Clocks and Clouds Clocks All clouds are clocks- even the most cloudy of clouds. 2017 VII | Issue 2 Spring Volume -Karl Popper School of Public Affairs School of International Service Clocks and Clouds Volume VII | Issue 2 | Spring 2017 Clocks and Clouds Clocks AMERICAN UNIVERSITY’S UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL lockAND s louds Volume VII | Issue 2 | Spring 2017 VII | Issue 2 Spring Volume C A JOURNAL OF NATIONAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS Stephanie Maravankin Arab Feminism in the Arab Spring: Discourses on Solidarity, the Socio-Cultural Revolution, and the Political Revolution in Egypt, Tunisia, and Yemen Flávia Bedicks How Have Corruption Scandals and President Roussef’s Impeachment in Brazil Impacted its Economy? Nikko Bilitza More Choices More Voices? Maria Islam The Effects of Race and Religion on Patriotism among Americans Frank Mariscal Suicide Terrorism as a Tactic: How Dominant, yet Subtle Representations Form Identities and Meanings VOLUME VII, SPRING 2017 AMERICAN UNIVERSITY’S UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL ClocksAnd Clouds A JOURNAL OF NATIONAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS Volume VII | Issue 2 | Spring 2017 ISSN: 2572-3138 Copyright © 2017 Clocks and Clouds TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction i Staff List ii Stephanie Maravankin 1 Arab Feminism in the Arab Spring: Discourses on Solidarity, the Socio-Cultural Revolution, and the Political Revolution in Egypt, Tunisia, and Yemen Flávia Bedicks 36 How Have Corruption Scandals and President Rousseff’s Impeachment in Brazil Impacted its Economy? Nikko Bilitza 55 More Choices More Voices? Maria Islam 71 The Effects of Race and Religion on Patriotism among Americans Frank Mariscal 92 Suicide Terrorism as a Tactic: How Dominant, yet Subtle Representations Form Identities and Meanings INTRODUCTION There is much to dispute in today’s political landscape, from the most common tropes in American politics to a seemingly novel and extraordinary disconnect between fact and opinion. At an international level, the plot thickens and uncertainty roils at what may seem like perilous instability to some and a long- overdue change to others. However, at a time in which we can debate with each other ad nauseum, what is not uncertain is that we live in interesting times. In this issue of Clocks and Clouds, we are proud to present the reader with five articles authored by five American University students grappling with some of the toughest contemporary issues in national and global affairs. Taking the Arab Spring as her point of departure, Stephanie Maravankin seeks to analyze the key thematic elements of Arab feminist activism, arguing that the movement’s use of collective action frames helped shape the way it played out in real life. Next, Flávia Bedicks’ analysis of recent events in Brazil attempts to show how corruption scandals and the impeachment of former president Dilma Rousseff fomented adverse economic conditions for the rising power. Nikko Bilitza then guides us through a nuanced discussion of electoral systems, showing how the impact of party fragmentation on voter turnout and satisfaction differs between majoritarian and proportional representative systems. Interestingly, Bilitza finds that increasing party system fragmentation increases voter turnout in proportional elections while decreasing voter turnout in majoritarian elections. Following Bilitza, Maria Islam conducts three multivariate linear regressions on survey data responses in order to understand the effects of race and religion on respondents’ levels of patriotism. Finally, Frank Mariscal argues that the dominant discourse of suicide terrorism as a function of “Islamic fundamentalism” contributes to a racialized and oppressive portrayal of Muslims and Muslim Americans—surely all deeply relevant and insightful topics. While we have good reason to comment on the current state of politics, as social scientists, we ought to take this as an opportunity to reexamine our own assumptions, ideals, and thoughts about the nature of politics and international relations. We certainly live in interesting times, but we must also make a concerted effort to understand why. It has been one of the greatest joys of our times as Editor- in-Chief and Managing Editor to serve the American University community. With pride, we invite the reader to share in this endeavor and hope to engage in a spirited and fruitful academic dialogue. Bill Kakenmaster, SIS/CAS Paul Jeffries, SIS/CAS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF MANAGING EDITOR i CLOCKS AND CLOUDS FALL 2016 STAFF FACULTY ADVISORS Professor Kimberly Cowell-Meyers, SPA Professor Lucia Seybert, SIS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Bill Kakenmaster SIS/CAS - 2017 MANAGING EDITOR Paul Jeffries, SIS/CAS - 2017 ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITORS Dan Fitzgerald, SIS/CAS - 2018 Adam Goldstein, SPA - 2017 Jonathan Kaufmann, CAS - 2018 Melanie MacKenzie, CAS/SIS - 2017 Molly McGinnis, CAS/SIS - 2017 REVIEWERS Erin Campbell, SIS/CAS - 2017 Stella Cooper, SIS/CAS - 2017 Jeremy Davis, SIS/CAS - 2017 Yelizaveta Layer, SIS/CAS - 2018 Celia Lohr, SIS/CAS - 2018 Arinzechukwu Ofodile, SIS/CAS - 2017 Harrison Palefsky, SIS/SPA - 2017 Benjamin Shaver, SIS/CAS - 2018 Erik St. Pierre, SIS - 2017 Luke Theuma, SIS/CAS - 2018 Samuel Woods, CAS - 2017 Henock Yilma, SIS - 2017 DESIGNER Bill Kakenmaster, SIS/CAS - 2017 ii ii ARAB FEMINISM IN THE ARAB SPRING: DISCOURSES ON SOLIDARITY, THE SOCIO-CULTURAL REVOLUTION, AND THE POLITICAL REVOLUTION IN EGYPT, TUNISIA, AND YEMEN Stephanie Maravankin Abstract Over the last couple of decades, women-spearheaded social movements have mobilized to leave a lasting impression on civil societies across the globe. The Arab Spring challenged old ideas of oppressive regimes and signaled possibilities for change, originating in Tunisia and spreading to Arab countries throughout the Middle East. This paper explores the existing literature on political opportunity structure, resource mobilization theory, and framing theory as a means to understand the question: How did collective action frames during the Arab Spring shape the discourses on Arab feminism? My research relies on the arguments put forth by the theoretical frameworks to shape the analysis of Arab feminism in Egypt, Tunisia, and Yemen during the Arab Spring. The analysis breaks down into three different themes: solidarity, the socio-cultural revolution, and the political revolution. These discourses uniquely feed into my methodology by providing the contextual foundation for what drives the revolution, referred to as the Arab Spring. After analyzing the statements made by Arab activists and organizers between December 2010 and December 2013 in media sources, my findings shed light on the scholarly literature I reviewed; each discourse is a representation of a theory in practice. Moreover, I find that collective action frames during the Arab Spring shaped the discourses on Arab feminism in three ways: (1) furthered the movement of Arab feminism; (2) redefined what the Arab world meant for Arab feminists; (3) challenged singular-identity definitions of Arab feminists. STEPHANIE MARAVANKIN is a student of International Relations. She graduates in December of 2017. School of International Service (SIS), American University Email: [email protected] Clocks & Clouds: Journal of National and Global Affairs, 2016, 7 (2): 1-35 <http://www.edspace.american.edu/clocksandclouds/> HBP Publishing <http//www.hbp.com/> Clocks & Clouds, Vol. VII Spring 2017 Introduction Social movements have been a means for change across the globe for centuries. Women’s social movements in particular have been a leading force in shaping social movement outcomes given their strong collective action advocacy strategies; one example is the increase in the presence of women in political spheres. Social movements are “organized set(s) of constituents pursuing a common political agenda of change through collective action” (Batliwala 2012, 3). More specifically, women’s movements do three things: bring women into political activities, empower women to challenge the roles they serve, and create networks among women that heighten women’s ability to recognize that gender relations are in dire need of change (Ferree and McClurg Mueller 2004, 577). The Arab Spring provides a context within which scholars can examine the “authenticity of local knowledge” that stemmed as a result of political and social activism on behalf of Arab women (Newsom and Lengel 2012). Originating in Tunisia and spreading to Arab countries throughout the Middle East, the Arab Spring challenged old ideas of oppressive regimes and signaled possibilities for change. This paper explores the theories of political opportunity structure, resource mobilization theory, and framing theory as a means to understand the question: How did collective action frames during the Arab Spring shape the discourses on Arab feminism? Focusing on the discourses of solidarity, socio-cultural revolution, and political revolution, I analyze the official and media sources from Arab feminists and United States Congressional members on the involvement and role of women in Egypt, Tunisia, and Yemen during the Arab Spring. The three discourses discussed in this paper reflect how Arab feminists portrayed themselves and changed the manifestation of Arab feminism from December 2010- December 2013. In this interpretive discourse analysis, I find how the collective action frames examined furthered the movement of Arab feminism, redefined what the Arab world meant for Arab feminists, and challenged the singular-identity definitions of Arab feminists. The paper examines