Political Science Commons^™

Pushing The Limits: International Land Acquisitions In Comparative Perspective, Ariane Goetz

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The role of investor countries in large-scale land acquisitions is poorly understood in the contemporary “land grab” literature. Orthodox explanations largely build on deductive analyses that deviate from the emerging empirical evidence, and/or face analytical difficulties when trying to capture why large-scale land acquisitions happen. This thesis investigates the global phenomenon of “land grabbing” from the comparative perspective of two major investor countries: the UK and China. The regional focus is on Sub-Saharan Africa, a major target of land-consuming investments since 2000.

The dissertation advances three arguments: Firstly, the specific details of the home country’s industrial set-up, development challenges, ideological …

Security Of The Central Asian Energy System Through Regional-Level Energy Governance Innovations, Farkhod Aminjonov

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The Central Asian energy system (CAES) was built during the Soviet period and designed without concern for what are today national borders. The resource sharing mechanism ensured the security of the CAES—reliable and stable energy supplies to meet the needs of both the people and the economy. However, following the breakup of the Soviet Union this mechanism came under pressure from emergent geopolitical and economic challenges such as the monetization of energy trade (oil products, gas and electricity) and tensions between domestic water and energy needs. Since the Central Asian energy sectors were initially designed to operate within a unified …

The Electoral Influence Of Teachers’ Unions On Democratic Education Policy Priorities, Molly Ziek Brand

Honors Papers

This thesis examines how teachers unions choose to endorse political candidates in a Democratic primary. I will argue that teachers unions are powerful enough that they are able to choose between Democrats based on their education policy positions, rather than making endorsement decisions based on candidates’ positions on general labor policy. Although teachers unions act with the ultimate goal of promoting their members’ interests as employees, the distinction between acting with a primary interest in education policy instead of a primary interest in labor policy is an important one. The distinction is significant because disagreement about education policy currently represents …

Early Voting Methods And The Impact On Voter Turnout, Courtney Harris

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

In 2004, over 27 million Americans voted prior to Election Day through early voting policies that exist in the United States. One of the most discussed questions is whether early voting has an effect on voter turnout.

In this analysis, I will review the voter turnout of states during the 2008 and 2010 election years. By executing this analysis, I hope to determine if these policies affect voter turnout. The implications of this analysis are useful for informing state decisions regarding voting procedures and can assist the other states in determining if these polices, and similar methods in the future, …

Se Habla Español: The Health Disparity Among The Latino Population, Karen Paz

The Corinthian

Latinos are considered the fastest growing and the largest ethnic minority group in the United States. It is estimated that by 2050, 24% of the U.S. population will be Latino. According to Census data, approximately 18% of the U.S. population age five or older speaks a language other than English at home, and current projections continue to show increases in U.S. immigrant and second-language groups nationwide. About half of that population self-reported that they speak English less than “very well.” Members of this population are referred to as individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP). As the largest ethnic minority, 28 …

The Paradox Of Power-Sharing: Stability And Fragility In Postwar Lebanon, Amanda Rizkallah

All Faculty Open Access Publications

This article examines the consequences of civil war and power-sharing settlements for the development of sectarian networks of mobilization. While power-sharing presents a viable mechanism for ending civil war, it allows the participating militias-turned-parties access to state resources and leaves their population networks and organizations intact. This continuity reduces the militias-turned-parties’ start-up costs for violent mobilization in the future, enabling them to mobilize more effectively than new parties with no combat experience. I exploit rich variation in the wartime legacies and settlement status of the major postwar parties in Lebanon to explain whether and how parties mobilized during the clashes …

Youth Activism, Art And Transitional Justice: Emerging Spaces Of Memory After The Jasmine Revolution, Arnaud Kurze

