UNT Libraries - 183 Matching Results

Search Results

Results: 1 - 50 next
Does Policy Lead to Progress? An Investigation into the Relationship between Women-Friendly Policies and Women's Descriptive Representation
It is generally accepted among scholars that increases in descriptive representation result in increases in substantive representation. Although women's descriptive representation has increased in recent years, women are still underrepresented in politics. One reason for women's underrepresentation is that female candidates must overcome additional barriers in order to get elected, including on the low number of women in the pipeline to elected office, party gatekeeping, women's lower levels of political ambition, and voters' negative gender stereotypes about female candidates. Changes in women's descriptive representation and recent salience of women-friendly policies, such as abortion and paid maternity leave, has caused me to investigate whether implementation of these women-friendly policies result in an increase in women's descriptive representation. I assert that women-friendly policies reduce the barriers women must overcome to get elected to office. Specifically, the presence of more women-friendly abortion and paid maternity leave policies will result in an increase in women's descriptive representation at the state level. I find partial support for a relationship between these women-friendly policies and higher levels of women's descriptive representation. State-level abortion protections are associated with higher levels of women's descriptive representation in the state legislature.
A Different Kind of Political Party: The Relationship between Tabletop Role Playing Games and Political Efficacy
Tabletop role-playing games (TRPGs) present a unique opportunity to study political behavior. In educational settings, role-playing games (RPGs) of all kinds have proven to be valuable educational tools, and even when played for fun, participating in role playing games has been shown to increase one's level of confidence. Knowing this, I designed an experiment to attempt to increase internal political efficacy through the use of a politically-themed TRPG. I took inspiration from the original TRPGs of the 1970s and 1980s which were used purely for entertainment purposes to create my own game in a traditional TRPG setting with current issues woven into the story of the game (also called a campaign), and utilized quantitative and qualitative methods to analyze participants' reactions to the campaign and levels of efficacy. In doing so, I seek to determine whether players will recognize real-world issues when presented in a science fiction or fantasy-themed campaign. Furthermore, given that TRPGs have the potential to shape players' understanding of how the world works and their place in it, will players be more motivated to act on said issues presented in-game, even if they do not consciously make the connection between the real-life issues presented in the science fiction/fantasy setting and those same issues in the real world?
The Great Equalizer? An Analysis of the Relationship between Race, Severe Weather Disasters, and Climate Change Policy Support
Climate disasters are on the rise, with devastating effects on communities around the globe. Scientists have provided evidence that severe weather events due to climate change will continue to increase in frequency and severity. Extreme weather events are often referred to as the great equalizers, disregarding the socioeconomic status and race of those affected during widespread destruction. However, the literature suggests that people of color are disproportionately exposed to and affected by climate change and extreme weather events. In this study, I examine how exposure to extreme weather events will influence climate change policy support amongst different races. I argue that people of color will support climate change policy more than white people. I run regression models using data from Collaborative Multiracial Post-Election Survey and National Centers for Environmental Information. I do not find support for my hypothesis, but I do find that among the Black population, climate change policy support increases as respondents get older.
Strategies for Attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI): Assessing the Effectiveness of Post-Conflict Peacebuilding Mechanisms in the International Capital Markets
Post-civil conflict nations have a strong incentive to attract foreign capital because it is vital for redevelopment and economic growth which in turn reduce the likelihood of conflict resumption. Although foreign investors tend to be risk averse and view states that have recently experienced conflict to be high risk environments, this paper argues that power-sharing mechanisms address the roots of civil dissent and therefore provide a positive signal to potential investors. By focusing on a particular peacebuilding mechanism this work is able to single out the impact of one strategy, namely power-sharing, and assess its effectiveness in attracting foreign direct investment.
Partisan Media Coverage of Abortion Policy
Public opinion on salient issues and elite's knowledge of the public are both reliant on framed information, as they often depend on the media as a communication tool. Media tone also influences political behavior by affecting the perceptions that the public has on issues and events. In this study I examine the tone and framing of abortion media coverage by three different media outlets each with a different ideology leaning. I test assumptions made by cascade activation model and the economic theory of news making by answering the question how does partisan media report the issue of abortion? I answer this question by analyzing the tone and framing of 45 abortion articles from Politico, a Liberal leaning news outlet, 65 news articles from The Daily Caller, a Conservative news outlet, and 45 news articles from the NY Times, one that is considered independent. Results found that in accordance with what cascading and economic theory of news would predict, the news outlets are likely to prioritize their audience's ideology in their content by keeping it in line with the continually pushed abortion frames that each side identified with.
