Political Science Commons^™

Canadians' Views About The 2019 Federal Election Process, Jacob Allin, Laura Stephenson, Allison Harell

Reports

No abstract provided.

A Crisis Of Masculinity: The Rise Of The Afd And The East German Man, Chandler Molpus

Honors Theses

In this thesis, I examine how a crisis of masculinity in the former German Democratic Republic has contributed to the rise of the far-right party, Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD). In the first chapter, I argue that east German men feel left- behind politically, economically, and demographically. In the second chapter, I compare results from the 2017 Federal Bundestag election to demonstrate that east German men are more likely to vote for the AfD than any other demographic group in Germany.

Public Opinion On Capital Punishment, Sydney Young

Undergraduate Research Symposium

The death penalty in the United States has its set of controversies from the people who support and those who oppose the policy. I want to examine how the death penalty and public opinion has changed over time. I also want to examine if there are statistical differences in regard to gender and political party. I would also like to compare different generations, such as millennials and baby boomers, to see if they vary in support for the death penalty. The last variable I would like to analyze is difference in regard to race and ethnicities. As a Deputy Juvenile …

Sustainability Trends In Higher Education: An Analysis Of The International Journal Of Sustainability In Higher Education, Jessica Poling

Honors Theses

Since the onset of the Industrial Revolution, human activities have substantially harmed the biosphere and, if continued, pose a substantial risk to life on Earth. Recognizing this, educated people have advocated widespread adoption of sustainable practices and, in particular, have increased the amount of sustainability efforts associated with higher education. The International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, established in 2000, is devoted to such practices. For my honors thesis, I examined articles published in the journal from 2010 through 2019 to determine the countries, and the institutions within those countries, that were the primary contributors to the journal. …

Who Supports Wealth Redistribution? Self-Interest, Symbolic Politics And American Exceptionalism Approaches Towards 1990 Public Opinion, Maggie Wood

Global Tides

Economic inequality has been significantly rising in the United States, making it the most unequal advanced industrialized democracy. Understanding factors that influence public attitudes towards inequality and potential remedies such as redistribution of wealth, gives a reference point for tracking subsequent preference-policy links. This research utilizes survey data from the 1990 General Social Survey to explore factors influencing preferences towards redistribution as gross wealth consolidation among the top 10% was only starting to remerge. Empirically applying theories of economic self-interest, symbolic politics and American exceptionalism to wealth redistribution preferences, the research finds economic self-interest as having the biggest role in …

International Impact Of The Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use Of Data (Cloud) Act And Suggested Amendments To Improve Foreign Relations, Jordan A. Klumpp

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Residential Segregation By Caste In The Indian States Of Gujarat And Karnataka, Alicia Terrero

Global Studies Student Scholarship

Major: Global Studies and Political Science

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Trina Vithayathil, Global Studies

This project looks at the Indian states of Gujarat and Karnataka and tries to identify why Gujarat has a higher degree of residential segregation than Karnataka. One factor that could explain this is the difference in level of solidarity at the subnational level for both states. Based on social expenditure data and inequality data, we find that Karnataka has higher levels of support for policies that further the collective good of the subnational (i.e. Kannada within Karnataka) community. This higher level of subnationalism and unity across social …

The Rise Of Left-Wing Populism In Europe: A Comparative Study, Daniel Iturri Calvo

Global Tides

The aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis left Europe in a state of shock, out of which political transitions occurred across the country. One of these transitions was the rise of left-wing populist parties. Their rise was most successful in Southern Europe, particularly in Spain and Greece. In these two countries, left-wing populist parties gained power swiftly and eventually began governing their respective governments. This essay compares the rise of Podemos in Spain and SYRIZA in Greece by looking at the main reasons for their mass popularity. The comparison reveals that the 2008 crisis was at the core of the …

395— Problems Of Representation: How Reforms Can Change Democracy, Vincent Meccariello

GREAT Day Posters

The electoral system in America is inherently undemocratic due to campaign finance corruption and the electoral college. Due to super PACs and large corporations donating unlimited money to fund campaigns, the values and opinions of citizens aren’t being heard. I propose four changes to the electoral system that would give substantial power to every American citizen, as well as theorize the impact of such drastic change. I attempt to summarize what reforms are and how they highlight the corruption in certain aspects of the American electorate system.

200— The Political Clout Of Wealthy And Poor American Indian Tribes, Katie Shepard

GREAT Day Posters

Since the passage of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, casinos on reservations have become lucrative sources of income for not only tribal governments but also state governments. With an increase in wealth, many tribes have increased their lobbying forces to become major political actors in state and federal government. But, while some tribal governments have become financially stable due to gaming others have become physically and economically isolated making some tribal governments extremely poor. Poor tribal governments continue to have problems and when lobbying is not an option grassroots movements such as protests become the most viable source of political …

181— Same Day Voter Registration And Increasing Voter Turnout, Alexander Short

GREAT Day Posters

Among major democracies, the United States has one of the lowest voter turnouts. Presidential elections in the United States see a turnout of only about 60% and turnout for midterm elections is even lower. These percentages are made worse when one considers that the population that does vote isn’t representative of the demographics of the nation as a whole. One of the reasons that voter turnout is so low is because many states require potential voters to register months before election day. A remedy to this problem that has been utilized by other nations and some states within the U.S. …

