International Relations Commons^™

The Struggle For Self-Determination: A Comparative Analysis Of East Timor And Western Sahara, Emma Baratta

Honors Theses

Self-determination is accepted as an international right of all people, yet in many cases it still takes decades of struggle to achieve it. Through comparative analysis of the selfdetermination and independence struggles of East Timor and Western Sahara, conclusions can be drawn as to why some former colonies are able to achieve these goals while others do not. In order to better understand the challenges associated with self-determination, I evaluate the two cases based on four overarching factors which influence the process: statehood criteria and imagined community status, colonialism and occupation, presence of natural resources, and international recognition. I argue …

Undersea Cables: The Ultimate Geopolitical Chokepoint, Bert Chapman

FORCES Initiative: Strategy, Security, and Social Systems

This work provides historical and contemporary overviews of this critical geopolitical problem, describes the policy actors addressing this in the U.S. and selected other countries, and provides maps and information on many undersea cable work routes. These cables are chokepoints with one dictionary defining chokepoints as “a strategic narrow route providing passage through or to another region."

Norm Diffusion Or Norm Backsliding? A Text Analysis Of Anti-Lgbtq Rhetoric, Christopher Patane, Marc S. Polizzi

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

How are counter-norms manufactured, and what are their components? Current literature on norm diffusion largely views the process as linearly progressive. In other words, norms progress towards greater inclusion. However, notable cases such as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s controversial use of traditional values in the UN Human Rights Council demonstrates a potential backlash to this progression. Building on our previous case study work of Russian anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and its spread to the United States, in this paper we examine the timing and content of anti-LGBTQ rhetoric using text analysis. This allows us to model the sequencing of messaging and whether …

Horizontal Cultural Inequalities, Grievances, And Civil Conflict: Ethnonationalist Mobilization In Reaction To Assimilationist Educational Language Policies, Burak Demir

Doctoral Dissertations

Studies in the literature on intrastate conflict onset have focused on opportunities and material grievances whereas non-material issues have not been given sufficient attention. The increasing importance of the ethnic dimension of intrastate conflicts since the mid-1970s suggests a growing prominence of ethnonationalist ideologies as a cause. Following constructivist and institutionalist theories on nationalism, this study argues that assimilationist policies, mainly centered around educational languages, induce the spread of minority ethnonationalism to the masses. This spread results from assimilationist policies being perceived as attacks on their dignity by the members of a discriminated minority group who, as a result, feel …

Addressing The Role Of Climate Change In Agriculture And Mexico-Us Immigration, Xiaoxin Liang

Binghamton University Undergraduate Journal

Among the greatest threats of climate change is the significant impact on mass displacement, particularly as it relates to Mexico-US immigration. Low crop yields from worsening climate conditions have been linked to increased migration of Mexican farmers. With a projected 4.2 million additional migrants in the foreseeable future, it poses a contemporary environmental, social, and political dilemma. This policy brief analyzes several provision proposals to be adopted into the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), as evaluated under economic cost, equity, environmental impact, and feasibility criteria. My research concludes that the most effective and direct provision proposal is the implementation of adaptive …

A Sign Of The Times- How Ethnonationalist Executives Affect Democracy, Adam M. Sikes

Honors College Theses

In the immediate post-Cold War era, proponents of democracy envisioned a world with few barriers to the spread of democracy and its institutions globally. However, a clear trend has been definitively established in the recent academic discourse pointing to a marked decline in the quality of democracies in several democratizing states. While the root causes for this decline continue to be a contentious subject, much of the existing literature depends on institutional theory to explain the cause of democratic backsliding. Concurrently, we have seen a dramatic stream of news about the state of democracy in two of the world’s most …

The Discourse Of Capitalist Class And Public Policy In The Handling Of Covid-19 Pandemic In Indonesia, Adam Amin Bahar, Kacung Marijan, Antun Mardiyanta

Jurnal Politik

In the early period of handling the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia, the Indonesian government prioritized the economy and health sectors. This study argues that these government actions and policies are heavily influenced by discourse from the capitalist class. This study aims to discuss the articulation of several different discursive elements of the capitalist class in the early period of handling the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia and its impact on public policy. This study focuses on two capitalist classes, namely medical and non-medical capitalists. This study found that the discursive elements from the government on these two significant issues had in …

