Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Toward A Dynamic Model Of State Choice: Gains Pursuit Debate And The World System, Soo-Lyon Yon

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of my dissertation is to challenge the mainstream tradition of discourse in the field of international relations with regard to the world system and gains pursuit which has been framed by two significant theoretical perspectives: realism and neoliberalism.

In my dissertation, I established a theoretical linkage between the gains pursuit debate and the dynamics of the world system. The problem of absolute and relative gains divides two of the most influential approaches to international relations theory: realism and neoliberalism. However, these dichotomized approaches to gains pursuit assume a fixed (or static) view of the world system based on …

Fiscal Reforms And The Relationship Of Central-Local Governments In China, Myoung-Shik Kim

Masters Theses

In 1978, China started its economic reforms, and the main characteristic of Chinese economic reforms is fiscal decentralization. This means that the central government wanted local governments to develop the local economies with their fiscal autonomy. By and large, this strategy was successful. However, it also brought many structural problems such as the increase of government deficits and instability of macroeconomic policy. As a result, the central government was increasingly concerned with the potential political and economic consequences of its weakening fiscal power. The ceter finally introduced a new fiscal reform program (the tax-sharing system) in 1994. The main objective …

Balancing Equality And Liberty In Rawls’S Theory Of Justice, Young-Soon Bae

Masters Theses

This thesis examines the balance of equality and liberty in Rawls’s theory of justice. By analyzing the contents of his two principles of justice, this thesis supports his claim that the principles of justice adequately represent the values of equality and liberty.

The point that this thesis focuses on is the relationship between two principles of justice. According to Rawls, the relationship between them is created by priority rules. Rawls arranges two principles of justice in lexical order – the priority of the first principle over the second. This idea of priority rules does not provide an adequate standard to …

Civic Engagement In The Cyberspace Era: A Study Of A Local Cybergroup, Gay Henry Lyons

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the issue of participation and civic engagement through the investigation of cyberspace as public space. The research systematically studied the development, nature, operation, and impact of k2k, a local cybergroup based in Knoxville, Tennessee. While the emergence of cyberspace as public space is no panacea for the ills of democracy in America, it is clearly a potential antidote to counter the more virulent dimensions of civic disengagement in the United States. However, for a cybergroup to serve as an antidote to civic disengagement, the participants must move beyond electronic discourse into the …