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Theses and Dissertations

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Full-Text Articles in Political Theory

Initial Type Craft, Micah Angelus May 2026

Initial Type Craft, Micah Angelus

Theses and Dissertations

What kinds of objects can still think when the self-contained aesthetic object can no longer be taken for granted? The historical ruptures that have placed painting under crisis have also brought into view the fallacy of artistic autonomy, raising questions about how value, contemplation, and meaning persist under conditions of deconstruction.


Do Clothes Make The Man? Ftm Crossdressing In The 18th-19th C. Anglo-American World, Aidrian Graber May 2026

Do Clothes Make The Man? Ftm Crossdressing In The 18th-19th C. Anglo-American World, Aidrian Graber

Theses and Dissertations

This paper seeks to analyze the legacy of "Female Husbands" and other female-to-male crossdressers in the 18/19th c. Anglo-American world and how such people can illuminate the field of transgender history.


Navigating Radical Indeterminacy In The Struggle For A Global Collective Consciousness: The Question Of Eco-Justice And Law Or Universalize The Pluriverse: A Manifesto, More Or Less, Omar Auf Feb 2026

Navigating Radical Indeterminacy In The Struggle For A Global Collective Consciousness: The Question Of Eco-Justice And Law Or Universalize The Pluriverse: A Manifesto, More Or Less, Omar Auf

Theses and Dissertations

The processes of interpretation, communication, and re-interpretation leads to the emergence of an approximated collective consciousness, for which it may be struggled and contested by hegemonic. The dominant forces of this contest, capitalism and nationalism, lead to an interdivided world: one that possesses the tools to empathize with each other but is instead leading people to keep their heads down and focus on surviving their own contexts, perceived as existing within different historical times on the same timeline. This leads to legal and justice systems that fail their claim to universality and/or impartiality. Incorporating an ecological lens to justice within …


A Tragedy Of Incommensurability: Indigenous Rights And The Limits Of Human Rights Law, Zeina Ali Jun 2025

A Tragedy Of Incommensurability: Indigenous Rights And The Limits Of Human Rights Law, Zeina Ali

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the tragedy of incommensurability between indigenous rights and international human rights law. Despite the emergence of frameworks like the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), indigenous calls for sovereignty remain fundamentally unintelligible within a liberal order structured to preserve settler-state legitimacy. Tracing the historical and theoretical evolution of indigenous advocacy, this study critiques the strategic shift from demands for self-determination to claims of cultural rights. It argues that this shift offers no real alternative: self-determination and cultural rights are functionally equivalent, as both are ultimately filtered through legal and political frameworks that cannot …


Locked Gates: Japan’S Immigration Quandary In The Face Of Economic And Demographic Realities, Merna Karam Emara Feb 2025

Locked Gates: Japan’S Immigration Quandary In The Face Of Economic And Demographic Realities, Merna Karam Emara

Theses and Dissertations

This study explores Japan's reluctance to accept labor immigrants in the post-World War II era through the analytical lenses of identity politics and historical institutionalism. It examines how Japan’s national identity, emphasizing ethnic homogeneity and cultural preservation, has shaped restrictive immigration policies despite its economic need. Historical institutionalism provides a framework for understanding the persistence of these policies, which are rooted in the institutional legacies of Japan's post-war reconstruction. The research investigates the interplay between identity-based motivations and the institutional structures that constrain policy changes, highlighting how these dynamics have led to the exclusion of foreign labor despite the country’s …


Reply Stop To Stop, Molly A. M. Garrett Jan 2025

Reply Stop To Stop, Molly A. M. Garrett

Theses and Dissertations

Over the course of 8 years working in progressive political strategy, 2015–2023, I became increasingly critical of the systems, formulas and tools we were using to communicate with voters. Reply STOP to Stop is documentation of my time at graduate school, of wrestling with ideas of political design, language, communication and distribution. I analyzed my past work — all the texts, emails, social media posts, print ads, web banners, videos and other miscellaneous scripted content — and wondered if we would all be better off without it. Would elections be fairer, would there be less fake news, more community building? …


I Am Not A Dictator; I Am A Defender: The Rhetoric Of Coup D’État In Francophone Africa, Isaac Asare Kwakye Jan 2025

I Am Not A Dictator; I Am A Defender: The Rhetoric Of Coup D’État In Francophone Africa, Isaac Asare Kwakye

