Political Science Commons^™

Migrants In Media: A Tri-National Study Of The United States, Trinidad & Tobago And Mexico, Courtney Butts

Political Science Undergraduate Theses

Media portrayals of Venezuelan immigrants¹ in the United States have been studied extensively.  However, less scholarly attention has addressed how countries—particularly Trinidad & Tobago and Mexico—frame and portray Venezuelan migrants in news coverage. Arguably, narratives of migrants significantly shape public understanding and influence political rhetoric and policy outcomes, as such a significant research gap exists. Through a tri-national news media comparison, this study examines narratives about Venezuelan migrants and explores how these portrayals differ in the triad of national contexts. Importantly, these three experience migration differently: the U.S. is a large receiving state Trinidad & Tobago is a small …

Partisanship And Patriotism: How Political Parties Influence Citizen Perceptions Of American Symbols And National Unity, Carl Picerno

Political Science Undergraduate Theses

Over the past decade, there has been an increase in political polarization across the United States. National symbols such as the American flag, the national anthem, the Pledge of Allegiance, and the military have become disputed markers of unity and identity. This study explores the following research question: How does political party affiliation influence Americans’ perceptions of key symbols of American pride and patriotism, and further, what do these perceptions reveal about national unity and political polarization? This study examines the following hypotheses more specifically: first, Republicans are more likely to associate national symbols with unity and patriotism and therefore …

Next-Generation Democratic Cyber Statecraft - Balancing The Signal: Shutdown Shocks And Democratic Digital Governance, Scott M. Di Panni

School of Public Policy Capstones

This paper develops Next-Generation Democratic Cyber Statecraft (NG-DCS), a unified strategic doctrine for democratic governments to contest the cognitive domain against authoritarian adversaries. Drawing on twenty-six years of cross-national panel data (1999–2024) spanning 213 countries, game-theoretic modeling, and qualitative case analysis, the paper establishes three interconnected empirical and theoretical foundations. First, cross-national OLS regression across 160+ countries demonstrates that regime type is the dominant structural determinant of internet freedom (R²=0.615, β=2.513, p< 0.001), explaining more than twice the variance attributable to per-capita wealth (R²=0.268). Democratic governance, not economic development, produces open digital environments. Second, a two-way fixed effects (TWFE) difference-in-differences study exploiting government-ordered internet shutdowns as discrete policy interventions finds that digital restrictions causally degrade V-Dem governance quality by 0.21–0.38 standard deviations (p< 0.001 across all specifications). Treatment effects are immediate (β=−0.302 at k=0) and persist through five post-treatment years (β=−0.246 at k=+5), indicating structural rather than transitory governance damage. Parallel trends validation (p=0.352) and Callaway–Sant’Anna heterogeneity-robust estimation (ATT=−0.230, SE=0.077) support causal identification. Instrumental variable triangulation (2SLS β=−0.949, p=0.005) confirms that simultaneity was attenuating, not inflating, the primary estimates. Third, formal game-theoretic analysis reveals that the current U.S.–adversary equilibrium is (Restrain, Escalate)—the risk-dominant but Pareto-inferior outcome of a Stag Hunt structure. China, Russia, North Korea, and Venezuela each occupy structurally distinct positions (Stackelberg commitment, asymmetric two-level, autarky, and reactive trigger, respectively), requiring differentiated doctrinal responses rather than a uniform strategic playbook. Generative AI and algorithmic governance are shown to accelerate cognitive vulnerability by collapsing influence operation costs and exploiting engagement-optimized platform architectures that systematically degrade deliberative capacity in democratic populations.

Congressional Reform Project, Hanna Brant Ph.D.

School of Arts & Sciences

This assignment was developed by SUNY Geneseo Professor Hanna Brant during the spring 2026 semester.

Learning Objectives

• Describe and analyze the legislative process of the United State’s Congress;
• Identify the internal and external factors that influence legislative behavior;
• Critically analyze arguments concerning the appropriate role and powers of the legislature;
• Interpret social science research on the behavior of legislators;
• Evaluate policy strategies for advancing a legislative agenda; and
• Collaborate and communicate with peers on contemporary legislative issues and challenges.

Voting The Bums Out Or Echoes Of Weimar?: The Fdp, Greens, Afd, Left Party, And Bsw In The 2025 Bundestag Election, David F. Patton

Government and International Relations Faculty Publications

In all likelihood, Germany’s 2025 federal election has driven a final nail in the coffin of a party system marked by two traditional catch-all parties and several small parties. The FDP, Greens, AfD, Left Party, and BSW together received a record vote share. However, not all of them were electoral winners. Led by the AfD, smaller opposition parties on the ideological extremes surged, while hinge parties in government lost ground. A clear pole position offered an edge in a polarized and fragmented field. This article examines pre-election developments, manifestos, candidates, results, and outlooks of five parties that have emerged as …

The Emigration Equation: A Study On Why Individuals Emigrate, Anielka S. Perez Brenes

Tenor of Our Times

Literature about migration often focuses on “refugee crises” or “immigration crises,” but the causes of these crises are those which take place in the origin country. The reasons, or push factors, of why individuals are emigrating from their home countries is the central question of this study. This cross-sectional research study focuses on seven of these potential causes in the year 2024 and spans one hundred and sixty five countries. These seven causes, or the independent variables, are: conflict, human rights, political rights, gross domestic product (GDP), civil liberties, unemployment, and education. This research study as a whole is statistically …

