Building Political Will for a Pro-Environment President
Akeem Adesiji, 2020
The United States (US) has the knowledge and power necessary to spark a new global revolution towards a low carbon future that works for everyone. At the moment however, the US federal government is sitting as a major roadblock to any major global effort to address climate change. In the US, climate change is a politically divisive issue falling generally along party lines. This paper focuses on finding a way to build political will for a pro-environment candidate in the swing states of Michigan and Pennsylvania. We use case studies from successful pro-environment candidates in similar areas and read into the changing role of social media in elections to create a climate communication plan for the 2020 Democratic candidate. The results highlight some of the shortcomings of the candidates from the case studies, but also provide valuable lessons that have been incorporated into the communication plan. The plan I propose is a general guide that aims to help politicians overcome the political divisions created around climate change to create the political will for a president who will lead the world towards a low carbon future.
Major track: Latin America
Project Advisors: Eric Pallant, Chris Finaret
Language Advisor: Barbara Riess (Spanish)
MORENA: Emergence and Consolidation of Left Parties in Mexico
Giancarlo Aguilar, 2020
On July 1st, 2018, Andrés Manuel López Obrador won the general elections in a historic election in modern Mexican history. This democratic process revealed a long history of the Mexican left in a country that is still considered in transition to liberal democracy. In this paper, I examine how left parties emerged in Mexico and what processes took place to consolidate these parties within the Mexican system. Through a comparative study between two left parties: The Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) and the Party of the National Regeneration Movement (MORENA), we see how the national context and the personality of the candidates can change the emergence and consolidation dynamics. Moreover, the most influential left leaders on the Mexican left are Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas (PRD) and Andrés Manuel López Obrador (MORENA). Lastly, I conclude that the PRD demonstrated successful emergence during the Single-party system but did not reach consolidation during the transition to democracy period. On the other side, MORENA presents the same emergence characteristics of its predecessor, the PRD, and achieves partial consolidation in the Mexican party system.
Major track: Latin America
Project Advisor: Shannan Mattiace
Language Advisor: Wilfredo Hernández (Spanish)
Reconciliation in Post-Conflict Peru: The Impact of the Transitional Justice Measures on the Indigenous Population
Samantha Awe, 2020
The objective of this thesis is to examine the effectiveness of transitional justice measures in affecting change regarding historically marginalized populations. I will use the measures taken by Peru following their twenty-year armed conflict as a case study. My research focuses on the implementation of the Comprehensive Reparations Plan (PIR) that was recommended by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (CVR). I have chosen to explore this particular conflict and subsequent transitional justice measure since the majority of victims were part of the large Quechua-speaking indigenous population, and thus the process relied heavily on their participation. In the first chapter, I will look at the theories of transitional justice and the advantages and disadvantages of the restorative and retributive approaches to justice. In chapter two, I will explore the factors of the armed conflict and the implementation of the CVR, including its conclusions and recommendations. Following in chapter three, I will examine the implementation of the PIR and the subsequent effects on the political participation and rights of the Peruvian indigenous population. Lastly, to better understand the current state of society in relation to the indigenous identity and culture, I will analyze the film, La teta asustada. Based on my findings, the effectiveness of transitional justice measures is dependent on the implementation of societal changes in which the participation and inclusion of the marginalized population is paramount. Otherwise, societies will become stagnant and continue to perpetrate the same inequalities and violence as before.
Major track: Latin America
Project Advisor: Shannan Mattiace
Language Advisor: Wilfredo Hernández (Spanish)
“Que sea ley”: La Campaña por el Derecho al Aborto Legal, Seguro y Gratuito y la lucha por los derechos reproductivos en Argentina
Kayla Bilger, 2020
This project sets out to investigate the Argentine social movement called La Campaña por el Derecho al Aborto Legal, Seguro y Gratuito (La Campaña). La Campaña has been active for nearly fifteen years and has been fighting to achieve the legalization of and access to abortion in Argentina. Additionally, they seek access to contraception and sexual education, and the expansion of women’s and reproductive rights in general. Through the analysis of the history of Argentina, social movement theory literature, and La Campaña itself, the end goal of this project is to answer the question of success for this ongoing movement. Has it been successful or not? Through examining the context La Campaña exits within, the particular social, cultural, political, historic and economic climate of Argentina, this project begins to uncover the meaning of success for this specific movement. Does success mean achieving the legalization of abortion? Or are there more layers to success for this modern social movement? Although abortion remains illegal in Argentina, I come to the conclusion that numerous other indicators suggest that La Campaña has seen substantial success in Argentine society. In addition, the legalization of abortion being in the near future is a strong possibility.
