Theses/Dissertations - Political Science

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1980 : Reagan, Carter, and the politics of religion in America.
(2010-02-02T19:54:55Z) Hogue, Andrew P.; Medhurst, Martin J.; Political Science.; Baylor University. Dept. of Political Science.
This dissertation examines the political uses of religion in the 1980 presidential election, doing so within the broader context of how and why those uses emerged, as well as how they functioned to usher in a new era, setting the parameters for future presidential candidates' uses of religion in presidential elections. I go about this by first examining several streams that converged in 1980, among them: the expansion of the American conservative movement upon its inclusion of religious conservatism as a major concern; the various historical factors that led to the engagement of religious conservatives in American politics; the surfacing of religious rhetoric in presidential politics during the 1976 election; and the disappointment experienced by religious conservatives during the Carter presidency. I then closely examine of the candidacies of Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, and John B. Anderson in 1980, showing the ways in which these candidates constructed lasting discourses of political religion and signaled the emergence of a new religious era in presidential politics. Finally, I observe the legacy of the 1980 presidential election, offering lessons from it to inform what appears to be the present dawn of a new religious era in American politics.
A study of Plato's Laches.
(2017-12-06) Lund, Jason James, 1991-; Burns, Timothy, 1958-
In Plato’s Laches, we find Socrates speaking to two generals, Laches and Nicias, during the Peloponnesian War. The philosopher finds himself in a position where he might possibly direct statesmen during a crucial political moment. However, instead of giving them guidance, it appears that instead, Socrates sets these generals in conflict with each other. The end of the conversation raises questions about philosophy’s own possibility in the light of challenges posed to it by divine revelation. Socrates, thus, might be interested in spending time with the sons of Lysimachus and Melesias, because, he believes that by educating them, he can refine their moral self-understanding enough to be useful interlocutors for his continued inquiry into moral opinions, and, therewith, the divine. Political philosophy comes to light then, not as a skill that guides politics, but an activity that attempts to ground the possibility of philosophy.
Aldo Leopold's political thought : particularizing American environmental dialogue.
(2021-05-27) Boros, Jacob R., 1994-; Nichols, David K.
In this dissertation, I examine the writings of the twentieth-century conservationist Aldo Leopold as examples of American environmental political thought. I argue that studying Leopold’s work can help Americans with differing perspectives on why and how to protect the environment debate productively by focusing on particular aspects of the human-nature relationship. Leopold articulates a strong case for each of America’s four great environmental traditions: Biocentrism, which advocates protecting nature for its own sake; Progressivism, which sees conservation as a means toward increasing social justice and equity; Republicanism, which views a healthy human-nature relationship as essential to the flourishing of self-governing communities; and Romanticism, which sees in nature a pathway to individual spiritual fulfillment. In doing so, however, Leopold shows that environmental dialogue can only solve important problems if citizens share a common understanding of “the land” as an ecological whole composed of soils, waterways, plants, and animals – including human beings. This vision particularizes environmental thought, resisting a tendency toward abstract thinking about “the environment” while retaining a holistic perspective. Citizens with different motivations for protecting and preserving nature can understand one another if they possess this notion of land, rooted in scientific observation while retaining a notion of human flourishing. Leopold identifies multiple paths through which individuals can reach this understanding. Ethical reflection can help humans see their unique position within the land community as a grant of moral responsibility to preserve it. Ecological science, conducted by both professional public servants and private amateurs, provides a tangible picture of the natural world and inclines its practitioners to act on it. National history and elements of American society such as hunting, farming, and family life show citizens how to use the land well, and how understanding it can enrich their communities. Learning how to read land as a text, and how to wonder at its complexity, introduces an element of the transcendent to political life without devolving into abstract mysticism. All these paths operate within a prudential liberal republican framework, one within which Americans can understand and build a healthy relationship with their natural surroundings.
Aristotle and Kant on the noble and the good.
