Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons^™

Immobilizing Conceptual Debates, Jonas Claes

Human Rights & Human Welfare

In “Think Again: Failed States,” James Traub argues that “state failure” is a failed concept. Prioritizing efforts to prevent or address state fragility, weakness, or failure may seem impractical given the conceptual breadth of this systemic challenge. Like globalization, human security, or climate change, state failure contains so many aspects that it becomes analytically useless. But the need to rethink this garbage-can concept—everything can be thrown in—does not keep us from addressing the litany of well-understood challenges subsumed within.

A Road To Smarter Infrastructure In Asia, Curtis S. Chin, John A. Donaldson

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

China's infrastructure building program used to be the envy of the world, and in some respects it still is. Yet economists, investors and now China's own citizens are worried about diminishing returns, while incidents such as last month's Wenzhou high-speed rail crash raise questions about the durability of China's investments.

More Questions, Few Answers On State Failure And Human Rights, Edzia Carvalho

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The Foreign Policy article under review brings us back to the issues addressed in April's Roundtable, which looked at humanitarian intervention in light of widespread political violence in the Ivory Coast. Much of that discussion centered on the factors that lead states to adopt policies aimed at stopping egregious human rights abuses from being committed in other jurisdictions, either by state agents or non-state actors. This month's Roundtable discussion highlights the myths attached to the concept of “state failure,” which increases the likelihood of such violations occurring. The author of this month's centerpiece, James Traub, comments on a number of …

“Failed States Are Everyone’S Problem”, Devin Joshi

Human Rights & Human Welfare

This article raises interesting issues but cannot answer its own puzzles because it fails to define what constitutes a threat or danger to US national security. As an American citizen, the security of the Central African Republic is in my personal interest. The CAR is a country where it has been reported that one out of every sixteen mothers dies during childbirth. That is a serious problem! Who is to say it is not in Americans’ interest to prevent state failure there? If the US government is not interested in Central Africans' security, obviously, there is a disconnect between the …

Conceptualizing And Measuring Energy Security: A Synthesized Approach, Benjamin K. Sovacool, Ishani Mukherjee

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This article provides a synthesized, workable framework for analyzing national energy security policies and performance. Drawn from research interviews, survey results, a focused workshop, and an extensive literature review, this article proposes that energy security ought to be comprised of five dimensions related to availability, affordability, technology development, sustainability, and regulation. We then break these five dimensions down into 20 components related to security of supply and production, dependency, and diversification for availability; price stability, access and equity, decentralization, and low prices for affordability; innovation and research, safety and reliability, resilience, energy efficiency, and investment for technology development; land use, …

Redefining Security In Sub-Saharan Africa, Winta Sintayehu Gebremariam

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

New and challenging threats to humans are currently on the rise. These threats to human well being have been neglected and ignored within the traditional conception of security. Security studies have mainly focused on traditional threats, mostly military and political. Although still important, this perspective lacks the ability to address nontraditional threats that are killing and injuring millions each year. Each year, millions die of diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, hunger, and water related diseases among others. Although these threats are widespread throughout the world, Sub-Saharan Africa bears the brunt of these threats. This thesis proposes an ecological approach …

Modern-Day Slavery And Human Trafficking: An Overlooked Issue, Michelle Kuhl

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

Slavery and human trafficking have become a widespread problem across the globe today. Practices including debt bondage, forced labor, sexual slavery, and more are occurring in every country, including here in the United States. It has been widely overlooked, and although there are several laws and declarations outlawing the practice of slavery, it still occurs. Neoliberalism and globalization are considered in this thesis as contributors to modern-day slavery and trafficking in persons. Additionally, specific case studies of a few different nations are provided to clarify the topic and help the reader create a personal connection to the issue. A lot …

Multiparty Democracies And Rapid Economic Growth: A Twenty-First Century Breakthrough?, Devin K. Joshi

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This essay examines whether developing countries with competitive multiparty democracies may be just as capable of sustaining rapid economic growth as single-party states. It begins with a literature review identifying political stability and the ability to mobilize labor and capital production inputs as key factors behind sustained rapid growth. It then develops the hypothesis that under certain conditions, multiparty democracies may be strong in these dimensions, but ceteris paribus, single-party states are likely to have an advantage. I test this hypothesis by exploring historical trends in rapid growth over the last five decades. Statistical regression analysis confirms that most sustained …

Psychological Assessment: What Will The Future Bring?, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The author discusses the (de)valuation of psychological assessment from various perspectives.

