Revenge Of The Interceptors? The Dod, Congress, And The Return Of Space-Based Missile Defense During Trump 45,
2026
Claremont McKenna College
Revenge Of The Interceptors? The Dod, Congress, And The Return Of Space-Based Missile Defense During Trump 45, Chad Mcelroy
CMC Senior Theses
The initiation of the Golden Dome for America program has brought space-based missile defense (SBMD) to the forefront of American national security policy and rekindled debates that had laid dormant since the administration of President Ronald Reagan. How, forty-two years after President Reagan first proposed the Strategic Defense Initiative, did SBMD return as a national priority? In lieu of public information about the ongoing Golden Dome initiative, this thesis explores the first Trump administration, otherwise known as Trump 45, in order to analyze the development of SBMD proposals by its proponents in Congress and the Department of Defense. I used …
No Coup, No Conscience: Coup-Proofing In The Armenian Genocide,
2026
Claremont McKenna College
No Coup, No Conscience: Coup-Proofing In The Armenian Genocide, Rachel Svoyskiy
CMC Senior Theses
The Armenian Genocide functioned as a form of coup-proofing under the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP). Existing scholarship emphasizes nationalism, wartime radicalization, and security dilemmas, but does not fully account for why the military complied, why dissenters were removed, or how Armenian property became tied to political loyalty. Applying Hicham Bou Nassif’s framework of coup-proofing, this study examines four tactics the CUP used to secure military obedience while carrying out mass violence. First, the regime framed Armenians as an existential threat to align the officer corps ideologically with the state. Second, it promoted the material interests of military and …
A Reevaluation Of South Korea’S Economic Rise: The Defense Industrial Base,
2026
Claremont McKenna College
A Reevaluation Of South Korea’S Economic Rise: The Defense Industrial Base, Timothy Lee
CMC Senior Theses
This paper seeks to reexamine how the Republic of Korea (ROK) was able to rise from one of the world's poorest economies after the Korean War to a leading international defense exporter today. Existing development theories—such as dependency theory, export-led industrialization, and world-systems theory—each offer partial explanations but none fully accounts for the ROK's rapid economic growth. To address this gap, the paper analyzes U.S. foreign aid data, U.S. national security documents, and the economic data of the ROK’s chaebols, family-owned business conglomerates, to reevaluate two key variables: the United States' strategic imperative to contain communism during the Cold War, …
The Vestiges Of The German Democratic Republic: Memory Politics And Xenophobia In Former East Germany,
2026
Claremont McKenna College
The Vestiges Of The German Democratic Republic: Memory Politics And Xenophobia In Former East Germany, Diana Zhou
CMC Senior Theses
From the 2015 migration influx onward, xenophobic and nationalist sentiments permeated Germany’s national political discourse. The former socialist territories in eastern Germany have proven particularly susceptible to far-right, anti-immigration, and anti-integration rhetoric. This thesis explores the mnemonic foundations of xenophobic sentiments in former East German states, tracing the development of an antifascist yet ethnically nationalist mnemonic framework to the state-sanctioned myths and invented traditions of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). As the loss of a collective GDR identity produced a reactionary rehabilitation of this framework post-unification, the racial and ethnic “other” — migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees — became constructed …
Lessons Unlearned: Cultural Competence And The Limits Of U.S. Army Doctrine In Iraq And Afghanistan,
2026
Claremont McKenna College
Lessons Unlearned: Cultural Competence And The Limits Of U.S. Army Doctrine In Iraq And Afghanistan, Kylie W. Ha
CMC Senior Theses
This thesis examines how the absence of comprehensive cultural and linguistic competence within U.S. Army doctrine contributed to operational and ethical failures during the wars in Iraq (2003–2011) and Afghanistan (2001–2021). It focuses on the gap between doctrinal recognition of culture and language and the failure to institutionalize these elements as measurable, force-wide competencies. The thesis analyzes doctrinal publications spanning the period from 2001 to 2014 and finds that, while these publications increasingly acknowledged the importance of cultural awareness, language, and local context—particularly in counterinsurgency operations—these elements were not embedded as standardized requirements across training, planning, or evaluation. Iraq and …
