International Relations Commons^™

A Pearl Ravaged: The Paradox Of Haiti And Its Socioeconomic Origins, Isabel Ishibe Exel

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Saint-Domingue was once the most profitable colony of the Caribbean, the so-called pearl of the Antilles. Nowadays, Haiti is known for being the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, a dramatic shift that raises the question of the factors contributing to Haiti's current state, marked by persistent violence, natural disasters, and political instability. Various discourses have framed Haiti as a country doomed for failure. However, relying on binary concepts such as success and failure is counterproductive to a refined analysis. How, then, should we structure this conversation? My ultimate goal for this work is to provide a nuanced analysis of …

Understanding The Afghan Diaspora: Exploring The Factors Driving Migration And The Impact Of Migration Policies On Recent Afghan Evacuees Resettling In The United States, Aya H. Mohamed

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Afghanistan has been at war with the West since the late 1900’s, remaining in a state of constant turmoil. During the Cold War (1979), Afghanistan had fought a war with the Soviet Union, known as the Soviet- Afghan War. During this time, Afghanistan was invaded by both the Soviet and US, creating a ground for terrorism and the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan. In order to then eradicate the terrorist regime, the Taliban, the United States went to war with Afghanistan in 2001. The Taliban were suppressed by U.S. forces until August 2021, during which President Biden executed a …

The Origins Of The Iraq War: The Role Of Anthrax In The Weapons Of Mass Destruction Claims, John P. Koenig

Student Theses and Dissertations

The 2001 Anthrax Attacks were a critical factor in the Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) claims that sparked the Iraq War. Despite its significance, little systematic work has been done regarding the topic. Existing studies primarily focus on the role of the Military Industrial Complex and intelligence failures as the primary explanations for the origins of the Iraq War. These explanations are limited, as they rely on hindsight biases. This thesis contends that anthrax was the catalyst for WMD claims that sparked the Iraq War. The 2001 Anthrax Attacks reinforced the belief that Iraq harbored WMDs and posed a threat …

David Versus Goliath: The Power Of Weakness In Asymmetric Warfare—Lessons From History, Nicholas K. Petaludis

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Under what conditions do violent nonstate actors (VNA) succeed against states? Why does David sometimes beat Goliath? Since at least the time of Thucydides and the Peloponnesian Wars, the realist narrative in international relations measures power primarily in relative, coercive, and deterrent terms. Strong states should accordingly face fewer constraints and enjoy more options while pursuing their national interests. Unconventional warfare, and its subsets of terrorism and insurgency, should—given these circumstances, end in VNA failure. Sometimes, however, VNAs find success. By comparing the literature on historical and current case studies, I propose that a set of preconditions and two mechanisms …

Pakistan, India And The Indus River Basin, Muquadas Ilyas

Dissertations and Theses

Water is a fundamental need of all living things. The right to clean water is classified as a human right under United Nations Resolution 64/292.As such it is the responsibility of governments to ensure its citizens are not deprived of this essential resource. In doing so, effective water management is crucial to provide clean water that is accessible to everyone regardless of any challenges such as geographical constraints or political disputes. This thesis explores the water management efforts of Pakistan and India. These countries are facing a water crisis, whereby numerous citizens have died due to dehydration and diseases contracted …

Exile Garden Of The Uprooted: A Zine About Migration And The Right To Move, Sazia Afrin

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Exile Garden of the Uprooted is a digital zine that advocates for a borderless world where migration is treated as an equal and fundamental human right for all. Through critical analysis and experimental forms of art and writing, this zine draws attention to the structural violence used to criminalize the movement of marginalized people, the role nations and individuals play in such violence, and the practical solutions that can be employed to normalize migration and build resilient societies that support fair movement for all. The short essays, found poems, and original art work in this zine are interdisciplinary reflections on …

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 …

The Compressed Modernity Of Legalizing Same-Sex Marriage In Taiwan: Digital Activism, Human Rights Discourse, And Intertwined Sexual, Political And National Identities, Jyun-Jie Yang

