Political Science Commons^™

C-Dem Advisory Committee Meeting February 11, 2020, Consortium On Electoral Democracy

Meeting Notes

No abstract provided.

A Thin Line Between Sovereign And Abject Agents: Global Action Thrillers With The Sci-Fi Mind-Game War On Terror, Seung-Hoon Jeong

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

Seung-hoon Jeong discusses in his paper global action thrillers about the war on terror. He highlights the biopolitical abjection of counterterrorist agents from their state agencies. This abjection ends up either self-reaffirming in the manner of a sovereign agent (the Bond series) or terrorizing their sovereign system (the Bourne series), while both are trapped in the vicious cycle of terror and counterterror. More notable is the “mind-game” sci-fi genre. Source Code, among others, stages a loop of a traumatic counterterrorist mission with retroactive causality, a closed circuit of neoliberal productivity and pathological abjection in a video-game narrative. The time-travel …

Do We Intend To Keep Our Republic?, John M. Greabe

Law Faculty Scholarship

[Excerpt] Commentators recently have reminded us of a famous statement Benjamin Franklin allegedly made upon exiting Independence Hall on the final day of the 1787 Constitutional Convention. When asked whether the proposed Constitution would establish a monarchy or a republic, Franklin supposedly answered: "A republic, if you can keep it."

The anecdote, which both inspired the title of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch's recent book and was recounted by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi when she announced the impeachment inquiry into the conduct of the president, reminds us that our republican form of government is not to be taken …

Reviewing Intergovernmental Institutions In Federal Systems: Opportunity For Cooperation, Harrison Schafer

Indiana Journal of Constitutional Design

This Article surveys intergovernmental institutions across federal states. Generally, these institutions offer meaningful cooperation for the different levels of government when addressing state problems. These institutions, however, often lack political authority to bind institutional members or implement authoritative state actions.

This Article proceeds in two general parts. First, this Article taxonomizes intergovernmental institutions across federal systems. Though few intergovernmental institutions are constitutionally mandated bodies, several federal states have enacted legislation to formalize these institutions while others simply utilize informal arrangements. This taxonomy will primarily discuss contemporary institutions within federal systems and focus exclusively on executive institutions. The taxonomy categorizes these …

Nonstate Actors And Anti-Access/Area Denial Strategies: The Coming Challenge, Jean-Loup Samaan Dr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

This monograph explores the emerging challenge of nonstate actors’ anti-access and area denial (A2/AD) strategies and their implications for the United States and its allies by looking at two regions, the Middle East and Eastern Europe, with case studies such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis in Yemen, and separatist groups in Ukraine. The historical monopoly of states over precision-guided munitions has eroded, and this evolution eventually challenges the ability of the most advanced militaries to operate in specific environments. As they gain greater access to advanced military technology, some nonstate actors increasingly lean toward …

New Perspectives On Catholic And Democratic Voting Behavior Regarding Constitutional Same-Sex Marriage Bans, Tré Martinez-Kukowski

Augsburg Honors Review

In the United States, constitutional same-sex marriage bans were a prominent political phenomenon in state and national politics for most of the 2000s, and were ballot items as recently as 2012. Traditionally, this has been addressed as it correlates to Republican party politics and the evangelical Protestant voting bloc, with some attention paid to the opposition to these measures by Democrats. In addition, Catholic voting is viewed as essentially a barometer of the general electorate, not only on this issue but on all issues other than reproductive rights. However, most of this research came out in response to the wave …

The Influence Of Rap In The Arab Spring, Samantha Cantrall

Augsburg Honors Review

Throughout history, music has been influential in social, religious, and political disputes. In the early 21st century, change in the established order can be found in expressing the need for reform halfway around the world in the Middle East's Arab Spring. Rap artists such as El General (Tunisia), GAB (Libya), and Omar Offendum (Syria) used their talents to both spark and encourage protestors during the early days of the Middle Eastern protests that began in late 2010; these protests have since been coined "The Arab Spring." The energy that could have been used to wield guns and bombs was instead …

What Do Denison Students Know About Women In Politics?, Paul A. Djupe

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Latitudinarian Influence On Early English Liberalism, Amanda Oh

SMU Journal of Undergraduate Research

This paper takes the unexpected position that early liberal thought developed in transformative events within the Anglican Church during the second half of the seventeenth century. The historical evolution of religion laid the foundation of English political and intellectual philosophy, as supported by works written by the branch of Anglican churchmen known as the Latitudinarians. I will argue that these ministers were foremost in advancing the argument for religious toleration because their religious writings held political consequence. Toleration was the principle value of liberalism in the late seventeenth century because the problem of Dissenters was so pertinent to English religious …

New Voters Will Influence Outcome In New Hampshire Primary, Kenneth M. Johnson, Dante Scala, Andrew Smith

Carsey Publications

In this data snapshot, authors Kenneth Johnson, Dante Scala, and Andrew Smith discuss factors going into New Hampshire's 2020 Primary that could influence the outcome.

