Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

All Infrastructure Projects Lead To Beijing : How The Belt And Road Initiative Has Influenced China's Regional Policy, Katherine Grof

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What are Beijing’s intentions behind the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)? China’s foreign policy efforts between 2010 and 2017 are analyzed by comparing five indicators to BRI project spending to understand the goals driving the initiative. Five indicators are used to compare how China’s interest between Belt participants and Road participants: image building, economic volatility, public opinion, energy resources, and geostrategic location. These indicators are applied to four case study BRI participants to rate China’s interest and then compare that to overall BRI project spending. The four case studies are Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan from the Belt portion of BRI and …

Clinging To Power: Authoritarian Leaders And Coercive Effectiveness, Christian J. Wolfe

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This study identifies three tactics authoritarian leaders use to attempt to effectively coerce their citizens without losing power: 1) performance legitimacy, 2) nationalist legitimacy, and 3) institutional legitimacy. To demonstrate these tactics of what I call “coercive effectiveness,” the author employs a most-different-systems analysis on the regimes of Xi Jinping (2012 2015) and Bashar al-Assad (2000-2004). The author finds that coercion is more likely to be effective under the following conditions: 1) when leaders use economic performance and institutionalist strategies rather than nationalist tactics, 2) when an authoritarian leader climbs the ladder to power rather than inheriting leadership and 3) …

China’S Legal Environment For Domestic Ngos: Standardized Policies For Greater Party-State Control Over Civil Society, Kelly E. Tursic

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This thesis examines one angle of state-society relations in authoritarian states through the lens of Chinese nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and their legal environment. While grassroots organizations have not prompted political liberalization in China, they have not been entirely co-opted by the party-state either. Through an examination of policy changes, a study of 120 organizations, and a case study of a non-profit incubator, this thesis explores whether the political environment for China’s domestic NGOs varies by geographic region and issue area. The findings suggest there is not significant variation as the party-state has implemented standardized policies for increased control over civil …

Chinese Nationalism And The South China Sea, Jordan M. Sandy

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What role do domestic audiences play in authoritarian policy making? This study examines the relationship between newspapers and assertive foreign policy. Specifically, this study conducts content analyses of state-published newspapers during periods of unprecedented assertiveness in the South China Sea. Borrowing from Galtung’s theory of peace journalism, this study analyzes valence patterns used in 99 separate articles published in Xinhua, China Daily, People’s Daily, and Global Times. Additionally, this study examines the visibility of these articles, to better understand their prominence in national coverage. This study discusses nationalism in the case of China, as well as the overwhelming control that …

Chinese Satellite Diplomacy: China's Strategic Weapon For Soft And Hard Power Gains, Nicholas Jackman

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China signed its first turn-key communication satellite contract with Nigeria in 2004. The contract stipulated that China would design, build, integrate, launch, and complete in-orbit checkout for the Nigcomsat-1 communication satellite and then transfer control over to Nigeria. By 2018, China had contracted and launched another six communication satellites for various foreign customers. The customers, who are foreign governments, are geographically dispersed throughout South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. The satellite sales have occurred during China's unprecedented economic growth, a time in which China has been granted additional foreign policy options as its power increases relative to others. This thesis …

Japan's Article 9 And Japanese Public Opinion: Implications For Japanese Defense Policy And Security In The Asia Pacific, Julie Jo Tollefson

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The Asia Pacific power structure is facing numerous challenges. Scholarship demonstrates Japan has encountered arduous obstacles as it balances Chinese and North Korean activity. As Japan attempts to expand its military capabilities, polling data shows that defense policy has conflicted with Japan's citizens and neighboring countries. The focal point of these contentions is Article 9 of the Japanese constitution which restrains the Japanese military to self-defense purposes. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has vowed to revise Article 9 by 2020. However, revising Article 9 is no simple task. Research demonstrates that for decades Japanese public opinion has been opposed to the …

Red Skies: The Impact Of Environmental Protests In The People's Republic Of China, 2004-2016, Porter Lyons

