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open access

New Rules to an Old Game: Electoral Reforms and Post-Civil War Stability

Description: One of the most common features found within peace agreements are provisions that call for post-civil war elections. Unfortunately, recent research on post-civil war stability has consistently demonstrated that the initial elections held after civil wars significantly increases the risk for renewed fighting. While this research does highlight a danger posed by post-war elections, it focuses only on one element associated with post-civil war democracy. I argue that by implementing electoral refo… more
Date: August 2016
Creator: Keels, Eric
open access

New Wine in Old Wineskins: Hobbes’s Use and Abuse of Religious Rhetoric

Description: Thomas Hobbes’s knowledge of religious doctrine, typology, and use religious rhetoric in his writings is often glossed over in an over-eager attempt to establish his preeminence as a founder of modern political theory and the social contract tradition. Such action, however is an injustice to Hobbes himself, who recognized that in order to establish a new, and arguably radical, political position founded upon reason and nominalist materialism he had to reform people’s understanding of religious … more
Date: December 2014
Creator: Higgins, Nicholas J.
open access

Newspaper Ownership Structure and the Quality of Local Political News Coverage

Description: This research sought to ascertain how newspaper ownership structures influence the quality of local political news coverage. More specifically, do independently owned newspapers tend to produce larger quantities of quality local political reporting than do corporately owned and publicly traded newspapers? In the thesis, I develop an understanding of "quality" news coverage as being coverage that is thematic, or providing interpretive analysis and supplying contextual information. Additionally,… more
Date: May 2012
Creator: Clark, Karla Christine Marie
open access

Nigerian Politics: A Case Study of Military Coups

Description: This study surveys the issue of military coups in Nigerian politics. An attempt is made to explain the causes of coups d'etat. To this end, Thompson's thesis of military grievances has been rigorously employed to explain the occurrences of military coups in Nigeria. The Thompson thesis asserts that coups occur because the military is aggrieved. A study of the opinions of expert observers familiar with Nigerian politics confirmed that four out of the six military coups occurred due to problems e… more
Date: May 1986
Creator: Jombo, Augustin B. (Augustin Bolsover)
open access

No Greater Error: Negotiated Agreements and Their Effects on the Conclusion of Interstate War

Description: Negotiated settlements, formal treaties to unilateral cease-fires, are often accepted to be the preferable method to end war. When negotiated agreements are used in the normal business of international politics they can be potentially helpful devices; however, when they are relied upon for a nation's security or war prevention and conclusion they can prove disastrous. It is the presence of force variables, and not the formality of an agreement which effectively concludes a war. I recategorize … more
Date: December 2012
Creator: Kendall, David F.
open access

Nonalignment: Cuba and Yugoslavia in the Nonaligned Movement 1979-1986

Description: This study is an attempt to clarify whether Cuba and Yugoslavia adhere to the role expectations of the nonaligned movement. Chapter I introduces the criteria for nonalignment which are also considered as the role expectations for members of the nonaligned movement. Chapter II focuses on whether Cuba and Yugoslavia do fulfill the role expectations of the nonaligned movement. Chapter III discusses the voting behavior of Cuba and Yugoslavia on issues important to the nonaligned movement in the Uni… more
Date: August 1987
Creator: Iheanacho, Vitalis Akujiobi
open access

Not All Truth Commissions Are Alike: Understanding Their Limitations and Impact

Description: This dissertation project develops a theoretical understanding of how truth commissions achieve legitimacy and thus contribute to peace and stability in the aftermath of major traumatic events (e.g. civil war, mass killings, regime changes). I identify three components of truth commission legitimacy---authority, fairness, and transparency---that facilitate beneficial outcomes for societies emerging from a period of severe human rights repression or civil war. I theorize and test how institution… more
Date: December 2014
Creator: Nichols, Angela D.
open access

The Organic-Progressive Principle in the Political Thought and Internationalism of Woodrow Wilson

Description: This is an investigation of the intellectual roots of the political thought and internationalism of Woodrow Wilson, the twenty-eightieth president of the United States. Exposed to the influence of Darwin, Wilson believed that politics had to be redefined as an evolutionary process. the older mechanical understanding of politics was to be replaced with an organic understanding of political development. This allowed Wilson to synthesize a concept of politics that included elements from the Chr… more
Date: December 2011
Creator: Flanagan, John Patrick
open access

The Organizational Improvement of the Village Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant in Fort Worth, Texas, 1969-1988: a Case Study of Forces Responsible for Organizational Change

Description: This study documents that external and internal forces were causes of change at VCWTP. External forces caused. Fort Worth to reorganize and introduce new management at VCWTP after 1982. These improvements led to VCWTP being selected best managed wastewater treatment plant in the nation by EPA in 1988. This study first analyzes external and internal forces responsible for changes at VCWTP. A history of plant operations also is reviewed. Personnel interviews were conducted of perceptions of emplo… more
Date: May 1993
Creator: Akidi, Innocent O. (Innocent Okechuknu)
open access

Out with the Old? Voting Behavior and Party System Change in Canada and the United States in the 1990's

Description: This study has attempted to explain the dramatic challenges to the existing party system that occurred in Canada and the United States in the early 1990s. The emergence of new political movements with substantial power at the ballot box has transformed both party systems. The rise of United We Stand America in the United States, and the Reform Party in Canada prompts scholars to ask what forces engender such movements. This study demonstrates that models of economic voting and key models of par… more
Date: December 1997
Creator: Rapkin, Jonathan D.
open access

Partisan Media Coverage of Abortion Policy

Description: 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 … more
Date: December 2022
Creator: Graciano, Jennifer
open access