(2017-02-23) Little, David H., 1987-; Allman, Dwight D., 1957-
In this dissertation, I examine and compare the moral and political thought of Aristotle and Kant using the ancient Greek concepts of the noble (to kalon) and the good (to agathon). Kant has been accused of being a rationalist who neglects the importance of emotions and prudence. I argue that Kant recognizes that moral and political progress depends on prudence and a commitment of the emotions, which is achieved in part through a recognition of the moral as beautiful. Kant describes himself as breaking with all previous moral philosophy, arguing that so-called eudaimonism reduces morality to self-interest. I contend that Aristotle uses the noble and the good to describe the virtuous person as someone who pursues his own good in an elevated sense by aiming at the noble. Aristotle depicts moral virtue as both an end in itself and constitutive of happiness, understood as flourishing rather than an emotive state. Moreover, he connects noble action to prudential judgment, which involves an assessment of the good achieved in a particular circumstance. Examining the moral and political thought of Aristotle and Kant in terms of the noble and the good reveals a surprising point of concord between two figures who are often portrayed as opposite one another.
Aristotle's liberality.
(2020-04-29) Mathie, Catherine A., 1986-; Nichols, Mary P.
My dissertation argues that Aristotle intends his account of unnatural economic arts in Book I of the Politics to emphasize the moral danger posed by the pursuit of wealth and reveal the importance of the household—and the family within it— as the natural association where human acquisition primarily takes place and should be moderated. My analysis shows how the problem of acquisition reflects tension between the limits and possibilities of human nature: human beings have the ingenuity to invent and use money to provide for their needs, but money has immense flexibility and readily tempts human beings to neglect their authentic good. However, nature also provides human beings with a strong grounding in the family to resist these temptations through education of desire and cultivation of virtue. I show that Aristotle expands upon these considerations in the Nicomachean Ethics in his account of the virtue concerned with the use of money—liberality. Here he emphasizes the widespread danger that stinginess—the vice of excessive concern for money—poses to human life, arguing that common human preoccupation with money stems from the experience of need, but also identifying grounds for optimism about the prospects of redirecting self-destructive spending into virtue. I show that liberality is a crucial virtue for Aristotle: on one hand it serves as a model for the education of “nonnecessary” desires, and on the other, it pursues a peculiarly promising version of nobility insofar as it is tied to the salutary recognition of the human constraints that unite virtuous actors with those towards whom they act. Thus it avoids the frequent risk for noble actors to ignore their human limits in their pursuit of greatness and thereby allows for more coherent virtuous action. Finally, I turn back to the Politics where Aristotle reveals that civil faction and tyranny are frequently the high political costs of human preoccupation with money. This confirms the importance of both the household and liberality, insofar as they together provide human beings with critical means to resist the threat of greed and better navigate the relationship between their natural limits and orientation towards ennobling freedom.
Authoritarianism and the Catholic Church in Latin America.
(2010-06-23T12:31:34Z) Edmonds, Amy E.; Waltman, Jerold L., 1945-; Political Science.; Baylor University. Dept. of Political Science.
This research examines the relationship between the Catholic Church and the military regimes in Latin America in the latter half of the twentieth century. Although prevailing theories explain church behavior regarding authoritarianism in reference to Protestant competition, I argue that church opposition is best explained by institutional arrangements in two ways. First, whether the church opposes authoritarianism is contingent on the degree of institutional autonomy the church possesses. Secondly, the strength of the opposition depends upon the presence of structural carriers, which are institutions connecting the church to society. The cases of Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay are examined through a historical institutionalist lens to test these hypotheses. Findings from these historical case studies indicate that both institutional autonomy and structural carriers are necessary for opposition. Ultimately, this study sheds light on the question of why religious institutions operate in varying ways in similar political contexts. It is also a contribution to the "path dependent model," which posits that the history of institutional arrangements serves as a strong influence on contemporary institutional behavior.
Balancing liberty of contract with police power : a Hobbesian approach.
(2011-05-12T15:46:09Z) Pope, Thomas R., 1983-; Nichols, David K.; Political Science.; Baylor University. Dept. of Political Science.