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the rhetorical strategies used by coup leaders in Francophone Africa to authorize their actions and garner public support. Focusing on recent military takeovers in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger since 2020, I investigate how coup leaders construct narratives of legitimacy within the context of contemporary geopolitical dynamics. I utilize Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to analyze speeches by three key coup leaders: Colonel Assimi Goïta, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, and General Abdourahamane Tchiani. My analysis reveals four interconnected rhetorical frameworks: framing interventions as emergency measures, cultivating savior personas, weaponizing anti-colonial grievances, and deploying anti-corruption narratives. A comparative analysis of …


Perceptions And Treatment Decisions For A Drug Offender Based On Social Class, Cocaine Type, Personal Characteristics, And Compassionate Love: A Vignette Study, Yasmin A. Odeh Jan 2025

Perceptions And Treatment Decisions For A Drug Offender Based On Social Class, Cocaine Type, Personal Characteristics, And Compassionate Love: A Vignette Study, Yasmin A. Odeh

Theses and Dissertations

Problem: The shift from a focus on rehabilitation to the more punitive, “tough on crime” approach to illegal behavior in the U.S. has been enacted in no small way by policies connected to the use and abuse of drugs. The disparities between crack and powder cocaine—two chemically similar substances—have headlined this shift (Vagins and McCurdy 2006). However, research is scarce on laypeople’s approval of deterrence approaches for drug offenses, including as a function of types (e.g., powder vs. cocaine possession). This study examined people’s perceptions of prosecutorial decisions for drug offenders—whether they are punished, rehabilitated, or both—and whether people perceived …


A Story Of State Transformation In The Global South: Limited Statehood And Governance In Post-Syria Lebanon, Jodor Jalit Jun 2024

A Story Of State Transformation In The Global South: Limited Statehood And Governance In Post-Syria Lebanon, Jodor Jalit

Theses and Dissertations

This research thesis analyzes security governance in areas of limited statehood in the context of state transformation. Specifically, it examines the impact of the 2005 Syrian military withdrawal on the Lebanese state in the realm of security. Briefly, the thesis unveils the coexistence of state and non-state groups and the engagement of non-state actors in state-like practices. That is, it assesses the impact of the 2005 Syrian military withdrawal on the Lebanese state to reveal the relationship its new configuration, relationship with non-state actors, and emerging governance practices. In that sense, this thesis pretends to contribute to the larger body …


Social Movements And Resistance: Extinction Rebellion Against Dominant Structures, Samira M. Eltiby Feb 2024

Social Movements And Resistance: Extinction Rebellion Against Dominant Structures, Samira M. Eltiby

Theses and Dissertations

Public dissent is the outcome of governments inaction regarding issues that populations deem as necessary. Social movements are groups that emerge due to dissatisfaction with the status quo that is presented by the current neoliberal world order. The new social movement that is studied in this thesis seeks emancipation, freedom, environmental justice and action, and the dismantlement of neoliberal capitalism as a system of production. This thesis examines the relevance of Gramscian analysis to the study of new social movements, with a focus on Gramscian hegemony and leaderless movements. The thesis uses Extinction Rebellion (XR), a UK-based movement that adopts …


The Influence Of The “Hayah Karima” Initiative On The Standard Of Living Of Egyptian Citizens: Evidence From The Menofia Governorate, Merihan Sharara Nov 2023

The Influence Of The “Hayah Karima” Initiative On The Standard Of Living Of Egyptian Citizens: Evidence From The Menofia Governorate, Merihan Sharara

Theses and Dissertations

Social protection programs have been used in several developing countries in order to aid in their development efforts. In Egypt, “Hayah Karima”, an initiative which represents a developmental initiative endorsed by Egypt’s President Al-Sisi, aims to minimize the developmental gaps among citizens in terms of standards of living. “Hayah Karima” is based on governmental finance in partnership with the private sector. This paper covers this initiative and its different aspects as well as their possible impact on the standards of living for citizens in El- Menofia Governorate. The paper also includes 71 surveys conducted with different partners and beneficiaries of …


The Fall And Rise Of Bengali Muslim Conciousness: Conceptualising The Identity Of The Bangla Universal, Habib Khan Jun 2023

The Fall And Rise Of Bengali Muslim Conciousness: Conceptualising The Identity Of The Bangla Universal, Habib Khan

Theses and Dissertations

The emergence of modern-nation states saw the end of the empirical era of exploitation and exercise of inherent racist tendencies towards the 'other'. However, the effect of that colonial system is still ever-present in the creation and governance of these newly independent states. While every new state aims to be 'modern', they adopt the international legal framework of the West as their own - a system they had initially wanted to escape. The concept of Muslim universality in the form of the ummah should have freed Pakistan from the shackles of its former colonial masters. Instead, this phenomenon was replaced …


