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Containerization Of Seafarers In The International Shipping Industry: Contemporary Seamanship, Maritime Social Infrastructures, And Mobility Politics Of Global Logistics, Liang Wu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation discusses the mobility politics of container shipping and argues that technological development, political-economic order, and social infrastructure co-produce one another. Containerization, the use of standardized containers to carry cargo across modes of transportation that is said to have revolutionized and globalized international trade since the late 1950s, has served to expand and extend the power of international coalitions of states and corporations to control the movements of commodities (shipments) and labor (seafarers). The advent and development of containerization was driven by a sociotechnical imaginary and international social contract of seamless shipping and cargo flows. In practice, this liberal, …

Assessing The Threat Of Social Media To National Security: Information Operations In The 21st Century, Brendan M. Cullen

Senior Theses

The ubiquity of social media has enabled an unprecedented amount of personal data to be accessible to various entities. Social media platforms leverage this data to optimize algorithmic recommendation systems, persuade users to engage, and promote monetization. The social media ecosystem’s business model demands continuous engagement and the relentless collection of user data to grow and scale. Not only is social media massively popular around the world, but it has integrated heavily into users’ daily lives. This integration is driven by social platforms’ deliberate architectures and affordances. The intentionality of social media can be exploited by state and non-state actors …

Historical Trauma: Literary And Testimonial Responses To Hiroshima, Mariam Ghonim

Theses and Dissertations

The concept of trauma is controversial in literature. While one may be able to come up with ways to describe trauma in fiction, representing historical trauma is a hard task for writers. Some argue that trauma can not be described through those who did not experience it, while others claim that, provided some elements are added, one can represent trauma to the reader. This thesis focuses on twentieth-century historical traumas related to a nuclear catastrophe and explores the different literary and testimonial responses to the catastrophic man-made event of Hiroshima (1945). In this thesis, Kathleen Burkinshaw’s historical fiction The Last …

Princess Chives, Yuxuan An

Masters Theses

Princess Chives is the greatest contemporary ruler of Chiveism. Princess Chives brilliantly, comprehensively, and resourcefully promoted and developed Chivesism, taking it to a whole new level.

Princess Chives ideology is a powerful ideological weapon against everything, and it serves as the foundation for all of the work of the entire party, army, and country.

We must always raise the great flag of Princess Chives’ ideology, to fortify the minds of the people of the country with Princess Chives’ ideology, and adhere to the use of Princess Chives’ ideology in all work. To militarize the mind is the fundamental mission of …

Chinese Political Rhetoric And Ideology: Tension And Pretension, Israel Paredes

Honors Theses

This changing nature of the Chinese government’s ideology leads one to believe that its core beliefs are not dogmatic, despite the foundation for their ideology being rooted in specific societal and economic theories. Starting with Mao Zedong to modern day, the Chinese government officials will continue to support the original tenets (and, no doubt, future presidents’ additions to the tenets). However, the interpretation of their ideology over time is fluid and is used to support policies and actions during a political cycle. Chinese political leaders are unlikely to disagree with a past leaders, and will rather use their own interpretation …

U.S.-China Trade War: Phase One Agreement And Self-Enforcing Contracts, Hameedullah Hassani

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Sino-American bilateral trade relations have increased significantly in the past four decades since China started its economic reforms in 1978. The bilateral expansion in trade has been accompanied by increased complexity and tensions, which emerged in the form of a trade war during the President Trump administration. After a series of tit-for-tat tariff increases, in an attempt to address concerns through negotiations, both sides reached a Phase One agreement. However, the commitments made in the agreement were not delivered. In my thesis, I use the “self-enforcing contracts” theory to analyze the status of Phase One deal. The examination indicates that …

Questioning China’S Peaceful Development: A Mahanian Sea Power Analysis Of Blue Water Navy Accumulation, Patricia Patricia, Putu Agung Nara I.P. Satya

Global: Jurnal Politik Internasional

China has been rapidly accumulating naval capabilities for nearly 4 decades with the ambition of pursuing blue-water-navy forces through its People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). With its peaceful development policy, the acquisition of such powers has been interpreted as an anomaly and therefore resulted in an increase of security dilemmas between states. In the quest for explanations behind China’s actions, multiple scholars have examined this phenomenon by utilizing offensive realism, defensive realism, and Tirpitzian non-hegemonic naval theory. Thus, this paper brings another perspective by applying the Mahanian Sea Power approach. Consequently, the analysis established that China’s pursuit of blue-water-navy is …

The Belt And Road Initiative Policy: How Chinese Policy Influences Southeast Asia And South Asia, Chendong Wang