Modern liberal society exists by negotiating a fine balance between the liberty of the citizen and the authority of the state. Yet, as the years put distance between our founding principles and their execution, we have become forgetful of the symbiosis that unites individual and common goods. Particularly in American jurisprudence, we see a growing antagonism between personal liberties and the state's ability to act in the interest of the whole (known as its "police power"). The first and paradigmatic contest between these principles can be traced to the Lochner v. New York and its later repudiation in West Coast Hotel v. Parrish. Lochner and its ilk tend to overemphasize the interest of liberty at the expense of the public good. West Coast Hotel, on the other hand, so vehemently rejects the most radical components of Lochner that government regulation on behalf of the public good effectually supersedes even moderate liberty interests. Both approaches recur throughout the Court's history, and yet fail to achieve the necessary balance of liberty and the public good because they consider the matter as a dichotomy. My dissertation will explore our constitution's roots in social contract theory, looking particularly to the thought of Thomas Hobbes for a third option that is consistent with the language and tradition of the Constitution, and is also more effectually viable than existing alternatives. Within a framework of social contract, individual liberty finds its fullest expression within the political community, which in turn exists to promote individual flourishing. When one is favored at the expense of the other, both must suffer. I begin with a review of the existing jurisprudence on the matter, highlighting the role and influence of Lochner. I then proceed to identify elements of Hobbesian social contract in the Constitution, discussing how to interpret these provisions in light of their philosophic roots. This section includes a brief explanation of why Hobbes is preferred here to the more traditional Lockean reading. Finally, I conclude with an examination of more recent cases before the Court, applying the method I have set forth.
The Catholic Church and the nonviolent resistance in Chile.
(2006-07-25T15:07:03Z) Edmonds, Amy E.; Hinojosa, Victor Javier.; Political Science.; Baylor University. Dept. of Political Science.
When can nonviolent action be effective? That is the question that originally initiated this research project. While studying the different factors scholars believe to be important to a successful nonviolent action, I discovered that hardly any study examined whether religion impacted the success of nonviolent movements. This paper examines the influence of religion on nonviolent resistance by examining the case of Chile under Pinochet. Indeed, the presence of the Catholic Church as an institution independent of Pinochet’s military regime was so pervasive that if any example of a nonviolent action where religion played an important role could be found, it was Chile. The influence of religion is measured by examining the impact of the Chilean Catholic Church on twelve factors shown to greatly influence the outcome of nonviolent action.
Combatant moral equality in historical and practical context.
(2022-03-16) Vicars, Robert P., IV 1974-; Campbell, Peter P.
Enemy soldiers in war are permitted to kill one another without moral blame. This permission, though, is limited by rules specifically constructed for war. These rules apply symmetrically to both sides of war and independently of the justice of their causes. This feature of the morality of war is called the moral equality of combatants (MEC). The current concept of MEC emerged as a property of the laws of war in the modern era, though its development is traceable in the history of just war. The morality of the concept has been questioned by revisionist scholars who seek to replace it with a system of morality strictly grounded in individual morality. This dissertation contends that such efforts neglect the morally relevant contexts of those who must apply the morality of war—statesmen and soldiers. It argues that combatant moral equality is warranted because it is well-suited for the complexities of anarchy among statesmen and duty among soldiers, and it is morally better than its revisionist alternative because it moderates, rather than exacerbates, the already escalatory tendency of war.
Constitutional origins of the federal judiciary.
(2011-12-19) Brogdon, Matthew S.; Nichols, David K.; Political Science.; Baylor University. Dept. of Political Science.
This dissertation examines the constitutional underpinnings of twentieth-century developments in the structure and function of the federal judicial system. In the half-century between 1891 and 1939, the federal judiciary underwent its first complete reorganization since the First Congress passed the Judiciary Act of 1789. The result was rapid growth in the independence, extent, and power of federal courts. Congress first furnished the federal judiciary with the institutional means to extend its jurisdiction by increasing the number of federal trial courts and establishing a full set of intermediate appellate courts in 1891 to handle the bulk of federal judicial business. In the ensuing decades, Congress gradually relinquished control over the Supreme Court’s appellate jurisdiction, giving the Court nearly complete discretion over the composition of its own docket. Soon thereafter, Congress likewise turned over control of federal procedure to the Judicial Conference of the United States and in 1939 furnished the federal judiciary with its own administrative apparatus, the Administrative Office of the Federal Courts, to aid in the formulation and administration of judicial policy. The resulting institution looked far different than the judiciary that had administered federal law in the early republic. Prevailing accounts of this development find the origins of the modern judiciary in its immediate political context and deny to the Constitution any role as a determinate of its forms, claiming that the Framers never envisioned the sort of judicial institution that now pervades the Union. Looking to the framing of Article III in the Federal Convention of 1787, debates in the First Congress on the Judiciary Act of 1789, and the exercise of judicial power in the early republic, I argue to the contrary that the modern judiciary is a fulfillment of, rather than a divergence from, the institutional design of the Constitution. This has important implications not only for the adjudication of interpretive controversies over the meaning and application of Article III, but also for broader debates about the complex interaction between constitutional forms and political practice. It suggests that the Constitution functions as a determinant as well as a product of American political development.
