The thesis addresses questions regarding the history of the gradual involvement of the representatives of the Holy See and the corresponding development of their legal status in the newly created international organization of the United Nations, the canonical determination of the office of papal legate to the UN in view of pertinent ecclesiastical legislation, the role and functions of papal representatives to the UN within the context of current world events, and the important contribution to the work of the United Nations in the service of humanity. The first chapter examines the international status of the Holy See during the 1870--1929 period; the development of pre-United Nations international structures from 1939--1945; the participation of the Holy See in the early stages of development of UN agencies and international bodies, i.e. FAO, WFP, IFAD, UNESCO. The second chapter examines the legal status of the Permanent Observer and the Mission of the Holy See at the United Nations in view of relevant special law; the development of CIC canons in the process of the revision of the Code of Canon Law and the reform of the Roman Curia; the important characteristics of the post of papal legate as ecclesiastical office; the presence of laity in the context of pontifical representation. The third chapter is a study of the range of involvement of the Holy See in the United Nations, its agencies and related bodies throughout the world, more specifically in New York, Geneva, Vienna, Nairobi and other UN centres. This chapter reviews the extensive work undertaken by these UN bodies and the specifics of the Holy See's involvement. The fourth chapter focuses on the work of the Permanent Observer of the Holy See in the context of the mission of the Church, as expressed in c. 747, §2; current diplomatic directions of the activity of Permanent Observers. Insights are presented into a possible expansion of the role and function of pontifical legates, especially in application of their leadership and mediation skills in light of the transformative and internal reform process underway at the United Nations and the world diplomatic community.

Within the current accepted paradigm of the international legal system, states are the only entities with the right to create international law. Recent experience however, shows that non-state entities, in particular non-governmental organizations, are increasingly becoming directly involved in the process of creating international law. This dissertation examines two cases -- the Ottawa Process to ban landmines, and the International Criminal Court negotiations -- to explore how NGOs contribute to international law creation, and whether they participate in the process of creating international law. In both cases NGOs engaged in a multitude of activities as they interacted with other entities involved in the negotiations. NGOs contributed to the process through: (a) agenda-setting; (b) creating conference agendas; (c) providing knowledge, expertise, and analysis; (d) negotiating with and between states; and (e) drafting instruments. In addition to these traditional activities, in these two cases NGOs also worked in coalition with each other, and with core-group and like-minded states to advance shared purposes. Multilateral negotiation theory and coalition dynamics offer a lens through which to understand how NGOs and states interacted with one-another in the process of creating international law. In working in alliances with similarly inclined states, NGOs contributed to three key aspects of coalition strength: (1) coalition size; (2) coalition diversity -- through naming and shaming, contributing different resources and bargaining skills, taking risks, and securing support from civil society to leverage governments; and (3) communication functions -- through intelligence networks, enrolment power, monitoring and analytical capacity, and institutionalized communications. NGOs worked alongside states, contributing to the effectiveness and strength of coalitions, and fulfilling the same roles as states, indeed, in some instances roles states could not fulfill on their own. By contributing to coalition strength and success, NGOs participated in the exercise of creating international law, even though they are not states. The result of this study is the recognition that two recent instances of international law creation fall outside the widely accepted understanding stating that only states create international law.

This dissertation studies technology spillovers between countries. The dissertation consists of three chapters. The first chapter is a theoretical model that studies the impact of tarifs in the presence of R&D spillovers. The second chapter is an empirical model on the impact of spillovers through trade on productivity. The third chapter is also an empirical model on the determinants of foreign patents in a country. In the first chapter, we study the impact of tarifs on R&D expenditures when there are R&D spillovers between firms. The firms are located in the home and foreign countries and compete in the home country's market. We consider a three-stage game, where the government determines the amount of the tariff in the first stage, firms choose their R&D expenditures in the second stage, and outputs are determined in the third stage based on Cournot competition. We show that if the foreign government gives an R&D subsidy to the foreign firm, foreign R&D will increase and the domestic firm's profit and domestic welfare will decrease. However, domestic consumer surplus will increase. The home country can recover this profit and welfare loss, partially or totally, if it uses two policy instruments simultaneously: a tariff and an R&D subsidy. The second chapter studies the impacts of domestic and international technology spillovers on the growth rate of Canadian manufacturing industries. In this chapter, we examine whether different types of industries have different technology spillover rates. To test these hypotheses, Canadian industries are categorized into three groups based on their characteristics as low-tech, medium-tech, and high-tech. According to the empirical results, only foreign R&D has a positive and significant impact on productivity. Domestic R&D is not significant under any of the specifications; however, it helps industries absorb foreign R&D. The third chapter estimates the diffusion rate of foreign technology into Canadian industries at the industry level by using patent data. The results of this chapter suggest that the patent activity of foreign countries is the most important factor for receiving foreign patents in Canada. Moreover, imports and foreign direct investments are important vehicles for technology transfer. The distance between countries has a negative impact on receiving foreign patents. The impacts of R&D intensity and human capital on receiving foreign patents are mixed and insignificant, but industries with a higher R&D intensity may be better recipients of foreign patents.

