Category: Schar School of Policy and Government

OSCAR Schar School of Policy and Government

Mapping the Alt-Right Pipeline

Author(s): Chloe LaGattuta

Mentor(s): Jennifer N. Victor, Schar School

Abstract

The alt-right pipeline has been increasingly recognized as a mechanism of recruitment to the alt-right, in which persons, websites, and communities on the internet direct viewers to each other in the direction of increasingly extreme content. However, this pipeline‘s is poorly understood, with little research examining connections between alt-right figures and sites, and the strategies employed to convince viewers to take increasingly extreme positions. To improve my understanding of the online alt-right, I started by reading an online alt-right magazine, Taki‘s Magazine, which is written and edited by many prominent figures of the alt-right. Its writing exemplifies the the alt-right‘s use of humor to dodge discussion of the gravity of their beliefs. Significantly, this site, despite being further along the pipeline, used this humor often, which I initially thought might be a tactic constrained to earlier. While I was ultimately unable to make very much progress, this clarified that the use of to make the alt-right messaging seem less malicious extends all along the pipeline, rather than only an introductory lure. In addition, several articles contained fabrications, showing that website is a deeper rather than introductory part of the pipeline; the writer trusts that the reader will not critically assess or fact-check their claims. This showed that the importance of treating alt-right influencers as untrustworthy sources is paramount, and more importantly, that this critical lens must heighten, rather than relax, when faced with alt-right humor.

Audio Transcript

Hello, this is the project “Mapping the Alt-Right Pipeline”. I did not get very far due to time difficulties, but I hope to soon resume my work. I will now tell you about the alt-right pipeline, and what I‘ve learned in this semester.

I became interested in this because the alt-right pipeline is one of the most effective new propaganda strategies in the United States of America. I first learned of it in around 2018, the time when some of the first people to be suckered into the new extreme alt-right had finally gotten out, and described their experiences to the world. And they gave it the name: the alt-right pipeline.

It is comprised of the explicit and tacit partnerships between various parts of the online alt-right, so that Viewers who consume even seemingly-innocuous content are directed to increasingly extreme content, sites, and influencers.

Now, the definition of the alt-right has long defied classification, but I think I got it.
So, the alt-right is always anti-equality, anti-diversity, sexist, racist, illiberal, and espousing or accepting of violent solutions. It is frequently reactionary and/or contrarian. This is still inappropriate, because it is missing what Eco defines as irrationalism.

One, the alt-right pipeline conditions the viewer to abandon critical thinking. It is not just the denigration of research, though that is important. It the abolishment of reason, in which the very idea of thought is abhorrent and ridiculous. One alt-right magazine I started reading through, a writer defends his words, not by logic, but by ridiculing the idea that, and I quote, “words have meaning”. This is a rejection of reality. The alt-right mocks thought itself, because it has something better”“ it has Eco‘s irrationalism.
Two, the follow-up, is that, not always, but often, viewers go between alt-right influences that hold seemingly contradictory views. The Viewer may start with one influencer who says that Racial or Religious Category A is the only one that is good, and then go directly to another that says, actually, Category B that is the only good category. This is not contradictory at all! First, it is not a particular type of anti-equality that the Viewer has bought into, but the very concept of anti-equality itself. Second, the Viewer has been trained to need no reason to believe their influences. So, there is no contradiction, because there is no reasoning. Fundamentally, that quote I mentioned is true to the eyes of alt-right Viewers.

The quote‘s article was written in 2011, which was five years before that writer, Gavin McInnes, would go on to start the Proud Boys.

That is the other purpose of this quote. Laughter is the tool of the alt-right, upon which all else is built. Laughing at thought, laughing at “¦ demographic of choice”“ here, frequently, it is women and minorities, because it targets white men. When the alt-right is joking, it is at its most serious, and that is the other main lesson. It is the reason why the alt-right pipeline is so good at its job. It is the substitute for reason, laughter is the substitute for reason, just like in that article. And that‘s important, I think.

Anyways, my goal was to examine the connections between alt-right influences, and create, as I said, a “map” of sorts. As you know, I didn‘t get very far. But, I’m going to try to get farther. Thank you.

College of Engineering and Computing Schar School of Policy and Government

Promoting public transportation in No. virginia

Author(s): Minal Arunashalam, Nathan E Stolzenfeld, Sidarth Kumar

Mentor(s): Toni Farris, Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

Abstract

Using a lens of conflict analysis and resolution, this project synthesized works of authors such as Galtung, Gurr, Bruneau, and countless others to explore effectively solving a relevant conflict in society. The conflict discussed in this presentation specifically is focused on public transit and its place in society as a class conflict. As climate change and urban sprawl shift the focus of city planning offices, it is best for all parties involved to discuss equitable, accessible, and safe access to public transit. The presentation works through a social science-esque investigation of the stakeholders, interests (socially and psychologically), and best outcomes for those involved in the public transit conflict. We conclude with an advocacy plan that involves direct communication with state legislators in Virginia to increase funding or access to various WMATA, VRE, or regional public transit services. Outcomes of these communication channels could not be reached by the submission deadline, but hypothetical outcomes are discussed.

