Political Science Commons^™

Predicting Leader Survival: Evidence From Covert Action Case Study Analysis, Joy S. Patton

Dissertations

This research explores the unique relationship between covert action and leader survivability, in particular, how leadership styles and personality traits influence this relationship. The life of a ruler is ephemeral. For those who are lucky, their exit from office is through retirement or old age. For most, their tenure is short, often ending through violent means. The overthrow of rulers by their rivals is a common theme throughout world history, and the strategy remains a popular choice in contemporary warfare. However, despite the frequency of regime change, very little is discussed in international relations about covert regime change and its …

Syrian Crisis Representation In The Media: The Cnn Effect, Framing, And Tone, Savannah S. Day

Venture: The University of Mississippi Undergraduate Research Journal

Over the past seven years of the Syrian Civil War, Syrian refugees have been painted in a negative light by news media outlets around the world. History of media coverage regarding global humanitarian crises shows that with various tools and processes, media can shape public opinion and policy in whichever direction it desires, and oftentimes policymakers and the public are quick, as well as emotional, to react. In this paper, my objectives are to analyze specific examples of this CNN Effect phenomena within news coverage of the Syrian refugee crisis, as well as generally explain the negatively correlating relationship between …

Why We Hear About It, And Why We Don't: Power Dynamics And Sexual Harassment Reporting In Us State Legislative Bodies, Halley Norman

Political Science Honors Projects

The rise to prominence of the #MeToo Movement in October 2017 opened the floodgates to sexual harassment and assault allegations in all fields and levels of employment, across the United States and the world. This movement has crucially revealed is that women often wait months or even years before reporting, if they report at all. Looking at US state legislative bodies, I argue that gendered power dynamics between men and women suppress allegations and promote harassment. Using interviews and data analysis, this paper identifies different factors that may delay or hinder reporting, with a specific focus on gendered power dynamics …

Watering The Desert: Azraq, Public Opinion, And Environmental Post-Materialism, Wesley A. Gerard

Venture: The University of Mississippi Undergraduate Research Journal

This article focuses on physical, socioeconomic, and political changes in the community of Azraq, Jordan. Azraq, a small town in northeastern Jordan, sits atop a large aquifer that has been heavily pumped by the government for several decades in response to an increasing nationwide demand for water. This has led to large-scale transformations in not only the physical landscape surrounding the aquifer, but also in the daily lives, economic statuses, and political opinions of the people living there. My research thus fits the case of Azraq into larger academic discourse on groundwater governance, resource access, and environmentalism. I use a …

Charter School Performance In Rhode Island, Lena Vye

Senior Honors Projects

In the last few decades, there has been considerable debate over whether or not charter schools are beneficial to the American education system. Charter schools are given government funding, but they have independence from the established educational system. Charter school supporters argue that increased autonomy and innovation in teaching, as well as competition between schools, improves the quality of education. Opponents of charter schools argue that charter schools are not more effective than public schools. However, the research is mixed: some studies suggest charter schools perform better, some suggest they perform similarly, and some suggest that they perform worse than …

For-Profit Prisons: How Lobbying Has Affected The Way America Houses Prisoners, Jacob F. Israel

Political Science Theses and Capstones

There seems to be limited research and understanding as to why for-profit prisons exist in the United States. The initial selling points used to sell private prisons to states and counties were that they would reduce recidivism and cost. Recent peer-reviewed studies have found, however, that neither are the case. This could lead one to ask why for-profit prisons are still used in America. That is what I hope to answer in this research paper. After research and analysis of campaign donations by the two largest for-profit prison corporations (collected from the National Institute on Money in State Politics) and …

Bashkimi Europian Dhe Turqia, Donjeta Elshani

Theses and Dissertations

Ky punim ka për qëllim të shtjelloj politikën e Bashkimit Europian karshi Turqisë dhe aftësinë apo paaftësinë e Turqisë për ti përmbushur kriteret e kërkuara. Fillimisht do paraqitet një vështrim i përgjithshëm hitorik ndërmjet BE-së dhe Turqisë, rruga e kësaj të fundit drejt plotësimit të kritereve. Së dyti, do të paraqes “rolin e religjionit dhe ndikimin e tij”. Përkatësisht ndikimin e religjionit në plotësimin e kritereve të parapara për të gjitha vendet që synojnë anëtarësimin në BE. Në veçanti do të shtjellohen kriteret e Kopenhagenit dhe raporti se sa është përpjekur Turqia ti plotësojë apo të përafërohet me to si …

