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Articles 1 - 7 of 7
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Defining Scavenger-Actors: Understanding A Global Menace, James Harrold
Defining Scavenger-Actors: Understanding A Global Menace, James Harrold
Department of Political Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
This article introduces a new international actor, the 'scavenger-actor', as a replacement for warlords and pirate gangs. The article first reviews literature on both piracy and warlordism in historical and modern contexts in order to provide a basis for its argument of a new definitional term encompassing both groups. A negative binomial regression model is then applied to data on pirate attacks and measurements of state health to show that piracy is as closely tied to state failure as is warlordism. Finally, the article presents its argument for the new term, 'scavenger-actor', as a needed reform to political science discourse, …
Military Strategy: Theory And Concepts, Randall G. Bowdish
Military Strategy: Theory And Concepts, Randall G. Bowdish
Department of Political Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
Military strategy was long described as atheoretical—an art that could only be fully comprehended by military genius. This contention is no longer held, as military staffs, comprised of experts and specialists, are able to formulate strategy aided by mini-theories of strategy and a process that takes advantage of collective wisdom rather than singular genius. But the mini-theories of strategy remain underdeveloped and an overarching theory of military strategy does not yet exist. In this dissertation I build a grand theory of military strategy, consisting of a simple two-pole, physical and psychologically oriented framework, mini-theories of military strategy, and additionally, concepts …
Private Soldiers In Africa: A Look At The Effects Of Private Military Contractors And Mercenaries On The Duration Of Civil Wars In Africa From 1960 To 2003., Seth H. Loven
Department of Political Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
This thesis examines the effect of private soldiers, both Mercenaries and Private Military Contractors (PMC), on the duration of civil wars in Africa from 1960 to 2003. Linear regression is used to determine if private soldiers increase or decrease the duration of civil wars. Ultimately it is found they have little to no statistical impact. This is contrary to the expectations of the theoretical literature on private military contractors, some of which expects private soldiers to profit from war and seek to lengthen duration, and some of which expects the use of additional private soldiers to shorten the duration of …
Deterring The Democratic People’S Republic Of Korea: The Role Of Japan’S Ballistic Missile Defense, Jonathan Trexel
Deterring The Democratic People’S Republic Of Korea: The Role Of Japan’S Ballistic Missile Defense, Jonathan Trexel
Department of Political Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
This dissertation explores the role of Japan’s ballistic missile defense (BMD) program and its deterrent effect upon North Korean behavior. A mixed-methods approach is employed to analyze the topic. Empirical quantitative data included tabulated monthly cooperative-conflictual behavioral interaction between Japan and North Korea spanning a 22-year timeframe (1990-2011). In addition, a strategic profile developed from deterrence theory provided essential qualitative background to compliment the quantitative analysis. Japan’s BMD program was divided into four periods reflecting decision points or phases of program development. Results indicated varied BMD deterrence effectiveness, with two periods indicating Japan’s BMD program strengthened deterrence, one period indicating …
Testing Two Explanations Of The Liberal Peace: The Opportunity Cost And Signaling Arguments, Nam Kyu Kim
Testing Two Explanations Of The Liberal Peace: The Opportunity Cost And Signaling Arguments, Nam Kyu Kim
Department of Political Science: Faculty Publications
Considerable evidence suggests that economic interdependence and integration reduce the likelihood of militarized conflict. However, scholars have devoted remarkably scant attention to testing different explanations of the liberal peace. This article offers an empirical test that can help adjudicate the two main arguments on the liberal peace: the opportunity cost and signaling arguments. Under the incomplete information assumption, I derive different observable implications of the competing arguments regarding how target states respond when challenged. By estimating selection models comprising dispute initiation and reciprocation, I find that, as challengers are more dependent on bilateral trade, targets are less likely to reciprocate …
Suicide Attacks In Afghanistan: Why Now?, Ghulam Farooq Mujaddidi
Suicide Attacks In Afghanistan: Why Now?, Ghulam Farooq Mujaddidi
Department of Political Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
Why, contrary to their predecessors, did the Taliban resort to use of suicide attacks in the 2000s in Afghanistan? By drawing from terrorist innovation literature and Michael Horowitz’s adoption capacity theory—a theory of diffusion of military innovation—the author argues that suicide attacks in Afghanistan is better understood as an innovation or emulation of a new technique to retaliate in asymmetric warfare when insurgents face arms embargo, military pressure, and have direct links to external terrorist groups. The findings of my in-depth case study of Afghanistan between 1978 and 2010 support the proposition and show that it was an …
Regional Regimes For The Defense Of Democracy And Coups D'Etat, Jacob P. Wobig
Regional Regimes For The Defense Of Democracy And Coups D'Etat, Jacob P. Wobig
Department of Political Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
Does international law work, and if so, how? In the last twenty years eight regional intergovernmental organizations have adopted treaties requiring all participants to be democracies and specifying sanctions to be leveled against members that cease to be democracies. In this work I examine to what extent these agreements are helping protect the governments of their members from coups. I find that, between 1991 and 2008, states subject to these treaties were less likely to experience attempted coups d’etat, and were less likely to be overthrown when coups were attempted, but that the evidence varies widely in particular cases. Case …