Comparative Politics Commons^™

Disembedded Liberalism: The Global Pressure On Democracy, Hallie Spear

CMC Senior Theses

The international political order is at a crossroads with divergent paths. Liberal democracy is once again threatened on the international stage. What's more troubling is that the most stable and influential democracies, the United States, those in Europe and India, seem to be vulnerable to the autocratic wave sweeping through the world. This thesis completes a critical analysis to understand the root causes of the recent disruption to democracy the world has observed. Focusing on three established, diverse, and populous democracies, this thesis investigates the economic conditions at play that made each nation vulnerable to populism. Neoliberal economic policies implemented …

The Xx Factor: The Influence Of Legislative Gender Parity On Migrant Integration Policy In The Eu Member States, Katherine Y. Kramer Gaines

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

Many European states have been affected by the so-called European migrant crisis of the 2010s. The UNHCR has said that focusing on integrating migrants is “the most relevant durable solution” for European Union member states. Policies can help pave the road to success for refugees and migrants alike in new, unfamiliar lands. Such policies are associated with migrants’ abilities to reunite with family, find jobs, receive healthcare and education, gain permanent residence and nationality, politically participate, evade discrimination, and fully integrate into the new society they reside in. Using a gender parity lens with cross-sectional, quantitative analysis, this research shows …

Where The Grass Is Greener: Comparing Green Party Success In National Parliamentary Elections And The 2019 European Parliamentary Election, Naomi Tilles

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

Why do Green parties perform better in European Parliament (EP) elections than in national parliament elections? Even in countries that use proportionally representative voting systems for both national and EP elections, many Green parties gained more than twice the proportion of EP seats in 2019 compared to the previous national election. Using national and EP election results, European Social Survey data, and Eurobarometer polling from the 2019 EP election, I test competing theories of Green party success. As EP voter issues become more salient and more voters believe that their vote matters to EU policy, I find that the “second-order …

America’S Presidential Crisis Of Legitimacy: How The Electoral College Became Obsolete And How We Can Fix It, Julia Rose Foodman

Scripps Senior Theses

The goal of this thesis is to critique the current American Presidential electoral system, the Electoral College, and to show what an alternative could potentially mean for the American people. This paper seeks to answer the following questions: What are the main arguments for the Electoral College, why are they troubling, and how can we mend American Presidential elections for the greater purposes of political equality, democracy, and freedom? To do so, core arguments made by conservative pundits in favor of the Electoral College are outlined in order to bring attention to their logical, political, and moral inconsistencies. The inequalities …

Ghosts Who Linger- How Dictators Retain Partial Legitimacy Post-Transition, Lillian Perlmutter

Scripps Senior Theses

In Chile and Italy, how did the dictators’ legacies withstand movements to break away from the dictatorial ideology and decades of political and social change? In other words, how did legislation drafted during the Pinochet regime in Chile withstand the deterioration of Pinochet’s public image in the years after the transition, and how did Mussolini’s cult of personality withstand the condemnation of his ideology and agenda in the post-war period in Italy? What is the mechanism that allows a dictator’s public persona to separate from his ideology or legislative record? I argue the mechanism that allowed portions of these dictators’ …

Regulating Cultural Expressions: A Comparative Case Study On Hair And Race In New York And South Africa, Michaela Shelton

Pomona Senior Theses

In the field of political science, there is an ongoing debate about the factors that determine political outcomes for disadvantaged groups. State governments in the United States have actively passed legislation to curb hair discrimination even though people of African descent are a minority. However, in South Africa, where people of African descent are a majority, neither the national government nor the provincial governments have passed legislation to curb hair discrimination cases. Why are the cultural rights of Black people being protected by legislation in the United States where Black people are a minority but not in South Africa where …

The Sri Lanka-China-India Triangle: A Regional Power Transition, Nandeeni Patel

CMC Senior Theses

In 2016, China became the largest importer of Sri Lanka goods and services, surpassing India. Since then, the Chinese government has signed significant trade, development, and security deals with the island nation. This thesis argues that Sri Lanka's domestic politics, centered around its decades-long civil war and consequent human rights concerns, have served as the crux of its triangular relations with two regional powers: India and China. The human rights issue, in tandem with Sri Lanka's agency as a small state, has drawn Sri Lanka to China. The China-Sri Lanka relationship and has now expanded to developing security and development …

Comparative Analysis Of Racist Implications Of The Welfare State In The U.S. Vs. U.K. Through Child Benefits, Furaha Njoroge

