Political Science's Contributions to the International Studies Program
The Department of Political Science collaborates with the International Studies Program to enhance students’ knowledge of world cultures and international politics and strengthen their analytical skills. In addition to teaching courses on non-Western societies and international relations, the political science faculty regularly supervise undergraduate research on a variety of topics and serve as thesis advisors for International Studies majors. Below is a short list, illustrating a wide range of topics covered in recent student work.
Student Name: Sabina Abdukahhorova
Thesis Title: The Glass Menagerie of Refugee Resettlement: Securitization post 9/11 and Refugee Resettlement Regimes in Germany and Canada
Thesis Advisor: Sarah Lockhart
Short Description: Through the case studies of Canada and Germany, this thesis addresses how the two developed countries handled the growing demand for resettlement programs to accommodate and integrate displaced people, such as refugees and asylum seekers after 9/11, into their social and economic spheres through resettlement programs.
Year: 2023
Student Name: Consuelo Alina Bills
Thesis Title: Female Labor Force Participation and Tertiary Education: A Case Study of India and Brazil
Thesis Advisor: Idalia Bastiaens
Short Description: The thesis seeks to understand why such democracies and emerging economies as India and Brazil differ in terms of their female labor force participation.
Year: 2018
Student Name: Isabel Cooper-Perales
Thesis Title: From DACAmented to unDACAmented: The Mental Health Implications of DACA’s Uncertain Future on Latino Immigrants
Thesis Advisor: Annika Hinze
Short Description: The thesis discusses the overall health implications of immigrants under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
Year: 2019
Student Name: Emily DeVivo
Thesis Title: Women’s Political Participation in Europe: The Case Studies of Sweden and Ukraine
Thesis Advisor: Olena Nikolayenko
Short Description: The thesis examines how mass attitudes toward gender, the electoral system, and access to resources affect the level of women’s representation in national government in Sweden and Ukraine.
Year: 2019
Student Name: Kathryn Echele
Thesis Title: Weaponization of Religion: The Manipulation of Religion in the Pursuit of Political Power in Yugoslavia and Syria
Thesis Advisor: John Entelis
Short Description: This thesis uses the two case studies – Yugoslavia/Yugoslav Wars and Syria/Syrian Civil War – to demonstrate the ability religion has to spur conflict when coopted for political means.
Year: 2023
Student Name: Catherine Gassiot
Thesis Title: Exploring White Extremism as a Function of Historical Legacy, Globalization, and Populism in the United Kingdom, United States, and Australia
Thesis Advisor: Jose Aleman
Short Description: The thesis addresses the contemporary issue of white extremism in the context of increasing globalization and populism.
Year: 2019
Student Name: Marta Granados Hernández
Thesis Title: The Belt and Road Initiative: Analyzing Its Impact on Kazakhstan and Pakistan
Thesis Advisor: Olena Nikolayenko
Short Description: The thesis compares the impact of China’s investment programs on local economies in Central and South Asia.
Year: 2021
Student Name: Suzan Juncaj
Thesis Title: Fostering Dissent: Analyzing Russian Rhetorical Strategies in Fomenting a Negative Image of the EU in Serbia
Thesis Advisor: Olena Nikolayenko
Short Description: The thesis analyzes the rhetorical strategies used by the Russian Foreign Ministry to project a negative image of the European Union in Serbia.
Year: 2024
Student Name: Kyle James Kilkenny
Thesis Title: “Equal Dignity”: Comparing the Campaigns to Legalize Same-Sex Marriage and their Outcomes in Italy and the United States
Thesis Advisor: Zein Murib
Short Description: The thesis studies how similar efforts to pass same-sex marriage legislation resulted in different outcomes, which are measured by whether same-sex marriage has been codified on the national level, such as in the United States, whereas Italy only recognizes same-sex civil unions as of December 2018.
Year: 2019
Student Name: Lala Kumakura
Thesis Title: Can Conditional Cash Transfer Programs Reduce Intergenerational Poverty? A Comparative Analysis on Brazil’s Bolsa Familia and Malawi's Zomba Cash Transfer Program
Thesis Advisor: Idalia Bastiaens
Short Description: This thesis explores the effectiveness of the program through case studies on Brazil’s Bolsa Família and Malawi’s Zomba Cash Transfer Program to examine whether the two programs have long-term impacts to reduce intergenerational poverty.
Year: 2019
Student Name: Leanna Shea Nichols
Thesis Title: Ignoring the Learning Curve: The Failure of U.S. Foreign Intervention in Chile and Afghanistan
Thesis Advisor: Jose Aleman
Short Description: There are multiple reasons why U.S. democracy-building interventions fail abroad. This thesis discusses these failures through the case studies of the U.S. interventions in Chile and Afghanistan.
Year: 2019
Student Name: Emma Stefania Schoppmeyer
Thesis Title: Gender, Sexuality and Human Rights: A Comparative Analysis of the Role of Civil Society Organizations in HIV/AIDS Responses in Brazil and Nigeria
Thesis Advisor: Anjali Dayal
Short Description: The thesis examines the gender constructs and inequities in Brazil and Nigeria to demonstrate how gender affects transmission in sexual relationships as well as the role it plays in creating differential experiences with HIV for men and women.
Year: 2021
Student Name: Elizabeth Anne Weinman
Thesis Title: Roadblocks of Retribution: The Problems with Internationalized Criminal Tribunals as a Mechanism for Reconciliation
Thesis Advisor: Sarah Lockhart
Short Description: Through an analysis of the histories, formation, and implementation of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the Special Court for Sierra Leone, the thesis demonstrates that these tribunals were limited in their capacity to promote reconciliation because of their commitment to norms of retributive justice.
Year: 2023
Student Name: Cooper Wilson
Thesis Title: Flashpoints in Small State Diplomacy: The Effects of Strategic Alignment, Democratic Norms, and Domestic Support in Ukraine and Taiwan on US Commitments
Thesis Advisor: Sarah Lockhart
Short Description: The thesis argues that Ukraine and Taiwan find diplomatic success in achieving security partnerships with the United States by emphasizing different norms and employing different messaging around strategic alignment, while domestic support is a prerequisite for diplomatic success in both cases.
Year: 2023
Student Name: Perry Joseph Zirpoli
Thesis Title: Establishing the Mens Rea of Genocide within ‘Sub-Intentions’: A Study of Systematic Sexual Violence in Myanmar and Bosnia
Thesis Advisor: Idalia Bastiaens
Short Description: The thesis demonstrates that sexual violence was perpetrated during the conflict between the Rohingya and the Buddhist majority in Myanmar and between Serbs and the Bosnian Muslims in the Bosnian conflict with the overall intent to ‘homogenize’ the region’s population.
Year: 2019