International Relations Commons^™

"I Want You The Feel The Fear That I Feel Every Day": An Analysis Of How Climate Change Affects Youth Political Participation, Kristina Norbury

Honors College

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the connection between climate change and youth political participation. Using data from a large, cross-national survey done by the University of Bath in the United Kingdom, this project analyzed young people’s emotional responses to climate change. This project synthesized and brought together two threads of scholarly literature in order to make claims about how emotional responses to climate change may be influencing youth political engagement. The line of scholarship explores how emotions traditionally influence political behavior. This research indicated that emotions such as anxiety can have a debilitating effect on people and …

The Contributions Of The Gulf Of Maine Council To Regional Climate Resilience, Pamela A. Jordan

Maine Policy Review

This article investigates Canada-US collaboration in support of climate resilience efforts in the Gulf of Maine by focusing on the work of the binational Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment (GOMC). Despite lacking authority over coastal management policymaking, the GOMC made significant progress between 2004 and 2022 towards achieving its climate resilience goals. Most importantly, GOMC actors, including members of the Climate Network, have helped build capacity for more effective measurement, monitoring, and analysis of climate change impacts in the Gulf of Maine. While its participants share common values and support rigorous climate action and marine conservation measures, …

What Women Bring To The Fight: An Analysis Of Female Leadership In U.S. National Security, Alison Tobey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Women have held some of the highest-ranking national security positions in the United States, though the overall number of women in leadership positions has remained relatively small until recently. The Biden Administration has achieved gender parity in their national security leadership positions, with over fifty percent of these positions being held by women. Since this is the first time in U.S. history that women have such a significant presence in the defense field, it is important to analyze and understand the changes that can come as a result.

The purpose of this research is to broadly understand the impact that …

The One-Eyed Man And The Wicked Boar, Iaryna Iasenytska

Honors College

This thesis examines territorial authoritarian threats to the Western world through an examination of historical and contemporary case studies. The historical examples used in this thesis are fromEastern Europe, since it had many chances to engage in international law with the authoritarian state, leading its people to understand the nature of one of the oldest authoritarian states: Russia. The four case studies used are: 1) Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (1918), 2) Soviet Invasion of Poland (1939-1940), 3) Soviet Occupation of Baltic states (1939-1945), and 4) Russian Annexation of Crimea (2014). Meanwhile, the thesis presents a table of predictions to theorize on …

Participation In The Belt And Road Initiative: Who Joins And Why?, Patrick Groening

Honors College

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a large-scale, global infrastructure project introduced by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013. The primary goal is to invest in infrastructure projects across Eurasia and Africa in an effort to improve regional connectivity. This research explains who participates in the BRI through cross-country quantitative analysis and two in-depth qualitative case studies. Through a logit analysis of political economy factors such as GDP per capita, FDI inflows, aid data, and others, I find that economic need is a significant predictor of membership as well as previous involvement in Chinese organizations such as the AIIB. …

Maine And The Arctic: Why Maine Should Develop An Arctic Strategy, Jonathan Wood

Maine Policy Review

Jonathan Wood articulates why Maine’s recent history as an Arctic player and a detached federal administration, coupled with other Near-Arctic subnational entities creating their own Arctic strategies it is a good time for Maine to articulate its own Arctic strategy.

Fragmentation, Frustrated Revolt, And Off-Shore Opportunity: A Comparative Examination Of Jihadi Mobilization In Central Asia And The South Caucasus, William B. Farrell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research presents analysis for identifying common risk and resilience factors that contributed to or hindered Salafi jihadi mobilization of citizens of Central Asia and the South Caucasus and examines the extent to which these factors had differing internal and external outcomes on Salafi jihadi mobilization. Three levels of analysis provide examination of regime characteristics, behavior of jihadi organizations that mobilized individuals from the region, and case studies through interviews in communities affected by jihadi mobilization in Kyrgyzstan and Georgia.

