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The Messy Nuclear Landscape: Using Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping To Explore Plausible Nuclear Disarmament Scenarios, Ryan M. Nixon

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Nuclear weapons are seemingly permanent fixtures in international relations. Although nuclear abolitionists and actors within the Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have taken significant steps towards designing a world without nuclear weapons, the longstanding realist logic that suggests nuclear disarmament is nonviable has born more fruit. On the other hand, some proponents of realism have suggested global nuclear disarmament is feasible, given that certain international instabilities are stabilized and that special care is taken during diplomatic negotiations. This presents an opportunity to test these predictions using fuzzy cognitive mapping, a computational modeling technique that identifies …

From Talons To Tweets: Analyzing The Influence Of Information And Communication Technology On Diplomacy, Austin F. Hayes

Tenor of Our Times

As countries embrace innovative technologies, thus increasing the speed of interstate communication, the overall nature of interactions between states is changing. Consequently, core diplomatic structures are shifting from the private realm to the public sphere. I argue that Information Communication Technology (ICT) is the major agent of this shift. Less distance between electorates and diplomatic agents due to ICT allows the public to more directly influence international diplomacy. By studying the impact of the telegraph, telephone, Internet, etc., this study examines ICT’s influence on diplomacy, contending that the trend toward an increased dependence on technology will mark another pivotal moment …

Between Hagiography And Wounded Attachment: Raphaël Lemkin And The Study Of Genocide, Benjamin Meiches, Jeff Benvenuto

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

In this article, we outline the significance of the special issue on the scholarship of Raphaël Lemkin. We argue that genocide scholars tend to identify with one of three different types of Lemkin scholarship. Each of the articles for the special issue challenges these genres in an effort to extend the study of genocide in new directions. Moreover, we contend that this work suggests that genocide scholars should endeavor to extend the study of genocide beyond Lemkin's vision and writings.

Command Decision: Ethical Leadership In The Information Environment, Keir Giles Mr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

This monograph considers how a classical challenge that commanders face in war—namely, making critical decisions on the basis of limited and often unreliable information—has been exacerbated in the era of big data. Data overload complicates the intelligence community’s efforts to identify and exclude disinformation, misinformation, and deception, and thus hampers its ability to deliver reliable intelligence to inform decision-makers in a timely manner. The military commander remains responsible for making a final decision, yet the great wealth of data now available through the intelligence cycle amplifies the risk of decision paralysis. With this in mind, technological solutions tend to be …

Humanitarian Negotiations & Humanitarian Principles: The Interaction Between Humanitarian Negotiations For Access And Organizations' Ability To Adhere To Humanitarian Principles, Gabriela Gil

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Aim: To examine how do humanitarian organizations apply, or fail to apply, the humanitarian principles through humanitarian negotiations in modern conflict settings.

Methods: A literature review identified relevant peer-reviewed and grey literature on international humanitarian norms and law, the landscape of modern conflict, and existing guidelines on humanitarian negotiations. Five semi-structured interviews were conducted with experts in humanitarian negotiations chosen on the basis of their relevant background. A coded analysis of these interviews was conducted to identify major themes and subthemes in responses.

Background: Multiple international mechanisms outline the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence and States, non-State …

Moving Away From The West Or Taking Independent Positions: A Structural Analysis For The New Turkish Foreign Policy, Suleyman Senturk

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This paper focuses on understanding and explaining the change of Turkish foreign policy,particularly in the last decade. Many observers have expressed a suspicion that Turkey is abandoning its Western-centric alignment and gradually shifting its axis. The thesis argues that rather than a shift, Turkey is taking an independent position. It maintains that the end of the Cold War and the change in the international structure from bipolarity to unipolarity has provided incentives for countries with some degree of material capabilities to pursue independence from the U.S. policy preferences. This study analyses structural effects on the behavior of Turkey.

