Digital Commons Network^™

Power Shift: Germany's Energy Transition, Gabrielle Lichtenstein

Honors Capstone Projects - All

This project is an analysis of the German energy transition, called the Energiewende, and the dual power shift that is underway in the country’s electric sector. It is both a physical shift from conventional fossil fuels to renewable energy, as well as a socio-political shift in power from centralized utilities to community ownership of energy. The project examines three policy mechanisms — the feed-in tariff, emissions trading, and auctions — through the lens of ordoliberalism, a German variant of economic liberalism that believes in state intervention to maximize fair market competition. Using qualitative research of Anglophone sources, this project draws …

“Adelante, Con Todas Las Fuerzas De La Historia": An Exploration Of The Chilean Student Movement For Education Reform Within Its National And International Contexts, Maisha Fabliha Shahid

Honors Capstone Projects - All

In the past several decades, Chile has been regarded an “economic miracle” and praised for its transition from a brutal dictatorship that lasted nearly two decades to the current democracy. While the state has made much progress, it remains highly unequal in terms of opportunities and services available to the middle and lower classes. This structural inequality is most visible within education. Dictatorship-era policies and long-standing economic and political structures have commoditized education and established an educational system that essentially excludes large sections of the population from receiving quality education.

It is thus not surprising that a potent, influential student …

Addressing Modern Slavery In Haiti And The Dominican Republic: The Evolving Role Of Nongovernmental Organizations, Meghan Schneider

Honors Capstone Projects - All

This project examines the forms of modern day slavery that are most prevalent in Haiti and the Dominican Republic: domestic servitude and forced prostitution for the purpose of sex tourism, respectively. This paper seeks to answer the following questions:

What is the role of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in combatting trafficking in persons (TIP) and modern day slavery in Hispaniola? How should NGOs work with national governments, especially in states with a weak rule of law? How have the presence and scope of NGOs evolved and/or expanded over time to address modern forms of slavery?

In this paper I argue that …

Perceptions Of Safety Across Race, Class, Gender, And Location: A Study Of Women In Cape Town, South Africa, Ellen Blanche Moore

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Policing in South Africa has a long, twisted history that is still evident in some current police practices and especially in the public’s perceptions of the police. In addition to historical factors such as colonial rule and apartheid, people’s perceptions of the police are affected by their race, class, gender, and geographic location. Although these factors have an individual effect on perceptions, it is through a complex analysis of how they relate to one another that a true understanding of a person’s perception can be reached. The goal of this research was to discover perceptions women in Cape Town have …

The Development Of The Maquila Industry In Honduras: A Holistic Approach To The Industry’S Effect On Women And Honduran Society, Andrea Mencia Viery

Honors Capstone Projects - All

The maquila industry in Latin America has received much attention due to its predominant presence in Mexico and several Central American countries. Numerous studies explore the nuances of the maquila industry in Mexico, yet few studies focus on other nations. This project concentrates on Honduras, the country where I was raised for eighteen years. Many Communities affected by this industry believe maquila owners prefer to employ young women over male applicants. This is also true for Honduras. Many scholars believe the owners’ motives lie behind the so-called docility characteristic of these young females. Critics of the industry argue that maquilas …

An Interdisciplinary Study Of Modern-Day Slavery: Human Trafficking, Margaret Ruiz

Honors Capstone Projects - All

This project uses a multidisciplinary approach to analyze different forms of modern-day slavery, with a focus on sex trafficking. More specifically, it examines how historical slavery has transformed into modern-day slavery and it illuminates similarities and differences between historical slavery and modern-day slavery. In my work, I also studied the underlying causes of modern-day slavery, by analyzing various factors that affect slavery. Lastly, my work examines the existing legal and political instruments that confront and combat slavery. Finally, in this project, I reflect and discuss the lack of effective programs that work towards the reparation of victims.

I came up …

Ecuadorian Migration: An Ethnographic Approach To Analyzing Socio-Cultural Influences On Migration, Michele S. Cantos

Honors Capstone Projects - All

This research project is about national and transnational migration, as experienced by one Andean Ecuadorian family, currently living in the New York Metropolitan area in the United States. Through the collection of their life histories and an analysis of literature on this particular migrant group, I explore the different cultural trends that played a role in their migration from; rural Andean towns to large urban centers, from rural communities and urban centers into the Amazon jungle and their later migration to the United States of America.