Eurovision As A Platform For Cultural Diplomacy In Times Of Conflict,
2026
Claremont McKenna College
Eurovision As A Platform For Cultural Diplomacy In Times Of Conflict, Lucy Meza
CMC Senior Theses
This thesis examines how states utilize the Eurovision Song Contest as a platform for soft power, focusing on the conditions under which cultural performance translates into reputational gains. Drawing on Joseph Nye’s concept of soft power, Biasioli’s theory of songwashing, Zamorano’s typology of cultural diplomacy, Anholt’s competitive identity framework, and Feklyunina’s analysis of identity and narrative, it argues that Eurovision’s effectiveness as a soft power platform is fundamentally contingent on the alignment between a state’s cultural narrative and dominant international perceptions of its legitimacy. Through a qualitative comparative case study approach, the thesis examines two nations whose Eurovision participation during …
The Jamaica That Dreams: A Normative Application Of Developmental Theory,
2026
Claremont McKenna College
The Jamaica That Dreams: A Normative Application Of Developmental Theory, Tamoy Pitt
CMC Senior Theses
This thesis examines Jamaica’s persistent underdevelopment through Martha Nussbaum's normative application of the capabilities approach as per her conception in Creating Capabilities. Through this approach, the paper will argue that Jamaica’s underdevelopment is a result of the failure of its domestic institutions to provide all citizens with the substantive freedoms and capabilities necessary to live lives of dignity. Originally detailed by Amartya Sen in his book Development as Freedom, the capabilities approach posits freedom as both the means and ends to development while rejecting contemporary approaches to development such as GDP, Utilitarianism, or Rawlsian resource-based approaches as insufficient frameworks for …
News Media Sentiment Toward Chinese Ai: A Comparative Analysis With Belt And Road Initiative Involvement And Public Opinion On China,
2026
Pomona College
News Media Sentiment Toward Chinese Ai: A Comparative Analysis With Belt And Road Initiative Involvement And Public Opinion On China, Asya Vaisberg
Pomona Senior Theses
This study evaluates different countries' news media’s sentiment towards Chinese AI, between May 2023 and May 2024, by using Microsoft Azure NLP Sentiment Analysis. The results are then compared with the country’s public opinion on China and its involvement in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). For this study 12 countries have been selected which are USA, Australia, Pakistan, Peru, Russia, Romania, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Philippines, Brazil, and Egypt. For each one, GNews Application Programming Interface (API), which has access to more than 60,000 global news sources, was used to aggregate relevant news articles based on queried keywords. The collected …
Elite Perceptions Of The Us’ Commitment To Nato After Russia’S Invasion Of Ukraine: “The Direction Of Travel Is Clear”,
2026
University of Mary Washington
Elite Perceptions Of The Us’ Commitment To Nato After Russia’S Invasion Of Ukraine: “The Direction Of Travel Is Clear”, Jason W. Davidson
Political Science & International Affairs Articles
This article seeks to explore elite perceptions of the US’ commitment to NATO in the leadup to the 2024 election. It presents findings from ninety-two interviews from 2023 and 2024 with policymakers and analysts from six leading NATO allies. Analysis of the interviews demonstrates that only roughly half of interviewees were concerned with the US’ future commitment to NATO. The bulk of the article seeks to make sense of the variety of responses by categorizing them according to five different worldviews. A domestic political worldview provides an explanation for why some elites were concerned with the prospect of Donald Trump’s …
Assessing The Feasibility Of Small Modular Reactor Deployment On Islands In Southeast Asia And The Pacific,
2026
Claremont McKenna College
Assessing The Feasibility Of Small Modular Reactor Deployment On Islands In Southeast Asia And The Pacific, Hayden C. Beauchemin
CMC Senior Theses
This study looks at the feasibility of using Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) to provide island microgrids in Southeast Asia and the Pacific with clean, reliable electricity. SMRs are compared to current methods of electricity generation, namely diesel generators, as well as to renewable alternatives. Policymakers will face geopolitical, technical, economic, and domestic political challenges to SMR deployment. The key considerations of SMRs, including economic viability, safety approaches, public attitudes, and diplomatic relations are considered, and solutions are identified for issues such as financing and nuclear waste disposal. The analysis reinforces the conclusion that SMR deployment is feasible for islands in …
