Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Toward A Dynamic Model Of State Choice: Gains Pursuit Debate And The World System, Soo-Lyon Yon

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of my dissertation is to challenge the mainstream tradition of discourse in the field of international relations with regard to the world system and gains pursuit which has been framed by two significant theoretical perspectives: realism and neoliberalism.

In my dissertation, I established a theoretical linkage between the gains pursuit debate and the dynamics of the world system. The problem of absolute and relative gains divides two of the most influential approaches to international relations theory: realism and neoliberalism. However, these dichotomized approaches to gains pursuit assume a fixed (or static) view of the world system based on …

Civic Engagement In The Cyberspace Era: A Study Of A Local Cybergroup, Gay Henry Lyons

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the issue of participation and civic engagement through the investigation of cyberspace as public space. The research systematically studied the development, nature, operation, and impact of k2k, a local cybergroup based in Knoxville, Tennessee. While the emergence of cyberspace as public space is no panacea for the ills of democracy in America, it is clearly a potential antidote to counter the more virulent dimensions of civic disengagement in the United States. However, for a cybergroup to serve as an antidote to civic disengagement, the participants must move beyond electronic discourse into the …