Using time series data compiled from various in-country assessments, this thesis aims to surface the effects of discriminatory labor policies in Iraq, specifically those against displaced individuals including Iraqi internally displaced persons (IDPs) and Syrian refugees. The thesis finds that sub-districts with higher rates of labor integration—i.e., allowing displaced individuals to obtain labor permits and work within the local economy—observe higher wages for host community individuals and higher overall economic performance, contrary to the standard belief that unskilled migrant workers lead to localized wage depressions. 

This thesis explores ethnic and gendered identity formation among indigenous communities in contemporary Ecuador. Using gender theory and ethnographic method, I propose a new conceptual framework for studies of ethnic identification and capitalist domination: “collective gender.” I draw upon ethnographic interviews and observations, in addition to material and spatial analysis, to make an argument for the masculinization of the Amazonian Kichwa and the feminization of the Andean Quechua as processes of performative identification.

In a resistance movement in 1990, ethnic articulation of group identities became a political claim. However, in the years following, US influence during the international war on drugs and the streamlining of military police created differential policing in the Amazon and Andes, which was adapted to create a division within the indigenous alliance. This obliterated a burgeoning political movement that threatened international and national capitalist interests in Ecuador, and makes this case study of identity formation even more pronounced, in historical context. I use historical methods to examine how free trade and militarized policing contributed to the long process of bifurcation of ethnic identity along gendered lines (from Quichua into two geopolitically and now ethnically separate groups, the Kichwa and Quechua). Currently, I am working to make sure the ethnography of the current moment and the historical context are working in service of one another, as opposed to creating intellectual confusion for the audience to this research.

In October 2014, President Obama characterized the Ebola epidemic ravaging West Africa as a “top national security priority.” The President went so far as to say that an American intervention in the region should not be interpreted as purely humanitarian; rather, it was a response to the threat that the political and economic implications of Ebola posed to US security. To some, the deployment of 3,000 American troops to Liberia in the name of US national security appeared puzzling. However, since 2008 the Defense Department’s (DoD) US Africa Command (AFRICOM) has explicitly connected its health operations and engagements with particular security outcomes. Indeed, in expressly linking its disease prevention and response efforts to its overall strategic objectives—through the AFRICOM command surgeon’s motto, “Stability through health”—DoD articulates/advances a particular understanding of how diseases in sub-Saharan Africa bear on US national security.

Where did this conceptual framework come from? By exploring the defense community’s strategic thinking on these issues, I argue that the relationship between security and infectious disease has a much longer and more complicated history than contemporary geopolitics would suggest. Employing a qualitative mixed-methods approach that combines archival research, primary and secondary source analysis, and key informant interviews, my thesis investigates the distinct logics and conceptual frameworks that have underpinned DoD disease-related programs for civilians. In so doing, I demonstrate—in contrast to much of the literature on this topic—that AFRICOM’s ideological commitment to “stability through health” is not a function of the confluence of the AIDS pandemic and 9/11. Rather, my research indicates that there was both a much more recent context that has informed this perspective, as well as a longer historical backdrop at play.

This thesis, based on qualitative field research, explores the ideological evolution of the Ennahdha Movement—Tunisia’s largest Islamist political party since the 2011 revolution—with a focus on the debates on actions taken by the party between 2013–2015 and on recent discussions about the role of Islam and politics in the party. Past work on the inclusion of formerly banned Islamist movements has focussed on inclusion in primarily authoritarian contexts, and I hope to expand this work to apply to the unique context of Tunisia’s democracy. I hope to incorporate ideas from literature on Islamist inclusion and moderation, routinization and rationalization, brand dilution in political parties, and the idea of post-Islamism. The bulk of my research is interview-based, and I interviewed thirty-five members of Ennahdha, most of whom were younger low- to mid-ranking party members, in addition to some more senior party leaders, asking them about their views on the party’s recent trajectory and the role of Islam in the party’s aims. I also attended a number of events organized by the party, and use observations from these events to support my arguments. I argue that the role of political Islam in Ennahdha has diminished because Ennahdha’s structure as both a political party and a social organization allows Islam and politics to operate simultaneously but largely separately within Ennahdha—as demonstrated by the relative absence of Islamist rhetoric and language when party members discuss political strategy and the orientation towards personal piety instead of political goals in the party’s Islam-focussed rhetoric and activity. 

