Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Place Of Nuclear Weapons In Russian Identity: An Ontological Security Analysis, Peter Ernest Yeager

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

On May 9, 2008, Russia’s Victory Day, four 14-wheeled MAZ-7917s drove through Red Square carrying Topol intercontinental ballistic missiles. This was the first time nuclear weapons had been paraded through Moscow since before the end of the Cold War. The previous August, Russia had resumed nuclear-capable bomber patrols, and in January, 2007, President Putin acknowledged Russia had begun to build new nuclear weapons. These remarkable events were met with little acknowledgement in the West, as if they were completely normal. Instead, they represented a major evolution in the bilateral relationship between the United States and Russia. Sixteen years of fitful …

Mapping Cooperation: Insights Into Colombia's Humanitarian Response To Migration From Venezuela, Liss Dayana Romero, Jose J. Padilla, Katherine Palacio, Erika Frydenlund

VMASC Publications

Introduction: Since 2015, Colombia has faced a significant humanitarian challenge, receiving 2.9 million displaced Venezuelans. This study examines organizational cooperation in the humanitarian response to this migration crisis, aiming to understand the coordination dynamics among key organizations and actors.

Methods: Our research combined interviews and web scraping to gather data on key actors and their relationships in the humanitarian response. We employed Social Network Analysis (SNA) to examine these relationships and the collaborative strategies among entities, focusing on how they address the migration challenges.

Results: The results indicate that cooperation occurred through mediated channels, where established NGOs collaborated via coordination …

An Exploratory Examination Of The Cultural Understandings Of Communication Competence Among Nigerian Immigrant Adult Children, Fredous Gambo

Communication & Theatre Arts Theses

Although “communication competence” may be considered a trans-cultural concept, its unique meanings and practices across cultures have yet to be studied. Communication between parents and children in African households, for example, have often been associated with a restive and high level of control. Specifically in Nigerian households, a major critique of parenting communication styles is the necessity of continually seeking the permissions of a patriarchal and hierarchical family structure. When families immigrate, parents and children alike must navigate learning to communicate in the new culture while also seeking to preserve their culture of origin. Past research shows that adult immigrant …

Chinese International Graduate Student Agency In A Neo-Racism Context: A Narrative Analysis, Minghui Hou

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

The United States is the top destination for Chinese international students, receiving around 372,532 students from China from the academic year 2019 to 2020. The host institutions and countries have benefited from economic gains, diverse cultures, global competence, and human capital. The motivation of recruiting international students is framed in a global imaginary that is embedded in colonialism and neoliberalism. International students are often framed as cash cows and objects. Meanwhile, international students, particularly Chinese international students have been experiencing discrimination, prejudice, and exclusion due to their nationality and culture. The purpose of this narrative inquiry study was to examine …

The Civil War Conflict Between Anglophones/Francophones In The Northwest And Southwest Regions Of Cameroon, Myriam Jeter

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

The Civil War conflict between Anglophones and Francophones, also known as the Ambazonia war, is a long-standing issue that continues to plague the people living in the Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon. This paper explores the colonial history of the nation, the cause of the ongoing conflict, the reasons for its escalation, and how it gave rise to the Ambazonian separatists who want to have a separate nation called the Ambazonia Republic.

This study contributes to conflict understanding in two ways. First, it sheds light on the cultural and economic impacts of internally generated crises in a country. Second, …

Can’T Let Go: Anxiety, Ontological Security, And French Foreign Policy Decision-Making During The Hollande Administration, Peter D. Langley

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Why does France continue to intervene militarily in sub-Saharan Africa despite repeated commitments, both in practice and in rhetoric, to disengage and adhere to strict non-intervention? Although many accounts of France’s African security policy have been put forth, few have analyzed French foreign policy choices through the decision-making process itself, let alone exclusively applied International Relations (IR) theories to understand those decisions. Synthesizing a narrative approach with an ontological security interpretation, which understands states as having identity security needs on top of their physical ones, I propose an alternative framework for understanding France’s security-seeking, threats to identity, and how they …

Attitudes Of Ethnic Minorities Towards National Defense And Security In The Triadic Nexus: The Case Of Russian-Speakers In Estonia, Nikita Lumijoe

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

The contested loyalty of ethnic minorities between the host nation and ethnocultural homeland can play a significant role in the formation of geopolitical tensions as well as civil and ethnic-based conflicts. When the ethnocultural homeland of an ethnic minority increases the scale of intervention into the inner affairs of the host countries using hybrid, cognitive and even military wise, the attitudes of ethnic minorities towards national security and defense policy become a strategic asset for both sides.

