International Relations Commons^™

Trouble In Paradise: Political Economy And Cultural Criticism: Trouble In Paradise: From The End Of History To The End Of Capitalism, Edward Sandowski, Betty J. Harris

International Dialogue

Slavoj Žižek’s title Trouble in Paradise is also the name of a 1932 movie directed by Ernst Lubitsch, a movie which Žižek begins discussing as his first topic in his introduction. But the title obviously also reflects the notion that there is a difference between the superficial appearances of social life (often publically attractively depicted, with supporting justifications, sustaining collective illusions) and a time of deep societal troubles. Žižek says about his own title: “The ‘paradise’ in the title of this book refers to the End of History (as elaborated by Francis Fukuyama: liberal democratic capitalism as the finally found …

The Soul Of Armies: Counterinsurgency Doctrine And Military Culture In The Us And Uk, Aaron Edwards

International Dialogue

The Soul of Armies by Austin Long is a much-needed counter-balancing analysis to the steady flow of hagiographies that have appeared over the past decade on the counter-insurgency operations undertaken by the United States and United Kingdom around the world. Long challenges many of the prevailing assumptions underpinning the increasingly malleable doctrine of counter-insurgency.

Civics Beyond Critics: Character Education In A Liberal Democracy, Eric R. Boot

International Dialogue

It is quite common to make the argument that a stable liberal democracy requires high levels of compliance with the law. Scholars disagree, however, how such reliable and widespread compliance can be achieved. Roughly, liberals have traditionally emphasized the importance of arriving at compliance by way of autonomous and critical reasoning, whereas others (communitarians and republicans chiefly) argue that autonomous motives are notoriously weak and can, therefore, not by themselves bring about a high enough rate of compliance. The exclusionary importance accorded to autonomy by (many) liberals bars the state from cultivating the habits, sentiments and civic virtue upon which …

Music And International History In The Twentieth Century, Frédéric Ramel

International Dialogue

For several decades, musicologists have dealt with the role of music in international relations using their own tools. They have focused on musical change in the context of modernity, especially how traditional music and folk music interact with music from other localities. Paradoxically, musicologists have contributed more to the field of international relations than historians or political scientists. Fortunately, those in history and political science have initiated an acoustic turn which aims to fill the gap. Jessica Gienow-Hecht is one historian who has promoted this movement thanks to her well-known monography dedicated to cultural American-German relations in early twentieth century …

Interactive Democracy: The Social Roots Of Global Justice, David Reidy

International Dialogue

In this book, Carol Gould tries to envision a future for democracy that is both faithful to what she takes to be its philosophical and normative ground and well-matched to the political challenges of advancing global justice. These challenges arise because the social and institutional world is increasingly complex, with the relevance of state boundaries diminishing significantly in recent decades when it comes to identifying and evaluating agents, acts and effects on the global stage. I begin by reconstructing and summarizing what I take to be her central line of argument.

Voices Of The Undocumented, Ramón Guerra

International Dialogue

In the foreword to Val Rosenfeld’s Voices of the Undocumented, she illustrates the background for the collection of oral histories from immigrants. The immigrants in the collection are primarily from Latin American countries and have arrived in the San Francisco, California area without any documents to provide either residency or other legal status. The precarious nature of their existence in the United States underscores the very essence of this compilation and provides a running theme that connects the narratives of these individuals as told and recorded through oral history. While Rosenfeld refers to a preliminary personal draw to learning about …

Divergent Paths: The Academy And The Judiciary, Paul E. Mcgreal

International Dialogue

In Divergent Paths: The Academy and the Judiciary, Judge Richard Posner proposes a partnership between the federal judiciary and law schools.1 He provides a sweeping critique of the federal judiciary and suggests ways in which law schools can address these failings. His critiques fall under the headings of structural deformations (e.g., method of appointment, lifetime tenure), process deficiencies, (e.g., legal formalism in judicial opinion writing, lack of curiosity), and management deficiencies (e.g., poor staff management, lack of collegiality). The corresponding solutions include law schools providing continuing education for federal judges and changing their curricula to include new knowledge and skills. …

Politics Of Religious Freedom, Amanda Ryan

International Dialogue

When tackling the topic of “religious freedom” what are policy-makers and academics trying to define? Is religious freedom a universally defined set of liberal human rights from a secular state, or is religious freedom also seen in religious states? The Politics of Religious Freedom goes into the depths of complexity that is “religious freedom.” The book explores what religious freedom is in a variety of settings: South Asia, North Africa, Middle East, Europe, the United States, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Brazil.

