Political Theory Commons^™

The Effect Of Belief Of Victory On Third-Party Vote Share: Duverger's Law & Why Evan Mcmullin Lost Utah In 2016, John Geilman

Undergraduate Honors Theses

A key reason Duverger’s Law is valid is a voter’s belief that a third-party does not have a chance at winning an election in a “first past the post” electoral system. Duverger’s Law has traditionally been explained through two reasons—a mechanical factor and a psychological factor. The mechanical factor focuses on aspects of electoral systems that work against third parties, while the psychological factor focuses on what voters think and feel about third parties. In the 2016 presidential election in the United States, voters in the state of Utah demonstrated that their perception of the electability of a third-party candidate …

Public Financing And The Underrepresentation Of Women In United States Elected Political Offices, Libby P. Moyer

Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research

Approaching the 100-year anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment, women comprise approximately 51 percent of the American population but hold only 24.8 percent of state legislative seats and 19.4 percent of United States Congressional seats. The scholarly literature suggests that one contributing factor to this inequality is a real or perceived gender difference in fundraising success. My hypothesis is that state public financing programs will decrease gender inequality in state legislative offices. I examined the role campaign finance plays in gender inequality in elected office by conducting a comparative case study of the state legislatures of Minnesota and Iowa from 1975 …

'Love Of Knowledge Is A Kind Of Madness': Competing Platonisms In The Universes Of C.S. Lewis And H.P. Lovecraft, Guillaume Bogiaris

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

Though they often gesture in his direction, few contemporary philosophers or writers engage Plato’s ideas. Yet C.S. Lewis and H.P. Lovecraft, two relatively uncelebrated authors of science-fiction fantasy (in academic circles, at least), treat Plato’s notion of human enlightenment extensively. The two authors seem to agree with Plato’s premise that knowledge is possible. While they concur that the metaphorical journey outside the cave is feasible, they differ on the benefits of such an ascent. Lewis is reassuring to his readers; like the Neo-Platonists to which he links his trilogy of science-fiction fantasy, he theorizes that the outside of the Platonic …

The Predictors Of Juvenile Recidivism: Testimonies Of Adult Students 18 Years And Older Exiting From Alternative Education, La Toshia Palmer

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this descriptive, qualitative study was to identify and describe the importance of the predictors of juvenile recidivism and the effectiveness of efforts to prevent/avoid juvenile recidivism as perceived by previously detained, arrested, convicted, and/or incarcerated adult students 18 years of age and older exiting from alternative education in Northern California. A second purpose was to explore the types of support provided by alternative schools and the perceived importance of the support to avoid recidivism according to adult students 18 years of age and older exiting from alternative education.

Methodology: This qualitative, descriptive research design identified …

Planning To Fail: The Eurozone, Its Sovereign Debt Crisis, And The Future Of The Union, Kyle Whitworth

Theses

The European Union has been one of the greatest accomplishments of modern history. Through economic and political integration has ended centuries of warfare on the continent while producing the worlds largest trading bloc. Despite the initial success of the monetary union and its single currency, the Union has been bogged down economic troubles in the form of a debt crisis among several of the member states. The recovery period of the crisis has produced growth that is slow and uneven. Countries such as Germany has assumed the role of the economic powerhouse of Europe and therefore a political leader in …

State Inc., Tsilly Dagan, Talia Fisher

Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy

The central objective of this paper is to put the "marketization of the state" debate into context, both on the descriptive level and on the normative level, by viewing it through the prisms of the ideal types of interaction between states and individuals, and against the background of global competition. At the outset of the paper, we begin by presenting various manifestations of "citizenship for sale" and the marketization of the state-individual interaction. We then turn to portray two ideal types of state-individual interactions, which we termed "the democratic model" and "the consumerist model," and depicted the erosion of the …

Gender Quotas And Women’S Political Participation In Slovenia And Croatia: When Similar Historical Developments And Homogeneity Of Design Yield Different Outcomes, Colin J. J. Yandam

