Law Commons^™

The Central American Minors Program: Advocating For Private Sponsorship, Magaly Velasco-Escobar

Master's Theses

Under this recommendation, minors would be interviewed by qualified officers at resettlement agencies in their home countries to assess credible fear, those deemed eligible but lacking an eligible relative would be referred for a private sponsorship pathway. Sponsors would be vetted and qualified using protocols currently in place by the Welcome Corps and Refugee Foster Care. Ideally, the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) would coordinate between the private sponsors and overseas resettlement agencies, given they already do the work of vetting eligible sponsors for minors. ORR could create a program staffed with qualified individuals to coordinate this program or provide …

From Instability To Civil Liberties: Nonviolent Resistance In Afghanistan, Rachel L. Knowles

Master's Theses

When people have a fundamental issue at stake, giving in is not an option. For these types of conflict, when people’s rights are being violated, when their countries are occupied, or when they are oppressed and humiliated, they need a powerful way to persist and fight back. Oftentimes when people are left with no choice they will use the terrible and destructive nature of violence. For decades nonviolent resistance (NVR) movements have been associated with Gandhi and Martin Luther King, but people have been using nonviolent action for years. In fact, NVR has been a part of political life for …

Mental Health Outcomes Of Various Types Of Fear Among University Students Who Have An Undocumented Legal Status During The Donald Trump Presidency, Liliana Campos

Doctoral Dissertations

Having an undocumented legal status is a risk factor for mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety among university students. Much of the literature on the experiences of university students who hold an undocumented legal status has primarily focused on better understanding the educational, social, financial, and legal challenges among undergraduate students. The literature has addressed how some of these difficulties impact components of their social and mental health wellness. Yet, there is still a dearth of research focused on further understanding the experiences of students who hold an undocumented legal status from a psychological perspective, and specifically, with …

The Role Of Nations-State In Protecting And Supporting Internally Displaced Persons, Daisy Byers

Master's Theses

The rising increase of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) has become a global problem. There are over 40 million internally displaced people globally, and 15.9 million are displaced in Africa. These displacements come into place due to war/conflict, corruption, massive human rights violations, natural disasters, urban renewal projects (at the hands of powerful nations such as America, China, France, UK, etc.), and large-scale development projects. According to UNHCR, refugees are people who have international cross-border. In contrast, internally displaced persons must stay within their own country and stay under the protection of their government, even if the government is the reason …

The Significance Of Mongolia's Foreign Policy And Security Apparatus On A Global And Regional Scale, Bolor Lkhaajav

Master's Projects and Capstones

Mongolia, land-locked between two politically, economically, and militarily powerful nations — Russia and China — often must balance its foreign and security policies with its two neighbors and countries beyond. When discussing Mongolia’s foreign policy and security apparatus, historians and scholars look at the international relations of East Asia as a whole. This is the case not because Mongolia’s foreign policy is insignificant but because greater powers impose greater influence on smaller states. Mongolia’s partial involvement in World War II (WWII), and the Cold War introduced new challenges as well as opportunities for Mongolia to modernize its foreign policy principles …

Disproportionate Realities: The Climate Justice Implications Of Mitigation Policies Across Scales, Tinuviel Carlson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Global climate change will have disproportionate effects on low-income and minority communities around the world producing important justice challenges. As national governments increasingly rely on local governments, civil society, and private transnational actors to establish and implement climate actions policies, it is important to assess whether and how these newly emergent actors can address these justice challenges. First this thesis examines concepts of justice in relation to climate change across different scales in order to develop a comprehensive conceptual framework of climate justice. This conceptual framework expands the scale of the international climate justice movement address local concerns. Further, the …

Urbanization, Land Rights And Development: A Case Study Of Waterfront Communities In Lagos, Nigeria., Gideon Olaniyi Omoniyi

Master's Theses

The aim of this study is to examine the root causes of forced evictions and displacement through the current urbanization process in Lagos, Nigeria. My particular attention is devoted to the legal complexities and how ethnolinguistic identities shape land laws, influence land tenure, and construct urban citizenship. Through this process, competing claims to land ownership provide fertile ground for forced evictions and displacement. Existing scholars suggest that poor urban residents lack rights to stay in their neighborhoods, while a powerful capitalist class has emerged and dispossessed the poor from their lands. Yet these existing approaches derived from the neoclassical and …

The Role Of The State, Multinational Oil Companies, International Law & The International Community: Intersection Of Human Rights & Environmental Degradation Climate Change In The 21st Century Caused By Traditional Extractive Practices, The Amazon Rainforest, Indigenous People And Universal Jurisdiction To Resolve The Accountability Issue, Marcela Cabrera Luna

Master's Theses

Local, national and international conventions that protect indigenous sovereignty and their territories, where many of the resources are extracted from by multinational corporations (MNCs) particularly oil, the number one commodity of the world and cause of climate change, continue to be jeopardized because of the lack of a clear international legal framework that can protect them and potentially hold multinationals accountable for their actions. These practices are causing not only environmental issues to the indigenous and surrounding communities, but climate change is in fact, the real human rights issue of the 21^st century and it affects everyone. By using …

Aiding And Abetting: The Illegality Of Morocco's Nationalist Expansion Into Western Sahara And Their Support From The United States, Rachid H. Yousfi