What Do Chinese Really Think About Democracy And India?, Devin K. Joshi, Yizhe Xu

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

There has been much speculation about whether China will democratize and avoid conflict with India in the twenty-first century. Yet, few studies have investigated how contemporary Chinese view India and its democracy. Addressing this gap in the literature, the authors examined Chinese media coverage of India’s two-month long April–May 2014 parliamentary election, the largest election in world history, through systematic analysis of over 500 articles from ten major mass media outlets and over 27,000 messages transmitted on Sina Weibo social media. As might be expected, Chinese mass media generally portrayed India and its elections in a condescending fashion while avoiding …

’A Beautiful Bridge’: Chinese Indonesian Associations, Social Capital And Strategic Identification In A New Era Of China Indonesia Relations, Charlotte Setijadi

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

In Indonesia, Chinese voluntary associations took on a new level of importance after the fall of Suharto’s New Order regime in 1998 that ushered in a revival of Chinese identity politics. At the same time, Sino-Indonesian relations are blossoming, and the rise of China as a global power means that Indonesia can only benefit from stronger ties with China in the future. In this new atmosphere of cooperation, I argue that Chinese Indonesian individuals and voluntary organizations play a crucial function as trade and cultural intermediaries. Drawing on both empirical and qualitative fieldwork data, in this paper, I examine how …

The Case Of Affirmative Action In Undergraduate Admissions: United States And Brazil, Taylor Toves, Adolphus Belk Ph.D.

The Winthrop McNair Research Bulletin

In the realm of higher education, Affirmative Action has been a matter of dispute amongst college administrations, state legislatures, and even the Supreme Court of the United States. Affirmative Action was created in order to help ensure that underrepresented groups have a fair chance at obtaining a college education. This has not only affected colleges and universities in the United States but also Brazil. This research did a cross-country comparative analysis of two nation states that posses a similar history when it comes to race relations and how that has affected the condition of equity in higher education. Though both …

Geopolitical Implications Of The Sino-Japanese East China Sea Dispute For The U.S., Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

This presentation updates the article "Geopolitical Implications of the Sino-East China Sea Dispute for the U.S." published in Geopolitics, History, and International Relations which is already available in epubs.

Asian Anxieties And Alliances: Balancing The Rise Of China, Adam David Crank

Theses and Dissertations

China’s rise has been met with both hope and apprehension. However, with its recent actions in the South and East China Seas, surrounding nations are becoming increasingly concerned that China may have expansionist or even hegemonic ambitions. China has taken what many of these countries consider to be aggressive actions in the past several years and months. One of the main questions now is how the surrounding nations, as well as the United States, will react to China’s actions. As of now diplomatic means of failed to resolve the crisis in the South and East China Seas.

This thesis will …

On David Miller On Immigration Control, Chandran Kukathas

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

David Miller offers a liberal realist defence of immigration control grounded in cosmopolitan ideals of self-determination, fairness and integration. But a commitment to liberal values requires a commitment to more open borders than he admits. A part of the problem is that the notion of open borders Miller criticises is under-theorised. A deeper problem is that immigration control itself is inconsistent with important liberal values – notably the values of freedom and equality. This is a concern because it is the freedom and equality not only of immigrants but also of citizens that is threatened by the closing of borders.

