Master of International Affairs (MIA) Capstones
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During their final semester, Master of International Affairs students participate in a capstone research course. These courses allow students to tackle a problem or project in the real world, often working in conjunction with a government agency or nonprofit organization. Designed to test the knowledge and abilities students have developed through their previous classes and experiences, capstones necessitate strong teamwork, careful research, writing ability, and often a large amount of ingenuity in identifying ways to approach an issue or find a solution.
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Item The 25th Anniversary of the Liberation of Kuwait: A Look at the History, Evolution, and Future of the US-Kuwaiti Relationship(2017-03-06) Babcock, Evon; Best, Sara; Karle, Joseph; Knight, Sarah; Lattier, Brian; Moore, Katelyn; Nowicky, Mathue; Wilbur, Grant;On August 2, 1990, Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. The subsequent liberation by a US-led coalition served as a watershed moment in US-Kuwaiti relations. The Gulf War is often viewed as the onset of the close relationship between the United States and Kuwait; a relationship that still endures to this day. Though the two nations had little interaction prior to the invasion in 1990, the common American narrative about the Gulf War portrays the US as single-handedly liberating Kuwait from Iraqi forces and leaving a sizable force in Kuwait to defend the country’s sovereignty against Saddam. While certain aspects of this may hold true, this narrative unfairly paints Kuwait as the sole benefactor of American action – that the Kuwaitis have enjoyed a free ride off American military protection. In reality, the relationship between the US and Kuwait is mutually beneficial for both sides, and Kuwait funds the majority of US activities within the Gulf region. As a response to these misconceptions, this paper seeks to analyze and explain the true relationship between the US and Kuwait. This is done though a careful analysis of the partnership in three main sections. The first section will explain the origins of the relationship prior to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990 with the Tanker Wars. The Gulf War served as catalyst to foster relations between the two countries. The second section demonstrates US-Kuwaiti cooperation during and after the war to show the evolution of the military, diplomatic, economic and environmental relationships. The final section analyzes the future of the relationship and offers recommendations for future policy. While Kuwait remains its closest Arab-Gulf ally, the US must not take the relationship for granted and collaboration with Kuwait on a variety of issues will ensure that the relationship continues to flourish.Item Applications to Homeland Security from the Katrina and Rita Hurricanes(2006) County Judge Randy Sims, Texas Director of Homeland Security; Department of Homeland SecurityItem Assessing Regional Border Security(2009) Causey, Chris; Hahn, Jason; Heichelbach, Terry; Malecha, Lindsay; Meiners, Stephen; Race, Brandon; Engel, Jeffrey A.; Centra Technology; Department of Homeland SecurityItem Background on Zambia's Labor Market with Cross-National Comparisons(2011) Chester, Alex; Dang, Thao; Edgell, Amanda; Harber, Matthew; Mahaney, Dace; Messer, Matthew; Ramos, Luis; Mu, RenAlthough Zambia has enjoyed decent economic growth, its employment growth and labor productivity have continued to stagnate. What factors explain the stagnation? This Capstone project aims to answer this question through empirical analysis of employment decisions and labor productivity at the firm level using the 2008 Zambia Business Survey (ZBS) and the 2011 World Bank Investment Climate Survey (ICS). The study concludes that to improve business registration in Zambia, policymakers should target rural and agricultural firms, reduce red-tape and regulatory costs, and expand education to grassroots entrepreneurs. To improve labor productivity and employment, focus should be placed on targeting younger firms, increasing agricultural yields, improving access to and the reliability of infrastructure, and fighting government corruption.Item Capacity Building in Meat Exports From Southern Africa(2008) Chiriboga, Luis M.; Kilmer, Chris; Fan, Rocky; Gawande, Kishore; World Bank, Trade DivisionItem CEFADES: An impact evaluation of a vocational and rehabilitation program for at-‐risk youth in Eastern DRC(2013) Chen, Zike; Finnegan, Gavin; Hobson, David; Pinzon, Diego; Vander Hey, Gabriel; ; Gawande, KishoreIn the fall of 2013, a group of students at the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University were approached to design and implement a survey to gauge the effectiveness of a youth employment program in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. At the fundamental level, it was necessary to know if the program was helping the