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A distinct feature of contemporary politics is the involvement of international forces in a state's domestic politics, and vice versa. Despite the plethora of literature on the international system and comparative state politics, relatively little addresses the interpenetration of international and domestic systems in intermestic issues. This thesis explores intermestic processes. It argues that states' domestic policies are increasingly formed in an intermestic context and such intermesticity has brought states a dilemma between maintaining effective domestic control and achieving integration into the global economy. This thesis examines China's SARS policy formation in 2003 as a case study. How did the internal health problem come to be addressed in an intermestic context in a country noted for its tight domestic control and long-term aversion to foreign intervention? The question is approached through a textual analysis of the story of China's SARS policy development. This study also identifies the patterns of international influence on China's domestic politics, particularly in the SARS crisis. I interpret the intermestic dynamic as a learning process through which China has chosen to embrace international institutions in its pursuit of national interests in a globalized world. / Master of Arts

Thesis -- Departmental honors in Economics. / Bibliography: ℓ. 90-96.

The international community has constructed a dominant narrative to explain the prevalence of gendered violence in the eastern parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo. This dominant narrative posits regional and national antagonisms over conflict minerals as the cause of the Congolese wars that have resulted in the mass rape of Congolese women and girls. Sexual violence against women and girls is portrayed as the most significant form of violence occurring during the Congolese wars. This narrative has had a substantial impact on how the international community has represented, researched and responded to Congolese women and gendered violence. I argue that this narrative is based on problematic conceptions of gender relations rooted in white Western feminism that are incompatible with the local experiences of Congolese women and men. The misconception of gender, gender relations and gender violence has engendered misguided intervention initiatives that have failed to produce meaningful change in the lives of Congolese women. This thesis challenges dominant discourses that inform and impose specific narratives of violence and development agendas. It moves beyond them to propose an alternative analysis of gender and gendered violence. It sheds light on the historical disconnection between international and local perspectives of gender and gender violence in the Congo, arguing that to be effective, international development and humanitarian discourses must be re-examined in light of the local socio-cultural context of eastern Congo.

This research critically examines the international protection of children education during the Syrian armed conflict since 2011. It identifies the reasons behind the failure of the international community in providing the necessary protection and its impacts on the Syrian children education. It analyzes the legal protection available to children education in situations of armed conflict in accordance with the international law. In order to evaluate the reluctance of the international community humanitarian intervention under the principle of Responsibility to Protect, this research used the textual analysis method and the realism and liberalism theories. Altogether, during the eight years of the ongoing Syrian conflict, children right to education have been violated throughout Syria, and millions have been out of schools, and many are at high risk to dropout. The research concludes that the vetoes in the Security Council and political and economic considerations among the superpowers have overcome the legal protection.

This study aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of the 2011 to 2012 famine response in Somalia in saving lives and livelihoods, offering livelihood opportunities, supporting quick recovery and complying with accountability standards in the delivery of humanitarian assistance. Understanding the performance and effectiveness of the humanitarian response to emergencies such as the 2011 to 2012 famine in Somalia is important for managing similar large-scale disasters which tend to be more frequent than ever before. It is also vital for addressing the chronic food insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa. The study was conducted in the Dolow district, Gedo region, Somalia. The study was largely rooted in the qualitative paradigm even though quantitative methodologies were employed to explain certain aspects in order to adequately answer some of the research questions. The case study approach was employed to conduct this study and achieve the research objectives. Despite the need for more evidence-based and local community-driven response to droughts, the 2011 to 2012 famine response was largely relevant to meet the priority needs of affected populations. The response was too late to prevent the death of hundreds of thousands and the suffering of millions of people and the response had to struggle for quite some time to stabilise and reverse a devastating situation. Although the response was not adequate to cover the needs of all affected populations, it had a commendable impact by saving the lives of malnourished children and mothers; minimising suffering from lack of food, water and shelter; restoring livelihoods for host communities; and creating livelihood opportunities for internally displaced families. Compliance with the NGO Code of Conduct and the application of Sphere standards were fair. Strong accountability mechanisms are required to ensure effective beneficiary targeting and curb aid diversion. The beneficiaries of the response stated that they are equally vulnerable to droughts despite an increase in income and agricultural production as a result of the response. Long-term livelihood projects that address structural vulnerabilities and create multipleincome sources are essential for strengthening resilience to droughts. / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)

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This bachelor thesis is the result of a minor field study which took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The purpose of this bachelor thesis is to contribute to the understanding and improvement of Security Sector Reform (SSR), which could be explained as a process of reformation applied in post-conflict scenarios aimed at the military, police and/or judicial sector which might be an element of insecurity, particularly the police, and very particularly in post conflict scenarios where conflict resolution resulted in a divided police force, by using the BiH as a case study. We have used the theoretical framework/process of SSR and more specifically the part of SSR which touches upon police reform. However, SSR entails reformation of the security sector including military-, police- and judicial sectors, as mentioned our focus will be the police sector. This serving as a foundation for the thesis, we asked the following questions; Taking the point of departure in the Dayton Accords and its complex power sharing structure, which are the underlying factors/reasons why the Security Sector Reformation of the police force has been so problematic and why is there such inability to reach an agreement on this issue, especially in terms of structure? In terms of methodology, this is a qualitative study based on semi-structured interviews in combination with previous research. Concluding remarks, progress has been made, however, the reformation of the police is to a large extent dependent on the political will not to do so, not much indicate a change related to this. The status of the BiH police force continues to be de-centralized in terms of structure due to the Dayton Accords which has still serves a fertile ground for the continuation of inefficiency, especially in terms of cooperation, information exchange, administrative issues, war-criminals within the police etc related to the different police forces.

This thesis analyses the role of the International Community in the democratisation in Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH). The main theoretical approach adopted is the Critical Theory as represented mainly by Robert Cox. Cox argued that there was an interaction between the organisation of production, the forms of state, and the world orders. The form of state that the International Community aimed at establishing in BiH following the Dayton Agreement is analysed in relation to the transnationalisation of the world order. It is concluded that the aim of the International Community has been the integration of BiH into the transnationalised world order by the establishment of a limited sovereignty and maintenance of a minimum stability. The limited sovereignty of BiH can be observed in the text of the Dayton Agreement, which includes also the constitution of this country, as well as its later implementation. The main obstacle for the International Community&amp / #8217 / s efforts has been the nationalist political parties. Therefore, the main aim of the International Community in the democratisation of BiH has been the eradication of their power. As a result of the failure of the International Community to destroy the power of the nationalist political parties, a form of controlled democracy has been established. The controlled democracy is operated through the OHR that is an ad hoc international organisation in BiH. This signified that BiH has been effectively an international protectorate in which the three constituent nations were politically monopolised by their respective nationalist political parties.

This thesis is an endeavor to develop a more thorough and nuanced understanding of the relationship between international and local actors in the post-Dayton state-building process in Bosnia. While state-building in Bosnia has received a considerable amount of attention and study, apprehension and depiction of the relationship between the international community and Bosnian governing officials has remained relatively homogeneous. This dominant account of the relationship has been that it is a contentious and oppositional one. To criticize the approach I highlighted two of its problematic aspects. These were the conception of the state, in the abstract, as a highly unified and cohesive entity. And, the depiction of internal and external as isolated and fixed actor-identities. The central argument of this thesis is that the international community and the nationalist parties (representing respectively the external and internal state actors) have become united in a mutually advantageous and mutually-reinforcing process of sharing power, responsibility, and blame. This process has been apparently oppositional but effectively cooperative, so that the outcome of twelve years of state-building has been the continued relevance and effective entrenchment of both the international community and the nationalist parties in the Bosnian state.