Honors Projects

A State within a State: the Case of Chechnya

Hanna Zimnitskaya — Fri, 11 May 2012 14:09:57 PDT

After the USSR's dissolution, Russia struggled to reassert its Great Power status by enhancing its internal might and territorial cohesion. Futile military campaigns against the rebellious Chechen people pushed the Kremlin to strike a bargain with an unorthodox warlord: Ramzan Kadyrov, who was to become a faithful ally, while in return Chechnya received an unprecedented level of autonomy. This thesis examines the dynamics of Kadyrov's ascent to power, specifically the Islamization of public space and the monopolization of Chechen security forces, and concludes that, in the long run, the unwavering consolidation of his rule menaces Russia's re-emerging 'greatness'.

Peace Through Justice?: Evaluating the International Criminal Court

Katherine Ann Snitzer — Fri, 11 May 2012 13:35:00 PDT

This thesis looks at the recently created International Criminal Court (ICC) and its early cases in Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Sudan. The central questions are: how does the Court impact peace building in the war-torn countries whose cases it handles? And is there a tension between peace and justice in these cases? The case studies demonstrate that while rhetoric linking peace and justice dominates the Court, the ICC is ill equipped to address the complex interaction of the two in specific countries. The Court’s narrow mandate and powers mean that practical and political concerns dominate its decision-making to the extent that there is little space to give priority to local peace building.

Ground Zero: Tourism, Terrorism, and Global Imagination

Maxwell E. Loos — Mon, 23 May 2011 06:54:01 PDT

At Ground Zero, the transnational phenomena of tourism and terrorism intersect. In this thesis, I introduce the concept of global imagination, and analyze how tourism and terrorism affect this process of global imagination for Americans, arguing that tourism plays an important role in constructing a globe, while terrorism – particularly the 9/11 attacks – works to interrupt imaginative process itself. I then explore how tourism of terrorism at Ground Zero influences global imagination, containing the events of 9/11, allowing for the construction of only a very specific globe in which the U.S. is an innocent, benevolent actor in world history.

Memories of la Mission Civilisatrice: Language Policy and Postcolonial National Identities in Tunisia and France

Krista Moore — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 09:26:48 PDT

Global migration patterns increasingly challenge the historical relationships between Western powers and their former colonies. Traditional conceptions of who belongs where have weakened, and language has become a heated topic of debate. This thesis explores how national language policies both reflect and inflect the national identities of the one-time colonizer and colonized. Using studies of language politics in both Tunisia's independence and France's responses to North African immigration, I demonstrate that despite the half century that has passed since France occupied North Africa, the colonial experience remains influential on both sides.

Islam and Human Rights: Reimagining a Space for Dialogue Between Islamism and Secularism in Pakistan

Mishal Khan — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 08:34:38 PDT

This thesis examines the prospects for a conversation between Islam and human rights. The basic question addressed is: where does the Islamic tradition fit in a secular discourse that inherently rejects religious doctrine? The case study of Pakistan focuses on the role of Islam in politics, and how secular human rights NGOs insert themselves in a polarized national debate about Islam in political life. What emerges is a statement of the importance of "patient and complex intellectual labor" within the Islamic tradition, showing how reformulating our understanding of secularism and the Islamic state is crucial for opening up a space where the promotion of protection of human rights can flourish.

The Role of Social Protection Programs in Remittance-Centered Development Policy: A Case Study of Morocco

Helena R. Swanson-Nystrom — Tue, 04 May 2010 07:19:50 PDT

Remittances serve as a financial lifeline for households in emerging economies around the world, affording basic social services such as food, education, and healthcare. Alternatively, remittances from diaspora populations are an opportunity for countries to finance development projects. The case of Morocco illustrates the central role that remittances can play in the development policy of countries with high labor out-migration. Yet using remittances for long-term development requires public social protection programs to substitute for the redirection of these private funds used by individual households.

At the intersection of neoliberal development, scarce resources, and human rights: Enforcing the right to water in South Africa

Elizabeth A. Larson — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 06:09:45 PDT

The competing ideals of international human rights and global economic neoliberalism come into conflict when developing countries try to enforce socio-economic rights. This paper explores the intersection of economic globalization and the enforcement of 2nd generation human rights. The focus of this exploration is the right to water in South Africa, specifically the recent Constitutional Court case Mazibuko v City of Johannesburg. While a right to water can be constructed at the international level, the right disappears in the face of neoliberal development measures such as those that are instituted by democratic governments in developing nations faced with limited resources.

Emputada: A Transnational Critique of Trafficking, Prostitution, and Global Sex Worker Organizing

Alexandra Douglas — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 08:13:04 PDT

This thesis provides a genealogy of the international sex trafficking discourse, as defined juridically through the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, by annotating how the category and definition of "sex trafficking" emerged from multiple articulations of race, sexuality, and migration. By providing a comparative example of how trafficking and sex work is conceptualized within the sociopolitical infrastructures of three distinct locations-- St.Paul/Minnneapolis, San Francisco, and Cochabamba--I demonstrate how trafficking, as defined in international discourse, both has its historical roots in the west and continues to serve as a method of (neo)colonial control.

