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 2016
Political Underrepresentation and Domestic Terrorism: The Deficiency of Minority Descriptive Representation as a Causal Factor of Violent Radicalization in Western European Democracies, Erica Shannon McGraw
An International Crossover: Comparing The Chinese Basketball Association With The National Basketball Association, Allison J. Slusher
Tigers, Flies, and Longines: The Chinese Corruption Crackdown and its Effect on Conspicuous Consumption, Kayla Smith
Their Brothers' Keepers? Ethnicity, Rebel Diplomacy, and State Support for Insurgency, Connor Somgynari
Opportunities and Challenges for Socially Responsible Business in China, Liana Tai
Portrayals of Pinochet: Historical Narratives in Chilean Schools, Katie J. Wright
Theses/Dissertations from 2015
Regime Type and Healthcare Systems: A Global Quantitative Analysis, R. L. Barr
The Evolution of Chinese Students' Motivations to Study Abroad in the U.S., Alison Elizabeth Bartel
Women Hold Up Half the Internet: Examining the Political Identities of Chinese Women Bloggers, Taylor Brack
Machismo in Chilean Politics: A Case Study of the 2005 and 2013 Presidential Elections, Laura Bridges
Human Capital in Mexico: Estimating Externalities with the Constant-Composition Approach, Lorin D. Dawson
Apartheid in France: Galvanization of Political Concern for the Role of Ethnic Identities in French Society, Francesca Talley Diggs
The Chinese Inquisition: Xi Jinping's War on Corruption, Harriet E. Fisher
Death, Maintenance and Revitalization of the Quechua Language in Peru: A Case Study with a Focus on San Pedro de Cajas, Madeline Fumi
Modernizing the Marianne: The French Feminist Movement and its Effects on Gender Equality, Hallie Grace Haines
Catalunya No Es Espanya?: Examining Catalan Nationalism, Shiloh Jaggers Jones
Still Innocents Abroad: The Relationship between Anti-Americanism and American Foreign Policy in the Middle East, Kelly Kennedy
The Comedy of Frenchness: Exploring Social Issues in Mainstream French Cinema, Samantha Lund
Fueling the Dragon's Fire: China's Coal Policy, Taylor Malcolm
Vivre en Travaillant: Exploring the Economic and Social Effects of the 35-Hour Workweek in France, Mellie McGehee
China's 'Leftover' Women Phenomenon: Media Portrayal and 'Leftover' Voices, Mazie Merriman
A Global Perspective on Ethical Consumerism: A Study of Advertisements from Social Enterprises to Identify the Ethical Consumer, Murray Miller
The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership: Legislative Action and the Future of Transatlantic Trade, Zachery Newton
“Architects of Their Own Solutions:” A Comparative Study of Gender in Environmental Justice Work, Ellen Olack
Economic vs. Ideological Interests: Examining Chinese Arms Exports and Aid, James Delton Rhodes
That Awkward Moment When...: An Explanation of How Britain Made the Modern Arab World Homophobic, Sequareah Sayles
Drink, Drank, Drunk: an Analysis of Three Possible Solutions to Urban Residential Potable Water Shortages in China, Holly C. Smith
Defining the Revolution: A Study of Contemporary China's Sexual Transformation, Zackary L. Whitehead
Windows Into Changing Worldviews: A Critical Cartographic Analysis of Four Influential World Maps from the 13th to the 21st Century, Elizabeth E. Wicks
Boss Lady: How Female Chinese Managers Succeed in China's Guanxi System, Charles Palmer Withers
To be, or not to be-Statehood is the Question: Analyzing the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, Leigh Anne Zook
Theses/Dissertations from 2014
Liberté, Égalité, Laïcité?: Defining French National Identity, Elizabeth Adair Abbot
