Military and Veterans Studies Commons^™

"Chinese Military Space Power: U.S. Department Of Defense Annual Reports, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Following instructions received from the U.S. Congress in the 2000 National Defense Authorization Act, the Department of Defense prepared an annual report on Chinese military power. This report contains classified and unclassif ied editions. Documenting Chinese military space power developments was one of the provisions in this law’s authorizing language. This article will examine how Chinese military space power documents have been described by the Department of Defense during this report's existence through 2015 and detail how members of Congress and Congressional committee hearing witnesses reacted to these developments in Congressional hearing transcripts and in Congressional debate through Fall 2015.

Sustainable Development Goals Worth Sharing, Erika Simpson

Political Science Publications

The international community has agreed upon another set of goals for the next 15 years. On the table are no less than 169 objectives and 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The new aspirations are summarized and the merits and demerits of further elaboration and measurement including country-specific deadlines and targets are discussed. The hefty budget to achieve all 17 goals is estimated at more than $4 trillion US a year. North American policy-makers need to be aware of humankind’s shared aspirations as they consider the new and expensive SDGs. Foreign aid is one of the instruments of North American foreign …

Professionals And Soldiers: Measuring Professionalism In The Thai Military, Punchada Sirivunnabood, Jacob Ricks

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Thailand's military has recently reclaimed its role as the central pillar of Thai politics. This raises an enduring question in civil-military relations: why do people with guns choose to obey those without guns? One of the most prominent theories in both academic and policy circles is Samuel Huntington's argument that professional militaries do not become involved in politics. We engage this premise in the Thai context. Utilizing data from a new and unique survey of 569 Thai military officers as well as results from focus groups and interviews with military officers, we evaluate the attitudes of Thai servicemen and develop …

U.S. Congressional Committee Hearings On Korea During The 113th Congress 2013-2014: Overseeing Multifaceted Aspects Of Washington's Peninsular Interests, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Numerous U.S. government agencies are involved in developing and implementing U.S. policy toward Korean Peninsula events, trends, and developments. Those studying U.S. government policies toward this region need to pay particular attention to the role played by U.S. Congressional committees in this policymaking. Congressional committees are responsible for approving new legislation, revising existing legislation, funding U.S. government programs and conducting oversight of these programs. This work examines Congressional committee hearings and debate during the 113th Congress (2013–2014) and reveals that multiple Congressional committees with varying jurisdictions seek to shape U.S. government Korean Peninsula policy and that this policymaking covers more …

Review Essay, William M. Rose, Andrew Majkut, Michelle Strayer, Christopher Chen

Government and International Relations Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Ua1c11/84 David Livingston Photograph Collection, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Photographs created by and about David Livingston during his time as leader of the Gemini jazz bands.

The Implementation Of Governance To Counter Islamist Militancy In Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province, David Robert Diorio

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Militancy inspired by Islamists is escalating globally, and government action is necessary to protect vulnerable populations. Security professionals generally agree that governance may complement the use of force to defeat militants; however, current doctrine does not address the concurrent integration of governance in a comprehensive strategy. This interpretive case study explored Pakistan's application of governance during the 2009 Khyber operation in Swat Valley, code-named Operation Rah-e-Rast. The central research question focused on how governance activities were integrated with military operations to subdue militancy. Data were collected through interviews with 6 planners, Pakistani secondary source survey data, and government artifacts. Data …

Mutually Assured Survival: An Analysis Of Globalization’S Influence On Nuclear Disarmament, Ryan Zehner

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Nuclear arms have revolutionized the ways by which human beings are able to harm one another. Omnipresent in the status quo is a nuclear tension, and whether subtly or more overtly, this tension underlies a great many international relationships. While Westphalian paranoia and neorealist power perceptions encourage populations to continue placing their faith in nuclear umbrellas and deterrence strategies, scholars and activists increasingly claim that without the realization of universal disarmament, humanity concedes to the inevitability of future nuclear detonation.

New disarmament initiatives concentrate heavily on the implications of nuclear weaponry in a sense that supersedes the security of only …

Flight From The Fight? Civil War And Its Effects On Refugees, Paul D. Lowry

Student Publications

Civil war dominates conflict in the modern era. An effect of this is a large number of refugees, who flee from war-torn countries in favor of lands where they can live in safety. This paper examines the extent to which the number of these refugees is affected by the number of civil wars a country has had in a year. Previous literature suggests that civil wars increase destruction in a state and threaten people’s lives, which encourages migration out of a warring country. Based on this, this paper hypothesizes that increasing the number of civil wars in a country will …

Education: A More Powerful Weapon Than War?, Maja K. Thomas

Student Publications

In this paper, I analyze the impact of education on civil war onset, utilizing variables measuring length of compulsory education and number of internal armed conflicts in a given country per year. Using data from the Quality of Government Institute’s Quality of Government Standard Time Series data set, I test this hypothesis and find that an increase in compulsory education length decreases the expected number of internal armed conflicts. The results suggest further importance of education as a great equalizer among individuals as well as nations.

