power within Congress. Abstract questions of institutional power do not interest lawmakers and judicial defeats are seen as opportunities to find some other …

A Taxonomy Of Independent Electoral Reapportionment Systems, James Ruley

Indiana Journal of Constitutional Design

This paper addresses a means of checking legislative gerrymandering, which I have called the Independent Electoral Reapportionment Commission (IERC). Its purpose is to prevent self-interested politicians from drawing biased constituency lines. While scholars have researched gerrymandering, few scholars have researched commissions designed to limit such gerrymandering, and no comprehensive work details the global means of accomplishing this goal.

Thus, the purpose of this paper is not to normatively prescribe the best practices for composing and empowering an IERC, but rather to descriptively show how different countries conduct this process. While Part II makes some determinations about which commissions may conceptually …

Toward The Anthropology Of White Nationalist Postracialism: Comments Inspired By Hall, Goldstein, And Ingram’S “The Hands Of Donald Trump”, Jeff Maskovsky

Publications and Research

This article explains Donald Trump’s brutal political effectiveness in terms of his white nationalist appeal. It locates the intellectual, popular, and policy imperatives of Trumpism in a new form of racial politics that I am calling white nationalist postracialism. This is a paradoxical politics of twenty-first-century white racial resentment whose proponents seek to do two contradictory things: to reclaim the nation for white Americans while also denying an ideological investment in white supremacy. The article shows how Trump’s excoriation of political correctness, his nostalgia for the post–WWII industrial economy, his use of hand gestures, and his public speaking about race …

A Grand Game: Sino-American Relations In The 21st Century, Cameron Mccauley

Student Works

This paper provides an overview and analysis of Sino-American relations, focusing primarily on the South China Sea and the implications of China’s rise on both the region and US national security. International relations theory provides the framework for the analysis and multiple viewpoints are included. This paper draws attention to the importance of properly understanding China’s ambitions in order to prevent a war in the Pacific. While not inevitable, the potential for conflict is addressed and likely scenarios are included. This paper concludes with a quick look at how the Trump administration’s policies could affect the turbulent balance of power …

A Fortuitous Hegemon: Cold War Presidential Foreign Policies, Benjamin Bowles

Senior Honors Theses

Following the Cold War, the United States attained the pinnacle of global influence; however, new threats and challenges have arisen that possess the potential to unseat America from its position of global dominance. While the United States’ global power has remained unchallenged since the end of the Cold War, threats have formed that take the form of both maverick upstart nations, such as Iran and China, as well as foreign powers that are clamoring to retain the status of their former glory, such as Russia. In plotting the course with which the United States should address these new threats, an …

The Challenges Of Gaming For Democratic Education: The Case Of Icivics, Jeremy D. Stoddard, Angela M. Banks, Christine L. Nemacheck, Elizabeth Wenska

Faculty Publications

Video games are the most recent technological advancement to be viewed as an educational panacea and a force for democracy. However, this medium has particular affordances and constraints as a tool for democratic education in educational environments. This paper presents results from a study of the design and content of four iCivics games and their potential to meet the goals of democratic education. Specifically, we focus on the games as designed experiences, the nature and accuracy of the content, and the nature of intellectual engagement in the games. We find that the games, while easily accessible and aligned with standardized …

How Civility Works, Keith Bybee

Institute for the Study of the Judiciary, Politics, and the Media at Syracuse University

Is civility dead? Americans ask this question every election season, but their concern is hardly limited to political campaigns. Doubts about civility regularly arise in just about every aspect of American public life. Rudeness runs rampant. Our news media is saturated with aggressive bluster and vitriol. Our digital platforms teem with expressions of disrespect and trolls. Reflecting these conditions, surveys show that a significant majority of Americans believe we are living in an age of unusual anger and discord. Everywhere we look, there seems to be conflict and hostility, with shared respect and consideration nowhere to be found. In a …

Beyond Density & Diversity: Understanding The Socio-Cultural Geography Of Contemporary Presidential Elections, David F. Damore, Robert E. Lang

Brookings Mountain West Publications

In the aftermath of the 2012 presidential election, a good deal of commentary held that President Obama’s reelection resulted from the country’s changing demography and his overwhelming support among nonwhite voters residing in the country’s urban spaces. Less discussed was the fact that Republican Mitt Romney also carried many urbanized states with ethnically and racially diverse populations and that President Obama would not have been reelected without securing the Electoral Votes of a number of rural states with large white populations. In this paper, we argue that the combination of educated populations and a socio-cultural construct we call northernness allow …

Commentary: What It Means To Be A Citizen, Allen C. Guelzo

Civil War Era Studies Faculty Publications

It was one of the great shocks of my life, and it came early. In fifth-grade government class. Though I can't remember much else that we learned then, a detail in Article 1, Section 2, of the Constitution reached out and grabbed me like the hound of the Baskervilles: "No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President." [excerpt]

Aspiring To An Odd Job: The American Vice Presidency, Jack Van Der Slik

Pro Rege

No abstract provided.

