This dissertation examines how confusion and lack of access to information about subsurface property rights facilitates the rapid acquisition of mineral rights by mining interests, leaving those who live 'above the surface' to contend with complicated corporate and bureaucratic apparatuses. The research focuses on the first proposed state-run large scale mining project in Ecuador, believed to contain copper ores, and on the natural gas hydrofracking industry in three counties in north central West Virginia. Qualitative and visual methods, including mapping, are employed to determine (i.) how the geography of subsurface ownership patterns is changing, (ii.) links between changes in subsurface ownership and surface ownership, and (iii.) how these changes are facilitated or impeded by institutional and governance practices. Rights and permit acquisitions are facilitated by state institutions, which often have strategic interests in mineral development. Accordingly, this research also considers the role of state strategy with respect to the establishment, bureaucratic management, and enforcement of vertical territory, which reflects the state’s interest in and sovereign claim over subterranean resources to benefit the nation. The research finds that the historical separation of subsurface property rights from the surface is associated with a persistent weakening of surface holder claims to land in favor of mining development, and that this weakening has contributed to the long-term persistence of absentee ownership and control over land in Ecuador and West Virginia. Viewing subsurface land deals from the perspective of those whose lives are disrupted on the surface, I conclude from this work that mundane practices such as deed transfers and local micropolitics about land use are significant factors in the lead up to larger scale violences and silences, such as forced displacement and even political imprisonment of activists opposed to extraction.

This study intends to determine how stress levels change over time in nursing students in the Baccalaureate program at East Tennessee State University. The instrument utilized for this survey was the Perceived Stress Scale by Mind Garden, Inc. This survey was passed at the beginning of the semester and at the end of the semester. There was no-significant difference found between the two time spots, leading us to conclude that the level of stress perceived by nursing students is a steady factor during their school semester.

This dissertation looks at how enhanced political participation opportunities can increase individual liberty and improve public-sector reform efforts. It blends political theory with contemporary concerns for individual well-being and government accountability. To do this, several research methodologies are used, including normative, qualitative process-tracing, and quantitative analysis. First, the dissertation draws insights from ancient and modern political philosophy and the political thought and example of Jane Addams in 19th Century Chicago. It begins with Josiah Ober’s work on civic dignity, which he defines as “equal high standing” among citizens, marked by “non-infantilization and non-humiliation.” This definition is a useful starting point but somehow seems thin for a concept of such import. In exploring the wisdom of Tocqueville’s “schools” of democracy and Jane Addams’ notion of fellowship, I expand the definition of civic dignity to include “having a sense of ownership.” In other words, being dignified as a citizen in a self-governing political community should include having a seat at the proverbial table where one can speak and be heard. This means that political participation opportunities would ideally carry low transaction costs while maximizing the substance that can be contributed. Through Addams’ experience at Hull House, the settlement house she co-founded, I highlight how these opportunities for meaningful political participation are indispensable to individual civic dignity, and by extension, individual liberty and well-being. Second, civic dignity is viewed through a different lens, namely the role it can play when incorporated successfully into policy design and implementation. Arguably, a self- governing political community’s greatest asset is the collective knowledge and lived experience of its citizens. But current political participation mechanisms and policy designs do not do a good job leveraging that resource, and many individuals may find themselves unofficially shut out. Using process-tracing methodology, a case study explores resettlement projects targeting the urban poor in Mandaue City, the Philippines. The case study results demonstrate that deepening democracy (by incorporating civic dignity into the policy design and implementation) not only benefits individual liberty, but can also produce better outcomes and contribute to anti-corruption efforts. Taking civic dignity into account during policy design and implementation is not merely a “feel good” option; it is a strategic option that allows the political community to leverage local knowledge by enlisting the participation of those individuals or groups closest to the problem or challenge at hand. While this finding is not entirely novel, it is far from standard practice. Domestically and internationally, the coercive force of government and/or the “tyranny of experts” is too often the default approach for policy design and implementation. Third, the theoretical and practical explorations of civic dignity are used to construct a measure for civic dignity. In a data driven world, reliable and valid measurement is key, and if the concept of civic dignity is going to gain currency, then validating a scale to capture it is essential. Through Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), survey items are examined to determine which items map onto the latent factors that comprise civic dignity. A 22-item four-factor solution that maps onto the four components of civic dignity is presented. The newly minted Civic Dignity Scale is then compared against measures from political science and psychology literature that are theoretically related but distinct from civic dignity, such as political efficacy and self-determination, to test for construct validity. Spearman correlations yield reassuring results, showing statistically significant strong positive correlations as hypothesized. Finally, the relationship between the Civic Dignity Scale and political participation is analyzed for further construct validity. A Poisson regression model shows that for every one unit increase in an individual’s civic dignity, the likelihood that one would participate in political activities also increases. While a confirmation factor analysis is needed for further scale validation, the EFA and subsequent analyses do codify and deepen our understanding of civic dignity. In the future, a fully validated Civic Dignity Scale would enable reformers like Addams and those in Mandaue City to legitimize and track their efforts empirically.

