This Research Paper was published in collaboration between the Journal of International Service and American University’s School of International Service chapter of Women, Peace, and Security to highlight a selection of writing and research on women’s issues in international affairs. By Kaitlyn Hill Overview            The ongoing political upheaval in Syria, which began in 2010,…

By Yun Kyung Kim, Kyungsun Lee, and Roger Rolando Reyes KERI Korea Economic Research Institute KF Korea Foundation KOTRA Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency MAS Masculinity versus Femininity (formerly) MAS Motivation towards Achievement and Success NBI Anholt Ipsos Nation Brands IndexSM   PCNB Presidential Council on Nation Branding PDI Power Distance Index SNS Social Networking Sites…

By Luke Maloney Introduction With significant disparities in internet access, Latin America finds itself as one of the centers of internet infrastructure investment from foreign technological firms due to its untapped markets. Many governments in the region seek the most advantageous agreements for their countries. This typically means the lowest-cost, most uniform, and most efficient…

By Eliana Guterman Introduction            Environmental justice cannot be understood without considering the realities of multiple overlapping oppressions, namely the gender-based violence (GBV) faced by women of color. In the Amazon rainforest region of Brazil, indigenous women have been disproportionately affected by environmental degradation and deforestation. These women have played a crucial role in indigenous…

By: Josiah Gottfried, Wyatt Frank, and Anjali Madaram Introduction Between 2010 and 2020, no country experienced a greater decline in democracy than Turkey, according to the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance.[i] The rapid transformation of Turkey’s system of government is creating uncertainty that poses political risks to businesses operating in Turkey. For these…

By: Christopher Barclay Introduction As approximately fifty-three nations are currently experiencing debt distress or are at risk of defaulting on their loans, there is growing speculation about a global debt crisis.[i] Compounding this, the U.S. Federal Reserve, by increasing interest rates to control inflation, seems indirectly to have sent disproportionate reverberations throughout the global currency market.[ii] While…

By: David Traugott For decades, the international community considered independent Kenya to be a “bastion of economic and political stability in a volatile region” because of its relative stability.[i]  However, extreme post-election violence from December 2007 to February 2008 shattered this favorable image. Longstanding ethnic grievances fueled the conflict, as members of the oppressed Luo and Kalenjin ethnic…

By Austin Pomianowski             The Russian state, through the leadership and policy of its authoritarian despot Vladimir Putin, has become ideologically influential in Eastern Europe. It gained this influence through the Russian states’ focus on traditional values, rejection of liberalism coming from the European Union and the United States, and political patronage networks that have been…