International Relations Commons^™

An Assertion Of The Rights Of The Malësore As Indigenous Peoples In Present-Day Montenegro, Sarina Jaqueline Culaj

Senior Projects Spring 2023

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

The Commonwealth Of Independent States: A Symbolic Union Or Another Ussr?, Luka Donovan Linich

Senior Projects Spring 2023

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

Victim Or Collaborator: The Influence Of Interwar German Soft Power On France, Sophia M. Tighe

Senior Projects Spring 2023

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

The Foreign Policy Of Restitution: How Antiquities Repatriations Could Help The United States Thwart Chinese Influence In Cambodia, Cameron Cheam Shapiro

Senior Projects Spring 2023

This paper seeks to explore the extent to which US-Cambodia antiquities repatriations could be used to help thwart Chinese influence in Cambodia. Cultural objects, stone and bronze sculptures of gods and ancestors created throughout Ancient Cambodia, hold significant meaning for local ritualistic practices and worship. After the arrival of the French in the 19th century, these materials were extracted from temples and sold on the international art market to prominent museums and collectors. The looting of antiquities has survived to this day, but with the help of US-Cambodian cooperation, many of these extracted materials are on their way home. The …

Afterlives Of The United States’ Withdrawal From Afghanistan, Maryam Shanori

Senior Projects Spring 2023

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College

Abstract

The present research investigated the effects of the United States withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 that led to a massive evacuation of thousands from the country and how Afghan Bard College students perceived these events. To gain insight into these questions, I interviewed eight Bard College Afghan students on what they think of the past twenty years of war, the US invasion of Afghanistan, the Taliban and their relationship with al-Qaeda as well as the September 11, 2001 attacks, and the current and future situation in Afghanistan. …

A Comparative Analysis Of Regional Institution Engagement And Development Trajectories In South America And Eastern Asia, Joel S. Guahnich

Senior Projects Fall 2023

This project analyzes the reasons behind South American struggles connected to regional organizations compared to Southeastern Asian economic and political development in the second half of the 20th century. When exploring the unique characteristics and historical context of South American and Eastern Asian regional blocs such as the Union of South American NationsUSAN/ Union de Naciones Suramericanas, UNASUR, Mercado Común del Sur MERCOSUR; Eastern Asian regional blocs such as The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN, and The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). This project seeks to understand the factors contributing to their distinct trajectories, highlighting how they have achieved …

Code-Name Friends Next Door: The Securitization Of Communism Through United States Clandestine Operations In Latin America, Jahari Delano Fraser

Senior Projects Spring 2023

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

The American Intelligence Community And The Invasion Of Iraq, Max Kleweno

Senior Projects Spring 2022

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

The Chinese Communist Party’S National Minority Policies: An Analysis Of Geopolitical Determinants, Aja Melville

Senior Projects Spring 2022

Plagued by centuries of humiliation and foreign occupation, Chinese dignitaries, from as early as the Qin dynasty (221-206 BC), saw a relationship between national unity and a strong, impenetrable Chinese State. China has long struggled to balance the needs of national minorities with the goals of the Communist Party. As a result, swift attempts to strengthen national unity through infrastructure development and land cultivation projects in minority-dominated regions have yielded unfortunate hardships for the inhabitants. As long as national unity is the key to maintaining China’s status as a global superpower, meeting national production quotas and narrowing the poverty gap …

Comparing Political Implications Of Punitive Paradigms In Digital Surveillance And Data Driven Algorithms Between The Polities Of The United States Of America And The People's Republic Of China, Shedelande Lily Carpenter

Senior Projects Spring 2022

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

How Aesthetics Shape Our Ethics: Exploring Nazi Germany, The Soviet Union, And Digital World, Nika Kokhodze

