American Politics Commons^™

From Hobbes To Habermas: The Anti-Cultural Turn In Western Political Thought, Ralph Gert Schoellhammer

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

The theme of this dissertation is the anti-cultural turn of Western Political Thought that has emerged out of Enlightenment thinking and was first turned into a comprehensive political idea by Thomas Hobbes.

Beginning with an overview of psychological research into the phenomenon of culture I put forward the argument that human beings are by nature social and individualistic, but that they oscillate between their ability to put group-interests before individual interests and vice versa. Culture is the main mechanism that influences which interest we give priority. This mechanism work through emotional attachments that create intuitions about what is morally right …

Judicial Elections, Public Opinion, And Their Impact On State Criminal Justice Policy, Travis N. Taylor

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

This dissertation explores whether and how the re-election prospects faced by trial court judges in many American states influence criminal justice policy, specifically, state levels of incarceration, as well as the disparity in rates of incarceration for Whites and Blacks. Do states where trial court judges must worry about facing reelection tend to encourage judicial behavior that results in higher incarceration rates? And are levels of incarceration and racial disparities in the states influenced by the proportion of the state publics who want more punitive policies? These are clearly important questions because they speak directly to several normative and empirical …

The Idea Of A Citizen: The Role Of Higher Education Institutions In The Development Of Citizens And An Exploration Of Innovative Teaching Techniques To Aid In The Process, Eric Matthew Myers

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This work seeks to explain how institutions of higher education and political science educators within those institutions can develop students into citizens. Understanding the role of each (institution, educator, and student) within American democracy is important and the focus of this research. As the roles of each are demarcated, it becomes clear that higher education institutions and their political science educators have a unique ability to nurture students into citizens with a strong sense of civic purpose and understanding.

The subsequent chapters in this work explore the use of experiential education and other innovative teaching methods to determine if students …

The Effects Of Punctuation Events On The Oil Policy Network: A Network Analysis Of Rulemaking Outputs, Fadi M. Mugheirbi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In this dissertation, I display the effect of punctuating events on the oil policy subsystem and network and, in turn, on the rulemaking process. Here I examine whether, and to what extent, the changes in the dynamics of the policy network and the composition of the subsystem caused by the punctuation could alter rulemaking outputs and whether these changes occur simultaneously or sequentially across the policy subsystem and network.

Building upon Punctuation-Equilibrium Theory (PET), Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF), and the Policy Network Approach (PNA) alongside the political control literature, I provide explanations for the routines and outputs of rulemaking. Accordingly, …

Increasing Latino Participation Rates In The 2020 Census In Chelsea, Ma, Fabián Torres-Ardila, Daniela Bravo, Franklin Ortiz

Gastón Institute Publications

Having an accurate count of the city of Chelsea’s Latino population will require strategic organizing by government officials and community leaders. If there is an undercount of the population, especially of immigrants who live in Chelsea, there will be long-term and potentially devastating effects on the city’s political power and less federal funding to address the needs of its Latino majority. We hope the results from this qualitative study will inform policies and recommendations to increase the participation of Chelsea residents in the upcoming 2020 Census. We hope the results will aid in developing culturally specific outreach strategies to inform …

Terministic Screening And Conspiracy Theory In Political Communication: A Critical Analysis Of Trump’S Rhetorical Ties To Fair And Alex Jones Through “Invasion” Immigration Discourse, Emily A. Wiedeman

Masters Theses

This study focuses on the political and social communicative implications that result from mirrored anti-LatinX immigration discourses from three different political entities: President Donald Trump, special-interest hate group the Federation for Immigration Reform (FAIR), and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. Through a critical communication lens, the author presents and discusses the influence of presidential communication, and its ability to contribute to and bolster xenophobic political undertones, creating a communicative environment that functions to empower and embolden proponents of racially based discrimination. Further, this study discusses the power presidential communication has to legitimize, normalize, and amplify the racist and xenophobic anti-LatinX discourses …

How Thick Is The Stained-Glass Ceiling?: An Exploration Of Heteronormativity In Religious Circles, Hannah Rae Smothers

