Croft Theses
One of the requirements for graduating with a major in International Studies is completion of the senior thesis during the final year in a student's program. The senior thesis is a substantial work of original research and analysis in the student's regional and/or thematic concentration.
Prizes for the best theses in each region, the best interregional thesis, and the best overall thesis are recognized each year at the Croft graduation ceremony.
Theses/Dissertations from 2020
French Exceptionalism: The Impact of Laïcité, Rachel Culp
Can Cities Be Feminist? A Cross-National Analysis of Factors Affecting Local Female Representation in Latin America, Katie Davis
The Differences in Talk about Violence and Terrorism: A Case Study of Northern Ireland and the Basque Country, McClellan Davis
Diabolus Ex Machina? A Comparative Case Study to Test Whether Automatic Weapons Can Disproportionately Benefit Irregular Forces, Harrison Durland
The Mexican Voter Transformed: MORENA Success in the Wake of Party System Failure, Madeline Gegg
"ARMY, I'm Home!": Digital Community and Mediated Intimacy in K-Pop Fandom, Olivia George
The Mapuche and Chilean State: An Analysis of the State Reaction to Mapuche Protests, Mckenna Gossrau
Screening Revolution: Cinema as an Alternative Public Space during the Years of Lead (1969 - 1994), Patrick Hayes
Cooperating for Charity: The Effect of Decentralization on French Associations, Ragan Ketrow
Clarifying the Conceptualization of Empire: Is China's Belt and Road Initiative an Attempt at Empire?, Olivia Melvin
A Crisis of Masculinity: The Rise of the AfD and the East German Man, Chandler Molpus
When Worlds Collide: Charlie Hebdo and Islam in the 21st Century, Mildred Morse
Analyzing the Adjustment of American Business Expatriates in China: Professionalism, Culture and Social Support, Ramelle Mueller
SEALDs: A Quantitative Content Analysis of #DontTrashYourVote on Twitter, Viviek Patel
A Thumb on the Scale: Chinese Investment and Influence in Ecuador and Colombia, Christina Pendergrast
Electronic Health Records and Health Information Exchange and Their Impact on International Healthcare System Efficiency, David Pfaehler
Mind Your Youth: Youth Unemployment and Islamic Radicalization, Caleb Ray
Imitators to Creators: The Emergence of a Confident National Identity in Contemporary Korea as Observed Through K-Pop and Masculinity, Kaitlyn Diane Read
The Covert Abolition of the Death Penalty: A Comparative Analysis of France and Mississippi, Emma S. Rice
Nationalism Beyond a Nation: Non-Iberian Spanish Nationalism Examined, George Ruggiero IV
Who Will Do the Good Works?: The Troubling Case of Secularization and the Failure of the Welfare State in England and Perú, Gabrielle Anna Schust
Whose Right is it Anyway? A Study of Human Rights Language on Both Sides of the Abortion Debate in Post-Dictatorial Argentina, Ysabella Carmen St. Amant
Brand Translation and Country of Origin Advertising in the Jeans Market in Latin America, Elson Stewart
Public Sentiment Toward Migration in a Globalizing World: The Case of Spain and its Distinctive Demeanor Toward its Immigrants, Caroline Thompson
The Collapse of a Communist Giant: A Study of Party Unity in the Soviet Union, Jillian Vice
"We Missed Our Youth": The Identity Formation of Child Migrants, Refugees, and Jewish Children in France From 1940 to 1942, Michaela Maria Gouge Watson
Success and Failure of Indigenous Social Movements: a Comparative Case Study of Ecuador and Chile, Jenna White
Applying International Law to the Regulation of Media Incited Genocide: Rwanda and Myanmar, Savannah Whittemore
Why Families Flee: A Study Of Family Migration Patterns From the Northern Triangle of Central America, Claire Williams
Theses/Dissertations from 2019
Trafficking of Haitians on the Island of Hispaniola after the 2010 Earthquake, Caroline Bass
Commodity Fetishism and Performative Identity: Studying the Effects of Neoliberal Reform on the Work of Non-Governmental Organizations in Cairo, Cynthia N. Bauer
The Haves and the Have Nots: Segregation and Marginalization in Puebla, Mexico, Jarvis Benson
How Non-Centrist Parties Gain Electoral Success in German Politics: An Analysis of the Alternative für Deutschland’s Success in the 2017 Federal Election., Madison B. Bickert
Generational Expressions of Basque Nationalism, Mollie Bradford
Regionalism and Reform: The Consequences of Consociationalism in Belgium, Elizabeth L. Brown
Renewables & Refugees: A Solution for Jordan, Lauren Burns
Rice Bunnies in China's #MeToo: Discussion of a Feminist Movement under Censorship, Tyler Caple
Sons of the Sāqiya: Grassroots Water Politics in Southeastern Morocco, John Chappell
German Regional Identity and Soccer: Comparison of Soccer’s Impact on Cultural and Political Identities in Munich and Dortmund, Germany, Megan DeGrafft
Watering the Desert: Azraq, Public Opinion, and Environmental Post-Materialism, Wesley Gerard
Economic Advancement Across the European Playing Field, Zac Herring
Institutional Divides: How Democracy Affects Economic Complexity In The Transition Economies Of Eastern Europe And Central Asia, Mary Frances Holland
Foreign Direct Investment and Migration to the Persian Gulf, Paul Hunt
The Neighbor Before the House: Jordan's Internal and External Drivers Regarding the Refugee Crisis, Katherine G. Levingston
Conflict or Cooperation: How Climate Change is Transforming Geopolitics in the Arctic, McRae E. Mayfield
