After the destabilization of Iraq following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein by U.S. forces, Iraq had the opportunity to emerge as a democratic nation. This study explores the emerging concepts of democracy in Iraq during the roughly 13-year period between 2005 and 2018 as the country moved from Authoritarian (Guardianship) and Thin (Successorship) views of democracy to a Deep (Western) liberal view. I trace the evolution of democracy in Iraq by probing the possible influences of religious, cultural, historical, external, socioeconomic, and physical factors influencing these concepts of democracy, analyzing the elections held during the period, and interviewing Iraqis in the United States. In a religiously conservative society such as Iraq, understanding the basics of Iraqis' religion helps scholars better understand how Iraqis define and view democracy. In examining the bases for varying views of democracy among Iraqis, religion as a collective framework generates meanings, attitudes, beliefs, values, and purposes to help make sense of Iraqi political experience and shapes individuals' beliefs, behaviors, and ethical structures. Additionally, income, education, personal experiences, and religious attachment also help to shape their definition of democracy. Using scholarship about the theories of democracy, this study constructed measures of different aspects of its meaning among Iraqi individuals and political parties. Then, using data collected from primary and secondary sources (including interviews, statements of the political philosophies of active political parties, statements of party leaders, and sources such as books, articles, media reports, public discourse, websites, and blogs), I examined several expectations about the extent of variation in and the nature of Iraqis' definitions of democracy. Each group evidently manipulated its definition of democracy to protect its interests at the expense of its rivals. Based on the evidence examined, five key themes emerged: restoration of full Iraqi administration of the country; schism in the Shi'a house between the two religious centers of Qum (Iran) and Najaf (Iraq); collapse of the ruling party; fluidity of political realignments; a rise of secularisms; and the emergence of a robust social movement supporting a Western liberal democratic system. Competition over shared social and ideological terrain often intensified political struggles, especially the fierce clash between and within the Shi'a and Sunni communities and Islamists and leftist forces. Although the intensity of conflicting definitions of democracy diminished over the two elections held in 2014 and 2018, a more universal definition is still sought. A clearer and more stable meaning remains elusive despite growing consensus on the term. In sum, this study is far from the last word on how Iraqis define democracy, as it continues to evolve in theory and practice. / Doctor of Philosophy / Between 2005 and 2018, Iraq held five national elections, followed by a series of political crises surrounding conflicting understandings of democracy. This study follows the evolution of democracy in Iraq during this 13-year period, as the country moved from Authoritarian (guardianship) and Thin (successorship) views of democracy to a Deep (Western) liberal view. I trace the evolution of democracy in Iraq by probing the possible influences of religious, cultural, historical, external, socioeconomic, and physical factors on ideas of democracy, analyzing the elections held during the period and interviewing Iraqis in the United States. This project highlights the views of democracy espoused by Iraqi individuals and active political parties. The study investigated the conditional nature of ideological congruence within the political parties in Iraq that had religious preferences. Various Iraqi groups exhibited different levels of understanding of democracy based on their religions, personal experiences and levels of education and income. Using scholarship on democratic theory, I looked at Deep (Western) liberal (pluralism), Thin (Successorship, Sunni rule by consensus), and Authoritarian (Guardianship), Shi'a centralized authority views of democracy and explored whether and how differences the rules of thought in each view were associated with Iraqis' definitions of democracy and accompanying political dislocation and mistrust. I examined these views of democracy based on multiple data bases, interviews, television, newspapers, and blogs and found that oppressed groups and religious minorities more generally accepted liberal democracy even if it had been forcefully introduced by an occupier. Different democratic perspectives are often associated with antagonism toward and discord in the electoral process. Thus, the definitions of democracy from each community's perspective are some of the most important predictors of democratic acceptance by Iraqis.