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In 2019, Taiwan became the first Asian country to officially legalize same-sex marriage. Remarkably, the Taiwanese queer movement achieved the goal of marriage equality in only 30 years, with the first tongzhi (同志) activist group organized in 1990. Compared to Euro-American social movements, Taiwanese tongzhi activism has experienced a “compressed modernity” (Chang, 1999, 2010a, 2010b), which accelerates cultural and social transformations. Although Taiwanese academia has been significantly influenced by queer studies as a form of western knowledge production, local scholars and activists created a new interpretation from “queer” to “tongzhi.” Entangled with complex political identifications in post-martial-law Taiwan, …

The Hamite Must Die! The Legacy Of Colonial Ideology In Rwanda, Awa Princess E. Zadi

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

April 07, 1994, will forever remain in the history of Rwanda, as it commemorates the beginning of the Rwandan genocide. In 100 days, an estimated 800,000 people, who were overwhelmingly Tutsi, lost their lives at the hand of their neighbors, friends, and families. Although the genocide occurred 26 years ago, there is still much debate surrounding the cause of this tragedy. While some scholars have suggested that the genocide was triggered by contemporary economic and political factors, this thesis is taking a post-colonial approach by bringing into context the colonial history of Rwanda. In the discussion of these colonial roots, …

Military Industry And The Israel-Palestine Conflict: Military Aid, Technology, And Barriers To Peace, Brandon A. Sandoval

Dissertations and Theses

This study reviews the current US and Israel militarized response to Palestine, the negative impacts on the Palestinian and Israeli people that result from this policy, and the military-industrial complex that benefits from the US-Israel relationship. I also note that the military industry profits from the Israel-Palestine conflict and, thus, has an incentive for the conflict to continue. I argue that despite billions of US dollars that have been appropriated by the U.S. Congress for Israel’s security, the US and Israel have failed to build peace in the region, ultimately wasting funds and exacerbating current conflicts. I also argue that …

Ethnic Conflict In Côte D’Ivoire, Ayouba Doumbia

Dissertations and Theses

Since the early days of independence, the African continent has been the theatre of many ethnic conflicts. While people, in general, assume these conflicts to be political and blame the conflicts on authoritarian regimes, they dismissed the fact that conflict between ethnicities is a phenomenon that has occurred for hundreds of years and in all corners of the Earth. Entire countries have been devastated by years of ethnic strife. Once ethnic conflict breaks out, it is difficult to stop. Conflicts in the Balkans, Rwanda, Chechnya, Iraq, and Darfur are among the deadliest examples from the late 20^th and early …

Who Upholds Your Human Rights When You Are “Stateless?” Why Couldn’T The Un Protect The Rohingya’S Human Rights?, Hyochan Lee

Student Theses and Dissertations

In 2017, genocide in Myanmar took place against the stateless minority Rohingya Muslims. Why couldn’t the UN protect the Rohingya’s human rights? The international community's efforts to oppose these violations against the stateless people have been only passive. Then, who upholds your human rights when you are stateless? Using chronology, historical institutionalism, and process tracing analyses, this thesis (1) evaluates the UN’s legal regime’s systemic design and capabilities in protecting human rights; then (2) identifies the design flaws of our international human rights regime; and lastly, (3) develops a recommendation to protect all people, stateless or not. Based on both …

‘Wars Of Others’: National Cleavages And Attitudes Toward External Conflicts, Efe Tokdemir, Seden Akcinaroglu, H. Ege Ozen, Ekrem Karakoc

Publications and Research

Why do individuals sympathize with others’ wars, an antecedent of the decision to become a foreign fighter? By collecting original public opinion data from Lebanon, in 2015, and Turkey in 2017, about the actors of conflict in Syria, we test the argument that an ethno-religious cleavage at home shapes the proclivity of individuals to support others’ wars. Individuals may perceive a war abroad as endangering political and social balance of power at home – and hence own survival. Therefore, when transnational identities map onto a national cleavage, as in the Sunni–Shia cleavage in Lebanon, and Turk – Kurd cleavage in …

