Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Comparative Politics

Series

2013

Institution
Keyword
Publication

Articles 1 - 26 of 26

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Export Controls: A Contemporary History, Bert Chapman Dec 2013

Export Controls: A Contemporary History, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Provides highlights of my recently published book Export Controls: A Contemporary History. Describes the roles played by multiple U.S. Government agencies and congressional oversight committees in this policymaking arena including the Commerce, Defense, State, and Treasury Departments. It also reviews the roles played by international government organizations such as the Missile Technology Control Regime, export oriented businesses, and research intensive universities.


The Dark Side Of Globalization: The Transnationalization Of Garrisons In The Case Of Jamaica, Michelle Angela Munroe Nov 2013

The Dark Side Of Globalization: The Transnationalization Of Garrisons In The Case Of Jamaica, Michelle Angela Munroe

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The current study is concerned with the role that transnational criminal organizations play in the ability of a small country, such as Jamaica, to govern itself effectively. Jamaica is identified as a major producer and distributor of cannabis, since the 1970s, and today plays an active role in other established illicit markets for cocaine and illegal weapons. Despite a long-term and continued involvement in U.S. funded drug trafficking and counterdrug programs, and the establishment of several anti-crime organizations within the country, Jamaica’s successes have been marginal. The current study attempts to examine first, how criminal groups located within the garrisons …


Escaping The Resource Curse: The Sources Of Institutional Quality In Botswana, Angela Gapa Nov 2013

Escaping The Resource Curse: The Sources Of Institutional Quality In Botswana, Angela Gapa

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Botswana has recently garnered analytic attention as an anomaly of the “resource curse” phenomenon. Worldwide, countries whose economies are highly skewed towards a dependence on the export of non-renewable natural resources such as oil, diamonds and uranium, have been among the most troubled, authoritarian, poverty-stricken and conflict-prone; a phenomenon widely regarded as the “resource curse". The resource curse explains the varying fortunes of countries based on their resource wealth, with resource-rich countries faring much worse than their resource-poor counterparts. However, Botswana, with diamond exports accounting for 50percent of government revenues and 80percent of total exports, has achieved one of the …


Media Presentations As A Strategy For Teaching African Politics, Robin L. Turner Sep 2013

Media Presentations As A Strategy For Teaching African Politics, Robin L. Turner

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Student media presentations can deepen students’ knowledge of African politics, build their critical thinking and communication skills, and highlight the relevance of course material. This article presents the media assignment I have used in two upper-level courses, African Politics and Politics of Gender and Sexuality in Africa, and three examples of student work.


Plenary Session: The State Of Information Literacy Policy: A Global Priority, Sharon A. Weiner Jul 2013

Plenary Session: The State Of Information Literacy Policy: A Global Priority, Sharon A. Weiner

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

This was a plenary presentation given at the XXIV IAALD World Congress on July 22, 2013, at Cornell University. It described international information literacy policy with examples from different countries and organizations. It clarified definitions of information literacy and policy; discussed information policy in relation to global challenges; and addressing the challenges.


More Effective Human Spaceflight Programs And Their International Security Implications, Bert Chapman, Sarag J. Saikia Jul 2013

More Effective Human Spaceflight Programs And Their International Security Implications, Bert Chapman, Sarag J. Saikia

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

NASA can more effectively perform its missions by transferring its aeronautic responsibilities to the Federal Aviation Administration and be renamed the National Space Agency. The U.S. must also recognize that space is an emerging arena of international competition and conflict and militarily protect its space assets from China which seeks to use space to restrict the U.S.' ability to defend its strategic interests in regions such as the Western Pacific.


Regressions On Personality And Political Preferences Of Greek Letter Social Organizations, Michael B. Armstrong May 2013

Regressions On Personality And Political Preferences Of Greek Letter Social Organizations, Michael B. Armstrong

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Research examining fraternities and sororities is minimal. Whenever research does arise, it usually focuses on negative stigmas with these organizations, such as alcohol abuse or hazing. This study seeks to examine more positive aspects of Greek organizations in order to inspire further research into fraternities and sororities. It was hypothesized that Greek-affiliated college students differ from unaffiliated college students in the Big Five personality factors such that Greek members are less likely to be open to experience, less conscientious, more extraverted, and less neurotic than nonmembers. Greek members and nonmembers will be similar in agreeableness. It is also hypothesized that …


Private Soldiers In Africa: A Look At The Effects Of Private Military Contractors And Mercenaries On The Duration Of Civil Wars In Africa From 1960 To 2003., Seth H. Loven May 2013

