Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Qatari Foreign Policy And The Arab Spring: From Mediation To Intervention, Basma Mahmoud Eletreby

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the controversial role that Qatar has been playing in the Arab Spring, specifically from 2011 to 2013. Evidently, Qatari foreign policy will be assessed to comprehend the power this small state has been gaining in Middle East politics in a region plagued by never ending manifestations of power struggles and turbulent developments. The case studies of Egypt, Libya and Syria in which Qatari foreign policy involvement deployed the same rationale will be investigated to examine the increasing involvement of Qatar in Middle East politics. It concludes that the foreign policy of Qatar was both opportunistic and pro-Islamist …

We Wear The Mask: Exploring The Talented Tenth And African American Political Philosophy In 21st Century Politics, Lauryn T. Minter

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Researchers have suggested that Blacks who express linked racial fate are ideologically liberal. Given the prominence of Black philosophical thought and salience of race, I suggest that linked racial fate results in conservative ideology, which exists on a separate ideological dimension than the traditional conservative ideological dimension. This new ideological dimension, referred to as conservatism among Blacks, is vital to understanding Black political thought in the 21^st century. Using data from the 1996 National Black Election Study, 2008 National Annenberg Election Study, and focus group data I argue that the conservative ideas espoused by Blacks, specifically members of the …

Private Diplomats, Mediation Professionals, And Peace Activists: Can Non-Governmental Actors Bring Peace To Civil Wars?, Christina Kiel

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates how actors without the means of state power can affect the behavior of warring parties in order to end civil conflicts. Drawing on the intervention and mediation literature, I propose a theoretical framework that presents causal mechanisms for various forms of non-state conflict management to contribute to conflict resolution. The research distinguishes between direct mediation, capacity-building, and problem-solving approaches, and analyzes the approaches’ potential contributions to shorter wars and more sustainable peace.

On the one hand, non-state actors can be substitutes for governmental or inter-governmental mediators. They derive legitimacy from long-standing relations with the conflict parties, and …

Women In Kazakhstan: A Multifaceted Approach To Female Political Representation, Ashley Gaile Benedict

Dissertations

This investigation focuses on two competing theories (historical institutionalism and social constructivism) and their explanatory value in regards to female political representation in Kazakhstan. Historical Institutionalism maintains that current institutional dynamics are constrained by past institutional formations, even when these past institutions are no longer relevant. Social Constructivism challenges this theory by upholding that institutions are culturally situated and a reflection of shared ideas rather than material forces as argued by historical institutionalism. Based on Hanna Pitkin’s (1967) four dimensions of representation (formal, descriptive, substantive, and symbolic), I examine how Kazakhstan’s Soviet past and its creation of a Kazakh ethnic-national …

Essays On Battle Clusters In Internal Armed Conflicts And Insurgencies: Concept, Causes And Consequences, Chifeng Liu

Theses and Dissertations

With the purpose to re-conceptualize the intensity of internal armed conflicts, I argue that the characteristics such as location, scale and duration of “major battlefields,” i.e. the spatio-temporal clusters of combat events are important in the evaluation of impact of modern civil wars and insurgencies. I start with elaborating and constructing a new concept of conflict magnitude with battle clusters using up-to-date geo-referenced data and spatial statistic methods. In the second article, I first explain the location and duration of major battlefields. The findings indicate that an area with multiple non-state armed groups (NSAGs) is more likely to become main …

Power To Appoint: A Model Of Appointments To The United States Federal Judiciary, Alicia Bernice Uribe

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation project considers judicial appointments in a new light. The project, first, considers how appointments to the United States Federal Judiciary might be thought of differently if the appointment to multiple positions were thought of as interdependent decisions rather than independent decisions. I create a simulation based model that matches judges with vacant positions in the judiciary to see how our expectations of appointments should differ for different levels of the judiciary and in different political environments. I then consider how this approach might translate to other selection mechanisms comparing the selection system for the federal judiciary with other …

Who Decides? A Study Of The Effects On Decision Unit Dynamics In Crisis And Crisis Transition, Janet Leigh Drake

Dissertations

Foreign policy decision-making is often an obscured process, particularly when it involves threats to national security or national interests. Despite the lack of transparency, though sometimes necessary, foreign policy decisions can have far-reaching consequences. Policymakers establish and affect relationships with other governments, and can commit state resources for cooperation or for conflict. The purpose of this study is to determine what types of decision units make foreign policy decisions and what factors influence the dynamics of the unit. I employ the decision units (DU) framework developed by Margaret Hermann to decisions made by the United States and Israel during the …

