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Child Soldiers: Solutions From A Humanistic Lens, Ursula Wylan

Master's Theses

This paper examines the issue of Child Soldiers using case studies of three conflicts in which children were found fighting. The paper also looks at the CSPA and the Presidential waiver of four countries by President Obama.

Muslim Women And The West: Faith, Feminism, And The Quest For Gender Equality, Kelly Haller

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

For centuries the West has seen the Muslim woman as an entire group of people in need of saving. Lacking a thorough understanding of Islam and an incredibly diverse Middle Eastern society, Western powers endeavored to shape women of the Middle East into secular, modern examples of "liberated" women. Completely unacknowledged in this pursuit are the grass roots movements that emerged out of nationalist movements in the early twentieth century. An attempt to understand why the West is so incredibly fascinated by Muslim is undertaken in this scholarly pursuit. Additionally, a case study on the nation of Egypt shows not …

Chinese Lessons From Other People’S Wars, Andrew Scobell, David Lai, Roy Kamphausen

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

The 12th annual Carlisle Conference on the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) took place at the U.S. Army War College, in Pennsylvania October 22-24, 2010. The topic for this year’s conference was the PLA’s lessons from other people’s wars. Participants at the conference sought to discern what lessons the PLA has been learning from the strategic and operational experiences of the armed forces of other countries during the past three decades.

Yugoslavia's Churches Squeezed Between East And West During The Cold War, Paul Mojzes

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Yugoslavia’s faithful adherence to the Soviet Bloc ended in 1948 when the famous Stalin-Tito split gradually sent Yugoslavia onto its own separate socialist path and subsequently led to the policy of active non-alignment between the military blocs. This ideological policy change delineates two very distinct stages for the position of the churches. From 1945 to 1948 Yugoslavia was under strong Soviet influence and followed a Stalinist model of suppression of all religions. The Serbian Orthodox Church was able to maintain its traditional affinity to the Russian Orthodox Church but of little benefit to either Church. The Catholics and Protestants were …

Do "Iron Curtains" Happen More Than Once?, Dr. William Yoder

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

"Two separations significant for World Christendom commemorated their 50th birthdays on 13 August: the construction of the Berlin Wall and the splitting up of the “All-Union Council of Evangelical Christians-Baptists”. On 18 August, in one of two major Russian-language commentaries on the second event, Moscow’s Mikhail Cherenkov celebrated in the news service “Protestant” the maverick and courageous spirit of the underground, “Initiativniki” Baptist movement. He described them as a “mighty spiritual” and “radical reformist” movement and exclaimed: No one could have expected that an “anti-church directive” put out by the All-Union Council could “invoke such massive resistance on the local-church …

Tom Holland, The Forge Of Christendom: The End Of Days And The Epic Rise Of The West., Laina Farhat-Holzman

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

The Morality Of Humanitarian Interventions, Per Bauhn

International Dialogue

In this paper I develop an argument to the effect that humanitarian moral interventions, far from being inconsistent with the normative framework of just war, fit in very well with the justifying conditions of this framework. The argument develops by considering three objections against humanitarian military interventions, emanating from just war criteria. The criteria in question are just authority, just cause, and non-combatant immunity. It will be argued that while just authority logically depends on just cause and has no independent argumentative force of its own, the criterion of just cause should be understood to include a defence of human …

Jihadis And The Use Of The Terms Terrorism And Terrorist, Aaron Zelin

Re-visioning Terrorism

Previous studies on the usage of the terms terror, terrorist, and terrorism have taken a Western perspective on how these terms should be defined and then deployed, but the viewpoint of the “terrorist” (in this case jihadis) has yet to be examined. This study analyzes how jihadis understand these terms and critically assesses their interpretation based on classical Islamic doctrine. The basis and “proof” for jihadis’ legitimization of using terror is based upon the Qur’anic verse 8:60, but when taken into context and traditional understanding, jihadis miss the mark. Yet, at the same time, when exploring the linguistic root for …

The Effect Of Communism On The Work Of The Protestant Churches In Bulgaria, Margarita Todorova

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Are Small And Medium States Superior To Large? The Role A State’S Size Plays In Regional Integration, Jerome Marston

Josef Korbel Journal of Advanced International Studies

This study examines the relationship between a state’s size and regional integration. Specifically, this study empirically focuses on whether a particular size of state plays a disproportionate role in establishing regional institutions. This paper undertakes research in an attempt to settle a dispute that has arisen within the literature. Expressly, whether it is small, medium, or large states that encourage regional integration and furthermore whether the former two in fact resist the latter’s attempts to do so. In an effort to resolve this debate, the paper explores critical time periods in the establishment of the European Union and MERCOSUR. This …

Town-Gown Relations At Providence College: Perspectives And Interactions Between Students And The Local Community, Joe Paola

Global Studies Student Scholarship

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze and comment on the relationships that exist between Providence College students and the local Smith Hill‐Elmhurst community. In conducting my research I concentrated mainly on the nuanced perceptions that the students and the local residents have of each other. My main interest was to see how the students defined themselves in relation to the outside community, and in discovering how much their relationship is based upon these perceptions. At the same time, I also aimed to find out what the locals’ opinions were on the place of the students; namely, if they …

