International Relations Commons^™

Data Sharing By Scientists: Practices And Perceptions, Carol Tenopir, Suzie Allard, Kimberly L. Douglass, Arsev Umur Aydinoglu, Lei Wu, Eleanor Read, Maribeth Manoff, Mike Frame

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Background: Scientific research in the 21st century is more data intensive and collaborative than in the past. It is important to study the data practices of researchers – data accessibility, discovery, re-use, preservation and, particularly, data sharing. Data sharing is a valuable part of the scientific method allowing for verification of results and extending research from prior results. Methodology/Principal Findings: A total of 1329 scientists participated in this survey exploring current data sharing practices and perceptions of the barriers and enablers of data sharing. Scientists do not make their data electronically available to others for various reasons, including insufficient time …

Citizanship In Austria, Germany, And Switzerland, Claus Hofhansel

Claus Hofhansel

A common claim has been that liberalization of citizenship policy depends on making policy behind closed doors. I challenge one variant of this line of argument, which regards courts as the primary �countermajoritarian� champion of the expansion of immigrant rights, through a comparison of citizenship policy in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. In all three countries subnational authorities play a significant role in the administration of naturalization policy. Courts have played more of a �nationalizing� rather than a �countermajoritarian� role. I also show how differences in federal structures affected recent efforts to reform citizenship policy in these countries.

Geopolitics: A Guide To The Issues, Bert Chapman

Libraries Research Publications

Provides overview of how geography influences international relations and international politics including climate change, energy security, international economics, and international security. Introduces key figures in geopolitics development as a discipline such as Alfred Thayer Mahan and Halford Mackinder, covers the geopolitical interests of individuals countries, describes disciplinary divisions within geopolitics, details international geopolitical crisis areas and provides maps of some of these areas, emphasizes geopolitics information resources, and stresses the critical importance of geography in studying international politics and security.

Language In The Name Of National Security: The Transformation Of Arabic Language Instruction In U.S. Institutions Of Higher Education, Evelyn Daugherty

Sociology Honors Projects

Government designation of Arabic as a “strategic language” following WWII transformed Arabic language instruction in U.S. institutions of higher education. Funding from the government created a shift away from teaching students to read and translate classical Arabic for academic purposes and toward teaching modern varieties of the language for communication. I employ a three-pronged institutional analysis that takes into account the role of government, the role of professional associations, and the role of individual instructors in the redefinition of norms governing Arabic language instruction during the past seventy years. I find that coercive pressure stemming from government interest affected Arabic …

June Roundtable: Human Rights In Central America, Introduction, Claudia Fuentes

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

“The Tormented Isthmus ”. The Economist. April 14 2011.

The Hearts And Minds Of The Citizens, Brooke Ackerly

Human Rights & Human Welfare

If the US contributes increased military support to Guatemala under the premise of curtailing the drug trade, it could inadvertently further destabilize this already politically unstable country. It certainly will not contribute to developing a sense of political alliance in the hearts and minds of its citizens. Concerns about destabilization in Guatemala (and Central America more generally) and the role of this destabilization in facilitating the drug trade have led the Economist to suggest that the solution is to increase military foreign aid to Guatemala.

Generic Wish-Lists For State-Centric Policies, Edzia Carvalho

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The Central America depicted in the article under review resembles a region visited by the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse—colonial Conquest, civil War, Famine and other natural disasters, and poverty, disease and Death. Added to this list of woes are the recent drug-fueled conflict, democratic instability, weak state capacity, and the socio-economic fallout of the economic recession in the United States. While the first half of the article records these problems, the author shifts gears in the second half and provides an array of responses to these challenges, with a forceful recommendation that states in the region focus their efforts …

Conflict Resolution Agenda: Approaching Its Expiration Date, Jonas Claes

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Conflict resolution scholars and policy-makers have traditionally prioritized research and policy measures dealing with political violence, treating criminal violence as a contextual factor in their analysis or as a subordinate policy concern. One may wonder why the value of a casualty differs depending on whether the fatal blow was caused by a tank, a gang knife, or even a typhoon. The prioritization of political violence over criminal violence seems morally unjustified considering that the killing rates in Guatemala and El Salvador are higher now than during the civil wars that ended in the 1990s. Despite similarities in the causes, manifestations, …

A Centrist Solution To Central American Violence And Inequality, Devin Joshi

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The northern triangle of Central America (El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras) has experienced horrific violence, poverty, and a vicious cycle of human rights violations for decades. Repeated natural disasters and the re-routing of the drug trade through Central America are not helping the situation. On the other hand, nearby Costa Rica has achieved a much higher standard of human rights, public safety, and political stability. Why? Costa Rica has put in place four pillars of development and stability lacking in most other countries in the region: a stronger state, an educated population, inter-racial cooperation, and a more inclusive democracy. For …

Pace 9/11 Oral History Project, Maria T. Iacullo-Bird (Principal Investigator), Ellen Sowchek (Co-Principal Investigator), Jennifer Thomas (Co-Principal Investigator)

Cornerstone 2 Reports : Community Outreach and Empowerment Through Service Learning and Volunteerism

No abstract provided.

U.S. Appellate Court Ruling Deals Fatal Blow To Argentina Brady Bond Debt Swap, Mark J. Calaguas

Mark J Calaguas

No abstract provided.

