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Articles 1 - 30 of 80
Full-Text Articles in International Relations
What Makes States Comply With Their Environmental Treaty Commitments : A Comparative Case Analysis Of Australia And Canada During The Kyoto Protocol, Brandon Enric Weeber
What Makes States Comply With Their Environmental Treaty Commitments : A Comparative Case Analysis Of Australia And Canada During The Kyoto Protocol, Brandon Enric Weeber
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Climate change, or global warming at the time, made a significant public outcry in the 1970s. Two major international treaties, the Montreal Protocol of 1987 and the Kyoto Protocol of 1997, were created from the spark of international demand for action. Why is it that after such a movement, the global community still fails to cooperate on climate change action? What makes a state comply with its international environmental treaty commitments, like the Kyoto Protocol? This thesis' research findings indicate that neither public opinion, elite framing of climate change as a threat, nor a state's capacity impact a state's compliance …
The Balance Of Convertibility: Manipulating External Support In Civil War, Kimberly L. Wolfe
The Balance Of Convertibility: Manipulating External Support In Civil War, Kimberly L. Wolfe
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Despite the pervasive trend in civil war of multiple sponsors backing rebels or the government, there is surprisingly minimal analysis on how the balance of support influences conflict duration. Building on the research of Sawyer et al. (2017), who find that the “fungibility” of external support leads to longer civil war, this thesis contributes a new scoring method for analyzing the balance of “fungible” (hereafter “convertible”) support among combatants (rebels versus government), discovering that a balance of convertibility contributes to shorter conflict. Convertible resources are those that combatants manipulate to enhance their warfighting capacity, such as funding, while troops or …
The Level Of Trust Between International Election Observers And Incumbents In Unconsolidated Democracies, Rogers Mtui
The Level Of Trust Between International Election Observers And Incumbents In Unconsolidated Democracies, Rogers Mtui
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A great deal of research focuses on the question of why incumbents invite IEOs but do not explicitly explored the root cause of why cheating in elections occurs despite the presence of IEOs. The occurrence when incumbents in young democracies invite international election observers (IEOs) and nevertheless cheat in elections has not been fully explored. This research advances the following expectation: incumbents seeking international benefits and whose electoral institutions are not fully mature are more likely to invite IEOs and cheat in an election. This is due to the ability of the incumbents who are seeking for the reelection to …
All Infrastructure Projects Lead To Beijing : How The Belt And Road Initiative Has Influenced China's Regional Policy, Katherine Grof
All Infrastructure Projects Lead To Beijing : How The Belt And Road Initiative Has Influenced China's Regional Policy, Katherine Grof
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What are Beijing’s intentions behind the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)? China’s foreign policy efforts between 2010 and 2017 are analyzed by comparing five indicators to BRI project spending to understand the goals driving the initiative. Five indicators are used to compare how China’s interest between Belt participants and Road participants: image building, economic volatility, public opinion, energy resources, and geostrategic location. These indicators are applied to four case study BRI participants to rate China’s interest and then compare that to overall BRI project spending. The four case studies are Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan from the Belt portion of BRI and …
Clinging To Power: Authoritarian Leaders And Coercive Effectiveness, Christian J. Wolfe
Clinging To Power: Authoritarian Leaders And Coercive Effectiveness, Christian J. Wolfe
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This study identifies three tactics authoritarian leaders use to attempt to effectively coerce their citizens without losing power: 1) performance legitimacy, 2) nationalist legitimacy, and 3) institutional legitimacy. To demonstrate these tactics of what I call “coercive effectiveness,” the author employs a most-different-systems analysis on the regimes of Xi Jinping (2012 2015) and Bashar al-Assad (2000-2004). The author finds that coercion is more likely to be effective under the following conditions: 1) when leaders use economic performance and institutionalist strategies rather than nationalist tactics, 2) when an authoritarian leader climbs the ladder to power rather than inheriting leadership and 3) …
The State And Cannabis : What Is Success? A Comparative Analysis Of Cannabis Policy In The United States Of America, Uruguay, And Canada, Gideon C. Cunningham
The State And Cannabis : What Is Success? A Comparative Analysis Of Cannabis Policy In The United States Of America, Uruguay, And Canada, Gideon C. Cunningham
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Globally, the policies that states engage in concerning the cultivation, production, distribution, and sale of recreational cannabis in the 21st century is changing rapidly. Three countries have now legalized, regulated, and implemented recreational cannabis frameworks, albeit in starkly different ways. These countries are The United States of America, Uruguay, and Canada. This research identifies the contradictory nature of cannabis policy goals and compares the similarities and differences of each countries’ recreational cannabis framework. It proposes a theory of understanding the contradictory nature of creating cannabis policies post-legalization and presents a framework from which to analyze the success of individual cannabis …
