Political Science Commons^™

Scared To Give? A Look Into How Terrorism Affects The Flow Of Foreign Aid, Madelyn Jarjoura

Honors Theses

This thesis examines the role of formal ties to terrorism and its effect on foreign aid

from donor countries considered either democratic or not. I hypothesize that as more seats are occupied in a recipient country’s government by a known terrorist organization, the less total aid democratic donor countries will send to that country (vice versa for non-democratic donors). However, with stronger ties to terrorism, the more aid democratic donors will bypass through NGOs (vice versa for non-democratic donors). To test this, I used Hezbollah’s seats in Lebanon’s Parliament from the years 1995 – 2021 as a case study for …

International Human Rights Through Queer Theory: A Discursive Analysis Of The Russian, Lithuanian, And Kyrgyz Lgbtq+ Lived Experience Within The Global Paradigm, Mariem Youssef

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis attempts to shed light on the subordination of international human rights law to that of the paradigm of international relations through asserting the existence of US Empire i.e., that emulates historical empires, British and French, which aims to emancipate subjugated minorities, formerly women and presently LGBTQ+ individuals from their national oppressive regimes. This is achieved through a discussion of pervious literature that discusses queer theory with a special focus on Russia, Lithuania, and Kyrgyzstan as the main case studies. While the overt intentionality of the “empire” is to protect LGBTQ+ individuals through perpetuating the prototype of the “International …

Restricted At Home, Impeded Abroad: A Study Of Domestic Human Rights Practices And Women’S Global Economic Power, Cameron Elizabeth Cheatham

Honors College Theses

To what extent does the practice of human rights as universal or culturally relative impact women’s status in the global economy? While there is already evidence to show how women have less power in countries that practice culturally relative human rights, this study aims to explore how the domestic practice of human rights influences women’s global power through an analysis of women’s financial inclusion. Using a cross-national, quantitative analysis, I show that human rights practices in the domestic arena directly impact the economic power of women in the global economy. When human rights practices at home are more universal in …

Progress Reimagined: A Generation Z Perspective On Belfast In Relation To The Unsdgs., Lucy Love Haman, Rebecca F. Macleod, Emilee E. Ernster, Camryn Moore, Erin Miller, Daron Baltazar, Ricardo Jackson

Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)

This research explores a contemporary outsider view of Belfast, through the eyes of Generation Z visiting college students, in relation to how three United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are carried out (Good Health and Well-Being, Climate Action, and Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions). To learn through firsthand accounts, the researchers utilized ethnographic and phenomenological methods, as interacting with locals to gather community inputs, surveying different groups in the city, Abstract: recording quotes said by citizens and displayed at billboards, and For Peer Review applying personal sensory experiences. It was found that a political deadlock plays a major role in the …

The Relationship Between “Black Lives Matter” Movement Protests And Police Arrests In New York City, Chicago, And Los Angeles: An Empirical Analysis, Lukas Louwagie

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The summer of 2020 marked a boiling point of protest and frustration at long-criticized police behavior in the United States. The events that summer revealed the “Black Lives Matter” (BLM) movement as something that could not be ignored and was capable of drawing national support and attention across many dividing lines (Mitchell 2020). Today, it seems evident that the BLM movement has had a substantial impact on modern political discourse—yet its impact on police behavior and reform, the primary target of the movement, is murky. Police departments across the nation are pushing back against calls to defund and reform their …

Flashpoints In Small State Diplomacy: The Effects Of Strategic Alignment, Democratic Norms, And Domestic Support In Ukraine And Taiwan On Us Commitments, Cooper T. Wilson

Senior Theses

In the field of international relations, the fate of small and mid-sized nations is often analyzed through the lens of great power politics, but this perspective misses half of the story. In this paper, I ask the question: what factors internal to smaller states affect their ability to court Western support? I compare the cases of Ukraine and Taiwan, as both are geopolitical flashpoints with a much larger aggressor, are widely researched for their implications on the global balance of power, yet lack sufficient research regarding their own actions on the world stage. Looking at the history of both states …

Book Review: Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler And Stalin, Rev. Dr. Wylie W. Johnson