Audio Transcript

Transcript
Minal: Hello everyone, our project is promoting public transportation in Northern Virginia. My name is Minal, and I’m joined by Nathan and Sidarth. We believe there are numerous benefits to using public transportation. Firstly, it’s cost-effective. Secondly, walking to and from public transportation can increase physical activity, reducing air pollution, which can improve respiratory health and the health of our planet. Thirdly, public transportation promotes social interactions and community cohesion.
However, there are some cons to public transportation, such as traffic congestion, which leads to air pollution, contributing to climate change and health problems. Safety is another concern, as car accidents are a leading cause of death and injury. Lastly, lack of accessibility for those who can’t drive or afford a car poses a challenge in accessing services within the community.
Despite these benefits, there’s a lack of public transportation in Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William counties, making it difficult for residents to access the services they need. Therefore, we advocate for the expansion of public transportation in these areas.
Nathan: At the root of the issue of public transit is a class conflict divided between those who are pro-public Transit and those against public transit for certain reasons. The interests of the pro-public transit group are to get from point A to point B in the fastest, safest, and most economically viable way possible, and those needs are currently being met by cars in everyday life. However, public transit is cheaper in the long term, better for the environment, and most people used to the comfort and ease of their cars don’t care enough about global warming. So it’s easy to make the switch. On the pro-side, the government wants to keep the people happy because that’s what keeps them elected, while on the against side are mainly companies, corporations, and car manufacturers and dealers. The sales and use of cars and the taxation of those uses go towards the government. If car usage is reduced, then they don’t get that monetary value, and if car buying rates are reduced, then the manufacturers and dealers don’t get that value.
As for categorization, public transit’s categories are divided upon class lines, mainly, but then subdivided by race in certain scenarios like gentrification or historic minority neighborhoods, where public transit can be seen more. Those stratified citizens into different areas despite them having strong opinions or not on it. Car users are the middle level of leader X level of conflict, being kind of this neutral ground but holding a degree of power over Transit users who are at the grassroots level. Cost is the biggest complex factor because it actually costs a lot of money to build public transit infrastructure, even if it’s more economically viable for citizens.
In our study, positions have been talked about based on who has been violated, like their rights have been violated, or whose rights have been taken away. For public transit users, that’s their right to access, whereas car users have the right to safety. Our study has shown cognitive bias if you ask certain levels of things like the elements of dehumanization on the side. Still, to avoid dehumanizing and biased language in those tweets, we asked different types of questions such as utilitarian, neutral, and egalitarian methods.

Here’s our conflict map, it’s a lot of spaghetti and sadly we don’t have enough time to get into it, but there is a key describing the relationship between each of our parties as well as short descriptions of what the relationships are.
Sidarth: Our proposed solution was to expand the Metro Bus q bus or metro rail network into Fairfax, London, and Prince William counties. To achieve this goal, we developed an advocacy plan that involved sending letters to Virginia senators or other representatives from the U.S House, urging them to support the expansion of public transportation in these areas. Additionally, we encouraged other members of our community to do the same to make impactful change in that area of legislation.
However, we encountered two major challenges during the process. The first one was the speed of response from the representatives, who are often very busy, and as a result, we did not receive a conclusion. In the future, we aim to submit our letters much earlier to analyze the responses and follow-up. The second challenge was engagement. We attempted Outreach with every method available to us, but we did not have that many people to actually send letters. As a result, we plan to get involved with political organizations on campus to reach more people.
The impact of promoting public transportation and reducing car dependency is critical to improving the quality of life for all Virginians. By advocating for the expansion of public transport into these areas, we can help reduce traffic, improve air quality, and provide equitable transportation. We hope that more people will join us in this mission.

College of Engineering and Computing College of Humanities and Social Science College of Science Honors College OSCAR Schar School of Policy and Government

Code Red

Author(s): Brookelyn Martinez, Bryson Amorese, Kate Strickland, Rheanna Tackeberry, Skye Johnson

Mentor(s): Toni Farris, Honors Department

https://youtu.be/7CcaFx9Jw7w

Abstract

Code Red is a student-led project aimed at combating period poverty at George Mason University. The project was initiated in response to the growing concern of the inaccessibility of period products for women who struggle to afford them. The project adopted a multi-faceted approach that included writing to congressional representatives, donating period products to women’s shelters, and making informational posters.

The project’s first objective was to raise awareness of the issue of period poverty among policymakers. Members of the project wrote letters to their congressional representatives, urging them to support legislation that would make period products more accessible and affordable. The letters highlighted the challenges that women face in accessing menstrual products, especially those who live in poverty or experience homelessness. They also emphasized the importance of menstrual hygiene in preventing health issues such as infections and reproductive disorders.

The project’s second objective was to provide period products to women who cannot afford them. Code Red partnered with local women’s shelters and donated a range of menstrual products, including tampons, pads, and menstrual cups. These donations helped to ensure that women in need have access to basic menstrual hygiene products and can manage their periods with dignity and without shame.

Finally, Code Red aimed to educate the campus community about period poverty and its impact on women’s lives. The project created informational posters that were displayed around campus to raise awareness about the issue. The posters included information about period poverty, its causes, and its consequences, as well as tips for supporting women who experience it.

Audio Transcript

Our group code red is choosing to look
at the conflict of period poverty. Period poverty is described as the phenomenon
of being unable to afford products such
as pads tampons or liners to manage
menstrual bleeding in lieu of Sanitary
products Many people are forced to use
items like rags paper towels toilet
paper cardboard. This conflict affects
all sorts of women throughout the world,
in fact according to an article
published by medical newsstoday.com 500
million menstruating women lack access
to proper products. The article also
mentions a significant part of the issue
which is tax. As of June 2019, 35 states
in the U.S taxed menstrual products at
rates between 4.7 percent in Hawaii and
9.9 percent in Louisiana. This is not a new
occurrence for women as something known
as the pink tax exists. This is when
products marketed towards women are
taxed higher than the products marketed
toward their male counterparts. This is
part of the issue but the major issue is
still at hand. Women cannot afford the
products necessary to handle their
menstrual cycles. There are some options
to help out those who cannot afford the
products, these options include the
machines that can be found in public
bathrooms that women can put a quarter
in and get a menstrual product however
the issue with this option is that the
machines are rarely filled and when they
are filled the products are toxic and of
poor quality. Even the options given to
try and Aid with period poverty are
executed poorly. Our group wants to find
ways to help women who suffer from
period poverty get the products they
need as well as trying to make a change
to reduce period poverty. Women all
around the world grapple with the
inequities of being able to successfully
equip necessary menstrual items as a
result many are forced to experience the
burdens. Menstrual products are not a
need they are a necessity.
Social economic factors
disproportionately impact lower and
middle class consumers. Both groups
experience significant pressure from the
manufacturers and retail parties To
maintain that relationship the main goal
of the manufacturing party is
accumulating profit. one may directly
examine the underlying interests
positions and objectives of all parties
involved in the following conflict map
our conflict map covering period poverty
is complicated to say the least as there
are many variables when it comes to
accessible administrators health. For
parties we started with the
manufacturers retailers the middle class
and the lower class the main interest of
both the manufacturers and retailers is
profit despite what might happen to
Consumers. consumers are often loyal to a
company because it is what they have
known whether they have been exposed to
it by other consumers or happened upon
it. people are creatures of habit and
tend to stick to certain products
although companies have a loyal consumer
base because of the necessity of period
products if pushed too far their
base will dwindle. for consumers these
products are vital for Health Care
however because of this neither the
middle upper class nor the lower class
can get out of their relationship with
the producers and retailers
for middle class and upper class
consumers
because they oftentimes have access to
less harmful products and sexual health
education they’re less likely to get
illnesses like toxic shock syndrome
which are more often caused by poor
quality period products they therefore
have the means in education to invest
more in reproductive Health Products
lower class consumers do not have this
luxury
while both groups have a desire for safe
affordable products cheaper products
oftentimes contain harsher chemicals
that create dangers to Consumers due to
menstrual products being advertised as
pure to promote the idea of sterility
and safety in order to achieve this
whiteness bleaches chlorine carcinogens
and other reproductive toxins are added
these chemicals have been directly
linked to poor sexual health

