Search results | Digital Collections

Title: "From the Battle for Democracy to the Battle for Hong Kong": John Tsang and the Rise of Localism
Creator: Luk, Kay Yui Stefan (Kay Yui Stefan Luk) (Author), (Stephen Angle) (Thesis advisor), (Peter Rutland) (Thesis advisor)
Date: 2018-04-15
Description: Hong Kong was handed over to China from British colonial rule in 1997 under "One Country, Two Systems," a constitutional arrangement that ensured the city's separate executive, legislative, legal and economic systems from China. Since the handover, democrats of the city have sought to expand the government's representation to fulfill the Basic Law's (a constitutional document drafted in accordance to "One Country, Two Systems") promise for people to enjoy the rights to elect their Chief Executive—the city's leader—and the legislature. Their efforts culminated in the Umbrella Movement in 2014, a democratic movement that demanded "genuine universal suffrage" for the Chief Executive. I argue that the Umbrella Movement became as much a localist project concerned with identity creation as it was a democratic movement, as it created for Hong Kong a new civic identity alongside demands for the universal suffrage of the city's leader. In the wake of the movement, democrats adopted a localist outlook and became more concerned with protecting Hong Kong's identity, which effectively transformed their previous fight for democracy into a larger struggle to protect the local identity. At this time, new narratives of the Hong Kong identity pervaded society and even competed with the dominance of the Umbrella Movement's civic identity. In the Chief Executive election campaign in 2017, the first since the Umbrella Movement failed to achieve breakthroughs in electoral reforms, the candidate John Tsang received the most support from democrats in the city despite his conservative views on democratic development. I argue that John Tsang's popularity among democrats was emblematic of the city's wider shift from the "battle for democracy to the battle for Hong Kong." During the campaign, Tsang produced a compelling representation of Hong Kong that successfully appealed to democrats without necessarily invoking their democratic claims. This thesis, therefore, attempts to understand Tsang's rise by charting the development of localism since its beginnings in 2006 to 2017, when the Chief Executive election transpired., 2018, Old URL: https://wesscholar.wesleyan.edu/etd_hon_theses/2038, In Copyright – Non-Commercial Use Permitted (InC-NC)

Title: Bosnia-Herzegovina: Toward a Less Imperfect Union
Creator: Lipton Galbraith, Anna Rose (Anna Rose Lipton Galbraith) (Author), (Peter Rutland) (Thesis advisor)
Date: 2008-05-01
Description: 2008, Old URL: https://wesscholar.wesleyan.edu/etd_hon_theses/50, In Copyright – Non-Commercial Use Permitted (InC-NC)

Title: Everything Revolves Around Oil and Natural Gas: Russia's Economic and Political Centers of Gravity
Creator: Stoitzev, Ivan Zdravkov (Ivan Zdravkov Stoitzev) (Author), (Peter Rutland) (Thesis advisor)
Date: 2013-05-23
Description: 2013, Old URL: https://wesscholar.wesleyan.edu/etd_hon_theses/1134, In Copyright – Non-Commercial Use Permitted (InC-NC)

Title: Forging a Mineral Nation: Political Origins of Resource Nationalism in Post-New Order Indonesia
Creator: Ramadhan, Eki (Eki Ramadhan) (Author), (Peter Rutland) (Thesis advisor)
Date: 2016-04-15
Description: In 2009, the Indonesian House of Representatives passed a groundbreaking piece of legislation allowing the state to assert greater control over the extractive industry. The most controversial aspect of the 2009 Mining Law took shape in January 2014, which effectively imposed a ban on the export of certain strategic raw minerals, such as nickel, bauxite, and copper. Responding to the lack of systematic intention given by the field of nationalism studies to economic processes within the country, this thesis strives to unravel the determinants of resource nationalism in post-authoritarian Indonesia. Recognizing that resource nationalism tend to be viewed from a narrow economistic perspective, this study seeks to bridge the gap between economic and political analyses by examining how economic considerations in the mining sector interact with national identity discourse following the authoritarian breakdown in 1998. The findings of this study suggest that resource nationalism, which is manifested in the wave of protectionist regulation in the Indonesian mining sector, is driven first and foremost by political concerns of the oligarchs who seek to protect their interests in the face of democratization. Meanwhile, popular support for resource nationalism in recent years should be understood as the product of nationalist outbidding among elites, both governing and non-governing, who seek to rally the masses and capture power. Resource nationalist rhetoric around mining is particularly salient in Indonesia because it directly appeals to the notion of national identity and plays into the narrative of exploitation which dominates the Indonesian collective imagination. Conflicts over the ownership of mining resources recently emerged as a growing concern for investors in the natural resources sector and this study fills the curious gap in academic literature by shifting the focus away from the traditional scholarly fixation on the oil and gas sector., 2016, Old URL: https://wesscholar.wesleyan.edu/etd_hon_theses/1618, In Copyright – Non-Commercial Use Permitted (InC-NC)