In 2014, pro-Russian separatism in Ukraine focused the attention of the international community to the political attitudes of Russian-speaking ethnic minorities in Eastern …

U.S.-China Trade War: Phase One Agreement And Self-Enforcing Contracts, Hameedullah Hassani

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Sino-American bilateral trade relations have increased significantly in the past four decades since China started its economic reforms in 1978. The bilateral expansion in trade has been accompanied by increased complexity and tensions, which emerged in the form of a trade war during the President Trump administration. After a series of tit-for-tat tariff increases, in an attempt to address concerns through negotiations, both sides reached a Phase One agreement. However, the commitments made in the agreement were not delivered. In my thesis, I use the “self-enforcing contracts” theory to analyze the status of Phase One deal. The examination indicates that …

The Legacy Of Colonization And Civil Societies In South Africa, Erika Frydenlund, Melissa Miller-Felton, Bolu Ayankojo

Modeling, Simulation and Visualization Student Capstone Conference

This research analyzes the unique ways that civil societies operate in Sub-Saharan Africa in the context of post-apartheid Cape Town, South Africa. Decades after the demise of apartheid, remnants of inequality remain without the promise of actionable change. We used a computational modeling approach to understand the dynamics of migrants in the receiving community as derived from qualitative interviews conducted with 24 stakeholders in Cape Town, South Africa between 2020 and 2021. Our findings show that the presence of NGOs can promote access to resources and reduce xenophobia if they can have the right influence on government policies.

Assessing Frustration Towards Venezuelan Migrants In Columbia: Path Analysis On Newspaper Coded Data, Brian Llinás, Guljannat Huseynli, Erika Frydenlund, Katherine Palacia, Jose Padilla

Modeling, Simulation and Visualization Student Capstone Conference

This study analyzes the impact of Venezuelan migrants on local frustration levels in Colombia. The study found a relationship between the influx of Venezuelan migrants and the level of frustration among locals towards migrants, infrastructure, government, and geopolitics. Additionally, we identified that frustration types have an impact on other frustrations. The study used articles from a national newspaper in Colombia from 2015 to 2020. News articles were coded during a previous study qualitatively and categorized into frustration types. The code frequencies were then used as variables in this study. We used path modeling to statistically study the relationship between dependent …

Behind Derogatory Migrants' Terms For Venezuelan Migrants: Xenophobia And Sexism Identification With Twitter Data And Nlp, Joseph Martínez, Melissa Miller-Felton, Jose Padilla, Erika Frydenlund

Modeling, Simulation and Visualization Student Capstone Conference

The sudden arrival of many migrants can present new challenges for host communities and create negative attitudes that reflect that tension. In the case of Colombia, with the influx of over 2.5 million Venezuelan migrants, such tensions arose. Our research objective is to investigate how those sentiments arise in social media. We focused on monitoring derogatory terms for Venezuelans, specifically veneco and veneca. Using a dataset of 5.7 million tweets from Colombian users between 2015 and 2021, we determined the proportion of tweets containing those terms. We observed a high prevalence of xenophobic and defamatory language correlated with the …

A Qualitative Analysis Of The Relationship Between Cyberthreats And Democratic Backsliding, Amy I. Browning

Cybersecurity Undergraduate Research Showcase

Interstate conflict has developed beyond conventional tactics to include the cyber realm, making cybersecurity a key component of international relations and an integral part of state defense plans. Research in international security has included the analyses of the relative success or failures of particular cyberattacks. However, the instigators behind these attacks receive comparatively little attention, leaving a gap in knowledge for when, why, and where cyberthreats are likely to emerge. Recent analysis has found that democratic institutions are likely to hinder state-sponsored cyberattack initiation. A consideration that the latest wave of global democratic backsliding could be fueling cyberthreats must be …

Cybersecurity Workforce Development In Nigeria: Transforming The Cybercrime Gangs Into Cybersecurity Specialists, Olohi Favor Anteyi

Cybersecurity Undergraduate Research Showcase

This paper addresses the issue of cybercrime in Nigeria and the possibility of creating a cybersecurity workforce development program for cyber criminals to develop their skills for the cybersecurity profession, which may facilitate Nigeria’s economic development.