Using Social Network Theory as an analytical framework, I am focusing on these individuals’ …

Turkey: Emergence Of A Regional Power And A Strategic U.S. Partner, Jonathan C. Nwosu

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Positioned in a dynamic part of the world, Turkey is notable for its unique identity which connects Europe and Asia and in many ways conflates the heritage and culture of the East with the modernity of the West. This unique identity has translated into a distinctive role for Turkey characterized by burgeoning influence in the region. The emergence of Turkey as a regional power can be explained by several components: the historical foundations of the Republic, the process of democratization, economic and political policies, and internal changes induced by interaction with Europe. None of these factors exclusively resulted in the …

The Financial Consequences Of Turkey’S Potential Accession Into The European Union, Onur Can Ozer

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Turkey, with a population of nearly 74 million and a strategic location opening up to Europe, Middle East, North Africa, and East Asian markets, has been one of the fastest growing markets in the world in the present day. Having recorded a GDP growth with a level of 11% in the first half of 2011, Turkey was regarded to have the fastest growing industry in Europe. Turkey’s accession talks have been around since 1950s and have been official when Turkey became an associate member of the EU in 1963. Although Turkey has made a remarkable progress in the last decade, …

The Obama Doctrine: The Lici Foreign Policy Perspective, Wesley Michael Milillo

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Every U.S. President has maintained and crafted a prescriptive set of policies with which they conduct international affairs. All Presidents have left their historical mark- what they believe to be America’s position in the world, and its commensurate role. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the world transformed as America achieved international hegemony as the sole superpower and subsequent victor of the Cold War. However, many today question U.S. primacy shifting the debate toward questioning if and how America should act in the world.

Barack Obama’s foreign policy eludes the confines of a single political ideology and philosophy. After …

Providing Protection, Discouraging Applications: The Influence Of Policy On Asylum Seekers’ Destination Choice, Elin Wiklund

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Each year, hundreds of thousands of individuals become asylum applicants as they request protection from persecution in a state other than their own. While many of these persons requesting to be recognized as refugees lodge their claims in neighbouring states, since the 1980s, Europe has seen an increasing number of asylum seekers arriving from developing nations in Africa and Asia. This has contributed to concerns among populations in Western Europe regarding immigrants and the emergence of political parties with anti-immigration discourses. As a result, immigration and asylum policies today are issues high on the political agenda as governments attempt to …

American Zionism And The Evolution Of ‘Pro-Israel’ In U.S. Politics, Samuel Taylor

Honors Capstone Projects - All

This thesis will determine how and to what extent the definition of ‘pro-Israel’ in U.S. mainstream political activism has undergone a change. In light of recent publications and polls indicating that ‘support’ for or ‘connection’ to Israel was waning among college-aged Jewish students in the United States, I decided to examine the potential causes for this attitude shift, and determine how the shift is being reflected in the U.S. relationship with Israel, if at all. To adequately identify changes in the U.S.-Israeli relationship and the definition of ‘pro-Israel’ in the United States, one must first distinguish between, at least, two …

Dirty War: Across Borders And Generations, Robert Douglas Solonick

Honors Capstone Projects - All

The term “dirty war” has been applied to various periods of political violence and armed conflict around the world: the dirty wars of Latin America in the 1970s and 1980s, the dirty war in Chechnya, and even the dirty war in Israel. Yet, given its broad spectrum of application, there is no established definition explaining what a dirty war is. These conflicts all titled “dirty wars” occur in different times, different locations, and for different reasons. Such ambiguous use of this term in such different environments is extremely confusing.

This project set out to establish a working definition for …

Under The Surface: The United States’ Failure To Effectively Communicate And Gain Credibility With Iraqis, Julia Dunlea

Honors Capstone Projects - All

In the short term, the United States negatively impacted the relationships among the Sunnis, Shiites, and Kurds. The United States’ lack of communication and credibility led to this negative impact. Six variables: the United States’ lack of knowledge about Iraq, the preexisting anti-western political culture, removal of local elites and army, inadequate media outreach, impact on reactionary violence, and the inability to fulfill all their promises to the Iraqi population expanded problems in credibility and communication. Although the United States brought democracy to Iraq by enforcing equality for Shiites and Kurds, and expanding Kurdish autonomy in the north, this lack …

