International Relations Commons^™

Economic & Social Development And The Benefits Of The Process Of Integration In The European Union: The Case Of Cyprus, Petros Rafael

Dissertations and Theses

The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 27 member states that are located primarily in Europe. An internal single market has been established through a standardized system of laws that apply in all member states in those matters, and only those matters, where the states have agreed to act as one. EU policies aim to ensure the free movement of people, goods, services and capital within the internal market; enact legislation in justice and home affairs; and maintain common policies on trade, agriculture, fisheries and regional development. It is widely believed amongst European states, that membership …

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 …

Critical Dialogue: The Stupidity Of War: American Foreign Policy And The Case For Complacency And American Dove: Us Foreign Policy And The Failure Of Force, Zachary C. Shirkey, John Mueller

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Demobilizing And Reintegrating Ex-Combatants: Explaining Success And Failure On The National And Subnational Levels, Sally Sharif

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) is the largest intervention in nearly all the United Nation ongoing large-scale peacekeeping missions and is tasked with restoring public security, law, and order after conflict. A well-planned and flexible reintegration process is known to restore social capital and promote the viability of long-term peace locally, nationally, and internationally. War-torn countries run the risk of returning to war if former combatants are not provided with vocational skills, placed into employment, and reintegrated successfully. Through analyzing DDR programs on the macro-, meso-, and micro-levels, this dissertation is an attempt at finding determinants for a successful DDR …

Orban's Hungary: Lack Of Freedoms Becoming The Motivation For Hungarian Emigration, Fanni Sampson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In the past 10 years Hungary has gone through some major systematic changes since the Orban administration took office. The implementations of the Orban government serve the benefits and power of his party and aim to limit the freedom of Hungarian citizens. Orban, throughout these changes, emphasizes the importance of preserving the Hungarian national identity, which he defines as far-right conservative christian values and takes control over everything that does not fit under this definition. This thesis argues that the Hungarian government is becoming increasingly dictatorial under the Orban administration which not only challenges the life of Hungarian citizens but …

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 Second Kashmir (Informational) War Of 1965, Navdip Hans

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The Second Kashmir (Informational) War of 1965 considers that Pakistan over-optimistically assessed information prior to the onset of hostilities with India. This thesis posits that information released from significant battlefield events quickly dispelled Pakistan's optimism which led to an accurate updating of beliefs and expectations. This resulted in a downward revision of demands by Pakistan to convergence with India resulting in settlement ending the war.

Intangible Cultural Heritage: A Benefit To Climate-Displaced And Host Communities, Gül Aktürk, Martha B. Lerski

Publications and Research

Climate change is borderless, and its impacts are not shared equally by all communities. It causes an imbalance between people by creating a more desirable living environment for some societies while erasing settlements and shelters of some others. Due to floods, sea level rise, destructive storms, drought, and slow-onset factors such as salinization of water and soil, people lose their lands, homes, and natural resources. Catastrophic events force people to move voluntarily or involuntarily. The relocation of communities is a debatable climate adaptation measure which requires utmost care with human rights, ethics, and psychological well-being of individuals upon the issues …

In The Shadow Of China: Autonomy Movements And Local Government Responses In Hong Kong, Jessica M. Mahlbacher

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In the past few years, Hong Kong, a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, has had formidable autonomy movements that have managed to force the territory’s Chief Executive to withdraw legislation that would have allowed extradition to other parts of China. Often the federalism literature investigates contentious relationships between a regional government and a central government. However, in Hong Kong, the local government often relies on the Chinese state and local elite are largely integrationist in orientation. What conditions empower grassroots forces to influence the local government’s implementation of autonomy from central government institutions? While scholars have …

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, …

Burden-Sharing, Security, And The International Protection Of Displaced Persons: The United States And Italy As Case Studies, Paul Celentano

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Less than 5 percent of those displaced by war and persecution receive permanent sanctuary. This is because the states tasked with protecting them are wary of the “burdens” that they pose, framing them as threats to national economies, budgets, and public safety. Consequently, states seek to share these burdens with other states in order to minimize their own international protection obligations. While the modern norm of “burden-sharing” has existed since at least the mid-twentieth century, it is vague and, therefore, permissive of a wide range of state behavior. When viewed through the lens of “securitization,” states utilize alarmist rhetoric and …

The National Interest And The Roots Of American-Saudi Diplomacy, Oliver B. Wiegel

Theses and Dissertations

This paper analyzes the beginnings of diplomacy between the United States and Saudi Arabia during the interwar years and World War II. It explores how national interest was decided upon, how oil companies affected American foreign policy, and the American government’s strategic interest in Saudi oil reserves.

Protecting Civilians In Un Peace Operations: The Need For Enhanced Training, Allison S. Haddad

Dissertations and Theses

The present study shows that the protection of civilians (POC) tasks implemented in multiple United Nations (UN) peace operations have not always been executed as intended and, as a result, are accompanied by a number of dysfunctions. Among these dysfunctions are inadequate community engagement, peacekeeper misconduct stemming from the lack of proper training mechanisms, and lack of resources. In consideration of these issues, UN peace operations would profoundly benefit from enhancements offering plausible and beneficial change to the field. Such changes involve the responsibility of the UN, the responsibility of national actors, field implementations, and the psychological well-being of peacekeepers. …

U.S. Government And Politics In Principle And Practice: Democracy, Rights, Freedoms And Empire, Samuel Finesurrey, Gary Greaves

Open Educational Resources

This book is written for students early in college to provide a guide to the founding documents and structures of governance that form the United States political system. This book is called American Government and Politics in Principle and Practice because you will notice that what has been inscribed in law has not always been applied in practice-particularly for indigenous peoples, enslaved peoples, people of color, women, LGBTQIA+, people with disabilities, those formerly incarcerated, immigrants and the working class within U.S. society. In designing this book, we have two goals. First, we want you to know what the founding documents …

Levels-Of-Analysis In International Relations, Anat Niv-Solomon

Open Educational Resources

The objective of this assignment is for students to be able to apply the concept of Levels-of-Analysis to real-world events. The students are required to explain an international event with accounts and narratives that fit in the three different levels of analysis - individual, state, and system.