so what is the advocacy plan for code
red in order to actively fight against
the effects we have taken approach to
address all issues of period poverty
which many women in our community deal
with we have identified three courses of
action that will make a meaningful
difference in the lives of those
affected by this pressing issue
our first step is providing immediate
relief to those experiencing the effects
of period poverty the second is to
openly educate students and members of
our community on the very important
issue that many women face and lastly
advocacy petitioning those who allow
period poverty to continue its harm
these all will make a significant
difference in addressing the issue of
period poverty and hopefully one day
ending it
action taken by code red includes all of
these options
the first course of action we have taken
is to provide immediate relief to those
affected by period poverty in order to
achieve this goal we have collected from
our community at Mason Gathering
essential menstrual products for
distribution to those in need
these products were donated to Greater
DC diaper bank and in addition to a
local women’s shelter called new
Endeavors that focuses on setting women
up to become self-sufficient by donating
to local organizations and shelters we
hope to make these products easily
acceptable to those who require them
the second course of action we have
taken is to openly educate students and
members of our community on the very
important issue of period poverty in
order to achieve this goal we have
created a comprehensive poster to raise
awareness of the issue that highlights
the detrimental reality of the effects
of period poverty and in addition to how
individuals can also play a role in
diminishing it
lastly we launched the petition to put pressure on
those who allow period poverty to
continue its harm by creating a template
email we encourage members of our
community to reach out there to their
elected officials including senators
congressperson and local legislators our
hope is that by a collective effort to
advocate for change we can create a
large amount of support that no one can
ignore

when it comes to the impacts of our
advocacy plan and action taken we have
short and long-term impacts long-term
impacts include educating people about
period poverty and spreading the word on
what they can do to help address the
issue also by reaching out to
legislators we expressed Our concern
over period poverty and our desires for
them to address the issue as for
short-term impacts this included making
donations of collected supplies to a
women’s shelter that will directly help
women locally that are struggling with
period poverty
some challenges that we have faced while
taking action against period poverty was
trying to educate people and get them
passionate about a topic that may not
directly affect them it could
be difficult to get people to care about
an issue that they are unfamiliar with
another challenge was patients people
want immediate results but a problem
like period poverty that has been
happening for a long time is going to
take some time to be addressed and
immediate results are unfortunately
unlikely

Honors College OSCAR Schar School of Policy and Government

The Legal History of Post-Emancipation and Farm Labor and Plantation Related Mortality from 1880 to 1950

Author(s): Amanda Magpiong

Mentor(s): Rick Smith, Anthropology

Abstract

With the end of the American Civil War, the legal practice of plantation slavery ended, but different forms of extractive farm labor, such as farm tenancy, emerged in its wake. This study is focused on the history of state and federal farm law, how it transformed after emancipation, and the health impacts of this legal history for farmworkers. While there are many public health studies investigating health disparities across the rural/urban divide, less attention has been given to the legal and structural factors driving negative health outcomes in rural communities. To assess the link between farm governance after emancipation and health outcomes on rural farmlands, we focused on the Blackland Prairies Ecoregion of Texas, one of the densest agricultural regions in the US which witnessed a disproportionately rapid growth of the farm tenancy system after emancipation. We first analyzed legal archives at the federal and state levels to trace the governance of agricultural labor over time. Next, we compiled publicly available vital records data for 2,544 individuals born in four Blackland counties (Dallas, Ellis, Hill, and Navarro) between 1880-1900. The effects of farm labor status on lifespan were evaluated using Kruskall-Wallis tests (p=4.238e-07) and ANOVA (p=2.64e-07). Results indicate that the legal landscape of farm labor after emancipation helped drive a more widespread and racially diverse decline in life expectancies in the Blacklands region. These findings extend our understanding of how federal and state farm law helped reproduce losses of life on rural farmlands after emancipation.

Audio Transcript

My name is, and I am presenting the legal history of post-emancipation and farm labor and plantation, related mortality from 1880 to 1950.

As a government and anthropology Major, I was very excited to be able to include both that incorporate both fields into this one study.

Where we start, our project is talking about the structural violence at a criminal plantation as a for foundational form of colonial violence in the Americas, and it peaked in the 19 twenties in Texas.Where violence on plantation began with dispossession and enslave enough indigenous and Africans people in the early colonial period. In 1,865, we reach emancipation for those in texas who finally heard the news, and following that States shifted legal and regulatory systems for plantation laborer and developed systems of farm tenancy where laborers lived and worked on land owned by others, which then contributes the current model that is used to explain health outcomes by using the rural and urban divide called the Rural Mortality Penalty, which is the belief that if you live in rural area you have more native health outcomes than if you were to live in an urban area.