Diplomatic immunity : the history and enduring significance.
(2022-03-25) Carroll Beaty, Olivia M., 1989-; Clinton, W. David.
Is diplomatic immunity a transitory or permanent feature of international life? This dissertation will answer this question by exploring the theory, history, and contemporary understanding of diplomatic immunity. A case study of the recently verified Amarna Age will provide evidence of this nature. After affirming that diplomatic immunity is indeed a permanent and essential feature of international relations, this study shall examine the intersection of the public’s current understanding of this practice and the duties of the modern state. A case study of a recent outcry against diplomatic immunity will be examined to highlight how tensions can manifest in today’s networked society. Given that some manifestation of diplomatic immunity is a natural and permanent feature of international relations, what methods can be utilized to hold diplomats accountable while also preserving this important practice? This dissertation will map a few ways that accountability can be fostered within the current system of international relations without requiring a major overhaul of current international treaties.
Friendship, rights, and community : Aristotle and John Locke on the family and political life.
(2010-06-23T12:27:49Z) Cain, Patrick N.; Nichols, Mary P.; Political Science.; Baylor University. Dept. of Political Science.
This dissertation develops an account of Aristotle's view of the family in contrast to the now more familiar and influential understanding derived from Locke's theory of rights and government. For Locke, the individual as an autonomous unit enters into associations such as the family and civil society on a contractual basis, for limited purposes and with limited obligations. In response to the Lockean approach, this dissertation explores Aristotle's view of the family, the relations between men and women, and the political and philosophic implications of his position. It argues that, for Aristotle, friendship in the family is the source and foundation of political life. The proper practice of politics aims at friendship, and depends upon the development of a family structure conducive to that goal. For Aristotle, this development means transforming a family dominated by the manliness of the father into a family that makes room for the rule of the woman—a rule that allows for and fosters friendship. When properly structured, the family affirms an important role for women, an influence that is crucial to the formation of political life and its proper practice. Aristotle's view of the family offers a richer and more comprehensive framework for our thinking about the relations within the family between husbands and wives, and parents and children, as well as relations between the family and the broader political communities.
Good for self and good for others : Rousseau’s construction of international politics.
(2016-04-05) King, Joshua D., 1987-; Corey, David D.; Clinton, W. David.
My dissertation situates Rousseau’s international thought within the generally accepted categories of IR Scholarship. Was he a realist, a liberal, a constructivist, or something else? I argue that he does indeed exhibit tendencies of realism as well as modern constructivism but, ultimately, transcends both of these categories. Like realists, Rousseau is deeply aware that the struggle for power permeates social life. Awareness of and participation in this struggle conditions the behavior of individuals and states. Rousseau also shares with Constructivism the belief that state interests and political structures are the result of ongoing social and historic processes that continue to be constructed, interpreted, and revised. The ongoing construction of identities, interests, and institutions, means that change is possible, even in the international realm. Rousseau, however, is neither Realist nor Constructivist in the way he appeals to nature as the basis for his socio-political criticism. Rousseau’s arguments do not issue in a call for modern man to return to a state of nature, but they do affect the kind of “constructs” Rousseau is willing to entertain as legitimate. In order to improve political constructions, we must more nearly approximate psychological unity and strive to better correlate physical ability with psychological need. Social and political structures, including hierarchies of power, are necessary features of human life, but Rousseau also sees that such structures have a profoundly humanizing role to play in cultivating civic virtue, forming individual identity, and constraining amour propre. Rousseau articulates a responsibility to pursue international justice and suggests ways to do so through domestic politics, while acknowledging the intrinsic limitations bound up in humanity’s social existence.
