International Relations Commons^™

Countering Russian Disinformation In Africa, Illia Snigur

Graduate Research Conference (GSIS)

Illia Snigur’s ODU Research Conference Paper on topic of Russian disinformation in Africa region. That paper briefly describes Russia's economic interests in the African region, why it is beneficial for the Russian Federation to use its soft power, and what role Wagner PMC plays in the African region.

Transformation Of The Ideology Of Decentralization In Ukraine In The Conditions Of A Full-Scale Russian Invasion, Tetiana Lukeria

Graduate Research Conference (GSIS)

No abstract provided.

Global Security: Russia, Ukraine, And What Comes Next, Kateryna Koval, Ekaterina Kravchenko (Editor)

Graduate Research Conference (GSIS)

February 24, 2022, changed the lives of all Ukrainians. People throughout the country woke up to the sounds of bombings in the cities, and all soon knew that the full-scale war had begun. That morning Ukrainians realized that Russians could never become “brothers and sisters” again. Russia is a terrorist state that is continuing to commit war crimes. Crimes against peace, and crimes against humanity. Russia has now challenged the entire world with bombings, murder, and acts against civilians - including women and children.However, these unthinkable circumstances now allow Ukraine to change the situation together with the rest of the …

Complex Global Value Chains And Economic Interdependence: A New Look At The Opportunity Costs Argument, Melle Scholten

Graduate Research Conference (GSIS)

The classical economic interdependence argument states that trade and investment between countries make conflict less likely, because they increase the opportunity costs of war. War means that trade and investment will dry up, to the detriment of society as a whole. The increased opportunity costs of war (vis-`a-vis peace) means war will be less likely to occur between interdependent states. Certain strands of realism have challenged this assertion. They argue that expectations that trade will decline in future can be a strong incentive for initiating conflict. Giving increasing political and economic tensions between the world’s superpowers – the USA and …

Tunisia: The Colonized Road To A Democratic Identity, Kara Broene

Graduate Research Conference (GSIS)

The death of one Tunisian man by self-immolation in 2010 created uprisings in 18 other Arab countries in what is known as the 2011 Arab Spring. As a result, Tunisia managed to overthrow its long-standing autocratic government and establish a democracy; it is the only nation who has managed to maintain those changes since 2011. As the first point of protest and the only success story, what makes Tunisia different from the other 18 nations? While there has been research on why Tunisia has succeeded, there is little on how Tunisia’s colonial history under France for 75 years might have …

The Colonial Origins Of Institutions In Mauritanina, Mahfoudha Sidelemine

Graduate Research Conference (GSIS)

This paper examines and evaluates the state of development in Mauritania, a former French colony in West Africa. The drivers of (under)development that the paper focuses on are institutions. By focusing on institutions as the main factors that determine the development process of the country, I also focus on the colonial origins of institutions. Hence, in this paper, I draw on Acemoglu and colleagues’ argument on the origin of colonial origins of institutions as they identify two types of colonial institutions—Inclusive and Exclusive (Acemoglu et.al.2001). However, in this research, I argue that there is a third type of institution the …

Tea As A Motivator For British Imperialism In China, Grayden R. Varisco

CAFE Symposium 2023

This poster is based on a research paper that sought to find out what influence the tea trade had on developments in Sino-British relations in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Through research, the paper concluded that the strong British desire for tea influenced British attempts to change its relationship with China, as a more "open" China would lead to more and cheaper tea for Britain. Ultimately, this desire led to Britain flooding China with addictive, illicit opium, and waging the imperialistic Opium Wars against China.

Utilization Of Propaganda Throughout The Great War: A Revolutionary Experience, Andrew R. Thibaudeau

CAFE Symposium 2023

This project delves into the impact of propaganda on countries and citizens throughout World War I. It shows how the impacts of this bloodless revolution still resonate in society today, and how it has changed the world eternally, especially with the modern usage of the internet.

Pla Logistics And Sustainment: Pla Conference 2022, George R. Shatzer, Roger D. Cliff, Kenneth W. Allen, Joshua Arostegui, Justin Boggess, Travis Dolney, Matthew P. Funaiole, Brian Hart, Lonnie D. Henley, Bonny Lin, Erin Richter, Benjamin Rosen, James R. (J. R.) Sessions, Eli Tirk, Joel Wuthnow, Christopher D. Yung

Monographs, Collaborative Studies, & IRPs

The US Army War College People’s Liberation Army Conference (PLA) Conference was held March 31 to April 2, 2022, at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania.

The conference focused on PLA logistics and sustainment. As the PLA continues to build and modernize its combat forces, it is important to examine if the capabilities meant to support combat operations are also being developed.

