Political Science Commons^™

Proud To Be Thai: The Puzzling Absence Of Ethnicity-Based Political Cleavages In Northeastern Thailand, Jacob I. Ricks

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Underneath the veneer of a homogenous state-approved Thai ethnicity,Thailand is home to a heterogeneous population. Only about one-thirdof Thailand’s inhabitants speak the national language as their mothertongue; multiple alternate ethnolinguistic groups comprise the remainderof the population, with the Lao in the northeast, often called Isan people,being the largest at 28 percent of the population. Ethnic divisions closelyalign with areas of political party strength: the Thai Rak Thai Party and itssubsequent incarnations have enjoyed strong support from Isan people andKhammuang speakers in the north while the Democrat Party dominatesamong the Thai- and Paktay-speaking people of the central plains and thesouth. Despite …

There And Back Again: What The Cold War For Southeast Asia Can Teach Us About Sino-Us Competition In The Region Today, Wen-Qing Ngoei

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Expert commentary today typically focuses on the agendas and actions of the two big powers, the United States and China, which misses the bigger picture. During the Cold War, leaders of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) played a critical role in containing Chinese influence, shaping the terms of Sino-U.S. competition and rapprochement, and deepening the U.S. presence in Southeast Asia. The legacy of ASEAN’s foreign relations during and since the Cold War militates against the popular notion that Chinese hegemony in Asia is inevitable.

Forced Migration: A Syrian Exodus To Germany, Taylor Witt

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

The Syrian Civil War has killed over 500,000 people and displaced over 12 million since it began in 2011. The conflict has resulted in forced migration on a massive scale. Syrian people have been displaced within Syria, to the surrounding Arab states and to Europe. This has led to an immigration crisis in some parts of the European Union. Germany has become a primary destination for these refugees, but nationalist, xenophobic forces have started pushing back against what is perceived to be an invasion of foreigners into their land and their borders. This project examines the sentiments of German citizens …

Analyzing The United States’ Limited Response To The Syrian Refugee Crisis, Carolina Romero

Political Analysis

The Syrian refugee crisis can be described as one of the biggest, if not largest, humanitarian crisis of the 21st century. The crisis is a result of an ongoing civil war between rebel groups and the government forces of the Assad regime. Since the beginning of the war in 2011, over 400,000 have been killed and a combined 11 million have been displaced either internally or externally from their homes (Human Rights Watch, World Report 2018). The United Nations and the international community have openly expressed discontent with the dealings of the Assad regime, and as a result, have attempted …

Regime Change, Deferred: Regarding United States’ Foreign Policy In Syria, Rosa Mazza–Hilway

Political Analysis

In 2011, President Obama proclaimed, “the time has come for President Assad to step aside” (“President Obama”). The question then becomes: why has the United States failed to act upon this declaration and been unsuccessful in achieving regime change in Syria? While there is evidence to suggest regime change is the ultimate goal in Syria, there has been a lack of action taken to facilitate the deposition of Assad. In this paper, there will be an emphasis on the policies and rhetoric that indicate the desire to catalyze a shift in governmental power through the disposal of the Assad regime. …

Radicalization Through The Internet: How Isis Became So Successful And Why The United States Needs To Catch Up, Ana Sofia Florez

Senior Theses

It is no secret the Islamic State of Syria, otherwise known as ISIS, has become one of the most dangerous and brutal terrorist organizations in recent history. In recent years the Islamic State has been gaining strength and followers from around the world. Individuals from other countries will leave their homes and families after contact through social media to travel to Syria and fight alongside the organization. This thesis provides insight on the dangerous implications ISIS’s perfection on online recruitment and their successful radicalization tactics has. It will also provide an explanation as to why nations, specifically the United States …

The Caged Bird Still Sings: The Poetics Of Peace, Sofia Diane Skavdahl

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Although poetry has been used as a method of peacemaking since Homer’s Iliad, little research, theory, or analysis has been done evaluating precisely what role poetry holds in the realms of peacemaking and conflict resolution. Poetry, along with other arts-based practices of peacemaking, is beneficial because of its ability to encourage personal autonomy and emotional communication, while offering an open and creative space to heal from violent conflict. In terms of the arts, poetry is especially unique because it holds the ability to transform relationships between adversaries and the relationship with the self. This paper seeks to analyze both the …

Aggression, Information, And Economics: Reinterpreting The Hermit Kingdom In The Era Of Kim Jong-Un, Margaret Pence

