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- Creators: Economics Program in CLAS
Description
Since the start of U.S. hostilities against Iraq in 2003, International Relations scholars have begun to characterize the U.S. as potentially an empire. This is because the traditional notion of sovereignty under the Westphalian nation-state system is held as a constant in the prominent theories that govern how it is thought how nation-states interact with each other. The blatant violation of international laws and norms with impunity by the U.S. have led to a re-questioning of the true dynamics underlying this system. Some scholars have characterized the recent research as a popular fad, but most of the research is aimed at just attempting to show how the U.S. could be an empire. What the current research is missing is how the U.S. became an empire, with that analysis anchored in an historical comparison. A complete chronological review of each system in its entirety is required, with all of its components, to more fully understand these phenomena. This has required researchers to devise a new methodological process of qualitatively and quantitatively analyzing macro structures. We believe the implications of the insights that can be obtained with this new method could be of use to many fields and can generate many new hypotheses to test in the future.
ContributorsRoche, Joshua Nathan (Author) / Crittenden, Jack (Thesis director) / Walker, Stephen (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
This paper examines the Syrian Civil War using seven different civil war settlement theories in order to assess the likelihood of a negotiated settlement ending the conflict. The costs of war, balance of power, domestic political institutions, ethnic identity, divisibility of stakes, veto player, and credible commitment theories were used in a multi-perspective analysis of the Syrian Civil War and the possibility of a peace settlement. It was found that all of the theories except for costs of war and balance of power predict that a negotiated settlement is unlikely to resolve the conflict. Although the Syrian government and the Syrian National Coalition are currently engaged in diplomatic negotiations through the Geneva II conference, both sides are unwilling to compromise on the underlying grievances driving the conflict. This paper ultimately highlights some of the problems inhibiting a negotiated settlement in the Syrian Civil War. These obstacles include: rival ethno-religious identities of combatants, lack of democratic institutions in Syria, indivisibility of stakes in which combatants are fighting for, number of veto player combatant groups active in Syria, and the lack of a credible third party to monitor and enforce a peace settlement.
ContributorsRidout, Scott Jeffries (Author) / Grossman, Gary (Thesis director) / Siroky, David (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
The rise of China over the last two decades has left the United States switching its focus from other areas of the world to the ever growing presence and influence coming from Asia in the spectrum of world politics. Many countries in Eastern Asia are being forced to choose determine whether they want to strengthen their alliances with China, their most important economic partner, or the United States, which for most of these countries, has been their most impactful political partner. Japan has been put in the scenario of having incredibly strong ties with the United States, especially militarily, and having a long history of conflict with China, but needing to recognize the importance of China as a rising power. Simultaneously, Japan is working to increase their own global influence to match their economic strength. With the recent development in the change of Japan's constitutional self-defense and diversion from their traditional pacifist nature since adopting their constitution in 1947, the rest of the world is waiting to see what changes will be coming from Japan regarding military policy. The foreign policies that are in the relatively early development of shaping up between Japan, China and the United States that are heavily influenced by the current United States military presence in Japan and the Asian region, will have a significant impact on the global political system in the coming years.
ContributorsBorer, Marisa Kathryn (Author) / Moore, Aaron (Thesis director) / Simon, Sheldon (Committee member) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05