Offensive Cyber Operations: An Examination Of Their Revolutionary Capabilities, Madelyn Wardle
Offensive Cyber Operations: An Examination Of Their Revolutionary Capabilities, Madelyn Wardle
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Since the cyber realm has become a prevalent area in society, states have been developing ways to use this realm to their advantage. Popular literature asserts that cyber attacks are equalizing, frequently-occurring events that make them “revolutionary” tools of warfare; however, this study hypothesizes that cyber operations are not as revolutionary as the literature asserts. This study examines the revolutionary capabilities of offensive cyber operations by studying documented cases of state-sponsored offensive cyber operations from 2005-2019. By utilizing statistical methods, first the paper examines the documented cases and analyzes which states conduct most of these operations. Then, the paper will …
Exploitation And Domination: A Marxist Analysis Of The Impact Of Class Structure On State Terrorism, Joseph J. Hammons
Exploitation And Domination: A Marxist Analysis Of The Impact Of Class Structure On State Terrorism, Joseph J. Hammons
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This study qualitatively examines the impact of three socio-economic inequalities on state terrorism: (1) income inequality; (2) unequal collective labor rights; and (3) land inequality. It proposes a theory of class structure and state terrorism based on the Marxist theory of exploitation and domination and uses Marxist class analysis in the comparison of two case studies, Brazil (1985-1990) and the Philippines (1986-1992), to determine which of the three socio-economic inequalities is most likely to lead to class struggle that will prompt the state to respond with terrorism. Findings from this study indicate that issues concerning land inequality may be a …
A Model Of Regime Change: The Impact Of Arab Spring Throughout The Middle East And North Africa, Omar Khalfan Bizuru
A Model Of Regime Change: The Impact Of Arab Spring Throughout The Middle East And North Africa, Omar Khalfan Bizuru
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This study examined the catalysts for social movements around the globe; specifically, why and how the Arab Spring uprisings led to regime change in Tunisia, why they transformed into civil war in some countries of the Middle East and North Africa (Syria), and why they did not lead to significant change at all in other places (Bahrain). The overall results of the study confirmed that political and socio-economic grievances caused the Arab uprisings in Tunisia, Bahrain, and Syria. Tunisian protesters succeeded in regime change because of a united and structured social movement leading to an effective transitional democracy in the …
China’S Legal Environment For Domestic Ngos: Standardized Policies For Greater Party-State Control Over Civil Society, Kelly E. Tursic
China’S Legal Environment For Domestic Ngos: Standardized Policies For Greater Party-State Control Over Civil Society, Kelly E. Tursic
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This thesis examines one angle of state-society relations in authoritarian states through the lens of Chinese nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and their legal environment. While grassroots organizations have not prompted political liberalization in China, they have not been entirely co-opted by the party-state either. Through an examination of policy changes, a study of 120 organizations, and a case study of a non-profit incubator, this thesis explores whether the political environment for China’s domestic NGOs varies by geographic region and issue area. The findings suggest there is not significant variation as the party-state has implemented standardized policies for increased control over civil …
Game Of Survival: External Actors' Support For Separatists, Joshua C. Underwood
Game Of Survival: External Actors' Support For Separatists, Joshua C. Underwood
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This research develops a novel model for external actors’ support for separatists.Three variables measuring external actors’ support are identified through two case studies, Kosovo Liberation Army and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, with an emphasis on Military Aid’s impact. The variables are then applied to a quantitative analysis of external actors’ support in a dataset of 75 observations during the years 1991-2020, utilizing the Uppsala Conflict Data Program External Support Dataset. The findings for this research show that Military Aid and Moral Support improve the probability of survival for a separatist group. A deeper analysis reveals that military aid among …
Targeting The Minority: A New Theory Of Diversionary Violence, Nathaniel M. Arnold
Targeting The Minority: A New Theory Of Diversionary Violence, Nathaniel M. Arnold
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This research develops a novel theory for domestic diversionary violence, contending that the main drivers for this type of conflict are the specific characteristics of state-targeted domestic minority groups. Seven new variables measuring minority group characteristics are identified through a case study of the Kurdish minority in the Turkish Republic, then applied to a quantitative analysis of domestic diversionary violence in a dataset of 284 observations across 117 countries during the years 2004-2005, utilizing data from the University of Maryland’s Minorities at Risk Project, the University of Illinois Cline Center SPEED Database, and World Bank. A proportional odds logistic regression …
