Political Science Commons^™

The African State: An Illusory Vestige Of Colonialism, Muhammad K. Otaru

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In a 2006 Interview, prominent Nigerian author, and social commentator, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie said; “…Nigeria was set up to fail. The only thing we Nigerians should take responsibility for is the extent of the failure….”1. Such a view about colonialism and the states it arbitrarily created is widely shared by many on the African continent, who have come to understand that the very creation and existence of the African state are largely to blame for the seemingly countless socio-economic and political issues faced on the continent.

1 Kimber, Charlie, Interview: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. The Socialist Review. (Online, October …

An Economic Analysis Of Cyber Warfare Governance Models, Kevin M. Kelleher

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Allusions to death delivered by bits and bytes have been in vogue since the Reagan administration. Yet, as the internet and its connected devices have since proliferated, cyber violence remains far more fiction than fact. Nevertheless, prominent U.S. officials have all but assured the eventuality of a devastating attack. In anticipation, political, legal, and industry experts are now seeking to codify and inculcate international norms to govern acts of war prosecuted via cyberspace. Two of the most prominent governance models to emerge are the Tallinn Manual and Microsoft’s Digital Geneva Convention. The driving thesis of this research argues that within …

2020 Children's Story Cards, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Arif: "I like being in school again."

Norina: "We laugh a lot but I also worry."

Nooda: "I came on a boat. It was a big boat!"

Madina: "I just want to live in a safe place..."

Shurangez: "Sometimes we didn't feel safe at school."

Alex: "I'm from Nigeria. Coming to Italy was very difficult-very, very difficult, a real struggle."

Danial: "I want to be a useful person and follow my dreams."

Firoz: "I am 13 years old and I am worried about my family."

Ali: "Ali lived in Afghanistan. One day while walking to school a bomb exploded near …

Brexit And The Future Of Scotland, Brigid Stakelum

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Four years after the United Kingdom’s (UK) referendum to leave the European Union (EU), many questions remain, especially about the mechanics of the so-called “Brexit.” However, there is a general lack of media discussion about the effects of the Brexit on Scotland, who voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU, and two years prior to the EU referendum, Scotland voted to remain in the United Kingdom by a small margin. One of the main arguments for remaining in the UK was that there was doubt that Scotland could join the EU after leaving the UK. The research question for this …

Election Forecast: 2020 Presidential General Election, Fernando J. Guerra, Brianne Gilbert, Max Dunsker, Alejandra Alarcon

StudyLA Reports

StudyLA conducted an inaugural survey of political thought leaders in Los Angeles asking their predictions for the 2020 general election

• purposive sample of political thought leaders in or representing Los Angeles with additional snowball sampling
• 174 respondents
• self-administered online survey
• administered October 5-23, 2020

Covid-19 Public Opinion Survey Final Results, Fernando J. Guerra, Brianne Gilbert

StudyLA Reports

About this Study

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, StudyLA conducted a survey of Los Angeles County residents to assess how the pandemic has impacted them. Residents were asked about the government's response, their understanding of the coronavirus and the measures to take to limit its spread, and the emotional and economic impact it has had on them.

Highlights

• An overwhelming majority of Angelenos (95%) support the Safer At Home order.
• Most Angelenos (59%) say that the local government response has been just right, but another 30% think that local government could do even more.
• Angelenos are listening. Most Angelenos …

Police And Community Relations Survey, Fernando J. Guerra, Brianne Gilbert

StudyLA Reports

In the wake of nationwide demonstrations for racial justice prompted by the murders of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, and countless other Black individuals, Los Angeles has become a focal point for critical discussions around police and community relations.

StudyLA’s 2020 Police and Community Relations Survey focuses on the attitudes and opinions of adult city of Los Angeles residents toward the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) following this period of nationwide demonstrations. Residents were asked a range of questions to measure public opinion regarding policing. Specifically, we gauge how residents feel the LAPD is doing with respect to the …

Public Opinion On Policing In Los Angeles, Fernando J. Guerra, Brianne Gilbert, Mariya Vizireanu, Max Dunsker, Alejandra Alarcon

StudyLA Reports

In the wake of nationwide demonstrations for racial justice prompted by the murders of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, and countless other Black individuals, Los Angeles has become a focal point for critical discussions around police and community relations.

StudyLA’s 2020 Police and Community Relations Survey focuses on the attitudes and opinions of adult city of Los Angeles residents toward the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) following this period of nationwide demonstrations. Residents were asked a range of questions to measure public opinion on policing. Specifically, we gauge how residents feel the LAPD is doing with respect to the …

Clearing The Field: How Do Presidential Primary Candidates Win Big On Super Tuesday?, Colin D. Swearingen

2020 Faculty Bibliography

In presidential primaries, Super Tuesday elections play a significant role in winnowing candidate fields and establishing nomination frontrunners. Despite their importance, scholars know little about why and how candidates win or lose the states comprising these events. This study explores which factors help explain candidate performance in Super Tuesday primaries between 2008 and 2016. Using pooled cross-sectional time-series analysis, the results indicate three key drivers of Super Tuesday success: candidate viability, public attention, and media attention. These findings imply that presidential campaigns continue to be complex electoral events beyond the early primary states and suggest that underdog candidates can still …

2020 Forecast La Conference Book, Fernando J. Guerra, Brianne Gilbert, Mariya Vizireanu, Alejandra Alarcon, Jorge Cortes, Vishnu Akella, Max Dunsker

Forecast LA

No abstract provided.

