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101. Human Rights Action and Social Movements in Morocco

Author:
Youssef Mounsif
Publication Date:
02-2018
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Arab Reform Initiative (ARI)
Abstract:
A deeper and broader national transformation took root in Morocco as bridges started to appear over the gap between an alleged elitism of the human rights movement and the “masses”, with human rights organizations refocussing on social, economic and localized causes of various communities. As in other similar countries, rights actors collide with existing economic and political arrangements and the entrenched networks of patronage. This will be their challenge for years to come.
Topic:
International Relations and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Morocco

102. Rights and Politics: Human Rights Action and Socio-economic Struggles in Tunisia

Author:
Hatem Chakroun
Publication Date:
01-2018
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Arab Reform Initiative (ARI)
Abstract:
The interaction between Tunisian human rights organizations and movements struggling for economic and social rights present the former with hard questions and important challenges. Human rights actors need to scrutinize their role and tactics to decide whether they would remain in the fast eroding mediation level (between the movements and the state) or they could explore other avenues that can address the complex issues of representation and brokerage between human rights defenders and the bearers of these very rights who are busy developing new ways of defending themselves.
Topic:
Human Rights and International Political Economy
Political Geography:
Tunisia

103. The Human Rights Movement and Contentious Politics in Egypt (2004-2014)

Author:
Amr Adly
Publication Date:
01-2018
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Arab Reform Initiative (ARI)
Abstract:
The economic and social rights movement has struck some success in working with contentious movements to challenge public policies and institutions in Egypt. However, no organic relationship developed between the two. The contentious movement did not strategically adopt an economic and social rights framing that would have enabled it to get beyond its local, largely apolitical and un-institutionalized characteristics in favour of a nationwide platform.
Topic:
Human Rights
Political Geography:
Egypt

104. Low-Cost Access to Space: Military Opportunities and Challenges

Author:
Philip Stockdale, Scott Aughenbaugh, and Nickolas J. Boensch
Publication Date:
02-2018
Content Type:
Research Paper
Abstract:
In support of the Air University “Fast Space” study, the National Defense University collaborated with Johns Hopkins University, eight think tanks, and subject matter experts to analyze the utility of ultra-low-cost access to space (ULCATS) for the U.S. military. Contributors identified disruptors that could achieve ULCATS and Fast Space as well as space architectures and capabilities that could reduce the cost of access to space. They also offered recommendations for legal, policy, regulatory, authority, and oversight adjustments that could facilitate reductions. The combination of a greater number of innovative commercial space actors, industry advocacy for licensing reform, and optimism regarding reusable launch vehicles will eventually change the ways the United States operates in space. As the economic landscape of space activities evolves, some missions in low earth orbit may be turned over to commercial sector operation, but the next 3 to 5 years might not be revolutionary for government use of space capabilities.
Topic:
International Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

105. Closing Sweden’s Military Security Defi cit: the National Debate on NATO Membership

Author:
Ian Anthony and Carrie Weintraub
Publication Date:
03-2018
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
Th e National Security Strategy published by the Swedish government in January 2017 underlines that the security challenges facing the country are complex and subject to rapid change. One current challenge is the re-emergence of traditional forms of power politics, including in the Baltic Sea region, which is described as one of the main areas of friction between Russia and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).2
Topic:
International Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

106. International Intervention and the Rule of Law after Civil War: Evidence from Liberia

Author:
Robert Blair
Publication Date:
05-2018
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University
Abstract:
What are the effects of international intervention on the rule of law after civil war? Rule of law requires not only that state authorities abide by legal limits on their power, but also that citizens rely on state laws and institutions to adjudicate disputes. Using an original survey and list experiment in Liberia, and adopting multiple identification strategies to support a causal interpretation of my results, I show that exposure to the UN Mission in Liberia increased civilians’ reliance on state over non-state authorities to resolve the most serious incidents of crime and violence, and increased non-state authorities’ reliance on legal over illegal mechanisms of dispute resolution. I also find, however, that international intervention did not mitigate and may in fact have exacerbated citizens’ perceptions of state corruption and bias. I conclude by discussing theoretical and policy implications of these apparently contradictory effects.
Topic:
International Law
Political Geography:
Liberia

107. The Political Impact of Immigration

Author:
Anna Maria Mayda
Publication Date:
09-2018
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Political leaders’ positions on the issue of immigration can be an important determinant of their electoral success or failure. Immigration took center stage in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and its aftermath, as now-president Donald Trump took strong stands on illegal immigration, the construction of a border wall, refugees from Syria, and “sanctuary cities.”
Topic:
International Relations and Immigration
Political Geography:
Global Focus

108. The Impact of the Dodd-Frank Act on Small Business

Author:
Michael D Bordo
Publication Date:
09-2018
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
The Dodd Frank Act of 2010 (DFA) was designed to overcome the sources of excessive leverage and systemic risk in the U.S. financial sector perceived to have created the Great Financial Crisis of 2007–2008. Since then, considerable controversy has swirled around the efficacy of various components of the multifaceted act. Many have been critical of the Volcker Rule, while others have praised the elevation of capital ratios and the requirements for banks to undergo periodic stress tests. However, there has been mounting concern in the financial community, Congress, and the press over the negative impact of the DFA regulations on small banks and businesses.
Topic:
International Political Economy
Political Geography:
America

109. U.S. Citizens Targeted by ICE: U.S. Citizens Targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Texas

Author:
David Bier
Publication Date:
08-2018
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Texas law SB 4 imposes jail time on local police who fail to detain anyone whom federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) requests. Data from Travis County, Texas, show that ICE targets large numbers of U.S. citizens. From October 2005 to August 2017, 814 targets of ICE detainers in Travis County-3.3 percent of all requests-claimed U.S. citizenship and presented officers with a Social Security number (SSN). ICE subsequently canceled or declined to execute about a quarter of those detainer requests. Based on statements from ICE officials, the best explanation for not executing these detainers is that ICE targeted at least 228 U.S. citizens in the county before canceling or declining to execute those detainers. SB 4 will likely increase the detention of U.S. citizens for supposed violations of immigration law by preventing local police from releasing them.
Topic:
International Affairs and Immigration
Political Geography:
America

110. The relationship between parent mental health and intimate partner violence on adolescent behavior, stigma and school attendance in families in rural Democratic Republic of Congo.

Author:
Nancy Glass, Anjalee Kohli, Pamela J Surkan, Mitma Mpanano Remy, and Nancy Perrin
Publication Date:
05-2018
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
The Sexual Violence Research Initiative
Abstract:
Prolonged conflict and economic instability challenge the existing support networks in families and society places significant stress on both adults and adolescents. Exploring individual, family and social factors that increase the likelihood of or protect adolescents from negative outcomes are important to the development of evidence-based prevention and response programing in global settings.
Topic:
Gender Issues and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Democratic Republic of Congo