Senior Independent Study Theses from 2018
Pathways Through Democratic Disconnection: Rawls, Connolly, and Mouffe, Erik Severson
Department: Philosophy; Political Science
Real Fake News: The Colbert Report and Affective Polarization, Jeffrey J. Skoroda
Department: Political Science
No Church in the Wild: An Intersectional Feminist Analysis of Civilian-Perpetrated Sexual Violence during the 2002 Religious Riots in Gujarat, India, Vrinda S. Trivedi
Department: Political Science; Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Inclusion of Blocking Power for a Complete Voting Power Analysis in the IMF, Shiwani Varal
Department: Mathematics; Political Science
McKinley, Eisenhower and Bush: The Importance of Military Experience in Presidential Nominations and Elections, Benjamin N. Vesper
Department: History; Political Science
The Lord's Place in Government: The Role of Religious Institutions in Government, Morgan Wagers
Department: Political Science
Progress from the Grassroots: Enacting Redistributive Policies in Urban Localities, Oliver S. Warren
Department: Political Science
See What I Can Be! Descriptive Representation and Its Effect On Female Students' Sense of Belonging, Chloe R. Wasserman
Department: Political Science
Money Made Me Do It: A Comparative Case Study Examining the Connection Between The Presence of Extractive MNC’s and Corruption in Developing Countries., Spencer Williams
Department: Political Science
Power, Profit, and Political Participation: How Neoliberal Rationality Limits Citizen Influence in a Democracy, Emma Woods
Department: Political Science
From Retribution to Restoration: An Analysis of Restorative Justice as a Policy Reform Effort to Dismantle the School-to-Prison Pipeline in New York City Public Schools, Leigh T. Yartz
Department: Political Science
Senior Independent Study Theses from 2017
Governing the Fifth Domain: Examining Approached to Internet Governance and their Impact on Cyber Attacks, Henry Anderson
Department: Political Science
Communicating Identities: An Examination of Senatorial Bill Sponsorship in a Pre- and Post-9/11 Context, Lucy I. Brazil
Department: Political Science
The Intended Protection of the Free Exercise Clause: An Analysis of Employment Division v. Smith and Hybrid Rights Theories, Hannah E. Buzolits
Department: Political Science
The European Union Migration Crisis: The Power Struggle Between the European Union and its Member States over the Implementation of EU Policy, Paige G. Fabry
Department: Political Science
Intelligent Decision-Making: The Use of Intelligence in the United States’ Foreign Policy Crises, Thomas David Fitz Gibbon
Department: Political Science
Going Congress: A Rethinking of Presidential Use of Going Public as a Legislative Strategy, Spencer S. Gilbert
Department: Political Science
Public Opinion and Civil War Mediation, Sydney Goggins
Department: Political Science
The Decider: Modeling Presidential Group Decisionmaking in Foreign Policy, Jackson M. Groat
Department: Political Science
Tin Foil Hats and Anxious Politics: The impact of Anxiety on Conspiracy Theory Endorsement, Michael J. Herman
Department: Political Science
A Comparative Case Study On How Levels Of Violence In Terrorist Attacks Influence State Policy, Michael C. Houdek
Department: Political Science
The Soul's Response to Surveillance: A Foucaldian Investigation Into the Economy of Power Created by Contemporary Surveillance Techniques and the Conditioning of the Post 9/11 Subject, Jack Johanning
Department: Political Science
To reflect, or not to reflect, that is the question: an examination of the impact of personality traits on political leaders' responsiveness to political culture, Narae Lee
Department: Political Science
Nationalism, Scepticism, and the European Project, Warren Lewis
Department: Political Science
Friend or Foe?: A Study of Terrorist Group Behavior Towards Local Civilian Populations, Daniel Ludin
Department: Political Science
Revolting Against Racism in Urban America: Questioning the Ethical and Political Concerns of Violent Urban Protest, Daniel J. Lynch
