Other Political Science Commons^™

“Emergency Relief As Routine”: The Evolution Of Fsa’S Livestock Forage Disaster Program In An Era Of Persistent Drought, Shae L. Olsen

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis examines the historical origins, current limitations, and future of the Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP), the primary federal drought disaster relief program for ranchers in the United States. Drawing connections between the Dust Bowl-era Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) and LFP, I argue that the AAA, while innovative at the time, prioritized the maintenance of commodity markets over ecological resilience, disproportionately benefiting white, landowning producers. This trend is reflected in LFP today. Through a policy analysis and original qualitative research, including interviews with 23 FSA staff members in nine states, I examine how LFP operates …

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 …

Alternative Visions Of Swedish State Feminism, Lukas Bullock

Theses and Dissertations--Gender and Women's Studies

Sweden has been lifted as a prominent example of a successful feminist policy enactor, and has built credibility as a humanitarian actor both domestically and transnationally. Simultaneously, intersectionally marginalized groups have attested to patterns of social exclusion and feelings of political disenfranchisement in Swedish society, calling into question Sweden’s reputation for feminist exceptionalism. This dissertation project centers on unpacking this dynamic by examining how Swedish gender equality policymaking institutions design and implement feminist policy, and how those efforts are interpreted and contested by intersectionally marginalized groups of Afro-Swedish feminist activists. Drawing from a mixed-methods framework that includes feminist ethnography (interviews, …

The Impact Of Political Party Control On Health Outcomes In U.S. States, Trevor G. Samaha

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation examines the impact of political party control on health outcomes in U.S. states, focusing on three key indicators: infant mortality, Type II Diabetes deaths, and COVID-19 deaths. Using quantitative methods and data primarily from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this study investigates whether the party affiliation of governors and state legislatures significantly influences these health outcomes. While existing literature suggests that Democratic-led states may achieve better health outcomes due to greater public investment in healthcare, the findings of this dissertation challenge these assumptions. Across all three cases, the analysis reveals predominantly null results, suggesting that …

Human Trafficking In Ohio: A Human Rights Violation, Sunny M. Lloyd

Honors Projects

Human trafficking is an overlooked and underestimated issue in the state of Ohio. The Ohio Attorney General’s Office estimates that over 1,000 children are sex trafficked in Ohio every year. Given the severity and prevalence of this issue, the following research project explores the issue of human trafficking in Ohio and discusses five major human rights violations resulting from human trafficking. This project includes details from an interview with a human trafficking survivor who was trafficked for labor and sex over the course of fifteen years in northeast Ohio. To conclude, the project suggests recommendations for the State of Ohio …

“We Aren’T Dying Yet, But We’Re On The Hospital Bed.” An Analysis Of Scottish Culture And Desire For Independence, Emma Walker

Honors Papers and Posters

Scottish culture has long often been associated with barbaric clans and whiskey; however, there is much more to this culture than meets the eye. After centuries of oppression and pushback on expressing cultural aspects of Scottish identity post the Union of the Crowns in 1603, Scotland has now emerged as a leader in re-establishing its culture and protecting it as well. This paper will aim to analyze how Scotland's cultural pride over time has changed and how this uptick in pride has also led to a political movement for independence. I argue that the aftermath of the Battle of Culloden, …

Emerging Technology And U.S. Presidential War Powers, Blaine D. Ravert

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Autonomous weapons, anti-satellite weapons (ASAT)s, cyber operations, and drones, among other examples of emerging and advanced technologies, have produced changes in how the United States (U.S.) conducts military operations. This thesis argues these technologies are connected by three common features that make U.S. congressional oversight of their usage by U.S. presidents more challenging. First, these systems enable U.S. presidents to act with increased speed, giving the U.S. Congress less time to respond. Second, some legal arguments suggest many uses of these technologies will not implicate war powers related authorities. Third, the legally unsettled nature of these weapons makes it more …

Of Monsters And Men: Fantasy, Aesthetics, And The Nation In Pan's Labyrinth (2006) And The Shape Of Water (2017), Ally Fleming

Scripps Senior Theses

ABSTRACT: Guillermo del Toro has established himself as one of Hollywood’s most beloved filmmakers due to his ability to blend popular genres with arthouse flair. This is especially true when it comes to fairy tales, a common thread woven throughout his films that are consistently imbued with political commentary on authoritarianism. This is most apparent in two of his most critically acclaimed films, Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) and The Shape of Water (2017). Part of why these films are so beloved is how they utilize popular culture not just as tools to foreground the story’s setting, but also to guide the …

Increasing Women In Political Careers, Kendall Craig

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Women are underrepresented in political careers and through a series of questions, female, college-aged participants were asked to rank their answers to various questions in regard to inequalities women face on a scale of one to ten. The participants ran through two interventions where they learned about political careers as well as the struggles of women in political careers, the importance and impact. After the interventions, the exact same questions with the same scales were offered to participants to observe whether education on the topic could increase desire to seek careers in politics. The findings show that a small majority …

Solving The National Security Threat Of The United States Drug Crisis, Anna B. Freehafer

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This thesis analyzes the current drug crisis in the United States with the intention of forming a sound National Security Report and Strategy to equip current and future administrations with the necessary tools and information to adapt to the modern crisis. The number of drug induced and related deaths are rising in the U.S., which arguably is cause for alarm at the federal level. With the country divided on how to properly attack this crisis, which affects hundreds of thousands of lives across the nation, this thesis aims to provide a solution to a drug crisis that is unlike any …

