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Title: FROM LIBERAL TO RESTRICTIVE: THE 1992 ASYLUM POLICY CHANGE IN GERMANY.
Creator: Ramos, Natalie, Kinsey, Barbara, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: As the most popular destination country for migrants and refugees in the EU since the end of World War II (MPI, 2004), Germany has a history of refugee inflows. In this thesis I focus on the different factors that led to asylum policy change in reunified Germany, from liberal since 1945 to restrictive, after the end of the Cold War in 1992, with the 1992 amendment of Article 16 of the German Basic Law. The study of the factors that account for German asylum policy change is important to...
Show moreAs the most popular destination country for migrants and refugees in the EU since the end of World War II (MPI, 2004), Germany has a history of refugee inflows. In this thesis I focus on the different factors that led to asylum policy change in reunified Germany, from liberal since 1945 to restrictive, after the end of the Cold War in 1992, with the 1992 amendment of Article 16 of the German Basic Law. The study of the factors that account for German asylum policy change is important to understand the future of German asylum policy, and potentially provide a model of asylum policy change in other countries. In this study, I analyze German public opinion that seems to have been affected by large migrant inflows and the declining state of the economy. I argue that electoral pressures by the German public contributed to political party platform changes and asylum policy change. I use data from Eurobaromeer surveys, the World Bank, and the Migration Policy Institute to describe the refugee inflows and the state of the German economy, and how these may have contributed to public opinion, as reflected in Eurobarometer survey results. I examine German political party platforms and campaign tactics based on secondary literature, such as scholarly articles and studies, as well as political speeches and statements. I also consider Germany's membership in the EU as a factor that may have affected the change in German asylum policy. Germany's membership in the EU may have been used as a form of leverage by the Christian Democratic Party (CDU), to pressure the Social Democratic Party (SPD), to compromise on asylum policy restrictions, as Germany's constitutional right to asylum impeded the implementation of EU asylum policy provisions. The findings of my research suggest that German public sentiments may have affected Germany's political party platforms. Evidently, the SPD, aligned its political platform and policy agenda to align with the changes in the German electoral context and gain electoral support. Also, Germany's position as a founding member of the EU, may have contributed to the compromise on German asylum policy change, because the right to asylum as explained in Article 16 of the constitution, withheld Germany from utilizing the EU's asylum procedures and policies, until Article 16 was amended in 1992.
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Date Issued: 2016
Identifier: CFH2000113, ucf:46059
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000113

Title: SOCIAL UNDERDEVELOPMENT IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA.
Creator: Wingo, Michelle L, Kinsey, Barbara, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: For the past thirty years Africa has produced a more noticeably inferior reserve of human capital than other developing regions. This is puzzling because at the inception of independence, the future of Africa looked promising. However, during the 1970s both the political and economic situation in Africa began to deteriorate, and since 1980, the aggregate per capita GDP in sub-Saharan Africa has declined at almost one percent per fiscal year. Thirty-two countries are poorer now than they were...
Show moreFor the past thirty years Africa has produced a more noticeably inferior reserve of human capital than other developing regions. This is puzzling because at the inception of independence, the future of Africa looked promising. However, during the 1970s both the political and economic situation in Africa began to deteriorate, and since 1980, the aggregate per capita GDP in sub-Saharan Africa has declined at almost one percent per fiscal year. Thirty-two countries are poorer now than they were twenty years ago, and sub-Saharan Africa is now the lowest-income region in the world despite the fact that during the last two decades Africa has attracted more aid per capita than other developing regions. I hypothesize that focusing primarily on economic growth as the primary means of development has undermined and deterred social development in sub-Saharan Africa. I believe that as foreign investment and debt increase, social development stagnates and even declines. I argue that because of the focus on economics and lack of focus on social and cultural considerations sustained economic growth has been devitalized in sub-Saharan Africa. For this research I employed time-series, cross-sectional regression analysis to test the relative importance of the economic development model on social development in sub-Saharan Africa. My analysis of the forty-eight countries over thirty years gives leverage to the critique of economic growth centered development policies.
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Date Issued: 2004
Identifier: CFE0000088, ucf:46100
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000088

Title: INVESTIGATING ECONOMIC INEQUALITY AND VOTER TURNOUT IN THE INDUSTRIALIZED DEMOCRACIES.
Creator: Freeman, Benjamin, Kinsey, Barbara, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This paper investigates economic inequality and voter turnout in a sample of 21 industrialized democracies using a pooled time series model of elections from 1970 to 1999. The findings demonstrate a connection between inequality and voter turnout wherein increases in inequality lead to reductions in voter turnout. The ramifications for democratic accountability and representative democracy are discussed.
Date Issued: 2005
Identifier: CFE0000554, ucf:46415
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000554