Specific topics included: 1) China’s national-level logistics, including how China mobilizes national resources for the military and how it provides joint logistics support to the PLA Theater Commands; 2) the logistics capabilities of the different PLA services, especially the Army, Navy, …

Finding Autonomy Under The Russian Bear: Explaining Central Asia’S Response To The Invasion Of Ukraine, Ryan Hitch

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The Russian invasion of Ukraine was one of the most important geopolitical events of the 21^st century, which will have lasting effects on the international community. While the responses of the United States and Europe to Russia’s invasion have been extensively covered, the response of Central Asia has received relatively less attention. Russia’s extensive investments in multilateral regional organizations and Central Asia’s heavy reliance on Moscow for security and economic assistance should predict that Central Asian states would bandwagon with Russia. However, the region has thus far remained officially neutral towards the war and certain states are openly antagonizing …

Nonprofit Spotlight 3: Techcharities (Applied Technology Foundation)

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

The mission of TechCharities is to help low-income families build technical skills and confidence by providing computer resources and basic technical training as they move toward self-reliance.

Nonprofit Spotlight 1: The Hydrous

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

The mission of the Hydrous is to create “open access oceans” so that all people may explore, understand, and engage with marine environments, which are severely threatened by climate change and human impacts.

Latest Research: Summary 2. Importance Of Food-Demand Management For Climate Mitigation

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

As the global population rises, demand for food increases across the globe. This demand simultaneously expands unsustainable agriculture practices, which contribute significant amounts of carbon emissions to the atmosphere, primarily through the increase in the number of livestock and production of livestock feed.

Latest Research: Summary 3. Exploring The Impact Of Climate Change On The Future Of Community-Based Wildlife Conservation

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

Rural populations with local, small-scale agricultural economies across southern and eastern Africa have adopted community-based conservation (CBC) as their wildlife governance approach. This approach is based on the idea that communities will sustainably govern their wildlife resources when they “receive an enduring interest in and are able control and profit from those resources” (p. 1). The key to the success of this approach is the people within those communities need to believe that the benefit from CBC outweighs the costs associated with living with human-wildlife conflicts (HWC). Human-wildlife conflicts include killing of crops or livestock, destruction of infrastructure, and human …

Latest Research: Summary 5. A Review On The Impact Of Climate Change On Food Security And Malnutrition In The Sahel Region Of Cameroon

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

Climate change has direct and indirect impacts on human health. One indirect impact is food insecurity, which can lead to malnutrition. In the Sahel region of Cameroon, the population regularly experiences high levels of malnutrition, because harsh climate conditions (including extreme drought) have a negative influence on agriculture. In particular, the extreme drought conditions lead to a reduction in agricultural production, an important parameter of food security.

World Less Than Satisfied With Climate Efforts, Julie Ray, Mary C. Evans

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

At the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) summit that took place in Egypt from November 6 to 18, 2022, nearly 200 nations rushed to seek deals to keep climate goals moving forward. The summit ended with minimal progress and many criticisms that more needs to be done.

To measure how people feel about their country’s efforts to preserve the environment, the Gallup World Poll asks people worldwide if they felt satisfied or dissatisfied with those efforts. Below, we explore the global data from this question and dive into the trend on this question in the United States …

Decentralization And Centralization In Sociocratic Organizations—Dynamics, Combinations, And Hybrid Solutions, Ted Rau, Phd

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

The article discusses the interplay between decentralized and centralized aspects of governance in the context of decentralized self-governance and shares learnings from Sociocracy For All’s (SoFA) experience, including that decentralization is an active process that requires preparation, budget, strategy, and information can act as centralizing forces, and decentralization requires different ways of thinking about responsibility and leadership. SoFA is a young membership organization founded in 2016 promoting sociocracy, a governance system with consent-based decision-making in small groups, in nonprofits and other organizations.

A Case Study: Do Board Consultants And Funders Have It Wrong?, Mike Burns

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

The following case, a moment in time for a 25+ year-old nonprofit, features a smart, committed, driven, savvy, and uber persuasive nonprofit founder/executive who decided it was time to expand the building. Also featured: a board that has never been more than a figurehead to the executive and the public. This case is intended to highlight that the popular thinking about board and executive as partners may be no more than a false narrative throughout the nonprofit sector that should in-fact be rewritten to reflect more of a reality. As a subplot, this case acknowledges that when a board cannot …

Nonprofit Spotlight 2: Days For Girls International

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

At Days for Girls International (DfG) we are turning periods into pathways. We increase access to menstrual care and education by developing global partnerships, cultivating social enterprises, mobilizing volunteers, and innovating sustainable solutions that shatter stigma and limitations for women and girls.

Japanese Foreign Policy In The Shadow Of Hegemonic Shifts, Noah Lawrence Nirenstein

Senior Theses

This thesis investigates whether Japanese foreign policy has changed in response to the shifting power dynamic between Japan’s longtime ally, the United States of America, and China. In recent years, U.S. influence in the Asia-Pacific has waned while Chinese influence has inversely grown. It was hypothesized that Japanese foreign policy would become more agreeable with Chinese attitudes as a result. With that in mind, this study explores the term “hegemony”, how it affects the formation of foreign policy, and how it is present in the relationship of these specific actors. A historical analysis is performed to demonstrate and understand Japan’s …