This thesis discusses the use of Daniel Elazar's theory of political subcultures in the United States. The first chapter is an introduction to the concept of political culture. The second chapter discusses Elazar's theory and method. The third chapter points out the problems in Elazar's theory and his method with a discussion of recent studies. The fourth chapter outlines the present analysis and the method used. The fifth chapter sets out the conclusions and offers avenues of new direction in the study of political culture.

The American movement to acquire the region known as Texas has "been the subject of countless monographs and journal articles. Although the literature on the Texas movement is voluminous, no historian has produced an interpretive synthesis based on that literature and the extant documentary sources. This work is intended "to fill that void "by offering speculative analysis as well as a chronological narrative on the total movement. The scope of this work is comprehensive. It traces the American government's handling of the Texas issue from 1819—-the year President James Monroe agreed to drop the American claim to Texas in the Adams-Onis treaty—through 1845—the year President James K. Polk signed a congressional resolution granting Texas statehood. Throughout these years the countervailing political forces of antebellum America had more influence on the government's Texas position than did diplomatic considerations. Consequently, the theme of this dissertation is that the American movement to acquire Texas was primarily a political movement. Indeed, the Texas Republic became an American state only when the annexation issue became inextricably linked with the party trammels and political philosophies of Jacksonian America.

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This thesis deals with the role of the JOS as the principal military advisers of the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government. It concentrates on the JSC’s perception of Soviet military and political intentions and capabilities in the postwar era and on the JCS’s military proposals regarding the external threat. The purpose of the thesis is to assess the JCS’s role substantively rather than to evaluate the relative role of the JCS as an agency amongst other key agencies dealing with foreign policy.

There are proportionally fewer Hispanic Americans, African Americans and women in Congress than in the United States population. Existing literature prescribes a variety of explanations for this disparity including skewed nominations procedures, differing participation rates, racial gerrymandering, voting biases, and funding inequities. This study revisits one aspect of the underrepresentation issue: campaign contributions. Money has been an integral component of the electoral process since before the American Revolution and its impact on the current composition of Congress ought to be explored to a greater extent. Previous research shows that contributors rarely, if at all, discriminate on the basis of gender. This study intends to further investigate the congressional campaign funding of African Americans and provide some much needed insight regarding the campaign financing of Hispanic American candidates. Using financial and biographical data from each candidate within the 2004 and 2008 election cycles, a multiple regression model will be employed to evaluate the extent to which gender and minority status determine the distribution of congressional campaign funds independent of other electability traits considered influential by contributors (the percentage of vote received in the last election, incumbency, and the leadership position held are indications of candidate strength that affect campaign contributions). The magnitude and statistical significance of these coefficients provides further understanding into funding inequities

In 1981 the Reagan Administration announced a New Federalism to reduce the size and impact of the federal government and return power and control to state and local governments. This Revived Federalism program was partially initiated in the establishment of a state option to administer the Small Cities Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. This study examines the implementation process by which the national and state governments administer the CDBG program to accomplish national goals. A review of the implementation literature suggests a variety of variables which influence the implementation process. A general integrated framework, which incorporates the political, organizational and socio-economic environments, is proposed as a model to structure the investigation of the implementation process. A comparative study is made of the implementation process in five Area Offices of the Department of Housing and Urban Development and in two State programs. Recognizing the dynamic nature of the process, a four year period is covered to examine the process before and after the State option was established. The results of the study indicate that the implementation process is complex and diverse--both under federal and state administration. Similarities are found in the results of the program under both forms of administration. Differences in the results are also traced in both national and state implementation processes. The interaction of different mixtures of factors in the political, organizational and socio-economic environments within different communities contribute to the similarities and differences in outcomes which are observed. The influences of the local and federal or state administrators are reciprocal as actors at each level of administration interpret and adjust to the cycle of federal legislative changes in the program and to the perceived needs of the various communities. Uncertainty as to the intent and permanence of the multi-objective Small Cities CDBG program is mitigated by the reliance upon organizational structure and routine. National objectives are achievable under either national or state implementation processes, but the outcomes in both forms of administration, will be influenced by the perceptions of the administrators at each level of government participation and will reflect the influences of different sets of complex political, organizational and socio-economic factors. The outcomes in specific localities will not be general or uniform with the results in other areas of the United States. / Ph. D.

Doctorat en sciences sociales, politiques et économiques / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

The Electoral College and Jacksonian Democracy are two subjects that have been studied extensively. Taken together, however, little has been written on how the method of choosing presidential electors during the Age of Jackson changed. Although many historians have written on the development of political parties and the increase in voter participation during this time, none have focused on how politicians sought to use the method of selecting electors to further party development in the country. Between 1824 and 1832 twelve states changed their methods of choosing electors. In almost every case, the reason for changing methods was largely political but was promoted in terms of advancing democracy. A careful study of the movement toward selecting electors on a general ticket shows that political considerations in terms of party and/or state power were much more important than promoting democratic ideals. Despite the presence of a few true reformers who consistently pushed for a constitutional amendment guaranteeing that all states used the same method, the conclusion must be that politics and party demanded a change. This study relies heavily on legislative records at both the state and national level and newspapers throughout t the country from the period. Beginning with a brief history of the office of the president and an overview of the presidential elections prior to 1824, the author then carefully analyzes the elections of 1824, 1828, and 1832, as well as the various efforts to amend the constitutional provisions dealing with the Electoral College. Particular emphasis is placed on political factions at the state level, the development of the Democratic and National Republican parties nationally, and how each party used and at time manipulated the electoral process to secure a favorable outcome for their candidates.

Domestic intelligence is very important in preventing disorder while ensuring unity and security during a time of national crisis. However, if uncontrolled, domestic intelligence can be subject to political misuse, which causes serious damage both to individuals and to democratic institutions. There are various theoretical explanations for political misuse of domestic intelligence. The political use of domestic intelligence is best explained by the sociological theory of unfulfilled needs. On the other hand, political counterintelligence can be best explained by Threat Theory. In order for a domestic intelligence organization to be effective, its organizational discretion must be limited by establishing clear legislation that is not secret, on the focus, limits, and techniques of domestic intelligence. This system must be supported by a multi-level control mechanism.

Post-force congressional rally effects are presented as a new incentive behind presidential decisions to use diversionary behavior. Using all key roll call votes in the House and Senate where the president has taken a position for the years 1948 to 1993, presidents are found to receive sharp decreases in both presidential support and success in Congress shortly after employing aggressive policies abroad. Evidence does suggest that presidents are able to capitalize on higher levels of congressional support for their policy preferences on votes pertaining to foreign or defense matters after uses of force abroad. But, despite these findings, diversionary behavior is found to hinder rather than facilitate troubled presidents' abilities to influence congressional voting behavior.