What explanation can be used to account for difference in the performance of local governments? In Goma and Gisenyi, the shared border is crossed by thousands of Congolese and Rwandans daily, either for work, education, or leisure. The two cities have similar precolonial histories as well as a more recent history marked by civil war. Additionally, the common language of Swahili and French is spoken in both places which facilitates communication between the two nations. Faced with these commonalities, why are public services delivered better in Gisenyi than Goma? The Gisenyi local government is more efficient than the Goma government because of institutional structures that are conducive to good outcomes. These are a systematic method of tax collection, city project planning and implementation, as well as procedures for holding the government accountable to the populace. Nonetheless, in Goma, the government is unable to adequately allocate its revenues from taxes, government projects are not properly implemented, and officials are not held accountable.

This examination of the evolution of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s strategic thinking on information warfare and cyber warfare between the late 1990s and the present reveals not only a relatively high degree of consistency between the thinking of early information warfare theorists and their contemporaries in certain areas, but also substantive changes in the PLA’s current approach to information operations and “cyber military struggle.” In particular, the PLA’s conceptualization of cyber reconnaissance, attack, and defense as integrated; emphasis on civil-military integration, including the mobilization of non-military cyber forces; and offense-oriented approach to cyber deterrence constitute highly distinctive elements of Chinese strategy. This assessment of the relative validity of the alternative explanations—including a process of ideational diffusion, reactivity to shifting US strategy in the context of a nascent security dilemma, and the influence of traditional strategic concepts, such as “people’s warfare”—associated with notable changes and continuities offers new insights on the underlying dynamics influencing the PLA’s strategic thinking on and operational approach to cyber warfare, within the context of its strategy for information operations and prioritization of winning future “informationized” local wars.

The 1972 Shanghai Communiqué propelled the United States’ China policy shift towards rapprochement, enabling the US to play the “China card” against the USSR and shape the balance of power in Asia. Many consider this to be the crucial turning point for China’s opening to the world and for détente within the Cold War international system. Nevertheless, few scholars and members of the public emphasize the contributions of French diplomats and leaders, including French President Charles de Gaulle, Lucien Paye, and Edgar Faure. In 1964, France shocked the world by becoming the first western European country to normalize relations with China at an ambassadorial level, subsequently playing a pivotal role as well in the UN recognition of the PRC in 1971.

In this thesis I examine how these French ministers and diplomats consistently encouraged and facilitated Sino-American rapprochement in both diplomatic and high-level discussions with their American and Chinese counterparts throughout the 1960s. In the process of shaping Sino-American relations, The French were able to pursue their own national interests of constructing multipolarity in a Cold War system shifting into détente, aided in no small part by a similar set of Chinese preferences for a diffusion of power away from the US and the USSR. The logic behind French and Chinese attitudes towards multipolarity helps us understand why the US took a relatively long span of time—and a change in administration—to realize the potential of the “China card” and the stability that could be offered by multipolarity.

With the current emphasis on migration in the media and politics today, researchers should look at what is happening to communities left behind rather than simply analyze what happens to migrants once abroad. Hometown associations made up of migrants in the United States have been building public works and infrastructure in order to help improve conditions in sending communities for almost a century. Through in-depth qualitative interviewing, this study analyzes the use of a matching funds program by the Mexican government to allow migrants to send collective remittances to their highly migratory hometowns, while providing 75 percent additional funding from the state. Through a comparative analysis of three communities in the northern region of Zacatecas, Mexico, I find that hometown association engagement through the 3x1 program can increase social accountability if specific conditions are present, thus increasing the potential for better governance. However, the study also shows that current perceptions of corruption from migrants abroad have risen due to corrupt or failed implementation of the program through nepotism, lack of information diffusion, and failed oversight on the part of the hometown association over local government. With unique qualitative data, this study outlines a variety of mechanisms through which the 3x1 program may successfully build stronger social accountability and conditions that cause it to exacerbate issues of corruption and government neglect. The mechanisms found in the data provide themes and trends for further macro-analysis of the 3x1 program and rural social accountability. 

Following 9/11 and, more specifically for the July 7, 2005 bombings in the United Kingdom, the British government initiated and continues to implement counter-extremism programs that focus on preventing acts of violent Islamic extremism. Many scholars critique one program in particular, Prevent, for targeting the Muslim community and asserting that the program has done more harm than good within the broader counter-extremism goals of the government. One aspect of Prevent allows for the funding of youth engagement programs specifically within the Muslim community. However, these moments of engagement—often viewed as a tool for the government to “watch” the Muslim community—have tarnished the social credibility of certain community organizations. Rather than accept Prevent money, many British youth-engagement organizations struggle to find funding elsewhere. One such initiative is Adventurous Training, a program created by a think tank based out of London that brings Muslim youth into the Lake District of England to participate in “high impact, out of postcode” experiences under the guidance of the British Army.

I will look concretely on the consequences of rhetorical, financial and environmental choices for both Prevent and Adventurous Training, ultimately concluding that, despite its desire to distance itself from the British government, Adventurous Training is still dedicated to mainstreaming Muslim youth as their program upholds an overarching desire to build British nationalism. Overall, my thesis will touch on themes of nationalism, multiculturalism, identity, and the power of social capital.

