International and Area Studies Commons^™

Shu World Review- April 6th 2026, Diplolab, Seton Hall University

SHU World Review

No abstract provided.

Gender-Based Violence And Botswana's Constitutional Failure To Protect Women's Rights, Cameron Mcdonald

Immigration and Human Rights Law Review

Gender-based violence (“GBV”) remains a pervasive human rights issue throughout Botswana. When it comes to gender equality, Botswana’s dual constitutional and customary legal system is a paradox. Despite its commitment to equality and nondiscrimination, Botswana’s Constitution allows customary courts to discriminate freely to preserve traditional practices that disadvantage women. These traditional practices affect women’s right to property, inheritance, marriage, legal representation, and personal safety. Customary law continues to constrain women’s right to economic autonomy and access to justice, leaving many women dependent on the men who abuse them. As a result, many Batswana women experience structural discrimination in both their …

Bravery And Bayonets: The Nigerian Regiment And The Battle Of Bweho Chini, September 1917, Paul Cronin

Calvert Undergraduate Research Awards

The First World War in East Africa spanned the entirety of the war, from 1914 to 1918, and by the end of the war nearly all of the personnel on both sides were African. Understanding how the war in East Africa was different geographically and militarily from the western front helps to shed light on the unique experience of the men who fought there. My thesis builds on the thesis of Ibiang O. Ewa, that the Nigerian Regiment was crucial to allied victory in the campaign, in his chapter in Africa and the First World War: Remembrance, Memories, and Representations …

Machiavelli’S Realist International Law, Will Iboshi

Araneum: Richmond Journal of American & Global Affairs

By bridging the gap between scholarship on Machiavelli’s realism and legal thought, “Machiavelli’s Realist International Law” supports a historical approach of understanding Machiavellian international law through a realistic, human-centered project for state survival. I argue that if realism shapes the way that law produces order, then our interpretation of Machiavelli’s realism determines how we understand his views on the law’s source and function. Through a careful textual analysis of The Prince and The Discourses on Livy, I frame Machiavelli’s relationship to international law as a historical-ahistorical axis that situates his conception of foreign affairs alongside modern debates about realism and …

Araneum -- Spring 2026

Araneum: Richmond Journal of American & Global Affairs

No abstract provided.

Armed Conflict: Addressing Violations Against Children's Human Rights, Noelia Torres Guillen

Posters - 2026

• Research question: How has armed conflict violated children's human rights, and how have international legal frameworks been effective in addressing these violations?

• The CRC sets the standard international definition, which defines a child as every human being below the age of eighteen years

• There are six grave violations: Killing and maiming of children, the recruitment or use of children as soldiers, sexual violence, abduction, attacks against schools and hospitals, and denial of humanitarian access for children.

• Argument (thesis): Although there are several legal instruments implemented to protect children's human rights during armed conflict, children are still …

Next-Generation Democratic Cyber Statecraft - Balancing The Signal: Shutdown Shocks And Democratic Digital Governance, Scott M. Di Panni

School of Public Policy Capstones

This paper develops Next-Generation Democratic Cyber Statecraft (NG-DCS), a unified strategic doctrine for democratic governments to contest the cognitive domain against authoritarian adversaries. Drawing on twenty-six years of cross-national panel data (1999–2024) spanning 213 countries, game-theoretic modeling, and qualitative case analysis, the paper establishes three interconnected empirical and theoretical foundations. First, cross-national OLS regression across 160+ countries demonstrates that regime type is the dominant structural determinant of internet freedom (R²=0.615, β=2.513, p< 0.001), explaining more than twice the variance attributable to per-capita wealth (R²=0.268). Democratic governance, not economic development, produces open digital environments. Second, a two-way fixed effects (TWFE) difference-in-differences study exploiting government-ordered internet shutdowns as discrete policy interventions finds that digital restrictions causally degrade V-Dem governance quality by 0.21–0.38 standard deviations (p< 0.001 across all specifications). Treatment effects are immediate (β=−0.302 at k=0) and persist through five post-treatment years (β=−0.246 at k=+5), indicating structural rather than transitory governance damage. Parallel trends validation (p=0.352) and Callaway–Sant’Anna heterogeneity-robust estimation (ATT=−0.230, SE=0.077) support causal identification. Instrumental variable triangulation (2SLS β=−0.949, p=0.005) confirms that simultaneity was attenuating, not inflating, the primary estimates. Third, formal game-theoretic analysis reveals that the current U.S.–adversary equilibrium is (Restrain, Escalate)—the risk-dominant but Pareto-inferior outcome of a Stag Hunt structure. China, Russia, North Korea, and Venezuela each occupy structurally distinct positions (Stackelberg commitment, asymmetric two-level, autarky, and reactive trigger, respectively), requiring differentiated doctrinal responses rather than a uniform strategic playbook. Generative AI and algorithmic governance are shown to accelerate cognitive vulnerability by collapsing influence operation costs and exploiting engagement-optimized platform architectures that systematically degrade deliberative capacity in democratic populations.

