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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

The Importance Of Sunni-Iraqi Support In The Rise And Fall Of Isis In Iraq, Deja Meekins Jun 2024

The Importance Of Sunni-Iraqi Support In The Rise And Fall Of Isis In Iraq, Deja Meekins

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

ISIS, a Salafi-jihadist terrorist organization stationed in the Middle East, has had its fair share of "successes" and "failures," both of which have been present in Iraq. Toward the beginning of the development of ISIS, it garnered a very powerful supporter base in Iraq. However, that has changed since then; ISIS currently, in 2024, no longer has the support of the vast majority of the Iraqi people. What is the reason for this? This research paper will seek to analyze and answer two major questions: what role does the Iraqi Sunni population play in ISIS’s trajectory of successes and failures …


The Higher Education Risk To National Security: A Case Study Of The University Of Akron, Anna Back Jan 2023

The Higher Education Risk To National Security: A Case Study Of The University Of Akron, Anna Back

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

There are numerous threats to U.S. National Security within higher education. Through this paper, I will provide an analysis of current and future threats using a literature review and informational interviewing. The literature review revealed four major National Security threats facing higher education institutions due to Foreign Intelligence Entities (FIE): foreign recruitment of faculty and students, increase in foreign students and screening difficulties, campus openness/easy access to facilities and information, and foreign funding for research. A set of informational interviews were conducted with The University of Akron faculty, employees, and partners to evaluate whether these same threats were present. The …


Variations In Refugee Acceptance Among Democratic States, Ryan King Jan 2023

Variations In Refugee Acceptance Among Democratic States, Ryan King

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

What factors account for the variation in refugee acceptance? My review of existing literature and subsequent research paper will seek to further develop the understanding of this phenomenon by identifying and investigating factors that account for the differences in rates of migration flow among democratic states. The literature review will discuss the current body of research surrounding the topic, and the research itself will attempt to further the understanding of the impact of the given variables by using currently available data of international trends in migration, as well as a number of specific case studies. First, the paper will outline …


Artificial Intelligence And National Security, Ryan Laverick Jan 2022

Artificial Intelligence And National Security, Ryan Laverick

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

As technology advances at an exponential rate, it is becoming increasingly important to consider the ramifications of that technology in the geopolitical environment, and especially as it pertains to American national security. One of the most important categories of technological innovation that will likely disrupt the global balance of geopolitical power, especially along the US-China axis, is the advent and growing sophistication of artificial intelligence. In order to address the new and evolving national security challenges that will accompany this disruption, this paper seeks to define and explain the disparity in artificial intelligence capabilities between the United States and China. …


Military Influence On Middle Eastern Democratization Following The Arab Spring, Andrew Fleming Jan 2021

Military Influence On Middle Eastern Democratization Following The Arab Spring, Andrew Fleming

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Despite experiencing countless wars, sectarian extremism, imperialism, and authoritarian rule, very few events have impacted the Middle East more significantly than the Arab Spring. Starting in 2010, the Arab Spring marked a turning point in which the people of numerous Arabic states collectively gathered to protest and combat the oppressive regimes that had controlled the region for decades. The Spring was indicative of the strong, recurring ambitions for revolution and regime change across the Middle East, presenting the Arab nations with an opportunity to reform their states from within. For some Middle Eastern states, the Arab Spring served as a …


The Impact Of Human Rights Abuses And Emigration In Venezuela, Caroline Hanna Jan 2021

The Impact Of Human Rights Abuses And Emigration In Venezuela, Caroline Hanna

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

My overall goal with my Honors project is to have a better understanding of the human rights situation in Venezuela and how human rights abuses are one of the many factors in the high levels of emigration. The influx of migrants has led to serious issues in many South American countries, especially Colombia, as many countries face economic hurdles, and the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the global economy. I want to address the international response to this crisis as well due to the differing responses of the Syrian refugee crisis and the Venezuelan migration crisis. In order to do this, …


Democracy In The Mena, Alexandria Petrof Jan 2021

Democracy In The Mena, Alexandria Petrof

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

There is not sufficient evidence that the Middle East will be able to democratize effectively. First and foremost, most attempts of implementing democracy have failed. The landscape and lack of industrialization also plays a role in the inability to apply democratic systems into this area. Lastly, the educational system, or lack thereof, struggles to educate their children and citizens as a whole and education is one of the biggest factors in the success of democracy.


