Fossil fuel industry giants in the United States like ExxonMobil sponsor contrarian science to distort the public image of the (virtually non-existing) debate on whether anthropogenic global...Show moreFossil fuel industry giants in the United States like ExxonMobil sponsor contrarian science to distort the public image of the (virtually non-existing) debate on whether anthropogenic global warming exists. The efforts of this so-called ―Denial Machine‖ seem to bear fruit: despite scientific consensus, Americans remain divided on the issue of anthropogenic climate change. Liberal Democrats are more likely to follow the consensus view (79% believes the planet is warming mostly due to human activity), whereas only 15% of the Conservative Republicans supposes this to be the case. Dunlap and McCright argue that conservative media outlets function as an echo chamber for the contrarian voices of this Denial Machine. Liisa Antilla argues that the conservative media is not the only side responsible for this echoing—in their quest for ―journalistic balance,‖ mainstream and progressive news outlets (including the New York Times) have also presented contrarian voices as ―experts‖ in the past. With these insights in mind, this study maps the climate change discourses and source-use of two opposing poles in the U.S. media landscape in the months prior to Trump‘s election: the New York Times on the Liberal Democrat side; news weblog Breitbart on the Conservative Republican side. The results show that these opposing poles conduct their climate change reporting on completely different levels: while the conservative Breitbart seems stuck in denial, hence condemned to the debate-level, the liberal Times has passed this level by accepting consensus and focusing its reporting on the consequences of climate change. In addition, this study also concludes that the Times no longer functions as an echo chamber for contrarian voices for the sake of journalistic balance, while Breitbart, by giving pseudo scientists space to directly publish on their platform regularly, not only functions as echo chamber, but also as the vocal cords of contrarian voices.Show less
Since its emergence, heavy metal music met with serious opposition. Accused of promoting violence, suicide, drug abuse and distorted images of sex, heavy metal artists were considered a threat to...Show moreSince its emergence, heavy metal music met with serious opposition. Accused of promoting violence, suicide, drug abuse and distorted images of sex, heavy metal artists were considered a threat to the well-being of America’s youth. These accusations were major arguments in the 1980s religious conservatives’ crusade to establish family values. Trying to raise parents’ awareness of the music’s alleged catastrophic effects, these conservatives campaigned to restrain or eliminate heavy metal music. In 1985, the then newly-formed Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) condemned several artists for advocating violence and substance abuse and for their predilection of the occult in their songs’ lyrics. PMRC created an agenda that was later used in court cases against heavy metal artists.Show less
This thesis will assess in three case studies the municipal writings of Richard T. Ely, Albert Shaw, and Frederic C. Howe. The contention here is that their work provides valuable examples of the...Show moreThis thesis will assess in three case studies the municipal writings of Richard T. Ely, Albert Shaw, and Frederic C. Howe. The contention here is that their work provides valuable examples of the pluralism and the transnationalism of the Progressive Era in the United States at the turn of the twentieth century. To do so, the approach of this thesis will be to deploy Daniel T. Rodgers’ argument about the role of transnational narratives in the transference of transatlantic reforms. This study will thereby demonstrate the means by which the municipal writings of the three cases studies in question deployed their transnational narratives for the conveyance of foreign reform policies, measures, practices, and concepts.Show less
Between January and April 1861, in the wake of Abraham Lincoln's election, the seceding lower South states sent five secession commissioners to Virginia to persuade the Virginians to secede and...Show moreBetween January and April 1861, in the wake of Abraham Lincoln's election, the seceding lower South states sent five secession commissioners to Virginia to persuade the Virginians to secede and join in forming the Confederacy. This study examines why all but one failed to achieve their goal. While this thesis only gives a partial answer, it sheds light on a number of complexities regarding both the commissioners' efforts and Virginia's secession crisis.Show less
