Senior Independent Study Theses from 2016
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
Religiously Influenced Interstate Conflict: The Role of Religiosity and Perceived Loss in International Relations, Aaron Brown
Department: Political Science; Religious Studies
How Inclusive Nationalism Implemented by the State can Prevent an Increase in Religious Polarization, Erin T. Bruening
Department: Political Science; Religious Studies
The Youth Unemployment Crisis Facing Welfare Regimes: How States Develop New Social Policy, Andrew C. Campbell
Department: Political Science
Dueling For Their Votes: A Study on the Impact of Presidential Debate Rhetoric on Public Opinion, Daniel J. Cohen
Department: Communication Studies; Political Science
Does European Union Membership Change Corruption?, Alison M. Doolittle
Department: Political Science
Timepiece Teaching: How Rhetoric Molds the World, Nicholas H. Fischbach
Department: Political Science
A Changing American Security Paradigm: The Risk Management Model and American National Security Strategy, Ethan A. Flack
Department: Political Science
The Effect of Ethnic Microtargeting on Latino Americans' Political Identity Perception, Emma Flanagan
Department: Political Science
Who’s The Boss? Principals, Agents, and the Intricacies of Non-State Wartime Violence Against Civilians, Patrick Elliot D. Flautt
Department: Political Science
Cloudy With A Chance of Violence: An Analysis of the Environment-Conflict Nexus, Rita A. Frost
Department: Political Science
Choosing Gods: Constructivism vs. Realism in the Military Interventions in Religious Civil Wars, Alex Fukui
Department: Political Science
Aiding Aids: The Motivations of French HIV/AIDS Foreign Aid to African Countries, Alexandra G. Hamasaki
Department: Political Science
Gauging and Explaining the Impact of Campaign Field Offices in the 2012 Presidential Election, Ben Heavenrich
Department: Political Science
Restorative Reintegration: Restorative Justice and the Applications and Implications for Child Soldier Reintegration, Carolyn Elizabeth Hockey
Department: Political Science; Religious Studies; Sociology and Anthropology
Assessing Chinese Soft Power In Africa Through UN General Assembly Votes, Tyler J. Hoff
Department: Political Science
The Role of Presidential Worldview on United States Counter-Narcotics Policy in Colombia Since 1981, Joshua L. Holland-Gresock
Department: Political Science
Dam Institutions: The Nexus of Anarchy and Interdependence - Dams, Water, and States, Daniel Ikuma
Department: Political Science
Southeast Asia on the Five Pillars of Nationalism: Case Studies of the Mon and Karen of Burma (Myanmar), Min K. Khant
Department: Political Science
Determinants of Internet Censorship in the PRC: The Cases of Tiananmen, Charter 08, and Zhixian Party, Susie Ko
Department: Political Science; International Relations; Chinese Studies
Perception Versus Reality: How Preferences for Divided Government and Perceptions of Government Performance Affect Citizen Satisfaction, Kathryn Kotraba
Department: Political Science
Schooled: How Chicago Learned to Apply Civic Capacity to Accomplish Successful School Reform, Emily K. LeCompte
Department: Political Science
"The Federation of the World": Examining the Ideological Influences on the Charter of the United Nations, Adam M. Levin
Department: International Relations; Political Science
Valuing the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: A Defense of Countercultural Environmentalism, Mae Manupipatpong
Department: Philosophy; Political Science
Portfolio Management Model Strategy Reform: Lessons Through Civic Capacity in Baltimore and New Orleans, Stephanie Megas
Department: Political Science
An Examination of the Factors Necessary for Successful United Nations Intervention in Civil Wars, Jeremy J. Meyers
Department: Political Science
Shaking Hands or Staging Protests: Do Autonomous Judiciaries Set the Norms that Govern Democracy?, Rachel J. Myers
Department: Political Science
International Intervention in Time of Crisis: Explaining the Motives Behind the Selectivity of States' Actions, Claire M. O'Malley
Department: International Relations; Political Science
EU Energy Policies: A Driving Force of Nationalist Party Support?, Cowles S. Ostrander
Department: Political Science
What Makes Rivals Agree? IGO Mediation of Crises Between Strategic Rivals, Andrea S. Patton
Department: Political Science
Mental Health in Post-Conflict Societies: The Economic and Social Impacts of Widespread Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Oliver Paul
Department: Political Science
An Analysis of Contemporary Theories of Constitutional Interpretation in the Supreme Court: Scalia's Originalism Versus Breyer's Pragmatism, Erica L. Rickey
Department: Political Science
The Impact of Sanctions on Corruption: The Cases of Iraq and Serbia, Andrea Roganovic
Department: Political Science
The Determinants and Effects of R&D intensive FDI, Usman Shabbir
Department: Business Economics; Political Science
American Military Strategy and the Offense-Defense Theory, Derek A. Simi
Department: Political Science
The Political Consequence and Psychological Mechanisms of Dictatorial Cults of Personality, Wyatt C. Smith
Department: Political Science; Psychology
The Impact of U.S. Economic Sanctions on Cuban Inequality, Noah R. Wagemann
Department: Political Science
The Continuity of United States Counter Terrorism Policy: An Analysis of the Impact of Bureaucratic Leadership Dynamics on Policy Decisions, Christian Raimund Wasner
Department: Political Science
