This thesis seeks to understand the current dynamics of misperceptions in Southeast Asia. The paper would focus on three actors in the region: China, the U.S., and a representative state of ASEAN, Vietnam. The actors would be examined in the context of the South China Sea disputes. The essential goal of U.S. policymakers it to achieve peace and stability in the region by building a liberal order, but the existence of misperceptions makes it highly challenging. The misperceptions stem from the fact that each actor has to predict what paradigm what other actors’ actions are based on in the region. In order to reduce misperception, there must be a high level of trust derived from consistent rhetoric accompanied with actions. The paper finds that the problem lies in the fact that to achieve a coherent foreign policy that other actors can interpret consistently, there must be a convergence of domestic politics and other states’ actions that allows each actor to have a positive and constructive interpretation of its options. The paper examines how domestic politics can often hinder a coherent foreign policy that eliminates confusion for other actors. Furthermore, in the case study between the three actors, China, the U.S., and Vietnam, will demonstrate how actors’ behaviors and actions can be changing due to other actors and domestic politics. Therefore, the paper suggests several policies that the U.S. needs to take in order to reduce the tension between domestic politics and other states’ actions.

The intensification of Canadian amerindian self-determination movements, combined with the recent publication of a series of government reports detailing the mistreatment of amerindians in the Canadian criminal legal system, has placed the creation of separate, amerindian criminal legal systems at the centre of many self-determination campaigns. As alternatives to involvement in the Canadian legal system, many of these proposed alternative structures purport to embody a return to traditional modes of dispute resolution which are offered as both rationale and blueprint for their modern counterparts. Focusing upon proposals for a separate, traditional legal system offered by two groups within the Kahnawake Mohawk Nation of Quebec, the dissertation juxtaposes these proposals with the traditions of dispute resolution extant in the period of initial contact between Iroquois and European. The early traditional lifestyle of the Kahnawake Mohawks is examined, as is the chronicle of contact and acculturation which eroded their original traditional structures. Replete with gaps, the documented history and "legal traditions" of these Mohawks are revealed to differ significantly from those histories postulated by the competing factions, each of which adopts a history which reinforces both its own position on "legal traditions" and in the proposed "post-internal colonial" context. To the degree that these histories and the "traditions" they legitimate and empower are consciously manufactured, their legitmacy in the eyes of Kahnawake people and the Canadian state is diminished. Concentrating upon what appears to be a consciously manufactured, rather than genuine, link between the "old" and "new" traditions, the proposed traditional legal systems are examined through Hobsbawm's theory of the invention of tradition. This examination leads to the conclusion that, while these "traditional systems" and their supporting histories do contain some invented elements and may thus be criticised as invented rather than genuine, such invention need not constitute a fatal compromise to the integrity of the modern traditional legal form nor to the self-determination aspirations of their proponents.

No description available.

<p> If a successful organization is one where internal strife is minimized, then it stands to reason that a successful leader is an individual who knows how to handle conflict. Handling conflict, though, should not be approached intuitively, as the field of mediation has developed numerous techniques to understand and address conflict. To date, though, these techniques have not been categorized by leadership styles. The purpose of this study was to develop such a framework to understand how conflict resolution relates to the disciplines of mediation, organizational behavior, and organizational leadership. To further this endeavor, four themes were developed. These themes drew upon a quadrant categorization methodology proposed by Leonard L. Riskin, which was then compared to four leadership styles: situational leadership, transformational leadership, leader-member exchange theory, and servant leadership. A phenomenological methodology was used and eight leaders were interviewed to understand how they approach conflict within their respective organizations. Utilizing a story provided by each leader about a conflict each encountered on a frequent basis, the researcher asked a series of randomized questions based on the themes mentioned. By categorizing each leader's response, the study found that a relationship worthy of further research existed between the position of the individual within the organization and how societal norms dictated the methodology the leader used to resolve his/her stated conflict. This relationship supported the use of specific tools developed in mediation that the leader and the organization could embrace to transcend conflict, allowing the organization and hence the leader to be more efficient.</p>

No description available.

Thesis (M.A.)--American University, 2004. / "Submitted to the faculty of the School of International Service of American University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in International Peace and Conflict Resolution." Title from title screen (viewed Jan. 11, 2008). Also available in the OCLC Digital Archive. Harvested from http://www.dberlin.org/entire%20thesis.pdf on Nov. 2, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. 119-124) and an abstract.

Thesis (S.J.D.)--University of Toronto, 2004. / Adviser: Michael J. Trebilcock.

Thesis (LL. M.)--University of Toronto, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 320-341).

Thesis (M.A.)--City University of Hong Kong, 2007. / "LW 6409A, dissertation" Submitted to School of Law, City University of Hong Kong. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Apr. 1, 2008) Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--City University of Hong Kong, 2007. / "Master of Arts in arbitration and dispute resolution, LW 6409 dissertation." Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Apr. 1, 2008) Includes bibliographical references.