Comparative Politics Commons^™

The Challenge Of Regulatory Excellence, Cary Coglianese

All Faculty Scholarship

Regulation is a high-stakes enterprise marked by tremendous challenges and relentless public pressure. Regulators are expected to protect the public from harms associated with economic activity and technological change without unduly impeding economic growth or efficiency. Regulators today also face new demands, such as adapting to rapidly changing and complex financial instruments, the emergence of the sharing economy, and the potential hazards of synthetic biology and other innovations. Faced with these challenges, regulators need a lodestar for what constitutes high-quality regulation and guidance on how to improve their organizations’ performance. In the book Achieving Regulatory Excellence, leading regulatory experts …

The New Normal? Climate Variability And Ecoviolence In Sub-Saharan Africa, Alfonso Sanchez

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Climate change presents a wide range of concerns that can jeopardize international security. Among those concerns are neo-Malthusian worries of diminishing natural resources. Predictive models suggest that rainfall and temperature anomalies have the potential to reduce water basins, crop production, increase land degradation among other perils that threaten human security. This concern is particularly true in sub-Saharan Africa given the region’s strong dependence on rain-fed agriculture. Despite strong claims from various world leaders and scientists of a direct climate-conflict nexus, little empirical evidence has been devoted to find a systematic causal pathway of this kind. What is more, the literature …

The Electoral Success Of Communist-Successor Parties In The Czech Republic And Romania, Harley L. Roe

Master's Theses

Communist-successor parties are impacted by six social and political factors: party reimaging, coalition building, corruption and scandal, party leadership, EU accession, and social indicators. This project explores how the descendants of the totalitarian communist parties in the Czech Republic and Romania are influenced by each factor by analyzing election result data against these indicators. Party reimaging and coalition building are the most influential in determining voter turnout, while the other four work in conjunction to influence election results. This project contributes to the literature on electoral volatility, post-communist countries, voter behavior, and seeks to offer a model that can predict …

Introduction To New Work On Immigration And Identity In Contemporary France, Québec, And Ireland, Dervila Cooke

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

No abstract provided for the introduction.

Thematic Bibliography To New Work On Immigration And Identity In Contemporary France, Québec, And Ireland, Dervila Cooke

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

No abstract provided.

Nationalism As A Process For Making The Desired Identity Salient: Bosnian Muslims Become Bosniaks, Mirsad Krijestorac

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study is concerned with the particular relationship between the process of nationalism and a group’s salient identity. It proposes that nationalism as the independent variable serves as a principal factor and facilitator for a change of identity, which is seen as the dependent variable. The Bosnian Muslim emergence as an independent nation with the new salient Bosniak identity was used as a case study to test the main proposition.

The inquiry was completed through a mixed research method, using grounded theory and the historic process tracing technique, a large survey analysis collected specifically for this study, and a logistic …

Disaster Capitalism: Empirical Evidence From Latin America And The Caribbean, Ransford F. Edwards Jr.

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Natural disasters are uniquely transformative events. They can drastically transform physical terrain and the lives of those unfortunate enough to be caught in their wrath. However, natural disasters also provide an opportunity to reflect on past failures and, at times, a clean slate to correct those shortcomings. This project takes a political economic approach and recognizes natural disasters as occasions for agenda-setting on behalf of transnational commercial enterprises and market-oriented policy elites. These reformers often use the post-disaster policy space to articulate long-term development strategies based on market fundamentalism, and, more importantly, advance a set of policies consistent with their …

The Politics Of Democratization: Jean-Bertrand Aristide And The Lavalas Movement In Haiti, Dimmy Herard

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As the 29-year Duvalier dictatorship ended in 1986, the emergence of Mouvement Lavalas out of the grassroots organizations of Haiti's poor majority, and election of charismatic priest Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 1990, challenged efforts by Haitian political parties and the U.S. foreign policy establishment to contain the parameters of Haiti's democratic transition. This dissertation examines the politics of Lavalas to determine whether it held a particular conception of democracy that explains the movement's antagonistic relationship with the political parties and U.S. democracy promoters.

