International Relations Commons^™

Great Powers, The Persian Gulf, And Global Oil: A Comparative Analysis, Katerina Oskarsson

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Using original data, this study explores the changing capabilities of the United States, China, and Russia in the conflict-ridden Persian Gulf since 1980. It reveals what such shifts mean for American hegemony, the international distribution of capabilities in the region, relations among the great powers, and global oil security.

The Transformation Of The Pkk (Kurdistan Workers' Party): Exploring Domestic, Regional, And Global Dynamics, Akin Guneri

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

The main purpose of this study is to explore the underlying factors behind the political and ideological transformation of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) since its foundation. Through the detailed analysis of the role of Turkey's internal versus external factors on the evolution of the PKK over time, this work finds that changing political developments in the Middle East were more influential than Turkey's shifting domestic political environment. Hypothesis testing revealed that the 1991 Gulf War, 2003 Iraq War, changing political dynamics of the Middle East following Syria's Arab Spring, and policy changes worldwide implemented after the 9/11 terrorist attacks …

Promoting Gender And Building Peace: Evolving Norms And International Practices, Renata Avelar Giannini

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

The United Nations (UN) has incorporated a strong gender perspective into its peacekeeping operations (PKO) based on a renewed focus on women's rights and participation in peace processes. These efforts are part of a complex organizational learning process in which women's central role in peace processes and the increasing efforts to respond to conflict-related sexual violence have become a central component of the organization' s strategy to build a lasting peace. The underlying logic is that it is only after an equitable society is founded and when the other half of the population's voice has been included in the political …

Soft Power Strategies In Us Foreign Policy: Assessing The Impact Of Citizen Diplomacy On Foreign States' Behavior, Stephen Macharia Magu

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation empirically demonstrates that the isolated effects of citizen diplomacy correlate positively with foreign policy behavior as a non-military, foreign policy strategic option. The dissertation also finds that soft power, of which citizen diplomacy is a key component, is a viable foreign policy strategy. The findings are important to the academy and to the foreign policy-making process for states in search of effective, non-military strategies that leverage foreign state needs and attributes to achieve their foreign policy goals. Using a mixed methods approach, the dissertation investigates the correlation between Peace Corps Volunteers (citizen diplomat) placement and congruent voting with …

Fair Trade An Analysis Of The Effects On Poverty Alleviation And Empowerment For Women In Developing Countries, Maribel Concepcion Lora

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This thesis approaches the economic development model of Fair Trade with a critical analysis on determining its success in alleviating poverty and empowering women of the developing world. Because international labor regulations are not consistently enforced in all producer countries, the Fair Trade model has established labor standards that ensure above all, a fair wage and safe working conditions for producers participating in the international market. As a recent strategy of economic development, Fair Trade has made great strides to empower poor producers in impoverished countries; however there has been limited analysis focused on its impact for improving the quality …

Department Of Defense Resource Allocations And Progress Toward U.S. Foreign Policy Objectives In Latin America, Melissa Rene Rodriguez

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This research addresses the issue of insufficient or stagnated progress toward U.S. foreign policy objectives for Latin America through an analysis of Department of Defense resource allocations toward the region. These resources are critical to achieving progress toward U.S. foreign policy objectives because the relationships and engagements the DOD establish with Latin American partner nations largely precede and characterize the role of the U.S. in the region.

First 'efficiency' is defined, and then U.S. foreign policy objectives for the region and the regional issues are outlined. Next, Department of Defense resources are characterized and their posture and allocations in the …

Croatia Joins Europe, Nikola Kovač

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

On 1 July 2013 the Republic of Croatia will officially become the 28th member of the European Union. History of Croatia has always kept it on the brink of Europe. The case study of this enlargement examines the relations between Cr9atia and the European Union since Croatia became independent in 1991. This relation is divided into two eras, one of mutual distancing and the other of mutual rapprochement. The thesis aims to identify the dimensions of Croatian road to the EU membership which differ it from other accessions. Now, in the eve of enlargement both Croatia and the European Union …

Piracy, Slavery, And The Limits Of International Law: The Gap Between The Rhetoric And Reality Of Jus Cogens, Stephanie Elizabeth Smith

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

A gap currently exists between the sources of international law in the canon of jus cogens or peremptory norms. This gap is observed in the comparison of the rhetoric perpetuated by the community of international lawyers and the actions of states. It is especially apparent in the two oldest tenets of jus cogens, the prohibitions against piracy and slavery. The disconnect between rhetoric and reality exposes the limitations and the political nature of international law.

