International Relations Commons^™

Transparency, Accountability, And Influence In The International Investment Law System, Jarrod Wong, Jason Yackee

Michigan Journal of International Law

This article offers the first interdisciplinary critique of transparency in international investment law (“IIL”) that draws on transparency-skeptical and accountability scholarship in political science and public administration. Not only has the expansive IIL literature overlooked these disciplines, but much of it fails to define the core concept of transparency. Building on contributions from the fields of administrative law, international relations, and system theory in classic political science, we provide a novel functionalist account of transparency that traces a line from transparency to accountability to influence in the IIL system.

We make three arguments. First, transparency involves access to data that …

Nexus Of Fear, Deterrence, And Prestige: The Role Of Russia's Exotic Nuclear Toolkit, Ryan Christenson

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

This thesis examines Russia’s development of “exotic” nuclear weapon systems, specifically the Poseidon nuclear-powered torpedo, the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle, the Kinzhal hypersonic air-launched ballistic missile, and the Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile, to determine how and why Russia diverged from traditional nuclear platforms. Drawing on open-source data and comparative analysis against the standard nuclear triad, it investigates the doctrinal, technical, and political motivations driving Moscow’s nuclear modernization, including paranoia over U.S. missile defense, aspirations for great-power status, and domestic economic influences. Scenario-based assessments illustrate the potential destabilizing effects of these systems, which compress decision-making time and raise risks of inadvertent …

Climates’ Impact On Culture: Analyzing The Adaptive Capacity Of Cultural Heritage Sites In The Global South Situated In The Scholarly And Public Spheres, Reilly Hummell

Honors Senior Capstones and Theses

This study used a qualitative case study analysis to answer the following research question: How are governments in the Global South tackling the challenge of preserving UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the face of climate change? This was done by investigating the adaptive capacity of the Chan Chan Archeological Site in Trujillo, Peru. The adaptive capacity of the site was evaluated using an adaptive capacity analytical framework that is composed of four determinants: learning capacity, room of autonomous change and access to information, access to resources, and leadership. These determinants were then sought out in State of Conservation Reports provided …

The Woman Question And State Feminism: Gender, Power, And Modernity In Pahlavi Iran, Maire Claire Dubard

Scripps Senior Theses

In 20th century Pahlavi Iran, Reza Shah and Mohammad Reza Shah instrumentalized the ‘woman question’ — women’s political, economic, and professional roles in a changing society — to consolidate their power and promote a modern state. Reza Shah utilized top-down and coercive reforms, including veiling and education, to strengthen his power, weaken religious influence, and create a visible national identity. In contrast, his son, Mohammad Reza Shah, instrumentalized gender issues and tied women’s rights to his personal image of progressivism. Though it can be argued that all of their reforms supported gender equality, they were implemented, in fact, with the …

The Paradox Of Survival: Gendered Food Insecurity, Labor Inequalities, And Coping Strategies During The 2023/4 Drought In Eastern Ethiopia, Meron E. Lemma

Theses and Dissertations--Geography

In drought-prone regions of Eastern Ethiopia, recurring droughts profoundly reshape everyday life in ways that deepen existing gendered inequalities. Drawing on fieldwork conducted in Fedis district, including semi-structured interviews with women, project implementers, and government officials, as well as group discussions with community members, this study explores how women experience, navigate, and resist the gendered impacts of drought. By attending to the sociopolitical dynamics of drought and the development interventions that accompany it, I analyze how these forces restructure labor, land, food systems, and authority in ways that reproduce and exacerbate existing inequalities. Women’s coping strategies, ranging from begging and …

A Geopolitical Economy Analysis Of China And India’S Approaches To Transnational Data Governance, Yujia He, Ka Zeng

Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce Faculty Publications

Recent literature on the behavior of rising powers in digital trade and data governance highlights their discourses of data sovereignty and desire to preserve domestic policy autonomy. This article contributes to the literature by employing a political economy lens that shifts the focus from the nation-state/inter-state framework towards the dynamics of state–capital relations, allowing for a more historical and contextual understanding of the geopolitics of data governance in emerging economies. Using China and India—two of the largest emerging economies—as comparative cases, and drawing on secondary data from government documents and other sources, the article argues that the interplay between the …

The Effect Of Variations In Us Policy Toward Taiwan On Us – China Relations, Thomas Cheah

CMC Senior Theses

US foreign policy to Taiwan has been defined by strategic ambiguity ever since the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act. However, changes and variations in the intensity of strategic ambiguity have come to the fore in recent years, specifically beginning under the first Trump Administration. This has undermined US China relations in certain cases.The findings reveal that while US actions, such as arms sales and symbolic gestures, provoke short-term tensions with China, the broader bilateral relationship remains defined by economic interdependence and strategic competition.

