Comparative Politics Commons^™

Identifying Intangible And Biocultural Heritage Elements Toward Environmental Understanding: Engaging Stakeholders Through Art, Martha B. Lerski

Publications and Research

Grounded in a case study in Barbuda in the Caribbean, this research examines sustainability from the perspective of what arts and heritage can contribute to community engagement and local and broader understandings about the environment. This article documents a growing body of literature recognizing the role of arts and culture, including local knowledge and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), in climate change endeavors. Art and TEK present expansive world views. Contextual information situates research done on the island of Barbuda pre- and post-Hurricane Irma. Visual arts workshops engaged community members in mixed methods research. Results documented cultural elements, particularly intangible and …

The Woman Question And State Feminism: Gender, Power, And Modernity In Pahlavi Iran, Maire Claire Dubard

Scripps Senior Theses

In 20th century Pahlavi Iran, Reza Shah and Mohammad Reza Shah instrumentalized the ‘woman question’ — women’s political, economic, and professional roles in a changing society — to consolidate their power and promote a modern state. Reza Shah utilized top-down and coercive reforms, including veiling and education, to strengthen his power, weaken religious influence, and create a visible national identity. In contrast, his son, Mohammad Reza Shah, instrumentalized gender issues and tied women’s rights to his personal image of progressivism. Though it can be argued that all of their reforms supported gender equality, they were implemented, in fact, with the …

Securitization Of African Migrants In Europe And North America, Chick Edmond

Political Science & Geography Faculty Publications

The securitization of African migrants in Europe and North America refers to the framing of immigrants as an existential security threat rather than a socioeconomic or humanitarian concerns. This discourse driven by political rhetoric, media narratives, and policy measures, often depict African migrants as risks to national security, cultural identity, and economic stability. Governments in host countries employ stringent border controls, detention and deportation policies often justified by counterterrorism and crime prevention frameworks. However, critics argue that securitization exacerbates xenophobia, violates human rights, and fails to address root causes of migration, such as conflict, poverty, and climate change. This paper …

Scaling Social Impact Bonds In The United States: Barriers, Incentives, And Policy Solutions, Angelique M. Rivanis

CMC Senior Theses

Social Impact Bonds (SIBs) are a form of outcomes-based financing that fund social programs by shifting financial risk from the government to private investors. While SIBs have gained international traction, their long-term viability in the United States depends on structural reforms. This thesis examines two completed U.S. SIB projects, Rikers Island in New York and the Just-in-Reach project in Los Angeles, through an analysis of their design, implementation, and outcomes. While both projects focus on criminal justice, they provide context about the scalability of SIBs across multiple social policy areas.The three primary constraints are high transaction costs, limited investor interest, …

Digital Orthodoxy And Political Populism In Eastern Europe: How Orthodox Media Facilitate Political Mobilization, Dmytro Garaschuk, Oleh Sokolovskyi

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This article examines the intersection of Orthodox digital media and political populism in Eastern Europe, focusing on how religious institutions utilize digital platforms to facilitate political mobilization, reinforce nationalistic narratives, and undermine democratic institutions. Drawing on a comparative analysis of six countries–Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Georgia, and Montenegro–the study identifies a shared ideological matrix that fuses populist rhetoric with theological motifs. The research highlights the strategic use of digital media by Orthodox actors to construct moral binaries, sacralize political resistance, and disseminate disinformation framed in religious language. Particular attention is given to the role of the Russian Orthodox Church and …

Application Of Machine Learning And Natural Language Processing To Understand The Partisan Mobilization Of Ethnic Minorities, Ani Tepnadze

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation explores how competing interests across secondary dimensions of identity shape marginalized groups' capacity to institutionalize their grievances, particularly ethnic minorities. More specifically, I explore two mechanisms, intragroup cohesiveness and distinctiveness, as a driving force of grievance mobilization. This research is interdisciplinary, drawing on theories from political sociology, political communications, and computational social science. I examine the question of ethnic group particization in two stages. In the first stage, I developed an original machine learning pipeline to process large text corpora and identify the indicators of the strength of collective ethnic grievances in online group discussions. In the second …

Equal For Whom?: An Analysis Of Multicultural Policies In Norway And The Us Through The Lens Of Immigrant Unemployment, Jodie Boisvert

