Digital Commons Network^™

Challenging Tunisia’S Homogenous Arabness:Post-Revolutionary Civil Society Activismfor The ‘Invisible’ Tunisian Amazigh, Xavier A. Torres De Janon

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The 2010-11 Tunisian revolution brought to the forefront of the country an explosion of activism and organizing from civil society, including multiple voices urging for the defense, protection and/or recognition of Tunisian ‘minorities.’ An unprecedented Amazigh (pl. Imazighen, the indigenous population of North Africa) wave of activism from individuals and organizations appeared in the public sphere of the country, a population systematically denied and marginalized by the Tunisian dictatorships and society emboldened to stand up for their rights and challenge the status quo. In the post-revolutionary context of thispseudo-homogenous North African country, dominated by a strong Arab/Islamic ideology since independence, …

Moral Inscriptions: Politics And The Rhetoric Of Responsibility, Steven Pludwin

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation advances two interrelated claims. First, I examine the concept of responsibility and show how it operates as a rhetorical form that mediates a large segment of political life. Framing responsibility as a distinctly political problem, I argue that it functions to produce, discipline and govern subjects as well as legislate forms of identity, difference and community. Second, I argue that the definitional space of responsibility is not sacred, but contested. It is within this contested space that political battles regarding how we ought to understand the world and what it means to live in common with others plays …

The Egyptian Uprising And April 6th Youth Movement Split, Somaia Metwalli El Sayed

Theses and Dissertations

Few months after the Egyptian uprising, a considerable number of April 6th Youth movement announced their split. Knowing that the movement was already suffering from internal disputes over a number of issues, the research problem is centered on questioning whether and how the uprising played a role in such incident. Academic scholarship on social movements developed partial and action-oriented theories to explain different processes and dynamics of movement’s collective action. However, little work has been done on the trajectory of social movements in the Middle East, especially after radical forms of change as revolutions, uprisings or upheavals. It is argued …

Religion Is Not The Answer: How To Turn Restlessness Into Meaningful Change - The Egyptian Conundrum, Alain C. Seckler

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The situation in Egypt and elsewhere in parts of the Arab world is to some extent reminiscent of the situation that prevailed before 1914 in Europe, where a motley array of unharnessed popular micronationalisms (today, instrumentalized religious fervor) combined with big power politics and interests and led to the cataclysm of war. With regard to Egypt, there is also a huge generational gap, with 2/3 of Egypt's population below the age of 35 years. The so-called "solutions" of the past, whether religious or secular, will no longer work if the voice of the young people is not heard by their …

Padania Or Federalism? An Examination Of The Spatial Demands Of Italy's Northern League, Anthony Vincent Pierucci

Theses and Dissertations

This study will analyze what factors affect the oscillation of the spatial demands of ethno-regionalist parties between more moderate and more radical objectives. The factors under examination are electoral, economic, internal organization, and the "other" that the party defines itself against. The study analyzes the relationship between these factors and spatial demands utilizing a case study of the Lega Nord. Ultimately, the study concludes that there is some relation between these factors and the Lega Nord's spatial demands, even if they are not directly causal of the change in spatial demands themselves. The findings also suggest that the generalized findings …

Blood & Iron: An Analysis Of Russia's Annexation Of Crimea, Jimmy Polewaczyk

Washington Semester Program

No abstract provided.

The Immigration Debate In The 2012 Us Presidential Election And The Role Of Rhetoric, Maria Martinez-Mira

Modern Languages & Literatures Articles

November 6, 2012 was Election Day in the United States. It was the day in which the incumbent candidate, Barack Obama, was elected president of the United States for a second term, defeating Republican candidate Mitt Romney. Although the US domestic economy, together with the country's worldwide significance and global role, were the most prominent issues during the campaign in each candidate's political agenda, it was immigration, especially immigration reform, which became a heated topic of discussion for both political parties and their respective presidential candidates. Initially, it did not seem to be the most important issue of the campaign, …

Threatening Others : Nicaraguans And The Formation Of National Identities In Costa Rica, Carlos Sandoval-Garcia

Ohio University Press Open Access Books

During the last two decades, a decline in public investment has undermined some of the national values and institutions of Costa Rica. The resulting sense of dislocation and loss is usually projected onto Nicaraguan “immigrants.”
Threatening Others: Nicaraguans and the Formation of National Identities in Costa Rica explores the representation of the Nicaraguan “other” in the Costa Rican imagery. It also seeks to address more generally why the sense of national belonging constitutes a crucial identification in contemporary societies. Interdisciplinary and based on extensive fieldwork, it looks critically at the “exceptionalism” that Costa Ricans take for granted and view as …

