This thesis uses cross-country panel regressions to identify the effects of fossil-fuel subsidies for both oil importers and oil exporters on GDP growth, industry growth, crowding out of government expenditures in education, health, and infrastructure, government debt, carbon dioxide emissions, inequality and poverty. Fossil-fuel subsidies are found to be associated with lower levels of growth and industry growth, less government expenditure on health and education, poorer infrastructure quality, more government debt, and higher rates of carbon dioxide emissions. No relationship is found between fossil fuel subsidies and poverty and inequality. These results confirm the arguments of those that argue that fossil-fuel subsidies should be rationalized. However, removing subsidies is politically challenging. In order to identify strategies for fossil fuel reform, the successful reform efforts of Indonesia and Turkey are examined. These cases are then used to draw lessons for governments undertaking subsidy reform. The key strategies used were to exempt some regions, groups, or fuels from reform, use funds from subsidy removal for social safety nets and other poverty alleviation programs, time the reforms strategically, and communicate clearly to the public the reason for reform and how the funds will be used. These lessons are applied to countries in the developing Middle East and North Africa, including Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco.

The uses and management of water resources play an important role in the development of a culture and the health of its environment and population. Humans throughout history have consistently exploited rivers, which degrades water quality and leads to water scarcity. This thesis is an examination of two river restoration projects, one on the Oder River in Germany and the other on the Klamath River in the United States, that represent each country's efforts to reverse river exploitation. These cases in Germany and the United States demonstrate the importance of achieving a better understanding of the political instruments and strategies for mitigating environmental issues on a global scale.

This thesis uses cross-country panel regressions to identify the effects of fossil-fuel subsidies for both oil importers and oil exporters on GDP growth, industry growth, crowding out of government expenditures in education, health, and infrastructure, government debt, carbon dioxide emissions, inequality and poverty. Fossil-fuel subsidies are found to be associated with lower levels of growth and industry growth, less government expenditure on health and education, poorer infrastructure quality, more government debt, and higher rates of carbon dioxide emissions. No relationship is found between fossil fuel subsidies and poverty and inequality. These results confirm the arguments of those that argue that fossil-fuel subsidies should be rationalized. However, removing subsidies is politically challenging. In order to identify strategies for fossil fuel reform, the successful reform efforts of Indonesia and Turkey are examined. These cases are then used to draw lessons for governments undertaking subsidy reform. The key strategies used were to exempt some regions, groups, or fuels from reform, use funds from subsidy removal for social safety nets and other poverty alleviation programs, time the reforms strategically, and communicate clearly to the public the reason for reform and how the funds will be used. These lessons are applied to countries in the developing Middle East and North Africa, including Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco.

The purpose of this study was to examine the peculiarities of framing of the United States in selected Belarusian newspapers during first six months of the Obama administration. The concepts of anti-Americanism, authoritarian model of mass media and framing were chosen as a theoretical framework. This study was focused on the two main questions: first, what is the difference in how Belarusian state-run and independent newspapers frame the U.S., and second, what is the mechanism of creating negative image of the U.S. in Belarusian newspapers. In order to provide comprehensive answers to both questions the multi-method approach (involving methods of content and framing analysis) was chosen. As this study demonstrated, the state-run and independent newspapers present a very different image of the U.S.: state-run newspapers present the U.S. within a scope of strong negative frames. However, the picture in the independent newspapers is the opposite: out of four general frames three were positive and one was neutral-positive. The results of the content analysis showed that negative images of the United States do not necessarily have to be promoted through direct judgmental statements, but could rather be initiated by means of selecting certain negative facts for publication, often from unidentified sources. By concentrating their attention on crime, natural catastrophes, manipulating statistical data, omitting sources of information and selecting foreign experts who are critically inclined against the U.S media create a negative image of the United States.

The dissertation analyzes obstacles and potential in democracies, specifically Canada, Sweden, and United States, to effectively address empirically documented harms of pornography. Legislative and judicial challenges under different democratic and legal frameworks are compared. Adopting a problem-driven theoretical approach, the reality of pornography’s harms is analyzed. Evidence shows its production exploits existing inequalities among persons typically drawn from other forms of prostitution who suffer multiple disadvantages, such as extreme poverty, childhood sexual abuse, and race and gender discrimination, making survival alternatives remote. Consumption is also divided by sex. A majority of young adult men consumes pornography frequently; women rarely do, usually not unless initiated by others. After consumption, studies show many normal men become substantially more sexually aggressive and increasingly trivialize and support violence against women. Vulnerable populations—including battered, raped, or prostituted women—are most harmed as a result. The impact of attempts to address pornography’s harms on democratic rights and freedoms, specifically gender equality and speech, is explored through the case studies. Democracies are found to provide more favorable conditions for legal challenges to pornography’s harms when recognizing substantive (not formal) equality in law, and when promoting representation of perspectives and interests of groups particularly injured by pornography. State-implemented approaches such as criminal obscenity laws are found less effective. More victim-centered and survivor-initiated civil rights approaches would be more responsive and remedial—a finding with implications for other politico-legal problems, such as global warming, that disproportionately affect disadvantaged populations traditionally largely excluded from decision-making.

