American Politics Commons^™

Thawing Interests: The Arctic In U.S. Grand Strategy, Benjamin S. Murray

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The thawing Arctic is subject to increasing activity, attention, and a renewal of interests in the region from around the globe. National interests have compelled strategic planning in the Arctic region and are connected to global geopolitics. A concept of grand strategy is distilled from theories of past authors, understood within the modern context. That concept includes a terminological framework consisting of interests and threats to inform an ends, ways, and means design of strategy, composed of all instruments of state power, blending policy with strategy, and across the peace-war continuum. Then fundamental precepts of existing U.S. grand strategy are …

Political Polarization In College Students, David Franks

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Political engagement in the United States has been increasing over the last several years and with it a seeming rise in political polarization. Specifically, recent research supports that there has been a significant increase in affective polarization, which is characterized by strong negative emotions and impressions of one’s political opponents. Political science surveys have found that individuals rate their political opponents as being less intelligent and more selfish in recent years and individuals open to inter-party marriages have drastically declined in recent years compared to decades past. This study explored the relationship of personality, as understood in the Big Five …

Odd Bedfellows & Marriage Of Necessity: Public Health And Politics In American Federalism, Gabriella Victoria Chianese

Honors Theses and Capstones

In the wake of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, while the public disagrees over mask mandates, required vaccinations, and social distancing, it seems like one common sentiment exists – a distaste for the odd bedfellows of politics and public health. There are those who cry for the compartmentalization of the science of public health and the art of politics to rectify this situation. In the wake of so much confusion and chaos, it is not unjustified to demand the depoliticization of public health; however, this response is unrealistic given the modern political climate, demonstrates a narrow understanding of the …

Moving In The Underground: The Politics Of Black Joy In Roller-Skating And Funk Music In Chicago, John West

Pomona Senior Theses

Skating provides a moment of limited protection from the dangers of being Black in the after-life of slavery. Skating provides a way to temporarily escape the pain of the outside that is depicted above. The pain of a modern post-racial colorblind slave society. A society plagued with hyper-surveillance, mass incarceration, and domestic militarism targeted at Black and Brown bodies. Our joy and pleasure are what sustain us. We turn to jubilee to offer a moment of freedom from the burden of racial capitalism. Subversive Black joy, the joy that allows Black folk to restore, recreate, and reinvent themselves is how …

Anti-Queer Policy As It Translates To Violence Against The Lgbt Community, Kendall Bush

Honors Theses and Capstones

In recent years, the amount of anti-LGBT policy introduced is rapidly increasing (ACLU, 2023). Contemporary policy focuses mainly on queer youth and gender identity, attacking gender-affirming health care and limiting LGBT discussions in public schools. Although these policies are particularly insidious, they follow a trend of queer persecution in the United States. Within federal policy and across state legislation, the panopticon of anti-LGBT policy ensures that queer bodies are policed and monitored. This paper posits that the increase in anti-queer policy translates to an increase in experiences of external and indirect violence. Based on findings from the UCR and various …

Welcome Visitor Or Nosy Neighbor: Executive Branch Presence In Federal And State Judicial Affairs, Audrey Baricovich

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

Interaction and overlap between branches of government in a separation of powers system is important for maintaining the checks and balances central to democracy. In this dissertation, I examine the effects of executive and judicial branch interaction. This work meaningfully contributes to our understanding of the nature and impacts of executive branch presence in judicial affairs.

In the first chapter, I look at perceptions of presidential influence in Supreme Court justices’ decision-making process. I analyze a national representative survey to examine the conditions under which respondents are willing to credit the president with influence over the decision-making process at the …

Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind: An Exploration Of Wastewater Issues And Possible Solutions In And Out Of Montana, Keely I. Larson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Larson, Keely, M.A., Spring 2023

Major:Environmental and Natural Resources Journalism

Out of sight, out of mind: An exploration of wastewater issues and possible solutions in and out of Montana

Chairperson: Dennis Swibold

Co-Chairpersons: Nadia White, Sarah Halvorson

This is a master’s project, featuring three stories, linked in theme. The first starts with a nationally scoped story about septic systems in resort towns and what happens when too many people want to visit areas like Cape Cod, the Florida Keys or, more locally, Seeley Lake, and overwhelm waste disposal methods. Often in these areas that are more remote, septic systems …