Master's Projects and Capstones

North Korea has been the most isolated country on the planet for the past sixty years. Due to its isolation, the Hermit Kingdom has naturally become mysterious, resulting in a common narrative that describes Pyongyang as aggressive and driven by nuclear weapons. Missing from this narrative is what motivates North Korea and its young leader, Kim Jong-un: survival. However, Kim Jong-un has a lot more than the outside world to contend with, as the North Korea he has inherited is much different than that of his predecessors. In response, Kim Jong-un has subtly shifted away from the state ideology of …

"The Chinese Animation Industry: From The Mao Era To The Digital Age", Stephanie Jones

Master's Projects and Capstones

Since the 1950’s the Chinese Animation industry has been trying to create a unique national style for China. The national style of the 1950’s and early 1960’s was one of freedom, fantasy, and creativity. With the success of “Heroic Little Sisters of the Grassland”/草原英雄小姐妹(1965), the government administration, namely Jiang Qing of the “Gang of Four”, demanded that all animation should follow specific guidelines based on Social Realism guidelines. This in turn, ushered in a new national style of animation during the Cultural Revolution(1966-1976). During this ten-year period government policies imposed strict restrictions on animators and cause a drain of creative …

An Examination Of The Potential Threat Of A State-Sponsored Biological Attack Against The United States: A Study Of Policy Implications, Courtney Anne Pfluke

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

In 2002, US Navy Seals found a list of pathogens in an Afghanistan cave that Al Qaeda had planned to use in a series of biological attacks. Unique about the discovery was that the pathogens were not limited to human ones. Six pathogens targeted livestock and four targeted crops. Despite this discovery, limited attention has been given to the possibility of a state-sponsored terrorist attack utilizing biological agents against the US population, food source, or water supply. Throughout history, biological agents have been developed for use as an offensive weapon for both states and terrorist groups. The United States may …

Sahrawi Self-Determination Within Existing Borders: Adapting The Right To Self Determination To Modern International Norms, Alma Ruedas

Student Research Symposium

This paper provides an overview of the attitudes towards the Sahrawi people and the POLISARIO Front in Algeria and Morocco, with a more specific focus on how these latter have impacted their endeavour to establish the former’s own sovereign state. The paper provides background on the political, social, and economic, atmospheres in both countries, to contextualise the modern state of democratic institutions and voter engagement. With this information in mind, several potential pathways forward are presented for Sahrawi self-determination, weighing the pros and cons of seeking political representation within existing states, or through secession.

Post-Civil War Peace Durability: The Role Of Domestic Infrastructure And Military, Alexandra Wilson

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Since 1945, approximately half of the world’s states have been engaged in some type of civil conflict. The aim of this research is to understand why some post-civil war states fail to establish peace durability while others thrive. Through quantitative research of civil wars globally and a qualitative analysis of Iraq, this thesis argues for the necessity of post-civil war policy to focus on the renewal of domestic infrastructure in addition to military investment which suppresses grievance-driven violence. A logistical regression model of all civil wars since 1945 shows that variables, such as healthcare, are evidently associated with more durable …

Arab Spring In North Africa: An Analysis Of Foreign Influence And Revolutions In Egypt, Libya, And Tunisia, Trevor Eck

CURCE Annual Undergraduate Conference

This paper examines the role foreign influence had on the outcomes of the 2011 Arab Spring Revolutions in Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia. Foreign influence primarily came from the US, European states such as the UK and France, and Gulf States such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and UAE. Influence includes but is not limited to financial assistance, diplomatic pressure, and in Libya’s extreme case military intervention. Outcome of the revolution is determined by examining the state of each government before and after the 2011 revolutions. This paper studies why each of these three states had different levels of foreign influence throughout …

Unintended Consequences: U.S. Interference In El Salvador, The Salvadoran Diaspora, And The Role Of Activist Community Organizations In Establishing A Salvadoran-American Community In Los Angeles, Blake Bergstrom

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

The U.S. intervention in El Salvador had a number of unintended consequences, some negative and some positive, that still have a great impact on the U.S., El Salvador, and the international community as a whole today. Although the focus of the mass media is on the negative unintended consequences, the positive really outweigh the negative. These so-called unintended consequences began with a massive increase in immigration to escape the violent human rights violations and political persecutions of El Salvador’s Civil War. This migration to the U.S. in the 1980s is referred to as the Salvadoran Diaspora, which led to an …

Decentralization And The Provision Of Public Services: A Case Study Of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, Mishaal Afteb

Honors Scholar Theses

The effective provision of public services is integral to a functioning democracy as it connects the public to the government and grants it legitimacy. Public services are ones that are provided by the federal and local governments and paid for with constituent taxes. Public services provided by the state are education, health, water/sanitation, environmental measures, security, policing, labor and legal guidelines and so on. Whether the structure of the government is centralized or decentralized is an important factor which impacts the provision of services. Decentralized governments are state or local governments which receive monetary and institutional resources from the federal …

Constructing And Destructing The Peace: Models Of International Engagement In Post-Conflict States, Colin Churchill

Political Science Honors Projects

Variance in the stability of post-conflict states presents an interesting predicament. What causes this variance in states two or three decades removed from civil conflict? In this paper, I argue that the type of engagement that international actors take towards post-conflict states explains differences in stability. I draw out four distinct models of international engagement from three case studies of Lebanon, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Northern Ireland that present the different ways that international actors have constructively and destructively engaged in these states. Furthering this analysis is an examination of the transition or possible transition between models in the cases.

