Political Science Theses

This thesis will examine the separatist movement and ethnic conflict in Xinjiang, China with the Uyghur population, and contrast that against the separatist movement and ethnic conflict in Kashmir between India and Pakistan. The research will show that while the culture and geography are vastly different between the two, there many similarities. The significance of this research is that it will show that at the heart of both conflicts is a fight over resources. In China the resource is oil, and in Kashmir the resource is water. In order to come to this conclusion, much was taken into consideration, including the origins of the conflicts, the resources in each of the regions, as well as the reasons for continued fighting. The larger implications of this research will show that the fight for resources can be found to be at the heart of many conflicts.

This paper calls for a reexamination of the standard literature why Korea successfully used foreign aid while its peers continue to be aid dependent. My focus is on Ghana, Brazil, and South Korea, - the most representative examples of countries which used foreign assistance, had similar per capita gross domestic product (GDP) in the early 1960s, but which end up differently sixty years later. Salutary scholarship to South Korea's leapfrog industrialization and democracy between 1962-1980 is mainstream. Much of these unfairly presume my focus countries had identical aid flows to industrialize. This qualitative paper reappraises the key building blocks of Korea's successful development transition to clarify Ghana's growth collapse and Brazil's delayed ascent. The paper considers the weighty broader implications of America's Cold War policy objectives in addressing the replicability of the Korean "miracle" to other countries.

The Preservation and expansion of infrastructure and global trade remain hotbutton policy issues for nations across the globe. A beneficial way of approaching the infrastructure and trade question is to commence a comparative analysis of different local government jurisdictions with similar institutional characteristics. My thesis analyzes and considers the domestic infrastructure shortcomings in the states of Oregon and Washington, which both act as the gateway to Asia. With an emphasis on the People's Republic of China, given the intrinsic trade relationship between the States of Oregon and Washington and its pivotal role in the Global Economy. We explore how both states fund their local infrastructure systems, with emphasis on their respected port systems, and the vital attention that it needs for both Oregon and Washington State to increase their trade intakes.

The tech gurus and Nobel Prize winners of the 21st century are not former gifted students, yet they overachieved against the odds. This study addresses this anomaly and examines the effectiveness of gifted programs from the end point, when gifted students are in their professional careers or fields of study rather than its source, when they are waiting to be identified. With this new perspective of analysis, an online survey was conducted in Delaware Valley and Greater Nanticoke school districts. The goal was to evaluate the long-term impact of gifted programs in terms of their needs and purposes. Thirty-one respondents shared their experiences (n=31). Findings show evidence of satisfaction while indicating a negative long-term impact. This contradiction reveals a new need; work ethic in instructional methods of teaching. The emergence of an ethical capital opens the door to a 21st century educational system.

Japan is home to the world's most aged society. While Japan is currently the only country to have a sizeable portion of its population over the age of 60, many developed nations are soon to face a similar population crisis. South Korea and China have already began reporting similar population issues. The significance of this research thesis is to present information gathered in reference to both France and Japan in order to present a possible solution or remedy to the aging population. The information for this research was gathered through literature retrieval from journals and other peer-reviewed sources, which consists of over thirty articles. The results of this research are both inspiring and concerning.

Corruption exists in all countries. The thesis attempts to determine the relationship between political corruption and development by hypothesizing that political corruption impedes development. Initially, the independent variable (political corruption), dependent variable (development), as well as a control variable (state of democracy) are defined. Additionally, statistics pertaining to the variables within one hundred and fifty-six polities are employed through linear regression analyses. Findings of which conclude a statistically significant relationship between political corruption and development exists, however, the control variable is not found to be significant to the first measurement of the dependent variable. Subsequently, a comparative analysis of the respective countries perceived to be least and most politically corrupt and anti-corruption proposals are presented. Implications of the research are that political corruption festers due to a lack of political will to combat corruption, a lack of or inadequate corruption laws, unjust legal protections for certain public officials, and political instability.

Multiple factors including historical heritage, literacy, socio-economic, cultural, and religious reason have been cited by scholars as the main reason why democratic consolidation is finding it hard to find a permanent home in West Africa, and Africa in general. Unlike previous studies on the subject, this study has look to the type of transition as the reason for the poor performance of democracy in West Africa. The study employs a comparative case study approach to evaluate the effectiveness of Bottom up and top down transitions in West Africa focusing on the first two sub-Saharan African independent countries, Ghana, Guinea, and one of West Africa's most cosmopolitan country, the Gambia. The findings show that despite the slow process, and tedious and compromising nature of a top down transition to democracy, it is more effective in the consolidation of democracy. The author argues that the effectiveness of a top down transition is due to the fact that this type of transition is a planned one, and negotiation on the nature and scope of the transition involves both the outgoing regime and the entering government, handover of power is a gradual process not a sweeping move, both parties have total control over their followers, and the outgoing authoritarian regime members are giving amnesty if necessary.