Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Unsettling: The Flawed Us Refugee System, Kanyakrit Vongkiatkajorn

Capstones

The US has had a long commitment to resettling refugees, and currently funds one of the largest third-country resettlement programs through UNHCR in the world. However, an examination of US's refugee resettlement program shows that the program often does not live up to its promises, and has long ignored systemic issues. This report takes a specific look at the experience of newly-resettled Syrian refugees, and includes memos by the author that was submitted for a larger group project.

Europe’S Refugee Crisis: Assessing The Factors Preventing A Coordinated Eu Response, Ali Albassam

Master's Theses

In order to escape increasing political violence in the Middle East and Africa, many refugees are fleeing by sea to seek asylum in Europe. As a result, Europe has witnessed the highest influx of refugees since World War Two. European Union member states have scrambled for a solution, seemingly unable to form a collective response. The reemergence of nationalism amid the arrival of thousands of refugees not only clouds Europe’s moral compass, but also weakens the EU and its founding principles. In an effort to contribute to the protection of refugees and the EU and its values, this thesis aims …

Prospects Of Democracy In A Post-Assad Syria, Husam Farah Abu-Safe

Political Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

An examination of the Syrian crisis with democratic frameworks to analyze a potential democratic resolution to the Assad regime.

The End Of The Means: Using The Arab Spring Revolutions As A Case Study For Machiavelli’S The Prince, Conor Sullivan

Honors Capstone Projects - All

This study sets out to examine if Machiavellian, realpolitik, style repression of unrest by autocratic regimes is still a viable tactic. To accomplish this, the Arab Spring revolutions in Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, and Syria will be used as a case study. As the revolts were for similar economic and political reasons in a similar population, they present excellent case studies. The Prince itself will be used to develop a “Machiavellian regime,” encompassing a summary of Machiavelli’s prescriptions for rulers. This is done to avoid propagating clichéd or incorrect generalizations of Machiavelli’s work. The result of the study was not …

Peace Be Dammed? Water Power And Water Politics In The Tigris-Euphrates Basin, Camille E. Wasinger

Honors Projects

No abstract provided.

Staring Down The Mukhabarat: Rhizomatic Social Movements And The Egyptian And Syrian Arab Spring, Stephen Michael Strenges

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Unable to enact change through the existing political institutions of their authoritarian regimes, and consistently repressed by state security forces (the mukhabarat), activists in Egypt and Syria relied on street activism to challenge their conditions. This study analyzes the Arab Spring uprisings in Egypt and Syria through the conceptual lens of a rhizome. Rhizomatic movements are horizontal, grassroots, and allow for the networking of local community-specific grievances, into larger national movements. This networking allows opposition members groups to build solidarity, construct collective identities, and develop a set of shared goals, strategies, and tactics. Furthermore, it provides for the transcendence of …

Iran-Saudi Dynamic Relations And The Role Of Oman As A Negotiator, Natalie I. Ikerd

HIM 1990-2015

This thesis analyzes Iran-Saudi relations in the context of growing regional hostility. This research encompasses the domestic and foreign policies enacted by both states since 1979, accompanying a discussion of the historical background of their ties. Moreover, the future prospects of their relations regarding the utilization of Oman as a neutral negotiator for regional conflicts are examined. The significant contributing factors of each state to such dynamic ties include: the leadership, national security, religion-politics connection, and their reaction to global instability indicators. Recently, Iran-Saudi hostility has been worsening due to their policies in the region in reaction to regional events. …

Not Our Fight Alone: An Analysis Of The Us Strategy Combating The Islamic State Of Iraq And Syria, James E. Kelly

CMC Senior Theses

The recent policies of former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, combined with the collapse of the Syrian state in 2011, created conditions that led to the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or “ISIS.” As of November 2014, ISIS controls large areas of western and northern Iraq and northern and eastern Syria, an area roughly the size of Belgium. The rise of ISIS in the past three years has caught the attention of every major nation, especially the United States, and world leaders are justified in fearing a strong ISIS in the Middle East.

The purpose of …