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis explores America’s narratives surrounding safety net, varying history of child benefits and welfare between the U.S and U.K., newfound research regarding England’s programs, implicit bias, and interviews and scholarly reports of relevant experts. By comparing the welfare states of both the U.S and the U.K, it is proven how racism is both deeply rooted in how citizens of both countries perceive safety nets, and has thus led to the exclusion of racial minorities in both welfare systems. Specifically, looking at child benefits, we can determine these negative impacts and policies erected which further oppress Black Americans, the Black …

Making The Connections: Gender Quotas, Representation, And Critical Mass In Latin America, Katherine O'Neill

CMC Senior Theses

Using Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico as case studies, this paper examines how women’s collaboration influences the effects of gender quotas on women’s representation. The efficacy of gender quotas in increasing the numerical representation of women and improving gender equality outcomes is well-researched, but questions remain about the precise linkages between the numerical representation of women and the substantive representation of women. This thesis analyzes previously identified linkages alongside actions by women’s organizations in national legislatures and civil society to better understand women’s roles as critical actors in making gender quotas successful. The findings suggest that women’s collaboration is crucial …

The Impact Of California Senate Bill 826 On Employee Perspectives And Stock Performance On California Tech Firms, Kimberly M. Kaneshina

Scripps Senior Theses

On September 30, 2018, California Senate Bill 826 (CA SB 826) was passed. This Bill requires a quota for women to serve on California headquartered and public corporate boards. This study focuses on California tech firms, which I define as firms that are reliant on technology to create their main product or platform; but, are not aerospace or telecommunication firms. My thesis is a two-part analysis: exploring employees’, who worked at companies that were impacted by this Bill, perspectives, as well as, discovering if there is a relationship between percentage of female directors and stock price performance. Most employees were …

Shutting Down Russia's Superiority Complex. An Analysis Of The International Community's Response To Russia's 2014 Annexation Of Crimea., Luisa Valles

CMC Senior Theses

The United States, the European Union and allies responded to the Russian Federation’s 2014 Annexation of Crimea with economic sanctions. After providing a basic understanding of Russia’s political economy and rent redistribution economic system, this paper supplies an overview of the Western sanctions within Russia’s three economic sectors — the energy industry, the defense industry, and the financial system. From there, I make an analysis of the Russian response to the sanctions is within each sector. Furthermore, I argue that the United States supports ulterior motives for implementing the economic sanctions. Concluding with the effects of the sanctions to Russia's …

Trickle Down Nationalism: Interactions Between Liberal Nationalism And Colonialism In The Raj And Nigeria, Aaryaman Sheoran

CMC Senior Theses

The combination of nationalism and colonialism has remained understudied in academia, despite the important interaction between the two phenomena. European ideas bled over into their colonial empires and began to fill the power vacuum created by colonial enterprises. This study analyzes the impact of British colonialism on the development of national identity in British India and Nigeria.

British influences included large scale economic disruption, cultural reform through ‘westernizing’ the population and abolishing local customs, and creating a new set of institutions to replace traditional power centers. Inevitably, these factors created a nationalist surge across both the Raj and Nigeria, as …

The Road To Human Emancipation - The Moral And Political Foundations Of Markets, William Shi

CMC Senior Theses

The thesis aims to provide both a real public ideology and the legal and socioeconomic structures to realize Karl Marx’s ideal of human emancipation. Marx argues that in capitalist society, the legal and political superstructure forces the ruling class to represent its interest as the public interest, which legitimizes the massive inequality in resources and social power. To demonstrate how to realize the substantive public interest, the two parts of the thesis have two goals. The first part aims to formulate a rightful candidate to the public ideology of human emancipation, which represents the substantive public interest rather than the …

“It’S The Procedure, Stupid!”: Amendment Procedures And Their Effects On Constitutional Stability, Joseph Noss

CMC Senior Theses

Constitutions must change. No human can stop time from marching forward, nor the social, economic, cultural, and technological developments associated. As a result, constitutions necessitate mechanisms that allow for their own progress. The amendment procedure of a constitution—the rules that govern what changes can occur—is therefore fundamental to any constitutional system. Importantly, scholars, politicians, and citizens alike fail to take into account the significance of these amendment processes and their effects on the constitutions they govern. While usually treated as a constitutional after-thought, amendment procedures have one of the most pronounced, substantive effects on the permanence of a constitutional order. …

Comparative Models In German Elections: Using The German Far-Right Party As A Proxy For Ethnic Conflict, Clay H. Parham