How Does Relative Deprivation Cause People To Condone Political Violence? A Case Study Of Bangladesh, Md Mamunur Rashid
How Does Relative Deprivation Cause People To Condone Political Violence? A Case Study Of Bangladesh, Md Mamunur Rashid
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How does relative deprivation cause people to condone political violence? This thesis investigates this question by utilizing survey data conducted in Bangladesh. Scarcity of public resources, lethal political confrontation and poor resource allocation make Bangladesh a fertile ground for violence. Although the survey suggests a relationship exists between relative deprivation and the public attitude toward condoning political violence, the regression analysis reveals that the relationship is imprecise. Small sample size, lack of technical capacity, and limited applicability of the foundational theory may have caused this imprecise outcome. The study concludes by providing recommendations for future research to undertake a mixed …
Chinese Nationalism And The South China Sea, Jordan M. Sandy
Chinese Nationalism And The South China Sea, Jordan M. Sandy
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What role do domestic audiences play in authoritarian policy making? This study examines the relationship between newspapers and assertive foreign policy. Specifically, this study conducts content analyses of state-published newspapers during periods of unprecedented assertiveness in the South China Sea. Borrowing from Galtung’s theory of peace journalism, this study analyzes valence patterns used in 99 separate articles published in Xinhua, China Daily, People’s Daily, and Global Times. Additionally, this study examines the visibility of these articles, to better understand their prominence in national coverage. This study discusses nationalism in the case of China, as well as the overwhelming control that …
The Homeward Bound-Ness Of Crimean Tatars: A Clash Of National Identity, The State, And The Crimean Peninsula, Nicholas Daniel Higgins
The Homeward Bound-Ness Of Crimean Tatars: A Clash Of National Identity, The State, And The Crimean Peninsula, Nicholas Daniel Higgins
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State repressions of minority groups threaten human rights, undermining their development and survival. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, countless minority groups found themselves living in a new country as a result of annexation, redefined territorial boundaries and migration, with some suffering repression from the states in which they now resided. This thesis examines the interactions and conditions necessary for such repressions from the state to take place with the central research question: why and how might a state, having just acquired an ethnic or minority group, repress the said group following its acquisition. Through the combination of Benedict …
The Use Of Force: Hard Offensive Counterterrorism, Daniel Thomas
The Use Of Force: Hard Offensive Counterterrorism, Daniel Thomas
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In the following research, I investigate whether hard offensive counterterrorism results in the failure or success of a counterterrorism strategy. In the second chapter, the academic literature of counterterrorism strategies is examined. Next, a hypothesis is put forth that if a hard offensive counterterrorism strategy is utilized, indicators such as high troop levels, more civilian casualties, more negative public opinion, and an increased rate of terrorism, will point to a failed counterterrorism strategy. Then, I put forth a methodology to test the hypothesis while introducing troop level databases, various public opinion polling sources, and terrorist attack databases to investigate the …
Explaining Nuclear Rollback: Examining The Cessation Of Nuclear Weaponization In Argentina And Brazil From 1964 - 1994, Billy Michael Douglas
Explaining Nuclear Rollback: Examining The Cessation Of Nuclear Weaponization In Argentina And Brazil From 1964 - 1994, Billy Michael Douglas
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Seventy years after the first use of nuclear weapons in World War II, the proliferation of these apocalyptic munitions remains a key policy issue on the international stage. The available literature on nuclear proliferation suggests a strong correlation between the threat of rival a state seeking nuclear weapons and a state's own decision to pursue its own nuclear weapons. Regional rivals Argentina and Brazil both initiated nuclear weapons programs and were also developing nuclear delivery systems; however, these countries were able to step out of this dyadic proliferation spiral and renounced their nuclear weapons programs. Often assumed a success of …
Abandoned By Home And Burden Of Host: Evaluating States' Economic Ability And Refugee Acceptance Through Panel Data Analysis, Ummey Hanney Tabassum
Abandoned By Home And Burden Of Host: Evaluating States' Economic Ability And Refugee Acceptance Through Panel Data Analysis, Ummey Hanney Tabassum
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This research examines the relationship between the number of refugees hosted by states and the economic ability of host states by using UNHCR’s refugee data and World Bank’s GNI per capita data. To identify the relationship between these two variables, this study uses two sets of panel data covering 145-178 countries, around 43-55 years and 3000-5000 observations. For the two sets of panel data, four models are produced to test the null and alternative hypotheses. In all four cases, results show that there is a statistically significant negative correlation between the number of refugees hosted by states and GNI per …