Private Soldiers In Africa: A Look At The Effects Of Private Military Contractors And Mercenaries On The Duration Of Civil Wars In Africa From 1960 To 2003., Seth H. Loven

Department of Political Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This thesis examines the effect of private soldiers, both Mercenaries and Private Military Contractors (PMC), on the duration of civil wars in Africa from 1960 to 2003. Linear regression is used to determine if private soldiers increase or decrease the duration of civil wars. Ultimately it is found they have little to no statistical impact. This is contrary to the expectations of the theoretical literature on private military contractors, some of which expects private soldiers to profit from war and seek to lengthen duration, and some of which expects the use of additional private soldiers to shorten the duration of …


Testing Two Explanations Of The Liberal Peace: The Opportunity Cost And Signaling Arguments, Nam Kyu Kim May 2013

Testing Two Explanations Of The Liberal Peace: The Opportunity Cost And Signaling Arguments, Nam Kyu Kim

Department of Political Science: Faculty Publications

Considerable evidence suggests that economic interdependence and integration reduce the likelihood of militarized conflict. However, scholars have devoted remarkably scant attention to testing different explanations of the liberal peace. This article offers an empirical test that can help adjudicate the two main arguments on the liberal peace: the opportunity cost and signaling arguments. Under the incomplete information assumption, I derive different observable implications of the competing arguments regarding how target states respond when challenged. By estimating selection models comprising dispute initiation and reciprocation, I find that, as challengers are more dependent on bilateral trade, targets are less likely to reciprocate …


Suicide Attacks In Afghanistan: Why Now?, Ghulam Farooq Mujaddidi May 2013

Suicide Attacks In Afghanistan: Why Now?, Ghulam Farooq Mujaddidi

Department of Political Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Why, contrary to their predecessors, did the Taliban resort to use of suicide attacks in the 2000s in Afghanistan? By drawing from terrorist innovation literature and Michael Horowitz’s adoption capacity theory—a theory of diffusion of military innovation—the author argues that suicide attacks in Afghanistan is better understood as an innovation or emulation of a new technique to retaliate in asymmetric warfare when insurgents face arms embargo, military pressure, and have direct links to external terrorist groups. The findings of my in-depth case study of Afghanistan between 1978 and 2010 support the proposition and show that it was an …


Making War And Securing Peace: The Viability Of Peace Enforcement As A Mechanism For Promoting And Securing Civil War Termination, Shawn H. Greene May 2013

Making War And Securing Peace: The Viability Of Peace Enforcement As A Mechanism For Promoting And Securing Civil War Termination, Shawn H. Greene

Political Science Honors Projects

Peace enforcement—the threat or use of military force to compel belligerent adherence to a civil war settlement—has become increasingly salient in the past decade. Using a hazards analysis of all civil wars and associated third party interventions between 1945 and 2013 in addition to three structured, focused case studies, I argue that peace enforcement operations that 1) utilize the appropriate typological spoiler management strategy and 2) maintain legitimacy and impartiality through close cooperation with UN peacekeepers, are the most successful at catalyzing civil war termination and securing durable peace. I also provide a theoretical framework through which to study peace …


Oil Industry, Bert Chapman May 2013

Oil Industry, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Provides an overview of the historical and contemporary development of the American oil industry and how it has impacted U.S. natural resources policies in the American west.


The Role Of The Political Entrepreneur In The Context Of Policy Change And Crisis, John Hogan, Sharon Feeney Apr 2013

The Role Of The Political Entrepreneur In The Context Of Policy Change And Crisis, John Hogan, Sharon Feeney

Conference papers

This paper seeks to investigate the inner mechanics of policy change. It aims to discover how ideas enter the political arena, and how endogenous forces within the policy making environment transform ideas into new policies. The central hypothesis is that in times of crisis, new ideas emanate from a number of change agents, but in order for any of these ideas to enter the institutional environment, one specific agent of change must be present: the political entrepreneur. Without political entrepreneurs ideational change, and subsequent policy change, would not occur. The paper sets out a framework for identifying and explaining the …


On Sen On Comparative Justice, Chandran Kukathas Apr 2013

On Sen On Comparative Justice, Chandran Kukathas

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Against scepticism from thinkers including John Rawls and Thomas Nagel about the appropriateness of justice as the concept through which global ethical concerns should be approached, Amartya Sen argues that the problem lies not with the idea of justice, but with a particular approach to thinking of justice, namely a transcendental approach. In its stead Sen is determined to offer an alternative systematic theory of justice, namely a comparative approach, as a more promising foundation for a theory of ‘global justice.’ But in the end Sen offers no such thing. He does not develop a theory of justice and this …


