Political Science Commons^™

The 2014 Slomoff Symposium: Bridging Global Religious Divides Conference Report, April 7- 8, 2014, Center For Peace, Democracy, And Development, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Center for Peace, Democracy and Development Publications

Religion has quickly proven itself the defining conflict issue of the Twenty-First Century. Religion and conflict are frequently linked in popular discourse, yet from the beginning, religions have typically held peacemaking as a central value and obligation to their members. This ancient tension between religion as a vehicle of peace and religion as a source of division has taken on global dimensions in recent decades, particularly across a belt of countries roughly crossed by the Tenth Parallel, where Islam and Christianity meet, but in many other parts of the world as well, including Boston. Increasingly, conflict resolution activities must better …

The Impact Of Economic Integration Within The European Union As A Factor In Conflict Transformation And Peace-Building, John Umo Ette

Dissertations and Theses

This study examines economic integration within the European Union (EU) as a factor in conflict transformation and peace-building. European responses to causes of frequent conflicts and wars after the end of WWII focused on the search for peace, economic cooperation and prosperity. This thesis will focus on three elements: economic interdependence, the expansion of the free market, and economic integration. In-depth examination of these factors reveals that economic interdependence or the exchange of goods and services across inter-state and international boundaries only, is not sufficient to bring peace among states. Economic inter-dependence may reduce the impact of war, but cannot …

In Search Of Women’S Full Inclusion: A Case Study Of The Institute For Inclusive Security’S Advocacy For Women’S Inclusion In Sudan And South Sudan’S Cooperation Agreements, Anna Tonelli

Capstone Collection

Over the past nearly two decades, efforts to increase women’s inclusion in peacebuilding have grown exponentially as more research has proven that women’s participation leads to more sustainable peace processes. Yet women continue to be the marginalized from all levels of official processes including negotiation, drafting of resolutions, and implementing agreements. Nowhere is this more exemplary that in the efforts for peace between Sudan and South Sudan. The Cooperation Agreement, signed in September 2012 offered yet another opportunity to engage women. However, once more the processes excluded them from the table. In an effort to finally convince policymakers that women’s …

Aiding And Abetting: The Illegality Of Morocco's Nationalist Expansion Into Western Sahara And Their Support From The United States, Rachid H. Yousfi

Master's Theses

This paper will address the illegality of Morocco’s nationalist annexation of Western Sahara and how the United States plays the accommodating role through the selling of arms, economic aid, and diplomatic support. Considered as Africa’s last colony, the Saharawi people have not experienced the basic human right to self-determination and the right for independence. These rights are continued to be withheld for the sake of Moroccan nationalism and their “rightful and ethnic” claims to the territory, disregarding the International Court of Justice (ICJ)’s advisory opinion ruling in favor of Saharawi self-determination. It explores the chronology of the Saharawi population from …

South Africa's Paradox: A Case Study Of Latent State Fragility, Edward Louis Mienie

Dissertations, Theses and Capstone Projects (Full IR Collection)

Do existing measures of state fragility measure fragility accurately? Based on commonly used fragility measures, South Africa (SA) is classified as a relatively stable state, yet rising violent crime, high unemployment, endemic poverty, eroding public trust, identity group based preferential treatment policies, and the rapid rise of the private security sector are all indications that SA may be suffering from latent state fragility. Based on a comprehensive view of security, this study examines the extent to which measures of political legitimacy and good governance, effectiveness in the security system – especially with respect to the police system – and …

Human Torches: The Genesis Of Self-Immolation In The Sociopolitical Context, Ryan Michael Nixon

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

In 2012 there was a record number of self-immolations globally. This phenomenon has been associated with the civil unrest and the collapse of regimes. Most recently, self-immolations in Tunisia sparked a revolution that led to the collapse of the Tunisian government. In the study of politics, self-immolations frequently appear merely as footnotes in the discussion of other phenomena. Where research has been previously conducted, focus has rested mainly on how it initially became a tool of contention and how it spreads. This paper seeks to understand the conditions that lead individuals to choose this method of protest. To do so, …

Post-Conflict Reconstruction Lessons In Technology, Kevin Wheeler

Senior Honors Theses

The United States of America has accomplished some advanced technological and developmental achievements recently. However, in order to better its abilities to reconstruct and stabilize nations in the future it must utilize the lessons it has learned from the past as well as these technological advancements. From both Africa and the Middle East, the United States has learned some valuable lessons in helping nations rebuild in the face of danger. Currently, the United States can use internet technologies to better educate those who would want to reconstruct their own nations as a united people group with as little foreign interference …

Mixed Motives? Explaining The Decision To Integrate Militaries At Civil War's End, Caroline A. Hartzell

Political Science Faculty Publications

Book Summary: Negotiating a peaceful end to civil wars, which often includes an attempt to bring together former rival military or insurgent factions into a new national army, has been a frequent goal of conflict resolution practitioners since the Cold War. In practice, however, very little is known about what works, and what doesn't work, in bringing together former opponents to build a lasting peace.