Title: EVOLUTION OF POLITICAL CLEAVAGES AND ENTRY OF THE FAR-RIGHT IN GOVERNMENT COALITIONS IN ITALY AND POLAND.
Creator: Chernyshev, Maxim, Kinsey, Barbara, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This project focuses on a comparative analysis of governing coalitions between conservative and far-right parties in recent years in Italy (1994) and Poland (2005). The aim is to show how the inclusion of the radical right in government coalitions in these countries reflects recent changes in Western and Eastern European party systems through the reformulation of the old and formation of new party cleavages. The focus in the recent literature on personality clashes of party leaders over the...
Show moreThis project focuses on a comparative analysis of governing coalitions between conservative and far-right parties in recent years in Italy (1994) and Poland (2005). The aim is to show how the inclusion of the radical right in government coalitions in these countries reflects recent changes in Western and Eastern European party systems through the reformulation of the old and formation of new party cleavages. The focus in the recent literature on personality clashes of party leaders over the distribution of ministry portfolios does not explain the nature of the disagreement between these leaders about key issues of national politics. I argue that the mechanism of policy formulation between prospective coalitional partners can be traced at the level of party cleavages which pre-exist the negotiation process between party leaders. The political breakthrough of the far-right parties became possible because of the development of new issues related to the process of European integration and based on the longstanding confrontation between the left and right parties since the beginning of the Cold War. The disintegration of the previous party systems as a result of the collapse of the Communist regime in Poland and the First Republic in Italy in the post-Cold War era created a vacuum partly exploited by the previous anti-system far-right parties and the new emerging ones. At the same time, a clear tendency toward the cartelization of the programmatic supply was prominent on both the left and right sides of the political spectrum. I argue that the rise to prominence of center-right coalitions in the two countries led by Silvio Berlusconi and Jaroslav Kachinskiy respectively represents not only a new dimension in the development of the right wing in Europe but also constitutes a model of political realignment where new cleavages are gradually substituting for the old cleavages described in the Lipset-Rokkan model.
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Date Issued: 2008
Identifier: CFE0002433, ucf:47696
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002433

Title: RITUAL, MYTH, AND SYMBOL IN THE FIELD OF NUCLEAR POSTURING.
Creator: Walsh, Sean, Kinsey, Barbara, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Since their inception, the actual use of nuclear weapons in conflict is extremely limited. There have been only two documented occurrences which were committed exclusively by the United States. By contrast, however, state posturing with nuclear weapons occurs with regularity transcending historical situations, national wealth, military power, or even the actual possession of nuclear weapons. Rationalist arguments that depict nuclear posturing as a means of deterrence appear insufficient given...
Show moreSince their inception, the actual use of nuclear weapons in conflict is extremely limited. There have been only two documented occurrences which were committed exclusively by the United States. By contrast, however, state posturing with nuclear weapons occurs with regularity transcending historical situations, national wealth, military power, or even the actual possession of nuclear weapons. Rationalist arguments that depict nuclear posturing as a means of deterrence appear insufficient given its tendency to unbalance perceptions of equilibrium, and the public nature in which it occurs. Instead, I examine nuclear posturing by the United States during the Cold War as a form of political ritual providing for three distinctive, but complementary functions. First, posturing was a means to create coherence between foreign nuclear policy and domestic civil defense by manipulating symbols of fear. Second, posturing allowed the state to present itself in its new role as a shamanic authority over a new and powerful realm. Finally, posturing allowed for a normalization of the contradictory roles assumed by the state as it upheld its commission to defend the citizenry by means that would most probably destroy them all.
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Date Issued: 2005
Identifier: CFE0000578, ucf:46432
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000578

