Senior Independent Study Theses from 2019
The Judicial Arms Race: An Investigation Into the Weaponization of First Amendment Principles Against Substantive Due Process Protections From the Stone Court to the Roberts Court, Cameron K. Steckbeck
Department: Political Science
Sing Out Your Soul Sweetie, They Will Judge You Anyways: Music's Effect on Shaping Public Attitudes Towards Immigration, Christina Vukovich
Department: Political Science
Coloring Outside the Borders: How the Media Shapes Preadolescents’ Understanding of Global Politics, Gabriel Wasylko
Department: Political Science
Think About It: The Role of Think Tanks in Public Debate and Policy-Making, Shana E. Zelenka
Department: Political Science
Senior Independent Study Theses from 2018
Post-WaterGate to Pre-Trump: A Look At Which Incumbents Are Hurt By Scandals Within The United States House of Representatives, Ashkahn Alikhani
Department: Political Science
The ‘Black Republic’ on their Mind: African Americans and the U.S. Occupation of Haiti 1915-1934, Jerry Altemar
Department: History; Political Science
Assessing the Impact of Municipal Governance and Urban Development Megaprojects in the Developing World, Ethan Barham
Department: Political Science
How to Move Mountains: An Examination of the U.S. Political Response to the Aids Crisis, Jane Connard
Department: Political Science
You've Got a Friend in Me: The Effects of LGBTQIA+ Legislators on Same-Sex Partnership Rights in Latin America, Danica Genners
Department: Political Science
What's Taking So Long? The Timeline it Takes for the United Nations to Become Involved in State Sanctioned Violence, Alexandria Gordon
Department: Political Science
Cyber Warfare: A Study of Threat and Cooperation, John Hessler
Department: Political Science
Masculinity (De)construction and Policing: A Comparative Study of Representation, Policies, and Legitimacy, Sarah Huffman
Department: Political Science
“His Blood Is Different… Even Though He’s Not Bad, His Ethnicity Is Bad” the Impact of Cultural Policies and Negative Rhetoric on the Severity of an Ethnic Conflict, Jinhee Huh
Department: Political Science
Perceived Deprivation and its Role in the Decisions of Former Obama Supporters During the United States Presidential Election of 2016, Jack Hyman
Department: Political Science
Gender Performance and Policy Issue Focus on U.S. Senate Campaign Websites, 2010-2016, Kiley Kinnard
Department: Political Science; Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
A Rumination on Identity Politics with Durkheim and Rousseau, Austin Maffei
Department: Political Science; Sociology and Anthropology
Reaganomics: Issue Ownership and Retrospective Voting, Patrick T. Mohorcic
Department: Political Science
Going Down the Yellow Cake Road: Populists Effect on Democracies Propensity to Develop Nuclear Weapons, Nathaniel Moore
Department: Political Science
Historic Blocs and Legitimacy: A Framework for Understanding Hegemonic Stability, Robert Mueller
Department: Political Science
Wait, Did a Woman Just Use Force? The Influence of Female Legislative Coalitions on Humanitarian Military Interventions, Danielle Vlahos Muster
Department: Political Science
Manipulating Public Opinion: How Media Framing Affects Public Opinion of Military Engagement and Restricting Civil Liberties, Joshua D. Payne
Department: Political Science
Make Italy Great Again: An Examination of Virtu And Power Politics Within Machiavelli’s The Prince and The Art of War and their Contemporary Application, Emma A. Petasis
Department: Political Science
15 and a Union! A Comparative Case Study of the Fight for $15 Movement in Seattle and Baltimore, Eli Prelesnik
Department: Political Science
The Case of the Gyllenhaal's: The Impact of Celebrity Endorsements on Public Opinion, Laura K. Rickey
Department: Political Science
Voting as One: Is Racial Linked Fate an Obsolete Measure to Examine African-American Partisanship at the National Level?, Aaron Roberson
Department: Political Science
Modern Day Slavery: A look into Sex Trafficking in the United States, Emma Roderick
Department: Political Science
The Impact of Interest Group Involvement on the Allocation of State-Level Mental Health Resources, Katherine Sain
Department: Political Science
The Military Industrial Complex and Defense Expenditure: An Analysis of Military Industrial Complex and its Impact on Defense Expenditure in the United States, Zubin Sethi
Department: Political Science
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