Digital Commons Network^™

Military Strategy: Theory And Concepts, Randall G. Bowdish

Department of Political Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Military strategy was long described as atheoretical—an art that could only be fully comprehended by military genius. This contention is no longer held, as military staffs, comprised of experts and specialists, are able to formulate strategy aided by mini-theories of strategy and a process that takes advantage of collective wisdom rather than singular genius. But the mini-theories of strategy remain underdeveloped and an overarching theory of military strategy does not yet exist. In this dissertation I build a grand theory of military strategy, consisting of a simple two-pole, physical and psychologically oriented framework, mini-theories of military strategy, and additionally, concepts …

Fourth Time's The Charm?: Modeling A Psychologically-Based Peace Iv Program In Northern Ireland, Cailin A. Rogers

The Macalester Review

Abstract: Social conflict has consumed Northern Ireland for centuries. The relationship between Catholic Nationalists and Protestant Loyalists has proved difficult to reconcile–current policy approaches have been unable to attain peace. This paper seeks to explore the gaps in policy created by ignoring the important distinction between the social identities Nationalists and Loyalists have created and which they continue to perpetuate. This paper examines Social identity theory in context of Northern Ireland and applies the psychology of disparate community identities to current policies and trends in Northern Ireland to suggest reasons for a lack of progress towards peace. Unfortunately, contemporary Northern …

Recognizing 'Game Changers' In Extrapolation Models: An Application To Counterinsurgency, Micah Dolcort-Silver

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recent empirical studies suggest insurgencies may be accurately described by aggregated extrapolation models, such that past behavior becomes the best predictor for future action. I argue that aggregated extrapolation models possess two flaws that make it a poor choice for examining insurgencies. First, aggregated extrapolation models ask the wrong question. The more interesting question is to ask when present action is no longer explainable by past behavior. Secondly, aggregate models mask changes that a phenomenon undergoes over time which are only revealed upon disaggregating the data. Starting with a model and findings provided by Neil Johnson, I use casualty data …

Herbert Hoover And Belgian Relief, Albert Winkler

Faculty Publications

Herbert Hoover was an orphan, who retained great empathy for the weak and hungry his entire life. Working without pay, he organized and administered Belgian Relief starting in 1914 to get food to ten million Belgians and Frenchmen behind German lines. His efforts doubtlessly saved hundreds of thousands from starvation. This was only the starting point in his career as the "Great Humanitarian." He got food to Germany at the end of both world wars, aided Russia in their great famine, and reportedly got food to hundreds of millions of people in his lengthy career. No one has ever done …

The Confessional Model And Sectarian Politics: Lessons From Lebanon And The Future Of Iraq, Scott Preston

Honors Theses

This paper uses education policy as a case study in order to examine the issues affiliated with the Confessional model of government and compares Lebanon’s education sector with Iraq to inspect the universality of those issues. There are many features that make the country of Lebanon unique, but perhaps none more characterizing than its one-of-a-kind Confessional government. According to the tenants of Confessionalism specific government offices are to be reserved for specific ethnic groups. The system was an innovative experiment imposed by the French as a means to guarantee various communal groups representation within the government in an effort to …

Central Asia: Water War Or Water Cooperation?, Lucy Jenkins-Young

Senior Capstone Theses

Intentionally absent.

The Past, Present And Future Of Transnational Conflict In Jordan: A Study Of Syrian Refugees In The Hashemite Kingdom, David F. Becker

Capstone Projects – Politics and Government

In this paper I am considering the numerous effects that hosting refugees can have on a host country. These effects can be seen when examining a host country’s health, economic, educational, and security sectors. In addition, many cases of refugee flows are associated with conflict contagion, which may cause a refugee population to become militarized. After reviewing the relevant literature on these topics, I study how these possible effects unfold in the context of the Syrian refugees currently escaping to Jordan from their civil war. The Kingdom of Jordan and its people are significantly affected by the increased stresses that …

The Presence Of Coups D'État Within Revolutions: Effects On Population Health, Rose E. Facchini

Master's Theses

The present study is a comparative approach to revolutions and their effect on population health during the post-conflict period. Specifically, it attempts to determine whether revolutions that are accompanied by a coup d'état have a significant negative impact on post-revolution population health. Degree of revolutionary violence, governmental structures, and pre-revolution health systems is of particular interest as relevant variables. The study focuses on the Latin American countries of Nicaragua and Chile due to their similar region and timeframe. The revolutions and accompanying coup d'état in both of these countries do not demonstrate different patterns on public health in the post-conflict …

“Normalizing” Japan?: Contestation, Identity Construction, And The Evolution Of Security Policy, Daisuke Minami

