International Relations Commons^™

Advancing United Nation’S Gender Mainstreaming: Female Peacekeepers In Haiti And Liberia, Evening S. Huddleston

Senior Theses

The United Nations (UN) is making efforts to implement a gender mainstreaming perspective throughout its organization, specifically including women in the peace processes. One aspect of this is increasing the number of female peacekeepers. To determine the success of these efforts, this paper explores whether the lives of women and girls were improved during UN peacekeeping missions in Haiti and Liberia. Using women’s and girls’ participation in education, law enforcement, and politics, as well as the Gender Development Index and the Gender Inequality Index, this paper finds that including women in peacekeeping roles adds a new dimension of skills and …

How Foreign Policy Is Manifested Through Diplomatic Discourse: An Analysis Of Us Ambassador Rhetoric At The Un Regarding Israeli Settlement Expansion, Alexandra M. Sayegh

Senior Theses

This thesis examines American ambassador discourse at the United Nations Security Council from 2012 to 2019 regarding the ongoing issue of Israeli settlement expansion in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. While Israel’s settlement activity technically breaches international law as well as several UN resolutions, there is no binding aspect of the framework of international law that could compel Israel to cease its violations. This issue is further exacerbated by the fact that the United States often protects Israel from criticisms of its occupation regime in front of the international community. Previous research spanning several decades has revealed an evident bias in …

Does Electoral Proximity Influence Commitment To International Human Rights Law?, Nolan A. Ragland

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

A Historical Evaluation Of The Position Of The United States On Genocide Designations: Framing Implications For Xinjiang, Marley Taylor Belanger

Graduate Capstone Projects

This paper evaluates the historical stances of the United States with the international norm against genocide. It further examines how U.S. positions in precedent cases of genocide may help frame the U.S. response to the current crisis in Xinjiang, China. This paper reviews the historical record of the instances when the U.S. government has designated past atrocities to be considered genocides, and identifies patterns of continuity and change in the decision-making process of the U.S. This work then applies the theories of liberalism, constructivism, and realism to interpret the actions of the United States when deciding to recognize genocide formally. …

Third Party Mediation: Comparative Case Study On The Effectiveness Of Foreign Intervention In Intra-State Armed Conflicts In Bosnia And Herzegovina, Libya, And Myanmar., Vanessa Vuji

Dissertations and Theses

The intervention of third-party mediators is often critical in the resolution of intrastate armed conflicts. Their success hinges on such factors as the mediator’s skill and perceived impartiality, the support of the United Nations Security Council and clarity of their mandate, the timing of their interventions (the ‘ripeness’ concept) and the involvement of civil society. The purpose of this research will be to assess the effectiveness of third-party interventions in the Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, Libya, and Myanmar conflicts on the basis of these criteria. The parameters evaluated during the case studies show that third-party mediation may jeopardize the …

The Un-Intended Effects Of Risky Mandates, Robert Wood

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

In May 1948, the United Nations launched its first peacekeeping mission named the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO). Since this first mission, the United Nations has launched over 70 peacekeeping missions in regions such as Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa (Bellamy and Williams, 2015). The overarching goal of the United Nations, and the Security Council as the organ responsible for authorizing peacekeeping missions, is to protect international peace (United Nations, 1945a). However, the means of achieving international peace differs across missions. One source of variation concerning the means of achieving peace is found in peacekeeping mission mandates. While …

Protecting Peace? Analyzing The Relationship Between The Protection Of Civilians And Peace In Un Peacekeeping Settings, Jenna Russo

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Since 1999, the protection of civilians (POC) has become central to UN peacekeeping, included in the mandates of most multidimensional missions. In 2009, the Security Council designated POC as a priority among mandated tasks, in part because of the assertion that protecting civilians creates conditions that are conducive to peace. Yet, to this point, there has not been a thorough examination of the relationship between the protection of civilians in conflict settings and the broader peace process. The purpose of this research project is to investigate whether protecting civilians from violence serves to shorten conflict duration and/or create more durable …

Should There Be An Alternative To The United Nations For The Regulation Of Nuclear Weapons?, Sajani Patel