Department: Philosophy; Political Science
#Politics: An Evaluation of Political Expression and Efficacy of Twitter Users During the 2016 General Election, Anthony G. Malky
Department: Political Science
Failed Promises: A Comparative Case Study on President Obama and Guantanamo Bay, Jessica Miller
Department: Political Science
Graduates or Convicts: The School to Prison Pipeline and the Criminalization of Youth. A Statistical Analysis of Policies and Biases that Impact Mass Incarceration in the United States, 2012., Noah G. Miller
Department: Political Science
The Efficacy of Regional Organizations to Mediate Durable Peace: A Comparative Case Study of Liberia and Sierra Leone, Parker Ohlmann
Department: Political Science
A Machine Learning Approach To Understanding Against Party-Line Voting in Congress, John W. O'Neill
Department: Computer Science; Political Science
Cracking Fracking: Explaining Policy Differences Across States on the Marcellus Shale Rock Unit, Jacob Pries
Department: Political Science
Determining Flexible Behavior during Crisis Management: Comparing Presidential Crisis Leadership During the Cuban Missile Crisis and the U.S.S. Pueblo Crisis, Jason Phillip Rhee
Department: Political Science
Political Representation: Who Decides? An Analysis of the Media's Coverage of Women's Political Underrepresentation, Maeve Rogers
Department: Political Science
Gods and Guns: Examining the Effects of Shared Religious Plurality on Military Expinditure, Marco A. Sapien
Department: Political Science; Global and International Studies
How Long Can We Tolerate This? Understanding the Wallace Vote, Racial Backlash in the Metropolitan North, & the Emergence of the Modern American Right, Frederik W. Schoenfeld
Department: History; Political Science
Immigration Policy Demanders: The Influence of U.S. Interests Groups and the American Electorate on Major Political Party Platforms, Scott D. Sears
Department: Political Science
Disaster Discourse in Official Chinese Media: An Analysis of Media Response to the 2008 Sichuan Earthquakeake and the 2015 Tianjin Explosions, Marie Sheehan
Department: Chinese Studies; Political Science
The State of Deterrence: The Role of Tactical and Strategic Nuclear Weapons, Bradley Van Tyne
Department: Political Science
The Fall and Rise of Executive Clemency Granting: How Crime Rates, Presidential Rhetoric, and Public Opinion Impact a President's Decision to Grant Clemency, Zane L. Wright
Department: Political Science
Senior Independent Study Theses from 2016
Are We Making The Grade?: An Analysis of the Effects of Racial Bias in Attitudes Towards Funding Public Schools, Madeline M. Baker
Department: Political Science
When Do Black Lives Matter?: An Experimental Analysis of White American Support for Black Social Movements, Latrice M. Burks
Department: Political Science
Shouting Into the Darkness: The Effects of Naming and Shaming on the Use of Death Squad Violence in Guatemala and Honduras Between 1979-1988, John B. Cartafalsa III
Department: Political Science
Rationality, Intuitions, and Government Restrictions: Human Rights Abuses across the Moral Foundations Spectrum, Gregory K. Clark
Department: Political Science
Prisons for Profit: Neoliberal Rationality's Transformation of America's Prisons, Kelsey Clark
Department: Political Science
All The Help We Can Get:The Effects of Mentoring on Women's Career Success in the American Political Arena, Emily Dean-McKinney
Department: Political Science; Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
"Looking Westward?": An Independent Study on China's Grand Strategy Shift, Feng Ding
Department: International Relations; Political Science
Placing the International Criminal Court on Trial: a Jus Cogens Theory of Procedural Due Process Peremptory Norms at the International Criminal Court, Alexander P. Downs
Department: Philosophy; Political Science
Bailed Out, Marc S. Flamer
Department: Political Science
Leadership Style Matters, But Does Gender?: A Study of Women Exectuive Heads of International Organizations, Savannah Glidewell
Department: Political Science