Rhetorically, President Johnson presented his Vietnam intervention as part of an international war on poverty. ‘The vast Mekong River can provide food and water and power on a scale to dwarf even...Show moreRhetorically, President Johnson presented his Vietnam intervention as part of an international war on poverty. ‘The vast Mekong River can provide food and water and power on a scale to dwarf even our own TVA,’ LBJ held during his televised speech at Johns Hopkins University of April 1965, informing the audience of the United States’ benevolent ambition in Vietnam. But the desired effect of LBJ's rhetoric was not solely limited to sanctifying foreign affairs: rather, Johnson’s remarks underlined the universalism embedded in Great Society reform, and extrapolated the Democratic platform into a global context - justifying the president's agenda in both the foreign and domestic contexts. Thus, this thesis argues that LBJ’s early Vietnam rhetoric was intimately linked with his public defense of Great Society reforms, and challenge the conceptual dichotomy between domestic and foreign affairs by closely scrutinizing several key speeches of the Johnson presidency.Show less
On August 9, 2014, Missouri police officer Darren Wilson shoots down a black teenager by the name of Michael Brown in downtown Ferguson, Missouri. Brown, having been shot six times, was killed on...Show moreOn August 9, 2014, Missouri police officer Darren Wilson shoots down a black teenager by the name of Michael Brown in downtown Ferguson, Missouri. Brown, having been shot six times, was killed on the spot. The shooting sparked two weeks of violence and looting, a civil unrest that became known as 'the Ferguson riots'. In its aftermath, theorists have argued that the riots have ultimately resulted in "The Ferguson Effect": the belief that crime numbers have risen due to police's incompetence to retain authority. However, this belief appears to be false, as crime statistics show that crime had already started to rise in the months prior to the police shooting. Nevertheless, the term still circulates in the media on a regular basis. This thesis will take a more rational approach towards the supposed “Ferguson Effect”. First, I will focus on historical crime data, provided by the Uniform Crime Reporting Statistics (UCR). Furthermore, this thesis will focus on comparable statistics of a similar civil unrest, the 2001 riots of Cincinnati, in order to spot potential similarities and/or disparities. The findings will invalidate the hypothesis of a “Ferguson Effect”, while at the same time prove the existence of a rise in crime in the years following the 2001 riots in Cincinnati -- “the Cincinnati Effect”, if you will. But as opposed to "The Ferguson Effect", the term has never been introduced by the media. In terms of civil unrests, this thesis will focus on the changes in media coverage by comparing the reports of four newspapers (Cincinnati Enquirer, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, New York Times and the Los Angeles Times) on both the Cincinnati riots in 2001 and the Ferguson riots in 2014. Furthermore, a cross-sectional analysis will be conducted to find out the extent to which coverage has transformed, both in the case of regional and national coverage specifically as well as comprehensive coverage. Ultimately, these analyses will confirm the following thesis statement: the term “Ferguson Effect”, introduced by the media in its coverage on the 2014 riots in Ferguson, Missouri, is a result of the media’s growing involvement in police brutality against black citizens, as compared to the coverage on the 2001 riots in Cincinnati, Ohio.Show less
At a time when Manifest Destiny was the ideology and the US wanted to expand and extend their borders, the First Transcontinental Railroad of America, a railroad connecting the East and the West,...Show moreAt a time when Manifest Destiny was the ideology and the US wanted to expand and extend their borders, the First Transcontinental Railroad of America, a railroad connecting the East and the West, was built. It was a great and often-romanticized story of two railroad companies, the Central Pacific Railroad Company of California in the West and the Union Pacific Railroad Company in the East, competing against each other. However, the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific were not the only competing parties in this history.The same applies to their laborers, the Chinese and the Irish, who were trying to climb the American social ladder. This thesis tries to find out how the struggle for social emancipation between the Chinese and the Irish railroad workers came about and evolved by examining American public opinion of the 19th-century within the context of the First Transcontinental Railroad of America.Show less
In February 2009, the first Obama administration offered its Russian counterpart a "reset button" to renew U.S.-Russian relations. As we now know, however, this initiative failed to structurally...Show moreIn February 2009, the first Obama administration offered its Russian counterpart a "reset button" to renew U.S.-Russian relations. As we now know, however, this initiative failed to structurally alleviate the lingering strains of Cold War antagonism. This thesis will discuss the role of Congress concerning this matter. This is interesting, firstly, because part of the reset's failure can be explained by Congressional counteracts. Secondly, careful analysis of Congressional hearings will show that there is a much less rigid bipartisan dichotomy concerning U.S.-Russian policy than is often taken for granted. All in all, the reader is granted considerable insight into one of the most complex and most urgent bilateral relations of today.Show less
