Political Science Dissertations

Immigrants and counterterrorism policy: a comparative study of the United States and Britain

David Michael Smith — Fri, 10 May 2013 07:51:40 PDT

This project examines the political mechanisms through which foreign nationals are perceived as security threats and, as a consequence, disproportionately targeted by counterterrorism policies. Evidence suggests that domestic security strategies that unduly discriminate against non-citizens or national minorities are counterproductive; such strategies lead to a loss of state legitimacy, they complicate the gathering of intelligence, and they serve as a potential source of radicalization. At the same time, discriminatory counterterrorism policies represent a significant break from liberal democratic ideals by legitimizing unfair treatment of targeted groups.

If discriminatory counterterrorism policies are counterproductive and undemocratic, why do policymakers support such strategies...

Anticipatory policymaking: when government acts to prevent problems and why it it so hard

Robert DeLeo — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 09:46:06 PST

Public policy analysts and political pundits alike tend to describe the policymaking process as a purely reactive sequence in which government develops solutions for clearly evident and identifiable social problems. While this depiction holds true in many cases, it fails to account for instances in which public policy is enacted in anticipation of a potential future problem. Whereas traditional policy concerns manifest themselves through ongoing harms and ills, "anticipatory problems" are projected to occur sometime in the future, and it is the prospect of their catastrophic impact that generates intense speculation in the present. This thesis sets out to answer...

Local Autonomy in the face of central domination: an examination of Japanese immigration policy

David Green — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 09:51:29 PST

This work applies Kellee Tsai's theory of "adaptive informal institutions" (2007) to Japan, making the case that local innovations are leading to the creation of more liberal immigration policies, which may ultimately be formalized through national adoption. Such instances of local policy innovation would contradict the notion that unitary states like Japan are dominated by their central governments. To consider the Japanese case, this study analyzes immigration policy developments in the city of Kawasaki, a notably progressive Japanese municipality, and compares them to changes in national immigration policy. This study contributes to the developing literature on Japanese immigration policy, central-local...

Decision making under threat: Israeli and Palestinian public opinion

Sheila Deborah Kohanteb — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 07:23:21 PST

This research examines the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from a new conceptual perspective that incorporates the psychology of threat into the study of inter-group conflict. The specific objective of the proposed work is to develop a better understanding of how inter-group perceptions of threat may affect the decision-making of citizens and political leaders, and may ultimately affect progress in peace negotiations. The study utilizes data on Israelis and Palestinians over the period 1994 through 2011, drawing on public opinion polls, conflict related casualties, and major historical events in order to assess factors affecting public opinion. The research specifically examines the impact of...

America's missteps: how fear, power and politics led the United States into Iraq (September 1, 2001-March 19, 2003)

Mary Cardaras — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:52:51 PST

The Iraq War of March 19, 2003 was an implausible war at the outset. We now understand that it could have been averted and never should have been waged. How and why did it begin? Who was responsible?

This dissertation offers a new perspective on the Iraq War and explains the dynamic relationships between the George W. Bush administration, the United States Congress and the national news media. It is based on the "multiple streams model of political change" by John Kingdon, which says that if a unique combination of political, policy and problem streams collide, under the right circumstances;...

Education reform in Egypt: reinforcement & resistance

Heather K. Browne — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 08:36:37 PST

The education system in Egypt is widely regarded as corrupt and ineffective, and calls for drastic reform are long-standing. Education reform has taken on a heightened importance due to the political developments that began in 2011. This study attempts to contribute to an understanding of the political, social and economic challenges that need to be overcome in order for education to better promote an environment for social justice and equitable economic growth as Egyptians work towards establishing a free, stable and prosperous society. There are many studies written about education reform in Egypt, but this study is unique in the...

Russian relations with Japan from 2000-2010: enduring obstacles, limited opportunities

Peter William Richardson — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 09:25:05 PST

Although Russian relations with Japan experienced notable progress from 2000-2010, recent claims by the Russian government of advancement toward a "full-blown partnership" are premature and imprecise. To be certain, many aspects of the Russian-Japanese relationship remained problematic and competitive during this period. A number of factors intimate that Russian assertions regarding the scope, promise and genuine friendliness of relations were exaggerated, not least an unresolved territorial dispute over the Southern Kurile Islands, the continued absence of a World War II peace treaty and historically entrenched mutual distrust. These and other important considerations undermined the substantial expansion and diversification of Russian...

Public diplomacy in the age of regional media: winning the war of hearts and minds in the iddle east Al-Jazeera and al-Hurra

Marwa Abdel Samei — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 06:41:16 PDT

This dissertation is a comparative critical discourse analysis of the coverage of specific international events in the American al-Hurra and the Qatari al-Jazeera news channels. It studies how regional satellite media challenge the way in which US public diplomacy is conducted in the Arab world. It examines the factors that contribute to the success or failure of the public diplomacy of the media, and argues that identity presentation of the self vs. the presentation by/of other plays the major role in determining performance. It also discusses how the communication revolution has shifted the paradigm of diplomacy by emphasizing the role...

Comrades and citizens : the effect of militant labor organizations upon the processes of democratization in communist Poland and corporate Mexico

Martin Comack — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 11:07:03 PDT

Contemporary political transitions from authoritarianism to formal democracy are typically presented as the result of negotiation and bargaining both between and among elite actors in resolving political and social crises. Popular pressure from civil society, collective action from below, is generally given second place in analyses of regime change. And this despite the fact that a robust civil society is an essential element for a stable and enduring democratic order. Within the confines of dictatorships and authoritarian regimes, independent, militant labor organizations are invariably subversive elements of repressive government. They are compelled to demand at least de facto recognition of...

Cuing euroskepticism, or what parties make of it : European integration and the strategic use of its consequences

Liubomir Kiriloff Topaloff — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 10:48:53 PDT

Growing evidence points to the salience of European integration in the domestic political discourse of European member-states. Party-based euroscepticism is an intense point of contestation between different schools of thought. The current study defines euroscepticism as a socially and politically constructed strategy employed by peripheral political elites. The majority of the existing research focuses on inter- or intra-party dissent as a new dimension of existing social cleavages, therefore studying the popular attitudes towards Europe in the member-states. While this approach has its merits and accounts for some of the characteristics of opposition to European integration, it does not address adequately...

Playtime preservation : public-private partnerships in public land management

Emily Mae Phillips Neal — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 10:42:16 PDT

One of the enduring questions that have vexed public officials and private individuals in the United States as long as the country has existed concerns the way in which communities provide services to citizens, especially when those services are costly. What is the proper role of government in providing these services? A variety of this problem has plagued US parks officials and other managers of public land for as long as there has been land to manage. Should the government manage public land? If so, what activities should managers allow to take place there? How can the various uses of...

Political institutions & grassroots development : the political economy of microfinance

Kristen Hudak — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 10:34:38 PDT

When and under what conditions has microfinance been most successful? Microfinance institutions have been widely credited as an important tool for alleviating poverty, but what is it that affects them, their success and survival, their ability to reach the poorest clients? This project addresses an untapped area of political economy by bridging the gap between grassroots development and the broader macro-level political environment. Going beyond gender discussions, economic explanations, and normative policy prescriptions which have dominated the microfinance literature, this research argues that the regulatory framework and democratic institutions have a key role to play through empirical testing of these...