Syrian Crisis Representation In The Media: The Cnn Effect, Framing, And Tone, Savannah S. Day

Venture: The University of Mississippi Undergraduate Research Journal

Over the past seven years of the Syrian Civil War, Syrian refugees have been painted in a negative light by news media outlets around the world. History of media coverage regarding global humanitarian crises shows that with various tools and processes, media can shape public opinion and policy in whichever direction it desires, and oftentimes policymakers and the public are quick, as well as emotional, to react. In this paper, my objectives are to analyze specific examples of this CNN Effect phenomena within news coverage of the Syrian refugee crisis, as well as generally explain the negatively correlating relationship between …

Watering The Desert: Azraq, Public Opinion, And Environmental Post-Materialism, Wesley A. Gerard

Venture: The University of Mississippi Undergraduate Research Journal

This article focuses on physical, socioeconomic, and political changes in the community of Azraq, Jordan. Azraq, a small town in northeastern Jordan, sits atop a large aquifer that has been heavily pumped by the government for several decades in response to an increasing nationwide demand for water. This has led to large-scale transformations in not only the physical landscape surrounding the aquifer, but also in the daily lives, economic statuses, and political opinions of the people living there. My research thus fits the case of Azraq into larger academic discourse on groundwater governance, resource access, and environmentalism. I use a …

Criminal Justice Systems: Impacts That Transcend Borders & Prison Bars, Erika Yeager

Senior Honors Projects

Historically, the concepts of criminal justice and punishment have been core facets of many societies and cultures. The evolution of crime and punishment is unique in different places across the world and across cultures. The incarceration of individuals across the globe has turned into an epidemic; according to the Institute for Criminal Policy Research, there are almost 10.4 million individuals imprisoned around the world (“Global Prison Trends” 7). By researching this political and sociological phenomenon, more insight is gained into the tangible impacts systemic models of criminal justice have on societies and countries as a whole. These individualized systems and …

How Black Lives Matter Has Influenced And Interacted With Global Social Movements, Arelle A. Binning

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a chapter-based and member-led organization created out of grief by three queer black women. This thesis examines the international impact of BLM. I conducted telephone interviews with activists and advocacy organizations who have organized activist networks and/or won struggles against institutional racism outside of the United States. These activists are located in Kenya, South Africa, Brazil, Australia, India, Spain, The Netherlands, Sweden, and Paris. I conclude that BLM has inspired the creation and supported the continued development of organizations advocating for national and transnational social and racial justice on a global scale. BLM in spite …

Cosmopolitan Democracy: Re-Evaluation Of Globalization And World Economic System, Muhammad Dalhatu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis examines cosmopolitan democracy theory as a method of addressing the problems of globalization. I begin by introducing the concept of “cosmopolitan democracy.” I then proceed to discuss contemporary political climate and its relation to critiques of globalization. Finally, I conclude by examining the elaborations of cosmopolitan democracy by various theorists as a way of addressing these problems. Chapter 1 introduces the work of David Held who introduced the concept in his book, Cosmopolitan Democracy and the Global Order: Reflections on the 20^th Anniversary of Kant’s “Perpetual Peace.” Cosmopolitan democracy refers to global governance through democratic theory. Held …

Perceptions Of The North American Free Trade Agreement And Mexican Migration: “What Is The Relationship Between Trade Liberalization And Labor Mobility?”, Colin Gonzalez

Political Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

In an effort to understand the effectiveness of the North American Free Trade Agreement, the author uses previous academic literature to assesses the success of the North American Free Trade Agreement’s primary and peripheral goals. To understand how North American citizens, perceive NAFTA and their future relationship with one another, the author uses survey data to analyze attitudes of American and Mexican citizens towards trade liberalization (NAFTA) and labor mobility. Regression analysis reveals that there is a positive relationship between labor mobility and trade liberalization for Mexican citizens but not for American citizens. This is a significant finding that contributes …

The Role Of The Intelligentsia In The Collapse Of The Ussr: Soviet Intellectuals And The Idea Of The West, Alma Boltirik