The thesis examines how the absence of insurance in the past led to some special maritime liability law principles such as 'general average' (i.e., losses or expenses shared by all the parties to a maritime adventure) and the limitation of shipowners' liability. In the absence of insurance, these principles served the function of insurance mostly for shipowners. As commercial marine insurance is now widely available, these principles have lost their justification and may in fact interfere with the most important goal of liability law i.e., deterrence from negligence. The thesis thus recommends their abolition. The thesis further argues that when insurance is easily available and affordable to the both parties to a liability claim, the main goal of liability law should be deterrence as opposed to compensation. This is exactly the case with the maritime cargo liability claims where both cargo owners and shipowners are invariably insured. As a result, the sole focus of cargo liability law should be and, to a great extent, is deterrence. On the other hand, in the vessel-source oil pollution liability setting, pollution victims are not usually insured. Therefore, oil pollution liability law has to cater both for compensation and deterrence, the two traditional goals of liability law. The final question the thesis addresses is whether the deterrent effect of liability law is affected by the availability of liability insurance. Contrary the popular belief the thesis attempts to prove that the presence of liability insurance is not necessarily a hindrance but can be a complementary force towards the realization of deterrent goal of liability law.

Patriotism has a powerful impact on the course of human events. Yet, very little empirical research in psychology has investigated patriotism. The present research explores the nature of patriotic beliefs, affect, and behaviors. Of particular interest is the potential multidimensionality of patriotic attitudes. More specifically, Staub's (1991) theoretical distinction between "blind" and "constructive" patriotism is explored. Blind patriotism is defined as a relationship with country characterized by rigid identification, global positive evaluation, staunch allegiance, and intolerance of criticism. Constructive patriotism is defined as a relationship with country characterized by a more flexible identification, support for constructive criticism, and a desire to implement positive change. Two empirical studies are discussed. Study 1 provides evidence for the multidimensionality of patriotic attitudes. In Study 2, measures of blind and constructive patriotism are developed, and the reliability and validity of these measures are assessed. Blind and constructive patriotism are then contrasted by examining their relationships with other constructs, most notably, nationalism and internationalism, perceptions of national vulnerability, religious and value orientations, and varied measures of political involvement.

The impact of European integration and the emergence of a multi-level system of governance within the European Union have begun to challenge the pre-existing systems of governance in many European states. There has been a prevalent belief that the new modes of governance have been supplanting domestic political structures especially in the areas of political economy. Much literature argued that neo-corporatism was being subsumed by the enormity of the European Union and its new mechanisms of governance. However, this research illustrates that the results of the Europeanization of neo-corporatist social partnerships are far from uniform and monolithic. There exists a tremendous diversity and differentiation amongst the methods, results, and preferences of European integration allowing considerable necessity for specific cases studies in policy areas. Further, in using previously developed models of Europeanization it has been discovered that such models fail to accurately and fully explain the pattern of diversity and differentiation that exists in the Europeanization process. The cases of German and Austrian social partnership illustrate such differentiation and continuing challenges and are the focal points of this research.

Even though the Korean War has been labeled by some as a forgotten war, scholars continue to seek the root of the Sino-U.S. confrontation and Mao's decision to enter the war in Korea. Among the five interpretations I examined, Steven Goldstein compares Mao's intervention to a Greek tragedy. In my opinion, this comes closest to explaining this historical puzzle. However, this interpretation has been largely overlooked by scholarship in the field. My dissertation relies on an understanding of “Mao's American strategy” to comprehend Mao's motivation to enter the war. Mao developed his American strategy in late 1944 and by mid-1945 it was established as the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) approach to the United States. The CCP's concept of the United States was based on its analysis of Washington's long-term strategic interests in China after World War II. Washington's strategic objective was to insure its influence on China through a pro-America government. The best means to reach this objective was to establish a coalition government, which would follow America's multi-party democratic system. Considering its obvious weakness at that time, the CCP leadership welcomed a coalition government in which the CCP and the Guomindang (GMD), could enjoy equal power. However, after analysis of GMD-CCP relations, Mao reached the conclusion that Jiang would not abandon autocracy no matter how hard Washington pressed him. Therefore, a GMD-CCP clash was inevitable. The United States took the position that it had no choice but to stand on the side of the GMD and to interfere with the Chinese revolution sooner or later. Truman's blockade of the Taiwan Straits, and the United Nations troops' crossing the 38th parallel and marching toward the Yalu in 1950 triggered Mao's intervention. To meet an unavoidable clash, Mao decided to dispatch his army to Korea. In addition to explaining Mao's American strategy, I introduce an international factor: the clash between the National Independence Movement and the constraints of the Cold War. With Mao's American strategy as a chronological line and the international factor as a horizontal circumstance, this dissertation asserts that Mao's involvement in the Korean War can be seen as inevitable—a Greek tragedy.