Revolution In Cuba And Iran: Toward A Unified Theory Of Analysis, Mason Sims Jan 2023

Revolution In Cuba And Iran: Toward A Unified Theory Of Analysis, Mason Sims

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis seeks to fill a small gap in the study of revolution through unifying approaches and theories utilized to explain the complex social phenomenon. To facilitate this, a large portion of the work focuses on revolution literature which has been chosen to represent authors from the earliest generations covering the subject to the more recent. In compiling and reviewing these works, it can be seen that there exist common lines of not just explanation, but also a continuous series of critiques resurfacing within each generation. Within this compilation lies the roots of the theory presented in this thesis, that …


Fascism In Sci-Fi: "Mobilizing Passions" In Robert A. Heinlein's Starship Troopers, Alton C. Ayers Jan 2023

Fascism In Sci-Fi: "Mobilizing Passions" In Robert A. Heinlein's Starship Troopers, Alton C. Ayers

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis responds to criticism of Robert A. Heinlein’s Starship Troopers (1959) as a “fascist” novel by further investigating the claim through a close reading of the novel that applies political theory scholarship on fascism. Chapters I and II introduce the novel along with its general reception and controversy. These chapters consider the accusations of “fascism” given to the novel while at the same time understanding that a clear, exact definition of “fascism” has long been grappled with by scholars since the rise of the regimes in Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. Chapters III and IV apply political theory to …


Theorizing #Girlboss Culture: Mediated Neoliberal Feminisms From Influencers To Multi-Level Marketing Schemes, Frankie Mastrangelo Jan 2021

Theorizing #Girlboss Culture: Mediated Neoliberal Feminisms From Influencers To Multi-Level Marketing Schemes, Frankie Mastrangelo

Theses and Dissertations

I define girlboss feminism as emergent, mediated formations of neoliberal feminism that equate feminist empowerment with financial success, market competition, individualized work-life balance, and curated digital and physical presences driven by self-monetization. I look toward how the mediation of girlboss feminism utilizes branded and affective engagements with representational politics, discourses of authenticity and rebellion, as well as meritocratic aspiration to promote cultural interest in conceptualizing feminism in ways that are divorced from collective, intersectional struggle. I question the stakes involved in reducing feminist interrogations and commitments to discourses of representation, visibility, and meritocracy. I argue that while girlboss feminism may …


Post-Revolutionary State Building Processes Democratization Or Divergent Paths?, Ingi Rashed Dec 2020

Post-Revolutionary State Building Processes Democratization Or Divergent Paths?, Ingi Rashed

Theses and Dissertations

As many scholars argue that revolutionary changes generally leads to autocratization, evidence from recent revolutionary changes in post USSR republics and Eastern Europe demonstrate that divergent regime types emerge thereafter. On the one hand, the case of Poland in the aftermath of the collapse of USSR demonstrates that the first few years after regime removal from power are crucial to the emerging new regime. Additionally, Poland proved that democratization can emerge if various institutional settings take place hand in hand with the existence of certain dynamics that shape decision making processes and society agency.On the other hand, the case of …


The Sacred Cow And The New Comer: A Comparative Study Of Nation-State And Umma, Ayat Abdulaty Mohamed Jan 2015

The Sacred Cow And The New Comer: A Comparative Study Of Nation-State And Umma, Ayat Abdulaty Mohamed

Theses and Dissertations

International relations discipline witnessed debates among its mainstream theories. Today the debate worthy of attention is the Western-centrism of the discipline. There is an immense critique of the Westphalian state order, the nation-state, and the absence of religion in IR theory. This research aspires to partially account for the voids of the IR theory. It engages with the debate over the Western-centrism and the loopholes of IRT. This thesis introduces a non-Western contribution to international relations, an Islamic perspective of IR. This thesis argues that for IR discipline to be truly pluralistic and to claim universality it should be opened …


Methods Of Support Used In The Senate Debate On The Seating Of Reed Smoot: A Content Analysis, Beverly Alice Berry Jan 1968

Methods Of Support Used In The Senate Debate On The Seating Of Reed Smoot: A Content Analysis, Beverly Alice Berry

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine how methods of support functioned in the senate debate on the seating of Reed Smoot. In order to clarify the directions of the study, answers to the following questions were sought:
1. How extensively were methods of support used by each side?
2. What was the frequency of supports per assertion by each side?
3. How was the use of support materials distributed among the speakers?
4. How many different methods of support were used by each side?
5. What were the most frequently used methods of support by each side?
6. …