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(1 - 7 of 7)
- Title
- National Security and Political Polarization.
- Creator
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Funderburke, Joseph, Handberg, Roger, Pollock, Philip, Ilderton, Nathan, Kubiak, Jeffrey, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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This dissertation explores how partisan polarization among the political elites (the President and key Members of Congress) impacts national security decision-making. The research examines the relationship over time beginning at the start of the Cold War through 2014. In doing so, the research tests several hypotheses to determine the nature of the relationship and what the implications might be for future U.S. national security policy-making. There are three different approaches used in the...
Show moreThis dissertation explores how partisan polarization among the political elites (the President and key Members of Congress) impacts national security decision-making. The research examines the relationship over time beginning at the start of the Cold War through 2014. In doing so, the research tests several hypotheses to determine the nature of the relationship and what the implications might be for future U.S. national security policy-making. There are three different approaches used in the research centered on the same theory of partisan polarization. The first approach examines changes in the level of polarization and defense budgets each year. The second explores the impact of partisan polarization on the outcome of key roll-call votes on national security legislation. Lastly, the third approach studies the changes in polarization relative to the Presidents' decision to use force. Poole and Rosenthal (1984) argue that political polarization has increased among the political elite since the 1960s and the Republicans and Democrats continue to move further apart ideologically (Gray et al. 2015). I argue that the combined effect of polarization and a growing ideological divide between the two major political parties puts our collective national security at risk. Using analytical regression time series models and a qualitative analysis, the findings suggests that rising partisan polarization presents a clear and present threat to our national security.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2019
- Identifier
- CFE0007458, ucf:52662
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007458
- Title
- A Reassesment of the Presidential Use of Executive Orders, 1953-2008.
- Creator
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Romich, Graham, Knuckey, Jonathan, Lanier, Drew, Ilderton, Nathan, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Quantitative studies of the presidential use of executive orders have attempted to determine whether presidents are more prone to resort to unilateral action when faced with legislative opposition. To date, the results have been mixed however, with studies demonstrating that the type of executive order is an important factor in understanding the conditions under which presidents will resort to unilateral action. Despite this advancement in theory, there has been little consensus regarding the...
Show moreQuantitative studies of the presidential use of executive orders have attempted to determine whether presidents are more prone to resort to unilateral action when faced with legislative opposition. To date, the results have been mixed however, with studies demonstrating that the type of executive order is an important factor in understanding the conditions under which presidents will resort to unilateral action. Despite this advancement in theory, there has been little consensus regarding the actual conditions under which presidents will issue the different types of executive orders that have been identified in the literature.This thesis addresses this puzzle through an empirical analysis that engages the "Two Presidencies Thesis," which argues that presidential decision-making, action and success is conditioned by policy area (foreign and domestic) and executive order type (major, routine, or symbolic). An original dataset was constructed by coding all executive orders issued between 1953 and 2008 as related to either foreign or domestic policy. Thus, an analysis is undertaken of major executive orders, minor executive orders, foreign policy-based executive orders, domestic policy-based executive orders, and major and minor categories of each policy area.A multivariate analysis is completed using negative binomial regression given that the dependent variables are overdispersed count variables. The effects of divided government and ideological distance are the primary independent variables examined. The ideological distance variable consists of the absolute distance between the president's ideology and the ideology of the median member of the Senate. Various other control variables are included, including presidential party, election year, and approval ratings. The findings indicate that executive order type does matter in predicting presidential use of executive orders and that the prevailing political climate does influence the president's use of executive orders.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2015
- Identifier
- CFE0005992, ucf:50765
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005992
- Title
- Sexism and Women: The Implications of Female Gender Resentment.
- Creator
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Regnier-Bachand, Christine, Pollock, Philip, Vieux, Andrea, Ilderton, Nathan, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Do women suffer from a societal Stockholm Syndrome which leads them to display high levels of modern and traditional sexist behavior? Does a woman's level of modern or traditional sexist behavior influence her political choices? Female gender resentment and sexist biases are an understudied area of the extant literature on sexism. Typically the focus is placed on men's sexist attitudes and treatment of women, but is it possible that women also contribute to the subordination of their gender...