Student Publications

This paper aims at summarizing the knowledge surrounding gender quotas – which are a quick gate-way to women’s political participation – and at assessing the efficacy of their different means of implementation. Through the cross-national study of Slovenia and Croatia (two countries similar on almost every political, social, and historical development except for women’s political representation) and in tandem with an extensive review of previous works in the literature, this paper sheds some light on the techniques the civil society and feminist/women’s movements could use to maximize their political impact and overall gender-quota effectiveness. Indeed, this paper finds that by …

Presidentialized Party Di Indonesia: Kasus Perilaku Pdi-P Dalam Pencalonan Joko Widodo Pada Pilpres 2014, Ahmad Alhamid, Aditya Permana

Jurnal Politik

The mechanism of direct election in presidential election encourages political party to choose the most popular candidate even though he/she is a party outsider. It has a risk that the party or the general chairperson as “principal” will have difficulty controlling the nominated “agent” or outsider. Presidentialism at least changes the behavior of political parties in terms of nominating, electing, and governing. Through qualitative methods and data collection using interviews, this research raises the case study of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) behavior in the nomination of Joko Widodo as the Presidential Candidate of the Republic of Indonesia …

Keluarga Politik Yasin Limpo Pada Pemilihan Kepala Daerah Di Kabupaten Gowa Tahun 2015, Zaldy Rusnaedy, Titin Purwaningsih

Jurnal Politik

This article discusses the modality of Yasin Limpo’s family in the 2015 Gowa Regency local election. The modality itself consists of economic, social, cultural, and political capital. This research applies qualitative approach which shows that influential capitals are actually the legacy of resources owned by an influential older member of the family. As he acted as regents in previous terms he controlled resources which in turn signifi¬cantly generate public support to the candidates in the 2015 local election. This article argues that the inheritance of modality in the form of the legacies of flagship programs is the most influential capital. …

Membaca Kelas Menengah Muslim Indonesia, Qorry Aina

Jurnal Politik

No abstract provided.

The New Media, Globalization, And The Public Interest: A Conversation With Newton N. Minow (2003), Marcy Murninghan

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article provides a summary of a weekend-long convocation held in April 2002 that was sponsored by the Coudert Institute in West Palm Beach, Florida. The motto of the nonprofit group, which was founded by Dale Coudert in 2001, is, “Subjects That Matter, with People Who Make a Difference.” Each mid-winter through early-spring season, the nonpartisan and nonideological Coudert Institute organizes conversations and seminars on an eclectic array of topics featuring prominent academics, artists, musicians, and practitioners. The institute’s goal is to spark open and inclusive dialogue directed to critical reflection and enlightenment. This selection contains the fruits of a …

Why Gun Violence Continues Its Rampage Across America: A Comparison Of American And Australian Firearm Policies, Daniel Schaub

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This thesis is a comparative case study between US and Australian firearm policies and gun culture. I ask, given the large number of injuries and mass shootings due to firearms, why has the United States not implemented stronger firearm regulations? I conduct a comprehensive literature review of American gun culture throughout history and modern firearm violence in both the United States and Australia. By utilizing the framework of historical institutionalism and the concept path dependency, I explain why and how institutions in the United States are unique and how they differ from similar institutions in Australia. I find that the …

Rescinding Rancière: An Investigation Into The Conservative Tendencies Of A Leading Proponent Of Radical Democracy, And A Reconstruction Of The Participatory Democracy Of Ancient Athens, Tyler J. Olsen

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis advances a critique of the political theory of Jacques Rancière, focusing on the problems that arise as a result of its rigid form combined with its narrow content. I argue that Rancière gets caught in a practice of immanent critique that merely presupposes bourgeois abstract right; and that his ontological and pragmatic commitments prohibit him from projecting a norm that would transcend the liberal order. I trace these ontological and pragmatic commitments in detail by examining the intellectual milieu from which Rancière’s project emerged, the post-foundational political philosophy of the 1980s, with particular attention given to Claude Lefort. …

Political Homophobia As A State Strategy In Russia, Nikita Sleptcov

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

This article examines the current state strategy of political homophobia used by the Russian government to create a sense of national identity by scapegoating Russian homosexuals as "foreign agents," reinforcing the power of the governing elite, and distracting people's attention from government misconduct.

