Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Beyond Recognition: The Significance Of External Legitimacy For De Facto States In The Global Arena, Megan K. Payler Ms

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This dissertation investigates the concept of external legitimacy and its implications for de facto states in the international system. Previous research on state recognition has primarily relied on United Nations recognition as a binary measure, neglecting the nuanced variation in the external legitimacy of de facto states. To address this gap, this study introduces a new External Legitimacy Dataset and develops a comprehensive measure of external legitimacy. Using this dataset, the study demonstrates the utility of the measure by providing latent estimates for 31 de facto states and predicting violence based on their level of external legitimacy. The results indicate …

Fixing Prior Consultation For Indigenous Empowerment, Marcela Torres-Wong, Elia Méndez-García

The Journal of Social Encounters

Over the last three decades, extractive conflicts in Latin America have become increasingly violent. Hundreds of Indigenous activists have been murdered for defending their land against extractive interests. The international formula for addressing this type of conflict is for governments to conduct prior consultation procedures with Indigenous communities before affecting indigenous territories. However, the misuse of consultations by governments and companies to legitimize ecologically destructive projects has led a sector of Indigenous organizations to reject prior consultation, while others continue advocating for free, prior, and informed consent. We compare two cases of Indigenous communities from Oaxaca and Yucatán in Mexico …

Security Governance Strategies: Comparing Rebel Groups In Lebanon And Syria, Nourhan Samir Ibrahim

Theses and Dissertations

The prevalence of civil wars especially after the end of the Cold War led to the rise of rebels who control parts of national states in the absence or weakness of the central government. Therefore, scholars who are interested in studying civil wars started to give more attention to how these rebels function after controlling a territory. It is substantial to study rebels who govern since they influence the post conflict peace-building. This study aimed at exploring the different factors that contribute to the sustainability of rebel governance during civil wars, and how this sustainability might lead to inclusion in …

Inequality And Violence: The Case Of Brazil, Kimberly Forsyth

Dissertations and Theses

As a dominant economic powerhouse in Latin America, Brazil paradoxically exhibits profound socioeconomic divides and egregious rates of violence. This study seeks to illuminate the extent of the intricate relationship between Brazil's inherent inequalities and its propensity for violence by employing a combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies. The study focuses on the years from 2002 to 2021, a period characterized by pivotal social, economic, and political transformations. Utilizing the United Nations definition of homicide as a primary measure of violence, I collected data from Brazilian health repositories for all 27 federative unit's annual reported number of homicides. The research …

Protecting Peace? Analyzing The Relationship Between The Protection Of Civilians And Peace In Un Peacekeeping Settings, Jenna Russo

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Since 1999, the protection of civilians (POC) has become central to UN peacekeeping, included in the mandates of most multidimensional missions. In 2009, the Security Council designated POC as a priority among mandated tasks, in part because of the assertion that protecting civilians creates conditions that are conducive to peace. Yet, to this point, there has not been a thorough examination of the relationship between the protection of civilians in conflict settings and the broader peace process. The purpose of this research project is to investigate whether protecting civilians from violence serves to shorten conflict duration and/or create more durable …

A Hot Conflict Growing Ever Hotter: How Climate Change Provokes Instances Of Violence In South Sudan, Madison Menard

CMC Senior Theses

In South Sudan, people are not engaging in violent altercations because of climate change. People are not deciding to kill other people because the average temperature of the world has risen 1 degree celsius, or harming their neighbor because of irregular rain patterns. Alas the link from climate change to violence is not as direct as that. Rather, climate change has played a non-direct role in the South Sudanese conflict. Within the political marketplace it has subtly altered conditions which later spark or intensify outbreaks of violence. Climate change in this sense should be viewed as a stressor of sorts …

An Inferentially Robust Look At Two Competing Explanations For The Surge In Unauthorized Migration From Central America, Nick Santos

