Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Effect Of Economic Integration And Political Centralization On Linguistic Diversity - And The New Function And Status Of The English Language In Europe, Demba K. Baldeh

Theses and Dissertations

This paper examines the effect of economic integration (EI) and political unity on

linguistic diversity and the new function and status of the English language in

Europe. It shows the current sociolinguistic transformation and the growing use of

English both as strong effects and key indicators of the process.

Us Small Arms To Syrian Rebels, Roberto Capocelli

Capstones

The capstone is an investigation into the procurement of Russian-style weapons by small companies to the US government for shipment to Syrian rebels, Iraqi and Afghani military. Through an analysis of procurement contracts, court records and audits the investigation unveils the checkered past of some of the company procuring weapons for the Special Operation Command.

"Who Am I?": The Development Of A Male Palestinian Political Identity, Tala J. Dayyat

Master's Theses

The Palestinian people have lived under numerous imperial rulers; first, the Ottoman Empire, then later the British. Today they live under the military occupation of the state of Israel as second class citizen millions more living abroad as refugees. Young Palestinian men have become the leaders and the physical manifestation of the struggle against Israel, a political Goliath that has used tactics to repress the Palestinians such as, detentions, beatings, and land confiscation, which many outside of the Israeli state deem as illegal. Scholar Rashid Khalidi states that “the quintessential Palestinian experience, which illustrates some of the most basic issues …

An Analysis Of Mongolia’S Resource-Led Development: The Impact Of Foreign Direct Investment In The Extraction Industry, Belguun Bat-Erdene

Master's Theses

It has been 26 years since Mongolia transitioned to democracy. I decided to evaluate the progress of Mongolia’s development since the transition to evaluate whether the country of only 3 million people with vast land and natural resources successfully implemented policies to attain growth and societal wellbeing. In order to evaluate Mongolia’s development progress, this thesis uses FDI in Mongolian development since 1990 as a case study to examine the relationship between FDI, state development strategies, and development outcomes. My research questions encompass a series of interrelated inquiries including 1) whether human development can be achieved through extraction industries 2) …

Plastic Oceans: A New Way In Solving Our Plastic Pollution, Dakota S. Floyd

Master's Theses

By 2050, the world’s oceans will have more plastic than fish with potentially catastrophic consequences on sea life and the health of the ocean. Economically, countries with coastal boundaries will be heavily impacted as plastic pollution has already generated a 13 billion dollars in monetary losses. Considering that this is an extreme problem that we are currently facing the current solution is not enough in curbing our plastic pollution. While, recycling programs have been beneficial in reclaiming some plastic our mass consumption of plastic has outpaced the capabilities of recycling efforts. If we are to find a solution in our …

Emigration, Repatriation And The Reality Of Returned Youth In El Salvador, Isabel C. Duarte Vasquez

Master's Theses

According to US Customs and Border Protection, over 59 thousand unaccompanied minors from the Northern Triangle (Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador) have been detained at the US border, of those 59 thousand, 17 thousand are from El Salvador. El Salvador is home to some of the most dangerous and ruthless gangs of the twenty-first century. Their ruthlessness comes from 1980s guerrilla warfare experience. In addition, El Salvador serves as a transshipment point for illicit substances from South America into Mexico. These dynamics fuel the homicide rate of the region as local gang members must protect their territory by any means …

The New Normal? Climate Variability And Ecoviolence In Sub-Saharan Africa, Alfonso Sanchez

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Climate change presents a wide range of concerns that can jeopardize international security. Among those concerns are neo-Malthusian worries of diminishing natural resources. Predictive models suggest that rainfall and temperature anomalies have the potential to reduce water basins, crop production, increase land degradation among other perils that threaten human security. This concern is particularly true in sub-Saharan Africa given the region’s strong dependence on rain-fed agriculture. Despite strong claims from various world leaders and scientists of a direct climate-conflict nexus, little empirical evidence has been devoted to find a systematic causal pathway of this kind. What is more, the literature …

The Influence Of Social Media In Egypt During The Arab Spring, Nicole Reed

Capstone Collection

In the past 10 years social media has become a way of communicating, following the news, posting pictures, and marketing for brands. The platforms including Facebook and Twitter continue to grow, making them an ideal way of communication all across the world. It has been argued that what happened in the Arab Spring in 2010 was shaped and influenced by more people having access to the internet, and therefore having signed up for social media sights. The act of one man sent a region swirling into turmoil, political overthrow, and in some cases, such as Egypt, creating a revolution.