children find employment and if that employment was increasing the incomes earned by participants. Vocational programs such as the one described in this paper, are not uncommon and have been shown to be quite effective in setting around the world. For the first time though, an analysis of this type of program was implemented in the unique setting of Butembo, DR Congo. Butembo, as will be described later, is a unique hub of peace within an area that has been ravaged by civil conflict in recent decades. In this particular context, the conflict affects youth in the area through displacement, loss of education, as well as through recruitment into the conflict or other activities that support rebel groups. The research within this paper uses survey instruments in an effort to determine the level of effectiveness of the vocational program in the region that focuses on at risk and vulnerable youth. In this paper, our research team will describe the setting of both conflict in DRC and its effects on institutions and programs as well as the setting of this analysis. In addition, information on the program, CEFADES, will be given along research design and the analysis of our findings.Item China's Pathways to Energy Security(2010) Beard, Steven; Caruana, Craig; Coats, Charles; Haguewood, Robert; Lee, Jong-Hwan; Morgan, Broderick; Murray, Joshua; Riedell, Michael; Layne, ChristopherThis project explores the growing web of connections - specifically, in the area of energy interdependence among the East Asian states and India with oil producing states in the Persian Gulf region. These relations are characterized by producers seeking reliable markets and consumers seeking reliable suppliers. The project examines whether, and to what extent, these relations are primarily economic or geopolitical. An important issue is whether these relations herald a geostrategic shift with wealth and power flowing from West to East. The project also examines the implications of this relationship for the United States, which remains the principal security guarantor for both regions, even as most of the oil and gas the Sixth Fleet protects is going to free-riders in Asia.Item Combating Child Labor through DESTINO - Reducing Child Labor in Panama: An Impact Evaluation of a Department of Labor-Funded Initiative(2009) Andisha, Nasir; Chiquito-Saban, Oscar; Emmerich, Eduardo; Figueroa, Aurelia; Jiang, Yuewen; Hui-Lee, Jun; Manning, Darren; Ortega-Sanchez, Alejandra; Gawande, Kishore; Creative Associates International, Inc.; U.S. Department of LaborItem Command and Control in the Iraqi Insurgency(2006) Atkinson, Dwain; Collins, Matthew; Colmenares, Monica; McBane, Carla; Ritter, Kyle; Welling, Glen; Engel, Jeffrey A.; Centra TechnologyItem Confidential and Privileged: The President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board - Learning Lessons from Its Past to Shape Its Future(2006) Absher, Kenneth Michael; Desch, Michael; Popadiuk, Roman; Ambassador David Abshire and the Laury FoundationItem Conflict, Earthquakes, and School Outcomes: Two Studies on Nepal(2017-03-06) Brewer, Levi; Crowder, Leah; Lee, Minseok; Mikayilov, Elshad; Nepal, Sanmita; Perl, Alexandra; Hardin Tanguay, Brittany; Wendelbo, Morten;The increased frequency of natural disasters globally has prioritized the need for a broader understanding of disaster resilience. More recently, on April 25 and May 12 of 2015, two major earthquakes devastated many Nepalese communities, inflicting damage on multiple sectors of the society. Given the enormous amount of damage caused by the earthquakes, this natural disaster is the greatest natural disaster tragedy to hit Nepal in over 80 years. Almost ten years before the earthquakes shook Nepal, ten years of destructive armed conflict came to a end. This study will examine the link between these two events, both conceptually and empirically, by addressing the question: Did conflict experience during the armed conflict in Nepal impact the degree of damage resulting from the 2015 earthquakes?Item Critical Infrastructure and Cyber Security(2011) Doll, Abby; Pirrong, Renee; Jennings, Matthew; Stasny, George; Giblin, Andy; Shaffer, Steph; Anderson, Aimee; Engel, Jeffrey A.We were tasked by CENTRA Technology, Inc., to create a methodology that could be used to prioritize critical cyber assets in the United States. We have answered that call by developing a user-friendly, consequence-based methodology that requires end users to carefully consider their cyber assets' contributions to vital missions of national security, economic security, and public safety. The user will be able to clearly visualize the potential impact of a loss of cyber assets on those three indicators vis-a-vis one another, which is especially important in the midst of the current budgetary uncertainty in Washington. In this study, we present our definitions of the three indicators; an overview of the eighteen sectors of critical infrastructure and commonalities and the characteristics of their operating systems; a