Senior Projects Fall 2022

Every day, we encounter numerous amount of images, films, news and propaganda. The different forms and manifestations of aesthetics haunts our lives daily. What if I told you that Aesthetics has immense amount of power? This project aims specifically at that as it explores authoritarian states and the liberal democracies alike. How could the moral compass that we all cherish and hold dearly be predicated and shaped by something so remote as aesthetics? Exploring through examples from the Soviet Union, Nazi Germany and the digital world we all live in, one might find some answers and the right questions to …

An Implicit Hypothesis: Revisiting The American Tradition Of Covert Regime Change In The Context Of The Democratic Peace, Rex Edward Collins

Senior Projects Spring 2021

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

Self-Determination In The Western Sahara: Obstacles And Obligations, Léa Gervais Glaenzer

Senior Projects Spring 2021

This paper aims to investigate the story of a country that was colonized by Spain, abandoned by Madrid, and subsequently claimed by Morocco. Spanish Sahara, now known as Western Sahara, is the territory in question. When Spanish Sahara was left by Spain to fend for itself in 1975, King Hassan of Morocco claimed sovereignty over it. King Hassan saw a potential “Greater Morocco”, which, in his view, encompassed Morocco-proper and the former Spanish Sahara. Since becoming recognized as a non-self-governing territory, most of Western Sahara has been occupied by Morocco and much of its native population resides in Tindouf refugee …

Pleasure, Politics, And Patriarchy: Women’S Intimacy In An Authoritarian Egypt, Sadia A. Saba

Senior Projects Spring 2021

This research project explores the question: To what extent is Egypt’s patriarchal household structure, especially in regards to its treatment of female sexual autonomy, a pillar of authoritarianism and therefore an obstacle to democracy? This paper takes a deep look into the intimate sexual lives of Egyptians and explores its implications for regime type in the country. Widespread practices such as virginity testing, hymen reconstruction, female genital mutilation, etc. along with phenomena such as sexual dysfunctions, community morality policing and other normalized behaviors demonstrate the different ways in which women’s sexual autonomies are widely hindered. This is the result of …

Rhythm And Statecraft, The Evolution Of Percussion From An Instrument Of Military Force To A Tool Of Cultural Diplomacy, Juliana L.C. Maitenaz

Senior Projects Spring 2021

“Diplomacy, in order for it to be successful, depends heavily on communication. Traditionally, we think of that communication as taking place through the means of spoken language. When applied correctly, language can protect against an outbreak of war, yet when it fails, language may also launch it. Similarly, throughout history, music has operated alongside spoken language as a means of both conducting and preventing conflict. In this thesis, I explore whether war, diplomacy, and music have shared an inextricable link throughout the past centuries, and if so, how the link has expanded and evolved into modern day soft-diplomacy. I also …

Beyond Jair Bolsonaro: The Making Of Brazil’S Environmental Crisis, Emma E. Sandman

Senior Projects Spring 2021

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

The Cross-Dressing Terrorist, The Malaccan Mouse-Deer, And Indonesian Prison Surveillance: An Examination Of Radical Indonesian Islamist Cells And Their Relationship To Prison Indoctrination, Violent Recidivism, And State Surveillance, Miranda Kerrigan

Senior Projects Spring 2021

This thesis explores the historical context that has lead Indonesian prisons to be one of the dominant locations for radical Islamic indoctrination in the archipelago. Through an exploration of several key historical stories and events, from Islams' introduction to the region to the current ramifications of bombings and riots, I conclude the most viable solution to prevent further violence is the incorporation of surveillance technology within prisons.

Why Can't We Be Friends: The Significance Of Sovereignty And China's "One Country, Two Systems", Harrison R. Malinowski

Senior Projects Spring 2020

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

The New “Duck-And-Cover” — School Security As Contemporary Civil Defense And Mimetic Of The National Security State, Justyn C. Díaz

Senior Projects Spring 2020

The purpose of this project is to interrogate the parallels between school and state security policies. The project also positions these similarities ultimately as part of the program of schooling that seeks to create citizens in the interest of national security through the mimicry of the state security practices, inculcating a fear in students across the country that serves to constitute state power.

