CAS: Political Science: Undergraduate Honors Theses
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The Honors Program in Political Science challenges you to explore politics in three ways: first, by taking and excelling in coursework; second, by engaging in in-depth research in order to produce a thesis; and third, by experiencing the practical world of politics and government. It is the most stimulating intellectual enterprise in which an undergraduate can engage, demanding dedication and the ability to exercise independent judgment. The theses from the Program will be stored here at OpenBU. More information on the program is available at the BU Political Science website.
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Item A look at the trends in the education of our nation’s citizens and leaders; from books to digital media; what’s to come?Wecht, AlexanderThe education and learning habits of our nation’s citizens and leaders have changed and are changing dramatically. Contemporary American adults and adolescents spend substantial portions of their time online and acquire much of their knowledge and perspective via digital media. By contrast, history teaches that noteworthy citizens and leaders of the past devoted substantial portions of their time to book reading, and often to the reading of the classics of Western Civilization. What can we learn from this, and what might it mean for the future citizenry and leadership of our country? To advance toward any sort of normative or assertive claim about the value of these trends, we must first at least discern a trend in empirical reality – we must demonstrate that the ways in which worldviews were formed and are forming, through education, is changing, and we must demonstrate the significance of this trend. Through an empirical survey and analysis, this paper aims to demonstrate that (1) the education and mode of learning of our nation’s leaders has changed and is changing dramatically; and (2) the type of political leader our nation gets is likely changing, and changing in consequential ways.Item The nationalization of health care policy: the Affordable Care Act and state-based Medicaid expansion programs(2024-05-03) Drinkward-Herrmann, SadieMedicaid expansion programs vary drastically from state to state. Slow and uneven implementation, differing programs and eligibility requirements, and ideological conflict have all caused each state to have their own unique relationship and history with the welfare program. Such differentiation amongst states inherently causes vastly different health outcomes. Previous scholarship on the politics of Medicaid have largely emphasized partisan differences in state coverage. While this is useful in a broader more national sense, the study of Medicaid has been, therefore, limited and has yet to fully uncover the discrepancies in the program at the state by state basis, especially within states with similar partisan backgrounds. Uneven implementation policies and partisan politics can cause very different outcomes at the state level because of the political processes that constructed and, therefore, define the programs. Such variations can be lost in the complexities of the national narrative. In an attempt to dissect these state Medicaid programs, I discuss how nationalization, which refers to the partisan political divide at the national level impacting local policies and politics which were previously non-partisan, impacts local level of health policy. More specifically, I analyzed the effects of the nationalization of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) implemented in 2010 and subsequent Medicaid expansion policies enacted by Republican state governments. I analyzed the differences in implementation and effectiveness of Medicaid expansion policy and found that there is significant variation between the effectiveness of expansion policies even within states with similar political partisanship. While many states of the same party utilize similar rhetoric and employ similar policy implementation approaches, each state enacts incredibly different and state-specific policy. Ultimately, the emphasis on nationalization and partisan polarization has missed important variation in policy within states with similar party politics. This makes local policies all the more important to discuss because the effects of the implementation politics and the implementation process itself plays a significant role in how individuals interact with their government and how such governments have effects on the health outcomes of their constituents.Item “More People? More Power!”: progressive religious activism in the Greater Boston Area(2024-05-03) Fitzpatrick, CharlesBoston has an incredibly unique religious composition and an undoubtedly important civil sector. From its start as a hub in a Puritan-dominated colony to its existence today as a cosmopolitan megalopolis, the Boston Metro Area has been at the forefront of religious society within the eastern United States and the country at-large. The dominant narrative across the U.S. is that religion overwhelmingly perpetuates conservative political activism (such as the Christian Nationalist Movement), but this discounts the varied ways in which progressive religiosity has impacted and continues to impact public affairs at all levels. This thesis looks to explain why distinctive constituencies of religious people in the Greater Boston Area (GBA) get involved in interreligious and progressive politics and what allows them to be successful in doing so. 11 members from eight participant religious/spiritual organizations were interviewed about the political issues they/their groups feel most passionate about and the sense of belonging they feel within their communities. The vast majority of participant organizations were members of the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization (GBIO), one of Boston’s foremost non-partisan interfaith alliances. The one exception is St. Cecilia Church, a Roman Catholic congregation. Interviewees varied significantly in faith, from ordained Methodist ministers to religiously unaffiliated participants taking part in cultural/community organizations. Research analysis suggests that the religious left in the Greater