brief review of the literature on cyber security to date; and, of course, a thorough discussion of the intricacies of how our methodology works.Item Developed Countries' Imposed Standards on Trade of Agricultural Imports from Developing Countries(2007) Cabrera, Raul; Cochran, Matt; Dangelmayr, Lauren; D'Aguilar, Gavin; Lee, Jeongwoo; Speir, Ian; Weigand, Courtney; Gawande, Kishore; World Bank Trade DivisionItem Do NGOs Deliver? The Role of NGOs in Responding to the Syrian Refugee Crisis in Jordan(2017-03-06) Fierros, Carlos; Jaloway, Kristian; Jones, Alissa; Mason, Mary Margaret; Shtepani, Christine; Shuler, Mariah; Spiva, Rainie; Ward, Jerica; Weir, Caroline;Eleven million Syrians have fled their homes or have been killed as a result of the Syrian Civil War that began in 2011 (Mercy Corps, 2016). The violence, destruction of homes, human rights violations, and lack of access to basic necessities such as food and medication are the motivations for many Syrians to leave their homes and seek refuge in both neighboring countries and Europe. Each year has seen an exponential increase in the number of Syrian refugees; in 2012 there were 100,000 refugees and today there are 4.3 million refugees. This large increase each year contributes to the already significant workload for NGOs responding to the crisis.Item East Asian Security in 2025(2008) Heavin, Reagan; Hudson, Adam; Krueger, Brandon; O'Neil, Sean; Rozell, Griffin; Suma, Matt; Layne, Christopher; Long Range Analysis Unit, National Intelligence Council (NIC)Item Effective Intelligence Operations during Counterinsurgency Campaigns - Intelligence Community in Counterinsurgency: Historical Lessons and Best Practices(2009) Albers, Andrew C.; Binkley, Samuel G.; Chaudhry, Mariam F.; Craswell, Kimberly; Freeman, Jordan S.; Lytle, Carrie E.; Myers, Tristan L.; Naser, Rami; Sloan, Peter T.; Castillo, Jasen J.; Rand Corporation; Department of DefenseItem Emerging Trends with a Significant Impact on the U.S. Intelligence Community(2014) Stubblefield, Amber; Stockstill, Leah; Westerhof, Emily; Hopper, Eric; Pinones, Zach; Niegelsky, Mark; Mickle, Devon; Davis, Cristina; Rothrock, Caroline; Sievert, RonHow has current culture affected the thinking of college age students who constitute the potential future work force. We need to know how they think for a number of reasons. Specifically, recruiters need to know how to recruit them and what misperceptions they need to correct from the start, the IC needs to know how to construct and shape careers they will find challenging for the long term, and the IC needs to consider how it will conduct the essential business of collection and analysis in a manner that is consistent with the current methodology, approach and attitude of this new generation. At same time, if there are major gaps in millennial’s understanding of the ethic of the Intelligence community, then it would be good for the IC to be alert to steps that would educate them as to the true history, legal grounding, values and principles of the community. With this in mind, this proposal involves conducting a survey of students or new IC employees composed of questions to determine the current attitude, knowledge, perceptions, and standard methodological approach of this group of applicants and employees.Item Environmental Impacts of China Outward Foreign Direct Investment: Case Studies in Latin America, Mongolia, Myanmar, and Zambia(2012) Al-Aameri, Nour; Fu, Lingxiao; Garcia, Nicole; Mak, Ryan; McGill, Caitlin; Reynolds, Amanda; Vinze, Lucas;China’s rapid increase of outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) over the past decade has garnered worldwide attention for a variety of reasons. Of particular concern is the concentration of Chinese OFDI in extractive industries, especially in developing countries. Generally, developing countries have fewer and weaker regulations than developed nations, exposing them to more severe environmental degradation. As the environmental consequences of such growth and investment become more visible, governments, companies, and communities pursue better environmental management and protection policies. Increasing environmental awareness and protection measures are evident in China’s 11th and 12th five-year plans, which suggests that domestically China is pursuing a more efficient and sustainable growth than in previous decades. China plans to implement policies to increase accountability and capacity to improve environmental protection. While challenges still exist, namely China’s growing demands for energy, such policies will provide a framework to advance environmental protection. China’s growing demand for and consumption of energy drives Chinese OFDI. The concentration of China’s investment in extractive industries leads to substantial environmental degradation. The majority of investment takes place through large state-owned enterprises. Despite improving its domestic environmental policies, China lacks any environmental regulation of OFDI. Though it promotes corporate social responsibility (CSR) and recently released legal guidelines for OFDI, such practices rely on the initiative of the investing company. The domestic policy environment interacts with the regulations of the recipient countries, resulting in differing environmental impacts. 