A Socio-Psychological Model Of Urban Millennial Postgraduate Students’ Votes: Indonesia 2014 And 2019 Presidential Elections, Dyah Permana Erawaty, Ummi Salamah

Jurnal Politik

The 2019 presidential election showed many swing voters between the candidates who battled for the second time. This study seeks to understand the cause behind voters’ decisions to switch their voters and how millennial voters with postgraduate education backgrounds swing their votes. This study treats the votes cast by urban millennial postgraduate students as its unit of analysis. Additionally, it aims to find out whether social media has contribution to switch votes. We employed the Columbian and Michigan approach to the socio-psychological model as our conceptual framework and incorporated a modification of the concept of mass self-communication, which includes the …

Managing Indonesian Head Of Local Government Elections During The Covid-19 Pandemic Period, Aditya Perdana

Jurnal Politik

This paper analyses the Local Government elections (Pilkada) in Indonesia during the COVID-19 pandemic in relation to its postponement by looking at three critical aspects in the electoral management framework decision-making process, service outputs, and service outcomes framed. Some findings of this paper are: first, decision making for conducting the Pilkada 2020 was politically uneasy; second, good quality of service outputs from Pilkada 2020 was signed by convenience dimension which can be captured by voter compliance on health protocols in the polling station; third, the best evaluation for service outcomes is coming from the high percentage of voters turn out …

Power-Sharing As The Key Of Secessionist Conflict Resolution In Developing Democratic Countries, Wasisto Raharjo Jati

Jurnal Politik

This article explains how power-sharing could determine conflict resolution in develo¬ping states, particularly in developing countries. This scheme offers a win-win solution between state actors and the separatist movements to curb conflict and initiate pe¬ace-building at the grassroots level. Using a quantitative analysis that employed data¬sets from Power-Sharing Event Dataset (PSED) and Implementation of Pacts Dataset (IMPACT), this article notably reveals two important findings. First, the most promising power-sharing schemes are territorial and political power-sharing. Furthermore, the preliminary talk about ideal power-sharing consensus between the state actors and rebel groups is important to determine the outcome of power-sharing policies. Finally, …

Natural Resource Management And Institutional Dynamics: Myanmar And Indonesia In Comparative Perspective, Salsabila Fitristanti, Ali Muhyidin

Jurnal Politik

Natural resource management in the conflict area has raised a debate on how institutions adapt to conflict conditions. This paper utilizes Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework provided by Ratner by conducting a multi-case comparative specifying on the sub-national in Kachin (Myanmar) and Papua (Indonesia). The analysis focuses on how the institutional dynamics relate to collective action in the mining operation during the ongoing conflict. The empirical investigation shows that the different results occurred due to the diverse decentralization arrangement. The case in Kachin indicates some degree of difficulties in the decentralization arrangement. This condition raises the lack of transparency …

Oligarchy And Netizens Fighting Controlling Indonesia Media, Sunardi Sunardi

Jurnal Politik

No abstract provided.

The Xx Factor: The Influence Of Legislative Gender Parity On Migrant Integration Policy In The Eu Member States, Katherine Y. Kramer Gaines

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

Many European states have been affected by the so-called European migrant crisis of the 2010s. The UNHCR has said that focusing on integrating migrants is “the most relevant durable solution” for European Union member states. Policies can help pave the road to success for refugees and migrants alike in new, unfamiliar lands. Such policies are associated with migrants’ abilities to reunite with family, find jobs, receive healthcare and education, gain permanent residence and nationality, politically participate, evade discrimination, and fully integrate into the new society they reside in. Using a gender parity lens with cross-sectional, quantitative analysis, this research shows …

Pakistan-Afghanistan Relations: Pitfalls And The Way Forward, Huma Baqai, Nausheen Wasi

Faculty Research - Books

The new chapter in Afghanistan-Pakistan relations that will be written now will not be without its history, without national and regional frameworks, without continuities and discontinuities. Therefore, it is important and even urgent to rethink the past, current, and future relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan, if we want this new chapter to be less confrontational and harmful than some of the preceding ones. And in this regard the book in your hand, “Pakistan-Afghanistan Relations: Pitfalls and the Way Forward”, is highly relevant, and a very important contribution. This book has been edited by two eminent Pakistani academics, Dr. Huma Baqai …

