Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Policy-Making Under Evo Morales: Explaining Ethnopopulist Redistributive Measures In Bolivia, Luis Ferreira

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

The Evo Morales administration has radically transformed the Bolivian state since his election in 2005. As a result of Morales' indigenous identity and overt ethnic tensions in this state, there is a perception that this factor plays a decisive role in Bolivia's policymaking. However, as the 'renegotiation' of the hydrocarbon industry in 2006 demonstrates, ethnopopulism and political survival provide the most comprehensive approach to predicting the policies of the current Bolivian government.

The resistance to liberalization efforts, the success of redistributive measures and the role identity has had in Bolivia explains why this approach to policy-making has allowed Morales to …

Developments In The Global Energy Markets And Constructing The Future Of The Persian Gulf Security, Nihat Cengel

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This study analyses the global energy projections and regional dynamics in the Persian Gulf. It is shown that the future projections in the world energy markets signify the importance of cooperation between developed and developing countries. It is also suggested that connected to the global economic crises and the regional demand change in the energy market, there is a growing need for international support to the Persian Gulf security.

I argue that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) could play a crucial role for eliminating political conflicts and maintaining the regional stability. As a result, collective arm transfer to the region, …

Guardians Of The Countryside Public Choice Theory And The Farm Lobby In The Eu's Common Agricultural Policy, Amy J. Costa

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Through various waves of reform, the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy remains inefficient without meeting all of its stated goals. The MacSherry reforms of 1992 resulted in the opposite of what leaders intended: higher spending and a growing bureaucracy. Later in the 1990s, Agenda 2000 slashed its originally planned cutbacks after farmers protested. Though support exists for reducing spending on agriculture, market intervention remains.

This thesis explores the problem through the use of public choice theory. -Consumers make too large a group to organize effectively or inform themselves about the issue, while farmers consist of a smaller group with well-defined …

East, West, Or Center? Turkey's Stance Straddling Continents, Pipelines, And Interdependences, Mustafa Kemal Dagdelen

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This thesis concentrates on the international relations of Turkey by studying one of the significant parameters of the world affairs, the Energy Security issue, and Robert 0. Keohane and Joseph S. Nye's Complex Interdependence concept. The research is conducted through two case studies between Turkey and two different neighboring actors, Iran and the European Union. This thesis is a qualitative study with descriptive analyses on the literature of the interdependence and the energy security concepts. By revealing mutual dependences between Turkey, Iran, and the European Union, with different vulnerabilities, the results of this scholarly quest suggest that the interdependent nature …

All Is Fair In War---Violent Conflict And The Securitization Of Rape, Sabine Hirschauer

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Systematic mass rape during conflict has for centuries met with global ignorance and political complacency despite its atrocious character. The conflicts in Bosnia and Rwanda in the 1990s altered the silence surrounding this long tolerated, dark underbelly of war. Applying Barry Buzan's and Ole Waever'sSecuritization Theory to the cases of Bosnia and Rwanda, this dissertation finds that rape during both wars was successfully securitized. Securitization Theory as a model and indicator of an effective shifting of rape from an apolitical or political perspective into the security realm was appropriate. Bosnia initiated the first convictions of rape as a …

Interregionalism As A Foreign Policy Of The European Union: A Case For Soft Power?, Maxim Miroshnikov

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This paper looks at the interregionalism as a part of the European Union's foreign policy. It argues that the EU's use of soft power can be traced within this policy. The paper proposes two methods of defining soft power in action: through presence and through purposive action. Three case studies are analyzed to support this. It is shown that indeed the EU exercised soft power toward other actors using these mechanisms. Success of these actions was however not always present.

