Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Spread Of Nuclear Technology: The Difficulty Of Arms Control And The Consequences Of Nuclear Proliferation, Bryce Allen Beschorner

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

The potential impact of nuclear technology on international relations raises a number of important questions for scholars and policymakers. This dissertation focuses on different aspects of nuclear-related cooperation and competition and attempts to answer some of these questions. In this dissertation, I address three main puzzles related to nuclear politics using a mixed methods approach. First, I examine the consequences of the spread of nuclear technology on the outcomes of international crises, specifically focusing on the impact of nuclear weapons tests on crisis outcomes. Using data on nuclear weapons tests, I argue and find support for the notion that nuclear …

Damsels In Defense: Exploring The Relationship Between Women And Violence Against Civilians During Armed Conflict, Baylee Harrell

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

Conventional wisdom dictates that women are mostly victims of violence in armed conflict, but recent studies reveal women are often active participants and perpetrators of violence as well. Meanwhile, research shows armed group composition is a frequent determinant of violence against civilians, but many unconventional, yet influential, actors have received little attention regarding this outcome. Furthermore, few studies provide quantitative and cross-national evidence of how women’s shifting roles from victim to perpetrator affects violence against civilians. In this dissertation I examine the relationship between armed group composition, women, and violence against civilians in civil war by evaluating women’s roles as …

Coalition Of The Ending: Why States Withdraw From International Military Coalitions, Weiss Mehrabi

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

This dissertation examines the causes and conditions motivating states to discontinue supporting an ongoing military coalition operation and prematurely abandon their partners. In exploring coalition defection through a three-article dissertation, I advance three separate theoretical arguments focusing on three levels of analysis.

The first article contributes to the literature by investigating the effects of political regime types on coalition abandonment during interstate wars. I argue that anocracies are dependable wartime partners and will not abandon coalition warfare earlier than autocracies and democracies. I advance two arguments for the theory of anocratic reliability. First, leaders of mixed regimes expect severe post-defeat …

The Un-Intended Effects Of Risky Mandates, Robert Wood

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

In May 1948, the United Nations launched its first peacekeeping mission named the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO). Since this first mission, the United Nations has launched over 70 peacekeeping missions in regions such as Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa (Bellamy and Williams, 2015). The overarching goal of the United Nations, and the Security Council as the organ responsible for authorizing peacekeeping missions, is to protect international peace (United Nations, 1945a). However, the means of achieving international peace differs across missions. One source of variation concerning the means of achieving peace is found in peacekeeping mission mandates. While …

Staying Compliant Or Staying In Office? International Cooperation, Post-Coup Signals, And Coup-Born Regimes, Jennifer Flinchum

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

Although there has been a great deal of scholarly work that explores the various determinants of coups, their effects have received considerably less attention, especially in the realm of international cooperation. Even less attention has been paid to the consequences of post-coup signals sent to the new regimes that staged these coups from the international community. This dissertation investigates how both the presence of leaders who seized power via coup and how the international community reacts to such a power grab affects their behavior, specifically in areas where there is either an obligation to comply with pre-existing international legal agreements …

The Transnational Diffusion Of Human Trafficking Policy, Glenn M. Harden

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

Globalization has promoted the transnational diffusion of public policies. Recognizing that policies of one country are shaped by policies of others, scholars have developed several theories to explain policy diffusion. Because empirical evidence for these theories is contested, this study evaluates the relative explanatory power of the major theories of policy diffusion for human trafficking policies. To test competing theoretical claims, this study uses quantitative methods on an original, cross-national data set to analyze how human trafficking policies diffused. The results reveal that for the diffusion of human trafficking policies coercion and constructivist theories have robust support, while support is …

International Cooperation Networks And Economic Sanction Effectiveness, Gargi Vyas

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

An economic sanction issued by a group of states can impose large costs on a target state and induce a change in its behavior. However, there is considerable variation in the success of multilateral sanctions. I argue that multilateral sanctions will be more effective with higher cohesion within the sender network. This is because linked senders can use the threat of withdrawing cooperation on other issues to encourage their partners to enforce sanction laws domestically. I contend that the likelihood of sanction effectiveness increases with higher cohesion within the sender network and test this argument using social network analysis. Results …

From Hobbes To Habermas: The Anti-Cultural Turn In Western Political Thought, Ralph Gert Schoellhammer

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

The theme of this dissertation is the anti-cultural turn of Western Political Thought that has emerged out of Enlightenment thinking and was first turned into a comprehensive political idea by Thomas Hobbes.