Un Trust Funds As Agent To Fulfill The Norm Adapting And Diffusing Functions, Mikiko Sawanishi

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis focuses on existing large-scale general trust funds at the United Nations (UN) Secretariat, as one example of the important transformations of the UN. They were created around the 1990s amid a paradigm shift in international relations after the end of the Cold War. They function as autonomous entities to carry out specific mandates to tackle emerging global issues in responding to the requests of a limited number of UN member states that provide voluntary contributions of significant sum. The thesis explores answers to the questions of why such general trust funds were created within the UN Secretariat, and …

Social Contract Theory And Transitional Justice: A Philosophical Approach To A Problem Of Global Importance, Brendan Moriarty

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In this thesis, I seek to bring together two areas of scholarly work to see how each can inform the other: social contract theory and transitional justice. The social contract, as it exists and as it was theorized about by Rousseau, was born from the world-historic forces that spread capitalism across the globe, stirring up nationalism everywhere it went. In its wake, there was vast inequality and new legal regimes which protected the hoarded wealth of the capitalist class by enshrining the right of private property along with life and liberty. To examine the intricacies of transitional justice and its …

An Analysis Of Women And Terrorism: Perpetrators, Victims, Both?, Elizabeth Lauren Miller

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This paper will analyze women’s participation in terrorism under groups like al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. It will research the use of violence within terrorist organizations, perpetrated by female participants. What leads women to join groups like the Islamic State? There will be an analysis of the factors that attract women to joining terrorist organizations, in addition to the practices of recruitment that aid in their radicalization. There is a misconception that women who join the Islamic State lack education, which is seen as the sole reasoning for their radicalization or involvement. In reality, several reasons exist leading to their …

Time Machine Research And Approach, Tarek Bouraque

Theses and Dissertations

Time Machine is a hybrid documentary that explores the logics of enslavement, colonialism, eurocentrism and their interconnectedness in our globalized world. Mustapha Azemmouri, born in 1502, undertakes a journey to the 21st century to recount his own story of enslavement and exploration, and reflects on a collective puzzle of 500 years of hidden history.

The U.S. Approach To Peacebuilding In Afghanistan: A Comparative Analysis Of George W. Bush, Barack Obama, And Donald Trump Administration Policies In Afghanistan, Mohammad Rasouli

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This research paper addresses the efforts of the U.S. to achieve some level of reconciliation with the Taliban after more than 18 years of war in Afghanistan. It deals with the history of U.S.-Taliban negotiations and the U.S. initiatives to engage with the Taliban, as well as outlining the challenges to these initiatives and determining how effective they have been. In addition, the prospects of the U.S.-Taliban peace talks are assessed.

Since the 2001 U.S. intervention in Afghanistan, the first two U.S. administrations under consideration—those of George W. Bush and Barack Obama—justified intrusive interventions into the political, economic, and social …

Whose War Is It Anyway? How Afghanistan Became A Battlefield Over Global Hegemony During The Cold War, Kathryn Shapiro

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Traditional scholarship depicts the Cold War, which began immediately after World War Two and ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, as a battle of freedom and democracy over communism and authoritarian control. Cold War propaganda cartoons often show an Uncle Sam figure facing off against the Soviet Union, or a Soviet Bear reaching out to grab and control Western Europe. While this may have been popular Cold War discourse, a close look at internal documents from the United States Government at the time reveals that the United States was more interested in protecting resources and their …

The Battle For The Battle Of Adwa: Collective Identity And Nation-Building, Joseph A. Steward

Dissertations and Theses

Abstract

On March 1^st, 1896, an Ethiopian army lead by Emperor Menelik II dealt a shocking defeat to the invading Italian forces in the Battle of Adwa. In victory, Menelik was able to exert his authority over a vast territory which included both the historical, ancient kingdoms of the northern and central parts of Ethiopia, and also the vast, resource-rich territories in the west and south which he had earlier conquered. The egalitarian nature of the victory united the various peoples of Ethiopia against a common enemy, giving Menelik the opportunity to create a new Ethiopian nation.