Man Vs. Machine: Interpreting The Ambiguities In Diplomatic Negotiations, Caitlin Morrison

Honors Capstone Projects - All

This paper is intended to explore the linguistic causes of ineffectiveness and inefficiency in diplomatic negotiations and determine the best solution. The first sections are designated to explaining the function of international negotiation and typical linguistic problems that hinder effective communication in these situations. After determining that interpretation is the best option for multi-language negotiation, this paper examines the merits of both machine and human interpreters. I argue that human interpreters are more accurate in deciphering ambiguity and working with the intricacies involved in diplomatic discussions. This position is supported by numerous examples, including the current operations of the European …

Exploring International Economic Development Through Environmental Justice Movement Frame, Racquel Clarke

Honors Capstone Projects - All

In our global community 20% of the population controls 86% of the gross domestic product and 82% of the world market exports, according to the United Nations Development Program. This thesis explains where this inequality comes from and what can be implemented to help some countries miss out on economic prosperity while others enjoy fiscal bliss. The vast majority of countries with the lowest gross domestic product are non-European countries located in the global south. It is an economic problem for these countries that have been historically oppressed through the exploitation of slavery and colonialism. There has been little done …

More Audacity Of Hope: International Perspectives On What It Means To Be American, Megan Brimmer

Honors Capstone Projects - All

What, from an international perspective, does it mean to be an American? After having spent so much time in other countries and seeing how people elsewhere felt about the U.S., I had to wonder, what about the people who actually come to America? What is it that draws them here and makes them want to stay or return? Do they view America as a pinnacle of perfection and hope and opportunity, or are we really perceived as the dregs of a consumption-driven world as some fear? In talking to international students from all over the world, I have found answers …

Economic Implications Of Anti-Americanism, Brenda Jennifer Bee

Honors Capstone Projects - All

This capstone project is a multidisciplinary investigation into a problem that has surfaced with the rise of globalization. It explores the negative sentiments in Europe towards Americans, their recent history, and future implications. It was designed to be multidisciplinary because of the complexity of the issue at hand. It stretches from political to anthropological, both in the context of communications and economics and finally their synergistic affect in fostering certain feelings in different European nations about the American way of life. I show how certain negative feelings can change behavior and preferences for American goods and services and how it …

Internal Throes: Reexamining The Effect Of U.S. Immigration Policy And Transitional Realities For Immigrant Families, Faith S. Abubey

Honors Capstone Projects - All

From the inception of this country, theUnited Statesgovernment has always declared this nation state as a land of immigrants. However, the impetus of immigration during the past three decades has created antipathy among Americans. These antipathy and xenophobic attitudes against immigrants have intensified especially since the events of September 11, 2001. The resentments, inter alia, have significantly influenced the way in which theUnited Statesgovernment facilitates and implements immigration policies.

In this research, I argue that regardless of definitional complexities and functional distinctions between refugees and voluntary immigrants with regard to benefits and legal protection underUnited Statespolicy and United Nations Conventions, …

The U.S./Canada Safe Third Country Agreement: A Geographical Evaluation, Sarah Anne Ryman

Honors Capstone Projects - All

The U.S./Canadian border is in the process of being renegotiated as a result of larger processes of redefining and reimagining sovereign territories inNorth America. New understandings ofU.S.and Canadian state sovereignty are creating a conflated “other” of cross-border flows: an illegitimate migrant figure who is securitized, criminalized and disembodied. The contemporary “othering” of the migrant has serious human rights implications such as the restriction of access to refugee protection. U.S.and Canadian states share an agenda of migration control executed through the manipulation of geography and the figure of the migrant.