Aristotle on Being Triggered: A Question on Moral Virtue
I argue that Aristotle aids in understanding the tension between the political art and moral virtue through his examination of courage in The Nicomachean Ethics. The end of the political art is to habituate the city and citizens towards "the good." Aristotle examines five held opinions of non-courage, requiring that we reflect on our own vices. I describe how Aristotle prepares his readers for the task of examining the political art. I then view courage found in the citizen and spiritedness as an example of two common opinions where individuals are inclined towards pleasure, as opposed to being inclined to the noble. To conclude, I show that Aristotle provides opinions of non-courage to emphasize how institutions are, and must remain, a foundational part of society.
Minority Linked Fate and Race-Based Policy Initiatives: Analyzing Support Levels for African American Redress between Asian, Latino, and African Americans
This thesis seeks to examine the levels of support for African American reparations amongst minorities. After providing a historical account of redress efforts separated racial group and discussing factors that influence reparations, I argue that minority groups possess cross-racial linked fate (minority linked fate) that significantly impacts their political attitudes concerning reparations for African Americans. Additionally, I argue that higher levels of minority-linked fate will equate to significant support for reparations. The probit regressions reaffirm the initial hypotheses that minority-linked fate has a significant impact on support for African American reparations. However, the racial groups most affected were not suspected initially.
School of the Americas Graduates and the Possible Increase of Sexual Violence in South America
The School of the Americas (SOA), currently known as the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC), is a Latin American training program run by the U.S. army since 1946. While the U.S. claimed they were training young men to serve as security personnel for South America, the trainees were often violent, acting more like CIA-trained terrorists, killing innocent people and serving as leaders in some of the worst South American dictatorial regimes. Most of these regimes heavily utilized rape as a key tactic of repression rising to the level of genocide, such as reported by other researches in both the Peruvian and Guatemalan civil wars where rape was used by SOA graduates against Indigenous populations to physically and psychologically damage the populace. While the functions of rape in civil conflicts have been identified by research and witnessed in the actions of SOA graduates, I find hesitant evidence that sexual assault was a legitimate torture and counterinsurgency tool taught at the SOA.
Locke and Penal Labor
Interest and concern about penitential labor practices has been growing among scholars recently. The relationship of these practices to the principles of American liberalism, and in particular its Lockean roots, have not been thoroughly studied. The present investigation traces contemporary practices to features of Lockean liberalism, and offers suggestions for how to respond to widely acknowledged deficiencies while remaining within the broadly accepted principles laid out by Locke. The advantages of such an approach include political stability.
Ethnic Groups and Institutions: Can Autonomy and Party Bans Reduce Ethnic Conflict?
Can institutions successfully reduce ethnic conflict? Institutions such as autonomy and federalism are often advocated as a means to prevent ethnic conflict, however empirical evidence is largely mixed with regards to their effectiveness. In a similar manner, political parties have begun to receive more scholarly attention in determining their relationship with ethnic conflict, but their evidence is also mixed. In this research I examine autonomy, federalism, and the banning of political parties within ongoing ethnic group self-determination movements. While I do not find evidence for a relationship between autonomy and conflict, I do find that federalism increases the likelihood of ethnic conflict. Additionally, the banning of ethnic political parties indicates a strong increase the likelihood of ethnic conflict, while the banning of regional political parties significantly reduces the likelihood of ethnic conflict.
Too Important to Democratize: Lessons from the Arab Spring
While the Arab Spring has resulted in numerous different political outcomes across the Arab world, conventional theories of democratization are lacking in explaining these divergent outcomes. Developing a theory of democratization, strategic importance and external intervention, I examine the relationship between national strategic importance and democratization. I argue that strategically important states will be targeted by external actors in attempts to stifle or thwart democracy because democracy may upset the status quo that foreign actors benefit from. I do not find support for the hypothesis that strategic importance and democratization share a general negative relationship, however, I find moderate support that strategic importance is related to the timing of regime breakdown, democratic breakdown and democratic transition. Furthermore, in examining the cases of Bahrain, Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, I highlight key moments of external intervention and influence that impacted the democratization attempts of each case.
Rivers, Mountains, and Everything in Between: How Terrain Affects Interstate Territorial Disputes
Geography has been a central element in shaping conflict through the ages, and is especially important in determining which states fight, why they fight, when they fight, and more importantly, where they fight. Despite this, conflict literature has primarily focused on human geography while largely ignoring the geospatial context of ‘where' conflict occurs, or crucially, doesn't occur. Territorial disputes are highly salient issues that quite often result in militarized disputes. Terrain has been key to mitigating conflict even in the face of major variance in state capability and power projection. In this study I investigate how terrain characteristics interact with power projection, opportunity, and willingness and the impact this has across territorial disputes. Exploring terrain's interaction with these concepts and its effect among different types of conflict furthers our understanding of the questions listed above.