Contributors to this volume assess why some civil wars result in successful military integration while others dissolve into further strife, factionalism, and even renewed civil war. Eleven cases are studied in detail—Sudan, Zimbabwe, Lebanon, Rwanda, …

Juvenile Diversion Programs: High-Risk Youth And Their Effect On Offense Targeting, Chelsey R. Warner

Political Science Theses and Capstones

One of the largest problems that plague the juvenile justice system today is how to better handle juvenile crime without causing the juvenile to revert back to that behavior, but still helping them understand and acknowledge the crime they have committed. The state of Minnesota has created juvenile diversion programs as an attempt to aid in that endeavor. These programs however are under researched. The goal of this article is to shed some light on what those programs look like and how some counties programs vary from other programs on other counties; specifically focusing on the variation between offense-targeting for …

Democratic Counterinsurgents: How Democracies Can Prevail In Irregular Warfare, William Roland Patterson

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation answers the question of whether or not democracies can win counterinsurgency conflicts. This is done first through an analysis of the arguments made by those who claim that democracies are uniquely incapable of doing so due to various limitations imposed by public opinion as well as the arguments of those who argue that democracies can win such conflicts given the correct strategy. Secondly, the question is investigated through an examination of three case studies: Malaysia, Vietnam, and Iraq. This analysis demonstrates that the arguments against the ability of democracies to win counterinsurgencies is not as strong as many …

America's Role In A Changing World, Bruce Jones

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

For over sixty years the United States has led an international order that provided the underpinnings of peace, security, and economic prosperity. Today, that order is under strain from a variety of sources: the rise of new powers, an economic crisis, resource scarcity, technological innovations, rising nationalism, territorial disputes, and transnational challenges. This lecture will examine these pressures and ask how the United States can reform the international order so it plays as constructive a role in the 21st century as it did in the 20th.

Peacebuilding After Civil War, Caroline A. Hartzell

Political Science Faculty Publications

Book Summary: This comprehensive new Handbook explores the significance and nature of armed intrastate conflict and civil war in the modern world. Civil wars and intrastate conflict represent the principal form of organised violence since the end of World War II, and certainly in the contemporary era. These conflicts have a huge impact and drive major political change within the societies in which they occur, as well as on an international scale. The global importance of recent intrastate and regional conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Somalia, Nepal, Cote d'Ivoire, Syria and Libya – amongst others – has served to refocus …

Activities & Accomplishments 2013, Ann Abdoo

Citizens for Peace

No abstract provided.

Winning Well: Civil Resistance Mechanisms Of Success, Democracy, And Civil Peace, Jonathan C. Pinckney

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Several recent studies indicate that revolutions of non-violent civil resistance lead to more democratic and peaceful political transitions than either violent revolutions or elite-led political transitions. However, this general trend has not been disaggregated to explain the many prominent cases where nonviolent revolutions are followed by authoritarianism or civil war. Understanding these divergent cases is critical, particularly in light of the problematic transitions following the "Arab Spring" revolutions of 2011. In this paper I explain why nonviolent revolutions sometimes lead to these negative outcomes. I show, through quantitative analysis of a dataset of all successful non-violent revolutions from 1900-2006 and …

Performance, Politics, And The War On Terror: "Whatever It Takes", Lindsey Mantoan

Faculty Publications

Lindsey Mantoan reviews Performance, Politics, and the War on Terror: "Whatever It Takes" (by Sara Brady) for TDR: The Drama Review.

