Political Science Commons^™

Peace-Building And Stability After Civil Wars: The Cases Of Angola And The Democratic Republic Of The Congo, Ali Elsharkawy

Theses and Dissertations

Why do some rebel groups successfully establish stable and sustainable states after civil wars, while others fail? Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are two African countries that experienced long and bloody civil wars. Despite the commonalities, the two cases strongly diverged in the political outcomes after civil war. Angola successfully made the transition to stability and prosperity, while the DRC slipped back into violence. This thesis compares and contrasts between the two peace- building processes in both countries. The results illustrate that two main variables made the difference between the two cases, the geography of the capital …

A Story Of State Transformation In The Global South: Limited Statehood And Governance In Post-Syria Lebanon, Jodor Jalit

Theses and Dissertations

This research thesis analyzes security governance in areas of limited statehood in the context of state transformation. Specifically, it examines the impact of the 2005 Syrian military withdrawal on the Lebanese state in the realm of security. Briefly, the thesis unveils the coexistence of state and non-state groups and the engagement of non-state actors in state-like practices. That is, it assesses the impact of the 2005 Syrian military withdrawal on the Lebanese state to reveal the relationship its new configuration, relationship with non-state actors, and emerging governance practices. In that sense, this thesis pretends to contribute to the larger body …

Migration Policy In The Era Of Trumpism And Media Spectacle: What A 2024 Trump [Or Other] Presidency Could Mean For Mexico-U.S. Relations [Política Migratoria En La Era Del Trumpismo Y Del Espectáculo Mediático: El Significado De Una Presidencia De Trump U Otro Candidato En 2024 Para Las Relaciones México-Estados Unidos], Terence Garrett

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Donald Trump may be the Republican presidential nominee for the 2024 election and is facing multiple indictments for alleged crimes committed during his presidency. If convicted, this would make a Trump election victory unlikely, although he is the master of the media spectacle and populist authoritarianism –essential components of Trumpism. I focus on U.S. migration policy consequences affecting Mexico and other states in the Americas if Trump wins in 2024. With a Republican win, the migration policy could revert back to a Title 42 migrant expulsion scenario, with attempts to harden the border using morepersonnel, infrastructure, and surveillance technology. President …

Beyond Urban Development: The Political Economy Of The Decision To Build A New Administrative Capital [Nac], Arsany Medhat

Theses and Dissertations

Following major societal upheavals, regimes often embark on grandiose infrastructure projects, particularly new capital cities. This thesis delves into the political-economic motivations behind such seemingly monumental undertaking, taking the case of Egypt's New Administrative Capital (NAC) as its prime example. Through meticulous analysis, it argues that three key drivers—legitimization, legibility, and clientelism—underpin this decision, ultimately fostering a process of power consolidation. Legitimization: The NAC serves as a potent symbol of a "new era," offering the post-upheaval regime a platform to showcase its modernity, efficiency, and commitment to progress, thereby bolstering its legitimacy in the eyes of both domestic and international …

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 …

Reaping What We Sow: The Implications And Outcomes Of Mississippi House Bill 1125, The “Regulate Experimental Adolescent Procedures (Reap)” Act, Kerigan Brewer

Honors Theses

Mississippi House Bill 1125 (MS HB1125), also known as the “Regulate Experimental Adolescent Procedures (REAP) Act,” was signed into law by Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves in early 2023 (REAP Act, 2023). It is one of multiple policies passed into law that limit the rights of transgender people. This thesis aims to clarify the history of the trans community, dispel myths around gender-affirming health care and the trans identity, and discuss the current state of anti-trans laws and transgender rights. Using a policy analysis framework by DiNitto (2011), MS HB1125 is analyzed on points like its social and economic costs, the …

Do Poor Countries Catch Up To Rich Countries? Structural Change In The World-Economy, 1816-1916, Jared Walker

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Do poor countries catch up to rich countries? To answer that question, countries were divided into upper class (core), middle class (semi-periphery), and lower class (periphery) based on degree of industrialization as indicated by primary energy consumption data. Findings indicated twenty-three upward transitions and five downward transitions during the period examined. Asymmetrical upward mobility was understood in the context of geographic expansion of the system. This sufficiently increased the population of the lower class (periphery) to support larger populations in the middle class (semi-periphery) and upper class (core). Nevertheless, probability analysis indicated a stable system characterized by high levels of …

Sister City International Project Exchange: Providing Resources For Migrants, Claire Saldaña

Honors Program Theses and Research Projects

Migrants continuously enter the United States through the southern border and overwhelm Texas border cities’ resources. Many migrants entering U.S. have travel plans; however, they need basic resources to continue their journey. San Antonio has one of the best migrant resource center models in the country but are increasingly overwhelmed with the continuous surges. This proposal focuses on the City of San Antonio, as it is the main port of transportation for migrants to the rest of the U.S. Through the Sister City International program San Antonio will create a letter of intent for an exchange program. The creation of …

The Place Of Nuclear Weapons In Russian Identity: An Ontological Security Analysis, Peter Ernest Yeager