Title: THE STUDENT DEBT CRISIS AND POLITICAL POLARIZATION IN THE MILLENNIAL GENERATION.
Creator: Wallace, Dylan, Kinsey, Barbara, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: According to the Pew Research Center, the modern wave of political polarization began in 1994, and is the strongest today than it has ever been during the 23-year period. (2007) Polarization in the US party system is evidenced by several factors including: growing consistent partisan views, partisan antipathy, ideological bubbles, growing difference in preferences, a shrinking political center, and the lack of political compromise. (Pew Research Center 2014) The question I attempt to answer...
Show moreAccording to the Pew Research Center, the modern wave of political polarization began in 1994, and is the strongest today than it has ever been during the 23-year period. (2007) Polarization in the US party system is evidenced by several factors including: growing consistent partisan views, partisan antipathy, ideological bubbles, growing difference in preferences, a shrinking political center, and the lack of political compromise. (Pew Research Center 2014) The question I attempt to answer in this thesis is on the factors associated with political polarization within the millennial generation. One of the most pressing issues to this generation is what is known as the Student Loan Crisis, which is the $1.45 Trillion dollars Americans owe to private and federal lenders to attend college. (StudentLoanHero.com). In this thesis, I argue that economic inequality, via the student loan crisis, contributes to political polarization within the millennial generation. My analysis takes place at the level of the individual. I conduct a statistical analysis using the 2016 American National Election Survey Dataset, to test whether political polarization, operationalized as ideological and partisan polarization, is associated with polarization on economic issues that I link to wealth inequality in the millennial generation, controlling for polarization on social issues, interest in politics, and income. The main finding is that party/ideological polarization is positive and significantly related to polarization on economic issues in the millennial generation; whether or not the Student Loan Crisis underlies this link requires further study.
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Date Issued: 2018
Identifier: CFH2000381, ucf:45773
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000381

Title: INSTITUTIONAL DESIGN AND ECONOMIC INEQUALITY: SOCIOECONOMIC ACTORS AND PUBLIC POLICY IN GERMANY AND THE UNITED STATES.
Creator: Hudson, Jennifer, Kinsey, Barbara, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: In this thesis I conduct a comparative analysis of the influence of socioeconomic actors, business and labor, on public policy in Germany and the United States, specifically public policy that has an impact on economic inequality. The objective of this study is to gain a better understanding of how institutional constructs may determine the level of influence by different socioeconomic actors on public policy. In particular, I examine the link between institutional design and economic...
Show moreIn this thesis I conduct a comparative analysis of the influence of socioeconomic actors, business and labor, on public policy in Germany and the United States, specifically public policy that has an impact on economic inequality. The objective of this study is to gain a better understanding of how institutional constructs may determine the level of influence by different socioeconomic actors on public policy. In particular, I examine the link between institutional design and economic inequality, specifically the relative influence of business interests in varying types of capitalist economies and democratic systems, and assess those facets of institutional design that may facilitate the channeling of business influence in policy making. I explore institutional changes in the German political and economic system beginning in the late 1980s to determine whether these changes have altered the policy making process over time, and analyze similarities with institutional changes that have taken place in the United States beginning in the late 1970s to present. Further, I examine whether shifts in institutional design indicate that the German system is transitioning towards a more liberal model similar to that of the United States, and consider what effects this may have on the level of economic inequality in Germany. To conduct my analysis I use the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework; based on the IAD framework I create a conceptual map of the channels by which socioeconomic actors are involved in the policy making process. I evaluate the policy-making process in both formal and informal policy arenas. The policy areas analyzed include corporate governance, industrial relations, and tax, welfare and minimum wage policy during the selected time periods. The analysis shows that the institutional designs that produced the selected policies benefit business interests and may contribute towards economic inequality. The larger goal is to develop research that will build a theoretical foundation to help us identify how these systems may be improved to produce a more equitable allocation of economic resources.
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Date Issued: 2014
Identifier: CFH0004690, ucf:45243
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004690

Title: PRIVACY, SURVEILLANCE AND THE STATE: A COMPARISON OF U.S. AND BRITISH PRIVACY RIGHTS.
Creator: Lander, Angelina, Kinsey, Barbara Sgouraki, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This study investigates the effects of institutional structure on the privacy rights regimes in the United States and the United Kingdom, from 2000-2006. The goal of this research is to analyze how variation in the institutional arrangements across these two countries allowed for more or less protection of privacy rights for citizens. Domestic terrorist attacks during the time period represent a catalyst for changes in police and government surveillance activities. Veto points literature...
Show moreThis study investigates the effects of institutional structure on the privacy rights regimes in the United States and the United Kingdom, from 2000-2006. The goal of this research is to analyze how variation in the institutional arrangements across these two countries allowed for more or less protection of privacy rights for citizens. Domestic terrorist attacks during the time period represent a catalyst for changes in police and government surveillance activities. Veto points literature provides the framework for institutional comparison. The first part of the research provides a discussion of the historical evolution of privacy rights in both states, focusing on government and police surveillance and investigations. The second part of the research, based on veto points theory, compares the institutional arrangements of the United States and the United Kingdom, and suggests that the number of veto points and the ideological proximity of veto players have had an effect on the formulation of policy. Laws governing surveillance, investigations and privacy in the year 2000 provide a benchmark for analyzing how policies change over time.
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Date Issued: 2009
Identifier: CFE0002772, ucf:48095
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002772

