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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

International Security & Failed States: Embracing Identity-Centric Strategies Of State-Building, Paul S. Holland Apr 2012

International Security & Failed States: Embracing Identity-Centric Strategies Of State-Building, Paul S. Holland

Senior Theses and Projects

In the twenty-first century, the balance of power between states is no longer the only source of global insecurity, but is joined by non-state threats that lurk behind a curtain of de jure sovereignty in failed states. Diseases, piracy, terrorists, criminal cartels, and rapacious corporations all take advantage of the poverty and lack of institutional capacity endemic to failed states. The resulting instability spreads across entire regions, affecting the global core and periphery states alike. It is therefore the security threat posed by failed states that necessitates state-building. This paper examines the evolution of state sovereignty and the role identity …


A Complex Dynamic: The Relationship Between The United Nations And Regional Institutions In International Peacekeeping, Archana Vamathevan Apr 2012

A Complex Dynamic: The Relationship Between The United Nations And Regional Institutions In International Peacekeeping, Archana Vamathevan

Senior Theses and Projects

This paper looks at the relationship between the United Nations and regional organizations in international peacekeeping. Specifically, it analyzes what factors influence the deployment of an independent regional or UN peacekeeping mission or the creation of a hybrid UN-regional peacekeeping operation. This paper finds that a regional-level factor – the potential effectiveness of the regional organization in terms of available resources and perceived neutrality – and an international-level factor - the willingness of the Security Council - influence the establishment of a third-party peacekeeping mission in a civil conflict. Specifically, when an effective regional organization exists, it will intervene in …


A Blessing In Disguise? Ghana's Potential To Overcome Nigeria's 'Oil Curse' And Develop A Successful Model For Oil Production Within A Human Rights Framework, Samantha N. Kerr Apr 2012

A Blessing In Disguise? Ghana's Potential To Overcome Nigeria's 'Oil Curse' And Develop A Successful Model For Oil Production Within A Human Rights Framework, Samantha N. Kerr

Senior Theses and Projects

Although Africa possesses rich natural resources, the Afro-pessimistic conception that African countries cannot manage their resources remains widespread. This research project provides a comparative analysis between the political and economic histories of Ghana and Nigeria following independence. In addition to focusing on these countries’ post-independent histories, this thesis examines the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) of the early 1990s in Nigeria as an effective civil society organization that vocalized the Nigerian government and Shell Petroleum Corporation’ corruption in the oil industry. Additionally, this research project explores Ghana’s potential to overcome Nigeria’s “negative” experience with oil due …