Parameters Bookshelf – Online Book Reviews

Author: Timothy Snyder

Reviewed by Rev. Dr. Wylie W. Johnson, US Army War College class of 2010

Covering the rules of Hitler and Stalin between 1933 and 1945, Bloodlands: Europe between Hitler and Stalin, explores three periods of genocide in which “two great ideological powers that worked out their Darwinian fantasies at the expense of peoples they identified by religion, ethnicity, ideology, and location.” In addition to military casualties, 14 million noncombatants died. The reviewer notes, “Bloodlands is an important book for US military leaders of all ranks for two reasons. First, it is a stark warning to …

Book Review: Corruption In The Americas, José De Arimatéia Da Cruz

Parameters Bookshelf – Online Book Reviews

Editors: Jonathan D. Rosen and Hanna S. Kassab

Reviewed by Dr. José de Arimatéia da Cruz, professor of international relations and comparative politics, Georgia Southern University, and visiting professor, Center for Strategic Leadership, US Army War College

Jonathan D. Rosen and Hanna S. Kassab argue in Corruption in the Americas that corruption is not only an industry but has also become an integral part of Latin American societies. The book also notes that support for democracy in many Latin American countries (despite years of authoritarianism) is at an all-time low. The reviewer recommends this book saying, “The book highlights the …

Book Review: The Good Captain: A Personal Memoir Of America At War, Joseph J. Collins

Parameters Bookshelf – Online Book Reviews

Author: R. D. Hooker Jr.

Reviewed by Joseph J. Collins, PhD, retired US Army colonel

Retired Army colonel Rich Hooker’s The Good Captain is a memoir spanning the Cold War through the Global War on Terror. Hooker’s deployments take up the bulk of the book and include Grenada with the 82nd Airborne Division, Somalia to work with legendary Ambassador Bob Oakley, Zaire to coordinate humanitarian operations in Rwanda, Bosnia, and Kosovo as a parachute infantry battalion commander, the Sinai Peninsula for peacekeeping operations, command of the Dragon Brigade in Iraq and, in his last year of service, Afghanistan with the …

Book Review: The Military And The Market, Ryan Orsini

Parameters Bookshelf – Online Book Reviews

Editors: Jennifer Mittelstadt and Mark R. Wilson

Reviewed by Major Ryan Orsini, Infantry officer, US Army

The Military and the Market is filled with historical and political science case studies to help US policymakers and practitioners navigate the interrelationships between the Department of Defense and the private market. The studies present the success and failure “of regulation and adaptation of individual markets, from on-post housing to local prostitution, and their impact on the military mission and overall social equity.” This book is well suited for policymakers and practitioners at the local and national levels.

Drug Cartels And Government In Mexico: A Replication And Extension, Lindsey A. Beckstead

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This paper analyzes the relationship between drug cartels and the government in Mexico. It also seeks to determine the reasons for an upsurge of violence and cartel related murders in Mexico.

Disaffection And Othering: Beyond Our Coordinates, Christen Kadkhodai

War, Diplomacy, and Society (MA) Theses

"Othering” is just one of many tools nations use during war time to garner support for the war effort. “Othering” in media often goes undetected, a subtle framing of one’s own viewpoint as the viewpoint and the gaze, often at the exclusion and alienation of others. This collection of essays explores how individuals and institutions “Othered” during wartime. Essays “A Review of Walt Disney’s Life and ‘Othering’” and “Walt Disney’s ‘Reluctant Dragon’ and the 1941 Strike,” study how and why Walt Disney “Othered” certain audiences in his films The Reluctant Dragon, Saludos Amigos, and The Three Caballeros. …

Contextualization Of El Salvador’S Need For A Powerful Executive: A Lockean Analysis Of Nayib Bukele's Approach To Public Security In A Historical, Political, And Social Synthesis, Manuel Agresio Girón Alemán

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations

For most of the three decades that have presided over the Salvadoran Civil War, El Salvador has been a state tormented by high levels of crime, especially the country's homicide rate, a product of the strong presence of criminal organizations such as MS-13 and 18th Street Gang. The current president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, who took office in 2019, has declared war on gangs under a state of emergency where the human rights of suspected criminals are violated, particularly their due process guarantees. This has caused Bukele’s government to draw strong condemnation and criticism from foreign governments and human …

A Call To Action: Lessons From Ukraine For The Future Force, Katie Crombe, John A. Nagl

