International and Area Studies Commons^™

The Past And Future Of Migration, Poverty, And Small-Scale Agriculture In Mexico, Kimberly Zamora Delgado

CMC Senior Theses

The conflated pattern between poverty, rurality, and indigeneity in Mexico signifies drastic inequality between populations. Poor, rural communities often do not receive as much public services, infrastructure improvements, and employment opportunities as urban areas, which causes out-migration into the cities. Some of the few jobs available in rural areas are in the agriculture sector, either through small-scale subsistence farming or seasonal employment on a large-scale farm. Historically, certain wealthy states such as Sinaloa, Michoacán, and Sonora received greater support to up-scale into modernized agriculture, which made them into the largest agro-exporters. On the other hand, poor states with greater indigenous …

The Potential Of Stakeholder Engagement To Improve Outcomes Of Foreign Investments In Renewable Energy Projects In Lower Income Countries, Grace Hickey

CMC Senior Theses

Renewable energy projects in lower income countries have the potential to help these countries reduce their impact on and become more resilient to climate change, while also increasing their populations’ access to energy and thus potential for sustainable improvement in their quality of life. These projects often rely on foreign investing, and this type of investment has dramatically ramped up in recent years. Yet, these projects still face a high failure rate, and governments and investors have not yet developed consistent frameworks for producing renewable energy projects that ensure both investor returns and positive community outcomes. This thesis predicts that …

The Enduring Role Of Conflict In The Perpetuation Of Famine: Advancing 'The Right To Adequate Food' For Sustainable Peace, Robert M. Bane

Dissertations and Theses

The present thesis evaluates developments and trends in global conflict dynamics, global systems of governance, and global hunger. Together, the thesis investigates and upholds the notion that famine is a ‘man-made’ phenomenon and explains how famine persists in a world abundant with food. Through analysis and research the following is found: the occurrence of global conflict is accelerating alongside an increase in the severity of organized violence dynamics; global authoritarianism is expanding presenting a threat to global freedoms and liberal democracy; as these trends are occurring, world hunger is steadily on the rise reflecting a significant backsliding of progress achieved …

Connection And Competition: Navigating The U.S.-China Race To 5g, Hannah Reilly

CMC Senior Theses

By improving the speed and reliability of the transfer of data, 5G technology has the potential to produce a fourth technological revolution over the next few decades. Its infrastructure will enable advanced technology that will generate massive economic growth and bolster military power. 5G technology will also create new vulnerabilities that introduce new security concerns. The nation with the most control over its 5G networks and the networks of other countries will gain the ability to protect itself from the cyberattacks or espionage of countries with malicious intent. A fierce competition has erupted between the United States and China, each …

Mixing Sports And Politics: How Totalitarian Regimes Used Sports To Achieve The Goals Of The State, Caroline Phillips

CMC Senior Theses

This paper explores how sports were used by totalitarian regimes to achieve the goals of the state. The three case studies involve the totalitarian governments of interwar Europe: Italian Fascism, German Nazism, and Spanish Francoism. Three main trends were identified. Sports were used to improve their nation’s health and fitness for military preparation, construct a national identity, and as a diplomatic tool to improve their international reputation. I also explore what ideological themes lent themselves to construction of these three specific goals.

In Search Of Unicorns: An Analysis Of Japan's Startup Ecosystem, Kaito Komoriya

CMC Senior Theses

While Japan previously dominated global consumer markets in innovative electronic products, the economy has failed to live up to this performance since the burst of the asset price bubble in 1992 and the subsequent lost decades. In the modern economy, startup companies have become synonymous with innovation. Most of these companies have emerged from Silicon Valley, as well as other startup hubs around the globe. However, critics have criticized Japan for the limited number of notable startup companies from the country.

My thesis seeks to answer the two following questions: First, what is the current state of Japan’s startup ecosystem? …

Does The Weapon Of Mass Destruction Impact Masses Equally? Examining The Disproportionate Impacts Of Nuclear Weapons, Carley Barnhart

CMC Senior Theses

Regarded as the most powerful weapon ever created, the nuclear weapon is associated with mass destruction and even total annihilation. This thesis aims to answer the question: does the weapon of mass destruction impact masses equally? The use of three theoretical lenses is employed to guide this thesis’ analysis: the lenses of internal colonialism, neocolonialism, and feminism. These lenses allow for previously marginalized experiences to be placed at the center of analysis. The entirety of the ‘nuclear web’, from nuclear scholarship and nuclear decision-making to weapons design, creation, production, and disarmament is analyzed to understand the total impacts of the …

Reinventing Opportunities For Argentina: Vista Oil And Gas, Emiliano Cabrera

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

In the last century, Argentina faced an astonishing economic downturn that remains until today, frustrating all who learn its economic history, explore the country's potential, and stay in tune with its political-economic present. This research examines Argentina's economic history, revises the main drivers that signed its economic drama, and proposes guidelines to address new opportunities by encouraging its private sector. By using Vista Oil and Gas as an exemplary case, this work proposes Vista's business model as an initiative perfectly compatible with the primary macroeconomic needs that Argentina currently has that should be highly considered for developing its private sector. …

Alexey Starostin (Ed.) Muslims In Russia’S Far East: History And Contemporary Situation. (Book Review), Elena Glavatskaya

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

A review of Alexey Starostin (ed.) Мусульмане на Дальнем Востоке России: история и современность (Muslims in Russia’s Far East: History and Contemporary Situation). Kazan’ : Typografia “Algoritm+”, 2020, 656 pp, hardback. ISBN: 978-5-6042963-5-6.