Our ethical approach is that we really wanted this to be a community-driven project. Dr. Rick Smith is a descendant of the community, and we’ve Been working with the Ellis County Rural Heritage Farm, located in Waxahachie, Texas for the entirety of the project, which mine is simply a part of.

So the objective of our project is to evaluate the link between farm labor, deregulation and regulations, plantation, labor, and mortality.

The area which we are studying is Dallas County, as well as the Ellis Hill and Navarro counties within the black man’s region of Texas.

Our methods we compiled a legal history of State and Federal actions that impacted the lives of tenant farmers in the South. We evaluated mortalities across the role and urban divide by compiling data on individuals that were born and died in the Blackland counties, which is Ellis Hail and Navarro and the urban county of Dallas, born between 1,880 and 1,900, we collected 2,536 individuals, and with those individuals we conducted a Crystal Wallace test, as well as the survival analysis in R.

Now this this is our chart that shows the amount of people that we collected from different counties, and what they were categorized as.

Now. What we found in the policy is financial aid to farmers were attempts at the government put in place. Once they found out about the system of tenant farming that was formed without any laws and without any form of cash that was simple. Roll over from the plantation, from slavery directly into the tenant from a system. So once the Federal Government became aware of this and the post Emancipation. They attempted to enact these laws such as the Homestead Act, the Bank of Jones action, the firm Security administration, all of which were supposed to uplift these communities and provide financial aid to them to buy land and give them access to land that they hadn’t had. However, all of these acts failed because they didn’t provide them enough money to be able to actually purchase the lander, be able to afford the things that they need to be able to actually farm and live on this land, and in trying to improve their conditions. There is even a Court Case Block v. Hirsh. In which they were barred from being able to actually improve their living quarters, because if they did, then it only belonged to the land owner rather than to themselves. And the Southern tenant Farmer Union is something that arose out of the Agricultural Adjustment Act. And this community was fighting for better treatment and fighting for better qualities within the conditions that they were living in. All of which we’re fighting because the Federal Government wasn’t giving this community the things that they needed to be able to survive.

And what we found is that these population ones really were suffering. And so, when we look at the data that we found this is our age, average age of death. You can clearly see the rural and urban divide: urban people living longer than those who live in rural areas. However, when you break the rural population down between those who are not working on the plantation and those who are working on the plantation. You can see that those who are working who are owning the land instead of working it, are living just as long as those living in urban areas, and it’s those who are forced to work the land are stuck in this tenant farming system that are suffering and losing years of their lives. As a result,

However, that data sometimes can be skewed by population booms which we’re also occurring at this time. So we then turn to a survival analysis in which you can see that the same plantation workers are less likely to survive from one year to the next than any person living in any other area.

So clearly from this we can see that it’s not the fact that you’re living in a rural area. It’s the fact that you’re working on these former plantations and existing within this tenant farming system with this consistent form of violence that comes along with that.

So our conclusion from this is that the lack of regulation and federal and State protections for tenant farmers likely influenced these health disparities that exploited these farm workers, and the systematic violence on plantations is a more highly explanatory factor for disparities in mortality than simply the rural and urban divide alone. Going forward, greater attention to legal histories and systematic violence are necessary to be able to evaluate the root causes of these rural health disparities

Finally to acknowledge the people who have helped produce this work as a project as a whole. We like to acknowledge the lives and labor of Texas farm workers in the past, and we thank the members of the Board of the Ellis County role, Heritage Farm Generational knowledge of Texas farmers and farmlands help shape our thinking in this work. We are also grateful to the members of the critical molecular anthropology lab at George Mason and to Daniel Temple and Charles Rosen for their work on this work, and I would also like to thank my mentor, Dr. Vick Smith, for all of his help, and inviting me onto this project, as well as Oscar for helping me to produce this research.

Thank you.

Honors College Schar School of Policy and Government Undergraduate Research Scholars Program (URSP) - OSCAR

The Persistence and Proliferation of Congressional Caucuses

Author(s): Molly Izer

Mentor(s): Jennifer Victor, Schar School

Abstract

While congressional member organizations (e.g., caucuses) in the U.S.
Congress are frequently trivialized by political punditry, they have been
proliferating over the past 30 years, ever since then-Speaker Newt Gin-
grich changed House rules to de-fund them. If caucuses are nothing more
than performative posturing, why do so many persist, with dozens of new
groups being formed each congress? We theorize that caucus ”birth” is
driven primarily by constituent interests and advocacy groups, while cau-
cus persistence is a function of groups’ effectiveness at connecting legisla-
tors who would be otherwise disconnected from one another. This paper
explores the persistence and proliferation of these campus clubs using a
novel data set comprised of the universe of individual caucus memberships
1993 – 2020. We statistically model caucus characteristics associated with
group survival, which include group size and bipartisan support. We use
quantitative and qualitative evidence from interviews to assess the extent
to which the explosion of caucuses on Capitol Hill has been driven by
advocacy groups. A richer understanding of this pervasive congressional
institution contributes to understanding the many ways that members of
Congress interact with one another. This understanding helps ultimately
to explain the parameters of congressional dysfunction.