Later it …

An Exploration Of Iranian Use Of Gray Zones And Their Deterrence, Lauren Zimmerman, Amanda Urick

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Iran, being the religious minority in the Middle East, has begun to extend its reach outside of its borders by influencing the stability of other states within the region. They have been utilizing their economic revenue to fund terrorist organizations and cyber capabilities to threaten free use of the internet in the Middle East. Iran is the world's most active state sponsor of terrorism, but how do we deter them? Our paper will explore the history of deterring Iran and future possibilities.

The Financial Sector’S Vulnerabilities, Villains, And Options For Defense, John T. Harvey

Military Cyber Affairs

The consequences of cyber attacks on the financial sector go well beyond those suffered by the individuals and firms directly involved and may even lead to the destabilization of the system itself. The concern is all the greater given that banks and similar institutions play a much more critical role than most people realize and the nature of their operation already invites risk taking at the best of times. Bad actors hoping to sow chaos surely understand the trouble they could cause by targeting the financial underpinning of our economy. This paper will argue that while the cyber defense of …

Regaining The Technological Edge: Authoritarians, Democracies, It Innovation’S Future, Andrea Little Limbago

Military Cyber Affairs

No abstract provided.

Countering "Made In China 2025": Strategy For Western Powers In A Cybered World, David Mussington

Military Cyber Affairs

No abstract provided.

H-Diplo Article Review 831- Field Jr. On D’Haeseleer. “American Civic Action: The National Campaign Plan And The Failure To Win ‘Hearts And Minds’ In El Salvador.”, Thomas Field

Publications

The author - Dr. Thomas Field - reviews Brian D’Haeseleer's article “American Civic Action: The National Campaign Plan and the Failure to Win ‘Hearts and Minds’ in El Salvador.” This article appeared in Diplomacy and Statecraft, issue 26:3 (2015), on pages 494-513. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09592296.2015.1067527.

Afghanistan: The Crossroads Of Conflicting Regional Interests, Sabera Azizi

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Despite 45 years of conflict, violence still thrives unwaveringly in Afghanistan. In a war charged with ambitious domestic actors and destructive regional states, peace is nowhere in sight in Afghanistan. The interaction between the actors of a conflict play a significant role in shaping the course of a war. Likewise, the interaction between the Taliban and Afghanistan’s regional states play an important role in intensifying the war. How are regional actors emboldening the Taliban? What roles do hostile regional states play in the Afghan war? This paper answers these questions by unprecedentedly identifying and examining all of the regional states …

The Venezuelan Crisis Within The Context Of Us Interventions In Latin America, Gloria D. Bravo

2019 Symposium

Venezuela, due to economic and political sabotage, has been experiencing a humanitarian crisis since the late part of 2018. This oil-exporting nation was faced with economic decline after 9/11, the 2008 economic recession and again in 2014; as a result of oil prices tanking. Under Cesar Chavez’s presidency the Venezuelan Bolivar faced destabilizing inflation rates surged in part by the ‘economic war’ against private enterprise and the bourgeoisie class, as well as a lack of diversification of exports and a dependency on imported goods. After Chavez's death in 2013, Nicolás Maduro took office and social unrest intensified.

Since 2014:

• Over …

When Do Ties Bind? Foreign Fighters, Social Embeddedness, And Combatant Repertoires Of Behavior During Civil War, Pauline Luz Moore

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

How does the extent to which rebel organizations are embedded into local conflict contexts - i.e. the extent to which they "fit in" or "stand out" from local populations - affect their behavior on and off the battlefield during civil war? This dissertation examines why rebel group propensities to engage in governance and violence during war vary at the macro and microlevels of analysis and uses as its point of departure the presence of foreign fighters in the ranks of rebel groups engaged in civil war. I employ a cross-national analysis of insurgencies from 1989-2011, and also conduct a theory-testing …

The Us Army In The Iraq War Volume 2 Surge And Withdrawal 2007-2011, Joel D. Rayburn Col, Frank K. Sobchak Col

Articles & Editorials

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of Obstacles To Peace Between Iran And Israel, Emily M. Aspinwall