An Analysis Of The United States Hegemony In Latin America Considering The Current Advancement Of China In The Region, Hernan Mauricio Fajardo Gonzalez

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

The recent advancement of China in Latin America suggests that the traditional hegemony of the United States could be declining. The purpose of this research is to assess the degree in which the American hegemonic position in this region has diminished and what implications this likely phenomenon could eventually bring. Several dimensions of the notion of Hegemony are evaluated such as economic, military, cultural, political, and technological. The concepts of hard power and soft power are considered in order to evaluate the external influences over Latin America. The features of the IR school known as Neorealism are utilized in order …

The Emigration Equation: A Study On Why Individuals Emigrate, Anielka S. Perez Brenes

Tenor of Our Times

Literature about migration often focuses on “refugee crises” or “immigration crises,” but the causes of these crises are those which take place in the origin country. The reasons, or push factors, of why individuals are emigrating from their home countries is the central question of this study. This cross-sectional research study focuses on seven of these potential causes in the year 2024 and spans one hundred and sixty five countries. These seven causes, or the independent variables, are: conflict, human rights, political rights, gross domestic product (GDP), civil liberties, unemployment, and education. This research study as a whole is statistically …

Retail Behaviours And Preferences Of Older Adults In Suburban Malls, Le Ha Linh Phan, Kenneth Choo, Emi Loh, Wensi Lim

ROSA Research Briefs

Singapore’s population is ageing rapidly, with projections indicating that one in four Singaporeans will be aged 65 and above by 2030 (Iparraguirre, 2019). This demographic shift presents significant opportunities for the Silver economy, which refers to economic activities, products, and services designed to meet the needs of older adults. As the market for products that enhance seniors’ quality of life expands (Wong, 2007), the Silver retail sector, comprising businesses that provide age-friendly goods and services, has become an increasingly important component of this landscape (Colurcio et al., 2022).

The Necessity Of U.S. Aid: The Russian-Ukrainian War, Lelin Spriggs

The Dialogue

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the conflict has emerged as a defining foreign-policy challenge of the twenty-first century. In the United States, the war dominates political discourse and continues to shape debates on national security and the appropriate scope of American global leadership. Although President Trump vowed during his campaign to end the war upon entering office, hostilities intensified following his inauguration, prompting renewed policy debates regarding the future and extent of U.S. military and economic support for Kyiv.

This paper argues that the United States must continue providing sustained military and economic …

A National Security Strategy For The Middle East, Vanessa Rice, Rudy Torres, Addy Horgan, Joy Omosa, Mark Westfall

School of Public Policy Capstones

This National Security Strategy addresses the persistent national security challenges the United States faces in the Middle East, a region vital for global energy supply, economic connectivity, and a source of anti-American extremism. Recognizing the failures of past "haphazard experimentation," the strategy proposes a thoughtful, pragmatic plan prioritizing five distinct and congruent interest areas: Maintaining Regional Access, Supporting Regional Stability, Ensuring Energy Security, Defending American Citizens and Personnel, and Preserving and Protecting Western Ideals. The strategy outlines actions such as: countering Chinese and Russian influence through intelligence sharing and defense incentives; containing Iran via a new, permanent nuclear deal and …

Jdm And The Formation Of Japan’S Underground Car Culture: Street Racing, Identity, And Regulation, Lizhou Chen

