This dissertation analyzes processes of globalization, through a critical examination of the dynamics of neoliberalism in the Americas. It employs and also develops a Foucauldian governmentality analytical framework, demonstrating how such a framework contributes to our understanding of world politics. This dissertation also develops the concept of a liberal political imaginary—consisting of the market, society, and the state—and utilizes this as an analytical framework for understanding the globalization of neoliberal forms of governance. The research suggests that discourses and practices of globalization, global civil society, and global governance represent a fundamental transformation in the way that contemporary social and political reality is understood, and that this has significant consequences for the kinds of political practices and relations that are possible. Moreover, the research suggests the globalization of a neoliberal form of competitive subjectivity that can be applied to a broad range of actors—from individuals to nation-states and international organizations—is reshaping contemporary world politics. The dissertation concludes by suggesting how Foucauldian IR can move forward by incorporating studies of contemporary transformations in capitalism into their analyses.

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This thesis examines the influence of the current research on personal orientation to cultural differences on learning in small, facilitated dialogue circles formed to discuss issues of race and culture. A facilitator's guide has been developed based on research and theory that covers: a) intercultural communication, b) racial identity development, c) internalized oppression/superiority, d) facilitation of difficult conversations, e) the use of Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) as an assessment tool (Hammer and Benne~ 2001 ), f) the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS) as a conceptual model (Bennett, 1993 ), g) adult learning theory, h) change theory, and i) contemporary dialogue circle practice. The manual includes background material for sessions that introduce new material, encourages interactive learning between participants, and offers sequentially appropriate questions for discussion according to the developmental stages defined in the DMIS.

The number of intercultural marriages and families has grown significantly. This qualitative study explores the strengths and challenges of multicultural families and identifies key decisions that intercultural couples face, and resources that can enrich the multicultural family's experience. The findings of this study will reveal valuable insights and strategies for intentional parenting and help multicultural families maximize their strengths and minimize their challenges. Data was collected from three groups of intercultural couples. Group A consisted of 4 couples raising children birth through pre-school. Group B had 4 couples raising children pre-school through middle school, and group C had 4 couples raising children from middle school through high school. The groups were interviewed on the following areas: strengths and challenges, language, religion, family traditions, customs and food, conflict resolution, perceived difference between their children and families and monocultural children and families, and outside resources.

This study addresses the challenges of developing the intercultural competency of global leaders within the context of the U.S. multinational corporation (U.S.M.C.). This research seeks to examine how organizations develop managers capable of leading in a pluralistic work environment and the implications of this kind of learning on the current assumptions held by intercultural academia and the business community. The research approach was interdisciplinary: combining adult learning theory (self-directed and transformational learning), international business communication and leadership, systems thinking, organizational development and learning, and intercultural theory. The following questions were addressed: How is cultural competence developed, supported, and integrated by the U.S. multinational organization? What challenges and obstacles do organizations face in effectively developing globally competent leaders? How can the intercultural academic community help to facilitate cultural competency development in the organizational context? The study found that, although global leadership competency is largely undefined in organizations, the mandate "to be global" is pervasive. In spite of this, culture in the organizational context and its impact on leadership development and performance are not widely understood in U.S.M.C.s. Yet, the study also found that most organizations do not have programs of any kind that promote intercultural competency development. Reasons for this discrepancy centered mostly on lack of awareness and support at the highest levels in organizations, business cost justification, and the lack of collaboration among (corporate) departments as well as between organizations and the intercultural academic community. Two data sets were used to complete this research. The first set included members of the corporate business units of Learning and Development.(L&D), Human Resources (HR), and Diversity. The second data set was comprised of interculturalists who hailed from the academic community, the business community, or both.

