Atomic Weapons Program, Soviet, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Provides a history of the Soviet Union and Russian Federation's nuclear weapons program. It emphasizes the role of espionage in acquiring this capability, personalities such as Igor Kurchatov and Andrei Sakharov, this arsenal's multifaceted capabilities, arms control treaties with the U.S., the Nunn-Lugar Agreement, the environmental damage caused by this program, and the continuing role of nuclear weapons in Russian national security.

Competing Visions: Political Constructions Of Memory After World War I, 1919-1936, Scott R. St. Louis

Grand Valley Journal of History

This paper argues that officials at the Paris Peace Conference, in the White House, and in the U.S. Congress strove for the realization of competing visions for the international order following World War I, and thus were required to construct their own interpretations of how the conflict should be remembered and what must be learned from it. A pervasive sense of victors’ justice dominated the proceedings in Paris, leading to the creation of a settlement which would find lasting support from neither European nor American decision makers. The dubious postwar arrangements made at Versailles would contribute to the resurgence of …

Heroes Of Berlin Wall Struggle, William D. Bowman

History Faculty Publications

When the Berlin Wall fell 25 years ago, on Nov. 9, 1989, symbolically signaling the end of the Cold War, it was no surprise that many credited President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev for bringing it down.

But the true heroes behind the fall of the Berlin Wall are those Eastern Europeans whose protests and political pressure started chipping away at the wall years before. East German citizens from a variety of political backgrounds and occupations risked their freedom in protests against communist policies and one-party rule in what they called the "peaceful revolution." [excerpt]

Not Another Cuba: Lyndon Johnson And The Dominican Republic, 1956-66, Andrew T. Murphree

Senior Honors Theses

This Honors Thesis will examine President Lyndon Johnson's foreign policy surrounding America's complex diplomatic relationship with the Dominican Republic throughout the 1960s. Regarded throughout the last few decades as a less dramatic or telegenic study, the Johnson administration's involvement in the Dominican Republic has been largely overlooked and forgotten. In the wake of an emerging third generation of scholarship, historians are now beginning to uncover the intricate entanglement of information and circumstances supporting Johnson's role in establishing the parameters of U.S. Policy.

At the heart of this discussion exists a robust argument currently taking place among scholars who debate the …

Yugoslav-Soviet Split, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Describes the political and military split between the Communist countries of Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union in the years after World War II until Yugoslavia's disintegration in the early 1990s.

Revolutionary Decade: Reflections On The 1960s, Booth Library

Booth Library Programs

Photo galleries and supporting exhibits can be found on the REVOLUTIONARY DECADE exhibit page.

Exhibit Dates

This exhibit was displayed at Booth Library September 9 - November 20, 2014

Hagiography & Historicity: Li Wenyu's Quanhuo Ji Account Of The 1900 Siege Of Beitang, Anthony E. Clark

History Faculty Scholarship

By 1879 the Shanghai Jesuit, Li Wenyu, SJ, 李問漁 (1840-1911) had distinguished himself as one of Shanghai’s leading writers and editors; he had established both Yiwenlu, 益聞錄 Shanghai’s third newspaper, and the Gezhixinbao, 格致新報 the area’s most popular scientific journal. Less famous, though habitually consulted by historians of China’s turbulent Boxer era (1898-1900), was his protracted and hagiographic narrative of Boxer violence, the Quanhuoji 拳禍記. Li’s meticulous collection of witness testimonies and documentary materials recounting Boxer incidents remains an often-cited source in present historical research; this paper examines the historical reliability of his Quanhuoji, first published in 1905. Careful scrutiny …

Spartans In Vietnam: Michigan State University's Experience In South Vietnam, Jake T. Alster

Grand Valley Journal of History

In this article, the relations between various colleges (with special attention to Michigan State University) and the United States Government are explored in relation to America’s effort in nation building in South Vietnam in the late 1950s. During America’s efforts in Vietnam more reliance was put upon collegiate institutions to help negotiate foreign policy. One of the major issues regarding South Vietnam was technical assistance, and how we should implement assistance into the third world. Michigan State University, under the presidency of John Hannah, became the most important university in the technical assistance program. John Ernst argues that this was …

International Organizations: An Early History, Michael Davies, Richard Woodward

Books/Book Chapters

This text provides a pioneering and comprehensive analysis of over one hundred international organizations. After introducing the broad historical and contextual settings, the book covers the full range of international organisations including those that are often overlooked or get minimal inclusion elsewhere. Each organization is analysed in a stand-alone section that consider its origins, basic mandates and evolution, the governance structure and the associated key players, current activities and future challenges. The descriptions also reflect each organization’s broader relationships with other international bodies.

Trade, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Provides a historical overview of analysis of U.S. foreign trade policy during the early decades of the country's history. Examines bilateral U.S. trade relations with France and Great Britain, provides import and export statistics, details on commodities and products imports and exported, trade statistics, and information on the political and economic factors shaping U.S. trade during this period.

The Avenger - July 2014, Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale Museum

The Avenger

No abstract provided.

