International Relations Commons^™

The Impact Of Social Movements On Austerity Measures: An Analysis Of Argentina’S Piquetero Movement And Greece’S Anti-Austerity Movement, Katrina D. Frei-Herrmann

CMC Senior Theses

Social movements have sprung up in countries after their respective economies experience an economic crisis and the International Monetary Fund places restrictions on a country’s fiscal policy. Argentina’s piquetero movement and Greece’s anti-austerity movement have both mobilized after economic crises to protest the neoliberal shifts to their economics, yet their success at shifting those policies have not been studied sufficiently. The dominant explanation for social movement success involves analyzing political opportunities or seeing the social movement as an actor with limited resources. These existent methods fail to answer how nuances about internal decisions or forms of protest could influence the …

The Past And Future Of Migration, Poverty, And Small-Scale Agriculture In Mexico, Kimberly Zamora Delgado

CMC Senior Theses

The conflated pattern between poverty, rurality, and indigeneity in Mexico signifies drastic inequality between populations. Poor, rural communities often do not receive as much public services, infrastructure improvements, and employment opportunities as urban areas, which causes out-migration into the cities. Some of the few jobs available in rural areas are in the agriculture sector, either through small-scale subsistence farming or seasonal employment on a large-scale farm. Historically, certain wealthy states such as Sinaloa, Michoacán, and Sonora received greater support to up-scale into modernized agriculture, which made them into the largest agro-exporters. On the other hand, poor states with greater indigenous …

Community-Based Disaster Risk Management And Covid-19: How Local Ngos In Latin America Adapted To The Pandemic, Emily Pugh

CMC Senior Theses

The global COVID-19 pandemic posed new challenges for communities across Latin America: lack of access to potable water and food, loss of jobs and lack of access to technology now needed for children to attend school. By interviewing different leaders of NGOs throughout the continent, I was able to find out how local NGOs were adapting their typical activities to help their communities face these new and worsening challenges. While the NGOs in this study do not primarily focus on disaster relief, each adapted their initiatives to deal with the current needs of the community they serve. Some were able …

Making The Connections: Gender Quotas, Representation, And Critical Mass In Latin America, Katherine O'Neill

CMC Senior Theses

Using Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico as case studies, this paper examines how women’s collaboration influences the effects of gender quotas on women’s representation. The efficacy of gender quotas in increasing the numerical representation of women and improving gender equality outcomes is well-researched, but questions remain about the precise linkages between the numerical representation of women and the substantive representation of women. This thesis analyzes previously identified linkages alongside actions by women’s organizations in national legislatures and civil society to better understand women’s roles as critical actors in making gender quotas successful. The findings suggest that women’s collaboration is crucial …

Race And Affirmative Action In “Post-Racial” Democratic Brazil, Alejandra T. Vazquez Baur

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis examines the ways that Brazilians are evaluated for their privileges in qualification for the affirmative action program. It critically examines the existing policies, how they function, and how they affect ideas of race in Brazil for both black and non-black Brazilians. Additionally, it proposes that the policies prioritize phenotype as a primary condition for qualifying for a quota in order to accomplish their initial objectives of fighting racial inequalities, compensating for historical injustices, contributing to the diversity of experiences and perspectives on campuses and in federal offices, and raising understanding of what it means to be black in …

Partisanship In Mexico: Influence Of Violence And State Spending, Christopher White

CMC Senior Theses

This paper serves to further investigate factors influencing partisanship in Mexican politics with a focus on state spending and drug violence. With state spending, this paper builds on prior literature about political effects of federal social spending (Handelman 1997, Domínguez and Chappell 2004, Díaz-Cayeros 2009) to propose a similar theory regarding state social spending. The proposed panel data model for national elections between 2000 and 2012 finds that for diputados elections, a thousand-peso increase in state spending had a statistically significant influence on party voting – boosting PRI candidates (typically incumbents) by 0.66% and hurting both PAN and PRD candidates …

The Importance Of Strong Governmental Institutions In Military Subordination: Mexico And Argentina, A Comparative Study, Eli Landman

CMC Senior Theses

This paper examines the history of civil military relations in Mexico and Argentina in an attempt to understand why Mexico was able to subordinate its military following the fall of the Porfírian military regime, while Argentina experienced decades of military intervention into the civilian sphere. It argues that strong governmental and political institutions in Mexico were the key to subordinating the Mexican military to civilian control, while patterns of populist political movements in Argentina hampered the formation of strong governmental institutions that would have enabled the subordination of the military to civilian control.

The Third World War: American Hegemony In Latin America And The Overthrow Of Salvador Allende, Samuel Mitchell

CMC Senior Theses

Why has the United States frequently intervened in the affairs of Latin American governments? How have the motivations changed over time, and how have they stayed the same? Are American Presidents more motivated by economic or political threats to hegemony? What methods has the United States used to maintain its dominance over the Western Hemisphere, and how have they changed?

This paper seeks to address all of these questions, using a full historical examination as well as the case study of Salvador Allende's Chile. Drawing upon numerous scholars' work as well as individual research and investigation, this paper seeks to …

The Drug War In Mexico: Consequences For Mexico's Nascent Democracy, Katrina M. Weeks

CMC Senior Theses

In recent years Mexico has been confronted with accelerating levels of violence related to drug trafficking organizations and counter-drug efforts. This paper examines the consequences of Mexico’s current drug trafficking situation on the country’s fledging democracy. In particular, the impact of the drug war on Mexico’s democratic consolidation is evaluated through civil-military relations, the judicial system, and the press. Conclusions about the prospects for Mexico’s nascent democracy are then examined.

Short Term Strategies For Long Term Power: The Rise And Potential Fall Of Hugo Chávez, Linden E.S. Schult

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis explores the route to power of Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez and the methods by which he has remained in power throughout his presidency. Also, it explores the potential for Chávez to lose power, given the current economic and political situation in Venezuela. The importance of the oil industry, Chávez's suppression of the opposition and control of the media, and constitutional changes and reforms are all discussed as keys to Chávez's continuance in power.