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International and Area Studies

Theses/Dissertations

2020

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Full-Text Articles in International Relations

The Evolutionary Global Vision Of Chinese Political Philosophy; China's Socio-Economic Transformation In The 21st Century, Meryem Gurel Dec 2020

The Evolutionary Global Vision Of Chinese Political Philosophy; China's Socio-Economic Transformation In The 21st Century, Meryem Gurel

Master's Projects and Capstones

Evolving relations of East Asia due to trade liberalization raised the search for financial stability for institutional development. It also increased the importance of China integrating the global economy into renewing its political philosophy in the new century. This capstone project aims to examine why China has transformed its socio-economic structure by generating outward investments and how it has affected international political relations in terms of the role of the economic institution Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). Quantitative methodology aims to examine the impact of China’s export trade on income distribution and economic growth through linear regression analysis for the …

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Who Upholds Your Human Rights When You Are “Stateless?” Why Couldn’T The Un Protect The Rohingya’S Human Rights?, Hyochan Lee Dec 2020

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 …

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Unprecedented Immigration: The Ramifications On Japan’S Party Politics, Keiko Hirano-Lee Dec 2020

Unprecedented Immigration: The Ramifications On Japan’S Party Politics, Keiko Hirano-Lee

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Although the immigration discourse is a taboo subject in Japan, the aging demographics and the need for workers has brought the topic into discussion. Part of the OECD community, Japan remains the eldest liberal country who up till recently avoided immigration to maintain its unique image. This thesis builds on Japanese and immigration scholarship to examine how new pro-immigration policies of the conservative Liberal Democratic Party may affect their electoral standing. By looking at official statements, newspaper polls, and the wording of policies, it will help examine new spaces of contestation that have yet to be studied. As a forward …

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How Palestinian Aid Organizations Adapt To The Possibility Of Further Annexation And Rights Abuses In The Wake Of "The Deal Of The Century", Nadia L. Wiggins Dec 2020

How Palestinian Aid Organizations Adapt To The Possibility Of Further Annexation And Rights Abuses In The Wake Of "The Deal Of The Century", Nadia L. Wiggins

Capstone Collection

This research explores the question, “To what extent has the ‘Deal of the Century’ impacted Palestinian aid organizations, and how might it impact them in the future?” The significance of this question lies in the fact that the “Deal of the Century” claims to solve one of the longest and most complex conflicts, yet it has not been sufficiently analyzed from a Palestinian perspective nor a humanitarian perspective. Furthermore, by presenting scholarly critiques of the deal and aid worker’s concerns, my hope is that an American audience may be convinced of the complicity of our government in devising a failed …

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Internal And External Determinants Of The Adoption Levels Of Sustainable Development Policies In The Energy, Industry And Agricultural Sectors Of Turkey, The United States, The Russian Federation, And The People’S Republic Of China, Onur Kolcak Dec 2020

Internal And External Determinants Of The Adoption Levels Of Sustainable Development Policies In The Energy, Industry And Agricultural Sectors Of Turkey, The United States, The Russian Federation, And The People’S Republic Of China, Onur Kolcak

Graduate Liberal Studies Theses and Dissertations

Our planet's natural resources have helped humanity advance and build countless civilizations. We are a fossil fuel civilization and have evolved so that today's production and energy use has become the most crucial part of all modern economies. We cannot function without reliable, resilient, and secure energy sources that help us continuously produce. Human history is full of important events that have tremendously shaped our experience on this planet. These experiences have sometimes forced us to make quick decisions and change our ways, but some of these changes occurred gradually and gave us time to plan and adapt. Adaptability is …

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The Path To Victory: A Comparative Analysis Of Mena Region Countries, Negar Moayed Dec 2020

The Path To Victory: A Comparative Analysis Of Mena Region Countries, Negar Moayed