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

This article would be divided into two main parts. In the first part, this article introduces what is the BRI policy and the history of the BRI policy. The BRI policy is a Chinese strategy and network to connect with Chinese partners and potential partners through economic, political, and cultural three perspectives. In the second part, this article describes the BRI policy development and the response from Chinese neighboring countries which mainly include the Southeast and South Asian Countries. Southeast Asian nations and south Asian nations would first be directly impacted by politics, the economy, and culture. Southeast Asian countries …

Conscription In South Korea, Jennifer Rhee

Symposium Of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE)

South Korea has had a mandatory military service requirement for male South Korean citizens from the ages 18-28 since the 1950's- the government's response to accelerate the establishment of a stronger defense force during post cold-war times. The disposition of conscription has been changed multiple times since it's implementation and continues to be reexamined as South Korea progresses, but it still faces scrutiny and controversies as forced labor conventions are challenged and many young men will try to find exemptions from the obligation to serve their country for several years. This presentation will observe the history, reasoning, and future of …

Creative Citizen Peacebuilding: Japanese Artists And Audiences Respond To The Vietnam-American War, Long T. Bui, Ayako Sahara

Peace and Conflict Studies

This article explores two case studies related to South Vietnam and Japan, relating them to the controversial history and legacy of the Second Indochina War. The first is the Japanese adoption and adaptation of South Vietnamese antiwar music. The second is a Japanese film, uncovered decades later after the war, exposing the role of Japan in South Vietnam. Cultural productions, from nations allied with the United States, sought to expose the popular struggle for peace against the rising tide of Cold War military violence and corporate capitalist exploitation. Through interviews, archival research, and textual analysis, the article argues for a …

China, Europe, And The Pandemic Recession: Beijing’S Investments And Transatlantic Security, John R. Deni, Chris Alden, Erik Brattberg, Roger Cliff, Mark Duckenfield, R. Evan Ellis, Nicholas Nelson, Lauren Speranza

Monographs, Collaborative Studies, & IRPs

Given the depth and breadth of the pandemic-induced recession in Europe, private companies in need of capital and governments looking to shed state-owned enterprises may be tempted to sell shares, assets, or outright ownership to investors with liquidity to spare. Of greatest concern is the role that China might play in Europe, building Beijing’s soft power, weakening allied geopolitical solidarity, and potentially reprising the role it played in the 2010s, when its investments in Europe expanded dramatically. More specifically, there is concern over China’s investments in infrastructure and sensitive technologies relevant to American and allied military operations and capabilities.

Whether …

Why Renegotiation?: Renewal Of The South Korea-Chile Bilateral Free Trade Agreement, Montserrat Bugueno

International Studies (MA) Theses

This thesis project explores the motivations behind the bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) renegotiation between Chile and South Korea. Existing studies have examined the reasons and outcomes of creating the initial Chile-South Korea FTA, but they have not focused on renegotiations between the two countries. A few investigations on renegotiations have focused on diversifying their exports and expanding their markets in each other's regions. However, most research lacks further exploration of both countries' market security concerns. By analyzing official government documents and conducting three semi-structured interviews with government officials and experts in the field, I argue that the current protectionist …

The Role Of Homeownership In Taiwan's Low Fertility Story, William Anderson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

With one of the lowest fertility rates on record, Taiwan is at the forefront of the global lowest-low fertility phenomenon. Policymakers in Taiwan and researchers around the world have a considerable interest in the reasons driving Taiwan’s depressed fertility and possible ways to alleviate the associated economic concerns. Properties of the housing market represent one suggested factor that may be contributing to this trend. Using individual panel data from Taiwan’s Panel Study of Family Dynamics, I test the correlation between homeownership and fertility outcomes. I find that other variables, such as marriage, age, generation, and socioeconomic status, can explain much …

The One Who Won, Jeanna Polisini

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

I am an adopted Asian American with an Italian last name who was raised in the Jewish faith. While I am one of the lucky ones, the One-Child Policy is responsible for how my life turned out. My intention is to confront the inhumanity of this horrific policy with my adoption story. Until policies personally affect someone’s life, many people do not think twice about the other country’s problems and their repercussions on a global level. For my senior exhibition, I created an autobiographical installation to explore my adoption story and how China’s inhumane dictatorship. The full immersive installation will …

The Glorious Past And The Ecologically Modern: A Guided Journey Through Reconstructions Of China In Rural Shanxi, Melinda Herrold-Menzies

EnviroLab Asia

The article traces an EnviroLab Asia research trip designed to learn how “traditional” music and “folk” dance had been used to transform a loose configuration of farms into an integrated organic agricultural cooperative. This trip was second part of a multi-pronged case-study project looking at music, agriculture and sustainability in Indonesia and China. The importance of this research trip was to build collaborative relationships with our colleagues in Shanxi so that we will be able to produce interdisciplinary research with multinational partners in the future.

