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Modeling many political processes requires both a variable selection component and a smoothing component. Recent advances in penalized regression methods allow for variable selection through non-concave constraints and smooth curve fitting through ridge-type constraints. I develop a model that fits both simultaneously, allowing for one set of covariates to be selected through a LASSO-type constraint and another to be smoothed through ridge-type spline constraints. An algorithm, stopping rule, and unbiased degrees of freedom estimate are provided. My method is illustrated first through testing the Tiebout Hypothesis. I fit a smooth curve to a battery of county-level socioeconomic data in the United States, while selecting jumps that coincide with state lines. I next illustrate the method with the 2004 American National Election Study. My method models a survey respondent with a fixed amount of attention, who then selects among several discrete issues and adds them when forming a response. Issues selection is allowed to vary by demographic, but placed under a LASSO constraint. Individual responses are allowed to be arbitrary smooth curves of responses. Simulations and a discussion of further uses conclude the paper. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the attacks of 9/11, US policy towards the Middle East was transformed, at least ostensibly, from supporting ‘friendly’ countries (no matter how authoritarian) to helping spread democracy and economic freedoms. However, despite this change, current US Middle Eastern policy seems no closer to achieving its goals of defeating global terrorism, of ensuring a stable oil supply to world markets and helping to reduce the existential threat to Israel. This is because the achievement of all these goals will require the cooperation of Iran, the level of which appears not to have changed since 1979. It is therefore the intention of this paper to argue that a new US foreign policy is required, one that includes a rapprochement with Iran. This paper will thus provide a guide to how such a rapprochement might be achieved and will discuss the principle economic, political and military components it should include. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]