Political Science Commons^™

Bowling Online : The Internet And The New Social Capital., Jason Gainous, Kevin M. Wagner

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

The decline thesis proponents in the social capital literature have largely ignored the fastest growing venue for new social capital formation – the Internet. We argue that the Internet is making a larger impact than the current research acknowledges. Using survey data from the Pew Internet & American Life Project combined with a survey of college students, we confirm a strong positive relationship between online social networking and political participation. Further, we present evidence that, at least in 2008 election, there was a bias toward voting for Democrats among those who utilized online social networking services including Facebook and Twitter. …

Civic Education And Democratic Capacity : How Do Teachers Teach And What Works?, Allison M. Martens, Jason Gainous

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Objectives In recent years, political scientists have found that civic education improves the democratic capacity of students, yet little research has been done to date on how and why civic education works when it does. In this study, we go inside the classroom to explore how teachers teach civics to find out what works best at preparing young people for responsible, democratic citizenship. Methods Using a survey of American students, principals, and teachers, we examine the varied instructional methods being employed by social studies teachers in ninth-grade classrooms across the country to determine which methods and which combinations of methods …

Central Asia, The Shanghai Cooperation Organization, And American Foreign Policy : From Indifference To Engagement., Charles E. Ziegler

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

This paper examines U.S. engagement in Central Asia over the past two decades, with specific reference to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. While alarmist voices occasionally warn of the threat to American interests from China and Russia through the SCO, the organization’s influence appears limited. Washington has engaged it only sporadically, preferring to conduct relations bilaterally with the Central Asian states.

Rethinking Critical Mass In The Federal Appellate Courts., Laura Moyer

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

This article draws from critical mass studies of gender in other political institutions to inform an application to the US Courts of Appeals. The results demonstrate the utility of considering court-level aspects of diversity. As mixed-sex panels become more common within a circuit, both male and female judges increasingly support plaintiffs in civil rights claims, though the magnitude of the effect is larger for women. The presence of a female chief judge is also positively associated with pro-plaintiff decisions by men and women in sex discrimination cases.

Greece In Crisis: An Interview With Despina Lalaki, Despina Lalaki

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

After Assad: Syria’S Post-Conflict Reconstruction, H. M. Roff

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Simon Adams and Condoleezza Rice warn us that with the portended fall of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, the country could witness even more heinous crimes and, potentially, regional political fallout. These worries are not unfounded. However, what seems to be truly missing in their discussions is any mention of post-conflict reconstruction planning. This is unfortunate, as much handwringing is still occurring over "what to do" in Syria, and it will continue until there is a clear vision of what to do after this civil war. Syria's post-conflict reconstruction plan is—or should be—inherently tied to its current operational agenda.

Protracted Social Conflict: A Reconceptualization And Case Analysis, Melissa M. C. Beaudoin

Theses and Dissertations

What are the necessary components of protracted social conflict (PSC)? The works of Edward Azar have laid the foundation as to how PSC is approached in modern scholarship by identifying four necessary components: effective participation, security, distinctive identity, and social recognition of identity. However, do these components account for all of the descriptive and sustaining aspects of PSC? How are these components measured? Furthermore, testing and verification of these components has been limited. Of specific interest to this dissertation, then, is how the theory of PSC is organized and what its theoretically necessary components truly are. This dissertation reconceputalizes and …

Race, Class, Gender, And Linked Fate: A Cross-Sectional Analysis Of African American Political Partisanship, 1996 And 2004, Sherral Yolanda Brown-Guinyard

Theses and Dissertations

OBJECTIVE: To determine the predominance of linked fate and socio-demographic predictors race, class, and gender in the political partisanship of African Americans, and in the political partisanship of comparison racial and ethnic group populations.

METHODS: Data obtained from the 1996 National Black Election Study panel series were used to examine the political attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs of 824 adult African Americans. In addition, data collected for the 2004 National Politics Study examined 3,087 American adults from comparison racial and ethnic population groups. These groups included 706 African Americans, 868 White Non-Hispanics, 676 Hispanics, 466 Asians, and 371 Black Caribbeans. Multinomial …

Myths About Syria, James Pattison

Human Rights & Human Welfare

In my contribution, I want to focus on five fallacious claims and arguments that have been presented about the conflict in Syria. (Please note that this piece was written in Dec 2012).

Who's Attending The Party? Elections, Parties, And Democratization In Postcommunist States, Jonathan Windle Riggs

Dissertations

The record of democratization in the postcommunist states indicates that there is a relationship between the type of electoral system they adopted and the success of their democratic development--countries which instituted proportional representation (PR) elections have achieved greater success than have those countries which instituted single member district (SMD) elections. The record also shows a second relationship existing between type of election method used and the development of political parties as important political actors--PR methods promote party politics whereas SMD methods do not. A third phenomenon--significant numbers of ambitious office seekers who have no party affiliation competing in SMD elections--strongly …

Reconciling Positivism And Realism: Kelsen And Habermas On Democracy And Human Rights, David Ingram

Philosophy: Faculty Publications and Other Works

It is well known that Hans Kelsen and Jürgen Habermas invoke realist arguments drawn from social science in defending an international, democratic human rights regime against Carl Schmitt’s attack on the rule of law. However, despite embracing the realist spirit of Kelsen’s legal positivism, Habermas criticizes Kelsen for neglecting to connect the rule of law with a concept of procedural justice (Part I). I argue, to the contrary (Part II), that Kelsen does connect these terms, albeit in a manner that may be best described as functional, rather than conceptual. Indeed, whereas Habermas tends to emphasize a conceptual connection between …

Trends In The Contracting Out Of Local Government Services, Cristiane Carvalho Keetch

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Challenging economic conditions have led local governments to explore alternative methods to deliver public services to residents. This thesis explores historical contracting out trends and offers new research about contracting out activity by local jurisdictions in the state of Florida. Through an e-survey, the new data examines if cities and counties in Florida increased contracting out activity of public services in response to a declining economic environment and changes in population growth trends.

