International Relations Commons^™

Burning Bridges: American Security Assistance And Human Rights In Mauritania, Isabel Wade

CMC Senior Theses

This paper examines the intersection between human rights and security assistance in Mauritania. In American security assistance broadly, and within the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership specifically, there has been an over-securitization of “whole of government” counterterrorism policy. While the United States recognizes the need to address the social, economic, and political roots of extremism, it has failed to do so in practice. If the United States continues to support Mauritania with conventional security assistance but does not tackle the root causes of extremism, it will ultimately fail in fighting terrorism in the Sahel. In order to succeed, the U.S. government must …

Lessons In Micropolitical Management: A Case Study Of China's Investment And Political Intervention In Zambia, Eugene Daryl Nandwa

CMC Senior Theses

China continues to invest in natural resources in Africa to fuel its economic growth.China’s expanded presence in Africa has contributed to growing tensions within the Sino-African relationship. This thesis examines a variety of historical factors that have contributed to the increased presence of China in Africa, and how these factors have evolved into the foundations of the tensions observed today.

By exploring the historical patterns of the Sino-Zambian relationship, this thesis will shed light on the foundations of the underlying tensions between the two countries. With the Zambian election of 2006 as a focal point, China faced a political crisis …

Maternal Mortality: A Policy Comparison Between Nigeria And India., Rachel Quarles

Dissertations and Theses

A staggering number of women die from preventable deaths each year from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. India hosts the greatest number of actual maternal deaths in the world, although Nigeria’s ratio of maternal deaths to live births is greater than India’s. This thesis focuses on the experience of these two countries in order to determine if India’s governmental policies, level of government corruption, and traditional practices directly lead to its comparably better maternal health statistics. India has demonstrated lower ratios of maternal mortality and more consistent improvement in maternal health indicators than Nigeria as a result of stronger …

Restauración De La Diplomacia Y Sus Implicaciones: Los Próximos Pasos En Las Relaciones Entre Los Estados Unidos Y Cuba, Emily Chambard

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis explores the implications of the recent restoration of diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba. Through historical analysis and discussion of the ‘Cuban Thaw’ beginning in 2009, it proposes certain courses of immediate and long-term action for both nations, but specifically the United States, to guarantee future collaboration and mutual gain. Its conclusions emphasize the unique nature of current circumstances, which have opened a window of opportunity never before seen in the history of US-Cuban relations. The causes are one, the succession of Fidel Castro by his brother, Raúl, who has already demonstrated more progressive policy action …

Book Review Of Pierre De Charentenay, S.J., The Philippines: An Asiatic And Catholic Archipelago, Benjamin T. Tolosa Jr

Political Science Department Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Early Prerogative And Administrative Power: A Response To Paul Craig, Philip A. Hamburger

Faculty Scholarship

What does English experience imply about American constitutional law? My book, Is Administrative Law Unlawful?, argues that federal administrative power generally is unconstitutional. In supporting this conclusion, the book observes that eighteenth-century Americans adopted their constitutions not only with their eyes on the future, but also looking over their shoulder at the past – especially the English past. This much should not be controversial. There remain, however, all sorts of questions about how to understand the English history and its relevance for early Americans.

In opposition to my claims about American law, Paul Craig lobs three critiques from across the …

Evolution Of The Gulf, U.S.-Gulf Relations, And Prospects For The Future, Matthew D. Scott

CMC Senior Theses

The focus of this thesis is the establishment and evolution of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Furthermore, analyzing the U.S. relations with the GCC multilaterally and the Gulf States bilaterally. The final phase is to analyze the prospects of future relations between the U.S. and GCC collectively and individually.

Explaining Anti-Americanism In Turkey: A Study Of The Patterns Of Anti-American Sentiment Among Turkish Citizens, Rachel Thacker

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This paper will compare the characteristics among citizens in Turkey who have anti-American views and attitudes. The paper will review of the current literature on what is anti-Americanism, and its consequences, and the chronology of anti-Americanism in Turkey from 2001 to 2013. Next, the paper will explain the political left and right in Turkey, and Turkish Islamic identity, that is, observant Muslims in Turkey. The findings of this paper suggests that Muslim identify has not correlation with levels of anti-Americanism. Rather, there is a correlation between having a leftist political ideology and a higher level of anti-Americanism. The research being …

Support For Suicide Terrorism In Egypt, Matthew J. Pastoria

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Evaluating the factors that affect support for suicide terrorism in Egypt based upon the PEW Research Center's Global Attitudes Project data from 2014.

An Unrelenting Past: Historical Memory In Japan And South Korea, Hannah Elisabeth Collins

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Every population maintains collective memories which provide meaning and identity for members (Langenbache, 2003). Elites have exerted influence on what is being remembered and the interpretation of the remembrances for specific objects, through the concept of historical memory. Wang (2012) has shown that authoritarian governments leverage historical memory to increase legitimacy. Similarly, Bernhard and Kubik (2014) have demonstrated that transitioning democracies also benefit from elite use of historical memory for consolidation. The lack of studies concerning consolidated democracies' use of historical memory raises many questions, including whether consolidated democracies manipulate historical memory for the purpose of legitimacy? I contend that, …

Hiv/Aids Health Policy, Feminism, Backlash, And Anti-Lgbt Attitudes In Uganda, Michael Andrew Wilson

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

As LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) community organizing becomes increasingly common internationally, backlash also increased in frequency. This research examines the observed increase in violence against the Ugandan LGBT people from 2006-2014 as well as how this violence was exacerbated by international pressures in response to HIV/AIDS and local actors. This research also focuses on how those pressures from international agents affected the successes of the Ugandan feminist movement.