Animal Rights and Human Responsibilities: Towards a Relational Capabilities Approach in Animal Ethics
In this thesis, I analyze some of the most important contributions concerning the inclusion of animals in the moral and political sphere. Moving from these positions, I suggest that a meaningful consideration of animals' sentience demands a profound, radical political theory which considers animals as moral patients endowed with specific capabilities whose actualization needs to be allowed and/or promoted. Such theory would take human-animal different types of relationships into account to decide what kind of ethical and political responsibilities humans have towards animals. It would be also based on the assumption that animals' sentience is the necessary and sufficient feature for assigning moral status. I start from the consideration that in the history of political philosophy, most theorists have excluded animals from the realm of justice. I then propose an examination of utilitarianism, capabilities approach, and relational-based theories of animal rights (in particular the works by Kymlicka and Donaldson, and Clare Palmer) and borrow essential elements from each of these approaches to build my theory. I claim that a political theory which attaches high importance to individual capabilities, as well as to the various types of relationships we have with animals, is the most appropriate to tackle the puzzle of human responsibilities to animals.
To Intervene or Not to Intervene: How State Capacity Affects State Intervention and Communal Violence
How does state capacity affect the state's ability to intervene in events of communal violence? Communal violence is conflict that occurs between two non-state groups that share a communal identity. The state controls the monopoly on the use of force, so it should be expected that the state will control these violent events. Research on intervention has shown that a state's military is an important indication of their ability to intervene. The study of other elements of state capacity such as the bureaucracy and political institutions have been largely ignored as factors to explain intervention. This paper builds on these elements of state capacity to argue that intervention can be explained by the state's military, bureaucracy, and the institutions that are in place. This argument has support from an empirical analysis conducted through replication data in Sub-Saharan Africa from 1989 to 2010.
When Race Matters: The Influence of Race on Case Clearances in Capital vs. Non-Capital Homicides in Texas
Texas leads the nation in the number of executions carried out since capital punishment was reinstated in 1976. Race was a key factor in the 1972 moratorium, and though the Supreme Court allowed for its return under new statutes, race continues to plague the capital punishment legal system. In this study, I examine the influence of race on case clearances in capital and non-capital homicides in Texas, using the extra-legal and non-discretionary theories from existing clearance literature. I find that race influences the probability of cases being cleared in non-capital cases but has no statistically significant effect in clearing capital cases.
The Relationship between Judicial Independence and Ethnic Conflict
The relationship between judicial independence and the levels of ethnic conflicts in developing countries has remained a significant research area due to increased cases of the conflicts with lack of judicial independence in the countries. Judicial independence is seen as an essential element of democracy in that an independent judiciary can act as an arbiter between different groups and institutions. The main aim of this study was to examine the relationship between judicial independence and ethnic conflicts empirically. Greater judicial independence should be associated with less ethnic conflict, because an independent court can serve as an arbiter for disputants, and thus lessen the likelihood of conflict. The study involved 128 developing countries over a 30-year period from 1981 to 2010 using secondary data sources and employing statistical methods to test the relationship between judicial independence and the levels of ethnic conflicts. Findings indicate that judicial independence has a statistically significant negative association with the levels of ethnic conflict. Therefore, this study recommends that the governments of developing countries should promote judicial independence as part of solutions for ethnic conflicts .
The Strength of a Witness: Empowerment and Resiliency in the Aftermath of Atrocity
Victims and witnesses that testify before an international criminal tribunal such as the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) willingly subject themselves to scrutiny and bare their wounds before the world. Does this experience cause these vulnerable individuals undue psychological harm, re-traumatization, or worse? Existing literature indicates this may be the case, however using a new dataset I find the opposite to be true. Witnesses at the ICTY report feeling more positive than negative after their experiences on the stand. As the first systematic study on witness mental wellbeing, these findings contradict expectations found in previous research.
Trade Negotiations in Agriculture: A Comparative Study of the U.S. and the EC
This study applies Destler's institutional counterweights to Putnam's two-level analysis, substituting Liberal Institutionalism and Realism for internationalism and isolationism, in a comparative case study of the roles played by the U.S. and the EC in multilateral trade negotiations in agriculture under the aegis of the General Agreement for Tariffs and Trade during the first half of the Uruguay Round. Using game theory as an analytical tool in the process, this present study demonstrates that a clear pattern emerges in which stages of cooperation and deadlock can be easily anticipated in games of Chicken and Prisoners' Dilemma in accordance with various but predictable levels of institutional influence.
