International Relations Commons^™

Are Means Determinative: An Examination Of The Influence Of Relative Economic And Military Strength On Grand Strategy Choice, Raymond W. Deppen

Dissertations

This study will use three types of multivariate regression analysis to examine the relationship between Grand Strategy Choice and Relative Military and Economic Power. Understanding the effects of the relative distribution of available means on a nation’s choice of grand strategy is important, because if they are significant, it may be possible to predict the behavior of great powers, based on an examination of their available means.

The first model uses a robust logit analysis to look at the effect of a series of lagged independent variables on whether a great power adopts a Pro or Anti Status Quo posture. …

Foreign Policy Brief: North Korean Nuclear Weapons, Jacob Chobanian

Political Science Student Papers and Posters

This paper is a brief on the current situation involving the United States and North Korea regarding the nuclear weapon controversy and possible war.

Humanitarian Military Intervention: A Failed Paradigm, Faruk Rahmanovic

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Since the end of the Cold War, traditional justifications for war have diminished in relevance and importance, while the use of Humanitarian Military Interventions (HMI) has proliferated, to the point that formerly traditional wars – e.g. Afghanistan and Iraq invasions – have become retroactively redefined as HMIs. While HMI suffers from a number of problems, from international law to historical track record, its proponents have managed to turn aside all arguments by claiming they represent either statistical outliers, improper implementation, or at best indicate a need for a certain degree of fine-tuning. Crucially, the validity of the HMI practice is …

Appraising Positive Aspects Of Shared History Through Contact- A Preliminary Model Of Reconciliation Among Hindus And Muslims Of The Kashmir Valley, Sramana Majumdar Dr

Peace and Conflict Studies

The long-standing political conflict in the Kashmir Valley has resulted in identity based polarization and subsequent displacement of communities. Reconciliation between Hindus (also known as Pandits) and Muslims is viewed as an important step in any sustainable effort towards conflict resolution and peacebuilding in the Valley. This paper begins by examining the much debated territorial and cultural concept of ‘Kashmiriyat’ and instead proposes an alternative lens that emphasizes on shared history as opposed to common identity. We approach reconciliation through a socio-psychological lens by examining the role of a shared cultural past and historical coexistence- or simply put as shared …

Hello Keikan-Chan: The Implications Of Female Japanese Police Mascots, Gage Meyers

Asian Studies: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

The concept of yuru-kyara, a mascot character designed by towns and prefectures to boost tourism, has been a trend in Japan for two decades. Overtime Japanese police adopted the trend and created their own mascot characters to improve public relations. For the decade since the first police mascot was created only male police mascots were created and it was not until the late 90s early 2000s that female police mascots were being made. These female mascots were not original characters, but rather female counterparts of the already existing male police mascots. This paper explores the cultural, political, and social …

Defining Biometrics: Toward A Transnational Ethic Of Personal Information, Nicola Morrow

International Studies Honors Projects

Innovations in biotechnology, computer science, and engineering throughout the late 20^th and early 21^st centuries dramatically expanded possible modes of data-based surveillance and personal identification. More specifically, new technologies facilitated enormous growth in the biometrics sector. The response to the explosion of biometric technologies was two-fold. While intelligence agencies, militaries, and multinational corporations embraced new opportunities to fortify and expand security measures, many individuals objected to what they perceived as serious threats to privacy and bodily autonomy. These reactions spurred both further technological innovation, and a simultaneous proliferation of hastily drafted policies, laws, and regulations governing the collection, …

Ethnicity, Religion And Violence In Bosnia-Herzegovina, Jusuf Salih

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

The violence that erupted in the Balkans at the end of the second millennium made fierce enemies of people who had lived together in peace as neighbors, friends, classmates, and married couples. Nationalism, chauvinism, and religious fanaticism quickly grew stronger, leading to the disappearance of centuries-long harmony among its inhabitants. Among the reasons for the conflict were the experienced communist leaders who skillfully used religious slogans to advance their campaigns; also, religious leaders became close associates to political leaders with hopes that they would attain the religious rights denied and limited during the old governance. As a result, nationalism and …