Beginning with an overview of psychological research into the phenomenon of culture I put forward the argument that human beings are by nature social and individualistic, but that they oscillate between their ability to put group-interests before individual interests and vice versa. Culture is the main mechanism that influences which interest we give priority. This mechanism work through emotional attachments that create intuitions about what is morally right …

Piecing Together Coalition War: Threat, Politics, And Coalition Structure, Stephen Joiner

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

Military coalitions are both a common feature of interstate warfare and an example of the highest level of cooperation between states. Despite their tremendous importance in international relations, military coalitions remain poorly understood. This project investigates critical questions related to coalition structures, and uses quantitative and qualitative methods to show that both the threat and political opportunity facing coalitions helps to determine the shape of their structures. This project utilizes a dataset of all coalition wars since 1816, as well as case studies of six coalitions to investigate these relationships. Key contributions include novel theoretical arguments and the findings that …

Why Weak States Balance: National Mobilization And The Security Strategies Of Post-Soviet States, Eteri Tsintsadze-Maass

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the 14 post-Soviet states adopted dramatically differing security strategies towards Russia: some sought security by bandwagoning with Russia while others strove to balance against it. Why did states with similar experiences under Soviet rule and similar asymmetric power positions vis-à-vis Russia adopt such diverse security strategies in the aftermath of the Soviet Union’s disintegration? In contrast to prevailing theories focusing on power, economic interdependence, and cultural similarities, I propose that these variations in post-Soviet states’ security strategies can be best explained by their diverse experiences with national mobilization. The central argument of this …

Open Secrets, Congressional Oversight, And The Geopolitics Of The Cia Drone Program, Marita C. Murphy

Theses and Dissertations--Geography

Analyzing four congressional hearings that publicly discuss the CIA’s ‘secret’ drone program, this thesis considers the interaction between publicity and secrecy in facilitating practices of later-modern warfare. Specifically, I examine the content of these drone hearings within the broader context of leaks, Obama administration speeches, and public interest in CIA drones to better understand how open secrecy engages with public oversight. I argue these hearings are deceptively productive. While they largely fail as oversight events, the hearings facilitate numerous unexpected outcomes—including the normalization and entrenchment of the CIA drone program. Paradoxically then, publicity proves essential to the maintenance and acceptance …

Repression And Women’S Dissent: Gender And Protests, Dakota Thomas

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

Why do women protest? Why do women protest “as women”? Why do some women participate in protests but not others? In the wake of the Women’s March of 2017, perhaps the largest single day protest event in history, these questions are particularly timely and deserve scholarly attention. One important but understudied and undertheorized motivation for women’s protests is state sanctioned violence, particularly repression. This dissertation explicitly theorizes about how state perpetration of violence, particularly state use of repression, both motivates and shapes women’s protests on a global scale.

In this dissertation, I argue that one key motivation for women’s protest …

Outlaw Heaven: Why States Become Tax Havens, Charles A. Dainoff

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

It is the argument of this dissertation that states become tax havens as a conscious economic development strategy. These states – more properly referred to as "jurisdictions" because some lack the sovereignty of the traditional Westphalian state – do not have the natural resources or the population to pursue more traditional economic development strategies, but they do have the ability to write or implement laws that create a virtual resource: banking secrecy. These jurisdictions are able to carry out this strategy because they tend to be well-governed, stable, and relatively wealthy, making them attractive partners for the international banking, legal, …

Things Fall Apart: The Determinants Of Military Mutinies, Jaclyn M. Johnson

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

Military mutinies are occurring more frequently in the last two decades than ever before. Mutinies impact every region of the world. Given that they are occurring more frequently, impact every region, and often have disastrous implications, scholars must answer the foundational question: why do mutinies occur? What are the proximate domestic conditions that give rise to military mutinies? This project makes three contributions. First, I set out to formally define mutinies and collect a new dataset that will allow scholars to examine mutinies empirically. Second, I present a theoretical framework that explains when and why mutinies will occur. Finally, I …