Ground Zero: Tourism, Terrorism, And Global Imagination, Maxwell E. Loos

International Studies Honors Projects

At Ground Zero, the transnational phenomena of tourism and terrorism intersect.  In this thesis, I introduce the concept of global imagination, and analyze how tourism and terrorism affect this process of global imagination for Americans, arguing that tourism plays an important role in constructing a globe, while terrorism – particularly the 9/11 attacks – works to interrupt imaginative process itself.  I then explore how tourism of terrorism at Ground Zero influences global imagination, containing the events of 9/11, allowing for the construction of only a very specific globe in which the U.S. is an innocent, benevolent actor in world history.

Under The Surface: The United States’ Failure To Effectively Communicate And Gain Credibility With Iraqis, Julia Dunlea

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

In the short term, the United States negatively impacted the relationships among the Sunnis, Shiites, and Kurds. The United States’ lack of communication and credibility led to this negative impact. Six variables: the United States’ lack of knowledge about Iraq, the preexisting anti-western political culture, removal of local elites and army, inadequate media outreach, impact on reactionary violence, and the inability to fulfill all their promises to the Iraqi population expanded problems in credibility and communication. Although the United States brought democracy to Iraq by enforcing equality for Shiites and Kurds, and expanding Kurdish autonomy in the north, this lack …

Media Bias In Covering The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: With A Case Study Of Bbc Coverage And Its Foundation Of Impartiality, Gerard Mctigue

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

In 2009 I began a long process of researching allegations made against the British Broadcasting Corporation and its media coverage of the Israeli Palestinian Conflict. Stemming from courses on European society and politics as well as a summer program examining the British Government’s relationship with the media, I took an immediate interest in the BBC. I was then fortunate enough to know a professor from abroad who worked with the BBC and through his connections I was able to interview a plethora of employees from the Corporation.

The former correspondent from Jerusalem, the Editor of BBC Online Middle East, an …

Impact Of Sanctions And Isolation Measurement With North Korea, Burma/Myanmar, Iran And Zimbabwe As Case Studies, Clara Portela

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The present study explores how the introduction of targeted sanctions has transformed the practice of international organisations, looking at the examples of North Korea, Burma/Myanmar, Iran and Zimbabwe.

Although the ultimate effectiveness of the individual sanctions measures can hardly be ascertained, not least due to their co-existence with unilateral sanctions proactively enforced by the US, the analysis demonstrates that the character of sanctions measures, and the changing nature of the international system, has put the use of sanctions and isolation measures in different terms than was the case just a couple of decades ago.

While it is beyond the scope …

1983: The Most Dangerous Year, Andrew R. Garland

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

A series of otherwise unrelated events culminated to make 1983 the most dangerous year the world has ever known, with the United States and the Soviet Union even closer to war than during the much more well-known events of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. The crisis of 1983 arose from a sequence of accidents, misunderstandings, and mistakes. From highly publicized events such as President Ronald Reagan‘s application of morality to foreign policy to the Soviet Union‘s attempt to discover NATO‘s secret attack plans, an extraordinary confluence of events brought the two superpowers closer to nuclear exchange than is commonly believed. …

A New Socialist World In Latin America?, Dana R. Ramos

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

During the last decade, the left-turn, or pink tide, in Latin America has caused many scholars to seek to explain what has fueled the political gains of leftist parties in this region. One of the main challenges is to try and define what constitutes a leftist party or a left agenda. There is a wide spectrum when it comes to classifying left-right placement ideologies and the distinction may be based on both economic and social values' differences. This study will examine a number of competing theories concerning left-right placement of three case studies: Bolivia, Venezuela, and Colombia. These three case …

South African Jews And How The History Of The Aparthied Has Effected The Community’S Relationship To The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Julia Berner-Tobin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research paper is centered on the question “how does the history of the Apartheid effect South African Jews relationship to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?” Four South African Jews from different parts of the Jewish community were interviewed. Blogs and newspaper articles were also analyzed. The participants were asked about their personal stories. They were asked about their relationship to Israel and Palestine, their visits there, whether or not they see a comparison between the Apartheid regime and the Israeli government. Participants were also asked to comment on the current climate of the South African Jewish community and the issues that …

Endangered Heritage And Emergent Ogogo: A Case Study Of The “Ulwazi Programme”, Emily Kwong

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Kwesukesukela, or “a long time ago,” there was a beautiful woman who lived by the ocean with her husband and two small children. The woman’s name was Mazanendaba. Although she lived a life full of happiness, Mazanendaba came to realize with time that something important was missing: there were no stories. No stories for mothers and grandmothers to tell their children. No stories to inspire joy and ease sorrow. No stories to enrich the mind and nurture the soul. Determined to find stories in a world without any, Mazanendaba left her beloved home in search of a new story to …

Afghanistan And The Anglo-Russian Dispute (1885), Theophilus F. Rodenbough

Digitized Afghanistan Materials in English from the Arthur Paul Afghanistan Collection