Paese Di Accoglienza: Il Successo Di Un Modello Innovativo Di Accoglienza Dei Richiedenti Asilo In Italia, Isabela Arena Secanechia

Senior Capstone Theses

This work discusses Italy's migrant reception system including its flaws and their effects. Furthermore, this work explores an alternative, sustainable model of migrant reception created in Riace, Calabria, that has been successful in varying towns across Italy. Ultimately, this work argues that this system, which is beneficial to both Italians and incoming migrants — specifically asylum seekers — can and should be implemented nationally to counter the current flawed system.

Arctic Flashpoint: The Russo-American Rivalry, Matthew Bernard Mackowiak

Honors Theses

With the steady melting of Arctic ice, the door has opened to northern shipping routes and access to Arctic oil reserves. As a result, the Russian Federation has jumped at the chance to control as much of the Far North as possible, aggressively militarizing Cold-War-Era bases and staking claims of vast maritime territory. With all of these recent developments, the political climate at the top of the world is changing dramatically. How is Russia flexing its muscles to control Arctic natural resources and what does this mean for the national security interests of the United States? This study will examine …

Twisting The Tap: Water Scarcity And Conflict In The Euphrates-Tigris River Basin, Samantha Glass

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Is water a target or an instrument of violence? Is it an amplifier of conflict or a means for cooperation, a source of growth or a force of destruction? The purpose of this report is to determine how threats of water shortage and the lack of a trans-boundary management plan has prompted states in the Euphrates-Tigris River Basin to leverage the shared resource as a political weapon to preserve national interests and ascertain regional authority. The scope of this report examines the domestic policies, economic objectives, and foreign-policy interests that compose Turkey, Syria, and Iraq’s national stakes in the trans-boundary …

Schisms: The Inherent Dangers Of Religious Variance Within A Single Faith – An Analysis Of Intra-State Conflict In The Modern World, Benjamin E. Hazen

Student Publications

This essay explores the relationship between religious variance within a single faith and the frequency of intra-state conflict. Specifically, an emphasis is placed on Sunni and Shia conflict within the overarching umbrella of Islam. Utilizing the most recent empirical data in conjunction with other scholarly research, it can be hypothesized that the more diverse a state is within a single subset of one particular religion, the more frequent the incidence of intra-state conflict is as well.

Enlightenment, Latin America, Age Of Revolutions, Spanish America, Brazil, Katherine A. Lentz

Student Publications

An essay analyzing the effect of Enlightenment thinking on the political and societal elite of the colonial Spanish and Portuguese Americas, and the subsequent colonial revolutions.

Miedo Y Multilateralismo: Chile Y México En El Consejo De Seguridad De Las Naciones Unidas Antes De La Invasión De Irak De 2003, Amanda K. Krehbiel

Student Publications

En este proyecto, exploro la pregunta: ¿cuál fue la motivación de los gobiernos de Chile y México para votar en contra de los EEUU y que fue el efecto de tales acciones en sus relaciones políticos con los Estados Unidos? Investigo documentos oficiales de la ONU, archivos de periódicos, y documentos publicados por las embajadas de los EEUU, Chile, y México. Esta pregunta está en el contexto de la Guerra con Irak en 2003. Examino este tema en el contexto de la Guerra con Irak en 2003. En las semanas antes de la Invasión, en el 19 de marzo de …

Dreaming As A Critical Discourse Of National Belonging: China Dream, American Dream And World Dream, William A. Callahan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This article explores the normative politics of national belonging through an analysis of the ‘China Dream’ and the ‘American Dream’. It traces how politicians and public intellectuals employ such slogans to highlight how national dreams emerge in times of crisis and involve a combination of aspirations and anxieties. It compares parallel rhetorical strategies – ‘patriotic worrying’ in China and the American Jeremiad in the US – to examine how belonging to these two nations involves a nostalgic longing for the past as a model for the future. Debates about the meaning of these national dreams highlight the tension between freedom …

