Law Commons^™

The Curious Case Of Will Brooke, Adam Muro

Capstones

William Wade Brooke, an Alabama businessman with ties to state and national Republican Party politics and scandal, was for over one year a registered foreign agent working for the office of Saad Hariri, Prime Minister of Lebanon. He was the only registered lobbyist for Hariri while he was active, and stranger yet he stated on his Foreign Agent Registration Act forms that he was working for free. An investigation into his background and ties to Lebanon revealed that he lobbied for free in recognition of favors that Hariri did, and continues to do, for a christian missionary group Brooke is …

Tall Tales Of Danger And Security: How A Critical Human Security Approach Can Address Major Contradictions Revealed Through A Critical Narrative Analysis Of Dominant U.S. Security Strategies, Stephen Schneider

Master's Theses

Over many generations, humans have developed many perspectives and practices regarding the best ways to recognize and address what they perceive to be dangerous. Stories are used to help shape and narrate perceptions about the world, and they serve to pass on vital information that impacts how a society responds to threats and vulnerabilities. These narratives of danger and security are subjective to the experiences and political intentions of society, and therefore in many ways are partial and biased in their assessments and policies. This results in flawed security practices that may actually exacerbate threats or create new insecurities. What …

The Rhetoric Is On The Wall: A Multimodal Study Of The U.S. – Mexico Border Through Image Narratives, Kristoffer Mason

Global Honors Theses

This paper applied social semiotics and systemic functional theory to study visual narratives related to President Trump’s border wall project and U.S. immigration policy. The images were selected by new articles posted by The New York Times using search parameters “border wall” and “undocumented immigration” between the dates of March 13 – April 13, 2018. Images were selected and categorized based on visual themes related to the border wall and policy enforcement. Of these categories, two images were selected for vertical perspective, vector patterns, and gestures to discover the narratives. Analysis of the images showed that social power and hierarchical …

Mineral Warfare: The Dark Side Of Technology And International Mediation, Priyanka Basnyat

Master's Theses

Conflict surrounding the extraction and trade of natural resources is not an uncommon phenomenon. Especially in the case of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which has historically suffered from the negative impacts of the resource curse since their mineral wealth was first discovered by their Colonial administrators. The importance of Congo’s minerals has fluctuated over the years but has peaked during recent times, as their use in technological advancements are becoming more vital. The global demand for these mineral ores have sky rocketed and consequentially, the largely informal trade has benefitted certain rebel groups, playing a pivotal role in …

The Significance Of Mongolia's Foreign Policy And Security Apparatus On A Global And Regional Scale, Bolor Lkhaajav

Master's Projects and Capstones

Mongolia, land-locked between two politically, economically, and militarily powerful nations — Russia and China — often must balance its foreign and security policies with its two neighbors and countries beyond. When discussing Mongolia’s foreign policy and security apparatus, historians and scholars look at the international relations of East Asia as a whole. This is the case not because Mongolia’s foreign policy is insignificant but because greater powers impose greater influence on smaller states. Mongolia’s partial involvement in World War II (WWII), and the Cold War introduced new challenges as well as opportunities for Mongolia to modernize its foreign policy principles …

On The Politics And Conceptualization Of Gender Non-Conformity : Exploring Thailand’S Kathoey Population., Macey E. Mayes

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the politics and conceptualization of gender in Thailand, drawing specifically on the Thai understanding of sex and gender with regard to the kathoey population. This work considers the solidification of a third-gender category and looks to the ways this solidification can inhibit the fluidity of gender and sexuality. It also analyzes the dangers of transnational advocacy and the superimposition of Western queer advocacy and theory on Thai gender identities. I approach this issue from an interdisciplinary framework that seeks to include historical, cultural, and theoretical perspectives. In examining anthropological research, critiques of …

Us China Trade Dispute Over Intellectual Property, Mozi Luo

Master's Projects

How have Section 301 investigations impacted trade relations between China and the U.S. in clean energy area, and between Japan and the U.S. in semiconductor and auto part areas, and does the impact provide a guide for the possible outcome of the upcoming Section 301 investigation of China?

After President Donald Trump’s memorandum on August 14, 2017 stating that China’s behavior regarding intellectual property rights (IPR) and the high technology industries adversely influences the U.S. economy, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) declared the initiation of a section 301 investigation of China on the topic of technology transfer and intellectual …

An Analysis Of International Agreements Over Cybersecurity, Lucas Ashbaugh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research into the international agreements that increase cooperation over cybersecurity challenges is severely lacking. This is a necessary next step for bridging diplomatic challenges over cybersecurity. This work aspires to be push the bounds of research into these agreements and offer a tool that future researchers can rely on. For this research I created, and made publicly available, the International Cybersecurity Cooperation Dataset (ICCD), which contains over 350 international cybersecurity agreements and pertinent metadata. Each agreement is marked per which subtopics within cybersecurity related agreements it covers. These typologies are:

• Discussion and Dialogue

• Research

• Confidence Building Measures

• Incident Response

• Crime …

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Just War: New Customary International Law To Combat Violent Non-State Actor Groups?, Lisa Marie Holz

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The issue that this study focused upon was the legitimacy of military interventions by a state against a violent non-state actor group located within another state's territory. The research sought to answer how interventions by the United States and its allies have evolved during the post 9/11 era. It additionally explored if the justification for military interventions had changed. This study used data from the Uppsala Conflict Data Program and the United Nations Security Council to create a hybrid data-set and analyzed the data for the location and number of states participating in operations against violent non-state actors ("VNSAs"). This …

Contested Identity And Making Sense Of Atrocity: Understanding The Rohingya Crisis In Myanmar, Christopher Andrew Long

Senior Projects Spring 2018

Myanmar’s recent transition towards democracy has caused western leaders to become increasingly optimistic about the future of human rights within the country. However, since emerging on the international stage in 2012, the Rohingya crisis has drastically upset such expectations, leaving the international community in complete shock over the issue. Attempting to shed light on this human rights tragedy, international media coverage has produced an overly simplified depiction of the Rohingya crisis. In addition, very little academic literature exists seeking to explain the root causes of the issue. By utilizing interviews conducted at the University of Mandalay this paper attempts to …

Guyana-Venezuela Border Dispute: Seeking A Peaceful Solution, Aaron Marcus Homer

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to examine and evaluate the effectiveness of those dispute settlement mechanisms that are capable of resolving the Guyana-Venezuela border dispute. This thesis will analyze those legal principles and/or techniques of the International Court of Justice, mediation and the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which are indispensable for dispute resolution. I argue that a resolution is significant for the stability of the international community.

Guyana and Venezuela possess economic and political interests in the disputed Essequibo region. Venezuela’s predilection for bilateral negotiations contradicts Guyana’s request for a judicial solution. These extreme positions are not novel but …