Political Theory Commons^™

Republicanism, Richard Dagger

Political Science Faculty Publications

Republicanism is an ancient tradition of political thought that has enjoyed a remarkable revival in recent years. As with liberalism, conservatism, and other enduring political traditions, there is considerable disagreement as to exactly what republicanism is and who counts as a republican, whether in the ancient world or contemporary times. Scholars agree, however, that republicanism rests on the conviction that government is not the domain of some ruler or small set of rulers, but is instead a public matter - the res publica - to be directed by self-governing citizens.

Social Contracts, Fair Play, And The Justification Of Punishment, Richard Dagger

Political Science Faculty Publications

In recent years, the counterintuitive claim that criminals consent to their own punishment has been revived by philosophers who attempt to ground the justification of punishment in some version of the social contract. In this paper, I examine three such attempts—“contractarian” essays by Christopher Morris and Claire Finkelstein and an essay by Corey Brettschneider from the rival “contractualist” camp—and I find all three unconvincing. Each attempt is plausible, I argue, but its plausibility derives not from the appeal to a social contract but from considerations of fair play. Rather than look to the social contract for a justification of punishment, …

Post-Conflict Reconstruction In Sri Lanka And Cyprus: Avoiding A Stalemate, Jyotsna Shankar

CMC Senior Theses

By comparing the post-conflict reconstruction patterns of Cyprus and Sri Lanka, it is possible to evaluate what was or was not effective in the Cyprus case and how these lessons may be applied to Sri Lanka. Considering the underlying similarities of the two islands’ respective conflicts, the focus determining the best course of action for Sri Lanka, so that it does not face the same stalemate situation as Cyprus. The recommended policy contrasts with the consociationalist models proposed for Cyprus, and is instead based on the unique Basque model of autonomy.

Religion, Politics, And Polity Replication: Religious Differences In Preferences For Institutional Design, Joshua D. Ambrosius

Political Science Faculty Publications

This article presents a theory of polity replication in which religious congregants prefer institutions in other realms of society, including the state, to be structured like their church. Polities, or systems of church governance and administration, generally take one of three forms: episcopal (hierarchical/centralized), presbyterian (collegial/regional), or congregational (autonomous/decentralized). When asked to cast a vote to shape institutions in a centralizing or decentralizing manner, voters are influenced by organizational values shaped by their respective religious traditions‘ polity structures. Past social scientific scholarship has neglected to explicitly connect religious affiliation, defined by polity, with members‘ stances on institutional design. However, previous …

Populism And Human Rights In Theory And Practice: Chavez's Venezuela And Fujimori's Peru, Joseph P. Braun

Department of Political Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Despite ample literature on the topic of populism itself, much less has been written on the specific relationship between populism and human rights. First, I discuss the relationship between populist ideology and human rights in theory. I argue that populism is inconsistent with human rights accounts because of its rejection of pluralism and vilification of the ‘other.’ Second, I explore the relationship between populism as a political strategy and its impact on human rights under two Latin American regimes. I argue that despite its tendency to produce short-term gains in economic and social development, a review of the two cases …

Democracy, Freedom Of Speech, And Feminist Theory: A Response To Post And Weinstein, Susan H. Williams

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Free Speech And Autonomy: Thinkers, Storytellers, And A Systemic Approach To Speech, Susan H. Williams

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Misunderstanding Congress: Statutory Interpretation, The Supermajoritarian Difficulty, And The Separation Of Powers, Victoria Nourse

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Every lawyer's theory of statutory interpretation carries with it an idea of Congress, and every idea of Congress, in turn, carries with it an idea of the separation of powers. In this article, the author critiques three dominant academic theories of statutory interpretation--textualism, purposivism, and game theory--for their assumptions about Congress and the separation of powers. She argues that each academic theory fails to account for Congress's dominant institutional features: "the electoral connection," the "supermajoritarian difficulty," and the "principle of structure-induced ambiguity." This critique yields surprising conclusions, rejecting both standard liberal and conservative views on statutory interpretation.

"Plain" meaning, it …

Statutory Meanings: Deriving Interpretive Principles From A Theory Of Communication And Lawmaking, Mathew D. Mccubbins, Daniel B. Rodriguez

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

How Information Literacy Becomes Policy: An Analysis Using The Multiple Streams Framework, Sharon A. Weiner

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

There is growing recognition that information literacy is a critical skill for educational and workplace success, engagement in lifelong learning, and civic participation. To be considered for allocations of financial and human resources, information literacy must become a policy priority for institutions and societies. There is no published examination of factors that may influence the adoption of information literacy as a policy priority. This article explores aspects of the policy process from a U.S. perspective that can favor or impede the inclusion of information literacy on political agendas. It examines these questions through the multiple streams framework of policy processes. …

How Are The Torres Strait Islander's Traditional Hunting Practices Affected By The Current Rate Of Decline In Dugong And Sea Turtle Populations And The Australian Government's Co-Management Policies On Marine Preservation?, Katilyn Price