Vision 2020: An Analysis Of Policy Implementation And Agrarian Change In Rural Rwanda, Sterling Recker

Dissertations

In 2000, President Paul Kagame introduced a plan to alleviate poverty as well as to maintain political control over the policy process through a decentralized bureaucracy. Since adoption of Vision 2020 in 2000, Rwanda has been reforming its rural sector to commercialize agriculture, reduce pressures on land, and move the country into middle income status by the year 2020. In order to achieve the goals outlined in Vision 2020, the Government of Rwanda (GoR) adopted a policy of administrative decentralization in 2001 to facilitate the transition from subsistence to commercial agriculture. I am addressing two related questions: 1) How has …

Primary Schooling As Protective And Endangering: The Case Of Education In War-Affected Gulu District, Sarah Gates

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The changing nature of armed conflict in the 21^st century, marked by indiscriminate targeting of civilians, poses severe challenges for the continuation of teaching and learning in war-affected countries. Conflict may affect schooling directly through attacks on students, teachers, and schools, as well as indirectly by affecting individuals' livelihoods, the state's capacity to deliver services, and refugee flows. Further, schools may reflect conflict and violence through oppressive or divisive linguistic policies or curricula, the use of corporal punishment, and sexual violence against students. However, the existing empirical research on the nexus between education and conflict, by focusing on indicators …

A Melting Pot Of Voices: Public Discourse And The Latino Immigrant Experience In The United States, Elizabeth Katherine Vammen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the discourses surrounding the immigrant experience in the United States to reconcile first-hand accounts of Latino immigrant experiences with the discourse prevailing in broader domains such as immigration law, public forums, non-fiction essays, and the news media. In order to break down barriers that prevent productive discussions, this analysis identifies stifling language guised under what Antonio Gramsci defines common sense rather than good sense. At the same time this study aims to deconstruct stifling language, it uses first-hand accounts from Latino immigrants to provide insight as to where the American public is not listening. By analyzing common …

Structural Causes Of Social Conflict In Africa, Lucien Charland

HIM 1990-2015

Social conflict, as opposed to armed conflict, has received less attention in the field of quantitative research. This paper investigates the structural causes of political violence in 35 African states using data from the Social Conflict in Africa dataset and the Beck and Katz panel corrected standard errors time series regression model. Theoretically, a closed political opportunity structure, combined with a weak state unable to provide public goods, should together produce high levels of social conflict. The independent variables attempt to operationalize these concepts from four different angles. In this analysis Access to Education and Infrastructure (AEI), Ethno Linguistic Fractionalization …

The Visible Effects Of An Invisible Constitution: The Contested State Of Transdniestria's Search For Recognition Through International Negotiations, Nadejda Mazur

Maurer Theses and Dissertations

Most scholars agree that modern states share several defining characteristics: a population, territory, government, and the capacity to enter into international relations. More recently, this list has expanded to include the criteria of democracy, the rule of law, and the protection of human rights. These traditional and contemporary criteria for statehood are likewise essential for settling the status of de facto states, entities that seek international recognition yet are rebuffed by the world community.

By examining the criteria for international recognition from the perspective of constitutional law, this dissertation reveals the existing but overlooked relationship between the recognition process and …

Tempering The Resource Curse In Sub-Saharan Africa: An Explanatory Analysis Of The Variance Of The Resource Curse In Nigeria And Botswana, Jody-Ann Suzette Jones

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

The issue of the resource curse has been central to the academic debate since the 1990s. In recent years, we have witnessed a resurgence of the importance of this topic because of the discoveries of oil, natural gas, and other point source resources in several developing countries such as Ghana, Mozambique and Tanzania. It is important to note that while the resource curse is not solely limited to developing states, the main observation is that the majority of negative effects associated with the resource curse primarily afflicts poorer countries, especially those in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is reported that sub-Saharan Africa …

Emerging From The Shadows: Civil War, Human Rights, And Peacebuilding Among Peasants And Indigenous Peoples In Colombia And Peru In The Late 20th And Early 21st Centuries, Charles A. Flowerday

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

Peacebuilding in Colombia and Peru following their late-20^th and early 21^st century civil wars is a challenging proposition. In this study, it becomes necessary as indigenous peoples and peasants resist domination by extractive industries and governments in their thrall. Whether they protest nonviolently or rebel in arms, they are targeted for human-rights violations, especially murder, disappearance and displacement. The armed actors, state, insurgency, paramilitaries or drug traffickers, destroy civic institutions (local or regional government) and the civil (nonprofit) sector and replace them with their own authoritarian versions. Therefore, peacebuilding has emphasized rebuilding civic institutions, civil society and local …

