International Relations Commons^™

Successful Interventions: Identifying And Influencing Key Variables, Braeden J. Campbell

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

This research paper was inspired by a desire to see the United States (U.S.) have continued success in the 21st century. The problem that spurred this research was the realization that the U.S. has an opportunistic, short-term, military centric, foreign policy strategy. I believe that in the 21st century, a steady state, balanced, long-term strategy will ensure continued success. This research paper posits that an already strong networked opposition, a repertoire of resistance, and physical infrastructure are both jointly necessary and sufficient for a successful intervention. To test for this pattern, I first explore a common variable attributed to determining …

While The Enemy Is Preoccupied : A Distractionary Theory Of Interstate Crisis Initiation, Steve S. Sin

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This study examines the implications of distraction theoretically and empirically, with a focus on the effects of external distraction on the likelihood of interstate crisis initiation. To this end, I develop the Distractionary Theory of Interstate Crisis Initiation and conduct empirical tests on the theoretical models to determine the impact of distraction on interstate crisis initiation.

Xenophobia, Populism, And The Rise Of The Far-Right In France And Germany, Veda Elizabeth Beltran

CMC Senior Theses

The purpose of this study is to further examine the populist wave that has struck the West, with specific regards to France and Germany. The growing anti-immigrant sentiment, the discontent with “establishment” politics, and fear-mongering tactics has given rise to far-right political parties such as the National Front and the Alternative for Germany. These political parties prove threatening to the democratic institutions in place, for they wish to limit the liberties of those who seem too different. Through delving into the core values of these countries and specific events revolving around foreigners, I explain how xenophobic ideology has been allowed …

A Multi-Causal Approach To The Thirty Years’ War, Ethan Haan

Grand Valley Journal of History

The Thirty Years’ War was arguably the most consequential war of the Wars of Religion and of the wider European conflicts in the 17th century. The historiography on the causes of the war has been present ever since literature on the conflict became available shortly after its cessation. Since 1900, the debate over the underlying motivations has intensified and has become muddied in some areas. This study aims to summarize and clarify the previous positions that historians have taken on what caused the war, from religious urges to socio-economic and political factors. This study also attempts to clearly define where …

Explaining The Rise Of Isis, Anas Alqaed

Political Science Theses and Capstones

In this paper I study the circumstances that led to the rise the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS/Daesh) and its economic power. I use articles, testimonies before US House of Representatives and analyze economic data to generate facts and draw conclusions. All references rely on primary source documents that were not released in an official capacity by ISIS. These are documents that have been released online by pro or anti-ISIS activists or information that was gathered and analyzed by research centers and international organizations. It is worth noting that non-officially released documents were very helpful in shedding more …

The United States And The United Nations Convention On The Rights Of The Child, 1989-1995, Katie St. John

Undergraduate Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Redefining Human Rights: Non-Governmental Organizations, United States Foreign Policy In Chile, And The 1970s, Thomas Michael Spencer

Undergraduate Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Policing The Traffic: The Capacity Of Legal Change To Arrest Human Trafficking In The European Union, Charlotte Mcdonald

Honors College Theses

Intense violence in the Middle East continues to force millions of displaced people to immigrate to Europe. Governments tighten border controls to stem the influx, and desperate individuals fall victim to human traffickers. Though European Union members have made progress in developing a legal framework for combatting this evil, past attempts to coordinate national laws failed to address the growing need. Research is needed to understand the causes of success and failure in this endeavor. Through a comparative case study of three states from different parts of Europe- Germany, Hungary and Turkey- I examine the extent to which to adoption …

The Future Of The Iran Nuclear Deal: Pretty Bright From Its Verification Lens, Mutti Anggitta

International Journal of Nuclear Security

This manuscript discusses the JCPOA’s verification mechanism, especially its four innovative additional safeguards measures: much broader monitoring of Iran’s nuclear program, access with a deadline and dispute resolution mechanism, the Procurement Channel, and the prohibition of weaponization activities. It considers the possible implications of such safeguards measures for the future of the deal and for the non-proliferation regime. This manuscript found that the four additional safeguards measures, if implemented with the Iran’s Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement and the Additional Protocol, would increase the effectiveness of monitoring and verification measures under the deal. In short, they will significantly contribute to the success …

The Future Of Narcoterrorism: A Comparative Analysis Between Traditional And Contemporary Terrorism And Its Implications On Narcoterrorism, Lucy Clement La Rosa

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The nexus between terrorism and narcotics is historically well documented. However, its contemporary development is rarely brought to light. Rather, narcoterrorism is often considered to be an outdated phenomenon and characteristic of only Latin America. Nevertheless, narcoterrorism continues to be a global security concern. As terrorism has evolved over the recent decade, terrorist relations to the narcotic industry have also evolved. Understanding the unique characteristics of contemporary narcoterrorism is important to effectively combating both terrorism and narcotics globally.

The intent of this thesis is to comparatively analyze the differences between traditional and contemporary terrorist organizations, and how these differences will …

The Empowerment Of Women In The Middle East, Ailbhe M. Rice

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This thesis assesses the current rights of women in Saudi Arabia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Within each case study, four main factors are measured based on their individual influence in each state. The first factor, historical context, examines various historical influences and their effect on the empowerment of women in their country. The second factor, the socio-cultural context, describes social and ethnical effects on society such as the influence of tribal lineage. The third factor researched is the political structure of the state and the impact that each different political system has upon gender equality in that region. …

Political Islam And Democracy, Mikellon S. Browne-Michael

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The Middle East is a predominately Islamic region. Islam is not only a religion, it is the Muslim way of life and law. The western world follows a more modern system of government, in the form of democracy. Democracy is not modern, as in new, since it was started by the ancient Greeks, but it is modern, because it is the main system being adopted in contemporary times.