Title: DOES FOREIGN AID PROMOTE DEVELOPMENT? A STUDY OF THE EFFECTS OF FOREIGN AID ON DEVELOPMENT IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA.
Creator: Gray, Rachael, Kinsey, Barbara, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Foreign aid aims to improve economic conditions and quality of life in developing countries. The literature on the efficacy of foreign aid to date has been inconclusive; yet there is some evidence that institutional factors may condition the relationship between aid and development. This research focuses on the effects of foreign aid on development, taking into consideration the effects of political institutional factors as intervening in the connection between aid and development....
Show moreForeign aid aims to improve economic conditions and quality of life in developing countries. The literature on the efficacy of foreign aid to date has been inconclusive; yet there is some evidence that institutional factors may condition the relationship between aid and development. This research focuses on the effects of foreign aid on development, taking into consideration the effects of political institutional factors as intervening in the connection between aid and development. Specifically, this study considers the effects of democracy (political rights and civil liberties) and level of corruption on the relationship between aid and development in sub-Saharan Africa. Development is determined by the Human Development Index, which takes into account gross national income, life expectancy, and education level. My findings indicate that aid is ineffective at promoting development in sub-Saharan Africa. Additionally, it is found that democracy, as determined by level of political freedom, is positively associated to development in aid recipient countries. HIV prevalence rate, the location of the country relative to the coastline, and percent of arable land were found to be significant factors affecting development. The level of corruption and political stability do not have a significant effect on development. The study is conducted using a cross-national, longitudinal, statistical model. The impact of foreign aid on development is examined for 45 countries over a fourteen-year period, from 1995 to 2009. The results of the study show that foreign aid has a negative effect on development, yet development is affected by level of democracy, geographical location, percent of arable land, and HIV prevalence rate. Development is higher in countries located on the coastline, with a higher percentage of arable land, a higher level of democracy, and a higher rate of HIV.
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Date Issued: 2011
Identifier: CFE0003705, ucf:48804
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003705

Title: EUROPEAN MIGRATION AND THE FAR-RIGHT: 2011-2017.
Creator: Wilson, Lauren, Turcu, Anca, Kinsey, Barbara, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This study investigates the relationship between the current migration crisis in Europe and the escalation of far-right voting which has been witnessed since it's beginning. In order to do so this study utilized correlation experiments and detailed case studies to explore the relationship between legislative vote shares and asylum applications for the years 2009-2017 in the EU member states of Hungary, Germany, France, Greece and the UK. Control variables of GDP, unemployment and terrorist...
Show moreThis study investigates the relationship between the current migration crisis in Europe and the escalation of far-right voting which has been witnessed since it's beginning. In order to do so this study utilized correlation experiments and detailed case studies to explore the relationship between legislative vote shares and asylum applications for the years 2009-2017 in the EU member states of Hungary, Germany, France, Greece and the UK. Control variables of GDP, unemployment and terrorist attacks have also been utilized to measure alternative causes of far-right voting. Results of these experiments vary quite a bit from state to state - finding differing potential causal factors in each case study. Germany, France and the UK show results which indicate that an increase in asylum applications potentially influence far-right voting habits. Greece does not show this type of result, but does show correlation with control variables. Hungarian experiments however do not produce correlation with any variables tested, but has the strongest presence of far-right activity which may indicate that Hungarian far-right success is attributed to their long history of far-right activity.
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Date Issued: 2019
Identifier: CFH2000539, ucf:45652
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000539

Title: Ideology and Influence: Balancing Conservative and Neoconservative Power in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Creator: Corsi, Rachel, Sadri, Houman, Morales, Waltraud, Kinsey, Barbara, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The evolution of the Pasdaran over the past thirty years has brought the group furtheraway from its original role as a protector of the revolution and closer to a parallel, if notcompeting, economic, political and social institution. In the last decade, conflict dominating the political landscape of the Islamic Republic of Iran has shifted from being defined primarily by the Reformists (Islamic Left) and the Conservatives (Islamic Right), to a multi-dimensional struggle between the Reformists...
Show moreThe evolution of the Pasdaran over the past thirty years has brought the group furtheraway from its original role as a protector of the revolution and closer to a parallel, if notcompeting, economic, political and social institution. In the last decade, conflict dominating the political landscape of the Islamic Republic of Iran has shifted from being defined primarily by the Reformists (Islamic Left) and the Conservatives (Islamic Right), to a multi-dimensional struggle between the Reformists, Conservatives, and Neo-Conservatives, represented by theIRGC and President Ahmadinejad. The IRGC's defiance against the authority of the clerics,evidenced by President Ahmadinejad's deteriorating relationship with the Supreme Leader, is an indication of a shift in the sources of influence in domestic and foreign policy making and the necessary attempts of the ruling regime to compensate for its loss of control. It appears that the IRGC may be in a position to seriously challenge the authority of the clerics; however, this research hypothesizes that as the organization has evolved parallel to the velayet-e faqih, it does not have the necessary autonomy or cohesion to effectively usurp the rule of the clerics. This study proposes that the competitive disunity that has propelled the growth of the IRGC over thepast three decades is prohibitive of the collective consolidation of influence necessary to wrest authority from the clerical regime.
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Date Issued: 2011
Identifier: CFE0004095, ucf:49136
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004095

