Political Science Commons^™

Sports Teams Report, Fernando J. Guerra, Brianne Gilbert, Mariya Vizireanu, Alex Kempler

StudyLA Reports

The annual Los Angeles Public Opinion Survey conducted by StudyLA involved 20-minute telephone sessions and online surveys with more than 2,400 adults (1,700 phone and 700 online) living in Los Angeles County. Survey respondents were asked about quality-of- life perceptions, personal economic wellbeing, economic concerns, overall life satisfaction, and various civic issues. The margin of error is ±3.0% for the entire sample. For more information on study methodology, see Appendix section at the end of this report.

Landslide Or Fire Tax Report, Fernando J. Guerra, Brianne Gilbert, Mariya Vizireanu, Alex Kempler

StudyLA Reports

The annual Los Angeles Public Opinion Survey conducted by StudyLA involved 20-minute telephone sessions and online surveys with more than 2,400 adults (1,700 phone and 700 online) living in Los Angeles County. Survey respondents were asked about quality-of- life perceptions, personal economic wellbeing, economic concerns, overall life satisfaction, and various civic issues. The margin of error is ±3.0% for the entire sample. For more information on study methodology, see Appendix section at the end of this report.

Negative Affective Language In Politics, Stephen M. Utych

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

How do the words we use to talk about politics influence political attitudes and evaluations? I focus specifically on negative affective language; words which individuals have pre-existing negative reactions towards. Considering the Affect Infusion Model (AIM), processing style influences how individuals use affect when making decisions. The impact of affective language depends upon the complexity of the decision. In simpler processing tasks, individuals will use affect as a heuristic. This causes a misattribution of generalized negative affect onto a political target, leading to harsher evaluations. When a decision is complex, affective language influences how new information is stored in memory, …

Destined To Authoritarian Rule?: A Comparative Analysis Of The Processes Of State Creation And Regime Formation Of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, And Iran, Caroline Glass

Government and International Relations Honors Papers

Democracy is complex regime type, one that has been analyzed extensively. Yet the intricate nature of a democratic regime, and the challenges associated with keeping it running effectively, make it a continued object of scholarly research. Some countries with regimes that can be considered democratic maintain their democracies more effectively than others. This study attempts to analyze factors that have obstructed democratization in three non-Western countries: Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Iran.

My first goal is to outline processes of state creation and regime building in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Iran. A democratic regime cannot evolve without a state structure in …

Before The Peace: Ceasefire Durability In Ethnic Civil Wars, Justin Winokur

Government and International Relations Honors Papers

Why do some ceasefires last for days, while others last for months or years? Previous research on ceasefires has not directly considered the question of ceasefire durability, or has focused solely on the dynamics of ceasefire durability in interstate war. In order to address these knowledge gaps, this study explores the question of ceasefire durability in the context of ethnic civil wars. It is hypothesized that ceasefire durability is related to belligerents’ territorial satisfaction, relative power, and actor cohesion. Analyzing two ceasefires from the Bosnian civil war, the study finds that durability is a function of the interaction between territorial …

Polarization In American Presidential Politics; Looking For The Effects Of Citizens United And Increased Campaign Spending, Subrina Oswalt

Merge

No abstract provided.

Politics Of International Recognition: The Case Of Aspirant States, Wais Mehrabi

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Separatist polities that have managed to break away from their parent states and meet the basic criteria for statehood seek other states’ formal recognition to achieve full statehood and membership of the international society. There is no established pattern to explain external recognition of statehood empirically and theoretically. Kosovo declared independence and attained widespread recognition while Somaliland, despite successful separation from Somalia, has not. What factors explain states’ recognition decisions, or the selective conferring of recognition? The existing literature indicates that national interests, domestic politics, systematic level factors, international legal and normative standards, regime type, and identity politics shape recognition …

Assessing Criterion Validity Of Using Internet Searches As A Measure Of Public Attention, Elizabeth A. Stiles, Patrick E. Grogan-Myers

2018 Faculty Bibliography

We examine the criterion validity of using internet searches as a measure of public attention to United States Supreme Court (USSC) cases. First, we construct a measure of public attention to three cases by comparing relevant search terms in Google Trends to one top search terms of the year, then sum the measure week by week during the period of the research design. To test the measure’s criterion validity, we replicate Scott and Saunders’ (2006) models using their dataset (created by conducting phone interviews of a national sample using random digit dialing) that was designed to assess awareness of USSC …

The Impact Of Presidential Field Offices In Ohio, 2008-2012, Colin D. Swearingen

2018 Faculty Bibliography

Does a community’s proximity to a presidential field office impact presidential election results? Applying community-level data from the American Community Survey, we examine the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections in the battleground state of Ohio. Using spatial regression, we find that the number of Obama field offices within 10 miles significantly increased his share of the vote in 2012. While proximity to a McCain Victory Center statistically decreased a community’s Obama vote share, this result was not substantive. In 2012, a community’s proximity to a Romney field office did not influence the results. Proximity to an Obama field office also …

2018 Forecast La Conference Book, Fernando J. Guerra, Brianne Gilbert, Mariya Vizireanu, Alex Kempler, Alejandra Alarcon, Jorge Cortes, Melissa R. Alvarenga, Courtney Marquez

Forecast LA

No abstract provided.