Castlereagh At The Congress Of Vienna: Maintaining The Peace, Political Realism, And The Encirclement Of France, Nathan Curtis

Masters Theses

At the Congress of Vienna from September 1814 to June 1815, Stewart, the second Marquees of Londonderry and Viscount Castlereagh, succeeded in encircling France with a cordon of strong states that could better resist the possibility of future French military aggression. He conceived these goals with an eye towards European balance of power, strategically resettling European borders and placating allies when necessary. He guarded against the advances of France and Russia through the strengthening of the Low Countries, resettlement of Norway from Denmark to Sweden, the restructuring of a more resilient Italian Peninsula, and the division of Poland and Saxony …

Aiding And Abetting: The Illegality Of Morocco's Nationalist Expansion Into Western Sahara And Their Support From The United States, Rachid H. Yousfi

Master's Theses

This paper will address the illegality of Morocco’s nationalist annexation of Western Sahara and how the United States plays the accommodating role through the selling of arms, economic aid, and diplomatic support. Considered as Africa’s last colony, the Saharawi people have not experienced the basic human right to self-determination and the right for independence. These rights are continued to be withheld for the sake of Moroccan nationalism and their “rightful and ethnic” claims to the territory, disregarding the International Court of Justice (ICJ)’s advisory opinion ruling in favor of Saharawi self-determination. It explores the chronology of the Saharawi population from …

A Calculated Risk: The Effects Of Nicolae Ceauşescu’S Denunciation Of The 1968 Warsaw Pact Invasion Of Czechoslovakia On Us-Romanian Relations, Paul R. Hebert

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

For most of the Cold War, the United States attempted to maintain friendly relations with the Communist nations comprising the Eastern Bloc, but with no other Soviet satellite was the relationship as close as it was with Romania. No other member nation of the Warsaw Pact took to the United States’ overtures so eagerly. Diplomatic relations between the United States and the Romanian Communist government were established relatively early, almost immediately following the end of the Second World War. However, it was not until 1968, when Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu denounced the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, that the …

“A Crime Too Terrible For Contemplation:” Samuel Ralph Harlow And Missionary Influence On The History Of The Responsibility To Protect, Shelby Kendrick

Senior Honors Theses

As a prominent and influential missionary in Turkey in the early 20th century, Samuel Ralph Harlow offers a new perspective that should be included in historical literature on foreign missionaries and human rights. Through his correspondence and academic works, Harlow’s story unveils internal conflict among United States officials and missionaries in regard to Turkish treatment of Greeks and Armenians in the interwar period. Samuel Ralph Harlow represents the position in support of American intervention to rescue Greeks and Armenians from massacre and deportation, but as his superiors’ views on the matter changed, Harlow was silenced. The U.S. may have decided …

The Politics Of Peace For Vietnam: The Paris Peace Conference 1972/1973, Jonathan Lumpkin

Senior Honors Theses

The 1972 Paris Peace Talks between Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho brought the American involvement in the Vietnam War to a close by early 1973. The main sticking points theretofore were stipulations in draft cease-fire agreements allowing Northern troops to remain in the South and the National Liberation Front's participation in South Vietnam's government. President of South Vietnam Nguyen Van Thieu adamantly opposed both proposed stipulations lest his power be diluted. Thus, Kissinger had to broker a diplomatic agreement between Thieu and Le Duc Tho which was acceptable to US foreign policy viz. “peace with honor.”

Jlia 3:1 - The Future Of International Criminal Justice

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

No abstract provided.

Learning From Our Mistakes: The Belfast Project Litigation And The Need For The Supreme Court To Recognize An Academic Privilege In The United States, Kathryn L. Steffen

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

Through the Belfast Project, researchers sponsored by Boston College began to compile an oral history of the period of violent political conflict in Northern Ireland known as “The Troubles” in a series of interviews. The interviewees’ participation in the project was conditioned on a strict promise of confidentiality. However, when authorities in the United Kingdom became suspicious that the interviews contained evidence of criminal activity, the United Kingdom, pursuant to a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty, requested the United States to subpoena the materials on its behalf. Satisfaction of the subpoena would mean not only turning over the interview recordings, but …

National Security And The Protection Of Constitutional Liberties: How The Foreign Terrorist Organization List Satisfies Procedural Due Process, Aaron Schwartz

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

Foreign terrorist organizations pose a real and constantly evolving threat to U.S. national security. The Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) List seeks to temper that threat by extending the U.S. government an effective legal tool to identify and sanction members of terrorist organizations and those who support them. At the same time, however, the government must also ensure that its efforts to protect U.S. citizens do not trample constitutionally protected rights. This comment begins by exploring the FTO List's authorizing legislation and the policy and goals of that legislation. The comment then reviews and analyzes a series of cases discussing the …

Third Time’S The Charm: Will Basel Iii Have A Measurable Impact On Limiting Future Financial Turmoil?, Erin Pentz

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

The Great Recession of 2008 caused banking failures around the globe. The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision responded swiftly to create new minimum capital requirements for financial institutions in hopes of preventing additional failures and warding off future crises. Although the new capital standards that Basel III proposes are a step in the right direction, those standards alone will not be sufficient to prevent future bank failures in times of economic decline. Rather, true financial sector stability requires adequate capitalization of all institutions in terms of quality and quantity of capital, a strong regulatory framework, and a limitation on the …