International Debt Crisis: Interaction of Economics and Politics
This study attempts to examine the international debt crisis in the 1980s from a primarily political perspective, to permit a greater understanding of the interaction between economics and politics in the course of crisis management The process of dealing with the current international debt crisis provides an pat case for investigation of how economic concerns affect political outcomes, and how political factors influence economic outcomes, and how political factors influence economic policies. This study concentrates on the two regions of Latin America and Eastern Europe where the debt crisis started. The study emphasizes that the international debt crisis started. The study emphasizes that the international debt problem has been increasingly politicized in the contemporary international relations, and that its solution, in addition to the economic aspects, calls for political willingness by all parties concerned.
The Journalist as Legislator
The focus of the study is the way which members of the press corps in the Texas Capitol influence policy-making through their friendships with legislators and through the news stories which they write. Methods of study included questionnaires to reporters and to legislators, interviews with members of both groups, and review of news stories written about the regular session of the 64th Texas Legislature. Respondents reported that journalists were used as "expert consultants" in legislative strategy as well as in policy content areas. While informal relationships were found to have an impact on policy, published news stories were perceived as having greater influence.
Context Matters: How Feminist Movements Magnify Feminist Opinion of Progressive Policies in South America
What explains the inconsistency of female empowerment in South America, despite high levels of institutional inclusion? Generally, the social sciences tend to lean on the tenets of liberal feminism in order to measure the development of gender-inclusive policy changes; however, their findings indicate that higher levels of institutional inclusion does not necessarily translate into the empowerment of women as a group. Further, within political science, there is little research addressing the relationship between feminist movements and the feminist opinion of individuals within a state. I argue that strong feminist social movements provide a context in which feminist opinion is magnified, and where individuals will be more likely to support progressive policy changes. Using questions from the World Values Survey, I operationalize progressive policies as the Justifiability of Abortion. My primary independent variables are the presence feminist movements and the presence of feminist opinion, which is measured by support for female sexual freedom. After using a multilevel mixed-effects linear regression, I find support for my hypotheses, indicating that feminist opinion is magnified by the presence of feminist movements.
Hobbes’s Deceiving God: the Correspondence Between Thomas Hobbes and Rene Descartes
In presenting their correspondence, I highlight the means in which Hobbes is able to divorce nature and politics in his philosophy. This is done by bringing to light Hobbes’s agreement with Descartes’s deceiving God argument. First, I demonstrate Hobbes’s hidden agreement with it by analyzing his objection to Descartes’s first Meditation. Second, I show that Hobbes and Descartes both retreat into consciousness in order to deal with the possibility of deception on the behalf of God. Third, I trace Hobbes’s rational justification for entertaining that very possibility. Fourth, I bring forward Hobbes’s certain principle, that God is incomprehensible. Fifth, I demonstrate Hobbes’s rationalization for rendering nature incomprehensible in turn. From this key insight, the differences between the two philosophers stand out more. Whereas Descartes rids himself of the possibility of a deceiving God, Hobbes does not. Sixth, I show that Descartes needs to rid himself of that possibility in order to have a basis for science, Hobbes’s science is such that he does not need to rid himself of that possibility. My investigation ends by considering both Hobbes’s and Descartes’s stance on nature, in relation to politics. I find that Hobbes’s principle is much more practical that Descartes’s principle. Hobbes’s principle is shown to be much more instructive and sustainable for human life. In conclusion, this analysis of the origins, principles, and orientation of the two philosopher’s thought brings forward the overarching question, whether the recovery of value and meaning is to be brought about in nature, or in civilization.
Plebiscites
This study investigates factors that can influence leaders to use plebiscites to settle territorial claims. A quick survey of the plebiscite literature shows that the method has been extensively mentioned in the legal, historical, and philosophical fields (mostly through case studies) but less so in political science. This thesis is the first attempt, to my knowledge, to quantitatively investigate the different factors that can influence a leader to use a plebiscite. Using the latest version of the ICOW dataset, I test political and economic theories to try to explain the variation in the decision outcome. This study includes the following variables: identity ties, economic strength, an interaction between identity ties and economic strength, internal constraints (regime type and violent interaction), and external constraints (membership to international organizations). The results suggest that identity ties offer the strongest explanation as to why leaders settle a territorial claim with a plebiscite. Plebiscites have been rarely used to settle territorial claims, but when used they tend to settle cases permanently. This thesis serves as an attempt to revive a method that while difficult to agree upon, can be successful in resolving territorial claims permanently, and more importantly peacefully.