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

On May 9, 2008, Russia’s Victory Day, four 14-wheeled MAZ-7917s drove through Red Square carrying Topol intercontinental ballistic missiles. This was the first time nuclear weapons had been paraded through Moscow since before the end of the Cold War. The previous August, Russia had resumed nuclear-capable bomber patrols, and in January, 2007, President Putin acknowledged Russia had begun to build new nuclear weapons. These remarkable events were met with little acknowledgement in the West, as if they were completely normal. Instead, they represented a major evolution in the bilateral relationship between the United States and Russia. Sixteen years of fitful …

Christian Nukes: The Effects Of Christian Ethics On Support For Nuclear Strikes, Jack Jogerst

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

Over the last several decades, constructivist and realist scholars of international relations have acknowledged the empirical holes in deterrence theory and debated the conditions contributing to the non-use of nuclear weapons since 1945. While constructivists have argued that a strong norm of non-use has constrained state behavior through a logic of appropriateness, realist scholars have contended that a logic of consequences prevents their utilization. In the last decade, a wave of survey experiments have measured the validity of these theories. Though these studies generally seem to reaffirm the realist perspective, the literature largely overlooks the micro-level variables that might be …

Challenges To Reindeer, Reciprocity, And Indigenous Sami Sovereignty Amidst The Impact Of Green Energy Developments, Lisa Heikka-Huber

IdeaFest: Interdisciplinary Journal of Creative Works and Research from Cal Poly Humboldt

The Indigenous people of Europe known as the Sami, (also spelled Saami) many of whom live throughout the world, have continued to maintain active nomadic communities today as their ancestors did. A wide spanning region of Northern Europe’s Arctic Zone or Sampi often referred to as Fennoscandia, encompasses four countries, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia’s Kola Peninsula (Roland & Löffler, 2012). The nomadic Sami people follow the migration pathways of their reindeer herds through the wilderness bi-annually. This paper will discuss many perspectives, including the battle Sami people and other Indigenous communities have endured while combating green energy development from …

موقف مجلس الأمن الدولي من التدخل الأجنبي في ليبيا 2011-2021 (دراسة مقارنة), Shaker Salem Hamdan Kharabsheh

Journal of the Association of Arab Universities for Research in Higher Education (مجلة اتحاد الجامعات العربية (للبحوث في التعليم العالي

هدف المقال إلى التعرف على موقف مجلس الأمن من التدخل العسكري في ليبيا، وقدّمت الدراسة إطاراً نظرياً لمفهوم التدخل وأنواعه ومشروعيته، واستعرضت الأسباب التي دفعت إلى التدخل العسكري في ليبيا ممثلةً بالفوضى الناجمة عن الربيع العربي. كما استعرضت الدراسة ظروف تدخل الناتو وتركيا في ليبيا. وتوصلت الدراسة إلى أن موقف مجلس الأمن الدولي من التدخل العسكري للناتو في ليبيا كان متوافقاً مع مصالح الدول العظمى في هذه الدولة، فالقرارات التي اتخذها المجلس بخصوص تدخل الناتو في ليبيا 2011 كانت ضمن إطار الفصل السابع من ميثاق الأمم المتحدة، والذي يتيح استخدام القوة ضد الدول، وكانت ذريعة التدخل في ليبيا هي انتهاك …

التحديات الداخلية والخارجية لإعادة بناء الدولة, Dena Sabeeh Masoud Shqair, Amin Awwad Muhanna Almashqbeh

Journal of the Association of Arab Universities for Research in Higher Education (مجلة اتحاد الجامعات العربية (للبحوث في التعليم العالي

هدف المقال التعرف على التحديات الداخلية والخارجية لإعادة بناء الدولة من خلال التعرف على الظروف التاريخية التي بلورت مفهوم إعادة بناء الدولة، وتسليط الضوء على عدد من التحديات الداخلية والخارجية السياسية والاقتصادية والاجتماعية والأمنية التي تحد من إعادة البناء. وانطلقت الدراسة من فرضية رئيسة مفادها أن "هناك علاقة ارتباطية بين عدد من التحديات السياسية والاقتصادية والاجتماعية والأمنية الداخلية والخارجية وبين إعادة بناء الدولة"، وبعد توظيف المنهجية العلمية الملائمة لهذه الدراسة ممثلةً بالمنهج الوصفي التحليلي، اتضح صحة هذه الفرضية؛ إذ تبيّن أن التحديات الداخلية ممثلةً بغياب الديمقراطية، والفساد، والعنف السياسي، والبطالة، والفقر، والهجرة الخارجية، والتحديات الخارجية ممثلةً باللجوء والتدخل الخارجي، ذات …

أثر المحددات الاجتماعية على الأدوار السياسية للأشخاص ذوي الإعاقة في الأردن, Hazem Bishara Nayef Al-Hijazin, Amin Awwad Muhanna Almashqbeh

Journal of the Association of Arab Universities for Research in Higher Education (مجلة اتحاد الجامعات العربية (للبحوث في التعليم العالي