El proyecto se propone investigar el movimiento social en Argentina, La Campaña por el Derecho al Aborto Legal, Seguro y Gratuito (La Campaña). Hace casi quince años que La Campaña empezó a luchar para lograr la legalización y el acceso al aborto en Argentina. Además, quiere aumentar al acceso a los anticonceptivos, la educación sexual, y los derechos reproductivos y de las mujeres en general. A través del análisis de la historia de Argentina, la literatura de la teoría de los movimientos sociales y La Campaña, me gustaría hacer una conclusión sobre el éxito del movimiento social. ¿Logró el éxito o no? El proyecto examina el significado del éxito para La Campaña a través del clima social, cultural, político, histórico y económico particular de Argentina. ¿La legalización del aborto se traduce en el éxito? ¿O hay más niveles de éxito para este movimiento social? Aunque el aborto todavía está ilegal en Argentina, yo concluyo que hay otra evidencia que sugiere que La Campaña ha sido exitosa en Argentina. Además, la legalización del aborto es una gran posibilidad próximamente.
Major track: Latin America
Additional major: Spanish
Project Advisor: Shannan Mattiace
Language Advisor: Barbara Riess (Spanish)
Effect of Democratization on the Mexican Teachers’ Union
Brianna Campbell, 2020
This study examines the effect of democratization on the teachers’ union in Mexico. Previous studies have found key educational reforms that have taken place before and after democratization. Before democratization, the teachers’ union had aligned with the powerful PRI to accumulate an array of privileges that would help them maintain power for years to come. Democratization took place in 2000 when Vicente Fox was elected president and knocked the PRI from power after 70 years. The teachers’ union had to shift their alliances with political parties that sought to diminish their power by implementing education reforms. Democratization was seen as an opportunity for the teachers’ union to expand their influence into the political realm where they accumulate an abundance of advantages for union members. The evidence presented here has found that the SNTE under democracy wanted to maintain power, prevent education reforms, and gain more autonomy. The teachers’ union before democratization used their corporatist relationship with the PRI to fight for more power and influence within the educational system.
Major track: Latin America
Project Advisor: Kale Haywood
Language Advisor: Barbara Riess (Spanish)
A History of the Multi-Generational Quest for Full Citizenship From Colonial Algeria to Post-Colonial France
George Castellon Castillo, 2020
In France, the struggle for full citizenship and inclusion of the Algerian community into French society have been long-standing issues that go back to when Algeria was a colony of France. Algerians have struggled for many generations to find their place in French society due to their colonial past and the insufficient efforts from the French government to grant Algerians equal status and citizenship. This research uses the political and social context of France during the 1980s as the centerpiece to the Algerian community’s multi-generational struggle for full citizenship and inclusion into French society. Subjects that are closely focused on are the second generation Algerians in France or the Beurs and the social movement in 1983 for citizenship rights and addressing xenophobia called, the March for Equality and Against Racism. The Beurs’ social movement protested issues like systemic racism with the police and judicial courts while also pushing against xenophobia within the French national discourse. The Beur generation took a stand against the issues the North African migrant community faced in France and acknowledged the multi-generational struggle for full citizenship. In order to understand the historical context of the Beurs and the multi-generational struggle of the Algerian community. It is also examined the impact that Algerian migration had in France throughout the colonial and postcolonial periods which enabled the growth of the Algerian community in France. This research explains how both the parents and grandparents of the Beurs were pioneers in moving to France to find a better life and transform their destinies. All the research concludes with an analysis of the Beur generation’s activism and the March. As far as the Beurs were able to progress in gaining rights for immigrants and the North African migrant community in France, overall their impact did not last long. Racism and xenophobia continued to persist in French society while also the Algerian community were still deprived of full citizenship.