The Normalization Of Sin, Maiya Groff

Capstone Showcase

This paper discusses the normalization of sin, specifically sex work. One question that emerges is how do some behaviors come to be seen as sinful, and then once those behaviors are accepted as sinful, how do they become normalized (ie., become socially acceptable again)? After identifying a gap in the existing literature pertaining to the lack of acknowledgement for the role of institutions in driving change, I seek to fill that gap by using pattern-matching to determine how closely aligned sex work is to the phases of Normalization Process Theory. Ultimately, I am expecting to find that, according to the …

The Role Of Symbolic Politics In Shaping Political Attitudes: A Study Of Trump And Biden's Campaign Speeches, Nimra Asif

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

In this study, five speeches by Donald Trump and six by Joe Biden were comprehensively analyzed for their symbolic politics on immigration and social issues. The data revealed a consistent trend, with Trump featuring a greater number of mentions in comparison to Biden—66 and 26, respectively. Furthermore, Trump's symbolic politics exhibited a predominantly negative tone, while Biden's approach was predominantly positive. The results of this analysis confirm my hypotheses, highlighting notable disparities in the rhetoric employed by each candidate. Trump amplified a negative outlook on social issues and immigration, whereas Biden strategically mentioned and positively framed these issues. This research …

The Legacies Of Exclusion: Asian Americans And The California Voting Rights Act, Melinda Ximen

CMC Senior Theses

A quiet revolution has spread throughout California. Since the California Voting Rights Act became law in 2001, 170 cities have transitioned from at-large to by-district elections, where voters in a geographic district elect one city council member. This thesis evaluates the effectiveness of the California Voting Rights Act on Asian American political participation and representation in local elections.

I begin by tracing the roots of discrimination against Asian immigrants and exploring the construction of the pan-Asian identity. I examine the legacies of exclusion on Asian political participation and representation in political offices. I analyze Section 2 of the Voting Rights …

A Review Examining How The Republican Party Can Win Key Electoral Votes In Georgia And North Carolina, Kyle Ballack

CMC Senior Theses

Given the importance of the 2024 presidential election for the Republican Party, it is imperative that they are able to win the 32 combined electoral votes from the states of Georgia and North Carolina. In order to determine the best strategy for the Republican Party to employ, this paper will first examine voting behavior theories that explain recent voting trends among the United States electorate as a whole. Next, it will focus on the political history of the American South in order to explain recent voting trends in the area. The next two sections will focus on the historical and …

Conceptual Metaphor Usage In Glenn Youngkin’S 2021 Gubernatorial Campaign, Sara Rose Hotaling

Political Science & Geography Faculty Publications

In “Conceptual Metaphor in Everyday Language,” Lakoff and Johnson suggest that conceptual metaphors pervade everyday language and produce the reality of our world. Conceptual metaphors act similarly within the occupational register of political campaigns in that they both support and construct a set of beliefs that become the reality of politicians, political parties, and constituents. In this language research, the conceptual metaphors employed by Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin during his 2021 gubernatorial campaign were identified, analyzed, and categorized. The corpus of this research consists of two gubernatorial debates, three campaign speeches, and one television interview. An example of conceptual metaphor …

Constructing The Supreme Court: How Race, Ethnicity, And Gender Have Affected Presidential Selection And Senate Confirmation Hearings, Christina L. Boyd, Paul M. Collins Jr., Lori A. Ringhand, Karson A. Pennington

Scholarship@WashULaw

In February 2022, President Joseph Biden announced his nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve as an associate justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. In doing so, he said this: “For too long, our government, our courts haven’t looked like America. And I believe it’s time that we have a Court that reflects the full talents and greatness of our nation with a nominee of extraordinary qualifications and that we inspire all young people to believe that they can one day serve their country at the highest level.” In the following days, Jackson’s nomination was discussed with enthusiasm, much like …

An Examination Of Transitioning Meso-Institutions And Markets In The Landscape Of American Politics, Devin Thomas Marconi

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This paper bridges the gap in the literature between sociological accounts of market actors provided by Mark Granovetter and Douglas North, meso-institutional examinations of polarization provided by Paul Pierson and Eric Schickler, and the psychological exploration into cross-cutting identities provided by Liliana Mason. I argue that the nationalization and concentration of markets, identities, and politics have led to a transition within the meso-institution of the market from maintaining self-regulating punishment mechanisms to replacing them with self-reinforcing mechanisms, exacerbating affective polarization. Previous works explore the transition within the meso-institutions of the media, interest groups, and political parties. I include the market …

Presidents And Media During Initial Federal-Level Hurricane Relief: A Study Of Presidential Crisis Communication Efforts, Emily A. Ball