The …

Political Representation For Indigenous Peoples In The Andes, Jessica Yepez

Dissertations and Theses

For years, there has been a lack of representation for indigenous peoples in communities, and most importantly in parliament. This is a very common trait in the South American Andes, which houses the largest number of indigenous groups in the continent. This thesis focuses on Ecuador and Bolivia due to their indigenous population and their history, or lack thereof, with indigenous people in parliament. For my hypothesis, I argue that parliamentary representation of indigenous peoples, can help ensure that their rights are protected, and their unique interests are heard and translated into relevant policies, while at the same time preventing …

Counterterrorism: The G5 Response Efforts To Combat Terrorism In The Sahel Region, Ndeye Fatou Ndiaye

Dissertations and Theses

Abstract

Africa’s Sahel suffers from multidimensional challenges that require robust solutions to address the issues. The regional crisis is aggravated by multiple factors that include climate risks, poverty, unemployment, water shortages, weak governance, lack of rule of law, food security to cite a few. Thus, a combination of factors greatly contribute to the Sahel crisis, resulting in severe security threats. This study attempts to analyze the role of the G5 Sahel states and the international community in counter-terrorism efforts. However, the region has emerged as the new battleground for terrorism along with a growing threat of violent extremism and other …

Travel To Cuba: A Case Study Of Media Branding In A Politicized Context, Yaneisis Infante

Student Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to detail a case study of U.S. tourism to Cuba in a politicized context; specifically, to compare and contrast the Obama and Trump administrations. This study seeks to examine how the Cuban “brand” and the island’s overall tourism strategy is formulated, circulated, shaped and reshaped by various actors and the public in the changing context of the newly antagonistic bilateral U.S.-Cuba political relationship. The research questions explore issues of how diplomatic relations impact Cuban tourism and advertising messaging. This paper also discusses the changes in the U.S. news media coverage of Cuba as a …

The Making And Silencing Of “Axé-Ocracy” In Brazil: Black Women Writers’ Spiritual, Political And Literary Movement In São Paulo, Sarah S. Ohmer

Publications and Research

In this article, I will focus on two influential writers from the south of Brazil, Cristiane Sobral who currently lives in Brasília, from Rio de Janeiro, and Conceição Evaristo who currently lives in Rio de Janeiro state, from Minas Gerais. I got to know them in São Paulo in 2015 at a public event: the “Afroétnica Flink! Sampa Festival of Black Thought, Literature and Culture.” I will include references to some of their younger contemporaries such as Raquel Almeida, Jenyffer Nascimento, and Elizandra Souza, all of whom reside in São Paulo, in order to illustrate the Black Brazilian women writers’ …

The Origins Of The Jones Act Of Puerto Rico, Stephanie Mercedes

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

After the Spanish-American War that ended in 1898, Puerto Rico was given to the United States by Spain as a war booty, becoming a US colony. The first law ever created by the United States to control Puerto Rico was the Foraker Act (also known as the Organic Act of 1900). This established a civilian government in Puerto Rico. It also extended the federal government rulings to the island. After its creation, the Puerto Rican population began to wonder what their political status was since nothing was concretized until the Jones Act was signed. The Merchant Marine Act of 1920, …

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 …

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 …

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 …

The Jihadist Marketplace: Understanding Competition Between Al Qaeda And Isis, Hristo Voynov

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

ISIS and al Qaeda are the world’s preeminent transnational jihadist organizations. Following a public schism, the two started competing, even though they previous cooperated to accomplish their shared goals. This split divided the movement, which was previously united under the leadership of al Qaeda. Now the two must compete with one another for the limited resources of the global jihadist movement as the loser of the competition risks losing their standing within the movement, which may lead to irrelevancy, or even organizational demise, for the loser. This competition requires study because it is necessary to explain why the two would …

The Importance Of Property Rights In The Developing World: A Study And Comparison Of Zimbabwe And Botswana, Luke A. Scarpa

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.