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

Norway and the United States boast diverse and equal societies. Both have attempted to implement multicultural policies to facilitate immigrants' integration into the host society. Engaging with the theories of racism, xenophobia, and multiculturalism, this paper analyzes the immigrant unemployment outcomes from Norway and the United States from 2015-2020 to identify patterns and anticipate causal relationships from these patterns. Standardized data from both countries show that immigrants from Global South countries have far worse employment outcomes than immigrants from Global North countries. The xenophobic and racist histories of both countries could explain this. This paper analyzes the multicultural policies of …

Strategic Governance To “Silence The Guns” In Africa: Urban Sub-Saharan African Perceptions On War's Root Causes., Peter Tresor Miyalou, Chun Yan Hu

Journal of African Conflicts and Peace Studies

Despite the African Union’s campaign to silence the guns in Africa by 2020 (STGIA 2020), many African countries are suffering from wars and political instability, the primary causes of underdevelopment in Africa. This paper examines the roots causes of wars in Africa and provide a strategic governance to silence the guns beyond 2020. To accomplish this, we gathered data from 169 questionnaire responses administered across 25 African countries, to capture African people’s perceptions on the root causes of wars and whether employing strategic governance would help silence the guns in these countries. The results showed that political power struggle (47.9%), …

Social Contact As A Conditional Factor On The Effects Of Disclosing An Invisible Identity: The Case Of Zainichi Koreans, Kai Timothy Zhou

Quantitative Social Science Undergraduate Senior Theses

This study provides empirical evidence for the existence of hiring discrimination against Zainichi Koreans, an ethnic minority group in Japan with an “invisible” identity. Using a conjoint survey experiment conducted in the Kansai region of Japan, Japanese citizens were found to strongly prefer ethnically Japanese job applicants over Zainichi Korean applicants. However, this discriminatory preference was less pronounced when Zainichi applicants used Japanese pseudonyms rather than ethnic Korean names, suggesting concealing an invisible identity can mitigate discrimination. The results also demonstrate a conditional effect of intergroup social contact on discriminatory attitudes. Respondents with high self-reported contact with Zainichi Koreans were …

Labors Of Love And Loss: Exploring Relationships In Remitting Latine-American Families, Sequoyah Sv Hilton

Master's Theses

This paper examines the impact remittances have in Latin-American families across borders through qualitative interviews. Remittances, or international transfers of money, are a common support strategy of global migrant communities. There are divergent opinions on remittances, either positioning them as a great potential for developing lower and middle-income countries, or critiquing them as too heavily depended on by states and created as a survival support mechanism by communities to compensate for state neglect. While they are a massive cash flow at the international level, there is a greater need to blend analyses of remittances at the international level at the …

Governance And Islam In East Africa: Muslims And The State In Kenya And Tanzania, Farouk Topan, Kai Kresse, Erin E. Stiles, Hassan Mwakimako

Exploring Muslim Contexts

Explores the relationship between Muslim communities and the State in East Africa in political, institutional and legal contexts

• Focuses on the relationship between Muslims and the State in Kenya and Tanzania
• Asks which factors, both within and outside the Muslim community, shape and affect this relationship in contemporary times
• Presents 13 case studies exploring governance issues within and across the categories of politics, institutions and law in Kenya and Tanzania
• Identifies cross-cutting issues of governance and Muslim communities which are relevant beyond East Africa

Recent studies of Muslims in Kenya and Tanzania have tended either to examine governance of Muslims …

Global Criminal Justice Practices And Public Safety, Rachel Hwang

Posters-at-the-Capitol

Popular political discourse in the U.S. assumes that more funding for law enforcement and prison facilities will make civilians safer, presumably by reducing crime and sense of disorder. However, studies have shown that the relationship between these factors may not be as straightforward. With the killing of George Floyd and increased media coverage of police brutality, existing literature focuses mainly on the relationship between police and crime in the U.S. The impact of incarceration (the result of procedural justice) on the community (for whom procedural justice exists) is less known, especially on a global scale. We argue that cycling people …

Data To Disinformation Navigating Fake News & Statistical Manipulation On Social Media, Mason Mcilwain

ENGS 15.11: Design and Education

Over the past decade, concerns about "fake news" and information accuracy have surged. Social media has become a primary source of news and information, especially among younger demographics. While offering numerous advantages, these platforms are often filled with errors and present information through personalized lenses, highlighting the need for conscious consumption and critical thinking when interpreting the meaning of a post. This lesson will utilize lectures, case studies, think pair share, and Socratic discussions.