Senior Theses

In this thesis, I examine the question “Should there be an alternative to the United Nations (UN) for the regulation of nuclear weapons?” The UN is notorious for issues with conflict of interest between the nuclear powers also being the permanent members of the security council. This allows the special interests of nuclear weapon holding states to influence the role of the UN in the path towards disarmament and accountability. A case study is conducted to assess each country’s reaction to UN disarmament initiatives, specifically three treaties: The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), and the Treaty …

(Dis)Contentment With The International System: The Relationship Between Territorial Dispute Settlement Attempts And Unga Voting, Erik C. Beuck

Doctoral Dissertations

To what degree do the methods of management for territorial and maritime disputes relate to voting patterns in the United Nations General Assembly? In particular, do actions taken by the disputants in managing their disputes exert influence on their fellow disputant’s foreign policy preferences in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) reflective of the nature of these attempts? As territory has been found to be one of the most important driving factors in the conflict between states, understanding the impacts of different settlement methods in the active conveyance of information to other state actors in attempts to settle can provide …

Self-Determination In The Western Sahara: Obstacles And Obligations, Léa Gervais Glaenzer

Senior Projects Spring 2021

This paper aims to investigate the story of a country that was colonized by Spain, abandoned by Madrid, and subsequently claimed by Morocco. Spanish Sahara, now known as Western Sahara, is the territory in question. When Spanish Sahara was left by Spain to fend for itself in 1975, King Hassan of Morocco claimed sovereignty over it. King Hassan saw a potential “Greater Morocco”, which, in his view, encompassed Morocco-proper and the former Spanish Sahara. Since becoming recognized as a non-self-governing territory, most of Western Sahara has been occupied by Morocco and much of its native population resides in Tindouf refugee …

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 …

In Search Of Trojan Horses: The United Nations Culture War, Patricia Ackerman

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation examines the expanding influence of the religious Right at the UN, building on extant scholarship on the role of the culture war at the UN. This scholarship has tracked the increasing presence of the religious Right following the Beijing World Conference on Women and the Cairo Conference of Population and Development. Since that time, there has been a systematic and strategic movement against LGBT human rights and sexual and reproductive health and rights. The religious Right influence UN discourse, documents, and global policy in favor of their agenda. This conflict manifests in a frenzied media and policy battle …

Multi-Level Governance Of Climate Change Adaptation: United Nations Negotiations And Adaptation Project Implementation In Nicaragua And Samoa, Anna E. Mcginn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The rapid entry into force of the Paris Agreement reaffirmed, with certainty, that the international community would continue its efforts to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change impacts opening a new era of international cooperation on climate change. This thesis explores how both negotiations around climate change adaptation and adaptation project implementation have evolved in this post-Paris Agreement era (from adoption in December 2015 to present). Using the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s (UNFCCC) Adaptation Fund as the central lens, the chapters explore international negotiations around the Fund as well as two Adaptation Fund funded …

International Institutions And Inertia: Unsc Behavior On Myanmar’S Internal Ethnic Conflicts, Matthew Peerboom

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Since the resurgence of Rakhine State's conflict in 2017, and the resulting 750,000 refugees, Myanmar has received increased scrutiny by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). However, some of Myanmar's ethnic conflicts have been continuous since independence in 1948, and thus begs the question: what explains the difference in attention? Three analytical lenses will be utilized to examine UNSC behavior: Bureaucratic Institutionalism, Geopolitics, and the null hypothesis of sheer Magnitude. In the end, it appears Institutionalism has come out as the strongest driver of Council action escalation on Myanmar. For Kayin’s low action period, it met two of the conditions …

Un Peacebuilding Efforts In Post-Conflict Situations, Zag Legrand Kimpolo-Nkaya

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis analyzes the work of the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission, Fund, and UN Family organizations in ensuring stability and development in underdeveloped and developing countries during post-conflict situations. This work defines and examines peacebuilding and development using data from the PBC, PBF, Polity IV, the Human Development Index Report, and other sources, including UN documents. Three case studies where chosen to evaluate the effectiveness of peacebuilding missions in accordance with the PBC priorities: Sierra Leone, Côte d’Ivoire, and Central African Republic. The UN work has contributed to development in these cases; however, improvements were needed in some areas as …

