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While a strong empirical consensus has emerged in international relations that commerce promotes peace, this literature still faces an important historical challenge. The first period of globalization dating from the middle of the nineteenth century until 1914 stands out as perhaps the Achilles' heel of liberal international relations theory. Dramatic economic integration in the previous half century failed to prevent the outbreak of war in 1914. In this paper, we respond to this criticism with the help of a newly constructed data set and a theoretical revision grounded in standard trade theory that leads us to rethink and compare some of the more popular causal mechanisms offered to explain a liberal peace among states. Tested across multiple research designs, we find that the expansion of free trade, or a reduction in barriers to commerce, decreased the willingness of governments to initiate military conflict against other states from 1865 until 1918. The basic logic of commercial liberalism holds during this first era of globalization: free trade promotes peace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

José Martí, a founding father of Cuba's revolutionary movements, wrote in 1891, "Poisonous luxury, the enemy of freedom, corrupts the frivolous and opens the door to the foreigner." This quote characterizes the modern dilemma for Cuba's leaders: how do you open a small state to the flows of globalization while preserving the fundamental culture and character of the society? As a last bastion of socialism in a world of increasingly liberal markets, the Cuban people take great pride in their historical resistance to imperialism; their rejection of capitalist economic competition; and their distinctive successful model of education, health, and distribution of wealth. Since 1959, the Cubans have embraced their revolution and see the process as ongoing. But the allure of social networking, market-based consumerism, and poisonous luxury may be too strong for the young generations of Cubans to ignore. This paper will explain Cuba's revolutionary movement in a historical context of resistance and identify the challenges that globalization and global integration pose for the future of Cuba's political, social, and economic systems. During the 2015-16 academic year, Niagara University faculty and students will travel to Cuba to study these issues and how community organizations have overcome the challenges of embargoes and the stigma of being labeled a State Sponsor of Terrorism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nicolas Sarkozy’s victory in the 2007 French presidential elections was widely touted as heralding the demise of the Front National (FN). The latter was cast as either a protest party that was condemned to disappear or as a fleeting symptom of France’s transition to a post-industrial society. Such a reading fails to account for the sociological continuities presented by the FN with the French Far Right historically, the party initially enlisting its main support among the traditional lower middle classes (petits indépendants) and more recently, among industrial workers. This would suggest that class variables are at least as important as institutional ones in explaining the FN’s fortunes.This paper analyzes the class bases of support for the FN and argues that they obviate the predictions of its impending demise. With the advance of globalization, petits indépendants and industrial workers have been subjected to worsening structural and cultural crises on which the FN continues to be well placed to capitalize. Occupying increasingly incongruous positions within ‘post-industrial’ capitalism, these groups are exposed to ever greater occupational and material uncertainty on the one hand and a deepening collective crisis of identity on the other. Combined with their growing ambivalence towards the French republican state, held to have betrayed the ideal of small producer democracy dear to the former, and destroyed the principal loci of class identification of the latter, petits indépendants and industrial workers have become increasingly susceptible to the organic and exclusive nationalism of the Far Right. Thus, as international economic competition and integration continues to intensify, the latter is likely to remain a refuge for the ‘losers’ from globalization in France for a while to come. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, several popular works have helped to place firmly in the Western public's consciousness the idea that processes of neoliberal globalization are clearly beneficial for increasing respect for human rights (for example, Friedman 2005; Yergin and Stanislaw 1998). However, other scholars have suggested that tensions between the ideology of neoliberalism and the conception of the whole list of internationally-recognized human rights as truly universal may very well hinder the advancement of respect for human rights worldwide (for example, Benhabib 2002; Brysk 2002; Harvey 2005). Therefore, this paper seeks to engage in a discourse of alternatives that is rooted in a central, orienting concern for the state of human rights under the socio-political and economic agenda of neoliberal globalization. In order to do this, we first establish the formal arrangement of the current international human rights regime in its most idealized form. Second, we explore the spaces in which this regime is inconsonant with its stated goal of truly universal respect for human rights. Finally, we spend the remainder of the paper identifying and exploring possible alternative directions for the future of the international human rights regime. In this exploration, the authors hope that the reader will find, at best, several pragmatic suggestions for the improvement of the current regime and, at least, a cogent discussion of the current and future limitations of existing international efforts attempting to secure the enjoyment of human rights for all. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In addition to being the worlds most populous democracy India has recently found itself well on the path to economic development and modernization via the tools of globalization. Call centers, outsourcing of all sorts and Bangalore's tech valley present an image of a wonderfully democratic India poised on the brink of modernity with the contingent civic nationalism well evident. In reality, India is a nation filled with cross-cutting identities and numerous identifying variables which hinder the development of the ideal civic nation. This paper examines the role of religious nationalism and India's Hindutva organizations, which is an umbrella term for political organizations promoting "Hinduness" in Indian politics. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How does globalization affect the political power of labor unions? In this study, I employ the "second-image reversed" approach to international political economy and examine the relationship between economic integration and social insurance. Previous studies have focused on how international forces, such as globalization, directly affect domestic social policies. Yet, these arguments ignore how globalization may indirectly affect social policies by mediating the role of domestic political forces. In this paper I examine how globalization mediates labor union influence over policy implementation. As representatives of the working class, labor unions are long-standing proponents of social insurance and their policy-bargaining success should be subject to the strength of these domestic organizations. However, as states become more dependent on higher levels of international economic activity, the influence of domestic actors such as labor unions should decline and produce a breakdown in the embedded liberalism compromise. Using time-series cross-national data of social policy expenditures in 18 OECD countries, I demonstrate that union strength does influence social policy, but this relationship is mitigated by higher levels of international economic activity. This study makes a contribution to international political economy not only by unpacking the relationship between globalization and social insurance, but also through examining the political consequences of European integration. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the United States, the most crucial element of growing inequality based on gender disparity can be assessed by examining the Personal Responsibility Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) commonly referred to as workfare. Workfare, an important aspect of the neoliberal model of welfare restructuring, compels all welfare recipients, including single mothers with young children, to work for their welfare check. The neoliberal model is linked to globalization and the reforming of welfare in order to adhere to the needs of multinationals. One such pressing need, in particular, in the face of such free trade agreements as the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement (CUFTA), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and more recently, the Dominican Republic Central American Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA), is for cheap labor. Workfare provides an underclass of labor that is essentially trapped in jobs that pay well below the minimum wage. With the implementation of workfare, business interest has framed the state's agenda. Hence, an expanding welfare state is not in the interest of business. In the United States, reliable data shows that a large percent of welfare recipients are single mothers. And it is for this particular reason, I think, that a feminist analysis of globalization, women, work, and welfare is more crucial than ever. In this paper, I will demonstrate the impact of workfare on single mothers receiving welfare assistance. I will conclude that job-training programs that would enhance future job opportunities for single mothers are more urgent than ever. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explores the striking similarities in the eschatological world views of the far right wings of Evangelical Protestantism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Catholicism. I propose that the similiarties -- in terms of identified enemies, scenarios, the phenomena understood to herald the "end of days" -- are conditioned by globalization and should be understood primarily as anti-globalist discourse. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on working methodology and ethics of lobbying groups and also discusses the importance of lobbying in the expansion of globalization and translationalism. It informs that domestic interest groups are expanding their activities to several foreign countries which need them to bend the policy according to their demand and requirement so the lobbyist groups play their role in creating suitable working environment for their respective organizations.

Globalization has opened the doors to a more interconnected world in which access to different markets and cultures is simplified. Although such increased interconnection has positive consequences, including the easier transmission of knowledge, it also facilitates the spread of transnational crimes. Networks of criminals take advantage of the porosity of the borders, which can be considered a symptom of the weakening of the State. Nevertheless, States can increase their level of cooperation with other States and among different institutions to limit the negative consequences of transnational crimes.Although States agree on the relevance of increasing the level of cooperation to combat transnational crime, the implementation of the needed level of cooperation is complicated. Based to a great extent on the analysis of two international workshops on the transnational crimes of terrorism, human trafficking and migrant smuggling that took place at John Jay College with the participation of law enforcement officials, NGO-representatives and scholars from six countries (including Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, and Turkey) that are part of SECI (Southeast European Cooperative Initiative), it is possible to reach the following preliminary conclusions: first, the State is still a leading force at the domestic and at the international level. Second, the exchange of information is crucial to weaken transnational crime but States are reluctant to part with privileged knowledge. And third, the input of NGOS is needed to foster a type of cooperation that is respectful of international human rights. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Africa's rise to prominence in the geopolitics of the 21st century is explained largely by the renewal of great power interest towards the region of the world once dismissed as the "forgotten continent." This great power concern reproduces the same power-play which characterised the Cold War when inter-locking and overlapping interests of great powers significantly shaped the outlook of international politics. The end of the Cold War and the subsequent demise of the Soviet Union gave rise to a new environment which President George H.W Bush called a "New World Order" in 1990. This "New World Order" or globalization as it came to be called, saw the expansion of capitalism across regional and continental boundaries at the expense of its reeling rival, communismBarely a decade after President Bush's ordination of a new global environment, another world order was gradually emerging. This "Third World Order" as it has also been named, is championed by a rising eastern giant, China. The unprecedented rise of China as an economic power capable of steering the course of the global economy provides a credible alternative to the western-driven concept of globalization. The imagined or real rivalry between these two power blocs is the concern of this article. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, researchers have begun to study the effects of sanctions on foreign direct investment (FDI), with the influence of political risk gaining special interest from investors (Biglaiser and Lektzian 2010). However, FDI is not the only source of foreign capital. Indeed, foreign portfolio investment (PI) is another critical capital source especially for the developing world. The expectation is that like FDI, PI should also consider political risk such as caused by impending sanctions when deciding where to invest. Building on prior work (Biglaiser and Lektzian 2010; Staats and Biglaiser 2010; Biglaiser, Hicks, and Huggins 2008), this proposal investigates the effect that sanctions have on foreign portfolio investment in the developing world from 1970-2003. This project fits well on panels that address issues related to sanctions, capital reforms, and globalization in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I would like to participate in a panel discussing immigration policies and globalization issues. My presentation will look at some key historical U. S. laws and programs and then discuss what are some key components for any new policies and viable options in today's political environment?. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The discourse of globalization has been a dominant subject in the field of world politics in recent years. However, there has been a resurge of interest in studies of regionalism with the proliferation of preferential trade agreement (PTAs). Why the new wave of regionalism has arisen in the era of globalization and what impacts it will make on international relations are questions that have caused considerable interest and disagreement. In this research, the question regarding the effects of the new regionalism on international conflict and peace is to be examined with regard to Deutsch's notion of integration and security communities. The new regionalism contains a considerable potential to divide the world into several regions based on which a number of security communities can be created. Will pluralistic security communities based on various regions increase conflict against each other or form the security community of security communities in the end? The future will depend on the nature of the new regionalism; that is whether or not the current wave of regionalism will be open to and compatible with worldwide interdependence, fostered under the forces of globalization. The main argument of this research is that the current trend of regionalism, though it may seem rather contradictory to the process of global liberalism, would not necessarily give rise to a world divided between different civilizations or rival powers. Instead, stable peace can be achieved if this new regionalism is conducive to neoliberal globalization which fosters a worldwide social transaction and interdependence. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]