Master's Theses

This paper will address the illegality of Morocco’s nationalist annexation of Western Sahara and how the United States plays the accommodating role through the selling of arms, economic aid, and diplomatic support. Considered as Africa’s last colony, the Saharawi people have not experienced the basic human right to self-determination and the right for independence. These rights are continued to be withheld for the sake of Moroccan nationalism and their “rightful and ethnic” claims to the territory, disregarding the International Court of Justice (ICJ)’s advisory opinion ruling in favor of Saharawi self-determination. It explores the chronology of the Saharawi population from …

A Case Study: Achieving Cultural Equity Through The Lens Of Kingdon, Maria X. Martinez

McCarthy Center Student Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Arizona’S Senate Bill 1070: A Case Study On State-Sponsored Immigration Policy, Ryan Murphy

Master's Theses

This study assesses the origins of Arizona’s state-sponsored immigration policy. It attempts to identify the social dynamics within Arizona that contributed to the overwhelming public support for SB 1070. Since it has been two years after the law was passed, this analysis determines what impact the law has had thus far within the state. Finally, it postulates the future of Arizona’s immigration policy.

Re-Evaluating Peacebuilding In The Democratic Republic Of Congo: A Case Study In Dongo, Wilita Sanguma

Master's Theses

Re-evaluating Peacebuilding in the Democratic Republic of Congo: A case study in Dongo

The Democratic Republic of Congo (Congo) is a country rich with natural resources centered in the heart of Africa. Since the colonial era, the country has seen more bloodshed than peace and development. From 1996 to 2003, Congo experienced the worst conflict since World War II, with over six million people dead. Despite having the largest United Nations peacekeeping troops present; Congo continues to be plagued by violence. This research thesis argues that the international community failed to promote a lasting peace in Congo because the international …

Forecasts For A Fairer Future, Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg

Politics

A system delivering weather details via short message service (SMS) to farmers in Kenya makes use of traditional and modern forecasting methods, alerting them to periods of heavy rain or drought. The IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC), a climate research institute representing seven east African countries, is working on a system using cell phones to help farmers address the negative impacts of climate change. The new system makes use of the Nganyi's traditional forecasting techniques combined with data from the Kenya Meteorological Department (KMD). KMD staff compile the resulting information and enter it into a database. The information …

From 1994 To 2011: Are San Francisco Commissions More Representative?, Maria X. Martinez, Esin Nacar, Aimee Nichols

McCarthy Center Student Scholarship

No abstract provided.

India In 2010: Robust Economics Amid Political Stasis, Shalendra Sharma

Politics

The Congress Party, although in a strong position to improve matters in 2010, generally proved disappointing, especially in the realm of governance and public policy. However, Indian authorities did demonstrate the ability to manage the economy well in a challenging international economic climate. President Obama’s three-day trip helped to reinvigorate bilateral ties, but India’s relations with China and Pakistan remained testy.

India In 2009: Global Financial Crisis And Congress Revival, Shalendra Sharma

Politics

The past year was a momentous one for India. The country navigated through the shoals of an unprecedented global financial crisis with only modest negative impact, and successfully continued the world’s largest exercise in democracy. The 15th general election in April-May 2009 saw the venerable Congress Party return to power with a large mandate. On the external front, although ties between India and the Obama administration have been friendly, real concerns remain about the future trajectory of Indo-U.S. relations. Relations with Pakistan and China also remain testy.

Governance: The Collision Of Politics And Cooperation, Richard Callahan

Public and Nonprofit Administration

Three newly created public agencies built regional rail projects in Los Angeles County from 1978 through 2002. The Los Angeles County Transportation Commission, the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority, as newly created public agencies, were nothing less than experiments in regional governance. Conventional understanding of these agencies only partially explains their successes and failures. A path to improved understanding is to combine research on the politics of designing new public agencies with research on cooperation in dealing with collective action problems.

What emerges is an untold story of American politics: the evolution of mechanisms …

Resolving Sovereign Debt: Collective Action Clauses Or The Sovereign Debt Restructuring Mechanism, Shalendra Sharma

Politics

When sovereign debt restructuring or debt reduction becomes unavoidable, what is the appropriate regime that can provide for an orderly restructuring, while at the same time protecting the rights of both creditors and the debtor? The recent wave of sovereign default has underscored the limits of the current market-based regime. Recently two alternative approaches propose a "contractual approach" by way of the introduction of collective action clauses (CAC) in bond contracts, and a "statutory approach" put forward by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which calls for the establishment of an international debt restructuring mechanism (called the sovereign debt restructuring mechanism …

Sovereign Limits And Regional Opportunities For Global Civil Society In Latin America, Elisabeth Jay Friedman, Kathryn Hochstetler, Ann Marie Clark

Politics

In this article, we evaluate whether Latin American participation in international arenas reinforces traditional divides between state and society in global politics or transforms state-society relations in ways compatible with the concept of global civil society. We examine the participation and interaction of Latin American nongovernmental organizations and states at three recent United Nations conferences: the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development, the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights, and the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women. We conclude that Latin Americans are full participants in any emerging global civil society. Their experiences at the 1990s issue conferences closely …

Constructing The New International Financial Architecture: What Role For The Imf?, Shalendra Sharma

Politics

No abstract provided.

Paradoxes Of Gendered Political Opportunity In The Venezuelan Transition To Democracy, Elisabeth Jay Friedman

Politics

No abstract provided.

Markets And States In Development: India's Reformers And The East Asian Experience, Shalendra Sharma

Politics

No abstract provided.