Unsc Legitimacy As A Tool For Misdirection, Medha Monjaury

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

In the months leading up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the Bush administration made clear to the American people that the United States was prepared to go to war if Iraq failed to comply with Resolution 1441 and disarm. However, during the process of drafting and passing Resolution 1441, the U.S. expended considerable time and energy maintaining to the United Nations Security Council that it would not use the resolution as a pretext to strike Iraq. Moreover, it appears that the Security Council was convinced of the U.S.’ stated intentions when it passed Resolution 1441 unanimously in November 2002, …

Counterterrorism And Human Rights Committees’ Influence On Terrorism And Human Rights Atrocities, Janice Marie Gravely

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The United Nations Counterterrorism and Human Rights Committees’ current collaborative practices have failed to reduce global terrorists’ activities and human rights abuses associated with counterterrorism activities. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore and compare collaborative processes between the committees in combatting terrorism and human rights violations associated with counterterrorism. The researched was centered around two key questions: The similarities and differences with information sharing processes and the impacts of the committees’ collaborative processes on terrorists’ activities and human rights violations. For this study, the pragmatic paradigm theoretical framework was used, focusing on the descriptive exploratory design. …

Evolving Conceptions Of Sovereignty As Applied To Membership In International Organizations, Luke C. Radice

CMC Senior Theses

In the current international climate, both nations and individuals increasingly question both the validity and necessity of international organizations. This paper seeks to answer some of those questions, and to determine why countries choose to surrender significant portions of the national power that they are afforded under traditional perceptions of “Westphalian sovereignty”. This question is answered through an analysis of historical political thought on the concept of Sovereignty, then is applied to two case studies: the United Nations and the European Union, in which the benefits and downsides of surrendering sovereignty are discussed. Ultimately, this thesis concludes that the concept …

(Dis)Unity In The Un Security Council: Voting Patterns In The Un's Peace And Security Organ, Paul M. Romita

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The conventional wisdom is that the international system in the Cold War was defined by the struggle between East and West. While this was certainly the case, voting patterns in the UN Security Council present a more nuanced picture. Counterintuitively, France, the United Kingdom and the United States—three of the five permanent members of the Security Council (the Permanent 3 or P3) and members of the NATO alliance—voted apart on Council resolutions far more frequently in the Cold War, when they faced the common threat of the Soviet Union, than in the post-Cold War era. This dissertation observes that they …

Fleeing War, Fighting Xenophobia, Andrea Danziger

Honors Projects

The purpose of this research is to identify the key differences between German and American refugee policies as they relate to the ability of each country’s native population to successfully integrate refugees into their society. This body of work looks specifically at the German and American Refugee Resettlement Programs submitted to the United Nations. As shown in this research, new legal policy that can fight systematic distrust and discrimination becomes achievable by identifying the practices that contribute to in- and out-group dynamics between host country and refugees. Such policies will allow for the building of stronger, more integrated societies in …

The United Nations: The Syrian Refugee Crisis, Zahra R. Syed

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The main objective of this research paper is to analyze the international effects the Syrian Conflict has had to the global community. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has declared this conflict to be the worst humanitarian crisis of our time. Millions of Syrians have fled their home country to avoid unjust persecution and are looking to not only neighboring countries, but the European Union for assistance in resettlement.

Since the outbreak of the conflict in Syria in 2011, more than 220,000 people have been massacred, leaving fifty percent of the population in unrest due to home displacement. According …

“If It Ain’T Broke, Don’T Fix It”?: Analyzing The Politics Of The Un Security Council And The Viability Of The Group Of Four’S Proposal For Reform, Marissa A. Mcomber

Honors College Theses

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC)’s mandate gives it the unique authority to maintain international peace and security. Made up of ten nonpermanent rotating and five permanent Member States (P5), the UNSC gives this decision making power to less than eight percent of the Member States of the UN at a time, five of whom never change. It has long been argued that the P5 represent a power distribution of the world as it existed in 1945, directly after World War II, and has not kept up with changing membership and power dynamics. This paper analyzes the history of the …

Entrenched In Power: Path Dependence And Un Security Council Reform, Brian Valley

