http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/keyword/institutions 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 Fri, 10 Apr 2026 10:48:18 -0400 Fri, 10 Apr 2026 10:48:18 -0400 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1907/through-thick-and-thin-understanding-democracy-and-its-consequences-in-the-united-states By Zak Schneider - One of the key ways to measure and analyze the performance of such expansive countries such as the United States is to look at their institutions and corresponding values. This paper offers a framework of thin democracy, the institutions, norms, and end goals that are broadly accepted by Americans in order to wage political conflict through peaceful means. And thick democracy, or a more complex sense of civic understanding that permeates at the mass level. Then, this work delves into the American case study of democratic erosion, looking through the lens of both thin and thick democratic elements... Fri, 17 Sep 2021 09:20 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1907/through-thick-and-thin-understanding-democracy-and-its-consequences-in-the-united-states http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1781/democratic-backsliding-in-the-us-and-why-the-rest-of-the-west-should-care By Joshua M.M. Portzer - ‘State fragility’ comes in many manifestations, ranging from violent civil conflict to state-sanctioned corruption. Often the term is paired exclusively with the developing world. This is a misnomer. Those within the liberal world order (LWO) are not immune to such societal ills.[1] Indeed, when a democratic State shows symptoms of fragility, it ought to give the West pause—a somber moment to reflect on their own democracies. The United States is providing the world with such a moment now. It is suffering from democratic backsliding.[2] This paper does four things. First, it... Fri, 28 Feb 2020 08:09 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1781/democratic-backsliding-in-the-us-and-why-the-rest-of-the-west-should-care http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1740/explaining-the-rise-of-populism-in-poland-the-post-communist-transition-as-a-critical-juncture-and-origin-of-political-decay-in-poland By Phillip S. Swallow - The Polish populist Law and Justice Party (PiS) overturned the mainstream consensus in Polish politics by returning to power in 2015 with a populist platform, decrying a selfish elite and advancing policies that critics saw as illiberal and authoritarian. In response to the PiS’s policies, the European Commission took the extreme step of triggering Article 7, which could result in suspension of Poland’s voting rights, among other sanctions(Baume, 2017). How did things go so wrong? Poland was once the shining example of the EU’s eastward expansion. Donald Tusk, its former president... Sat, 07 Jul 2018 10:14 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1740/explaining-the-rise-of-populism-in-poland-the-post-communist-transition-as-a-critical-juncture-and-origin-of-political-decay-in-poland http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1539/gender-equality-in-international-institutions-progress-and-challenges-in-moving-toward-gender-parity By Lyndsay B. Thompson - The International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda, for the first time in international law, recognized sexual violence in conflict as crimes against humanity and grave breaches of international law. Subsequently, the International Criminal Court was created with a gender-mainstreamed focus on international issues, and UN Resolutions required states to make gender parity in representation and gender equality national goals. However, when faced with changes in formal rules, institutions often react to reinforce old traditional gender norms... Sat, 18 Feb 2017 09:01 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1539/gender-equality-in-international-institutions-progress-and-challenges-in-moving-toward-gender-parity http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1575/neighborhood-violence-and-crime-do-public-institutions-reduce-crime-in-neighborhoods By Monica Floyd - This paper explores the role of public institutions in reducing or fostering neighborhood violence and crime. Understanding institutional density as a neighborhood effect, this paper examines how ten public institutions and structures influence crime rates in Chicago. Using multivariate regression analysis and geo-coded spatial models, the relationship between the institutions and four different crime statistics (homicide, assault, robbery, and burglary) are analyzed. The findings show that the public institutions have very little impact on crime. Publicly owned vacant lots, however, exhibit a... Tue, 31 May 2016 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1575/neighborhood-violence-and-crime-do-public-institutions-reduce-crime-in-neighborhoods http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1176/factors-that-limit-regulatory-response-in-the-wake-of-the-global-financial-crisis-ideology-regulatory-capture-and-power-dynamics By Frank Wang - The second set of causes lie within an increasingly interconnected capitalist economic system. These factors include the dominance of market fundamentalist ideology, easy access to credit in the US due to globalization, and economic instability due to excess fictitious capital and irrational exuberance. Finally, I argue that systemic risks inherent in an increasingly interconnected capitalist world economy are insufficiently addressed by regulatory reactions to the global financial crisis due to three factors: theoretical neglect of systemic risk by macro-prudential regulation, regulatory capture... Wed, 23 Sep 2015 12:44 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1176/factors-that-limit-regulatory-response-in-the-wake-of-the-global-financial-crisis-ideology-regulatory-capture-and-power-dynamics http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/936/the-evolution-of-human-rights-law-in-europe-comparing-the-european-court-of-human-rights-and-the-ecj-icj-and-icc By Donna V. Artusy - Human rights protection in Europe evolved significantly over the last century, culminating in the creation of the European Court of Human Rights. Unfortunately, the decisions made by the European Court of Human Rights are not binding and do not serve as precedent for future cases. The court has the potential to hold significantly greater influence over human rights protection, but its institutional structure and guiding doctrine (the European Convention on Human Rights) does not allow for this. Although the Court maintains jurisdiction over a smaller number of states, it has a more significant... Mon, 03 Nov 2014 03:49 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/936/the-evolution-of-human-rights-law-in-europe-comparing-the-european-court-of-human-rights-and-the-ecj-icj-and-icc http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1199/the-great-convergence-asia-the-west-and-the-logic-of-one-world By Kishore Mahbubani - Mr. Mahbubani is a Professor of Public Policy and Dean of the Lee Kwan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore. He is the former Permanent Secretary at the Foreign Ministry, and later served as Singapore Permanent Representative to the United Nations. In that capacity he served as the President of the UN Security Council from January 2001 to May 2002. He is the author of Can Asians Think?, Beyond the Age of Innocence: Rebuilding Trust between America and the World and The New Asian Hemisphere: the Irresistible Shift of Global Power to the East. His articles have appeared... Mon, 15 Apr 2013 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1199/the-great-convergence-asia-the-west-and-the-logic-of-one-world http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1286/fragile-foundations-and-infant-institutions-the-case-of-non-reform-in-haiti By Katie Engelhart - Despite the rapid series of regime changes that have occurred in Haiti over the past twenty five years, fundamental shifts in the nature of the state have not materialized. Haiti is essentially a case of economic non-reform; it has failed to undergo neoliberal reforms and become integrated in the global market. As the country moves away from dictatorship and through a series of democratically elected governments, it becomes increasingly evident that the nature of the country’s economic program is not dependent on ideology. Neither dictator nor elected president has been able to modernize... Tue, 15 Apr 2008 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1286/fragile-foundations-and-infant-institutions-the-case-of-non-reform-in-haiti