This thesis examines the involvement of the United States in the decade-long trade dispute before the World Trade Organization (WTO) over the European Union's preferential banana regime. Washington's justification for bringing this case to the WTO comes from Section 301 of the U.S. trade act, which allows for disputes to be undertaken if U.S. "interests" are violated; however, this is the first case ever undertaken by the United States that does not directly threaten any American banana industry, nor affect any American jobs. Why, then, would the United States involve itself in this European-Caribbean-Latin American dispute? It is the contention of this thesis that the United States thrust itself headlong into this debate for two reasons: domestically, the United States Trade Representative came under pressure, via the White House and Congress, from Chiquita CEO Carl Lindner, who in the past decade donated more than $7.1 million to American politicians to take the case to the WTO. Internationally, the United States used the case as an opportunity to assert its power over Europe, with the Eastern Caribbean islands being caught in the economic crossfire. According to existing literature, in undertaking this case, the United States did as any nation would: it operated within both domestic and international levels, satisfying at each level key interests, with the overall goal of maintaining the nation's best interests.

Since President Hugo Chávez Frias came to power in 1999, the Venezuelan political space has become militarized. The study focused on examining how and why the military entered into the traditional civilian space in Venezuela and militarized the political system. The purpose of this thesis was to analyze the participation of the Venezuelan military in state affairs, the reasons why this institution became such an active political actor, and how this process evolved over the last five years. Findings revealed that the Venezuelan military became involved in national politics through a series of prerogatives granted by the government of Hugo Chávez. These military prerogatives were granted in key state areas such as the cabinet, legislature and police/intelligence. Also, by using the Rational Choice Model it could be examined of why President Chávez, as the purposive actor, made the choice of militarizing Venezuelan politics. This was a value-maximizing alternative among a set of other alternatives to accomplish Chávez's major political goals.

Through an historical analysis, an in-depth examination of Mexican legislation, and an evaluation of scholarly work, this thesis explores the relationship between the government of Mexico and the media, specifically television. The central hypothesis is that Mexican government regulations have been used to uphold the constitutional mandate requiring television media to serve the public interest. The analysis shows that the Mexican government has consistently favored commercial broadcasters over public interests. This is evident not only in written documents and in the manner in which the regulations have been implemented, but in the favoritism shown in the granting of government television concessions. The conclusion is that the Mexican government has been unsuccessful in promoting a television industry that safeguards the public interest. Instead, government actions have promoted private monopolies in the television industry which have rendered public broadcasting inefficient.

This research investigated the causes and effects of corruption in Puerto Rico. First, it examined incidences of corruption in Puerto Rico in an effort to create a linkage between the historical and contemporary causes of corruption in the island. It used both an agency and a structural approach to further explain the country's contemporary causes of corruption. Its basic finding was that the causes of corruption in Puerto Rico are the blurred boundaries between the private and public sectors, lack of elite competition, lack of elite accountability, weak mass participation, and the mismanagement of material resources. This thesis also examined empirical evidence that demonstrates the effects of corruption. The analysis revealed that corruption in Puerto Rico during the last decade has decreased Puerto Rican socio-economic outputs and investment sources. The study concluded that while anti-corruption measures have improved in the island, they have not adequately focused on the social measures to effectively combat corruption. On that score, the study highlighted the role played by public officials in perpetuating corruption in the island.

It is the key assertion of this thesis that Kazakhstan is determined to keep its Soviet-era nuclear capacity and become the world's third largest nuclear power should circumstances move in that direction. The Republic of Kazakhstan reneged on its original commitment to repatriate this material to Russia for final disposition. My tenure at the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration, as well as the use of newly available declassified data on the Kazakhstan nuclear issue, and open government sources, supports the major arguments of my thesis. For primary sources in Kazakh and Russian languages, I utilized the Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS). Both the external factors, including the competitive post-Soviet security environment in Eurasia, and complex and challenging domestic factors such as trans-regional social movements, clan ties, ethno-political cleavages, authoritarianism and government corruption, cast serious doubt on the future of Kazakhstan as a nuclear weapon free state.

There was a massive influx of Afghan refugees into Pakistan following the Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan in December 1979. An attempt has been made here to analyze the political, ethnic, economic and social ramifications of the Afghan refugees on Pakistan. Among the consequences of the presence of Afghan refugees are: 1. A heavy burden on Pakistan's resources on account of sustaining the 2.8 million Afghan refugees 2. Friction between Afghan refugees and the Pakistani population, due to land, employment, animal grazing-pasture and water-supply disputes, and 3. A direct threat to Pakistan's internal security and political stability, which is made evident by numerous violations of Pakistan's western borders by Soviet-Afghan air and ground forces in pursuit of the refugees and Afghan Mujahidin. The political talks on the Afghan crisis are deadlocked on the question of a Soviet troop withdrawal. The Soviets and Afghans insist on the stoppage of foreign support to the Afghan counterrevolutionaries. The refugees in Pakistan will not return to their homes unless they are insured a safe and honorable life by the Afghan government.

This paper examines human trafficking operations in the Russian Federation as well as the efforts of the Russian government, non-governmental organizations, and the International Organization for Migration to prevent trafficking, prosecute traffickers, and provide assistance to survivors of trafficking. Russia has made considerable efforts in the past nineteen years to become a key economic player on the global stage. However, government corruption and an economy propped up by corporations entangled in the buying, selling, and exploitaiton of human beings undermines the pursuit of Great Power status. Field research conducted in Moscow in 2009 revealed that government efforts to combat human trafficking in Russia currently fall short thereby perpetuating a cycle of human trafficking, corruption, organized crime, and poverty.

No description available.

The intent of this thesis is to analyze and compare the return migration policies in Germany, Russia, and Kazakhstan. It is a relatively new category of migration policy, having only been identified in the 1970s. There is no uniform policy for return migration and consequently, each country has its own unique policy. Ethnicity plays a major role in all three countries' policies. However, some policies of return migration are more successful than others.

Developed countries give foreign assistance for many reasons, one of which is the protection of national interests. Foreign aid gives a donor country leverage in international relations and is used as a tool of foreign policy. The United States and Japan are the two largest aid donors in the world. Each of these countries exert influence over specific regions through foreign assistance. Although the national interests of each country are different, both use foreign aid to protect these interests. This thesis discusses the means by which the United States and Japan use foreign aid in foreign policy. It looks specifically at U.S. food aid to Central America and Japanese aid to Asia.