On paper, the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) aims to enhance …

Hamas: From “Terrorist” Organization To Governing Party The Implications Of Hamas’S 2006 Electoral Victory, Heather Freitag

Honors Capstone Projects - All

“Peace in the Middle East.” As a child, I had always assumed this phrase was in reference to a specific conflict or war that would soon be over; however, peace in the Middle Eastnow seems to be a process of huge proportions with no visible end. Numerous conflicts encompass the problems in the Middle East, most of which have been exacerbated by ineffectual and biased American foreign policy. Of these conflicts, one of the most long-standing and heartbreaking is between the Israelis and Palestinians. With the unequivocal support of the US, Israelhas largely been able to pursue whatever policy it …

Managed Democracy, Market Economy Or The Dichotomy Of Russia’S Political Economy, Evgenia A. Ustinova

Honors Capstone Projects - All

This thesis examines the present day nature of Russian political and economic developments. The argument put forward is that President Putin has deliberately chosen a course of market economy, managed democracy – whereby an through an increasingly potent state and executive branch, Putin ensures sustainable growth for the Russian economy. Good economic performance ensures that the President is popular with the voters, no matter that his policies are designed to curtail democracy. The author concludes that current political and economic dichotomy will result in further development of the economy and eventual movement towards democratic ideals.

Kidnapping Terrorists: Extraterritorial Forcible Abductions In The Global War On Terrorism, Matthew R. Mcnabb

Honors Capstone Projects - All

For those who have an interest in targeting, neutralizing, detaining, and adjudicating terrorists amidst the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), few tools are more poorly understood than the acquisition and subsequent movement of the alleged terrorists. Rendition is that process by which the body of an individual is taken from State A to State B. It may occur in either a “regular” or an “irregular” form. Regular rendition occurs when the individual is moved pursuant to the express terms and procedures of a given extradition treaty. Irregular rendition, on the other hand, is principally comprised of the rare instances in …

Representation Of Middle Eastern Culture Through Belly Dance In The Us, Elisabeth Johnson

Honors Capstone Projects - All

In light of the myriad misunderstandings about the Middle East and its people, this paper will seek to analyze how Middle Eastern culture has been represented in the US through the art of belly dance. This project examines what is currently known about the roots of belly dance, especially in relation to how such origins may be presented within the dance, and the first exposures that the American public may have had to belly dance through literary accounts, theatre, and design in the late 19^th century and the early 20^th century. The representative accuracy and impact of these …

The Food Fight Between The United States And Europe: Why Gmos Divide The West, Sarah A. Delude

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) have quickly become an abundant source of food, especially in the United States. But as GMOs have grown, Europeans have raised major concerns over health and environment issues posed by GMOs. In 1998 the European Union imposed a moratorium restricting the approval of any new GMOs in Europe. But the United States saw this as a block to free and fair trade and has taken a case up with the World Trade Organization to resolve the matter. The final decision is past due, but the EU has already lifted the moratorium. Instead, it has imposed rules …

Understanding Al-Qaeda: History, Ideology And Infrastructure, Sarah Dickens

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Understanding al-Qaeda: History, Ideology, and Infrastructure is a critical analysis of the formation and evolution of the global terrorist organization commonly referred to as al-Qaeda. The work provides a foundation for understanding al-Qaeda’s operations and organizational strategies by detailing its historical origins, ideological framework, and infrastructural installations.

The thesis is divided into three segments, each containing two chapters. The first segment is devoted to a discussion of al-Qaeda’s historical formation. The initial chapter relies on the investigation of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the hunt for terrorist Ramzi Yousef as a point of departure in understanding al-Qaeda. This …

Russian Organized Crime And The National Security Of The United States, Jessica Nelson

Honors Capstone Projects - All

This thesis examines the impact of Russian organized crime on the national security of the United States. It begins by defining why Russian organized crime should be of concern to U.S. policymakers addressing the effects of Russian organized crime on the U.S. economy, national security, and domestic law enforcement. The thesis then analyzes the evolution of Russian organized crime from its emergence during the Soviet Union, through its growth during privatization, to its structural transformation in the modern era. This analysis establishes the fundamental principles of any potential U.S. policy on Russian organized crime and prompts several policy recommendations for …

Maroon Societies In Brazil, Jamaica And Mexico, Amanda Moore

Honors Capstone Projects - All

While many scholars concentrate their research on the enslavement of Africans, there are other stories to tell of Africans peoples in theWestern Hemisphere. The Maroons were fugitive slaves who developed their own communities throughout theAmericas. They were diverse peoples unified by their goal of freedom and self-determination.

This Honors Thesis Project explores the historical situation of the Brazilian, Jamaican and Mexican Maroons and elucidates the similarities and differences between them. The aspects of Maroon life explored here are: lifestyle, leadership and politics. These three countries were selected to illustrate the diversity within the experiences of enslaved Africans throughout the Americas. …