Title: Democracy and Education Equity in Latin America.
Creator: Stonerook, Olen, Kinsey, Barbara, Morales, Waltraud, Kiel, Dwight, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: In the literature democratic longevity in countries transitioning from authoritarian regimes to democracy is linked to economic development; four factors of economic development are identified: industrialization, education, urbanization, and growing wealth. Education is viewed as a primary factor for effective democratic participation and economic development. This thesis examines the relationship between level of democracy and educational outputs and outcomes. Does the level of democracy ...
Show moreIn the literature democratic longevity in countries transitioning from authoritarian regimes to democracy is linked to economic development; four factors of economic development are identified: industrialization, education, urbanization, and growing wealth. Education is viewed as a primary factor for effective democratic participation and economic development. This thesis examines the relationship between level of democracy and educational outputs and outcomes. Does the level of democracy (political rights and civil liberties) have an effect on the levels of investment in education and measurable outcomes in education equity toward meeting the educational needs of the newly represented public? The expectation is that the increased scope of political participation and representation in new democratic regimes would result in higher government spending for education with implications for education equity.This study is conducted using a cross-sectional, longitudinal statistical model. The analysis is based on 18 Latin American countries over a thirty-eight-year period, from 1972 to 2010. To examine the connection between level of democracy and education equity, the study explores the effects of democracy on different levels of education, gender, and social class. In addition to the quantitative analysis, a qualitative component aims at contextualizing this relationship that is, examining closer the mechanism that underlies the connection between democracy and education equity in the cases of Mexico and Brazil.
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Date Issued: 2011
Identifier: CFE0004170, ucf:49073
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004170

Title: Explaining the Support of the British National Party (BNP) in the 1999, 2004, and 2009 European Union Elections.
Creator: Willis, Jonathan, Kinsey, Barbara, Kim, Myunghee, Wilson, Bruce, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: In the past decade, there has been a surge of interest in extreme right Western European parties. Well-established parties such as the National Front (FN) in France, Vlaams Belang (formerly Vlaams Blok) in Belgium, and Lega Nord in Italy have been scrutinized. However, extreme right parties that have just recently begun to experience electoral successes such as the British National Party (BNP) have received less evaluation and discussion in the literature. Therefore, this study examines the...
Show moreIn the past decade, there has been a surge of interest in extreme right Western European parties. Well-established parties such as the National Front (FN) in France, Vlaams Belang (formerly Vlaams Blok) in Belgium, and Lega Nord in Italy have been scrutinized. However, extreme right parties that have just recently begun to experience electoral successes such as the British National Party (BNP) have received less evaluation and discussion in the literature. Therefore, this study examines the BNP's electoral fortunes in the European elections of 1999, 2004, and 2009. I explore the support for the BNP using the traditional variables of unemployment, education, income, and immigration. In addition to these variables, I examine how support for other parties present in Great Britain, such as the right-wing United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) and the center-right Conservative Party affects electoral support for the BNP. I find that support for other right-wing parties in Great Britain do exert an influence on BNP electoral fortunes (the UKIP a positive one, and the Conservative Party a negative one). I also find a strong negative link between BNP support and education and a weak positive one between BNP support and unemployment. However, income and immigration rates appear to have no effect on voter support for the BNP.
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Date Issued: 2011
Identifier: CFE0004179, ucf:49068
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004179