Strengthening Students' Political Thinking Skills By Researching The Annexation Of Texas, Rebecca Macon Bidwell, Jeremiah Clabough

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

The unit plan in this manuscript uses best practices from the C3 Framework published by the National Council for the Social Studies and Wayne Journell’s ideas about political thinking to engage students in discussion of the politics leading to the nomination of Governor James K. Polk as the Democratic Party nominee for president in the U.S. 1844 presidential election. Students explore the impact of candidates’ views of the annexation of Texas during this election as well as the influence of President Jackson on the nomination process in the Democratic Party. Ultimately, the election pitted Governor James K. Polk, the dark …

Hitler Must Be Killed: A Wwii Case Study, Jeffrey Byford, Presley Shilling, Alisha Milam

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

Social studies education during the 1960s experienced an educational renaissance known as the new social studies movement. Over 50 projects were funded by the National Science Foundation or private corporations to interject a student-centered curriculum into K-12 classrooms during this period. Nearly 60 years later, can student-centered decision-making activities be used in an era of high-stakes testing and planned curriculum? This article attempts to rekindle students' interest in decision-making and discussion by exploring elements in Moral Reasoning: The Value of Life from the Harvard Social Studies Project (HSSP). The activity called "Hitler Must Be Killed" helped students bring the content …

Making Social Studies Work In The Age Of Ai, Angelo Letizia

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

The purpose of this paper is to first outline a more embedded stance toward AI use, which I have labeled invisible philosophy and history as DNA and use this embedded framework as a backdrop for a more concrete discussion of skills and dispositions in regard to the use of AI in the social studies classroom and beyond. This dual positioning, one more theoretical and one more concrete, calls attention to the fact that AI should not simply be seen as some flashy tool divorced from a more nuanced and embedded understanding of its role in society. A list of practical …

Deportation And Death: Examining The Second Trump Administration’S Immigration Policy Through The Lens Of Just War Theory, Finley W. Snyder

Augustana Center for the Study of Ethics Essay Contest

From day one of the second Trump administration, the White House has treated illegal immigration as an invasion, both rhetorically and, to a lesser extent, legally. The administration has not shied away from the use of force in this campaign, leading to the notable killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti along with countless acts of violence across the nation. This essay seeks to evaluate the ethics of the second Trump administration's immigration policy from within this "war" framing through the lens of just war theory. While there has been considerable attention to just war theory in the context of …

The Missed Mark, Grace Hill

SPARK Symposium Presentations

The Missed Mark

This project is a collective literary analysis of the current research conducted on the efficacy of current political campaigns. This collection of works aims to identify methodologies that increase message salience among American constituents and promote civic engagement.

Based on the collected data on citizens' perceptions of trust and relatability regarding candidates' platforms and personas, recommendations for more effectively appealing to these values become clearer and more precise. Collected data suggest members of the community feel ostracized by the impersonal copy-and-paste model often adopted by modern political campaigns. (S. Erdem Aytaç, Susan C. Stokes. 2019) Instead of …

The Necessity Of U.S. Aid: The Russian-Ukrainian War, Lelin Spriggs

The Dialogue

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the conflict has emerged as a defining foreign-policy challenge of the twenty-first century. In the United States, the war dominates political discourse and continues to shape debates on national security and the appropriate scope of American global leadership. Although President Trump vowed during his campaign to end the war upon entering office, hostilities intensified following his inauguration, prompting renewed policy debates regarding the future and extent of U.S. military and economic support for Kyiv.

This paper argues that the United States must continue providing sustained military and economic …

Digital Strategy Exposed In The Global South: A Comparative Analysis Of China And Uganda, Christian Pierre

The Dialogue

No abstract provided.

Indigenous Yet Suspect: The Securitization Of Saudi Arabia’S Shi'a Minority, Farah Balut

The Dialogue

This paper examines the marginalization of Saudi Arabia’s Shi’a minority through the lens of securitization theory. It argues that discrimination against Shi’a citizens is not periodic but embedded within the kingdom’s nation-building project, where Wahhabi orthodoxy has been fused with political loyalty. From early incorporation of the Eastern Province to the upheavals of 1979 and the reform era of Vision 2030, Shi’a identity has been framed as a potential internal threat. By tracing institutional practices, geopolitical anxieties, and lived experiences, the paper demonstrates how securitization structures conditional citizenship while highlighting Shi’a resilience within an evolving Saudi state.

The Ipkf In Sri Lanka: The Case For Multilateral Peacekeeping In South Asia, Mehr Hameed

The Dialogue

No abstract provided.

A Cycle Of Dependency: Resource Wealth And Institutional Weakness In Nigeria, Zaheen Chowdhury

The Dialogue

No abstract provided.

Three Paths To Justice: Comparing Feminist Strategies Against Gender-Based Violence In East Asia, Ashley Chon

The Dialogue

No abstract provided.

Women And Right-Wing Movements: Why Women Join, Ryland L. Adzich

The Dialogue

No abstract provided.

Front Matter

The Dialogue

No abstract provided.

Editor's Note, Tessa M. Peterson

The Dialogue

No abstract provided.