No / The anticapitalist protests at Seattle and Genoa are dramatic symbols of a growing collective anger about the of a few multinational corporations. But there is more to anticapitalism than demonstrations: concepts like participatory democracy and economic solidarity form the heart of alternative but equally compelling visions. Hilary Wainwright, writer and long-time political activist, set out on a quest to find out how people are putting such concepts into practice locally and taking control over public power. Her journey starts at home, in east Manchester, where local community groups are testing Tony Blair¿s commitment to ¿community-led¿ regeneration by getting involved in the way government money is spent. In Newcastle, she joins a meeting of homecare workers and their clients to challenge the threat of privatization of homecare services in that city. In Los Angeles she talks to the people behind the community-union coalitions that have had major successes in improving the impoverished bus system and in winning a living wage for employees of firms contracted by the city. And in Porto Alegre she discovers the wider democratic potential of the participatory budget, the basis of investment decisions in many Brazilian cities. Local democracy and ¿people power,¿ it turns out, provided the foundations for a global alternative, as her visit to the World Social Forum reveals.

No, she is not my mom, not my aunt, we are not family. Yes, we do look alike, we do live in the same neighborhood, we smell the same coffee beans each morning, and we share the same zip code. The only difference between us is I do have an actual address here, she does not. Yes, she must have lived here much longer than me, she has a history in this town, a lot of the people would recognize her smiling spirit right away, yet she only occupies a corner in a street near a coffee shop most of the year. Everyone knows that space is hers, except the legal papers. Where are you from? The question may seem so simple, but regardless of how many times I am asked the answer has never been so easy for me each time I am asked, and I am asked very often. Belonging, identity, countries, tribes, bloodlines and borders are things that confuse me a lot, and for that I decided to do my thesis about them, trying to find an answer to a simple question, in a very complicated universe. I chose to study these matters through a transitional program, in a transforming neighborhood and for users who are in their most confused age; an international 6 boarding school in Dupont circle. / Master of Architecture

This study concerns the terms liberalism, the political, democracy, and liberal democracy focusing on the application of the terms in the discourse of two distinct political theorists: Carl Schmitt and Sheldon S. Wolin. I address the question of whether similarities exist between Schmitt and Wolin's theories? Specifically, are there similarities in their use of the terms listed above? Although both emphasize different aspects of the terms, I suggest they simultaneously share similar perspectives on them. In particular, I suggest that Schmitt and Wolin share in common attributes in their views on the purported problematic of liberal democracy. Furthermore, I suggest both theorists speak to the general concern that if the political cannot be realized, then democracy cannot be practice. / Master of Arts

Several earlier studies have discussed the relationship between economic inequality and democracy, although no consensus have yet been reached regarding whether there is a relation and the actual shape of it. The aim of this study is to investigate this relationship via a time series cross sectional analysis. The study is performed with panel data containing measurements of the quality of liberal democracy within countries, as well as measurements of economic inequality (distribution of pretax national income and wealth in the household sector within the richest 1% and poorest 10% of the population). The study shows a relationship between economic inequality and the quality of liberal democracy. Furthermore, the different conceptualizations of economic inequality are shown to have different effect and relevance depending on the social groups in question. Income distribution correlates strongly positive with an increase in democratic quality regarding the poorest 10% of the population, while wealth distribution correlates negatively regarding the riches 1%. Furthermore, two theoretical mechanisms through which these effects could occur are investigated; one focuses on the effects that economic inequalities have on support for democracy among the poorest, the other on the effect that concentration of economic assets has on political equality and the actions of the wealthiest within society. The study shows support for the second mechanism regarding a relationship between measures of economic inequalities and measures of how much political influence is based on economic assets, where more economically unequal societies tend to also have a more unequal distribution of political influence.

The problem which forms the basis of this study is one involving an investigation of the curricular offerings in the field of business in the liberal-arts colleges of Arkansas. The purpose of the investigation is to compare the growth of business offerings during the eleven years from 1936 to 1946.