Title: A Study of the Relationship Between Trade Liberalization and Human Development in Sub-Saharan Africa's Least Developed Countries.
Creator: Rash, Stephanie, Sadri, Houman, Morales, Waltraud, Kinsey, Barbara, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between trade liberalization, measured using the Heritage Foundation's Trade Freedom indicator, and human development, measured using the United Nations Development Program's Human Development Index, in sub-Saharan Africa's Least Developed Countries between 1990 and 2011 as data allows. In addition to exploring the relationship between these two variables, alternative factors that influence human development are examined in bivariate...
Show moreThe purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between trade liberalization, measured using the Heritage Foundation's Trade Freedom indicator, and human development, measured using the United Nations Development Program's Human Development Index, in sub-Saharan Africa's Least Developed Countries between 1990 and 2011 as data allows. In addition to exploring the relationship between these two variables, alternative factors that influence human development are examined in bivariate correlations with human development as well as used as control variables in a multiple regression analysis. Namely, this study includes government effectiveness, the percentage of the labor force employed in the agricultural sector, the percent of Gross Domestic Product made up of the sale of agricultural products, geography, and armed conflict as control variables.By conducting a cross-national bivariate correlation analysis as well as a cross-national multiple regression analysis for the years between 1990 and 2011, this study highlights how, when included in a model with control variables, trade liberalization goes from being a statistically significant predictor of human development index scores to losing its significance altogether. The results from this study indicate that trade liberalization, government effectiveness, and geography, more specifically being landlocked or not, do not have statistically significant effects on human development for LDCs in the region. However, this study finds that for every unit increase in the percentage of the labor force working in agriculture as well as the percentage of GDP made up by agricultural products, a lower human development score can be expected. Armed conflict also has a statistically significant, negative effect on human development.
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Date Issued: 2012
Identifier: CFE0004427, ucf:49362
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004427

Title: Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric in Western Europe: The Role of Integration Policies in Extreme Right Populism.
Creator: Martins, Nathalia, Kinsey, Barbara, Hamann, Kerstin, Turcu, Anca, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The recent rise of Western Europe's extreme populist Right (EPR) parties has been attributed to the EPR's mobilization of grievances over the issue of immigration (Ignazi 1991; Taggart 1996; Fennema 1997; Schain, 1998; Mudde 1999; Brubaker 2001; Ivarsflaten 2007). This study contributes to the literature on EPR's anti-immigrant rhetoric by examining whether different integration policies play a role in conditioning anti-immigrant rhetoric, and if so, what their role is in the formulation of...
Show moreThe recent rise of Western Europe's extreme populist Right (EPR) parties has been attributed to the EPR's mobilization of grievances over the issue of immigration (Ignazi 1991; Taggart 1996; Fennema 1997; Schain, 1998; Mudde 1999; Brubaker 2001; Ivarsflaten 2007). This study contributes to the literature on EPR's anti-immigrant rhetoric by examining whether different integration policies play a role in conditioning anti-immigrant rhetoric, and if so, what their role is in the formulation of such rhetoric.This thesis is comprised of two case studies: the French assimilation approach to immigrant integration and the rhetoric of Front National's leaders Jean-Marie and Marine Le Pen; and the Dutch multicultural approach to integration and the rhetoric of Dutch Party for Freedom's leader Geert Wilders. The main hypothesis is that each leader's anti-immigrant rhetoric incorporates the shortcomings of the integration approach adopted by their respective governments. Elements of the rejection of both assimilationism and multiculturalism are detected in the FN's and PVV's rhetoric, respectively, through a careful review of secondary and primary sources of language usage in Jean-Marie and Marine Le Pen's and Wilders' speeches, interviews, and media appearances.
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Date Issued: 2012
Identifier: CFE0004409, ucf:49387
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004409

Title: Youth Labor Market Conditions and the NEET Population in the EU: Do Poor Labor Market Opportunities Discourage Youth?.
Creator: Hudson, Jennifer, Hamann, Kerstin, Kinsey, Barbara, Powell, Jonathan, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This study examines how poor labor market opportunities discourage youth between the ages of 15 and 24 and 15 to 29 from participating in the labor market in the European Union between 2005 and 2013. A critical portion of inactive NEETs (youth not in employment, education, or training) reports to be discouraged due to a recognized (")lack of opportunities in the labor market.(") Despite indications from descriptive analyses that the conditions that drive the distinct subsets of the NEET...
Show moreThis study examines how poor labor market opportunities discourage youth between the ages of 15 and 24 and 15 to 29 from participating in the labor market in the European Union between 2005 and 2013. A critical portion of inactive NEETs (youth not in employment, education, or training) reports to be discouraged due to a recognized (")lack of opportunities in the labor market.(") Despite indications from descriptive analyses that the conditions that drive the distinct subsets of the NEET population vary, empirical examinations of the effects of these conditions on the rates of different NEET groups across countries and over time are lacking. The policies prescribed for the NEET group as a whole tend to ignore the special needs of discouraged, inactive NEETs. Beyond the fundamental problem of engaging these individuals in the labor market, neglecting this group has a variety of implications, ranging from social exclusion, to poverty, and even radicalism. A central goal of this project is to determine what a recognized (")lack of opportunities(") means. What is known concretely is that fellow youth are increasingly vulnerable to a range of labor market outcomes and conditions beyond unemployment, including difficulty transitioning into the labor market (school-to-work transitions), in-work poverty risk, non-standard employment opportunities (involuntary and voluntary), limited ability to transition into secure employment (i.e. upward mobility), lower wage levels, atypical employment, limited job security and support, and long-term unemployment. Utilizing aggregated survey data from the EU Labor Force Survey and EU Survey on Income and Living Conditions, I examine how a range of labor market outcomes and conditions for youth, representative of the poor labor market opportunities, affect the frequency of discouraged NEETs across 24 EU countries between 2005 and 2013. Findings suggest that the incidence of involuntary non-standard work, in-work poverty risk, and atypical employment among fellow youth and the incidence of decreased work security among the adult working age population are associated with an increase in discouraged, inactive NEETs. This suggests that engaging this hard to reach subgroup of the NEET population requires a greater emphasis on creating improved labor market opportunities.
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Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: CFE0006605, ucf:51292
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006605