Audio Transcript

Hi, I’m Molly Izer. I’m an undergraduate in the Schar school, majoring in government and international politics. And the title of my presentation is the persistence and proliferation of congressional caucuses.
And my mentor on this project is Dr. Victor also in the Schar school. So the point of this project and the research origin stems from a very important to 2013 study that was published by Dr.
Victor as well as her coauthor, Dr. Neils Ringa of the university of Wisconsin in the 2013 study. It was the first time they demonstrated a longitudinal study, which means over time on informal networks in the house of representatives.
Since the 2013 study of there have been massive changes and the ideological administrative and legislative norms governing the house of representatives and as such, it’s important to conduct a further longitudinal study on topic with our expanded dataset and in taking into account, the continuous changes that Congress simply put Congress has changing.
And so should our understanding. So this project in particular, explicitly focuses on the reasons that drive the birth and persistence of congressional member organizations also known as caucuses.
And it’s part of a larger project that explains the importance of informal networks and legislative institutions and how informal connections act as driving forces instead of large deliberative body.
Essentially, we, we hypothesize that congressional member organizations are part of the reason that people are able to coordinate collective action across the term, a broad coalition.
There are 435 members of the house of representatives, meaning one singular member. Isn’t very powerful, but when they’re in groups, they hold a little bit more power.
So a congressional member organization, essentially a way to do that, it’s almost like a informal club that members of Congress can rally around.
And there are some pretty interesting examples of types of caucuses. They range anywhere from the congressional voting caucus to the coalition for autism research to climate change related things.
There are over 700 documented caucuses that we have in Dr. Baker’s data sets and make been continuously growing. So just to emphasize the point that we need to continue to study them over a long period of time, I’m quick a picture of speaker of the house, Newt Gingrich, former speaker of the house, flipping grudge.
And he’s infamous for having changed the rules a while ago on how caucuses operate and what their administrative statuses can be.
And that’s another example of why it’s important to continue to send them over time, to see if changes to the institutions that Gover in informal networks will actually change anything about what they do or why they exist.
So the aims of this research are threefold. The first is that we aim to further understand what drives the birth of congressional member organizations and why they continue over time.
An important thing to understand about the house of representatives is that in the house, the term limits are only two years, meaning every two years, every single member has to go through reelection processes.
And while it can be to you as a voter, it’s even more tedious when you’re actually a member of the house or of their staffers, because it means you have to essentially rebuild your entire coalition every two years.
So it’s important to understand why it is that members continue to engage in certain parts. If it’s going to add on additional work on top of their already very busy schedules, we also want to map connections and social networks within the house of representatives.
And we want to track those networks in relation to broader data on legislative activity and institutional opera, opera realization. This is really important too, because we have to consider not only how institutions bind members of Congress, but also how outside forces informal networks can have a monumental impact on them.
And finally, we want to clarify, emphasize the value of informal institutions and legislative bodies and what benefits they pose to the legislative process as a whole.
So we use two different types of data. It’s really hard to look at informal networks through a solely empirical lens, which is why this year we had to integrate the qualitative data process.
So first to explain the qualitative data process, our qualitative data consists of hours of interview transcripts from various staffers in the house of representatives.
And that includes lobbyists and independent advocates who may engage with them. These were conducted via zoom, and we’re using the transcripts by coding them in NVivo, which they qualitative did software for our quantitative data.
We’re using an original data set, but Dr. Victor created and has kept since the hundred and third Congress, the hundred third Congress heard it in 1993.
And it goes all the way through the 117, which is the current Congress we’re in. Now that will end in November.
So essentially the data records, the party caucus and leadership positions that every single member of Congress occupies at any given time, the master file consists of over 6,000 data points and is managed largely largely in our, and that’s how we manage all of our quantitative and empirical analysis.
So we have many different hypotheses that are staked out in different phrasing so that we can use empirical tests to test each one of them individually.
But our general hypotheses are that caucus birth is driven primarily by constituent interests and then advocacy groups while Congress persistence, meaning keeps going over time is a function of how effective the group is connecting people who would otherwise not really meet each other or interact at all.
So our preliminary findings are a little bit limited because we’re still going through the writing process, but we do have a couple of really interesting visualizations here.
So this first one up here is, um, a one, a one party caucus members. And as we can see, they have increased by party at disproportionate rates with Democrats on average, joining more one party groups than Republicans.
In addition to the sheer number of congressional caucuses has continuously increased up until the 116 Congress. We’re not entirely sure if the, uh, the gap in increasing after 116 Congress is due to the COVID-19 pandemic or because of the January six insurrection we’ve gathered qualitative data that suggests both either or neither of them finally moving forward with this project.
So obviously we’re going to continue the writing process. And Dr. Richter is working on a larger book apart of which this will be integrated into it a little bit, but this paper in itself was accepted to the American political science association annual conference, which this year will take place in the beautiful city of Montreal.
So we’re excited to keep moving forward and continued to report our findings.

Honors College Schar School of Policy and Government

Criminality and Society: A Conflict-Based Perspective

Author(s): Holly Stephens

Mentor(s): Toni Farris, Honors College

Abstract

People who have been convicted or even accused of crimes are incredibly stigmatized by society as a whole and are often alienated from the general population even after serving their time. Several factors that impact this phenomenon are dehumanization, counter-empathy, and systemic bias. A combination of these elements allows for the justification of extreme mistreatment against this out-group. Generally speaking, people who have not been convicted or formally accused of a crime may feel a sense of superiority over those who have. This can lead to outgroup derogation to the extent that people without a criminal record may discount the rights and liberties of people who have been convicted of crimes. Examples of this include the abysmal – and unchallenged – conditions of prisons in America, as well as felon disenfranchisement. Perhaps even more dangerously, people assume that being charged with a crime implies at least some degree of guilt. Therefore, anyone caught up in the system may be viewed negatively, even if it later turns out that they were falsely accused. A preferable alternative to this paradigm would be restorative justice, a method that allows offenders to make amends for their actions while working alongside those who were affected by them. This theory of justice aims to give offenders a new path beyond the label of “criminal” — not only for the good of those individuals, but for the community as a whole.