A Centrist Solution To Central American Violence And Inequality, Devin Joshi

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The northern triangle of Central America (El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras) has experienced horrific violence, poverty, and a vicious cycle of human rights violations for decades. Repeated natural disasters and the re-routing of the drug trade through Central America are not helping the situation. On the other hand, nearby Costa Rica has achieved a much higher standard of human rights, public safety, and political stability. Why? Costa Rica has put in place four pillars of development and stability lacking in most other countries in the region: a stronger state, an educated population, inter-racial cooperation, and a more inclusive democracy. For …

Fiscal Federalism And Nigeria's Development: Comparative Perspectives From Canadian Fiscal Federalism, Olumide Victor Ekanade

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

This paper evaluates the historical dynamics that have shaped the development of fiscal federalism in Nigeria and Canada over the years. It contends that certain contradictions have inhibited the efficient and equitable allocation of tax powers and expenditure responsibilities in Nigeria. These include Nigeria's defective federal structure, military rule, Presidential federalism, politicized sharing principles, and the parochial political culture. These absurdities now threaten the stability of the Nigerian federation. The paper submits that the Canadian Federation offers a viable option for renewal with principles such as autonomy of sub national units, the predominance of the civic culture, scientific equalization, and …

June Roundtable: Human Rights In Central America, Introduction, Claudia Fuentes

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

“The Tormented Isthmus ”. The Economist. April 14 2011.

The Hearts And Minds Of The Citizens, Brooke Ackerly

Human Rights & Human Welfare

If the US contributes increased military support to Guatemala under the premise of curtailing the drug trade, it could inadvertently further destabilize this already politically unstable country. It certainly will not contribute to developing a sense of political alliance in the hearts and minds of its citizens. Concerns about destabilization in Guatemala (and Central America more generally) and the role of this destabilization in facilitating the drug trade have led the Economist to suggest that the solution is to increase military foreign aid to Guatemala.

Generic Wish-Lists For State-Centric Policies, Edzia Carvalho

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The Central America depicted in the article under review resembles a region visited by the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse—colonial Conquest, civil War, Famine and other natural disasters, and poverty, disease and Death. Added to this list of woes are the recent drug-fueled conflict, democratic instability, weak state capacity, and the socio-economic fallout of the economic recession in the United States. While the first half of the article records these problems, the author shifts gears in the second half and provides an array of responses to these challenges, with a forceful recommendation that states in the region focus their efforts …

Conflict Resolution Agenda: Approaching Its Expiration Date, Jonas Claes

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Conflict resolution scholars and policy-makers have traditionally prioritized research and policy measures dealing with political violence, treating criminal violence as a contextual factor in their analysis or as a subordinate policy concern. One may wonder why the value of a casualty differs depending on whether the fatal blow was caused by a tank, a gang knife, or even a typhoon. The prioritization of political violence over criminal violence seems morally unjustified considering that the killing rates in Guatemala and El Salvador are higher now than during the civil wars that ended in the 1990s. Despite similarities in the causes, manifestations, …

The Politics Of Health Outcomes And Income Inequality: A Time Series Cross-Sectional Analysis Of County-Level Mortality Rates In The United States, Timothy H. Callaghan

Honors Scholar Theses

: Health inequalities are pervasive in the United States today. Despite social epidemiologists frequently citing political and economic factors for this variance, political science has largely ignored these issues. Given this gap in the literature and the importance of the issue, more research is clearly needed to better understand the political and economic causes and implications of these health disparities. This study analyzes the topic in depth, examining how income inequality, which is believed to be a key factor in explaining health inequalities, is related to mortality rates at the county level. Examining aggregate data from all US counties from …

Promises And Human Rights: The Obama Administration On Immigrant Detention Policy Reform, José Villalobos

Selected Works Temporary Series

This article evaluates the Obama administration’s efforts towards reforming U.S. immigration detention policies. Over the past decade, immigrant rights advocates have increasingly criticized certain policies of the U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) system of immigration detention, including the widespread use of private contractors, lack of proper oversight, grouping of violent criminals and non-violent undocumented immigrants (particularly minority women and children) in holding cells, and neglect of detained immigrants in need of medical attention. In reviewing these developments, I contend that the Obama administration must take substantive steps towards reforming the existing system, particularly by instituting legally enforceable standards with …

Per Pupil Spending: How Much Difference Does A Dollar Make?, Nicole Anderson

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Education. The one thing everyone needs and no one thinks is good enough. Wherever students and policy makers turn there is the desire for something more, something better, coming out of the public education system. Over the years more and more funding has been poured into the education system in attempt to increase the student success rates and intellect of American students. However, American students are still behind internationally and more and more jobs are going to students from different countries. Is there a point when the money being funneled into education doesn’t make enough difference in student achievement and …

Promises And Human Rights: The Obama Administration On Immigrant Detention Policy Reform, José Villalobos

Departmental Papers (PS)

This article evaluates the Obama administration’s efforts towards reforming U.S. immigration detention policies. Over the past decade, immigrant rights advocates have increasingly criticized certain policies of the U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) system of immigration detention, including the widespread use of private contractors, lack of proper oversight, grouping of violent criminals and non-violent undocumented immigrants (particularly minority women and children) in holding cells, and neglect of detained immigrants in need of medical attention. In reviewing these developments, I contend that the Obama administration must take substantive steps towards reforming the existing system, particularly by instituting legally enforceable standards with …

Russia At War: Chechnya, Georgia, And Theories Of Foreign Policy, Tyler J. Pack

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The conflicts in Chechnya and Georgia are for Russia the seminal policy events of the turbulent post-­‐Soviet era. Learning about Russian conflict policy thinking with respect to these cases should help to illuminate broader Russian foreign policy objectives and tendencies. Even though the Chechen Wars were by nature domestic conflicts, I believe that trends and patterns from that case, combined with insights from the Georgian conflict, can help identify strengths and weaknesses of major Russian foreign policy theories.