Title: Rivalry-Prone Dyads? Interstate Religious Differences and Military Conflict.
Creator: Elkhaldi, Manar, Kinsey, Barbara, Handberg, Roger, Dolan, Thomas, Rudkevich, Gennady, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The link between religion and interstate military conflict has attracted a lot of attention among scholars of international relations and also foreign policy makers and religious organizations. This study examines whether religious differences between states in a dyad may partly affect various types of militarized conflict. It is argued in the literature that religion promotes stronger loyalty and sense of obligation than other cultural identities (Juergensmeyer, 1993); I argue that religious...
Show moreThe link between religion and interstate military conflict has attracted a lot of attention among scholars of international relations and also foreign policy makers and religious organizations. This study examines whether religious differences between states in a dyad may partly affect various types of militarized conflict. It is argued in the literature that religion promotes stronger loyalty and sense of obligation than other cultural identities (Juergensmeyer, 1993); I argue that religious identity may be used by states effectively to mobilize people by means of rhetoric to generate and sustain popular support for conflict with other states. Thus I expect that states with different predominant religions to be more likely to engage in various dimensions of rivalry. The objective of this research is to contribute to understanding why certain dyads may be more likely to engage in military conflict. I construct new datasets and develop statistical models to evaluate the connection between religion and interstate military conflict. I focus on the onset of different types of interstate rivalries and war and examine the link of each of these types with different kinds of religious differences. I explore whether (a) interstate dyads with religious difference, (b) Christian/Muslim dyads, and (c) interstate dyads with different religious denominations have a higher propensity to engage in (a) enduring rivalry, (b) rivalry recurrence, and (c) war. This study covers the time period between 1945 and 2001. I conduct the analyses using logit models that incorporate alternative explanations of each of these three dimensions of rivalry. In addition, I provide a case study of the 1947 India-Pakistan war to examine closer the mechanism of the relationship between religious difference in this dyad and war. Analysis results suggest that dyads with (")religious difference(") are associated with rivalry recurrence and war; (")Christian/Muslim Differences(") do not appear to have an effect on rivalry. The findings of this research are expected to offer a better understanding of rivalry between dyads.
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Date Issued: 2016
Identifier: CFE0006296, ucf:51615
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006296

Title: Dimensions of State Fragility: Determinants of Violent Group Grievance, Political Legitimacy, (&) Economic Capacity.
Creator: Christensen, Jason, Kinsey, Barbara, Mousseau, Demet, Hamann, Kerstin, Kircher, Amy, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: State fragility has severe political implications. In the literature, fragile states have been referred to as (")chaotic breeding grounds(") for human rights violations, terrorism, violent extremism, crime, instability, and disease (Patrick 2011, 3-4). International organizations have also expressed concern regarding the potential of (")fragile states(") to disrupt collective security as threats such as transnational terrorism and human displacement from violent conflict have the potential to...
Show moreState fragility has severe political implications. In the literature, fragile states have been referred to as (")chaotic breeding grounds(") for human rights violations, terrorism, violent extremism, crime, instability, and disease (Patrick 2011, 3-4). International organizations have also expressed concern regarding the potential of (")fragile states(") to disrupt collective security as threats such as transnational terrorism and human displacement from violent conflict have the potential to permeate borders (Patrick 2011, 5). This research project aims at extending our understanding of state fragility by examining three distinct dimensions of state fragility proposed in the literature: i) state authority, ii) state legitimacy, and iii) state capacity. I narrow the scope of these dimensions by focusing on 1) violent group grievance, 2) political legitimacy, and 3) state economic capacity, respectively. The first dimension, state authority, is related to a government's control of unlawful intrastate violence. The second dimension, legitimacy, is linked to the public acceptance of the right of an authority to govern law through its practice and influence (Weber 1958, 32-36; Gilley 2006, 48; Connolly 1984, 34). The third dimension, capacity, represents a state-society relationship characterized mainly by the state's ability to provide public goods and protection of citizens and residents from (")harm(") such as natural disasters and economic downfalls (Gr(&)#228;vingholt, Ziaja, and Kreibaum 2012, 7). This dissertation examines each of these dimensions using quantitative analyses based on large-N datasets and cross-sectional longitudinal models to fill gaps in the literature on state fragility. In particular, I hypothesize 1) number of refugees increases the level of intrastate violent group grievance (state authority), 2) state human rights violations decreases popular support and thus public perceptions of state legitimacy, and 3) population constraints, such as food insecurity and disease increase economic decline and thus compromise the state's economic capacity. Internal violence, loss of legitimacy, and a weakened economy may increase levels of state fragility. Each of these three studies controls for alternative explanations and covers the time period between 2006 and 2014. The analysis results confirm the main hypotheses of this study and are expected to offer a more concise conceptual framework of state fragility, and better empirical understanding of potential contributors to state fragility.
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Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: CFE0006728, ucf:51876
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006728

