International Relations Commons^™

Brexit Vote Could Allow For Nuclear Weapons Rethink, Erika Simpson, Bill Kidd

Political Science Publications

No abstract provided.

How Has Religiosity Influenced The Restrictiveness Of Marriage Immigration Policy In Serbia, Denmark, And The United States?, Uros Prokic

Hatfield Graduate Journal of Public Affairs

The following paper draws attention and investigates the impact of religion, specifically religiosity, on the development of marriage immigration policy in Serbia, Denmark, and the United States. In directly comparing between the three states, significant evidence suggests that religiosity has clearly influenced the restrictiveness of marriage immigration policy altogether. Whether indirectly or indirectly, through a defined politico-religious institution or a call to cultural religious tradition, the fact remains that religion presents a powerful force in influencing the restriction of marriage immigration policy. Whether through its concern for ethnic purity, cultural homogeneity, or sexuality, religiosity remains a powerful factor when discussing …

When War Is Peace: Peacebuilding In An Era Of Warfare, Josh Berkenpas

The Hilltop Review

A first step in constituting an international regime of peace is to construct a reliable cross-national map of the global order supporting continuous warfare. I examine the case of the conflict in Syria as a demonstration of the truly global nature of the conflict and the way that a multitude of state, corporate, and non-state actors are profiting from the war. I develop a case study of the war in Syria in order to highlight the nature of “new war” and the complexity of the situation, including the issue of arming rebels by the U.S. and other states. I follow …

The Survival Of Authoritarianism And The Syrian Identity Crisis: Explaining The Resilience Of Assad's Ruling Bargain, Joshua Vasquez

PPPA Paper Prize

The Arab Spring was a regional social mobilization that unrevealed ruling-bargains in the Middle East, which have been resilient since the early 1950s. In Tunisia, Ben Ali was ousted in about three weeks and fled to Saudi Arabia. After two weeks of demonstrations in Egypt, Mubarak resign from the presidency because the police failed to quell the uprising and the military refused to come to his aid. Following his resignation, he was arrested by the military and is currently awaiting trial for killing demonstrators, embezzlement of state funds, etc. In Libya, Qaddafi was ousted in an eight month civil war …

Relocating Pictures: An Interdisciplinary Analysis Of Transnational Islamic Images, Mary S.W. Campbell

Honors Projects

This paper and accompanying photo series analyze and discuss Western images of Islamic migration. Incorporating a variety of disciplines, they evaluate the emotional responses of Americans towards images of Muslim migrants and transnational issues. Through surveying and literary analysis, they demonstrate the need for new images of the Muslim migrant that allow for greater emotional engagement that leads to action. My photographs, taken in Spain and Morocco, are a first step at discovering what is needed in these new images.

Three Things Putin Will Love About Trump, William D. Bowman

History Faculty Publications

In less than a year, Donald Trump has moved from crass outsider to the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party. How could a candidate who seemed so unlikely not too long ago possibly become the next president of the United States? [excerpt]

A Vision Of Peace Through U.S. Leadership: President Jimmy Carter's Moral Foreign Policy Vision And The Panama Canal Treaties, Holly L. Welsh De Paula

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines President Jimmy Carter’s foreign policy and his administration’s campaign to promote the ratification of the Panama Canal treaties from 1977 to 1978. I argue that President Carter’s administration developed a coherent foreign policy vision that was inspired by moral convictions and aimed to promote international peace. The fundamental aspects of this vision are reflected in the Panama Canal treaties. During the turbulent Senate debate over the treaties, opposition arguments attacking President Carter’s moral policy encouraged the Carter administration to favor more pragmatic arguments in support of the treaties, which ultimately obscured President Carter’s overarching foreign policy vision. …

The Long-Term Strategic Influence Of Russia In The Dprk From 1946-1999: An Evolution With Leadership, Emma Wendt

Honors Projects

The purpose of this thesis is to show a correlation between change in Soviet-Russian leadership and the actions reflecting variance in Russia’s strategic influence in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) from 1946-1999. As part of applying the strategic perspective in this analysis, an argument for the rationality of the Kim regime is included. The analysis is approached using a structured, focused comparison with process-tracing to expose within-case variance.

A direct, measurable relationship between the change in Russian leadership and variance in Russia’s strategic influence in the DPRK is found as a result of this analysis. Because this finding …

Revitalizing The Ethnosphere: Global Society, Ethnodiversity, And The Stakes Of Cultural Genocide, Christopher Powell Ph.D.

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

This paper uses the concepts of ethnosphere and ethnodiversity to frame the stakes of cultural genocide in the context of the emerging global society. We are in an era of rapid global ethnodiversity loss. Global ethnodiversity is important because different cultures produce different solutions to the subjective and objective problems of human society, and because cultures have an intrinsic value. Rapid ethnodiversity loss is a byproduct of the expansion of the modern world-system, and Lemkin’s invention of the concept of genocide can be understood as a dialectical reaction to this tendency. The current phase of globalization creates pressures towards global …

Editors' Introduction, Melanie O'Brien, Joann Digeorgio-Lutz, Lior Zylberman, Christian Gudehus, Douglas Irvin-Erickson, Randle Defalco, Hilary Earl

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

No abstract provided.