This research reveals that early distinctions in Islamist subnational struggles had oriented violence towards governments within Central Asia, while neighboring …

Multi-Level Governance Of Climate Change Adaptation: United Nations Negotiations And Adaptation Project Implementation In Nicaragua And Samoa, Anna E. Mcginn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The rapid entry into force of the Paris Agreement reaffirmed, with certainty, that the international community would continue its efforts to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change impacts opening a new era of international cooperation on climate change. This thesis explores how both negotiations around climate change adaptation and adaptation project implementation have evolved in this post-Paris Agreement era (from adoption in December 2015 to present). Using the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s (UNFCCC) Adaptation Fund as the central lens, the chapters explore international negotiations around the Fund as well as two Adaptation Fund funded …

A Model For Student Success: How Immigrant/First-Generation Teachers Use Cultural Identity And Experience In Pedagogical Practices With Immigrant/First-Generation Youth, Lucie Bonneville

Honors College

The purpose of this study is to identify how immigrant/first-generation teacher populations in the United States apply their cultures and identities to the education of the immigrant/first-generation students that they teach. This study also aims to analyze the specific charter school management system, Ednovate, and how its innovative mission and model have led to its high rates of student success. Culture and identity are two significant factors in a student’s educational experience, as the school system is a critical site for developing identity in children. In this study, eight members of faculty and staff from the Ednovate charter school system …

Effects Of Government Reform And Creative Clusters On Chinese Entrepreneurship, Robert Mills

Honors College

This thesis analyzes the ways in which Chinese entrepreneurs have interacted with and responded to government policy. An examination of ethnographic research on the Shenzhen “Special Economic Zone” revealed that the forms entrepreneurship that emerged there during the early years of China’s economic reforms are rooted in the history and culture of the region. Analysis of modern policies, such as the 13^th 5-Year Plan (2016-2020) and the Internet Plus doctrine, determined that the state strategy for encouraging entrepreneurship is now focused on empowering local governments, rather than individuals, as entrepreneurial agents. The city of Hangzhou’s “Dream Town” creative cluster …

Evaluating Sustainable Decision Making On Water Resources: Comparing Cooperation Around The Aral Sea And Penobscot River, Brawley Benson

Honors College

Natural-resource security is an increasingly important area of international affairs. While there is a great deal of cooperation at the international level between actors with a stake in shared natural resources, there is also contention. Military and security issues can arise out of the coming together of nations over natural resources. A waterway or reservoir that is abutted by one or more nations can be problematic. This study seeks to clarify processes surrounding two specific examples of water-resource decision making involving state and non-state actors. The following questions guide my research: 1) How do international cooperations focused on water security …

Immigration In The Context Of Religion With Case Studies Of France And Hungary, Melissa Garand

Honors College

In a backdrop of rising nationalism and far-right populism, the position of refugees and asylum seekers in the European Union (EU) since the 2015 immigration crisis has been placed under stress in both policy and practice. The identity of many of these recent immigrants as Muslim has further compounded the barriers faced in the immigration process as religiously motivated forms of marginalization through policy, practice, and rhetoric have been increasing in salience. This context allowed for the research question driving this thesis to develop as: How does the relationship between immigration and religion shape the experience for Muslims asylum seekers …

The Most Critical Resource: How Climate Change Fuels The Crisis In Syria And The Implications For The World At Large, Edward Medeiros

Honors College

The Syrian crisis, both domestic and international in scope, may well be the defining geopolitical challenge of the generation. Climate change may be the single greatest challenge to face humanity in the entirety of our species’ life history. The dramatic effects of climate change can be seen in the origins of the Syrian crisis when one looks to humanity’s single most critical resource: water. We take the word critical to have two meanings in this context: first, that water is essential to human survival and second that water is a resource in critical condition. Syria’s water crisis pre-dates the civil …

Variations In Media Framing Of U.S.-Cuba Policy, Anna Foster

Honors College

This thesis looks at the usage of media framing in regard to Obama’s and Trump’s U.S.-Cuban policy. It analyzes articles from the New York Times and the Miami Herald and how they used framing techniques to present Obama’s 2016 opening of relations with Cuba, and Trump’s 2017 change in policy. After reading through the articles, content analysis was used in order to quantify the trends found in the framing techniques used by both papers. The findings of this paper show two very different approaches to both policies, despite many similarities in the framing techniques used by the New York Times …