The Effect Of The Okavango River On Angola's Economic Stability And The Effect Of Its Policy On Surrounding Countries, Loren Marie Stoehr

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This study examines natural resources as a source of international conflict. Without proper management of these resources, conflict will continue to occur. An overview of natural resources and how they pertain to conflict is examined using examples from different parts of the world. Then water conflicts are focused upon and how proposals and resolutions through legal framework and guidance from outside entities can help provide better usage practices. Furthermore, the Okavango River is researched and how Angola’s use of the water effects the countries of Namibia and Botswana. In addition, future proposals to move forward and increase international water security …

Reforming The U.S. Intelligence Community: Successes, Failures And The Best Path Forward, Christopher John Sheehy

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

In the wake of the 9/11 and Iraqi WMD catastrophes, an increased spotlight was placed upon the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC). The widespread criticism of the IC, from both government and public sources, ultimately culminated in the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act (IRTPA) in 2004. Today, with a wide array of transnational threats to the homeland, as well as the complex, globalized, high-tech world they thrive in, the role of intelligence remains essential to the national security apparatus.

A new shape for the intelligence reform debate is necessary, one that recognizes the unique role the IC plays in policy …

Institutional Design And Economic Inequility: Socioeconomic Actors And Public Policy In Germany And The United States, Jennifer Hudson

HIM 1990-2015

In this thesis I conduct a comparative analysis of the influence of socioeconomic actors, business and labor, on public policy in Germany and the United States, specifically public policy that has an impact on economic inequality. The objective of this study is to gain a better understanding of how institutional constructs may determine the level of influence by different socioeconomic actors on public policy. In particular, I examine the link between institutional design and economic inequality, specifically the relative influence of business interests in varying types of capitalist economies and democratic systems, and assess those facets of institutional design that …

Libertarian, Liberal, And Socialist Concepts Of Disributive Justice, Daniel Kassebaum

HIM 1990-2015

What makes for a just society constitutes one of the most intensely debated subject among political philosophers. There are many theorists striving to identify principles of justice and each believes his/hers theory to be the best. The literature on this subject is much too voluminous to be canvassed in its entirety here. I will, however, examine the stances and arguments of three key schools of thought shaping the modern discussion of social justice: libertarianism (particularly Robert Nozick and Milton and Rose Friedman), liberal egalitarianism (John Rawls and Ronald Dworkin), and socialism (Karl Marx and John Roemer). Each of these schools …

China And Central Asia's Transnational Concerns Require Multilateral Solutions, Blake Tobin

HIM 1990-2015

After seven decades of regional domination, the sudden collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 put the whole continent in a state of political and economic uncertainty. The sudden absence of a strong, yet generally predictable hegemon initiated an intense debate centered on whether or not the rise of China posed a grave threat to the region or whether it would bring stability and cohesion to the region. After 23 years of observation, it is now safe to presume that China does not pose a military threat to the region. Simply because China does not have expansionist or aggressive political …

Interest Groups, Political Party Control, Lobbying, And Science Funding: A Population Ecology Approach, Allyn Katherine Milojevich

Doctoral Dissertations

Science plays an increasingly important role in public policy in a range of issues from national security to public health. Thus, scientists will play an increasingly important role in society. This dissertation first examines how federal science funding changes with partisan control of key political institutions. Next, science-related interests groups, including their formation, specialization, and lobbying activities, are examined. Interest groups are a growing aspect of the American political system. However, they are an understudied aspect of political institutions. While much of their activity occurs within the legislative branch, they also work in the executive and judicial branches to advocate …

The Politics Of Happiness In The Workplace, Jacob Shay Sherretts

Political Science

Although the realm of political theory has often focused on what makes an individual happy, there is a lack of analysis on what factors within a career environment best serve to increase an individual’s satisfaction. By comparing indicators such as the region a workplace is located in, the ability of an individual to pursue career goals and the amount of autonomy an employee is allowed, a better understanding can be made on what conditions are optimal for satisfaction in the workplace. After these factors are compared, the findings are then analyzed under the lens of respected political thinkers in order …

The Underlying Factors Driving The Push For Universal Suffrage In Hong Kong, Anthony Hoyin Wong

Political Science

This paper examines the current civil unrest in Hong Kong to determine the underlying causes that are driving Occupy Central and its affiliates to pressure the Central Government in Beijing and the Hong Kong government for universal suffrage. Drawing upon data from the 2003, 2007, and 2010 Asian Barometer, there has been a gradual decline in the level of trust in the Legislative Council and Hong Kong government as the majority of Hong Kong residents have expressed increasing uncertainty about their future economic situation along with their continual distrust in the abilities of government officials to serve the public. From …