هدف المقال تحليل المحددات الاجتماعية المؤثرة على الأدوار السياسية للأشخاص ذوي الإعاقة في الأردن، وتحديد أثر المحددات الاجتماعية على الأدوار السياسية وأسباب المشاركة السياسية للأشخاص ذوي الإعاقة، ولقد اعتمدت الدراسة على المناهج التالية في الإجابة عن تساؤلاتها المنهج الإحصائي التحليلي، والمنهج الوصفي التحليلي، خلصت الدراسة إلى أن أكثر أشكال المشاركة السياسية لذوي الاحتياجات الخاصة هي التصويت في الانتخابات، ثم العضوية النشطة في الجمعيات الخيرية، ومن ثم العضوية الفاعلة في مؤسسات المجتمع المدني، ووجود تأثير سلبي للمحددات الاجتماعية على الأدوار السياسية للأشخاص ذوي الإعاقة في الأردن، وبناء على نتائج الدراسة فإنها توصي بضرورة الاهتمام بذوي الإعاقة في الأردن بشكل أكثر ايجابية، …

تأثير المنظمات الاقتصادية الدولية على التنمية الإقتصادية في الوطن العربي دراسة حالة الأردن (1990م-2020م), Zaid Ghaleb Al-Hyari, Muhammad Hamad Al-Katatsheh

Journal of the Association of Arab Universities for Research in Higher Education (مجلة اتحاد الجامعات العربية (للبحوث في التعليم العالي

هدف المقال الى معرفة تأثير المنظمات الإقتصادية الدولية على التنمية الإقتصادية في الأردن خلال الفترة (1990م-2020م)، وهي الفترة التي شهدت قيام الأردن بتبني العديد من برامج الإصلاح الإقتصادي المنبثقة عن المنظمات الإقتصادية الدولية متمثلةً بصندوق النقد والبنك الدوليين، وذلك من أجل النهوض بالتنمية الإقتصادية، والحد من الإختلالات الإقتصادية الخارجية والداخلية المتمثلة بإرتفاع نسبة المديونية وعجز الموازنة العامة، حيث هدفت تلك البرامج الى زيادة النمو الاقتصادي للأردن، ورفع الإنتاجية ومحاربة الفقر وتشجيع الإستثمار الأجنبي، وتعزيز قدرة الأردن على تحقيق التوازن الداخلي والخارجي للمدفوعات والمحافظة عليها، إلا ان نتائج البحث أظهرت على المدى الطويل فشل البرامج المطبقة في تحقيق أهدافها التنموية، على …

China's Use Of Nontraditional Strategic Landpower In Asia, Sheena Chestnut Greitens

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

This article argues that the People’s Republic of China uses its police and internal security forces as a nontraditional means of projecting strategic Landpower in the Indo-Pacific and Central Asia. Instead of limiting analysis of China’s power projection to military forces, this article employs new data on Chinese police engagements abroad to fill a gap in our understanding of the operating environment in Asia. Policymakers will gain an understanding of how these activities enhance China’s presence, partnerships, and influence across the region to inform the development of recommendations for a more effective response.

Rethinking The Relevance Of Self-Deterrence, Jeffrey H. Michaels

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

Self-deterrence is critically understudied in deterrence theory. Similarly, deterrence practitioners prefer to focus on adversaries’ threats rather than seeking to account for the full scope of fears influencing the decision calculus of policymakers. Through historical case studies, this article identifies where self-deterrence has occurred, highlights the benefits of incorporating the concept in future strategic planning and intelligence assessments, and recommends that policymakers, strategists, and analysts acknowledge self-deterrence as an important factor when preparing for future wars.

Strategy As Problem-Solving, Andrew Carr

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

This article proposes a new definition of strategy as problem-solving that challenges the focus on goals and assumptions of order within many post–Cold War approaches to strategy. It argues that the military needs strategy to diagnose the complex problems of the twenty-first century before they can be solved. Inspired by practitioners such as Andrew Marshall and George F. Kennan, this new definition clarifies what strategists do and offers a logic for distinguishing the use of the term strategy. Practitioners will also find problem-solving tools and pedagogies they can adopt today.

From The Editor In Chief, Antulio J. Echevarria Ii

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

Welcome to the Spring 2024 issue of Parameters. Readers will note a few differences in the formatting for this issue: we are now using endnotes instead of footnotes to facilitate switching from pdf to html via Adobe's Liquid App; also, readers will be able to click on each endnote number to view the full endnote and then switch back to the text to resume reading. Please drop us a note to let us know how you like the changes. More are coming!

International Law, Self-Defense, And The Israel-Hamas Conflict, Eric A. Heinze

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

This article examines the international law of self-defense as it applies to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict to determine whether the October 2023 attacks by Hamas against Israel can be interpreted under Article 51 of the UN Charter as an “armed attack” that gives Israel the right to use military force in self-defense against non-state actors. It situates the conflict within ongoing legal and political debates, shows how this conflict fits into a changing global reality where the most dangerous security threats do not exclusively emanate from other states and concludes that Israel’s resort to force in the current conflict appears …