International Relations Commons^™

Maritime Terror: A Comparative Study Of The Barbary Corsairs And Modern Somali Pirates, Lauren M. Halton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Maritime piracy off the Horn of Africa, although not a new security threat, has grown at an alarming rate in the twenty-first century. This study compares modern Somali piracy with the Barbary Corsairs problem of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to understand what policy responses might be most effective. The comparison focused on pirate characteristics and motives; targeted ships; attack frequency; hostage treatment; counter measures to combat piracy; and outcomes.

Financial motivation, level of organization, and viciousness of attacks are all characteristics the Somali pirates and Barbary Corsairs share. They differ in that the Corsairs operated as part of a …

"Wanted: Dead Or Alive": Masculinities And Us Military Intervention In Afghanistan, Michelle E. Bellini

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hegemonically masculine concepts are frequently employed by decision-makers during times of crisis and war. Language used by leaders is powerful in securing domestic support for US foreign policy decisions, and hegemonic masculinity shapes the ways in which leaders conceive of conflicts and in what ways those conflicts should be addressed. Notions of hegemonic masculinity exert a powerful, structural influence on US Presidential foreign policy decisionmaking.

The attacks of September 11^th, 2001 changed United States foreign policy in fundamental ways. This research examines the role of hegemonic masculinity in President George W. Bush's policy speeches, both how hegemonic masculinity …

A Response To Aid Dependency: Service For Aid, Angela L. Bennett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

"A Response to Aid Dependency: Service for Aid" by Angela Bennett is a composition reviewing literature on humanitarian assistance and aid dependency. She appraises current programs which delivery humanitarian assistance by utilizing reward incentives for participation in social programs in order to combat dependency on outside sources of support. The author uses her experience as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Dominican Republic for examples of expectance on aid. The Service for Aid model is proposed as a new approach to humanitarian aid delivery, requiring recipients to participate in capacity and capability building programs in order to earn aid in …

Fostering Global Security: Nonviolent Resistance And Us Foreign Policy, Amentahru Wahlrab

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation comprehensively evaluates, for the first time, nonviolence and its relationship to International Relations (IR) theory and US foreign policy along the categories of principled, strategic, and regulative nonviolence. The current debate within nonviolence studies is between principled and strategic nonviolence as relevant categories for theorizing nonviolent resistance. Principled nonviolence, while retaining the primacy of ethics, is often not practical. Indeed, most nonviolent movements have not been principled, or solely principled. Strategic nonviolence is attractive because it does not require any individual or group to believe in a particular faith or ethical tradition. However, strategic nonviolence is problematic as …

Navigating Through U.S.-China Policy: An Investigation Of China National Off-Shore Oil Corporation's Proposed Acquisition Of Unocal Corporation And How Domestic Politics Plays A Role In Balancing U.S. Trade Policy With National Security Policy, Vicki Lynn Spencer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

When Chinese National Offshore Oil Corporation, Ltd. ( CNOOC) attempted to buy American-owned Unocal Corporation, it unleashed a "perfect storm" in Washington. Members of Congress immediately called upon President Bush to invoke his Exon-Florio authority to prevent the transaction. After the president claimed action would be premature, Congress quickly coalesced to block the deal. The Chinese expressed surprise at the political backlash and ultimately CNOOC was forced to withdraw its bid.

The purpose of this study is to explain the fervor that arose over CNOOC's proposed acquisition of Unocal. The study builds upon the theoretical approach of new institutionalism which …

Chinese Democracy: How Elite Thinking On China's Development And Change Influences Chinese Practice Of Democracy (1839–The Current Time), Rey-Ching Lu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Will China become a multiparty democracy? This is the research problem of this dissertation. My hypothesis is this: the greater the extent that Chinese elite thinking on development and change reconciles the tension between Chinese nationalism and collectivist, family-like ethics on the one hand, and the western democratic ideals based on each self-seeking individual’s subjectivity on the other hand, the greater the chance that China’s political development will lead to a multiparty democracy. The dissertation includes two parts: Chapters two to five are historical analyses, and chapters six to eight are the interviews. It is my assumption that Chinese elite …

Iraq: The Way Forward—A Political Strategy To Win & End The War In Iraq, Krikor P. Mosses Derhagopian

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The challenges to stability, unity, and democracy in Iraq are typically characterized as factional (sectarian and ethnic) or as struggle against the presence of foreign troops. However, this assumption remains largely erroneous. The problems and challenges in Iraq are actually and overwhelmingly the result of power struggles, and the competition for resources by political elites, and dominant political factions.

