Senior Independent Study Theses from 2025
Liberal Feminism and Laïcité: The Role of French Liberal Feminist Support in the Neocolonial Erosion of Women’s Rights, Madison Lily Ackley
Department: Political Science; Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
I Need a Hero: Exploring the Impact of Crisis on Leadership Traits, Tucker Andrewjeski
Department: Political Science
The Talent Tug of War - Brain Drain Vs. Brain Gain: Analyzing Attractants and Deterrents in International Student Migration., Yogitha Babu
Department: Political Science
The Needle and the Damage Done: How Does Chinese Participation in Illicit Global Economies Affect Domestic Security?, Finley Bodnar
Department: Chinese Studies; Political Science
An Analysis and Critique of International Space Law: Monitoring Orbital Space, Maeve E. Boley
Department: Political Science
Climate Crisis or Climate Change? The Impacts of Gain Framing, Loss Framing, and Ideology on Political Engagement and Agency, William Christopher
Department: Political Science; Psychology
May God Protect Us: The Effect of Perceived Existential Threat and White Christian Nationalism on Political Participation Among American Evangelicals, Alaina Kathleen Cline
Department: Political Science; Religious Studies
‘Obnoxious and Disliked’ and the ‘Bastard Orphan’: 1776 and Hamilton’s Role in Shaping Individuals’ Knowledge of John Adams’s and Alexander Hamilton’s Contribution to the Creation of the American Standards of Governance, Heather Cook
Department: History; Political Science
Democracies versus Dictatorships: Which Political System Drives Sustainable Economic Development in Africa?, Kennedy Damtse
Department: International Relations; Political Science
Contact with Homeless Populations, The Social Construction of Homelessness, and Punitive Policy, Ciru Feldman
Department: Psychology; Political Science
Advisors and Influence in Foreign Policy: Expanding Leadership Trait Analysis to the U.S. Secretary of State, Alexander M. Gerdenich
Department: Political Science
The Ideological Influence of American Neoliberalism on Individual Conceptions of Liberal Language, Morgan Bradley Graham
Department: Political Science
Aid and Protect? The Limits of Neocolonial Saviorism and Humanitarianism, Emma Jones
Department: Political Science; Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
That’s No Moon: An Analysis of How Developments in Military Space Weaponry Influence United States’ Security Strategies, Riley Magdalene Jones
Department: Political Science
The Effect of Gender Identity on Political Participation, Teagan M. McCullough
Department: Political Science; Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Water Rights and Wrongs: A Comparative Case Study of Water Management Frameworks in South America, Gavin Neff
Department: Global and International Studies; Political Science
Let Them Eat Cake: How Economic Sanctions Affect Repression and Leader Survival in Authoritarian States, Samuel J. Peppers
Department: Political Science
First Nations, First Knowledge: Indigenous Sovereignty and Environmental Governance in Australia, Brazil, and Aotearoa New Zealand, Ainsley Grace Duggan Phillips
Department: Environmental Studies; Political Science
Cash is King: Contextualizing the Political Effects of Citizens United vs FEC and SpeechNow vs FEC, Kyle Roether
Department: Political Science
The Impact of the Criminal Justice System on the Civic Engagement and Political Participation of Young Adults, Ellie Saguto
Department: Political Science; Sociology and Anthropology
Violent Legacies: Transitional Justice and Postwar Violence in Guatemala, Carter R. Stanley
Department: History; Political Science
The Impact of Political Instability on Nepal's Economic Development, Sarya Thapa Magar
Department: Economics; Political Science
Down with France: True Independence or Continued Political Instability?, Aku Unvu
Department: Political Science
Towards an equal Landscape of Understanding: Dialogue in an Age of Political Closure, Yahia A. Yahia
Department: Political Science
More Than a Game: The Political Impacts of Participation in Mega Sporting Events, Rory Zahren
Department: Political Science