Honors Projects

This paper explores United Nations Security Council reform from a historical perspective. Using the concept of path dependence, the paper shows how features put in place at the Security Council’s formation have limited options for reform in the present. The Security Council’s concert of power model, separation from the General Assembly, distinction of membership types, and high barrier for change serve as mechanisms of path dependence. These features resulted from the Security Council’s formation during WWII in the wake of the failed League of Nations. The inability of current reform movements to bring about change illustrates the Security Council’s continued …

Humanitarian Intervention At Mt. Sinjar, Iraq: A Complex Adaptive System Analysis, Trevor C. Jones

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Late in the summer of 2014, tens of thousands of persecuted minorities fled a genocidal onslaught and took refuge on Mt. Sinjar in Iraq. Stranded by indiscriminate ISIS mortar fire, the group known as the Yezidi faced dehydration and exposure to extreme temperatures on the barren mountain. Ten days later the majority of the trapped Yezidi individuals had escaped through a protected corridor on the ground. This paper analyzes the international response to the Complex Emergency (CE) through network analysis as an alternative to existing civil-military frameworks. Complex Adaptive System (CAS) analysis is used to explain actions in a non-hierarchical …

Canada And The 2001 United Nations World Conference Against Racism, Steven J. Seligman

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The 2001 United Nations World Conference against Racism (WCAR) was one of the most controversial United Nations events of the post-Cold War era. Major issues on the agenda included the Middle East, the question of reparations for the transatlantic slave trade and colonialism, and the rights of indigenous peoples. Utilizing interviews with government and non-governmental actors as well as archival material, this dissertation examines Canada’s preparations for, and participation at, the WCAR as a case study to explore key theoretical debates about the Canadian foreign policy-making process. At the international level, Canada was an active participant during the multilateral negotiations …

Exhume Cedaw From Its Grave: An Analysis Of The Actors Who Helped To Bury The Convention On The Elimination Of Discrimination Against Women In The United States, Kasie Durkit

Honors Projects

In November of 1980, President Jimmy Carter signed what was one of the most comprehensive women’s rights treaties of its kind: the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. Authored by United Nations’ Commission on the Status of Women, “CEDAW” was designed to galvanize states to take all appropriate measures to modify existing laws, regulations, customs and practices that constitute discrimination against women. As of April of 2014, 187 world countries have signed and ratified CEDAW, thereby adopting many of its principles. Yet, the United States is one of only seven countries (including Iran and Sudan no less) not …

The Darfur Name Game: Use Of Realpolitik By The United Nations In Decision-Making And Intervention, Angela Overton

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Violence has plagued the westernmost region of Sudan, known as Darfur, since 2003. The conflict contains elements of political and ethnic divisiveness, desertification, and resource scarcity. The violence there continues to date. Many have declared genocide in Darfur while others maintain that the conflict is instead a crime against humanity. The labeling of the conflict is critical because this process determines the interventions available. This paper focuses on the decision-making process of the United Nations and its Security Council to determine if the labeling of the conflict impacted the discourse and intervention decisions by those bodies. Discourse analysis results indicate …

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 …

An Examination Of The Varying Role Of The United Nations In The Civil Wars Of Rwanda And El Salvador, Vanessa Jaramillo-Cano

Honors College Theses

The purpose of this work is to examine the efforts of the United Nations in the Post-Cold War era with special emphasis on peacekeeping missions. A comparative study of recent United Nations peacekeeping operations will be completed to identify the variables that encourage or discourage international (UN) involvement in cases of civil conflict. For the purpose of this work, civil conflict will be narrowly defined as a domestic conflict with two major armed groups (ie: civil wars). Two countries will be studied to explore the nature of the respective conflicts, the transitional methods used by the peacekeeping mission to return …

A Complex Dynamic: The Relationship Between The United Nations And Regional Institutions In International Peacekeeping, Archana Vamathevan

Senior Theses and Projects

This paper looks at the relationship between the United Nations and regional organizations in international peacekeeping. Specifically, it analyzes what factors influence the deployment of an independent regional or UN peacekeeping mission or the creation of a hybrid UN-regional peacekeeping operation. This paper finds that a regional-level factor – the potential effectiveness of the regional organization in terms of available resources and perceived neutrality – and an international-level factor - the willingness of the Security Council - influence the establishment of a third-party peacekeeping mission in a civil conflict. Specifically, when an effective regional organization exists, it will intervene in …