Undergraduate
Christian J. Reimann
“al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb- Counterterror Measures, Actions, and Results”
Counter terrorism is a dynamic and evolving discipline that combats extremism and terrorism around the world, with the goal to stabilize regions and protect civilians. The recruitment efforts and growth of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and terrorist groups around the world exist in a vacuum based on external factors that shape ideology and extremism, and civil and diplomatic relationships among countries and NGO’s can help take counter measures towards terror groups by providing a high quality of life to impoverished and underserved communities. In working to eliminate opportunities for violence and terror that plague these communities, we can minimize the recruitment pool that terror groups can draw from, and cut their support at the root. In this paper we will analyze the factors that make terrorism a proliferating problem in particular regions of the world, including the African continent and the Maghreb, how those factors affect individuals at the smallest emotional and economic levels, and strategies that governments and international organizations have been working towards.
Graduate
Lindsey Schmidt
“A War over Weather and Words: An Analysis of the International and Local Framings of Climate Change in the Pacific Small Island Developing States”
I wrote this paper for my final research project in GLOA 615: Global Humanitarianisms, a class which has explored the unequal power dynamics between the donors (often from the global North) and recipients (often from the global South) of humanitarian aid. These power hierarchies are prominent in global climate change, which is one of the most pressing, disproportionate challenges facing the world today; is exacerbating other political, cultural, and social problems; and is not being sufficiently addressed by the international community. I chose to compare framings of climate change of the international community and Pacific Islanders because I was inspired by the extent of activism at the UN’s 26th annual Conference of Parties (COP26), especially by youth activists from Pacific small island developing states, who stood on the world stage and confronted global leaders who have allowed climate change to accelerate to a severe level. From this project, I learned that the damage from climate change expands far beyond the physical realm. Individuals who are the most vulnerable to this global problem are being discounted, silenced, and excluded from the negotiations that will determine the security of their livelihoods and homes. I want to submit this research for Research Week because beyond recognizing the impacts of climate change, analyzing how the implications of how global superpowers are discussing climate change is critical to understand the status of global climate governance, the reasons it is failing, and the ways it could be improved. While we are not all policymakers participating in UN negotiations, individuals can contribute to how climate change is discussed and urge their representatives in government to change their narrative and enact policies to mitigate greenhouse gases.
Leslie Spitz-Edson
“Arctic Needs and Arctic Knowledge: In Search of Trust in Uncertain Times”
This paper is my final research project for GLOA 615, Globalization of/in Europe. In it I was able to combine my interests in the climate crisis, the status of Indigenous peoples, and the circumpolar region with some ideas I’ve encountered recently about the limits of national sovereignty and, of course, globalization. The topic is relevant to the present moment, which also makes it interesting. In the process of writing and researching, I learned much more about the Arctic, and also about some areas that were relatively new to me, including neutrality and military alliances, diplomacy, and more. I would like to learn more about diplomacy; maybe I will have that opportunity in a later project. I am submitting it to Research Week because I worked very hard on it and would like to share it. I hope it will be interesting to others.
June 07, 2022