Roli I Be-Së Në Shtet-Ndërtimin E Kosovës, Mergim Rrecaj

Theses and Dissertations

Kosova është një prej shteteve që i takon gjeografikisht Ballkanit Perëndimor, dhe njëkohësisht është shteti i fundit që ka shpallur pavarësinë e saj në kontinentin e Evropës. Rasti i Kosovës konsiderohet të jetë sui generis, për shkak të rrethanave dhe formës se si është krijuar subjektiviteti i saj shtetëror. Duke kuptuar kompleksitetin e çështjes së Kosovës që nga aspekti historik e deri të rrethanat aktuale, çështja shtet-ndërtuese për Kosovën konsiderohet shumë e veçantë për t’u trajtuar. Procesi i shtet-ndërtimit të Kosovës është i ndërlidhur jashtëzakonisht shumë me rolin e Bashkimit Evropian në të, madje mund të konstatohet se nuk ka …

Etika Në Menaxhimin Publik, Rast Studimi - Kompania Regjionale Për Mbeturina “Pastërtia”, Gresa Neziri

Theses and Dissertations

Etika në menaxhimin publik, rasti Kompania Regjionale për mbeturina “Pastërtia” është një përpjekje për të analizuar dhe trajtuar një fushë të re në studimet kosovare. Nga një vëzhgim i shpejtë, vërehet lehtë se aspekte të veçanta të komponentëve përbërës të administratës publike, kanë filluar të ceken në studimet e ndryshme, por ende mungon një trajtim gjithpërfshirës dhe i fokusuar drejtpërdrejt në etikën e menaxhimit të kësaj strukture shumë të rëndësishme shtetërore. Megjithëse janë trajtuar në artikuj të botuar në media apo janë kryer disa prezantime në konferenca shkencore, ato ende nuk përbëjnë një studim të thelluar e të plotë.

Studimi …

Policy Feedback And The Politics Of The Affordable Care Act, Daniel Beland, Philip Rocco, Alex Waddan

Political Science Faculty Research and Publications

There is a large body of literature devoted to how “policies create politics” and how feedback effects from existing policy legacies shape potential reforms in a particular area. Although much of this literature focuses on self‐reinforcing feedback effects that increase support for existing policies over time, Kent Weaver and his colleagues have recently drawn our attention to self‐undermining effects that can gradually weaken support for such policies. The following contribution explores both self‐reinforcing and self‐undermining policy feedback in relationship to the Affordable Care Act, the most important health‐care reform enacted in the United States since the mid‐1960s. More specifically, the …

Who Studies International Law? Explaining Cross-National Variation In Compulsory International Legal Education, Ryan Scoville, Mark S. Berlin

Political Science Faculty Research and Publications

The compulsory study of international law is a universal component of legal education in some states but extremely uncommon or non-existent in others. This article uses global data and statistical methods to test a number of conceivable explanations for this puzzling feature of international society. In contrast to much of the empirical literature on state behaviour in relation to international law, we find that functionalist and socio-political variables carry little explanatory power and that historical variables – specifically, legal tradition and regional geography – instead account for the overwhelming majority of the global pattern. We explore potential explanations for these …

Underground Railroads And Coyote Conductors: Brokering Clandestine Passages, Then And Now, Noelle K. Brigden

Political Science Faculty Research and Publications

This article juxtaposes the Underground Railroad with contemporary Central American smuggling practices. Activists in the US Sanctuary Movement, seeking to provide safe passage to the USA for Central American refugees, summon the legacy of the Underground Railroad as a normative frame for understanding their mission. In the original Underground Railroad, a loose network of ‘conductors’ ushered escaped slaves north to freedom. In contrast to immigrant rights activists and slavery abolitionists, for-profit smugglers have been vilified as violent predators. Nevertheless, surprising similarities in social practices and relationships that underpin such dramatically different cases of migration brokerage point to the contingencies, complexities …