China's Nine-Dashed Map: Continuing Maritime Source Of Geopolitical Tension, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

The South China Sea (SCS) is becoming an increasingly contentious source of geopolitical tension due to its significance as an international trade route, possessor of potentially significant oil and natural gas resources, China’s increasing diplomatic and military assertiveness, and the U.S.’ recent and ongoing Pacific Pivot strategy. Countries as varied as China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia and other adjacent countries have claims on this region’s islands and natural resources. China has been particularly assertive in asserting its SCS claims by creating a nine-dash line map claiming to give it de facto maritime control over this entire region without regard to …

Norms And Military Interventions, Guest Post By Jacob I. Ricks, Jacob Ricks

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

On 10 February 2015, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, with his usual candor, told reporters that “Thailand is different from other countries. If something cannot be solved [by the government], the military will solve it.”[1] This statement embodies a number of assumptions, but perhaps most important for Thailand today is the idea that military intervention is a perfectly legitimate method of overcoming political challenges.

U.S. Foreign Policy In Pakistan: Bringing Pakistan Into Line With American Counterterrorism Interests, Henry E. Appel

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis is a review of U.S. foreign policy in Pakistan through a realist lens. It critiques the current state of U.S. policy and recommends that the United States prioritize national security interests, particularly with regards to counterterrorism, over building Pakistani democracy and running civilian aid programs. It then further recommends ways for the United States government to account for ground level dynamics in Pakistani politics in crafting foreign policy aimed at bringing Pakistan into line with U.S. counterterrorism priorities.

Between Warrior And Helplessness In The Valley Of Azawa - The Struggle Of The Kel Tamashek In The War Of The Sahel, Patrick James Christian

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an Investigation into the Tuareg involvement in violent conflict in the Sahara and the Sahel of North Africa from a sociological psychological perspective of unmet human needs. The research begins by establishing the structure and texture of the sociological, psychological, and emotional life patterns of their existence when not involved in violent conflict. This is followed by an examination of the pathology of Tuareg social structures that are engaged in intra and inter communal violence as perpetrators, victims, and bystanders. The first part of the research establishes normal conditions of the sociological life cycle and highlights natural …

Navy, Russian (1991-), Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Provides a historical overview and analysis of events affecting the Russian Navy from 1991-present. Emphasizes how this force still has mammoth strategic ambitions despite limited resources and an obsolete infrastructure. Stresses the ongoing presence of nuclear weapons, the increasing importance of the Northern Sea Route in Russian and international trade and strategy, and how U.S. and NATO countries budget constraints may make it hard for them to resist Russian assertiveness in areas such as Ukraine.

State Defense Council, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Provides an overview and analysis of the Russian Federation's State Defense Council which was Russia's equivalent to the U.S. National Security Council for a few years after 1996.

Strategic Rocket Forces, Soviet, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Describes and analyzes the historic development and evolution of the Soviet Union's Strategic Rocket Forces which were a key part of this country's nuclear weapons arsenal. Covers the technical, political, economic, and military reasons for this force's development. U.S. efforts to monitor and assess the quantity and quality of these weapons are also covered.

Yom Kippur War (October 6-25, 1973), Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Reviews and analyses U.S. and Soviet policymaking during the Yom Kippur War between Israel and various Arab countries during October 1973.

Atomic Weapons Program, Soviet, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Provides a history of the Soviet Union and Russian Federation's nuclear weapons program. It emphasizes the role of espionage in acquiring this capability, personalities such as Igor Kurchatov and Andrei Sakharov, this arsenal's multifaceted capabilities, arms control treaties with the U.S., the Nunn-Lugar Agreement, the environmental damage caused by this program, and the continuing role of nuclear weapons in Russian national security.

Army, Russian (1991-), Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Provides a history of the Russian Army from the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 until the "annexation" of Crimea in 2014. Places emphasis on this force's strengths and weaknesses, military operations during this period, and emerging security challenges.