127 Is Back!, Paul A. Djupe

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Silver Bow Creek: Good News But More Questions, Evan Barrett, Mick Ringsak

Highlands College

Editorial which appeared in the following newspaper:

The Montana Standard, February 3, 2020

Middle Eastern Women Between Oppression And Resistance: Case Studies Of Iraqi, Palestinian And Kurdish Women Of Turkey, Yasmin Khodary, Noha Salah, Nada Mohsen

Political Science

Wars and conflicts have had a profound impact on women and gender in the Middle East. In this article, we aim to highlight the various ways in which the ongoing oppression and conflict in the Middle East shape the responses of the Iraqi, Palestinian and Kurdish women of Turkey and the object of their struggles. We go beyond the ‘Orientalist’ discourse, which depicts Middle Eastern women in armed conflicts as solely vulnerable and helpless victims, to discuss the resisting roles played by the Iraqi, Palestinian and Kurdish women of Turkey. Middle Eastern women have played and continue to play major …

Unpaid Care Work And Civic Engagement: A Review Of Literature Suggesting Unpaid Care Work As Civic Engagement, William Novello

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Unpaid care work in the family is categorized as work done in the private sphere. However, Pamela Herd and Madonna Meyer (2002) have suggested a new framework that recognizes unpaid care work in the family as a form of civic engagement. Since women continue to perform the majority of unpaid care work in the family, the new framework seeks to recognize unpaid care labor women perform as a contribution to society - in particular for the development of children. The framework uses previously developed concepts from social capital theorist Robert Putnam (1995, 1996, 2000) to demonstrate that unpaid care work …

Global Corporate Social Responsibility And Policy Evolution In The Garment Industry: A Case Study From Bangladesh Using A Multiple-Streams Approach And Punctuated Equilibrium Theory, Tamar Maisashvili

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This research offers a new way to show how Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policy decisions are made in complex international settings. A theoretical framework based on Baumgartner and Jones’ Punctuated Equilibrium Theory and John Kingdon’s Multiple Streams Approach is used to explore the development of the Accord on the Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh as a proposed independent and legally binding agreement governing garment factory conditions in that country. The Accord led to a series of audits aimed at reforming a large part of Bangladesh’s garment industry, hence there has been a shift in a working environment ensuring the …

The U.S. Approach To Peacebuilding In Afghanistan: A Comparative Analysis Of George W. Bush, Barack Obama, And Donald Trump Administration Policies In Afghanistan, Mohammad Rasouli

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This research paper addresses the efforts of the U.S. to achieve some level of reconciliation with the Taliban after more than 18 years of war in Afghanistan. It deals with the history of U.S.-Taliban negotiations and the U.S. initiatives to engage with the Taliban, as well as outlining the challenges to these initiatives and determining how effective they have been. In addition, the prospects of the U.S.-Taliban peace talks are assessed.

Since the 2001 U.S. intervention in Afghanistan, the first two U.S. administrations under consideration—those of George W. Bush and Barack Obama—justified intrusive interventions into the political, economic, and social …

Authoritarian Innovations And Democratic Reform In The “New Malaysia”, Sebastian Carl Dettman

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Malaysia’s National Front coalition, one of the world’s most durable authoritarian governments, lost power in national elections held in 2018. Although incumbent turnover represents a significant step toward democratization, the reform of institutions and practices associated with political domination by the country’s Malay Muslim majority has been slowed in the face of challenges from a new configuration of opposition forces. The new opposition, which includes UMNO, the former dominant party of the National Front, has framed democratic reforms initiated by the new government – and the more multiethnic ruling government itself – as a threat to the rights of the …

Whose War Is It Anyway? How Afghanistan Became A Battlefield Over Global Hegemony During The Cold War, Kathryn Shapiro

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Traditional scholarship depicts the Cold War, which began immediately after World War Two and ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, as a battle of freedom and democracy over communism and authoritarian control. Cold War propaganda cartoons often show an Uncle Sam figure facing off against the Soviet Union, or a Soviet Bear reaching out to grab and control Western Europe. While this may have been popular Cold War discourse, a close look at internal documents from the United States Government at the time reveals that the United States was more interested in protecting resources and their …

Shock, Stimulus, And Upheaval: The Great Recession, The American Recovery And Reinvestment Act, And Mayoral Coalitions In Brooklyn, Ny 2009–2013, Charles Linsmeier

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Abstract: In 2009, the United States, and much of the world, experienced the largest economic decline since the Great Depression of the early 20th Century. New York City, the financial capital of the United States, was not immune. In early 2009, the federal government passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) shepherding a substantial infusion of federal funds to states and municipalities to stimulate local economies and stem the tide of potential job losses. At the same time, New York City was experiencing an historic mayoral election - the potential third term of Mayor Michael Bloomberg - …

Anti-Austerity Between Militant Materialism And Real Democracy: Exploring Pragmatic Prefigurativism, Olatz Ribera-Almandoz, Nikolai Huke, Mònica Clua-Losada, David J. Bailey

Political Science Faculty Publications

The anti-austerity movement that emerged in the wake of the 2008 global economic crisis and 2010 Eurozone crisis, and which forms part of the ‘age of austerity’ that came after those crises, was underpinned by a set of ideas and practices that we refer to here as ‘pragmatic prefigurativism’. Whilst the anti-austerity movements typically rejected formal ideologies such as Marxism and anarchism, nevertheless pragmatic prefigurativism can be understood as a ‘left convergence’ of sorts. The paper explores the features of this pragmatic prefigurativism, comparing the anti-austerity movements in the UK and Spain. In particular, we note the role of unresponsive …