Students’ Papers Sweep Competition

Jennifer L. Hudson won the FPSA 2016 Best Graduate Paper Award for her paper titled, “Legislative Gridlock, Partisanship, and Trust in Government.”

The UCF Political Science Department is proud to announce that Jennifer L. Hudson, a graduate student in the Political Science master’s program, won the FPSA 2016 Best Graduate Paper Award for her paper titled, “Legislative Gridlock, Partisanship, and Trust in Government.”

The Florida Political Science Association (FPSA) is a professional association of scholars and students from public and private institutions in the state of Florida who serve to encourage political science research and education. The FPSA also publishes the Florida Political Chronicle, an academic journal.

In her paper, Hudson examines the varying effects of legislative gridlock in the US on trust in government and how this varies by partisanship. Her results conclude that legislative gridlock has a significant, negative effect on trust in government, and that by understanding this, researchers will be able to enhance their comprehension of shifts in partisan identification and political participation. Hudson thanks her UCF professors and peers for their invaluable feedback and encouragement on this accomplishment.

Danny Krikorian is one of the runner-ups selected to be published in the Florida Political Chronicle for his paper titled, “Political Stability of Kazakhstan: Gift & Curse.”

“I am very grateful for the chance to present at the 2016 FPSA Annual Meeting,” said Hudson. “This experience provided me the opportunity to not only improve my presentation and research skills, but also to benefit and learn from both students and scholars.”

Chris Faulkner is one of the runner-ups selected to be published in the Florida Political Chronicle for his paper titled, “Buying Peace: the Duration of Peace and Private Military & Security Companies.”

Two other UCF Political Science graduate students, Danny Krikorian and Chris Faulkner, were selected as runners-up for this prestigious award. Danny Krikorian, also a student in the UCF Political Science master’s program, presented his research on “Political Stability of Kazakhstan: Gift and Curse.” Chris Faulkner, who is a doctoral student in the department’s Security Studies Ph.D. program, presented his research on “Buying Peace: the Duration of Peace and Private Military and Security Companies.” All three students are offered the opportunity to publish their papers in the Winter 2016- Spring 2017 edition of the Florida Political Chronicle.

“The Political Science Department is very proud of the outstanding accomplishments of our graduate students,” said Political Science Department Chair and Pegasus Professor Kerstin Hamann, Ph.D. “It is truly remarkable that our master’s and doctoral students have been selected for these awards, and it is a testament to the high quality of our graduate students. It is a happy occasion when you see the next generation of scholars gain recognition for their hard work.”