China's Nine-Dashed Map: Maritime Source Of Geopolitical Tension, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

The South China Sea (SCS) is becoming an increasingly contentious source of geopolitical tension due to its significance as an international trade route, possessor of potentially significant oil and natural gas resources, China’s increasing diplomatic and military assertiveness, and the U.S.’ recent and ongoing Pacific Pivot strategy. Countries as varied as China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia and other adjacent countries have claims on this region’s islands and natural resources. China has been particularly assertive in asserting its SCS claims by creating a nine-dash line map claiming to give it de facto maritime control over this entire region without regard to …

Vukovar, Siege Of, 1991, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Provides an over view of fhe siege of the Croatian city Vukovar bu the Serbian Military during the Serbo-Croatian war between May-November 1991.

Nato In The Balkans, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

This encyclopedia entry examines the contemporary and recent historic role of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Balkan countries. It also discusses and emerging security concerns affecting these countries.

Yugoslav-Soviet Split, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Describes the political and military split between the Communist countries of Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union in the years after World War II until Yugoslavia's disintegration in the early 1990s.

Research Brief: "Expedited Citizenship For Sale: Estimating The Effect Of Executive Order 13269 On Noncitizen Military Enlistments", Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This study utilized empirical data to analyze the impact of Executive Order 13269, a recruiting strategy enacted by former president George W. Bush that provides expedited citizenship to non-citizens who join the U.S. military, and it found that there was no overall effect of the Executive Order on the number of non-citizen enlistments into the military. In practice, non-citizens interested in U.S. citizenship should consider military enlistment as an alternative to the typical path to citizenship, and both non-citizen and citizen veterans should familiarize themselves with the plethora of resources available to them. In policy, the Department of Defense might …

The Determining Factors Of U.S. Humanitarian Interventions: A Case Study Of Kosovo And Syria, Elijah J. Anderson

Honors College Theses

In 1999, the U.S. and NATO went to war against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia under the guise of a humanitarian intervention. American citizens outraged by images Kosovar refugees fleeing their homeland helped prompt this military action that eventually freed Kosovo from the grips of Yugoslavia. In 2011 Americans began to be exposed to images of Syrian war victims and refugees fleeing violence and persecution in Syria. The U.S., however, has remained militarily uninvolved in this conflict despite the mass scale of atrocities being committed by the Syrian government. Through this thesis I attempt to explain why the U.S. response …

The Effects Of American Involvement In Northern Uganda's Conflict With The Lord's Resistance Army, Karen J. Norris

Celebration

This project explores the impact of American governmental and non-governmental actors in the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) conflict in northern Uganda and southern Sudan, particularly the U.S. military, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and various non-governmental organizations (NGOs). It also examines the efficacy of these various forms of intervention, specifically the deployment of U.S. Special Forces tracking the LRA, and the initiation of various soldier reintegration, governance, and sustainability programs organized by USAID and NGOs such as Invisible Children. Additionally, this project seeks to uncover underlying geopolitical objectives, such as gaining alliances in the 'Global War on Terror' …

“Little Soldiers With Big Guns”: The Language Of Child-Soldiering In Africa, Karen J. Norris

Student Publications

This project examines the language of child-soldiering in Africa, specifically in Sierra Leone, Rwanda, and Uganda, comparing its use between Western observers and the Africans who experienced the conflict first hand. It concludes that Westerners unilaterally display ethnocentric conceptions of the sanctity of childhood in their admonitions of child-soldiering, while former child-soldiers, perpetrators, victims and local aid workers exhibit more diverse perspectives that more accurately reflect the complexity of the conflicts. Furthermore, it concludes that the use of rhetorical, monolithic language regarding child-soldiering perpetuates stereotypes about African conflict and state-failure while diverting attention from underlying root causes of conflict, and …

The War Powers Resolution Of 1973 And Its Relevance In The “War On Terror”, Samuel Day

Political Science Theses and Capstones

In September of 2013, President Obama asked Congress to take a vote that would authorize the United States to use military drones against the Syrian army and provide support for the Syrian rebels. This action by President Obama raised the question that many have been wondering since the creation of our country, who has the power to declare war and initiate hostilities against those who threaten the United States? My thesis focuses on the War Powers Resolution of 1973 and the arguments surrounding its Constitutionality, specifically the arguments supporting the Executive or Legislative branches. For my research supporting the argument …

Export Controls: A Contemporary History, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Provides highlights of my recently published book Export Controls: A Contemporary History. Describes the roles played by multiple U.S. Government agencies and congressional oversight committees in this policymaking arena including the Commerce, Defense, State, and Treasury Departments. It also reviews the roles played by international government organizations such as the Missile Technology Control Regime, export oriented businesses, and research intensive universities.