This lesson can be a stand-alone lesson to increase student awareness of news consumption on social media.

It could also be part of a broader curriculum …

Religious Symbolism In Rhetoric Of Right Populist Parties, Serhii Kostiuchkov, Dmytro Garaschuk, Viacheslav Serhieiev, Kateryna Volkova

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This article explores the use of religious symbolism in the populist rhetoric of Poland's Law and Justice (PiS) party and Hungary's Fidesz party. Both parties leverage historical and cultural narratives emphasizing Christianity's role in their national identities to legitimize their political agendas and mobilize support. The study examines how these populist leaders incorporate religious imagery and language to create a moral dichotomy between the “righteous people” and the “corrupt elite,” thereby deepening societal divisions and undermining democratic governance. In Poland, the PiS party's close alignment with the Catholic Church reinforces its nationalist and anti-EU stance, while in Hungary, Fidesz employs …

Identifying Youth Appeals In Alcohol Alternative Social Media Content Through Framing, Melina Oneal

West Chester University Master’s Theses

Proposed regulations for alcohol advertising prevent beverage companies from targeting people under the legal drinking age. However, similar regulations for alcohol alternative beverages are less explored, which could allow alcohol alternative products to create awareness for alcoholic beverages among youth. Alcohol alternatives beverages, including no-alcohol and low-alcohol products, are increasing in popularity and can function as compliments to alcoholic products to decrease the total alcohol volume consumed or as substitutes for alcoholic products. Framing theory can be operationalized through the Content Appealing to Youth Index, an index of content elements found in research literature to be appealing to youth, to …

The Female Force: Gender Salience And Political Interests In The 2011 Tunisian Revolution, Katherine Meagor

Scripps Senior Theses

To acknowledge the role of women and their rights in Tunisian society, the 2011 Tunisian Revolution offers a case study for the multi-faceted dimensions of political movements that affect civil society. With the understanding that women exercised political agency differently and were affected by the changing political opportunity structure, this study aims to address the following questions: how did women navigate their female gender identity and political interests during the 2011 Tunisian Revolution? How did gender identity affect female participation during the Revolution? How did the Revolution prompt activism among women? How did the intersection of various identities contribute to …

Exploring The Factors That Influence Female Offending In The U.S. And Mexico, Dana Villasenor

CMC Senior Theses

Hollywood has painted a picture of the criminal woman as a sexy, sneaky, and often psychotic female fatale. This is because men run Hollywood. Much like movies, research on why women offend had historically focused on men as their stellar. However, towards the turn of the century and with the disproportionate rise in female incarceration, literature caught up to the fact that women and men do not experience the same socialization, standards, or reality and, therefore, have different reasons for and ways of offending. This research explores those reasons for women in the U.S. and Mexico and paints the picture …

Intersectionality Analysis Of The Impact Of Anti-Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting Policies In Indonesia And Egypt, Nadiah Atsil Gustina, Laras Ayu Nareswari

Jurnal Politik

Indonesia and Egypt are the two countries with the highest prevalence rates of Female Genital Mutilation / Cutting (FGM/C) in the world. Several policies have been issued in order to reduce the number of cases of female circumcision, but they have not shown significant results. Therefore, the authors want to explain why the implementation of the anti-FGM/C policy has not succeeded in reducing the number of female circumcisions in Indonesia and Egypt. The authors argue that the leading cause of these problems is that the anti-FGM/C policies in both countries neglect the socio-cultural aspects of society, and both countries share …

The Promise Of Universalism Deferred: Political Economy Of Social Policy In 21st Century Latin America, Juan C. Ferre

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In the first decade and half of the 21st century, most Latin American countries experienced a long-overdue reduction in income inequalities and significant social policy expansion. While this welfare expansion has been widely documented, scholars have paid less attention to the persistent or increasing segmentation: inequalities in transfers and in the quality of services across population groups continued unabated. This dissertation employs mixed-methods to respond to the following questions: have governments in Latin America, and Left governments in particular, made significant progress toward universal social policy?