Is “This Guy” A Dictator? On The Morality Of Evaluating Russian Democracy Under Vladimir Putin, Amir Azarvan

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Is it morally defensible to single Russian president, Vladimir Putin, out as a dictator? The popular impression that he is a dictator has been used to legitimize a dangerously adversarial policy towards what a U.S. Army general described as “the only country on earth…that could “destroy the United States.” I argue that this perception is in some ways misleading, and has contributed to escalating tensions with Russia, which is both unnecessary and harmful both to Russia and the U.S.

Maga, Memes, And Magnificent Hair: How Have Alt-Right, White Supremacy, And White Nationalism Become Rooted In American History?, Gabriel A. Tucker

Op-Ed Pieces

The purpose of this inquiry is to ascertain the level of prevalence of white nationalist rhetoric and sociocultural artifacts in contemporary political discourse as well as the level of normalcy is has achieved. Additionally, I will generate a timeline that will chronicle the growth and progression of this movement to our current political era, highlighting major schisms, shifts, and events with alterations in fashion and physical presentation. I believe that my research will show not only a long-standing tradition of white nationalism within the United States but also that such rhetoric has slowly been creeping into mainstream political rhetoric and …

The Rise Of Trump And The Death Of Civility, Keith Bybee

Institute for the Study of the Judiciary, Politics, and the Media at Syracuse University

According to supporters and opponents alike, Donald Trump has been an unconventional candidate and president. In this article, I evaluate the relationship between Trump’s unconventional behavior and the requirements of civility. I provide a definition of civility, and I explain why it makes sense to relate Trump’s actions to civil norms. I then discuss how civility is enacted, I examine criticisms of civility’s triviality, and I explore the ways in which civility may repress dissent and maintain hierarchy. Although I consider the degree to which Trump’s actions are strategic, I ultimately argue that Trump’s incivilities should be understood as an …

The Foundations Of Aleksandr Dugin's Geopolitics: Montage Fascism And Eurasianism As Blowback, Grant Scott Fellows

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is an examination of Aleksandr Dugin's The Foundations of Geopolitics, of which I have translated important sections into English and these are included as an appendix. Despite the importance of Foundations of Geopolitics to Russian strategic thought there has not been a translated edition published in English. This work was published in 1997 and has been quite influential for Russian political and military leadership. I strive to provide context for the setting in which Foundations of Geopolitics was created through an analysis of the social and political conditions that existed in Russia while the text was being …

The Woman Who Walks Through Photographs, Sharon Sliwinski

Data and Test Instruments

This paper explores Michal Heiman's creative strategy to imaginatively enter the space of asylum. Her recent project,RETURN: ASYLUM (THE DRESS, 1855-2018), offers a new way to extend solidarity to people who have been subjugated by the institution. She actively enlists the public's help in developing further strategies for connecting with those individuals who have been bereft of legal rights to property, family, or public hearing. This article explores Heiman's crucial political intervention, which blends creative visual practice with object relations theory.

Polarization In American Presidential Politics; Looking For The Effects Of Citizens United And Increased Campaign Spending, Subrina Oswalt

Merge

No abstract provided.

Human Rights, Sharon Sliwinski

Data and Test Instruments

It is one of the most recognizable passages in the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) – that slightly oblique, and yet grave reference to the Nazi death camps: ‘Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind…’ These barbarous acts were front-page news in most of the Allied countries in the spring of 1945, at the very moment when the United Nations was founded at a conference in San Francisco. The newsstands were filled with photographs from the newly liberated Dachau and Buchenwald camps. Illustrated magazines such …

Sexual Violence In The Field Of Vision, Sharon Sliwinski

Data and Test Instruments

Meditating on a single photograph from a recent Human Rights Watch report concerning police violence in Northern British Columbia, Canada, this paper pursues two lines of questions about the visual politics of human rights. One concerns how our ways of seeing—our modes of attending to the vulnerability and integrity of particular persons—can itself be understood as a form of human rights practice. The other aims to widen space in contemporary political theory for thinking about how sexual violence functions as a central technology of sovereignty and how we might make this phenomenon more perceptible. The paper explores the ways photographs …

The Right To An Image, Sharon Sliwinski

Data and Test Instruments

No abstract provided.