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

During the “Arab Spring” the Arab world witnessed a wave of uprisings. As a result of these anti-government movements, four governments of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen were overthrown, three governments of Bahrain, Jordan, and to some points Saudi Arabia were faced with critical difficulties, and one government ,Syria, experienced domestic war. All these happened while some other Middle Eastern countries remained stable. Yet, the remaining questions are: how did these protests emerge? How was the collective identity which is essential for the social movements created? Why were some of these movements successful in overthrowing the regime while the others …

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A Rivalry Of Necessity: An Analysis Of Mechanisms Of Contention Between The Islamic Republic Of Iran And The Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia, Aras Syahmanssuri Dec 2020

A Rivalry Of Necessity: An Analysis Of Mechanisms Of Contention Between The Islamic Republic Of Iran And The Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia, Aras Syahmanssuri

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

The 1979 Iranian Islamic revolution that extremely concerned the Saudis leaders culminated after the overthrow of a monarchical regime of the Iranian Shah and the power rise of a theocratic Shia government led by Ayatollah Khomeini. From the early days of this revolution, Khomeini raised a unique slogan, which was “exporting the revolution” to neighboring countries. Through targeting the Shia minority in neighboring countries, this slogan highly concerned the Gulf countries including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Examining four decades of hostility, which starts from the 1979 Islamic Revolution of Iran, this study indicates that the rivalry between the Islamic …

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India’S Nuclear Energy Conundrum: An Assessment Of The Country’S Energy Futures, Sneha Thomas Nov 2020

India’S Nuclear Energy Conundrum: An Assessment Of The Country’S Energy Futures, Sneha Thomas

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis will assess the practicality of implementing nuclear energy into India’s power system by considering different security risks, political factors, and COVID-19 complications. Access to energy is essential to modern survival because it contributes to the safety, success, and overall well-being of individuals; allowing for a better acquisition of food, education, and industry necessities. A big concern for India has been the inability to give energy access to millions of citizens that live in no proximity to a power grid, and this has shown to correlate with a lower quality of life. Another concern for India is the search …

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Human Migration Rates In Relation To Hdi Scores Of States, Amy E. Docter Nov 2020

Human Migration Rates In Relation To Hdi Scores Of States, Amy E. Docter

Honors College Theses

Migration is a human phenomenon impacting various factors of society, politics, and cultures today that will continue to grow in both domestic and international importance. Despite this profound significance, there are numerous challenges for migration with little control of the flow of populations and limited understanding of the changing trends of migration. Historically, migration has been defined by South-to-North movements, with the main motive being economic opportunities with the allure of developed countries, but many articles today have found more South-to-South movements and myriad other factors influencing migratory decisions. By examining net migration population from 2014 and 2015, in conjunction …

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On The Basis Of Sex: Personal Status Law Reforms And Economic Growth, Kylie Bring Oct 2020

On The Basis Of Sex: Personal Status Law Reforms And Economic Growth, Kylie Bring

Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze how law reform toward gender equity has an impact on economic growth in Arab countries in the Middle East. Personal status law reform granting women economic, social, and personal freedoms is spreading across the region and showing substantial change. Using case studies of major PSL reforms in Tunisia and Morocco, this thesis outlines qualitative and quantitative evidence to support the case that gender equity benefits the economic growth of the given country.

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The Origin Of Usurpation And Tyranny: Nonagentic Anti-Imperialism Of The Twenty-First Century And The Legacy Of Chavismo, Juan Bustillo Aug 2020

The Origin Of Usurpation And Tyranny: Nonagentic Anti-Imperialism Of The Twenty-First Century And The Legacy Of Chavismo, Juan Bustillo

International Studies (MA) Theses

As Venezuela’s Chavista regime presides over the country’s descent into Latin America’s worst refugee and humanitarian crisis in modern times, a mass exodus of nearly five million Venezuelans since 2015, the rhetoric of Western anti-imperialists and the regime itself has absolved it of any responsibility for the crisis and the increasing authoritarianism that led to it by abdicating the regime's agency to act according to its own free will. This paper develops the discursive concept of nonagentic anti-imperialism, a rhetoric that effectively absolves self-declared anti-imperialist regimes, from Castro’s Cuba to Rajapaksa’s Sri Lanka, of human rights abuses and democratic erosions …