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The history of confrontation and cooperation between Iran and Israel is a volatile sequence. With the transformative impact of the 1979 Iranian Revolution on Iranian leadership and ideology, as well as Israel’s metamorphosis from a newly independent state to a regional rival, there is much to unpack in this relationship. From regime changes to nationalistic awakenings, Iran and Israel’s conflict is comprised of infinite layers brimming with historical and political implications. For the past 70 years, Iran and Israel’s diplomatic relationship has encountered numerous shifts, thus forming an axis of hostility, regional contention, and damaging rhetoric. This research analyzes the …

Female Militarization And Women's Rights: A Case Study Of The Peshmerga And Ypj, Margaret Morgan

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Since 2012, there has been an increase of media attention on the Kurds, particularly women who are active in the YPJ and Peshmerga. Various publications have equated women's militarization with women's liberation. In an effort to more accurately measure this, the following question must be asked; what is the effect of women's military involvement on women's rights? Women that are active in both nationalist movements and traditional state armies are presented with changing gender roles. Post conflict, there is a struggle for women to transfer their newfound autonomy into political activism. The theory outlines a chain in which women participate …

Pro-Government Militias And The Legacy Of Military Rule In Latin America, Alexander Mendelsohn

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Currently Latin America experiences a phenomenon of widely varying levels of violence across the region. Many countries, such as El Salvador and Honduras, have exceptionally high murder rates upwards of 40 homicides per 100,000 people (UNODC 2015). Other countries, such as Uruguay and Argentina, have relatively low rates, below 10 homicides per 100,000 people (UNODC 2015). I believe this variation stems from the use of pro-government militias specifically employed in the past by military governments as tools of suppression. Under the guise of combating subversive elements within their countries, these groups were used to silence and repress those who opposed …

นโยบายต่างประเทศไทย : การสมัครเข้าเป็นสมาชิกองค์การสหประชาชาติ (1945-1946), ธนชัย นิสยันต์

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

สารนิพนธ์ฉบับนี้ศึกษาการสมัครเข้าเป็นสมาชิกองค์การสหประชาชาติของประเทศไทยในปี 1946 ความเป็นสมาชิกภาพขององค์การสหประชาชาติช่วยในการดำรงสถานะความเป็นรัฐเอกราชของประเทศไทยในช่วงสงครามโลก ดังจะเห็นได้ว่า ประเทศไทยไม่เป็นรัฐ ผู้แพ้สงครามโลกครั้งที่ 2 เช่น ในกรณีของประเทศเยอรมนีและประเทศญี่ปุ่น ผลจากการแพ้สงครามทำให้ทั้งสองประเทศดังกล่าวถูกยึดครองโดยฝ่ายสัมพันธมิตร แต่ประเทศไทยไม่ถูกกระทำเช่นนั้น นอกจากนี้ความเป็นสมาชิกภาพขององค์การสหประชาชาติยังช่วยเปลี่ยนแปลง ภาพลักษณ์ของประเทศไทยจากความเป็นพันธมิตรที่ใกล้ชิดกับประเทศญี่ปุ่นในช่วงสงครามอีกด้วย

The Influence Of Jacksonian Tradition Toward Trump's Trade War Against China., Putdhikorn Kasemphaibulsuk

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This Individual Study examines how the Jacksonian tradition influences Trump’s trade war against China between 2018 to 2020. The Jacksonian tradition emphasizes the importance of the government and its role as a protector of people, culture, and identity of the United States. This research argues that the US foreign policy and the US domestic affairs are intertwined and influenced by the Jacksonian tradition. The domestic source that is responsible for the upsurge of Jacksonian tradition and the Trade War can be linked to the resentment of the political elitists and their upper-class bubbles who Jacksonian supporters are suspicious of. Jacksonian …

Bernard Fall And Vietnamese Revolutionary Warfare In Indochina, Nathaniel Lawson Moir

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

What accounts for Bernard Fall’s understanding and description of Vietnamese Revolutionary Warfare in Indochina? How did formative experiences during and after the Second World War actuate Fall’s thought on the political nature of warfare in Indochina? What distinguished Fall’s thought on revolutionary warfare from others? Bernard Fall and Vietnamese Revolutionary Warfare in Indochina addresses these questions through an intellectual history and contextual biography of Bernard Fall’s scholarship on the First and Second Indochina Wars. Bernard Fall, an authority on Vietnamese history, society, and the First Indochina War, began to explain in 1957 that subsequent war in Vietnam could not be …