Chinese Satellite Diplomacy: China's Strategic Weapon For Soft And Hard Power Gains, Nicholas Jackman
Chinese Satellite Diplomacy: China's Strategic Weapon For Soft And Hard Power Gains, Nicholas Jackman
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China signed its first turn-key communication satellite contract with Nigeria in 2004. The contract stipulated that China would design, build, integrate, launch, and complete in-orbit checkout for the Nigcomsat-1 communication satellite and then transfer control over to Nigeria. By 2018, China had contracted and launched another six communication satellites for various foreign customers. The customers, who are foreign governments, are geographically dispersed throughout South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. The satellite sales have occurred during China's unprecedented economic growth, a time in which China has been granted additional foreign policy options as its power increases relative to others. This thesis …
With Liberty And Justice For All: An Examination Of The United States' Compliance With Rule Of Law As It Relates To Domestic And International Terrorism, Jonathan William Maze
With Liberty And Justice For All: An Examination Of The United States' Compliance With Rule Of Law As It Relates To Domestic And International Terrorism, Jonathan William Maze
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This study examines what factors contribute to United States' compliance with rule of law in response to terrorism. A qualitative analysis utilizing a comparative case study approach to examine the Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations' response to domestic and international terrorism. This study tests what impact the location of terrorist attacks, nationality of terrorist actors, and presidential ideology have upon rule of law compliance. Results from this study illustrate the causal relationship between rule of law compliance and presidential ideology, while taking into account the impact of the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001.
Europe's Parallel Media Universe: Cross-National Analysis Of Populist Media Oppression In The Eu, Csongor Bajnoczki
Europe's Parallel Media Universe: Cross-National Analysis Of Populist Media Oppression In The Eu, Csongor Bajnoczki
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This research is to show that populist parties in the European Union attempt to oppress the traditional established media as soon as they come in to power. The multiple regressions test the hypothesis of a negative relationship between the political power of populist parties and degree of media freedom. For the assessment and clarification of the relationship between the level of media freedom and the political power of populist parties, political rights and civil liberties country scores from Freedom House's Freedom in the World reports, GDP per capita from World Bank, corruption perception indexes from Transparency International, and Grigorii V. …
Politics Of International Recognition: The Case Of Aspirant States, Wais Mehrabi
Politics Of International Recognition: The Case Of Aspirant States, Wais Mehrabi
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Separatist polities that have managed to break away from their parent states and meet the basic criteria for statehood seek other states’ formal recognition to achieve full statehood and membership of the international society. There is no established pattern to explain external recognition of statehood empirically and theoretically. Kosovo declared independence and attained widespread recognition while Somaliland, despite successful separation from Somalia, has not. What factors explain states’ recognition decisions, or the selective conferring of recognition? The existing literature indicates that national interests, domestic politics, systematic level factors, international legal and normative standards, regime type, and identity politics shape recognition …
Revisiting Afghanistan's Modern History: The Role Of Ethnic Inclusion On Regime Stability, Rahimullah Akrami
Revisiting Afghanistan's Modern History: The Role Of Ethnic Inclusion On Regime Stability, Rahimullah Akrami
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This study examines the role of ethnic inclusion as a factor of regime stability in Afghanistan through an historical case analysis from 1880 until 2009. By utilizing case study research methods, the goal of the study is to examine all the past regimes in order to show whether there is a relationship between the dependent variable regime stability and the independent variable ethnic inclusion. The study assumes the hypothesis that an ethnically inclusive regime will be stable while an ethnically exclusive regime will be unstable. Five indicators are used to measure each variable respectively. Each indicator is assigned a score …
How Do Voters Decide? A Study Of The Determinants Of Voting Behavior In Ghana, Richard Boateng Antwi
How Do Voters Decide? A Study Of The Determinants Of Voting Behavior In Ghana, Richard Boateng Antwi
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What factors influence voting behavior in Ghana? This thesis investigates this question using a survey data conducted in four regions in Ghana. A descriptive analyses and logistic regression of the data show that candidate personality and campaign promises are the most important predictors of vote choice. The study further found that ethnic and economic variables are minor features of voting behavior in Ghana: they do not influence how the majority of the electorate make voting decisions. This finding challenges the conventional view on Ghana’s elections that presume that elections are simply an ethnic census. Additionally, the finding suggests that majority …