Democratic Governance In Mena Countrieschallenges And Aspirations, Amany Khodair, Mahmoud Khalifa Mar 2013

Democratic Governance In Mena Countrieschallenges And Aspirations, Amany Khodair, Mahmoud Khalifa

Political Science

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is often regarded as an area that was mostly dominated by authoritarian regimes. These regimes form authoritarian constraints – especially during elections – hindering political development. This usually leads genuine opposition parties and movements to form alliances, in order to make demands for reforms by these authoritarian regimes. This notion is reinforced by the fact that, in the most recent set of elections held in the region prior to revolutions that took place in countries like Tunisia, Egypt & Libya, political parties perceived to be anti-democratic or state run have achieved important …


Policy Brief: Unscr 1325: The Challenges Of Framing Women’S Rights As A Security Matter, Natalie Florea Hudson Mar 2013

Policy Brief: Unscr 1325: The Challenges Of Framing Women’S Rights As A Security Matter, Natalie Florea Hudson

Political Science Faculty Publications

While UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 has certainly increased awareness among international actors about women’s and gender issues in armed conflict, opened new spaces for dialogue and partnerships from global to local levels, and even created opportunities for new resources for women’s rights, successes remain limited and notably inconsistent. To understand some of these shortcomings and think creatively about how to move the women, peace and security agenda forward, it is essential to understand the conceptual assumptions underscoring UNSCR 1325.


Resilience And Change In Federal Institutions: The Case Of The German Federal Council, Kathleen A. Thelen, Sebastian Karcher Jan 2013

Resilience And Change In Federal Institutions: The Case Of The German Federal Council, Kathleen A. Thelen, Sebastian Karcher

Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs

One of the oldest federalist systems, Germany offers itself as a case study for long-term developments in federalism. Drawing on a burgeoning literature on institutional continuity and change we investigate the development of a key institution of German federalism, the Federal Council (Bundesrat) from the foundation of the German Reich until today. Counter to claims that institutional change occurs mainly during “critical junctures,” the Federal Council has shown remarkable resilience: It persisted through World War I and the 1919 revolution and the writing of the centralist Weimar constitution. Dismantled in 1934, it returned in 1949 after years of dictatorship, war, …


Sectarianism And External Intervention: The Us Occupation Of Iraq And The Rise Of Political Sectarianism In The Arab World, Gamal M. Selim, Dalia Rushdy Jan 2013

Sectarianism And External Intervention: The Us Occupation Of Iraq And The Rise Of Political Sectarianism In The Arab World, Gamal M. Selim, Dalia Rushdy

Political Science

منذ أن تبلورت في البلاد العربية ظاهرة الهوية، لم تكن تلك الهوية تمثل أي تعارض مع الدين أو المذهب. كما أن التعدد الثقافي العربي وبما تضمنه من تنوع طائفي وإثني ظل سمة أصيلة من سمات المجتمعات العربية لعقود طويلة، وكان مصدرا مهما من مصادر الثراء والتنوع الثقافي والحضاري. لكن هذا التعدد تحول منذ الغزو الأمريكي للعراق عام 2003 من مصدر لإثراء المجتمع إلى سبب لهدمه وتفكيكه، حيث برزت مسألة الطائفية السياسية بقوة، وأصبحت إحدى أكثر المشكلات التي يعاني الوطن العربي من ويلاتها. ورغم أننا لا يمكن أن ننكر أن ظهور الطائفية في الدول العربية سابق على الغزو الأمريكي للعراق، إلا …


Governing Through Permanent Campaigning: Media Usage And Press Freedom In Ecuador, Maria J. Flor Agreda Jan 2013

Governing Through Permanent Campaigning: Media Usage And Press Freedom In Ecuador, Maria J. Flor Agreda

Calvert Undergraduate Research Awards

In Ecuador, media and politics have been historically tied together. Over time, the banking industry has had financial stakes in the media and vice versa. Yet, from the time that President Rafael Correa took office in 2007, the situation has been turned around. Correa has used a permanent campaign to appeal to the public and change the media ownership environment of the country. The President’s strategy has included the acquisition of private media such as newspapers, and radio and television station; as well as the establishment of governmental media entities. Additionally, as part of Correa’s permanent campaign scheme, the president …


Social Policy And Redistribution: Chile And Uruguay, Jennifer Pribble, Evelyn Huber Jan 2013