Developing Nations And Disadvantaged Populations: How The 2009 H1n1 Influenza Pandemic Exacerbated Disparities And Inequities, Rebecca Lebeaux

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, although not as deadly or long lasting as initially projected, demonstrated that the world was and is ill prepared to handle a mass pandemic. As the first pandemic of the twenty-first century, the pandemic revealed global health insecurities and asymmetrical disease burdens for disadvantaged individuals and countries. This paper will analyze why both developing countries and disadvantaged individuals suffered disproportionately from the pandemic. Using the framework of structural violence, this paper will investigate how socioeconomic and political disparities encountered before and during the pandemic caused differential health, societal, political, and economic outcomes. These preexisting disparities …

Ua12/2/2 2016 Talisman - Identity, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

2016 Fall Talisman.

• Street Style
• Home Sweet Home – Nashville, McKee, Bowling Green
• Doyel, Rachael. Happy Gas – Theatre & Dance
• Robb, Hayley. Stick & Poke – Tattoos
• Martin, Lindsey. Self-Made – Dexter Banks, Tattoos
• Sullivan, Abbey. Cover-Up – Tattoos
• Pettway, Shantel. Natural Roots – African American Hair
• Voorhees, Jessica. Living Laboratory – Benjamin Benton, WKU Farm
• Perry, Natalie. Frog in a Water Well – Keunsik Junk aka Brody
• Hormell, David. I Wanted to Touch Lightning
• Good, Hannah. Coffee Talks
• Reyes, Taylor. Ice Cold – Alpha Phi Alpha
• Games, Ann. Working the Desk
• Voorhees, Jessica. Killer Queen – Lane French, …

A Strange Revolution: Mock Compliance And The Failure Of The Oecd’S International Tax Transparency Regime, Richard Woodward

Books/Book Chapters

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Thieves Of State, Hugh E. Breakey

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

No abstract provided.

The Proximity-Based Effect Of Terrorism On Countries' Economies, Sofia E. Mouritsen

Student Publications

In this paper, I explore the effect that proximity to terrorist-controlled areas has on countries’ economies. I posit that there exists a correlation between the aforementioned proximity and GDP growth rates, and hypothesize that the closer a country is to an area with high levels of terrorism, the more likely it is that its economy will be negatively affected. I begin by examining the nature of the correlation between terrorism and economic growth; following this, I explore the direct ways in which terrorism affects economic growth. Next, I delve into the recent economic history of countries around three areas: the …

Racing To War: Arms Competitions, Military Spending, And The Tendency Of Nations To Engage In Armed Conflict, Thomas S. Potter

Student Publications

An essay exploring the relationship between arms acquisition, military spending, and the tendency of nations to engage in war.

Genocide Denial: Perpetuating Victimization And The Cycle Of Violence In Bosnia And Herzegovina (Bih), Genevieve Parent

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

The denial of the Armenian genocide led to devastating effects on both the individual and collective levels which in many cases were passed down to their descendants. In BiH, many of the facts are not denied per se but the interpretation is such that genocidal intent is denied. While some research has been done on the consequences of trauma among BiH survivors, no in-depth studies are found on the effects of denial on the survivors’ psychosocial well-being. This article aims to fill in the gaps based on in-depth-interviews carried out since 2011 in BiH, investigating the cognitive, affective and behavioral …

Minority Protection And Democratic Consolidation: The Role Of European Integration In The Republic Of Macedonia, Eltion Meka

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

The purpose of this article is to take stock of the European integration literature in reference to Eastern Europe in order to better understand how international forces affect minority rights. The article will focus on the status of the Albanian minority in the case of the Republic of Macedonia and attempt to illustrate how European integration has contributed to or hindered ethnic reconciliation between the ethnic Albanian minority and Macedonian majority through a historical-sociological analysis. Additionally, by linking the protection of minority rights to democratic consolidation, this article will show how the former is largely dependent on the latter.

Book Review: Conflict In The Nuba Mountains: From Genocide-By-Attrition To The Contemporary Crisis In Sudan, Alan J. Kuperman

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

No abstract provided.