Why Be Friends? Amicus Curiae Briefs in State Courts of Last Resort
While there has been a substantial body of research on interest group activity in U.S. federal courts, there has been comparatively little analysis of interest group engagement with state courts. Given that state courts adjudicate the vast majority of cases in the American legal system and very few cases are appealed to the Supreme Court, understanding why organized interests participate in these courts is of great importance. The present study analyzes interest group involvement as amicus curiae in all state courts of last resort from 1995-1999 to examine what factors motivate organized interests to turn to the courts. The results indicate that interest groups are primarily motivated by their policy goals in deciding which cases to file amicus briefs in, but that they are limited in their ability to file by institutional constraints unique to state courts of last resort. This research provides insight into interest group behavior, state courts and the role organized interests play in influencing legal outcomes in the American states.
The Development of Intermunicipal Cooperation Between the Cities of Fort Worth and Euless, Texas Leading to the Establishment of a Bi-City Fire Department
On November 24, 1964, the City Council of the City of Fort Worth approved a contract that read, in part: "The City of Euless and the City of Fort Worth desire to cooperate in the stationing of personnel and fire fighting apparatus of the City of Fort Worth in facilities owned and operated by the City of Euless..." An examination of the establishment of this contract is the purpose of this thesis.
The First Days of Spring: An Analysis of the International Treatment of Homosexuality
In recent history, the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) persons have been in constant fluctuation. Many states criminalize homosexual behavior while other states legally recognize same-sex marriages and same-sex adoptions. There are also irregular patterns where LGBT interest groups form across the globe. With this research project, I begin to explain why these discrepancies in the treatment of homosexuality and the formation of LGBT interest groups occur. I develop a theory that the most obvious contrast across the globe occurs when analyzing the treatment of homosexuals in OECD member states versus non-OECD countries. OECD nations tend to see the gay community struggle for more advanced civil rights and government protections, while non-OECD states have to worry about fundamental human rights to life and liberty. I find that this specific dichotomization is what causes the irregular LGBT interest group formation pattern across the globe; non-OECD nations tend to have fewer LGBT interest groups than their OECD counterparts. When looking at why non-OECD nations and OECD nations suppress the rights of their gay citizens, I find that religion plays a critical role in the suppression of the gay community. In this analysis, I measure religion several different ways, including the institution of an official state religion as well as the levels of religiosity within a nation. Regardless of how this variable is manipulated and measured, statistical analysis continuously shows that religion’s influence is the single most significant factor in leading to a decrease in both human and civil rights for gays and lesbians across the globe. Further analysis indicates that Judaism plays the most significant role out the three major world religions in the suppression of civil rights for homosexuals in OECD nations.
Salvador Allende: the Rise and Fall of a Chilean Marxist
This study is concerned with describing and analyzing the factors that led to the election and subsequent defeat of Salvador Allende. The research information was selected from leading books, periodicals, government documents, archives, and newspapers. The thesis presents the political history of Allende's rise to power, the social structure that made his victory possible, the development of major programs that facilitated his ascension and that made his decision inevitable, and, finally, an analysis of his administration with observations as to why he failed. The importance of the lower class, the middle class, the military, and the United States are presented as factors contributing to Allende's victory and later accelerating Allende's fall from power.
The Impact of San Antonio Independent School District V. Rodriguez Upon the State and Federal Courts
This investigation is concerned with determining the impact of the United States Supreme Court's Rodriguez decision upon the state and federal courts. The first chapter discusses the background behind the 1973 decision and outlines the basic issues. The second chapter examines the decision's impact upon opinions in the federal courts and concludes that Rodriguez has become a significant precedent. While school finance reform is dormant in the federal tribunals as a result of the decision, the third chapter concludes that reform is still possible in the state courts. However, there has been a deceleration in the rate of cases overturning school funding statutes since 1973. The final chapter examines some of the state legislatures and concludes that statutory reform is not necessarily linked to action in the courts.
The Texas Failure: A Critical Study of Pollution in Texas
"The Texas Failure sets forth the thesis that environmental problems are essentially a product of political decisions and that in Texas the political system has failed to respond to environmental problems because it is dominated by polluter-oriented special interests. The argument advanced is that polluter-oriented interests are well protected by state politicians in both the legislature and regulatory agencies of state government. The thesis is organized around an analysis of such political factors as ideology, leadership, decision making and law as they relate to a political consideration of Texas environmental conditions."-- leaf 1.