Major track: Europe
Project Advisor: Laura Reeck
Language Advisor: Laura Reeck (French)
Why is Mexico’s PRD party in decline?: A case study of the cycle of a political party
Elyse Cinquino, 2020
The purpose of this project is to investigate the current status of the Mexican political party, The Party of the Democratic Revolution(PRD). The PRD has been one of Mexico’s three prominent political parties since the party’s creation in 1989. However, despite its beginning prominence in Mexican politics, it is not currently as successful and is considered the least significant of the four main political parties in Mexico. The PRD’s current situation is a particularly interesting case as the project tries to examine various internal and external causes of its decline. This project will discuss internal party fragmentation, lack of ideological consistency, cases of corruption and emergence of The National Regeneration Movement(MORENA) party as reasons for the PRD’s decline. I conclude that the main cause of PRD’s failures is from its inability to bring together all of the leftist groups and social movements collaboratively in their ideologies and goals for the party. The PRD chose to make democratic change through elections. These time and resources needed to accomplish these goals often took away focus from improvements that needed to be fixed internally to advance the party and prevent conflicts. The emergence of the MORENA party has put the PRD as the secondary party of the left, a position they may not be able to leave if internal issues are not addressed.
Major track: Latin America
Project Advisor: Shannan Mattiace
Language Advisor: Wilfredo Hernández (Spanish)
In The Name of Liberation: The Resiliency of the CONAIE and Its Ability to Maintain Its Autonomy
Skyler Clark, 2020
Within the past three decades, indigenous social movements have emerged with the
purpose of fighting the elitist control bourgeois classes have displayed for hundreds of years.
Amongst these social movements, the ascendance of one particular organization called the
Confederación de Nacionalidades Indígenas del Ecuador (CONAIE) has caught the attention of
many scholars, theorists, critics, politicians, revolutionaries, and indigenous ethnic identities.
Within this study it will evaluate the dynamics of social movements and political parties, as well
as how these two groups form relationships between each other. Additionally, I will go on to
analyze the early history of indigenous populations, liberation theology, CONAIE itself, and its
connection to the Pachakutik political movement, while reflecting on how the impacts of the past
can still be seen in the present indigenous fight for social justice. The primary objective of my
research is to gain a comprehensive understanding of how a social organization, such as the
CONAIE, can maintain its autonomy despite having political party affiliations. I conclude that
the CONAIE has successfully been able to preserve its independence from political parties
through the remembrance of historical traumas, preservation of ancestral ties, maintenance of its
primary objectives, and previous success attained through its own efforts. In their fight against
social injustice, the CONAIE still works towards creating a plurinational state and a united,
heterogeneous society.
Major track: Latin America
Project Advisor: Shannan Mattiace
Language Advisor: Wilfredo Hernández (Spanish)
Socio-Cultural and Structural Barriers to HIV Public Health Interventions in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Madeline Fodor, 2020
The public health response to HIV/AIDS in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is characterized by a dearth of publicly available information. This dearth makes it difficult to evaluate the HIV/AIDS situation and measure the effectiveness of health interventions to contain the spread of the disease, on the one hand, and improve the quality of life of people living with HIV (PLHIV) on the other. This research documents available public health data and highlights discrepancies between official government initiatives and the on-the-ground action taken to combat HIV/AIDS by national public health programs and agencies. It argues that deeply rooted socio-cultural factors shape the public health response to HIV/AIDS and also inform societal reactions to the disease. It suggests that barriers inhibiting open, frank discussion of HIV are related to cultural taboos in Jordan around the topics of sex and sexuality. These taboos are often interfused with moral discourses and religious sanctions pertaining to sexuality in Jordan and in the Arab world generally. It also examines the ways in which aspects of tribalism in Jordan function to perpetuate rather than mitigate disease stigma, such as the increased emphasis on honor, shame, and reputation, and the pressure to conform to socially normative behavior within tribal societies. It demonstrates that these factors increase the difficulty of providing accessible healthcare for PLHIV in Jordan and worsen the health outcomes of PLHIV. It concludes that HIV/AIDS should be more highly prioritized as a public health concern, and that subsequent public health interventions should increasingly take into account wider cultural frameworks when designing policies and programs.
