Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Struggle For Self-Determination: A Comparative Analysis Of East Timor And Western Sahara, Emma Baratta

Honors Theses

Self-determination is accepted as an international right of all people, yet in many cases it still takes decades of struggle to achieve it. Through comparative analysis of the selfdetermination and independence struggles of East Timor and Western Sahara, conclusions can be drawn as to why some former colonies are able to achieve these goals while others do not. In order to better understand the challenges associated with self-determination, I evaluate the two cases based on four overarching factors which influence the process: statehood criteria and imagined community status, colonialism and occupation, presence of natural resources, and international recognition. I argue …

Triumphing Over Trauma: Addressing Past Experiences And Mental Health Following Resettlement In The United States, Tyler Greenwood

Honors Theses

Refugee populations are exposed to an unusually high number of traumatic events in their lifetimes that have the potential to cause long-lasting psychological harm. Millions of people are forcibly displaced by international conflicts, ethnic genocide, targeting of political dissidents, climate disasters, and countless other traumatic events. For the small fraction of refugees who are resettled in wealthy nations such as the United States, they are fortunate to leave behind the harmful and often violent places which they are fleeing from, but they are also leaving behind their families, friends, homes, and traditions. During and following resettlement, refugees continue to face …

"Prevention Through Deterrence" Against Citizens: The Venezuela-Colombia Border During The Covid-19 Pandemic And Human Rights Implications, Andreina Negretti Benito

Honors Theses

This thesis analyses the human rights implications of the measures taken by the Venezuelan government at the Venezuelan-Colombian border during the COVID-19 pandemic. I will argue that the goal of these measures is preventing or impeding the return of citizens through "deterrence techniques" that have been historically used by other countries. This case's importance relies on the fact that, unlike other cases, the Venezuelan government uses these "techniques" against its own nationals, rather than against unwanted immigrants. The first chapter will provide an overview of the theoretical framework concerning migration, arguments regarding open borders, and human rights protections. This will …

An Analysis Of China’S Claims And Their Development Of Artificial Islands In The South China Sea; Are They One Step Closer To Becoming A World Power?, John Pugliese

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the complex foreign conflict occurring in the South China Sea. There are two primary theories utilized to study this conflict, realism, and liberalism. The realism study involves both offensive and defensive realism. While the study of liberalism has a strong focus on international law. These theories are then applied to how China has been constructing artificial islands in the South China Sea.

The first chapter focuses on how surrounding countries have reacted to China’s island building, particularly the Philippines. This includes an analysis of an international law case between the two countries, where the Philippines accused China …

How To Improve Multilateral Environmental Agreements: A Case Study In Balanced Institutional Design Mechanisms In The Climate Change And Ozone Regime, Emma Lee

Honors Theses

With climate change being one of the largest existential threat’s civilizations has ever faced and global cooperation the only conceivable solution, why have the existing MEAs of the climate change regime failed? Moreover, why have MEAs in other environmental regimes, such as the ozone regime, been so much more successful than MEAs in the climate change regime? To investigate this question, I use a theoretical framework of international law and focus on the specific way the institutional design of agreements can yield greater success. I define success in a two-pronged manner which focuses on participation and compliance.

This paper takes …

The Digital Yuan And The Beidou Satellite System: China’S Increasing Structural Power In An Interdependent World, Marina Angelopoulos

Honors Theses

For decades, concerns over a rise of a powerful China have dominated mainstream media. China's unprecedented economic ascent, growing voice in global decisions, and publicized industrial plans like Made in China 2025, have propelled the nation to the center of the world stage. In my thesis, I break down this subject to examine how China is attempting to increase its structural power and create new interdependencies through the buildup of certain networked technologies. Guided by foundational international political economy literature regarding structural power and interdependence, I explore the implications of two technological advancements: China's digital yuan (DCEP), and the BeiDou …

From Ideological Resource To Financial Asset: The Evolving Relationship Between Youth And The State In Putin's Russia, Eleanor Schmid

Honors Theses

This thesis identifies four periods of Russian youth policy, and discusses how President Vladimir Putin's approach to youth and youth issues is markedly different than that of previous heads of state, and that it has evolved even within his tenure. My content coding analysis of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs' 2013-2025 Strategy identifies the main values the Russian government seeks to impart upon youth, and my analysis of public opinion surveys of youth provides evidence that there is a connection between the 2013 Strategiia and youth attitudes and values.

Defining “Firm Nationality”; An Exploration Of The Modern Firm Within The Context Of United States-China Relations, Cory Sachs

Honors Theses

The turn of the 21^st century marked the beginning of a modern age in human history. As developing nations continued on their paths to industrialization, global markets became inter-connected, and large swaths of the people were lifted out of poverty throughout the world. As market demand increased due to the influx of new capital, new alliances between nations were drawn and the production of goods transformed.