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This chapter explores the creation of alternative transitional justice spaces in post-conflict contexts, particularly concentrating on the role of art and the impact of social movements to address human rights abuses. Drawing from post-authoritarian Tunisia, it scrutinizes the work of contemporary youth activists and artists to deal with the past and foster sociopolitical change. Although these vanguard protesters provoked the overthrow of President Zine El Abdine Ben Ali in 2011, the power vacuum was quickly filled by old elites. The exclusion of young revolutionaries from political decision-making led to unprecedented forms of mobilization to account for repression and injustice under …

Catalunya No Es Espanya?: Examining Catalan Nationalism, Shiloh Jaggers Jones

Honors Theses

Catalonia is one of a few European separatist movements that have real significance in the European political sphere. Separatism is new to Catalonia, however Catalan nationalism is not. Through the analysis of primary and secondary sources, this thesis explains that the reason the Catalan nationalist movement is so strong and demands the attention it is receiving in the Spanish national and international communities is the long-standing political, economic, and cultural foundations that have been building even before Catalonia was formed. Likewise, these foundations combined with the triggering events of the recession of the late 2000s and the Spanish constitutional court …

Fueling The Dragon's Fire: China's Coal Policy, Taylor Malcolm

Honors Theses

The last few decades in China have seen unprecedented economic growth. This growth, though good for the economy, has had extreme consequences on the health of Chinese citizens as well as the environment as a whole. A major factor of this increased pollution is the country's high consumption of coal, which has rarely comprised less than 70 percent of the country's energy during the past 50 years. Though the media portrays a China which is making enormous strides in the field of environmental protection, the energy and environmental policies of the country suggest that it will continue using large amounts …

Still Innocents Abroad: The Relationship Between Anti-Americanism And American Foreign Policy In The Middle East, Kelly Kennedy

Honors Theses

In this thesis, the author examined the relationship between anti-American sentiment and U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. The author first constructed a literature review on anti-Americanism, including sections discussing its definition, conceptualization, measurement techniques, and known sources. From this literature review, the author created her own definition of anti-Americanism and a hypothesis that anti-Americanism is endogenous to U.S. foreign policy—anti-Americanism may increase or decrease depending on changes to U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. The author then used a quantitative comparison of survey data and two qualitative case studies to test her hypothesis. The comparison of survey …

An Examination Of The Theory Of Alternate Routes To High School Graduation And Its Implication On Mississippi's Educational System, Kimberly L. Hardges

Honors Theses

During Mississippi's 2014 Regular Legislative Session, Representative John L. Moore, Chair of the Education Committee, introduced House Bill 767 (HB 767). The goal of HB 767 was to create a pilot program that would remove the requirement for passage of Subject Area Tests as a mandatory requirement for graduation... and to establish the minimum composite score to be attained on the ACT assessment to qualify a student for graduation and for college and career readiness1 in the state of Mississippi. By a vote of 118-1 HB 767 passed the House. The bill was then transmitted to the Mississippi State Senate …

Reconstruction After Genocide: An Analysis Of The Justice System For The Women Victims Of Genocidal Rape In Post-Conflict Bosnia, Hannah E. Gardenswartz

Scripps Senior Theses

In the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina, one of the critical elements of the ethnic cleansing regimes was rape and impregnation of women. When the international justice system was created to criminally try the perpetrators of the atrocities, including the rape victims was a new development. Looking at the tribunals and court system from a gendered perspective reveals that the efforts to include rape victims have not taken into account their specific needs, stemming from their trauma. A critical look the ICTY and other criminal courts are presented, as well as recommendations for improving inclusivity and reconciliation.

