Thesiss

We examine the determinant of peaceful settlement between central governments and secessionist groups in the context of the Third World. There is a heated debate regarding the root cause of ethnic separatism movements. There is also fundamental disagreement among scholars regard…

This paper examines the dynamics of the secession. In particular, it asks why political actors decide to withdraw from the political center, how they go about it, and what makes the effort successful. The process is examined from the perspective of elite circulation. It is hypot…

Using the comparative historical method, this project examines the reasons behind the differential policy of the Russian state toward the secessions of the republics of Tatarstan and Chechnya, despite the existence of significant similarities between the cases. The Russian state…

In a system of multi-ethnic states, one of the gravest threats to international order is secession. If groups within already established states have the right to self-determination, then virtually every state in the system faces the risk of dismemberment. Since 1945, scores of s…

Major secessionist movements are currently ongoing in Russia, Spain, Canada, Nigeria, India, and Sri Lanka, among others, and these movements have had a strong impact on international security. The ongoing secessionist movement in Kashmir, for example, is a major threat to secur…

Between September 1991 and April 1992, twenty new states appeared on the world scene. Fifteen countries emerged from the USSR; five from Yugoslavia. By the end of 1992, Czechoslovakia split into two more new states. The last time the international community experienced such a bu…

Why do the groups that fight secessionist wars frequently go back and forth between violence and nonviolence? While empirical evidence from the existing literature shows that most secessionist conflicts are violent, the literature does not address why the level of violence withi…

Secessionist regimes universally seek other States' formal recognition. Indeed, a 'critical mass' of external recognition must be achieved before any secessionist actor is considered a full member of international society. Yet Statesmen often disagree about what distinguishes a …

Why do the institutional outcomes of armed separatist conflicts vary? Separatist conflicts have diverse institutional effects. Though many separatists hope to create sovereign states, few achieve their aims. More often, their conflicts lead to forms of intra-state autonomy, inde…

The use of child soldiers has troubled human rights activists, policy-makers, and local communities for decades. Although rebellions around the world routinely use children in their activities, many do not. Despite its overwhelming importance for conflict resolution, the topic o…

When faced with secessionists, states essentially respond in one of two ways: with negotiations, concessions and limited levels of violence, or with repression and large-scale violence. What explains this variation? I argue that governments respond more harshly if they perceive …

Self-determination claims to statehood continue to be the basis for war, strife and contention. Often state power interests can either align or collide with legitimacy claims for self-determination. How, when and why is the noise made by such claimants accorded the space to beco…

This thesis evaluates changes in the fugitive slave provision of the Constitution. Additionally, the study looks at proposed changes to the federal fugitive slave policy, and how individual states approached the topic of fugitive slaves. The research covers the absence of the fu…

This thesis addresses parallels between the rhetoric of contemporary secessionists and the arguments surrounding the rise and fall of Jim Crow laws which maintained segregation for decades. Cities like Gardendale, Alabama and Baton Rouge, Louisiana make uncanny arguments in thei…

This dissertation examines the writings and literature surrounding elite, white South Carolina women from 1859 and 1861 to trace their increasing political consciousnesses surrounding their state’s secession and the threat of civil war. Their diaries and letters reveal that thou…

Measuring political change at the cultural level is a process that has long divided political scientists and historians. By focusing on two socially, economically, and culturally distinct Texas counties during Reconstruction, this thesis presents an example of political change. …