Political Science
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Political scientists explore the concerns and issues that animate public life. Using both humanistic and scientific approaches, we study how political communities attempt to reconcile the claims of justice, power, liberty, and authority.
Drawing on history, law, economics, psychology, sociology, and philosophy, political science is a broadly based social science that shares the traditional aims of liberal arts education while attempting to come to grips with the major public issues of our time.
Upon graduation, political science majors qualify for careers in both the public and private sectors, in local, state, and federal government, and in business, education, journalism, international organizations, and practical politics. They also pursue postgraduate study in law and public administration, as well as graduate study in political science, among other disciplines.
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Department chair: David Mayers
Campus address: 232 Bay State Road
Phone: 617-353-2540
Fax: 617-353-5508
Website: www.bu.edu/polisci
All materials in OpenBU are subject to Title 17 of the U.S. Code.
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CAS: Political Science: Undergraduate Honors Theses [56]
Political Science Honors Program
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The effect of historical institutions on contemporary social movements: lessons from Santiago de Chile and Cape Town, South Africa
In the past 30 years, newly democratized countries have seen an explosion in urban mobilization. From the Shantytowns of Chile to the townships of South Africa, now more than ever, urban citizens struggle to reverse the ... -
Adversaries: Sino-US relations trend analysis 1999-2001
This thesis presents a quantitative analysis of Sino-US diplomatic trends during the period from January 1st, 1999, to December 31st, 2001. Through web scraping of the People's Daily database, approximately 2,800 relevant ... -
The navigation of undocumented immigrants in society and the U.S. Immigration Legal System: through the lens of Brazilians in Plymouth, Massachusetts
(2023-05)Over 10 million undocumented immigrants currently live in the U.S. and have no legal pathways to obtain permanent legal status. While Hispanic undocumented populations are often represented in the field of academia, the ... -
American corporate political strategy by revealed preference
(2022-01-01)This thesis explores corporate political activity as a bundle of economic goods by analyzing heterogeneity between industries’ spending on lobbying, PAC contributions, and the appointment of former political officials to ... -
Age is measured with systematic measurement error in developing country surveys: a diagnosis and analysis of consequences
(SAGE Publications, 2021-07)Research in political science and other social sciences often relies on survey data to study a range of questions about politics in the developing world. This study identifies systematic measurement error in some of the ... -
The relationship between unions and people’s populist beliefs
(2022-05)This study asks, “Do unions affect people’s draw to populism and the politicians that they vote for?”. To answer this question, I interviewed custodians from Union 32BJ Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and ... -
Measuring whether political elites or members of the public lead ideological shifts and polarization in the United States
(2022-05-03)This thesis considers the relationship between public and elite opinion and explores the causes of polarization in American politics. In the first part of the thesis, I review theories that explain potential sources for ... -
Influences on rhetoric in qualified immunity cases: race, gender, and political ideology of Circuit Court judges and Supreme Court justices from 1982-2021
(2022-05-03)[When writing the Constitution, many of the Founders worried about the government having too much power over the country’s citizens. To ensure the privacy and security of the country’s citizens, the Founders decided to ... -
Land of the freeholder: how property rights make local voting rights
(Now Publishers, 2021)A large body of research documents the dominance of homeowners in local politics. There has been little scholarship, however, on the role that voting institutions have played in empowering homeowners from the inception of ...
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