Keeping Faith With Nomos, Steven L. Winter

Law Faculty Research Publications

No abstract provided.

Climate Refugees: Can States Survive The Changing Climate?, Caroline Sisson

Featured Research

No abstract provided.

Untitled, Michayla George

Debate Essay Winners

2nd Place Winner - High School Division

Michayla George

Hume-Fogg Academic Magnet High School

Catch Me If You Can: Using A Threshold Model To Simulate Support For Presidential Candidates In The Invisible Primary, Elizabeth A. Stiles, Colin D. Swearingen, Linda Seiter, Brendan Foreman

2020 Faculty Bibliography

The invisible primary is an important time in United States Presidential primary politics as candidates gain momentum for their campaigns before they compete formally in the first state caucus (Iowa) and primaries (e.g. New Hampshire). This critical period has not been possible to observe, hence the name. However, by simulating networks of primary followers, we can explicate hypotheses for how messages travel through networks to affect voter preferences. To do so, we use a threshold model to drive our simulated network analysis testing spread of public support for candidates in invisible primaries. We assign voter thresholds for candidates and vary …

Ramerican Political Science Review (Vol. 5, 2020)

Ramerican Political Science Review

Letter from the Department of Political Science -- Analyzing the Accuracy of Early Warning Systems in the Field of Modern Genocide and Suggested Changes: A Comparative Case Study of Myanmar, Rwanda, and Darfur / Jhanys Gardner -- The Chicken Game and the 1958 Taiwan Strait Crisis / Zhuoran Li -- The Impact of VP Nominees: An Overview of the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election / W.P. Jackson Krug -- The FMLN and FARC as Diverging Models of Post-Conflict Integration / Adam Hales -- Censorship and Control in the PRC / Robert Johnson -- Perpetual Neglect: An insight into the implications of …

A Comparative Analysis Of Institutional Trust, Traditional Social Values, And Partisanship In East And Southeast Asia, Lucas Knight

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

What factors drive an individual to trust, or not trust, their government? Over the past two decades, an extensive literature has developed that seeks to identify the sources and determinants of institutional trust in East and Southeast Asia. While this literature has solidified around several factors, for example, positive evaluations of economic performance or anti-corruption efforts, there is still significant debate on the importance of others. This study seeks to contribute to this ongoing debate by testing the role of traditionalism or traditional social values and partisanship. Utilizing data on 13 countries from Wave 4 of the Asian Barometer Survey …

First Past The Poll: A Blog About Political Statistics, Bradley Wascher

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This Capstone Experience project details my efforts to become a political data journalist. I took the first major step in August 2018, starting First Past the Poll, my politics blog. For three semesters, this website was frequently updated with nonpartisan reports on the latest elections, deep dives on long-term polling trends, and commentary on political numbers more broadly. Hoping to buck the trend of the stodgy prose prevalent throughout politics, my stories combined academic rigor with accessible writing.

As I began to find my footing in the field, First Past the Poll put me in the position to become …

Geographic And Partisan Patterns Of Support For Electoral Reforms, Aubrey Kelley

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Electoral reform has become a hotly debated issue, and it has recently been in the news at federal and state levels. On the federal level, the House of Representatives recently passed an electoral reform bill to expand early voting and allow for same-day voter registration. On the state level, Kentucky has become one of the most recent states to implement photo identification requirements. Georgia’s strict voter registration system became a subject of deep controversy during the most recent gubernatorial election. Throughout the past couple of decades, electoral reform has been tackled in a variety of different ways; some states have …

Factors Contributing To Continuing Democratic Victories In Some Southern House Districts, 1994–2008, Dillon Mccormick

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The American South went through a period of political transition in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. This transition reached its climax after the 1994 elections, after which Democrats ceased to hold the majority of House seats in the South, never to regain that strength. However, Democrats continued to win a decent share of House seats in the South after 1994, with about 40% of Southern House seats being won by Democrats until the 2010 elections, after which Democrats shrunk to a much smaller minority.

This paper analyzes the factors that allowed some Democrats to continue to be elected …

"Family Values Don't Stop At The Rio Grande..." : Can The Republican Party Convert Hispanic Voters?, Donald Davison

Faculty Publications

As the Hispanic community becomes increasingly important in American politics there are competing views about whether they can be converted to the Republican Party. One perspective argues that Hispanics’ religion and traditional social values makes them natural constituents of the Republican Party. Alternatively, Hispanics are primarily concerned about issues promoting their well-being, while topics such as moral values or religion are private. I use a novel approach to test whether traditional social values might attract Hispanic voters to the Republican Party. Using exit poll results for ballot propositions on moral issues from Arizona, Colorado, and Florida I find weak evidence …