The Hot And The Cold : A Historical Explanation For Russia's And America's Contrasting Foreign Policy Approaches To The Arctic, Joshua Newman Caldon

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This dissertation explains how and why Russia has expanded its sphere of influence in the Arctic and why the United States has not assertively balanced this expansion. In doing so, I show that regional spheres of influence are historically and socially constructed. While material and security concerns motivate state behavior, I show that states also develop institutions, identities and interests that influence their relationships with each other and cause them to approach regions in different ways that are not readily explained by realist or liberal assumptions of how international relations should work.

Open Secrets, Congressional Oversight, And The Geopolitics Of The Cia Drone Program, Marita C. Murphy

Theses and Dissertations--Geography

Analyzing four congressional hearings that publicly discuss the CIA’s ‘secret’ drone program, this thesis considers the interaction between publicity and secrecy in facilitating practices of later-modern warfare. Specifically, I examine the content of these drone hearings within the broader context of leaks, Obama administration speeches, and public interest in CIA drones to better understand how open secrecy engages with public oversight. I argue these hearings are deceptively productive. While they largely fail as oversight events, the hearings facilitate numerous unexpected outcomes—including the normalization and entrenchment of the CIA drone program. Paradoxically then, publicity proves essential to the maintenance and acceptance …

The New Cold War: Geostrategic Rivalry And A Return To Political Warfare, Mason Connor Shuya

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The current geopolitical climate is one which has seen a renewed state of tensions in the relationship between the United States and the Russian Federation dating to 2014 and Russia's annexation of Ukrainian territory. This current state of geopolitical tensions has led many to question: are we in a state of New Cold War today? If so, today's Cold War may be defined by the advancement of cyber capabilities and the use of propaganda and misinformation. How will this be the defining factor in the New Cold War? Through a comprehensive DIME analysis of the Russian Federation, the United States, …

The Role Of The Economic Community Of West African States In Counterinsurgency And Conflict Resolution, Muhammed Touray

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

From 1991 to 2002, the Sierra Leone government and the Revolutionary United Front waged war against each other, subjecting Sierra Leone to a civil war. This war devastated the nation and resulted in many human casualties. Although many researchers have investigated the role of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in counterinsurgency and conflict resolution, few studies have been conducted on the specific role of strategic processing tools used by ECOWAS during the Sierra Leone war to sustain a durable peace resolution in the country. Using Galula's conceptualization of counterinsurgency and conflict resolution as a guide, the purpose …

The Use Of Force: Hard Offensive Counterterrorism, Daniel Thomas

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

In the following research, I investigate whether hard offensive counterterrorism results in the failure or success of a counterterrorism strategy. In the second chapter, the academic literature of counterterrorism strategies is examined. Next, a hypothesis is put forth that if a hard offensive counterterrorism strategy is utilized, indicators such as high troop levels, more civilian casualties, more negative public opinion, and an increased rate of terrorism, will point to a failed counterterrorism strategy. Then, I put forth a methodology to test the hypothesis while introducing troop level databases, various public opinion polling sources, and terrorist attack databases to investigate the …

(Un)Safe Zones: Good Intentions, Bad Logic, Emma Henson

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis aims to explore the disconnect between calls for safe zones as a tool of humanitarian intervention, and the dark history of safe zone failure. This thesis begins with a brief discussion of current calls for safe zones in Syria, and how a proper theoretical framework and historical understanding are needed to discuss whether or not safe zones can be successfully implemented in Syria. The following literature review discusses not only prominent academic arguments and the history of humanitarian intervention, but it suggests a framework for deconstructing case studies. This framework looks first at the interests of an intervening …

Evolving Conceptions Of Sovereignty As Applied To Membership In International Organizations, Luke C. Radice