Audio Transcript

Hello. My name is Holly Stephens, and I will be presenting on Criminality and Society with a conflict-based perspective. There are three key issues that are vital to understanding this concept, and those are dehumanization, counter-empathy, and systemic bias. Individuals who are convicted or even charged with crimes in the American justice system are likely to face all three of these factors. The first issue is dehumanization. While on the surface it might appear as though this term refers to a lack of human characteristics, social scientist David Livingstone Smith explained that it is the combination of human and non-human attributes that creates the cognitive dissonance forming dehumanization. This includes a variety of elements, such as the denial of human characteristics and individuality, something very evident in the prison population. Perception as less than human, examples of that being referring to people convicted of crimes as monsters or animals, and the simultaneous application of moral responsibility and the denial of moral worth. This level of dehumanization can act as a justification for any level of mistreatment. Another important concept is empathy and counter-empathy. While most people are familiar with empathy, the parallel emotional response for people within one’s in-group, the opposite of this is counter-empathy. This refers to the inverse emotional response that one has for someone in their out-group. In essence, an enemy’s successes prompt a negative response, while their failures prompt a positive one. Finally, systemic bias is an incredibly important aspect of how criminality is treated in society, and it is one that spans every level of the criminal justice system. In law enforcement, this looks like the over-policing of black and brown communities. In the court system, it is underpaid and overworked public defenders appointed to work for indigent clients who can’t afford their own defense. And in corrections, it is the prison industrial complex, a system of mass incarceration whose profitability comes in part from the legal slavery of prisoners. In conclusion, rather than placing an insurmountable stigma on people charged with crimes, we should make an effort to reintegrate past offenders into society. One popular idea for how to do this is restorative justice, a method that allows offenders to make amends for their actions while working alongside those who were affected by them. This theory of justice aims to give offenders a new path beyond the label of criminal, not only for the good of those individuals, but for the community as a whole.

Schar School of Policy and Government Undergraduate Research Scholars Program (URSP) - OSCAR

The Persistence and Proliferation of Congressional Caucuses

Author(s): Molly Izer

Mentor(s): Jennifer Victor, Schar

Abstract

Audio Transcript

Honors College Schar School of Policy and Government Undergraduate Research Scholars Program (URSP) - OSCAR

The Case for Using Storytelling to Combat Colorism within Latinx Communities

Author(s): Jatsuka Pozo

Mentor(s): Dae Young Kim, Department of Sociology and Anthropology

https://youtu.be/qFKLdWZrhjQ

Abstract

The main focus of my project is to determine the viability of counter-stories in confronting anti-blackness, especially when having discussions around colorism. The counter-stories created during this project are within the context of the lived experiences of second-generation and 1.5 Latinx immigrant college students. Second-generation and 1.5 youth have lived the majority of their lives, if not all, in the United States navigating various racial dynamics, but also have been exposed to the cultural values, norms, and beliefs of their immigrant parents. They are situated in a unique intersection that can offer us a way of understanding multi-generational knowledge/beliefs and are capable of bridging the different worlds they reside in.

I center my project on Latinx youth not only because of my own identity as Latinx but also because counter-stories around racism don’t intentionally focus on Latinx people who are perceived as a homogenous group but vary culturally, racially, and politically. I inquire: Can counter-stories serve as a vehicle to confront anti-blackness?

I aim to investigate the impact of counter-stories on colorism and racism through facilitating a Critical race theory writing workshop for second-generation and 1.5 generation Latinx college students.

Audio Transcript

Hi, my name is Mikaela Pozo. I am a Sociology major. And I am conducting my research project through the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. My project is titled The Case for Using Storytelling to Combat Colorism within Latinx Communities and my mentor is Prof. Dae Young Kim. I would like to thank OSCAR for funding and supporting my project.

My research project focuses on the narratives about colorism. My research question is: Can counter-stories serve as a vehicle to confront colorism in Latinx communities?
I aim to answer this question through facilitating a Critical race theory writing workshop for second-generation and 1.5 Latinx college students. During the workshop, I want to examine the kind of assumptions, beliefs, and experiences we have and through a collaborative exploration of the racial underpinnings of those narratives start creating counter-narratives in our bodies and mind.

I will be conducting pre-liminary, semi- structured interviews and after the writing workshop, and facilitating a focus group to debrief on the whole writing workshop experience. Due to delays in IRB approval, I will be conducting the workshop during the summer.

Through my project, I aim to problematize the master narrative of mestizaje – cultural and racial mixing that acknowledges the history of colonialism, however now is used as a term to homogenize and gives the impression of color-blindness.

I draw on the works of Richard Delgado Derrick Bell, and Tara Yosso, to name a few, who are prominent critical race theorists for an understanding of counterstories as a method and methodology.

When looking at the history of Latin America, it becomes clear that the idea of mestizaje was born out of a need to challenge colonialism and its clear manifestations: the racial caste system. However, over time, mestizaje was used to homogenize and at times whiten communities.

Today, mestizaje flattens the experiences of those who are indigenous and afro-latino through promoting a belief in homogeneity and faux racial harmony. It invalidates their lived realities of experiencing higher levels of discrimination and poverty.

In direct opposition, counter-stories confront, disaffirm, and critique the stories created by the dominant culture.

Counter-stories are a way of acknowledging and confronting racism by “linking individual experiences with systemic analysis” and centering stories of marginalized people. In other words, they are powerful because they are able to intertwine the individual, collective, and structural. The reason why this project is critical is because We cannot confront racism without first acknowledging its existence and pervasiveness (Richard Delgado, 2017). This project will allow me to understand how counter-stories can be utilized, possibly being implemented into school curriculums or as a framework to have courageous conversations.

Thank you.

Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution Schar School of Policy and Government

The Legacy of British Indirect Rule on State Capacity: The Cases of Nigeria and Ghana

Author(s): Natalia Kanos

Mentor(s): Phillip Martin, Schar School of Policy and Government

Abstract

This proposal sets out to investigate the impact of indirect rule by the British in Ghana and Nigeria. First, it aims to explore the legacies of the organizational structures left behind by the British in each nation. Second, it aims to understand divergences in these nations’ state capacity. This paper conducts a comparative study on both nations’ structures and ties the reason for divergence and specifically, the reason for the divergence is the institutional legacies implemented by the British. This proposal builds a foundation for its argument on the reason for divergence being rooted in state legitimacy and how colonization affected state legitimacy. The issue in state capacity revolves around Ghana forming a stronger relationship with its citizens because of indirect rules colonial structure. By contrast, Nigeria had a more ‘direct form of indirect rule.

Audio Transcript

hello, my name is Natalia, and I will be presenting my thesis proposal for my Government 491 class.