Documenting Sociopolitical Development Via Participatory Action Research (Par) With Women Of Color Student Activists In The Neoliberal University, Jesica S. Fernández, Jasmyne Y. Gaston, Madeline Nguyen, Jaia Rovaris, Rhyann L. Robinson, Danielle N. Aguilar

Ethnic Studies

Political activism attests to the sociopolitical development and agency of young people. Yet the literature sparingly engages the intersectional subjectivities that inform the sociopolitical development of young people, especially women of color. Important questions remain in the theorizing of sociopolitical development among youth engaged in political activism within higher education settings. Thus, we focus on the following question: What experiences informed or catalyzed the sociopolitical development of women of color student activists within a racialized neoliberal university in the United States? In addressing this question we demonstrate how student-led participatory action research (PAR) within the neoliberal university can facilitate and …

When Free Speech Disrupts Diversity Initiatives: What We Value And What We Do Not, Reshmi Dutt-Ballerstadt

Faculty Publications

In this essay, I argue that the debate on free speech as pushed by the conservative right is a strategic apparatus to undermine the various diversity initiatives on college and university campuses. While supporters of the right wing extremists around the globe have pushed for various modes of exclusions (social, racial, ethnic, cultural, religious and sexual), here in the United States, such exclusions are most evident in the collapse of academic freedom and the rise of civility codes as students and educators use the platform of free speech to promote various forms of injustices and exclusions. Our neoliberal college and …

When The Clocks Strike Thirteen: Political Repression In Modern America (1990-2015), Faiza Begani

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Abounding acts of repression committed in democracies have continued to be overlooked and under-analyzed by many researchers and scholars due to "democratic exceptionalism". As the United States enters yet another consecutive year of declining political satisfaction and freedom. It has become pertinent that as conflict study researchers, scholars, and readers alike that there is a basic understanding of coercion including acts that have been committed within our own countries. Countless scholars have focused conflict study research on underdeveloped or emerging democracies, yet many have overlooked the seamy side of developed ones. This article aims to explain the relationship between the …

A Content Analysis Of Jihadist Magazines: Theoretical Perspectives, Catalina M. Udani

Honors Undergraduate Theses

During its violent spread across the Middle East, the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (ISIS) amassed both a local and international following in large part due to its usage of emergent media distribution. Beginning in 2014, ISIS’s Ministry of Media published an English-language magazine, Dabiq, disseminating its issues through online platforms. Dabiq and its successor Rumiyah both serve as propagandistic recruitment material for ISIS’s international community as well as broadcasting the message of the jihadist movement to ISIS’s enemies. This study analyzed ISIS’s publications using a qualitative content analysis in order to identify jihadist recruitment strategies through the perspectives …

Byzantine Spirit Of The Undead And Its Legacy In The Sick Man Of Europe, Joan Davison

Faculty Publications

What is the character and extent of the Byzantine political-legal legacy? The contemporary discourse on political institutions uses new language to describe old mechanisms for accommodation and decentralization phenomena: millet systems, internal diasporas, population displacement of enclaves, consociation, asymmetric federalism, and even democracy as a part of modern institutionalized network systems. Employing Michel Foucault’s archaeological and genealogical method, we tap into the undead body of Byzantine political legacy in order to show and extract the legacy of a specific ‘spirit.’ In other words, we identify the existence of a very specific sites which emerges from within a non-Being (in Plato’s …

Contesting Early Childhood Professional Identities: A Cross-National Discussion, Sonja Arndt, Mathias Urban, Colette Murray, Kylie Smith, Beth Swadener, Tomas Ellegaard

Articles

In this collective article, the authors explore constructions of early childhood practitioners and how they disconnect and reconnect in a global neo-liberal education policy context. The contributions to the conversation provide windows into shifting professional identities across five national contexts: New Zealand, the USA, Ireland, Australia and Denmark. The authors ask who benefits from the notion of distinct professional identities, linked to early childhood education as locally and culturally embedded practice. They conceptualize teachers’ shifting subjectivities, drawing on Kristeva’s philosophical conception of identity as constantly in construction, open and evolving. Arguments for the urgency to counter the global uniformity machine, …

Sigma: Journal Of Political And International Studies

Sigma: Journal of Political and International Studies

No abstract provided.