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Dual Immersion Programs And Their Implications: Focused Analyses On The Educational History, Francisco Reynoso Barron Aug 2020

Dual Immersion Programs And Their Implications: Focused Analyses On The Educational History, Francisco Reynoso Barron

International Studies (MA) Theses

As a social construct, education fulfills the necessary elements, ideologies, and rituals required to construct social norms for society. What a society deems as a norm determines the sentiments and direction that a nation will take. These normative tendencies lead to national identity and national security through policies and legislation within the nations' utilization of sovereignty. National interest being influenced by global events and ethnocentric ideologies has seen cycles leading to different immigration, educational, and economic policies. This paper analyzes dual immersion programs, which have been treated as a controversial topic due to its implications on national security and identity. …

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The Role Of Digital Technology In Improving Electoral Integrity: Hope Or Just Hype?, Ziaul Haque Jul 2020

The Role Of Digital Technology In Improving Electoral Integrity: Hope Or Just Hype?, Ziaul Haque

Doctor of International Conflict Management Dissertations

As elections are increasingly plagued by malpractice, violence, systemic manipulation, and corruption, electoral administrators worldwide view Information and Communication Technology (ICT)-based solutions as convenient and cost-effective in enhancing electoral integrity. ICT optimists contend that digitization enhances efficiency, speed, and detectability of fraud and manipulation, and thereby improves the quality of elections. ICT skeptics, however, argue that digitization reduces voters’ confidence in elections as these technologies are susceptible to new vulnerabilities such as hacking, breakdown, and programmatic manipulation. While arguments on both sides are appealing, there has been very little systematic effort to empirically test these assertations. This dissertation partially fills …

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Merchants Without Borders: Qusman Traders In The Arabian Gulf And Indian Ocean, C. 1850-1950, Mansour Alsharidah Jul 2020

Merchants Without Borders: Qusman Traders In The Arabian Gulf And Indian Ocean, C. 1850-1950, Mansour Alsharidah

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is a history of the economic, social, and political life in Arabia, the Arabian Gulf, and the Indian Subcontinent from the mid-nineteenth to the mid-twentieth centuries. It draws on materials from al-Qasim, Kuwait, Bahrain, Karachi, Bombay, Calcutta, and London, in addition to travelers’ accounts. These materials and accounts are used to explore the extent and significance of al-Qasim’s international trade between Arabia and India through the Arabian Gulf. It further examines how Qasimi merchants mobilized commodities and traded in the port cities of the Arabian Gulf and the Indian Ocean, taking advantage of changing regional and global political …

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The Danger Of Current Rwandan Gender Politics, Amani Briggs Jun 2020

The Danger Of Current Rwandan Gender Politics, Amani Briggs

Women's, Gender and Queer Studies

This critical analysis will investigate whether Rwanda’s glorified representation of women in government positions truly serves the women in their society or rather the agenda of the men in power. Rwanda is frequently hailed as the prime example for African feminism due to their 2008 parliamentary elections. The 2013 Rwandan Parliamentary elections ushered in a record -breaking sixty-four percent of seats for women candidates, making Rwanda the top country for women in politics. In comparison, women make up a global average of 23.8 percent of parliament members as of June 2018 (W.E. Forum, 2017). Their representation of women in government …

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High-Tech Development In Late Developing States: Taiwan's Semiconductor Success, Owen Farley Jun 2020

High-Tech Development In Late Developing States: Taiwan's Semiconductor Success, Owen Farley

Honors Theses

This paper examines the development of Taiwan's semiconductor industry and the differing narratives on the factors contributing to the industry's success. The paper argues that both State-led policies and public institutions, as well as the experience and networks of returnee entrepreneurs, together facilitated the development of Taiwan's semiconductor industry, specifically the pureplay-foundry. Significantly, we argue that State-led policies were often tailored to attract the human capital as well as financial capital these returnees possessed and then incorporate their technical skills, managerial know-how, and knowledge of industry trends within State institutions. This paper analyzes specific State policies and inputs, like the …

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An Analysis Of Women And Terrorism: Perpetrators, Victims, Both?, Elizabeth Lauren Miller Jun 2020

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 …

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Un Trust Funds As Agent To Fulfill The Norm Adapting And Diffusing Functions, Mikiko Sawanishi Jun 2020

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 …

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Social Contract Theory And Transitional Justice: A Philosophical Approach To A Problem Of Global Importance, Brendan Moriarty Jun 2020

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 …

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Time Machine Research And Approach, Tarek Bouraque May 2020

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.