Title: Imagining the Romani Nation: Connection, Conflict & the New Construction of Roma Identity
Creator: Kotowski, Alexandra Moore (Alexandra Moore Kotowski) (Author), (Peter Rutland) (Thesis advisor)
Date: 2011-04-15
Description: 2011, Old URL: https://wesscholar.wesleyan.edu/etd_hon_theses/651, In Copyright – Non-Commercial Use Permitted (InC-NC)

Title: Lawyers or Liars: An International Law Perspective on the Role of Russia in the Annexation of Crimea
Creator: Dubinsky, Dasha (Dasha Dubinsky) (Author), (Peter Rutland) (Thesis advisor)
Date: 2018-04-15
Description: In 2014, the Crimean territory was annexed and established as two new constituent entities under the Russian government: the city of federal importance Sevastopol and the Republic of Crimea. This move quickly drew a political backlash from the international community, and the territorial transition is still disputed. Although Crimea is officially part of Russia under their domestic law, the majority of the international community has refused to recognize the territorial change, with less than a dozen members of the United Nations accepting Russia?s claim. Due to the controversy surrounding this event and its recentness, it is imperative to gain a better understanding of it and to examine the broader future implications that the Crimea case will have. My thesis considers three distinct questions related to the legal aspects of this annexation and the part Russia played in it. The first chapter looks at whether Crimea can be accepted as a valid case of self-determination. Both the Russian government and Russian scholarship have focused on the right of Crimeans to seek self-determination through a referendum and to subsequently secede from Ukraine. Multiple arguments are used to support this claim, including the illegality of the new regime in Kyiv, the historical connection between Crimea and Russia, the persecution of Crimeans, and the Kosovo case precedent. Each of these must be examined to determine whether or not Crimea could secede under the self-determination principle. The second chapter addresses the extent to which Russia used force in Crimea, and whether or not this was permissible under international law. Similarly to the defense of self-determination, a variety of different arguments have been presented in regard to why Russian forces were in Crimea, including the naval agreement between Ukraine and Russia, an invitation from Viktor Yanukovych, human rights intervention, and the protection of Russians abroad. After addressing all of these aspects in detail, and coming to a verdict on the legality of the annexation and on Russia?s actions in Crimea, it is crucial to more broadly examine the role of international law in Russia?s decision making. What does the Crimea case tell us about how Russia sees, and uses, international law? Russia has long stated its commitment to international law, but could the Crimean annexation be indicative of the rejection of this tradition? The third chapter of my thesis focuses on these questions and on whether Crimea should be interpreted as a case within the existing Russian approach to international law, a one-time departure from the law, or a new Russian approach that has the potential to create a new legal framework. I hope to contribute not only by analyzing Crimea in the context of current legal norms but also by attempting to gain a better understanding of Russia?s place within international law., 2018, Old URL: https://wesscholar.wesleyan.edu/etd_hon_theses/1931, In Copyright – Non-Commercial Use Permitted (InC-NC)

Title: Neither War Nor Warmth - Failures of Rapprochement in Post-Cold War U.S.-Russian Relations
Creator: Blumenthal, Jacob Gerald (Jacob Gerald Blumenthal) (Author), (Peter Rutland) (Thesis advisor)
Date: 2013-05-23
Description: 2013, Old URL: https://wesscholar.wesleyan.edu/etd_hon_theses/1072, In Copyright – Non-Commercial Use Permitted (InC-NC)

Title: Oppressed Oppressors: The Kuban Cossacks Revival in Post-Soviet Russia
Creator: Votey, Maxwell Reed (Maxwell Reed Votey) (Author), (Peter Rutland) (Thesis advisor)
Date: 2014-04-15
Description: Kuban Cossack identity and historical narratives in Post-Soviet Russia., 2014, Old URL: https://wesscholar.wesleyan.edu/etd_hon_theses/1311, In Copyright – Non-Commercial Use Permitted (InC-NC)