Arab Authoritarianism And Us Foreign Policy, Ki Chun Luk

Bachelor of Social Sciences – Senior Theses

This qualitative research aims to examine the nature and reasons for America support for Arab authoritarian regimes in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, and to provide further details by examining the inferiority of liberal cultures and superiority of realist approach and continuation/discontinuation of this existing approach after/during the Arab Spring by case studies. In order to have a systematic analysis, alternative theoretical models, including a revised national interest model, the neoclassical realist US grand strategy model (Dueck ,2008),the international conditions analysis by Petras (2011),and US domestic politics model will be examined. Currently, the issue under study suffers from little systematic …

Role Theory As An Informative Lens For Understanding The Familial And Political Power Struggles Of Henry Viii And Mary I Of England, Niki Incorvia

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

This study aims to analyze the application of twentieth century sociologist George Mead's role theory to Henry VIII and Mary I, of Britain's Tudor Dynasty, regarding their treatment of their families during the early to mid-sixteenth century. Contemporary role theory can offer a useful lens to study sixteenth century royal family functionality through an analysis of Henry VIII and Mary I's lives as monarchs of England. Role theory can illuminate the role conflict that led to a separation between Henry and Mary as people and as sovereigns. Their roles, derived from traditional authority, set them apart as people and led …

The Long Arm Of The Law: Executive Overreach And The Aumf, Tyler Mcbrien

CMC Senior Theses

Since World War II, the executive branch has dominated foreign policy and national security decisions, expanding war powers well beyond the president’s constitutional purview. Aided by a complicit Congress, the president has bypassed the legislator and unilaterally prosecuted some of the United States’ bloodiest conflicts. Continuing this tradition of executive overreach, Congress passed the Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) on September 14, 2001, which ostensibly empowered the president to pursue those responsible for the 9/11 attacks, namely al Qaeda and the nations supporting them. However, the broadly-worded force authorization and equally far-reaching legal interpretations by the executive …

The Axe Without The Handle: An Exploratory Analysis Of Eco-Terrorism And Its Relationships To U.S. Public Policy Towards Terrorism:1990-2010, Phillip Andrew Smith

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

From 1990-2010 ecoterrorist attacks by the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) and Earth Liberation Front (ELF) created an anomaly in the U.S. with millions of dollars in property destruction. Interestingly, in a post 9/11 era, the FBI warns that the number one threat to U.S. national security is not religious terrorism, but rather environmental-group terrorism. When examining this topic further, there is a void in analysis between examining ecoterrorist attacks and U.S. public policy. Is there a statistical significant relationship between terrorist attacks by ALF/ELF and U.S. public policy towards terrorism? Is per capita income an influence on the attacks occurring …

Conflict Between Saudi Arabia And Iran: An Examination Of Critical Factors Inhibiting Their Positive Roles In The Middle East, Ghadah Alghunaim

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

Since 1979, Saudi-Iranian relations have been tense due to their position as superior powers in the Middle East. Both countries have different values and perspectives in regards to diplomatic relations with the West. As a consequence of the new developments in Iran's foreign policy and the newfound openness to the West adopted by President Rouhani, the topic has proven to be of research interest. The primary concern of this research was to explore the effect of the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran in the Middle East, and whether or not there is a possibility to overcome this conflict using …

To Empathize With An Enemy, Rashida Aluko-Roberts

SURGE

I do not like to talk about my time in Sierra Leone, but I think I’m ready to start.

Growing up in Sierra Leone was probably the best thing that ever happened to me. I carry with me fond memories of my childhood, growing up on 22 Thompson Street in the one-storey house with red doors and windows and zebra themed paint. Evenings were spent riding bikes with my best friend Fatmata. Weekend afternoons spent playing scrabble and watching our favorite Disney movies with my siblings and neighbors in our living room. Those memories I have kept, happily. [excerpt …

Leaving A Legacy, Walter Lotze

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The ongoing conflict in Somalia, and the complexities that come with finding lasting solutions to a conflict that has raged for decades now, continue to perplex the international community. While a range of previously tried and tested approaches to conflict management are being applied, it is becoming apparent that the international toolkit for responding to conflict situations of such complexity is extremely limited. Indeed, as one international conference after another on Somalia takes place, compacts are signed and funding windows established, old frameworks are abandoned and new ones are forged, and roadmap after roadmap pave the way for further engagement, …