Environmental Protection And U.S. Foreign Policy & Decision-Making In Multilateral Development Banks, Maui Cheska L. Orozco

Honors College Theses

In recent decades, the promotion of policies that are environmentally friendly has become an important goal in U.S. foreign policy. One way that the United States has influence over protecting the environment is through the policies attached to projects funded by the multilateral development banks (MDBs). This gives the U.S. the ability to indirectly fund projects in developing countries. Using data provided by the United States Treasury, I examined U.S. voting decisions on projects from 2004 to 2011. These votes come from multiple development banks including the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), Asian Development Bank (ADB), African Development …

Framing The Policy Debate: Competing Portrayals Of Technology In Online Content Regulation And Lessons From Science And Technology Studies, Jeremy John Mauger

Theses and Dissertations

In an effort to control access to certain online content, the U.S. Congress has repeatedly mandated the use of powerful regulatory technologies such as Domain Name System blocking, Internet Service Provider filtering, age verification systems, and commercial filtering software. The application of these enforcement mechanisms may have serious implications for constitutional rights, individual freedom, and autonomy. This research will show that policies including the Communications Decency Act, the Child Online Protection Act, the Children's Internet Protection Act, the Stop Online Piracy Act, and the PROTECT Intellectual Property Act all have the potential to negatively impact these rights. Although the motivations …

Hijacking The Syrian Revolution, Iman Khairat Nanoua

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

The civil war in Syria (started in March 2011) marks one of the greatest tragedies in the Middle East during the twenty-first century, and a fear that its destructive consequences may affect the entire region. The Syrian crisis coincides with the democratic wave that shaped the Arab Spring. The thesis will discuss the decision-making system and the primary actors in the Syrian crisis within the framework of three distinct phases. Each phase contributed to the hijacking of the peaceful demonstrations that sought freedom in a democratic state and of the dramatic developments on the Syrian stage. The first stage of …

It's All In A Meme: A Content Analysis Of Memes Posted To 2012 Presidential Election Facebook Pages, Bobbie Foster

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis was an exploratory study to understand how Democrats and Republicans design memes, use traditional media framing, and how memes fit into modern humor theories. The study explores the relationship between the traditional media frames of the ideal candidate, populist campaigner, and the sure loser (Grabe & Bucy, 2009) and the commentary added by Internet users to these images in the memes.

The study also applies the benign-violation theory (McGraw & Warren, 2010) to the analysis of memes to understand the design choices made by meme creators. The benign-violation theory states that a physical or psychological violation is benign …

Essays In Public And Corporate Finance, Joseph Newhard

All Dissertations

Each of the three chapters of this dissertation makes a unique contribution to the fields of public finance or corporate finance. In chapter one I show that tax-price is increasing in workplace risk due to a positive wage-risk response that is observed in the labor supply price for hazardous industries. This result implies that, holding human capital constant, workers in more dangerous industries will demand a relatively smaller public sector. I test this with county-level data on fatality rates and support for the two major party candidates in the 2004 US Presidential election. Taking Republicans to represent the party of …

After Polarity: World Political Systems, Polar Structural Transitions, And Nonpolarity, Nerses Kopalyan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The research project poses the question: what are the polar structurations of a system after unipolar transitions, and should a system transition into a nonpolar structure, how can this phenomenon be explained? In the study of polarity, two deficiencies are diagnosed that can potentially not only fill a serious gap, but also strengthen the theoretical, conceptual, and systemic tools utilized within the field. The first gap is the absence of any developed treatments of nonpolarity. Categorical taxonomy primarily revolves around uni-, bi-, tri-, or multi- polar structures. The field lacks a coherent conceptualization of nonpolarity, thus limiting the development of …

Chilean Media And Public Opinion (1973-2013), Tara Schoenborn

Honors Capstone Projects - All

In this thesis, I examine the extent to which the media censorship of the Pinochet dictatorship, which ended over 20 years ago, continues to influence Chilean public opinion and policy today. The dictatorship’s control, penetration and censorship of the press in the 1970s and 1980s appears to have created a lack of pluralism in the media that helped the dictatorship retain political power for 17 years. However, it seems that the dictatorship’s influence did not end with its reign and that this lack of media pluralism still exists today and could be correlated with a widespread conservatism in Chilean public …

The Eu's Cookie Cutter, But Not The Eu's Cookie, Sylvia Zdunek

Honors Theses

The members of the European Union have never had a common identity that has united them together beyond their geographical definition of "Europe." Since the beginning of the European Union and the introduction of the Euro, the decision makers of the Union have been pushing for a collective European identity. The need for this identity comes from the belief that in order for the Union to be economically sound, it needs an underlying homogenous culture. A unity in identity, values, and ideals is stronger than a unity based solely on a common currency as it lacks personal characteristics that people …

