Government Organized Non-Governmental Organizations (GONGOs), once common during the Soviet-era, are now increasingly resurfacing under the Putin administration. Once completely abolished from Russia, these deceitful organizations are accompanying various new laws signed by President Putin in the Russian Federation. While Russia does not claim to be a liberal democracy with a free civil society and Putin has described his state as a “managed democracy,” the puzzle still remains why the Putin administration is secretly using organizations to fulfill government ploys. This thesis will analyze the types of GONGOs along with new laws and policies signed into effect under the Putin and Medvedev Administration. I conclude this thesis by partially confirming my hypothesis that president Putin is rationally choosing to create these organizations in an effort to consolidate his power and promote Russian culture.

No description available.

Scholars from various disciplines have long attempted to identify the variables most closely associated with individual preparedness. Therefore, we now have much more knowledge regarding these factors and their association with individual preparedness behaviors. However, it has not been sufficiently discussed how decisive many of these factors are in encouraging preparedness. In this article, we seek to examine what factors, among the many examined in previous studies, are most central to engendering emergency preparedness in individuals particularly for tornadoes by utilizing a relatively uncommon machine learning technique in disaster management literature. Using unique survey data, we find that in the case of tornado preparedness the most decisive variables are related to personal experiences and economic circumstances rather than basic demographics. Our findings contribute to scholarly endeavors to understand and promote individual tornado preparedness behaviors by highlighting the variables most likely to shape tornado preparedness at an individual level.

Judicial politics scholars routinely posit that the behavior of Supreme Court justices is motivated in important part by concerns of institutional maintenance, that is, by a desire to maintain the Court’s unusually large store of institutional legitimacy. Previous work on this topic, however, has focused almost exclusively on the influence of such motivation on judicial decision making. We contend that if institutional maintenance is an important goal, it should be observable in other contexts as well. We examine televised mass-media interviews with Supreme Court justices from 1998 to 2016 and find that legitimacy reinforcement is the predominant goal reflected in justices’ rhetoric in those interviews.

This project analyzes the relationship between military occupations and power vacuums. Specifically, it seeks to understand why some military occupations result in power vacuums while others do not. Pundits and policymakers have written extensively about the possibilities that the end of US occupations might yield dangerous power vacuums. These vacuums would create regional turmoil by inviting hostile actors and causing state failure. Based on these assumptions, many commentators caution against the withdrawal of forces. But what exactly is fearful about a power vacuum remains unclear. The concept of a power vacuum lacks defined parameters and scope, and why military occupations might lead to power vacuums is unknown. Much of the current analysis derives from familiar and recent cases of occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. David Edelstein has the most comprehensive work on military occupations, but his work does not directly address the outcome of power vacuums. This project uses a mix multimethod research design to examine which factors cause power vacuums to emerge following occupations. It uses a comprehensive dataset of occupations since 1943. It will begin with a medium-n QCA and then proceed with case studies. The ultimate goal is to identify the conditions likely to lead to power vacuums and develop policy recommendations about how to avoid them. This project theorizes that a high level of economic destruction inflicted by the occupying military is a necessary condition for the absence of a power vacuum in the occupied territory. Shortened, this project calls this theory total destruction equals total buy-in. High levels of economic destruction inflicted by the occupier pacify the occupied population, while simultaneously delegitimizing the occupied state's previous regime. High economic destruction, which is defined as the decline of a state's per-capita GDP and overall population, is not the sole factor in preventing a power vacuum. Combinations of other conditions help influence the advent or absence of a power vacuum, but economic destruction inflicted by the occupier is the only condition that must be present in order to prevent a power vacuum. / Doctor of Philosophy / This project examines how, when, and why power vacuums emerge at the end of military occupations. Power vacuums evoke fear from pundits and policymakers, as hostile actors can exploit power vacuums to sow instability. Yet there remains no clear definition of what constitutes a power vacuums or substantive research on their etiology and impact. Policy discussions typically look to recent US experience in Iraq and Afghanistan to evaluate how the end of military engagement and occupation can create power vacuums. Thus risk of a power vacuum is often cited as justification to prolong military operations. To rectify this, this project will complete a replication and extension using David Edelstein's seminal dataset on military occupations. The dataset includes well-known cases such as the Allied occupations of Western Germany and Japan and lesser-known occupations like the Vietnamese occupation of Cambodia. Using a combination of within-case process tracing and Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA), the project seeks to elucidate what combination of conditions generate power vacuums following military occupations. The theory this project argues is that a high level of economic destruction inflicted by the occupying military is a necessary condition for the absence of a power vacuum in the occupied territory. The crux of this theory is that occupiers that engage in protracted conflict, inflicting widespread damage on a state before occupying it, are more likely to prevent a power vacuum from occurring. This widespread damage creates "breathing space" for the occupier to establish indigenous security forces (ISF) and a friendly government without having to worry about nationalist resistance from the occupied population.