Human Trafficking Post 9/11 Policy And Practice Beyond Cutting The Tail Off The Snake, Alexandra Caitlin Rice

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

The U.S. Department of State estimates that 600,000 to 800,000 victims are trafficked across international borders each year, approximately 14,500 to 17,500 of which are trafficked into the United States. The Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (VTVPA) was created to combat human trafficking in the country, and as a result created the T-visa to provide immigration relief to non-citizen victims of trafficking. In this work I analyze U.S. government efforts to combat trafficking in the twelve years following implementation of the VTVPA. I expand my analysis beyond T-visa distribution data to incorporate interviews with high-level government …

Media, Military, Militarism: Media Consumption, Awareness Of U.S. Military Foreign Policy, And Support For War, Daniel James Patten

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

This study examines the relationship between the media, attitudes towards supporting war, and military awareness. Online survey data were collected from a four-year university located in a heavily militarized area. This study found that having knowledge of Afghanistan and Iraq War facts negatively affected one's decision to support war and was the strongest predictor of this decision. The media was not found to be a significant predictor impacting this knowledge when controlling for other variables. Political ideology and other related variables were found to be more influential of this knowledge. These findings imply that the public may be imprudently supporting …

The Political Economy Of Congressional Patent Policymaking In The Late 20th Century, Jesse T. Richman

Political Science & Geography Faculty Publications

Beginning in the early 1980s, the U.S. Government reformed the patent law in ways that made patents easier to acquire and defend, but further efforts to expand the rights of patent owners had stalled by the mid-1990s. I use a political economy model to explain these changes in terms of the shifting constituency interests represented by members of the U.S. Congress. As the distribution of patenting became less skewed in the 1980s, more members represented constituencies likely to benefit from inefficient patent policy. But as the distribution of patent holding became more skewed once again in the later 1990s, support …

International Competition For Satellite-Based Navigation System Services, Robert F. Donnelly

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

The goal of this work is to review the current state of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) development and its potential impact on the social, economic, and political dynamics of the various states fielding the systems. The most recognizable GNSS is the US GPS. It is the only operational system functioning at the time of this writing and has become part of the global commons. GPS, by virtue of its uniqueness, is considered the 'gold standard' of satellite based positioning, navigation, and timing systems. This uniqueness has also enabled the US to fully capitalize on the sizable economic dividends gained …

Do International Corruption Metrics Matter? Assessing The Impact Of Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index, Omar Elemere Hawthorne

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation examines the impact of Transparency International's (TI), Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) and whether or not the CPI and hence TI matter. It examines the impact of TI's CPI on policymakers. It explores three areas: world's political and economic responses and Jamaica's policy responses to the CPI. Jamaica is selected for a case study due to TI's high corruption perceptions index rating for the country: a country that legally has strong anti-corruption laws but, nonetheless, sees its CPI ranking worsen almost yearly.

This study comprises mixed methodologies, using both qualitative and quantitative measures to assess the impact of the …

Analyzing The Effects Of Policy Options To Mitigate The Effect Of Sea Level Rise On The Public Health And Medically Fragile Population: A System Dynamics Approach, Rafael Diaz, Joshua Behr, Anna Jeng, Hua Liu, Franceso Longo

VMASC Publications

A critical question related to climate change concerns to how rising sea level will affect underserved populations and medically fragile population in coastal zones and floodplains. As sea levels rise, coastal waters will regain near-tidal areas and co-mingle with human-made pollutants, resulting from decades of industrial and commercial activity. This poses potential threat and risks to public health and the environment. It is critical that decision makers will initiate a process of parsing resources to the mitigation and management of these issues. The purpose of this research is to model the inherent dynamics of this process and understand how near-term …

Education As An Investment In Turkey's Human Capital: A Work In Progress, William A. Owings, Leslie S. Kaplan, Zafer Pirim

Educational Foundations & Leadership Faculty Publications

As a nation, Turkey sees education as an essential component in building its economy to world class levels. Yet school equity and teacher quality issues are preventing Turkey from fully developing its human capital. Authors discuss the concept of education as an investment in human capital, Turkey’s human capital challenges, equity practices which undermine the widespread development of Turkey’s human capital, how improving teacher quality could help remedy the situation, and recommendations to strengthen Turkey’s education as an investment in human capital.