Recent igs_percy items

The Calculus of Compromise: Analyzing Legislative Behavior in the Shadow of Constant Media Coverage

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Calculus of Compromise: Analyzing Legislative Behavior in the Shadow of Constant Media Coverage

The Electoral Crisis of "West Coast Liberalism"

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

West Coast cities are often associated with progressivism and support of the Democratic Party. However, local political shifts have emerged as ideological gaps on the issues have become increasingly visible over the last few years, specifically between “progressive” and “moderate” Democrats. This project focuses on crime and the unhoused as the two major issues driving these shifts. I argue that, one, urban West Coast electorates are targeting their backlash against progressives, but two, that is not necessarily a reflection of the local realities of crime and homelessness. First, I conduct a regional analysis of five traditionally liberal West Coast metropolitan areas (Los Angeles, Oakland, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle) with a difference-in-difference approach. Second, I conduct a local analysis of San Francisco at the census block group level with the same difference-in-difference approach. I augment my statistical analyses with descriptive analyses to contextualize these...

A Case Study on Oaxaqueñx Identities: A Study on Its Political and Legal Importance

Fri, 11 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Although the Bracero program ended in 1964, migration did not start nor end there. The history of Indigenous migration is one that has resulted in complex transborder identities and communities. The identities and migration of Oaxaqueñxs is a key focus throughout this project as I seek to elevate the stories of this Indigenous community. This study seeks to close the gap in existing literature that links Oaxaqueñxs’ demographics in farm labor to the Bracero Program through the lens of legal consciousness. My research question is: How does the legal consciousness of the Oaxaqueñxs reflect their roots in migration? By looking at migration as a catalyst for identity, I used the following sub-questions: (1) How and to what extent has the Bracero Program shaped how Oaxaqueñxs relate to the American legal system?; (2) How and to what extent do Oaxaqueñx farmworkers believe the Bracero Program shaped their political, economic, and “legal” identity?; (3) How and to what extent has the...

The Great Divide: How UC Students See Politics in 2017

Fri, 16 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0000

The Great Divide: How UC Students See Politics in 2017

'Alameda is our Home': African Americans and the Struggle for Housing in Alameda, California, 1860-present

Fri, 21 Apr 2017 00:00:00 +0000

How has prejudice in the local and regional housing market impacted African Americans in the island city of Alameda, California? From the 19th century to present, developers, homeowners, landlords, policy-makers, and realtors have discriminated against African Americans who, in response, consistently wage battles for more affordable housing and inclusionary policies in Alameda. Prejudice realtors and developers restricted black renters and homeowners to the specific areas of the island prior to the Second World War. During and after the war, housing discrimination limited the majority of African Americans to temporary housing projects. Policies to redevelop project lands and direct the island’s future development intentionally exclude low-income renters and people of color. African Americans contest residential exclusion, build community by creating organizations and institutions, forge interracial alliances for open housing, and challenge exclusionary policies and practices....

The Great Shift: Analyzing the Effect of Public Safety Realignment on Crime in California Between 2009-2013

Fri, 1 Jul 2016 00:00:00 +0000

In 2011, the United States Supreme Court mandated California to reduce its severely overcrowded prison population. In an effort known as Public Safety Realignment, Assembly Bills 109 and 117 shifted the responsibility to house individuals convicted of non-serious, nonviolent, and non-sex felony offenses from state prisons and parole to local jails and probation in each of the 58 California counties. Using a multivariate regression model controlling for county-specific population factors, this thesis examines the extent to which Public Safety Realignment has impacted crime in California, both at the state and county levels. Additionally, through in-depth interviews of county officials, examples of “best practices” for accommodating realigned prisoners while keeping crime low are determined. The results of this study indicate significant changes in both FBI Part I violent crimes (murder, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault) and FBI Part I nonviolent property crimes (motor...

The Supreme Court, Public Opinion, and the Affordable Care Act: The Stability of Partisan Cleavage over Health Care

Fri, 1 Jul 2016 00:00:00 +0000

A fundamental challenge surrounding the role of the United States Supreme Court in American democracy concerns the Court’s countermajoritarian status. Much of the existing research has attempted to “resolve” the countermajoritarian difficulty by examining the link between the Supreme Court and public opinion, particularly whether public opinion can influence the outcome of Court decisions. Interestingly, however, little has been studied about the reverse relationship—that is, whether the Supreme Court can influence public opinion. This paper investigates the Court’s ability to win popular support for its rulings, specifically in the case of NFIB v. Sebelius that ruled on the constitutionality of the 2010 Affordable Care Act. By analyzing various public opinion polls through multivariate analysis, this study finds that the Supreme Court decision has not resulted in an increased public support of the Affordable Care Act but rather bolstered a pre-existing trend of partisan...

Remembering the Alamo: Demographic Change and Texas Politics

Fri, 1 Jul 2016 00:00:00 +0000

In today's American politics, there may be no place perceived as more "red"(Republican-voting) than the Lone Star State. Texas, the home of the Alamo, the gun rack,and the 72-ounce steak, hasn't voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since beforeRonald Reagan; George W. Bush won the state by over 20 percentage points, twice (ANES,2015). But demographic forces are changing the face of Texas, and it may not be long beforeits voting hue changes as well. Migration of African-Americans and Hispanics in search ofwork, and differential birth rates in those populations, have made Texas a majority-minoritystate, and state population growth is expected to come almost entirely from minoritypopulations. From 2010-2014, Hispanic population rose by 9.4%, African-American by 8.9%,and White non-Hispanic by just 2.6% (U.S. Census, 2015). Despite voter ID laws aimed atdisenfranchising minority voters, the trend lines are clear; it is only a matter of time beforeTexas becomes more likely...