Examining The Role Of Religion In Education And The Effect On Internal Conflict, Christopher Dewayne Harris

Student Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the role of religion in education in an attempt to determine whether it has a pacifying or exacerbating effect on internal conflict. Using data from the Religion and State (RAS) project as well as the International Country Risk Guide, several hypotheses regarding the effect of religious education are tested to examine the relationship between religious education and religious and ethnic tensions and resulting incidences of conflict. Employing cross-sectional times-series analysis, I find that an vigilant emphasis on religious education, particularly in the developing world, has a pacifying effect on ethno-religious violence, even when ethno-religious tensions persist. Lastly, …

Access To Healthcare For Vulnerable Asian Subgroup Populations In The United States, Deborah Kim-Lu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Objectives: This dissertation examines the barriers for access to healthcare for the top four most uninsured Asian American subgroups (Bangladeshi, Cambodian, Korean, and Pakistani communities). Methods: Combining quantitative and qualitative approaches, this study consisted of: (1) an in-depth review of the Health Services Research literature; (2) qualitative interviews with 24 national health experts and advocates on Asian American health; (3) a survey of a non-probability sample of 107 Koreans in the tri-state region (Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York) using the Access to Healthcare Survey for Koreans in the U.S. instrument, which includes a Likert scale with 21 barrier questions …

The Possibility For Peaceful, Global, Participatory Governance: A Political Evolution Enabled By The Internet And Manifested By Crowds, Frederick Thomas Tucker

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This paper argues that peaceful, global, participatory governance is possible in the 21st century with the aid of the Internet and other forms of abundant, instantaneous, recorded communication (AIRC). Such a polity, however, must replace militarized republics and autocracies to be realized. No historical precedent exists for militarized governments to disband voluntarily. The realization of peaceful, global, participatory governance depends on popular resistance in its most potent, yet least militaristic form--political crowds. On the basis of professional and independent research, analysis of primary and secondary sources, and participant observation, this thesis details the historical development of AIRC, the political systems …

Idealism And Pragmatism In The Rhetoric Of John Boehner: A Weaverian Analysis Of Congressional Discourse, Cody Hawley

Masters Theses

American political rhetoric is characterized by a synthesis of contradictory idealistic and pragmatic elements, both of which are necessary if there is to be convincing persuasion. The way in which politicians rhetorically approach this dichotomy is significant, however, current studies on the topic are limited to presidential discourse. There is little research on this topic in other settings such the United States House of Representatives. This criticism analyzes John Boehner's congressional rhetoric in the idealistic-pragmatic dichotomy. The critical method utilized is Richard Weaver's four forms of argument-genus, similitude, consequence, and circumstance. Eight speeches of John Boehner, four from his position …

Adam Smith: Providing Morality In A Free Market Economy, Kendra Tully

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Adam Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments (TMS) and Wealth of Nations (WN) appear to suffer from an irresolvable tension: TMS extols human sympathy whereas WN extols the consequences of self-interest. This paper takes a comprehensive approach, adding to scholarship on what has become known as the “Adam Smith Problem.” There are traditionally four different approaches to the “Adam Smith Problem” in the secondary literature; economic, political, moral, and “principles” approach. Through a textual analysis of TMS and WN that focuses on prudence, the nature of happiness and Smith’s rhetorical style, this inconsistency between his two texts disappears. The emphasis Smith …

The Specter Of Intolerance: Understanding Religious Violence In Pakistan, Syeda Haider

Honors Scholar Theses

The role of religion in Pakistani political and civil life has had a defining role in the political development of the nation. The country is now a breeding ground for religious extremism, with militant groups conducting brutal attacks against the Shia, Ahmedi, Christian and Hindu communities of Pakistan. There have been few explanations attempting to describe the problem of religious violence domestically, within Pakistan’s borders towards Pakistani citizens. This essay examines how, despite Pakistan’s initial conception as a secular state, the country has become haunted by intense religious violence. It links the lack of consensus around national identity with the …

Presidential Epideictic Rhetoric During Times Of Crisis: Barack Obama's "9/11" Moment, Michael Eisenstadt

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Epideictic or ceremonial rhetoric, in its most basic and essential function, praises or blames an object. Ceremonial speakers seek to articulate why those particular objects are worthy of honor or the reverse. In the unfortunate event of a national tragedy, citizens may be confused or troubled, presenting the need for clarification and reassurance. Often times, concrete political solutions do not satisfy these needs because they do not explain what has occurred in terms the public can understand and proceed from. Presidents often inject memories of the past into public address to define these troubling situations in ways that broad, national …

The Influences Of The American Boxer Indemnity Reparations Remissions On Chinese Higher Education, Xiaojuan Zhou

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this study was to consider the influences of the American Boxer Indemnity Reparations Remissions (ABIRR) on Chinese higher education. These remissions were used to establish two universities, to establish the American Boxer Indemnity Scholarship Program (ABISP) to support Chinese students’ studying in America, and to support other higher education- related projects.

