International and Area Studies Commons^™

Not The Only Game In Town: Unconsolidated Democracy, Elite Capture, And Shifting Alliances In Georgia, Leah Mayerhauser

CISLA Senior Integrative Projects

This paper examines Georgia’s post-Soviet political development to explain why the country, once viewed as a leading candidate for democratic consolidation, has experienced sustained democratic erosion and shifting geopolitical alignment. Drawing on Juan Linz and Alfred Stepan’s theory of democratic consolidation, it argues that Georgia never fully achieved a consolidated democracy after independence, leaving key institutional arenas including civil society, political society, rule of law, state bureaucracy, and economic society, unevenly developed and vulnerable to elite capture. Through a historical and institutional analysis from 1991 to 2026, this paper traces how early failures in state formation, unresolved questions of stateness, …

Nuclear Weapons And Conflict Escalation: Impacts On Fatalities And The India-China Case, Tyden J. Kortman

Honors Theses

The study of nuclear weapons and their impact on conflict have existed as long as nuclear weapons themselves. Nonetheless, many questions remain on whether nuclear weapons serve primarily as a deterrent to conflict or as an avenue towards the deadliest form of warfare in human history. We use both statistical analysis against a large conflict dataset and a case study of India-China conflicts from 1955-1979 to contribute to the ongoing literature on this question. We hypothesize that nuclear weapons lower the rate of conflict and dispute escalation. After statistical testing and case study analysis, we found that there was no …

How Ai Governance Differs Between Regime Type, Jackson T. Guillou

Honors Theses

This thesis will examine how artificial intelligence (AI) regulation and development differ across political regime types, arguing that governance outcomes are fundamentally shaped by institutional political structures. This thesis will draw on comparative frameworks analyzing democratic and authoritarian systems. This thesis will also include case studies of the European Union, the United States of America, China, and Russia. The study finds that democratic regimes tend to emphasize transparency, accountability, and rights-based regulation of AI. This often results in slow regulation of AI, but it is more ethically legitimate and constrained. In contrast, authoritarian regimes prioritize centralized control, strategic coordination, and …

The Weaponization Of Transnational Crime: A Triangular Analytical Model For Hybrid Threat Development In U.S.–China–Russia Relations, 2000–2025, Michael J. Haak

Senior Honors Theses

This thesis examines the evolving strategic relationship between the United States, China, and Russia from 2000 to 2025 through a triangular model based on reactions to systemic pressures to core strategic interests. The study employs a thematic qualitative data analysis on U.S., Chinese, and Russian national security strategies to analyze strategic posturing between poles over time. This new model serves as the study’s basis for contextualizing hybrid threat development, specifically transnational crime as a proxy force of asymmetric power projection. The study found that the evolution of state-supported transnational crime serves as a by-product of reactions to systemic pressure. State …

Splitting Shores: Comparative Analysis Of Italy’S And Spain’S Reactions To Immigration, William E. Montgomery V

International and Global Studies Undergraduate Honors Theses

The divergence in public immigration sentiment between Italy and Spain, two countries with striking historical, geographic, and demographic similarities, is seen as a mystery for popular theoretical frameworks. Although both nations transitioned from net emigration to net immigration beginning in the 1970s and 1980s, Italy has consistently exhibited more negative attitudes toward immigration relative to the European average, while Spain has seen sustained improvement in immigration sentiment despite receiving immigrants at historically unprecedented levels. Employing a Most Similar Systems Design and drawing on quantitative demographic and survey data, primary legislative texts, and secondary scholarly literature, this thesis tests Group Threat …

An Alternative To Armageddon: O.P. Weyland And The Development Of Tactical Air Power, Paul Wells

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Theorists and advocates of air power argued that aircraft, not ground forces, would become the dominant platform for victory in war. They promoted the concept of strategic bombing, using aircraft to bypass ground forces and directly attack a nation's industrial capacity to wage war, hoping to ensure quick victory and avoid a repeat of the prolonged slaughter in the trenches of WWI. In 1947, led by advocates of strategic bombing, the United States Air Force (USAF) became an independent and equal branch of the U.S. military. The USAF developed the Strategic Air Command (SAC) to meet the requirements of the …

Negosiasi Diplomasi Budaya K-Pop Di Indonesia: Studi Kasus Boikot Penggemar Ateez, Dhannya Febryana

Multikultura

This study examines the boycott by Indonesian fans against the K-pop group ATEEZ as part of the dynamics of South Korea’s cultural diplomacy in Southeast Asia. Building on the understanding of K-pop as an important instrument of soft power in South Korea’s cultural diplomacy strategy, this research highlights how regional audiences do not always passively accept such practices. Using a qualitative approach with digital discourse analysis, the study analyzes boycott-related discourses circulating on social media and in online news coverage to explore the narratives, meanings, and cultural implications of this action. The fan boycott is not merely an expression of …

Considering Moderating Forces As A Critical Lens For Understanding The Internationalization Of Higher Education, Jonah M. Otto

Critical Internationalization Studies Review

No abstract provided.

