The purpose of this thesis was to take a deep look into the history of race in American foreign policy in two White House administrations. The presidencies of Dwight D. Eisenhower and Bill Clinton were examined in which the influence of racism in domestic politics was demonstrated as a factor which shaped, and continues to shape, U.S. foreign policy. The research found that 1) segregation, 2) the concept of “primitiveness” formed due to the history between black and white nation-states and 3) the idea of “the other” used by the media and political elite are three manifestations of the consideration of race in Eisenhower’s foreign policy, particularly with respect to Ethiopia. The research also found that 1) American discomfort with white suffering, 2) the normalization of violence in black countries and usage of the term “tribalism,” and 3) the significance of ethno-racial identity all demonstrate the role of race in Clinton’s foreign policy which resulted in the disproportionate political prioritization of the Western Balkans over Rwanda.

St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands, is similar to other tourism dependent Caribbean nations where the tourism industry is dependent upon the `4 S's'- sun, sand, sea, and sex. This researcher posited that the phenomenon of sex tourism exists in St. Thomas as it does in other tourist destinations in the Caribbean like Jamaica, Belize, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic and Barbados (Bailey and Ricketts, 2003; de Albuquerque, 1998; Munshi, 2006; Ryan and Kinder, 1996). The lacuna of any U.S. Virgin Islands sex tourism literature prompted this researcher to conduct an exploratory case study in St. Thomas to learn whether or not sex tourism exists in the U.S. territory. Using a qualitative approach, this study finds that sex tourism does exist in St. Thomas. This information is pertinent to Conflict Analysis and Resolution because of sex tourism's strong involvement with the spread of sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS, human rights violations, gender based violence, human trafficking, and other social challenges. Examining sex tourism from three different sources, this researcher uses Human Needs theory and feminism to frame the research. The findings of this study are of interest to academia, government agencies, non-profit organizations, and tourism industries.

Analyzing four congressional hearings that publicly discuss the CIA’s ‘secret’ drone program, this thesis considers the interaction between publicity and secrecy in facilitating practices of later-modern warfare. Specifically, I examine the content of these drone hearings within the broader context of leaks, Obama administration speeches, and public interest in CIA drones to better understand how open secrecy engages with public oversight. I argue these hearings are deceptively productive. While they largely fail as oversight events, the hearings facilitate numerous unexpected outcomes—including the normalization and entrenchment of the CIA drone program. Paradoxically then, publicity proves essential to the maintenance and acceptance of secret programs. This project concludes by raising questions about the geopolitical implications of the changing spatiality of war when traditional means of oversight and accountability may no longer prove effective.

abstract: A growing body of literature has sought to explain the nature and effects of conflict-related sexualized violence. However, a critical problem that persists concerns why wartime rape varies both within and across conflicts. Political science literature mainly addresses these questions of variation in sexualized violence through group-level or structural explanations. Yet, clear patterns of combatant non-participation in conflict-related sexualized violence is apparent, even in cases where sexual violence is severe and pervasive. What allows one combatant to refrain, while another combatant, even within the same combat unit, perpetrates sexualized violence? In this dissertation, I argue that critical differences concerning attitudes, beliefs, and motivations exist between individual combatants. In light of these differences, I reintroduce the individual combatant onto the theoretical map as a critical unit of analysis and I explore the implications of gender inequality as an important and relevant factor related to sexualized violence in political conflict. Drawing on findings from social psychology, political psychology, sociology, and political science, the theory developed argues that combatants differentially internalize important norms related to gender that become particularly activated based on primarily externalized contextual influences. To test the theory, I conduct a mixed-method, sub-national comparative analysis of combatants and attitudes and beliefs associated with gender inequality during the Bosnian War (1992 – 1995). I rely on qualitative data generated from semi-structured, comprehensive interviews with psychologists, victim’s advocates, and legal experts managing sexual violence war crimes cases, and combat veterans directly associated with the Bosnian War (1992 – 1995) to assess differences at the individual-level of analysis. To additionally determine the broader effects of gender inequality, I employ an ordered probit regression analysis to ascertain the relationship between gender inequality related to institutional health and education factors and the severity of wartime rape. The combined results of these analyses demonstrate that individual differences between combatants better predicts the likelihood of a combatant to commit sexualized violence compared to structural or institutional accounts alone. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Political Science 2019

Conflict in higher education is inevitable and theoretically driven processes in conflict resolution can be employed to help in managing conflict or mediating issues. Students often are not a part of the well thought-out process that may exists in certain institutions, and the way in which conflict is handled could lack theoretical support. In conflict resolution theory, the process to resolve a conflict is often just as important as the outcome. Students may not be fully satisfied with the outcome of a mediation process when a conflict arises. However, if the mediation session was facilitated properly and a student's input is recognized, then this may lead to overall satisfaction and empowerment of the student throughout the process. The relationship and reputation of a university can be salvaged with the appropriate conflict resolution approach and limits negative publicity by students. This study conducted a detailed assessment of the conflict resolution processes and systems of two universities. The study adopted a qualitative case study approach, conducting in-depth qualitative interviews with key university personnel as well as examined the current systems that are in place in the respective institutions. In addition, the researcher recommended a theoretically-supported system for handling student disputes/issues that takes the real-world challenges of these institutions into account. Theories from the fields of mediation and conflict resolution were applied in the context of the higher education setting to help support the process.