The Isolated As The Revolutionary: How “Leftover” Men In China Challenge Heteronormativity, Ruwen Chang

Theses and Dissertations--Gender and Women's Studies

In contemporary China, demographers estimate that 30 million men are single because there are simply not enough women in the Chinese population, and the 2020 Chinese census shows that there are 34.9 million more men than women. These men are called guanggun, which can be directly translated to “bare sticks/branches,” a slur that indicates a lack of marriage and sex. In this project, I demonstrate that guanggun’s singlehood marks them as the marginalized at the intersection of heteronormativity, patriarchy, globalizing capitalism, and pronatalist governmentality. In a highly heteronormative and patrilineal culture, guanggun are branded as abnormal/incomplete. However, because …

Secured Transactions Law Reform In Japan: Japan Business Credit Project Assessment Of Interviews And Tentative Policy Proposals, Megumi Hara, Kumiko Koens, Charles W. Mooney Jr.

All Faculty Scholarship

This article summarizes key findings from the Japan Business Credit Project (JBCP), which involved more than 30 semi-structured interviews conducted in Japan from 2016 through 2018. It was inspired by important and previously unexplored questions concerning secured financing of movables (business equipment and inventory) and claims (receivables)—“asset-based lending” or “ABL.” Why is the use of ABL in Japan so limited? What are the principal obstacles and disincentives to the use of ABL in Japan? The interviews were primarily with staff of banks, but also included those of government officials and regulators, academics, and law practitioners. The article proposes reforms of …

Sino-Indian Border Disputes In An Era Of Strategic Expansions, Roman Muzalevsky

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

The June 2020 clash between the People’s Republic of China and India in the disputed Ladakh border area resulted from the strategic expansions of both powers. Like two bubbles expanding in a contained space, these expansions were bound to collide and cause friction. This article explains how the expansions precipitated the incident and might exacerbate border disputes in the future. In pondering implications, it recommends Washington pursue a Eurasia-focused policy embracing the disputed region.

Broken Nest: Deterring China From Invading Taiwan, Jared M. Mckinney, Peter Harris

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

Deterring a Chinese invasion of Taiwan without recklessly threatening a great-power war is both possible and necessary through a tailored deterrence package that goes beyond either fighting over Taiwan or abandoning it. This article joins cutting-edge understandings of deterrence with empirical evidence of Chinese strategic thinking and culture to build such a strategy.

Civichon 1.0: City In A Village, Catalogue For Civichon Exhibition In Vienna Biennale 2021, Albert L. Park, Kyong Park, Annie Pedret

EnviroLab Asia

No abstract provided.

The People Of The Pla 2.0, Roy Kamphausen Mr.

Monographs, Collaborative Studies, & IRPs

The 27th annual People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Conference—“The People in the PLA” 2.0—revisited a theme first explored at the 2006 conference but understudied since. This volume examines how the structure, education, training, and recruitment of PLA personnel have changed in the last decade and in the Xi Jinping era.

Structural changes in the PLA have centered around two poles: improving the warfighting readiness of the PLA and strengthening Communist Party of China (CPC) control of the PLA. Reforms to the political work system, the evolution of the Second Artillery into the Rocket Force, and expansion of the PLA’s foreign-based force …

Small-Family Mindset: An Analysis Of The Impact Of China's Family Planning Policies On Family Culture, Sarah Ansley Croft

Honors Theses

This thesis examines the impact of China’s family planning policies on women’s attitudes towards family culture and the implications on China today. The family planning policies began in the 1970s as an emergency measure intended to create a short-term voluntary small-family culture by decreasing fertility rates. My research, comprised primarily of primary and secondary qualitative sources, discusses the development and implementation of the policies, the economic reforms beginning in the 1980s, and their joint effects on fertility rates, sex ratio at birth, women’s liberation, and changes in family culture, particularly in rural areas. This study found that the family planning …

Can’T Bear It! Employing Culturally Sensitive Initiatives To Reduce Bear Bile Demand In Northern Vietnam, Alicia Ngo, Shannon Randolph