Social Policy And Redistribution: Chile And Uruguay, Jennifer Pribble, Evelyn Huber

Political Science Faculty Publications

In this chapter we ask two questions: First, we ask whether these governments, exemplifying best-case scenarios in Latin America, have embarked on a viable path toward a sustainable social democratic welfare state. Second, we ask whether and why they differ in their approaches and progress on this path, paying close attention to how the parties' organizational characteristics influence this variation. In their introduction, Levitsky and Roberts classify the left parties in Chile and Uruguay as an "institutionalized partisan Left," distinguished between an "electoral-professional" Left and a "mass-organic" Left. Uruguay's FA is an example of a mass-organic left party, while Chile's …


Ethics In Public Management, H. George Frederickson, Richard K. Ghere Jan 2013

Ethics In Public Management, H. George Frederickson, Richard K. Ghere

Political Science Faculty Publications

This volume follows two earlier projects undertaken by Frederickson (1993) and Frederickson and Ghere (2005) to present collections of theoretical essays and empirical analyses on administrative ethics. Three years before the publication of the first volume —Frederickson's Ethics and Public Administration — the National Commission on the Public Service released Leadership for America (also known as the Volcker Commission Report) that attested to "the quiet crisis" in government whereby "too many of the best of the nation's senior executives are ready to leave government, and not enough of its most talented young people are willing to join. This erosion in …


Ngo Leadership And Human Rights, Richard K. Ghere Jan 2013

Ngo Leadership And Human Rights, Richard K. Ghere

Political Science Faculty Publications

This book provides preliminary understanding of what the term NGO means; explains how "human rights" affect NGO missions; and focuses on the meaning of "leadership" in NGOs in comparison to private sector and government agency leadership. It also encourages readers with vocational aspirations in human rights work to think strategically in preparing for their professional futures.


Citizenship Education In Egypt, Madeline Waddell Jan 2013

Citizenship Education In Egypt, Madeline Waddell

Summer Research

The Arab Spring brought hope of a democratic Middle East to many in the international community. While the literature on democratic transitions includes an array of components, scholars on the region have concentrated on institutional developments such as elections and constitutions. While these structural components are essential, this paper advocates for citizenship education as another crucial element in democratic transitions. Although not typically part of this literature, citizenship education entails building an informed and active populace able to contribute to a total culture of democracy. This paper analyzes these pedagogic efforts in transitional Egypt by contrasting the State’s role in …


International Organizations, Free Trade And Environmental Citizenship: Mexico And Chile In Comparative Perspective, Sherrie Baver Jan 2013

International Organizations, Free Trade And Environmental Citizenship: Mexico And Chile In Comparative Perspective, Sherrie Baver

Publications and Research

This paper focuses on the potential of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and specific International Organizations (IOs) to promote democratic and effective environmental governance. FTAs are often cited in the political science literature for their negative impacts; yet, they are central to the present stage of economic globalization. Given that U.S. FTAs have environmental requirements as do accession agreements to developed country IOs (e.g. OECD), they remain under-explored institutions providing space for activists to expand environmental citizenship. The specific research question explored here is how might activists use these institutions to promote procedural environmental rights to information, participation, and justice, collectively …


Central Asia, The Shanghai Cooperation Organization, And American Foreign Policy : From Indifference To Engagement., Charles E. Ziegler Jan 2013

Central Asia, The Shanghai Cooperation Organization, And American Foreign Policy : From Indifference To Engagement., Charles E. Ziegler

Faculty Scholarship

This paper examines U.S. engagement in Central Asia over the past two decades, with specific reference to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. While alarmist voices occasionally warn of the threat to American interests from China and Russia through the SCO, the organization’s influence appears limited. Washington has engaged it only sporadically, preferring to conduct relations bilaterally with the Central Asian states.


Getting To Rights: Treaty Ratification, Constitutional Convergence, And Human Rights Practice, Zachary Elkins, Tom Ginsburg, Beth A. Simmons Jan 2013

Getting To Rights: Treaty Ratification, Constitutional Convergence, And Human Rights Practice, Zachary Elkins, Tom Ginsburg, Beth A. Simmons

All Faculty Scholarship

This Article examines the adoption of rights in national constitutions in the post-World War II period in light of claims of global convergence. Using a comprehensive database on the contents of the world’s constitutions, we observe a qualified convergence on the content of rights. Nearly every single right has increased in prevalence since its introduction, but very few are close to universal. We show that international rights documents, starting with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, have shaped the rights menu of national constitutions in powerful ways. These covenants appear to coordinate the behavior of domestic drafters, whether or not …