清潔發展機制作為京都議定書中的一種彈性機制，普遍被認為將為溫室氣體排放減量所引起的「環境保護─經濟發展」與「北─南」衝突帶來雙贏的結果。支持者認為，其為附件一締約方提供達成溫室氣體減排經濟成本較低的方法，也同時為非附件一締約方引進資金與技術。然而，本研究運用國際政治經濟學的分析，提出因為各自要素禀賦的不同，清潔發展機制實行後的利弊損益將不會公平的分配於清潔發展機制項目的投資方與東道方間，因而導致某些負面的效果：其將阻礙投資方境內減排措施的推動，與導致東道方在技術上的依賴。而透過對投資方與東道方內部排放權提供者與技術研發者間互動的分析，再輔以中國與EU-15的實證資料，可以證實本研究的假設並較為清楚地說明其背後之原因。最後，本研究將討論中國政府與EU-15各自如何以政治力介入市場機制的運作，以試圖處理這樣市場機制運作所導致的弊病。 / Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) as a Kyoto flexible mechanism was believed to provide a win-win solution to the conflicts, which result from cutting down greenhouse gas emissions, between wheather ecology & economy or North & South. The proponents believe the implementation of CDM is cost-efficient for the Annex I Parties to achieve their Kyoto commitments and can also introduce capital & technology into the non-Annex I Parties. However, by international political economic analysis, the difference in factors endowments between CDM invest parties and host parties will result in unequal distribution of gains & pays between them. This causes some negative effects: CDM will deter the implementation of domestic emissions reduction in the invest parties, and it will also make technological dependence in the host parties. Through analyzing the interactions between emission allowance providers & technology innovators in the invest & host parties and with empirical data from China & EU-15, the assumptions of this study is proved and the causation is clarified. At last, the governmental interventions, which are trying to modify the negative effects result from the operation of market mechanism, by China and EU-15 are brought into discuss perspectively.

Ever since the military takeover of 1952, the post-monarchic political system of Egypt has been dependent upon a variety of mechanisms and structures to establish and further consolidate its powerbase. Among those, an intertwined web of what could be described as ‘patronage politics’ emerged as one of the main foundations of these tools and was utilized by the regime to establish the fundamentals of its rule. Throughout the post-1952 era, political patrons and respective clients were existent in Egyptian politics, shaping, to a great extent, the policies implemented by Egypt's rulers at the apex of the political system, as well as the tactics orchestrated by the populace within the middle and lower echelons of the polity. This study aims at analyzing the factors that ensured the durability of patronage networks within the Egyptian polity, primarily focusing on the sort of social structural reconfiguration that has been taking place in the popular communities of Egypt in the beginning of the 21st Century. Dissecting the area of Misr Al Qadima as an exemplar case study of Cairo’s popular quarters, the research mainly focuses on examining the role of the lesser notables, those middle patrons and clients that exist on the lower levels of the Egyptian polity within the ranks of the National Democratic Party and the Muslim Brotherhood. Henceforth, the sociopolitical agency of these lesser notabilities shall constitute the prime concern of the writing and, in doing so; this research also attempts to draw some linkage between the micro-level features of the popular polities of Cairo and the macro-level realities of the Egyptian polity at large, in the contemporary period.

This thesis investigates achievements in human development outcomes on health, education, and poverty indicators across Indian states, in order to discern what factors might influence a state’s better orientation toward social policies. After conducting data analysis, the study explains differences in outcomes, as achieved by Kerala and Uttar Pradesh, by building an argument of subnational solidarity and its impact on determining the state’s policy agendas.

This paper uses state-level variation in the implementation of the 73rd amendment in India to observe the relationship between political reservations for women in local government and female child mortality. Nationally, reservations for women are not associated with a statistically significant difference in female child mortality. However, a state by state analysis shows variations in the level of impact of reservations on the topic of female child mortality. This paper examines the constraints on female representatives and their level of effectiveness in executing pro-female policies given the political and social environment. The two case studies on Kerala and Haryana explore women office holder’s abilities to administer public goods that favor women and children and the subsequent impact on female child mortality.

At the time that this thesis is printed, we are reminded of the tumultuous relationship between North Korea and the United States every day. If we follow the mainstream news regularly, it seems like we are on a steady path to war. Ultimately, this paper is centered around the question: what is the best foreign policy strategy for both countries to achieve respective goals, without descending into armed conflict? Specifically, I evaluated the failures of the last three U.S. Presidents and used their shortcomings to explain limitations in current foreign policy strategy. I also attempted to show North Korean concerns and perspectives regarding these issues, as our cultural and national biases often prevent us from seeing this issue with true clarity. For some background, I combined personal experience with a primary source interview. I then used scholarly articles from a variety of ideological lenses to analyze events from multiple viewpoints. Throughout the paper, I try to force readers to think critically about these events, rather than consume them through short headlines on the evening news. I learned that there is major potential for diplomatic alternatives to armed conflict in this relationship. I also learned that the current foreign policy strategies both countries are engaging in do not serve their best interests, or help to achieve foreign policy goals. These ideas are crucial to understand, as the likelihood for war between North Korea and the United States becomes greater each day. Furthermore, this war would result in immense loss of life and the displacement of millions of innocent people.