Honors Projects

Why They Rise Up, or Not: A Study of Linguistic Minorities and Ethnic-National Mobilization

Yelei Kong — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 07:30:58 PDT

Most theories of nationalism focus on majority nationalism and do not provide an adequate explanation of the inaction of most ethnic minorities. The first part of this paper adopts the political process model from social movement theory to study the factors that prompt linguistic minorities to mobilize on ethno-national grounds. Using a large-N statistical model with data drawn from the Minorities at Risk (MAR) database, the results indicate that group capacity, a favorable opportunity structure, and strong issue framing facilitate ethno-national mobilization. The second part of the paper employs a most similar system design to compare Uzbek language minorities in Central Asia with the Uyghur linguistic minority in China. The focused-structured comparison confirms and extends the findings of the political process model. In short, isolated communities, an apathetic Uzbek state, and cross-cutting identities have created unfavorable conditions for ethno-national mobilization among Uzbek minorities. Much the opposite has been the case for the Uyghur minority in China.

United States House Elections Post-Citizens United: The Influence of Unbridled Spending

Laura L. Gaffey — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 13:23:16 PDT

After the Citizens United decision in 2010 allowed corporations and unions to spend freely in elections, much media attention was given to the influence of unlimited and undisclosed donations during the 2010 midterm elections. This research attempts to determine the impact of increased outside spending by super PACs and other groups post-Citizens United by comparing United States House races in 2006 and 2010. The analysis controls for other factors that influence election outcomes in order to determine the influence of outside spending, confirming that outside money did have a small measurable effect in both elections when spent to support challengers. This study reveals the difficulties of compiling precise data on outside spending in elections, especially for spending that is not express advocacy. Additionally, the findings demonstrate that challengers see a greater measurable effect of outside expenditures, a finding consistent with previous research.

Supreme Court Responsiveness: An Analysis of Individual Justice Voting Behavior and the Role of Public Opinion

Michael Browning, '11 — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 12:30:56 PDT

This study aims to explain why the Supreme Court responds to public mood by analyzing individual justice liberalism and comparing it to public liberalism between the years of 1953 and 2005. Three theories suggesting why the Court may respond to public opinion are discussed, including the replacement, political adjustment, and the attitude change hypotheses. The argument of using Court reversals to determine the ideology of the Court is presented and implemented. Public reaction to Court decisions is analyzed along with the Court’s institutional legitimacy as means to determine the Court’s strategic behavior. Ideology, public mood, the parties controlling the House, Senate, and Presidency, and the overall Court mood are used as independent variables to explain the driving force behind changes in individual justices’ voting behavior. The study concludes that Court mood is the strongest and most significant factor in changes in judicial voting behavior, while public opinion, ideology, and the parties controlling the other institutions of government explain little to none of the variance. In addition to justice replacement, the aggregate attitude change of justices is determined to be the most likely explanation for the Court’s adherence to public opinion.

Redistricting and the Public Interest: Developing a Value-Explicit Dialogue

Amy B. Uden — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 10:34:31 PDT

Throughout the coming year, legislators will take up the decennial responsibility of drawing new boundaries for legislative districts. Political scientists and practitioners often emphasize the profound impact of redistricting on political careers, process, and policy. However, the ultimate goals of redistricting remain controversial. Redistricting plays a large role in establishing the framework for American politics, and is thus directly linked to representation and the “public interest,” a contested theoretical concept. Using the lens of previous public interest theory, this study examines the historical redistricting dialogue through a content analysis of redistricting-related Supreme Court cases. By applying an analysis of Brian Barry’s ideal- or want-regarding classifications of the public interest, this research finds that methods of legislative redistricting have trended toward want-regarding concepts of the public interest. Bolstered by an analysis of contrasting redistricting policy in the neighboring states of Illinois and Iowa, this paper concludes with a call for a more value-explicit theoretical dialogue surrounding the process of legislative redistricting.

Institutions and Elites: Democracy and Stability in sub-Saharan Africa

Michael R. Burgess — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 07:51:24 PDT

Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the most politically unstable and undemocratic regions in the world. Theories of power-sharing and recent studies have indicated that institutions that allow for higher levels of power-sharing are often more successful at consolidating democracy and stability in highly divided societies, like those common in Sub-Saharan Africa. By examining the electoral system, executive type, and level of decentralization, this study first determines the level of institutional power-sharing for each of the 48 sub-Saharan states. Next, it compares these levels of power-sharing with indicators of democracy and state stability to determine if more power-sharing does correspond with higher levels of democracy and stability. Using a bivariate analysis and factoring in region, the data show a strong and significant correlation between higher levels of institutional power-sharing and higher levels of democracy and state stability in sub-Saharan Africa. However, power-sharing does not appear to be a necessary or sufficient driver of democratic outcomes. In order to better determine the nature of the relationship between institutional design and contextual factors, the later part of the study employs a focused-structured most-similar comparison between Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, countries with identical and moderately low power-sharing scores but drastically different levels of democracy and state stability.

