Political Science Commons^™

Wealth, Public Goods, And Terror Damage, Annie Ackerman Speers, Kendra Pinegar

Sigma: Journal of Political and International Studies

The connection between macroeconomic status and terrorism is disputed; some find links between macroeconomic status and terrorism while others find no link between overall economic status and terrorist occurrence. We theorize that a country’s economic status, defined as overall GDP, is linked to the damage that terror groups do. However, we theorize that this link is contingent on public goods distribution by terror groups. More specifically, we theorize that terror groups provide public goods to compensate for a lack of public goods spending by governments. Using OLS and instrumental modeling, we find a negative link between GDP and terror damage, …

Between "Hippies In Suits" And "Money Is The Name Of The Game": Farm Animal Advocates' Analyses Of Political Power In The Farm Bill, Jeff Thomas

Theses and Dissertations

The animal agriculture industry annually slaughters roughly ten billion land animals in the United States. What can be done to improve their welfare and lessen their suffering?

Over the past decade, the problem of farm animal welfare and suffering has drawn increasing interest from the effective altruism community, a loose movement of utilitarian advocates seeking technocratic solutions to social problems (Singer, 2015). As effective altruism has become a more potent driver of the animal welfare movement, an increasing number of nonprofits have begun engaging in political advocacy for farm animal welfare. Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz’ Open Philanthropy is the largest …

Reply Stop To Stop, Molly A. M. Garrett

Theses and Dissertations

Over the course of 8 years working in progressive political strategy, 2015–2023, I became increasingly critical of the systems, formulas and tools we were using to communicate with voters. Reply STOP to Stop is documentation of my time at graduate school, of wrestling with ideas of political design, language, communication and distribution. I analyzed my past work — all the texts, emails, social media posts, print ads, web banners, videos and other miscellaneous scripted content — and wondered if we would all be better off without it. Would elections be fairer, would there be less fake news, more community building? …

The Vietnam War And The Regional Context, Wen-Qing Ngoei

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This chapter traces Southeast Asia’s overall pro-U.S. trajectory from before and through the American war in Vietnam, a process in which the region’s anticommunist nationalists collaborated with the United States and Britain to gain, and remain in, power. Between the late 1940s through the early 1960s, indigenous anticommunist elites in Thailand and the Philippines rose to political dominance with U.S. assistance; in Malaya and Singapore they did so with British support. The United States and Britain, with their Malayan and Singaporean allies, would influence developments within Indonesia that precipitated the Indonesian Army’s rightwing coup of 1965, a transformative event that …

Exploring The Impact Of Collaboration Processes On Policy Networks Success: A Case Study Of Food Policy Councils, Beomgeun Cho, In Hae Noh, April M. Roggio, Luis Felipe Luna-Reyes

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Innovative forms of collaborative governance have evolved to address a diversity of wicked problems. Collaboration processes involved in these forms of governance appear to have a paradoxical nature, where the necessary inclusiveness and diversity of actors may also be important obstacles for a successful collaboration. We apply theories of collaborative and network governance, and fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis, to explore the impact of collaboration process characteristics (network density, diversity, inclusion and participation) on 12 food policy councils. Our findings suggest that collaborative arrangements where diverse stakeholders have equal and inclusive access to active deliberation constitute one path to effective outcomes.

Diaspora Politics And A Rising China: Ambivalent Ties Amid Geopolitical Changes, Jiaqi M. Liu

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Over the past decade, the rise of China on the global stage has witnessed the emergence of members of the Chinese diaspora as new meso-level actors in mediating Sino-Western relations. As part of China’s burgeoning “public diplomacy” around the globe, Chinese migrants organize cultural events to establish grassroots and semi-official exchanges between China and the West. This chapter provides a state-of-the-art examination of so-called “diasporic public diplomacy” whereby the Chinese diaspora plays an increasingly important role in promoting China’s soft power abroad. Based on long-term fieldwork in a prominent emigrant community, I analyse how Chinese national policies envision two specific …

The Long Border: The Politics U.S. Immigration Policy Makes, John Peter Hansberry

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This thesis examines how the structural context of presidential leadership influences immigration policy outcomes, with a focus on the interplay between a president’s political regime position and the level of legislative gridlock. Drawing on the American Political Development tradition, this study integrates regime theory, congressional gridlock research, and scholarship regarding executive power to formulate a framework of presidential strategic choice. Seven U.S. presidencies are analyzed as case studies: Lyndon B. Johnson, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, representing diverse regime affiliations and degrees of partisan polarization. This thesis shows that …

Does Fairness Shape Environmental Attitudes? Evidence From Nigeria’S Extractions, Isaiah Chukwudi Samuel

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This thesis argues that citizens’ perceptions of fairness in the distribution of natural resource revenues influence their support for environmental regulation in Nigeria. The analysis shows that individuals who perceive revenue distribution as fair are more likely to back environmental policies. Utilizing data from Afrobarometer Round 9, this study employs logistic regression to assess this relationship while controlling for demographic and attitudinal factors, including age, education, urban residency, climate awareness, trust in government, and party affiliation. The results demonstrate a strong and statistically significant relationship between perceived fairness and support for environmental regulation, even after isolating these variables. Overall, the …

Meaningful Legislative Conflict: The Role Of Party Competition, Nader Omar Alghoul