Senior Independent Study Theses from 2024
The Impact of Lobbying by the Military Industrial Complex on the Voting Behavior of Maryland Democrats, Nathaniel Buckley
Department: Political Science
Our Quest for a New World Order: The Effects of Collective Narcissism and Conspiratorial Belief on Sharing Conspiratorial Headlines, Carrie Buckwalter
Department: Political Science; Psychology
Maximizing Engagement: The Impact of Combined Framing Strategies on Men and Women’s Response to Climate Change, Christian Yvetot-Antoine Condé
Department: Political Science
Election Candidates on Social Media: Does Having a Strong Social Media Presence Affect a Candidate’s Electability, Benjamin Cornelius
Department: Political Science
Diversifying the Pocketbook: The Rise of Criminal Funding in International Terrorism, Noa Davny
Department: Political Science
Advocacy or Authorship: A Sustained Organizational Influence Analysis of the American Legislative Exchange Council's Voter ID Act, 2011-14, Hannah D. Eastman
Department: History; Political Science
Monetary Policy in the Political Arena: Quantifying the Impact of Party Control on Federal Fund Rates around the Humphrey-Hawkins Report, Zachary Galdo
Department: Political Science
The Security Dilemma Between the United States and China and its Implications for United States Regulations of TikTok and Semiconductors, Rahel Gelaw
Department: Political Science
Digital Politics: Assessing the Influence of Election Officials’ Social Media Usage on Youth Voter Turnout, Delaney Gross
Department: Political Science
Perceptions and Prejudice: Investigating the Link Between Anti-Muslim Sentiment and Support for Torture Among White Americans, Pat Hrabak
Department: Political Science
Red, Blue or Purple: An Analysis of Government Configuration and Party Control and Its Impacts on Poverty, Crime, and High School Graduation Rates, Benjamin N. Huntington
Department: Political Science
The Authoritarian Backslide: Democratization and Repression in Transitional Regimes, Elise Jones
Department: Global and International Studies; Political Science
Vaccines, Transplants, and Ethical Dilemmas: Navigating COVID-19 Vaccination Statuses and Organ Transplant Allocation, Naomi Mann
Department: Political Science
Rhyme and Reason: Examining the Causes of Variance Within the Absolute DW Nominate Scores of U.S. House Members, Ian C. A. Marshall
Department: Political Science
Party Lines and Policy Designs: The Influence of Presidential Administrations on Texas State Legislation, Lilly McLendon
Department: Political Science
Voter Restrictions, Political Efficacy, and Latinx Turnout: Do You Belong?, Madison Delaney Mycoff
Department: Political Science
The Positive Economic Impact of Women’s Education in Countries with a Colonized Past, Jemima Sambu Ndandu Kaleta
Department: Political Science
Supreme Stereotyping: The Effects of Gender and Race on the Editorial Media's Coverage of Nominees to the United States Supreme Court, Austin Piatt
Department: Political Science
Coups d’État and Foreign Policy Change: A Multiple Streams Approach, Thomas Pitney
Department: Political Science; French and Francophone Studies
Equality, Representation, & Legitimacy: A Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis of Healthcare, Education, and Civil Rights Legislation in the Ohio Revised Code, Emma Place
Department: Political Science
Crossing the Rubicon: Brazilian Water Access from Public Provision to Privatization, Tyler Rak
Department: History; Political Science
Is Voting From Your Dorm the New Norm: Understanding College Students' Preferred Vote Method, Alana Rivas-Scott
Department: Political Science
The Final Frontier of Diplomacy: Analyzing the Intersection of Space Policy and Private Corporations, Holly Shaum
Department: Political Science
Taiwan: Public Diplomacy and Foreign Perception, Elijah W. Shoaf
Department: Global and International Studies; Political Science
Regulating the Digital Frontier: A Comparative Analysis of Bitcoin Regulatory Policy in El Salvador and the Central African Republic, Earl Steve Stephens III
Department: Political Science
A Surge of Personality or A Bureaucratic Struggle? How Presidential Personality Affected the Influence of Bureaucratic Politics in Troop Surge Decisions, Jacob Ullom