Another Massacre In Mexico, Sidney B. Smith

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

Understanding Iran: Attempts At Unravelling The Structures That Determine Iranian State Behaviour, Simran Gupta

Senior Projects Spring 2019

The goal of this paper is to determine if Iran is a rational actor and to determine the basis of its rationality. If Iran is categorized as an unpredictable and unreliable state, more coercive and isolation based foreign policy decisions would make the most sense. However, if an effort is made to understand the state’s rationality there can be more effective policies that would be more likely to produce the behavior policymakers desire without causing more instability in the international community.

Prevention Through "Deterrence": How The United States Border Patrol Uses Violent Rhetoric And Policy To Engage In Necropolitics, Tess E. Hamilton-Ward

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Multidisciplinary Studies of Bard College.

From Urumqi To Heart Mountain: A Comparative Study Of Forced Internment Befalling Two Peoples, Eight Decades And Two Continents Apart, Caroline Paris Gluck

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

Russian Climate Politics In 2019: Concessions And Trade Offs, Nikita O. Minin

Senior Projects Spring 2019

In the paper of this project the Russia’s political justifications for the signing of the Kyoto Protocol and the refusal to sign the Paris Accord are analyzed. Russia’s current adaptive strategies and trajectory towards creating a potentially devastating future for the planet are assessed in terms of their economic justifications. Overall this paper argues that the Paris Accord needs to be amended to be economically and politically fair for all signing countries. Currently Russia could lose GDP if they signed the accord, and this is presented as the primary reason for Russia’s refusal to sign. The thesis of the paper …

The Closing Of The Gates "The Politics Of Xenophobia In Immigrant Nations", Graham P. Nau

Senior Projects Spring 2019

The following study seeks to explain the reason for increasing immigration restriction in countries with strong histories of immigration. The main country of focus is the United States, with Argentina and Canada analyzed in comparison. After exploring the conventional answers of: right-wing populism, economic explanations, and security concerns, the study makes the argument that a history of deep-rooted xenophobia is the best explanation for increasing immigration restriction in all three countries of analysis.

Does Climate Change Invoke Conditions That Create Conflict? Lessons Learned From Syria And Beyond, Mara A. O'Connell

Senior Projects Fall 2019

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College

From Lucky Strike To Chunghwa: The Development Of China’S Tobacco Industry In The Twentieth Century, Yi Chen

Senior Projects Spring 2018

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

Climate Control: The Case Of Chilean Destabilization, Andrew Arlotto

Senior Projects Spring 2018

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

Contested Identity And Making Sense Of Atrocity: Understanding The Rohingya Crisis In Myanmar, Christopher Andrew Long

Senior Projects Spring 2018

Myanmar’s recent transition towards democracy has caused western leaders to become increasingly optimistic about the future of human rights within the country. However, since emerging on the international stage in 2012, the Rohingya crisis has drastically upset such expectations, leaving the international community in complete shock over the issue. Attempting to shed light on this human rights tragedy, international media coverage has produced an overly simplified depiction of the Rohingya crisis. In addition, very little academic literature exists seeking to explain the root causes of the issue. By utilizing interviews conducted at the University of Mandalay this paper attempts to …

Communist China In The 1950s: A Case Study Of Non-Recognized States, Aidan Richard Barry

Senior Projects Spring 2018

This paper will attempt to examine the pitfalls of non-recognition through an examination of China in the 1940s and 50s. China in this era faced many challenges ranging from war with foreign powers, issues of economic development, and poor relations with its neighbors in addition to its lack of UN membership and formal diplomatic recognition. In the absence of high level diplomatic relations with many nations and UN membership, the main venue for Chinese diplomacy was international conferences such as the Bandung and Geneva Conferences. This paper will argue for the use of such conferences both as a status enhancer …