Inter-Organizational Networks Among Intergovernmental Organizations In Peace Operations, Isil Akbulut

Wayne State University Dissertations

Notwithstanding the growing consensus on benefits associated with collaborations among intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) in peace operations, academic research has thus far neglected pressing questions of why and how IGOs collaborate within a network context in peace operations and how these inter-organizational collaborations among IGOs, IGO networks, might account for the success/failure of these operations. More specifically, this dissertation concentrates on how structural properties of IGO networks, such as the extensiveness of ties between network partners, and the cohesiveness of such networks, may account for peace operations’ performance in accomplishing their core goals: violence abatement, conflict containment and conflict settlement (Diehl …

Determining The Significance Of Alliance Pathologies In Bipolar Systems: A Case Of The Peloponnesian War From 431-421 Bce, Anthony Lee Meyer

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

The literature proposes that bipolar systems and international systems with nuclear weapons will not have significant issues with alliance pathologies. But are alliance pathologies really insignificant in Bipolar Systems? The problem is that the literature only describes bipolar systems with nuclear weapons, so one cannot discern whether bipolarity or nuclear weapons alone are responsible for the insignificance of these alliance pathologies. So to solve this problem, this paper will examine a bipolar system in Classical Greece during the time of the Peloponnesian War to isolate any possible influence that nuclear weapons may have on alliance pathologies. This will be done …

Feminist International Relations And “Epistemic Blank Spots”: Entrenching Hegemony?, Jasmine Underwood

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Feminist International Relations (IR) theory and literature critiques the traditional theoretical foundations of international politics, policy, and academia. Viewing the world as a dynamic set of socioeconomic systems and structures, feminists look at the foundations of these institutions, their interactions, and how they impact marginalized groups. Although given that a few of the most prominent feminist International Relations scholars share some of the same socioeconomic and regional roots as their counterparts within mainstream IR, these feminist theorists may have their own sociocultural epistemological issues. Using a critical discourse analysis, this study analyzed if—and how—the background of several leading feminist IR …

The Importance Of The Prioritization Of Human Development Through Governmental Policies, Barbara Marie Fertitta

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis examines the prioritization of human development through governmental policies. Education and gender equality are two of the most fundamental indicators of human development that have far reaching impacts on other human development indicators. This thesis uses the case studies of Ghana and Pakistan to compare and contrast how each respective government has prioritized different aspects of human development and the impact it has had on their country as well as their security. I propose that higher levels of human development increase levels of security and that when there is low physical security, human development levels are also low. …

Successful Regional Integration In The European Union Through Vision And Planning, Joshua Berliner

Dissertations and Theses

The community of Europe today is at a crossroads. Recent pressures, many of them external, are severely testing the integrity of the European Union, as well as the long-standing regional cooperation. Widespread inconsistencies in national policies across member states, especially with regards to economic culture and fiscal policy, have presented the EU with an existential crisis. My hypothesis is that successful regional integration in Europe, however gradual, was not a spontaneous reaction to acute external pressures. Instead, I argue that successful regional integration was the result of a shared vision and careful planning by policy makers and negotiators, who never …

Epistemic Communities And Proliferation: The Implications Of Nuclear Knowledge, David Ayar Roze

Dissertations and Theses

How do epistemic communities facilitate nuclear proliferation? The nuclear nonproliferation regime contains numerous actors exerting varying levels of influence on policy outcomes and state behavior. Neoliberal institutional theory emphasizes the role of sub-national groups play in forming policy preferences; one under-researched group is epistemic communities. Existing literature tends to consider only the nonproliferation action of epistemic communities, however this study aims to examine how these communities can facilitate and lower the cost of undertaking nuclear weaponization, effectively encouraging proliferation. It is especially ironic that the literature has ignored the facilitation effect, given that America’s decision to investigate nuclear weapons began …

The Effects Of Grameen-Model Microfinance Institutions And Self-Help Group Microfinance On Women’S Economic Empowerment In Rural India, Forrest Weaver

Dissertations and Theses

Women in rural India suffer from pervasive gender inequality and disempowerment. One road to equality is economic empowerment through microfinance. Economic empowerment consists of an increase in savings, income, ownership of property or a microenterprise, and access to social services and training. I compile studies of two most common types of microfinance models used in India in order to determine if there is a general trend indicating that microfinance as a whole has a positive impact on women’s economic empowerment. The two types of microfinance examined are Grameen-model microfinance institutions (MFIs) and Self-Help groups (SHGs) through the SHG-Bank linkage model. …

"U.S. – China Competition In Asia-Pacific Region: The Aiib And The New Global Order?, Insill Park

Dissertations and Theses

China’s initiation of the New Silk Road plan in late 2013 has a potentially huge impact on global development. The purpose of this thesis is to understand, the impacts of the Chinaled on the global financial system. This paper highlights key issues related to finances and governance at the AIIB. The paper focuses on China’s Silk Road Economic Belt framework and on how China’s efforts to increase its economic integration in Asia Pacific Region. The “One Belt and One Road” program is China’s major strategic measure in response to the emerging trends in economic globalization, with the objectives of increasing …

Interest Groups And Exchange Rate Policy Choice In Brazil And Venezuela: Incorporating The Workers, James Suggett

Dissertations and Theses

Why did Brazil and Venezuela choose different exchange rate policies in 2003? Brazilian President Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva chose to maintain the managed float established by his predecessor; Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez chose to switch to a fixed exchange rate. Economic explanations typically consider structural factors drawn from Optimum Currency Area (OCA) theory as well as macroeconomic indicators such as level of reserves and inflation. Political explanations examine regime type, parliamentary structure, and interest groups. This study further explores the role of interest groups in determining exchange rate policy choice. Existing research on interest groups focuses primarily on major …