Department: Political Science
Hero, Villain, Victim Policy Narratives on Automatic Voter Registration: Which Narrative is the Most Persuasive?, John Varley
Department: Political Science
How Gender Framing Affects the Success of Women’s Rights Movements, Ella E. Weber
Department: Political Science
Senior Independent Study Theses from 2023
La Violencia en Las Sombras: Epistemic Violence in The United States Immigration System and Its Implications, Hannah Rosemary Baker
Department: Political Science; Spanish
Exploring Small State Foreign Policy Through Shelter: A Case Study on Mongolian Foreign Policy, Bilegsanaa Battulga
Department: Political Science
Legalization v. Decriminalization: An Analysis on the Impacts of Marijuana Policy Reform on State’s Crime Rates, Owen Belfiore
Department: Political Science
Understanding Integrative Rhetorical Complexity’s Effect on Public Opinion of Ballot Initiatives in Conjunction with a Contingent Valuation of a Ballot Initiative to Improve Water Quality Trading Systems., Tanner C. Burt
Department: Economics; Political Science
Women’s Place in the House (of Representatives): A study of Gender or Ideology on Congressional Voting Behavior, Morgan Carson
Department: Political Science
A Grasp for Global Dominance? Analyzing Russian Leaderships' Impact on Russia's National Role Conception, Colin Edward Czubaruk
Department: Political Science
How Does a City’s Migrant Identities Affect Urban Governments’ Implementation of Affordable Housing Policies?, Ethan Dasilva
Department: Political Science
Power Corrupts But Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely: What Effects Do Political Crisis Have on Political Stability of Emerging Democracies, Ayse Ergon
Department: Political Science
How National Role Conceptions Affect Japanese Foreign Policy in the Taiwan Strait, Jonah Brick Freedman
Department: Political Science
Polarized Insurrection? An Ethical and Empirical Analysis of the January 6th Insurrection and Surrounding Media Coverage, Noah D. Golovan
Department: Philosophy; Political Science
Measuring The Impact of TRC: The Involvement With Cities’ Use of Housing Policies and Hate Crimes, Elizabeth Hall
Department: Political Science
Measuring the Impact of TRC: The Involvement with Cities' Use of Housing Policies and Hate Crimes, Elizabeth A. Hall
Department: Political Science
Fatal Extraction: A Comparative Analysis of Environmental Conflicts in Ecuador during the Presidency of Rafael Correa, Joey Harris
Department: Political Science
Think Globally, Act Locally, Panic Internally: Climate Anxiety's Impact on Political Participation, Emily Brooke Hasecke
Department: Political Science; Psychology
The Impact of Nuclear Weapons Security Measures on Brinkmanship Conflict Outcomes: A Comparative Case Study of the Pakistan-India Border Conflict and U.S.-Russian Tensions Over the War in Ukraine, Cory Edward Horgan
Department: Political Science
Knowing When To Do Wrong: An Exploration of the Relationship Between Threat to a Leader and Violations of Physical Integrity Rights, Haley A. Huett
Department: Political Science
The Political Games of Foreign Direct Investment: Investigating the Influence of Regime Type on Host Country FDI Inflows During the Olympic Games, Clare C. Leithauser
Department: Political Science
Is it Femicide, Travesticidio, or Just a Hate Crime? An Analysis of the Creation and Legal Impact of New Terminology to Refer to Gendered Violence, Noah Leonard
Department: Political Science; Spanish
Weighing Unity and Victory: Exploring Political Parties’ Role in the Election of Extreme Candidates, Graham Letkeman
Department: Political Science
The [Hidden] Costs of War: Rape Culture Awareness and The Effects of Transitional Justice on Victims of Conflict Related Sexual Violence, Morgan Ann Malone
Department: Political Science
The Truth Hurts: A Thematic Reading of the Argentinian and Guatemalan Truth Commissions in the Re-Humanization of Victims, Emily Mendoza
Department: Political Science
Foreign Trade Policy as Contextualized Political Leadership: Analyzing Vietnam's Negotiation and Implementation of the CPTPP and EVFTA, Trong Tung Lam Nguyen