Power And Humiliation In Foreign Policy: The Effects Of Economic Sanctions, Rebecca A. G. Liftman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis analyzes the use and unintended outcomes of power in international politics through an examination of economic sanctions in selected countries. A theoretical argument is derived from punishment theories and analyzes the effects of punishment on the target, including subjugation, humiliation and resistance. Seven cases of economic sanctions are studied: Cuba, Burma, Pakistan, Syria, Libya, Iraq, and Iran where the United States, either unilaterally or as the leader of a coalition, sought to influence political outcomes in the target state, such as regime change or curbing WMD proliferation. Economic sanctions were generally unsuccessful in achieving the expected outcomes and …

Nuclear Dependence: The Russian Federation's Future Reliance On Nuclear Weapons For National Security, Adam J. Lukszo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Russian Federation‘s reliance on nuclear weapons for national security will steadily increase over time. Based on current evidence and historical data, the Russian state will be unable to recruit, arm, train, equip, reform, and fund their conventional forces well enough to match up with capabilities of what it views to be its potential adversaries. Russia‘s historic experience with invasion and vulnerable geographic position reinforce the need for a powerful weapon with which to maintain the current regime and ensure its territorial integrity. Declining demographics and persistent social illnesses will reduce the number of eligible male candidates able to serve …

From The Body Of The Faithful To The Invention Of Religion: The Long Reformation For International Relations, Sarah Bania-Dobyns

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This work addresses how traditions associated with canon law of late medieval international society granted authority to myriad polities in fifteenth and sixteenth century questions of societal governance. In international relations, the late medieval period has rarely been given much attention; scholars have argued that the late medieval period is too "local" of an event to be considered within broader historical discussions of international societies and systems. This, however, is highly ironic considering that late medieval international society saw itself in universalist terms. It is precisely because late medieval international society was founded upon universalism, but organized on the basis …

The Use Of English-Language Internet Propaganda By The Taliban Insurgency In Afghanistan, 2007–2010, Matthew T. Calvin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

After nearly a decade of war in Afghanistan, military and government officials have described the propaganda efforts of the Taliban insurgency as increasingly sophisticated and effective. These statements fail to distinguish between insurgent propaganda efforts at the local level and those carried out online and targeted at Western populations. This research investigates the effectiveness of the Taliban's use of English-language media to reach Western populations and shape their own image in a way that furthers their strategic objectives. An analytical approach that combines quantitative analysis performed on a set of Taliban messages from 2007 to 2010 and a deeper, qualitative …

International Aid In Afghanistan: Examining The Effectiveness Of Traditional Aid And Development Programs, Samuel A. Merlin

Honors Theses

The US‐led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 brought to light the comprehensive destruction of the Afghan state. Twenty years of continuous war had ravaged the country, and with the Taliban’s expulsion of western aid agencies, Afghans were further deprived of their basic needs. The international community has rallied around this cause, donating nearly $40 billion in aid since 2001 to help develop Afghanistan. However, this international investment has not yielded optimal results; fundamental mistakes have limited the growth in capacity of the Afghan government and its people. Through analyzing the effectiveness of the major donor programs, a key lesson was …

From Ankara To Jerusalem: An Analysis Of The Decline In Turkish-Israeli Relations, Kama Sacajiu

Honors Theses

Turkey and Israel had been strong allies in the Middle East, however in recent years, these relations have turned sour. Turkey was the first predominantly Muslim country to recognize the state of Israel upon its creation in 1948. However, Present day Turkey has gone as far as to pull its ambassador from Tel Aviv. The importance and implication of the decline in relations between Turkey and Israel will be explained in the following chapters. The examination of Turkish foreign policy, and specifically a history of its relations with Israel, gives a basis to explain the changes that occurred with their …

The Implications Of Water Insecurity For Fragile And Failing States: The Case Of Pakistan, Jennifer Norins

Graduate Masters Theses

As we become more firmly established in the 21st century, the international system faces a number of increasingly more difficult challenges that pose threats to global security and human progress. Among these challenges, water scarcity and failing states have each received prominent attention in both the academic and policy realms. Water serves a number of critical purposes for human survival and socio-economic activity. The threat of water scarcity is becoming increasingly salient and the capacity of states to ensure water security, and other securities which water security supports, is being tested. Fragile and failing states also occupy significant space in …

Where Does The Buck Stop? Applying Attribution Theory To Examine Public Appraisals Of The President, Cigdem V. Sirin, José D. Villalobos

Cigdem V. Sirin

This study applies attribution theory to examine public appraisals of the president. To date, most political science research on attribution theory has focused on domestic policy and no work has considered both domestic and foreign policy domains in tandem. To fill this gap, we formulate and experimentally test a series of hypotheses regarding the level of responsibility and credit/blame that individuals attribute to the president in both policy domains across varying policy conditions. We also consider how party compatibility affects people’s attribution judgments. Our findings provide a new contribution to the literature on political attributions, executive accountability, and public perceptions …

The Penetration Of Social Media In Governance,Political Reforms And Building Public Perception, Ratnesh Dwivedi Mr

Ratnesh Dwivedi

Social media are media for social interaction, using highly accessible and scalable communication techniques. Social media is the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into interactive dialogue. While we know that social media can play an important role in publicizing political activities such as protests, do we have evidence that such actions have led to substantive political change? Is it possible to develop a set of indicators to more effectively gauge the impact of new technologies and media on questions of political change? That social media can help coordinate large and discrete activities, such as protests and …