International Relations Commons^™

Introduction, Joice Chang, Meredith Conover-Williams

Humboldt Journal of Social Relations

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

Humboldt Journal of Social Relations

No abstract provided.

In Pawn: Kurdish Economic Development In The Context Of Conflict, Stephen E. Mcavene Iii

Sustainability and Social Justice

In this paper the author examines the struggle of the Kurdish people for self-determined social, political, and economic development in the whirlwind of conflict in the Middle East. It uses a case study of how a Kurdish minority in Iraq interact with multiple stakeholders in their struggle for nationhood, and implications of these interactions for overall Kurdish social and economic development. Studies on economic development while interested in social, economic and political aspect of development, are less concerned with the implications of right to self-determination on development; the unique case of the Kurdish struggle provides an opportunity to expand the …

Reconstruction Of The Destroyed Sinjali Secondary School, Isabella Kaganowski

Sustainability and Social Justice

This practitioner paper chronicles my involvement of the grant writing proposal that was designed on behalf of a non-for-profit organization, the Association of Dalit Women’s Advancement of Nepal (ADWAN), in order to secure funding and donations for the reconstruction of the destroyed Sinjali Secondary School in Gorkha district, Taklung village, after a 2015 earthquake struck Nepal. The proposal was guided by and collaborated with Professor Jude Fernando of Clark University, as Professor Fernando was able to visit Taklung village and gather information about the needs in the educational sector damaged by the earthquake. Literature review and research was gathered to …

The Sino-American War Of Words: Soft Power As Coercion, Lucas Deane Myers

Political Science Honors Projects

Soft power is typically understood to involve attraction, or the influence an actor gains through the positive image of its institutions, ideals, and culture. However, this conception underplays the coercive side of soft power. Attractiveness is not a pre-existing, unchanging condition but a socially constructed reality that allows the attractive actor to exercise discursive power over other actors. Soft power conflicts appear, therefore, as a “war of words.” In such wars of words, participants utilize coercive soft power, or representational force, to reify a narrative and self-identity into social reality while simultaneously detracting from the opponent’s. Utilizing discourse analysis, I …

Same Revolution, Different Outcome: Why Did The Syrian Regime Survive The Arab Spring?, Adam Alrowaiti

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The Arab Region faced a wave of massive public demonstrations in 2011. People across the region demanded freedom, justice, and equality. That movement overthrew some of the region’s dictatorship regimes that had been in power since decades. In Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen the regimes collapsed in the face of the people’s revolution. However, public demonstrations and opposition could not overcome the Al-Assad regime in Syria. This thesis seeks the reasons behind the survival of the Syrian regime when other regimes collapsed. The thesis analyzes the case of Syria by comparing it to the case of Libya, since Libya went …

Foreigners In Japan: The 2020 Olympics As A Conduit For Better Policies, Alexandra Cordes

International ResearchScape Journal

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Historical Trauma And Gender On National Identity Within The Hmong Diaspora, Kalia Vang

All College Thesis Program, 2016-2019

Since 1975 the Hmong have settled in the West as a diasporic group. Their involvement in the Vietnam and Secret Wars with the United States in Southeast Asia had forced the group to flee their homes in the mountain tops of Laos. This political migration has since forced Hmong leaders to reframe Hmong national identity in the diaspora, specifically in the United States. With this, certain aspects and perspective from Hmong women on the Secret War were marginalized. Thus, this research asks the following question: why is national identity interpreted differently within the Hmong diaspora? This research project is broken …

An Investigation Into The Socio-Political Dissonance Between The French Government And The Islamic French Minority, Alexandria Exley

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The Islamic minority in France today is experiencing adversity as the government of France passed legislation stating that all facial coverings will be henceforth illegal, restricting or prohibiting religious symbols in various public spaces. Some Islamic women feel as though this is a pointed attack on women of the Muslim faith for their choice to wear traditional clothing which covers the face and body. There have been outcries that this is a human rights violation and restriction of religious rights. This project is an examination of the effects of France’s “burqa ban” and restrictions on religious symbols on both Islamic …

The Economic, Health, And Psychological Effects Of The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Ilana Siegal

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

This paper analyzes the economic, health, and psychological impacts of conflict and the effectiveness of United Nations agencies and organizations in addressing these issues. I use the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a case study, representing intractable conflicts due to disagreements regarding land, religion, politics, and ethnicity. Focusing on the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), I argue that the effectiveness of WHO and UNRWA programs depends on the economic wellbeing, conflict status, and the level of funding at the time. However, the largest factor impacting the economy, health, and psyche of the Palestinians is …

Fleeing War, Fighting Xenophobia, Andrea Danziger

Honors Projects

The purpose of this research is to identify the key differences between German and American refugee policies as they relate to the ability of each country’s native population to successfully integrate refugees into their society. This body of work looks specifically at the German and American Refugee Resettlement Programs submitted to the United Nations. As shown in this research, new legal policy that can fight systematic distrust and discrimination becomes achievable by identifying the practices that contribute to in- and out-group dynamics between host country and refugees. Such policies will allow for the building of stronger, more integrated societies in …

International Policy Diffusion And Religious Freedom, 1990-2008, Allison R. Hale

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Why do governments restrict religious freedom? As more and more governments have adopted restrictive policies over the past thirty years, scholars have traditionally examined internal domestic factors—such as the role of democratic governance, economic growth, or internal competition—that may influence government choices. I build on this literature by extending the discussion to external factors, arguing that some policies may also spread from one government to another. This process, identified by scholars as the idea of policy diffusion, may occur in several ways.

