Other Political Science Commons^™

The Perils Of Ignoring (Or Misunderstanding) Politics And Organizing, David Johns

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Conservation scientists and advocates were surprised by the U.S. Congress stripping away protection for wolves in the US northern Rocky Mountains. If they had paid attention to earlier political lessons in which court victories had been undermined by determined political organizing they would not have been surprised and could have adopted strategies that would have given them much more leverage with elected officials. Instead conservationists were out-organized and elected officials normally supportive of the U.S. Endangered Species Act responded to anti-wolf groups because they brought more pressure to bear than conservationists. Although political lessons are specific to the system in …

Natural Phenomena As Potential Influence On Social And Political Behavior: The Earth’S Magnetic Field, Jackie R. East

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

Researchers use natural phenomena in a number of disciplines to help explain human behavioral outcomes. Research regarding the potential effects of magnetic fields on animal and human behavior indicates that fields could influence outcomes of interest to social scientists. Tests so far have been limited in scope. This work is a preliminary evaluation of whether the earth’s magnetic field influences human behavior it examines the baseline relationship exhibited between geomagnetic readings and a host of social and political outcomes. The emphasis on breadth of topical coverage in these statistical trials, rather than on depth of development for any one model, …

Theorizing More Inclusive Cities: A Relational Model Of Boundary Transformation And Urban Research Agenda, Leigh Graham

Publications and Research

To generate more inclusive environments for marginalized urban communities of color demands a strategy that privileges symbolic boundary change and uses it as the inroad towards spatial changes. This paper theorizes a three step relational process of a) communicative democratic activism, b) "multicultural" capital brokers providing access to the policy making process, and c) practices of community building that reflect the role of cities as key sites for sociospatial boundary transformation. An emphasis on discursive and ideational change, relying on communicative democratic processes steeped in historical, comparative analysis opens up our minds towards different classification schemes for stigmatized groups. Participating …

Lgbt Politics, C. Heike Schotten

C. Heike Schotten

No abstract provided.

South-South Relations And The English School Of International Relations: Chinese And Brazilian Ideas And Involvement In Sub-Saharan Africa, Anthony Petros Spanakos, Joseph Marques

Department of Political Science and Law Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The rise of large developing countries has led to considerable discussions of re-balancing global relations and giving greater priority to understanding South-South relations. This paper, in exploring the central ideas of Chinese and Brazilian foreign policy and the behavior of these two rising Southern countries toward Sub-Saharan Africa, argues that the English School of International Relations is well suited to understanding the intentions and actions that characterize South-South relations.

Mamluk Jerusalem: Architecturally Challenging Narratives, Andrew C. Smith

LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University

Narratives abound concerning the religious and political positioning of Jerusalem in the past as well as the present and have been used in a variety of ways to serve various ideologies or political ends. One such narrative (which can be found even in some academic treatises of the history of Jerusalem) states that following the Muslim re-conquest of the city after the Crusades Muslim rulers neglected the city entirely, leading to its decline into obscurity and ruin. This narrative asserts that the city remained as such until Zionism, Jewish immigration, and, most especially, the establishment of the state of Israel …

Gathering "Wild" Food In The City: Rethinking The Role Of Foraging In Urban Ecosystem Planning And Management, Rebecca J. Mclain, Patrick T. Hurley, Marla R. Emery, Melissa R. Poe

Environment and Sustainability Faculty Publications

Recent “green” planning initiatives envision food production, including urban agriculture and livestock production, as desirable elements of sustainable cities. We use an integrated urban political ecology and human–plant geographies framework to explore how foraging for “wild” foods in cities, a subversive practice that challenges prevailing views about the roles of humans in urban green spaces, has potential to also support sustainability goals. Drawing on research from Baltimore, New York City, Philadelphia, and Seattle, we show that foraging is a vibrant and ongoing practice among diverse urban residents in the USA. At the same time, as reflected in regulations, planning practices, …

The Politics Media Equation:Exposing Two Faces Of Old Nexus Through Study Of General Elections,Wikileaks And Radia Tapes, Ratnesh Dwivedi Mr

Ratnesh Dwivedi

The important identity of a responsible media is playing an unbiased role in reporting a matter without giving unnecessary hype to attract the attention of the gullible public with the object of making money and money only.After reporting properly the media can educate the public to form their own opinion in the matters of public interest. Throughout the centuries, the world has never existed without information and communication, hence the inexhaustible essence of mass media. The government has the power to either make or reject whatever that will exist within its environment. It also determines how free the mass media …

¿Que Dejaron Las Elecciones?, Augusto Reina, Maximo Reina

Augusto Reina

En este articulo, análizamos el escenario político tras la última elección legislativa en Argentina. Más allá de los titulares, sostenemos que no hubo ganadores absolutos, sino relativos. Es que hay dos complicaciones latentes: 1) El gobierno tiene un importante caudal de votos pero no tiene candidato y 2) la oposición, tiene un importante caudal de votos pero tiene varios candidatos. Todo indica que estamos yendo a la carrera presidencial más competitiva de las últimas décadas y eso es una buena noticia.

National Power As A Critical Terrorist Target Choice: A Dataset On The Activities Of The Jamaaahl Al-Sunnah Li-Da’Wawa Al-Jihad (Boko Haram) Sect In Nigeria (2009-2012), Henry U. Ufomba

henry u ufomba

Should we consider a terrorist group as a rational player in its interaction with the state? If yes, does this give room for a rational expectation in its target choice? Situated within these questions, this dataset present the activities of the terrorist group JamaaAhl al-Sunnah li-da’wawa al-Jihad popularly known as the Boko Haram sect in Nigeria between 2009 to 2012. The key objective of the dataset is to match each of Boko Haram’s target type with the primary assumption of the Uyo School in other to aid future empirical study on the subject to determine its robustness.