This elaborate and multifaceted task is accomplished through a deliberate interdisciplinary research approach. The literature review consists of well-known publication responsible for creating the foundation of contracting …

Maximizing Citizenship With Minimal Representation: An Analysis Of Afro-Argentine Civil Society Organizing Strategies, Prisca Suarez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the organizing strategies and successes of Afro-Argentine civil society organizations (CSO) in Buenos Aires. I argue that despite low representation, Afro-Argentines have strategically designed their initiatives in ways that draw on national discourses of identity rights and nationalism; and, as well, have used cultural inclusion to influence state actors, creating agency and increasing visibility. Afro-Argentines are a highly understudied population due to the common belief that they do not exist in Argentina as a group. This thesis not only dispels that myth with a history of the long hidden importance of Afro-Argentines contributions to the formation of …

“One Day On The Red Hills Of Georgia”: The Effects Of Immigration Status On Latino Migrants’ Experience Of Discrimination, Utilization Of Public Services, And Attitudes Toward Acculturation, Mikhail Lyubansky, Paul A. Harris, William E. Baker, Cameron D. Lippard

Faculty Articles

This study documents the experiences and identities of undocumented Spanish-speaking migrants in Georgia vis-à-vis their counterparts who have legal status. Structured interviews were used to collect data from 127 adults (49 percent undocumented at their time of arrival and 38 percent undocumented at the time of data collection) regarding their experience of discrimination, utilization of services, identity preferences, mental health, and beliefs in five domains: vulnerability, injustice, distrust, superiority, and helplessness. Significant immigration status differences emerged for education, income, utilization of some city services, and a few of the belief scales. However, the documented and undocumented samples were more similar …

European Union Institutions, Democratic Discourse, And The Color Revolutions, Lizette G. Howard

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Since the Treaty of the European Union in 1993, the EU has embraced institutional reforms with the stated purpose of achieving greater unity in foreign affairs. Despite the EU's leading role in the political and economic reforms of former Soviet satellites in Central and Eastern Europe, the EU has been less consistent and cohesive in former Soviet space further east--in regions fraught with undemocratic qualities and places where the EU enjoys fewer credible incentives and less leverage. While scholars point to divergent national interests as obstacles for unity abroad, few have unraveled how the institutions of the EU itself pose …

Navigation And Immersion Of The American Identity In A Foreign Culture To Emergence As A Culturally Relative Ambassador, Lee H. Rosen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Globalization is forcing many American college students to re-evaluate their perspective on foreign travel. If they are offered an opportunity to improve their cultural relativity skill set by immersing themselves into a new culture, the more astute students might choose to embark on that journey especially if it would result in resume enhancement. This paper focuses upon a group of twelve community college students' cross-cultural experiences, navigation techniques, and adaptation methods as student interns teaching conversational English in Changchun, China for a period of nine to thirteen weeks in spring 2011. Several areas of interest emerged from their experiences …

From Zaire To The Drc: A Case Study Of State Failure, Adam Zachariah Trautman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The issue of state failure within the international system has been a perplexing phenomenon in our increasingly mobile and modern society. The question of why some states succeed in developing into strong states within the international environment and why some fail is a question often overlooked. The focus of this thesis will be on three key factors that contribute towards state failure. The research will show how these three key factors: outdated state infrastructure, lack of economic development, and external intervention contribute to the occurrence of this phenomenon. Analyzing these key factors will highlight how state failure occurs within a …

Comparative Political Corruption In The United States: The Florida Perspective, Andrew Jonathon Wilson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Political corruption is a cancer - a malignant phenomenon that affects every political system and every person in the world. Corruption undermines the very fabric of society and the faith of people in their government. It makes goods more expensive, stymies development in developing nations, and it makes both the United States and the world a more dangerous place. Because of its negative effects and universality, corruption should be studied. Its study leads to greater understanding, the discovery of effective approaches to prevention, and restored faith in political systems. Its study also illuminates and breaks down barriers to effective government …

From Upper Volta To Burkina Faso: A Study Of The Politics Of Reaction And Reform In A Post-Colonial African Nation-State, 1960-1987, Bryan J. Williamson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Abstract (from thesis text)

From Upper Volta to Burkina Faso, is the study of the politics of reaction and reform in a post-colonial nation-state of Burkina Faso. Since its independence from France on 5 August 1960 to 15 October 1987, Burkina Faso, the "land of the upright" people, has experience five changes in government. All of the coups that took place in this twenty-seven year period were reactionary and reforming. However, the most memorable reforms arrived after the coup of 4 August 1983 which gave rise to a youthful president in a thirty-three year old Captain Thomas Sankara. As the …

Accidental Detention: A Threat To The Legitimacy Of Venezuelan Democracy, Mabel Gabriela Durán-Sánchez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The main argument of this thesis is that the penitentiary crisis in Venezuela is brought about an inept criminal justice system whose functioning (or lack thereof) further exacerbates overcrowding in penitentiary facilities as well as violates the most basic human rights. More elaborately, I argue that the unintentional (mis)use of pre-trial preventive detention, one of the consequences of the inept criminal justice system, further exacerbates the overcrowding in prisons and creates serious human rights implications. The purpose of this study is to establish a connection between the penitentiary crisis in Venezuela, with a focus on pre-trial preventive detention, and the …