Browsing by Author "Borowiak, Craig Thomas, 1971-"

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    A Nation for Pakistan: On the Role of Identity in the pursuit of Freedom and Sovereignty
    (2006) Murtaza, Zehra Nadine; Borowiak, Craig Thomas, 1971-
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    Africa’s New Green Revolution: Smallholder Farmers as the Solution to Food Insecurity in the Case of Kenya
    (2019) Mathis, Grace; Borowiak, Craig Thomas, 1971-
    The situation of global food insecurity is becoming increasingly dire as a result of rapid population growth, increasingly consequential climate change and insufficient agricultural production (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations). The estimated number of undernourished people has risen from 804 million in 2016 to 821 million in 2017. According to the United Nations Population Fund, by 2050, nearly half of the global population of 9 billion will lack sufficient food and water (UNFPA). Although all regions of the world face food insecurity, with 21% of the population lacking reliable access to sufficient nutrition, Africa continues to be the region with the highest prevalence of undernourishment (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations). There is a conversation emerging about the potential for a new Green Revolution in Africa. Today, researchers from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, previously directed by the father of the Green Revolution, Norman Borlaug, are growing and testing new varieties of maize, along with wheat in an effort to contribute to a new Green Revolution in Africa (Rosenberg). However, while the Green Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s is renowned for dramatically improving crop yields, there were also substantial negative consequences of the Green Revolution, most significantly the disparity in outcomes due to the uneven distribution of the production enhancing technology (Rosenberg). The Green Revolution was detrimental to smallholder farmers, who lacked access to the new technologies (Sebby 1). As agricultural production increased, the amount of food became more than sufficient to address food insecurity, but the economic outcomes of the Green Revolution forced many smallholders into debt as they tried to purchase new technologies to keep pace with wealthier, larger farmers (22). As a result, the impoverished smallholders could not afford food as was the case in Bangladesh, which was faced with the paradox of both a surplus of food and an epidemic of people dying from starvation (22). While much of the literature on a new Green Revolution in Africa discusses the potential for it to be successful in increasing agricultural productivity and reducing food insecurity, scholars recognize the need to mitigate the consequences of the Green Revolution of the 1960s and 70s. A majority of the literature focuses on the need to target smallholder farmers in approaches to increase production and recognizes that a lack of access to new technologies for low-income farmers, which ultimately led to increased food insecurity, was a primary driver of the negative outcomes of the first Green Revolution. My thesis will explore the potential outcomes of a new Green Revolution in Africa. Among my universe of cases of food insecure African states, I have selected Kenya as a case study. In Kenya, the agricultural sector plays a critical role in the nation’s economy, contributing 24% of the GDP and over 80% of the population’s livelihoods( Livelihoods Strategies and Household Resilience to Food Insecurity). Agricultural productivity has stagnated as the population has continued to grow, resulting in increased food insecurity. While only about 20% of Kenyan land is suitable for farming, the maximum yields have not been reached and there is large potential to increase productivity (Bohle). Amidst both a growing population and unfavorable weather conditions, as a result of climate change, the Kenyan government has recognized the need to address food insecurity by integrating technology into agricultural practices (Sadauskaite). This thesis argues that a smallholder-centered policy approach which addresses the issues of smallholder access to fertile land, credit and modernized inputs is needed to effectively combat food insecurity. With smallholder farmers accounting for 70% of Kenya’s population and the majority of the impoverished and food insecure, improving smallholder agriculture will directly improve food security (Ogada, Technical Efficiency). The goals of this thesis are to evaluate the stakeholders involved in food insecurity in Kenya, to conduct an in-depth analysis of food insecurity and policy in Kenya and to make recommendations for what a comprehensive policy approach should entail. Additionally, this thesis will strive to evaluate the generalizability of Kenya as a case study so as to determine whether the recommendations for Kenya should be extended to other food insecure African countries. This thesis finds that smallholders are the key to reducing food insecurity in Kenya because they dominate the agricultural sector and make up the majority of Kenya’s undernourished population. Kenya remains highly food insecure because smallholder agricultural production continues to be inefficient. Smallholders’ inefficient agricultural production can be tied to their limited