Master of Arts, Miami University, 2020, History

Previous scholarship on Puerto Rican power in their imperial relationship with the United States has argued that Puerto Ricans lacked political power and were generally excluded from meaningful roles within the territory's government during the first two decades of 20th century. This position is an inaccurate assessment of political life in Puerto Rico. While the successive administrations from McKinley to Taft did engage in a program of "political education" that mandated a great deal of mainlander control over the government, Puerto Ricans held power in both official and unofficial capacities and exercised influence in the government. This power structure shifted during the Wilson Administration as Puerto Ricans took advantage of powers that were delegated from Washington to assert their position in the territorial government and to challenge mainlander officials. This thesis shows that, contrary to existing scholarship, Puerto Ricans wielded a potent degree of influence and power in their government between 1898 and 1923.

Committee: Amanda McVety PhD (Advisor); Andrew Offenburger PhD (Committee Member); Jose Amador PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: American History; History

BA, Oberlin College, 2010, Politics

The arguments presented in this paper attempt to fill particular gaps in the scholarly knowledge of the transnational solidarity movement for Palestine. Chapter One is a descriptive history of transnational solidarity for the Palestinians since the beginning of the second intifada (fall 2000). The next chapter puts the US based component of the Palestine solidarity movement in a comparison with recent US solidarity movements for East Timor and Central America. Chapter Three connects the subjective transnational framing tactics of the movement to the objective, structural conditions of the international system. Chapter Four extends the analysis in Chapter Three by examining the role of new media such as viral videos and low-budget documentaries in the construction of the solidarity movement.

Committee: Stephen Crowley (Advisor); Benjamin Schiff (Other) Subjects: Political Science