Comparative Politics Commons^™

The Pink Tax: A Comparative Case Study Between Tennessee And Washington State, Megha Chitturi

Baker Scholar Projects

The imposition of an additional luxury tax on menstrual health products, otherwise referred to as the “Pink Tax” or the “Tampon Tax”, is present in some states while absent in others. The decision to repeal such a tax is one that has proven to be critical, as it removes the connotation that such products are of “luxury” and make them more accessible to menstruators throughout the state. As of 2023, twenty-three states have eliminated the tax. The state of Washington falls under that parameter while Tennessee does not. The purpose of this undergraduate honors thesis is to explore the potential …

Competing For Innovation: A Case Study Of Knoxville And Similar Metropolitan Areas, Lucille G. Marret

Baker Scholar Projects

Knoxville competes with other mid-sized metropolitan areas for economic development and business attraction at the national level. Cities such as Greenville, SC, Huntsville, AL, and Ann Arbor, MI have similar resources and attributes to Knoxville, yet they are consistently surpassing Knoxville in business attraction and expansion. It is necessary for policy makers to understand what factors are contributing to underperformance in order to better support Knoxville’s efforts to create an innovation fund. Comparing available assets and access to funding for each MSA reveals that Knoxville has the necessary resources through the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory to …

Centrality And Compliance: Unitary Vs. Federalist Political Systems In The Implementation Of The Kyoto Protocol In Argentina And Uruguay, Aidan Homan

Baker Scholar Projects

When Uruguay and Argentina first gained their respective independence in the early 1800s, they appeared to be following the same path of development As countries that came from the same Spanish colonization, share almost identical agricultural economies, and retain a close relationship, it is logical that they would follow similar trajectories. This assumption proves to be inaccurate in more ways than one, but most prominently within the environmental sphere. One way to analyze this difference in policy implementation lies in compliance with international environmental treaties which contain specific goals and limits for all parties involved. The Kyoto Protocol presents a …

Does Electoral Proximity Influence Commitment To International Human Rights Law?, Nolan Ragland

Baker Scholar Projects

The core international human rights treaties from the United Nations have been signed and ratified by varying groups of states, and much of previous research has been dominated by a desire to explain ratification of international human rights law (IHRL) through the democratic lock-in effect and states’ economic and political ties to one another. In this paper, I seek to understand when states are ratifying IHRL, testing whether the presence of elections influences commitment to three of the nine core international human rights treaties: the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of …

Does Electoral Proximity Influence Commitment To International Human Rights Law?, Nolan A. Ragland

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Autocracies As Mediators In Conflicts, Jonathan A. S. Honig

Doctoral Dissertations

It is puzzling why autocracies, which typically are not renowned for their human rights record or their observance of international norms related to human rights and are frequently inured in their own violent conflicts, would choose to take on the seemingly humanitarian role of peacemaker as often as democracies in the conflicts of other states in the absence of such things as a former colonial relationship or shared geographic proximity with them. I argue that autocracies will offer more often to mediate when they are subjected to international scrutiny, sanctioning, and/or condemnation, as well as materially and immaterially benefitting from …

Horizontal Cultural Inequalities, Grievances, And Civil Conflict: Ethnonationalist Mobilization In Reaction To Assimilationist Educational Language Policies, Burak Demir

Doctoral Dissertations

Studies in the literature on intrastate conflict onset have focused on opportunities and material grievances whereas non-material issues have not been given sufficient attention. The increasing importance of the ethnic dimension of intrastate conflicts since the mid-1970s suggests a growing prominence of ethnonationalist ideologies as a cause. Following constructivist and institutionalist theories on nationalism, this study argues that assimilationist policies, mainly centered around educational languages, induce the spread of minority ethnonationalism to the masses. This spread results from assimilationist policies being perceived as attacks on their dignity by the members of a discriminated minority group who, as a result, feel …

Belo Horizonte And Bangalore: A Regional Comparison Of Latin America And South Asia, Emily Morris

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Cross-National Variation In Women’S Rights: Europe And Civil War, Nourah Shuaibi

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation evaluates the impact of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on Women’s Social, Economic and Political rights in post-Conflict countries. In order to evaluate the relationship with sound causal logic, I set out to study multiple relationships to understand the impact of the variables in question. Looking at the nature of the relationship required an evaluation in 3 ways, which culminated in the writing of 4 separate chapters. Chapter 2 demonstrates the importance of understanding Women’s Rights and their role in economic development and peace building. This places women’s rights in context to set the scene for the rest of …

(Dis)Contentment With The International System: The Relationship Between Territorial Dispute Settlement Attempts And Unga Voting, Erik C. Beuck