access to land, credit, and modernized inputs caused by poverty and inequality. Thus, this thesis finds that an approach that addresses the obstacles which smallholders face to access and therefore agricultural productivity is needed to address food insecurity. However, power dynamics disadvantage smallholders and exclude them from policy making. As a result, past and recent government initiatives have fallen short in addressing hunger. Until properly addressed, the exclusion of smallholders from the policy making process will continue to hinder access for smallholders and therefore food insecurity will persist. These findings can be extended to other African food insecure countries which face the same paradox of Kenya in that smallholders constitute the majority of national food production and are also the most food insecure. Other studies indicate that similar issues of poor access of smallholders to land, credit, and modernized inputs are found in other countries in Africa, ranging from Tanzania to Malawi (Matshe). It is evident in these countries, as well, that smallholder access must be improved in order to increase food production and thereby dismantle food insecurity. Thus, a smallholder-focused policy approach to addressing food insecurity can be a part of the solution to global food insecurity. In any such study there are limitations. Food insecurity in Kenya was not measured prior to the 1990’s. Thus, the analysis of food insecurity in this thesis is dependent on existing literature and proxy data. While this thesis strives to create a detailed picture of food insecurity and policy responses in Kenya, data on food insecurity throughout Kenya’s history would have allowed for a more comprehensive analysis. Additionally, literature on Kenya’s policies is generally characterized by broad statements about government goals rather than specific policies described in detail. While the thesis of this paper argues that a smallholder-targeted policy approach to increasing agricultural production is the most effective way to address food insecurity, there are other factors that, in conjunction with this policy approach, could also reduce hunger. Future research efforts should explore how increasing off-farm income as part of government initiatives to improve livelihoods of smallholder farmers leads to increased access and thus, improves smallholder agricultural production. Additionally, further research should explore how international institutions could more effectively influence the Kenyan government to properly address the needs of smallholders. However, in spite of the limitations of this paper, the findings can be generalized beyond Kenya and offer an approach to reducing global food insecurity.
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    American Foreign Policy and the Meaning of Democracy Promotion for Administrations of George W. Bush (2000-2008) and Barack Obama (2008-2012): Exploring Different Ideological Approaches to American Foreign Policy and Democracy Promotion
    (2014) Mukkavilli, Ananya; Borowiak, Craig Thomas, 1971-
    This thesis explores the differing modalities of "democracy promotion" in American foreign policy in the 21st century for the Presidencies of George W. Bush (2000-2008) and the Obama administration's first administration (2008-2012). In light of the changing role of democracy promotion as part of American foreign policy, the research question I pose is: Between 2000 and 2012, how were George W. Bush and Barack Obama's rhetoric and practice of democracy promotion different from one another, and what do these distinctions say about the significance of democratic norms in their overarching foreign policy strategies? The implications of my argument are threefold. Firstly, this thesis highlights the changing dynamics of the structural conditions that shape foreign policy decision-making in the United States, and shed light on the increasingly precarious role of both the United States and western conceptions of "democracy" in international politics. It demonstrates the instability of the definition of democracy as an idea, event, or institutional structure but also recognizes the principles associated with democracies. Secondly, my analysis highlights the fundamental ideological differences between George Bush and Barack Obama. On the surface, there is a lot of continuity between the two presidents, but upon closer inspection we find that Obama's administration has a much more robust, long-term vision for American international development programs that is distinct from the unilateral pursuit of national interest--he is more governed by normative considerations than Bush had been. This is shown specifically through the rhetorical and practical application of "democratic principles", either through democratic assistance or other programs, specifically through USAID, as means of revitalizing the United States' international credibility. Finally, this thesis demonstrates the expanding role of the international environment and international norms in shaping state behavior in the 21st century, even for "hegemonic" states such as the United States. While Bush's administration pursued a unilateral foreign policy that disregarded the potential impact that the international space could have on American interests, Obama's foreign policy has been deeply influenced by international norms and opinion.