This dissertation examines the intellectual and historical roots of the Anglo-American “Special Relationship,” most notably Anglo-Saxonism and social Darwinism, and their effect on the noted policy organs of the Royal Institute of International Affairs (or Chatham House) and the Council on Foreign Relations (or the Council). It first traces the origins of Anglo-Saxonism and considers its effect on important historical events such as the Spanish-American War and the Second Boer War. This thesis also presents a definition of Anglo-Saxonism which appreciates the complexity of the term and allows a better understanding of its effects. It then shows the memberships of both groups were strongly affected by these Victorian and Edwardian phenomena, a fact which augments our understanding of them. Furthermore, this relationship between Anglo-Saxonism and Chatham House and the Council is not fully appreciated by many modern academics. Ultimately, the language of Anglo-Saxonism developed during the Victorian and Edwardian eras became institutionalised during the formative years of these groups’ memberships, predisposing both to the importance of permanent Anglo-American cooperation.

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) which was adopted in 1979, and the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action have generated global and regional momentum in the advance of equal gender opportunities. This research explores the increased presence of women in higher education and their subsequent entry into the workforce in the United Arab Emirates. The government has attempted to reduce its citizens' dependency on public sector employment and promote opportunities in the private sector. Governmental efforts have included improving the education system, granting women access to education and introducing funding schemes to encourage employment initiatives. Yet, despite these efforts, unemployment across the UAE remains at a high level, with public sector favoured by Emirati nationals. The country's drive to nationalise the labour force reflects the necessity of utilising the capabilities of Emirati nationals, both men and women, to diversify the rentier state economy. Emiratisation is a national government strategy in the United Arab Emirates that aims to reduce the country's reliance on expatriate labour and increase the participation of nationals in the labour market, both in the public and private sectors. The research for this thesis begins by exploring the inadequacy of classical rentier state theory and examining Mathew Gray's theory of late rentierism within the context of the United Arab Emirates. It further builds on the late rentierism model with a particular focus on the role of women, education and youth participation. The methodological approach used in this research is primarily qualitative, including interviews with final year university students, and professionals in the banking sector of both sexes. These groups were chosen to highlight the practical implications of governmental Emiratisation policies aiming to increase job opportunities across the United Arab Emirates. To date, very little research has been conducted on the issues of gender, work life balance policies and new workforce trends in the UAE.

Thesis (MMAS) -- U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, 2006. / AD-A463 803. Also available via the World Wide Web.

