http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/authors/890/brian-d-blankenship Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines. en-us Thu, 04 Jun 2026 19:21:18 -0400 Thu, 04 Jun 2026 19:21:18 -0400 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/698/limiting-values-of-democracy-and-competing-views-on-materialism-in-american-society-comparing-kirk-and-nedelsky By Brian D. Blankenship - Limits lie at the heart of the American political system. No governmental body or figure has unlimited authority—all are checked by the others. However, beyond this, political thinkers are divided over how best to mitigate majoritarian influence in American society—to constrain the power of “the people” from encroaching on the rights of individuals. Two such scholars, Jennifer Nedelsky and Russell Kirk, agree that laws and institutions by themselves are insufficient to check the power of America’s democracy, and that American society needs (and has) “limiting... Tue, 18 Sep 2012 10:03 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/698/limiting-values-of-democracy-and-competing-views-on-materialism-in-american-society-comparing-kirk-and-nedelsky http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/677/globalizations-peace-the-impact-of-economic-connections-on-state-aggression-and-systemic-conflict By Brian D. Blankenship - The question of whether economic relations have an impact on interstate military conflict has divided scholars and political thinkers since the Enlightenment. Kant claimed that economic interconnectedness among states would contribute to long-term peace in international politics, but since that time consensus has proved illusory, and scholars have taken a diverse array of positions in the debate. Some have claimed that economic connections foster good will and political integration, and that states will be reluctant to risk the benefits of trade through the initiation of conflict; others have... Tue, 14 Aug 2012 08:05 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/677/globalizations-peace-the-impact-of-economic-connections-on-state-aggression-and-systemic-conflict http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/667/are-we-all-keynesians-now-political-ideology-and-state-deficit-spending-in-the-great-recession By Brian D. Blankenship - The “Great Recession” of 2008 resulted in unprecedented levels of state deficit spending.[1] However, even though deficits are partly the result of economic forces beyond the control of state governments—and are at the same time often considered the result of “failures” of policy innovation—one cannot exclude the possibility that states’ fiscal readjustments are in large part determined by the political ideology of their citizens. Indeed, this paper explores the relationship between citizen ideology and states’ levels of deficit or surplus in the... Wed, 25 Jul 2012 08:05 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/667/are-we-all-keynesians-now-political-ideology-and-state-deficit-spending-in-the-great-recession