CMC Senior Theses

In the current international climate, both nations and individuals increasingly question both the validity and necessity of international organizations. This paper seeks to answer some of those questions, and to determine why countries choose to surrender significant portions of the national power that they are afforded under traditional perceptions of “Westphalian sovereignty”. This question is answered through an analysis of historical political thought on the concept of Sovereignty, then is applied to two case studies: the United Nations and the European Union, in which the benefits and downsides of surrendering sovereignty are discussed. Ultimately, this thesis concludes that the concept …

State Capacity And Terrorism In The Developing World, Coty J. Martin

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

What are the most influential factors to the rise of terrorist groups in the developing world? From Nigeria to Indonesia, various groups have conducted devastating attacks, against fellow citizens and international visitors. Hendrix and Young (2014) find military capacity may encourage the use of terrorism while bureaucratic measures depress them. Further investigation into underlying catalysts for mobilization is required before we can explain the rise in activity of terrorist organizations in these regions. I expect as measures of military capacity increase that terrorism increases while increases in administrative capacity reduce terrorist activity. I also expect indirect factors such as repressive …

บทบาทของเกาหลีใต้กับปัญหานิวเคลียร์บนคาบสมุทรเกาหลี ระหว่างปีค.ศ.2000-2018, บุษยพรรณ ลิ้มยิ่งเจริญ

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

วิทยานิพนธ์ฉบับนี้ มุ่งศึกษาบทบาทของเกาหลีใต้ในการแก้ไขปัญหานิวเคลียร์บนคาบสมุทรเกาหลี ในระหว่าง ค.ศ. 2000 - 2018 โดยต้องการตอบคำถามว่า เกาหลีใต้ มีบทบาทอย่างไรในการแก้ไขปัญหานิวเคลียร์เกาหลีเหนือ และนโยบายที่เกาหลีใต้เลือกใช้ต้องเผชิญกับปัญหาและอุปสรรคอย่างไร ทั้งนี้ ผู้วิจัยใช้แนวคิดเรื่องนโยบายผูกมิตรเข้าหา (engagement policy) มาเป็นกรอบในการศึกษาบทบาทของเกาหลีใต้ในการดำเนินนโยบายต่อเกาหลีเหนือ ตลอด 5 ยุคสมัยของประธานาธิบดี ได้แก่ คิมแดจุง (ค.ศ. 1998 - 2003) โนมูฮยอน (ค.ศ. 2003 - 2008) อีมยองบัค (ค.ศ. 2008 - 2013) พัคกึนฮเย (ค.ศ. 2013 - 2017) และมูนแจอิน (ค.ศ. 2017 - ปัจจุบัน) ข้อเสนอหลักของการศึกษาวิจัยพบว่า ประธานาธิบดีทั้ง 5 ท่าน ใช้นโยบายผูกมิตรเข้าหาเป็นนโยบายหลักเพื่อจัดการปัญหาเกาหลีเหนือ แต่ใช้คนละรูปแบบ และมีระดับของการผูกมิตรเข้าหาเกาหลีเหนือแตกต่างกัน ซึ่งกลายเป็นตัวแปรปัจจัยภายในที่เป็นอุปสรรคต่อการดำเนินนโยบายของเกาหลีใต้เอง โดยในสมัยประธานาธิบดีฝ่ายหัวก้าวหน้า จะใช้นโยบายผูกมิตรเข้าหาในลักษณะที่เป็นมิตรกับเกาหลีเหนือมากกว่าสมัยประธานาธิบดีจากฝ่ายอนุรักษ์นิยม นอกจากนี้ ยังมีตัวแปรปัจจัยภายนอกที่เป็นอุปสรรคต่อการดำเนินนโยบายของเกาหลีใต้ ได้แก่ การดำเนินนโยบายของสหรัฐฯ ซึ่งเป็นมหาอำนาจและคู่กรณีหลักในประเด็นปัญหานี้ และนโยบายนิวเคลียร์ของเกาหลีเหนือ ซึ่งมีบทบาทหลักในสถานการณ์นิวเคลียร์บนคาบสมุทรเกาหลี