The Power to Repress v. The Power to Produce: A Foucaultian Power-Analysis of Law and Punishment in Colonial and Post-Revolutionary America, Janet M. Zahorsky
Department: Political Science
Senior Independent Study Theses from 2013
Women and the Election: An Examination of Mortality Salience on Candidate Gender Preference, Zoe Baker
Department: Political Science
Arming the Homeland: Ethnic Interest Group Influence on U.S. Arms Sales, Daisy Bledsoe-Herring
Department: Political Science
Economic Capability and Its Role in Determining Compliance With International Law, Kees C. Burns
Department: Political Science
Violent Sex Crime and Federal Legislation: the Effects of Federal Sex Crime Legislation Implementation, Crime Expenditures, and Population Demographics on State Level Forcible Rape Rates, Joshua Claytor
Department: Political Science
What is the Goal? Nationalist Mobilization Through Football and Regional Government in Three Spanish Autonomous Communities, Kathryn Marie Dengiz Crawford
The Global City of New York: Neoliberalism, Occupy Wall Street, and the Polarization and Repoliticization of Denationalized Space, Daniel Grantham
Department: History; Political Science
Judgment and Justices: Judicial Philosophy and Modalities of Constitutional Argument, Brandon Harris
Department: Political Science
Variation of Female Genital Mutilation Rates Between Egypt and Sierra Leone Examined Through Underlying Root Causes, Jenna Hohan
Department: Political Science
Waking the Sleeping Bear: Strategic Culture or Realism as Explinations for Russian Foreign Policy Behavior in Territorial Disputes, Andrew Holmes
Department: Political Science
Do You Support the War?: A Study on the Effects of Private Military Companies on U.S. Troop Casualties and U.S. Public Opinion, Adrienne G. James
Department: Political Science
The Curious Case of Malnutrition in Guatemala and Honduras, Shannon Latsko
Department: Political Science
Don't Bite the Hand That Feeds You: The Effects of Structural Adjustment Lending on Voting Alignment in the United Nations General Assembly, Lauren Elizabeth Lee
Department: Political Science
Human Rights Organizations As Agents of Change: When Do They Fail and When Do They Succeed?, Kyla J. McEntire
Department: Political Science
The Politics of Anti-Affirmative Action Initiatives: a Comparative Case Study Approach, Jordan McIntyre
Department: Political Science
Neglected Human Rights: Examining the Causes of Socio-Economic Rights Violations Within the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Katherine Morton
Department: Political Science
The Evolution of International Sovereignty Norms and the Process of State-Level Norm Internalization, Katherine A. Mozynski
Department: International Relations; Political Science
Growing a National Economy: a Comparative Analysis of the Economic Growth in a Country Under Authoritarian or Democratic Rule, Girard W. Ogletree-Crawford
Department: Political Science
May it Please the Environment?: A Study of the Role Regional Location Plays in Influencing Federal Court Decisions on Fossil Fuel Cases, Stephen Perrott
Department: Political Science
Ethnoscapes and Nationalism in the Cherokee Nation's Constitutional Law, 1960-2013, Richard Tadd Pinkston
Department: History; Political Science
Peaceful Benefits: A Study of Peace Education Programs and their Effects on Violent Conflict, Anna M. Rella
Department: Political Science
The Balance of Power Has Shifted: How Affluent Interest Groups are Contributing to Income Inequality in the United States, Michele R. Ring
Department: Political Science
Amish War Criminals and Fascist Hippies: How Combatants' Methods of Motivations Affect the Amount and Intensity of Their Nonmilitary Atrocities, Nicholas S. St. Amour
Department: Political Science
More Than Just a Meal: the Economic Utility of Social Capital in the Lives of the Poor, Benjamin Higby Strange
Department: Political Science
The Land of Immigrants?: the Role of Nationalism in the American Public in the Creation of Restrictive Immigration Policies in the United States From the 1920s to the 2000s, Tablet Tesfaye
Department: Political Science
Senior Independent Study Theses from 2012
Revolution Has Gone Viral: the Effect of Facebook and Youtube on Social Movement Mobilization Within the Arab Spring, Zuri Rose Baron
Department: Political Science
Keepin' the 'Hood Intact: Using Civic Capacity to Study and Prevent Displacement in Redeveloping Neighborhoods, Timothy Barz
Department: Political Science
Democracy and Political Citizenry: Wolin From Student Revolt to Superpower, James Bush
Department: Political Science
American Dream: a Foucauldian Analysis of the American Discourse on Education, John P. Carter
Department: Political Science
Landmark Legislation and Models of Presidential Power: a Case Study of the 2010 Health Care Reform Bill, Chris Caventer
Department: Political Science
Which Is Better, Democracy or a Traditional Government?; Fiafia i Malo Democracy o i Aganu'u Malo Matai? Customized Democracy in the South Pacific: Theory, Opinions, and Understanding, Christine Marie Crites
Department: Political Science
Hitting Eject: a Study on the Use of Frames to Influence Public Opinion of the United States Automotive Industry Bailouts, James DeCrispino
Department: Political Science
The South Will Rise Again! A Study of the Effectivnes of South-South Trade Blocs, John Derksen
Department: Political Science
Role of Regimes in the Making of Federal Education Policy, Hannah Haas
Department: Political Science
Let's Talk About Me: a Habermasian Investigation of Discourse in Aristophanes' "Birds" and "Ecclesiazusae", Sidney H. Helfer
Department: Classical Studies; Political Science