The Rhode Island Earned Income Tax Credit: History And Analysis, Andrew Boardman

Senior Honors Projects

This paper offers a comprehensive political history of the Rhode Island Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and an analysis of Rhode Island EITC recipients. It explores the history of the Rhode Island EITC, an income subsidy available to low-income workers, from its introduction in 1975 through 2018. It details the forces behind expansions and reforms and the effects of those changes. It also analyzes microdata to construct a profile of current EITC recipients. This paper concludes that the Rhode Island EITC has historically been viewed as both a poverty alleviation program and an incentive for labor market work. The Rhode …

Criminal Justice Systems: Impacts That Transcend Borders & Prison Bars, Erika Yeager

Senior Honors Projects

Historically, the concepts of criminal justice and punishment have been core facets of many societies and cultures. The evolution of crime and punishment is unique in different places across the world and across cultures. The incarceration of individuals across the globe has turned into an epidemic; according to the Institute for Criminal Policy Research, there are almost 10.4 million individuals imprisoned around the world (“Global Prison Trends” 7). By researching this political and sociological phenomenon, more insight is gained into the tangible impacts systemic models of criminal justice have on societies and countries as a whole. These individualized systems and …

Terrorism In The Modern Day, Michael Ricker

Senior Honors Projects

Terrorism has long plagued the global community in its goal of achieving sustained peace and security. Through the decades, terrorist groups have had varying levels of success in achieving political goals and realizing their groups ultimate objective(s). In addition, there have been a multitude of prominent ideologies in terrorist groups that have proved impressionable throughout modern history. This article aims to determine if certain ideological groups are more effective than others in achieving their goals and whether terror groups exploit certain ideologies or, conversely, if certain ideologies produce terrorism. By conducting a comparative case study of published research and utilizing …

Protest And Religion: An Overview, Yasemin Akbaba

Political Science Faculty Publications

After decades-long neglect, a growing body of scholarship is studying religious components of protests. Religion’s role as a facilitator, the religious perspective of protesters, the goals of religious actors as participants, and faith-based outcomes of protests have been examined using quantitative and qualitative methodology. Although it is now a thriving research field, due to recent contributions, incorporating faith-based variables in protest research is a challenging task since religion travels across different levels of analysis; effortlessly merges with thick concepts such as individual and collective identity; and takes different shapes and color when it surfaces in various social contexts across the …

Embryo Litigation : The Legal Categorization Of Embryos As Protected Humans Or Property, Caroline Koboska

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This thesis explores the issue of the unknown legal status of frozen embryos in the United States. With an examination of the issue through the discipline of law, it becomes evident that the lack of legislation and guidance on the issue has left it a matter up to the states, rather than the federal government. Central to the issue is the history and laws of abortion in the United States that can help provide precedent. The thesis examines embryos in light of property law, contract law, and family law. Also included is a review of embryos through a second discipline …

Analyzing The Necessity To Modify Standardized Test Statutes, Ashley Hernandez

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

In recent years, standardized tests have been challenged by many academic scholars, legal journalists, psychologists and scientific researchers. They claim these tests are an arbitrary form of measuring academic success. Across many grade levels, from elementary to graduate school, there has been concern over the efficacy of these tests. Yet, many neglect to consider the benefits of standardized testing and the reasons why they were implemented and continue. Many educational systems have made standardized tests optional to combat issues of regarding arbitrary content, bias and discrimination. Yet, as those pushing for standardized test reform continue to suggest otherwise, there is …

How Black Lives Matter Has Influenced And Interacted With Global Social Movements, Arelle A. Binning

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a chapter-based and member-led organization created out of grief by three queer black women. This thesis examines the international impact of BLM. I conducted telephone interviews with activists and advocacy organizations who have organized activist networks and/or won struggles against institutional racism outside of the United States. These activists are located in Kenya, South Africa, Brazil, Australia, India, Spain, The Netherlands, Sweden, and Paris. I conclude that BLM has inspired the creation and supported the continued development of organizations advocating for national and transnational social and racial justice on a global scale. BLM in spite …

A Politics Of Boundlessness, Fernando Orellana

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Spirituality has nothing to do with politics. Nonetheless, there is a functional relationship between them. Although spirituality supposes a disposition against boundaries – of experience and consciousness – and politics appears to involve the definition of limits insofar as they enable political action and meaning, these two distinct dimensions of human existence are not in opposition to each other. Politics here can be characterized as a kind of vectorization: the inscription of a gesture – as a force with magnitude and direction – into an intelligible (political) matrix. When we talk about politicization, we are concerned with the investigation of …