Honors College Theses

Public relations serves a huge role in almost every sector, including politics. Crisis communication, a subset of public relations, is very important in a setting that constantly undergoes crises. The response to these crises matters a great deal on the federal level because the outcomes can affect such a wide variety of policies and even elections. Because of this, I wanted to focus on one type of crisis that every president is almost guaranteed to face: hurricanes. To examine the effectiveness of federal-level crisis communication, I look at Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden’s responses to the worst hurricane during their …

Less Meat, Less Heat: Analyzing Meat Consumption Through The Theory Of Planned Behavior, Identity, Past Behavior, And Conservatism, Madeleine Powers

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Meat reduction is a largely underutilized means of combatting climate change that warrants further investigation. The current study utilized an extended model of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to predict intention to eat red meat. In addition to traditional TPB components of attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control, this study adds to the literature by including meat-eating identity, past meat-eating behavior, and conservatism as predictors of meat consumption intentions. 744 participants were recruited via Mturk and compensated $1 for completing surveys assessing the extended TPB constructs related to meat consumption. The sample was 57% men, and 81% white, …

Supreme Court Legitimacy Under Threat? The Role Of Cues In How The Public Responds To Supreme Court Decisions., Laura Moyer, Scott S. Boddery, Jeff Yates, Lindsay Caudill

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Understanding how the public views the Court and its rulings is crucial to assessing its institutional stability. However, as scholars note, “People are broadly supportive of the court and believe in its ‘legitimacy’—that is, that Supreme Court rulings should be respected and followed. But we don’t know that much about whether people actually agree with the case outcomes themselves.” In this article, we highlight empirical research investigating the factors that affect public agreement with Court decisions, highlighting recent developments from our work. At the onset, it is to note that the public generally hears about the Court’s decisions from media …

A Guide For Our Times: Herbert Hoover's Critique Of Supreme Court Expansion, Matthew Chopp

Compass: An Undergraduate Journal of American Political Ideas

Former President Herbert Hoover’s critiques of FDR’s plan to expand the Supreme Court are useful for defending against contemporary calls to enlarge the composition of the Court, such as the Judiciary Act of 2021.

Critique Of Hayek's Liberalism And The Rule Of Law, Kacper Mykietyn

Compass: An Undergraduate Journal of American Political Ideas

In this paper, I raise a few doubts about the adequacy of Hayek's liberal theory and the rule of law in the twenty-first century. I argue that the theory 1) fails to be morally neutral by not giving proper attention to the harm experienced by the minorities, 2) does not acknowledge a satisfactory account for the exploitation of the working class, and 3) operates with a parochial definition of freedom.

Liberating The Truth In Augustine’S Confessions And Douglass’ Narrative, Vincent Hanrahan

Compass: An Undergraduate Journal of American Political Ideas

In this paper, I explore how Frederick Douglass’ and St. Augustine's understanding of the corruption of God's word produced their respective achievement of freedom. In examining Augustine’s Confessions and Douglass’ Narrative, we come to understand the moral imperative of public service both thinkers promoted; the idea that individuals have a distinct social obligation to share their knowledge in a promotion of the greater good.

Unwilling Gamblers And Loaded Dice: Considering Recession And Crisis As A Natural Effect Of Financial Capitalism, Darlene N. Moorman

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

Under financial capitalism, ordinary people are increasingly becoming 'unwilling gamblers' of a risky and unstable system. This paper explores the social and institutional change behind the neoliberal movement and considers how the politics and policies of neoliberalism have contributed to a certain environment of financial instability. Looking at the changing nature of the economy, the rapid expansion of the financial sector, and the persisting issue of moral hazard underlying risky and speculative behaviors among other items, reveals a financial system in which recessions and crises can be considered a natural, although not inevitable, effect.

Political Rhetoric And The Media: The Year In C-Span Research, Volume 8, Robert X. Browning

The Year in C-SPAN Archives Research

This volume of The Year in C-SPAN Archives Research features analyses of the C-SPAN Video Library, a digital collection of 275,000 hours of indexed videos, texts, and spoken words. Included in this volume are papers on Rev. Jesse Jackson’s presidential campaign, rhetorical analysis of agriculture policy, and an examination of Senator Edward Kennedy’s positions on health care. The text also contains analysis of the “spectacle of committee hearings” and a look at the visuals used in the second Trump impeachment trial.

