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- Creators: Ravel, Maurice, 1875-1937
Description
The purpose of this dissertation is to study not only relations between Latin America and the United States, but also Latin American states with each other. It specifically aims to examine the extent to which the United States, the principal hegemonic power in the Americas, can play a constructive role by providing regional public goods. These goods include conflict resolution and economic progress. Although the United States has the potential to create such goods, it also has the potential to create public bads in the form of regional instability, political terror, and economic stagnation. This raises two fundamental research questions: Under what conditions can Washington play a positive role and if these conditions cannot be met, under what conditions can Latin American nations bypass the United States and create their own economic progress and conflict resolution strategies? Drawing upon qualitative research methods and case studies that have attracted scant academic attention, this dissertation finds that through regional multilateral diplomatic negotiations, the United States can play a positive role. However, due to U.S. parochial economic interests and the marginalization of diplomacy as a foreign policy tool, these conditions rarely occur. This research further finds, however, that through flexible regionalization Latin American nations can bypass the United States and create their own goods. Supported by an alternative regional power, flexible regionalization relies upon supranational institutions that exclude the United States, emphasize permanent political and economic integration, and avoid inflexible monetary unions. Through this type of regionalization, Latin America can decrease U.S. interference, sustain political and economic autonomy, and open space for alternative conflict resolution strategies and economic policies that Washington would otherwise oppose. This dissertation is academically significant and policy relevant. First, it reconsiders diplomacy as an instrumental variable for peace and offers generalizable results that can be applied to additional cases. Moreover, finding that Latin American countries can address their own regional issues, this study recognizes the positive agency of Latin America and counters the negative essentialization commonly found in U.S. academic and policy research. Finally, this research offers policy advice for both the United States and Latin America.
ContributorsRipley, Charles (Author) / Doty, Roxanne L (Thesis advisor) / Stoner, Lynn (Committee member) / Simon, Sheldon (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
The unprecedented rise of terrorist network ISIL has brought the revolutionary Salafi agenda to the forefront of global politics. This thesis provides an analysis of the ideology and an overview of ISIL. The research is comprised of reports on the organization from prominent think-tanks, books analyzing the tenets and thinkers of Salafi radicalism and original source material confiscated from ISIL's predecessor al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI). An international coalition is posited as a solution to the threat as well as the Middle Eastern terrorist threat more broadly. However, the likelihood of such international cooperation is minimal, and the commitment it would require may make it unfeasible.
ContributorsSims, Alyssa Gabrielle (Author) / Simon, Sheldon (Thesis director) / Ripley, Charles (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Within sixty years, the People’s Republic of China has risen from a struggling post-civil war state to the second largest economy in the world, comprising of 16.71 percent of the global economy as of 2015. While China has grown, its presence internationally has grown as well—China has utilized its capital to foment important relationships and foster soft power dynamics, making billions available in development aid and investment projects across the globe, most notably in Africa and Latin America, where Chinese goods have begun to dominate the markets there as they have in American counterparts. However, within Latin America China has been investing in countries that are traditionally seen as “risky” financial investments. This paper hypothesizes that the returns on Chinese investments in Latin America are not financial, but political—that China is investing in expansion of its soft-power and legitimizing its beginnings of global hegemony. The paper also explores the success of these initiatives by comparing the level of Chinese investment to changes in Latin American foreign policy alignment, discourse, and agreements through utilizing case studies of Venezuela and Bolivia.
ContributorsHochhaus, Natalie (Co-author) / Yan, Jaylia (Co-author) / Thomson, Henry (Thesis director) / Ripley, Charles (Committee member) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
The difficulty of measuring complex goals within nongovernmental organizations is well detailed in nonprofit management literature. For many years, NGOs have faced obstacles ranging from the technical difficulties of measuring intangible missions to ambiguous or unreliable performance criteria to political issues in the design of measurement systems that cater to diverse stakeholders. But despite the challenges, many nongovernmental organizations and researchers are rising to the challenge to design and implement effective systems of measurement. This thesis outlines the lessons learned from a study of the history and development of performance measurement, existing measurement systems and their implementation, as well as various insights gained from interviews conducted in Spring 2013 with leaders of nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations that are facing or that have faced these and many more obstacles in performance management. With these goals, this paper will strive to answer two main questions. What are performance measures and how do they differ by sector? What are performance measurement systems and why are they important?
ContributorsFernandez, Emily Elizabeth (Author) / Thomas, George (Thesis director) / Barsam, Ara (Committee member) / Ripley, Charles (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Humanities, Arts, and Cultural Studies (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
Energiewende refers to the final legislation that sealed the decision to phase out Germany's nuclear power plants prematurely following the Fukushima nuclear disaster. This policy has been in place as of 2011, however, there has been little research done on the comprehensive effects of it within Germany, on German global relationships and obligations. As such, this paper has identified the top areas that have been affected by the legislation as the climate sector, the humanitarian sector and the security sector. In addition to identifying these areas, they have analyzed in the international sphere and this is analysis is used to determine the impact that the German legislation has on political realities in surrounding countries. The impacts are then compared to German obligations, as outlined in numerous treaties from within the three main areas discussed. Not only that, but the effects are also examined within the domestic sphere. The domestic effects are also compared to German obligations from international treaties, while focusing on high priority German issues, such as poverty. This paper ultimately examines the real policy influence that Germany has exhibited as a result of enacting a unique, and ambitious energy policy in a time in which many are still uncertain of the safety, or lack thereof, of nuclear power. The aim is to provide Germany, and countries beginning to question the role of nuclear power, with concurrent solutions to ensure a successful phase out that allows adherence to international and domestic obligations while also illustrating the positive role that nuclear power can play in energy production and policy.