Politics and Monetary Policy: A Cross-National and Time Series Analysis
This research proposes that monetary policy is more than a technical economic policy. Since it is politically controlled, political variables should affect it. In this analysis, the monetary policies of France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and West Germany are described in detail. Political variables potentially affecting this policy are reviewed. Political variables, such as political party in power, electoral competition, electoral cycles, and political instability, are employed in a time series regression analysis of monetary aggregates. Various economic variables are also included to aid model specification. While cross-national variations occur in monetary policy determination, this research shows that political parties follow ideologies in monetary policy-making. Other political variables are not strongly related to monetary aggregates.
The Impact of the United States on Politics in Thailand
This thesis examines modern politics in Thailand, its policy, and its search for national security, by showing the impact of the United States on Thai politics. The thesis maintains that politics in Thailand are results that come from attempts of the Thai government to adapt to American involvement in Thailand. The thesis describes the Thai government scene from 1945 to 1972. It analyzes the elements of American involvement and factors in Thai society that are pressured by this involvement. The attempts of the Thai government and its politicians to bring their policy more into line with the changing situations are shown in their reactions to problems of Southeast Asia--the focus of which is on the problems of Vietnam, the problems of China, and the withdrawal of the U.S. to a profile of low visibility.
The Role of the Organization of African Unity in the Nigerian Civil War, 1967-1970
The primary purpose of this thesis is to examine the role of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in the Nigerian civil war, 1967-1970. The working hypothesis of this thesis is that as a result of (1) conservatism of the OAU; (2) Article 3, paragraphs II and III of.the OAU Charter; and (3) the influence of foreign powers on the OAU, the Organization has not been very successful in handling African conflicts. The purposes of this study necessitated researching a wide array of literature on the Organization of African Unity, conflicts in Africa since 1963, and the Nigerian civil war.
The Influence of the Division of Planning Coordination on Regional Council Development in Texas
This study focuses on the role of the Texas Governor's Office in the development of regional councils of governments in Texas. The study, divided into six chapters, emphasizes three important points: first, that Governor Connally conceived the idea of a "Division of Planning Coordination" due to his desire to be a strong chief executive; second, that the staff he hired largely to fulfill this desire in turn convinced the Governor that regional councils of governments should be an element of the statewide planning and development system and should receive strong financial and policy support from the Governor; and third, that from January 1969 to January 1973, the statewide regional council network was completed and Texas became a recognized national leader in the use of the regional council concept.
Electoral Behavior in Texas from 1944 Through 1972
"This report concludes that the evidence from the analyses seems to support the following propositions in regard to Texas electoral behavior. (1) The 1956 election year was a critical election year in Texas. (2) A pattern indicative of an underlying economic liberalism-conservatism was present in Texas voting patterns from 1944 through 1956, but not after. (3) The Mexican-American and German counties experienced political realignment in 1956 which continued through 1972. (4) The counties affording the most support to the liberal faction shift continuously. (5) The Texas electorate had been in a state of flux since 1956. To date no pattern other than the ethnic group realignment has stabilized. (6) Party-competition in gubernatorial elections has been increasing since 1962. (7) Ralph Yarborough has been the only liberal candidate for a major statewide office to draw support in a high and uniform degree across the state. (8) Ralph Yarborough's base of support has completely shifted since 1952. (9) The Farenthold vote was most closely aligned with that of Donald Yarborough. (10) Socio-economic factors have stronger relationship to Republican, liberal Democratic candidates, and major third party candidates than to conservative Democratic candidates. (11) All evidence form these analyses points to personalism and candidate appeal as the most important independent variables operating in Texas elections. " --leaf [3-4].
The Politics of Federal Regulation of Natural Gas Producers, 1938-1968
This study attempts to show that judicial review of administrative decisions has provided the greatest degree of protection for consumers during the time that natural gas has been subject to regulation by the Federal Power Commission. The first part of the investigation deals with the activities of the regulatory agency since controls were established in 1938. It continues with a discussion of the influence of consumer and producer interests on the legislative process. The contributions of the courts to policy-making is discussed in the following section. The report concludes that more protection from the political environment could be realized by placing the major responsibility for the regulatory program in the hands of the Executive branch.