Manufacturing Legitimacy: A Critical Theory Of Election News Coverage, Gabriel N. Elias

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

To what degree does instrumental reason influence election news coverage? Using Habermas's understanding of system/life-world as a heuristic, I map the rationalization process of political communication. This illuminates the institutional logics at play in the field of politics and the field of journalism, and the way the social dynamics between them enable the framing of political life as a strategic game. This understanding is then contextualized within an analysis of the media frames that informed the Canadian federal election of 2011. I find that news coverage does tend to focus on political strategy; but this is not wholly at the …

Corruption, Democracy And Asia-Pacific Countries, Neil Campbell, Shrabani Saha

Neil Campbell

This paper argues that the relationship between democracy and corruption is nonmonotonic. When a country shifts from autocratic rule to highly imperfect democracy (an ‘electoral democracy’) it is frequently perceived that the level of corruption increases. Conversely, when the democracy level is already relatively high (approaching ‘mature democracy’) an increase in the level of democracy is typically expected to decrease the level of corruption. To assist with our discussion of these issues, before going on to the empirical part of the paper, we look specifically at the case of South Korea to illustrate how corruption responded to an increasing level …

Special Religious Education: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly, Cathy Byrne

Dr Cathy Byrne

No abstract provided.

Turkey, Islamic Politics And The ‘Turkish Model’, Mehmet Ozkan

Mehmet OZKAN

No abstract provided.

Campaigning For A Seat On The Un Security Council: A Middle Power Reflection On The Role Of Public Diplomacy, Caitlin Byrne

Caitlin Byrne

For active middle power states like Australia, securing a seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is indeed a ‘prize to be pursued with vigour’.1 In today’s complex and interdependent world, pursuit of this prize requires more than just intense diplomatic lobbying within the corridors of the UN in New York. Successful election to the UNSC turns upon the broad notions of international reputation and image. The campaign itself is a significant exercise in the engagement and persuasion of wider international audiences who have interests in and expectations of the UNSC candidate nations. Drawing in particular upon the past …

An Affordable Model For Enduring Iss Mission Operations With Increased Scientific Productivity, Donovan Torgerson, Josh Berk, Jeremy Straub, Anders Nervold

Jeremy Straub

The current model of operations for the International Space Station (ISS) is an exercise in futility. Persistent maintenance, risk aversion, high ground support and logistics costs and a lack of scientific productivity have rendered the world's most expensive laboratory severely underutilized.

An alternate management paradigm for ISS operations, based upon an approach utilized by national, state and local governments for the maintenance of public infrastructure (e.g., roadways) is presented. These governments, instead of trying to become experts at estimating the costs of, planning for and conducting repairs and upkeep on this infrastructure, instead hire a commercial vendor to perform these …

Agency Input As A Policy Making Tool: Analyzing The Influence Of Agency Input On Presidential Policy Success In Congress, José Villalobos

José D. Villalobos

This study posits a theoretical framework for understanding the role and value of agency input in presidential legislative policy making. I assert that by employing agency input for policy development, presidents instill their proposals with a degree of bureaucratic objectivity, expertise, process transparency, and agency support, which aids their legislative passage while lowering the extent of changes made to policy substance in the process. To test my hypotheses, I conduct binary and ordered logistic regression analyses using pooled cross-sectional data across twelve administrations from 1949-2010. I find that agency input serves as a key component for increased presidential legislative success.

A Federalist George W. Bush And An Anti-Federalist Barack Obama? The Irony And Paradoxes Behind Republican And Democratic Administration Drug Policies, José Villalobos

José D. Villalobos

During President George W. Bush’s tenure in the White House, his administration stood clearly against state-level efforts in California and elsewhere to decriminalize soft drugs. Despite his loyalty to smaller government values and state sovereignty on other issues, the prospect of state-level drug decriminalization led Bush to pursue federal means of enforcing anti-drug laws. Years later, President Barack Obama, though known for his reputation as a federalist, shifted power over drug policy enforcement more towards the state level as a means to allow certain states to enact drug decriminalization policies at their will, particularly with respect to medicinal marijuana. The …

Political Culture On The National Web: The Role Of Political Culture In Online Political Activity And The Case Of Hungarian Politics On Facebook, Linda Börzsei

Linda Börzsei

The emerging field of national web studies aims to offer new perspectives on studying the internet: it calls for framing the internet not as a global and virtual entity but one which comprises multiple heterogeneous layers embedded in social contexts. The national web as an object of study describes layers of this sort, focusing on web spaces that are demarcated by national lines. In this thesis, I propose an approach to analyse national webs as well as demonstrate its usefulness. I argue that national identity and other political beliefs and values have a considerable impact on the formation and workings …

La Larga Marcha De Los Presidenciables, Augusto Reina, Maximo Reina

Augusto Reina

Tras el match electoral que supuso un revés para el gobierno nacional, ya circula la tentación de definir los candidatos presidenciales. Pero claro, todos las fuerzas que aspiren al poder en el 2015 tienen el desafío de ser sustentables por 18 meses. Esto es toda una panacea para la política argentina.

¿Cuántos de ellos tienen las capacidades para hacerlo? En este articulo, nos centramos en la larga marcha que deberán hacer los presidenciables. Haciendo un balance de su posición actual, sus ventajas comparativas y los desafíos a futuro.