Political Science Honors Projects

In this thesis, I address two puzzles regarding Japan’s security policy: (1) its minimalist military posture despite its economic power during the Cold War and (2) the recent shift from this minimalist security policy to an assertive one marked by a strengthening of its international security role and military. I argue that although many IR scholars, mainly from the realist camp, claim that the formation of the original security policy (puzzle 1) and subsequent transformation (puzzle 2) is driven by the state’s rational response to external conditions in the international security environment, it can more adequately be explained by the …

The Development Of A New Paradigm Of Humanitarian Intervention: Assessing The Responsibility To Protect, Jayne Discenza

Political Science Honors Projects

The Responsibility to Protect (RtoP) concept aimed to clarify the relationship between state sovereignty and humanitarian intervention, and its invocation during the recent intervention in Libya provides an opportunity to assess its impact. This project compares the events of Libya with the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina of the early 1990s, examining the framing of these conflicts as well as the perceived role of other states, the engagement of international organizations with the concept, and the effect on operations during the humanitarian interventions themselves. Providing a historical comparison more accurately situates the contributions of RtoP in the re-prioritization of human rights over …

Presidential War Powers, Matt Scott Formisano

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Even before the framing of the Constitution, the Framers feared an executive power that would grow too strong. This fear was reflected throughout debates held before, during, and after the American Revolution. Even today, debate still continues as to what the executive power entails when it comes to acts of war and treaties. The United States Constitution was framed with the purpose of dividing power between the branches of government in order to avoid abuse and tyranny. “The Constitution bestows enormous power and responsibility on the President to protect the nation’s security and safeguard the people’s liberty” (Matheson 1). Throughout …

Revisiting The Achievements Of The Ancient Celts : Evidence That The Celtic Civilization Surpassed Contemporary European Civilizations In Its Technical Sophistication And Social Complexity, And Continues To Influence Later Cultures., Adam Dahmer

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

No abstract provided.

Advocate, May 2013, Vol. [24], No. [5], Advocate

The Advocate

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

From the Editor's Desk: Out with the Old, In with the...Same Old? (p. 3)

CUNY News in Brief (p. 5)

Political Analysis: Rent-Controlled, J. A. Myerson (p. 7)

Searching the CUNY Catalog not working for you? You’re not alone!, Reethee Antony (p. 9)

Guest Columnist: Terror in the West, Texas, Night, Amy Goodman (p. 10)

The Radical Greens: How Divestment, Direct Action, and Leftist Politics are Shaping the Environmental Movement, Mike Stivers (p. 13)

The Trouble with Professor Petraeus, Arun Gupta (p. 17)

Irregular Future: A Conversation with Matt Kennard, Michael Busch (p. 20)

Book Review: Recovering …

Society Contra State: Murray Rothbard’S Conception Of The Proper Role Of Coercion In Society, Alex Braud

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Kemalism: A Revolutionary Ideology And Its Islamist Opposition, Juliann Merryman

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

“Kemalism: A Revolutionary Ideology and its Islamist Opposition” seeks to define the Kemalist reform period as a revolutionary movement. During the 1920s and 1930s, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and his authoritarian government undertook a series of sweeping social and political reforms. This paper seeks to establish these reforms and the underlying Kemalist ideology as a revolutionary ideology. Using a functionalist perspective, the essay illustrates the various crises that faced the Ottoman Empire in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. A number of reform efforts failed to effectively address the entirety of Ottoman societal ills.

The rise of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and the …

A Case Study Of National Identity: An Analysis Of The American Dream In Politics And Literature, Sarah Marie Horning

HIM 1990-2015

The American Dream has been the inspiration of many political speeches, political writings, and works of literature throughout American history. Most recently, it has inspired political groups like the Center for the New American Dream and academic groups like the Xavier University Center for the Study of the American Dream. As of late, the notion of the American Dream has begun to crop up more often than not in main stream political discourse, especially surrounding the topic of immigration with the aptly named Dream Act. Why has the American Dream drawn this new attention and inquiry? Why and how is …

Costa Rica, Panama, And Nicaragua: Explaining Economic Success Levels, Kevin Negy

HIM 1990-2015

Latin America is a region that has deep roots in Spanish colonialism. Since its independence, many countries in the region have heavily depended on agriculture exports to industrialized states to support their economies. This has led to political theorists to label Latin America as an area full of "periphery" countries that are exploited for resources by "core countries. Costa Rica, Panama, and Nicaragua were not the exception. In recent years, however, a noticeable difference between the economies of the countries has helped Costa Rica and Panama become more successful than Nicaragua, on the basis of GDP, GNI, and other similar …

Suicide Attacks In Afghanistan: Why Now?, Ghulam Farooq Mujaddidi

Department of Political Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Why, contrary to their predecessors, did the Taliban resort to use of suicide attacks in the 2000s in Afghanistan? By drawing from terrorist innovation literature and Michael Horowitz’s adoption capacity theory—a theory of diffusion of military innovation—the author argues that suicide attacks in Afghanistan is better understood as an innovation or emulation of a new technique to retaliate in asymmetric warfare when insurgents face arms embargo, military pressure, and have direct links to external terrorist groups. The findings of my in-depth case study of Afghanistan between 1978 and 2010 support the proposition and show that it was an …