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

A lot of scholars wrote about the causes of the collapse of the Soviet Union, paying close attention to economic, social, political, institutional, and external forces, which are undoubtedly important. Yet, almost none of them sufficiently addresses the essential cultural and ideological aspects, which gave rise to the new thinking embraced by Gorbachev and ultimately influenced his policies of glasnost and perestroika. This thesis argues that the revival of a particular social stratum known as the Soviet intelligentsia developed new critical ways of thinking about the country’s present, future, and its domestic problems. The main claim is that the process …

Disruptive Innovation: The Rise Of The Knowledge-Sharing Market In China, Yaqing Lan

International Studies Honors Projects

Innovation is a major subject of international political economy, but mainstream discussions focus on scientific research and development and detach innovation development from their social contexts. In response to this view, this project reveals the importance of cultural and social factors in influencing innovation development by examining the rise of the knowledge-sharing market (KSM) -- a social-network-site-based economy in China. It suggests the KSM is a disruptive innovation not only because it is pioneered by a latecomer in the global innovation market, China, but also because its emergence from the changing Chinese consumer demands disrupts the mainstream thinking of innovation.

The Effect Of Foreign Aid On Political Violence: Learning From Case Studies Of Nigeria And Sierra Leone, Charlotte Rohrer

Politics Honors Papers

Policymakers in OECD countries regularly cite reducing political violence as a fundamental purpose of foreign aid. For example, countries such as Pakistan and Iraq have received considerable amounts of aid meant to address the root causes of political violence. This project analyzes quantitative and qualitative evidence to assess whether foreign aid can reduce political violence. The quantitative and qualitative analyses study Boko Haram in Nigeria and the Revolutionary United Front in Sierra Leone to focus on regional and country-wide political violence. The study further focuses on aid projects in Sierra Leone and Nigeria as a means to reduce or curb …

The Wealth Of Nations And The Advancement Of Collective Security, Kerry Daniel Good

Senior Honors Theses

This thesis will address the economic development of countries from the strategic perspective of the United States, and consider how this development will progress overlaid in the context of the Chinese framework for the projection of national power. Using an inter-disciplinary approach, this research will synthesize sources on national security policy and economics, while seeking a Christian apologetic framework to answer these questions: How can the United States promote the economic development of countries in the Asia-Pacific region using a biblical economic-development model, as a part of its national strategy? This thesis focuses on some of the political and socio-economic …

Modernizing The Hermit Kingdom: Bridging The Economic And Cultural Gap Through Soft Power Diplomacy, Jane Son

Creative Activity and Research Day - CARD

Modernizing the “Hermit Kingdom”:

Bridging the Cultural and Economic Gap through Soft Power Diplomacy

Following the Korean War, the Republic of Korea embraced modernization and rose as an economic power while its Northern counterpart employed isolationist policies and acquired the name “Hermit Kingdom.” In recent years, however, the “Hermit Kingdom” is exhibiting potential for change in under the Kim Jong-Un regime. In the wake of continued economic strife, shifting East Asian political dynamics, and insecure power consolidation, Kim appeared in the international scene with a different attitude: eagerness for dialogue. Such change in Pyongyang’s political stance engenders renewed hope for …

An Assessment Of The Strategic Domestic And Foreign Policy Goals Of North Korea Under Kim Jong Un, Youngju Moon

Student Theses and Dissertations

North Korea’s drastic shift in foreign policy in 2018 focused the world’s attention on Kim Jong-un. This thesis examines the intention of Kim Jong-un, who plans to make North Korea a socialist economic powerhouse; it also analyzes the changes in his foreign policy decisions. This analysis is based on literature reviews and external statistical data suitable for North Korean studies. As a result of analyzing five potential economic growth factors that will bring economic development to North Korean society, it is derived that Kim Jong-un intends to establish a foothold for North Korea’s economic growth through mitigation of relations with …

The Controversial F-35 Joint Strike Fighter: America's Most Expensive Weapons System And Its Global Impact, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Creative Materials

Presentation describing my 2019 Palgrave Macmillan book Global Defense Procurement and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. It describes this aircraft and places particular emphasis on the government information resources from multiple countries used in writing this book.

British Government Information Resources, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Creative Materials

Provides an overview of British Government information resources. Contents include basic British economic and political background and information from British Government websites including the Department of Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), Brexit related material produced by British government agencies such as the Department for Exiting the European Union,, the Ministry of Defence, the National Museum of the Royal Navy, the Home Office Visas and Immigration Section, the Office of National Statistics, Her Majesty's Treasury, the British Parliament including parliamentary committees and research agencies, the website of Member of Parliament (MP) Jacob Rees-Mogg (Conservative-North East Somerset), a webcast of House …