Explaining The Resilience Of The Balochistan Insurgency, Tiffany Tanner

Honors College

The Balochistan Insurgency is an enduring armed and nationalist struggle between Baloch Insurgents and the Pakistani government, embroiling Pakistan in five insurgencies since 1948. This research aims to analyze why the current insurgency has outlasted its predecessors by over two-fold, with over fifteen years passing since the most recent conflict erupted. Using historical primary source news articles from 1973-1977, secondary research, insurgency trend data, and the data from the Global Terrorism Database (GTD); this study examines the evolution of the current conflict and analyzes how and why the contemporary insurgency is far more resilient. This study finds that the support …

Feelings In Politics: How American Foreign Policy Can Benefit From Interpersonal Communication, Paden K. Stanton

Honors College

Misperception clouds good decision-making in international politics. American foreign policy doesn’t currently allow for ample strategic communication training for the President of the United States to prevent misperception from becoming an issue in international relations. Looking at influential political theorists, it’s easy to discover that they all warn of the detriment that comes with an ineffective communicator in the highest power position in the country.

My research provides an overview of different perceptions formed by the United States and China of each other throughout the Presidency of Donald Trump and his counterpart in Beijing, President Xi Jinping. By analyzing the …

Assessment Of South Korea's Role As A "Middle Power Country": Case Studies Of South Korean Diplomacy In Central Asia, Jiwon Nam

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The concept of “middle power country” existed since several hundred years agointroduced by European philosophers and political scientists. The definition was proposed by many scholars and used by countries in many different status, one specific definition of “middle power” was not set until current days. The characteristics of a “middle power country” range from economic status, and political system, to patterns of diplomacy. By current broad definition, almost 80 percent of the countries in the world can fit into one or more categories of a “middle power country.”

The purpose of this paper is to depict the importance of middle …

Analysis Of The Impacts Of South Korea's Political Relations On Its Bilateral Trade: Focus On South Korea's Political And Trade Relations With China, Japan, Russia, And North Korea, Mingu Lee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Through all chapters, this thesis is finding answers to the following questions: Why are political relations and trade important to South Korea? What are current problems that South Korea confronts in political relations and trade? How are political relations of South Korea with the trading partners and North Korea? Does South Korea’s political relations with the four countries have impacts on South Korea’s bilateral trade with the countries? If it does, how does it affect South Korea’s trade? In answering these questions, this thesis demonstrates how South Korea’s political relations influence South Korea’s bilateral trade as well as presents trade …

An Analysis Of International Agreements Over Cybersecurity, Lucas Ashbaugh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research into the international agreements that increase cooperation over cybersecurity challenges is severely lacking. This is a necessary next step for bridging diplomatic challenges over cybersecurity. This work aspires to be push the bounds of research into these agreements and offer a tool that future researchers can rely on. For this research I created, and made publicly available, the International Cybersecurity Cooperation Dataset (ICCD), which contains over 350 international cybersecurity agreements and pertinent metadata. Each agreement is marked per which subtopics within cybersecurity related agreements it covers. These typologies are:

• Discussion and Dialogue

• Research

• Confidence Building Measures

• Incident Response

• Crime …

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Flyer For Panel Discussion "Nuclear Politics And The Future Of The Korean Peninsula", Kristin Vekasi

General University of Maine Publications

Flyer promoting a panel discussion with Florence Lowe Lee, President and Foundation of GABI and Jenny Town. Assistant Director of USKI to be held at the University of Maine on April 3, 2017.

Plastic Paradise: The Trends & Effects Of Cosmetic Surgery Tourism In Economically Growing Countries, Amanda Livingston

The Cohen Journal

No abstract provided.

U.S. - Iran Relations: A History Of Covert Action And A Promising Future, Cody Morgan

The Cohen Journal

No abstract provided.