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

In 2017, the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) became the first the far-right party to win seats in the Bundestag since 1933. By campaigning on ethnic division, the AfD saw an unprecedented rise in support, especially in East Germany. This paper tests two models of ethnic conflict within comparative politics, primordialism and constructivism, to see which better explains the result of the AfD’s 2017 election. By examining the rhetorical use of political advertisements, the Manifesto Project’s analysis of the AfD’s platform, and differences of support between East and West Germany, the paper finds that constructivism better shows that highly-educated elites within …

Uneven Influence: Why Female Representation Affects Some Migration Policies But Not Others, Lauren M. Olsen

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

In the wake of the 2015 migration crisis, immigration policy has become one of the most critical topics of academic scholarship and political debate. Despite this prolific response, very little research has investigated how the gender of policymakers affects immigration policy. This raises an interesting question: is there any difference in immigration policy among countries with high and low numbers of female legislators? To investigate this matter, I use panel fixed-effects regression to systematically compare the immigration policies of the original EU-15 from 2000 to 2010. As a single policy area, I find female representation has no significant impact on …

The Finch Effect: Evolutionary Metaphors And Illiberal Democracy In Central And Eastern Europe, Abigail Woodfield

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

In recent years, several states in Central and Eastern Europe have seen democratic digression. Such illiberal resurgences came as a surprise to the many political scientists who assumed that the future of these states was democratic. Indeed, after the fall of the Soviet Union, the world largely regarded liberal democracy as the predominant system of government. The future seemed bright, and it was tempting to understand that future in evolutionary terms—just as humans evolved under natural selection to become the dominant species, democracy had survived a similar competition and defeated all other systems of government to become the dominant regime. …

Asserting Indigenous Identity To Substantiate Customary Forest Claims: A Case Study Of The Dayaks Of West Kalimantan, Indonesia, Charlotte Reinnoldt

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis examines Dayak identity constructions and how they have been and are currently being used to assert customary land rights in forested areas of West Kalimantan, Indonesia. The Indonesian state has required that customary land claims include proof that communities have maintained their indigenous institutions. Drawing from government and NGO reports, academic research, and Indonesian law, a few questions thus are explored: What aspects of identity must be maintained in order to be sufficient to claim customary land rights under Indonesian law? How has recent Dayak mobilization fed into a resurgence in Dayak identity and pride, and vice versa? …

A Comparative Analysis To Understand The Subnational Motivations For Renewable Energy Development In India, William Cullen

CMC Senior Theses

Providing energy security and diversifying the energy production in India align with the country’s rising power ambitions and policy goals to industrialize. Renewable energy provides a useful tool for the state to meet these policy goals without producing more air pollution and additional environmental degradation. The Central Government has international ambitions of with becoming a rising responsible power; these aspirations have created new resources, incentives, and policy ideas for the subnational states in India. The purpose of this thesis is to map out the motivations, interests, and incentives of subnational elites in devising policies to promote renewable energy development in …

The Convergence Of The War On Terror And The War On Drugs: A Counter-Narcoterrorism Approach As A Policy Response, Lindsay Burton

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis investigates how and why U.S. policies and agencies are ill-equipped to respond to narco-terrorism and offers some policy recommendations for remedying that. Narco-terrorism is the merging of terrorism and drug trafficking. Terrorist organizations and narcotics traffickers each have much to offer the other; there is potential for symbiosis in the form of cooperation and even hybridization. Examination of the dynamics between terrorist organizations and drug traffickers, combined with an evaluation of the US responses to narcoterrorism in Colombia and Afghanistan, makes it clear that current US policy responses fail to recognize narcoterrorism as a unique challenge, and instead …

A Nordic Anomaly: Examining The Establishment Of An Anti-Immigrant Party In Sweden, Louise R. Paulsen

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

This thesis examines the establishment of an anti-immigrant party (AIP) in Sweden. Until recently, Sweden was known as the Nordic anomaly with no AIP in spite of high levels of immigration and high rates of right-wing violence. This has now changed, and the AIP, Sweden Democrats, are rising to popularity in high speed. I examine the causes given for the anomaly up until 2006 and show that a change in these has since created a favorable environment for an AIP to become successful. First, socio-economic cleavages have become less salient through decreasing party loyalty and increasing numbers of party switchers. …

Restrictions On Expression As A Counter-Terror Policy In The United States And France: Divergence By Design Or Curious Convergence?, Filip G. Bozinovic