What Did The Supreme Court Decide About The Contraception Mandate?, Donald Roth

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"The main thrust of the Court’s opinion, then, is that it believes compromise might be possible."

Posting about ­­­­­­­­a recent Supreme Court decision from In All Things - an online hub committed to the claim that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has implications for the entire world.

http://inallthings.org/what-did-the-supreme-court-decide-about-the-contraception-mandate/

Race Representatives: Why Black Members Of Congress Matter, Shenika Mcdonald

Honors Theses

My research project consisted of examining 200 bills sponsored by six African American members of Congress during the Ninety-third Congress (1973-1975). These six members of Congress represented Chicago, Illinois; Detroit, Michigan; or New York, New York- three metropolitan cities with significant African American populations. This research emphasizes the importance of Black members of Congress to African Americans nationwide by highlighting the Congressional Black Caucus' formation and mission, examining the bills' key terms and public policy issues for racial implications, and consulting a variety of secondary source material that underscores the need for descriptive representation in the Black community. The primary …

The Dis-United States Of Liminality: The Trump Campaign Spectacle, Joan Davison

Faculty Publications

Americans are experiencing difficult challenges during the US transition away from decades of relative primacy and prosperity. The fact is that globalization, technology, and waning unipolarity differentially impact people, with certain groups disproportionately disadvantaged. These individuals encounter diminishing likelihood of upward mobility and flagging social status. The situation and its consequences can be understood as a liminal condition in which individuals and groups transition to another identity. During this precarious time, people often embrace manipulative politicians, or tricksters, who theatricalize the circumstances, distort the real source of difficulties, and offer fixes that demonize others. Donald Trump now performs as the …

The Sweep Of The Modern Gender Gap: Is Britain Next?, Maxine Lopes

Political Analysis

No abstract provided.

The Power Of Ideas In Politics: Social Constructivism And Obama’S Foreign Policy In Iraq, Courtney Kayser

Political Analysis

No abstract provided.

Westerman, Robert V., B. 1948 - Collector (Sc 2905), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 2905. Letters to Leonard Burchfield, Louisville, Kentucky, from Representative William O. Cowger (3^rd District, Kentucky) and from Representative-elect Gene Snyder thanking him for his assistance in their elections. Includes two postcards from Cowger, sent from Venezuela and Cambodia.

Millennial Identity Within The U.S. And India: Students' Identities And Role In Democracy, Diana K. Elhard, Bridget N. Barry, Justin M. Markon, Erin M. Kelso

Celebrating Scholarship & Creativity Day (2011-2017)

Research began in January, 2014 in Calcutta, India, in the peak of that country’s parliamentary campaign season. It also coincided with the beginning of the U.S. midterm election season. Our objective was to gauge the similarities and differences between political perceptions and engagement in Indian and U.S. college students. Our sample population included six students from each group; the Indian students were from St. Xavier’s College and U.S. students from CSB/SJU. This qualitative study focused on students’ own perception of how their political participation and role in democracy was affected by their local- and national-level identities.

Chinese, Russian, And U.S. Space Warfare And Defense Developments, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Creative Materials

Provides information on the historical development and evolution of Chinese, Russian, and U.S. military space programs from 1985-2015. Places particular emphasis on the multiple U.S. Government agencies involved in military space programs.