This thesis explored the communication and conflict style contrasts between criminal justice professionals and African American defendants that can interfere with the equitable administration of justice in the criminal justice system in Dane County, Wisconsin. The focus of this research was on the potential conflict style contrasts between criminal justice professionals and African Americans because the racial disparity in the incarceration rate was greatest for African Americans. This research project began from the premise that the racial incarceration rate disparity was caused in part by differences in cultural conflict and communication styles, and it explored the intersection of power differentials and cultural conflict and communication style differentials. The study employed the Intercultural Conflict Style Inventory, courtroom observations, and two focus groups. One focus group was composed of professionals in the criminal justice system from Dane County, Wisconsin, and the other of African Americans who have been impacted negatively by this system. All findings were used to develop specific training recommendations to help criminal justice professionals to understand conflict and communication style preferences with the intention of decreasing the disparate treatment of members of the African American community. The combined research strategies suggested that the primary culture of the criminal justice system was consistent with European American cultural preferences for low-context, direct, and emotionally restrained communication and conflict styles, which contrasts with the general preference of the African American culture for a more emotionally expressive engagement style. While this research did not specifically indicate that intercultural miscommunication directly impacts the equitable distribution of justice in Dane County, it did suggest that cultural contrasts may be one variable contributing to the inequitable distribution of justice.

This study is a design and delivery of a comprehensive re-entry training program which has been implemented to meet the needs of returning French engineering grande ecole undergraduate sojourners. With particular attention to the historical and specific character of a grande ecole's interdependent relationship with industry and professional training as an integral part of the educational design, this program has been specifically conceived as a semiautonomous, in-house institute for advanced intercultural training and studies with the combined aims of a) meeting the immediate and longer-term needs of returning sojourners and b) enhancing intercultural awareness at the school generally. This study focuses specifically on the re-entry program delivered by the newly created Winter Institute of Intercultural Communication (WIIC) as the capstone innovation in the broader developmental curriculum redesign scheme for grande ecole students. The Institute now provides the necessary re-entry follow up after an extensive pre-departure training program and six months experience abroad as well as providing a workshop for moving on to more advanced levels of intercultural communication issues.

This study explored assumptions about communication styles used by nationals of countries that share what is perceived as a common native language. Participants were from Argentina, Chile, and Paraguay, and the common native language was Spanish. Data were gathered before and after their attendance at a five-day training event with attendees from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Paraguay via surv'ey questionnaires (pre) and interview questionnaires (post). The data were analyzed for participants' assumptions about communication styles and whether these were confirmed or challenged by intercultural interaction. They were also analyzed for ways in which the perception of a shared native language could influence assumptions and interactions. The results revealed four primary communication styles involved in participants' assumptions: 1) Harmony versus Assertiveness, 2) Accessibility versus Exclusiveness, 3) Vocabulary, and 4) Intercultural Conflict Styles, among other insights related to the study questions.

This thesis project described the development, design, delivery, evaluation, and discussion of a series of four intercultural team building pilot workshops appropriate for multicultural teams in the context of international corporations. The target audience of the workshops was an Information Technology (IT) team of a Fortune 500 company in the United States. The team consisted for the most part of U.S. Americans and Germans based in either Boston, MA, or Frankfurt, Germany. The overall objective of the workshops was to help raise awareness and gain understanding about cultural variables that affect the performance of a multicultural team. The desired outcome of the training program was to help participants gain transcultural competence. This was to be achieved by providing them with a set of tools that would help them to communicate and interact more effectively, and as a result, more successfully, with their team colleagues across cultural borders. Due to the composition of the team, I placed particular emphasis on the communication and interaction patterns of the U.S. American and German cultures. The first two pilot workshops were delivered in Boston and the target audience was the Boston-based part of the team. Thus, the workshop was delivered in the English language. The third and the fourth workshop were delivered in Frankfurt, Germany and the target audience was the Frankfurt-based part of the team. Thus, the workshop was delivered in the German language. Given these circumstances, I not only translated the workshop contents into the German language but also made culture-appropriate adaptations to the German context. The results of the evaluations showed that the workshops were well received and fulfilled the need of the team for intercultural training. Thus, the overall objective of the workshop, to help team members understand cultural variables that influence their performance as an intercultural team, was successfully met. However, in order to utilize and enhance these newly learned skills that comprise transcultural competence, additional training is required in which a common culture strategy and a plan to integrate the different processes and structures would be developed.