Masters Theses

The 2012 National Congregations Study found that only 11.4% of the total clergy in the United States were women (ARDA 2012). As the congregation size grows, that number declines further, with data indicating only 3.4% of congregations with 1,000 or more members have a female leader. The number of women religious leaders increased by less than one percent between 1998 and 2012. These statistics work well to outline a phenomenon for female religious leaders, their inability to break the stained-glass ceiling. Many religious groups in the United States allow women to become ordained leaders. However, some of the largest religious …

The Monster At The End Of This: A Feminist Media Analysis Of Coverage Of Representative Ilhan Omar, Emma L. Schlei

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

With the impending 2020 election and the upcoming centennial anniversary of the 19th amendment, the topic of women in politics is more relevant than ever. Ilhan Omar is a Representative elected to the 2018 United States House of Representatives and is one member of the “squad,” a group of four women of color under the age of 50 who identify as part of the left wing of the Democratic Party. Ilhan Omar has been the focus of many liberal and conservative media outlets. In this research I focus on the tropes of Islamophobia that Omar faces to examine how political …

Catholicism And Politics In A Fallen World: Understanding Human Imperfection As Relates To Political Institutions, George J. Doyle

CSB and SJU Distinguished Thesis

This thesis is composed of two primary parts, each involving discussion of Catholicism and political life. Part I critiques Thomas Aquinas’ theory of government in light of his theory of nature, with an emphasis on original sin as a defining attribute of the human person. The section concludes with an argument in favor of democracy rooted in Aquinas’s theory of human nature, as well as an understanding of the role of the Catholic Church in light of the claims made in this part of the thesis. Part II contains a political science study assessing factors that contribute to party identification …

Impacts Of Media Communication To Motivate State Level Policy Action: The Case Of The Colorado River Basin, Abigail Rader

CSB and SJU Distinguished Thesis

The cultivation of life within the American Southwest would not have been possible without the Colorado River Basin. The water in the basin today maintains 40 million people and one-twelfth the American economy. As a result of the significance of this river, the Colorado is one of the most regulated waters in the world, yet drought concerns continue to proliferate due to climate change. Drawing from communication and political science literature, the media have frequently been cited as impacting the policy agenda, particularly local media. This paper addresses how the frequency of The Denver Post news reporting and its framing …

Mother Nature And Menvironmental Politics: Analyzing How Gendered Frames Affect Support For The Clean Air Act, Grace Montgomery

Senior Independent Study Theses

While environmental issues are becoming more significant and frequent, concern for the environment varies. Research has shown a gender gap in environmental concern, particularly in that males see helping the environment as compromising their masculinity (Brough et al. 2016, 568). My I.S. examines whether and how gendered frames shape public support for the United States’ environmental air pollution policy, the Clean Air Act. In order to connect an issue to a frame, an individual will draw upon a relevant schema and apply elements from that schema in order to understand the issue. Gender is an accessible schema that strongly shapes …

How Minority Candidates' Intersectional Identities Affect Their Use Of Race And Gender Issue Ownership Campaign Strategies, Mary ("Emma") M. Cotter

Senior Independent Study Theses

This Independent Study explores the ways in which a candidate’s intersectional identity affects their use of gender and race issue ownership techniques in their political campaigns. While prior research has studied the campaign strategies of (white) female candidates and black (male) candidates, it has not studied the effects of possessing multiple minority identities on the campaign strategies employed by black female candidates. Scholars have found that female candidates benefit from embracing gender issue ownership in their campaigns, while black candidates benefit from rejecting race issue ownership in their campaigns. I theorize that black female candidates’ intersectional identities preclude them from …

Arguing Over America's Best Idea: Examining The Congressional Partisan Divide With Regards To Public Lands Policy, Anna Medema

