My thesis examines records on the institutional organization of the major national economies during World War II, with an emphasis on the United States. However, it is a theoretical rather than historical thesis. Its main line of argument comes from an analysis of cross-national variation in the success of national economic mobilizations during World War … Read more
For much of the nineteenth and early twentieth century, the vice presidency was little more than an afterthought. Occupants of the office were typically political hacks who wallowed in powerlessness. However, John Tyler’s ascendancy to Commander-in-Chief in 1841 changed everything. As the nation’s first accidental president, Tyler rejected almost every major legislative program advanced by … Read more
In response to the economic and financial troubles of the 2008-2012 crisis period, numerous European governments opted to implement severe budget cuts to stabilize national finances and reduce public debt. These austerity measures have been widely publicized for their impacts on education, welfare, health, and other sectors of national budgets. However, there has been less … Read more
In my thesis, I present an analysis of how my informants manage the threat of racial stigma in their daily lives. East Asians’ introduction in Peru as plantation laborers established their race as stigmatized. As the interview data suggest, the stigma’s persistence is felt among my informants through institutions such as the Chinese restaurant chifa … Read more
Arrow’s impossibility theorem states, “Any constitution that respects transitivity, independence of irrelevant alternatives, and unanimity is a dictatorship.” In other words, no democratic voting system can be perfect. With the archaic Electoral College system still in place and the Democratic and Republican parties fully entrenched in certain states, the United States’ electoral system is, quite … Read more
At the turn of the 20th century, Taiwan and Puerto Rico were typical case studies in underdevelopment. Centuries of colonial rule under the Chinese and Spanish Empires left them as dirt-poor agrarian societies with illiterate and malnourished populations (Cabán 2002; Cheng 2001). Yet during the mid 20th century both islands successfully transitioned from agrarian to industrial … Read more
Ultimately, I want all Black, migrant, and refugee women in Holland to believe in themselves. With training and open dialogue, we come together and organize the Zami award, rewarding each other’s power and organizing that power. […] When [politicians] talk about Black, migrant, and refugee women they always [talk about] them as a problem, women … Read more
The HPR tackles the challenging questions sparked by Edward Snowden’s leaking of classified National Security Agency programs. Where is the line between privacy and security? Can our government be trusted? What were Edward Snowden’s motives?
In the years following 9/11, I accepted the rationale that surveillance programs like warrantless wiretaps were necessary to keep us safe. As recently as this year, I have found myself making the trite argument that if you have done nothing wrong and have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear. I assumed some kind … Read more
This summer while riding the MARTA in Atlanta, I overheard a conversation between a nurse and her friend. She was complaining to him about a laundry list of social ills, culminating in Obama’s sudden support for gay marriage and he told her completely deadpan that it was because of the Illuminati. She nodded her acceptance … Read more