Major track: Middle East/North Africa
Additional major: Global Health Studies
Project Advisor: Reem Hilal
Language Advisor: Reem Hilal (Arabic)
Where is the Apology?: An Interpretation of Historical Commemoration and Collective Memory of the Nanjing Massacre and Its Contemporary Impact
Kaitlin Franzen, 2020
The Nanjing Massacre occurred in China in 1937 where the Japanese killed approximately 300,000 Chinese people, and raped an unknown number of women. Survivors were left to suffer in silence under first the Japanese during their occupation of China and then under the Chinese Communist Party under Mao Zedong. The lack of remembrance about the Nanjing Massacre lasted until 1982 where the memory was revived by government actors. This project will be a comparative study of the Nanjing Massacre Memorial and the D.C. Holocaust museum in which memory studies and commemorative efforts will be analyzed. Using memory studies methodology, this project will demonstrate how government institutions use memory and commemoration to instrumentalize memory in service to their political agenda. The conclusion of the project shows that the United States government uses the Holocaust for atonement for their lack of action during the Second World War as well as to gain support for the Carter administration. The Nanjing Memorial is funded by the Chinese government to promote Chinese national unity against the Japanese Army and to disprove people who dismiss the Massacre as never occurring.
Major track: East Asia
Project Advisor: Brian Miller
Language Advisor: Xiaoling Shi (Chinese)
The Pursuit of Diplomacy: Intervention and Implementation of Diplomatic Devices by the United States in Afghanistan
Kyle Kanell, 2020
As the War in Afghanistan nears its 20th year in duration, efforts by the United States to enact a diplomatic solution remains to be obscured. Persisting combat and selective strikes between the U.S. and Taliban creates obstacles in negotiations and peace talks while also devastating the Afghan people and nation overall. In determining if the actions of the U.S. in Afghanistan are effectively resulting in a diplomatic objective, key diplomatic devices and concepts are broken down and applied to the U.S. actions in the Afghan conflict. The use of hard and soft power elements is evident within the U.S. policies and overall strategy for the conflict, but they are unbalanced in their implementation. Unfortunately, there is also discrepancy between what is said in policy and what is done on the ground in Afghanistan. As the War in Afghanistan persists, so does the progression of diplomatic attempts by the U.S. and Afghan government. Implementing a new strategy of smart power initiatives, being the most effective device to be used in the approach of diplomacy, should be adopted by the U.S. in order to achieve a diplomatic resolve for the War in Afghanistan.
Major track: Middle East/Northern Africa
Project Advisor: Shanna Kirschner
Language Advisor: Sami Alkyam (Arabic)
The Catalonian Independence Movement: What factors would allow for Catalonia to become independent and how would the region’s secession affect the country of Spain?
Rayshon Knight, II, 2020
This research analysis aims to investigate the question: can the Spanish region of Catalonia become independent and, if so, how would this affect Spain? The research will focus on two major areas: the role of the economy and the role of intergovernmental organizations. These two areas will be pivotal in the conflict to determine whether succession is possible and to investigate the possible effects independence would have on both Spain and the region itself. This research found that Catalonian independence would not be sustainable given the circumstances surrounding the movement, such as prohibiting Catalonia from being able to join any intergovernmental organizations. It also discovered that, economically, neither Spain nor Catalonia would benefit from Catalonia becoming an independent region in Europe.
Major track: Europe
Project Advisor: Teresa Herrera
Language Advisor: Teresa Herrera (Spanish)
State Repression against Soccer Ultras: A Comparative Case Study of Turkey and Egypt
Eve Laden Mauro, 2020
Soccer has been a medium for political and ideological positions to be formed and expressed, opening the doors to a new revolution within the stadium. As activists, revolutionaries, and militant fans gather together, soccer has become an arena where autonomy and dissent can be shared. The role of ultra supporters in the Egyptian Revolution in 2011 and the Turkish Gezi Park protests in 2013 are cases where supporters represent larger demands for systematic freedoms. The findings of this paper suggest that ultras were effective in leading and protecting protesters, enabling each movement to expand their reach. Furthermore, each government’s response tactics were harsh and restrictive, and analysis indicates that the more authoritarian the regime, and the more extreme protesters’ demands were, the less space leaders were willing to concede.