Immigration And Crime Across Southern Us Border: The Effect Of Latino Immigration On Violent Crime, Matthew Hohman Jan 2020

Immigration And Crime Across Southern Us Border: The Effect Of Latino Immigration On Violent Crime, Matthew Hohman

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

In the United States, most lay citizens could voice an opinion on the effect of immigration in the United States. However, these opinions are generally only focused on Latino immigration entering the country across its Southern border from Mexico and Caribbean countries, such as Cuba and Haiti. Increased media coverage on this topic in recent decades has fueled this debate and made it a center stage topic in political agendas. This study aims to shed light on this issue by researching the true effect of Latino immigration, as well as total immigration, across the United States’s Southern Border. To account …


Gun Control: The Gun Violence Epidemic In The U.S., Anna Koduru Jan 2019

Gun Control: The Gun Violence Epidemic In The U.S., Anna Koduru

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

While holding almost half of all civilian-owned guns around the globe and yet only 4.4 percent of the world’s population, the United States of America is heavily centered around gun rights due to the 2nd amendment in the U.S. Constitution. But gun violence is on the rise as deaths due to gun violence are at its highest rate in nearly 40 years. Americans are divided amongst themselves when it comes to how we must approach this issue. In order to reduce gun violence in the U.S., both Republican and Democrat leaders must come together and make bipartisan moves to implement …


Globalization’S Effects On Mexico, Andrew Barry Jan 2019

Globalization’S Effects On Mexico, Andrew Barry

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This research paper aims to investigate the effects of economic globalization on the Mexican economy. To contextualize the research presented, a brief historical summary is presented. Economic globalization is examined through trade and foreign investment in México, including Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and portfolio investment. The Mexican economy is measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). This research paper uses data from The World Bank to examine how economic globalization indicators affect the indicators chosen to measure the Mexican economy. The findings of this paper show that there is evidence that the Mexican economy has grown …


An Investigation Of The Violation Of Human Rights In Yemen, Abigail Watson Jan 2018

An Investigation Of The Violation Of Human Rights In Yemen, Abigail Watson

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This research paper aims to investigate the persistence of human rights violations in Yemen from 2008 to 2018. It examines whether this persistence of human rights violations is related to Yemen’s regime type, external actors such as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Iran, and the United States, Yemen’s state of wealth and economic growth, and civil wars. This research paper uses data from various sources to examine different propositions related to the investigation of human rights in Yemen. The findings of this paper include that Yemen’s regime type, external actors such as the GCC, Iran, and the United States, Yemen’s …


Factors That Influence Mexican Emigration To The United States: The Role Of Economics, Education Quality, Crime, And Violence, Kristina Aiad-Toss Jan 2018

Factors That Influence Mexican Emigration To The United States: The Role Of Economics, Education Quality, Crime, And Violence, Kristina Aiad-Toss

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This study explores the factors that influence Mexican emigration to the United States. By determining the relationship between emigration and different economic, social, and demographic variables, this paper seeks to determine the relative importance of factors that drive Mexicans to leave their country. This paper looks at the following emigration push and pull factors: home-country economic conditions, employment opportunities, education quality, crime, drug-cartel related violence, social ties in the U.S., gender, age, and income. Using a nationwide survey opinion data from 2015, the perceptions of Mexican individuals support the hypotheses that social ties, home-country education quality, gender, and age are …


Australian Strategic Culture: A Case Study, Eric Begue Jan 2017

Australian Strategic Culture: A Case Study, Eric Begue

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This examines the relationship between a country’s history and its actions on the international stage through the prism of the "strategic culture" theoretical framework created in works by Alistair Ian Johnston, Elizabeth Keir, Jack Snyder, and others. The central question of the study will be whether or not an understanding of a state’s past actions, rhetoric, and/or cultural obligations can provide an accurate predictor of future action and the primary thesis is that national “strategic culture” has a causal effect on national policy decisions. Towards this end, I have chosen to conduct a case study to ascertain the impact and …


Support For Suicide Terrorism In Egypt, Matthew J. Pastoria Jan 2016

Support For Suicide Terrorism In Egypt, Matthew J. Pastoria

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Evaluating the factors that affect support for suicide terrorism in Egypt based upon the PEW Research Center's Global Attitudes Project data from 2014.


Explaining Anti-Americanism In Turkey: A Study Of The Patterns Of Anti-American Sentiment Among Turkish Citizens, Rachel Thacker Jan 2016

Explaining Anti-Americanism In Turkey: A Study Of The Patterns Of Anti-American Sentiment Among Turkish Citizens, Rachel Thacker

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This paper will compare the characteristics among citizens in Turkey who have anti-American views and attitudes. The paper will review of the current literature on what is anti-Americanism, and its consequences, and the chronology of anti-Americanism in Turkey from 2001 to 2013. Next, the paper will explain the political left and right in Turkey, and Turkish Islamic identity, that is, observant Muslims in Turkey. The findings of this paper suggests that Muslim identify has not correlation with levels of anti-Americanism. Rather, there is a correlation between having a leftist political ideology and a higher level of anti-Americanism. The research being …


The Psychology Of Terrorism And Radicalization, Gina K. Dejacimo Jan 2015

The Psychology Of Terrorism And Radicalization, Gina K. Dejacimo

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Terrorism and radicalized political groups are an ever-growing subsection of the American and international news cycles. Mainstream media outlets tend to focus on the atrocious actions of terrorists, leaving the American public without a true understanding of what encourages someone to become a violent, radicalized extremist. This paper intends to investigate possible psychological factors that can predict a person’s likelihood to become radicalized and participate in a salafi jihadi terrorist campaign. If such psychological conditions exist, perhaps they are the key to preventing radicalization in the first place, and in turn, the key to preventing any terrorist activity. What other …