Abstract What qualities and characteristics make a public servant in a western democracy? I explore this question by focusing on political meritocracy in the context of western democracies. Political meritocracy is the view that members of the legislative or judicial branch as well as government bureaucrats must be chosen and…

Abstract What is authoritarian neoliberalism? In this paper, I will conduct a literature review on the connections between neoliberalism and authoritarianism. …

Abstract Since the 1970s, neoliberalism has been animated by welfare reform/reversal, wage erosion, relaxing trade controls, and privatization schemes. Neoliberalism brought about sluggish growth rates, increasing inequality, the 2008 financial crises, and riots as violent forms of resistance against the tyranny of austerity. In this paper, I will argue that…

Abstract What is the post-war development project? How does this project yield power asymmetries? In this paper, I will explore the development project as a hegemonic discourse and practice that is violent, oppressive, and degrading. …

A poem about guest workers. From Singapore to Bangladesh. I am not your slave. I am not your guest. I am not a ball to be thrown around. I am not a barcode to be scanned. I am more than a contract. I am more than a work permit. I…

Abstract What makes the politics of resentment flourish in Wisconsin and Louisiana? In this paper, my purposes are (1) to outline four phenomena that nourish the politics of resentment; (2) to propose my own approach to ethnographic research that I will utilize in the future. I will document an ethnographic…

Abstract Rural Americans and Canadians are feeling politically alienated and angry in ways that go beyond ideological preference, age, or income level.1 This anger and discontent yields a politics of resentment. This paper argues that ethnographic case studies can provide scholars with deep insights into the politics of resentment in rural…

Abstract What is the effect of income inequality on voter turnout in the United States? Previous research into this relationship has produced mixed results — as consensus is lacking on whether inequality reduces turnout for all income groups. …

Abstract What makes liberal democracy flourish? In this paper, my purposes are (1) to outline potential ingredients that make a liberal democracy flourish; (2) to highlight gaps in knowledge and explore the datasets collected. Literature review There is no consensus on what liberal democracy is. Liberal democracy is defined by Bollen…