Today, firms are more globally fragmented than ever before. Rarely do firms house all facets of production in one location and serve only one market; instead, production is separated to cheapen product cost …

Governmental Repression: The Cases Of China, Akbar Rahmani

Honors Theses

This thesis explores what factors can explain why the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) response to two pro-democracy movements – 1989 Tiananmen Square and the 2014 Umbrella Movement – had varied repression levels. Specifically, this thesis will explore the impact of social media, breakdowns in government cohesion, and the type of protest on governmental responses. This research finds that a breakdown in government cohesion during the 1989 protest caused the declaration of martial law and the use of tanks followed by infantrymen. Although the 2014 protest was regime-threatening, social media constrained the government’s ability to use alternative media and harsh repression. …

'Here We Start And In Jerusalem We Meet:' The Motivational And Organizational Influences Of Israel's Statehood Ontransnational Salafi Jihad, Charlotte Armistead

Honors Theses

The Israeli occupation of Palestine and its impact on the proliferation and longevity of transnational Salafi jihad is largely underestimated in current literature. In this thesis, I argue that Palestine, defined as both the nation and physical borders before the Balfour Declaration, largely contributed to the twentieth century revival of transnational Salafi jihad and is used by both Al Qaeda and ISIS as liberation and annihilation movements, respectively. In order to assess the motivational and organizational influences of the Israeli occupation of Palestine on transnational Salafi jihad, I examine the works of Abdullah Azzam, a selection of Osama Bin Laden’s …

China, Xinjiang, And The Genocide Convention: The Fragility Of International Law, Lucy Kate Herron

Honors Theses

This paper examines China’s actions through the lens of the Genocide Convention to examine the whether the crimes of genocide are being committed against the Uyghur population. It contends that according to the Genocide Convention, China is committing genocide, and particularly through conditions, torture, and rape, against the Uyghur population. However, prosecuting a genocide in court would prove difficult due to China's laws and actions that can be used to defer accusations of genocide and problems with the Genocide Convention in the context of China and the Uyghurs.

The Politics Of Taxation: An Economic Analysis Of Politically Motivated Tariffs Placed On French Wine By The United States, Katelyn Hutson

Honors Theses

In this paper, I research the economic distortions caused by a 25% retaliatory tariff placed on French wine by the United States in October 2019. This tariff was enacted as retaliation for airline subsidies provided by various European countries to Airbus and was approved by the WTO as a valid compensation for the loss these subsidies caused to the American company Boeing. In order to view the correlation between fluctuations in US import quantities of French wine and the retaliatory tariff, I estimated the effect of the tariff on the wine market using linear regression analysis. Through this regression, I …

Factors In Disaster Response In Mexico, Central America, And The Caribbean, Ashleigh Daugherty

Honors Theses

This research examines the impacts that existing factors can have on the outcome of natural disasters. In order to study this question more thoroughly than previous research, this paper conducts a small n study on the Middle America region through case studies in Mexico, El Salvador, and Haiti. Each of these case studies are evaluated by their outcomes of severe earthquakes and the conditions in which these earthquakes occurred. These conditions being: their economies, governances, and pre-existing natural disaster plans. The analysis of these indicators attempts to understand why certain countries perform better in natural disasters compared to others. In …

Do Autocratic Regimes Excel In Natural Disaster Relief? A Case Study Of Political Institutions And Covid-19 Exposure, Jane Kay

Honors Theses

The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 has challenged what we know about the politics of public health. In this research study, I investigate the COVID-19 pandemic as a natural disaster and hypothesize if authoritarian governments are more adequate at disaster control and relief. I hypothesize that the more autocratic a government structure, the better they would be at handling COVID-19 exposure and outbreaks due to their centralized decision making, unified media, and their ability to make unpopular decisions without repercussions. In order to test this theory, I gather data from the Johns Hopkins database for three key dates in the pandemic …

Human Rights Activism: The Catalyst Of Transitional Justice?, Kathleen Sinatra

Honors Theses

This thesis demonstrates the essential role human rights activists play in the process of transitional justice. Through an analysis of the conceptualizations of transitional justice, in which I argue we must understand the process in broader terms that include both judicial and non-judicial practices, I enter into a comparative analysis of the case studies of Argentina and Spain. I explore Argentina’s Dirty War and the wound that was subsequently created. I question how this wound came to be and how the country chose to deal with it. I then turn my attention to the case of Spain, who unlike Argentina, …

Should We Pool Or Should We Nationalize? A Quantitative Assessment Of The Role Of Sovereignty In Brexit, Alexa K. Urmaza

Honors Theses

The announcement of Brexit on June 23, 2016 shocked Europe as well as the greater global community. Political scientists continue to debate the causes of Brexit, but this paper argues that the debate over sovereignty, particularly the tension between national and pooled sovereignties, played a substantial role in the outcome of the referendum. This paper evaluates the extent to which the Brexit referendum was a rejection of pooled sovereignty and a reprioritization of national sovereignty. This paper conducts a discourse analysis on 4109 sources from the Leave and Remain campaigns, which were all assessed for the use of nineteen terms …

Arab Media's Representation Of Arab-Israeli Normalization Agreements, Rylan L. Forester

Honors Theses

When, on August 13, 2020, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced it was normalizing relations with the state of Israel, few could have predicted the effects it would have. However, since the Emirati decision, three other Arab countries - Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco - have reached agreements with Tel Aviv to normalize relations. Such events are a sharp divergence from the status quo and thus, this thesis examines, through the application of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and analyzed through a constructivist framework, how three Arab media sources - Al-Jazeera, Al-Arabiya, and Al-Mayadeen - discuss and represent these normalization agreements. By …