Why They Voted: Youth Political Participation in the 21st Century

Thu, 4 Jun 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Following the historical 2008 presidential election, academics and pundits alikemarveled over the high voter turnout among youth. In 2008, 51 percent of those under the ageof 30 turned out to vote. This compares with a mere 40 percent youth turnout rate in 2000. Inthe 2008 presidential election, 66 percent of youth votes were cast for Barack Obama. Whileit is clear from these figures that young people are becoming a more powerful political force,why they are becoming more engaged remains unclear. This study seeks to address why youthturned out in greater numbers in 2008 by examining three important variables: the impact ofthe 9/11 attacks, intensity of candidate preference, and voter contact. I track these variablesusing the American National Election Studies (ANES) times series data, drawing comparisonswith 2000, when youth turnout was historically low. An analysis of these variables amongdifferent age groups in 2000 and 2008 reveals that the Millennial generation displayed anoverwhelming...

Films for a New Germany: British Documentaries and the Reeducation of West Germany

Thu, 4 Jun 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Films for a New Germany: British Documentaries and the Reeducation of West Germany

Occupational Hazard: Ballot occupation as a proxy for party in low-information elections

Mon, 15 Jul 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Researchers have long viewed ballot cues as key factors in vote choice unrelated to a pure evaluation of a candidate’s merits. In this study, I investigate the role of ballot occupation— that is, the title often included with a candidate’s name on a ballot. Ballot occupation is more malleable by candidates than other cues, like ethnicity or ballot order, and could be manipulated to produce an electoral benefit. I evaluated a difference in occupation preference between respondents of the two major United States political parties. I conducted an Internet- based survey of 610 individuals, varying the cues presented—occupation, party, or both. The results suggest that listing occupations historically and logically associated with one of the political parties has an effect similar to, but weaker than, the effect of listing the corresponding party. Further, when both a party and an occupation inconsistent with that party are listed (e.g., a “Republican college professor”), the results...

Articulations of National Membership on Debates about the DREAM Act and the AgJOBS Act

Mon, 15 Jul 2013 00:00:00 +0000

How is legal membership framed by American political elites? I address this question through a comparative analysis on debates surrounding the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act and the Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits and Security (AgJOBS) Act. I define framing legal membership as the conception and articulation of national membership through the law. Literature has stressed three types of ideologies framing citizenship in the United States: republican membership, liberal membership and ‘ascriptive Americanism’. However, there are other ideologies that come into play when it comes to framing who deserves to be a legal member of the United States. I examine the importance cultural, economic, and national security arguments in making the case for undocumented migrants’ access to legal status based on data sets of Congressional hearings on the DREAM Act and the AgJOBS Act. I argue that Dreamers are constructed as deserving of citizenship because...

The American Gaze at the American Gays: Interest Groups, Media, and the Elite Opinions’ Impact on Public Opinion

Mon, 15 Jul 2013 00:00:00 +0000

In a recent wave of events, President Obama had announced his open acceptance and support of gay marriage in America; many celebrities have endorsed and said “It Gets Better”, to help with gay teenagers – and the majority of America stands behind them. But the trend towards an acceptance of gays has been established way before Obama, Lady Gaga, or “It Gets Better” Campaign. In this study, I seek the answer to the puzzling question of, “what made the public opinion change regarding the gay population?” After looking at public opinion trend, I seek the answer through some quantitative ways: through the political interest groups’ financial and media data; seeking media infiltration of “gay” in the news and TV shows; and lastly, the elite’s opinion through the channels of Supreme Court of the United States, State of the Union Address, and Presidential Campaign platforms of each parties. My data analysis goes back through roughly last thirty-five years (from 1977 to the present) of...

Conservationism is not Conservatism: Do Interest Group Endorsements Help Voters Hold Representatives Accountable?

Mon, 15 Jul 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Much research assumes that voters know or can learn the positions their representatives take on key issue. Arthur Lupia found that voters could learn such information through advertisements and interest group endorsements. We examine whether these cues improve voters’ ability to infer their representative’s voting behavior and find that most interest groups fail to do so. In a follow-up study, we find that voters are ignorant of which positions the interest groups take on issues. Finally, we run a similar experiment for representatives’ party affiliation and find that it is similarly uninformative; voters are unclear on where the parties stand on issues as well.

A SHARED STATE: IRAQI REFUGEES AND AMERICAN VETERANS IN THE AFTERMATH OF WAR

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000

The American media devoted primetime coverage to the military offensive in Baghdad in March

of 2003 but as time passed the ‘War on Terror’ became an uneasy norm in American consciousness.

Although the Iraq war swept through the lives of millions of Iraqi civilians and hundreds of thousands of

American military families, few ethnographic studies document that aftermath. Furthermore, while

veterans and refugees are the two largest populations affected by the war, no previous studies have

analyzed both groups in concert. To that end, this paper is an ethnographic analysis of the war’s aftermath

through the lived experiences of Iraqi refugees and American veterans in California. The research on

which the study is based derives from twelve months of participant observation, group discussions, and

qualitative interviews with refugees formerly of the Iraqi professional class who relocated to northern

California after 2003 and,...

Civic and Political Engagement of Chinese Americans in Ethnic Suburbs