The Philippines And The World: Which Country Do Filipinos Trust More And Why, Mark Gabriel Wagan Aguilar

Graduate Research Conference (GSIS)

Agreements between and among countries have been going on for centuries for the purpose of trade, security, employment, and peace among others, however, changes on these agreements do happen, for instance, when a new President gets elected and see a different direction for his/her country. When President Rodrigo Duterte became President of the Philippines in 2016, he have made it clear that he doesn't trust the United States of America, while expressing preference in working with China, in fact, in his 6 year term, he has never step foot on the country for an official visit, however, a new perspective …

Public Diplomacy And Foreign Policy Analysis In The 21st Century: Navigating Uncertainty Through Digital Power And Influence, Amber Brittain-Hale

Graduate Research Conference (GSIS)

In an era defined by digital networks and geopolitical risk, public diplomacy is gaining traction for global leaders to address uncertainty. This paper investigates the use of decentralized politics in public discourse and its implications for leadership. Individual global actors have increased public diplomatic efforts as a focus due to political uncertainty, particularly since 2016. The case of Ukraine and its President Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's use of digital and public diplomacy in the conflict with Russia emphasizes the importance of looking at individual actor impacts in international relations rather than just states. The study should concentrate on how digital …

Choices For U.S. Contributions To Nato: Stability Policing In The Age Of Multi-Domain Operations, Nathan M. Colvin

Graduate Research Conference (GSIS)

The United States Army claims they are a “force out of position” and must transform for large-scale combat operations (LSCO). The current narrative toward LSCO warfighting comes at the expense of lessons hard-won over decades of small wars and stability operations. The focus on LSCO is an oversimplification of the complexity and ambiguity of the future operating environment. The Army is trading clarity of narrative at the expense of a force balanced for both LSCO and non-LSCO operations. LSCO perspective assumes a worst-case scenario of war over more likely scenarios of continuous disruptions across a spectrum of conflict, which may …

Russia-Ukrainian War 2022: Battle Of Hostomel, Arthur Borsuk

Graduate Research Conference (GSIS)

On February 24, 2022, the Russian Federation began the active phase of a full-scale invasion of the territory of sovereign Ukraine. This invasion was preceded by the recognition of the independence of the quasi-republics in the occupied territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions (located in the east of Ukraine) and the introduction of a large group of troops into their territory. The invasion began with a massive missile and air strike against critical infrastructure, military units, civilian facilities and air defense positions. At the same time, the ground troops of the Russian Federation crossed the border in all border …

The Colonial Origins Of Institutions In Mauritanina, Mahfoudha Sidelemine

Graduate Research Conference (GSIS)

This paper examines and evaluates the state of development in Mauritania, a former French colony in West Africa. The drivers of (under)development that the paper focuses on are institutions. By focusing on institutions as the main factors that determine the development process of the country, I also focus on the colonial origins of institutions. Hence, in this paper, I draw on Acemoglu and colleagues’ argument on the origin of colonial origins of institutions as they identify two types of colonial institutions—Inclusive and Exclusive (Acemoglu et.al.2001). However, in this research, I argue that there is a third type of institution the …

The History Of Cold War Economic Polices: How The Panda Outlived The Bear, Daniel R. White

Graduate Research Conference (GSIS)

The Cold War is often regarded as a political and economic struggle between capitalism and communism. Recent post-Cold War scholars have uncovered that the nations allied to either side were not as united as the conventional understanding of the subject has previously been thought. Using recent publications, this paper reports on the how the diverging interests between the Soviet Union and People’s Republic of China drove a wedge in the communist world. This led China to slowly embrace economic reforms and ties with the United States while the Soviet Union entered into a period of stagnation which ultimately led to …

Nato Persistence & The Iron Law Model, Ronald Okoye

Graduate Research Conference (GSIS)

The centrality of NATO to the progression of the war is one of the fundamental issues in the current Russia-Ukraine conflict. Analysts generally agree that Russia's motivations for starting the conflict stem from Ukraine’s ambitions to join NATO, as Moscow sees such a move as a flagrant encroachment of Western Europe onto its territory. Special scrutiny of NATO as a regional alliance and its ongoing stability that has survived the cold war is necessary in light of the developments in Ukraine. In order to justify the scientific study of NATO's persistence, one must consider the war vis-a-vis the Ukraine-NATO issue …

Complex Global Value Chains And Economic Interdependence: A New Look At The Opportunity Costs Argument, Melle Scholten

Graduate Research Conference (GSIS)

The classical economic interdependence argument states that trade and investment between countries make conflict less likely, because they increase the opportunity costs of war. War means that trade and investment will dry up, to the detriment of society as a whole. The increased opportunity costs of war (vis-`a-vis peace) means war will be less likely to occur between interdependent states. Certain strands of realism have challenged this assertion. They argue that expectations that trade will decline in future can be a strong incentive for initiating conflict. Giving increasing political and economic tensions between the world’s superpowers – the USA and …

Countering Russian Disinformation In Africa, Illia Snigur

Graduate Research Conference (GSIS)

Illia Snigur’s ODU Research Conference Paper on topic of Russian disinformation in Africa region. That paper briefly describes Russia's economic interests in the African region, why it is beneficial for the Russian Federation to use its soft power, and what role Wagner PMC plays in the African region.