Student Publications

Japan’s underground car culture is often associated with street racing, JDM, and modified cars, but these visible features developed from broader economic, social, and regulatory conditions. This paper argues that Japan’s underground car culture was shaped by three factors: postwar economic growth that made mass car production feasible, social identity and status attached to car type and driving behavior, and government regulation of the road system and driving habits that forced reckless driving into less visible times and locations. By examining car ownership, kei cars, youth self-expression, gendered meanings of vehicles, road design, and moral expectations around safe driving, this …

Peace Without Security: Intersectional Feminism And The Reintegration Of Colombian Female Ex-Combatants, Savannah Torres

Posters - 2026

This projects speaks to those engaged in gender studies, human security, and post-conflict reintegration by examining why reintegration efforts continue to fall short for female ex-combatants. Focusing on Colombia’s 2016 Peace Agreement and its aftermath, the study analyzes how reintegration frameworks inadequately address the human security needs of former guerrilleras. It asks how reintegration processes fail to account for the intersecting identities of women as gendered, racial, and economic subjects and former combatants, and how these oversights generate persistent vulnerabilities. While existing literature acknowledges entrenched patriarchy in Colombian society, reintegration is frequently framed through victim-oriented lenses that obscure women’s agency. …

Addiction And Dalits: The Impact Of India’S Caste System, Ava Jackson

Audre Lorde Prize

Across global public health and psychology, addiction is defined as a chronic condition that involves compulsive seeking and taking of a substance. In Western frameworks, addiction is often treated as an isolated condition, where the individual is blamed for their actions. In reality, addiction is rooted in biological, psychological, and social factors and is more complex than an individual level. Looking at the Global South, addiction is prominent in Dalit or “untouchable” individuals in India’s caste system, who face exclusion from all forms of society, including education, work, and social experiences. Addiction among Dalit women in India, Bangladesh, and the …

Letter From The Editors, Kyle Giardine

Araneum: Richmond Journal of American & Global Affairs

No abstract provided.

Introduction, Adam Kasti

Araneum: Richmond Journal of American & Global Affairs

No abstract provided.

Does The Form Of Conflict Termination Shape The Scale, Timing, And Selectivity Of External Refugee Return? Comparative Evidence From 30 Countries, And Three Selected Cases (Bosnia, Liberia, And Sri Lanka), Ibrahim Alkaseer

Araneum: Richmond Journal of American & Global Affairs

This study investigates how the form of conflict termination can shape the scale, timing, and selectivity of refugee return. While civil war literature is exhaustive on how the form of conflict termination may influence post-war stability, there is little to no research on how it can impact refugee return. Using a dataset of thirty post-conflict cases and spatial analysis of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sri Lanka, and Liberia, the paper tests whether government victories, rebel victories, or negotiated settlements predict return patterns. Ordinary least squares and Cox hazard models reveal that termination type alone reveals little variation once the models are …

Manufacturing Migrants: How Historical Identity Construction And Bureaucratic Tools Enable Anti- Immigration Politics In The Dominican Republic, Christianne Bertrand

Araneum: Richmond Journal of American & Global Affairs

This paper examines the rise of anti-immigration politics in the Dominican Republic, asking the question: why and how did exclusionary policies targeting Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian descent become viable in this specific context? I contend that contemporary deportation and denationalization policies cannot be explained solely by factors such as economic anxiety, cultural backlash, or right-wing contagion. Instead, anti-immigration politics can take hold when politicians draw on historically constructed processes of “othering” and utilize existing bureaucratic tools to carry out exclusionary policies. Through qualitative analysis of scholarly literature, government documents, international human rights reports, political speeches, and legal rulings and …

A Market Of Care Skills: Profiting From Professional Education And Practice, Yasmin Y. Ortiga

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Who profits from the commodification of care and how does such accumulation occur? Focusing on the case of the nursing care market, this paper shows how professional schools and local hospitals within source nations like the Philippines profit from nurses seeking the credentials to qualify for jobs overseas. While existing studies show how nursing skills are exploited and undervalued, this paper argues that it is the process of skilling itself that allows for the accumulation of profit, regardless of whether nurses leave their origin countries to work abroad. This study reveals how global care economies are tightly linked to local …