The gap is demonstrated by using peremptory norms as a crucial case in the international legal system because of its perceived status as the …

Crises In European Integration: Challenges And Responses, 1945-2005, Simon Serfaty

Political Science & Geography Faculty Publications

The theme of this short collection of essays is stated early and plainly: “In the end, crises have strengthened European integration” (p. 3), and “There has never been more European integration than in the context or aftermath of crisis” (p. 6). These statements are true but are hardly new. The same point has been made by many in the past. This is perhaps why the process “causes both fascination and frustration” (p. 79), resulting in too much crisis talk that, Jurgen Elvert notes, is “inspired by staunch euro-skeptics to back up their respective points of view” (p. 53). “Of all …

Guardians Of The Countryside Public Choice Theory And The Farm Lobby In The Eu's Common Agricultural Policy, Amy J. Costa

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Through various waves of reform, the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy remains inefficient without meeting all of its stated goals. The MacSherry reforms of 1992 resulted in the opposite of what leaders intended: higher spending and a growing bureaucracy. Later in the 1990s, Agenda 2000 slashed its originally planned cutbacks after farmers protested. Though support exists for reducing spending on agriculture, market intervention remains.

This thesis explores the problem through the use of public choice theory. -Consumers make too large a group to organize effectively or inform themselves about the issue, while farmers consist of a smaller group with well-defined …

Developments In The Global Energy Markets And Constructing The Future Of The Persian Gulf Security, Nihat Cengel

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This study analyses the global energy projections and regional dynamics in the Persian Gulf. It is shown that the future projections in the world energy markets signify the importance of cooperation between developed and developing countries. It is also suggested that connected to the global economic crises and the regional demand change in the energy market, there is a growing need for international support to the Persian Gulf security.

I argue that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) could play a crucial role for eliminating political conflicts and maintaining the regional stability. As a result, collective arm transfer to the region, …

East, West, Or Center? Turkey's Stance Straddling Continents, Pipelines, And Interdependences, Mustafa Kemal Dagdelen

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This thesis concentrates on the international relations of Turkey by studying one of the significant parameters of the world affairs, the Energy Security issue, and Robert 0. Keohane and Joseph S. Nye's Complex Interdependence concept. The research is conducted through two case studies between Turkey and two different neighboring actors, Iran and the European Union. This thesis is a qualitative study with descriptive analyses on the literature of the interdependence and the energy security concepts. By revealing mutual dependences between Turkey, Iran, and the European Union, with different vulnerabilities, the results of this scholarly quest suggest that the interdependent nature …

All Is Fair In War---Violent Conflict And The Securitization Of Rape, Sabine Hirschauer

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Systematic mass rape during conflict has for centuries met with global ignorance and political complacency despite its atrocious character. The conflicts in Bosnia and Rwanda in the 1990s altered the silence surrounding this long tolerated, dark underbelly of war. Applying Barry Buzan's and Ole Waever'sSecuritization Theory to the cases of Bosnia and Rwanda, this dissertation finds that rape during both wars was successfully securitized. Securitization Theory as a model and indicator of an effective shifting of rape from an apolitical or political perspective into the security realm was appropriate. Bosnia initiated the first convictions of rape as a …

Interregionalism As A Foreign Policy Of The European Union: A Case For Soft Power?, Maxim Miroshnikov

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This paper looks at the interregionalism as a part of the European Union's foreign policy. It argues that the EU's use of soft power can be traced within this policy. The paper proposes two methods of defining soft power in action: through presence and through purposive action. Three case studies are analyzed to support this. It is shown that indeed the EU exercised soft power toward other actors using these mechanisms. Success of these actions was however not always present.

Media, Military, Militarism: Media Consumption, Awareness Of U.S. Military Foreign Policy, And Support For War, Daniel James Patten

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

This study examines the relationship between the media, attitudes towards supporting war, and military awareness. Online survey data were collected from a four-year university located in a heavily militarized area. This study found that having knowledge of Afghanistan and Iraq War facts negatively affected one's decision to support war and was the strongest predictor of this decision. The media was not found to be a significant predictor impacting this knowledge when controlling for other variables. Political ideology and other related variables were found to be more influential of this knowledge. These findings imply that the public may be imprudently supporting …

Do International Corruption Metrics Matter? Assessing The Impact Of Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index, Omar Elemere Hawthorne

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation examines the impact of Transparency International's (TI), Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) and whether or not the CPI and hence TI matter. It examines the impact of TI's CPI on policymakers. It explores three areas: world's political and economic responses and Jamaica's policy responses to the CPI. Jamaica is selected for a case study due to TI's high corruption perceptions index rating for the country: a country that legally has strong anti-corruption laws but, nonetheless, sees its CPI ranking worsen almost yearly.