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    Analyzing Education Policies for Migrant Students: the Cases of Finland, Italy, and Hungary
    (2021) Mahr, Noelle Aiko; Borowiak, Craig Thomas, 1971-
    The main question of my thesis is: How well does the binary of integration and assimilation for education policies accurately reflect the reality of countries' policies and practices? To explore this question, I use the three case studies of Finland, Italy, and Hungary. By using these case studies, I argue that migrants' education policies fit the integration/assimilation binary only to a certain extent. This is because there are countries that can fit under either the integrationist or assimilationist cases, such as with Finland which is largely integrationist, but there are also cases that do not completely fit under either category. For example, Italy fits under both due to the fact that its system is highly decentralized, and Hungary is exclusionist in some of its policies, not even being assimilationist in some respects. The fact that the reality does not fit the binary is significant because existing studies on the acculturation of migrants, particularly in the context of education, primarily use the binary of integration and assimilation. This thesis complicates the existing simplified narrative, by showing that the existing policies and practices do not fit this binary. This demonstrates that there is a limit tousing this binary to assess countries' education policies for migrants, and that scholars should take care not to over-simplify the reality of policies and practices when studying this topic. In the first section, I provide a literature review about the terms "integration" and "assimilation," which are often used interchangeably, and their connections with education policies. These two terms have different meanings as integration is when migrants keep their native culture and learn about their host culture, whereas assimilation is when migrants forget their native culture and solely focus on learning about their host culture. For this thesis, I focus on the theories of integration and assimilation because these are the two most commonly used types of acculturation, particularly when referring to migrants' acculturation process. For scholars who discuss acculturation and education, the only models they discuss are either integration or assimilation. The main approaches for education policies with integration and assimilation are policies regarding curriculum, as well as classroom models. For classroom models, the assimilationist model is the "submersion model," where newcomers are placed directly into classes with local students upon arrival, and receive no additional language support. The integrationist model puts newcomer students into class with local students, but provides them with additional language support.There is also the partial integration model which puts newcomers in both local and specialized classes for migrants, with the goal of gradually transitioning newcomers into solely taking classes with local students. For curriculum, a multicultural curriculum is seen to be integrationist, whereas a non-multicultural curriculum is assimilationist. This is because assimilation implies that the education system intends to make newcomers as close to local students as possible, and to learn about the local culture and customs instead of focusing on newcomers' home cultures. However, integration focuses on both home cultures as well as the local culture, which implies a more multicultural curriculum to also highlight the importance of migrants' home cultures and languages. I then present my three case studies, starting with Finland. Finland's migrant education policies fit the integration-assimilation binary for education, as they largely fit under the integrationist category. The classroom style is a partial integration model, where students are usually placed into specialized classes for a certain period of time before going into classes with local students. This shows they are first given the opportunity to receive a holistic education and learn enough of the language to be able to succeed in a local classroom. Although there is an emphasis on learning the Finnish language, this is to ensure that students know an adequate level of Finnish to use in their everyday lives, and not to claim superiority over their native languages or to prevent usage of native languages. This can further be seen by the fact that migrant students are entitled to have separate courses taught to them in their native language in order to maintain and develop their skills in their native language. There is no priority given to students to solely learn about the native language and culture such as in assimilationist policies that exist in other countries like Hungary. Part of the reason for this may be because the level of policy-making is at the national level, instead of at the local level. This way, policies are able to be kept uniform throughout the country instead of varying from region to region like Italy. Another factor in determining how the government kept its integrationist policies is the number of migrants that entered Finland during the 2015 influx. Because Finland did not receive as many migrants as other EU countries such as Italy and Hungary, the existing education system for migrants was able to continue providing an education with the integrationist policies that were already in place. Lastly, I reflect on potential future areas for study. Because this thesis only studies three specific case studies, a future area of research should be to analyze various other countries tosee whether they fit this binary, particularly for countries that are not European. With this, the conclusion that the integration-assimilation binary does not accurately reflect countries' policies and practices would be further strengthened. This thesis has implications for scholars who study acculturation policies and for policy makers, as it is important to study countries' education policies for migrants in order to analyze them and see what variants of acculturation they fit under. Particularly for policy makers, as there has been research done on what types of acculturation policies are more beneficial for migrants, researching acculturation policies and migrant education policies can shed light on where governments can improve on in the future, in order to better support migrant students.