The Success of an Ethnic Political Party: A Case Study of Arab Political Parties in Israel, Samira Abunemeh
Croatia in the European Union: A Study on Foreign Direct Investment, Unemployment, and Infrastructure, Mary Grace Boland
The Evolution of a Social Movement: A Study of the Madres de Plaza de Mayo, Grace Anne Boyd
Uncontrolled Enrollment Expansion: Fragmented Authoritarianism in Chinese Higher Education, William Bumpas
Investment in the Developing World: Democracy and/or Transparency, John Carter
How to Win Elections and Influence Parties: Party and Electoral System Development and Manipulation in the Republic of China, James B. Cutchin
Plátano Power: Understanding the Rise of Dominicans in Major League Baseball, Patrick Fields
The Trajectory of the Argentine Economy from 2001 to the Present: What Comes Next?, Mary Morgan Gladney
Nostalgia and the Myth of Old Russia: Russian Emigres in Interwar Paris and their Legacy in Contemporary Russia, Brad Gordon
Physical Therapy and Depression: A Pilot Study on Screening for Depressive Symptoms, Allison Hatten
What is a Berber?: Characterizations of Imazighen from Britain and Morocco, Byron Head
Chile Se Moviliza: Protest Movements and Inequality in Post-Dictatorship Chile, Shruti Jaishankar
The Specter of Franco, Alexandra L. Jones
The Dólar Blue: The Black Market Exchange Rate for Dollars in Argentina, Brad Brunson Lanier
Organic Farming in France: À La Mode or A Mode of Life?, Ellen L. Mallette
Effects of Globalization on the Use of the Mediterranean Diet in Spain, Jacob J. McGee
The Currency Union Effect on Trade: The Role of Financial Development, Walker Lee Messer
Explaining the Decline in Fertility Rates in Post-War Italy, Susanna Rychlak
The Effectiveness of Basel II, Rachel Shaw
A Yen Saved is a Yen Earned: Deconstructing the Japanese Savings Rate, James Smith
Changes in United States Foreign Assistance Allocation and its Effect on Terrorism, Mary Anna Smith
New Propaganda: Remnants of Soviet Mass Media in Pro-Kremlin Popular Culture, Sylvia M. Stewart
Festivals and Revelry: a Study of Identity in the Cantons of Modern Switzerland, Courtney Gayle Taylor
La Alegría Ya Viene: How Chile's Youth are Reshaping History, Anna Terry
We Live like the Poor, but We Die like the Rich: Cuban Biomedical Implementation and its Implementation within Ecuador, James Drew Toppin
North-African Immigration to France: Economic Benefit or Burden?, Adam Weaver
Ja, Ich Will: Framing the Same-Sex Marriage Debate in the 17th Session of the German Bundestag, Stephen Colby Woods
Bolivian Public Health Care: Interculturation for Indigenous Rights, Kendra Leigh Wright
Theses/Dissertations from 2013
Recycling Behavior in Germany in the Early 1990s: Person-Level and Contextual Determinants of Recycling, Jacqueline Grace Boyce
Containing The Dragon: The Rise of Chinese Military Power and its Effect on US Foreign Policy, Robert William Eberhart
Human Rights In Transit: Nationality, Anti-Haitianism, and the Reactionary State in the Dominican Republic, Ryan Keith Ezelle
Theorizing Factors Influencing Missile Transfers: A Case Study if Sino-Iranian Missile Transfers and Implications for Regional Security, Paul Alexander Kynerd
Attitudes Towards Homosexuality in China, Mallory Elaine Lee
Millions of Owners, not Hundreds of Millionaires: An Analysis of the Middle Class as a Requisite Condition for Democracy in Contemporary Russia, Isaac Alan Lichlyter
Divided We Stand? The Effects of Identity Crisis on Democratic Institutionalization in Ukraine, Rebecca Elizabeth Pocase
Language Revitalization and Maintenance of Indigenous Languages in Chile, Blake Everett Pruett