Title: On Obama Administration Gun Policy With Continual Reference To The Multiple Streams Model.
Creator: Hristakopoulos, Michael, Vieux, Andrea, Wilson, Bruce, Kinsey, Barbara, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The Multiple Streams model developed by John Kingdon (1995) and Nikolaos Zahariadis (2007) provides a valuable framework for understanding the nature of policy change. This investigation draws extensively upon the Multiple Streams framework in order to understand the development of gun-control policy initiatives under President Barack Obama.The investigation uses a case-study approach with in-depth analysis of four different mass-shooting events that took place in the United States between...
Show moreThe Multiple Streams model developed by John Kingdon (1995) and Nikolaos Zahariadis (2007) provides a valuable framework for understanding the nature of policy change. This investigation draws extensively upon the Multiple Streams framework in order to understand the development of gun-control policy initiatives under President Barack Obama.The investigation uses a case-study approach with in-depth analysis of four different mass-shooting events that took place in the United States between 2009 and 2012. Reconstruction of the shooting events and detailed parsing of the Obama administration's official responses to each incident, when viewed through the Multiple Streams lens, clearly explain why Obama's aggressive policy initiative was so delayed in its emergence in spite of several shootings and the President's clearly stated belief that gun-reform was a necessary step for the federal government. While the term (")policy change(") is broad and may encompass all sorts of governmental responsiveness, the term herein should be interpreted in the narrowest sense: exclusively encompassing legislative initiatives.Ultimately, the investigation concludes that numerous factors, but most prominently concerns about the timing and results of the 2010 Midterm and 2012 General Elections, prevented an aggressive pursuit of gun-reform prior to January 2013. The tragic shooting of 28 people in Newtown, Connecticut, then served as a prime focusing event for the President to aggressively engage a long-standing goal.
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Date Issued: 2013
Identifier: CFE0004865, ucf:49716
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004865

Title: How Much is that War in the Window? An Investigation into the Costs of War.
Creator: Miller, Spencer, Mousseau, Michael, Kinsey, Barbara, Dolan, Thomas, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This thesis examines the effects of war on a state's economy. The Liberal Theory of international relations maintains that there are costs to war in terms of trade; in line with this argument, many researchers have suggested that trading partners are less likely to war with each other out of a fear of disrupting their trade, which would in turn disrupt their economies. Due to issues of elasticity and substitution, however, overall trade may not significantly decline during war. Additionally,...
Show moreThis thesis examines the effects of war on a state's economy. The Liberal Theory of international relations maintains that there are costs to war in terms of trade; in line with this argument, many researchers have suggested that trading partners are less likely to war with each other out of a fear of disrupting their trade, which would in turn disrupt their economies. Due to issues of elasticity and substitution, however, overall trade may not significantly decline during war. Additionally, there are known economic costs of war, such as debt. If war truly does have costs, then, it must be more in terms of costs to the national economy, rather than trade. This work examines the theory that war has costs to the economies of war initiators, and samples the economies of war initiators from the mid-nineteenth century to the late twentieth century. This paper uses a time series analysis and tests for anterior, concurrent, and posterior effects of war initiation on national economies, and uses a time period of up to twenty years before and after each war event. The results indicate that there are, in general, no negative effects of war on a state's economy: only one case had a significant negative result, while two had significant positive results; these two positive cases, however, also had strong evidence of autocorrelation. These results pose a challenge to the Liberal Theories of International Relations.
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Date Issued: 2015
Identifier: CFE0005669, ucf:50198
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005669

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