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    Beyond Voting With Our Wallets: The Politics and the Promise of the Food Movement
    (2013) Smith-Gibbs, Madeline; Borowiak, Craig Thomas, 1971-
    Food is increasingly recognized as "political," but the same recognition is not granted to the food movement. In my thesis, I outline the many environmental, public health, community and social justice crises that the emerging food movement responds to. I describe what I call the market choice model, a particular trend in the food movement that emphasizes consumer power, and make an argument about the limitations of this model. Finally, I offer three case studies of alternative ways to channel the social power building around food issues – examples that certainly have their own limitations, but that each encourage us to think about transforming the food system in new ways. The ways in which we engage with the food system – how we define problems, what solutions we look to, who we include, how we measure success – are political matters and intensely important.
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    Bridging the Gap: Germany's Perspective on Turkey's Accession to the European Union
    (2010) Gelberg, Michael; Borowiak, Craig Thomas, 1971-
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    Capture the Flag Hierarchy, Bargaining, and the Internationalization of Chinese State-Owned Enterprises
    (2023) Murphy, Ryan William; Borowiak, Craig Thomas, 1971-
    To what degree does nominal ownership and formal hierarchy facilitate Chinese party-state control over the management and operation of central stateowned enterprises (central SOEs)? Moreover, to what degree does nominal ownership and formal hierarchy enable the Chinese party-state to employ central state-owned enterprises (central SOEs) as instruments of economic statecraft? The term “state-owned enterprise” implies a kind of rational and unitary actor, possessed by both organizational (commercial and strategic) objectives and capabilities derived from the state. Indeed, “By simple syllogism, the state ‘owns’ an SOE.” In contrast, this study examines an empirical puzzle observed in the overseas infrastructure investments of Chinese SOEs. While the Chinese party-state possesses nominal ownership and formal hierarchical control over state-owned enterprises, and apparently organizes internationalization (outward foreign direct investment, or FDI) through campaigns such as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with stated objectives to improve bilateral relations with host country (recipient) governments, infrastructure investments of central SOEs have significantly damaged, or at least failed to significantly improve, the perception of the Chinese party-state among host country (or prospective host country) citizens and policymakers. To address this empirical puzzle, this study introduces a model of bounded bargaining. The model synthesizes concepts of bounded rationality and the organizational process model to explain unique principal-agent (P-A) dynamics defined by (and limited) by the formal Chinese partystate hierarchy, in which bureaucratic entities (principals) and state-owned enterprises (agents) engage in a negotiated and bidirectional relationship. While bureaucratic entities (principals) retain nominal control over the management and operation of state-owned enterprises (agents), this relationship is negotiated, as the former bargains “across” the hierarchy (horizontal bargaining) and the latter bargains “up” the hierarchy (vertical bargaining). Although there remain limits (bounds) to bargaining following which party-state principals may intervene, such limits are weakly or inconsistently enforced. Finally, I employ the bounded bargaining model to describe the contingent and counterproductive exercise of foreign policy engagement by state-owned enterprises, which I term flagcraft, and test the flagcraft model against the crucial case study of the Port of Hambantota, Sri Lanka. The central research questions of the study present several key challenges. First, there is an acknowledged lack of reliable quantitative data on the cross-border activities of state-owned enterprises, even across subscription-based business databases (Zephyr or Orbis). Second, there is an acknowledged lack of reliable qualitative data on the relationship between state-owned enterprises and local stakeholders (typically home country governments). The omission of detailed qualitative data on the internationalization of SOEs is particularly striking given that multiple studies claim that “SOEs may internationalize to achieve the political objectives of their [home country] governments” or “contribute to the geopolitical goals of the home country [government].” Finally, existing challenges in the study of internationalization (the lack of reliable quantitative or qualitative data) are compounded in the case of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) or any nondemocratic home country regime. Indeed, informational challenges associated with the study of nondemocratic regimes indirectly bias a view of the party-state and state-owned enterprises, particularly in securities studies literature, as a rational and unitary actor. Thus, a crucial task for research regarding the Chinese party-state is simply accessing data with which to generate and test falsifiable hypotheses through most-likely or least-likely case design. To examine principal-agent (P-A) dynamics between bureaucratic