Browsing 2008-09 Mershon Center Research Projects by Title
Now showing results 1-20 of 37
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American Musicians in Cold War Cultural Diplomacy
Fosler-Lussier, Danielle ( 2009 )During the Cold War, the U.S. State Department sent musicians to strategically important regions around the world to enhance the image of American culture. Hundreds of musicians performed a broad variety of styles ... -
Change in Personnel and Policy and the Legitimacy of the Supreme Court
Caldeira, Gregory A.; Gibson, James ( 2008 )Do ordinary Americans regard the Supreme Court as a political institution like Congress, in which decisions are subject to the ideology of its members? Or do they see the court as different, with judges who rule on the ... -
Civic Order and Dispute Resolution in 14th and 15th Century London
Hanawalt, Barbara ( 2009 )During the 14th and 15th centuries, London was a city of 40,000 to 60,000 people crowded into one square mile. Tempers could flare quickly, and factional strife was common, with disorder sometimes degenerating into riots ... -
Colonization in Reverse: Diaspora, Diplomacy, and the 'People's Art'
Ferris, Lesley ( 2008 )For modern multicultural societies to remain stable and secure, a variety of national and ethnic groups must negotiate their identities. Few events represent a successful negotiation as well as the Notting Hill Carnival, ... -
Comparative National Elections Project 2009
Gunther, Richard ( 2009 )The Comparative National Elections Project (CNEP) is a multi-year, multi-county examination of how citizens in democracies around the world receive information about policies, parties, candidates, and politics during the ... -
A Comparative Study of Herder-Farmer Conflicts in West Africa
Moritz, Mark ( 2009 )In Toda, Niger, in 1991, a mob of angry farmers attacked herders in several villages, killing over 100 people. Eleven years later on the Jos Plateau in Nigeria, tension between Muslim herders and Christian farmers ... -
The Concept of Time in the Koran
Tamer, Georges ( 2009 )Georges Tamer has spent his career studying philosophy and Arabic and Islamic literature and culture. Recently, he made an important discovery: Many of the images used to describe time in the Koran were also used not ... -
Cultivating the Masses: Soviet State Intervention in its International Context, 1914-39
Hoffmann, David ( 2008 )The Russian Revolution, which seemed to promise liberation and equality for all people, resulted not in a Communist utopia but rather a Stalinist dictatorship, complete with collectivization, bloody purges, and unprecedented ... -
Demiurgic Politics: The Republic and Timaeus
Silverman, Allan ( 2006 )Demiurgic Politics is a book-length study of the political and ethical theory in Plato’s Republic and its influence on the contemporary neo-conservative movement. -
Designing Effective Climate Change Mechanisms for Developing Countries
Keeler, Andrew ( 2009 )Climate change is widely recognized as one of humankind’s greatest challenges in the 21st century. If left unchecked, rising temperatures caused by greenhouse gas emissions could seriously harm economies, societies and ... -
The Development of Islamist Insurgency: Egypt, 1986-1999
Jenkins, J. Craig ( 2009 )From 1986 to 1999, Egypt experienced a wave of Islamist violence as 474 attacks killed and injured over 2,000 people. Perhaps most notable was the 1997 attack in Luxor in which 10 German tourists were killed. The Egyptian ... -
The Ecology of Terrorist Organizations
Crenshaw, Edward; Jenkins, J. Craig ( 2008 )How do terrorist organizations act as agents of change? Since Sept. 11 there has been enormous interest in terrorist groups. Large amounts of data have been collected about the terrorists and their attacks. However ... -
The Effect of Group Leaders
Weinberg, Bruce ( 2008 )Why do some people become leaders? Do group members see leaders as the same or different from themselves? Are leaders chosen because they are representative of the group, or do the actions of the group reflect the will ... -
Firms and the Welfare State: A Test of Employer Support for Economic Security
Watson, Sara ( 2009 )During the 20th century, Western nations have adopted social protection as a way to stem conflict between capital and labor, and to ensure economic growth. Measures such as employment protection, unemployment insurance, ... -
If It Bleeds, It Leads: Assessing Media Effects on Transnational Terrorism
Crenshaw, Edward; Jenkins, J. Craig ( 2008 )Do mass media make it more likely that terrorists will target democracies? Many scholars argue that yes, terrorists target democracies because democracies have mass media that will cover these acts of violence and therefore ... -
Immigrants, Assimilation, and Cultural Threat: A Political Exploration
Mughan, Anthony ( 2008 )Immigration is a controversial issue, dividing Democratic and Republican parties in the Untied States and contributing to the emergence of far-right parties in Europe such as the National Front in France, Vlaams Beland ... -
Inter-relations between Political and Demographic Change in the 20th Century
Casterline, John ( 2009 )Global demographic change since 1950 has been the most rapid in human history. Fertility rates in the most populous regions of Asia, Africa and Latin America have fallen to half and mortality rates have fallen to a ... -
Issues in Multi-Dimensional Legislative Bargaining: Collective vs. Particularistic Goods
Kagel, John; Morelli, Massimo ( 2007 )In this project, Kagel and Morelli examine legislative bargaining on two dimensions -– particularistic goods and collective goods, or public interest goods that benefit society as a whole. The results of their two game ... -
The Marxist Rhetoric- On the Relationship of Practice and Theory
Hamilton, Richard ( 2007 )The success of the Marxist doctrine poses an important problem: Given the failure of its major propositions, the persistence of capitalism, and the absence of workingclass revolutions in capitalist countries, how did ... -
Ostpolitik and Israel, 1966-74
Fink, Carole ( 2007 )Fink hopes to write a balanced history that enlarges our understanding of Ostpolitik and West Germany’s role in the Middle East. In doing so, her book will unite the history of Central Europe during the Cold War with the ...