Major track: Middle East/North Africa
Project Advisor: Shanna Kirschner
Language Advisor: Reem Hilal (Arabic)
Since the early 2000s, Africans have been migrating to China. As of 2018, there were over 600,000 African visitors in China. The aim of this study is to explore whether migration to China offers valuable opportunities to Africans. A central question in this study is whether African migrants are better or worse off in China, compared to their home countries. To address this question, the study focuses on the following themes trends in the migration of Africans to China, the push and pull factors that are driving these trends, and the nature of Chinese immigration policies. By analyzing these three themes, I found that China offers little valuable opportunities for Africans, in other words African migrants in China are better off in their home countries.
Major track: East Asia
Project Advisor: Steve Onyeiwu
Language Advisor: Xiaoling Shi (Chinese)
This project aims to analyze Mexican drug cartels gradual transition from being strictly economic institutions into socio-political ones. Specifically, I wanted to answer the question of why cartels started getting directly involved with political campaigns and financing candidates. This project starts off with a chapter that attempts to answer the question of how cartels in their current iteration evolved in Mexico. The first chapter traces the lineage of cartels from the Medellin Cartel in Colombia under Pablo Escobar. The second chapter focuses on the role that competition had in being a catalyst for the cartels transition. Ultimately it was both the political competition that resulted as the decline of the PRI and the competition between the cartels that resulted from Vicente Fox’s “War on Drugs” that forced the cartels to look for other sources of income in order to finance their turf wars. The third chapter uses the novel Balas de plata by Elmer Mendoza to examine the cultural perspective of this topic. Through three major themes Balas de plata challenges the government narrative of “otherness” that is used to depict cartels as enemies of the state and form a common enemy for the Mexican people and their government. The final chapter looks forward and provides three possible courses of action for the United States and Mexico to engage in cooperatively bilaterally in order to more effectively combat cartels.
Major track: Latin America
Project Advisor: Shannan Mattiace
Language Advisor: Wilfredo Hernández (Spanish)
Win-Win or Win-Lose?: The Double Edged Sword of Chinese-African Cooperation
Adaobi Njoku-obi, 2020
Is the relationship between China and Africa mutually beneficial or parasitic? This paper sets out to answer this question through assessing the the use of history, economics, and people to people relations. Through the use of history we are able to better understand the modern relationship between China and Africa. By assessing the economic policies of China in Africa we see if there is truly mutual understanding between the two. By assessing the people to people relationship of China and Africa we see how international organizations like the Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) aides in the mutual understanding between China and Africa. By doing these things gain a clearer picture of China in Africa. What I found is that this relationship can be beneficial if certain measures are carried out. Things like aid and trade can help countries but they can also harm them. This paper analyzes the effectiveness of aid, trade, and the FOCAC in Africa to see if the the relationship truly is parasitic or beneficial.
Major track: East Asia
Project Advisor: Steve Onyeiwu
Language Advisor: Xiaoling Shi (Chinese)
Allegheny & Internationalization
Sarah Shapley, 2020
Education is used as a tool both for liberation and oppression and when put into the
context of internationalization, this education becomes even more important. In order to
understand Allegheny’s internationalization with the Middle East North Africa region and the
ability to build a connection of solidarity, there is first a need to identify the location of the
scholar who asks this question, as well as the existing literature on internationalization processes
in higher education. In order to explore Allegheny College’s internationalization process with the
Middle East North Africa region, there is a need to explore the history of Allegheny College’s
founding and the practices, that when looked through a lens of settler-colonialism and
Orientalism, calls for the need for decolonization of Allegheny College. This then sets up the
need to investigate how a timeframe of the “War on Terror” that the United States of America is
currently participating in, affects the ability to decolonize higher education. This then moves to
an exploration on the importance of forming solidarity practices. This then leads to a discussion
on how other movements have decolonized in settler-colonial nation-states, and in particular in
the Middle East North Africa region, the teachings that are happening in Palestine and the
importance of language use in the internationalization process. Through solidarity and a
commitment to decolonization, new understandings of the world can emerge and be considered.
Major track: Middle East & North Africa
Project Advisor: Shanna Kirschner
Language Advisor: Reem Hilal (Arabic)