Voter Apathy And Divided Government, Ty'hier Simon

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The proposed research project will pertain to the voter attitudes associated with our government. The association with our government is critical to document because it may reflect the outlook of how the seats are distributed between the two major parties in our system. Voter apathy is the lack of interest in elections of representative democracies. In this project, a correlation may be drawn between voter turnout and how the delegation of our representatives looks. For example, if there is a low voter turnout there may be a swift change in power in Congress or there might be total gridlock. Using …

The Position Of The United States Of America Vis-A-Vis The Question Of Western Sahara: Assessing The Role Of Think Tanks In The Conflict, Hamid Baadeche

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

ABSTRACT

The Position of the United States of America Vis-à-vis the Question of Western Sahara: Assessing the Role of Think Tanks in the Conflict

Hamid Baadeche

Think tank organizations, particularly in the United States, have become a prominent feature of the political landscape. They act as advocates for specific policies that they consider beneficial for the country or a particular societal group. They function as a primary source of information, which they then aim to transform into well-informed policies and sound decisions. They are referred to as "the revolving doors," "idea brokers," and "idea factory." As such, their foremost objective …

Fallow Fields Or Fertile Ground: Analysing Food Governance In A Changing World, Johanna L. Wilkes

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Our food systems are failing us. In particular, industrial food systems fail to deliver healthy, adequate food to billions of people (FAO et al. 2019; FAO et al. 2024) and have led to increased instances of mental health crises for farmers (Jones-Bitton 2019; Younker & Radunovich 2021). In addition, industrial food systems contribute to the devastating impacts of a warming climate (IPCC 2021), biodiversity loss (WWF 2021), and soil erosion (Wise 2019; Badreldin and Lobb 2023) worldwide. Yet, little structural change has occurred in the way agriculture is governed and the problems created by industrial agriculture are becoming increasingly entrenched. …

Effects Of Actualized Language Policy On Ukrainian Stability, 1989-2022, Dawn Hersey

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

This dissertation seeks to generate a new perspective of the complicated relationship between actualized policy and stability through looking at Ukraine’s language policies and stability in a mixed manner approach that includes both primary and secondary sources. Russia justified its irridentist activities through claiming to protect Russian nationals within Ukraine’s borders: language policies within Ukraine appear to be a trigger for Russian antagonism. Neither Russian irridentism nor Ukrainian nationalism are being considered as right or wrong in this dissertation: the intent is to highlight trends, patterns, and perceptions in alignment with Ukrainian language policy. This dissertation does not present a …

Socio-Economic Justice As Solution To The Challenge Of Insecurity In Nigeria, Abdulkadir Salaudeen, Nurudeen Sola Ibrahim

Future Journal of Social Science

Insecurity in Nigeria has, no doubt, reached its crescendo. The affluent and the wretched, for the first time since the transition to democracy in 1999, have something terrible in common—threat to life and property. No one is safe. This study investigates the causes of general insecurity in Nigeria which reduce it to a terrorized country and one of the most dangerous place to live in the world. It examines how Nigeria got into this precarious situation of unprecedented insecurity with a view to proffering solutions. The study utilizes secondary source of data and argues from the perspective of the Social …

Evaluating Passive And Assertive Secularism: A Comparative Study Of France And Sweden, Odessa Clear

International and Global Studies Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis seeks to identify the reasoning behind different outcomes of secularism in both France and Sweden in the context of Ahmet Kuru's passive and assertive secularism model. While explaining the historical causes and evolution of secularist thought, it aims to effectively evaluate contrasting approaches to how secularism is applied. To address the current gap in studies intending to assess secularism, this argument identifies how various factors are impacted by secularist-state policies. Through this analysis, it reveals the determinants in secularist approaches and their consequences on religious tensions or tolerance. This assessment of similar European countries experiencing both immigration and …

Intellectual Property, Global Inequality, And Subnational Policy Variations, Peter K. Yu

Faculty Scholarship

This chapter criticizes the oversimplification of the binary North–South debate on intellectual property, innovation, and global inequality and highlights the wide geographic, sectoral, and income inequalities within middle-income countries. It begins by explaining why the arrival of these countries has called into question the North–South debate. The chapter then moves from the widely studied subject of global inequality to the underexplored topic of national inequality. Focusing on the intellectual property context, the discussion highlights the considerable subnational variations in the economic and technological conditions of middle-income countries. To combat national inequality, this chapter concludes by recommending interventions in three areas: …

The Personality Profile Of Libya’S Muammar Gaddafi, Aubrey Immelman

Psychology Faculty Publications

This research report, prepared for the France 5 television documentary “Le Monde en face: Kadhafi, la folie d’un dictateur,” presents the results of an indirect personality assessment of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi from the conceptual perspective of personologist Theodore Millon.

(Un)Worlding With Karipuna’S Shadowy Alliances: The Mirangã And The Isolados, Hanmin Kin

Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

This ethnographically inspired article investigates the ways in which the Karipuna Indigenous people in Rondônia defend their land in the Western Brazilian Amazon against forces of deforestation and dispossession. I focus on the Karipuna’s plurivalent and collective forest spirits called the mirangã, through life experience accounts of two survivors from the “pre-contact” era who embody the Karipuna-mirangã connection. Through an analysis of the onto-epistemological entanglements in which the mirangã and my interlocutors are situated, I articulate another front of the Karipuna’s multi-faceted resistance: the struggle of worlding vis-à-vis the non-indigenous world. This process also reveals the association (from …

Bottom-Up Global Change: Stealth Action In A Decentralized World, Art Blaser, Trinity Huynh

Political Science Faculty Articles and Research

The climate justice and disability rights movements reflect a paradigm shift from a top-down approach to policy-making to one that emphasizes local efforts by non-state actors.