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation explores the influence of legislative conflict, defined by party polarization, relational animosities, and majority size, on legislative productivity in the U.S. Congress. While prior studies have focused on party polarization, divided government, and relational conflict, this research broadens the analysis by incorporating majority size as a key determinant of legislative accomplishment. The research will affirm that moderate polarization sharpens policy debates and enhances productivity, while extreme polarization, particularly when combined with significant relational conflict, results in legislative gridlock. Importantly, this research adds majority size to the amalgam of conflict and uncovers a curvilinear pattern: modest majorities improve legislative …

Norm Conflicts In International Criminal Tribunals, Megan Schaefer

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

What explains an increase in sexual violence prosecutions brought before international criminal tribunals? I investigate this question by examining three cases: The International Military Tribunal of Nuremberg, the International Criminal Tribunal of the Former Yugoslavia, and the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia. There are international norms present within these cases. One of these norms treats sexual violence as a natural consequence of war, while the other norm acknowledges that this violent behavior is wrong and demands accountability. I identify a prioritization of the second of these norms and argue this has impacted the global response to wartime sexual …

The Impacts Of Trust In The Time Of Covid-19, Hannah Temes

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Over 350,000 Americans died from COVID-19 in 2020, the first year of the pandemic. Federal health institutions such as the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department of Human Health Services (DHHS) established guidelines for the public to follow during the pandemic. However, trust in these institutions varied resulting in differing public response —some followed the COVID protocols while others did not. It has been argued that when someone’s self-interest is at risk, they need to trust the government to take care of them. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a time when public health and self-interest were intertwined, …

Natural Resources And The Role Of Political Parties In Perpetuating Authoritarian Regimes In Indonesia And Cambodia, Azriansyah A. Agoes

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation explains the puzzle of the survival of authoritarian regimes through a comparative study of Indonesia and Cambodia. Despite the two countries being blessed with rich natural resources and ruled by dictators for more than thirty years, Suharto in Indonesia and Hun Sen in Cambodia experienced different political fates. After ruling Indonesia for 32 years, mass protests and elite betrayals forced Suharto to step down in May 1998. He left Indonesia in a chaotic situation as riots and violence erupted in every corner of the country, and his successor had to face repeated coup attempts due to a lack …

Workable Seams, Jackson Mills Smith

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In Jackson Mills Smith’s Workable Seams, readers encounter the stories, landscapes, and lives of rural Knox County, Indiana, from the oscillating vantage of a Hoosier boy raised with a Cajun sensibility. After relocating from Louisiana to the river bottoms of the crossroad state at a young age, the speaker gradually uncovers a local history only previously understood in fragmentary shards and fading glimpses.

Alternating between semi-lyrical embodied experiences and memories, documentary pieces in conversation with the state’s historical archive, and the retelling of exaggerated local yarns, poetry is a means of inquiry in Workable Seams. Topics range from …

“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 …

Ineligible Partners: Tribal Nations And Cooperative Federalism In The Historical Development Of National Forest Law And Policy, James H. Baker

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Lands within the National Forest System (NFS), like all federal public lands, are rooted in Aboriginal Title and were once exclusively inhabited by Indigenous peoples and communities. Through the process of treaty-making, the federal government amassed millions of acres of ceded Tribal lands, many of which are now managed by federal public land agencies, including 194 million acres managed by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS). Several Tribes reserved various use and property rights on these lands that are protected by the U.S. Constitution’s Treaty and Supremacy Clauses. The federal government also has an overarching trust obligation to Tribes – a …

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 …

Discovering Appalachia As A Political Place: The Influence Of Appalachian Residence And Identification On Presidential Approval And Environmental Policy Preferences, Michael Bancroft Jones

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

From poets to political scientists, yearning for a sense of place has motivated both song and research. Appalachia is an understudied place in political science, with previous research inconclusive as to whether the Appalachian region has a separate identity from other parts of the United States (White 2019). Identities may be derived from a sense a place. Alternatively, identities may develop from a sense of group identification with common interests and grievances, and concerns regarding out-group members. Appalachia has a long history of being different and set apart from the United States; and also, has been subjected to identity mobilization …

The Future Of Democracy Is At Risk As Declining Local Media Erodes Voter Turnout, Melissa Boehning Libert

Theses and Dissertations

The loss of local news sources has social and political consequences. The effects of media decline have been studied extensively at the national level and less so at the state level. However, this is only the second attempt to examine the effects of local media decline. This thesis argues that local media is in crisis, and its decline is correlated with another crisis: diminishing municipal voter turnout. This research examines losses in local newspapers in 45 Illinois counties and how that decline has affected voter turnout in municipal elections held from 2005 to 2023. Regression results suggest that voter turnout …

Introduction To Contemporary Facets Of Injustice, Gordon Babst

Political Science Faculty Books and Book Chapters

Injustice itself is too infrequently the subject of direct rumination, with one notable exception being Judith Shklar’s The Faces of Injustice. The chapters in this volume consider some contemporary injustices, revealing their presence in ways that help to explain current issues that range from inequities in food access to the dangers of Christian nationalism, from better understanding how to conceptualize international law, to income disparity and the tax code.

Religious Liberty, Public Accommodations, And Non-Discrimination: A Rapidly Emerging Injustice, Gordon Babst

Political Science Faculty Books and Book Chapters

The decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., suggested to many that the scope of religious liberty was in a principled, logical way expanded to include free expression rights of corporate entities. It is concerning that many champion the decision as a basis for expanding religious exemptions to non-discrimination law as regards public accommodations, especially since the same reasoning that is being used with respect to the contemporary target of discrimination based in religious belief—American citizens who happen to be in a sexual minority—would apply by analogy, as it once did explicitly, to racial minorities. Unfortunately, given the …