International Relations Commons^™

U.S. - Asean Organized Crime Cooperation As Part Of Washington's Rebalancing Policy Toward The Asia-Pacific, Tuan Anh Luc

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This research addresses the reasons why the United States of America (U.S.) has been involving in the effort of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to combat transnational organized crime. The author argues that Washington has been doing so because: first, it wants to prevent and suppress negative influences of Southeast Asian organized crime and protect national interests; second, it wants to increase regional capabilities, sometimes at the Association's request, and narrow differences so as to effectively deal with transnational organized crime; and third, it wants to justify its presence in the region and pave the way …

Department Of Defense Resource Allocations And Progress Toward U.S. Foreign Policy Objectives In Latin America, Melissa Rene Rodriguez

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This research addresses the issue of insufficient or stagnated progress toward U.S. foreign policy objectives for Latin America through an analysis of Department of Defense resource allocations toward the region. These resources are critical to achieving progress toward U.S. foreign policy objectives because the relationships and engagements the DOD establish with Latin American partner nations largely precede and characterize the role of the U.S. in the region.

First 'efficiency' is defined, and then U.S. foreign policy objectives for the region and the regional issues are outlined. Next, Department of Defense resources are characterized and their posture and allocations in the …

Return To Unfinished Business: Re-Energizing U.S. Nuclear Arms Policy, William T. Eliason

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Today's international environment characterized in nuclear threat terms as having increasing concerns about the potential for terrorist or non-state use of nuclear devices and a decline in the likelihood of the original nuclear weapon states engaging each other in a nuclear war remains in search of a path away from the fear of nuclear attack some twenty years after the end of the Cold War. This research dissertation will seek to answer the question of how best to reestablish a nuclear arms control regime. This dissertation argues that the international environment has fundamentally changed since the end of the Cold …

Jimmy Carter's Foreign Policy: The Battle For Power And Principle, Frances M. Jacobson

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Evaluating the foreign policies of presidents while they are in office or shortly after their tenure ends can sometimes lead to conclusions that prove to be unsound in the future. The case of Harry Truman exemplifies this. When he left office in 1952 his approval rating was in the 20 percentile range. Yet, he set the tone and direction of United States foreign policy that led eventually to the successful conclusion of the Cold War. The foreign policy of President Jimmy Carter was also generally viewed as a failure by many scholars in the field, both during his time in …

Clinton's Foreign Policy And The Politics Of Intervention: Cases Of Ethnic Cleansing And Democratic Governance, Daneta G. Billau

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation examines the sources of U.S. President Bill Clinton's foreign policy, with special attention to understudied political elements of intervention. The basis of this study is the Clinton Doctrine, in which Clinton opposed ethnic cleansing, and supported democratic governance worldwide. The primary research question asks to what extent and why was there a variation in Clinton's application of his own doctrine in the specific cases of Rwanda in 1994, Haiti in 1994, and East Timor in 1999. To address this question, the following five hypotheses are posited:

H1: The more vital interests are at stake, and the closer the …

Nuclear Pariahs And Regimes In The New World Disorder, Wayne F. Lesperance Jr.

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This thesis discusses the role of pariah states vis-a-vis the nonproliferation regime. Specifically, the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) is analyzed to determine, first, whether Iran is a pariah, second, the potential threat the IRI poses to the Persian Gulf region and third, the possible international responses that may be undertaken to address Iranian pariahtude in the nuclear field. Through the course of this thesis regimes are defined as a set of implicit and explicit rules, principles, norms, and decision-making procedures around which actor's expectations converge and which govern relations among states. Pariahs are defined as …

The Impractical Ideal Costa Rica, The United States And Central America Reunification, 1902-1932, Donald R. Lam

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This thesis examines the motivations of Central American Unionists and the failure of their movement in the early years of the twentieth century. The existing literature attributes the failure of Central American unification during this era to U.S. policies meant to maintain a divided isthmus in order to economically and politically exploit the region. A closer analysis of the primary sources, however, reveals that union failed because of internal factors, and that Washington's actions generally favored efforts to rejoin the nations to reduce isthmian tensions. Attempts to reunite the republics failed because of regional and domestic political rivalries, weaknesses in …

The Implementation Of The Reagan Administration's Counterterrorist Policy, Howard Lawrence Steinberg

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This thesis investigates the implementation of President Ronald Reagan's active counterterrorist policy. The paper attempts to determine why the stated policy of "swift and effective retribution" was not carried out. This paper concentrates on the discrepancies between the numerous statements advocating retaliation made by Reagan and his top officials and the failure of these officials to administer the necessary orders for such retaliatory policies. This research indicated numerous causes, although the primary cause is attributed to the divergent opinions of the reticent Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger and the more retributive views of the two successive Secretaries of State, Alexander …