Public Relations and Political Power: A Case Study of the Caterpillar Tractor Co.

Frank Simpson — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 14:56:17 PDT

The central concern of the paper is to present a case study of the public relations activities of the Caterpillar Tractor Co. Caterpillar is the largest private employer in the state of Illinois and the largest single employer in the city of Peoria. It has plants, offices, and parts depots in twenty-two places in nine teen different congressional districts; and the Company also has many
facilities overseas. Finally, Caterpillar is a major exporter o f heavy machinery. Such an organization would therefore be highly interested in--and sensitive to--the political climate in which it operates.

The Struggle for Standing to Secure Judical Review of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965

Donald E. Garrison — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 14:56:15 PDT

This is a case study of the attempts of ordinary taxpayers, as well as of a United States Senator, to resolve an issue through the judicial process. Ordinarily, individuals bring questions of contemporary significance to the Supreme Court, seeking an interpretation of the Constitution which favors their particular interests. Seldom, however, do individuals have occasion to question the adjudicatory powers of the Court itself--a debate of the separation of powers doctrines older than the Constitution itself.

Mediocrity and Roll-Calls: The Identification of Marginal Congressmen and Some Study of Their Voting Behavior

Richard K. Wray — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 14:56:13 PDT

In any field there are some people who excel and some who do poorly; the United States House of Representatives should not be expected to be an exception. A purpose of this paper is to analyze those in the House who perform relatively poorly; their actions and voting. However, it should be noted that a determination of who is mediocre and what effects mediocrity has on voting cannot be expected to explain how or if this factor can be dealt with or eliminated.

The Illinois appellate system procedure and practice

Robert L. Kamholz Jr. — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 07:22:12 PDT

The appellate procedure and practice which characterize the Illinois judicial system comprise an awesome body of factual material which is, I am certain, impossible to present in one volume no matter how bulky it may be. This volume does not attempt to describe the whole of that procedure. It also is not a guide suitable for legal reference. It is, however, a general description of the superficial workings of the Illinois appellate system. In most cases, procedure is the only topic of discussion. What substantive information there is contained in the discussion exists to shed light on how the practice and procedure is utilized to effect justice.

Preparing the Chicago City Budget: Influences, Statistics, Allocations and Trends

Terry Black '67 — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 11:21:40 PST

This paper deals with the preparation of the Chicago city budget---from the factors influencing the mayor's judgement to the sources of revenue to the services on which the money is spent.

Trust on the Internet: A Virtual Reality?

Adam Clark, '09 — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:37:13 PDT

Social capital has recently gained popularity, but it is not a new topic. The relationship between civic engagement and trust has been well tested, and it has been used in the past to help diagnose the well being of a society. Unfortunately with evolving technology, some of this research may be now obsolete. The Internet has changed the way that people communicate and learn. Since the Internet has reached such high proliferation rates, especially among the younger generations, it is likely to have an effect on the relationship between civic engagement and trust. Using NES survey data from 1996 to 2004 primarily, I tested the effects of the Internet on said relationship, and Internet access had an effect on social trust.

Presidential Success in Congress: Factors that Determine the President's Ability to Influcence Congressional Voting

Christine Gibbs, '09 — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:33:23 PDT

This study examines the factors that contribute to presidential success in Congress. Results show that, overall, presidential popularity, the president's party's margin of control in Congress and the misery index positively and significantly affect presidential success in Congress, whereas party unity, presidential effort and saliency are, overall, not significant determinants of success. The study also demonstrates that the honeymoon period does not increase a president's success rate. The results indicate that these variables interact differently within foreign policy than domestic policy and in the Senate than the House.

Can Resource Mobilization Predict the Level of Success Among Social Movement Organizations?

Kathryn Brannan, '09 — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 11:31:02 PDT

This paper is a series of case studies of social movement organizations within the AIDS Awareness Movement of the 1980s. By examining ACT UP, the Names Project, and Gay Men's Health Crisis, we see that resource mobilization theory can help explain varying levels of success among SMOs that worked in the same context and within the same subculture. Internal organization, networking, innovation and the use of violence are all strategies which are found to be insignificant in explaining the success of each SMO. This paper shows the predictive ability of resource mobilization theory. It closes with suggestions for future work, including a new measure of success of SMOs.

Transparent Politics or Empty Legislation?