Partisanship and Judicial Decision Making in U.S. Courts of Appeal

Description: Partisanship is found in voter and Congressional behavior. Members of the federal judiciary should behave similarly. I utilize cases involving the Republican and Democratic parties from 1966 to 1997 and examine the voting behavior of federal Courts of Appeal judges. I utilize both cross tabulations and a Logit regression model to determine the likelihood appellate judges will vote for their own party and against the opposition.
Date: December 2002
Creator: Meaders, Eddie Loyd
open access

Party-Military Relations in the PRC After Mao, 1976-1990

Description: The importance of party-military relations in the People's Republic of China was succinctly stated by Mao in his dictum that "political power comes from the gun" and "the Party should command the gun." Party-military relations in the PRC have never fully conformed to Mao's warning. This study seeks to analyze the nature and types of party-military relations in the PRC during the post-Mao period and the factors affecting change in these relations.
Date: December 1991
Creator: Hung, Lu-hsun Theodore
open access

The People's Republic of China's Latin American Policy from Mao to Deng

Description: The evolution of the People's Republic of China's Latin American policy from Mao to Deng consists of four stages: (1) communist internationalism, (2) revolutionary policy, (3) government contacts and peaceful co-existence, and (4) independent and open policy. Besides explaining the meaning of each policy and its execution, this study identifies the key elements--domestic and external--which characterize the policy evolution, and compares those elements in an explication of why Sino-Latin Ameri… more
Date: August 1988
Creator: Chi, Le-Yi

The Perils of Poor Community-Police Relations: Exploring the Link Between Race, Police Perceptions, and Public Trust in Government

Description: This research examines the political implications of community-police relations in the United States by exploring the link between race, perceptions of police performance, and trust in government. Relying on survey data, I examine these relationships for Blacks, Latinos, Asians, and Whites. In addition to examining the broader relationship between community-police relations and institutional trust, this dissertation examines (1) how police perceptions influence individuals' comfort in contactin… more
Date: May 2021
Creator: Ramirez, Michelle
open access

Planning, Budgeting, and Development in Jordan: An Examination of How These Policy Processes Function in a Poor and Uncertain Environment

Description: The purpose of this dissertation is to study the planning and budgeting processes in Jordan to determine whether the findings of Caiden and Wildavsky about those processes in other poor countries generally are applicable to Jordan. An attempt is made to answer the research questions by comparing data from national plans, budgets, and expenditures during a fifteen-year period (1970-1984). In Jordan, as in other developing nations, the role of planning and budgeting is highly significant to the s… more
Date: May 1987
Creator: Al-Lawzi, Sulieman Ahmed
open access

Plebiscites

Description: 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… more
Date: May 2015
Creator: Fonseca Acosta, Rosa
open access

The Polish Debt and American Policy

Description: This study is concerned with the relationship between the accumulation of Poland's massive hard-currency debt, from 1970 to 1983, and changes in American economic and political policy toward Poland. Prior to and during the 1970s, a tacit American policy of promoting economic and political ties with Poland can be discerned. But the domestic problems Poland exacerbated by mismanaging its debt to the West and the consequent declaration of martial law in 1981 led to the current discriminatory Ameri… more
Date: May 1984
Creator: King, John Christopher
open access

The Political and Administrative Role of Planning and Budgeting in Saudi Arabia: Adaptation for Rapid Change

Description: This study examines the political and administrative role of planning and budgeting in Saudi Arabia. It demonstrates how they have contributed to lessening the political crises of distribution, participation, and penetration that confront developing countries. The study also investigates how these two bureaucratic processes have helped adapt rapid changes in a manner acceptable to the cultural milieu. In addition, the study explores the politics of planning and budgeting and identifies the role… more
Date: December 1989
Creator: Al-Kahtani, Mohammed S. A. (Mohammed Saeed A.)
open access

A Political and Macroeconomic Explanation of Public Support for European Integration

Description: This study develops a model of macroeconomic and political determinants of public support for European integration. The research is conducted on pooled cross-sectional time-series data from five European Union member states between 1978 and 1994. The method used in this analysis is a Generalized Least Squares - Autoregressive Moving Average approach. The factors hypothesized to determine a macroeconomic explanation of public support for integration are inflation, unemployment, and economic grow… more
Date: August 1997
Creator: Carey, Sean D. (Sean Damien)
open access

Political Culture in the United States: A Reexamination of Elazar's Subcultures

Description: This thesis discusses the use of Daniel Elazar's theory of political subcultures in the United States. The first chapter is an introduction to the concept of political culture. The second chapter discusses Elazar's theory and method. The third chapter points out the problems in Elazar's theory and his method with a discussion of recent studies. The fourth chapter outlines the present analysis and the method used. The fifth chapter sets out the conclusions and offers avenues of new direction in … more
Date: May 1993
Creator: Jogerst, Meredith Brandes
open access

Political Culture in West and East Germany at the TIme of Reunification: Revisiting the Civic Culture

Description: Studies of political culture have often focused on the impact of political institutions on political culture in a society. The scientific community has accepted the position that institutions shape beliefs and attitudes among the citizens towards the system they live in. This study tests this hypothesis by using survey data collected during the fall of 1990 in the United States, Great Britain, Italy, West, and East Germany.
Date: August 1997
Creator: Baumann, Steffen
open access

The Political Determinants of Fdi Location in Prchina, 1997-2009: Application of a New Model to Taiwanese Fdi in Mainland China

Description: This research seeks to identify the political determinants that account for the uneven geographical distribution of foreign direct investment (FDI) across Chinese counties. I compare the political determinants of Taiwanese FDI (TDI) and non-Taiwanese FDI site selection across counties in China. I focus on the central-local politics in China, especially the effect of county government autonomy on FDI and TDI site selection. I investigate whether the effect of county government autonomy and i… more
Date: August 2012
Creator: Lu, Kelan
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