The rapid loss of biological diversity is a major global environmental problem. This dissertation analyzes the conservation of crop genetic diversity, a particularly important component of global biodiversity, within a framework of multi-scale linkages. It examines the impact of international institutions and regimes on national and local-level practices, and the implications of local-level practices on higher levels of social organization. To illustrate these linkages, the dissertation examines the case Turkey, the historic center of origin and modern center of diversity of several key crops, including wheat and barley. The dissertation analyzes the interplay between two different international frameworks: the biodiversity institution/regime represented by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), to which Turkey is a party, and the neoliberal economic institution/regime promoted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, whose prescriptions shape national agricultural policies through stabilization and structural adjustment programmes. In line with the constructivist approach in international relations theory, the dissertation argues that the CBD has played a crucial role in providing the space and institutionalized channels for scientific input to be incorporated into the domestic policy-making process for the conservation of biological diversity. The diffusion of the policy innovations at the local level has been circumscribed significantly, however, by the agricultural priorities of the government which in turn were influenced strongly by the agricultural liberalization process directed by the IMF and assisted by the World Bank. Field research in two wheat-growing regions of Turkey reveals that the cultivation of modern and traditional varieties can co-exist, suggesting that there is no inherent contradiction between the conservation of crop genetic resources and the promotion of agricultural growth and productivity. This research also reveals the importance of social capital in the conservation of crop genetic diversity. The dissertation concludes that public agencies can play a critical role in the provision of mechanisms to ensure that conservation of crop genetic diversity will meet the needs of rural communities.

This dissertation examines the effects of neoliberal economic policies in Latin America in 25 years (the 1970–1995 period), focusing especially on macroeconomic stabilization under IMF support and on IMF and World Bank structural adjustment lending, where the debate centers on the effect of these policies on growth, macroeconomic stability, and income distribution. The study includes formal, models on both macroeconomic stabilization and trade liberalization, as well as cross-country statistical tests. In contrast to the predictions of structuralist and dependency critics of neoliberal policies, the statistical results find that neoliberal policies, when supported by the Bank and the IMF, not only help bring about macroeconomic stabilization, but also help to improve the position of capitalist firms and thus act to increase long term economic growth and maintain capital accumulation. However, they invariably do so with a greater degree of economic inequality and possibly increased levels of urban poverty as well. One possible normative conclusion that could be derived from these results is that since state-led import substitution industrialization has also been discredited in the eyes of most economists as a development strategy for Latin America (or has outlived its usefulness, depending on which economist one talks to), any alternative set of policies for the region must focus not just on coming up with non-laissez faire domestic policy alternatives, but also on ending the asymmetric and deflationary bias of adjustment to international macroeconomic imbalances and on redistributing power and economic-decision making to workers and communities at the local level. Making such reforms politically feasible would require a gradualist approach with policies substantially different from both state-led import substitution and from the populist policies associated with governments such as Allende in Chile, Garcia in Peru, and Peron in Argentina, and would require the active coordination of Latin American and other developing country governments in order to push for change in existing international monetary arrangements.

Pacifism and realism both presuppose an unbridgeable gap between war and morality. The pacifist, abhorring the suffering caused by violence, concludes that war is the consummate evil and rejects it under any circumstances. The realist, beginning from a similar assessment regarding the evil of war, concludes that those who bring war on a peaceful nation deserve all the maledictions its people can pour out. These views reflect the negative duty not intentionally to harm innocent persons, on one hand, and the positive obligation that innocent persons be protected, on the other. The pacifist views the prohibition against harming others as more fundamental; the realist accepts the positive duty to protect others as more basic. Historically, the just war tradition has provided an alternative to these extremes. Recent events in the conduct of wars around the world have, however, called into question the relevancy of certain aspects of the just war tradition for modern wars. In this work I critically examine the notion of a just war in terms of both jus ad bellum, or the justifications for going to war, and jus in bello, or the just means of waging war, as it is reflected in international law. I begin with a discussion of various formulations of the realist's and pacifist's positions and argue that the just war tradition provides a reasonable alternative to either of these extremes. I then briefly trace the historical development of the just war tradition beginning with Roman Law. The purpose of this historical analysis is to identify those moral principles and arguments that inspired the development of various aspects of the just war tradition so that these same principles and arguments can be used as a basis for reevaluating existing rules in light of modern tactics and technology. Finally, I expose and discuss serious deficiencies with the way the just war tradition is reflected in current international law and offer proposals for how these problems might be addressed. My conclusion is that the just war tradition can provide effective guidelines for ameliorating the tragedy of war now and into the 21st Century if the issues I identify are adequately addressed.