Understanding The Ideological Transformation Of Farc In Colombia, Savannah Grier

CMC Senior Theses

In 2016, the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) agreed to a peace deal that led to their disarmament. The former guerrilla group, FARC, integrated into Colombian politics by forming a new party called Comunes. FARC, thus, has taken a similar route to other former rebel groups in Latin America by pursuing its agenda as a political party after demobilizing. This thesis examines the ideological transformation and political evolution of FARC, analyzing its transition from a Marxist-Leninist insurgent group to a political party within Colombia’s democratic system. By exploring FARC’s historical role in the Colombian conflict …

Russia’S Involvement In Mali: Strategic Opportunism, Madeline Dornfeld

CMC Senior Theses

This paper examines the motivations behind Russia’s involvement in Mali, focusing on the interests of both the Russian and Malian states. This analysis is complicated by the presence of Wagner Group, a semi-state security force whose ties to the Russian government have been officially denied until recently. The paper situates Russia’s engagement within a broader geopolitical context, highlighting pivotal events such as the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. It argues that Russia’s engagement in Mali is part of a strategic effort to counter international isolation, expand geopolitical influence, and promote a multipolar world …

Invisible No More: Looking And Listening Locally To Build Conflict-Related Sexual Violence Resilience, Anjali Thakore

CMC Senior Theses

The ubiquity of sexual violence, with its devastating physical and psychological consequences, has rendered conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) one of the most effective and enduring “invisible crimes” of war. Despite receiving growing attention across academic, political, and activist circles, wartime sexual violence remains pervasive in contemporary conflict zones. Against the backdrop of these frequent and recurring violations, this thesis explores the dissonance between high-level rhetorical commitments to preventing and punishing CRSV and on-the-ground realities. What soon emerges is a troubling pattern in which gendered violence—and women’s lived experiences more generally—while increasingly visible in theory, remains marginalised in practice. By investigating …

A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: Realism In U.S. Foreign Policy, Olivia M. Licata

CMC Senior Theses

This paper examines the influence of realist theory on U.S. foreign policy from 1776 to 2025. Through a temporal analysis of policy across three international power systems – multipolarity, bipolarity, and unipolarity – this paper determines that U.S. foreign policymakers follow realist prescriptions for state behavior given their perception of the United States’ status within the international balance of power system. As a result, the U.S. foreign policy has become rooted in realist assumptions and constrained to realism-prescribed behavior, which will ultimately lead to hegemonic decline. This paper calls for the reexamination of realist influences on foreign policy decision-making.

Beyond The Bank Account: Financial Inclusion And Maharashtra's Microenterprises, Kyra F. Variyava

CMC Senior Theses

Financial inclusion has evolved from mere bank account ownership to a broader imperative that encourages the active and consistent use of financial services to cultivate practices of savings and better financial management. Focusing on the underserved communities of Maharashtra’s microenterprise sector, this thesis evaluates the effectiveness of four central financial inclusion schemes: Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana, Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises, Stand-Up India, and Pradhan Mantri Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi. This thesis develops a four-dimensional evaluative framework, assessing each scheme’s performance in accessibility, awareness and financial literacy efforts, adoption of digital services, and accountability and oversight …

Two Paths, One Paris Agreement: Global South Development And Diplomacy In A Changing Climate, My Fu

CMC Senior Theses

Climate action, development, and technology have grown intertwined in the international struggle against climate change. When the Paris Agreement was developed in 2015, it bridged these commitments together and encouraged the international community to collaborate in reducing global temperatures. Historically, international agreements have excluded Global South countries from benefits when it was implemented. Is the Paris Agreement the same? How effective has the Paris Agreement been in fostering the international community to support Global South countries in their economic, technological, and sustainable development? By assessing the cases of Bhutan and Kenya, the answer to this question appears to be complex. …

Alliance In Flux: Oil And The Us-Saudi Strategic Bargain Reconsidered, Austin Andersen

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis examines the historical development and future trajectory of the longstanding relationship between the United States and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It traces its roots back to the early twentieth century, during which the Kingdom was established officially and the United States was on the hunt for a substance that quickly became one of the world’s most precious commodities–oil. Since then, oil has both acted as a binding force and a point of contention between the two nations. However, through ups and downs in the partnership, oil has remained at the heart of the arrangement. This study follows …

Powering Understanding: Cultural Underpinnings Of U.S.-China Competition In The Green Energy Transition, Bryan J. Soh

CMC Senior Theses

Rejecting the structural determinism of contemporary IR theories that neglect diverging epistemic predispositions in different states, this paper traces the cultural rationalization of green transition policies in the U.S. and China, thereby paving a way towards a positive understanding of how bilateral climate diplomacy can be better adapted for cooperation, rather than antagonistic competition, on an issue that transcends borders.

Isegoria In Crisis: Hong Kong's Innovation System And Articulating The Right To Be Heard Using Deliberative Democratic Theory, Bhanu Cheepurupalli

CMC Senior Theses

I argue that Hong Kong maintains democratic deliberation through its innovation policy apparatus despite lacking traditional democratic processes. Using deliberative democratic theory and the concept of isegoria (speech of equals before equals), I demonstrate how Hong Kong's innovation governance sustains meaningful consensus outside conventional democratic frameworks.

My analysis shows that while Hong Kong lacks free elections, democratic deliberation persists through alternative channels within science and technology governance. Innovation policy functions as a vehicle for justice-advancing deliberation despite institutional constraints, as deliberative bodies operate within limited time, authority, and resources.