Department: Political Science
Exploiting Emergencies: Government Corruption and Repression in Post-Disaster Societies, Lark Pinney
Department: Political Science
Frustration Nation: Why Leaders Choose Foreign-Imposed Regime Change to Forcibly Overthrow Governments & The Role of Emotions in Foreign Policy Behavior, Gordon Reeves
Department: Political Science
The Arms Trade Treaty Theoretical Failure or Success?, Izaak T. Rennebeck-Oliveira
Department: Political Science
The Emphasis of Gendered Stereotypes by Candidates in Electoral Campaigns, Abigail Grace Rubadue
Department: Political Science
If You Want to Go Fast, Go Alone; If You Want to Go Far, Go Together: Exploring the Institutional Effectiveness of African Regional Organizations From a Peacekeeping Perspective, Stacey Sam
Department: Political Science
The Partisan Implications of a Nonpartisan Redistricting Commission: Examining the 2022 Midterm Elections in Michigan, Carter M. Schmidt
Department: Political Science
The Online World of Politics: Analyzing the Impact of the Public During #MeToo on Public Policy Using Machine Learning, Robert Doak Schultz
Department: Political Science
From Learning to Leadership: The Influence of Educational Attainment on the Retrospective Job Performance of Modern American Presidents, Andrew Seifert
Department: Political Science
Putin's "Corrective Project": An Examination of State Repression Against Russian Nongovernmental Organizations, Ethan Sieber
Department: Political Science; Russian Studies
Third World: Bolivia, The United States, Democracy, and the Art of Putting it on Stage, Victoria I. Silva
Department: Political Science; Theatre and Dance
A Critical Theory of the Internet, Savannah Sima
Department: Philosophy; Political Science
No Justice No Peace: A Conception of Justice, Nkosi Stewart
Department: Political Science
Obliteration and Negotiation: Assessing Whether Counter-War Strategy and Negotiations Can Reduce Terror Committed by Violent Non-State Actors, Neil W. Storey
Department: Political Science
Obliteration and Negotiation: Assessing Whether Counter-War Strategy and Negotiations Can Reduce Terror Committed by Violent Non-State Actors, Neil Walker Storey
Department: Political Science
Hope and Mourning in an Age of Immanent Extinction: Grief as a Framework for Revolutionary Ethics, Artemis Swanson
Department: Philosophy; Political Science
Impacts of Regime Type and Economic Development Levels on Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Nations, Brennen Testa
Department: Political Science
A Farmer Works So the World Can Eat: An Analysis of the Impact of United Nations Food (In)security And Climate Change Collaboration on Linkages in United Nations Outcomes, Maley Tinstman
Department: Political Science
Lyricism and the Politics of Belonging: Music and Nationalisms for Israel and Palestine, Linat R. Westreich
Department: Political Science
The Lost Electorate: A Content Analysis of 2022 Democratic Senatorial Candidates' Video Commercials and Their Appeals to the White Working-Class, Kay Elizabeth Wetmore
Department: Communication Studies; Political Science
Senior Independent Study Theses from 2022
Desperate Democrats In The Reagan Revolution: A Party Determined To Win The White House, Matthew Maxwell Akins
Department: History; Political Science
Healthy Democracy, Healthy Citizens: Examining How The Quality Of Democracy Impacted The Public Health Responses In South Africa’s Hiv/Aids Epidemic, Shankar A. Bhat
Department: Political Science
Pretty In Panopticism: How The Inescapability Of The Internalized Male Gaze Exemplifies Michel Foucault's Theory Of The Panopticon, Rachel Catus
Department: Political Science
Critical Theory As Critical Philosophy Of Self: Agency, Authority, And Emancipation Through Dialectical Imagination, Ryan Curnow
Department: Political Science; Philosophy
“We Have Rung The Alarm Bell Loud And Clear”: Exploring The Effects Of The Securitization Of Global Public Health Crises By International Organizations On State Response, Lilia Eisenstein
Department: Political Science
An Analysis Of Igo Accountability And Its Effects On Development, Adegbola Fayemi
Department: Political Science