Deterring The Democratic People’S Republic Of Korea: The Role Of Japan’S Ballistic Missile Defense, Jonathan Trexel

Department of Political Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This dissertation explores the role of Japan’s ballistic missile defense (BMD) program and its deterrent effect upon North Korean behavior. A mixed-methods approach is employed to analyze the topic. Empirical quantitative data included tabulated monthly cooperative-conflictual behavioral interaction between Japan and North Korea spanning a 22-year timeframe (1990-2011). In addition, a strategic profile developed from deterrence theory provided essential qualitative background to compliment the quantitative analysis. Japan’s BMD program was divided into four periods reflecting decision points or phases of program development. Results indicated varied BMD deterrence effectiveness, with two periods indicating Japan’s BMD program strengthened deterrence, one period indicating …

Defense, U.S. Department Of, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Provides an overview of U.S. Department of Defense activities in the western U.S. including the military's increasing emphasis on Asia-Pacific strategic trends and developments.

Farc And Sendero Luminoso: Examining Their Development, Longevity, And Ideology, Victoria Wood

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Guerrilla Warfare Theory And Praxis: The Case Of Revolutionary Leader Ernesto 'Che' Guevara, Anna Maria Guadarrama

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Guerrilla warfare is an ancient style of armed conflict that continues to be practiced throughout the world to the present day (Guevara, "A Method" 266, Tzu 168, Taber 149-150), and many countries and peoples have either taken part in guerrilla warfare or have sought to counteract irregular war with counterinsurgency methods, for example the United States (Anderson, Guerrillas xi ; West xiii; Guevara, G. Warfare 18; O'Neill vii-xi). 1 Guerrilla warfare heavily impacts every aspect of society, ranging from the family unit to foreign policy decision-making. Only through properly understanding the motivations, strategies and nature of guerrilla warfare will we …

Who Will Tell The Story? Terrorism's Relationship With The International News Media, Katherine Eugenis

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Terrorism feeds on an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty. In order for a terrorist group to achieve its purpose, its activities must be known to a mass audience. Due to the often isolated nature of the conflicts in which they are involved, terrorists groups must attract and maintain the attention of the mass media, through which they access a broader audience and gain salience. This relationship begs the question: will less media attention lead to less terrorism as groups lose their audience and are forced to use legitimate means of enacting change? This thesis analyzes the pattern of media trends …

Death By Bullet, Fire, Or Vapor: Examining The Decision To Use The Atomic Bomb To End World War Ii In The Pacific Theatre, Jonathan Keenan

The Exposition

The atomic bomb is one of the most destructive devices man has created for warfare. Able to wipe out entire city blocks and dissolve a person’s body leaving only a shadow behind. How can any good be found in such a weapon? The paper will evaluate the process Americans went through to create this weapon and then use it. It will convey how different key players felt about the Bomb, such as politicians, scientists, and military figures. Both sides of the argument will be looked at whether the Bombs should have been dropped or if there was a way around …

Bubble Pop: An Analysis Of Asian Pop Culture And Soft Power Potential, Nick Desideri '13

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

Despite scholarly work on Northeast Asia’s growing economic influence, few authors have adequately addressed the region’s increasing cultural clout as well. This paper aims to address this cultural impact in a specific diplomatic context in regards to the South Korea and Japan, and whether their respective pop cultures can be viewed as a source of soft power. An analysis of various academic works and media stories concludes that 1) neither country has been able to turn their soft power resources into actual political leverage, though 2) Japan’s mishandling of its national branding puts South Korea in a much more advantageous …

Disadvantages To Turkey’S Eu Accession: Turkish Perspective, Madison Campbell, Elisa Demartino

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

No abstract provided.

Future Stability In The European Union: Realism, Constructivism, And Institutionalism, Maya Swisa

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

No abstract provided.

The Kosovo War: Nato’S Opportunity, Sead Osmani

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

No abstract provided.

Human Geography Without A Map, William E. Demars, Laurel Rosenberger, Jimmy Rogers, Trent Hardee

Arthur Vining Davis High Impact Fellows Projects

Course materials developed for a 9th grade course on human geography, focusing on human rights, terrorism, and globalization.

Developing A Game-Theoritic Analysis Of Terrorism, Matthew A. Love

Masters Theses

My research demonstrates the applicability of game theory to analyzing terrorism through consideration of multiple examples. These examples provide a foundation upon which further research involving the application of game theory to terrorism can be explored.

My research contributes to a growing body of literature, especially since the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, in which it has been argued that terrorists are rational agents and, because of that, game theory can be usefully applied to an analysis of terrorism. My research further supports this conclusion.