Demobilizing And Reintegrating Ex-Combatants: Explaining Success And Failure On The National And Subnational Levels, Sally Sharif

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) is the largest intervention in nearly all the United Nation ongoing large-scale peacekeeping missions and is tasked with restoring public security, law, and order after conflict. A well-planned and flexible reintegration process is known to restore social capital and promote the viability of long-term peace locally, nationally, and internationally. War-torn countries run the risk of returning to war if former combatants are not provided with vocational skills, placed into employment, and reintegrated successfully. Through analyzing DDR programs on the macro-, meso-, and micro-levels, this dissertation is an attempt at finding determinants for a successful DDR …

Cross-National Variation In Women’S Rights: Europe And Civil War, Nourah Shuaibi

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation evaluates the impact of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on Women’s Social, Economic and Political rights in post-Conflict countries. In order to evaluate the relationship with sound causal logic, I set out to study multiple relationships to understand the impact of the variables in question. Looking at the nature of the relationship required an evaluation in 3 ways, which culminated in the writing of 4 separate chapters. Chapter 2 demonstrates the importance of understanding Women’s Rights and their role in economic development and peace building. This places women’s rights in context to set the scene for the rest of …

How To Improve Multilateral Environmental Agreements: A Case Study In Balanced Institutional Design Mechanisms In The Climate Change And Ozone Regime, Emma Lee

Honors Theses

With climate change being one of the largest existential threat’s civilizations has ever faced and global cooperation the only conceivable solution, why have the existing MEAs of the climate change regime failed? Moreover, why have MEAs in other environmental regimes, such as the ozone regime, been so much more successful than MEAs in the climate change regime? To investigate this question, I use a theoretical framework of international law and focus on the specific way the institutional design of agreements can yield greater success. I define success in a two-pronged manner which focuses on participation and compliance.

This paper takes …

Gender Inequality And Terrorism: The Impacts Of Female Empowerment On Domestic And Transnational Terrorism, Jennifer Dumas

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

In the post-9/11 years, terrorism has emerged as an urgent issue with important national security and foreign policy ramifications. Within political science, terrorism research has likewise developed as a burgeoning subfield with the potential for significant contributions to policymaking worldwide. However, the literature has until recently generally neglected gender inequality as a structural antecedent to terrorism, despite studies which support a relationship between gender parity and conflict mitigation in other areas as well as increasing calls for the integration of gender measures into counterterrorism agendas and initiatives among scholars and policymakers. To address this gap in the literature, I introduce …

A Tale Of Two Biennales: How Contemporary Art In Italy Reflects Current European Politics, Hannah Rosabel Capucilli-Shatan

CISLA Senior Integrative Projects

No abstract provided.

Minorities And Authoritarianism In The Middle East: A Case Study Of Muslim Alawites In Syria, Maher Al Tayara

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

Why are some minorities in the Middle East less inclined to support democratization or political liberalization efforts? Here, I examine if and how minorities differ in their support for democratization from the majority groups in the Middle East. I will analyze why some minorities prefer to support authoritarian regimes over supporting democratization. I examine how the religion of a minority affects its preference for regime type. I will also examine how historical backgrounds and international patronage affects those preferences. I will identify two historical moments in the Middle East that played a role in shaping those preferences: the post-World War …

The Impact Of Culture On Member State Migration Policy In The European Union, Sophia Notter, Jennifer Ramos

Honors Thesis

The European Union (EU) was formed with the belief that further integration among European states would bring sustainable peace. This began with economic integration but continued to include political and social integration as well. This ad hoc method of creating cohesion among sovereign Member States was generally accepted among Member State governments and citizens. However, in 2014, when a flood of refugees began arriving in Europe, fleeing from violence and instability in the Middle East and North Africa, the EU as an institution, and what exactly it means to be European, was challenged. Instead of pulling together and promoting the …

(Dis)Contentment With The International System: The Relationship Between Territorial Dispute Settlement Attempts And Unga Voting, Erik C. Beuck

Doctoral Dissertations

To what degree do the methods of management for territorial and maritime disputes relate to voting patterns in the United Nations General Assembly? In particular, do actions taken by the disputants in managing their disputes exert influence on their fellow disputant’s foreign policy preferences in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) reflective of the nature of these attempts? As territory has been found to be one of the most important driving factors in the conflict between states, understanding the impacts of different settlement methods in the active conveyance of information to other state actors in attempts to settle can provide …

Gender Equality And Democratization: How Greater Gender Equality Helps Explain Tunisian Success In The Arab Spring, Hannah Miller

Sigma: Journal of Political and International Studies

No abstract provided.

