Cornell International Affairs Review - Volume 09, Number 2 (Spring 2016)
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Item Consequences of Iraqi De-BaathificationZinn, Cherish M. (Cornell University Library, 2016-05-01)Ambassador Paul Bremer of the Coalition Provisional Authority, America’s interim government between Saddam’s fall and the independent establishment of a new Iraqi government, issued two specific orders during his term which combined to create a power vacuum in the weakened nation. The first order, or the De-Baathification order, eliminated the top four tiers of Saddam’s Baath party from current and future positions of civil service. The second disbanded the Iraqi military. Both orders worked to eliminate the institutional memory of all Iraqi institutions, requiring Bremer to establish the nation’s new government from its foundations up. This resulted in a poor security situation that ultimately allowed a strong insurgency, recruited from unemployed disaffected youth, to develop, which paved the way for the beginnings of the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham.Item Angola, 1990-2000: Oil, Democracy, and a "Successful Failed State"Wilcox, Eric (Cornell University Library, 2016-05-01)Four decades after independence from Portugal, Angola remains a country with significant barriers to good governance and social development. Although the state’s constitution established a multiparty democracy in the early 1990s, measures of high poverty and low state provision of public goods, in addition to high levels of corruption from the Angolan executive government headed by President José Eduardo dos Santos, do not equate with the proclaimed status of a democracy. Through an analysis of Angola’s attempts at and challenges in democratization, particularly in the decade of the constitutional change (1990–2000), I attempt to explain why the government has remained largely authoritarian. What specific factors are most significant in the discrepancy between legal framework on paper and politics in practice? Why, in the terms of Ricardo Soares de Oliveira, has Angola become a “successful failed state”? By tracing a history of the parastatal Sonangol, the complex system of petrodollar patronage, and the attempts of the executive government to constrain civil society, I explain how the growth of the Angolan oil industry is most responsible for the failure of democratization. With special attention to the rise of Angola’s oil dependence, measured by total oil rents as a share of gross domestic product, I hypothesize that the country’s GDP growth during the 1990s (my independent variable) will produce opposite trends in its level of democracy (my dependent variable, using Polity scores).Item Hearts and Minds: A Comparison of Counter-Radicalization Strategies in Britain and the United StatesOu, Adrienne (Cornell University Library, 2016-05-01)Bataclan. San Bernadino. One need not read any further to understand how radicalization is crucial to counterterrorism and national security. Some states have implemented counter-radicalization strategies to cull terrorism at its root. These tactics fall within two broad groups: the North American method, which emphasizes behavioral radicalization, and the European method, which stresses cognitive radicalization. This paper compares the two methods by examining counter-radicalization strategies in the United States and in the United Kingdom. Case studies explain the social ramifications and the effectiveness of the US’ Countering Violent Extremism policy and the UK’s Prevent strategy, and the roles they play in abolishing or inadvertently incentivizing social divisions that lead to radicalization and terrorism. While the US strategy emphasizes the role of law enforcement, the UK strategy focuses on the role of community in preventing terrorism, including those of universities and healthcare providers. This difference is crucial in how Muslim communities view their place in the broader context of society, which makes up a fundamental precept of political alienation. Consequentially, this paper brings radicalization studies out of the ivory tower and into its broader sociopolitical context and effects.Item Creating the Cult of Xi Jinping: The Chinese Dream as a Leader SymbolHart, Brian (Cornell University Library, 2016-05-01)Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, the Chinese Communist Party has used publicly displayed propaganda art as a means of maintaining power. During the early years of the PRC, propaganda posters played a large role in establishing a cult of personality around Mao Zedong. Today’s propaganda art seeks primarily to garner popular support for President Xi Jinping’s “China Dream” campaign. The China Dream, popularized by Xi in 2012, is a nebulous concept that shares many of the materialistic components of the “American Dream,” but simultaneously—and more importantly—emphasizes the Chinese nation’s rejuvenation to a position of wealth and power. China Dream art deviates significantly from Mao era posters and ideology by heavily incorporating ancient Confucian concepts and images. The art focuses not on communist values, but on moralistic ones drawn from the teachings of Confucius that emphasize hierarchy and filial piety. This paper argues that China Dream art is being used not only to create a new source of legitimacy for the Communist Party, but also to establish a cult of personality around President Xi Jinping. As a result, China is transforming into a leader state where the relationship between Xi Jinping and the people is becoming a relationship between ruler and ruled.Item Transitional Justice in Ongoing Conflict: Colombia's Integrative Approach to Peace and Justicevan Nievelt, Maria A. (Cornell University Library, 2016-05-01)Item Cornell International Affairs Review: Spring 2016Cornell International Affairs Review, Editorial Board (Cornell University Library, 2016-05-01)