Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Global
Competencies
(1) Book Review: Dambisa
Moyos Dead Aid: Why
Aid Is Not Working and
How There Is a Better
Way for Africa
(2) Film Review: The Yes
Men Fix the World
(3) Forced Displacement: a
Global Issue
(1) An examination of the arguments and conclusions
made by author Dambisa Moyo in her book Dead
Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a
Better Way for Africa. Moyo argues that instead of
introducing economic prosperity, the
development project of the past several decades
has produced greater economic inequalities. The
author does a phenomenal job of detailing the
different stages of aid over the past five decades,
and how foreign aid policy went from bad to
worse.
(2) The satirical performance artists of the
documentary film The Yes Men Fix the World
target government agencies and corporations.
These activists caution against the ill-effects of
globalization, namely its tendency to exacerbate
global inequality. It is their mission to illustrate the
flawed logic of these entities through public
spectacle. The Yes Men are hopeful that the
attention produced by their stunts will produce
reflection and action on behalf of the companies,
if not society as a whole.
(3) Over the past several decades, the nature of
forced displacement has changed owing to
persistent conflicts, global climate change,
extreme impoverishment, along with varying state
responses to global movements of people.
Another major factor in inducing involuntary
departures from homelands is the denial, or failed
provision, of basic human rights by a nation-state
to its nationals. The contemporary global flow of
people tends to challenge our notions about state
responsibility, as well as the idea of citizenship and
identity. Multiplying causes of mass exodus are
also blurring the line between forced migration
and economic migration. The processes that
produce refugees, internally displaced persons
(IDPs), and economic migrants tend to be
interconnected, yet international policies treat
them as distinct. Existing systems of protection
and assistance must be reexamined on an
international level in order to address these
changing patterns of forced displacement.
GlobalHealth
(1) Independent Country
Study: Kazakhstan
(1) The goal of this independent country study is to
communicate some of the historical, political,
economic, and social factors that affect the status of
(2) Independent Study:
Refugee Health/Services
in the United States
health within the Central Asian Republic of
Kazakhstan. Through an exploration of quantitative
data and a diverse body of literature, the author
attempts to present a critical analysis of the public
health system in this country. As a non-expert, I have
endeavored to deliver complex information in an
easily comprehensible manner. In this overview, the
critical health topics addressed range from maternal
and child health statistics to environmental health to
population growth and nutrition. Readers will
hopefully gain a more profound understanding of
what Kazakhstan inherited from its former Soviet
ruler. Lastly, we will look to the future and investigate
what public health programs and interventions are
being planned and implemented by Kazakhstan, and
with what degree of support from international
organizations.
(2) I vividly recall what it was like in the months prior to
my departure for Russia. In addition to a week-long
cultural orientation, I had to undergo a lengthy list of
vaccinations and tests ranging from HIV-AIDS
screening to the Japanese Typhoid vaccine. All this
pain and effort for a semester abroad. This experience
barely resonates with what displaced persons, or
refugees, encounter in their attempts to resettle in the
United States. Before undergoing a number of physical
and mental examinations and follow-up care visits, a
person must first prove that he or she is admissible to
the United States. An individual must go to great
lengths to prove his or her vulnerability, whether it be
due to persecution on account of race, religion,
nationality, or membership in a particular social group.
If admitted, it is the duty of the host country to ensure
that refugee health problems are addressed promptly.
This decreases the chances of any negative effects on
the publics health and addresses the personal health
of refugees so that each refugee may begin to pursue
a productive life in the United States under ideal
health circumstances. I selected the topic of refugee
health for my independent study because I was
exposed to the complex process of naturalization from
a legal standpoint during my time in Denver, and I seek
to gain more of an understanding of the health
component of the process.
Economic
Globalization
&Development
Microsavings vs. Microcredit:
which is the more effective tool
for combating global poverty?
My research paper dealt with microsavings as a superior
financial tool for raising more people, particularly women, out
of poverty. The paper presented an evaluation of microcredit,
and offered a counter argument in favor of microsavings.
Microsavings are savings made by low-income individuals, or
savings held at institutions that specialize in small savings. The
capacity of poor women to gain some semblance of
independence by managing their own economic affairs, lifting
themselves and their households out of poverty, through
microsaving is increasingly recognized. This paper argued that
the most important element of microfinance is not lending, but
rather savings. Real and uplifting stories of individual
bootstrap entrepreneurship do exist thanks to microcredit.
Nevertheless, it is high time that the potential of microsavings
be acknowledged as a way to effectively address the financial
needs of the poor. Microsavings can be saved through multiple
avenuesfrom informal savings clubs to text messages.