Cultural Dissonance: Western Hierarchical Structures In Unesco’S Representative List Of The Intangible Cultural Heritage Of Humanity,
2026
Claremont McKenna College
Cultural Dissonance: Western Hierarchical Structures In Unesco’S Representative List Of The Intangible Cultural Heritage Of Humanity, Chumnan J. Sangsvang Iii
CMC Senior Theses
This paper explores how the heritage ideologies of the academic and legal traditions of the “West” have exerted influence over the modern conception of heritage in order to fulfill their own ideas of value. It uses a combination of anthropological theory, ethnographic research, and international law to analyze this phenomenon, first identifying the theory and history behind culture, heritage, and civilization in international law. The paper then goes on to analyze UNESCO’s ICH designation and the consequences of Western heritage construction from 4 case studies, each variably removed from the West: Cases from Greece, Uruguay, Malawi, and Tonga will identify …
Moving The Goalposts: Saudi Arabia, Football, And The Changing Rules Of Global Legitimacy,
2026
Claremont McKenna College
Moving The Goalposts: Saudi Arabia, Football, And The Changing Rules Of Global Legitimacy, Sanskriti S. Kumar
CMC Senior Theses
Most commentary on Gulf state sports investment concludes that sportswashing fails: Saudi Arabia's favorability ratings remain low, its human rights situation has deteriorated, and Western public opinion shows no measurable improvement. This thesis argues that this conclusion applies the wrong standard. Asking whether Saudi Arabia has become more admired misses the more consequential question of whether it has become more accepted, and treating those two outcomes as equivalent produces misleading results. This thesis develops an original Normalization-Attraction Framework to evaluate whether the Saudi Public Investment Fund's October 2021 acquisition of Newcastle United Football Club has generated measurable political returns. The …
From Collective Punishment To Collective Action,
2026
Claremont McKenna College
From Collective Punishment To Collective Action, Samuel N. Johnson-Saeger
CMC Senior Theses
Regime change may be sought in two primary ways, absent a turn to internal or external violence: through nonviolent resistance, from within, and sanctions, from abroad. This paper is about how those two pathways are intertwined. I challenge two different strands of the existing literature. First, I show that Liou et al. (2022)'s finding that sanctions increase the predicted probability of nonviolent resistance movement progress is subject to substantial upward bias from country heterogeneity. Incorporating country fixed effects, I show that sanctions, on average, have no statistically significant effect on resistance outcomes. Second, I challenge Chenoweth and Stephan (2008)'s argument …
Sinking City To Breakthrough City: A Political Analysis And Evaluation Of Indonesia's Capital City Relocation From Jakarta To Nusantara,
2026
Claremont McKenna College
Sinking City To Breakthrough City: A Political Analysis And Evaluation Of Indonesia's Capital City Relocation From Jakarta To Nusantara, Yuji Jones
CMC Senior Theses
This paper analyzes Indonesia’s national decision to move its capital city from Jakarta to Nusantara. Indonesia is facing a dire catastrophe in its most populous city. The land surrounding Jakarta is sinking, and without significant mitigation efforts, the streets will be submerged by 2045. This is a slow-motion disaster coming for Indonesia and Jakarta. This left the country with a crucial decision: to save the capital city. In response to this environmental crisis, Indonesia’s government has committed to making a nationwide and ambitious decision to move the capital to Nusantara, a smaller city bustling with tropical forests 1,000 kilometers away, …
Politics Of A Silent Pandemic: Antimicrobial Resistance And State Capacity In India And Nigeria,
2026
Claremont McKenna College
Politics Of A Silent Pandemic: Antimicrobial Resistance And State Capacity In India And Nigeria, Mia Kelly
CMC Senior Theses
Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) has emerged as one of the most pressing yet widely underestimated health threats of the 21st century; this thesis explores the potentially devastating global impact of this “silent pandemic”, exposing how deeply health outcomes depend on political choices, regulatory capacity, and economic constraints. Although the danger of spreading drug-resistant pathogens is now widely acknowledged in both the scientific and political communities, states differ in their abilities to contain the issue, with low- and middle-income countries facing the greatest obstacles to national action plan implementation. This thesis investigates these disparities through a comparison of India and Nigeria, two …