For 17 Latin American countries in the period 2000-2020, I measure three dimensions …

Historical Trauma: Literary And Testimonial Responses To Hiroshima, Mariam Ghonim

Theses and Dissertations

The concept of trauma is controversial in literature. While one may be able to come up with ways to describe trauma in fiction, representing historical trauma is a hard task for writers. Some argue that trauma can not be described through those who did not experience it, while others claim that, provided some elements are added, one can represent trauma to the reader. This thesis focuses on twentieth-century historical traumas related to a nuclear catastrophe and explores the different literary and testimonial responses to the catastrophic man-made event of Hiroshima (1945). In this thesis, Kathleen Burkinshaw’s historical fiction The Last …

Dialoguing Narratives Of Social Movement Theories And Subjectivities, Sarra Moneir

Future Journal of Social Science

This paper serves as a theoretical study for displaying a sample of the prime literature on social movement theories in comparison with one another, shedding light on the gaps and fundamental contributions. This will be carried out in comparison to the scholarship on subjectivity. Social movement and social movement theories have been inevitable tools of analysis since primarily the 1980s, serving as replacements for modes of apprehending popular mobilization. Since then, theoretical contributions in this field have grown and shown a multitude of orientations and focal strategies on how to focus and study social movements in their various forms and …

The Punitive Laboratory Of Neoliberalism: A Cross-National Examination, Beth A. Fera

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

A large body of research has been produced to explain global punitive trends in recent decades. Neoliberalism, an economic philosophy expressed by market deregulation, privatization, and the retrenchment of social supports, has been offered as an explanation for increases in cross-national punitiveness. According to neoliberal penality theory, neoliberalism has shifted principles guiding punishment practices and the treatment of offenders, which has resulted in harsher national responses to crime. However, many tenets of this theory have not yet been tested empirically. Drawing heavily on propositions from neoliberal penality, group-threat, and penal populism literature, this dissertation examines the relationship between economic shifts, …

Tourism's Power To Promote Peacebuilding In Post-Conflict Societies - A Northern Ireland Case Study, Margaret Walker

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the capacity of tourism to promote peacebuilding in post-conflict societies, specifically focusing on Northern Ireland. This study assesses the current state of conflict tourism in Northern Ireland by analyzing two tourist sites and considering variables that may impact peacebuilding in the greater Northern Ireland community. It measures the success of the Northern Ireland approach by comparing the effects of tourism in other post-conflict and conflict societies. This study culminates with the presentation of certain strategies that Northern Ireland should implement to positively impact peacebuilding through tourism. Curators must portray history in a balanced, sensitive manner that avoids …

Review Of Social Movements: The Structure Of Collective Mobilization, Sachal Jacob

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Review Of Political Invisibility And Mobilization: Women Against State Violence In Argentina, Yugoslavia, And Liberia, Marian Azab

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Review Of Shia Islam And Politics: Iran, Iraq, And Lebanon, Christopher Anzalone

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Cardinal Cahal Daly: A Vatican Ii Bishop Seeking The Kingdom Of God, Maria Power

The Journal of Social Encounters

Cardinal Cahal Daly (1917-2009) was the only member of the Catholic hierarchy in Ireland to hold office from the beginning of the conflict there in 1969 to the paramilitary ceasefires in 1996. He was well known for his pronouncements on the causes of the conflict and his use of Catholic social teaching to offer solutions. Political structures have played a key role in stabilising Northern Ireland since 1998 and Daly used Catholic concepts of democracy and statecraft to explore alternative possible futures for Northern Ireland in the years prior to their implementation. This article will show how much of his …

Peace Bishops: Ugandan Catholic Archbishop John Baptist Odama, John Ashworth

The Journal of Social Encounters

Archbishop John Baptist Odama of the Archdiocese of Gulu is widely known for his courageous efforts to bring an end to the Lord's Resistance Army conflict in northern Uganda through the interfaith Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative, and increasingly for his participation in the Catholic Nonviolence Initiative and his willingness to share his experience with others. This essay explores not only these aspects of his life, but also earlier influences and experiences of ministry which helped to form him as a “peace bishop” who values the life and dignity of a human being above everything.

‘No Longer A European Export’: How The Church Became Truly Global, John T. Mcgreevy

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Discrimination On The Basis Of Nationality Under The Convention On The Elimination Of Racial Discrimination, William Thomas Worster

Pace International Law Review

Following a recent judgment by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), a divergence has opened between the Court and the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD Committee) over whether the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) covers nationality-based discrimination. The ICJ held that the CERD does not, but the CERD Committee had previously held the opposite. The solution to this difference is to recognize that the CERD excludes discrimination between citizens and aliens, and, in this, the ICJ was correct. However, this discrimination is distinct from discrimination between foreign persons on the basis …