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

This paper will attempt to identify the extent to which the Torres Strait Islanders traditional hunting practices have been disrupted by the overall decline in dugong and sea turtle populations, which has directly correlated to an increase in hunting restrictions put in place by the Australian Government. The traditional hunting of dugongs and sea turtles provides not only a food source, but brings prestige to the men who catch them and serves as an educational platform to teach the younger generations about their culture. There are many environmental threats that impact the populations of sea turtles and dugongs though the …

Recent Legislation To Promote Wind Energy In Nebraska, Ryan Lemke

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Nebraska is currently ranked 4th in the nation for wind energy potential, but ranks low in actual wind power production. The lack of wind energy production could be the result of Nebraska’s unique public power districts that have eminent domain of distribution and retail sales of electricity in the State. Public Power districts are prohibited from receiving benefits of state and federal tax incentives for the development of wind farms, however some Nebraska power districts still pursue wind energy as a renewable source of energy.

Recent legislation changes, including the passing of laws LB629 and LB1048, have provided the State …

The Life Of An Unknown Assassin: Leon Czolgosz And The Death Of William Mckinley, Cary H. Federman

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The purpose of this essay is to examine the discourses that surrounded the life of Leon Czolgosz, the assassin of President William McKinley. The gaps in Czolgosz’s life, his peculiar silences, his poor health and the ambiguity and thinness of his confession, rather than taken as instances of mental and physical distress, have, instead, been understood as signs of a revolutionary anarchistic assassin. Czolgosz is an expression of a cultural tradition in somatic form. I argue that the discursive construction of criminality, already present in the late nineteenth century within the medical and human sciences, is what shaped Czolgosz’s life …

Plato’S Gorgias: Rhetoric, The Greatest Evil, And The True Art Of Politics, Paul A. George

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The interweaving of rhetoric, the greatest evil, and the true art of politics create the unity of the dialogue. Whereas Gorgianic rhetoric is pleasure seeking flattery which inspires belief without knowledge, noble rhetoric is refutative, inspiring the acknowledgment of falsity or ignorance. Moreover, it is self-refutation, meaning that the person being persuaded arrives at the conclusion of his ignorance by his own realization; the noble rhetor does not connect all the dots for them. The greatest evil is to have a false opinion about justice. A just penalty for suffering from the greatest evil is to face selfrefutation in hopes …

Political And Civic Engagement Attitudes Among Asian American College Students, Matthew Vanada

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study explored the attitudes of political and civic engagement among Asian American college students. Previous research suggests that young people are increasingly more inclined to participate in civic activities over traditional forms of political participation. The researcher considered this trend by examining the views of Asian American students, a group whose political behavior has not been largely investigated.

This study employed a qualitative research design. Students from public institutions of higher education in Las Vegas were interviewed using an in-depth and semi-structured format. Findings suggest that there is a general willingness to become involved in civic activity such as …

Nationalism And Public Opinion In Contemporary Spain: The Demobilization Of The Working Class In Catalonia, César García

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of Arts and Humanities

This paper examines the relationship between nationalism and public opinion in the region of Catalonia in contemporary Spain. It analyzes the interaction of the climate of opinion, expectations, poll results, and political action. This holistic approach permits a conclusion that successive Catalan governments and the political class, in an effort to solidify their foothold in and emerging democracy, have been successful in creating a climate of opinion that has encouraged the nationalist part of the Catalan population, concentrated proportionally in highest socioeconomic strata, to be actively involved in politics, while at the same time demobilizing a significant part of the …

Recognition Within The Limits Of Reason: Remarks On Pippin’S Hegel’S Practical Philosophy, David Ingram

Philosophy: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Since the publication of Charles Taylor’s Multiculturalism and the Politics of Recognition in 1989,[1] the concept of recognition has re-emerged as a central if not dominant category of moral and political philosophy.

[1] C. Taylor, “The Politics of Recognition,” in A. Gutmann (ed.), Multiculturalism: Examining the Politics of Recognition (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994), pp. 25-73.

Illustrating Illegitimate Lawfare, Michael A. Newton

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Lawfare that erodes the good faith application of the laws and customs of warfare is illegitimate and untenable. This essay outlines the contours of such illegitimate lawfare and provides current examples to guide practitioners. Clearly addressing the terminological imprecision in current understandings of lawfare, this essay is intended to help prevent further erosion of the corpus of jus in bello. Words matter, particularly when they are charged with legal significance and purport to convey legal rights and obligations. When purported legal “developments” actually undermine respect for the application and enforcement of humanitarian law, they are illegitimate. Although the laws and …

The Politic 2010 Fall, The Politic, Inc.

The Politic

No abstract provided.

Nationalizing International Theory: Race, Class And The English School, William A. Callahan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Much work has been done to deconstruct the links between knowledge and power in IR as "an American Social Science". This topic has arisen again with the re- launching of the English School of IR Theory in 2001. This essay argues that although the English School is critical of the power-knowledge dynamic, it actually exacerbates the problem by deliberately "nationalising" international theory. The essay traces the emergence and logic of the English School and its key concept "International Society". It argues that the English School is tied not only to national identity but to the rules of European Empire. Using …