Keeping America Ahead: The Global Chip Conundrum,
2026
Claremont McKenna College
Keeping America Ahead: The Global Chip Conundrum, Ethan Chen
CMC Senior Theses
Semiconductors underpin nearly every aspect of modern economic, military, and technological power. Yet while the United States pioneered chip innovation and design, it now heavily depends on foreign manufacturing, particularly Taiwan and the Taiwanese Semiconductor Manufacturing Company who produce more than 90% of the world’s leading edge chips. This thesis investigates how the U.S. lost its fabrication leadership, what risks its current dependence creates, and what strategies can most effectively restore domestic capacity and resilience in both the short term and long term. By going through historical analysis of industrial development, recent policy evaluation such as export controls and the …
Dokdo/Takeshima And Maritime Delimitation Between The Republic Of Korea And Japan: A Comment On Icj Dispute Resolution,
2026
American University Washington College of Law
Dokdo/Takeshima And Maritime Delimitation Between The Republic Of Korea And Japan: A Comment On Icj Dispute Resolution, Katherine Angell
Celebrating WCL Student Authors
The Republic of Korea (Korea) should agree to submit the issue of sovereignty over Dokdo/Takeshima and the issue of maritime delimitation in the East Sea/Sea of Japan to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) because the ICJ is likely to decide that Dokdo/Takeshima is Korean territory and the tensions in the East Sea/Sea of Japan can be resolved to allow further cooperation between the two nations. The ICJ is the primary avenue for peacefully resolving territorial and maritime delimitation disputes between nations, and the ICJ has developed a substantial body of case law analyzing these issues. The ICJ considers various …
Fear, Memory, And Deterrence: Reassessing Nuclear Peace In The 21st Century,
2026
The University of Akron
Fear, Memory, And Deterrence: Reassessing Nuclear Peace In The 21st Century, Nathan H. Schroeder
Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects
This research investigates the paradox of nuclear peace theory: the idea that nuclear weapons, despite their destructive capacity, have contributed to a more stable global order. By tracing the historical development of nuclear arsenals and the strategic logic of deterrence, the project examines whether the post-1945 decline in large-scale wars between superpowers and wartime deaths can be attributed to the threat of mutual annihilation. It also explores the psychological and cultural consequences of this deterrence-based peace, including the normalization of fear and its potential link to desensitization toward violence in younger generations. From Cold War-era school drills to modern apocalyptic …
Leaders, Confidence, Policies And Popularity: The Relation Between Europe’S Confidence In The Sitting U.S. President And Its Favorability Towards The United States,
2026
The University of Akron
Leaders, Confidence, Policies And Popularity: The Relation Between Europe’S Confidence In The Sitting U.S. President And Its Favorability Towards The United States, Greg Mitchhart
Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects
The president of the United States is perhaps the figure most representative of the U.S. and its interests on the global stage. While the country as a whole is not entirely defined by this single person, it’s important to understand how international opinions surrounding the president potentially correlate with international opinions of the United States itself due to the myriad of implications that stem from these latter views (e.g. soft power and its relation to goodwill, access to international markets, military latitude, etc.). For this study, we will examine the correlation between 5 European nations’ people's confidence in the current …
Analyzing Critical Mineral Supply For Lithium-Ion Battery Demand To 2050,
2026
Cal Poly Humboldt
Analyzing Critical Mineral Supply For Lithium-Ion Battery Demand To 2050, Shaely Sullivan
Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects
Battery storage is fundamental in the global initiative to mitigate anthropogenic climate change by decarbonizing the electric power grid and transportation sector. Battery storage stabilizes intermittent energy sources, such as solar and wind, and enables clean transportation through electric vehicles. Lithium-ion batteries are the most widely used battery chemistry globally due to their performance capabilities. Therefore, demand for lithium-ion batteries is projected to increase exponentially over the next several decades, driven by the growth of electric vehicles. This thesis projects global demand for electric vehicles and stationary storage, to assess the supply risks for critical minerals essential to lithium-ion batteries. …