La Violencia Íntima: International and Local Responses to Domestic Violence in Nicaragua

Katherine Mesner-Hage — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 08:13:02 PDT

This paper looks at the legal and social advocacy dimensions of domestic violence in Nicaragua and internationally. The first chapter constructs a paradigm for conceptualizing domestic violence as an international human rights violation and then considers the Nicaraguan legal and judicial system according to that paradigm. The second chapter discusses international social advocacy networks that address violence against women and their relationship to feminist organizing against domestic violence in Nicaragua. Chapter three narrows in scope, presenting a case study of the Colectivo de Mujeres 8 de Marzo, a women's organization in Nicaragua. The final chapter explores the limitations of current theory dealing with the implementation of international norms in domestic contexts.

Establishing Multicultural Interdependence in Europe: Overcoming the Legal Challenges Facing Cosmopolitan Citizens

Jessica L. Hawkinson — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 14:03:27 PDT

Modern states and legal structures around the world are pressed by the forces of globalization to accommodate increasingly diverse multicultural populations. Older and more frequently followed models for cultural integration are rooted in theories of assimilation or liberal pluralism. These theories can demand unbalanced changes from either minority communities or the state. Few theories identify the dual process of interdependence necessary for the democratic inclusion of diverse minority communities in Europe. This thesis explores the historical intent and shortcomings of immigration and integration legislation as it relates to ethnic minority communities in Great Britain and the Netherlands, and makes a case for including a balanced interdependence model in the political discussion of multiculturalism. I argue that promoting multicultural interdependence through immigration and integration legislation could preserve both European democratic institutions and the benefits of difference, in much the same way that the European Union has preserved the legacy of the state.

Promoting Democracy: American and European Thinking and Strategy

Paul M. Bisca — Fri, 09 May 2008 11:51:57 PDT

My thesis investigates the use of democracy promotion as an instrument of foreign policy. Through a comparative analysis of the United States and European Union (EU), the paper examines how different conceptions of democracy, power and the role of the state have led to divergent intellectual and strategic approaches towards democratization. The feasibility of these approaches is then tested in the context of Hamas' electoral victory in the 2006 Palestinian elections. Though neither has been practically successful, the EU model has proven to be conceptually better equipped to cope with the challenges of spreading democracy in the age of globalization.

The Picture of Health (Care): Healthcare Practitioner Education for People and Planet, Based on Comparative Analysis of Rural Medical Waste Management in Ecuador and Native American Reservations in Minnesota, USA

Blair Brown — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 13:20:55 PDT

An evaluation of healthcare facilities in rural areas of Ecuador and Minnesota, USA shows that medical waste management decisions are often made by people unaware of environmental consequences. Since deteriorating ecosystems adversely affect human health, medical curriculum changes could combat the irony that the health care system contributes to environmental degradation. Thus all practitioners of allopathic medicine should be educated with curriculum that equally addresses environmental and human health. the recommendations in this thesis work to enable local practitioners to use existing resources ecologically and promote environmentally responsible healthcare.

Staying Off the Bottom of the Melting Pot: Social Welfare, Post-9/11 Policy, and Self-Sufficiency in Somali Refugee Resettlement

Ihotu J. Ali — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 12:28:33 PST

As global migration intensifies and diversifies, policy-makers take up border control with heightened security, visa restrictions, and limitations on non-citizen rights. Refugees arrive at the invitation of liberal nations such as the United States; however, even “protected” refugees feel the effects of increasing economic and social conservatism at all levels of governance. This interdisciplinary field research documents the social networks and coping strategies of Somali refugees in the Twin Cities as they face rising challenges of adaptation and integration in the era of fiscal conservatism and national security. Findings suggest that the current “refugee climate” causes Somalis to turn inward for support, whereas successful resettlement and integration in the sense of a broadened belonging requires compromise: a balance of self-sufficiency, religious accommodations, and cross-cultural education.

Rethinking Transitional Justice: Cambodia, Genocide, and a Victim-Centered Model

Isabelle Chan — Wed, 23 May 2007 05:24:24 PDT

Through a normative and explanatory approach, this thesis explores the historical and political factors that could influence the pursuit of transitional justice in Cambodia. The study suggests that a victim-centered model will meet the goals of reconciliation, truth, and healing advocated by the Cambodian Government and the international community. Recognizing the necessities and positive potentialities inherent in a combined prosecutorial and restorative approach of transitional justice, this research calls upon historical and comparative lessons to bring forth public policy recommendations for the Hun Sen Government and the United Nations. The study concludes with avenues for additional research on Cambodia, transitional justice, and the building of a democratic order.

"Islam is the solution": Demystifying Islamization in Morocco and Egypt

Megan Rose Mulcahy — Wed, 23 May 2007 05:24:23 PDT

What is the future of the Middle East? Despite half a century of American efforts to transform the region’s states into stable, free-market democracies, the citizens of ‘the new Middle East’ appear to have their own ideas: the past few decades have witnessed an explosion of popular Islamization, even in supposedly moderate states. I examine the evolution of what I term ‘active Islam’ through three contexts: historical, ideological, and situational, using Egypt and Morocco as case studies. My conclusion is that active Islam is succeeding because states are failing, in terms of providing both social services, and an adequate ideological framework.

Slovakia and the European Union: Complexities and Contradictions

Megan M. Metzger — Tue, 01 May 2007 05:51:16 PDT

The European Union is a grand project in supranational governance. As the Union continues to enlarge, however, it faces new challenges and new questions. In this thesis, I use Slovakia as a case study to examine the impact of EU integration and the relationship between the EU’s political goals and the political culture of states themselves. I will argue that there is often a complex and contradictory relationship between these two conceptions, and that this has long-term implications for the processes of continued European integration, supranational governance, and Europeanization which are central to the future of the European Union.