Are European Union Sanctions “Targeted”?, Clara Portela

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The emergence of targeted sanctions in the mid-1990s was due to the humanitarian impact of embargoes, which were deemed unacceptable and compelled senders to shift to measures designed to affect only wrongdoers. Twenty years on, the present paper considers the extent to which autonomous sanctions are designed to affect those individuals and elites responsible for the behaviour the EU aims to condemn. How faithful has the EU remained to this concept in its sanctions policy? The enquiry scrutinizes diverse practices in three established sanctions strands of the EU, development aid suspensions, Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) sanctions and Generalised …

Dealing With Migratory Trauma: Mental Health Stressors And Coping Mechanisms Among Sub-Saharan Migrants In Rabat, Morocco, Dominique Defreece

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Interviews, surveys, and participant observation was used to study the mental health of Sub-Saharan migrants residing in Rabat, Morocco. These data collection methods were used to explore the various experiences migrants had pre-migration, during their migration journey, and post-migration. The migrants portrayed many negative, traumatic, and painful experiences. These experiences have caused a significant amount of pressure on the mental psyche of the migrants, manifesting itself in many physical and psychological problems. One common problem was a sense of disillusionment or lack of control over their bodies and situations. However, many of them do not seek the help of mental …

The Non-Proliferation Treaty And The Political Aspects Of Nuclear Power In A Modern Context, Eve Gleeson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty was created in 1967 in response to the growing threat of nuclear weapon detonation.1 Today, it has been signed and ratified by 190 countries who pledge to pursue efforts towards non-proliferation, peaceful nuclear energy, and nuclear disarmament. Five states remain outside of the treaty, four of which are nuclear weapon states: Israel, Pakistan, India, and North Korea. The nuclear weapon states in the NPT have been established as Britain, France, the U.S., Russia, and China.

The NPT has been created and maintained through the existence of power dynamics between nuclear and non-nuclear states. The potential to …

Curing Violence: Prescriptions For Justice And Peace In Colombia, Marissa Crawford

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

As the administration of President Juan Manuel Santos sits across the negotiating table from the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), justice as a conduit for peace has dominated discourse on remediating the legacy of more than 50 years of internal conflict. Justice, however, like the conflict itself, is contested in both meaning and substance. This thesis will approach the topic of justice from both a human rights and transitional justice perspective, arguing the need for systematically disentangling the concept in its international, domestic, and grassroots iterations. It will contend that transitional justice policy will more effectively be designed if …

Power And Proximity: The Politics Of State Secession, Elizabeth A. Nelson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

State secession is a rare occurrence in the international system. While a number of movements seek secession, the majority fail to achieve statehood. Of the exceptional successes, many have not had the strongest claims to statehood; some of these new states look far less like states than some that have failed. So what accounts for these secessions? I argue that the politics of regional actors drive the process. If a secessionist movement does not have the support of actors in the region, it will not achieve statehood. There are three mechanisms through which regional actors can determine outcomes: (1) they …

Internet Access And Freedom: Constructing And Reacting To Transnational Norms About Internet Diffusion And Use, Heather L. Katz

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation explores how demands for Internet access have taken shape in the international system and to what degree a right to access or the Freedom to Connect (F2C) can be said to exist. It also studies how states have responded to demands rel­ated to access and Internet penetration. A review of the literature reveals that most work concentrates on violations of users’ rights on the Web and bypasses questions about whether and how users can access this vital piece of technology. Utilizing discourse analysis, the study shows that the F2C is being framed by a diverse range of actors …

Jules Verne Constructs America: From Utopia To Dystopia, Dana L. Radu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In my dissertation, I examine visions of the United States in Jules Verne’s (1828-1905) Voyages extraordinaires (1863-1905). Of the sixty-four novels that make up that series, twenty-three, over one-third, feature American characters or take place on American soil. I demonstrate that in his early novels (1863-1886), he presents the United States in an optimistic and utopian light, while in his later novels (1887-1905), his depictions of the United States take on a pessimistic and dystopian aspect. In also showing that Verne had been influenced by utopian socialists Henri de Saint-Simon (1760-1825), Charles Fourier (1772-1837) and Étienne Cabet (1788-1856), I provide …