Russia’S War In Ukraine And The Limits Of Religious Diplomacy, Ina Merdjanova

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

"The ongoing international efforts to put an end to the bloodshed in Ukraine have exposed the limits of faith-based diplomacy. This is particularly true when church and state embrace each other in a symbiotic alliance, in order to pursue their respective hegemonic ambitions."

Repressive Psychiatry As A Means Of Combating Religious Dissidents In The Soviet Union, Oksana Vysoven, Nina Brehunets, Tetyana Lohvynyuk

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article highlights the impossibility of the coexistence of modern civilization in conditions of impunity for crimes against humanity, which have no statute of limitations, but due to the lack of punishment and concealment of information it creates even greater crimes. Many of the unjustly convicted political prisoners have been rehabilitated since the condemnation of Stalin's cult of personality and his crimes in Soviet Ukraine since 1956. As a result of the mass rehabilitation of political prisoners, the regime gained serious opposition, some of whom сonsisted of evangelical Baptist communities who advocated genuine freedom of conscience. The Soviet regime used …

Appeal Of The Representatives Of Ukrainian Evangelical Theological Educational Institutions Regarding The War Of The Russian Federation Against Ukraine, Oleksandr Geychenko, Roman Soloviy, Taras Dyatlik, Olga Dyatlik, Ivan Rusyn, Valentyn Siniy, Kseniia Trofymchuk

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Statement of the “Evangelische Bildungseinrichtungen der Ukraine“ 20 April 2022.

"As the next phase of Russia-Ukraine war began with the full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, we, the representatives of Ukrainian evangelical theological educational institutions, have witnessed massive war crimes, including numerous acts of violence, irrational cruelty, and inhuman treatment of civilians, destruction of cities, executions of peaceful civilians, rapes, pillaging, and plundering."

Frontmatter (Volume 42, Issue 6), Paul B. Mojzes

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Can Delaying An Execution Due To Covid-19 Amount To Unconstitutional Discrimination?, Benjamin Joshua Ong

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This note discusses the case of Syed Suhail bin Syed Zin v Attorney-General [2021] 1 SLR 809 (CA); [2021] 4 SLR 698 (HC) and its implications for equality law in Singapore.

The 2022 Global Philanthropy Environment Index Singapore, Tan K. B. Eugene

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The three indicator questions in this section pertain to the laws and regulations governing philanthropic organizations (POs). The scoring questions for this category cover three aspects of regulations: (A) formation and registration; (B) operations; and (C) dissolution.

Ukrainian Interfaith Families In The Context Of Church, Marriage, And Social Relations Of The 19th Century, Olena Borodenko, Roman Sitarchuk

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The aim. In the article (based on the materials of church statistical books of Orthodox parishes in the Right and Left Bank of Ukraine, ego-documents, documentation of the directive and administrative direction, canonical and fiction), an imaginary collective portrait of interfaith families is created in the representation of marriage partners of the Orthodox and Roman Catholic faiths—in the context of marriage-social policy of the Russian Empire in the 19th century.

Research methods. The interdisciplinary direction of intelligence led to the use, in addition to general scientific methods, of special historical methods: quantitative, comparative, prosopographic and critical analysis.

Main results. Based …

Frontmatter (Volume 42, Issue 3), Paul B. Mojzes

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Clergy Social Activity During War Conditions: The Case Of Western Regions Of Ukraine, Ihor Lutsan, Iryna Horokholinska

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

In this article, the authors analyze the impact of Russia-Ukraine war on church-religious life and the state of public consciousness in Ukraine and identify the main trends and contradictions in public reactions to threats to their lives and spirituality. The research focuses on religious communities of the western regions of Ukraine and their socially significant activities. The primary empirical source of the article was the study (by questionnaire survey) of the opinions of the clergy of this religious organization on the characteristics of parish life and the role of the pastor in the conditions of war. Three defining vectors that …

Beyond Diversion: Regime Security And The 1990–91 Gulf War, Drew Horne

Sigma: Journal of Political and International Studies

Whether and to what degree internal threats could indeed lead to external conflict has been the focus of great swaths of International Relations scholarship. In their seminal work on International Relations, Haas and Whiting (1956) argue that state leaders “may be driven to a policy of foreign conflict—if not open war—to defend themselves against the onslaught of domestic enemies” (62). The default explanation for this connection, it seems, has been the widely touted diversionary war hypothesis, which supposes that domestically embattled leaders will seek to divert the public’s ire from their failures by provoking foreign conflicts (see Levy 1989; Oakes …

Poll Booth Proximity, Tribal Id, And Bilingual Accessibility: Three Provisions To Increase Native American Turnout In The Native American Voting Rights Act Of 2019, Grant Baldwin