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Tinderbox: Danish-Russian Relations, 1989-2019, Maddy Ghose May 2020

Tinderbox: Danish-Russian Relations, 1989-2019, Maddy Ghose

Master's Theses

This thesis documents and analyzes the major trends of the military, political, economic, and cultural relationships between Denmark and Russia from 1989 to 2019. I document the relationship from the Danish perspective, using primary sources, with the aim to conduct analysis of Danish politicians’ speeches and activities during this period. The outcome is a comprehensive image of the Danish-Russian bilateral relationship at the present time. This relationship has fluctuated widely during the time period under study. Shared economic development interests in the 1990s contributed to a positive relationship; controversy surrounding the war in Chechnya and an assertive Danish prime minister …

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The Function Of The Hukou System In Post-Revolutionary China & Its Autonomous Regions, Joseph Kramer May 2020

The Function Of The Hukou System In Post-Revolutionary China & Its Autonomous Regions, Joseph Kramer

Master's Theses

Over the course of more than two millennia the Hukou System has shifted in scope and purpose. In dynastic times it served as a mechanism of tax acquisition. In more recent years it has functioned as a method of census and land distribution. Today it holds a duplicitous function serving as both an economic and social control mechanism. The Hukou achieves this through controlling movement through a passport like system of internal registration. In simpler terms, think of the Hukou as an internal passport regulating movement while simultaneously holding all of your biometric data which is surveilled and controlled by …

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Changing Tides: The Impact Of Chinese Investment In Gambia’S Fishing Industry, Abdallah Alami May 2020

Changing Tides: The Impact Of Chinese Investment In Gambia’S Fishing Industry, Abdallah Alami

Master's Theses

This thesis analyzes the presence and impact of Chinese fishing companies in the West African country of The Gambia. The presence of the Chinese companies have resulted in drastic changes in the country’s fisheries industry where they have a comparative advantage due to their geographic location. Through interviews conducted with Gambian officials in the Ministry of Fisheries and Water Resources, and members of the fishing community (both fishermen and merchants), I conclude that the Chinese presence is a trade-off between the Gambian government and the Chinese investors. It is positive because they are engaged in a beneficial partnership with the …

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Imperial Subjection And The Orientalist Gaze: Turning Asian Women’S Bodies Into Entertainment, Miriam Ahn May 2020

Imperial Subjection And The Orientalist Gaze: Turning Asian Women’S Bodies Into Entertainment, Miriam Ahn

Master's Theses

This thesis analyzes the structural factors that provide meaning and space to performances where violence is served as entertainment. What are the structural conditions that turn gendered and racialized violent forms of display into enjoyment? By exploring the sex tourism in Thailand, particularly ping-pong shows, I will analyze aspects of international political economy and feminist studies to address forms of display based on the abjectness of the other. I argue that sex tourism in Thailand is not part of local culture but is upheld by imperial hegemonic perceptions of the colonized and gendered bodies. The perspectives of Orientalism, patriarchal systems, …

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Guiding Principle 28: The Unfulfilled Promise To End Protracted Displacement In Azerbaijan, Kaleigh Rose Mclaughlin May 2020

Guiding Principle 28: The Unfulfilled Promise To End Protracted Displacement In Azerbaijan, Kaleigh Rose Mclaughlin