While previous research has focused on the spread of policies that are generally considered positive (i.e. the spread …

Power Shift: Germany's Energy Transition, Gabrielle Lichtenstein

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

This project is an analysis of the German energy transition, called the Energiewende, and the dual power shift that is underway in the country’s electric sector. It is both a physical shift from conventional fossil fuels to renewable energy, as well as a socio-political shift in power from centralized utilities to community ownership of energy. The project examines three policy mechanisms — the feed-in tariff, emissions trading, and auctions — through the lens of ordoliberalism, a German variant of economic liberalism that believes in state intervention to maximize fair market competition. Using qualitative research of Anglophone sources, this project draws …

The Effectiveness Of Unsc Sanctions: The Case Of North Korea, Victoria Kim

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

UN Security Council sanctions have been ineffective in curbing North Korea’s nuclear weapons proliferation because North Korea’s economy is not open to trade with the rest of the world. Instead, multilateral sanctions provoke threatening nationalist responses from Pyongyang rather than the desired compliance. An alternative approach is needed. Using content analysis of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Debate statements (2006-2016) of the member nations of the Six-Party Talks and archival research of UN Security Council resolutions, this case study examines each country’s priorities and policies in addressing North Korea’s nuclear proliferation. I find that Japan and the Republic of Korea …

Thawing Relations: Reaching The Jcpoa, Alicia Drummond

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Speculation surrounds the JCPOA amongst nearly all of its signatories. This project seeks to understand how the agreement commonly known as the “Nuclear Deal with Iran” came into being. The relationship between the US and Iran in recent history requires special attention for understanding both the difficulty and the significance of reaching the negotiating table. However, the other members of negotiations also enabled the process as a whole and had unique national interests driving their participation. Analyzing this context and depth of incentives reveals political and economic incentives for all seven of the relevant nations. For Iran and 5 of …

Unconventional Lawfare: Operational Law In The War On Terror, L. P. Miller

Political Science Student Scholarship

This thesis examines the legal work required to establish a sufficient lawfare defense by focusing on the Department of Defense Judge Advocate Generals’ Corps (JAG Corps). The work will describe the JAG Corps as a well-trenched bureaucracy with a moral mission to uphold the military’s honor through laws, and how this was interpreted by the Bush and Obama administrations.

(Re)Painting Self: Art Therapy And Ontological Security In Refugee Children, Domonique Jimerson

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

To be a refugee is to know loss intimately. The refugee experience can be characterized by the multidimensional loss the loss of loved ones, support networks, economic security, culture, safety, and home.^{1 2} The compounding of traumatic experience can have a profound effect on belief systems and identity. This paper will explore the relationship between trauma and ontological state in resettled refugee children. The philosophical concept of ontological security considers the ability create consistent expectations about the way the world operates to a stable mental state.³ The three states of ontology security and shock will be useful in …

A Radical Idea: Applying Psychological Strategy To Combat Foreign Fighters Defending The Islamic State, David Michael Smaney

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

This thesis focuses on the necessity of psychological strategies to combat the Islamic State’s recruitment of foreign fighters. This thesis argues that psychological strategies are a primary weapon due to the psychological nature of the war against the Islamic State, which is a part of the overall war of ideas. This thesis does not consider psychological strategies for other aspects of U.S. counterterrorism strategy, nor does it reflect the difficulties involved with developing U.S. strategies in the U.S. federal government. Furthermore, this thesis only focuses on foreign fighter defending and supporting the Islamic State, which is the successor of Al …

Humanization Of The Enemy: The Pacifist Soldier And France In World War One, Daniel E. Stockman

Senior Theses

Not all French citizens were enthused by the prospect of war in 1914, nor were they all so willing to embrace a dehumanized view of the enemy. Some French citizens believed the “Great War” to be a patriotic endeavor. Propaganda encouraged this nationalism and the dehumanization of the enemy. “Political” pacifism existed within the French Third Republic psyche following France’s defeat in the 1870 Franco-Prussian War. However, these pacifistic undertones were systematically undermined as France began to militarize itself. Drawing from a series of notebooks, and established academic sources, this paper shows that some French soldiers endured a world at …

Is Community Based Policing The Answer? Yemen’S Fight Against Aqap, Maximilian Kaehler

Senior Theses

Throughout history we have seen drastic changes in methods for combating terrorism; however, as a society we have never been able to find an effective solution. In recent years we have seen countries use community based policing in an effort to fight terrorism at home; how would adopting community based policing efforts help or hurt countries throughout the Middle East in combating terrorism? I believe that implementing community based policing into these countries would drastically improve civilian and government relationships as well as hinder terrorists’ ability to recruit new member from these areas. I conduct a multi-case study then apply …