Boston Area finds comfort in coalition action, using diverse viewpoints in order to inform their activism. Unity and community in the context of the religious left are therefore not presented through cultural identity / shared cultural experience, but instead through the want to be a part of something greater and to be able to help those around them. Although this study only contains Boston-area participants, information from it sets a precedent that the power of the urban religious left is derived from collectivity. In these coalitions, people are not just seen as representatives of their faith, but as community members, each individual with their own strengths and intersectional identities.Item The effect of historical institutions on contemporary social movements: lessons from Santiago de Chile and Cape Town, South AfricaHatcher, ArloIn the past 30 years, newly democratized countries have seen an explosion in urban mobilization. From the Shantytowns of Chile to the townships of South Africa, now more than ever, urban citizens struggle to reverse the deleterious effects of authoritarian regimes as well as to hold democratic governments accountable. However, despite their manifold iterations, little work has been done in distinguishing these organizations from one another. Why do urban social movements organize, mobilize, and act differently, even when they share similar motivations for organizing? This paper seeks to address that problem by considering the cases of housing movements in Cape Town, South Africa and Santiago de Chile. While the movements in both countries attempt to challenge the inequalities developed in their respective authoritarian periods, they do so in opposing ways. Cape Town’s movements are highly inclusive, have a city-wide regional focus and a radical orientation, while Santiago’s are much more localized, exclusionary, and tolerant of the way housing is presently allocated. By investigating the causes of these differences, this paper argues for a theoretical understanding of urban social movements that considers the bases of their activism as central to their capacity to make claims. This new understanding asserts that movements which are more broadly inclusive, both in membership and in scale, tend to present radical challenges to the status quo. These differences, this paper will conclude, do not tend to be random, but rather arise as a consequence of historical processes affecting the degree to which a society has a developed state infrastructure for the provision of a certain good, as well the degree to which the benefits of their mobilization are targeted or dispersed among their recipients.Item Adversaries: Sino-US relations trend analysis 1999-2001Zhang, YunBoThis thesis presents a quantitative analysis of Sino-US diplomatic trends during the period from January 1st, 1999, to December 31st, 2001. Through web scraping of the People's Daily database, approximately 2,800 relevant articles were collected and processed through R. The semantic analysis was based on a simple point system using the NTUSD dictionary to calculate the tonal value of articles. The analysis is broken down into quarterly periods, beginning with Q1 1999, which exhibited no significant variation in sentiment until a significant negative data point was recorded in March attributed to an article on the human rights record of the US. Overall, the trend of Sino-US relations as reflected by this analysis in large part follows existing literature, but the positive general tones and the speed at which negative events are removed from coverage are significant.Item The navigation of undocumented immigrants in society and the U.S. Immigration Legal System: through the lens of Brazilians in Plymouth, Massachusetts(2023-05) Werneck, LaraOver 10 million undocumented immigrants currently live in the U.S. and have no legal pathways to obtain permanent legal status. While Hispanic undocumented populations are often represented in the field of academia, the Brazilian undocumented community is usually left behind. There is also a lack of research conducted on the experiences of undocumented immigrants in their daily lives as well as in rural areas. Thus, this paper aims to analyze the navigation of undocumented immigrants in society and the U.S. immigration legal system through the lens of undocumented Brazilian immigrants in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The findings of this study are based on 20 interviews that were conducted in Portuguese; the interviewees come from five different states in Brazil and have spent different amounts of time in the U.S. ranging from 1 to 25 years. It was found that the interviewees face the following daily challenges due to their undocumented status: systemic exclusion, discrimination, legal malpractice, police targeting and maltreatment, as well as detrimental psychological effects. The interviewees experiences also shed light on the perseverance and strength of the undocumented Brazilian immigrant community as they utilize a set of tools to navigate the complex immigration legal system and overcome the obstacles that come their way: word of mouth and avoiding legal professionals, conducting extensive individual legal research, and self-advocacy.Item Arbitration Agreements in Student Enrollment ContractsYoung, GabrielleItem American corporate political strategy by revealed preference(2022-01-01) Scaglioni Melegari, Sophia IreneThis thesis explores corporate political activity as a bundle of economic goods by analyzing heterogeneity between industries’ spending on lobbying, PAC contributions, and the appointment of former political officials to a corporate board of directors. By using hand-collected data on political connections of board members, and years of lobbying and PAC expenses, this paper reveals the sector-specific preferences of the firms within the S&P 500 as of Spring 2021. The analysis shows clear differences between the nonmarket strategies of each industry, signaled by whether or not the industry views the three methods of political engagement as complementary of substitute goods. This tactical selection suggests diverse motivations and goals between sectors and solidifies the theory that firms (and the executives that lead them) perceive corporate