EnviroLab Asia

Over the past 30 years, the combination of over-hunting, habitat loss, and increased bear bile demand has caused significant declines in Asiatic black bear (aka moon bear; Ursus thibetanus) and sun bear (Helarctos malayanus) populations. In Eastern medicine, bear bile is extracted from the gallbladders of bears and is then used to treat a wide range of inflammatory, liver, and degenerative ailments. However, the use of bear bile has had significant impacts on bear populations. Given that communities in Northern Vietnam have a lengthy history of using bear bile and bear bile is easily accessible, merely advocating …

Pornography, Its Harms, And A New Legal Strategy: Research And Experience In Japan, Seiya Morita, Caroline Norma

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

In this article we describe pornography’s harms in Japan, which are known about from surveys and research, and from the outreach and consulting activities of Japanese feminist-abolitionist groups. Among these are the Anti-Pornography and Prostitution Research Group (APP) and People Against Pornography and Sexual Violence (PAPS). We then propose a renewed classification scheme for pornography’s harms that centrally considers the experiences of victims in Japan. Lastly, we consider various legal approaches to addressing the myriad harms we describe and suggest possibilities for a new legal strategy. The article’s research comes from Japanese-language materials produced by the above-mentioned activist groups, as …

Covid-19 And The Environment: Reflections On The Pandemic In Asia, Hao Huang

EnviroLab Asia

The idea of planetary health as a form of scholarly analysis and scientific investigation has particular relevance to the COVID-19 pandemic and to Asia, where the outbreak of the novel coronavirus was first reported. Over the past three decades, the continent’s rapid urbanization and industrialization have played a significant role in the region’s economic growth, increase in per capita income and the concentration of wealth, and the creation of some of the world’s fast-growing cities. These profound benefits have come with some serious consequences, however, and planetary-health experts have stressed that one of them has been the sharp uptick in …

Jesus, The Last Scapegoat: A Chinese-Indonesian Christian Theological Imagination For Peacebuilding And Reconciliation, Hans Harmakaputra

The Journal of Social Encounters

After enduring the systematic oppression under Suharto’s three-decade regime (1967-1998) in Indonesia through discriminatory policies, Chinese-Indonesians suffered an enormous loss in the 1998 riots that signified the end of Suharto’s regime. Many Chinese-Indonesians were killed, raped, and displaced. A few years later, the new government abolished the discriminatory policies against Chinese-Indonesians, and they started to enjoy equality as citizens of Indonesia. However, negativities that resulted from the traumatic experiences cannot be diminished easily. This essay suggests a Chinese-Indonesian Christian theological imagination of Jesus’ crucifixion that aims to deal with communal trauma and contribute to the peacebuilding and reconciliation efforts. This …

The Key Factors Driving Ccp Opposition To Taiwanese Independence, Connor Warshauer

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The CCP strongly opposes a formal declaration of independence from Taiwan, and has threatened military force should Taiwan take that step. This paper seeks to explain the underlying reasons for the CCP’s aggressive policy. To do so, it uses a two-part methodology composed of a comprehensive engagement with existing secondary sources from the academic literature and four new interviews with experts in the field. The paper considers three main explanations for China’s opposition to independence: nationalism, international geostrategic factors, and factors of domestic politics. It concludes that domestic politics, and specifically the CCP’s perception that independence threatens its claim to …

North Korean Refugees Along The Route To Freedom: Challenges Of Geopolitics, Deborah Da Sol Jeong

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This Independent Study Project conducts an analysis of the North Korean Refugee Crisis by following the refugees along their escape route from the North Korean regime. By following a common escape route that includes China, Laos, Thailand, and finally, South Korea, this study unpacks the geopolitical factors and diplomatic relations that hinder and improve the progress of these refugees. Afterward, this study analyzes the resettlement process that North Korean refugees undergo in South Korea and the challenges that remain even after gaining South Korean citizenship. Finally, this project concludes by suggesting that the international community actively endeavor to establish a …

La Construcción Del Imaginario De Una Ciudad Multicultural: El Barrio Chino De Buenos Aires Como Exhibición Pública De Cultura, Yiran Lin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

En el marco de la globalización, ha surgido una nueva competencia entre las ciudades contemporáneas donde su multiculturalidad se convierte en símbolo de prosperidad. El imaginario urbano se creó en la intersección de los espacios públicos y los espacios sociopolíticos, de las culturas y sus representaciones, de lo ideal y la realidad. Estas dualidades nos hacen preguntarnos: ¿cómo afecta la espacialización pública de la cultura a la comunidad misma y a la sociedad receptora? ¿Quién se incluye en este imaginario y a quién se excluye? En este estudio, examinamos el Barrio Chino de Buenos Aires como caso de estudio de …

Nature And The Spirit: Ritual, Environment, And The Subak In Bali, Hao Huang

EnviroLab Asia

No abstract provided.