Political Scandal And Party Identification, Michael Sekich

Honors Theses

How do voters react to political scandal, especially when a like-minded partisan is involved? We look to answer that question by utilizing the concept of self-monitoring. Before collecting the data, expectations were that high self-monitors would identify as an independent when exposed to the partisan political scandal. But, when presented with a non-partisan political scandal, high self-monitors would feel more comfortable identifying as their own partisanship. This study offers mixed results. We found that high self-monitors had the only meaningful differences, and low self-monitors did not display significant differences across the versions. The Republican scandal yielded the most meaningful response, …

507— Partisan Polarization: American Democracy's Silent Enemy, Bryan Sokolowski

GREAT Day Posters

During a time of intense partisan polarization our democracy and its respective institutions have experienced several instances of gridlock. Our elected representatives’ failure to pursue crucial pieces of legislation has provoked the general public to disapprove of government and politicians. Partisan polarization has changed the entire political environment in the United States. Today, politics is a field most people distance themselves from, fearing to expose their beliefs, or intolerant of opposing partisan views. Some are also led to believe that their views or opinions do not matter, nor would they change the results of an election. For politicians it has …

306— The National Popular Vote Plan: A Possible Course Of Reform For The Electoral College, Ian Kirkpatrick

GREAT Day Posters

Does the Electoral College establish a system to elect U.S. presidents that truly represents the will of U.S. citizens? This question is subject to much debate in political science. Advocates of Electoral College reform assert that it fails to uphold the democratic principle of majority rule. One possible course of reform is the National Popular Vote Plan, in which member states pledge to award their Electoral College votes to the winner of the national popular vote. In order to determine the validity of this proposal, the advantages and disadvantages of this reform must be considered.

410— Analysis Of Public Opinion On Social Welfare Programs In The United States, Timothy Condon

GREAT Day Posters

Political platforms on social welfare issues that directly affect the lives of millions of citizens can make or break a candidate’s campaign for office. Therefore, it is important to view and understand public opinion towards these programs. Not only the general public’s attitudes, but the attitudes of specific sub-groups as well, such as political affiliation, ideology, age, gender, race, religion, education, and class. The opinions of sub-groups have important implications for how candidates will campaign on social welfare issues and how policymakers will shape public policy regarding welfare programs. This paper will both summarize and analyze datasets of public opinion …

327— Identity Politics Within The Supreme Court, Anne Marren

GREAT Day Posters

Identity politics leads to individuals making political decisions to help those most similar to them. This leads to underlying bias towards those in your racial and socioeconomic group. The Supreme Court has been notorious for a lack of diversity on the bench. I will explore the consequences of this and how it has resulted in withdrawing civil rights away from certain groups.

392— Hegemonic Masculinity And The Partisan Gender Gap: Implications For American Democracy, Emily Pascale

GREAT Day Posters

There is a growing body of evidence that shows a correlation between gender inequality and economic inequality. Often these highly unequal societies, such as the US, have stringent gender norms that disparately affect how men and women think and behave, including the kinds of political opinions they express. My research will focus on the implications of divergent gender norms for American democracy, particularly for proposals aimed at redressing economic inequality. Because this normative behavior has gendered the perceptions of political parties and policies—such as men cognitively linking redistributive policies to a feminine ethos—these gendered ideas may undermine policies that have …

481— The Rise Of White Identity Politics In Modern America, William Dorfner

GREAT Day Posters

This project seeks to outline the rising tole that racial identity, specifically white identity, has played in our political discourse in recent years. Research suggests that there is a growing trend of using white identity as a means of getting elected to office in America resulting in events such as the election of Donald Trump.

219— Insuring America's Youth: Examining The Success Of Medicaid And Chip Coverage, James Mcglynn

GREAT Day Posters

Children make up 23% of the nation’s total population, but make up 32% of all persons in poverty. Given the overrepresentation of children among the US impoverished population, questions are raised on how best to provide much needed medical coverage to low income children. Currently, programs such as Medicaid and CHIP seek to provide low or no cost health coverage to children in low income households. However, the uninsured rate for children has risen from 4.9% to 5.5% in 2018. This is equivalent to about 425,000 children becoming uninsured. Do Medicaid and CHIP do enough to ensure that children in …

284— Talkin' Bout A Revolution: American Protest And Counter-Protest Movements In The Twentieth And Twenty-First Century, Alea Tiberi

GREAT Day Posters

This poster represents my research for my senior seminar in Political Science. This project explores different protest and counter-protest movements throughout the United States in the last one hundred years. Through comparative study, this project tracks and collates these different protest and counter-protest movements. This research attempts to answer the following questions: Have the nature of protest and counter-protests movements changed over time? If so, how have these movements adapted to modernity? Protest and counter-protest movements are some of the most direct opportunities for American citizens to engage in our democracy. Therefore, this project also explores the important implications of …