political activity as strategically apt.Item Measuring whether political elites or members of the public lead ideological shifts and polarization in the United States(2022-05-03) Dixon, DaneilThis thesis considers the relationship between public and elite opinion and explores the causes of polarization in American politics. In the first part of the thesis, I review theories that explain potential sources for polarization, and I discuss the effect that polarization has had on specific policy issues in recent history. In the second part of the thesis, I use Gallup data on public opinion and VoteView data on elite ideology in order to run tests that illustrate the origins of polarization. My findings provide evidence that elites are a more influential factor than the general public in determining future ideological shifts. Interestingly, these shifts are often against the dominant elite ideology. My findings also suggest that elites may play a leading role in current political polarization.Item The relationship between unions and people’s populist beliefs(2022-05) Stull, NiamhThis study asks, “Do unions affect people’s draw to populism and the politicians that they vote for?”. To answer this question, I interviewed custodians from Union 32BJ Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and teachers from the Boston teachers’ Union (BTU) and Brookline Educators Union (BEU). Alongside these interviews I also analyzed the websites and social media pages for Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers (HUCTW, another union at Harvard that had more information than 32 BJ SEIU), BTU, and BEU to compare what was said in my interviews versus the messaging from each of these unions. The websites and social media pages of these unions had a strong Democratic leaning and, in some cases, particularly with HUCTW and BEU, displayed populist attitudes. When analyzing these websites alongside the interviews I found that there were populist displays from the teachers and the custodians. Specifically, there were teachers and custodians who echoed the populist sentiment of politicians not being trustworthy. There were also teachers who supported populist politicians like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. There was also one custodian who leaned slightly populist right in his discussion of Trump and seeing himself has a hard worker in comparison to his colleagues. There did seem to be a connection in the messaging of the unions and their members when analyzing the interviews alongside the websites and social media of the unions represented in the interviews. The websites and the social had populist leanings of an “us versus them” framework of these occupation versus everyone else. There were also strong Democratic leanings that generally matched the beliefs of the participants.Item Influences on rhetoric in qualified immunity cases: race, gender, and political ideology of Circuit Court judges and Supreme Court justices from 1982-2021(2022-05-03) Montenegro, Michael S.[When writing the Constitution, many of the Founders worried about the government having too much power over the country’s citizens. To ensure the privacy and security of the country’s citizens, the Founders decided to include the Fourth Amendment, guaranteeing “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.”1 To further protect the country’s citizens, the 42nd Congress passed the federal Civil Rights Act of 1871 as part of many post-Civil War legal developments. Otherwise known as 42 U.S Code, the Civil Rights Act of 1871 includes section 1983, which seeks to hold officials, “who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage of any State...subjects...any citizen of the United States...to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities, secured by the Constitution and laws…”2 liable to the injured party. Although it was rarely a factor in litigation for a century, Section 1983 gained prominence after the U.S Supreme Court’s 1961 decision in Monroe v. Pape, in which the Supreme Court decided that a police officer can be held individually liable for their actions under the Civil Rights Act.]Item Race and place based discrimination against Housing Choice Voucher holders in Greater Boston(2021-05-01) Flippen, JaredThe Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCV), formerly called Section 8, is one the largest federally funded housing programs in the country. One goal of the program is to give families who live in areas with a high concentration of poverty the opportunity to move to areas with less poverty. However, research has shown that voucher holders are underrepresented in low poverty areas. Research is clear that there is widespread discrimination against voucher holders even in Massachusetts which bans rejecting a prospective tenant because they plan to use a housing voucher. Less is known about how voucher discrimination is compounded by race and neighborhood composition. Using an email audit design, over 300 real housing advertisements were contacted by testers that varied by racial affiliation (conveyed through name) and housing voucher status (conveyed through email text). Tests were sent to high and low poverty areas of Boston and Newton Massachusetts. Discrimination was tested by analyzing differences in response rates to different testing groups. Non-voucher holders were 37% more likely to receive a positive response than voucher holders. Voucher discrimination did not vary by race or census tract poverty rates. Since Massachusetts already bans voucher discrimination, policy makers should focus on enforcement of anti-discrimination laws.Item An analysis of U.S.-China arms race dynamics(2021-05) Wild, JoshuaThe current dynamics of the U.S.