My proposal is on The Legacy of British Indirect Rule on State Capacity: The Cases of Nigeria and Ghana. I’ll be utilizing the fragile state in-depth about by the Fund for peace, to show this emergent, as you can see.
Ghana has a score of 63.9 and there’s 113 out of 178 nations, while Nigeria has scored 98 and is 12 out of the same 178 nations Ghana is perceived to be a stable country while Nigeria is in its warning stages. The fragile state indicators rank nations, based on 12 indicators. Security apparatus, the economy, and services, and each nation are given a score from zero to 10 and the closer you are to 10 is the more unstable urination is in the closer you are to zero is the more stable connection is. I would like to draw your attention to state legitimacy, as you can see, Nigeria has a score of 8.4 while Ghana, has a score 3.2, and this is where my spiritual grounding in, as that is a difference of five and that it’s extremely drastic considering the score is out of 10. My research question is, does the form of British indirect to Ghana, in general, yeah explained divergences stick grassy my dependent variable will stay capacity in my inner circle indirect coach and my goal is really to understand the legacy of colonialism in relation to state capacity. Frameworks are important to understand, especially as they use certain terms when I referred to indirect or, this is just a type that was created, implemented by British instead of looking for indigenous leaders and placing them with British officials on the left them in power, however, they still must report to British authorities where they were in charge of. Doing day to day administrative duties like collecting taxes and building infrastructure, As for direct rule the local and indigenous leaders were removed and replaced with British officials and they were in charge of doing day to day, there was more development, infrastructure, as they were integrated, however, for indirect rule they were really just focused on extracting sources and when it comes to state capacity This basically boils down to is the government able to do its duties is able to collect taxes and restore and hold law and order accountable and provide basic services and goods for its citizens. The context of my research really just shows that I noticed, there were a lot of differences in state capacity with a lot of African nations are more stable than others, and I saw that there was a lot of research already currently comparing in direct or indirect or in comparing different colonies that were colonized by different European groups.
But there was no kind of noticing and comparing nations that were colonized by the same colonial powers so that is why I developed this kind of puzzle, you must. African nations in this case go on a Nigerian they were colonized by the British index was implemented, and they have different levels of state for agility their state capacities are also achieved.
My mythology and this section is just process chasing and hypothesis testing participating, I will just be looking at specific cases and using this mechanism to help develop a theory and create a theory. I’ll be utilizing qualitative research, I’ll be utilizing primary and secondary sources to kind of help me understand the structure of the colonization, pre-colonized structures and present nations.
I will also be conducting a bit of quantitative research by utilizing the state fragile index, the World Bank and IMF indexes in information and just kind of developing a level of confidence, as well as finding intervening variables.

Some early findings, I found are that there had similar pre-colonial structures with having powerful ethnic groups, they were both colonized by the British editor to utilize there is a divergence in their state legitimacy and there is divergence in state fragility and capacity.

Thank you so much for listening, I look forward to conducting more research and just understanding the cases of both nations, I also look forward to hearing your comments Thank you so much.

Schar School of Policy and Government Undergraduate Research Scholars Program (URSP) - OSCAR

The History of United States Drag

Author(s): Elijah Nichols

Mentor(s): David Corwin, Women and Gender Studies

Abstract

When one leans into Queerness as a natural state of being, one may give the human experience the fullness it deserves — and Drag, as a world-making project, does such a thing. Interestingly enough, Drag — a globally criminalized act — has become an artistic expression and performance more-so accepted within the United States than in previous times making it an critical artform for further inquiry. In an effort to understand why criminalization occurs and to uncover the history of U.S. based Drag, I found it advantageous to focus on lesser known Drag artists such as Divine, Pepper Labeija, Gowongo Mohawk, Gladys Bentley, and William Dorsy Swann, as well as the ways in which Drag has shown up in unexpected places such as institutions of higher education. A culmination of Drag experiences provide a basis to better understand the ways in which the social-class making of gender, sex, and sexuality impact Queer expression and how Queerness may be criminalized from such classification.

Audio Transcript

Hello, my name is Elijah Nichols. I am a Senior at George Mason University studying Government and International Politics with a concentration in Public Administration and Policy. Today, I will be presenting a bit on my research.

Throughout this research process, I have leaned into the sociological understanding of the world: where Queerness is looked at as the natural state of being. Queerness is the leaning into the naturality of our world not of human-created classes — giving the human experience the fullness it deserves.

With such understanding and exploration of the aforementioned sociological understanding, I have chosen to ask the question: What is the unheard history of United States Drag, as a performance art?

With the rise of RuPauls Drag Race, we are seeing Drag become a commodified, straight-and-cis-appealing artform thus putting an unreasonable standard on local Drag artists.

Building an awareness through both a literature review and eventually a production will foster a Queer, historically accurate and creative means of leaning into our Queer reality and the artform of Drag. The intersections of gender, sexuality, race, and class will and must be touched on within the research as well.

The importance of focusing on lesser known Drag artists (which are named above) allows for us to build on the idea of Queerness — and that naturality — being restricted through the making of gender, race, and class thus leading to a need for the world-making that is Drag.

The reality of Queer identity and expression being criminalized throughout history, however, creates challenges in the research process. Documentation of figures such as Gowongo Mohawk and Gladys Bentley are scarce, so much of the research came from popular magazines, radio shows and films, as well as some peer reviewed works from Feminist and Drag leaders such as Butler, Torr and Bottoms, as well as Vagistan.

William Dorsy Swann: First documented “Queen of Drag” in both legal and news documents was also the first known riot on behalf of Queer liberation and the first person to use legal mechanisms for Queer liberation. Others such as Pepper Labeija are often flattened in their documented history in films such as Paris is Burning.

Therefore the production will focus more on specific moments, as literature and popular media is scarce for many of the subjects except Divine. The literature review, however, focuses more on the connection between gender and queer theory with the five drag subject’s experiences.

As of now, I have not finished the research and hope to continue the work into the Spring, but I am confident that the conclusion and results of will highlight the historical repression and criminalization of Queer peoples, as well as the fullness of the subject’s artform. Otherwise known as the subject’s process of world-making through Drag.

I’d like to thank both the Office of Student Scholarship, Creative Activities, & Research and my mentor, David Corwin, as they’re actively aiding in Queer liberation through the support of this project.