Grounding reason : Socratic dialectic in Aristotle's Topics and Plato's Hipparchus, Minos, and Lovers.
(May 2023) Wells, Matthew L., 1996-; Burns, Timothy, 1958-
The primary purpose of this dissertation is to recover Aristotle’s and Plato’s teaching about dialectic. The dissertation contains two interrelated arguments. First, I argue that Plato and Aristotle share considerable common ground concerning Socratic dialectic. That is, both think that the critical examination of everyday opinions about what is choiceworthy (e.g., the good, the just, and the noble) has a momentous role to play in the grounding of science and the confirming of the choiceworthiness of the philosophic life. Second, I argue that this comparative project helpfully recovers unjustly neglected works of Plato’s political philosophy. This dissertation contains three main parts. Part one is one chapter investigating Aristotle’s teaching on dialectic in his Topics. I find that, according to Aristotle, dialectic is imminently needful for the “philosophic sciences,” the interdependency of our knowledge elevates the study of political opinions, and the practice of dialectic requires the employment of clever devices in order to get unguarded, honest admissions from interlocutors. The second part consists of three chapters on Plato. Chapter three is an examination of Plato’s Hipparchus, which is devoted to the love of gain or, on closer inspection, to what is genuinely good or beneficial for someone. Chapter four turns to Plato’s Minos, which investigates what law is and discloses the comprehensive character of the human things. Chapter five interprets Plato’s Lovers, which explores the relationship between philosophy and the noble and the place of erotic love in human life. Part two studies Plato’s teaching within these three dialogues and explains how Plato’s Socrates shows the desirability of the philosophic life through his examination of his interlocutor’s political opinions. I conclude, in Part Three, with a chapter spelling out the significant agreements between Plato and Aristotle on the purpose and procedure of Socratic dialectic on the basis of the preceding chapters. They agree that the dialectical examination of the choiceworthy has a momentous role to play in the attainment of science, for the comprehensive character of the human things makes them uniquely suited for clarifying our opinions about the character of the whole.
Hamiltonianism : Alexander Hamilton on American foreign policy.
(2019-03-01) Boucher, Joshua Gregory, 1991-; Clinton, W. David.
American foreign policy-making often involves a choice between various “traditions.” Hamiltonianism is one such tradition that has informed decision making throughout American history. However, Hamiltonianism has not been previously well-defined in terms of its namesake. This dissertation asks two questions: what are the principles of Alexander Hamilton’s foreign policy? And are those principles reflected in the foreign policies of other American foreign policy makers throughout history? Through a close-reading of several of Hamilton’s most important essays, letters, and other documents, the dissertation better defines Hamiltonianism by pointing towards several foundational principles in the tradition. The dissertation begins by examining Hamilton on the national interest, then on human nature, international law, war, commerce, and diplomacy. It examines Hamilton’s writings on justice, and determines that it is just for states to take care of their own but also to fairly take into account the interests of others when possible. It examines Hamilton on institutional responsibility in foreign policy, and on the importance and use of national honor in policy making. Finally, the dissertation looks for Hamiltonian principles in action in various policy-makers throughout American history. In the end, the dissertation does determine that there are principles in Hamiltonianism and where we can find them in Hamilton’s writings, as well as where those principles have been used from future policy-makers in American history.
John Rawls and the Supreme Court : a study in continuity and change.
(2011-05-12T15:29:15Z) Foss, Jerome C.; Nichols, David K.; Political Science.; Baylor University. Dept. of Political Science.
In his influential book A Theory of Justice, John Rawls indicates his approval of an independent judiciary and judicial review for stabilizing a just regime. His later works, particularly Political Liberalism, place increased emphasis upon the Court for bringing about and securing his realistic-utopian vision of a constitutional democracy. This is highlighted by his calling the Court the exemplar of public reason; it is to take the institutional lead in re-founding the U.S. Constitution upon an overlapping consensus on issues of public morality based upon a liberal theory of justice. Democratic theorists have argued that Rawls's version of constitutionalism is an undemocratic means of protecting democratic principles, to which Rawls responds that the initial role of assertion given to the Court can eventually be replaced by a more passive role once the overlapping consensus is adequately established. I argue that Rawls reverses the traditional understanding of change being a necessary component of continuity. He allows continuity for the sake of implementing change, a strategy that ultimately undermines the stable constitutional government he claims to be seeking.