Japan's Article 9 And Japanese Public Opinion: Implications For Japanese Defense Policy And Security In The Asia Pacific, Julie Jo Tollefson
Japan's Article 9 And Japanese Public Opinion: Implications For Japanese Defense Policy And Security In The Asia Pacific, Julie Jo Tollefson
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The Asia Pacific power structure is facing numerous challenges. Scholarship demonstrates Japan has encountered arduous obstacles as it balances Chinese and North Korean activity. As Japan attempts to expand its military capabilities, polling data shows that defense policy has conflicted with Japan's citizens and neighboring countries. The focal point of these contentions is Article 9 of the Japanese constitution which restrains the Japanese military to self-defense purposes. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has vowed to revise Article 9 by 2020. However, revising Article 9 is no simple task. Research demonstrates that for decades Japanese public opinion has been opposed to the …
Red Skies: The Impact Of Environmental Protests In The People's Republic Of China, 2004-2016, Porter Lyons
Red Skies: The Impact Of Environmental Protests In The People's Republic Of China, 2004-2016, Porter Lyons
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How do increases in environmental protests in China impact increases in the implementation of environmental policies? Environmental protests in China are gaining traction. By examining these protests, this study analyzes forty-one protests and their impact on government enforcement of environmental regulations. Stratifying this study according to five areas (Beijing, Guangdong, Hunan, Jiangsu, and Sichuan), patterns began to emerge according to each area. Employing a framework William Gamson introduced (2009), this study analyzes the outcomes of environmental contention, including the use of co-optation and preemptive measures. It finds that the success or failure of a protest has much to do with …
Economic Statecraft And Ethnicity In China, James Bell
Economic Statecraft And Ethnicity In China, James Bell
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How do authoritarian states prioritize between economic growth and territorial integrity? China, as an authoritarian state, is growing in political and economic capacity. By examining challenges to China’s territorial integrity, this study examines Chinese responses to visits by the Dalai Lama with government officials in Germany and Austria, as well as official visits by Uyghur dissidents to Germany and Turkey. Analyzing quarterly trade data and specific trade sectors with author created rating schema, patterns emerge. Employing a hybrid framework introduced by Sverdrup-Thygeson (2015), this study analyzes Chinese actions against perceived offending states. This study finds that levels of threshold are …
Nationalism And Regional Relations In Democratic Transitions: Comparing Nepal And Bhutan, Deki Peldon
Nationalism And Regional Relations In Democratic Transitions: Comparing Nepal And Bhutan, Deki Peldon
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Democracy is facing crisis as its values including political rights and civil liberties are declining around the world. If democracy is to prevail, the reasons for the decline need to be addressed. To this end, the research question is: how nationalism and regional influences affect the political transitions of Bhutan and Nepal. The research question is answered by analyzing leadership stability, ethnicity and the caste system, as well as the roles of regional giants India and China in Bhutan's and Nepal's political transitions. The findings show that the contested conceptions of nationalism in Nepal and strong internal nationalism in Bhutan …
Mao Zedong And Xi Jinping: A Trait Analysis, Dan Douglas
Mao Zedong And Xi Jinping: A Trait Analysis, Dan Douglas
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This study uses Margaret Hermann’s Leadership Trait Analysis (LTA) to compare Mao Zedong and Xi Jinping and see if they have the same style. Through a content analysis of a leader’s speeches, researchers can gain insight into a leader’s motivation for obtaining office and power. In the course of this research, 167 speeches by Mao, and 79 Speeches by Xi were inputted into the content analysis program Profiler+ (Hermann, 2003). The analysis showed that Mao and Xi have some similarities in their LTA results, but the differences in their scores indicate different approaches to leadership. An analysis of the context …
Governed By Guerrillas: When Armed Insurgents Become Political Leaders, Megan Patsch
Governed By Guerrillas: When Armed Insurgents Become Political Leaders, Megan Patsch
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When an internal conflict ends, many states are faced with a choice of whether or not the insurgents they were fighting against should become political figures they govern beside. Increasingly, peace settlements involve the proposed evolution of guerrilla groups into political parties, yet little is known about rebel groups' long-term effectiveness in governing (Vines and Oruitemeka, 2008). However, the recurrent interest in converting guerrillas to politicians calls for a clear understanding of the chances of success. What makes a guerilla group more or less successful in governance? I hypothesized that a state with formerly armed insurgents would produce fewer pieces …