Using the qualitative methodology of process-tracing outlined in the works of Paul F. Steinberg (2004) and Tulia G. …

Citizen Trust In Civil Servants: A Cross-National Examination, David J. Houston, Nurgul R. Aitalieva Ph.D., Andrew L. Morelock, Chris A. Shults

Nurgul R. Aitalieva, Ph.D.

Geopolitical Implications Of The Sino-Japanese East China Sea Dispute For The U.S., Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

This presentation updates the article "Geopolitical Implications of the Sino-East China Sea Dispute for the U.S." published in Geopolitics, History, and International Relations which is already available in epubs.

The Western Sahara And The Search For The Roots Of Sahrawi National Identity, David Suarez

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This work is a socio-historical study of the roots of Sahrawi national identity. The Sahrawi are a community of people who live in the Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony. Most of its territory has been occupied since 1975 by Morocco, which denies the existence of a distinctive population inhabiting the Western Sahara. In contrast, the POLISARIO Front, vanguard of the Sahrawi nationalist movement, argues that the Western Sahara belongs to the Sahrawi and seeks its full independence. It bases its claims on the notion of a distinctive history, language, and culture for the Sahrawi, separate from that of Moroccans. …

Not So Private: A Political Theology Of Church And Family, Jana Marguerite Bennett

Jana M. Bennett

The words used to describe that relationship are public and private, words that frequently appear in both secular and Christian conversations about marriage and family. We name "family" and "church" as private matters, parts of life that are necessarily held distinctly from public matters, as in political life. At the same time, because Christians rightly understand family as a place where people learn discipleship and a place where formation and evangelization happen,3 we care very much about how to think about families in relation to church and state. There is a relationship between these three entities, American Christians insist, and …

Good Governance: A New Perspective For Institutional Reform- A Comparative View Of The Education, Health And Water Sectors In Egypt, Yasmin Khodary

Political Science

Reform of state institutions is a gateway to a country's progress and development. This research seeks to answer the following questions: 'to what extent do institutions, such as water, basic education and primary healthcare institutions, conform to good governance standards in Egypt?' and secondly, 'how can good governance offer a new perspective for institutional reform in Egypt?'. The research presents a comparative assessment for governance within the Egyptian water, basic education and primary healthcare institutions. The assessment is based on nationally-owned governance indicators, which informed the measurement and assessment of governance within the water, basic education and primary healthcare institutions …

Explaining China's Contradictory Grand Strategy: Why Legitimacy Matters, Lukas K. Danner

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation analyzed the internal incoherence of China’s grand strategy. To do so, it used the cultural driver of honor to explain the contradictory behavior of China, which ranges from peaceful, responsible international actor to assertive, revisionist rising power with hegemonic ambitions. The central research question asked why China often diverges from Peaceful Development, thus leading to major contradictions as well as possible misperceptions on the part of other nations. Honor was the standard of reference that was utilized and examined in order to establish congruence and coherence between deed and praxis. Accordingly, the first hypothesis of this study posited …

Civil War Termination, Caroline A. Hartzell

Political Science Faculty Publications

Civil wars typically have been terminated by a variety of means, including military victories, negotiated settlements and ceasefires, and “draws.” Three very different historical trends in the means by which civil wars have ended can be identified for the post–World War II period. A number of explanations have been developed to account for those trends, some of which focus on international factors and others on national or actor-level variables. Efforts to explain why civil wars end as they do are considered important because one of the most contested issues among political scientists who study civil wars is how “best” to …

Minority Protection And Democratic Consolidation: The Role Of European Integration In The Republic Of Macedonia, Eltion Meka

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

The purpose of this article is to take stock of the European integration literature in reference to Eastern Europe in order to better understand how international forces affect minority rights. The article will focus on the status of the Albanian minority in the case of the Republic of Macedonia and attempt to illustrate how European integration has contributed to or hindered ethnic reconciliation between the ethnic Albanian minority and Macedonian majority through a historical-sociological analysis. Additionally, by linking the protection of minority rights to democratic consolidation, this article will show how the former is largely dependent on the latter.