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How do increases in environmental protests in China impact increases in the implementation of environmental policies? Environmental protests in China are gaining traction. By examining these protests, this study analyzes forty-one protests and their impact on government enforcement of environmental regulations. Stratifying this study according to five areas (Beijing, Guangdong, Hunan, Jiangsu, and Sichuan), patterns began to emerge according to each area. Employing a framework William Gamson introduced (2009), this study analyzes the outcomes of environmental contention, including the use of co-optation and preemptive measures. It finds that the success or failure of a protest has much to do with …

Economic Statecraft And Ethnicity In China, James Bell

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How do authoritarian states prioritize between economic growth and territorial integrity? China, as an authoritarian state, is growing in political and economic capacity. By examining challenges to China’s territorial integrity, this study examines Chinese responses to visits by the Dalai Lama with government officials in Germany and Austria, as well as official visits by Uyghur dissidents to Germany and Turkey. Analyzing quarterly trade data and specific trade sectors with author created rating schema, patterns emerge. Employing a hybrid framework introduced by Sverdrup-Thygeson (2015), this study analyzes Chinese actions against perceived offending states. This study finds that levels of threshold are …

Mao Zedong And Xi Jinping: A Trait Analysis, Dan Douglas

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This study uses Margaret Hermann’s Leadership Trait Analysis (LTA) to compare Mao Zedong and Xi Jinping and see if they have the same style. Through a content analysis of a leader’s speeches, researchers can gain insight into a leader’s motivation for obtaining office and power. In the course of this research, 167 speeches by Mao, and 79 Speeches by Xi were inputted into the content analysis program Profiler+ (Hermann, 2003). The analysis showed that Mao and Xi have some similarities in their LTA results, but the differences in their scores indicate different approaches to leadership. An analysis of the context …

Mao Zedong And Xi Jinping: A Trait Analysis, Dan Douglas

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This study uses Margaret Hermann's Leadership Trait Analysis (LTA) to compare Mao Zedong and Xi Jinping and see if they have the same style. Through a content analysis of a leader's speeches, researchers can gain insight into a leader's motivation for obtaining office and power. In the course of this research, 167 speeches by Mao, and 79 Speeches by Xi were inputted into the content analysis program Profiler+ (Hermann, 2003). The analysis showed that Mao and Xi have some similarities in their LTA results, but the differences in their scores indicate different approaches to leadership. An analysis of the context …

A Multi-Disciplinary Analysis Of Web 2.0 Technology Use In Egypt & China, 2005-2010, Monica D. Morales

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Taking a cue from scholars' suggestions to focus on the intersections of various fields of study, this research aims to find the commonalities among representative theories of democracy, mass media and social movements. Assessment of each reveals that all three areas of study encompass space for the interface of the media and the public. The confluence of these elements, when paired with Information and Communication-based technologies, yields what is introduced here as the Integrative Conceptual Model of Internet Analysis. Using this model gives way to a focus on Internet-mediated scenarios through a framework that evaluates the type of agent interaction, …

The Effects Of Chinese Petroleum Diplomacy On Us Energy Policy Objectives In Nigeria (1993-2010), Jennifer Lynn Leapley

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The United States and China have turned to Africa as an additional source of oil to ensure reliable, secure access to oil supplies in the future. While China stresses noninterventionist foreign policies, the US, at least rhetorically, if not in practice, links its energy policy in Africa to its foreign policy goals. China's petroleum diplomacy in Africa has raised concern among some scholars and policymakers about the effect an increased Chinese economic presence will have on American foreign policy objectives.

The question arises: What impact has Chinese petroleum diplomacy had on US foreign policy objectives? More specifically, how strongly, if …

How The City State Fares Under State Capitalism In The Prc: Local And State-Wide Reform, Alex Gregory Elkins

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How do national political and economic policies impact the ability of cities to accomplish urban growth and economic goals? This study examines the state policies Shanghai operates under to assess the potential for software reform in China. Specifically, this study examines software by drawing on the corruption and rule of law theories of Larry Diamond and Randall Perrenboom. This study also uses Richard Florida's creative class theory to examine tolerance of lesbians and gay men in Shanghai and its impact on the city's priority industries. Additionally, this study examines Shanghai's placement on the 2008, 2010, and 2012 Global Cities Index …