American Politics Commons^™

The Relationship Between Late Night, Twitter, And Political Literacy In 2020, Sally Burkley

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

Political humor has played a role in politics since ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome. From plays to newspaper comics to late night comedy, these bits of political criticism and commentary on current events have been there to provide the public with relief, reinforcement of views, and in some cases information. Since the late 2000s, social media started to take on a similar role of providing reactions to political commentary, but rather than a television network and professionally crafted scripts, it is any person who possesses an account and may write up to 280 characters. Previous research has looked at political …

Examining The Impact Of Political Identification And Morality On Compliance With Covid-19 Public Health Measures, Jessica Stump

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

COVID-19 provides a unique opportunity to study the influence of individual and group differences on beliefs and behavior. In the present work, we examine COVID beliefs and behavior as a function of morality, ideology, and emotion. Data were collected in the spring of 2021 and the fall of 2021, allowing for distinct snapshots of an undergraduate sample at two periods of the pandemic. Of primary interest was the relationship between political ideology, moral foundation endorsement, and COVID-19 behaviors and beliefs. The results reveal that ideology drives COVID-19-related beliefs and behaviors. The results from Study 2 suggest that political liberals were …

The Theoretical Challenges In Ukraine, Andrew Kim

Calvert Undergraduate Research Awards

The unfolding situation in Ukraine seems like a scene out of the Cold War, the complexity within it not only lies in how fast these events are occurring but also in the unpredictability of Russia’s leader; to address this current conflict requires the acknowledgment of a brief background within these events and also the possible responses which we could expect to see. The following policy brief addresses the matter of the historical influences and challenges that would be facing US national security policy because of the Russia and Ukraine conflict and how this question isn’t a historical question, but rather …

How Accurate Were Predictions Of China’S Rise?, Osebhahiemen Okooboh

Symposium of Student Scholars

The rise of China is often depicted as one of the clearest, most predicted, and predictable realities in a century of international politics. Instead, China's rise has been gradual, widely foreseen, and not because of a conflict that transformed the world. Predictions and recommendations from academics and policy circles on China's rise matter because they transfer to popular discourse, albeit haphazardly. Therefore, understanding the predictions and recommendations and how they have changed over time is vital to explaining democratic responses to China's rise.

To empirically assess understandings of China's rise and how they have changed, we have coded a sample …

"Do You Know The Way To San Jose?" Ethnic Mexicans, Urbanism, Culture, And Politics In Emerging Silicon Valley, 1940-1980, Alexandro J. Jara

History ETDs

My dissertation explores the Latino experience in Santa Clara County, especially in San Jose. The area, located in Northern California’s Bay Area, is nestled just south of the more popular cities of Oakland and San Francisco, nearly five hundred miles from the U.S.-Mexico border. My examination of the social, cultural, and political activities of Latinos in San Jose provides insight into the community development of ethnic Mexicans away from traditional sites of study in places like Tucson, San Antonio, and Los Angeles. I argue that beginning at mid-century, Latinos moved into the downtown area and helped prevent nearby neighborhoods from …

Merging The Personal And The Academic For Greater Learning: A Successful Assignment, Gloria C. Cox

Feminist Pedagogy

Merging the Personal and Academic for Greater Learning: A Successful Assignment As a person who grew up during the Second Women’s Rights movement and who became a member of the academic community, I developed and taught on several occasions a class called Women and Politics. The course began with a brief overview of feminist theory and went from there to a history of women’s rights in the United States, which provided a foundation for our study of the legal and policy aspects of important topics like employment discrimination, sexual harassment, and marriage and family issues. Almost immediately I realized that …

Racialized Mass Incarceration In The United States: Exposing The Facade Of “Liberty And Justice For All”, Emily Wingfield

The Compass

No abstract provided.

Assessing Thematic Correlations Between Extremist Political Organizations Of The Past And Present, Andrew C. Eunice

Honors College Theses

The Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, saw more than five hundred protestors teamed with dozens of militia groups, all representing anti-government and white nationalist groups. Also present were over one thousand counter protestors, many representing far-left and antifascist groups, leading to a violent confrontation between the two sides. As we have developed our core themes of what defines the United States of America, we have also fostered a strong division along the way, enough to the point where some individuals feel the necessity to act with violence to “save our nation” so to speak. This conviction exists within …