Honors Thesis

In 1998 internal displacement became a major focus of international concern with the adoption the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement by the United Nations. This seminal document outlined the rights and protections of internally displaced persons (IDPs), as well as developing policy solutions for ending displacement. In the two decades since the adoption of the Guiding Principles, there has been an explosion of research into various case studies. This paper re-examines the case of Azerbaijan within a new theoretical framework. This paper uses the work of Walter Kalin, former UN Secretary-General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons …

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Thank You For Considering Me Such A Huge Threat: A Critical Analysis Of Iran's Foreign Policy, Liza Boyer May 2020

Thank You For Considering Me Such A Huge Threat: A Critical Analysis Of Iran's Foreign Policy, Liza Boyer

Honors Theses

The United States has long held the idea that Iran poses a threat to our interests as well as global stability, implying that Iran is irrational and makes decisions rooted purely in ideology. After creating an independent framework based on rational choice theory, descriptive decision theory, and the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, I determined four possible ways to describe Iran’s foreign policy: rational-constitutional, irrational-constitutional, rational-unconstitutional, and irrational-unconstitutional. I then apply this framework to six cases which I have identified to be vital to understanding Iran’s foreign policy: Iraq, Israel, United States of America, China, the nuclear program, …

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The Mapuche And Chilean State: An Analysis Of The State Reaction To Mapuche Protests, Mckenna Gossrau May 2020

The Mapuche And Chilean State: An Analysis Of The State Reaction To Mapuche Protests, Mckenna Gossrau

Honors Theses

The history between the Mapuche and Chilean state is long and complex. Since 2000, the conflict between the state and Mapuche has periodically drawn wider public attention as well as public demands for change. In this thesis, I look to examine how the Chilean state has reacted to the demands of the Mapuche since 2000. Mapuche activists have protested violently and peacefully against state policy that has left many rural Mapuche impoverished and landless. This project assesses the impact of protests on state-Mapuche policy. The project also examines how deeply entrenched neoliberal fiscal policies of the state play a central …

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Analyzing The Onset And Resolution Of Nonstate Conflict In The Middle East & North Africa, Emily A. Barbaro May 2020

Analyzing The Onset And Resolution Of Nonstate Conflict In The Middle East & North Africa, Emily A. Barbaro

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

By applying structural-functionalist theories of deviance and opposition, this thesis deconstructs nonstate mobilization in the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Using data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Dataset, the quantitative analysis interpreted both group and leader behavior in conflict situations to determine factors that influenced conflict onset and resolution. The quasipoisson regression analysis of group behavior suggested that polity and state capacity were both significant predictors of violent and nonviolent mobilization. The negative binomial regression of regime behavior suggested that civilian casualties were the most significant predictor of a government response to nonstate mobilization. Ultimately, the …

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The Belt And Road Initiative: China’S Rise, America’S Balance, And Latin America’S Struggle, Garrett Bullock May 2020

The Belt And Road Initiative: China’S Rise, America’S Balance, And Latin America’S Struggle, Garrett Bullock

History Honors Papers

This research attempts to understand the evolving relationship between China, the United States, and Latin America. Specifically, it explores China’s rapid rise as a formidable geopolitical power, the United States’ mixed response to that rise, and efforts by two Latin American countries, Ecuador and Argentina, to avoid exploitation by both China and the United States—and, indeed, to even benefit from this mutating relationship. In all cases, historically constructed ideas and strategic interests shape relations among these various actors. Accordingly, this research lays out the historical sources for each of these powers’ central ideas. Then, it connects those ideas to the …

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Spectacular Imaginations Of The Sinking Island, Emma Schneck May 2020

Spectacular Imaginations Of The Sinking Island, Emma Schneck

Senior Theses and Projects

As entire island nations slip beneath rising seas, how can we reimagine a political future where the effects of climate change are already in full force? In recent years, it has become increasingly apparent that there is a fundamental lack of legal protections for those fleeing environmental degradation and the effects of global sea level rise. This lack of protection is felt particularly strongly in the Pacific region, where many communities are faced with existential threats to their way of life and self-determination. However, despite this historic lack of support from the international community, the Pacific Islands states have continuously …

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