In …

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

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

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 …

“Frames” And Bias: How A Lack Of Context In Middle East News Coverage Can Impact U.S. Foreign Policy, Jennifer Lois Moore

MSU Graduate Theses

This thesis is a critical examination into how American mainstream news media outlets often neglect to incorporate religious, cultural and historical context into their coverage of the Middle East. I show through my research and analysis that the news coverage of the Middle East, even at the highest echelons of American journalism, is often lacking in sophistication in terms of cultural and religious context, sometimes to the point of affecting its fairness and accuracy. The danger of this is that it has the power to grossly simplify and reduce to an “us versus them” frame an entire contingent of the …

Cross-Cultural Comparison Of Servant Leadership In The United States And Latin America, Ismael Merino

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In this study, the subject matter evaluated is the difference between the United States and Latin America concerning the practice and acceptance of servant leadership. This research compares the practice and the acceptance of servant leadership between the United States of America and Latin America. In order to do this, a cross-cultural comparison was conducted between these two groups. The objective was to find the differences in the leadership styles of these two groups and subsequently analyze the results. The Hofstede’s cultural dimensions were used to be able to compare cultural differences, and understand why these differences appear in the …

Across Systems: Preventing, Countering, And Defusing Violent Extremism—A Discussion Of Strategy, Policy, Practice, And Theory, Keenan Powers

Capstone Collection

This paper explores today’s landscape of violent conflict in the context of the now 15-year-old “War on Terror” and its defining trait of strengthened, nimble, and networked violent extremist non-state militant groups. Through an exploration of primarily United Nations and United States strategies, policies, and programming the concepts of Countering Violent Extremism and Preventing Violent Extremism are melded into a discussion of the shifting frameworks and broadening notions of what it takes to create human security. This paper is particularly concerned with how the traditionally at odds fields of Counter Terrorism, Military Security, Development Assistance, and Peacebuilding practice are co-thinking …

Asian Anxieties And Alliances: Balancing The Rise Of China, Adam David Crank

Theses and Dissertations

China’s rise has been met with both hope and apprehension. However, with its recent actions in the South and East China Seas, surrounding nations are becoming increasingly concerned that China may have expansionist or even hegemonic ambitions. China has taken what many of these countries consider to be aggressive actions in the past several years and months. One of the main questions now is how the surrounding nations, as well as the United States, will react to China’s actions. As of now diplomatic means of failed to resolve the crisis in the South and East China Seas.

This thesis will …

Jules Verne Constructs America: From Utopia To Dystopia, Dana L. Radu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In my dissertation, I examine visions of the United States in Jules Verne’s (1828-1905) Voyages extraordinaires (1863-1905). Of the sixty-four novels that make up that series, twenty-three, over one-third, feature American characters or take place on American soil. I demonstrate that in his early novels (1863-1886), he presents the United States in an optimistic and utopian light, while in his later novels (1887-1905), his depictions of the United States take on a pessimistic and dystopian aspect. In also showing that Verne had been influenced by utopian socialists Henri de Saint-Simon (1760-1825), Charles Fourier (1772-1837) and Étienne Cabet (1788-1856), I provide …

Curing Violence: Prescriptions For Justice And Peace In Colombia, Marissa Crawford

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

As the administration of President Juan Manuel Santos sits across the negotiating table from the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), justice as a conduit for peace has dominated discourse on remediating the legacy of more than 50 years of internal conflict. Justice, however, like the conflict itself, is contested in both meaning and substance. This thesis will approach the topic of justice from both a human rights and transitional justice perspective, arguing the need for systematically disentangling the concept in its international, domestic, and grassroots iterations. It will contend that transitional justice policy will more effectively be designed if …

Power And Proximity: The Politics Of State Secession, Elizabeth A. Nelson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

State secession is a rare occurrence in the international system. While a number of movements seek secession, the majority fail to achieve statehood. Of the exceptional successes, many have not had the strongest claims to statehood; some of these new states look far less like states than some that have failed. So what accounts for these secessions? I argue that the politics of regional actors drive the process. If a secessionist movement does not have the support of actors in the region, it will not achieve statehood. There are three mechanisms through which regional actors can determine outcomes: (1) they …