This assignment can be used in introductory classes to international relations and international politics, as well as in classes about foreign policy analysis or national and international security.

The Impact Of The International Monetary Fund’S 2016 – 2019 Loan To Egypt On The Country’S Development, Anasimon Takla

Dissertations and Theses

The primary objective of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is growth. The organization and its programs can enable the development of nations across the globe and stimulate growth. However, due to weaknesses in its system with conditions that are offered as blanket solutions for unique problems as well as unequal bargaining terms, the IMF can exacerbate the situation in nations that are already suffering with crises. Following years of unrest after the Arab Spring, Egypt finds itself in an unwieldly position having both vowed to increasing its development as well as introduced major reforms based on IMF recommendations in order …

A Review Of Data Protection Regulations And The Right To Privacy: The Case Of The Us And India, Chrisann Campbell

Dissertations and Theses

Since 1948 and the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the concept of privacy has grown more complex with the rise of technology and a shift to the internet. In particular, the unregulated use of technologies that can capture individuals' personal data without their knowledge or consent poses a threat to their right to privacy and other additional human rights. The protection of the collection, storing, and transfer of users' personal data against data breaches also ensures that the right to privacy is guaranteed. Through examining two countries, the U.S. and India, on the idea of privacy, personal …

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 …

From Close Cooperation To Potential ‘Cold War’: What Happened To The U.S.-China Relationship?, Baidi Wang

Capstones

After four years of the Trump administration, U.S.-China relations have deteriorated to a 21st-century low, culminating in recriminations over Covid-19. In such a complicated situation, where is the U.S.-China relationship heading?

Link to capstone project: https://baidiwang.github.io/US-China/

Many Forms Of Black Death: Coal Extraction, Transnational Activism And The Value Of Life In Colombia, Oscar H. Pedraza Vargas

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

After the murder of the president and vice president of the coal union by paramilitaries in the department of Cesár, Colombia, the union is left adrift. Its fragility is only heightened when the person who decides to take over, is killed six months later. The union has been vocal on their critique of environmental destruction produced by coal and argues that their criticism is part of the reasons why they were targeted. Not far from there, in the department of Guajira, the conglomerate in charge of Cerrejón, the largest open-pit coal mine of South America, wants to divert a creek …

Legitimizing Violence At The European Border: Gendered Misrepresentations At Sea And The Vulnerable Other, Michela Demelas

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis highlights a temporal and spatial gap in the feminist literature about migrants' journeys throughout the Mediterranean, and investigates the gendered dynamics acting upon the encounter between the European border and racialized bodies at sea. The Mediterranean sea’s material features allow Europe to approach migration as a humanitarian crisis coming from outside, which discharges its responsibility for the deaths. Yet, essentialistic views represent the feminized Other as vulnerable and needing to be saved from the male Other and the sea. Such views shape the Western narratives around concrete rescue procedures and border authorities behaviors. The encounter between the border …

‘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 …

Immigrants And Crime, Daniel L. Stageman

Publications and Research

The gap between public perception of immigrant criminality and the research consensus on immigrants’ actual rates of criminal participation is persistent and cross-cultural. While the available evidence shows that immigrants worldwide tend to participate in criminal activity at rates slightly lower than the native-born, media and political discourse portraying immigrants as uniquely crime-prone remains a pervasive global phenomenon. This apparent disconnect is rooted in the dynamics of othering, or the tendency to dehumanize and criminalize identifiable out-groups. Given that most migration decisions are motivated by economic factors, othering is commonly used to justify subjecting immigrants to exploitative labor practices, with …

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 …

The Guinea-Bissau Constitutional Reform Debate, Watson Aila Gomes

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The enactment of law is not to be confused with the rule of law, and simply having a constitution does not guarantee political order. In Guinea-Bissau there have been calls to write a new constitution, but whether that helps Guinea-Bissau become a more stable country is questionable. Currently, there is a gap in the research of social science, history and political science examining how the processes of instability have unfolded in Guinea-Bissau. Few studies attempt to examine the correlation between a country’s stability and its constitution. A paradoxical situation exists in many countries in Africa where the political system is …

Who Governs The Sea? An Analysis Of The Regime Complex In International Shipping, Brent Landon

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In many respects, international shipping represents the physical embodiment of globalization. It ties states together via the exchange of raw materials and finished goods in ways that inspire important questions about power distributions, trade, growth, global governance, jurisdiction, policy coordination, sovereignty, and regimes. Although shipping is a space that can be used to illustrate many International Relations ideas, it has been understudied in International Relations. This thesis argues that the international shipping regime complex produces suboptimal outcomes because it has inefficient and peculiar design features. Specifically, it locates the responsibility to enforce rules in states that lack the ability to …

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 …

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 …