Why Has “Development” Become A Political Issue In Indian Politics?, Aseema Sinha

CMC Faculty Publications and Research

Most observers of India have an implicit model of how Indians vote. They assume that voters in India act on their primary identities, such as caste or community, and that parties seek votes based on group identities—called vote banks—that can be collated into majorities and coalitions. K.C. Suri articulates the logic of this dominant model:

People of this country vote more on the basis of emotional issues or primordial loyalties, such as caste, religion, language or region and less on the basis of policies. The victory or defeat of a party depends on how a party or leaders marshal support …

Populist Radical Right Parties And The Securitization Of Migration In France, Ashley Middleton

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research paper addresses the interrelationship between the securitization of migration and the influence of the French populist radical right party, Front National (FN), in promoting anti-migrant claims. By analysing how political actors have played a role in applying security terms to migration in Europe, the paper addresses the different types of socio-political factors that have influenced the anti-migrant sentiment in France. The paper also aims to summarize the role of the media in securitizing migration. Furthermore, the analysis continues with an exploration of French security policy with regard to migration to better understand how FN has benefitted from a …

An Islamic Party In Urban Local Politics: The Pks Candidacy At The 2012 Jakarta Gubernatorial Election, Syahrul Hidayat

Jurnal Politik

Despite its success in obtaining more votes in the 2004 general election in Jakarta than the previous election in 1999, the Partai Keadilan Sejahtera (PKS) has turn its voter sup¬port into local executive power by winning a gubernatorial election in the capital. After a narrow defeat in the 2007 local election, the party’s candidate who had a respectable reputation also failed to further its bid for the second round of the following local elec¬tion. By applying the existing possible explanations of urban candidacy in local elec¬tions, this paper aims at discussing the possible explanations for the failure of Hidayat Nur …

Aktor Politik Dan Gagalnya Transisi Demokrasi Mesir Tahun 2011-2013, Amri Mushlih, Hurriyah Hurriyah

Jurnal Politik

This study discusses the role of political actors in Egypt during the transition period leading to the failure of democratic transition in the country. These actors are: 1) the military, (SCAF (Supreme Council of Armed Forces)); 2) the Islamic groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafi groups; 3) the elites of the old regime (status quo), that are the remnants of the Mubarak regime either still in the political structure or been eliminated; and 4) the secular groups, including elites and civil society activists emerged since the anti-Mubarak revolution. The interaction of these actors was analyzed by applying the conceptual …

Power And Proximity: The Politics Of State Secession, Elizabeth A. Nelson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

State secession is a rare occurrence in the international system. While a number of movements seek secession, the majority fail to achieve statehood. Of the exceptional successes, many have not had the strongest claims to statehood; some of these new states look far less like states than some that have failed. So what accounts for these secessions? I argue that the politics of regional actors drive the process. If a secessionist movement does not have the support of actors in the region, it will not achieve statehood. There are three mechanisms through which regional actors can determine outcomes: (1) they …

Curing Violence: Prescriptions For Justice And Peace In Colombia, Marissa Crawford

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

As the administration of President Juan Manuel Santos sits across the negotiating table from the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), justice as a conduit for peace has dominated discourse on remediating the legacy of more than 50 years of internal conflict. Justice, however, like the conflict itself, is contested in both meaning and substance. This thesis will approach the topic of justice from both a human rights and transitional justice perspective, arguing the need for systematically disentangling the concept in its international, domestic, and grassroots iterations. It will contend that transitional justice policy will more effectively be designed if …

Assessing Social Protection Arrangements In Angola And Mozambique, Andre Cavaller Guzzi

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

I examine the extent to which the involvement of international development actors in poor and post-conflict countries can override the influence of the domestic political elites on the outcomes of social protection programs. I compare the outcomes of social protection arrangements in two post-conflict countries, Angola and Mozambique. They have different levels and kinds of international involvement, which I define based on the involvement of post-conflict UN peace operations and their dependency on foreign aid. While Mozambique had a UN operation and has been dependent on foreign aid, Angola did not have a UN operation after its civil war and …

Whose Finger On The Nuclear Trigger, Erika Simpson, Murray Thomson

Political Science Publications

No abstract provided.