Ethnic Xenophobia As Symbolic Politics: A Cross-National Study Of Anti-Migrant Activism From Brussels To Beirut, Annamarie M. Rannou

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

Xenophobia is examined almost exclusively as a prejudice of advanced western nations. I argue that the field of study of xenophobia must be re-conceptualized in order for comparative, cross-regional inquiry to take place. With a new concept of ethnic xenophobia, this dissertation examines the determinants and causal mechanisms of ethnic xenophobic activity across developed and developing countries. I integrate studies of xenophobia and theories of ethnic threat to explain that political elites rely on structural dimensions of threat to convert native anxieties into ethnic xenophobia through the use of anti-migrant myths and symbols. I extend Stuart Kaufman’s theory of …

Mass Fears, Strong Leaders And The Risk Of Renewed Conflict: Three Essays On Post-Conflict Elections, Anup Phayal

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

Countries emerging out of armed conflicts face immense challenges in their efforts to build electoral democracies. Contrary to our intuition that elections can transform violent competition to peaceful political contests, past research suggests that holding post-conflict elections only increases the chance of renewed violence. Why are elections unable to build sustainable democracies as expected? In this dissertation, I examine the question by focusing on two levels of analysis. First, I study the effects of violence on political behavior of mass publics at the individual level using the World Values survey Dataset. I argue that citizens are more inclined to support …

Structure Matters: How Organizational Characteristics Affect Military Efforts, Michael A. Morgan

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

Military organizations develop a unique set of practices and procedures in response to their particular political, economic, and social circumstances. The characteristics of these organizations shape standardized behaviors, methods of training personnel, and the degree of stratification within their bureaucratic hierarchies. This study examines how organizational characteristics influence battlefield effectiveness, patterns of alliance formation, and the security of United Nations peacekeepers.

Chapter 2 evaluates how differences in personnel sophistication and bureaucratic stratification influence battlefield efficacy. A military may devote substantial resources to develop war plans and procure advanced technology, but these assets are of limited consequence in the absence of …

Terrain, Trains, And Terrorism: The Influence Of Geography On Terrorism In India, Andrea Malji

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

What conditions give rise to and nurture ethno-nationalist terrorist movements in India? Specifically, can geography create grievances and be beneficial in a terrorist campaign? I investigate how geography prevented historical development in certain locations in India. I theorize that rugged geographic features prevented economic, social, and political development. Underdevelopment and isolation created grievances in the population. Aggrieved groups then utilized the same geographic features that prevented development to launch effective terrorist campaigns. I conduct a district level analysis of terrorism in India using statistical and GIS analysis. I supplement the analysis with case studies from the Indian states of Uttarkhand, …

The Effect Of The Oil Trade Network On Political Stability, Jungmoo Woo

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

My dissertation focuses on the impact of oil trade ties and network on political instability: democratization, civil war onset, and coups. Oil is an important resource to most states, while a few states, especially autocratic states, can produce and export it. This implies that the break of oil trade ties may strategically or economically damage oil-importing states more than oil-exporting states. In the three essays of my dissertation, I argue that oil trade ties allow oil-exporting states to resist to external pressures and encourage oil-importing states to support important oil exporters in order to avoid losing access to a much-needed …

When Security Dominates The Agenda: The Influence Of Interstate Rivalry On Women's Status, Theresa Schroeder

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

The overarching theme of my dissertation is the effect of interstate rivalries on women’s status. Specifically, I investigate the influence of rivalries on the election of women, the adoption of a gender quota, and the overall level of gender equality. National security is a prime concern in states involved in an interstate rivalry, which can influence women’s lives in a number of key ways. Through the actions of individual voters and rational parties, I find that being in an interstate rivalry leads to lower levels of female representation. In addition, I theorize that rivalries lessen societal pressure to increase female …

The Medicine Of War: Imf Structural Adjustment, Ethnic Politics, And Armed Civil Conflict, Yanyu Ke

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

The dissertation research answers the question of what explains the variation across countries where the IMF SAP implementation is associated with the onset of armed civil conflict in some countries but not in others. Do SAPs increase the likelihood of the outbreak of armed civil conflict in recipient countries? By what causal mechanism could SAPs increase the probability of the onset of armed civil conflict? This study contributes to extant literature by taking actors’ preferences and ethnicity in recipient countries into account. I argue that the effect of SAP implementation on armed civil conflict is conditional on the ethnic characteristics …