Diffusion Of Renewable Energy Policies, Khatera Alizada

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This study examines the global diffusion of renewable energy policies: feed-in tariffs (FIT) and renewable portfolio standards (RPS). Existing studies of policy diffusion have failed to differentiate between four possible mechanisms of policy diffusion: emulation, suasion, learning and competition. To test these competing explanations, the study uses a mixed-method research design that combines statistical analysis of time-series cross-sectional data with an agent-based model of diffusion processes. The findings of the statistical analysis show strong support for the suasion (European Union Membership, Clean Development Mechanisms) and emulation mechanisms (cultural similarity or common language) in the diffusion of FIT. In the diffusion …

The Little Lady That Could: Small Latvia Rejoins The Euro-Atlantic Community, Sandis Sraders

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

When the Cold War abruptly ended, Latvia found it necessary to find a new place in the international community. Its smallness, weaknesses and sensitivities as well as historic experiences made the task urgent because it needed a protector and a broader community to belong to. Like a needle in a haystack, finding these would prove challenging, primarily because not many options existed. First, only one community, the Euro-Atlantic community, could satisfy Latvia’s willingness to escape Russia’s unwanted dominance. Second, as a small state, Latvia had little influence over international affairs.

This research focuses on several distinct aspects of Latvia’s objective …

The Treatment Of Ethnic Minorities In Democratizing Muslim Countries: The Securitization Of Kurds In Turkey Versus The Autonomization Of Acehnese In Indonesia, Maurizio Geri

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Samuel Huntington , almost half century ago, explained how the state capacity is fundamental to guarantee order in societies in transition. Francis Fukuyama , recently, recuperated this concept arguing that a strong effective state is fundamental for stability of democratizing countries. But strong institutions are not enough to make democracy and political order compatible: institutions need to be also inclusive, to foster participation and respect the freedom of all parts of society, including ethnic minorities.

The main question this study wants to answer is: what factors explain the differences in how democratizing Muslim countries treat their ethnic minorities? Studies of …

Endpoints After Empire: Explaining Varying Levels Of Democracy In Post-Communist Europe, William John Eger Jr.

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This study seeks to determine the impetus behind varying levels of post-communist democratization in central and eastern Europe. It explores the different theories of democratization. The work takes a regional approach to examining the states. This approach isolates less traditional factors that contribute to democratic quality: history, culture and geography. Qualitative studies of each help explain why the countries of the region have such a varying level of rights and freedoms.

The Nixon Administration And American Foreign Relations, Luke A. Nichter

Presidential Studies Faculty Books and Book Chapters

Assessments of President Richard Nixon’s foreign policy continue to evolve as scholars tap new possibilities for research. Due to the long wait before national security records are declassified by the National Archives and made available to researchers and the public, only in recent decades has the excavation of the Nixon administration’s engagement with the world started to become well documented. As more records are released by the National Archives (including potentially 700 hours of Nixon’s secret White House tapes that remain closed), scholarly understanding of the Nixon presidency is likely to continue changing. Thus far, historians have pointed to four …

Joining By Number: Military Intervention In Civil Wars, Zachary C. Shirkey

Publications and Research

Understanding why and when states militarily intervene in civil wars is crucial. Intervention can increase civil wars’ severity and the strategies employed in civil wars are shaped by the possibility of military intervention. This article argues that potential military interveners react to information revealed about warring parties’ intentions and relative power. Without revealed information, potential military interveners are unlikely to reconsider their initial decision to remain out of the war. Revealed information causes non-belligerent states to update their expectations about the trajectory of the civil war causing them, at times, to change their calculus about the benefits of belligerency and …