This dissertation examines the general proposition that formal international institution promote national security in Europe. Analytically, the features of international institutions are the independent variables and the degree of security is the dependent variable. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is the primary focus of the analysis. The project draws from realist and institutionalist approaches to the study of international relations to assess what institutional characteristics of NATO have developed over time which may contribute to national security into the 21st century. The dissertation is organized into seven chapters. The empirical research is based on primary and secondary sources including personal interviews conducted with senior policy makers and academic sources in Europe and the US ongoing since 1991. The dissertation is divided into seven chapters including a theoretical and methodological overview; the origins of NATO; NATO during the Cold War; NATO's post-Cold War institutional adaptation (including the Partnership for Peace and the Balkan crisis); NATO enlargement; and NATO's internal transformation and the future of the transatlantic relationship. This dissertation moves the debate over the relationship between international institutions and security in international relations theory. The general conclusion is that variations in institutional form can have a dramatic impact on the degree of security, positive or negative, in the European context and that a major test of that claim is coming in the next several decades.

This study of state compliance with international norms against torture focuses on the period 1979-1993. Configurations of factors are compared using the Qualitative Comparative Approach. The first part of the study is a cross-national analysis of government compliance in 1993. To elucidate the circumstances under which states that are democracies or are in transition to democracy may improve their records of compliance with norms against torture, the second part of this study presents the results of a comparison of a group of such states where the governments improved compliance and a group of states where the governments continued to torture at high levels. This study shows that the record of compliance with international norms against torture in 1993 is a weak one. Total compliance was rarely achieved and difficult to maintain. The states that improved from the worst levels were still in 1993 torturing at middle levels. Both the cross-national study and the analysis of selected governments' behavior from 1979 to 1993, present evidence of the importance of type of political regime. This study demonstrates that in many cases the presence or absence of armed conflict distinguishes democracies or states in transition that complied from those that did not. However, while there are clear patterns among some states that torture, these important factors do not alone distinguish governments that torture from those that do not. They are clearly not sufficient to explain government behavior. The second part of this study, looking at behavior over time, shows that membership in any of the torture regimes has not had any serious impact on government behavior. An analysis of the comparison also confirms and further develops the importance of armed conflict as a domestic factor and indicates the circumstances under which the presence of minor armed conflict may be overcome. This study also highlights the importance of foreign pressure and the more limited circumstances under which NGOs with transnational links may have been able to effect government practice.

This dissertation concerns the issues surrounding the debate over the strategic defense initiative and its implications for U.S. deterrence policy. While ballistic missile defenses (formerly called ABMs) were believed foreclosed from the nuclear balance as a result of the ABM Treaty, the SDI program has brought ballistic missile defenses back into the strategic equation. It is possible to suggest that missile defenses, as envisioned by President Reagan, may make a significant contribution to U.S. national security. Given this proposition, the dissertation follows the analysis as outlined below: (1) The original ABM debate of the late 1960s is reviewed with respect to the arguments of proponents and opponents of the ABM. This debate led the U.S. to accept the dominance of offensive nuclear forces in the nuclear balance. Additionally, the U.S. decided to adhere to a policy for assured destruction based on the precept of mutual national vulnerability. (2) While the U.S. had foresworn working on ballistic missile defenses during the 1970s, the strategic nuclear balance and foundations of deterrence have changed. As a result, the U.S. is seeking to evaluate the potential advantages of ballistic missile defenses. Three defense models are analyzed relative to their missions as well as major obstacles to their implementation. (3) United States strategic nuclear policy has evolved since the late 1960s to incorporate three major policy schools: assured destruction, countervailing, and nuclear war-fighting. Ballistic missile defenses fit with these policies in quite different ways. Additionally, a U.S. ballistic missile defense will have profound implications for the stability of the nuclear balance. There are a number of major obstacles to the integration of a missile defense into U.S. nuclear policy to include technology, program costs, and major political hurdles. (4) United States strategic offensive nuclear forces may be altered significantly by the deployment of a missile defense. However, new offensive weapons such as the cruise missile and advanced bomber could enhance the ability of offensive forces to penetrate strategic defenses. (5) A U.S. missile defense could effectively break up the ABM Treaty and spell an end to the arms control process. On the other hand, the SDI also may serve as an impetus to a new arms control treaty which incorporates reductions in offensive nuclear forces.