Natural Phenomena As Potential Influence On Social And Political Behavior: The Earth’S Magnetic Field, Jackie R. East

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

Researchers use natural phenomena in a number of disciplines to help explain human behavioral outcomes. Research regarding the potential effects of magnetic fields on animal and human behavior indicates that fields could influence outcomes of interest to social scientists. Tests so far have been limited in scope. This work is a preliminary evaluation of whether the earth’s magnetic field influences human behavior it examines the baseline relationship exhibited between geomagnetic readings and a host of social and political outcomes. The emphasis on breadth of topical coverage in these statistical trials, rather than on depth of development for any one model, …

Kantian Peace Extended: Liberal Influences And Military Spending, Isaac M. Castellano

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

The Kantian Triangle of democratic institutions, IGOs, and economic interdependence has received a great deal of attention by international relations scholars. This project expands on liberal theory by arguing the pacific effects of the Kantian Triangle extend beyond dyadic context, and shapes state decision making on defense spending decisions. This project asserts that as states (1) build democratic institutions, (2) increase the number of memberships in international intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), and (3) exposes domestic markets to the global economy and subsequent interdependence on foreign markets for both imports and exports, they are less likely to allocate resources toward the military. …

Peacekeeping And Peace Kept: Third Party Interventions And Recurrences Of Civil War, Barrett J. Osborn

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

Civil wars have become more prevalent in modern times and present unique challenges to conflict resolution. Third parties often intervene in civil wars attempting to insure that peace is imposed and will persist. However, the impact of third parties on intrastate conflicts remains incomplete. The civil conflict literature does not sufficiently distinguish how third parties promote peaceful outcomes during a peacekeeping operation and why a state remains stable after the peacekeepers leave. By examining data on third party interventions from 1946-2006 and individually examining the case of Sierra Leone, this research concludes that peacekeeping missions promoting transparency, credible information sharing, …

Mediator Impartiality And Mediator Interest, Su-Mi Lee

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

Scholars have debated whether mediator impartiality or mediator interest plays a more vital role in bringing about a successful outcome. This research develops a comprehensive model that accounts for mediation occurrence and medication outcome in terms of an additive model of both mediator impartiality and mediator interest. The two channels through which mediators influence the changes of mediation and occurrence and outcome are hypothesized to be two dimensions of trust, mediator fairness and mediator capacity. This research argues 1) that mediator impartiality contributes to successful mediation outcomes by improving disputants’ trust in mediators’ fairness and 2) that mediator interest increases …

Creed Vs. Deed: Secession, Legitimacy, And The Use Of Child Soldiers, Trace C. Lasley

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

The use of child soldiers has troubled human rights activists, policy-makers, and local communities for decades. Although rebellions around the world routinely use children in their activities, many do not. Despite its overwhelming importance for conflict resolution, the topic of child soldiers remains understudied. My research blends classic rational choice and constructivist themes to develop an explanation for when child soldiers will be used, and when they will be avoided.

The likelihood of child recruitment is influenced by the value of international opinion; this is determined by the groups' long-term goals. Secessionist rebellions desire to have their own state. However, …

Coups And Conflict: The Paradox Of Coup-Proofing, Jonathan M. Powell

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

This study develops a leader-centric theory of civil-military relations that expands upon three broad areas of research. Specifically, the study suggests that leaders will evaluate multiple threats to their political survival and will ultimately implement strategy that is most likely to keep them in power. While Downs (1957) has noted such a tendency in democracies, this study expands this rationale to authoritarian regimes by focusing on the primary means of authoritarian removal: the military coup. In contrast to the state-centric nature of traditional international relations theory, this dissertation finds that leaders frequently undermine the power of the state in order …

U.S. Development Aid, Its Objectives And Lower-Middle Income Countries, Nazar Muhammad

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The U.S. is investing billions of dollars in developing countries. U.S. development aid is an essential part of U.S. foreign policy. The objectives laid down by the architects of development aid are wide and range from strategic, economic and social uplift of poor countries to humanitarian assistance to alleviate the suffering of residents. There is a tense political and academic debate about the impacts of development aid funded by the U.S. There are many who believe funds support dictators, while others consider aid to be a real help to fragile economies.

Pakistan is one of the biggest recipients of U.S. …