The Tension Between Immanuel Kant's Ethical & Political Philosophies, Michael J. Gyeszat
Department: Philosophy; Political Science
"Hello my name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die!" Messaging Effects on Support for Violent Non-state Actors, Alexandra D. Haines
Department: International Relations; Political Science
Are Democracies Truly "Bad" at Intelligence? An Analysis of Counterintelligence vs. Intelligence and State Structure, Abigail C. Helvering
Department: Political Science
Junts Pel Si: a Comparative Analysis of Independence Movements in Sub-state Regions, Ian M. Herrera
Department: Political Science
Who Gives A Dam? An Experimental Examination of Framing Techniques and Water Conservation, Rachel E. Huxhold
Department: Political Science
Creating The Middle-Class: The Impact Of Class Based Identity Appeals In Presidential Campaigns, Lois Kimmel
Department: Political Science
Responding to Genocide: A Poliheuristic Analysis of U.S. Foreign Policy Decision-Making, Elizabeth Paige Kittner
Department: Political Science
The Puzzle of Post-Conflict Justice: Identifying Factors That Influence State Selection of Mechanisms, Taylor V. Knoop
Department: Political Science
Framing Effects of Humanizing Language And Personal Stories of Injustice on Consensus and Action Mobilization For Prisoners' Human Rights Advocacy, Rowan G. LaFramboise
Department: Political Science
A Comparative Case Study of the Effects of Foreign Aid on Six Developing African Nations and Whether Assistance was Ultimately Successful to Each, Molly R. Laubernds
Department: Political Science
State Interactions with Sub-National Groups within and Across Their Borders, Faye E. Levin-O'Leary
Department: Political Science
Explaining Strength of the Renewable Energy Policies of the EU: From a European Integration Theory Perspective, Aaron Levy
Department: Political Science; Environmental Studies
To Join or Not to Join: A Statistical Analysis of Non-State Armed Groups' Size, 1980-2008, Sarah J. Litt
Department: Political Science
The Effect of Facial Competence on Female Candidate Electoral Success, Stephanie Marengere
Department: Political Science
Why the Good Go Bad: A Comparative Analysis of Sexual Assault and Exploitation Allegations in the UN Peacekeeping Missions in Liberia and Darfur, Bianka E. Michalski
Department: Political Science
National Identity and the "Other"ing of Muslims, Sharon H. Minifie
Department: Political Science
The Effects of Presidential Personality on the Ability to Accept Defeat During Military Engagements: An Analysis of Presidential Character and Decision-Making, Brigid E. O'Hara
Department: Political Science
Microaggressions, Trigger Warnings, and the Fight to Redefine Free Speech: An Analysis of the Judiciary's Response to Campus Speech Codes Through Liberal and Communitarian Perspectives, Madeleine G. O'Neill
Department: Political Science
Gubernatorial Gimmicks: A Case Study Approach to Partisanship and Macroeconomics, Asfaw P. Pickering
Department: Political Science
Media or Meeting: Exploring the Roots of Xenophobia, Matayo Rague
Department: Political Science
How do Strategic Resources Affect Relations Between States?, James Rolen
Department: Political Science
Evolving Standards of Decency: The Intersection of Death Penalty Theory and Supreme Court Jurisprudence, Rachel S. Sullivan
Department: Political Science
The Somewhere We Wish Were Nowhere: Dystopian Realities and (un)Democratic Imaginaries, Benjamin B. Taylor
Department: English; Political Science
It Takes Two to Tango: A Comparative Case Study Analysis of Social Movement Framing Contests on Traditional and Social Media Venues, Arianna N. Thomas
Department: Political Science
The Problem of Positive Right, Shawn M. Thomas
Department: Political Science
The Effect of Charismatic Leadership Style On The Levels of Support for Self-Determination Movements, Marco Vinicio Zuniga Lopez
Department: International Relations; Political Science
Senior Independent Study Theses from 2015
International Nongovernmental Organizations and Democratic Consolidation: How do These Organizations Promote Higher Quality Democracy?, Evan B. Albertson
