Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Macalester College

Discipline
Keyword
Publication Year
Publication
Publication Type

Articles 1 - 10 of 10

Full-Text Articles in Other International and Area Studies

Homemade Language, Conservative Fro-Yo, And Sci-Fi Sloths: How Speculative Migration Fiction Confronts The Ends Of Worlds By Challenging The Nation-State, Zoe R. Scheuerman Apr 2024

Homemade Language, Conservative Fro-Yo, And Sci-Fi Sloths: How Speculative Migration Fiction Confronts The Ends Of Worlds By Challenging The Nation-State, Zoe R. Scheuerman

English Honors Projects

This English literature thesis project explores an emerging, genre-defying body of fiction which I call “speculative migration fiction.” Speculative migration fiction imagines how ongoing global developments like climate change, technological development, and war may shape future migrations. Drawing on Benedict Anderson’s conception of national culture, Wendy Brown’s theory of the border, and Caroline Levine’s understanding of literary form, as well as close readings from Scattered All Over the Earth by Yōko Tawada, Exit West by Mohsin Hamid, and 2 A.M. in Little America by Ken Kalfus, I argue that transnational migrations move toward becoming postnational migrations as migrants evade border …


King Behind Colonial Curtains: Kasilag And The Making Of Filipino National Culture, Paul Gabriel L. Cosme Apr 2022

King Behind Colonial Curtains: Kasilag And The Making Of Filipino National Culture, Paul Gabriel L. Cosme

International Studies Honors Projects

Filipino National Artist Lucrecia “King” Kasilag sought to preserve folk cultures and melded these with her Western training to produce works—scholarly, pedagogical, and compositional—that shaped national music and culture. This thesis is a critical biography that combines perspectives from postcolonial studies, political economy, and musicology to highlight forces that shaped Kasilag’s life while illustrating her successes and shortcomings on national culture. Through this biography, I argue, Filipino national culture must originate from intersectional struggles and negotiation among elites and masses; that this culture is about both resistance and acceptance—a national culture that is syncretic and quintessentially dynamic.


The Utility Of Darkness: Figments Of A State Called The Democratic Republic Of The Congo, Aimee M. Mackie May 2013

The Utility Of Darkness: Figments Of A State Called The Democratic Republic Of The Congo, Aimee M. Mackie

International Studies Honors Projects

Since the Heart of Darkness brought the cruelty of King Leopold’s rule of the Congo to the world’s attention, it has been viewed internationally as the locus ofinhumanity. My thesis examines how this perception has excused the role of neocolonial actors in furthering destabilization. After independence, the United States and Belgium, with the assistance of Mobutu Sese-Seko, exploited the nominally sovereign Congo. The weakening of the Congolese state has continued in recent years through a lack of accountability for international interventions brought about by bureaucratic secrecy, popular ignorance, and human rights rhetoric.


A New Nation, A Brighter Future? Strategic Norwegian Oil Development Assistance In South Sudan, Even Kvelland Mar 2013

A New Nation, A Brighter Future? Strategic Norwegian Oil Development Assistance In South Sudan, Even Kvelland

The Macalester Review

Post-independence South Sudan faces numerous development obstacles and many consider oil to be a redeeming factor for the new state. This paper discusses the resource curse related to the country’s oil industry and how with proper management, the oil can largely benefit the new state. It explores Norway’s history of oil development and examines ways in which Norway can assist South Sudan in managing their oil, making it the most effective for the people. Key elements of the assistance are the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, technical support focusing on increased oil recovery, and building stronger state capacity. But …


Seeking Stability In An Oily World: The Gulf War And American Imperialism, Kate Keleher Aug 2012

Seeking Stability In An Oily World: The Gulf War And American Imperialism, Kate Keleher

The Macalester Review

Oil has profoundly shaped the political, economic, and social structures of the twentieth century and it continues to shape the global order today. As both a source and a medium of power, oil binds together seemingly disparate elements into a highly sensitive web. This paper examines the first Gulf War as a turning point in the narrative of oil and power. The United States’ engagement in the Gulf War reasserted American dominance over the Middle East and ushered in a new era of oil security. In the war’s aftermath, the United States assumed roles that indicate an agenda of new …