Honors College Schar School of Policy and Government

The Gun Gridlock

Author(s): Molly Reed

Mentor(s): Jennifer N. Victor, Schar School of Policy and Government

Abstract

We know two things about guns in the United States: that we have a gun violence problem in America and that the United States Congress has done very little to address it. “The Gun Gridlock” examines this phenomenon, seeking to visualize this problem and finding solutions to better address gun violence in the future.

Audio Transcript

Molly Reed (she/her): Hello everyone, my name is Molly Reed, I am a senior in the Schar School of Policy majoring in government international politics, and this is my presentation on my project entitled The Gun Gridlock.

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Molly Reed (she/her): Going into this project I knew two main things first is that I know that we have a gun violence problem in the United States.

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Molly Reed (she/her): Brady estimates that on average 100 Americans are shot and killed every single day in the United States because of gun violence and an additional 100,000 Americans are shot and survive every single year.

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Molly Reed (she/her): We know that the United States is a huge outlier among other countries with our gun violence statistics in fact we make up over one fifth of the daily gun deaths around the globe, and the second thing I knew, is that the US has done very little to prevent gun violence.

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Molly Reed (she/her): Throughout the last 75 years we have only seen three bills in the United States Congress that have effectively introduced and been passed.

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Molly Reed (she/her): That address the gun violence problem in the United States, whether they have increased or decreased throughout the years the passage rate has remained consistent.

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Molly Reed (she/her): And this brought me to my question, what is the phenomenon we are seeing with gun related legislation and their perceived failure to be passing United States Congress and why does this phenomenon exist.

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Molly Reed (she/her): to effectively address this question i’ve created a plan with two separate parts, the first part hopes to visualize gun related legislation, similar to the graph that we saw earlier.

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Molly Reed (she/her): To do this, I will find gun related legislation by combing through each piece of legislation from the United States Congress from 1992 Now I will then identify each bills progress in the United States Congress and visualize this on a graph.

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Molly Reed (she/her): The second part will hope to explain why this phenomenon exists from Part one. I will translate the graph we see in Part one and find key patterns and places that I should examine further, then I will do some research and help explain why this phenomenon exists.

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Molly Reed (she/her): I hope to contribute to the gun related narrative that we’re seeing in political science that has been increasing in the last decade.

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Molly Reed (she/her): I hope to help fill the gaps of confusion about gun related legislation and raise awareness to this problem.

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Molly Reed (she/her): I hope that I can help confront the challenges that allow for this problem to exist and embolden solutions.

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Molly Reed (she/her): I look forward to hearing any feedback or comments on my paper and welcome any emails about this project to my email right here at [email protected].

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Molly Reed (she/her): And I look forward to this next semester, where I can better analyze this problem and also become a better political science student and researcher in the process.

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Molly Reed (she/her): Here are some citations or the information and the graphics that I use today and I look forward to hearing back from you all thank you so much.

Honors College Schar School of Policy and Government

Populist Rhetoric: A Research Proposal

Author(s): Vanessa Soares da Silva

Mentor(s): Mariely Lopez – Santana, Schar School of Policy and Government

Abstract

This paper proposes a research to if the populist rhetoric disseminated during the campaign for the 2016 American Election had an effect in the 2018 Brazilian Election that lead to the rise to power of Bolsonaro. I plan on coding the speeches from both Bolsonaro and Trump during their campaigns to determine how populist the rhetoric is. Using data on the demographics of the voters for each candidate to explore the similarities between the bases, will assist me in defining if the candidate’s rhetoric attracted the same types of voters. Finally, I wish to check for any similarities in choices of words to assess the impact in rhetoric. This is a proposal in which there is no results yet. However, with the further research, I hope to find if there was indeed an effect of Trump’s rhetoric in Bolsonaro’s rhetoric that lead him to become the next President of Brazil

Audio Transcript

Hello everyone my name is Vanessa Soares da Silva and today I will be presenting my research proposal on populist rhetoric

So, my research question is, “Did the populist rhetoric propagated in the US during 2016 election affected Jair Bolsonaro’s rise to power in Brazil, and If so, how?”

A bit of a background on Jair Bolsonaro, he is the current President of Brazil. He is the first Brazilian president with a military background in a couple of decades.

He ran with PSL, a conservative social party. At this point in time he does not have a political party.

However, I want to focus on the speech that he propagated during the campaign trail that he had in 2018, because to me it was very similar to how Donald Trump Ran his campaign, with speeches that I will talk about later in the research.

Before we can continue, during my research on populism and populist rhetoric, I found this article that talked about the online coverage of elections, and they analyze populist statements.

I wanted to talk about the dimensions they present. First dimension they argue that there is in populist rhetoric is that the candidate/politician praises the public’s resilience.

They [candidates] appreciate how people persevered through the “awful” administration in place prior to theirs, and now they are there to help and actually further the interest of the population.

The second dimensions that they present is that populist rhetorics usually blame the elite for problems in the country because by creating that clear barrier between classes they can alienate the middle and working class.

The third dimension that they present is to create others. Meaning making other groups or group common enemies so the population knows that the candidate they are supporting, will fight for them against the threat

So I wanted to present here the three dimensions in examples of both candidates

Both Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro severely criticized the previous administrations and basically said that the administrations didn’t care for the countries interests. That would be the first dimension.

The second dimension, they do separate the working class from the elite.

Also, in the pools they [Trump and Bolsonaro] did have a similar demographic voting for them. So during my research paper, I want to focus on how the speeches seem to attract the same demographic.

Because this is an ongoing research project, I do want to use coding of speeches. I do have a rubric that was provided by BYU Team Populism. They provide a rubric that defines if a speech is populist or not. So I will code some of Bolsonaro’s and Trump Speeches.

I want to put the data in SPSS or statcrunch to see if there is a relationship or not

I also would like to make sure I can put the data on the demographics of the voters.

Also going through some of the speeches to look for word choice similarities.

The next steps are to continue my research for more literature and data. I also begin to code speeches as soon as possible.