Analysis Of Japan's Rta And Wto Dispute Settlement Mechanism, Shunsuke Sato

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis analyzes Japan’s decision to use Dispute Settlement Mechanisms (DSMs) in trade agreements. International trade rules are effective when properly applied: they prevent abrogation of the obligations that come with membership in international economic organizations. The DSMs are important ways to enforce the international trade commitments agreed upon by signatory countries. To date, member countries have filed more than 500 cases through the World Trade Organization (WTO), effectively enforcing the rules of the largest multilateral trade organization. On the other hand, in Japan's regional trade agreements (RTAs), none of the DSMs have ever been invoked despite the presence of …

A Comparison Of The Experiences Of Economic Adaptation And Integration For Refugees And Asylum Seekers In Maine, Grace Kiffney

Honors College

The migration of refugees and asylum seekers affects them and the communities where they resettle, as people from different backgrounds and cultures come together. In the United States, the federally funded refugee resettlement program supports refugees with welfare benefits, case management, and other services to assist with integration. However, no such federal program exists for asylum seekers, who are considered displaced people, but who have not received immigration status as refugees. This project sought to answer the question: How is the experience of supporting oneself different and similar for refugees and asylum seekers, in the context of Maine?

Research involved …

Decoupling And Displaced Emissions On Swedish Consumers, Chinese Producers And Policy To Address The Climate Impact Of Consumption, Cindy Isenhour

Anthropology Faculty Scholarship

New developments in consumption-based emissions accounting suggest that the reductions claimed by wealthy, environmentally progressive nations have often come at the expense of increased emissions elsewhere – and thus net growth in global GHG concentrations. This paper traces Sweden's attempts to translate growing recognition of displaced emissions into national environmental policy. Drawing on multi-sited ethnographic research and policy analysis in Sweden and China, we argue that while the logical implications of consumption-based analyses point to the need to address production and consumption as an integrated system, complex governance challenges and the political precariousness of these ideas have thus far limited …

Effect Of 9/11 On A Borderlands Community: Fort Kent, Maine, And Clair, New Brunswick, Lisa M. Lavoie

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Fort Kent, Maine, and Clair, New Brunswick, are fully integrated borderlands. When French Canadians and Acadians began settling what is now extreme northern Maine, northern New Brunswick and southern Quebec in 1785, the two communities belonged to an area called the Madawaska Territory. The Madawaska Territory was not officially part of either the United States or the British Empire. The area was, and continues to be, populated by an inextricably linked population sharing a history, a culture, a religion and a language. Additionally, since the two locales are geographically proximal, many citizens share family networks.

Although the citizens of the …

Book Review: Kofi Annan And The Role Of Morality In International Relations, Robert Potts

The Cohen Journal

This is a book review of Interventions: A life in War and Peace. The book was written by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.

The American Dream, Equal Opportunity, And Obtaining The Vote, Benjamin Wyman

The Cohen Journal

The United States was founded on the principles of inalienable and natural rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Out of those ideals arose the ideas of an American Creed and American Dream, which have provided aspirations for millions of Americans to pursue their dreams, and, with hard work, the chance to improve their situation in life. The fundamental values of the new American Creed became “liberty, equality, individualism, populism, laissez-faire, and the rule of law under a constitution” (Jillson 2004, 4) while the idea of an American Dream which was first instilled upon the citizens of the …

Let’S Act Now, While Things Are Good! Social Change And The Need For Policy Action In Maine’S Lobster Industry, Samuel Belknap

The Cohen Journal

The motivation behind this letter was a remark by Maine Department of Marine Resources Lobster Biologist, Carl Wilson. While attending the Rockland Maine based Island Institute’s annual Climate Round Table event, where fishermen, scientists, and others gather to talk about the past year in the Gulf of Maine, Wilson said, in reference to the lobster industry, “When the resource changes, everything changes.” This comment, poetic in its simplicity, got me to start thinking. I began retracing the history of Maine’s lobster industry to find examples of Wilson’s statement, and I was surprised by how many instances supported this comment. What …

A Legal Analysis Of The University Of Maine’S Ban On Firearms Following District Of Columbia V. Heller, Abigail Macdonald

The Cohen Journal

On April 16, 2007, the deadliest shooting by a single gunman took place on the college campus of Virginia Tech, taking the lives of 33 individuals (Johnson 2007). This event shook America, and yet the next year it was followed by six more shooting deaths at Northern Illinois University (Northern Illinois University 2008) and three more at Louisiana Technical College (BBC News 2008). Many universities around the country have responded to these events by either establishing firearm bans or strengthening and clinging to their existing policies, and the University of Maine is no exception (University of Maine 2004). Yet in …