Man In The Arena: The Evolution Of The Executive Office, Jack Sandone

Honors Theses

Through an historical case study, this paper will answer the question: just how powerful has the presidency become? Has it really, through various tangible tools and the evolution of institutions, become a king-like figure, rising above the vaunted Legislative and Judicial Branches? The conclusion is this: based on the precedent of “prerogative,” a term to be explained and analyzed, presidents have been granted access to extraconstitutional actions that were not outside of the purview of the founding fathers. The usage of unilateral legislation, like the executive order, creates a surgeon’s knife of a political tool, allowing presidents to force legislation …

American Political Polarization, Kristin Leonard

Honors Theses

The United States has become politically polarized. Our political ideas have moved away from the political center and trend towards ends. Our high levels of party loyalty have opened the doors for extreme polarization. The push for party differentiation has seen the political elite widen the gap between their party ideas. The polarization of the elite has moved the parties and their voters further from the center. Television news promotes our political issues as partisan problems that villainize the other party. This leads viewers to push for further extreme ideas and to move away from the other side. The two-party …

The Future Of Universal Basic Income: The Impact Of Organizational Strategies On Alleviating Poverty And Maximizing Outcomes, Anna Mathews

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Universal basic income is gaining traction, with pilot programs being conducted all over the world. These programs are all organized differently, from their sources of funding to their eligibility criteria. This research draws correlations between organizational strategies of UBI programs and the outcomes their recipients experience. Specifically, it analyzes three contemporary UBI programs within the United States: the Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration (SEED), Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend (APFD), and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians per capita payments (EBCI). The research assesses the physical health, mental health, and economic outcomes of the participants in each case study, in order to …

Ideological Extremism, Conspiratorial Thought, And Support For Authoritarianism In The United States, Sophie N. Martino

Honors Theses

Since the nation’s founding, Americans have tended to take democracy for granted. People see democracy as a given, believing that adherence to democratic values will persist. However, in the past few election cycles, there has been a trend in support for authoritarianism in the United States – not just with political leaders and figures, but also with individuals susceptible to authoritarian values and signals. This thesis seeks to address this apparent threat of authoritarianism in the United States, delving into possible factors that play a role in the growing support for authoritarian attitudes among Americans. I believe that two phenomena …

The Symbolic Politics Of Same-Sex Marriage Legalization, Kaden Sinning

Honors Projects

In the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s landmark decision Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide, many commentators highlighted increasing resistance to the ruling. Some observed typical public backlash, but others noted targeted LGBTQ rights bills from state legislators. While much of the scholarly literature suggests that public backlash is short-lived and tends to resolve toward Supreme Court doctrine, less clear is the impact of state legislative efforts following judicial decisions. To help clarify this discrepancy, this research examines the effect of Obergefell on state bill proposals. I argue that Obergefell acts as a trigger for state legislators to …

American Attitudes Toward Nuclear Energy, Eric J. Kirchman

Honors Capstones

Despite the mature underlying technology behind nuclear energy production, public support varies widely among the American public and has often changed over time. This paper seeks to analyze patterns in Americans’ attitudes towards nuclear energy using aggregate polling data from previously collected national public surveys. Standard demographics such as age, education, and political affiliation are utilized in cross-sectional comparisons against public opinion. Males, conservatives and Republicans were found to have strong positive responses towards nuclear energy. Furthermore, time-series data indicates nuclear energy fell out of favor in the early 1980s. It was later favored again in the early 2000s. This …

The Fight For Equality: Black Lives Matter, Success, & Social Media, Metyia K. Phillips

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis strives to assess how social media has impacted the success of the Black Lives Matter movement. By conducting a survey between September 30th, 2022 - October 12th, 2022, respondents were asked questions to gauge their attitudes about the Black Lives Matter movement, social media usage, and the success of the movement. The results of the survey (n=571) in conjunction with a 2016 Pew Research Center survey (n=2,144) were used to evaluate how social media has impacted the success of the Black Lives Matter movement. The survey was taken by a nonrandom group of respondents because I distributed the …

America's 'Chinese Problem' In Southeast Asia And The Emergence Of The Domino Theory [Come Tessere Del Domino: Il Pericolo Comunista E La “Questione Cinese” Nel Sud-Est Asiatico Negli Anni Cinquanta], Wen-Qing (Wei Wenqing) Ngoei, Raimondo (Translator) Neironi

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

This essay traces how race thinking in US foreign policy, combined with war memories of Japanese imperialism in Southeast Asia, shaped American strategy toward the region and the rise of the domino theory in US Cold War ideas.