The Natural Resource Curse In Sub-Saharan Africa: Transparency And International Initiatives, Meaza Zerihun Demissie

Dissertations

The Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region has become a classic case of the resource-curse phenomenon characterized by the abundance of natural resources, low economic development, and misuse of natural resources. Economic-development experts debate ways to overcome or avoid the resource curse to advance SSA countries into developed countries. Only one natural resource-rich country in the region, Botswana, has succeeded in becoming an upper middle-income country using its natural resources, making the possibility of replication of this achievement difficult. The literature aligns in the belief that the economic and political well-being of resource-rich nations depends highly on the actors involved. National and …

Global Climate Change: The Political Impact Of Global Warming On Developing Countries. The Case Studies Of Egypt And Oman, Eugene Thomas O'Neal

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The discourse of climate change has become important in the field of political science, as well as in the policy-making community. Climate change has become a political phenomenon that has and will greatly impact political stability regionally and globally. Using the ecological security theory as a framework, I explored the relationship between climate change and political stability in developing countries.

This study utilizes both qualitative and quantitative analyses to investigate the relationship between climate change and its effects on political volatility in developing countries. Using regression models, the author examined all non-OECD countries (140 countries) and their relationship to political …

Influence Of Social Media In Stages Of Democratization, Ira David Sternberg

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Internet and social media have become a pervasive part of our global environment over the last few decades, utilized primarily for commerce, communication, and entertainment. The last several years, however, have seen an increase in the application of social media in political discourse and activities, primarily in developed democracies and autocracies. Does that mean social media can influence democratic transition and consolidation in the 21st century? Are the examples of the Green Movement in 2009 and the Arab Spring in 2011 a validation of social media in service to democracy, or is social media also a tool for surveillance …

The Effects Of Disbursement Of Foreign Aid To African Countries: A Case Study Of Ghana And Ivory Coast (Cote D'Ivoire), Jemilat Kike Thompson-Odoom

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The African continent has received aid from developed countries for decades. This thesis seeks to examine the impact of foreign aid to developing countries using Ghana and Ivory Coast (Cote D'Ivoire) as case studies. The study will contribute to the existing body of knowledge by examining the effectiveness of foreign aid. The study is based on data gathered primarily from development partners and donor countries. Indicators such as mortality rate, tuberculosis and access to sanitation facilities were used to test the failure or success of foreign aid in Ghana and Ivory Coast. Corruption perceptions from both countries were also analyzed …

Government Dependency Theory: Public Services, Banking Crisis, And The Likelihood Of Protests, Titus Bickel

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to determine what causes certain countries to experience mass protests during economic crises while other governments weather the same events and emerge unscathed. Further research on this topic could predict the likelihood of protests that lead to state collapse in countries like Ukraine. I argue that high gross domestic product expenditure on social services creates a dependent society that will protest when those goods and services are threatened by banking crises. I originated this theory and titled it the Government Dependency Theory. My theory uses data from 147 banking crises occurring in 115 countries …

The Rise Of Anti-Semitism In Post Cold War Western Europe: The Effect On Current Jewish Populations In Europe, Jewish Human Rights, And The Role Of The Jewish Religion Within Western Europe, Johnathan Eftink

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since the ending of World War II and the Cold War, anti-Semitism has been prevalent within Western Europe even though the political atmosphere has tried to dissuade and even punish those that harbored such views. The rise of anti-Semitism in Western Europe in contemporary times as evolved into a dangerous atmosphere for Jews in regards to their human rights, their freedom, and their safety.

In this paper, the question of why anti-Semitism is re-emerging will be addressed as well how it is being tackled by the respective countries in which it is prevalent. Poland, Hungary, Greece, France, and Germany are …

A Veteran Welfare State: Veterans' Benefits, Coalition Politics, And Social Policy Change, 1943-1973, Melinda R. Tarsi

Doctoral Dissertations

America’s commitment to the reintegration of veterans via social policy is not a recent political development; since the end of World War II, federal and state government programs have been designed (and redesigned) to successfully transition former military personnel back into civilian life. Beginning with the 1944 Serviceman’s Readjustment Act (commonly known as the G.I. Bill), the federal government has taken the primary role in this reintegration initiative, investing billions of dollars into veterans’ benefit programs for education assistance, unemployment compensation, and job placement services. Even as the legislation has been renewed after military conflicts, veterans’ education benefits have remained …