Title: Protesters As Nation-Builders: Nationalism and Civil Society in Contemporary Russia
Creator: Martin, Kaitlin Taylor (Kaitlin Taylor Martin) (Author), (Peter Rutland) (Thesis advisor)
Date: 2011-04-15
Description: 2011, Old URL: https://wesscholar.wesleyan.edu/etd_hon_theses/638, In Copyright – Non-Commercial Use Permitted (InC-NC)

Title: Russian Political Reactions to a Changing Climate: Environmental Cases in the Arctic and Siberian Hydrosphere
Creator: Trammell, Elizabeth Nicole (Elizabeth Nicole Trammell) (Author), (Peter Rutland) (Thesis advisor)
Date: 2010-04-15
Description: Russias environmental challenges after the fall of the Soviet Union are rarely studied in Western academia. This thesis seeks to fill the void in the literature and challenges the universality of Western models for environmental policymaking. Through a three-tiered case study on Lake Baikal, Sakhalin Island, and the Arctic, this work examines the efficacy of community organizations in shaping policy and gives a solid scientific foundation for the reader to judge the resulting policy outcomes., 2010, Old URL: https://wesscholar.wesleyan.edu/etd_hon_theses/391, In Copyright – Non-Commercial Use Permitted (InC-NC)

Title: The American Response to the Russian "Opening" of the 1990s: oil investment and U.S. aid
Creator: Cavallo, Nicolas Joseph (-) (Author), (Peter Rutland) (Thesis advisor)
Date: 2013-05-23
Description: The decade after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union was a unique period of U.S.-Russian relations. Americans saw incredible opportunity and risk in the rise of a new Russian state and economy and thereby responded through intensive investment efforts and unusual structures of coordination, including the Gore-Chernomyrdin Commission. However, most scholars summarily describe 1990s American Russian policy as either a complete failure or total success and disregard the central importance of oil to the narrative of U.S.-Russian relations. This thesis challenges that framework and argues that the reality of the decade is somewhere in between; the United States' reaction to the 1990s Soviet collapse was a process of convoluted coordination and limited oil investment success that resulted in neither a wayward nuclear state nor a new Eurasian partner., 2013, Old URL: https://wesscholar.wesleyan.edu/etd_hon_theses/1062, In Copyright – Non-Commercial Use Permitted (InC-NC)

Title: The Weakest Link: The Impact of the Trump Administration on the Sino-Russian-American Trilateral Relationship
Creator: Elsner, Rebecca Rose (Rebecca Rose Elsner) (Author), (Peter Rutland) (Thesis advisor)
Date: 2018-04-15
Description: January 20, 2017 marked a dramatic turning point in American politics. Donald Trump?s isolationist ?America First? strategies not only impacted American foreign policy towards Russia and China, but also affected the trilateral dynamic between the three nations. By looking at foreign policy strategies, economic initiatives, and Presidential travel data, this paper will examine the results of the first year of the Trump administration., 2018, Old URL: https://wesscholar.wesleyan.edu/etd_hon_theses/1928, In Copyright – Non-Commercial Use Permitted (InC-NC)

Title: Torn Between Two Worlds: Iraqi Shi'is in the Twentieth Century
Creator: Ball, Matthew Nolan (Matthew Nolan Ball) (Author), (Peter Rutland) (Thesis advisor)
Date: 2008-05-01
Description: 2008, Old URL: https://wesscholar.wesleyan.edu/etd_hon_theses/64, In Copyright – Non-Commercial Use Permitted (InC-NC)

Title: Transitions to Democracy or Transitions to Organized Crime
Creator: Ivanova, Daniela Georgieva (Daniela Georgieva Ivanova) (Author), (Peter Rutland) (Thesis advisor)
Date: 2010-04-15
Description: 2010, Old URL: https://wesscholar.wesleyan.edu/etd_hon_theses/536, In Copyright – Non-Commercial Use Permitted (InC-NC)

Title: Unequal Before the Law: Moral Authority and Pluralism
Creator: Hinchcliff, Abigail Moss (Abigail Moss Hinchcliff) (Author), (Peter Rutland) (Thesis advisor)
Date: 2008-05-01
Description: 2008, Old URL: https://wesscholar.wesleyan.edu/etd_hon_theses/84, In Copyright – Non-Commercial Use Permitted (InC-NC)

Title: Who Represents The Muslims? Contesting Identities in Malaysia and France
Creator: Lee, Lyn-Ni (Lyn-Ni Lee) (Author), (Peter Rutland) (Thesis advisor)
Date: 2008-05-01
Description: 2008, Old URL: https://wesscholar.wesleyan.edu/etd_hon_theses/91, In Copyright – Non-Commercial Use Permitted (InC-NC)