Digital Commons Network^™

Impact Of Gender Inequality And Religion On How States Experience Terrorism, Aneela Salman

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This dissertation includes three essays that present a quantitative analysis of the policy implications of gender equality and religious attitudes as predictors of terrorism at the state level using a broad dataset. Essay one focuses on impact of gender equality, especially women's political empowerment on terrorism, both domestic and transnational. The second essay examines both gender equality attitudes and actual outcomes in social, economic and political spheres, to measure their effect on terrorism. The third essay analyzes the relation of religiousness in a society with incidents and lethality of terrorism. The overall findings of this thesis suggest that attitudes and …

Coercion, Persuasion, And Reflexivity In Major Counterinsurgency Wars, Stephen M. Pampinella

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This dissertation examines the effectiveness of different counterinsurgency practices of states in 47 conflicts from 1945-2010. After discussing contemporary theories of counterinsurgency, it traces these theories to realist and liberal traditions of international relations to demonstrate how propose specific relationships with the civilian population as a means of ending social conflict. To evaluate these theories, I perform a Boolean analysis of counterinsurgency practices to determine which combinations of realist and liberal factors leads to counterinsurgent victory. Overall, I find that pure realist and mixed combinations are most likely to lead to victory, while pure liberal combinations fail to produce victory. …

Environmental Footprints Of Violent Conflict, Swapna Pathak

Theses and Dissertations

The effects of militarized conflict pervade countless aspects of society, yet scholars have focussed very little attention on the consequences of conflict. My dissertation assesses the cost of war by examining the relationship between violent conflict and the environment. I argue that the effect of conflict on the environment is an im- portant consequence of war that is often overlooked in favor of other repercussions such as economy and health that are more politically expedient . I study this effect in the light of components of national environmental capacity and hypothesize that conflicts result in short-term and long-term impact on …

Kony2012: The New Face Of Citizen Engagement, Nicole Audette

Exchange: The Journal of Public Diplomacy

This paper breaks down the nongovernmental components of public diplomacy and examines the evolution of new public diplomacy. It discusses the rise of nonstate actors and the importance they play in changing international diplomatic engagements. It explores the rising prominence of both soft power and public relations on the global stage, highlighting the importance of strategic relationships and effective communications. The case study, used to exemplify the power of new public diplomacy, examines how Invisible Children’s KONY2012 campaign used public diplomacy to harness successfully the power of the American people to influence governmental foreign policy. The author shows that Invisible …

Traditionalism, Institutions, And Rational Bargaining In Sub-Saharan African Civil Conflict, Joseph Anthony Jastrzembski

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

When many speak of Africa, they convey a narrative that portrays a continent haunted by ethnic conflict. However many countries are both highly diverse and relatively stable, such as Botswana or Tanzania, and we find that inter-ethnic cooperation is far more common place than conflict. In this thesis I argue that cultural differences between ethnic groups are not the cause of ethnic civil war, rather, the mechanisms find their root in economics. To explain ethnic conflict on the continent, I examine the self-interested behavior of bargaining groups in society, where ethnic communities act more as an interest group and less …

Sanctions Without Humanitarian Implications - An Impossible Feat, Sangitha Palaniappa

HIM 1990-2015

This thesis focuses on the humanitarian implications of economic sanctions. States are increasingly using sanctions as a foreign policy tool, but the ramifications for the citizens of the country have yet to be analyzed in depth. Although sanctions are an extremely powerful foreign policy tool, the humanitarian implications are too drastic. There are two main outcomes of sanctions that states seek: the pressure of the sanctions forces the government to change their policy or the humanitarian implications force the citizens to revolt against the government. These outcomes rarely occur as we can see clearly in cases such as Cuba or …

Where Do Transnational Terrorist Organizations Operate? : The Impact Of State Capacity And Civil Conflict, Rebecca Noto

LSU Master's Theses

Despite overlapping explanatory theories for the occurrence of terrorism and civil conflict, these two phenomena have largely been studied in isolation. This study addresses this gap in the conflict literature by investigating the influence of state capacity and civil conflict on the presence of a transnational terrorist organization’s base of operations. It is postulated that weak state capacity provides the opportunity to organize while civil conflict increases this opportunity via the transmission of information on and the reduction in the state’s capacity to prevent organization formation. This hypothesis is then tested by estimating a logistic regression analysis for the years …

Education As Class Warfare. An Interview With Scholar/Author Peter Mclaren, Peter Mclaren

Education Faculty Articles and Research

An interview with Peter McLaren about educational reform and how his work is influenced by Marxist theory.

