Political Science Commons^™

Qualitative Meta-Analysis On Three Aspects Of The Federal Budget: The Process, Politics And Policies, Morgan B. (Hittinger) Weiss

Selected Honors Theses

Over the last few years, policymakers and the media have paid special attention to the federal budget, deficits and the national debt as the recent recession plunged the nation into the red. In response, some called for fiscal tightening while others simultaneously advocated for further stimulus spending to accelerate the recovery. Beyond the debate on how to respond to the short-term deficits caused by the recession and a sluggish recovery are discussions of looming budgetary struggles. The medium to long-term budget concerns are driven primarily by the United States’ rapidly aging society and rising health care costs. These two factors …

The Future Of Geography In Health Policy : The Applicability Of The Dartmouth Atlas To Health Reform In The United States, Catherine Chase Eager

Honors Theses

Regardless of political ideology, most policy makers agree that the United States health care system is severely flawed and significant reform is crucial.1 However, consensus ends there. Numerous reform efforts have been made over the past few decades, but the only major successful reform has been through the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in March 2010.2 With each reform effort there are many conflicting proposals considered and much controversy arises. The Affordable Care Act, as the law is more commonly called, is a controversial law and does not have unanimous support.3 However, to many, this landmark …

Vol. 7 No. 1, Moynihan European Research Centers, Spring 2013, Moynihan European Research Centers

Newsletters from Moynihan European Research Centers

Sports, nations and authoritarian regimes -- Ivar Raig -- Atlantis Transatlantic Degree Program -- Introducing the new Atlantis cohort -- Eurochannel Film showcase -- 2013 call for summer grants and European Certificate Program

Developing A Game-Theoritic Analysis Of Terrorism, Matthew A. Love

Masters Theses

My research demonstrates the applicability of game theory to analyzing terrorism through consideration of multiple examples. These examples provide a foundation upon which further research involving the application of game theory to terrorism can be explored.

My research contributes to a growing body of literature, especially since the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, in which it has been argued that terrorists are rational agents and, because of that, game theory can be usefully applied to an analysis of terrorism. My research further supports this conclusion.

Disease, War, And Famine In The Sudan And Haiti: A Crisis Noticed And A Crisis Ignored, Melissa Whalen

Masters Theses

The media acts as a gatekeeper and decides what material to cover and what not to cover. In order to better understand why one disaster receives media coverage and another crisis is virtually unnoticed by the media, the motives behind covering one story over another is analyzed in this study. Three major American newspaper articles concerning the Haitian earthquake and the crisis in Darfur are examined in order to discover the media's motives for covering Haiti over Darfur.

Security Of The Nation: Why Do We Need ‘Mothers Of Martyrs’ In Turkey?, Esra Gedik

disClosure: A Journal of Social Theory

No abstract provided.

Book Reviews, Laina Farhat-Holzman, Bertil Haggman, Pedro Geiger, Michael Andregg

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Winning In New Democracies: Why Some Parties Are More Victorious Than Others In Foundational Elections, Josue Gomez

McNair Scholars Research Journal

There is a spectrum of parties that exist in foundational elections in new democracies, and this research will seek to identify why some parties are more successful than others, focusing on Latin America. These comparisons will highlight important characteristics of the parties that give them advantages and make them more likely to win. Subsequent studies will examine new democracies in other regions. A party can choose to embrace an idea or movement, such as the legacy of an old regime or a transition to democracy. Hypotheses are developed that will test variables that lead to a party increasing its vote …

The Epistemology And Methodology Of Exploratory Social Science Research: Crossing Popper With Marcuse, Bernd Reiter

Government and International Affairs Faculty Publications

This article seeks to propose a rationale for exploratory research in the social sciences. Inspired by the recent debates around qualitative methods (Gerring, 2001; George and Bennett, 2005; Brady and Collier, 2004; Mahoney and Rueschemeyer, 2003; Ragin, 2008; to name just a few), I seek to demonstrate that exploratory research also has a rightful place within the social sciences. In order to live up to its potential, exploratory research needs to be conducted in a transparent, honest, and selfreflexive way – and follow a set of guidelines that ensure its reliability. Exploratory research, if conducted in such a way, can …

Slavery Is Bad For Business: Analyzing The Impact Of Slavery On National Economies, Monti Narayan Datta, Kevin Bales

Political Science Faculty Publications

This article, using a novel dataset, demonstrates that slavery is empirically bad for business. Building upon the work of Robert Smith, the authors analysis examines the relationship between the prevalence of slavery in a country (in terms of the proportion of the population enslaved) and several economic measures (the United Nations Human Development Index, growth domestic product in terms of purchasing power parity, access to financial services, and the Gini coefficient). In each instance, controlling for alternative explanations, greater levels of slavery are associated with a decline in economic growth and human development. The findings imply that beyond the morality …

Landscapes To Learnscapes: Exploring Schoolyard-Based Education, Emily I. Palena, Caroline T. Spurgin

Pitzer Senior Theses

This thesis explores schoolyard-based education as a viable and necessary method for rectifying the shortcomings within the American public school system and the Nature-deficit Disorder epidemic. We argue that schoolyard-based education should be fully integrated into the school system, not in the sole form of popularized school gardens, but as a standard teaching method. We show this using extensive research and a case study of three elementary schools in Claremont, California.