Perhaps what most distinguishes microsaving from microcredit
is the absence of loans, and hence the absence of debt.
Microsavings initiatives are more likely to empower people,
and provide families with security in the face of unexpected
financial difficulty, as families living in poverty are particularly
vulnerable to changing economies, natural disasters, or family
illness.
HumanSystems
(1) A Review of the
Legitimacy of Celebrities
as Moral Entrepreneurs
(2) The Link Between
Telenovelas and Social
Change
(3) Maq-Labor: a
Comparison of Mexican
Maquiladoras and
American Day Labor
(1) This form of public engagement by such figures brings
to the forefront a number of issues about the role of
celebrities in global governance. Although the
performance of this self-selected cast of artists
remains highly controversial, it must be recognized
that this activity is one more indicator that the
traditional script of international relations is changing.
When celebrities such as Manu Chao, Bono, and Sean
Penn get involved, the world takes notice. It is up to
society to determine whether or not this is a step in
the right direction.
(2) This paper will explore how Latin American
telenovelas have been used as a tool for the purpose
of articulating social change, with special emphasis on
Brazilian soaps.
(3) The experience of workers is often excluded from
discourse about the global economy. Instead, the
conversation is dominated by debates over regulation,
trade, and the stability of financial institutions. Absent
from this paper are figures and tables detailing the
flows of goods and capital. In their place is an
examination of the similarities and differences
between two forms of labor within our contemporary
global structure: Mexican maquiladoras and American
day-labor. While nations may have advanced
industrially and economically with high productivity
and low wages, the lot of the workers may not have
risen with them.
SeminarAbroad:
Tbilisi,
Georgia
A Ripening Peach in a Land of
Beets: An examination of the
status of human rights in the
modern day, transitioning
Republic of Georgia
The Georgian government needs to address the fallout from
recent human rights violations, such as the prison abuse
scandal and its mistreatment of sexual minorities and women.
The path it pursues will determine whether or not this
transitional democracy will complete the process of Euro-
Atlantic integration, or join the other downgraded states
categorized as not free by Freedom House.
Foreign
Investment,
Development,
GlobalIntegration:
Havana,Cuba
The Story of Lourdes: The
economic and political impact of
Russias Lourdes listening post in
Cuba and how it reflects Cuban-
Russian-U.S. relations
From the mid-1990s onward, Russia strategically used its
relationship with Cuba to not only irk the United States, but to
also reassert itself in international relations. Cuba and Russia
are compaeros for the foreseeable future, as Cuba seeks to
diversify its economy, and Russia attempts to strengthen its
presence in Latin America with Cuba as a stable launching pad.
At the core of Cuba and Russias existence is a sense of pride
and desire for recognition on the world stage. The United
States would do well to be mindful of this shared attribute in
its future dealings with both nations.
Advanced
Seminarin
Comparative
Politics:Russia
(1) Forbidden Chocolate &
Wine
(2) Stale Dichotomy
(3) Rules of the Game
(4) Book Review
(5) Middle East Security
Interests
(1) An analysis of how Moscow views its security
interests with regard to its Near Abroad
(2) An examination of how Moscow views its security
interests with regard to the United States
(3) Past and Present Patterns of Politics in Russia and the
Prospects for Democratization
(4) Review of Ambassador McFauls Russias Unfinished
Revolution
(5) An analysis of how Moscow views its security
interests with regard to the Middle East
Political
Communication
To whom does the
Internet grant a greater
advantage as a political
communication tool
authoritarian regimes or
their subjects?
A case study of the Russian Internet between late
2011 and early 2012
Capstone
Research
Seminar
Crippled Cliques:
The economic impact of
the severance of
superpower benefactor
and recipient nation
linkages: Cuba and the
Republic of Georgia in
the post-Soviet era
(1992-2012)
Research Question: Under what conditions does a
peripheral state thrive economically after core-
periphery ties weaken?
Main argument: The combined presence of domestic
industrialization and state capacity indicates whether
a peripheral nation will fare well economically or not
following the loss of its superpower benefactor.
Conclusion: A peripheral state will thrive economically
after the weakening of ties with its superpower
benefactor state if the conditions of autonomous
domestic industrialization and state capacity are both
present. As demonstrated in the case study, the
Republic of Georgia fares better economically than
Cuba in the post-Soviet era owing to the fact that
Georgia demonstrates the ability to effectively
implement and enforce policies and regulations, and
collect tax revenues. The Cuban economy fares less
well due to its transition from overdependence on the
USSR to overdependence on Venezuela. Its lack of
economic diversity poses a major vulnerability.