Dissertations

The last 8 years have seen a dramatic increase in the flow of Central American apprehensions by the U.S. Border Patrol. Explanations for this surge in apprehensions have been split between two leading hypotheses. Most academic scholars, immigrant advocates, progressive media outlets, and human rights organizations identify poverty and violence (the Poverty and Violence Hypothesis) in Central America as the primary triggers responsible. In contrast, while most government officials, conservative think tanks, and the agencies that work in the immigration and border enforcement realm admit poverty and violence may underlie some decisions to migrate, they instead blame lax U.S. immigration …

In Understanding The Makings Of An Extremist, There's A Lot Of Work Ahead, Erika Simpson

Political Science Publications

The article explores the complexities and challenges of understanding and preventing extremism, particularly in light of the Capitol riot. It highlights the importance of addressing the root causes of extremism, such as socio-economic disparities, political polarization, and misinformation. The piece emphasizes that extremist behaviors are often the result of a combination of personal grievances and broader societal issues. It discusses the role of social media in radicalizing individuals and spreading extremist ideologies, noting that platforms can both enable and disrupt extremist networks. The article also underscores the necessity of a multi-faceted approach to counter-extremism, involving law enforcement, community engagement, mental …

The Mérida Initiative And The Violence Of Transnational Criminal Organizations In Mexico, Brianna Madison Canning

Honors Projects

Organized crime related violence in Mexico remains at unprecedented levels despite decades of effort and billions of dollars spent attempting to weaken Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) through the Mérida Initiative (MI): a bilateral security partnership established in October 2007 between US President George W. Bush and Mexican President Felipe Calderón. The MI sought to combat TCOs (often called cartels), their drug trafficking operations, and their networks of corruption. However, since then TCOs have expanded their businesses beyond drug trafficking, and they have adopted violent practices that target civilians. Extortion, torture, murder, and human trafficking have become common as TCOs look …

“Time Is A-Wasting”: Making The Case For Cedaw Ratification By The United States, Rangita De Silva De Alwis, Melanne Verveer

All Faculty Scholarship

Since President Carter signed the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (the “CEDAW” or the “Convention”) on July 17, 1980, the United States has failed to ratify the Convention time and again. As one of only a handful of countries that has not ratified the CEDAW, the United States is in the same company as Sudan, Somalia, Iran, Tonga, and Palau. When CEDAW ratification stalled yet again in 2002, then-Senator Joseph Biden lamented that “[t]ime is a-wasting.”

Writing in 2002, Harold Koh, former Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, bemoaned America’s …

North Korea: How Fear Is Used To Control A Nation, Ashley Clisby

Capstone Showcase

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, more commonly known as North Korea, is most commonly known for its possession and testing of nuclear weapons and threatening to use these weapons of mass destruction. Less commonly talked about are the human rights violations that are being experienced by the citizens of North Korea. Most, if not all, of the information regarding North Korean human rights that have been reported on comes from individuals who have escaped the Kim regime. There is very limited information traveling in and out of North Korea that is not heavily monitored by the government. These individuals …

Many Forms Of Black Death: Coal Extraction, Transnational Activism And The Value Of Life In Colombia, Oscar H. Pedraza Vargas

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

After the murder of the president and vice president of the coal union by paramilitaries in the department of Cesár, Colombia, the union is left adrift. Its fragility is only heightened when the person who decides to take over, is killed six months later. The union has been vocal on their critique of environmental destruction produced by coal and argues that their criticism is part of the reasons why they were targeted. Not far from there, in the department of Guajira, the conglomerate in charge of Cerrejón, the largest open-pit coal mine of South America, wants to divert a creek …

An Analysis Of Women And Terrorism: Perpetrators, Victims, Both?, Elizabeth Lauren Miller

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This paper will analyze women’s participation in terrorism under groups like al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. It will research the use of violence within terrorist organizations, perpetrated by female participants. What leads women to join groups like the Islamic State? There will be an analysis of the factors that attract women to joining terrorist organizations, in addition to the practices of recruitment that aid in their radicalization. There is a misconception that women who join the Islamic State lack education, which is seen as the sole reasoning for their radicalization or involvement. In reality, several reasons exist leading to their …

The Case Of Kashmir: Ethnic Mobilization And Insurgency, Kayla Hofmann

Politics Honors Papers

This paper analyzes ethnic identity and potential reasons for conflict through a constructivist lens. Using the case study of Kashmir, I explore the past and present events in the state and the salience of ethnicity, specifically Kashmiri Muslims and Indian Hindus.