Though there are many such theories, I see that most fall into one of two broad categories. While there is some overlap, …

Fad Effects: Patterns In International Policy, Rebecca Funke

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This paper explores the way in which international policies move from country to country. I propose that the spread of policy adoption, internationally, mirrors how a fad in the fashion industry is diffused. The primary point of this paper is to evaluate four case studies (policies) and study how they transitioned from one country to another. Also addressed will be the question of how these policies start, whether there are particular countries prone to starting the diffusion process or if there is some other explanation for their origins. This study specifically looks at the dissemination of women’s suffrage, the adoption …

Impact Of Sanctions And Isolation Measurement With North Korea, Burma/Myanmar, Iran And Zimbabwe As Case Studies, Clara Portela

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The present study explores how the introduction of targeted sanctions has transformed the practice of international organisations, looking at the examples of North Korea, Burma/Myanmar, Iran and Zimbabwe.

Although the ultimate effectiveness of the individual sanctions measures can hardly be ascertained, not least due to their co-existence with unilateral sanctions proactively enforced by the US, the analysis demonstrates that the character of sanctions measures, and the changing nature of the international system, has put the use of sanctions and isolation measures in different terms than was the case just a couple of decades ago.

While it is beyond the scope …

Southern Exceptionalism And Its Impact On Environmental Attitude, Summer Dawn Woehr

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, the environment has become a top concern for many people. Scientific studies have shown evidence of immediate and future threats on our environment. Despite the vast amount of evidence, many people (especially in the South) do not believe there is a human cause for global warming, a fundamental part of the environmental movement. Literature suggests Southern exceptionalism may a play a part in shaping attitudes toward environmental policies in the South. Further, a recent look at V.O. Key Jr.'s 1949 Southern Politics in State and Nation suggests that religion has since been overlooked as an explanation for …

Evaluation Of Interim Sessions In State Legislatures, Laurie Erin Russell

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Various authors have analyzed the work of state legislatures during the regular session; however, there is a noticeable void in the study of the functionality of the legislative process during the interim session. The interim session refers to the time span between regular legislative sessions, which varies in duration dependent on the state. It should not be deducted that the lack of research devoted to the interim session evaluation is because the legislative workload is dormant during this period. The findings of this paper support the concept that interim session activity merits evaluation since it is a contributing factor to …

Beyond The Demographic Transition: The Case Of Japan, Mary Beth Horiai

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

A combination of declining birthrates and increasing life expectancy in industrial countries has led to aging populations. In addition, more rapidly declining birth rates combined with only slowly increasing life spans has led to declining populations in some countries. These continuing demographic shifts are likely to be accompanied by economic, political and social changes. Japan is unique relative to other countries in four ways: 1) it has reached the condition of aging faster than any other industrialized country, 2) it has the highest life expectancy rate among major industrialized countries, 3) the proportion of elderly population (over 65) is the …

The Delicate (And Mammoth) Task Of Managing Expectations, Tan K. B. Eugene

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Assistant professor of law Eugene Tan comments on the need to manage the expectations of Singaporeans in the new political landscape.

Shaping Water Policy: Political Influences In The European Union And United States, Christopher Young

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

No abstract provided.

Decision-Making Techniques Used By Elected Officials, Michael Gordon

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

Politicians often make decisions that lead to contradictory outcomes from situations with seemingly similar circumstances and related factors. Recent examples include the U.S. reaction to the uprising in Iran contrasted with the call for the ousting of president Hosni Mubarak after the 18 Day Revolution in Egypt.

This frustrating reality, frequently based on perceived risks of publication of state secrets, has various far-reaching effects. Two effects of this reality include the loss of trust in government and government officials to do the right thing as well as the frequency of market fluctuations.

Booms And Busts: Russia And Its Oil, 1970 To 2011 And Beyond, Cliff Gaddy

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

For 40 years Russia’s domestic economic and political development and its foreign policy ambitions have been driven by the varying fortunes of its oil and gas wealth. The story continues to play out today, with crucial global consequences. Russia remains the world’s largest producer of oil and gas. It holds the third largest foreign exchange reserves in the world. Understanding the role of Russia’s energy wealth is key to understanding what role the country may play in world energy security and geopolitics in the years ahead.

Panel Discussion Presentation: Everything Is Connected — Why Mexico’S Problems Are Everyone’S Problems On The Colorado River, And The Other Way Around, Bret C. Birdsong

North American Energy Water Nexus Roundtable

Panel Discussion: U.S.-Mexico Transboundary Perspectives

Colorado River Compact:

Allocates water among Upper Basin and Lower Basin
- 7.5 maf for each basin
- Extra 1 maf for lower basin

Supplies Mexico first from surplus above total apportionment to upper an lower basins
- If surplus insufficient to supply Mexico, then Mexico’s share supplied equally by upper and lower basins

Upper division states “shall not cause” flow to lower basin to be less than 75 maf in 10 years