Doctoral Dissertations

To what degree do the methods of management for territorial and maritime disputes relate to voting patterns in the United Nations General Assembly? In particular, do actions taken by the disputants in managing their disputes exert influence on their fellow disputant’s foreign policy preferences in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) reflective of the nature of these attempts? As territory has been found to be one of the most important driving factors in the conflict between states, understanding the impacts of different settlement methods in the active conveyance of information to other state actors in attempts to settle can provide …

Fdi Inflows, Fdi Policy Liberalization, And Income Inequality In East Asia, Yu Yan

Doctoral Dissertations

Over the period 1980 – 2015, foreign direct investment (hereafter FDI) has become more significant in connecting East Asia and the global market. Meanwhile, income inequality has been growing in this region. Although existing literature has achieved noticeable progress in identifying the inequality-inducing effect of FDI inflows both theoretically and empirically, evidence is still inconclusive. This dissertation contributes to the scholarship by providing new time-series evidence from East Asia confirming the inequality-inducing effect of FDI inflows. But this dissertation makes another important contribution by introducing FDI policies to the scholarship. By employing the nested analysis approach, this dissertation sheds light …

Willing White Flag: Voluntary Militia Disarmament In The Lebanese Civil War, Daniella Maria Khoury

Masters Theses

This study examines the conditions under which militias embroiled in civil war choose to disarm. This study argues that militias more invested in domestic politics rather than engaging in regional rivalries, are more likely to choose to disarm voluntarily. The results show that after examining seven different militias in the context of the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990), religious affiliation is neither a necessary nor sufficient condition to cause the drastic difference in the outcome of voluntary disarmament. The theory is proven correct when accounting for domestic and international relationships and militia commitment to operating within a particular level of analysis.

No Strings Attached? Fdi, Ideology, And Levels Of Democracy In Latin America, Alexander Tripp

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Modern Chinese Development Of Latin America, Alexander Tripp

EURēCA: Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement

China, a rising global hegemon, has become increasingly interested in close economic and political relations with Latin America since the turn of the century. These relationships have been centered around two traits, foreign direct investment (FDI) and the export of raw materials. China has fully invested itself into the region in order to develop and maintain the production of certain goods necessary for upkeep of its massive population and industrializing economy. I test the significance of four prominent raw materials in Chinese trade with Latin America to determine their impact on Chinese FDI. Using this method, I gather and gauge …

Non-Governmental Organizations' Involvement In Poverty Alleviation In Bangladesh, Taylor N. Scheffing

Pursuit - The Journal of Undergraduate Research at The University of Tennessee

Labeled as one of the poorest countries in the world, Bangladesh is accustomed to poverty. Beginning in the late 1970s and even more since the arrival of the millennium, Bangladesh had made significant strides towards economic development through poverty alleviation efforts brought on by the World Bank initiatives. However, widespread discontent with the World Bank has led to increased, dominant presence and involvement from non-governmental organizations. Non-governmental organizations typically share a public mission, where those in Bangladesh aim to work exclusively with those in disadvantaged, rural areas. This paper will be addressing the growing question: what are non-governmental organizations (NGOs) …

A Comparative Analysis Of Women’S Descriptive Representation In Subnational Politics In Peru And Russia, Alina Kathryn Clay

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Explaining The Rise Of Far-Right Political Parties In Europe, Lori Lynn Eller

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

The Dynamic Effects Of Political Parties And Economic Hardship On Voter Turnout, Allan M. Wilford

Doctoral Dissertations

In the last 50 or so years, observers have noted with concern declining rates of voter turnout in many democracies. Explanations for these declines have often focused upon institutional factors that explain differences in turnout between countries but do little to explain declines within countries. However, the suspicion remains that more dynamic factors such as the make-up of party systems or economic effects - factors which vary within countries over time – have greater potential to better explain these declines. The first substantive chapter of this dissertation considers number of parties and polarization jointly to identify the conditions under which …

Labor Unions And Economic Inequality In The Wealthy Democracies, Eric Graig Castater

Doctoral Dissertations

Previous research on the determinants of economic inequality in the wealthy democracies has found that differences in the size and constitution of labor unions accounts for much of the cross-national and over time variation in economic inequality. Despite numerous theoretical and empirical reasons to suppose the contrary, most of this research assumes that the union effect on economic inequality is independent of the particular socio-economic and political environment unions are situated within and the types of workers actually unionized. The broad purpose of this dissertation is to push back against these assumptions and examine whether the union effect on economic …

The Liberal As An Enemy Of Queer Justice, Craig Schamel

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

Abstract

Liberalism as a historical mode of the political is the context in which the movement and ensuing struggle for queer justice emerged in most Western countries. The terminology, practices, tendencies, beliefs, ethics, laws, and patterns of political and social life which have been determined by this mode of the political, it is argued, are inimical to queer justice and render its achievement impossible. Liberalism as a mode of the political is approached from below, from knowledge gained in practical experience in queer groups which considered themselves revolutionary at least to some degree, and from the effects on such groups …