-China great power competition has been accompanied by a series of military adaptations by both nations. Within the past three decades, China has substantially altered their military’s force structure, capabilities, and doctrine in order to reform the PLA into an advanced fighting force. America, traditionally viewed as the preeminent global military superpower, now finds itself challenged by a near-peer adversary in the Indo-Pacific region and has began to adapt accordingly to such a loss in relative power position. Through analyzing the various military adaptations undergone by both the American and Chinese armed forces through the lens of existing arms race literature, we can form a greater understanding of what motivates and encourages the dynamics of dyadic arms buildups. Our research has shown that the steps taken by each nation are consistent with existing understandings of the causes and consequences of arms races.Item Legacy of the developmental state and political preferences: development of the South Korean new and renewable energy sector(2021-05-03) Lee, Austin H.This research aims to study the mechanisms through which the South Korean state influenced the new and renewable energy sector during the Lee Myung-bak and Moon Jae-in administrations. Furthermore, this study aims to analyze the different approaches that each administration favored towards new and renewable energy policy based on their ideological leanings, as well as identify the relevant actors and the mechanisms of compensation for each actor. This study finds that both administrations actively shaped the new and renewable energy sector through legislative developments and major energy initiatives, despite the Moon administration showing efforts for democratization of the new and renewable energy sector.Item From Lega Nord to Lega: Matteo Salvini and the rise of far-right nativist Lega(2021-05) Suarez, NicolasThis thesis analyzes the exact nature of far-right European populism through an extensive historical case study of the Italian far right party known as Lega. Analysis observes not only the development of a populist regionalist party (Lega Nord) into a far-right nationalist one (Lega), but also analyzes the presence of charismatic populist leaders respectively (i.e. Umberto Bossi and Matteo Salvini)Item Engaging in the digital age: an analysis of the role of social media in activism and social movements(2021) Schissler, Laura KateDuring the current digital age and ongoing gargantuan growth of social media in the realm of politics, civic engagement found a new medium to flourish in the form of online activism. Certainty, digital communicative platforms have provided unprecedented access to information as well as public spaces for underrepresented groups and movements. The ability to share and spread information, petitions, and resources in record speed has dismantled barriers to engagement and enabled dialogues among citizens and politicians. However, detractors of online activism question whether this type of participation translates into offline forms of mobilizing. This thesis adopts a bilateral approach to examine two areas of inquiry: On an individual level, in what ways does social media foster engagement in activism? And, from an institutional standpoint, how do digital communicative platforms act as an effective tool to dismantle structural barriers to participation?Item How who is in what housing dictates who is in the House: understanding class and housing in relation to campaigns and political access(2021-05) O'Brien, AislinnThere is much existent literature within the field of political science documenting the under-representation and under-inclusion of lower-income people in political processes. This includes disproportionate deficits of lower-income people as voters, candidates, and as office-holders. Discourse within this literature tends to focus on these gaps in particular, examining class-related factors that may cause these voters to miss elections, the cost-barriers of campaigning as a candidate, and that these communities are isolated from political elites and thus lack political ‘ins’ that would get them selected as candidates by parties in the first place, for example. However, there is a deficit of literature examining to what degree lower-income people are able to be engaged through standard campaigning processes, particularly through door-to-door canvassing, as well as the ‘harder’ aspects of this equation, such as logistical barriers potentially posed by one’s housing environment. This project seeks to build on previous discourse and to provide insight in response to this deficit in literature through examining barriers to the interactions between lower-income people, particularly those living in large-scale public housing, and campaigns. In order to accomplish this, this project incorporates literature reviews of both academic and non-academic discourse, in order to gain a broader understanding of these issues; interviews with those involved in political processes; and the examination of lower-income public housing communities, particularly through a case study of the New York City public housing system (NYCHA). Ultimately, this project affirms that public housing residence serves as a notable barrier to campaign interaction opportunities for certain lower-income populations. Finally, based on these findings, the project offers recommendations to relevant parties, including campaigns and community organizers.Item The politics of FDI reforms in Vietnam: institutional adaptation and local leadership(2021) Do, Huy X.This thesis examines the politics of foreign direct investment (FDI) reforms in Vietnam between 1977 and 2015. Specifically, I discuss how local political actors pursued reforms that improved the country’s FDI institutions, using these insights to then explain trends in FDI inflows. Even in the face of many constraints, in fact, FDI reforms in Vietnam have been innovative, while the speed of reform is comparable to China’s between 1978 and 1997. Similar to China’s story, I find that most FDI reforms in Vietnam came from local initiatives, suggesting a less important role for the central government. Contrary to the Chinese case, however, the literature on FDI in Vietnam is relatively underdeveloped. Studying how Vietnam built its FDI institutions, thus, can fill the scholarly gap on the politics of FDI in Vietnam, while also developing upon the literature on FDI and institutional reforms. This paper, too, provides unique and insightful lessons on institutional reforms for other emerging economies as they adjust their developmental strategies amid the ongoing global pandemic.Item American mayors and the #BLM movement: an analysis of Twitter engagement(2021-04) Fischer, Noah
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