Show moreDo women suffer from a societal Stockholm Syndrome which leads them to display high levels of modern and traditional sexist behavior? Does a woman's level of modern or traditional sexist behavior influence her political choices? Female gender resentment and sexist biases are an understudied area of the extant literature on sexism. Typically the focus is placed on men's sexist attitudes and treatment of women, but is it possible that women also contribute to the subordination of their gender through sexist practices? These are questions which this thesis attempts to answer. The findings indicate that working women under the age of 39 are more likely to display modern sexist behavior and that female homemakers under the age of 39 display high levels of traditionally sexist behavior. These attitudes carry over into the political decision making processes and have a negative impact on whether a woman would be likely to support a female presidential candidate.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2015
- Identifier
- CFE0005873, ucf:50854
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005873
- Title
- Public Opinion and the President's Use of Executive Orders: Aggregate- and Individual-Level Analyses Across Time.
- Creator
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Jones, Brett, Lanier, Drew, Knuckey, Jonathan, Ilderton, Nathan, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Presidential approval ratings are a political resource that presidents and their advisors hope to influence through strategic action in order to achieve their policy goals (McAvoy 2008, 284). Through 1999, scholarly literature had largely ignored the president's use of unilateral powers. Since Moe and Howell (1999a, 1999b), however, the literature on the unilateral presidency has expanded rapidly. Despite the rapid growth of literature examining the unilateral presidency, and 45 years of...
Show morePresidential approval ratings are a political resource that presidents and their advisors hope to influence through strategic action in order to achieve their policy goals (McAvoy 2008, 284). Through 1999, scholarly literature had largely ignored the president's use of unilateral powers. Since Moe and Howell (1999a, 1999b), however, the literature on the unilateral presidency has expanded rapidly. Despite the rapid growth of literature examining the unilateral presidency, and 45 years of presidential approval ratings literature, literature examining the link between the president's use of unilateral powers and subsequent presidential approval ratings is virtually nonexistent. Existing research has not statistically examined what effect, if any, the president's issuing executive orders has on subsequent job approval ratings. This thesis seeks to address that research gap. By modeling aggregate and individual-level presidential approval ratings, using fixed-effect models, OLS regression, and binary logistic regression, this thesis finds evidence indicating the president's issuing of executive orders has a negative impact on the subsequent presidential job approval ratings that individuals report. If an executive order is salient to the public, presidents receive lower presidential approval ratings from persons of all political parties; however, if the executive order is non-salient then presidents only receive lower presidential approval ratings from members of their own political party. Members of the opposition party report higher presidential approval ratings when the president issued non-salient executive orders. Thus, this thesis concludes that the president's issuing of executive orders has significant effects on subsequent presidential job approval ratings, and future research should be conducted to explore this relationship further.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2016
- Identifier
- CFE0006123, ucf:51164
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006123
- Title
- Institutional vs. Non-Institutional Sources of Presidential Influence: Explaining Congressional-Presidential Relations in the Age of Polarization.
- Creator
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Culp, Derek, Ilderton, Nathan, Lanier, Drew, Houghton, David, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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This thesis examines the determinants of presidential success with Congress. Seven essential sources of presidential power in the current era of party polarization were derived from the extant literature, and these factors were delineated into the institutional (formal) and non-institutional (informal) policymaking tools of the presidency. Variables that explain presidential legislative success include: intraparty support in Congress, the use of veto bargaining, executive orders and signing...
