Browsing UT Electronic Theses and Dissertations by Department "Government"
Now showing items 1-20 of 238
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Accommodating Copts in Mubarak's Egypt : research design and historical review
(2012-05)Several scholars have examined how Middle East states preserve their autocratic character. Some focus on competitive multi-party elections, which either “ease important forms of distributional conflict” (Blaydes 2011) or ... -
After the revolution : natural law and the antislavery constitutional tradition
(2009-12)Public actors associated with the tradition of American antislavery constitutionalism in the nineteenth-century insisted that the Constitution of 1787 contained certain inbuilt purposes or animating principles, which ought ... -
After the supreme word: the effect of U.S. Supreme Court decisions on public opinion
(2007)This project explores the role that the United States Supreme Court plays in shaping public opinion. Previous scholars have successfully demonstrated that political elites influence public opinion, but those researching ... -
The aim of dialectics In Plato's Euthyphro
(2015-12)This dissertation presents an analysis of Plato’s dialogue on piety, the Euthyphro. The aim of the dissertation is to understand the nature of piety and its connection with morality. Chapter One introduces the topic of the ... -
American civil religion : continuity and change
(2009-12)American civil religion is a topic in which there is a lot of interest but very little current scholarly activity. This is primarily due to there currently being no common understanding of American civil religion, hindering ... -
American military presence abroad: trends and analsysis
(2015-12-04)This paper examines one basic question: what explains trends in American military deployments abroad? In other words, why does the U.S. military establish a non- combat presence in particular countries and at particular ... -
An analysis of Plato's Meno
(2015-10-16)This thesis offers an analysis of Plato’s Meno, in which the Greek philosopher addresses more directly than in any other dialogue the character of human virtue. Believing that Plato has considerable guidance to offer us ... -
Ancient and modern approaches to the question of punishment : Hobbes, Kant and Plato
(2010-08)The modern criminal justice system is experiencing what may be called a moral crisis brought about by a fundamental disagreement regarding the just and humane treatment of criminals and the purpose of punishment. This ... -
Anger and the politics of compromise
(2015-12)In recent years, the inability of the federal government to respond to public policy crises with a timely, commensurate solution has been a seemingly regular cause for alarm. These inactions have not been due to constitutional ... -
Aristotle and Plato on Law : the Nicomachean Ethics and the Minos
(2011-08)In this paper, I examine the treatments of law contained within Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics and Plato’s Minos. I find that both offer powerful and complementary critiques of law, while recognizing law’s power and promise ... -
Aristotle on rhetoric and rationality : a study of Aristotelian political psychology
(2014-12)This study explores Aristotle’s political psychology, focusing on the lessons it teaches regarding the character of human reasoning. Contemporary political science has largely adopted the behavioral-economic model of ... -
Attitudes in transition : Chechen refugees and the politics of violence
(2011-12)What drives refugees displaced by war to hold attitudes supporting violence to achieve political ends? The conventional wisdom suggests that refugee communities are breeding grounds for the emergence of political violence, ... -
Authority at twilight : civil society, social services, and the state in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
(2009-05)dissertation examines the role of civil society actors in the social service sectors of two cities in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Although existing scholarship addresses the nature of state-society relations ... -
Bargaining and fighting in the moonlight
(2011-08)"Audience costs" models of international relations suggest a purely informational role for domestic politics in conflict settings. Here, domestic politics serve as a rich signal of belligerents' true intentions, allowing ... -
Beyond partisanship? : federal courts, state commissions, and redistricting
(2007)My dissertation examines the influence of partisanship in decision making on redistricting in state commissions and judicial rulings. My central questions are twofold. First, do Republican- and Democratic-appointed federal ... -
Beyond repair : state-society relations in the aftermath of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake
(2014-12)My dissertation offers insight into the political epistemology of the Chinese Communist Party and state on the basis of their activities during the post-2008 Wenchuan earthquake reconstruction. By “political epistemology,” ...