Research Into The Justiciability Of Redistricting in American Politics Anno 2006. By discussing several US Supreme Court cases that deal with the issue of redistricting, several developments are...Show moreResearch Into The Justiciability Of Redistricting in American Politics Anno 2006. By discussing several US Supreme Court cases that deal with the issue of redistricting, several developments are discussed and reviewed. In doing so, a clearer image is formed on the 2006 Texas mid-decade redistricting controversy.Show less
In the autumn of 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Marriner S. Eccles, Mormon millionaire Republican and owner of many companies, including banks, in Utah, "Governor", chairman of the...Show moreIn the autumn of 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Marriner S. Eccles, Mormon millionaire Republican and owner of many companies, including banks, in Utah, "Governor", chairman of the Board of the Federal Reserve System (FED). The FED is an institution in the United States similar to the central banks of the Netherlands, France or Britain. An important difference is that the European central banks are fully owned by the state, while the FED is a partnership between the federal government and 12 local private banks. In this way, a better comparison is with the European Central Bank, also a partnership of regional central banks, which, however, are owned by the state. Eccles accepted his appointment under the condition that he could dramatically reshape the FED. As well as renowned economists, for example, Milton Friedman and John Kenneth Galbraith, Eccles believed that the Depression that began in 1929 was the fault of the FED. In 1935, President Roosevelt signed the law that indeed radically reformed the DED. The most important reform was that the actual decision-making power moved to the "Board of Governors". Remarkably Eccles, although he was primarily responsible for monetary policy, saw fiscal policy as the solution to the economic problems of the 30s. Asserting that he never had read a word from him, Eccles had the same ideas as the renowned economist John M. Keynes. Increasing government spending, creating large deficits on the federal budget were the solution. All the Americans had to have more money to spend on goods and services. That would stimulate the economy and unemployment would disappear. To Eccles unemployment was not only an economic but also and above all a moral problem. The explanation for this is his Mormon background. The Mormon community in Utah was a theocratic and egalitarian democracy, where it was considered normal for the "government", meaning the Church, to have the right and duty to steer the economy and provide jobs to the unemployed through projects, paid by the government. These ideas he proclaimed as early as 1932. For many it was "swearing in church". The prevailing idea was that economic recovery needed that the state was not more spending than its revenues. This is a discussion that has never been finally decided and is gooing on to this day. Evidence for this is the 3% percent standard for the budget deficit to be met by countries in the European Union by reducing expenditures and to obtain higher revenues by increasing taxes. To a true Keynesian, for example Paul Krugman, this is an abomination. It was not until 1938 that President Roosevelt submitted a budget that was based on the ideas of Eccles. A fierce battle with the Secretary of the TReasury, Henry Morgenthau who strongly believed in a balanced budget, was needed. Eccles' first great merit is that, by reforming in 1935 the FED He made it possible for the FED to grow to the very powerful institution that it is today. When the chair of the FED appears in Congres to give his, or as is the case today, her views on the economy and monetary policy the entire financial world is listening attentively The other great achievement of Eccles is that he made acceptable as one of the economic policy options that a government can and should play a active and steering role in the economy of the countryShow less
In de jaren 70 kwam Augusto Pinochet door middel van een coup aan de macht in Chili. Zijn banden met de VS werden altijd als warm beschouwd, maar in deze scriptie worden kanttekeningen geplaatst...Show moreIn de jaren 70 kwam Augusto Pinochet door middel van een coup aan de macht in Chili. Zijn banden met de VS werden altijd als warm beschouwd, maar in deze scriptie worden kanttekeningen geplaatst bij deze relatie. Onder Pinochet werd Operatie Condor opgezet, een project van geheime diensten in Latijns-Amerika dat tot doel had zoveel mogelijk dissidenten binnen en buiten het continent te liquideren.Show less
This thesis discusses the Argentine Dirty War of 1974-1983 and the role Henry Kissinger played in encouraging the military junta of 'El Proceso,' emphasizing the context of US foreign affairs in...Show moreThis thesis discusses the Argentine Dirty War of 1974-1983 and the role Henry Kissinger played in encouraging the military junta of 'El Proceso,' emphasizing the context of US foreign affairs in Latin America during the Cold War and the change in foreign policies under Carter with the introduction of human rights.Show less