Toward a Causal Model of Texas City Manager Policy Role Orientations
The purpose of this thesis was to develop and test a causal model of Texas city manager policy role orientation. The first chapter contains a selective review of major works concerning the city manager and the council manager plan. From these works, research perspectives and variables thought to affect managerial policy behavior were identified. A policy role orientation typology was constructed from nine role questions. Four "types" of managers were identified. After a review of the characteristics of the Texas council-manager cities and managers surveyed, the analysis of the isolated variables was carried out. A causal model of managerial policy role orientation was developed and the predictions and assumptions were tested. Further study was indicated, due to the model's failure.
Urbanization and Republican Growth in the South, 1950-1968
This thesis tests the hypothesis that increasing urbanization in the South is positively correlated with rising Republican voting in presidential and gubernatorial races. A measure of urbanization was derived by subjecting socio-economic data from three censuses for all southern counties to factor analysis. This measure was regressed against Republican percentages of presidential vote in 1952, 1960 and 1968, and against GOP percentages in governor's races closest to the census years. The coefficients of correlation were uniformly low, reaching as high as .50 only once in each case. It was concluded that urbanization accounts for little in explaining variation in Republican voting and that contradictory findings are the result of reliance on less powerful analytic techniques, misunderstanding of more powerful ones or inadequate operationalization of key concepts.
Leadership and Mexican-American Politics: A Study of Two Texas Cities
"In an attempt to determine the effectiveness of the political leadership provided by members of an ethnic group, this thesis investigates the Mexican-American electorate in San Antonio and Laredo, Texas. Three variables were studied: the leaders, the followers, and the circumstances under which both operate...Data for this investigation were gathered through personal interviews and from voting records complied by the county clerks of Bexar and Webb Counties. "--leaf 1.
The Western Sahara Conflict
The purpose of investigating the conflict over the Western Sahara is to trace and analyze its impact upon the political stability of the northwest region of the African continent. Chapter I provides background information on the Western Sahara. Chapter II discusses the international political developments affecting the Western Sahara. Chapter III discusses the positions of Morocco, the Polisario, Algeria, and Mauritania; Chapter IV analyzes those of Spain, France, the Soviet Union, and the United States. Chapter V describes the role of the OAU in dealing with the conflict. The internal economic development of the involved parties has been disrupted because they were obliged to appropriate funds to purchase arms for the exigencies of the war. Ending the conflict depends upon improving relations between Morocco and Algeria.
A Critical Analysis of the Writings of Samuel P. Huntington on Political Stability and Violence
Samuel P. Huntington has argued that political stability is dependent on the degree of institutionalization of participation in the political system. Critical analysis of hypotheses reveals serious flaws in his logic. His concepts were shown to be very hard to make operational and to test. The main hypothesis of a direct relationship between institutionalization and stability was shown to be influenced most likely by additional intervening variables. This study seeks to survey and analyze some of the problems which have arisen with the present state of theory in comparative politics. However, this thesis is particularly interested in .Huntington's work which covers the evolution of his thinking regarding the relation of violence and of political stability, i.e., the degree of government and not the form, with the institutionalization of participation.
Faculty Participation in University Governance
This study attempts to examine the conception which faculty members at North Texas State University have of their roles in university governance. These views of role perception are then compared with those reported in the study by Archie Dykes5 (discussed in detail in Chapter III), whose findings were made at a large Midwestern university and then projected to other campuses across the country. The purpose of this research has not been to delve into all the reasons behind the various perceptions which faculty members on the North Texas campus--or any other--have regarding their participation in university governance; nor has it been designed to investigate the total occupational image held by faculty members in regard to all their roles. While such topics would indeed be worthy of additional research, this paper simply attempts to uncover, assess empirically, and compare the perceptions regarding faculty involvement in academic decision-making which are held by faculty members on the North Texas State University campus and in the Dykes' study.
Marijuana and Crime: A Critique and Proposal
Of the plethora of social problems with which government has had to contend in recent history, few have generated more controversy than the non-therapeutic use of drugs. Many of those which are currently in common use did not exist fifty years ago; but the most dramatic growth in non-therapeutic use has been experienced with a drug that man has known for centuries: marijuana.1 Known generically as Cannabis sativa, internationally as Indian hemp, popularly as marijuana, and in American slang as "pot" or "grass," the drug was introduced to the United States as an intoxicant by itinerate Mexican farm workers in the early decades of this century. The acknowledged use of marijuana in the ghettos and communities of ethnic minorities for several decades stimulated no public outcry with the exception of the sensational press campaigns which led to the passage of the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937.