Transformation Of The Ideology Of Decentralization In Ukraine In The Conditions Of A Full-Scale Russian Invasion, Tetiana Lukeria

Graduate Research Conference (GSIS)

No abstract provided.

Global Security: Russia, Ukraine, And What Comes Next, Kateryna Koval, Ekaterina Kravchenko (Editor)

Graduate Research Conference (GSIS)

February 24, 2022, changed the lives of all Ukrainians. People throughout the country woke up to the sounds of bombings in the cities, and all soon knew that the full-scale war had begun. That morning Ukrainians realized that Russians could never become “brothers and sisters” again. Russia is a terrorist state that is continuing to commit war crimes. Crimes against peace, and crimes against humanity. Russia has now challenged the entire world with bombings, murder, and acts against civilians - including women and children.However, these unthinkable circumstances now allow Ukraine to change the situation together with the rest of the …

Tunisia: The Colonized Road To A Democratic Identity, Kara Broene

Graduate Research Conference (GSIS)

The death of one Tunisian man by self-immolation in 2010 created uprisings in 18 other Arab countries in what is known as the 2011 Arab Spring. As a result, Tunisia managed to overthrow its long-standing autocratic government and establish a democracy; it is the only nation who has managed to maintain those changes since 2011. As the first point of protest and the only success story, what makes Tunisia different from the other 18 nations? While there has been research on why Tunisia has succeeded, there is little on how Tunisia’s colonial history under France for 75 years might have …

Vaccination Inequities Among Children 12-23 Months In India: An Analysis Of Inter-State Differences, Octavia K. Goodman, Abram L. Wagner, Dakota Riopelle, Joseph L. Mathew, Matthew L. Boulton

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Background

Previous research has shown that socioeconomic and demographic risk factors in children are additive and lead to increasingly negative impacts on vaccination coverage. The goal of this study is to examine if different combinations of four risk factors (infant sex, birth order, maternal education level, and family wealth status) vary by state among children 12-23 months in India and to determine the impact of ≥ 1 risk factor on differences in state vaccination rates.

Methods

Using data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) conducted in India between 2005 and 2006 (NFHS-3) and 2015-2016 (NFHS-4), full vaccination of children …

Thither The Russian Navy? Putin’S Navalization In A Historical Context, William Emerson Bunn

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

The Syrian operation of 2012 was the first successful employment by Russia of expeditionary warfare, narrowly defined as naval support to Russian (or Soviet) ground forces in a war away from their periphery (i.e., in a country that does not border them), from the sea. This was brought about in part by the development of two types of cruise missiles: advanced anti-ship missiles (which protects their expeditionary force from NATO naval units, enabling local sea control) and new land attack cruise missiles (similar in design and capability to the U.S. Tomahawk). In the past geographical, technological and political constraints …

Securing Russia: Seeking Ontological Security In The Arctic, Brian W. Cole

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia experienced an abrupt discontinuity in its sense of identity. This break in identity, and a more profound lost sense of self, creates a strong need to reestablish continuity. The need to regain that sense of self is strong and can supersede other concerns. Ontological security theory proposes that the need to maintain identity can outweigh physical security considerations. This study uses game theory methodology and the Arctic as a contextual example to demonstrate that ontological security-seeking actors are willing to sacrifice physical security. Today, the current conditions in the Arctic reflect a …

Textiled Narratives: Branding, Consumption, And Mexican American Identity At The Turn Of The Twentieth Century, Andrew Michael Gordus

World Languages and Cultures Faculty Publications

The NaCo apparel company out of Tijuana, Mexico, created a unique line of clothing and accessories in the late 1990s and early 2000s. With its success in Mexico, the brand chose to extend its reach into the lucrative US market. The company's focus on bicultural and binational images seemed a natural fit for a growing Latinx presence in the US. An analysis of the company's successes and failures in the new market highlights the continued importance of borders as separators of visual economies rooted in national histories and imaginations. Additionally, their experience reveals the complexities within Latinx communities that can …

The Evolving Identities Of Hsi And Differentiated Funding, Amanda K. Burbage, Chris Glass

Educational Foundations & Leadership Faculty Publications

To achieve Higher Education Act Title V funding goals, policymakers must reconsider approaches, respond to Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) diversity, and prioritize servingness. This study investigated HSI heterogeneity across traditional performance metrics and student-engagement indicators using data sources previously only examined independently. A multi-step TwoStep cluster analysis revealed six clusters of HSIs. The two most important predictors of cluster membership were years with an HSI designation (transitioning and established) and institution type (associate, bachelor, and special focus). Key quantitative metrics may be useful for policy actors seeking an equity-minded Title V award strategy that considers HSI heterogeneity and prioritizes HEA Title …