3 An examination of several countries from varying regions illustrates how investments interact with recipient countries’ regulations. The increase of Chinese investment has affected the environment of South America, Mongolia, Myanmar and Zambia. Chinese investment in South America has allowed China to secure natural resources by increasing petroleum and mining production. Investment has impacted both small and established producers throughout the continent. South America, in particular Peru, shows how political development and improved financial markets can improve the regulatory environment, allowing FDI to benefit recipient countries. Most Chinese FDI entering Mongolia is in the mining sector to meet China’s growing demand for minerals. Investors in this sector include large Chinese state-owned mining enterprises that dominate Mongolia’s largest deposits, as well as small and medium Chinese mining firms in the artisanal mining industry. Unlike their larger counterparts, these small and medium mining firms do not employ environmentally friendly technology to extract minerals. Hence, Chinese artisanal mining has harmed Mongolia’s environment by generating excess surface water, waste rock piles, tailings, and mercury pollution, which causes air and water pollution. Inadequate law enforcement and local government corruption, coupled with the increasing influence of China, have made it difficult for Mongolia’s central government to address these environmental issues. In Myanmar, FDI in the nation’s hydropower, oil and gas and mining sectors has resulted in water pollution, destruction of fisheries, loss of biodiversity and deforestation. Chinese investors and firms from other countries, whose investments predate those of China, caused these environmental issues. They can also be attributed to Naypyitaw’s ineffective environmental governance, resulting from underdeveloped institutions and flouting the of its own environmental 4 laws. To improve environmental governance, Myanmar’s government must develop its institutions, devote more resources to environmental protection and promote environmental education. In Zambia, Chinese investments are concentrated heavily in the country’s copper mining industry. In Zambia, the country’s reliance on the mining sector results in air and water pollution of the surrounding areas. Though Chinese companies are by no means the largest investors or polluters in Zambia’s mining sector, the rapid increase of investments has made China particularly influential. The legislative and regulatory framework exists for environmental protection in Zambia, but the country lacks capacity for enforcement and accountability mechanisms. As such, several international mining companies have no incentive to comply with environmental regulations, worsening environmental degradation. To generate recommendations for improved environmental performance through sustainable outward foreign direct investment, we analyzed several viewpoints. Using the country report, we identified existing regulations and discovered areas where regulations or environmental awareness is lacking. One major observation from the country report is that China does not impose environmental regulations on outward foreign direct investment; instead, the government expects firms to comply with the regulations of the host countries. This raises an interesting question about whether home countries have an incentive to regulate environmentally sensitive areas. We surveyed theory and the existing literature on the pollution haven hypothesis to see if host countries avoid environmental regulations to encourage investment. Although the theory remains popular, robust evidence of the hypothesis does not exist. After completing the theoretical approach, we chose to apply country case studies to see if any developed countries have taken the lead in imposing environmental regulations. After 5 studying the U.S., Canada, and Europe, we found that environmental regulations for in-country development are common. However, like China, these countries do not actively regulate OFDI. In the absence of a global regulatory environment, a collaborative effort is needed. Through the research, we discovered a multi-tiered relationship, in which the home government, the host government, NGOs, and investors can all coordinate to improve environmental outcomes. After noting that the two-way tie between governments and investors is not always sufficient for regulations, we looked into alternative third parties that can affect environmental awareness. Through a literature review, we identified NGOs as powerful actors that can affect information availability, policy, operations, assessment and monitoring, and environmental