This study comprises mixed methodologies, using both qualitative and quantitative measures to assess the impact of the …

International Competition For Satellite-Based Navigation System Services, Robert F. Donnelly

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

The goal of this work is to review the current state of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) development and its potential impact on the social, economic, and political dynamics of the various states fielding the systems. The most recognizable GNSS is the US GPS. It is the only operational system functioning at the time of this writing and has become part of the global commons. GPS, by virtue of its uniqueness, is considered the 'gold standard' of satellite based positioning, navigation, and timing systems. This uniqueness has also enabled the US to fully capitalize on the sizable economic dividends gained …

Decontextualizing Development: A Critical Examination Of American Popular Discourse On Foreign Aid, Jeffrey Haines

Institute for the Humanities Theses

Humanitarian foreign aid is a controversial topic, subject to much popular debate. Although there is much available polling and survey evidence about public stances on the issue, there have been significantly fewer attempts at more in-depth analyses of the public discourse. This thesis is an attempt to explore the popular discourse on aid in more depth, including its rationales, assumptions, and values.

It concludes that both sides of the American public in the debate often make use of similar types of assumptions regarding international affairs, suggesting often deeper agreement than the debate may indicate. It is argued that the set …

The Absent Empire: The United States And The South American Regional Subsystem, Carlos Gustavo Poggio Teixerira

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

The United States often acted in Latin America as an empire. Nevertheless, there has been an obvious dissimilarity between US actions in South America and US actions in the rest of Latin America, which is illustrated by the fact that the United States never sent troops to invade a South American country. While geographic distance and strategic considerations may have played a role, they provide at best incomplete explanations for US relative absence south of Panama. The fact that the United States has had a distinct pattern of interactions with South America is thus not captured by the typical concept …

You'll Never Walk Alone: The Scales Of Identity Of Celtic Football Club Supporters, Neil Conner

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

How and why a person chooses to support a specific sports team/club is more complex than one might imagine. Historically, this selection was primarily established based on a number of socially constructed identities associated with geographic location and the ideas of place and space. This formed a dynamic relationship between the team and the supporter that was relentlessly renegotiated. In today's globalized world, these multifaceted decisions take on additional intricacies as place and space become amplified by growing global cultural exchanges. This ethnographic study will examine how these recent transformations have affected how supporters of the Glasgow Celtic Football Club …

The Relationship Between International Migration And Regional Integration, Christopher C. White

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation challenges prevailing assumptions of a strong connection between international migration and regional integration by arguing there is no substantial relationship between them and that these issues should not be conflated. International migration and regional integration are extraordinarily important forces shaping the current international system and the recent wave of globalization has brought with it a new level of fear and uncertainty surrounding these critical issues. Migration and integration are highly contentious and divisive subjects in and of themselves, but the relationship between them is largely misunderstood and tends to skew toward panicked hyperbole by publics and policymakers alike. …

Managing Complexity And Change In International Relations: The Case Of Yemen, Michael J. Culton

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Matters of war and peace may be as old as civilization itself but the definitions and practices of each are constantly evolving. Innumerable theories and models have been developed over the past few centuries, which are designed to explain modern international politics. As academics and policymakers debate their assumptions regarding conflict and cooperation, current events challenge their intellectual foundations and may even serve to overturn them. The scholars and practitioners of foreign policy may have reached the point where the traditional explanations of political behavior can no longer account for the pressing issues of the day. In such an age …

Return To Unfinished Business: Re-Energizing U.S. Nuclear Arms Policy, William T. Eliason

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Today's international environment characterized in nuclear threat terms as having increasing concerns about the potential for terrorist or non-state use of nuclear devices and a decline in the likelihood of the original nuclear weapon states engaging each other in a nuclear war remains in search of a path away from the fear of nuclear attack some twenty years after the end of the Cold War. This research dissertation will seek to answer the question of how best to reestablish a nuclear arms control regime. This dissertation argues that the international environment has fundamentally changed since the end of the Cold …