Somali Battlegrounds: On Interest And Accountability, Ines Mzali

Human Rights & Human Welfare

In the wake of the latest and deadliest of Al-Shabab's attacks in Kenya since Kenyan troops entered Somalia in October 2011, Ben Rawlence reiterates the question raised anew by each attack: "What is Kenya doing in Somalia and is it worth the price?" The question leads him to explore the contradiction between the official objectives of the mission and Kenya's particular motivations to launch an offensive of its own. This problematic discrepancy also draws attention to the question of accountability when violations of international humanitarian law have occurred in the context of a military operation by a neighboring country and …

Patterns Of Anti-Muslim Violence In Burma: A Call For Accountability And Prevention, Andrea Gittleman, Marissa Brodney, Holly G. Atkinson

Publications and Research

In this report, the authors documents how persecution of and violence against the Rohingya in Burma has spread to other Muslim communities throughout the country. Physicians for Human Rights conducted eight separate investigations in Burma and the surrounding region between 2004 and 2013. PHR’s most recent field research in early 2013 indicates a need for renewed attention to violence against minorities and impunity for such crimes. The findings presented in this report are based on investigations conducted in Burma over two separate visits for a combined 21-day period between March and May 2013.

Postwar Reconstruction In Liberia: The Participation And Recognition Of Women In Politics In Liberia, Roland Tuwea Clarke

Dissertations and Theses

Despite the remarkable contributions made by women to secure peace in Liberia, women's representation in politics is still low. The first female African President has been elected, as well as a few women to strategic government positions, but the vast majority of women remain invisible. The reliance on these few women in government is inadequate to produce the significant changes that will be required to bring equality for all women.

This study examines the recognition of women's relative participation and recognition in postwar reconstruction in Liberia. Differences between traditional and non-traditional women's participation in Liberia were found.

This study includes …

The Complexity Of Armed Conflict In Mindanao: Beyond Economic Deprivation, Discrimination, And Inequality, Nasser Pendatun Lidasan

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Studies on internal conflict focus on bringing a violent conflict to non-violent. Economic development and good governance are most attractive since essential services are provided to people, regardless of ethnic affiliation. Autonomy for minority groups to maintain the integrity of a state is another option. Applied in Mindanao conflict, negotiated settlement, separation, and military victory did not create a lasting peace. This study applies the levels of analysis framework to investigate the conflict and considers the sub-state level as vital. It suggests the role of local actors as crucial in intrastate conflict. It examines the dynamics of conflict at the …

Fourth Time's The Charm?: Modeling A Psychologically-Based Peace Iv Program In Northern Ireland, Cailin A. Rogers

The Macalester Review

Abstract: Social conflict has consumed Northern Ireland for centuries. The relationship between Catholic Nationalists and Protestant Loyalists has proved difficult to reconcile–current policy approaches have been unable to attain peace. This paper seeks to explore the gaps in policy created by ignoring the important distinction between the social identities Nationalists and Loyalists have created and which they continue to perpetuate. This paper examines Social identity theory in context of Northern Ireland and applies the psychology of disparate community identities to current policies and trends in Northern Ireland to suggest reasons for a lack of progress towards peace. Unfortunately, contemporary Northern …

Making War And Securing Peace: The Viability Of Peace Enforcement As A Mechanism For Promoting And Securing Civil War Termination, Shawn H. Greene

Political Science Honors Projects

Peace enforcement—the threat or use of military force to compel belligerent adherence to a civil war settlement—has become increasingly salient in the past decade. Using a hazards analysis of all civil wars and associated third party interventions between 1945 and 2013 in addition to three structured, focused case studies, I argue that peace enforcement operations that 1) utilize the appropriate typological spoiler management strategy and 2) maintain legitimacy and impartiality through close cooperation with UN peacekeepers, are the most successful at catalyzing civil war termination and securing durable peace. I also provide a theoretical framework through which to study peace …

Massacre In Central Burma: Muslim Students Terrorized And Killed In Meiktila, Richard Sollom, Holly G. Atkinson

Publications and Research

This report details the results of a Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) investigation into the March 20 and 21, 2013, attacks on Muslim students, teachers, and residents in the Mingalar Zayyone quarter of Meiktila, a small town in central Burma.

A two-person team, the authors of the report, from PHR conducted 33 interviews about the attacks, which resulted in the deaths of at least 20 children and four teachers. The report details the attacks by the Buddhist mobs, provides evidence that local police officers were complicit in the crimes, and lists policy recommendations for the Burmese government and the international …

The European Union In The Quartet: Acceptance And Influence In The Middle East Peace Process, Cassandra V. Emmons

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

No abstract provided.