The Role of the Peasant Masses in Marxian Political Theory and Practice: a Comparison of Classical and Indian Marxian Views
The central thesis is classical Marxian views concerning the peasant masses have been adopted regarding India; two causal factors are the Hindu Caste system and parliamentary democracy. Descriptive and analytical methodology is utilized to study classical and Indian Marxian theory and its relationship to "Marxist" practice in India. Four major elements involved are: wealthy landowners, poor and landless peasants, the Indian government, and Indian communists. Nonimplemented land reforms and recent capitalist farming compounded the problem. Attacks were launched on the Congress government by three communist parties. Government coalition has included the CPI, and has implemented agrarian reforms advocated by the CPI(M), thereby postponing possible militant communist success.
The British Withdrawal from the Arabian Gulf and Its Regional Political Consequences in the Gulf
This study has a twofold purpose: to demonstrate the causes of and various responses (British domestic, Iranian, Arabian, American, and Soviet) to the British decision to withdraw and to illustrate the regional political consequences of that withdrawal. The British Labour Government decision resulted primarily from an economic crisis. The various responses to the decision seem to have been motivated by national self-interest. Some of the Gulf states-- Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait--predicted that the consequences of the withdrawal would be desirable while others--Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates-- predicted that the consequences would not be beneficial. In some ways, both sides were correct in their predictions.
The Politics of Atomic Energy
The regulation of atomic energy has had a long and unique history in the United States and it is the effectiveness of that regulation which poses the problem analyzed here. Government documents and secondary sources are used to provide data and critical opinion about atomic energy regulation. The first chapter deals with the history of the earliest attempts to deal vith atomic energy while the second chapter is concerned with the political nature of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). Questions o secrecy and potential environmental danger from the nuclear enterprise are topics for the third and fourth chapters respectively. A concluding chapter indicates the future direction the regulation of nuclear power may take under the newly established Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Energy Research and Development Administration.
The Dallas Morning News' View Towards International Relations
The purpose of this study is to determine, if possible, North Central Texas views or attitudes toward international relations. These attitudes will be compared to studies on Southern attitudes to determine any similarities or dissimilarities. Literature on Southwestern attitudes is sparse; therefore, all data will be compared with that compiled by political scientists on Southern attitudes.
American Arms Sales to Iran and Power Politics in the Middle East
This thesis examines and evaluates the questions involved in American arms sales to Iran and Egypt. The first two chapters outline the historical background and present detailed analyses of Iran's political situations prior to 1968 and United States policy toward it in that period of time. Chapter Three considers the American policies towards Egypt and the United States arms sales to that country. The main argument of the thesis appears in chapter Four which explains the objectives of Iran's government in buying American arms and the United States government's objectives in selling arms to Iran. Conclusions on the study comprise the fifth chapter.
Professional Public Relations and Political Power in Texas
"The problem with which this investigation is concerned is the determination of the role played by public relations professionals in Texas politics. This exploration of modern campaign technology relies on a survey of related literature, published and unpublished, and on personal interviews conducted in 1968-69 with candidates for public office, party workers, public relations experts, campaign managers and consultants, and media specialists involved in the Texas Democratic Gubernatorial primary campaigns of 1968...the findings show that the public relations professionals are playing an ever increasing role in Texas politics and that their expertise and skills play a particularly important role in political campaigning. The Texas Democratic Gubernatorial primary campaign of 1968 illustrates the widespread use of professional consultants by Texas politicians and indicates that their use has had recognizable consequences for the distribution of power and influence."-- leaf [1].
The Job of City Manager from Two Points of View
The purpose of this study is to define more clearly the task of the city manager by examining the following perceptions of his role: 1) The city manager perceives himself as being an administrator, leaving the political realm to the city council. 2) The city manager is a policy-maker perceiving that his job includes providing objectives and goals for council and community. He uses his knowledge and experience to create an atmosphere within which various alternatives can be presented with full and free discussion of these alternatives. 3) The role of the city manager cannot be defined along the lines of two mutually exclusive statements. The job of the manager includes a combination of both administration and policy-making.
U.S. Foreign Policy and the Soviet Gas Pipeline to Western Europe
This paper surveys U.S. foreign policy in the late 1970s and early 1980s as the American administration reacted to the Soviet Union's interventions in Afghanistan and Poland and to its planned gas pipeline to Western Europe. Chapter I outlines the origins of the pipeline project; Chapters II and III describe U.S. foreign policy toward the Soviets during the Carter and Reagan administrations. Chapter IV focuses on the economic sanctions imposed against the Soviet Union by the United States and their failure to block or delay the pipeline, and Chapter V stresses the inability of economic sanctions-- in this and other instances--to achieve political ends.
Back to Top of Screen