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

This paper explores how restrictions on expression – a dimension of US and French counterterror policy – are realized given the socio-political and legal-procedural differences between the two countries. Theoretically, the US – with its strong constitutional free speech protections and its tradition of limited government – should respond less aggressively than France, which has a more flexible constitution and a statist tradition. This paper contends that while France restricts terror-related expression to a greater degree than the US, the US possesses more tools to counter terror-related expression than its constitution suggests. The primary explanation for less forceful US action …

“Tribal Trenches”: A Qualitative Critique Of Consociational Design In Northern Ireland, Sarah Hollmann

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

How does consociational power sharing impact ethnic divisions in Northern Ireland? Though those in the consociationalist school would claim that the lack of active political violence in Northern Ireland is a powerful argument in favor of consociationalism; I argue that active violence has been replaced by increasing political polarization and ethno-national tensions. Using data gathered from twenty-four semi-structured interviews in Northern Ireland, this project critiques the hypothesis that ethnic divisions lose their salience after the implementation of consociational power-sharing agreements after ethno-nationalist conflict. Despite the growing literature on the long-term effects of consociationalism, scholars have largely focused on quantitative methods, …

Voices Of Women: The Impact Of Women's Political Reservations On Female Child Mortality In India, Kohsheen Sharma

Scripps Senior Theses

This paper uses state-level variation in the implementation of the 73rd amendment in India to observe the relationship between political reservations for women in local government and female child mortality. Nationally, reservations for women are not associated with a statistically significant difference in female child mortality. However, a state by state analysis shows variations in the level of impact of reservations on the topic of female child mortality. This paper examines the constraints on female representatives and their level of effectiveness in executing pro-female policies given the political and social environment. The two case studies on Kerala and Haryana explore …

Human Development And Subnationalism: A Disaggregated Analysis Of Indian States: Kerala And Uttar Pradesh, Manika Garg

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis investigates achievements in human development outcomes on health, education, and poverty indicators across Indian states, in order to discern what factors might influence a state’s better orientation toward social policies. After conducting data analysis, the study explains differences in outcomes, as achieved by Kerala and Uttar Pradesh, by building an argument of subnational solidarity and its impact on determining the state’s policy agendas.

The Impact Of Security Crises On Political Development: An Analysis Of CôTe D’Ivoire, Guinea, And Senegal, Zoe King

CMC Senior Theses

This paper explores the relationship between security concerns and political development in three case studies: Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, and Senegal. It first analyzes the foundations of political institutions within the three states by exploring the creation of nationalist leaders in the pre-independence era, and how their personal development within these years affected their governance style after independence. Afterwards, the discussion separates into the three distinct case studies. The purpose of this analysis is to first outline the major developments within each country in the political field, highlight the major security concerns within the country, and then analyze how these two …

Aversive Visions Of Unanimity: Political Sectarianism In Lebanon, Loulwa Murtada

CMC Senior Theses

Sectarianism has shaped Lebanese culture since the establishment of the National Pact in 1943, and continues to be a pervasive roadblock to Lebanon’s path to development. This thesis explores the role of religion, politics, and Lebanon’s illegitimate government institutions in accentuating identity-based divisions, and fostering an environment for sectarianism to emerge. In order to do this, I begin by providing an analysis of Lebanon’s history and the rise and fall of major religious confessions as a means to explore the relationship between power-sharing arrangements and sectarianism, and to portray that sectarian identities are subject to change based on shifting …

Why Not Mexico? Policy Recommendations For A Globally-Oriented Economic Strategy, Víctor Manuel Hernández-Rodríguez

CMC Senior Theses

Mexico, one of the world’s largest economies and an increasingly relevant actor in international affairs, is at a crucial point in defining its future policy course. Given the uncertainty surrounding the global economy, as well as the political situation in Mexico, it is important to have a clear vision for policy going forward. This thesis offers a foundation for a national economic strategy with a long-term vision, upon which future administrations can build as appropriate to maximize on the country’s economic potential. The task is undertaken through a three-part approach. First, a thorough and analytical overview of the country’s economic …

The Pursuit Of Innovation: An Analysis Of International Competitive Advantage In A Globalized Knowledge Economy, Tanay Gupte

CMC Senior Theses

With the advent of the internet age, the way in which global society interacts with technology has changed dramatically. The instantaneous availability of information and connectivity, signal the rise of a knowledge economy. This is a system in which the most valuable resource, to nations and private enterprise, is knowledge. This thesis argues that value is created through knowledge flows, which result in innovation and technological advancement. This technological advancement is the primary determinant of a nation’s global competitive advantage in a globalized knowledge economy. This thesis then posits that these innovations are fostered by institutional, social, cultural, economic, and …

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 …