Internet Access And Freedom: Constructing And Reacting To Transnational Norms About Internet Diffusion And Use, Heather L. Katz

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation explores how demands for Internet access have taken shape in the international system and to what degree a right to access or the Freedom to Connect (F2C) can be said to exist. It also studies how states have responded to demands rel­ated to access and Internet penetration. A review of the literature reveals that most work concentrates on violations of users’ rights on the Web and bypasses questions about whether and how users can access this vital piece of technology. Utilizing discourse analysis, the study shows that the F2C is being framed by a diverse range of actors …

Normalization Policies With Cuba: Implications For Political And Economic Reform, Ramona N. Khan

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

For longer than the past half century, the relationship between the United States and Cuba has been one of antagonism, mistrust, betrayal, hostility and defiance. Decades of mutual hostility arising from Cuba’s post revolution adoption of an economic system that emulated that of the Soviet Union, along with the long history of U.S. interference in Cuba’s domestic and international affairs that predated the Castro revolution and continued afterward, have resulted in this rancorous relationship. Cuba’s move to communism shortly after the Castro regime came to power was regarded as a threat to both democracy and capitalism by the United States, …

Interstate Alliances Of The Fourth-Century Bce Greek World: A Socio-Cultural Perspective, Nicholas D. Cross

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation offers a reassessment of interstate alliances (συμμαχία) in the fourth-century BCE Greek world from a socio-cultural perspective. Although there are a number of studies of ancient and modern alliances that approach the topic from a politico-military perspective, this is the first to apply a socio-cultural perspective to classical Greek alliances. By considering the subject in its own context, from the primary literary and epigraphic sources rather than modern theoretical models, this study aims to identify how contemporaries understood and represented their collaborative activities with other poleis. This approach leads to insights that challenge the widespread notion that classical …

The Transatlantic Oarsmen Cooperative: Doubling Down On A Transatlantic Financial Regulatory Regime, Joselyn Muhleisen

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This project argues that, in the wake of the 2007-09 financial crisis, the United States (US) and European Union (EU) are doubling down on finance-led domestic growth strategies and that this is their goal in constructing a transatlantic financial regulatory regime. The regime’s goal privileges the input of industry actors over other civil society actors. The construction of this regime is in response to pressure from emerging markets and to service domestic industry actors after the financial crisis. The regime is intended to allow the US and EU to maintain their dominance within the international financial regulatory regime and continue …

Security And Foreign Policy Of Landlocked States, Samiullah Mahdi

Graduate Masters Theses

Wealth and stability of the region have a direct influence on the foreign policy and security of landlocked states. Landlocked states residing in poor and unstable neighborhoods, consequently, experience instability and have more limited foreign policy options compared to those landlocked states which are located in the rich and stable regions of the world. Besides those, two other factors, nationalism and the nature of the export product, extensively influence foreign policy and security of some landlocked countries. However, they are exceptions to the rule. Wealth and stability of the neighborhood determine the direction and fate of landlocked countries foreign policies …

Mandate In Conflict: Unrwa’S Role Within Identity, The West Bank, And The Arab-Israeli Conflict, Chris Mattera

Capstone Collection

Created over 67 years ago, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency has stood the test of time, but perhaps not in the best of ways. It is one of the largest UN agencies, boasting an annual budget that typically exceeds 1.3 Billion US$ and a staff of over 30,000, but it is not a commonly known entity. UNRWA’s mandate is dedicated to one refugee populace from one ongoing conflict: to carry out direct relief and works programmes for Palestine Refugees, and by default their descendants, fleeing from the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict (Appendix C). With decades of failed peace attempts, …

Us Strategic Retrenchment And Security-Seeking Behaviors Of The Us Allies In Northeast Asia, Seok Ryul Kang

Open Access Dissertations

This research is planned to explore how a regional state could improve its security during the time of its patron’s strategic retrenchment. It introduces a theory of a regional state’s security-promoting behaviors during the time of its patron’s retrenchment. According to this theory, it is hypothesized that there is covariation between the level of a regional state’s security concern and the scope of its domestic drives to increase societal contribution to autonomous defense posture. It also hypothesizes the existence of covariation between the level of a regional state’s security concern and the level of its commitment to the pursuit of …