Drug Markets And The State: A Perspective From Political Economy, Jake M. Kosinski

Honors Papers

The paper introduces a classification scheme for state approaches to regulation of drug markets. The concept of the 'drug regulation state' is developed to include policies and agencies concerned with all drugs, including legal examples such as tobacco, alcohol, and oxycodone. Approaches to regulation are classified broadly as drug war, harm reduction, decriminalization, and legalization. The approaches and rationales used by various state agents, especially in the United States and Europe, are summarized and analyzed. The history of modern pharmacology and drug regulation is expanded with a focus on the American case. The role of industry in state regulation is …

Grounding The International Norm On Women, Peace And Security: The Role Of Domestic Norm Entrepreneurs And The Challenges Ahead, Ma. Lourdes Veneracion-Rallonza

Political Science Department Faculty Publications

One of the gaps in the study of international norms is the process by which they are institutionalized and accepted at the national level. As the international norm negotiates its way through various national (and even grassroots) levels, a point of inquiry would be how domestic norm entrepreneurs have enabled its localization. This study looks at the narrative of a loose network of peace and women’s human rights groups that worked together to localize United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on women, peace and security in the Philippines. Specifically, it reviews how the network evolved to become a domestic …

Yemen, Sheila Carapico

Political Science Faculty Publications

In February 2011, Tawakkol Karman stood on a stage outside Sanaa University. A microphone in one hand and the other clenched defiantly above her head, reading from a list of demands, she led tens of thousands of cheering, flag-waving demonstrators in calls for peaceful political change. She was to become not so much the leader as the figurehead of Yemen's uprising. On other days and in other cities, other citizens led the chants: men and women and sometimes, for effect, little children. These mass public performances enacted a veritable civic revolution in a poverty-stricken country where previous activist surges never …

The Implications Of China’S ‘String Of Pearls Strategy’ On Relations With Indian Ocean Nations, Maleehah Iman Ali

Bachelor of Social Sciences – Senior Theses

This thesis contends that China pursues the String of Pearls Strategy for now, primarily for mercantile purposes and as a means to ensure energy security and not to contest the US or deliberately threaten India. All countries depend on sea channels for trade; hence they seek stability at sea and sea control. China is no exception. I believe that China will abide by the ‘peaceful rise’ mandate as too much is at stake for her both domestically and internationally. This will hold true as long as China’s interests are safe. The evidence presented here forth, will substantiate that the steps …

The Press, Democracy And History: Journalism And Democracy In Transitional Societies, Michael Foley

Doctoral

In 1989 the Berlin Wall came down signalling the beginning of the end of the post World-War-Two settlement that had divided Europe and created the Cold War. The communist world crumbled over a few years, but at a cost. There was a bitter war in the Balkans, shorter, but equally bitter conflicts in the Caucuses as well as in Central Asia. The Soviet Union fell apart leaving in its place new states varying in size from huge countries like Ukraine to the tiny states of the Baltic coast and Kyrgyzstan in far Central Asia. There was also enormous poverty as …

International Relations: A Self-Study Guide To Theory, Manuela Spindler

Textbooks

PS 251 - Global Politics and Society

Licensed under a CC BY SA 4.0 license.

Adequate Attribution: A Framework For Developing A National Policy For Private Sector Use Of Active Defense, Shane Mcgee, Randy V. Sabett, Anand Shah

Journal of Business & Technology Law

No abstract provided.

Sarah Palin And The Media During The Elections, Angelica Olmos Urbina

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to analyze former candidate Sarah Palin's portrayal by the media during the 2008 political campaign for vice-president of the United States. Through media framing, political communication, politics and the media, the study will present a qualitative study on her portrayal through two different media sources. The presidential elections of 2008 involved two women, a first in American history, and made waves for varying reasons. The purpose of the study is to build a greater understanding between the unique relationship between the media and political candidates.

The Threat Of Domestic Bioterrorism: Fact Or Fiction, Stacy M. Langston

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The threat of a domestic bioterrorist attack can be a daunting issue to cover. Using the analytic technique What If? Analysis a scenario was created for a domestic bioterrorism attack in Houston, TX. Indicators were developed to determine how to mitigate and respond to the attack. Recommendations were provided following the attack that can be used to prevent future attacks that were conducted in the scenario. Having a hindsight view of an attack is the best way to prevent and respond to the attack.

Analyzing The Effectiveness Of Al Qaeda's Online Influence Operations By Means Of Propaganda Theory, David K. Lyons

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This thesis sought to explore the use of propaganda by al Qaeda through the lenses of established propaganda theorists and theories. Through analyzing former al Qaeda releases and case studies in the context of propaganda theory this thesis established a clearer understanding of the effectiveness of al Qaeda's propaganda. After analyzing the propaganda and case studies it was discovered that the rate of those engaging in attacks based on al Qaeda's online influence operations is insignificant. The concerns that al Qaeda is recruiting numerous individuals to engage in attacks based on its online propaganda operations might be overstated and while …

Is The Motherist Approach More Helpful In Obtaining Women's Rights Than A Feminist Approach? A Comparative Study Of Lebanon And Liberia, Crystal Marie Whetstone

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

The theory that women gain rights during the social upheaval of war has not held universally. While the debate has traditionally centered over women's participation in fighting and entry into the workforce this paper explores the topic from the form of mobilization, motherist or feminist, that women's organizing takes during war through the use of a longitudinal, comparative study of Lebanon and Liberia. Lebanese women's organizations overwhelmingly employed motherist mobilization and tackled practical gender interests that made no attempt to end women's subordination. In contrast, during the Liberian civil war women's groups were more apt to focus on strategic gender …