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The assessment of a contemporary statesman presents difficulties in view of the unpredictability of policy outcomes and the unavailability of documents and sources. However, it should still be possible to analyze the policies that determine whether a statesman will succeed of fail. Henry Kissinger placed the highest priority upon the development of detente with the Soviet Union and China. The ultimate wisdom of his vision is a matter of serious concern to both contemporary and future analysts. I am concerned with the divergence between the ideas of Kissinger as a scholar and the policies of Kissinger as a statesman. The first two chapters examine the principal tenets of Kissinger's philosophy of international relations and the relationship between the United States and Western Europe. I then focus upon American multilateral and bilateral relations with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the European Community (EC); West Germany, France, and Britain. In the concluding chapter I discuss the central tenets of Kissinger's philosophy of history and the impact of his statesmanship upon the world with respect to: Detente: The Soviet Union and China, the Middle East, Japan, economic issues, and morality and foreign policy. I then examine the relationship between the world of the scholar (the realm of theory) and the world of the statesman (the realm of practical solutions) and assess Kissinger's successes and failures in reconciling the worlds of the scholar and the statesman.

The Politics of Transformation seeks to explore and critically analyze the new politics and policies formulated, articulated and adopted by Nigeria's ruling and political elites and partly out of demand made by academic intellectuals including a handful of influential top level bureaucrats who run the machinery of government. Furthermore, the Politics of transformation examine through critical analysis the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' (OPEC) "quiet revolution" in the world of global oil, its impact on the global economy and most importantly on the dynamics of international relations. By focusing on the Doctrines of Sovereignty and of "Changing Circumstances," we explore and examine specifically the changing relationship between international oil companies and producer-governments within the frameworks of systems analysis, bargaining strategies and negotiation tactics. The Politics of transformation therefore seeks to examine for the purposes of restructing prevailing ideologies by looking into the past while going beyond mere survival of that past, through the creation of new forms and modes and the conscious presentation of new demands based on a new era of national consciousness and political management in a changing world. In the Nigerian context, the politics of transformation gave birth to indigenization of "Nigerianization" of the economy, membership into the OPEC and the transnationalization of the society. Studied within the framework of systems analysis, objectives and goals seem rather haphazardly and limitedly successful and dependent on the alliance between domestic and state actors on the one hand, and foreign interests on the other. The final outcome of this interaction remains to be seen since structural arrangements engendered by his process is not yet ossified. In the final analysis, however, indigenous control of the economy seem the goal of Nigerian planners. With regards to OPEC, the quiet revolution sought not only to defend the posted price of oil then, it represents the vision and goals of a group of nations bound together for the accomplishment of a stated goal. Consequently, the dynamics of global oil is not only based on economic terms, but fundamentally politically in nature. The multinational oil companies are on the defensive and no amount of game theoretic calculations can come to their rescue save a deliberate inter-government intrusion in the global oil industry. This study proceeds from that assumption.

How has Kuwait been able to preserve its existence as an independent state during the past two decades? What are the prospects of its being able to meet any future threats to its security? These are the two major questions which this study attempts to answer and, in doing do, it covers the various dimensions of Kuwaiti national security. In this study we examine the threats to Kuwait's stability and security arising from domestic sources and those originating from other states. To deal with these actual and potential threats, the Kuwaiti government has adopted several policies aimed at utilizing the country's military, diplomatic, political and financial resources to enhance its overall security. The success of these policies over the last two decades in lessening threats to Kuwait's security is likely to continue in the foreseeable future despite recent developments in the region. This study contains three sections in addition to the introduction and the conclusion. The first section provides an overview of Kuwait's historical evolution from a small settlement in the seventeenth century to its present status. It then studies the present socio-economic conditions including the composition of the population of Kuwait, the economic activities, and the oil sector. Finally, it reviews the internal political environment, including the roles played by various political institutions and forces within the polity. The second section assesses the internal threat to Kuwait's security, both actual and potential, and the country's internal security capabilities. Next it explores external threats within and outside the Gulf region, and Kuwait's efforts to strengthen its military capabilities. The third section covers Kuwait's diplomacy, the country's role in regional politics, its ability to take advantage of regional power configuration, and its efforts to strengthen relations with other countries. It also describes the various channels of Kuwaiti foreign aid and analyzes how this aid contributes to Kuwait's national objectives. Chapter IX includes a summary of the findings of this study.

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The history of United States (U.S.)-Latin American relations is based on conflict. The U.S. has been accused of exercising dominance over Latin America, which is called its sphere of influence. Although the U.S. did exercise control over a Latin American sphere, it did so for a short period. U.S. influence fell into decline for two reasons. The first occurred when the U.S. attained its peak of power. At this time, the U.S. took the initiative and created democratic oriented regional and international organizations. These provided the States of Latin America a way out of the U.S. sphere. The second was the intense polarization of relations that occurred during the Cold War, at which time relations began to sour as Latin America left the U.S. sphere and vociferously opposed U.S. initiatives. Now that the Cold War has ended, this relationship should return to levels of interaction and support consistent with a natural relationship among juridical equals.