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

©2023 John A. Nagl. Fifty years ago, the US Army faced a strategic inflection point after a failed counterinsurgency effort in Vietnam. In response to lessons learned from the Yom Kippur War, the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command was created to reorient thinking and doctrine around the conventional Soviet threat. Today’s Army must embrace the Russo-Ukrainian conflict as an opportunity to reorient the force into one as forward-thinking and formidable as the Army that won Operation Desert Storm. This article suggests changes the Army should make to enable success in multidomain large-scale combat operations at today’s strategic inflection …

The Double-Edged Sword: Examining The Contradictory Nature Of Savak And The U.S.-Iran Cliency Relationship, Braedon Mcghee

History in the Making

The Iranian Revolution of 1979 marked the end of the diplomatic relationship between Iran and the United States. This relationship, cultivated by the United States throughout the Cold War, served the interests of the United States’ hegemonic quest to contain communism while also appealing to the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi’s political goals. This paper analyzes the complex and contradictory nature of the U.S.-Iran relationship during the reign of the Shah, specifically focusing on the role of the Shah’s brutal secret police force Sâzemân-e Ettelâ’ât va Amniat-e Kešvar (SAVAK), created, directed, and funded by the United States to consolidate …

The Impact Of Geopolitical Risks On Price Variation And Political Trust In France: Analyzing The Ukraine-Russia Conflict, Olivier Sempiga

The Journal of International Relations, Peace Studies, and Development

Geopolitical risks (GPRs) have varied consequences over countries and over time. COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine are some of the recent GPRs. The conflict in Ukraine has had far-reaching economic consequences, not only for the countries directly involved in it but also for their trading partners and allies, and on the global economy in general. France, as one of Ukraine and Russia's major trading partners, has also felt the impact of the conflict on its economy. Using data from the French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE), the paper investigates the impact of GPRs caused by the …

Decolonizing Kyiv’S Politics Of Memory: Current And Potential Implications Of Russia’S 2022 Invasion Of Ukraine On Ukrainian Monuments And Toponyms., Camilla Gironi

The Journal of International Relations, Peace Studies, and Development

History is the basis of our identity, but it sometimes represents a trap. As well explained by Keith Lowe, monuments are representative of our values, and every society deludes itself that its values will be everlasting. However, in a world changing at an unprecedented pace while we move on, urban furnishment such as monuments or streets’ names remain frozen in time. Statues and toponyms that were erected and chosen a long time ago may no longer be representative of the values we now treasure. While Russia’s aggression is still raging, a lot has been written on the potential implications of …

Bring On The Heat, Renée Stoute

The Journal of International Relations, Peace Studies, and Development

According to the World Economic Forum, in retaliation to European Union sanctions and embargoes, Russia cut EU gas flows by around 80% between May and October 2022 (WEF, 2022). The EU, in turn, has had to not only reduce energy consumption within the public and private sectors but has also scrambled to find energy alternatives to compensate for its energy shortcomings. However, due to the EU’s rejection of Russian oil and gas, there are now opportunities to embrace more sustainable energy alternatives quicker than previously expected. This could lead to a faster transition towards the use of cleaner and more …

Never Enough: Eu Military Spending Challenges In The Face Of Open Conflict, Katherine Wallentine

The Journal of International Relations, Peace Studies, and Development

The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 sent a jolt of tension and anxiety throughout the European Union, as well as the rest of the world. Lawmakers and strategists scrambled to find a suitable response in the immediate aftermath and now, a year later, the conversation continues as to what the best course of action is for the EU. Should it amplify and radically increase its supranational defense budget and if so, how should it accomplish this monumental task? How much of it should fall on the Member States to meet the two percent threshold as laid out by …

Is The Impact Of The Refugee Crisis More Detrimental To Women And Children? A Case Study Of Ukraine Women In Poland, Carmaniola Benjamin

The Journal of International Relations, Peace Studies, and Development

The conflict between Ukraine and Russia has made the European refugee dilemma, even more challenging. Many individuals specifically women and children have been displaced as a result of the conflict between these two nations. Because of the conflict many Ukrainians seek safety and stability in nearby nations like Poland. But this surge of Ukrainian migrants, has also brought forward several difficulties.