Political Party Transitions In Post-Conflict States: How Political Parties Reacted And Adapted During Democratic Transitions In Cambodia, El Salvador And Mozambique, Rachel L. Miller

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

This study argues that political parties in the post-conflict period are adaptable to and capable of changing roles as states transition to peacetime settings. In the aftermath of war in El Salvador, Cambodia and Mozambique and during a democratic transition, changes in political party structures and attitudes, and the influence of external actors emerged as significant factors in the way political parties adapted. National and international political contexts, ideological differences and war time political party origins played a part in incumbent and insurgent political parties' behaviors and electoral successes in the aftermath of war, which has ultimately affected the democratic …

Religious Politics: An Individual Level-Examination Of The Political Implications Of Faith In Brazil, Thatianne A. Moreira

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although Brazil is, historically, a catholic country, the Catholic Church is losing its members to the Protestant churches, mainly Pentecostal ones. Between 1940-2010, the number of Protestants increased from 2.6% to 20.2%. On the other hand, between the same period, the number of Catholics decreased from 95% to 68.5%. One of the consequences of this shift in the religious marketplace has been its impact in the political realm; more specifically, in the number of political candidates that have identified themselves as evangélicos. The presence of evangélicos in power seems to be the most studied facet of the growth of Pentecostalism …

Alan Ryan: On Politics, Book One Study Guide, 2013, Steven Alan Samson

Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Al Qaeda's Propaganda War: A War For Hearts And Minds, Jill Hannah Pohl

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Literature on terrorist efforts to win over hearts and minds discusses several influential factors: the politics of the organization, the relationship of the organization to the public, levels of violence, provocation of counterterror responses, and the use of various forms of propaganda. It is my contention that mass media propaganda, which reaches the widest audience, is most influential in the battle for hearts and minds. Al Qaeda has exploited this tool to sustain support.

In spite of this, Arab Public Opinion Surveys show a decline in support for Al Qaeda's anti-Western goals, and fluctuations in support for its methods. They …

The Little Brother Syndrome And Nuclear Proliferation, An Exploratory Analysis Of Pakistan And North Korea's Risk Prone Policies, Richard Ellis Hebblethwaite

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

The successful pursuit of nuclear weapons technology by Pakistani and North Korean leaders has fundamentally shifted the post war nuclear paradigm that established the monopoly of five nuclear powers over nuclear weapons and supplies of fissile materials under the Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT). How does one explain the daring nuclear pursuit of Pakistan and North Korea and their success in achieving this capability? Numerous theories have tried to explain both the rationale and the causal factor(s) for nuclear proliferation and specifically nuclear arms. While realism and neo-realism concentrate on the fear of the unknown; i.e., the international system and military power …

Toward Resolving The Problem Of Modern Piracy; A Case Study Of Somalia, Kamil Peter Kozlowski

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.

Failed Or Fragile States In International Power Politics, Nussrathullah W. Said

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.

International Law V. Traditional Norms Community And State Response To Domestic Violence In Bangladesh And Pakistan, Twafiqa Mohinuddin

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis investigates the implementation of international human rights norms and treaty laws regarding domestic violence in Bangladesh and Pakistan and how compliance is hindered by traditional norms, which exist within communities and at the state level. While the focus of this thesis is on Pakistan and Bangladesh, the findings and lessons can be applied to countries who are suffering from patriarchal norms which facilitate domestic violence. Domestic violence is a worldwide epidemic that discriminates against woman regardless of her color, education, or social class. Domestic violence is a form of gender-based violence which exploits and hinders women from enjoying …

A Decade Of Failure; Missed Opportunities And The Escalating Crisis Over Iran's Nuclear Program, Louis Charbonneau

Dissertations and Theses

For the past decade the United States and its European allies powers have been unable to persuade the Islamic Republic of Iran to halt what appears to be a program to develop either a nuclear-weapons capability or an actual atomic arsenal. There is good reason to want to prevent Iran from acquiring atomic weapons, although it is too late to stop Tehran from acquiring the capability to produce a nuclear weapon should it choose to manufacture one. Tehran‘s desire to develop either a nuclear weapons capability or an actual arsenal is based on a realist assessment of its security environment …

Terrorism In Nigeria: Culmination Of Economic Disenfranchisement, Social Marginalization And Political Instability, Olalekan Afolabi

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.

The Relationship Between Comprehensive Budgeting And Party Polarization In The U.S. Congress, Anna Eames

CMC Senior Theses

The Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 made the production of an annual comprehensive budgetary framework the central focus of the federal budget process. Before 1974, the budget process had allowed legislation from each of the revenue committees and each of the appropriations subcommittees to come to the floor separately. Congress judged the merits of individual programs without considering the overall budget. The 1974 budget act changed the organizational ethos of the budget process from incremental change to comprehensive review and from fragmented, ad hoc decision making to coordinated decision making. It helped sort members into ideologically homogenous …