IR Honors Students

Euroscepticism has been on the rise in Europe for the past two decades and saw its first major political win in the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union in 2016. Scholars feared this “Brexit” referendum would spark a wave of Euroscepticism to wash over the continent and prompt more “leave” referendums, but the drawn out negotiations over a withdrawal deal have dampened much of the European public’s Eurosceptic fervor. How have Eurosceptic parties reacted in the post-Brexit era? In this thesis, I use a combination of Eurosceptic party manifesto data, Eurobarometer survey data, and case studies of specific Eurosceptic parties to assess to what extent the rhetoric of Eurosceptic parties changed in reaction to Brexit, and explore the factors driving these changes. My analysis suggests that hard Eurosceptic rhetoric, which is rhetoric advocating for a member state to leave the EU, dropped slightly in the aftermath of Brexit. This thesis contributes to the literatures on Eurosceptic thought, European Union cohesion and empirical studies that use rhetoric as a measure to gauge political party intentions.

Thesis:

Durham, A. (2022). How Eurosceptic Party Rhetoric is Changing in the Post-Brexit Era

Stanford Digital Repository. Available HERE.

Protecting data privacy of refugees is important because unauthorized disclosure of refugees' sensitive information or coerced data collection can endanger their safety, well-being, and agency. This thesis evaluates the extent to which the U.S. government, nonprofits, and international organizations protect refugees’ data privacy during the resettlement process in the United States. Through analyzing relevant data privacy policies, as well as in-depth interviews with both refugees and practitioners, I track the quality of nine key components of data privacy, stakeholder incentives and implementation challenges both in theory and in practice. This thesis finds that government actors are most prone to systematic data privacy violations due to administration changes and insufficient protocols of obtaining refugees’ meaningful consent. Nonprofits, on the other hand, are most prone to accidental data privacy violations through unauthorized access of refugees’ identification documents and delaying refugees the right of access. In general, staffing shortage, redundant information systems, and refugees’ susceptibility to identity scams could create more data privacy risks. Interviews with refugees also suggest that several factors, including power dynamics and the lack of clear explanations, may create meaningful barriers that prevent refugees from objecting to unwanted information disclosure. Potential causes of refugee data privacy violations, data-system mapping, and stakeholder recommendations identified in this thesis can inform future studies in examining data privacy vulnerabilities more systematically and improve data privacy protection for a wider range of refugees in the future.

Thesis:

Liu, L. (2022). "Not Just a Barcode": A Descriptive Analysis of Data Privacy Protection for Refugees Resettling in the United States

Stanford Digital Repository. Available HERE.

The unharmonized protection of personal data presents risks to individuals’ privacy and poses economic costs to firms and nations by hampering the flow of data. If the regulation of data collection is a globalized issue that preserves individuals’ privacy while permitting economic innovation, why do some countries have data privacy laws while others do not? Why do we observe variations in these laws? In this thesis, I focused on the spread of data privacy laws in Latin America, where countries show variations in their level of economic development and regimes. The first part of my analysis describes the state of data privacy laws in Latin America, showing how countries rank across several categories. In the second part of my thesis, I study Chile, Uruguay, and Brazil and describe the domestic factors and stakeholders that were involved in the adoption of these laws. Through this research, I hope to provide a more nuanced understanding of how domestic factors shape data privacy laws in Latin America.

Thesis:

Hernandez Cantu, Barbara. (2021). Domestic Politics of Data Privacy Laws in Latin America: A Descriptive Analysis

Stanford Digital Repository. Available HERE.

In this thesis, I argue that Franco sought to systematically use sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) through a variety of methods to gain political power in Spain during the Spanish Civil War and his subsequent dictatorship. Through my analysis of victim and witness testimony, legal documents, and expert opinion, I find that women’s and LGBTQIA+ liberation was viewed as a threat to the regime’s power and therefore the bodies and actions of women and LGBTQIA+ individuals were heavily policed. Additionally, Spanish culture was rapidly shaped to encourage violence against women, sexual violence was used as a weapon during the war and method of repression during the dictatorship, and children were trafficked from mothers to Franco sympathizers in Spain and abroad to prevent the continuation of a political identity he considered a threat. After decades of the Spanish government blocking legal pathways to criminal prosecution and reparations, opportunities for justice, while limited, have started to become available. Finally, this thesis concludes by considering domestic, regional, and international options to pursue justice for individuals and communities that have been impacted by sexual and gender-based violence perpetrated by Franco's forces and regime.   

Thesis:

Stoddard, Chloe. (2021). Truth and Justice: Understanding Franco’s Use of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) for Political Gain and Envisioning Justice for Impacted Communities

Stanford Digital Repository. Available HERE.

Kashmir has been a cause of continuous strife between India and Pakistan and, consequently, a constant threat to regional peace and stability. Originating in the ambiguous decision of the British regarding the princely states of India, the dispute has led India and Pakistan, both of whom lay claim to the state, to wage several wars since partition. Several peace proposals have appeared over the decades. Yet, the views of Kashmiris, particularly Pakistani-held Kashmir, are largely ignored and remain unknown. In this thesis, I utilize primary and secondary historical sources and an original survey to detail the views of Azad Kashmiris on both militancy and the proposals regarding the division of Kashmir and the creation of an independent, united Kashmir. I find that the majority of surveyed respondents from Azad Kashmir oppose the division of Kashmir and support a proposed independent state.  A majority are also divided on the question of the use of armed struggle/militancy as a plausible course of action. The thesis concludes that no peace process and settlement will be workable and ensure justice and fairness unless it involves and engages the people of Kashmir.   

