China is accused of conducting disinformation campaigns on Taiwan's social media. Existing studies on foreign interventions in democratic societies predict that such disinformation campaigns should lead to increasing partisan polarization within Taiwan. We argue that a backlash effect, making Taiwan's citizens more united against China, is equally plausible. We conduct a survey experiment exposing participants to a real-life rumour and rebuttal to test these competing hypotheses. We find, at best, mixed evidence for polarization. Although neither rumour nor rebuttal mention China, there is consistent evidence of backlash against China. Most notably, participants across the political spectrum are more inclined to support Taiwanese independence after viewing the rumour rebuttal. These findings indicate that citizens may put aside partisanship when confronted with false news that is plausibly linked to an external actor. We conclude by discussing the broader applicability of our theory and implications for cross-Strait relations.

From the foreword: A powerful idea underlies this book. It is the idea of addressing the vital issues and politics of war and peace, drawing together the views of leading thinkers and writers on these matters within successive Western civilizations across the centuries, contributing to our understanding of the important questions involved, and inviting and encouraging further study in additional depth and detail [...] / https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu_books/1283/thumbnail.jpg

O presente estudo trata acerca do Tráfico de Seres Humanos. Analisando a realidade por trás desse mercado ilícito através de seu desenvolvimento histórico, sua evolução passada até os dias de hoje; sua territorialidade e geografia, demonstrando que o tema é um problema de territorialização, com fluxos e fontes bem definidas; seu mercado e economia, para entender seu processo operacional. Objetivo será então o aprofundamento do tema para entender seu funcionamento geral e a desmistificação de problemáticas que giram em torno do assunto. / The study focuses on Trafficking in Human Beings. Looking at the reality behind this illicit market through its historical development, the evolution until today; its territoriality and geography, demonstrating that theme is a territorial problem, with well-defined streams and sources; its market and economy, to understand the operational process. Then the main goal will be to deepen the theme to understanding the general functioning and the demystification of issues that revolve around the subject.

While rankings of presidents are quite common, rankings of Supreme Court justices are much rarer. Herein we produce such rankings to see if perceived greatness on the High Court can be predicted. We do so by examining influences that indicate historical greatness for Supreme Court Justices. To accomplish this we develop a composite greatness score of all the Supreme Court Justices based on the limited previous research on the subject. Next, we examine potential determinants of such success; the time period when they sat on the Court, the length of their tenure, status as the Chief Justice, perception of quality of opinions, and the perceived quality of their appointing president. While some past research finds (limited) evidence that great presidents choose better Justices than mediocre ones, we find that more important indicators of judicial rank are longevity on the Court, serving as Chief Justice and being recognized as an important dissenter.

This senior thesis is an exploration of Chinese soft power and the implications on the future of US-China relations. The first chapter looks into the objectives/goals to attain by using soft power set by the Chinese government followed by the exploration of methods that the Chinese have used to further their goals. The second chapter takes a look at the implicit and explicit successes of soft power in the peripheral regions of China and neighboring countries. The third chapter explores the negative and positive results that have come from China's soft power efforts. And the final chapter covers the fluctuation in American soft power and the effect China's soft power will have on global stability. The paper concludes with policy suggestions for the United States if it wants to protect national interests against China's soft power in the future.

O presente estudo trata acerca do Tráfico de Seres Humanos. Analisando a realidade por trás desse mercado ilícito através de seu desenvolvimento histórico, sua evolução passada até os dias de hoje; sua territorialidade e geografia, demonstrando que o tema é um problema de territorialização, com fluxos e fontes bem definidas; seu mercado e economia, para entender seu processo operacional. Objetivo será então o aprofundamento do tema para entender seu funcionamento geral e a desmistificação de problemáticas que giram em torno do assunto. / The study focuses on Trafficking in Human Beings. Looking at the reality behind this illicit market through its historical development, the evolution until today; its territoriality and geography, demonstrating that theme is a territorial problem, with well-defined streams and sources; its market and economy, to understand the operational process. Then the main goal will be to deepen the theme to understanding the general functioning and the demystification of issues that revolve around the subject.

Judicial scholars have often speculated about the impact of elections on the administration of justice in the state courts. Yet relatively little research has concerned itself with public perceptions of state court selection methods. Of particular interest is the concept of legitimacy. Do elections negatively affect public perceptions of judicial legitimacy? Bonneau and Hall (2009) and Gibson (2012) answer this question with an emphatic “No.” Judicial elections, these studies show, are not uniquely troublesome for perceptions of institutional legitimacy. This article aims to extend the findings of Bonneau and Hall and Gibson via a laboratory experiment on the effects of elections on public perceptions of judicial legitimacy. In the end, we find that because elections preempt the use of the other main selection method—appointment—they actually enhance perceptions of judicial legitimacy rather than diminish them.

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Book Review of Fighting Foreclosure: The Blaisdell Case, The Contract Clause, and the Great Depression by John A. Fliter and Derek S. Hoff. University Press of Kansas. 2012. 224 pages. Cloth $34.95 ISBN: 978-0-7006-1871-2. Paper $19.95 ISBN 978-0-7006-1872-9.