Much research has primarily framed female genital cutting (FGC) as part of a colonial “civilizing mission” that sought to exert control over African women’s bodies. My ethnographic research focuses on how Eritrea—recognized as a state by the United Nations in 1993 after a thirty-year war for independence from Ethiopia—operates under the gaze of a rights-preoccupied world that deems it “primitive” and in need of “modernization.” Recent anthropological scholarship has critiqued the ways in which contemporary research furthers the colonialist notion that African cultures and human rights are mutually exclusive. They have paid little attention to the multiplicity of voices within countries where FGC is practiced. Building upon Hodžić’s work, my project will also explore the history of endogenous movements against FGC—and women’s rights—in Eritrea. In 2007, the Eritrean government outlawed the practice of female genital “mutilation.” Since then, the state has sought to “eradicate” FGC through film screenings, local health workshops, national TV, and the criminalization of those who support FGC. The questions that orient my research include: how do national actors, from government officials to healthcare workers, construct and politicize female genital “mutilation”? How do these agendas shape the bodies of Eritrean women, who are often imagined as subjects to be “saved”? In the face of transnational and national projects that claim their bodies as grounds of contestation, how do Eritrean women respond, adopt, and subvert these projects in pursuit of reproductive well-being? 

“You have the right to be served right” is the motto of the SERVICOM policy, which was instituted in 2004 with funding provided by the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) to improve the quality of service delivery within government agencies in Nigeria. SERVICOM, which stands for Service Compact with all Nigerians, also represents the contract that the government entered into to provide good quality services to the citizenry as this reform was established. Drawing up literature on transnational governmentality, accountability, and the cultural production of the state, I examine the formulation and everyday culture of the implementation of this reform as well as its impact on the citizenry.

In the first chapter, I examine the contextual meaning of “accountability” in light of the audit practices and transnational dynamics of the reform. In the second chapter, I examine how a particular idea of the state is being constructed through the dissemination of “good governance” discourses and how this produces a sense of ambivalence among the citizenry. In the third chapter, I explore how the staff in charge of implementing the reform co-opt good governance discourses to justify the continued support of this policy and secure a livelihood for themselves. I argue that the technicality of the approaches and language that have been at the center of the implementation of this reform obscures how it functions as part of the political machinery for the production of power.

Although much of the generation of antibiotic resistance comes from the misuse of antibiotics in clinical settings, roughly 80 percent of the antibiotics sold in the United States (and over half of all antibiotics consumed globally) are used in livestock fields, making agriculture perhaps an important generator of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

I assess the public health consequences of antibiotic usage in livestock: do bans on using antibiotics in livestock translate to significant effects on human resistant infection rates? The European Union instituted an EU-wide ban on antibiotics used for growth promotion in livestock in 2006, but several countries within the EU had preemptively banned antibiotics in the 1990s. Thus, I propose three comparisons to analyze the effect of agricultural antibiotic usage policy changes on human health:

• Agricultural antibiotic consumption vs. human resistant infection rates within Denmark,
• A difference-in-differences (DID) approach comparing Denmark to Sweden, and
• Denmark, Sweden, and other EU countries that banned antibiotic usage prior to the EU’s 2006 ban vs. other EU countries. 

National-level data on rates of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections, human consumption of antibiotics, and veterinary consumption of antibiotics has been obtained from the European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Network (EARS- Net), European Surveillance of Antimicrobial Consumption (ESAC-Net), and European Surveillance of Veterinary Antimicrobial Consumption (ESVAC). Data further stratified by municipality for Denmark and Sweden will be obtained from antibiotic resistance programs in both countries, DANMAP and STRAMA. Overall, results may provide clearer insight into the existence of a link between antibiotic usage in agriculture and human health.

This project enters the academic conversation of whether a “rights-based approach” or a “human welfare/human development-based approach” is a more appropriate mechanism for bettering lives in response to a humanitarian crisis. The hypothesis is that the two must go hand in hand in order for a short-term response to be paved into a long-term reality. The thesis uses the case study of policy set for Syrian refugees in Jordan by various UN agencies and international NGOs working in concert. I conducted thirty interviews of these policymakers in Amman, Jordan during the summer of 2015, and analyzed dozens of UN and NGO reports produced during that time period regarding the approach to the refugee crisis and its response priorities. I discovered that though the Syrian refugee response in Jordan does represent a blended rights and development approach termed “resilience,” the approach has been a haphazard political move meant to placate the security concerns of the Jordanian government and Western donors, rather than a guiding principle for improving refugees’ lives.