Department: Political Science
The Clash of Norms: An Examination of Emerging Governance Norms in Cyberspace, Daniel J. Bloomberg
Department: Political Science
Uncovering the Strategic Logic of Boko Haram, Kyle Conklin
Department: Political Science
Express Yourself! The Effects of Regional Norms and the Perceived Roles of the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Council of Europe (CE) on Civil Society Organization (CSO) Permeability, Pablo D. Doster Ropero
Department: Political Science
Using Role Theory To Analyze The Link Between Exceptionalism And The Use Of Military Force By States, John Eyre
Department: Political Science
An Analysis of Robert Goodin's Public Utilitarianism in Application to the Current Firearm Debate, Anna Elise Fleming
Department: Political Science
Runaway Or Reigned in? Presidential Power and Congressional Controls During Times of War., Robert H. Friedhoff
Department: Political Science
Success or Failure of International Non-Proliferation Regimes: A Comparative Decision-Making Analysis of Five Non-Nuclear Weapon States, Nataliya Gaydey
Department: Political Science
Business and Political Clout: Reexamining the Relationship Between Government, Private Interests and Public PO, Connor A. Goulding-Miles
Department: Political Science
The Effectiveness of the Strategies Interest Groups Use to Influence Health Care Reform in The United States: A Case Study Analysis of President Clinton, Bush, and Obama's Health Care Reforms, Jacquelyn E. Hannan
Department: Political Science
The "Advocacy of Seeing": Understanding the Culture of Non-Profit Organizations and its Effect on the Organization’s Interaction with the Issue of Access to Legal Counsel for Undocumented Immigrant Children in Legal Proceedings in the United States, Holly A. Hickman
Department: Political Science; Sociology and Anthropology
Soft Power in Hard Focus: An Analytical Approach to Power in International Relations, Henry B. Knecht
Department: Political Science
***Blksavage: A Study On The Elements of Traditional Radical Black Political Theories & Their Contributions To Contemporary Black Political Thought, Jestin B. Kusch
Department: Political Science
The Uncounted Votes: Felon Disenfranchisement and its Variance Across States, Alison E. Moore
Department: Political Science
Liberty, Security, and Judicial Review in the War on Terror: An Analysis of Supreme Court Approaches to Deference in a Post-9/11 Context, Jacob Oppler
Department: Political Science
"If You Want to Test a Man's Character Give Him Power" Abraham Lincoln's Character and Use of Strategic Action: An Analysis of Presidential Decision-Making, Hannah Sharfman
Department: Political Science
Violence without Verdicts: A Comparative Analysis of Social Movements and Race Relations in the United States and South Africa, Madison Swoy
Department: Political Science
Constituents on the Cutting Room Floor: An analysis of the relationship between redistricting processes and malaportionment in the United States House of Representatives, Luke F. Tonat
Department: Political Science
“Forgiving The Unforgivable”: An Exploration of Post-Ethnic Conflict Peacebuilding and The Effects On The Durability of Peace, Casey Diane Wade
Department: Political Science
The Institutionalization of Social and Ethnic Divisions in Democratic States, John K. Wagner
Department: Political Science
Armed with an Easel: Understanding Artistic Political Praxis Through the Works of Theodor Adorno and Chantal Mouffe, Evelyn Yu Yu Swe
Department: Philosophy; Political Science
The Dragon, Mearsheimer and the Rising Sun: An Examination of Offensive Realism through the Sino-Japanese Dyad, Samuel P. Zais
Department: Political Science
Senior Independent Study Theses from 2014
U.S. Foreign Aid and Geostrategic Interests: Does USAID Positively Impact Education Levels in Developing Countries?, Angela M. Bauman
Department: Political Science
Clean Air - A Luxury Only the Rich Can Afford? An Analysis of International Environmental Policy Using a Development Framework, Nicholas J. Biniker II
Department: Political Science