Carving Out A Niche For Humanitarianism Within The Responsibility To Protect, Oana D. Alexan Feb 2012

Carving Out A Niche For Humanitarianism Within The Responsibility To Protect, Oana D. Alexan

The Macalester Review

Humanitarian action aims to alleviate the humanitarian symptoms of crises, yet humanitarian ideals have been stretched in ways relief workers never expected. For one, the right of humanitarian intervention rests on the premise that war, whose nature provides the rationale for killing, may be labeled a humanitarian act if waged for humanitarian ends. Humanitarian relief organizations oppose the misleading and manipulative labeling of conflicts that contradict the fundamental rationale of humanitarian action—the alleviation of suffering. At the turn of the twenty-first century, the international community engaged in a dialogue that gave birth to the concept of the “Responsibility to Protect.” …


The Role Of Social Protection Programs In Remittance-Centered Development Policy: A Case Study Of Morocco, Helena R. Swanson-Nystrom Jan 2010

The Role Of Social Protection Programs In Remittance-Centered Development Policy: A Case Study Of Morocco, Helena R. Swanson-Nystrom

International Studies Honors Projects

Remittances serve as a financial lifeline for households in emerging economies around the world, affording basic social services such as food, education, and healthcare. Alternatively, remittances from diaspora populations are an opportunity for countries to finance development projects. The case of Morocco illustrates the central role that remittances can play in the development policy of countries with high labor out-migration. Yet using remittances for long-term development requires public social protection programs to substitute for the redirection of these private funds used by individual households.


Weak States And Political Constraints: Experiments With Truth In Liberia And Sierra Leone, Robert Collins Painter May 2009

Weak States And Political Constraints: Experiments With Truth In Liberia And Sierra Leone, Robert Collins Painter

Political Science Honors Projects

Focusing on truth and reconciliation commissions in Liberia and Sierra Leone, this thesis examines which political conditions typical of weak states had the greatest impact in deciding the different levels of success between the two cases. Two conditions played a central role in determining each commission’s success: the de-legitimization of the state and political fragmentation. Their presence in Sierra Leone derailed that truth commission’s efforts to carry out its mandate. Conversely, their absence in Liberia allowed its commission to operate relatively free of political impediments, leading to greater success.


Timing Justice: Lessons From The Tribunals In Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, And Cambodia, Zoe B. Whaley May 2009

Timing Justice: Lessons From The Tribunals In Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, And Cambodia, Zoe B. Whaley

Political Science Honors Projects

Scholarship on tribunals for mass human rights violations overlooks how the presence or absence of conflict influences its effectiveness. I argue that implementing a tribunal during conflict undermines its ability to effectively pursue justice—as I demonstrate with a case study of the Yugoslav Tribunal. Ongoing conflict makes challenges of transitional justice more acute. The absence of conflict eases a tribunal’s ability to carry out certain necessary activities such as collecting evidence. I demonstrate this using a case study of the Rwanda Tribunal. Examining tribunals in Sierra Leone and Cambodia suggests that hybrid structures influence the effectiveness of these accountability mechanisms.


Establishing Multicultural Interdependence In Europe: Overcoming The Legal Challenges Facing Cosmopolitan Citizens, Jessica L. Hawkinson Jan 2008

Establishing Multicultural Interdependence In Europe: Overcoming The Legal Challenges Facing Cosmopolitan Citizens, Jessica L. Hawkinson

International Studies Honors Projects

Modern states and legal structures around the world are pressed by the forces of globalization to accommodate increasingly diverse multicultural populations. Older and more frequently followed models for cultural integration are rooted in theories of assimilation or liberal pluralism. These theories can demand unbalanced changes from either minority communities or the state. Few theories identify the dual process of interdependence necessary for the democratic inclusion of diverse minority communities in Europe. This thesis explores the historical intent and shortcomings of immigration and integration legislation as it relates to ethnic minority communities in Great Britain and the Netherlands, and makes a …