The Germ Theory Of Dystopias: Fears Of Human Nature In 1984 And Brave New World, Clea D. Harris

Scripps Senior Theses

This project is an exploration of 20^th century dystopian literature through the lens of germ theory. This scientific principle, which emerged in the late 19^th century, asserts that microorganisms pervade the world; these invisible and omnipresent germs cause specific diseases which are often life threatening. Additionally, germ theory states that vaccines and antiseptics can prevent some of these afflictions and that antibiotics can treat others. This concept of a pervasive, invisible, infection-causing other is not just a biological principle, though; in this paper, I argue that one can interpret it as an ideological framework for understanding human existence …

Ngos V. State: A Case Study Of The Effectiveness Of Women’S Development Programs In Tanzania, Sara M. Eliason

Scripps Senior Theses

This paper compares the effectiveness of an NGO and a government branch at promoting development through gender equality in Tanzania, in an attempt to determine whether one actor is more suited to this sector of development. Due to the nature of the actors, their approaches impact different parts of the population of Tanzania and are complementary in their impact. Both NGO and government efforts can help to empower women and in turn promote economic development in Tanzania.

America’S College Promise: An Economic Evaluation Of President Obama’S Free Community College Plan, Yue Guan

Scripps Senior Theses

In his 2015 State of the Union Address, President Obama announced “America’s College Promise,” a plan to make community college free for all American families making less than $200,000. In this thesis, I provide an analysis of the plan and provide an evaluation of its potential impact on the education attainment gap in the United States. I also evaluate the plan’s various components and assess its potential impact on community college student enrollment, completion, and transfer to four-year universities. Lastly, I offer recommendations for improvement.

Characteristics Of Salafi Jihadist Activists, Emily N. Mayfield

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This paper will compare and contrast the personal characteristics among individuals who were born in Middle Eastern countries and have committed violent acts of terror in the name of Salafi Jihadism against Western countries. First, a review of the current literature on the pre-conditions for Salafi-jihadist radicalization and activism in general will be conducted. Next, the study will focus on those issues most salient to the Middle East. This research will serve as a precursor for further study on ways to build a characteristic based profile on at risk individuals for Salafi jihadist radicalization, recruitment, and activism.

Student Voting Behavior At The University Of Akron, Turner G. Anderson

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This paper explores the voting behavior of students at The University of Akron. The paper begins by looking at the body of research surrounding student voting behavior in the United States as a whole. Much of the research challenges traditional notions of how to predict voting behavior, and it is noted that many of the generational behavior research is outdated and may not describe today’s students well. Some of the some of the potential obstacles to student voting both in Akron and the country as a whole are also explored.

For the analysis, the voter turnout rate in 2010 through …

The Psychology Of Terrorism And Radicalization, Gina K. Dejacimo

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Terrorism and radicalized political groups are an ever-growing subsection of the American and international news cycles. Mainstream media outlets tend to focus on the atrocious actions of terrorists, leaving the American public without a true understanding of what encourages someone to become a violent, radicalized extremist. This paper intends to investigate possible psychological factors that can predict a person’s likelihood to become radicalized and participate in a salafi jihadi terrorist campaign. If such psychological conditions exist, perhaps they are the key to preventing radicalization in the first place, and in turn, the key to preventing any terrorist activity. What other …

The Making Of A Libertarian, Contrarian, Nonobservant, But Self-Identified Jew, Randy E. Barnett

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Many academics are unaware that I am Jewish, no doubt due, in part, to my last name as well as to my politics, Yet growing up as a Jew in Polish-Catholic Calumet City, Illinois and as a kid from Calumet City attending Temple in Hammond, Indiana made me quite conscious of the tyranny of the majority. This environment, together with the influence of my father, had a deep affect on my views of liberty, justice, individual rights, and the U.S. Constitution. In this brief essay, prepared for a symposium on “Judaism and Constitutional Law: People of the Book,” held at …

Why Law Matters For Our Obligations, Guyora Binder

Journal Articles

Political philosophers have long debated the problem of political and legal obligation: how the existence of a political community and its laws can affect our obligations. This paper applies Alon Harel’s argument that law has intrinsic value to this venerable problem. It interprets Harel’s argument as a Kantian claim that law enables us to treat our fellows with the respect they deserve, by requiring us not only to treat them decently, but to recognize decent treatment as their right.