Japanese Mascots: Diplomatic Tool, Domestic Escapism, Gwenafaye McCormick
The Holy See and the Syrian Refugee Crisis: A Study of the Catholic Church's Soft Power, Lauren A. Newman
When Words Are Not Enough: The Development of Human Trafficking in Venezuela Under the Maduro Administration, Holly Prather
“Nosotras Como Mujeres”: The Environmental Activism of Indigenous Women of the Ecuadorian Amazon, Leta Rowan
Religion in Education: The Effects of Political Ideologies on Andalusian Youth, Jessika Brittni Russell
Food Waste in German Households: A Policy Analysis, Carlie Maree Vowell
Theses/Dissertations from 2018
Terrorism in the Time of Schengen, Alaina Bierdz
Spain's Rapid Transition: A Case Study of Late Modernization, Sydney Elizabeth Brown
Women in the Chilean National Identity: How Futbol and Consumption Cultures Affect the Public Sphere, Madeleine Hall Carpenter
Bit By Bit: An Analysis of the Role of Bilateral Investment Treaties on China's Investment in Latin America, Matthew Forgette
Mujeres Modernizadas: Defining the Implications of Modernization for Basque Working Women, Natalie Gagliano
Abortion Access and Child Maltreatment: A Cross-National Analysis, Alexandra Gersdorf
The Israeli Druze: Neither Here nor There, Sydney Green
The Yasuní ITT Initiative and the Creation of Global Green Sovereignty, MarlaRose Gridley
The Utility Player: An Examination of the Role of Baseball in Cuban Society, Emily Harral
It is Impossible to Overdo Luxury: French Variety of Capitalism and its Contribution to Luxury Market Presence, Emily Henderson
Policy Responses to Migration Flows Through the Mediterranean Sea: An Analysis of European Union and Italian Policies, Megan M. Krynen
Water, Women, and Migration: Examining the Interconnections Between Water Scarcity, Environmental Migration, and Women in Bolivia, Sarah T. Meeks
The Effect of Participation in Party Politics on Terrorist Organizations: A Case Study of Hamas and Hezbollah, David Newman
¡El Nuevo Chile Papi!: An Examination of the Influence of Public Opinion on the Development of Chilean Immigration Policies, Nicholas Senften
Out of the margins: Mississippi English language learner curriculum practices and their implications, Alexis Smith
Ici on noie les algériens: France's Repression of the 1961 Algerian Massacre, Brianna Starnes
The Holy Trinity: Religion, Identity, and International Law in Egypt, Henry Owen Stonnington
Social Evils + Stigma: A Cumulative Study of HIV and the Moral Model of Disease in Vietnam, Argentina and Mississippi, Sarah Thornby Stroup
Catholicism and Feminism: A Chilean Paradox, Gabrielle Toppin
The New Mafia: Vladimir Putin's Inner Circle and Russian Organized Crime, India Trummer
We Never Said We're Independent: Natural Resources, Nationalism, and the Fight for Political Autonomy in Russia's Regions, Cassandra Turner
Theses/Dissertations from 2017
Argentina's contemporary multiculturalism and its implications for Chinese identity in Buenos Aires, Madeleine Achgill
Evaluating the Success of Russian Hybrid Warfare in Ukraine, Gage Adam
!Patagonia Sin Represas! Hydropower Development and the Competing Spheres of Power in Argentine and Chilean Patagonia, Joseph Mac Bell
They Call It Le Big Mac: The Importance of Adapting to Local Preferences in Marketing Strategy, Walker BoBo
Agricultural Production Cooperatives in the EU: Explaining Variation in Cooperative Development, Alexander Borst
Outcomes of FDI in Mississippi: The Cases of Nissan and Toyota, Cayla Cardamone
Water Policy in Chile and Bolivia: A Comparative Case Study, Margaret Cartner
The Barriers They Face: The Legal, Social, and Economic Obstacles Immigrants Encounter as They Attempt to Gain Acceptance in French Society, Kara Rachel Chobot
Effects of Second Language Learning on Mental Representations of Time, Conner S. Clark
(N)ostalgic Consumption and the Former German Democratic Republic, Savannah Coleman
Effects of the Senkaku/Diaoyu Island Dispute on Sino-Japanese Relations, Meredith Cuilik
To Donate Is Glorious: The CCP, Chinese Civil Society, and the Wenchuan Earthquake, James Joseph DeMarshall II
Are Chinese Firms Attracted to Political Risk? Locational Determinants of Chinese Outward Foreign Direct Investment, Grant DePoyster
Price Controls in Argentina: A Case of Urban Bias, Megan Freveletti
Comparative Analysis of Hong Kong and Taiwan's Independence Movements: a case study of identity and politics using social movement theory, Sarah A. Hasselle
Succès de Scandale: the Role of Satire in French Society, Connor Holeman
ETA in Spain: Explaining Basque Violence, Jenny Kern
Market Competition and Individual Security in the Chilean Pension System, William Mahoney
Women Empowerment Externalities of the 2004 Moroccan Moudawana Reform: Intrafamily Bargaining and Educational Attainment, Jane Alexandra Martin
Far Right, Left Out: European Far Right Parties and the Implications for Refugees, Michelle Miller
Dam Politics: Bolivian Indigeneity, Rhetoric, and Envirosocial Movements in a Developing State, Thomas Moorman
On the 路(Lu) to the Loo: A Case Study of Public Restrooms in China Since the Chinese Communist Revolution, Elizabeth S. Newsom
From Rich to Refugee: The Collapse of Venezuela's Healthcare System, John Pierce
Psychosocial Care in the Syrian Refugee Crisis, Miller Richmond
From a Tweet to the Street: The Effect of Social Media on Social Movement Theory, Elizabeth Romary