The political and electoral system emplaced in Iraq incentivizes elites and political entities to undertake factional identities; in doing so, it promotes identity politics. The current system also fails to filter the contests for power through the electoral system. As such, …

Transformation Of Rebel Movements Into Political Parties In Transitions From Civil Conflict: A Study Of Rebels' Decision-Making Amid Violence In El Salvador And Zimbabwe, Devin M. Finn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Efforts to understand modern intrastate conflict require examination of the varied interactions between states and non–state entities battling for control of government. A growing number of civil wars and separatist conflicts, particularly following the end of the Cold War, have been resolved peacefully through negotiated settlements in which rebels abandoned their arms and entered the political arena. While many scholars have studied revolution and democratization in depth, few have focused on explaining the transformation of rebel movements into political parties. Under what conditions do rebel movements engaged in armed conflict with states decide to negotiate, disarm and participate in electoral …

Becoming Good Europeans? Globality, The Eu And The Potential To Realize Nietzsche's Idea Of Europe, Michael J. Mcneal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation takes up Friedrich Nietzsche’s notion of ‘good Europeanism’ and his related idea of Europe to show how the former disposition may be cultivated to achieve the latter—a reinvigorated culture on the continent. It does so by applying his vitalist politics and power ontology (will to power hypothesis and theory of decadence) to critique European integration in the broader context of globalization. The analysis enables me to theorize how “healthy” individuals might exploit opportunities in the present to become 'good Europeans', with the aim of realizing Nietzsche’s quasi-cosmopolitan idea of Europe. It is my primary contention that Nietzsche’s diagnosis …

Role Expectations And State Socialization: Germany's Rediscovery Of The Use Of Force 1990–1995, Thorsten Spehn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation engages the question of why German political elites accepted the use of force during the 1990s and started to commit the country's armed forces to multilateral peacekeeping missions. Previous governments of the Federal Republic had opposed foreign deployment of the military and Germany was characterized by a unique strategic culture in which the efficacy of military force was widely regarded as negative. The rediscovery of the use of force constituted a significant reorientation of German security policy with potentially profound implications for international relations.

I use social role theory to explain Germany's security policy reorientation. I argue that …

Chinese Eyes On The Prize: Strategic Partnerships And Changing Priorities, Elizabeth O'Grady

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The overall theme of this paper is increasing knowledge of the evolution of Chinese priorities and strategy since the Korean War, and how the evolution of China's relationships reveals changes in priorities. Why were these partnerships entered into on the part of China? What was China's strategic thinking? How do strengths and weaknesses in these partnerships reflect China's changing priorities? To attempt to answer these questions, three case studies are used to reveal and analyze changes: Sino- North Korean relations since the Korean War, Sino-Russian relations after the end of the Cold War, and Chinese participation (relations with member states) …

Islamic Religious Curricula And Terrorism: A Case Study Of The Azherite Schools In Egypt, Babikir F. Babikir

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the connection between Islamic religious education and terrorism. It looks at the curricula of the Azherite religious schools in Egypt. It examines how the curricula view the three themes of Jihad which are offensive Jihad, defensive Jihad, and Jihad for the purification of the soul in addition to the relations of Muslims with non-Muslims. Books which are used by violent jihadist groups for membership acquisition and cadre training are also studied for Jihad themes and relations with non-Muslims.

The analysis shows that the curricula are, generally speaking, a peaceful one in its principal direction, since it obviously …