Seeking Asylum In A Modern Society: Global Responses To Latin American Migration, Rebecca Dickinson

Senior Honors Projects

The United States is no stranger to asylum seekers and refugees. The most famous seaport in the country houses a 305-foot-tall statue of a woman bearing a torch with words from the poem The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus etched at her feet: “‘Give me your tired, your poor, /Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.’”^[1] The Statue of Liberty is a symbolic representation of open arms to immigrants from all walks of life. But if everyone is welcome, why do so few actually gain entrance?

US interventionism policies in the 20th century have defined the lives of millions …

Governmental Repression: The Cases Of China, Akbar Rahmani

Honors Theses

This thesis explores what factors can explain why the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) response to two pro-democracy movements – 1989 Tiananmen Square and the 2014 Umbrella Movement – had varied repression levels. Specifically, this thesis will explore the impact of social media, breakdowns in government cohesion, and the type of protest on governmental responses. This research finds that a breakdown in government cohesion during the 1989 protest caused the declaration of martial law and the use of tanks followed by infantrymen. Although the 2014 protest was regime-threatening, social media constrained the government’s ability to use alternative media and harsh repression. …

Responsiveness, Representation, And Democracy: A Critical Conceptual Analysis And Its Implications For Political Science, Joshua Beck

Masters Theses

Over forty years ago, Hanna Pitkin expressed concern that social scientists were failing to give concepts the attention which they needed (Pitkin 1972, 277). This thesis takes up the same theme, asking how the concept of responsiveness is treated by political scientists. The goal to reveal confusion that surrounds widely used concepts such as responsiveness. The analysis offered in this thesis has significance for the discipline of political science in three ways. First, it highlights confusion surrounding the concept of responsiveness itself. Responsiveness is a widely utilized concept employed throughout the social sciences; however, as this thesis shows, there is …

Toward Successful Coin: Shining Path's Decline, Darren Colby

Independent Student Projects and Publications

The rapid decline of the Peruvian left-wing insurgent organization Sendero Luminoso was not only the result of the arrest of its leader. An analysis of the precipitous weakening of the organization using two social movement theories finds other factors were involved in the demise of the organization as well. These factors—participatory politics, support for the military among the rural population, and alienation of the population by Sendero Luminoso—provide insights to effective counterinsurgency tactics.

Effects Of U.S. Migration Policies On Migration Policies In Latin America, Katherine Graybill

Honors Projects

All countries deal with migration a little differently from one another, however, the way immigration is dealt with in some Latin American countries is based off of policies applied in the United States. The U.S. is a much stronger country than some of the Latin American countries they are relatively close to, and it therefore has the power to influence other countries to create policies that will help the U.S. achieve their goals. The U.S. has been largely anti-immigration in recent years and has consequently pressured Latin American Countries such as Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador into doing more …

Nation-Building And Cultural Heritage: A Study Of Turkey And Its Greek Orthodox Community, Sophia E. Kyrou

Senior Theses and Projects

This thesis is an exploration of the intersection between nationalist ideology and cultural heritage policy. This thesis answers how and why states utilize cultural heritage policy to build exclusivist forms of nationalism and, more specifically, models of nationalism that exclude ethno-religious minorities. In my work, I employ a case study of Turkey and its treatment of the Greek Orthodox minority population, and examine two specific periods in Turkish history: the Atatürk period (1920 to 1938) and the Erdoğan period (2001 to present). I answer the case-specific question: How and why has the Turkish state utilized policy dealing with tangible and …

Eu Accession Negotiations In The Shadow Of The Market, Deniss Kaskurs

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

At the end of the 20th century, the European Union (EU) had decided to expand into Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) by extending accession invitations to ten CEE states. During the accession process, each nation had a bargaining committee which was established to negotiate with EU representatives about the entrance requirements. Formally, negotiations revolve around political and economic bargaining between politicians of the incoming member states and the EU representatives. Informally, however, private commercial entities heavily influence the bargaining process, both from the EU and from the member state side. This scholarly work refers to these entities as transnational interest …