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Contemporary military conflicts are not likely to occur between states but rather within states. Recent examples, such as the ongoing Chechen-Russian war, Kosovar resistance to Serbian ethnic-cleansing, Mayan (Zapatistas) autonomy claims in Mexico, and the Ogoni struggle for land control in Nigeria testify to the diversity and scope of ongoing state versus nation conflicts. Since most states "host" several ethnonational or indigenous groups within their borders, an examination of the conditions under which internal geopolitical faultlines (or historical/cultural divisions) transform into militarized disputes is warranted. Several theories of separatism guide the two general research questions for this project. First, what prompts some separatist groups to demand secession from the host state(s) while other groups seek greater autonomy within the host state(s)? Second, what specific group characteristics contribute to a separatist group's involvement in intrastate war? Using logistic regression analysis, the findings suggest that when a group is highly concentrated on the homeland, is represented by a political party, and has more than one host state, groups tend to demand exit over autonomy. Also, political parties appear to be a very important indicator in determining a separatist group's mobilization toward intrastate war, essentially exposing ethnonationalist faultlines and further dividing the electorate. Finally, high group concentration can lead to involvement in interstate crises, which demonstrates how intrastate conflicts can transcend state borders. Specific conflict resolution techniques are offered in conclusion to promote accommodation by both separatist groups and host states. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

This thesis divides Taiwan's impact on the Bush administration's Mainland China policy into three stages. The first period was from January 1989, when George Bush entered the White House, to June 3, when the Tiananmen Massacre took place in Beijing. The second period was from June 1989 to July 1991. The third period was from July 1991 to the end of 1992. Through examining the Bush administration's Mainland China policy, this thesis argues that Taiwan's impact on the administration's China policy evolved a tract from unimportant to important in the years between 1989 and 1992. It further argues that Taiwan has become an independent factor, whose China policy was not under the control of the United States. Sometimes it undermined American Mainland China policy.

Thesis advisor: David Deese / The proliferation of regional trade agreements is a well-documented phenomena. This thesis focuses on the relatively unexplored area of non-economic motivations states may have for joining regional trade agreements. It uses the formation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the negotiation of the European Community's Single European Act as case studies. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2004. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Political Science. / Discipline: College Honors Program.

Thesis advisor: David A. Deese / Throughout the last fifteen years, the phenomenon of International Election Monitoring (IEM) has become increasingly widespread. IEM works to enhance the credibility and transparency of elections; over time, as the outcome of one election (and the success of IEM) conditions the electoral context of future elections, IEM can encourage internal political reform. In a number of states, particularly in Latin America, monitoring efforts have succeeded in steadily improving domestic political conditions and facilitating democratic consolidation. Yet, IEM effectiveness is conditioned not only by the characteristics of the monitoring groups involved, but also by the domestic context of a state. Hence, the unique structural conditions in Sub-Saharan Africa present distinct challenges and opportunities for IEM. This thesis investigates the relationship between IEM and internal political reform in four Sub-Saharan African states. While IEM can encourage the progress of reform through a feedback mechanism, the extent of such reforms is greatly affected not only by domestic structural conditions, but by additional and often overlooked intervening variables. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2007. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: International Studies. / Discipline: College Honors Program.

This dissertation attempts to test the effect of the willingness to fight, which the realist perspective considers to be essential in order to enhance a state's bargaining position during wartime. Controlling for the effects of military power, resolve has an independent influence on bargaining behavior for war termination. From a leader's perspective there is an incentive to terminate war through negotiations as early as possible, given its inefficiency. For the leaders, however, "audience" effects increase as a result of efforts toward negotiation. Domestic politics can produce support or criticism for any conciliatory gesture by the leader; the attempt to negotiate can either damage its reputation or avert accusations of war-mongering from the international community. / Three game-theoretic models are set up to assess bargaining behavior during wartime. Information conditions vary across the models. There are three models: complete, asymmetrical and two-sided incomplete information about the opponent's level of resolve. Perfect information about military power and resolve does not necessarily bring about war termination. Two contending states with negative audience effects may fight without negotiations even if they know the other's military capabilities. Under asymmetrical information, a state with perfect information about the opponent's resolve does not always manipulate the adversary's image such that the display of a strong willingness to fight prolongs the fighting without a bargain. Under two-sided incomplete information, each side may be more likely to misperceive the other's resolve than in the other situations above. Misperception can extend or shorten a war. / Interstate wars sometimes cannot be solved efficiently in a purely coercive relationship. Instead, cooperative tactics may help to reduce the costs of both sides. Therefore, exhibiting a higher resolve often puts the states in a trap in which they obtain Pareto-suboptimal outcomes. In contrast to the realist perspective, all other things being equal, domestic politics can determine the decision process for war termination. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-07, Section: A, page: 2133. / Major Professor: Patrick James. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1994.

Considering the prominent role India has played in the United Nations since independence, it is important to remember that its involvement in international organizations predates the advent of the U.N. by over 25 years. An original signatory to the Treaty of Versailles (1919), India became a founding member of the League of Nations. As a non-sovereign part of the British Empire and the League's only colonial member, however, India faced a set of unique problems in its interaction with the League; its role was, as a result, both complex and anomalous. / This dissertation analyzes India's membership of the League from its entry in 1919 to the outbreak of the Second World War. In addition to examining changes in India's status in the British Empire during the First World War and detailing its entry into the League at the Paris Peace Conference, the work surveys the various influences on India's League policy. The work also explores the background of India's League delegates. Although appointed by the British Government of India and traditionally seen, therefore, as mere collusionists, most were actually moderate nationalists operating outside the Gandhi-Nehru fold. They saw collaboration with the British in India's League affairs, despite obvious restrictions, as beneficial to India in developing its international persona. / Despite clear limitations, India's role in the League was significant. Membership of the League offered Indians the opportunity of dispelling Eurocentric misperceptions about India and of showing that Indians were fully capable of grappling with complex global issues. India's involvement in League work, particularly in the areas of opium and slavery suppression, public health, and intellectual cooperation, was of demonstrable benefit to the country as a whole. India's League membership also provided an initial testing ground for its, and Pakistan's, later membership in the United Nations, and as a training ground for a future cadre of Indian and Pakistani diplomats. Finally, India's presence at Geneva helped secure for it an important status in the international system, giving it, and Pakistan, a comparative advantage over other newly independent countries in the post-Second World War period. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-07, Section: A, page: 2105. / Major Professor: Bawa Satinder Singh. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1994.