Inter-American Indemnity: Internal Security And The Mutual Security Program For Latin America (1951-1961), Robert George Baker

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This thesis examines the purpose of U.S. military aid in the American Republics from 1951 through 1961 and proves that concern for internal security became dominant during that period. At first military aid supported hemispheric defense against communist aggression, which Washington orchestrated through mutual defense agreements, but by 1953 maintenance of internal security emerged as the major aim of aid to several Central American nations. In 1956 the National Security Council determined that internal security was a vital goal of the military aid program for Latin America. The ascendance of internal security concerns is described and analyzed in three parts: …

The Origins Of The Department Of Defense Recommendation To Cross The 38th Parallel During The Korean War, Wayne A. Kirkbride

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This thesis considers the reasons the Department of Defense (DOD) developed its recommendation concerning the U.S. involvement in the Korean War. The United states initially committed its forces to restore the status quo antebellum. However, by 31 July 1950, the DOD recommended that a free, unified, and representative Korea should be the policy object of the war and that the occupation of all of Korea and the defeat of the North Korean armed forces north and south of the 38th Parallel should be the military objectives.

Several factors contributed to the recommendation of a change in policy and strategy. A …

At The Crossroads: U.S. National Interests In The Gulf And The Middle East, Khalid I. Dekhayel

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

The United States not only has profound interests in the Middle East but, as the dominant international power, has an obligation to help· achieve peace and stability in that part of the world. As such, it should strive to play the leading role of championing a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians because the conflict in reality is not an Arab-Israeli one but is Israeli-Palestinian at its core. There are, of course, many barriers in the way of reaching that goal. Chief among them are the extremists on both sides. But the United States is in a unique …

Towards The 21st Century: Long Cycles And The Future Of The United States, John Davis

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

With a plethora of declinist literature positing the decline and eventual dissolution of the American order, "Towards the Twenty-first Century: Long Cycles and the Future of the United States" offers a new perspective on the world leadership position of the United states. Using the literature on long cycles as its instrument, this study argues that there will be a continuation of U.S. systemic leadership through the twenty-first century.

Honduras Pawn And Policy Maker, Elizabeth P. Thornton

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

A study of the weak state was conducted using the Honduras-U.S. relationship as a case study. Most existing literature, with the exception of Annette Baker Fox's The Power of Small States, does not analyze in detail a specific country's relationship with a powerful nation. This research examined the factors that helped a weak country maintain maneuverability in its domestic and foreign policies when under the influence of a strong power. Six conditions which facilitated maneuverability were: geographic proximity, rising nationalism, citizen participation in government, trade distribution and diversification, international pressure, and declining hegemony of the strong power. Events in Honduras …

Containment, Cliency And The Revolution In Vietnam, Deborah Tompsett-Makin

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This thesis addresses the question, why does U.S. foreign policy contribute to political instability in developing nations? To ascertain the answer, it analyzes the post-World War II administrations from Truman through Johnson. One mode of containment, cliency, a foreign policy relationship between a major power and a weaker state, is developed within the framework analyzing containment. The cliency model provides a theoretical basis for explaining how the domestic structure of the client state is systematically distorted by the patron's actions in pursuit of its global interests. The cliency model is also linked to the pattern of development and stability of …

Decreasing Allied Support For Anti-Soviet Strategic Embargoes A Demonstration Of The Declining Hegemony Of The United States, Tracey A. Johnstone

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This thesis evaluates the declining hegemony of the United States over its allies since the end of World War II. Robert Gilpin and Robert Keohane's theories about the decline in U.S. hegemony are discussed as are the hegemonic theories of Gramsci as interpreted by Robert Cox. The three progressively hostile reactions of U.S. allies to U.S.-initiated embargoes against the Eastern Bloc are used to illustrate the decreasing control of the United States over the economic and strategic policies of its allies. The conclusion states' that Ronald Reagan ignored historical trends and contemporary international politics when he decided to force U.S. …

Mining The Deep Seabed Implications For International Law And American Foreign Policy, Steven H. Fitzgerald

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Whether or not the United States may someday face a mineral shortage, the need for a coherent, unified minerals policy is critical to national objectives and national security. Deep-sea mining may be the answer to American (and world) mineral needs in the twenty-first century. However, there are numerous problems which must be dealt with and resolved in the near future, in order to enable the U.S. (and the world community) to take advantage of vast undersea resources. Deep-sea mining requires the development of technology, tremendous capital investments, and years of labor before production can begin. U.S. policy makers must decide …