This thesis investigates how and why U.S. policies and agencies are ill-equipped to respond to narco-terrorism and offers some policy recommendations for remedying that. Narco-terrorism is the merging of terrorism and drug trafficking. Terrorist organizations and narcotics traffickers each have much to offer the other; there is potential for symbiosis in the form of cooperation and even hybridization. Examination of the dynamics between terrorist organizations and drug traffickers, combined with an evaluation of the US responses to narcoterrorism in Colombia and Afghanistan, makes it clear that current US policy responses fail to recognize narcoterrorism as a unique challenge, and instead attempt to deal separately with terrorism and drug trafficking. This approach has the potential to actually worsen both situations. The US needs a narcoterrorism strategy and institutions in place to implement it.

This paper explores the empowerment of adolescent girls through sport using two case studies. Both case studies take place in predominantly Muslim countries: Egypt and Bangladesh. The sports programs also are both implemented through schools, public in Egypt and private in Bangladesh. I also evaluate the feasibility of establishing sports programs across the world. Because of Afghanistan’s especially harsh circumstances for women, the final chapter strategizes methods to implement similar programs there. I conclude by assessing the future of girls' sports programs in the Middle East and whether or not governments and international organizations should continue investing in these programs.

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.

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.

This paper aims to address possible psychoanalytical explanations for the heinous acts in which terrorists, particularly ISIS, engage. It focuses on Harold D. Lasswell’s principles of the id, ego, and superego as well as Tajfel and Turner’s social identity theory. Within the framework of these two theories, relevant psychological and social psychological theories are discussed in order to explore a possible connection between the psyche of violent perpetrators and their actions. By exploring these connections, I find that there may be more nuanced psychological explanations for these violent acts, which could lead to new methods of weakening perceived biases, intergroup conflicts, and extremist behavior.

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.

This dissertation identifies and explains the factors contributing to the presence and severity of U.S. foreign-policy blunders, or gross errors in strategic judgment resulting in significant harm to the national interest, since the Second World War. It hypothesizes that the grand strategy of preponderance and the overestimation of military power to transform the politics of other states have precipitated U.S. foreign-policy blunders since 1945. Examining the Vietnam War and Iraq War as case studies, it focuses on underlying conditions in the American national identity and the problematic foreign policy decision-making (FPDM) that corresponds to this bifurcated hypothesis, termed the overestimation/preponderance theoretical model (OPM). Four indicators operationalize the OPM: (1) how U.S. foreign policymakers estimated the capacity of military power to transform the political dynamics of the target state through intervention; (2) and (3) how U.S. actors and institutions affected the capacity of the partner state and hostile state and nonstate actors; and (4) how the foreign policy was justified and rationalized within the leadership of government and to the general public as it encountered disconfirming information. In each case, the grand strategy of preponderance instituted a bounded rationality of mission in the FPDM stage and the operationalization stage that precluded the inclusion of an unfavorable outcome. In each case, U.S. foreign policymakers greatly overestimated the capacity of the partner state to establish security and legitimacy and underestimated the capacity of hostile actors to mobilize and threaten the partner state. However, these preference-confirmation biases diametrically contradicted the assessment that victory would be easy to achieve; U.S. foreign policymakers promulgated this corresponding overestimation/underestimation even while inflating the threat far beyond what the actual threat to the national-security element of the national interest represented. The subsequent implementing of this inverted calculation created a national-security national interest where none was extant, then significantly harmed that new interest via intervention. This tactical application of the grand strategy of preponderance facilitated the strategic-tactical gap in U.S. foreign policy by creating monsters in order to have monsters to slay, consistent with the ideological tradition of the imperative of crusade in the modern history of American foreign relations.