ContributorsMcDonald, Victoria Lynne (Author) / Benkert, Volker (Thesis director) / Ripley, Charles (Committee member) / Jones, Christopher (Committee member) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor, Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
The HIV pandemic spawned a global biomedical research effort which continues today. Because of multinational clinical studies, doctors and health officials possess more tools than ever before for the effective prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS. The relationship between the United States and Sub-Saharan African nations features prominently within this global research effort. More specifically, many of the most significant HIV-related research findings emanate from clinical trials with a unique multinational configuration: the study protocol is largely designed and funded by American sources but executed at clinical research sites in Sub-Saharan African countries like South Africa and Zimbabwe. This thesis investigates the context and ethics of this configuration, with a focus on US-backed trials conducted in South Africa specifically. Using data collected from semi-structured interviews conducted at South African HIV clinical research sites, this thesis uncovers two significant ethical problems: insufficient benefits delivered to South African clinical trial participants, and informal processes occurring alongside formal protocol. By examining scope, effects, and implications of these problems, it becomes clear that although this research system delivers powerful results, there exists room for improvement.
ContributorsGill, Kohinoor Singh (Author) / Hurlbut, Ben (Thesis director) / Ripley, Charles (Committee member) / Vanig, Thanes (Committee member) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / WPC Graduate Programs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
This thesis aimed to further research of indigenous land rights by examining the Norwegian Finnmark Act and how it interacts with the international indigenous land rights movement. The Finnmark Act was legislation that returned land to the indigenous people, the Sami. This project examined the impact that the International Labor Organization’s Convention 169 on Indigenous Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries had on the passage of this Act and what other indigenous communities can learn from the Finnmark Act.
ContributorsGough, Emily (Author) / Sivak, Henry (Thesis director) / Ripley, Charles (Committee member) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
The end of the Cold War brought global norms of democracy and a renewed notion of national self-determination. This paper seeks to understand the political and economic influence of the international community in the definition of national identity in the former Yugoslavia and in Chile at the end of the 1980s. This paper begins with a history of Bosnia-Herzegovina to provide context for the power shifts that occurred during the twentieth century. In this section I address the popular misconception of the root of the violence in the 1990s as due to “ancient hatreds” and offer several examples of primarily political and economic—not ethnic—differences. The next section further disproves this theory with a study of the fluctuating nature of identity. Existing on multiple planes and very much subject to social environment, this section explores the possibility and strategic appeal of identity manipulation to achieve political and economic expansionism. In an era marked by legitimacy earned through democratic support, political leaders used the media to manipulate popular conceptions of identity to promote cohesion through fear and pride. These themes are addressed in the section on the history of Chile, where national identity was formed to legitimize independence from Spain. As global economic markets grew more interdependent, people became unhappy with vulnerability to international shifts and demanded individual protections. Finally, the conclusion provides a brief analysis of the role of the media in reforming economic interests as identity politics. The susceptibility of identity to manipulation in the media, by both internal and external actors, sheds light on the potential fallibility of democracy as a liberal institution.
ContributorsSpencer, Hannah Elizabeth (Author) / Niebuhr, Robert (Thesis director) / Ripley, Charles (Committee member) / W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
This piece highlights the Trump administration's history of diplomatic relations with states in East Asia (specifically North Korea (DPRK), South Korea (ROK), Japan, and China). The research in this essay primarily focuses on Trump's public attitudes towards these states during his presidential campaign, and seeks to establish if any negative statements towards East Asian states have affected social and diplomatic relations after Trump's inauguration. Overall, residents of Japan and South Korea had an overwhelmingly negative view of Trump during his campaign, primarily due to cultural differences and dissatisfaction with Trump's blunt, unpredictable demeanor which clashes with Japanese and Korean social norms. While public opinion of Trump was still low in mainland China, Trump's attitude is reminiscent of Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution which serves as the societal and governmental framework of the modern People's Republic of China. Therefore, individuals living in China were more likely to be attracted to Trump's personality \u2014 this evident through the popularity of Trump "fan clubs" which gained popularity on Chinese social media websites during the American presidential campaign period. In terms of the bilateral relations between the U.S. and each East Asian state, Donald Trump's negative statements towards China, Japan, and South Korea during his campaign did not significantly impact diplomatic relations during his presidency. While Trump is vocally opposed to certain initiatives that are supported by these heads of state, he has demonstrated a willingness to discuss issues with these leaders. While this openness is not completely evident in U.S. \u2014 Southeast Asian relations, the leaders of Northeast Asia have set aside Trump's controversial campaign statements and have reciprocated his willingness to discuss important issues.
ContributorsGarvey, Lauren Agnes (Author) / Simon, Sheldon (Thesis director) / Ripley, Charles (Committee member) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / School of Public Affairs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
There is growing public concern about the implications of climate change for natural processes, such as the melting of ice at the poles, but less clear are the implications for food production. Famine and conflict have a long and complicated history, made increasingly complicated by the intricate global food system. In this paper, I explore the effect of increasingly severe El Niño Southern Oscillation cycles on conflict in an effort to determine how abnormal climate patterns affect food security and, indirectly, conflict. I use a non-linear probit model to analyze the relationship between several binary conflict variables and food supply.
ContributorsWoner, Hannah Marie (Author) / Schoellman, Todd (Thesis director) / Ripley, Charles (Committee member) / Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (Contributor) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12