I trace how Hong Kong's innovation policy apparatus developed through the …

The Inextricable Link Between Gendered Security And State Stability: Strategic Costs Of U.S. Humanitarian Retrenchment, Kirby Eh Kimball

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis examines the strategic consequences of the 2025 U.S. foreign aid freeze on gendered security in conflict-affected states, focusing on Sudan, Syria, and Ukraine. It argues that gendered security—the protection, empowerment, and rights of women and girls—is not a peripheral humanitarian concern but a foundational determinant of state stability, development, and democratic resilience. Through a qualitative comparative case study methodology, the research synthesizes empirical literature, United Nations reports, human rights documentation, and cross-national statistical analyses to demonstrate how the collapse of gender-focused humanitarian programs following the aid freeze will critically exacerbate conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), weaken state institutions, and …

การกำหนดกรอบประเด็นเรื่องไต้หวันให้เป็นวาระด้านความมั่นคงของญี่ปุ่น, สิทธา ตันรักษา

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

วิทยานิพนธ์ฉบับนี้มีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อวิเคราะห์ว่าญี่ปุ่นทำให้เรื่องไต้หวันเป็นวาระด้านความมั่นคงอย่างไร เพื่อตอบคำถามดังกล่าวผู้เขียนใช้กรอบแนวคิดเรื่องการกำหนดกรอบประเด็น (issue framing) โดยศึกษาเนื้อหาของเอกสารรัฐบาลญี่ปุ่น คำแถลงในที่สาธารณะหรือสุนทรพจน์ ผลการศึกษาพบว่าการกำหนดกรอบประเด็นเพื่อที่จะสร้างวาระความร่วมมือด้านความมั่นคงกับไต้หวันมี 3 ด้าน ได้แก่ 1) การกำหนดกรอบประเด็นให้ปัญหาไต้หวันเป็นเรื่องสำคัญต่อความอยู่รอดและความมั่นคงโดยตรงของญี่ปุ่น โดยเน้นย้ำว่าญี่ปุ่นทางตะวันตกเฉียงใต้กับช่องแคบไต้หวันเป็นยุทธบริเวณเดียวกัน ทั้งนี้ยังทำให้ปัญหาไต้หวันเชื่อมโยงกับสิทธิป้องกันตนเองร่วมกัน 2) การกำหนดกรอบประเด็นว่าญี่ปุ่นและไต้หวันมีค่านิยมร่วมกัน อันเชื่อมโยงกับการทำให้ญี่ปุ่นและไต้หวันเป็นกลุ่มก้อน ตัวตน และร่วมอุดมการณ์เดียวกัน รวมถึงใช้ประเด็นดังกล่าวเชื่อมโยงกับการสร้างวาระความร่วมมือด้านความมั่นคงกับไต้หวัน และ 3) การกำหนดกรอบประเด็นให้เรื่องไต้หวันเป็นปัญหาความมั่นคงที่กระทบเสถียรภาพในภูมิภาคและระเบียบโลก ซึ่งมีความเชื่อมโยงกับการทำให้ประชาคมโลกตระหนักร่วมกันถึงสันติภาพและเสถียรภาพบริเวณช่องแคบไต้หวัน ทั้งยังเป็นการส่งเสริมให้เกิดความร่วมมือกับชาติที่มีความคิดอุดมการณ์เดียวกัน (like-minded countries) เข้ามาสอดส่องดูแลสันติภาพและเสถียรภาพบริเวณช่องแคบไต้หวัน โดยการกำหนดกรอบประเด็นทั้งสามด้านมีนัยสำคัญเพื่อลดข้อจำกัดด้านการป้องกันประเทศและด้านความมั่นคงที่จะทำให้ญี่ปุ่นสามารถสร้างแนวร่วมในการป้องปรามจีนไม่ให้รุกรานไต้หวัน

Foucauldian Discourses At The Intersection Of Climate-Induced Migration And Cultural Heritage, Samantha L. Stuhlmiller

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The worsening climate crisis has created and exacerbated issues of migration, cultural heritage and power relations issues. States and communities worldwide face large-scale challenges that must be addressed to protect individuals and ensure the longevity of nations and their cultures. This thesis utilizes Foucauldian theories of power through a critical discourse analysis of relevant documents in international law, state policy, and research to assess how discourses impact the design and implementation of policies and practices that are intended to mitigate and solve these issues in Kiribati, Tuvalu, and for the Rohingya. When there are discrepancies between discourses created and reinforced …

Nuclear Weapons And In-Group Moral Reasoning: The Case Of Orthodox Christianity, Christopher Ferrero

Intelligence and Security Studies

Are nuclear weapons moral? The contemporary ban movement asserts that they are not, and a common view prevails that even if possession for deterrence can be accepted, there is a taboo against the use of nuclear weapons. However, the literature of the last quarter century shows that in-group political identification supports the possession and even the first use of nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, the literature on how organized religious groups perceive nuclear ethics is underdeveloped. The Russian Orthodox Church argues that Russia’s nuclear arsenal is divine and legitimate. It posits a religiopolitical civilization as the in-group for whom nuclear armament is …