Thesis:

Tikka, Muhammad Mustafa Khan. (2021). Dividing the Indivisible: A Study of the Views of the People of Azad Kashmir

Stanford Digital Repository. Available HERE.

How does China attempt to wield influence in South America?  China's economic and political influence has risen rapidly over the past decade. Beijing's growing power has taken overt forms like its rising stature in international institutions, as well as more subtle forms in the media and legislatures of countries all over the world. This thesis analyzes several country case studies to assess how Beijing is exercising power in South America.  More broadly, it illuminates how China’s hard, sharp, and soft power can interact as mechanisms of control. I find that China has consistently used coercive and manipulative tactics to build its influence abroad. These findings can help inform policymakers who seek to understand how China is actively expanding its global influence, particularly in those countries with which it has significant trading relationships

Thesis:

Vaidyanathan, Nitish. (2021). Chinese Influence in South America: Dimensions of Power in Argentina and Chile

Stanford Digital Repository. Available HERE.

The Chinese-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) was launched in 2016 as a “lean, clean, and green” development bank focused specifically on Asia. In this thesis, I examine the effects of the AIIB on Chinese lending across Asia, specifically through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Using data from the AIIB and the American Enterprise Institute’s BRI database, I compare and assess AIIB and BRI policy in regional spending, environmental safeguards, and project specifics. Through this analysis, I argue that the AIIB and BRI reflect different patterns lending and serve different goals for China. In particular, while the BRI allows China to spread influence and create access to new markets through bilateral cooperation, the AIIB serves as an effective means for China to reform global development norms in their favor.  

Thesis:

Zuercher, Ben. (2021). How the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is Advancing Chinese Foreign Policy Goals

Stanford Digital Repository. Available HERE.

Behind their glamour, White House State Dinners are innately political events that put the U.S. president face-to-face with a foreign counterpart for an evening of food and entertainment, usually followed or preceded by days of bilateral meetings. This thesis explores how these Dinners fit into presidents’ diplomatic toolbox by asking: how do White House State Dinners relate to U.S. Foreign Policy? It answers this question quantitatively by examining the characteristics of invited states from the first Dinner in 1874 through President Obama's last Dinner in 2016. It then analyzes in-depth case studies of the Dinners hosted under three Presidential administrations—Ford, Carter, and Reagan—in order to further illuminate why Dinners occur. This thesis finds that Dinners are used both as signals and as mechanisms to improve leaders' interpersonal relationships. It further concludes that the United States invites states to Dinners to endorse U.S.-oriented behavior, to build regional influence, to maintain traditional relationships, and/or to celebrate diplomatic breakthroughs.

Thesis:

Bishko, Emily (2020): Of Dinners and Diplomacy: What White House State Dinners Reveal About Relationship Building and Goodwill Signaling in U.S. Foreign Policy

Stanford Digital Repository. Available HERE.

In 1922, the Unilateral Declaration of Egyptian Independence ended the British formal protectorate over Egypt. Yet informal British occupation in Egypt continued for another three decades, until a coup in 1952 finally overthrew the Egyptian monarchy, eliminated the British military presence in the country, and established the modern republic. This thirty-year period was also marked by an attempt to modernize the Egyptian economy through rapid industrialization and the formation of new financial and commercial institutions. My thesis seeks to link these two major events in Egyptian history by answering the following question: How did efforts to modernize the Egyptian economy between 1922 and 1952 contribute to the success of the Egyptian independence movement of the early 1950s? My research will comprise a close historical analysis of three major aspects of Egyptian economic modernization: 1) the role of Bank Misr, the first wholly Egyptian bank; 2) the importance of Egyptian cotton in international trade following the Great Depression; and 3) the emergence of a national bourgeoisie throughout this period, which has been linked by Middle East scholars to both the development of Bank Misr and the rise of Egyptian nationalism during this time.

Thesis:

Kim, Veronica (2020): Clinging to Power: British Economic Policy and Political Coercion in Egypt, 1930-1952

Stanford Digital Repository. Available HERE.

The United States and France belong to a handful of powerful, Western-style democracies with racially and ethnically diverse populations as a result of slavery, colonization, and immigration. These nations face a particular set of challenges when it comes to creating social cohesion; their histories of oppression often contribute to the formation racial or ethnic “subgroups” that maintain community identities in addition to (or sometimes in opposition to) the country’s broader national identity. The politics of data collection exists at the heart of this tension--quantifying people based on race, ethnicity, or religion implies government legitimation of social divisions. In the United States, counting citizens by race and ethnicity is extremely common, and demographic questions occur on official forms ranging from the US Census to the SAT. By contrast, collecting data on race, ethnicity, or religion is forbidden by law in France--the government only takes stock of people’s national origins to differentiate between French nationals and immigrants. Mainstream French political thought emphasizes the notion of a unified, comprehensive French national identity and eschews communautaurisme, a pejorative term for the self-segregation of racial and ethnic minorities and their perceived failure to “adequately” assimilate into French society. From this point of view, statistically categorizing citizens by race and ethnicity only serves to advance group-oriented rhetoric and thereby undermines French national identity. The motivation for my research is to test this claim--does the government’s sorting of citizens into demographic categories diminish the extent to which they identify with their country?

Thesis:

Scott, Erica (2020): Nations by the Numbers: Ethnoracial Data Collection and National Identity in the United States and France

Stanford Digital Repository. Available HERE.