Russia And The Cis In 2008 : Axis Of Authoritarianism?, Charles E. Ziegler

Charles E. Ziegler

Russia’s seamless presidential succession produced no major changes in domestic politics or foreign policy. Ties with Asia remained strong, though several key relationships—with China, Japan, and the Central Asian states—frayed under the impact of Russia’s military action in Georgia. Impressive economic performance in the first half of the year boosted Russian confidence as a great power, but its vulnerability to the global financial crisis together with the heavy-handed operation in the Caucasus undermined Moscow’s standing with both Asia and Europe by the end of the year.

Russia And The Cis In 2007 : Putin's Final Year?, Charles E. Ziegler

Charles E. Ziegler

Russia in 2007 moved further away from a constitutional order governed by the rule of law as President Vladimir Putin's second term drew to a close and the country prepared for parliamentary and presidential elections. High oil and gas prices buoyed the economy, but little progress was made in addressing Russia's serious social problems. In foreign policy, confrontation with the West was balanced by excellent relations with most of Asia.

Central Asia, The Shanghai Cooperation Organization, And American Foreign Policy : From Indifference To Engagement., Charles E. Ziegler

Charles E. Ziegler

This paper examines U.S. engagement in Central Asia over the past two decades, with specific reference to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. While alarmist voices occasionally warn of the threat to American interests from China and Russia through the SCO, the organization’s influence appears limited. Washington has engaged it only sporadically, preferring to conduct relations bilaterally with the Central Asian states.

Neomercantilism And Great-Power Energy Competition In Central Asia And The Caspian., Charles E. Ziegler, Rajan Menon

Charles E. Ziegler

The neomercantilist energy policies of China and Russia contribute to what is largely a competitive relationship among all three great powers in Central Asia. While neomercantilist policies do not negate the possibility of cooperation and the development of norms, rules, and institutions designed to promote collective action, they certainly erect formidable barriers.

The Cost Of Inter-Ethnic Conflicts In Ghana’S Northern Region: The Case Of The Nawuri-Gonja Conflicts, Emmanuel Debrah, Seidu Alidu, Isaac Owusu-Mensah

Journal of African Conflicts and Peace Studies

The article assesses the socio-economic and human repercussions of one of the fiercest ethnic conflicts in Ghana’s Northern Region on people and society. While Ghana remains a stable democracy, sporadic ethnic and chieftaincy conflicts have been a recurrent feature of the political process. Analyzing data from survey opinions and interviews from wide spectrum of respondents, the study noted that the Nawuri-Gonja conflicts have destroyed the fabric of the society leaving behind squalor, breakdown of healthcare, education and psychological trauma. Women and children have suffered rape assaults and unprecedented high rate of mortality due to malnourishments respectively. The plights of these …

The Transatlantic Oarsmen Cooperative: Doubling Down On A Transatlantic Financial Regulatory Regime, Joselyn Muhleisen

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This project argues that, in the wake of the 2007-09 financial crisis, the United States (US) and European Union (EU) are doubling down on finance-led domestic growth strategies and that this is their goal in constructing a transatlantic financial regulatory regime. The regime’s goal privileges the input of industry actors over other civil society actors. The construction of this regime is in response to pressure from emerging markets and to service domestic industry actors after the financial crisis. The regime is intended to allow the US and EU to maintain their dominance within the international financial regulatory regime and continue …