Economic Wealth And Social Welfare: A Longitudinal Analysis Of Transnational Well-Being, Kelly Brooke Martin

Doctoral Dissertations

Macro changes in the financial arena have prompted ongoing research focused on global economic trends. As America emerges from an era of stagnant wages, rising unemployment, and growing class stratification it is necessary to explore differences in cross-national socioeconomic behavior to address the changing needs of our country. Many studies attempt to describe statistical correlations between economic wealth and social well-being domestically and abroad by utilizing methodological perspectives that do not account for longitudinal change. To address the gap in existing research, this study seeks to measure variations in econometric indicators between the U.S. and Nordic countries to further explicate …

Coup D'État And International Trade, Brian Alan Childers

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Citizen Confidence In The Public Service: An Examination Of Established And Emerging Democracies In North America And Eurasia, Nurgul Ryskulovna Aitalieva

Doctoral Dissertations

How do levels of confidence in the public service differ across countries? Are these attitudes about the public service determined by similar individual-level attributes across countries? Do country-level correlates explain variation between countries in citizen attitudes toward the public service? Data from the 2005-2009 World Values Survey for 21 North American and Eurasian countries, in addition to aggregate-level measures of national context, are analyzed using multilevel binary logistic regression.

The study shows that there is a significant amount of variation in the confidence attitudes not only within each country but also across countries. Citizens of Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, and Finland …

Religion And Conflict: What Explains The Puzzling Case Of “Islamic Violence” And Islamist Party Moderation?, Suveyda Karakaya

Doctoral Dissertations

Despite considerable interest in the relationship between Islam and political violence, there is little systematic empirical research that explores the intra-state conflict proneness of Muslim majority states. Existing studies either offer inconclusive evidence of a relationship or suffer from methodological flaws. If we analyze the proportion of countries with large Muslim populations that experience domestic armed conflicts, Muslim-majority states do in fact stand out. What explains the prevalence of political violence in the Muslim world and to what extent does religion play a role in promoting violence? Under which conditions ethno-political organizations opt for violent strategies to achieve their political …

How Left A Turn? Legacies Of The Neoliberal State In Latin America, Aaron Thomas Rowland

Doctoral Dissertations

In the 1980s and 1990s, the Latin American region experienced a profound shift in development ideologies that resulted in the creation of a new type of state: the Latin American neoliberal state. This state emerged in three stages: the stabilization stage—focused on balance of payments and austerity; the structural adjustment stage—which was more broadly and deeply focused on changing the structure and culture of society; and the institutional turn—which was an acknowledgment that the neoliberal state had not effectively dealt with poverty, inequality, or the quality of institutions that integrated market, society, and polity. Beginning in the early 2000s, an …

The Effect Of Institutional Veto Players On Education Policy Reform In The United States And Finland, Isham C. Hewgley Iv

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Deciding To Divert: Domestic And International Sources Of Constraints On Leader Decision-Making, Norris Thomas Feeney

Doctoral Dissertations

Domestic unrest is a constant feature in the international system. Aside from the impact unrest has on domestic populations, political turmoil also has consequences for other states in the international system. A long-held belief, backed by anecdotal evidence, is that leaders use aggressive foreign policy to divert public attention in periods of declining domestic political fortunes. However, consistent evidence for this pattern of behavior has not emerged across large-N analyses in the extant diversionary literature. This dissertation advances the search for evidence of diversion by assessing the likelihood leaders of various regime types will divert, comparing not only non-democracies with …

Institutional Engineering In A Managed Democracy: The Party System In Russia’S Regions Since 2003, Christian Alexander Peyton

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Data Sharing By Scientists: Practices And Perceptions, Carol Tenopir, Suzie Allard, Kimberly L. Douglass, Arsev Umur Aydinoglu, Lei Wu, Eleanor Read, Maribeth Manoff, Mike Frame

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Background: Scientific research in the 21st century is more data intensive and collaborative than in the past. It is important to study the data practices of researchers – data accessibility, discovery, re-use, preservation and, particularly, data sharing. Data sharing is a valuable part of the scientific method allowing for verification of results and extending research from prior results. Methodology/Principal Findings: A total of 1329 scientists participated in this survey exploring current data sharing practices and perceptions of the barriers and enablers of data sharing. Scientists do not make their data electronically available to others for various reasons, including insufficient time …

Old Actors, New Drama: Chinese Engagement With Africa And The Implications For The United States, Megan Ruth Wanee

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.