Senior Independent Study Theses

This Independent Study investigates the effect of political party on Congressional roll-call votes on public lands policies and how this effect changes over time. Many scholars have documented the role that political party plays in influencing roll-call voting behavior, but this study fills a gap with regards to public lands policy specifically. I argue that, over time, political party has become more predictive of whether or not a member of Congress will vote in favor of public lands policies. The results of my study show that, beginning around the 1990s, Senators began to divide along party lines on public lands …

The Impact Of State Legislative Term Limits On Descriptive Representation, Matt Baldwin

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Do term limits make state legislatures more descriptively representative of their population? If the composition of a state legislature is a function of its ruleset and design, then term limits—a major shift in the rules—would change who is running for office and who is getting elected. In order to explore this question, a dataset was created by contacting a number of states to solicit responses on the demographics of their state legislatures from 1990-2018. In addition, information regarding some control variables (partisanship, time, economy) was gathered. A gap variable was created to see what difference existed between the proportion of …

The Politics Of Annexation: Oligarchic Power In A Southern City, John V. Moeser, Rutledge M. Dennis

The Politics of Annexation

This Open Access Edition of The Politics of Annexation presents a newly formatted version of the original 1982 edition. The text itself has been edited only for non-substantive style changes and corrections. The Preface, the new Introduction (“Fifty Years Later”), and the index were prepared especially for this edition. The original edition was published by Schenkman Publishing Company, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and is available online through the UR Scholarship Repository at https://scholarship.richmond.edu/bookshelf/307/

The Politics of Annexation examines the process of American cities using annexation of suburban areas as a tool to increase their tax base and generate new revenue. The authors …

Delegating Or Divesting?, Philip A. Hamburger

Faculty Scholarship

A gratifying feature of recent scholarship on administrative power is the resurgence of interest in the Founding. Even the defenders of administrative power hark back to the Constitution’s early history – most frequently to justify delegations of legislative power. But the past offers cold comfort for such delegation.

A case in point is Delegation at the Founding by Professors Julian Davis Mortenson and Nicholas Bagley. Not content to defend the Supreme Court’s current nondelegation doctrine, the article employs history to challenge the doctrine – arguing that the Constitution does not limit Congress’s delegation of legislative power. But the article’s most …

Reflections On Critical Pedagogy In America Latina: La Lucha Continua, Peter Mclaren

Education Faculty Articles and Research

"When I speak in Mexico, I support efforts there to create a revolutionary critical pedagogy—one that has not been domesticated and depotentiated by neoliberal dogma. This means the inclusion of a decolonial pedagogy which challenges the “coloniality of power” (patron de poder colonial) that still resides at the heart of post-colonial societies. I would advise as a central, overarching goal of critical pedagogy the struggle for a socialist alternative to the “value form of labor” that exists in capitalist societies throughout North and South America, and that such efforts must be transnational in scope since capitalism is now transnational in …

Missing Mike Mansfield: Where Have You Gone, Joe Dimaggio, Evan Barrett

Highlands College

A column by Evan Barrett which appeared in the following newspapers:

The Helena Independent Record, January 2, 2020

The Missoulian, December 31, 2019

The Montana Standard, December 31, 2019

The Missoula Current, December 31, 2019

Big Horn Country News, January 9, 2020

Great Falls Tribune, January 3, 2020

Daily Interlake, January 9, 2020

Billings Gazette, January 4, 2020

The Montana Post, January 3, 2020

Newsletter: Network News, Jacksonville Women's Network

Saffy Collection - All Textual Materials

A newsletter for Jacksonville Women’s Network with information on the JWN board, members and events. Date: April 1993

Why Do Some Individuals Abstain From Voting? The Impact Of Age, Education, And Confidence In The Court System On Voter Participation, Kristina Taylor

XULAneXUS

The purpose of this research is to discover why some individuals abstain from voting in America. Using this information, countries may be able to increase voter turnout amongst their population. Literature provided several theories as to why individuals abstain from voting. This research focused on the impact of: age, education, and confidence in the courts system. A regression was conducted using GSS 1998 survey data to observe the impact of these three variables on voter turnout. It was found in this model that age and education have a statistically significant impact on voter turnout, but confidence in the court system …