The Influence Of Misinformation From The American Perspective, Tyler W. Nelson

Honors College Theses

Over the last decade, conspiracy theorists and larger groups have become much more prominent across the United States, despite conspiracies being present for decades. Previously, they have been dismissed by most, however over the last decade due to an explosive political climate and growing numbers, these groups have begun to act on their beliefs. Events such as the January 6th Insurrection on the United States Capitol building is an unfortunate example as to how far these groups are willing to go. This study’s purpose is to use a nationwide survey to help determine who exactly are these types of individuals …

Presidential Agenda Rhetoric In The State Of The Union Address: Obama And Trump, Danielle Goedken

INSPIRE Student Research and Engagement Conference

Previous research has illustrated that presidents will make many promises along the campaign trail and those promises are what build their agenda and hopefully get them elected. Once elected their agenda continues to be built through speeches. Researchers have compiled the campaign promises of previous administrations and tracked the completion of those promises. They have both tracked the completion of promises and good faith attempts at completing promises. In this paper, I analyze good faith attempts at keeping the promise on their agenda through presidential rhetoric in State of the Union Addresses. Presidents speak to Congress and the public on …

The Media, Onu Institute For Civics And Public Policy, Kennedy Aikey, Hailey Trimpey

Critical Questions

The media has a large influence on day-to-day life. The citizenry has become dependent upon media sources to inform them of current events and provide information about issues of importance to their daily lives. Media have evolved quite a bit over time and have become incredibly influential in our political system. For instance, American presidents now have the ability to communicate freely with the public and have direct ties to news media. We can continue to expect to see the growth of the media in both the political world and our daily lives.

The Tale Of Two Revolutionaries: Jefferson, Marx, And The Proper Use Of Political Violence, David Brostoff

Compass: An Undergraduate Journal of American Political Ideas

While Americans generally condemn the use of political violence, the topic has been put into the spotlight in recent years. What can Thomas Jefferson and Karl Marx’s juxtaposing ideas teach us about the proper use of political violence?

Author information: David Brostoff is a first-year scholar at American University in Washington, DC. He is currently majoring in international relations, minoring in philosophy, and earning a certificate in political theory. After graduating from American University, David intends to pursue law school.

Examining Stock Trading Reforms For Congress Hearing Before The U.S. House Of Representatives Committee On House Administration, Donna M. Nagy

Public Testimony by Maurer Faculty

Professor Nagy testified (text attached, video below) in support of federal legislation that would prohibit members of Congress from owning the securities of individual publicly traded companies as well as certain other investments that would likely conflict with their official duties.

It was nearly 10 years ago to the day when President Barack Obama signed the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act, requiring enhanced financial disclosures and creating new securities transaction reporting rules for members of Congress, certain members of their family, and their staff. The Act also made absolutely clear that a member of Congress who trades securities …

The Nature Of Mimicry: An Evaluation Of Political Party Conflict And Its Implications In The United States, Bridget Gallagher

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

No abstract provided.

The Twilight Of Liberty: Lessons For The United States From Rome’S Dying Republic, Matthew Mccracken

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

A historical comparison of the rise of ancient Rome and the United States as great republics, how the former dissolved under the weight of social, political, and cultural strife, and how the latter may avoid a similar breakdown.

Biblical Basis Of Civil Government, Analeise E. Wasenius

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

No abstract provided.

Economist's Moral Reasoning On Foreign Aid, Stephen Langeland

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

No abstract provided.

China Containment In East Asia: Preventative Or Provocative?, Rachel Solsman

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

Since the end of World War II, the United States has developed and maintained its strategic alliances with Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, and Taiwan, and has worked to contain China through bolstering its deterrence strategy. However, after a century of humiliation, China is modernizing its military capabilities, improving in trade, and increasing political cohesion to become a regional hegemon. In light of these changes to the international order, the United States must re-evaluate its East Asian alliances and its current military and economic deterrence strategy against China. This paper will discuss the history of these alliances, the rise of …

Current United States Security Strategy: Underestimation Of Afghanistan’S State Of Affairs And Resulting Impacts On American Freedom, Hannah Crosby

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

The intent of this paper is to analyze the current state of the United States Security Strategy and the volatile condition of Afghanistan. Due to the shifting focus of the current administration, the United States has been left unprepared for the cultural, social, and political impacts of the American withdrawal from Afghanistan. With a critical assessment of the current security strategy and a profound shift in American political and militaristic goals, the United States can develop proper prevention and containment tactics to combat the reconstitution of Afghanistan as a terrorist haven and deter possible actions that might be taken against …

Russian Disinformation: A Threat To Unity In America, Nicole Wellington

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

No abstract provided.