To Build A Wall Or Open The Borders: An Analysis Of Immigration Attitudes Among Undergraduate University Students, Kelsey Sprenger

Senior Honors Projects

Recently, the American political spotlight has focused on the phenomena of legal and illegal immigration due to controversy over who should be allowed to enter the country. However, it is still hard to say with certainty what particular groups, such as university students, actually think about these issues, and whether or not it is possible to predict their attitudes based on certain demographic variables. This project seeks to uncover an answer to the latter question by analyzing the effects of political affiliation, religion, and social class on attitudes toward legal and illegal immigration using data from a survey administered to …

Nationalism And Regional Relations In Democratic Transitions: Comparing Nepal And Bhutan, Deki Peldon

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Democracy is facing crisis as its values including political rights and civil liberties are declining around the world. If democracy is to prevail, the reasons for the decline need to be addressed. To this end, the research question is: how nationalism and regional influences affect the political transitions of Bhutan and Nepal. The research question is answered by analyzing leadership stability, ethnicity and the caste system, as well as the roles of regional giants India and China in Bhutan's and Nepal's political transitions. The findings show that the contested conceptions of nationalism in Nepal and strong internal nationalism in Bhutan …

Sturm, Ruger & Co And The U.S. Firearms Industry, Eryn Berquist, Julian Cha, Jeffrey S. Harrison, Kelsey Heady, Lindsay Kennedy, Will Macllwiane, Bikram Saini, Natalie Schmidt, Jason Werst

Robins Case Network

Ruger is one of the largest domestic gun and ammunition manufacturers in the United States, and also one of the most successful. Ruger makes very high quality guns at reasonable prices. The company also emphasizes research and development. With no debt and high gross profit margins, one would expect Ruger to be an outstanding investment. However, the U.S. gun industry is extremely volatile and also very competitive. Due to mass shootings, terrorism, and other highly visible events, there is ever increasing pressure for new regulation and restrictions on gun ownership and use. However, the industry has a very powerful friend …

National Interests And Security Policies In The Arctic Region Among Arctic States, Hilde-Gunn Bye

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The United States, Canada, Russia, and Norway are all Arctic states; however, they prioritize the region to different degrees in terms of investments of security assets and military presence. What explains why some Arctic countries prioritize the Arctic more than others? This thesis explores this question through using an issue-based approach, which looks at the salience of issues as having implications for foreign policy tools and measures. This thesis finds that having interests and stakes in the region of high overall salience contribute to an explanation of why some countries prioritize the region more, while low overall salience is linked …

The Ins And Outs Of Advocacy, Stacy Etheredge

Articles

No abstract provided.

The African Puzzle: A Study Of Democratic Backsliding In Sub Saharan Africa, Ailbhe Rice

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The following study examines the future of democratization and the apparent trend towards autocratization within the context of democratic backsliding in Sub-Saharan Africa. Initially, the findings indicate that regionally, backsliding is not acting fundamentally different in Sub-Saharan Africa when compared to other regions. The analysis finds that regime duration and civil conflict are both significant when it comes to the study of democratic backsliding. The variable for the prior military regime's is extremely significant in all of the models and is, therefore, a strong indicator of backsliding in Africa. The chief takeaway from the study is in the variable for …

On The Defensive, Erika Simpson

Political Science Publications

Just before Christmas, the U.S. Congress rushed through the Pentagon’s request for US$4 billion to detect, defeat and defend against ballistic missiles.

“We are ordering $4 billion worth of missile defence equipment and missiles themselves. Very important,” President Donald Trump said at the White House. “Top of the line. Best in the world. We make the best military product in the world, and nobody is even close.”

Cultural Diplomacy And Trade: Making Connections, North American Cultural Diplomacy Initiative

FIMS Publications

The North American Cultural Diplomacy Initiative’s (NACDI) approach to cultural diplomacy is based on: an expansive and nuanced approach to the term culture; a belief in the necessity of relational, rather than transactional engagement; and an interest in understanding the significance of non-state actors in the current network environment of diplomacy. Rather than seeing the multifaceted nature of cultural diplomacy as a challenge, NACDI points to complexity as a reason to advance nuanced discussions, including the recognition of a wide range of actors and activities, and well-developed indicators that have specific qualitative and quantitative measurements. The report, Cultural Diplomacy and …

Reflection/Commentary On A Past Article: “A Practical Iterative Framework For Qualitative Data Analysis”, Prachi Srivastava, Nick Hopwood

Education Publications

This submission is a reflection by Srivastava and Hopwood on their earlier article, A Practical Iterative Framework for Qualitative Data Analysis, originally published in International Journal of Qualitative Methods in 2009, and selected for the journal’s special anniversary issue, “Top 20 in 20.” They discuss how they have applied the framework in their various studies since then, Srivastava, primarily in field-based international research in education and global development, and Hopwood, in education and health. Based on a brief analysis of the paper’s citations, they identify its impact to have been: in a wide variety of fields crossing disciplinary boundaries, studies …

Explaining Civilian Attacks: Terrorist Networks, Principal-Agent Problems And Target Selection, Max Abrahms, Matthew Ward, Ryan Kennedy

Department of Political Science

Terrorist groups exhibit variation in their targeting choices. Why do some groups direct their violence against civilians while others limit this occurrence? This study analyzes the network relationships between terrorist groups to elucidate their targeting behavior. Drawing upon insights from the organizational ecology and conflict literatures, we predict that terrorist group affiliates will be significantly more likely than their parent group to attack civilian targets. Our original principal-agent theory consistently outperforms extant explanations in a multi-method analysis of 238 terrorist groups from 1998 to 2005. These results shed new light on why certain terrorist groups are more likely than others …