An account of Russia's advance toward India, based upon the reports and experiences of Russian, German, and British officers and travellers; with a description of Afghanistan and of the military resources of the powers concerned

Included are three maps and other illustrations

Lord Curzon In India: 1898-1903 (1903), H. Caldwell Lipsett

Digitized Afghanistan Materials in English from the Arthur Paul Afghanistan Collection

Contents:

Lord Curzon's aims -- Russia, Afghanistan and Persia -- The independent tribes -- The new frontier province -- Famine administration -- Irrigation and railways -- British rule in India -- Miscellaneous reforms -- The best viceroy since Lord Lawrence. Includes an appendix containing Lord Curzon's speech justifying the Delhi Durbar

Developing Countries, Vaccine Access And Influenza Outbreaks: Ethics And Global Health Governance When Facing A Pandemic, Shawn Smallman

International & Global Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

The threat posed by influenza pandemics raises serious ethical issues, as well as questions of global health governance. In order to create pre-pandemic vaccines, global health authorities need access to virus from regional outbreaks. But because the countries where these outbreaks occur are unlikely to benefit from the vaccine, they are sometimes reluctant to share this seed stock, and may try to make proprietary arrangements with pharmaceutical companies, as briefly occurred in Indonesia. Although these arrangements may increase developing countries' access to vaccine, they hamper the global cooperation necessary to prepare for influenza outbreaks. Developing countries, in contrast, point to …

Book Review, Laina Farhat-Holzman, Isaac Tseggai, Norman C. Rothman, Anthony M. Stevens-Arroyo

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

The Immigrant Experience: Mexico And Central America To The United States, Shannon R. Nelson

Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

U.S. Foreign Policy In Lebanon: Adapting To Regional Threats Today And Promoting Stability For The Future, Robert Michael Shelala Ii

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since the 1800s, the United States has sought to advance its interests in what currently exists as the Lebanese Republic. This assessment will look at the shape that policy has taken since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war in the context of historical relations. After doing so, three questions will be addressed: What have been the policies of Iran and Syria toward Lebanon during this time period, how effective has U.S. policy been since 2006 in undermining Iranian and Syrian influence and what policies should the United States adopt to offset future destabilizing influence from these countries. It is concluded that the …

The Limitations Of Governance Indicators In Relation To Post-Disaster Recovery, Susan C. Paganelli

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Catastrophic natural disasters remain a constant and recurring mortal threat to people around the world. Since prevention of the events themselves is impossible, it is important to examine those factors which can reduce the loss of life and enable successful recovery. We intuitively expect good governance to be one of these factors. This paper discusses the concepts of governance and long-term disaster recovery and the difficulties inherent in numerically capturing these qualities. It explores the correlation between governance indicators and three development and economic measurements of recovery. Three case studies are used to qualitatively and anecdotally address the topic.

Book Review: Mao Zedong And China In The Twentieth-Century World, Jeremy Tai

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Mao Zedong may no longer be the sublime object of desire in China, but in recent decades his image has been continuously invoked and consumed in countless guises – both familiar and new – ranging from pop art portraits to the ubiquitous face of Chinese banknotes, from Cultural Revolution kitsch to the ObaMao souvenirs currently found in tourist traps around China. The reproduction of Mao in his various postmodern manifestations suggests a loss of meaning and depoliticization; at the same time, however, the deep-seated clash between sentimental and polemical cultural representations also makes clear that there is still much at …

Paul Timmermans On Invisible War: The United States And The Iraq Sanctions. By Joy Gordon. Cambridge, Ma: Harvard University Press, 2010. 359 Pp., Paul Timmermans

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Invisible War: The United States and the Iraq Sanctions. By Joy Gordon. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2010. 359 pp.

Security Now: Addressing The Needs Of Darfur’S Children, Nicole Judd

Human Rights & Human Welfare

In the Darfur region of Sudan, over 2.3 million children have been affected by the ongoing genocide (UNICEF 2008). Unlike their adult counterparts, children are impacted more severely by the consequences of warfare as they are undergoing a fragile developmental process. While each one of the affected children has had their basic human rights violated in some form, the narrative of trauma differs between groups. Sexually-exploited girls, boy soldiers, unaccompanied children, and those who remain in under-resourced camps have experienced the protracted violence in unique ways. To mitigate the effects of war, each group should receive individualized humanitarian assistance as …

The Path To Prosperity In Afghanistan And Central Asia: Obstacles At The Crossroads, Owen Lloyd

Global Tides

Despite America’s lengthy nation-building project in Afghanistan, many Afghans still lack the basic resources and security necessary for a viable nation. Furthermore, the insecurity in Afghanistan is increasingly spilling over into their neighbors, stressing an already fragile region. While we in the West have largely forgotten Afghanistan, its neighbors look on with trepidation as they prepare for potential unrest. With vast amounts of natural resources and increased competition between the Russians and Chinese over the region, Afghanistan and its insecurity could lead to continued Central Asian economic and political stagnation. Despite the dangers in failure, inconsistent action and a destabilizing …