entities and state-owned enterprises in the formal Chinese party-state hierarchy, this study employs secondary-source interviews of party-state officials, employees of state-owned enterprises, and local (host country) stakeholders compiled across academic documents, which I cross-reference to establish broad trends or generalizable conclusions from interview respondents. In each chapter of this study, I adopt functional frames of analysis, which consider state-owned enterprises as (i) domestic actors engaged in activities within the Chinese political economy, (ii) internationalized actors engaged in cross-border activities, and (iii) embedded actors engaged in local (host-country) activities. Across each frame of analysis, I reject the null hypothesis that nominal ownership and formal hierarchy facilitates Chinese party-state control over the management and operation of central state-owned enterprises, and by extension, that such control enables the Chinese party-state to employ central state-owned enterprises as instruments of economic statecraft. Rather, as a result of bargaining dynamics, central state-owned enterprises have emerged as quasi-autonomous, quasi-diplomatic intermediaries reflecting a “corporatization of the country” (guojia de gongsihua) beyond traditional (government-to-government) forms of bilateral engagement. The term flagcraft is derived from the dictum that “trade follows the flag” which implies a unidirectional and hierarchical relationship between “state” principals and “commercial” agents. However, rather than economic statecraft as such, trade is “wrapped in the flag” as state-owned enterprises mobilize explicitly-stated ties to the Chinese party state for particularistic objectives. Indeed, while there remain limits (bounds) to bargaining, and state-owned enterprises have decidedly failed to “capture the state,” they have nevertheless managed to “capture the flag.”
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    Dancing With Uncertainties: Why and How Queer Civil Society in China Stays “in the Closet” to Survive under Authoritarianism
    (2019) Wang, Daobo; Borowiak, Craig Thomas, 1971-
    This paper aims to contribute to the agency-oriented scholarships studying state-civil society relations in authoritarian regimes like China by looking into the relationship between the Chinese government and queer civil society in China. Due to a variety of legal uncertainties in the nation, queer civil society in China stays “in the closet” to survive in three different ways: about half of the queer civic organizations work as public health initiatives, helping the government fight against the spread if AIDs among queer population; other civic organizations focus on promoting social stability and family harmony, minimizing the advertising of queer elements in their events; student queer organizations tend to stay underground to completely hide their queer identities, while advancing queer activism in unconventional ways.
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    Economic Reform and Political Change in China: Emerging Spaces and Party/state Responses
    (2006) Culp, Charles; Borowiak, Craig Thomas, 1971-
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    Fair-Weather Friend: A Critique of the Humanitarian Intervention Norm in U.S. Foreign Policy
    (2013) Leonard, Thomas J.; Borowiak, Craig Thomas, 1971-
    The purpose of my thesis was to evaluate the influence of the norm of humanitarian intervention and determine whether it has been internalized in U.S. foreign policy since the end of the Cold War. Using the framework of the norm life‐cycle proposed by Martha Finnemore and Kathryn Sikkink, I used a wide range of empirical data to provide a wholistic perspective on the competing interests in U.S. foreign policy, and offer insight into the agency of the humanitarian intervention norm. In the first chapter of this paper, I examine existing literature on norm development and the conditions required for the success and longevity of norms in an environment of competing interests. Using this theoretical foundation, the analysis of the internalization of the humanitarian intervention norm is based on four principle investigations of U.S. foreign policy. First, the institutionalization of the norm and the extent to which the U.S. has obligated itself to participate in humanitarian intervention through domestic and international legislation. Second, I use the U.S. policy towards the humanitarian crises in Kosovo (1999) and Darfur (2003‐2010) to ascertain the influence of the humanitarian intervention norm in U.S. decision‐making processes. Using the independent variables of public opinion, economic situation and international pressure, I make an epistemological argument with regards to the strength of this norm against the weight of these factors. Finally, I use the ongoing U.S. drone campaign in Pakistan as an extrinsic test case. This security intervention demonstrates the secondary of humanitarian concerns, which undermines the impetus of the humanitarian intervention norm considerably. The analysis of this paper shows that norm of humanitarian intervention has not developed in U.S. foreign policy to the point where it can decisively shape action. The process of internalization will be dependent on the work of norm entrepreneurs and domestic interest groups. Only through consistent and appropriate response to humanitarian crises will the norm will make the transition to customary law in U.S. foreign policy.