advocacy. The combination of country analysis, theoretical framework building, case studies, and player identification allows us to formulate recommendations from the macro to the micro level. Specifically, we identified several broad categories where improvements can occur: with local communities and NGOs, with regulatory bodies, and with investors. Some recommendations apply to China’s environmental regulations; some apply to our four country regions; and others apply to investors and NGOs. TNC can help local communities and NGOs develop institutions, increase awareness, and build capacity to enhance management of environmental resources. By partnering with regulatory bodies, TNC can work to improve monitoring of environmental regulations through additional training and providing access to accurate information. Where investors are concerned, TNC and government actors can help improve banking practices and provide incentives to encourage environmental protection.Item Estimating the Economic Costs of Espionage(2010) Bell, Rich; Bennett, J. Ethan; Boles, Jillian R.; Goodoien, David M.; Irving, Jeff W.; Kuhlman, Phillip B.; White, Amanda K.; Engel, Jeffrey A.Economic espionage is a serious threat to the vitality of the U.S. economy. While this is a widely accepted fact, there is no formal way to measure the damage an incident of economic espionage has on the U.S. economy. The U.S. government would like to know how damaging economic espionage is on the economy. However, the full repercussions of an incident of economic espionage are never known. A stolen trade secret, over the course of many years, could be used in different products and in different industries. The loss of a trade secret is an immeasurable value. Instead of attempting to measure such an overarching elusive concept, the research team sought to measure the potential consequence of economic espionage. In this study, the research team constructed a model to identify the severity of an incident of economic espionage and its consequences on the U.S. economy. The model was designed for use by federal government employees with the intent that the federal government could apply publically available case information to the model. The model provides a qualitative estimate of “consequence” as it relates to economic loss. The model generates a severity score between 0 and 1, which corresponds to a „low‟, „moderate‟, and „high‟ consequence. The severity score incorporates the model‟s four main variables into two primary components: „Industry‟ and „Case Variables‟. „Industry‟ assesses the significance of where the incident of economic espionage occurred. „Industry‟ is derived from a combination of the percentage of GDP in terms of value added for each of the 14 industries and the „susceptibility‟ of each of the 14 industries. This process enables the model to be individualized to a specific industry, which allows a different potential consequence to the U.S. economy. „Case Variables‟ assess the significance of the incident of economic espionage. „Case Variables‟ include the „Characteristics of the Theft‟, „Cost‟, and „Beneficiary‟ variables. The model requires the user to first select the „Industry‟ where the incident occurred and then to identify the „Case Variables‟. Therefore, the potential consequence on the U.S. economy from an incident of economic espionage is dependent on the industry. To greater individualize the model, the research team designed a method whereby questions within the model would matter more when compared to others. As no two incidents of economic espionage are identical, the research team developed a system of weighing the variables and their respective questions. With all the variables measured, standardized, and weighed against each other, the model calculates an overall severity score, which corresponds to the level of consequence for an incident of economic espionage.Item Evaluating the Implementation of the National Strategy for Biosurveillance(2015-05-20) Armstrong, Iain; Berry, Erin; Bitter, Alexander; Colburn, Leland; Karika, Kathleen; Paulino, Jose; Redden, Rebekah; Vien, Thomas "Tex"; Williams, Lodrick;Biological incidents, both man-made and naturally occurring, represent a significant threat to the national security of the United States. Identifying these crises begins with the detection and reporting of essential biological disease information, known as biosurveillance. As the first of its kind, the 2012 National Strategy for Biosurveillance targets the process essential information should take to reach decisionmakers. Although there are points of strength in the system, extensive research finds the current biosurveillance infrastructure does not adequately transmit information to decisionmakers. Therefore, this report recommends three improvements to the biosurveillance system: increase incorporation of information, improve interagency relationships, and strengthen governance in the biosurveillance community.
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