Cooperative Strategies On Parallel Tracks: The Nepad And Agoa Initiatives, Guelmbaye Ngarsandje

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

In July 2001, at the 37th of the former Organization of African Unity, African heads of states launched the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), a combination of the Omega Plan from Abdoulaye Wade and The Millennium African Renaissance Partnership initiated by Thabo Mbeki, respectively presidents of Senegal and South Africa. This was an achievement of tasks given by their peers in Algiers in 1999. Previously to that, the Clinton administration initiated the African Growth and Opportunity Act passed in law in 1998. Though the two programs aim at African development, they did not take in account each other.

This …

Doubling Nato: Functional And Geographical Enlargement Of The Alliance, Ergodan Kurt

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation studies NATO expansion as institutional adaptation. More specifically, it examines the interaction between NATO's functional and geographical enlargement. This study asserts that there is a close relationship between NATO's new functions and its enlargement. Over time, NATO evolved from a collective defense alliance to a comprehensive security organization. As NATO undertook new functions, its capabilities no longer matched the requirements of the new functions. The geographical enlargement, in fact, constitutes a vehicle for the fulfillment of the capability shortfall.

Furthermore, this dissertation asserts that the new security environment will force NATO to focus on the regions at a …

Austerity, Abundance, And The Investor States: The Political Economy Of Sovereign Wealth Funds, Manda Shemirani

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) are not new, but their foreign investment created concerns among many states in 2005 and 2006. Many policy makers argued that the ownership of foreign governments in specific areas may expose their countries to various risks. The concerns in the United States were from a national security perspective, while Europe was more worried about the lack of reciprocity and established standards. The political economy literature lacks a suitable framework for the study of investor states. The mainstream economic view contends that SWFs are a result of balance of payments surpluses and are used for economic smoothing …

Maturing International Cooperation To Address The Cyberspace Attack Attribution Problem, Jeff J. Mcneil

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

One of the most significant challenges to deterring attacks in cyberspace is the difficulty of identifying and attributing attacks to specific state or non-state actors. The lack of technical detection capability moves the problem into the legal realm; however, the lack of domestic and international cyberspace legislation makes the problem one of international cooperation. Past assessments have led to collective paralysis pending improved technical and legal advancements. This paper demonstrates, however, that any plausible path to meaningful defense in cyberspace must include a significant element of international cooperation and regime formation.

The analytical approach diverges from past utilitarian-based assessments to …

Energy Crises And Cooperation: Do International Institutions Matter?, Vessela P. Chakarova

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

The risk of an oil supply disruption still exists. Oil reserves are increasingly concentrated in a handful of unreliable regimes, plagued by piracy and terrorism. Natural disasters and chokepoint incidents have increased in frequency. In addition, oil is expected to remain a significant part of the energy mix up until 2030. By that time Europe will be importing 90% of its oil. Thus, oil supply security will become an increasingly important feature of European politics.

One way to counter the noxious consequences of an oil disruption is to cooperate. International cooperation is a critical factor in any type of crisis, …

Integrated Water Resources Management: A Theoretical Exploration Of The Implementation Gap Between The Developed And Developing Worlds, Jennifer S. Schiff

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

As part of its Millennium Development Goals, the United Nations acknowledges that solving the world's water woes requires giving one billion additional people access to safe and affordable drinking water, while also noting that this is a difficult goal to achieve considering present environmental challenges. Amidst this atmosphere of vanishing freshwater, the legislative policy community has begun to encourage diverse discourse on the topic of efficient resource management, but the form and function of such a solution present unique political and theoretical challenges for policymakers and scholars alike. The current consensus among water managers is that a multifaceted policy framework …

The Role Of Guanxi Network In The Corruption-Efficiency Relationship, Shaomin Li

Management Faculty Publications

Why do some countries like China thrive economically despite of corruption? The effect of corruption on economic efficiency is moderated by whether a society has an extensive informal social network such as the guanxi network in China. In societies with a thick, extensive informal social network, bribery- corruption relationship can be easily established and the risk of being reported is low. This relation-based trust makes the dissemination of corruption goods--the sale of government goods for private gains--more market-based. The competition among potential bribers increases the efficiency of corruption (or making corruption less wasteful). In societies that lack such strong informal …