State Based Financial Liberalization, Robert J. Kulzick

Open Access Dissertations

In the last 40 years, states around the globe have increased the role of markets in their financial systems. Using newly collected information on the educational backgrounds of Central Bankers, I demonstrate that the beliefs of state officials about the proper role of markets in the financial system influence the extent to which state's liberalize their financial systems. By tracing the liberalization experiences in both France and China through secondary sources, I show that bureaucrats within the state suggest reforms that conform to their neoliberal training when political leaders turn to them for solutions to what are perceived as technical …

Navigating The Arab Spring: The Power Of Food Prices And The Stability Of Monarchies, Evan Andrew Buck

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The Arab Spring shocked the world of political science and international relations due to the collapse of many regimes that were commonly seen as stable. This research seeks to uncover how food pricing, which acted as a “threat multiplier,” incentivized unrest. Through the study of five nations from the Arab Spring—Egypt, Syria, Libya, Tunisia, and Jordan—two things are apparent. First, the monarchy of Jordan is the only regime that remained stable. Second, food prices played an important role in the mobilization of protest. This leads to a quantitative analysis between state fragility, food prices, and monarchies in the Middle East …

Analysis Of Cyber Incidents Between Dyadic Rivals, Barry Edwin Newell

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Cyber conflict between states is a growing trend. There is a large body of research on cyber conflict, but there is very little quantitative analysis to support the theories or to assist in predicting future use of cyber operations. Using a logistic regression analysis, this thesis studies cyber conflicts between dyadic rivals from 2001 to 2011 to answer under what conditions cyber incidents occur between dyadic rivals in the past in the hopes to better analyze and predict future cyber incidents. The data demonstrate that the geographic proximity between dyads increases the probability of a cyber incident occurring while any …

Personal Security And Immigration In The European Union, Anna Kristi Muzzy

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

What is the impact of migration patterns on perceptions of personal security in the European Union countries over the past half-decade? Although the numbers of migrants from outside the EU are undeniably massive, their impact upon domestic public opinion is understudied. Following recent work that explores themes of fear of migrants in EU native populations (Bustikova 2014, d' Appollonia and Reich 2008, Ivarsflaten 2008), I propose a multivariate model that explains variation across EU countries in citizens' views of personal security that includes migration rates, unemployment rates, crime rates, the presence of terrorism, and views of government performance. The results …

Are Countries In Environmental Cooperation Concerned About Relative Gains?, Vivian Chinua Olivia Ike

Master's Theses

A country’s decision to join or withdraw from environmental cooperation has been argued by interest based theories to be influenced by the economic cost of international agreements, national interest of countries and the free-rider problem. However, this thesis argues that relative gains is a more decisive factor that influences the decision of countries in international arrangements. It hypothesizes that countries in environmental cooperation are concerned about relative gains. A content analysis of the statements of fifteen countries in international climate change cooperation are analyzed. The countries include the United States, Russian Federation, Canada, Japan, Australia, China, Brazil, South Africa, India, …

Managing The Agricultural Biotechnology Revolution: Responses To Transgenic Seeds In Developing Countries, Alper Yagci

Doctoral Dissertations

There has been heated debate over transgenic or genetically modified (GM) crops in agriculture. Advocates and critics argue over possible economic, environmental, public health implications of this technology. This study examines varying policy approaches to regulating GM crop cultivation in four developing countries where the technology has large potential application. Why have some countries banned GM crop cultivation in their territory while others encouraged it? In countries where GM crops were allowed, why have varying systems of intellectual property rights (IPR) protection been constructed? To investigate these questions I comparatively examine the policy experience (1995-2015) of Argentina, Brazil, Turkey relying …

Ownership In The Development Discourse: A Case Study In Education In Tanzania, Satomi Kamei

Doctoral Dissertations

Today, there is a solid consensus in the international development community that “country ownership” is essential to promoting sustainable development in developing countries. Many donors also address ownership as essential to improving aid effectiveness. In this context, there have been continuous debates and emphasis on the importance of ownership. Meanwhile, the debates were further accelerated by the “Paris Declaration” to reform aid delivery and country ownership as an aid effectiveness principle. Despite various attempts to better define ownership, the notion remains unclear and debatable. Furthermore, the development discourse is still largely dominated by international donors. Consequently, the ownership agenda is …