Jonathan Swift's response to the challenge of modernity : a reading of Gulliver's Travels.
(2019-04-08) Condra, Clinton Charles, 1984-; Clinton, W. David.
In Gulliver’s Travels Swift does obliquely what he does in his sermons and non-satirical writings more directly: he defends a settled social order, which was held together morally by a common Christian religion and led politically by men of property and liberal education, or by gentlemen. Swift defends this order not as perfect but as preferable, despite its imperfections, to the proposed and emerging modern alternatives. In the settled order he sees better prospects for what he calls in one of his sermons “the present happiness of mankind.” By this he means the measure of happiness available to human beings in this world, which he describes in the same sermon as intended by God to be “a place of trial” rather than anything like the “place of rest [that men] would make it.” Modernity is presented in the Travels as an attempt—or as a set of similar and similarly dangerous attempts—to transform the world into a place of rest, and Gulliver is decisively modern in his attraction to each of these attempts.
Judgment on the sword : the US Supreme Court’s jurisprudence on presidential war powers.
(2021-08-02) Slomski, Benjamin J., 1993-; Nichols, David K.
This dissertation examines the US Supreme Court’s jurisprudence on presidential war powers from the early republic to the present. It argues that the Court’s jurisprudence has generally defended both a broad presidential power to prosecute war as well as a strong judicial power to enforce constitutional limits on the executive. In contrast to the majority of the literature which defends either presidential primacy or congressional primacy over war, the Court’s jurisprudence offers an alternative approach to constitutional war powers that recognizes discretion for the president to conduct war but also constitutional restrictions that moderate the executive power. The Court has developed a tradition of jurisprudence, reflected heavily in the thought of Joseph Story and Abraham Lincoln, which recognizes that there are broad presidential war powers granted by the Constitution that depend upon circumstances for their application and that because these powers come from the Constitution, they are subject to its limits, including judicial review. This Story-Lincoln tradition arose against a challenge for congressional primacy in the nineteenth century and defended itself against a challenge for unlimited presidential war powers in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
Justice Anthony M. Kennedy and substantive due process : why the most powerful judge in American history isn't as crazy as everyone thinks he is.
(2013-09-16) Capper, David Winston.; Nichols, David K.; Political Science.; Baylor University. Dept. of Political Science.
This dissertation seeks to challenge the widely accepted characterization of Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy as a political moderate or ‘swing’ Justice. Looking at one of the most contentious areas of constitutional law–substantive due process–the dissertation considers the major substantive due process cases that the Court has heard during Kennedy’s tenure, and, by explaining how the apparent contradictions in his jurisprudence reveal that, rather than inconsistency, Kennedy has a consistent methodology for approaching substantive due process cases that is both respectful of precedent, as well as one which seeks to limit the Court’s power in this area of constitutional law. The dissertation will demonstrate that while Justice Kennedy is neither a true moderate like the late Justice Lewis Powell, nor a political ideologue, but a judicial and political conservative who seeks to rest the Court’s decision-making on a stable and methodical approach, rather than an inherently unstable political ideology.
Justice, prudence, and foreign relations in Aristotle’s political thought.
(2015-07-23) Sims, Stephen Patrick, 1987-; Nichols, Mary P.; Clinton, W. David.
This dissertation examines how the political thought of Aristotle addresses foreign relations and the nature of international politics. I argue that for Aristotle the practice of justice and prudence occurs only in relation to the common good of particular and separate political communities. Thus, the possibility of human happiness, understood to be the life of virtue, depends on the existence of separate and free political communities. Aristotle nevertheless understands natural justice and natural friendship as a sign of a fundamental human community, which helps explain his concern for just foreign relations. Thus, although human happiness depends on participation in a self-sufficient political community, it does not prescind from human relationships that cross the boundaries of political communities. I conclude by showing how Aristotle’s political thought combines strengths of contemporary theories, such as realism, liberalism, or cosmopolitanism, while at the same time avoiding their weaknesses.

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