When Cultures Collide: A Comparative Study of the Culinary Cultures of Uruguay and the Lebanese Community in the Mississippi Delta, Claire Nicola Reid
Mixed Record: Water Privatization in Latin America, Brianna Nicole Van Stekelenburg
The Effect of the Economic Crisis of 2008 on the Basque and Catalan Nationalist Movements in Spain, Anastasia Artiom Varenita
Resolving The Structural Paradox of Retail Transnational Corporations: A Case Study of Walmart in Latin America, Arlissa Nicole Whisenant
Theses/Dissertations from 2012
Ethnic Tourism’s Effect on Bai Ethnic Minority’s Identity In Dali, China, Tabitha Bandi
‘The Triple Bottom Line’: Examining EU Support for Organic Agriculture With Examples from Italian Wine Producers, Kimberly M. Biagini
Oil Wells and Well-Oiled Guns: The Resource Curse and Government-Directed Violence During the Arab Spring Uprisings, Vihara Anjalee Dharmaratne
Intellectual Property and Culture: Differences and Origins, Evan James Extine
Support for Democracy: An Explanation of Its Development through Its Institutions, Robert F. Hamilton
Faulkner in Japan: A “Second Occupation”, Robin P. Helton
Correlating Taxation And Income Inequality: An Interregional Study, Shantala Fabiola Weiss
Theses/Dissertations from 2011
Disputed Sovereignty in the South Atlantic: A History of the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and the Evolution of the Argentine and British Claims, Austin Bruce Alexander
Ecophilosophies and Environmental Perspectives in the Amazon Rainforest: Conservation through Sustainable Use Projects, Scarlett Ashlen Andrews
The Development of Renewable Energy Policy in the European Union: The Cases of Spain, Germany, and the United Kingdom, Michael Impey Aubrey
Have You Put On Weight? A Study on the Effects of Certain Factors on the Increased Presence of Eating Disorders in Modern Chinese Women, Kelli Michele Beard
The Best Intentions: The Failure of International Intervention in the Bosnian Genocide, James michael Buchanan
Conflicting Interests in the Swiss Alps: A Comparative Study of International Environmental Governance, Shelley Clark
Papy Boom and Public Pensions: Achieving Fiscal Sustainability and Intergenerational Solidarity within the French Public Pension System, Emilie Anne Dayan
The Recent Trend of Mass Killing: What Causes Civil Wars to Escalate to Using Genocide, Brenna Danielle Depies
The Urbanization fo Chinese Citizenship: A Case Study of Shanghai and Suzhou, Ryan James Parsons
Fundamental Humanitarian Principles in Aid Organizations: Impartiality and Neutrality in the Great Lakes Refugee Crisis, Maggie Elizabeth Savely
Bridge over the River Kawaii: Examining the Consumption of Anime and Manga in the United States, Luke Daniel Schwalm
The Effects of Economic Integration on Poverty Reduction: The Case of MERCOSUR, Sarah Emily Shaw
Does a Rising Tide Lift All Boats? An Analysis of China's Increasing Gini Coefficient from 1980-2006, Erin Singleton
De Mal en Peor: The Framing of Felipe Calderón’s “War on Drugs” in the United States and Mexican Print Media, Peyton Britt Smith
Confucianism and the Modern East Asian, Paul Jennings Treutel
Water, water everywhere: An Analysis of the Effectiveness of World Bank's and UNICEF's Efforts to Provide Access to Clean Water in Nigeria, Jessica-Phillips Tyson
Conflict or Compromise: China’s Perceptions and Intentions Regarding Us Defense Policy Towards Taiwan, Gabriel Amadeus Weiss
Swing into Action: The Political and Aesthetic Role of Jazz in Nazi Germany and Occupied France, Marie Elizabeth Wicks
Chinese Popular Opinion Towards the One Child Policy, Alyssa W. Yuen
Theses/Dissertations from 2010
Challenging EU Solidarity? : German-Russian Relations, Jessica Ann Beck