Show moreThis thesis examines the determinants of presidential success with Congress. Seven essential sources of presidential power in the current era of party polarization were derived from the extant literature, and these factors were delineated into the institutional (formal) and non-institutional (informal) policymaking tools of the presidency. Variables that explain presidential legislative success include: intraparty support in Congress, the use of veto bargaining, executive orders and signing statements (institutional factors); as well as public approval, 'going public,' and strategic lobbying of Congress (non-institutional factors). Case studies of the presidencies of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush analyze the role of these policymaking tools in four key legislative battles of each presidency. Regression models were constructed to test the effect of these variables on presidential legislative success. The case studies elucidate the relationship between non-institutional factors and their subsequent impact on key presidential policy priorities, particularly the interaction between public approval and going public. Findings indicate a positive relationship between a president's strategic bargaining ability with Congress and subsequent legislative success. Findings also show no significant relationship between intraparty support and presidential success when focusing on only key legislative battles between the executive and legislative branches, contrary to the findings of prior research. Future research might examine the various relationships between these policymaking tools and how they affect the nature of presidential power in the current era of heightened party polarization and ideological homogeneity.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- Identifier
- CFE0004832, ucf:49705
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004832
- Title
- The President's Party at the Midterm: An Aggregate and Individual-Level Analysis of Seat Loss and Vote Choice in U.S. House Elections.
- Creator
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Macdonald, David, Knuckey, Jonathan, Ilderton, Nathan, Lanier, Drew, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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This thesis provides a comprehensive analysis of midterm U.S. House elections using a multi-level research design. At the aggregate-level, multiple regression analysis is used to examine the variables that affect seat loss for the president's party. This integrates, updates and extends the extant literature of the topic, and offers a means of explaining and predicting seat losses by the president's party in the U.S. House. To further probe the findings at the aggregate-level, the thesis...
Show moreThis thesis provides a comprehensive analysis of midterm U.S. House elections using a multi-level research design. At the aggregate-level, multiple regression analysis is used to examine the variables that affect seat loss for the president's party. This integrates, updates and extends the extant literature of the topic, and offers a means of explaining and predicting seat losses by the president's party in the U.S. House. To further probe the findings at the aggregate-level, the thesis develops a pooled cross-sectional model of individual-level vote choice in midterm U.S. House elections using data from the American National Election Studies (1982-2002) and the Cooperative Congressional Election Study for the 2006 and 2010 midterm elections. Findings suggest that variables measuring the performance of the economy and realignment of the South toward the Republican Party affect seat loss at the aggregate level. However, at the individual level, economic evaluations exerted little influence on vote choice, above and beyond party identification, although perceptions of the national economy did appear to influence vote choice in the 2006 and 2010 elections. Future research might incorporate the strategic politician thesis into the explanatory scheme and move the analysis to elections for other political offices, such as U.S. Senate elections as well as state legislative and gubernatorial elections.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- Identifier
- CFE0004883, ucf:49655
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004883
- Title
- Tea Time: A Comparative Analysis of the Tea Party Caucus and House Republican Conference in the One Hundred Twelfth Congress.
- Creator
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Phillips, Stephen, Pollock, Philip, Ilderton, Nathan, Schafer, Mark, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Following the historic election of Barack Obama, the largest overhaul of the nation's health care system since the Great Society, and with the country still reeling from the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, a group of disenchanted conservative Republicans and elected leaders wary of government policy gave rise to a new political movement (-) the Tea Party. Since taking the American political system by storm in 2010, considerable research has focused on the electoral...
Show moreFollowing the historic election of Barack Obama, the largest overhaul of the nation's health care system since the Great Society, and with the country still reeling from the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, a group of disenchanted conservative Republicans and elected leaders wary of government policy gave rise to a new political movement (-) the Tea Party. Since taking the American political system by storm in 2010, considerable research has focused on the electoral consequences of the Tea Party. Using an original dataset and the American National Election Study, I study the Tea Party Caucus at the elite level by analyzing roll call votes, incumbency, and endorsements, and at the mass level through an examination of congressional districts and constituencies. Findings show that members of the Tea Party Caucus and their Republican House colleagues are largely homogeneous. Exceptions to this include economic final passage votes, legislation receiving presidential support, district lean, census region, and presidential vote in congressional districts. Furthermore, evidence is seen that economic factors in members' districts affected the election of freshmen representatives in 2010, and that district variables strongly influence legislative voting behavior. Finally, discontinuity is discovered between the Tea Party movement at the mass level and the Tea Party Caucus at the elite level.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2014
- Identifier
- CFE0005229, ucf:50574
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005229