Economic Security And Strategic Rivalry: Industrial Policy And The U.S.–China Security Dilemma, Nurielle Rahav

Bates College Journal of Political Studies

In an era of geopolitical competition and technological dominance, industrial policy has reemerged as a crucial tool of economic strategy in both the United States and China. Industrial policies, particularly in the advanced manufacturing sector, were formerly understood as tools for strengthening the domestic economy. However, against the backdrop of the U.S.–China trade war, new industrial policies carry significant geopolitical implications. This paper argues that industrial policy intensifies the U.S.–China security dilemma, as both governments increasingly interpret economic self-sufficiency in advanced manufacturing as a matter of national security. Through an analysis of two cases, the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act …

The Costs Of Selective Intervention: Why The Obama Administration Chose To Intervene In Libya Over Syria, Rayanne Attar

Bates College Journal of Political Studies

This paper examines the Obama administration’s selective military intervention during the Arab Spring, comparing case studies of Libya and Syria. I argue that the decision for the Obama administration to militarily intervene in Libya but not Syria was justified because intervention in Syria was far more costly in terms of risks. In Libya, Qaddafi’s regime lacked strong external support, relied on dated military systems, and faced a fragmented opposition, making intervention politically feasible. In contrast, in Syria, Assad’s alliance with Russia and Iran, threatening air defense capabilities, and internal sociopolitical divisions made military action highly risky and unlikely to produce …

Shu World Review- April 27th 2026, Diplolab, Seton Hall University

SHU World Review

No abstract provided.

Caste, Religion, And Inequality In India, Chloe Johnson, Elyse O’Leary, Diana Tarazi, Claire Geis, Francesca Bambara

Global Studies Student Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Church, Mosque, And State: The Impacts Of Sectarian Politics On Lebanon’S Democracy, Tonia Attie

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

As Lebanon seeks to reform multiple sectors of the country, it is crucial to understand how its consociational government, centered on religious identities, interacts with its citizens. Electoral accountability is the process by which an electorate holds politicians liable for their actions while in office. While previous studies, such as Vincent Hutchings’ “Public Opinion and Democratic Accountability,” have shown how electoral accountability functions within traditional party systems based on political ideology, there is little research on how accountability mechanisms operate in confessional party systems based on religion. This paper posits that within countries with confessional systems, voters are less able …

Shu World Review- April 20th 2026, Diplolab, Seton Hall University

SHU World Review

No abstract provided.

Shu World Review- April 13th 2026, Diplolab, Seton Hall University

SHU World Review

No abstract provided.

Organizing To Engage: A Framework For Conflict Strategy, Paul Mason Carpenter

Dissertations

Conflict strategy can be exceedingly complex. While many of the basics are simple, even the simple can be highly complicated to execute. The Schlieffen Plan in World War I appeared straight forward, but execution was a great deal more complex. It failed and the result was years of trench warfare.  In addition, leaders entering conflict may not fully appreciate the full context, its effect, and the need for a long term result--a better state of peace.

Strategy and tactics may be challenging to transform as an engagement evolves. In addition, strategists must often commit to courses of action within very …

Editor-In-Chief's Note, Surekha Rao

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Author Biographical Notes

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

George C. Roberts Award Recipients

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Mission And Editorial Policy

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

The Unsovereign Citizen: The Reconfiguration Of Rights And Belonging In Fascist Italy, Roberta Pergher

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

Modern political thought tends to associate citizenship with democracy, equality, and political participation. This article demonstrates that citizenship can be profoundly important also for authoritarian rule. In Fascist Italy, citizenship remained central to political life, not as a vehicle of democratic participation, to be sure, but as a category through which the regime redefined belonging, hierarchy, and sovereignty. Drawing on citizenship legislation, imperial ordinances, racial laws, police reports, and ministerial commentary between 1912 and 1943, this article shows how the dictatorship hollowed out liberal citizenship within the peninsula, stratified it across imperial territories, consolidated it across diasporic populations, and ultimately …

Reviewers And Referees

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Editorial History

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Why Publish With Mssj?

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

The Courts Closest To The People: The Battle Between Populism And Democracy In The U.S. District Courts, Shruti Rana

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

The U.S. district courts have emerged as a critical site of contested terrain amid the chaos and controversies consuming American law and politics since the start of the second Trump administration. This article examines these frontline courts through the theoretical lens of populism, arguing that they have become a critical institutional flashpoint in the populist assault on constitutional democracy in the United States. As the courts closest to the people, the district courts occupy a unique structural position: They are the fact-finding courts, the most geographically dispersed and professionally diverse tier of the federal judiciary, and often the first institutional …

Statement From The Indiana Academy Of The Social Sciences And Board Of Directors

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Call For Papers: 97th Annual Conference Of The Indiana Academy Of The Social Sciences

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Submission Guidelines

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Volume 28, Issue 2 Full Contents

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Shu World Review- April 6th 2026, Diplolab, Seton Hall University

SHU World Review

No abstract provided.