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Articles 1 - 9 of 9
Full-Text Articles in International Relations
The Role Of Non-Governmental Organizations (Ngos) In Improving Human Rights In Iraq, Naser A. Yahya
The Role Of Non-Governmental Organizations (Ngos) In Improving Human Rights In Iraq, Naser A. Yahya
Department of Political Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
Iraq has had a long history of human rights violations since its inception as a modern state in 1921. This is true especially under the personalistic dictatorship of Saddam Hussein. Under his regime, the Iraqi people suffered a consistent pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights, including political imprisonment, torture, and summary and arbitrary executions. This regime used a variety of mechanisms to squelch political dissent, including house-to-house searches; arbitrary arrests, often in large numbers; surveillance; harassment and questioning of family members; detention of targeted individuals, such as those returning to Iraq pursuant to amnesties, at unknown locations; …
Cruising Into Conflict: A Mixed Methods Examination Of Cruise Missile Possession And The Initiation Of Military Force, Dennis Crawford
Cruising Into Conflict: A Mixed Methods Examination Of Cruise Missile Possession And The Initiation Of Military Force, Dennis Crawford
Department of Political Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
This research examines the effect of cruise missile possession on state behavior. Specifically, it seeks to determine if countries who possess cruise missiles are more likely to initiate a military threat, display, or use of force than countries who do not possess cruise missiles. Traditional International Relations theory suggests that, all else being equal, a state with an asymmetrical military advantage should enjoy concessions from target states, decreasing the likelihood of armed conflict. Accordingly, coercion theory warns the use of armed force to change adversarial behavior should be exercised sparingly. However, this dissertation finds that states possessing cruise missile initiate …
The Prosecution Paradox: How The International Criminal Court Affects Civil War Peace Negotiations, Julia Reilly
The Prosecution Paradox: How The International Criminal Court Affects Civil War Peace Negotiations, Julia Reilly
Department of Political Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
Since the International Criminal Court (ICC)’s inception, observers have disagreed about how it would affect prospects for peace when it is involved in situations of ongoing conflict. Therefore, I ask, why do some of the civil war peace negotiations involving the ICC end with full peace agreements, while others end with resumed violence? I argue that how the Court affects the occurrence and outcome of peace negotiations is largely a function of the role that it plays in the situation. Due to its institutional design, the Court has the capacity to play either an oversight or a prosecutorial role in …
Shield Or Glue? Key Policy Issues Constraining Or Enhancing Multinational Collective Ballistic Missile Defense, Marxen Kyriss
Shield Or Glue? Key Policy Issues Constraining Or Enhancing Multinational Collective Ballistic Missile Defense, Marxen Kyriss
Department of Political Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
This dissertation explores a series of eleven political factors nations would have to consider should they contemplate joining a military coalition or alliance that uses ballistic missile defense (BMD); which of these factors incentivize or dissuade states from joining this coalition, and whether they vary from region to region, or state to state. It uses a two-stage case-study-based qualitative research design, in which the first theory generation phase was comprised of 21 experimentation events over a ten-year period with BMD policy experts from 24 nations led by the United States Strategic Command known as NIMBLE TITAN. The results of these …
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 …
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 …
Hellfire And Grey Drones: An Empirical Examination Of The Effectiveness Of Targeted Killings, Matthew A. Morehouse
Hellfire And Grey Drones: An Empirical Examination Of The Effectiveness Of Targeted Killings, Matthew A. Morehouse
Department of Political Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
This study examines the effectiveness of the United States’ targeted killing program. Specifically, do targeted killings work as an effective program for combating global terrorism? This thesis is divided into parts. The first section provides a brief introduction to targeted killings. The second part consists of an examination of targeted killings as an essentially contested concept, arguing that targeted killings can be defined in a manner consistent with the scientific enterprise. The third section contains a thorough review of the literature on targeted killings, demonstrating that there is a dearth of works investigating the actual effectiveness of targeted killings. The …
Populism And Human Rights In Theory And Practice: Chavez's Venezuela And Fujimori's Peru, Joseph P. Braun
Populism And Human Rights In Theory And Practice: Chavez's Venezuela And Fujimori's Peru, Joseph P. Braun
Department of Political Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
Despite ample literature on the topic of populism itself, much less has been written on the specific relationship between populism and human rights. First, I discuss the relationship between populist ideology and human rights in theory. I argue that populism is inconsistent with human rights accounts because of its rejection of pluralism and vilification of the ‘other.’ Second, I explore the relationship between populism as a political strategy and its impact on human rights under two Latin American regimes. I argue that despite its tendency to produce short-term gains in economic and social development, a review of the two cases …
And Justice For All: Developing Rule Of Law In The Balkans, Ryan M. Lowry
And Justice For All: Developing Rule Of Law In The Balkans, Ryan M. Lowry
Department of Political Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
The United Nations created the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia to bring to justice those who had committed the worst crimes during the conflicts in the Balkans during the 1990s. From the outset, this institution was envisioned to temporarily process indicted war criminals. The domestic courts in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia were seen as being corrupt and ill equipped to handle such cases; rule of law was absent or severely lacking in these countries. As the Tribunal winds down, however, both international and domestic actors have emphasized the need to strengthen their judicial systems that will create a …