Modina, Modina, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Modina fled Myanmar after experiencing and witnessing extreme violence, including the destruction of her village and the violent murder of her uncle by soldiers. She arrived in Bangladesh by boat after paying smugglers a large sum.

Januka, Januka, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

After being raped by a soldier in Myanmar, Januka fled to Bangladesh with her father and later found out she was pregnant. She fears no one will want to marry her because she has been raped.

Rohima, Rohima, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Rohima was brutally raped and tortured by soldiers during an attack. After witnessing other women receive the same treatment, she fled Myanmar for Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Once there, she got married while pregnant as a result of the rape.

Shobika, Shobika, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Shobika escaped Myanmar amid widespread chaos. After being separated from her husband and experiencing the kidnap of her two children, she was raped by soldiers and became pregnant. Her husband now rejects this child.

Roles Y Características De Las Mujeres Hutus Y Tutsis En El Genocidio Ruandés De 1994, Lady Vanessa Fori Calderón, Milena Mejía Pinzón

Negocios y Relaciones Internacionales

El genocidio ruandés ocurrido en el año 1994 fue uno de los episodios más violentos de la historia cuyos actores principales fueron dos de los grupos más representativos en este territorio - hutus y tutsis -, quienes desde décadas anteriores disputaban las jerarquías culturales impuestas por sus antepasados. El genocidio tuvo como fin el exterminio total de la tribu minoritaria (tutsi) y la imposición económica, política y social por parte de los hutus. En la revisión de la literatura sobre la relación entre género, guerra y genocidio, la mayoría de los estudios destacan a las mujeres en calidad de víctimas …

Book Review: To Kill A People: Genocide In The Twentieth Century, Caroline Bennett

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

No abstract provided.

The Responsibility To Prevent : Neocolonialism, Poverty And Mass Atrocity Crimes In Africa, Eileen Brino

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The Responsibility to Protect principle was founded on the premise that sovereignty requires responsibility. The principle establishes the responsibility of states to protect their citizens from mass atrocity crimes and shifts the responsibility to the international community if states fail. This thesis explains how former colonies have had particular difficulty in meeting this responsibility and often fail to protect their populations from things like severe poverty and human rights abuses including mass atrocity crimes. In former colonies the matter of responsibility is complicated by the residual effects of colonial policies that often leave former colonies impoverished, dependent, socially fragmented and …

Navigating Risks Across Borders: The Lived Experiences Of Central American Women Migrants, Carla Angulo-Pasel

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The journey for ‘unauthorized’ migrant women from the Northern Triangle of Central America (NTCA) through Mexico dangerous and violent. In hopes of achieving safe passage to the United States (U.S.), women migrants will have to navigate borders. In this dissertation, I use the concept of borders to reveal the gendered experiences of (im)mobility. I argue that navigating borders throughout the migratory journey is not simply about experiencing the risks and vulnerabilities associated with restrictive border enforcement policies and practices implemented by the nation-state. (Im)mobility for women migrants is equally about the boundaries and/or barriers that are created by oppressive systems …

The Power And Pathologies Of Language: How Human Rights Messaging Can Also Affect Support For Violent Non-State Actors, Alexandra Haines, Michele Leiby, Matthew Krain

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

Are framing strategies that are effective at encouraging pro-social behavior such as participation in human rights campaigns also effective at mobilizing support for “anti-social” and violent causes? Using an experimental research design, we seek to understand under what conditions individuals will express support for retributive violent action.