Guest Editors’ Introduction: Genocide Studies, Colonization, And Indigenous Peoples, David B. Macdonald, Tricia Logan

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Remembering Genocide, Tony Barta

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

No abstract provided.

Measuring Foreign Aid Effectiveness: Elite Capture Of Foreign Aid Funds, Alyssa M. Ortiz

Honors Projects

In an attempt to better understand where foreign aid is most effective for developmental purposes and poverty alleviation, this study takes a focused look at the correlation between democracy and corruption. High democratization is tested alongside corruption in foreign aid usage to determine if an inverse relationship exists. The implication is then that low levels of foreign aid corruption will be tied to increased effectiveness of development interventions. This increased effectiveness will then result in an increase of overall development. The research examines three African countries – Ghana, Zambia, Swaziland – through comparative case studies to test the democratic institutions …

Mobilizing For Capitalism: How Islamic Civil Society Makes A Market Economy Possible In Turkey, Dean G. Schafer

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis asks how international actors – in this case, the IMF and World Bank – advance their neoliberal projects. Specifically, it looks at the local context. How do economic reforms pass from IMF policy into national law? Who does the IMF cooperate with? What strategies are used, and what makes them effective for enacting and legitimizing policy? It starts by looking at the history of political mobilization in Turkey after WWII, when it took its first IMF loan. Turkish political parties have commonly sought electoral success through populist economic policies built on patron-client relationships. However, economic populism is a …

The South African Elderly: Neglect, Social Contribution And The Hiv/Aids Epidemic, Alessia Frisoli

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

With a slowing fertility rate and an increasing longevity, the world population is aging. Both developed and developing countries have seen their elderly become more numerous with an increasing burden on their financial, medical and social system. Many scholars have suggested immediate change of policies to contain the predicted crisis that will affect the health care and the pension schemes in the next decades. However, few have investigated the positive role that the seniors play contributing to society, beyond the complications caused to the economy and welfare system. This thesis will support the argument that the elderly, if appropriately cared …

Headhunting: Evaluating The Disruptive Capacity Of Leadership Decapitation On Terrorist Organizations, Ted Clemens Iv

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Leadership decapitation -- the practice of removing a leader from a position of authority through targeted killing (i.e. assassination) or arrest -- has long been a feature of counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency strategies the world over. Still, how effective is the practice of leadership decapitation in actually bringing a halt to, or even impeding, terrorist activity? Can removing top leaders of terrorist enclaves from power disrupt their groups to the point of organizational degradation or dissolution? And lastly, because no two terrorist groups are the same; when a terrorist group experiences leadership loss, how can the group be expected to react? …

Better Work And Global Governance, Paul Alois

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation is a case study of Better Work, a program run by the International Labor Organization and the International Finance Corporation. It aims to improve working conditions and productivity in the apparel industry. The purpose of this case study is to examine the role that international organizations can play in global governance. The research presented here comes from interviews, document analysis, and an examination of quantitative data on factories’ working conditions. In-person interviews were conducted in the United States, Switzerland, Vietnam, and Indonesia; many phone interviews took place with individuals in other countries. Both publicly available documents and internal …

Increasing Access To Potable Water: A Question Of Economics And Governance In Bo District, Sierra Leone, Alissa M. Heiring

Lawrence University Honors Projects

This paper analyzes existing supply gaps that are impeding rural water access in Bo District, Sierra Leone. On a national and district level, Sierra Leone has failed to meet the target of 70% access to potable water inspired by the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals. This paper focuses on Bo District due to its near total inclusion in the Sewa River basin and split urban and rural population. Given the existing political and economic constraints, this paper identifies the most feasible way to sustainably increase access to potable water in Bo. To develop the recommendations, current supply gaps in rural …

The New Liberalism Of International Relations In Context: An Analysis Of Andrew Moravcsik's 'Taking Preferences Seriously: A Liberal Theory Of International Politics', Zachary R. Zellmer

Honors Projects

This paper summarizes the liberal theory of international politics offered by international relations theorist Andrew Moravcsik, and its development in relation to the insights of key liberal thinkers from the republican and commercial traditions. A discussion of the current status of a liberal paradigm of international politics is followed by a summary of the basic structure of Moravcsik’s theory. Moravcsik’s insights and their origins are then explored through the political philosophy of Immanuel Kant. Kant’s impact on the development of the tradition of republican liberalism into a liberal theory of international relations is evaluated and its language is compared to …

The Challenges Of Isis And The Modern Nation-State, Matthew Burton

Honors Theses

This essay examines the challenges that the so-called Islamic State, or ISIS, pose to the contemporary state system. The rise of ISIS in the territories of Iraq and Syria raises two fundamental questions, one conceptual the other directly political: First, ISIS’s claim to be a state and world powers’ resistance to this claim raises the question of what constitutes a state in today’s international system. Second, as a unique form of political organization that has become successful in the Middle East in a relatively short time, ISIS raises a number of practical political questions such as, what it takes to …