Sigma: Journal of Political and International Studies

On March 12, 2019, Senator Udall (D-NM) and Representative Lujan (D-NM- 3) introduced the Native American Voting Rights Act of 2019 (S.739; HR 1694) to both chambers of the United States Congress as a proposed solution to problems concerning low voter turnout among Native Americans and Alaska Natives. (While I recognize there are notable differences between Native American groups and Alaska Native groups, for the remainder of this analysis I use the terms Native, Native American, American Indian, and Alaska Native interchangeably.) If enacted, the bill would provide voting assistance to Native communities by bringing poll booth and voter registration …

Censorship Sensing: The Capabilities And Implications Of China’S Great Firewall Under Xi Jinping, Emily Quan

Sigma: Journal of Political and International Studies

Totaling over 989 million users at the end of 2020, Chinese Internet users interact with unprecedent amounts of data, communication, and media (Xu 2020). It is a far cry from 1987, when the first email was sent from China to the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. The message in the email, later popularized on QQ desktops, was this: “Across the Great Wall, we can reach every corner of the world” (越过长城，走向世 界, Yuèguò Chángchéng, Zouxiàng Shìjiè) (Internet Archive 2013).

President Trump’S 2018 Tariffs On Steel, Davis Forster

Sigma: Journal of Political and International Studies

In the aftermath of the Great Recession, much of the United States working and middle class found themselves struggling. The factory, manufacturing, and metalworking jobs they had been doing for decades continued to move overseas, where others could do it cheaper and faster. The US steel industry, in particular, had been contracting steadily since the 1990s with no signs of stopping, despite several previous government revitalization efforts, such as Bush’s steel tariffs in 2002 (York 2018). As the 2016 election approached, America’s middle and working classes were looking for someone who would bring their jobs back.

Party Institutionalization And Public Confidence, Blake West

Sigma: Journal of Political and International Studies

Confidence in America’s government institutions has continually decreased over the past decade. In the year 2020, this growing lack of public confidence in government became apparent as the government failed, in the public’s eye, to solve numerous problems over the course of the year. The 2020 election showcased suspicions and fears directed at the American electoral system and the validity of America’s constitutional institutions. In recent polling data by the Hill, it was revealed that 33% of United States citizens believed that the Presidential Election in 2020 was unfair (The Hill 2021). Within the Republican Party alone, Forbes magazine …

Covid-19 Isolation Mandates Decrease Out-Group Hostility In The Mena Region, Annie Gold

Sigma: Journal of Political and International Studies

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on the global economic landscape, leading to unprecedented unemployment spikes, supply chain standstills, and small business shutdowns. From a healthcare perspective, national governments have struggled to provide sufficient care and vaccination to citizens, often requiring strict curfews to remedy the lack of available healthcare provisions. The MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region has especially suffered during the pandemic. However, despite the challenging fiscal climate and underprovision of healthcare services, results from the 2021 Arab Barometer survey indicate that citizens’ tolerance of different ethnic and religious groups has increased since the onset …

Full Issue

Sigma: Journal of Political and International Studies

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

Sigma: Journal of Political and International Studies

No abstract provided.

A Letter From The Editor, Zeke Peters, Editor-In-Chief

Sigma: Journal of Political and International Studies

This past year has proven to be different than expected. The COVID-19 pandemic still looms in the background of a domestic inflation crisis and international peace conflicts throughout EUrope and Asia. Uncertainty is high and the view of what tomorrow will bring consistently shifts, but there are some things that remain constant. Our interactions with one another—whether digitally or in person—matter. Our ability to sympathize and to come together in troubled times is what makes us human.

Harry Redner. Beyond Civilization: Society, Culture And The Individual In The Age Of Globalization. Routledge, 2014., Mariana Tepfenhart

Comparative Civilizations Review

Harry Redner was a reader at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, and a visiting professor at Yale University, University of California-Berkeley and Harvard University. His book has three parts: An Overview of History, The Present Predicament of History, and The Future Prospects of Civilization.

The book addresses two major issues affecting our society today. One of them is globalization and its effect on civilization. The topic is analyzed not only from a cultural perspective but also from a political and cognitive standpoint. The second issue is technology and its place in a global society. Redner argues Western civilization’s development of …

Creating A Sense Of Belonging For Latinx Students In Community College: You Matter, You Fit In, And You Belong, Francisco Javier Bataz

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation examines the perceptions of Latinx sense of belonging in a Midwest community college and how their academic and social experiences are impacted. Sense of belonging is meaningful to community college students because Latinx students are historically underserved in postsecondary education. The goal is to better understand the perceptions of Latinx students in a community college setting and to find out what factors impact sense of belonging. This study is significant because Latinx student retention outcomes in higher education are very low. The Latinx population is the fastest growing group in the United States. Therefore, providing support and an …

Letter To An Unknown Hero Of Kiev, Mustafa Ceric

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

A letter of solidarity to the besieged in Kiev, from Mustafa Ceric, Ph.D. Grand Mufti Emeritus of Bosnia.