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    Federal Disaster Relief and Policy Entrepreneurship:A Comparative Analysis of Hurricane Camille & Hurricane Katrina
    (2020) LaRue, Jami C.; Borowiak, Craig Thomas, 1971-
    With the climate crisis burgeoning and becoming a more salient issue amongst the voting public and environmental policy advocates, there is no debate that the negative effects of natural disasters on victims are inherently political. While disasters may be stimulated by natural events (i.e. events that occur by natural phenomena and not direct human causality), they take place in human spaces, have social impacts that reflect social inequality, and exacerbate preexisting social inequities, qualifying them as political events. In recent years, attention has turned increasingly to hazard mitigation as a way of protecting the American people from losses caused by natural disasters. My thesis hopes to engage with this conversation, but under the domain of how one of America's most destructive natural disasters, hurricanes, are greeted by recovery policy agenda setting, and learned from by the implementation of disaster recovery policies directly affecting disaster victims and social vulnerability. My thesis explores the relationship between hurricanes and policy agendas, ultimately asking the question: How do hurricanes invigorate recovery policy agendas, and what is the process by which these events are used for policy implementation that addresses the impacts of hurricanes on individuals. I will employ two different case studies to analyze in my research. I will draw from Hurricane Camille (1969) and Hurricane Katrina (2005) to determine how policy agendas are (or are not) catalyzed after the occurrence of a hurricane, and the extent to which the policy agenda was successful in implementing policy that attempted to combat social vulnerability. I will also examine why Hurricane Camille of 1969 led to policy success, and why Hurricane Katrina resulted in a policy failure. With that inquiry in mind, I explore how the nature of policy communities and hurricanes affects the ways in which these events are utilized by policy entrepreneurs, who find a convenience of accidence with the vulnerability policy gaps illuminated by hurricanes to then establish disaster recovery agendas that can potentially lead to policy implementation.
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    Finding Solidarity Across Diversity: An Examination of the Transnational Networks of the Solidarity Economy Movement
    (2016) Egilman, Alex; Borowiak, Craig Thomas, 1971-; Ngalamulume, Kalala J.
    The solidarity economy is an umbrella term that represents a wide range of solidarity-­‐based economic practices that have proliferated worldwide such as cooperatives, participatory budgeting, and community land trusts. These enterprises prioritize equity, social and ecological sustainability, cooperation, democratic decision-­‐making, and community-­‐based development as opposed to profit maximization and competition. The solidarity economy movement depends on both local and global linkages, networks, and alliances to advance the solidarity economy development paradigm. In this thesis, I examine the structure and strategies of the major transnational networks of the solidarity economy movement. I find that these networks promote a horizontal reproduction of local, grassroots solidarity-­‐based initiatives. Then, I examine the diffusion of ideas and models across the solidarity economy movement. I contend that most of the influential ideas, innovations, and inspirational movements in the solidarity economy over the past 30 years have origins in the Global South and eventually moved North through mediated diffusion. By orienting development around the economic initiatives of marginalized peoples in the Global South, the SSE offers a counterhegemonic development alternative to the dominant development paradigms that have largely been imposed on the South from the North.
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