We hypothesize that a personal story of victimization, wherein the humanity and vulnerability of the victim and the intensity of the violence suffered are described in vivid detail, will be necessary and sufficient to cause the audience to express support for the victim’s subsequent participation in organized, retaliatory violence. We expect that personal …

Nicole Ludwig, Tsos, Nicole Ludwig

TSOS Interview Gallery

In September 2016, Nicole Ludwig led a group of her neighbors in Germany to assist newly-arrived Syrian and Afghani refugees. The volunteers collected clothing and toys, organized activities and field trips for the refugee children, and taught them German. Later, the volunteers offered homework support and led library reading groups. For the adult refugees, the volunteers provided cultural assimilation instruction and cooking classes. While there were occasional challenges to working together, the volunteers and refugees fostered a collaborative system and even hosted a Christmas party, during which one elderly Syrian man said, “This is one of the best memories I …

Femmes, Migration, Et Prostitution En Europe: Il N’Est Pas Question De “Travail De Sexe”, Anna Zobnina

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

Ethnicity, Religion And Violence In Bosnia-Herzegovina, Jusuf Salih

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

The violence that erupted in the Balkans at the end of the second millennium made fierce enemies of people who had lived together in peace as neighbors, friends, classmates, and married couples. Nationalism, chauvinism, and religious fanaticism quickly grew stronger, leading to the disappearance of centuries-long harmony among its inhabitants. Among the reasons for the conflict were the experienced communist leaders who skillfully used religious slogans to advance their campaigns; also, religious leaders became close associates to political leaders with hopes that they would attain the religious rights denied and limited during the old governance. As a result, nationalism and …

Falta De Derechos Humanos Y Violencia: La Crisis Ambiental En América Latina, Vincent J. Gandolfo Iii

Senior Theses and Projects

The purpose of this research is to identify the growing problems associated with environmental degradation in Latin America. For decades, a combination of corrupt governments and lack of environmental legislation has allowed large companies to exploit the environmental resources of many different Latin American countries. Latin America is an extremely biodiverse region of the world and environmental resources are valuable. Large companies have monopolized environmental resources for profit, which has caused protests and violence. Most these large international companies have been allowed to harvest valuable resources, pollute the environment, and leave without any consequences. Because many Latin American governments prioritize …

Nepalese Migrant Workers And Their Hardship In The Desert, Ambar Hajariya

Sustainability and Social Justice

The exploitation of Nepalese migrant workers is linked with glitch and the glamor of Gulf states. The gulf is now a glamorous region in the world. Their infrastructures are breathtaking. For example, Burj Khalifa in Dubai is the tallest structure in the world. Some wonderful structures are in progress, such as a Qatar stadium for the FIFA World Cup 2022. However, the exploitation of Nepalese migrant workers exposes the glitch of the Gulf, which is the extreme violation of human rights. Reports reveal that Nepalese migrants are dying at a rate of one in two days while doing a construction …

Madina, Madina, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Madina is from Afghanistan where she had a good life as a hairdresser. She loved her business and was very well off. She faced a great deal of opposition and persecution since she was a woman who owned a business. She faced violence and threats often. Eventually they were forced to sell their possessions and flee with the help of traffickers and had a dangerous and painful journey. Multiple times they were turned away at borders in Greece, Turkey, and Iran. Madina now lives in Oinofyta refugee camp with her husband and 6 children. Her husband has a disability due …

Aeham, Aeham, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Aeham Ahmad is a pianist from Yarmouk, Syria who gained internet fame from videos posted of him performing on the streets. Because of this, he was targeted and forced to flee to Germany, leaving his wife and two sons behind. Since this interview, his family has joined him.

Aeham’s talent and fame opened up opportunities to perform in various cities in Germany. To share his story during these performances, he learned English. He wants to use music to make a difference in the world. During his time in Yarmouk, there was an underground area where children practiced music because it …