Evolutionary psychology often relies on experimental methods for testing theories due to their capacity to isolate independent variables, thereby enhancing internal validity. The scientific problem in this study, however, lies in the fact that an increase in internal validity in experiments might risk reducing ecological validity. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to test experimental results from the evolutionary coalitional psychology in a real case, to evaluate the ecological validity of the theory. The case is the Ukraine war and the method is a qualitative thematic text analysis, of President Volodymyr Zelensky's speeches, close to Russia's invasion on February 24, 2022. The results reveal that the president in his speeches, motivates with a collective gain of participating in the defence of Ukraine, exhibits a punitive attitude towards perceived free-riders, and does not show any gender bias in his appeals. The evidence of collective gain and a punitive attitude is particularly notable as it aligns precisely with the theoretical expectations based on previous experimental results from coalitional psychology. This alignment between real-world findings and experimental predictions enhances the ecological validity of the theory, thus fulfilling the aim of the study. The conclusion is that evolutionary psychology can be effectively applied to real- world conflicts within peace and conflict studies.

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Company mergers and acquisitions often create tremendous conflict for employees because they force them into a spiral of organizational change. In this environment, employees are challenged with redefining themselves within a new organization. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to discover and explain the particular conflict experiences of professional employees who experienced the merger and acquisition of their company. A phenomenological research study was conducted to discover and describe the shared conflict experiences of professional employees during the merger and acquisition of their consulting firm. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 17 self-identified professional employees. It was found through an extensive phenomenological data analysis that: (a) the merger and acquisition experience is believed to have strengthened and improved the participants' skills for their professional advancement. With M&A, (b) the major conflict experienced by participants was the feeling of indifference and apprehension by the employees being merged with or acquired by another company as trust and credibility needed to be regained. Lastly, (c) the participants' sense of identity (confidence and professional identity) is still present as they are willing to accept the new factors and aspects of changes and developments that come with the merger and acquisition. The study contributes to the field of conflict analysis and resolution by providing new understandings and perspectives on how mergers and acquisitions are experienced and how they impact employees' conflict experiences and sense of identity.

This thesis examined the conditions under which taharrush (sexual harassment) has become normalized in Cairo, allowing acts once deemed unethical by Egyptians to become a daily experience. Experiences of taharrush were explored through an ethnographic study of three neighborhoods in Cairo and 20 semi-structured interviews with women from diverse backgrounds and age groups. Through the literature review of key themes and a historical analysis of the Egyptian context, this research explored the rise in sexual harassment over time and under different presidential regimes. The cross-generational aspect of this research highlighted the prevalence of sexual harassment in the past three decades. Furthermore, through the participants’ voices, numerous themes emerged explaining the increase of taharrush, such as: economic difficulties, decline in akhle (sense of community), and violence against women perpetrated by security officials. The interviews showed women’s experiences of sexual harassment, the perceived causes behind the issue of harassment being trivialized and normalized, and ways in which women combat harassment and security issues within Cairo. / February 2016

"Let knowledge serve the city" reads the golden letters on a pedestrian bridge just 200 feet from my faculty office in Neuberger Hall at Portland State University. Public peace scholarship might allow knowledge to help the polis by keeping it out of war via changing the national discourse toward a strong and informed peace analysis. Educators have an uneasy relationship to public scholarship and mainstream media have a nervous attitude toward public peace intellectuals. Institutions of higher learning are also often either unaware or uncomfortable with a public promotion of a positive peace platform. Academic writing and research is hard to translate into publicly accessible knowledge and time constraints mitigate professorial efforts at such civic engagements. This dissertation looks at the evolving nature of this intersectionality between and among factors and analyzes data derived from research interviews conducted with 12 academics/activists. The conclusion is a grounded theory generated by this process. Key findings include problematic lack of academic freedoms--especially in the promotion and tenure context, overwhelming faculty workloads, infrequent faculty development of public scholarship skills and a spotty distribution/connection system that often fails to facilitate competent and willing faculty to engage as public peace and justice scholars. Policy recommendations attempt to address all these obstacles.