Asian American Congressional Representation, Christine Kim

Featured Research

While studies have researched substantive representation of other minority groups, this paper is the first to examine Asian American congressional representation. I ask two questions. First do Asian American legislators vote differently on roll call votes than other members of their party? Second, do Asian American constituents get less of what they want from government compared to White American? I use a quantitative analysis to answer both of these questions. First, I examine the interest group scores of Asian American legislators compared to other legislators from the same political party to determine whether Asian American legislators tend to vote differently. …

Coming In From The Cold: Recommendations For United States Arctic Policy, Aseem Chipalkatti

CMC Senior Theses

The purpose of this policy report is to elucidate the current Arctic strategies and capabilities of the major Arctic nations – Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia, and the United States – with the aim of identifying American shortcomings in the region and potential policy suggestions to correct these failings. The report first illuminates the potential for resource gain in the Arctic, specifically with respect to oil and natural gas and the potential for commercial growth represented by new Arctic shipping routes. The report also discusses the difficulties associated with reaping the rewards of the Arctic, specifically the lack of maritime infrastructure, …

The Voting Rights In Winter: The Death Of A Superstatute, Guy-Uriel Charles, Luis Fuentes-Rohwer

Faculty Scholarship

The Voting Rights Act (“VRA”), the most successful civil rights statute in American history, is dying. In the recent Shelby County decision, the U.S. Supreme Court signaled that the anti-discrimination model, long understood as the basis for the VRA as originally enacted, is no longer the best way to understand today’s voting rights questions. As a result, voting rights activists need to face up to the fact that voting rights law and policy are at a critical moment of transition. It is likely the case that the superstatute we once knew as the VRA is no more and is never …

Transparency Rules In U.S. Elections Need Updating To Reflect 21st Century Realities, Rebecca Green

Popular Media

No abstract provided.

China's Nine-Dashed Map: Maritime Source Of Geopolitical Tension, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

The South China Sea (SCS) is becoming an increasingly contentious source of geopolitical tension due to its significance as an international trade route, possessor of potentially significant oil and natural gas resources, China’s increasing diplomatic and military assertiveness, and the U.S.’ recent and ongoing Pacific Pivot strategy. Countries as varied as China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia and other adjacent countries have claims on this region’s islands and natural resources. China has been particularly assertive in asserting its SCS claims by creating a nine-dash line map claiming to give it de facto maritime control over this entire region without regard to …

U.S. - Asean Organized Crime Cooperation As Part Of Washington's Rebalancing Policy Toward The Asia-Pacific, Tuan Anh Luc

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This research addresses the reasons why the United States of America (U.S.) has been involving in the effort of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to combat transnational organized crime. The author argues that Washington has been doing so because: first, it wants to prevent and suppress negative influences of Southeast Asian organized crime and protect national interests; second, it wants to increase regional capabilities, sometimes at the Association's request, and narrow differences so as to effectively deal with transnational organized crime; and third, it wants to justify its presence in the region and pave the way …

The American Presidency, University Of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign

Democracy/Government

Bibliography and photographs of a display of government documents from the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign.

Un Análisis Comparativo Sobre Las Políticas Migratorias De Alemania, Argentina Y Los Estados Unidos, Jessica O. Garcia

CMC Senior Theses

Este papel tratará y comparará las experiencias migratorias de Alemania y Argentina, para así entender la política migratoria de los Estados Unidos. ¿Pero que tienen que ver las políticas migratorias de Alemania y Argentina con la política migratoria de los Estados Unidos? Los Estados Unidos se encuentra en el “fork in the road” proverbial en cuanto a la política migratoria. Desde este punto hay muchas voces dentro del discurso sobre la política migratoria. Estos discursos enfatizan diferentes aspecto sobre las migraciones desde quienes pueden y deberían inmigrar, hasta como es que se debe de integrar el inmigrante. Voy a profundizar …

Containment And The Shah: How Eisenhower And The Cia Brought Down Democracy And Encouraged Corrupt Leadership In Iran, Ellie Holliday

Ex-Patt Magazine

U.S. relations with Iran are beginning to thaw. Why were they frozen to begin with?

Government And Politics Newsletter, Issue 9, Sacred Heart University

Government and Politics Newsletter

No abstract provided.

The 2002 National Security Strategy: The Foundation Of A Doctrine Of Preemption, Prevention, Or Anticipatory Action, Troy Lorenzo Ewing

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, initiated a strategic shift in American national security policy. For the United States, terrorism was no longer a distant phenomenon visited upon faraway regions; it had come to America with stark brutality.1 Consequently, the administration of President George W. Bush sought to advance a security strategy to counter the proliferating threat of terrorism.

The ensuing 2002 National Security Strategy articulated the willingness of the United States to oppose terrorists, and rogue nation-states by merging the strategies of "preemptive" and "preventive" warfare into an unprecedented strategy of "anticipatory action," known as the Doctrine of …