國家利益是國家追求長久生存發展的各種需求，這些需求表現於各種層面之中，其中主要表現在促進國家強盛和經濟的發展，謀求綜合國力及國際地位的提高，維護主權與領土完整和傳統文化價值等，是一種安全、經濟、政治、文化等因素的綜合，當國家利益獲得滿足與維護時，國家安全才能獲得保障。 冷戰結束後，國際局勢雖然趨於和緩但卻不太平，由於武裝衝突和局部戰爭不斷且難以平息，因此對國家安全和地區穩定形成威脅，使得聯合國遂行國際維和任務也越來越多。 聯合國「維和行動」是根據安理會決議，派遣至爭端國或衝突地區的軍事觀察員及維和部隊，通過監督落實停火協議和斡旋、勸說衝突各方進行談判等方式，消弭衝突和戰亂，最終循政治途徑謀求爭端或衝突的解決。維和行動也是國際事務一種另類的爭端處理機制，它既不是裁判爭端的公平解決，也不是強制處理國家間的戰爭或衝突。 中共身為聯合國安理會的常任理事國之一，負有協助安理會採取維護國際秩序與和平行動的責任與義務。隨著其國力提升，亦須在國際事務中承擔更多的責任，避免形成國際間的流言蜚語，因此以參與國際維和行動為名義，表面上為世界和平與地區穩定貢獻國家力量，實際上為爭取國際間發展條件、維護海外利益，改變國際社會對其的負面觀感，藉以塑造負責任大國形象，提升國家地位及國際影響力。 / National interests is a variety of requirements for a nation’s to pursuit a long-terns survival and development which mainly manifested in promoting national prosperity and economic, seeking comprehensive national strength and international status, also to maintaining sovereignty and territorial integrity, and safeguarding traditional culture value, etc. National interests for China is a safe, economic, political, cultural and other elements combination when it’s been satisfied and maintenance that national security can be protected. After the Cold War, although the international situation tends to moderate but not peaceful, because of armed conflicts and local conflicts hard to calm down and threat to the national security and regional stability that also caused United Nations have to performed more and more international peacekeeping missions in the global world. UN "peacekeeping" operation is based on Security Council resolutions, dispatched arm forces or military observers to the dispute nation or conflict area by monitoring the implementation of the ceasefire agreement and through persuade the parties of conflict to negotiate and to eliminate conflicts and wars, and ultimately through political means seeking to resolve disputes or conflicts. Peacekeeping operations are an alternative dispute settlement mechanism, it is neither fair referee disputes resolved, nor is it mandatory handling inter-state wars or conflicts. China as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, certainly have a responsibilities and obligations for assisting the Council to take action to maintain international order and peace. With its strength increase, also in international affairs assume more responsibility, to avoid the formation of international gossip, Therefore, In order to participate in international peacekeeping operations in the name of the surface to contribute to world peace and regional stability, national strength, actually strive for international development conditions, maintain overseas interests, change the negative perception of the international community for its view to shaping a responsible image, enhance national status and international influence.

Dissertação apresentada como requisito parcial para obtenção do grau de Mestre pelo Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Sociais do Departamento de Ciências Sociais do Centro de Ciências Sociais da PUC-Rio. / Submitted by Luziana Lessa (luziana@rb.gov.br) on 2016-11-17T18:20:53Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Moraes, Marcelo - O Brasil e a Unasul integração regional.pdf: 3012580 bytes, checksum: e2617950052296a79a09053d3151c71b (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-11-17T18:20:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Moraes, Marcelo - O Brasil e a Unasul integração regional.pdf: 3012580 bytes, checksum: e2617950052296a79a09053d3151c71b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014 / "This dissertation is about the creation of UNASUR from the perspective of Brazilian foreign policy and analyses the mechanisms of political and administrative coordination of domestic policies of the Brazilian federal government that are related to the achievement of the purposes of UNASUR. The axes of conflict in the international system, in the national system and in the conduct of foreign policy are related as conditioning of South American regional integration through UNASUR as public policy objective. The approach adopts the perspective of the formulator of public policy that, from a realistic point of view, identifies actors and interests, evaluates its power resources and capabilities, in particular of the Brazilian state, through the use of concepts of analysis and implementation of public policy, political science, international relations, economics, geopolitical and public administration. The focus is on the administrative dimension and its centrality to the success of regional integration, because there is a gap between the presidential priority given to South American integration in Brazilian foreign policy and the low profile of coordinating domestic policies to support the process. There is an important agenda in progress and administrative procedures are being improved, but are still insufficient to support the geopolitical project of establishing a pole of South American power." / "A presente dissertação tem por tema a constituição da Unasul sob a perspectiva da política externa brasileira e por objeto a análise dos mecanismos de coordenação político-administrativa das políticas domésticas do governo federal brasileiro que estão relacionadas com a consecução dos propósitos da Unasul. Os eixos de conflito no sistema internacional, no sistema nacional e na condução da política externa são relacionados na medida em que condicionam a integração regional sul-americana por meio da Unasul como objetivo de política pública. A abordagem adota a perspectiva do formulador de políticas públicas que, de um ponto de vista realista, identifica atores e interesses, avalia seus recursos de poder e as capacidades, em especial do Estado nacional brasileiro, mediante o uso de conceitos de análise e de implementação de políticas públicas, de ciência política, de relações internacionais, de economia, de geopolítica e de administração pública. O foco está na dimensão administrativa e em sua centralidade para o êxito da integração regional, pois há um hiato entre a prioridade presidencial conferida à integração sul-americana na política externa brasileira e o baixo perfil da coordenação das políticas públicas domésticas que dão suporte ao processo. Há uma agenda importante em curso e os procedimentos administrativos estão sendo aperfeiçoados, mas são ainda insuficientes para dar suporte ao projeto geopolítico de constituição de um polo de poder sul-americano."