This study focused on higher education considering ABISP as an individual case. The ABISP students were selected from all the students who studied in America in the corresponding period in part because of the inconsistencies of research before 1949.

Through tracking 1,152 ABISP students of Type …

Post-Development Theory And Food Security: A Case Study In Swaziland, Lauren Karplus

Capstone Projects – Politics and Government

Post-development theory argues that development theory and the practice of Post-World War II development projects have failed because the entire concept of development is a Western, non-universal measure of progress. Indeed, examples of failed development interventions abound from around the world. While development experts argue amongst themselves about how best to deliver development interventions in order to minimize the failures of development, post-development theorists believe that no amount of tweaking will make the development agenda a success. They argue that the problem with development is not about how it is implemented, but rather that development itself is a flawed concept …

The Impact Of The Icty On Atrocity-Related Prosecutions In The Courts Of Bosnia And Herzegovina, Yaël Ronen

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

The International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia was not mandated to proactively promote domestic prosecutions of war-related crimes. However, its operation may have had some impact on domestic proceedings concerning war-related crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The object of this article is to identify and explain this impact, with respect to qualitative (institutional legal capacities), quantitative (rates of prosecution and trends in sentencing), and normative (the adoption and application of criminal law norms) benchmarks.

Political Third Parties' Representation In"The Big Three": 24-Hour Cable News Networks' Ideological Construction Of The American Political Duopoly, William Breault

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis conducts content and functional analyses to investigate the amount and functions of third-party mentions in 24-hour cable news networks. Additionally, this thesis applies framing tactics, ideographs, and other rhetorical theory to examine strategies utilized to ideologically construct cognitions regarding the current American political duopoly.

To Thine Own Self Be Cruel: An Analysis Of The Use Of Self-Deprecating Humor As A Rhetorical Strategy By Figures In Positions Of Authority, Brian Sorenson

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis analyzes the use of self-deprecating humor as a rhetorical strategy by figures in positions of authority. A close textual analysis is performed on eight White House Correspondents' Dinner speeches by U.S. presidents. Two speeches are analyzed from each of the four chosen presidents. The presidents whose respective uses of self-deprecating humor will be analyzed are Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama.

Imagined Communities: Changing Markets And The Implications For 21st Century Mali China Migration, Mamasa Camara

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Over the last decade there has been a huge increase in engagement between China and Africa across all fronts of foreign relations especially in the realms of trade, finance and migration. As China continues to push into Africa in pursuit of economic resources and diplomatic relations, many Africans are migrating to China and specifically Guangzhou in search of economic opportunity backed by cheap labor markets and the prospects for “low end globalization.”As the contemporary African presence in China is a relatively new phenomenon, so are the discourses surrounding its presence, discourses often relegated to the spheres of economics, boasting China …

Administrative Surveillance And Fear: Implications For U.S.-Mexico Border Relations And Governance, Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera, Terence Garrett, Michelle Keck

Political Science Faculty Publications

Fear has struck the people along the U.S.-Mexico border. Government authorities of the two nations have implemented techniques to secure the Rio Grande against drug trafficking, immigration, and terrorism. This article explores the issues and policies that have led to the escalation of violence on the U.S.-Mexico border and the ‘politics of fear’. Firstly, Mexican and U.S. governmental authorities are examined in the context of their actions against the various drug cartels. Secondly, the impact of such actions on the nations’ publics is analysed. The authors combine the theoretical conceptions of the ‘media spectacle’ and the politics of fear that …

The Pivot To Asia: South Korea As A Strategic Partner For U.S. Foreign Policy In Asia, Rachel M. Hale

Senior Honors Theses

The relationship between the United States and the Republic of South Korea requires reexamination due to the recent U.S. foreign policy shift from the Middle East to the Asia-Pacific region. The nature of the relationship has altered considerably over the past 70 years. South Korea is a leading country in East Asia, and a strengthened partnership could have many benefits for the United States. South Korea tends to be overlooked in foreign policy discussions because of the security concerns posed by North Korea; but South Korea possesses many qualities which could be utilized to the advantage of U.S. foreign policy. …