Muslims follow the ideals found in the Holy Quran, the book dictated by the prophet Muhammad. The Middle East has had a strong Islamic influence since the mid-seventh century. Islam originated in …

The Wwi Middle East: Western Intervention And Modern-Day Political Conflict, Pauline Park

Global Tides

This paper analyzes three conflicting agreements made by the Allied powers between 1915 and 1917: the Husayn-McMahon correspondence, the Sykes-Picot arrangements, and the Balfour Declaration. It reveals the agreements as demonstrative of deeper patterns of political power and strategy in the Middle East that persist today. This paper moreover compares the Middle East with the European colonization of Rwanda in the 1880s, and how the nation's internal division was caused by external global powers seeking political and economic gain. This analysis seeks to connect global events as part of a wider political agenda propagated by Western powers.

Considering Clausewitz Across Contexts, Laura Salter

Tenor of Our Times

Carl von Clausewitz’s On War has been heralded as one of the most influential theories of war. It has influenced statesmen as diverse as Dwight Eisenhower, Vladimir Lenin, and Adolf Hitler. After having been incorporated into various schools of thought, taught to soldiers and studied extensively, it begs the question: what explains the continuous relevance of Clausewitz’s theory, despite changing contexts and technology? This paper posits that Clausewitz presented war as an extension of politics composed of a trinity of forces, used methodology that would transcend eras, and wrote about war’s very nature. In doing so, On War gained its …

Ethnic Xenophobia As Symbolic Politics: A Cross-National Study Of Anti-Migrant Activism From Brussels To Beirut, Annamarie M. Rannou

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

Xenophobia is examined almost exclusively as a prejudice of advanced western nations. I argue that the field of study of xenophobia must be re-conceptualized in order for comparative, cross-regional inquiry to take place. With a new concept of ethnic xenophobia, this dissertation examines the determinants and causal mechanisms of ethnic xenophobic activity across developed and developing countries. I integrate studies of xenophobia and theories of ethnic threat to explain that political elites rely on structural dimensions of threat to convert native anxieties into ethnic xenophobia through the use of anti-migrant myths and symbols. I extend Stuart Kaufman’s theory of …

Rapport Development And Native Language Use Between U.S. Advisors And Afghan Counterparts, Sean Ryan Ryan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Advisory activities form a central element of the U.S. National Security Strategy to mitigate the need for employment of large military formations. The commitment of large U.S. combat formations has resulted in more than 6,000 fatalities since September 11, 2001; poor relationship skills were cited as contributing factors in 51 or more fratricide-murders of U.S. soldiers by Afghan compatriots in 2012. Informed by social exchange theory, servant leadership theory, and role theory, the Army conceptual rapport framework provided a lens for this phenomenological symbolic interactionism study of rapport between Afghan counterparts and U.S. advisors. Participants included 15 English-speaking Afghan soldiers, …

Tapping The Potential Of Sports: Incentives In China’S Reformation Of The Sports Industry, Yu Fu

CMC Senior Theses

Since the 2010s, China’s sports industry has undergone comprehensive reforms. This paper attempts to understand this change of direction from the central state’s perspective. By examining the dynamics of the basketball and soccer markets, it discovers that while the deregulation of basketball is a result of persistent bottom-up effort from the private sector, the recentralization of soccer is a state-led policy change. Notwithstanding the different nature and routes between these reforms, in both sectors, the state’s aim is to restore and strengthen its legitimacy within the society. Amidst China’s economic stagnation, the regime hopes to identify sectors that can drive …

Islamic State Online Recruitment: Narratives And Counter-Narratives, Makella Brems

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis looks beyond the sensationalized coverage of Islamic State and instead utilizes Islamic State materials as a window into the remote radicalization and recruitment process of susceptible English-speaking individuals in the West. This thesis considers Islamic State’s mode of operation in conjunction with the appeals made in its online materials to devise a framework for understanding how Islamic State materials interact with susceptible individuals. The framework lends insight into how the body tasked with creating counter-narratives within the U.S. State Department can more effectively disrupt the remote recruitment and radicalization process.

Time For Change: Aid, Ngos, And Transitional Justice In Bosnia-Herzegovina, Arnaud Kurze

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This article examines Scandinavian donor practices in Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH) with regards to post-conflict justice activities. BiH has been a laboratory of reconstruction, peace-building and transitional justice processes since the end of the war in 1995. While issues related to rebuilding and developing war-torn societies and their economies have attracted extensive scholarly attention, the question of international aid practices in transitional justice contexts remains widely understudied. Although the influence of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in reconciliatory transitional justice work has been growing, the relationship between international donors and local NGOs involved in these projects remains very limited. The objective of this study …

When Words Are Worse Than Bullets: A Study Of Corruption As An Unintended Consequence Of Threats Of Sanctions, Aleksei Balanov

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

This research contributes to the debates on the efficacy of economic sanctions as a tool of international diplomacy. It focuses on corruption, one of the potential unintended consequences of sanctions. Using multiple regression on a custom cross-sectional time series dataset of more than a thousand observations, this research finds the correlation between threats of sanctions and level of corruption statistically significant. The model suggests each new round of threats translates into a 1.25% increase in corruption for relatively clean states and a 5% increase for already corrupt states. The resulting policy implications are examined in this thesis.