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[pt] O pensamento social brasileiro procurou, ao longo do século passado, compreender os processos de mudança no país, especialmente na relação entre o Estado e a sociedade. Nesse sentido, o fenômeno do populismo ganhou destaque por conta de suas implicações no processo eleitoral, na renovação de lideranças políticas, ou mesmo nas finanças públicas. Este trabalho procurou discutir as interpretações sobre as manifestações populistas no período de 1945 a 1964, oferecidas pela Escola de Sociologia da Universidade de São Paulo, pelo Instituto Superior de Estudos Brasileiros, e por representantes do pensamento econômico liberal. Foi possível verificar que as contribuições estudadas afirmaram a relevância dos estudos sobre o populismo para a compreensão da política brasileira no período de 1945 a 1964, como também ajudaram na propagação do debate sobre o fenômeno do populismo no mundo público. Entretanto, em razão dos pressupostos teóricos diferentes que fundamentavam suas análises, não foram capazes de contribuir para uma definição precisa do fenômeno aqui estudado. Na Escola de Sociologia da USP destacaram-se o conceito de estado de compromisso, desenvolvido por Weffort, e a busca do entendimento da diminuição da importância da luta de classes no período populista. Por outro lado, os intelectuais do ISEB, que trabalharam sob influência do pensamento cepalino, viam o populismo como uma passagem na evolução da modernização do país, e davam ênfase à preocupação com o nacional desenvolvimentismo. Já os pensadores econômicos liberais se mantinham fiéis ao liberalismo econômico, marcando suas críticas aos governos que não priorizavam o equilíbrio fiscal. / [en] The Brazilian social thought sought, throughout the past century, to understand the processes of change in the country, especially the relation between the State and the society. In that sense, the phenomenon of populism gained prominence, due to its implications in the electoral process, the renewal of political leadership, and even in the area of public finance. This work tried to discuss the interpretations on the populist manifestations during the period from 1945 to 1964, proposed by the School of Sociology of the University of São Paulo, by the Superior Institute of Brazilian Studies, and by representatives of the liberal economic thought. It was possible to verify that the studied contributions pointed out the relevance of populism studies for better understanding Brazilian politics during the period from 1945 to 1964, as well as helped to spread the discussion about the phenomenon of populism in the public sphere. However, as a consequence of the distinct fundamentals through which different theoreticians based their analyses, they had not been able to accomplish to a precise definition of the phenomenon. In the School of Sociology of the USP relevant concepts were state of commitment developed by Weffort and the search for understanding the decrease of the importance of class struggle during the populist period. On the other hand, the intellectuals of the ISEB had worked under guidance of CEPAL`s thought. They saw Populism as a phase in the evolution of the country, and emphasized the concern with national development. The liberal economic thinkers were loyal to economic liberalism, criticizing governments that did not give priority to fiscal balance.

Thesis advisor: Karen Arnold / Liberal education has long claimed moral education to be a chief aim of its educational format. Liberal education supporters regularly assert its unique ability to foster moral and ethical development in students, but data regarding higher education's efficacy in promoting moral development are limited. Additionally, the educational goal of moral development suffers important philosophical and epistemological critiques which bring into question its adequacy as a worthwhile aim of contemporary higher education. In order to discern whether higher education resources should be used to pursue this educational objective, liberal arts practitioners and supporters must identify clearly what moral education is, whether it is a facet of college student development worthy of our attention, and how to adequately measure it. This study offers a careful analysis of data related to student moral reasoning development gathered in an evaluation process of a liberal education course at a mid-sized research institution. The central research questions focus on aspects of student moral development and students' perceptions of the moral dimensions of coursework and highlight how these interact with students' abilities to receive and process course materials and activities. The research design employs a concurrent triangulation approach to quantitative and qualitative course assessment materials. James Rest's Defining Issues Test (DIT), a well-researched, neo-Kolhbergian measure of moral reasoning, and student writing were analyzed in pre- and post-course evaluations to investigate students' moral reasoning development as they entered, changed and left a year-long liberal arts course. Results reveal important features of student moral growth, illuminating how students at different levels of moral reasoning development and with varying degrees of change with respect to moral reasoning engaged with liberal education course materials and activities in quite distinct ways. This is an important step in uncovering the unique aspects of liberal education that may foster and sustain moral growth. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2015. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.