Connor McGee '08 — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:19:24 PDT

The Bipartisan Campaign Refonn Act (BCRA) was passed in 2003 as a way to clean up and make transparent the way in which congressional elections are funded. The legislation succeeded in banning soft money from the election process, however fell short of closing the gap between incumbents and challengers and clearing up the process. Using data from the Federal Election Commission this project analyzes the total receipts, contributions from parties and PACs, and, most importantly, the proportion of small donors for five traditionally Democratic districts, five traditionally Republican districts, and five districts that have been highly contested in recent elections. Using this data, the paper concludes that BCRA did not have an effect on congressional elections.

The Challenge to the Judiciary of the Nineties:Managing Appeals in the Federal Courts

Kelly N. Kalus '90 — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:19:23 PDT

Court reform is a growing national priority. The overwhelming number of litigants populating American courtrooms today has placed a serious burden upon judicial institutions to produce well-thought, reasoned decisions in light of a rapidly increasing caseload. This caseload growth has restricted judges from fully effectuating their duties. Consequently, efforts to accommodate the growing demand for judicial services reflect a deviation from the traditional role and responsibilities of the American judge. For the United states judicial system, such a departure from tradition has dangerous and potentially irreversible implications. Immediate action must be taken to prevent any serious ramifications from arising.

Beyond Narrow Liberalism

Justin B. Taylor '99 — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:19:21 PDT

Of growing debate among those concerned with American political culture and democratic theory is the modern conception ofliberal democratic theory. This work attempts to broaden our understanding ofdemocracy. I will argue that modern liberalism has narrowed our conception of individual liberty. This narrowed focus has produce a reliance on the use ofpublic regulation and interest group pressure as substitutes for civic engagement. In an attempt to move past a mere critique of narrow liberalism, this essay will develop a research design and an empirical test to measure our current political culture's support for a robust democracy and its future prospects of development.

National Political Influence and the Catholic Church

Jennifer Nash '00 — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:19:19 PDT

Previous literature has focused on the political importance ofthe Catholic Church within democratic transitions, while little research has followed the role ofthe Church in post transitional settings. The present research acknowledges a marked variation in the political influence among the national Churches of Poland, Brazil, Hungary and Spain following the institution of democracy. Within the national context, the Church's religious mission, the association ofthe Church with the former regime and the influence of the International Catholic Church emerge as explanatory factors.

Domestic Political Violence: Working Towards an Answer to a Timeless Question

John Gutowski '98 — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:19:18 PDT

This paper compares two of the more prominent theories that explain the causes of domestic political violence: the older more established relative deprivation theory, and the much newer rational action theory. Deprivation theory remains the most prominent theory in the field, but rational action theory presents a formidable challenge. The following section places these two theories in the broader literature on domestic political violence. The next section presents the research design, including the operationalization, measurement, and specification of the models. The final section presents the analysis and conclusions from the models.

Child Witnesses in Sexual Abuse Cases and the Sixth Amendment Confrontation Clause

Kelly Thuet '94 — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:19:17 PDT

The legal debate over statutes which allow special treatment for child witnesses of sexual abuse has sparked recent discussion. These statutes permit the testimony of the children to be videotaped or transmitted via one-or two-way closed circuit television into the courtroom. Critics argue these statutes violate the defendant's Sixth Amendment Confrontation Right -to be confronted by the witnesses against him/her. Supporters feel these measures are necessary to protect the interests of young victims of sexual abuse. The goal of this paper is to address the tension between society's interest in protecting child victims and the right of defendants to confront witnessed against them, discussing statutes, cases, and arguments concerning this issue.

The paper begins by introducing the problem of child sexual abuse, including the factors which contribute to the problem of under-reporting and the difficulties of prosecuting child sexual abuse cases. The next section, Statutory Comparison, presents the response of many state legislatures -various child protection statutes that permit modification of courtroom procedure in sexual abuse cases. The third section examines the cases which occurred as a result of these statutes, including two main Supreme Court cases -Coy v. Iowa and Maryland v. Craig. The arguments on both sides of this issue are then presented. Finally, the conclusion evaluates the current standing of the issue, realizing that this is an unsettled issue which is likely to continue to change and spark future debate.

The Establishment of Illinois Riverboat Gambling and its Impact on Alton, Peoria, and Joliet

Julie A. Dressler '94 — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:54:29 PDT

Riverboat gambling IS characteristic of the political economic theory which states development is managed by a growth machine, which is a small number of key actors and institutions in the community (Holupka and Schlay, 176). Those actors, such as politicians and businessmen, often benefit the most and are likely to encourage public funding in order to assure the business will locate in the city. (Holupka and Schlay, 180). Unlike most corporations, which would probably have thousands of investors, the riverboats have limited partnerships and are considered entrepreneurial endeavors in which the partners anticipate a high return on their investment. The riverboat casinos are also unique in that they are a limited monopoly for those few who were lucky enough to receive a license from the Illinois Gaming Board.