"The Jaws Of Proprietary Slavery": The Pennsylvania Assembly's Conflict With The Penns, 1754-1768, Steven Deyerle

Masters Theses

In late 1755, the vituperative Reverend William Smith reported to his proprietor Thomas Penn that there was "a most wicked Scheme on Foot to run things into Destruction and involve you in the ruins." The culprits were the members of the colony's unicameral legislative body, the Pennsylvania Assembly (also called the House of Representatives). The representatives held a different opinion of the conflict, believing that the proprietors were the ones scheming, in order to "erect their desired Superstructure of despotic Power, and reduce to a State of Vassalage and Slavery, some of His majesty's most faithful and loyal Subjects." The …

The Ministry Of Economic Warfare: Anglo-American Relations 1939-1941, Jonathan Davis

Masters Theses

An exploration of Anglo-American relations beginning in the interwar period to American involvement in World War II. This thesis explores the actions of the Ministry of Economic Warfare and how it affected Anglo-American relations before American commitment to the allied cause. It highlights the existing economic contention that existed between Great Britain and America before the conflict and acknowledges that the Britain and American alliance that is enjoyed today was not inevitable or necessarily desired by either nation. It demonstrates through the actions of the British Ministry of Economic Warfare the paradigm shift in Great Britain concerning the preservation of …

Creating Sustainable Economic And Ecological Growth In The Congo Basin: Bushmeat Consumption And Biodiversity Protection, Richelle Lynn Warnock

Masters Theses

This research examines the economic and ecological sustainability of bushmeat hunting in the Congo Basin, specifically the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Congo. Although bushmeat hunting has provided short term gain for individuals in the region, long term solutions focusing on micro and macro level interventions may provide community wide benefits, while protecting Congo Basin wildlife. Research shows that a focus on the development of key economic sectors such as agriculture, mineral resources and hydroelectricity, as well as the growth of infrastructure may provide viable economic gain for the Congo Basin. Ecotourism and improvements to forest management …

Why They Rise Up, Or Not: A Study Of Linguistic Minorities And Ethnic-National Mobilization, Yelei Kong

Honors Projects

Most theories of nationalism focus on majority nationalism and do not provide an adequate explanation of the inaction of most ethnic minorities. The first part of this paper adopts the political process model from social movement theory to study the factors that prompt linguistic minorities to mobilize on ethno-national grounds. Using a large-N statistical model with data drawn from the Minorities at Risk (MAR) database, the results indicate that group capacity, a favorable opportunity structure, and strong issue framing facilitate ethno-national mobilization. The second part of the paper employs a most similar system design to compare Uzbek language minorities in …

Justice Across The Hemispheres: The Effect Of The Pinochet Arrest On Domestic Courts In Chile And Spain, Audrey A. Hansen

Honors Theses and Capstones

This study examines whether the 1998 arrest, by order of a Spanish judge, of former Chilean President Augusto Pinochet in London for crimes of genocide and terrorism impacted the attitude of Chilean and Spanish courts toward prosecuting their own country’s human rights violations. It argues that after 1998 Chile’s judiciary increased prosecutions against former regime officials, while the Spanish judiciary upheld Spain’s 1977 Amnesty Law and declined to participate in the national discourse on the country’s past human rights violations. This research includes a comparative case study of Chile and Spain, their recent histories, their judiciaries’ attitudes towards prosecution of …

Exploring Relationships Between Global, National And Local Actors: A Case Study Approach To Ingos In Post-Reform Vietnam, Alyssa L. Bosold

Student Publications

In 1986, the Vietnamese government undertook a series of reforms known as doi moi. These reforms were mainly economic adjustments that encouraged globalization through capitalism, international trade, and foreign investment. They restructured Vietnam’s economy from a centrally-planned system to a market economy with a socialist orientation. This study focuses on the political and cultural aspects of globalization after doi moi, and analyzes the development of international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) in Vietnam. Specifically, it seeks to address the following research question: How has the INGO sector changed with increasing globalization in Vietnam after the 1986 doi moi reforms, and what are …

The Grand Paris Express: An Analysis Of Social And Political Trends Towards Mass Transit Planning In The Île-De-France Region, Charlotte M. Leasia

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis examines the Grand Paris Express project currently underway in the Île-de-France. The basis of this project is a series of new and renovated railway lines to connect and span across the entirety of the region. They are being planned with the hopes to improve urbanization for the outlying suburbs. The Île-de-France is the wealthiest region in France, but it has high economic inequality between its departments. One hard hit area is Seine-St-Denis. This is the area I will be focusing primarily on. Department number 93, its urban landscape holds histories of rioting, unemployment, and large immigrant populations. In …

Revolutionary Betrayal: The Fall Of King George Iii In The Experience Of Politicians, Planters, And Preachers, Benjamin J. Barlowe

Masters Theses

When describing the imperial crisis of 1763-1776 between the British government and the American colonists, historians often refer to Great Britain as a united entity unto itself, a single character in the imperial conflict. While this offers rhetorical benefits, it oversimplifies the complex constitutional relationship between the American periphery and the British center. Instead, the path to independence is a story of how Americans rejected the authority of each part of the central British government in turn. Americans drew a clear distinction between protesting the authority of the British Parliament and that of King George III himself. Rather than recalling …

Emotion And Public Attention To Political Issues, Michael W. Gruszczynski

Department of Political Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Which mechanisms underlie the orientation of public attention to political issues? Though research on media agenda-setting has been one of the most successful enterprises in political communication and behavior, little is known of the actual processes that drive this phenomenon. I hypothesize that inherent in all environmental stimuli is emotional information, and that it is this information that drives the linkages between media and public agendas. Using a combination of large-scale automated content analyses of several political issues in the New York Times and public search attention data, I demonstrate that negatively-valenced and arousing coverage work concurrently with the volume …