The terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001 represent a seminal event in American history, catalyzing a 20-year period in which counterterrorism was the top priority for US national security. Yet... Show moreThe terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001 represent a seminal event in American history, catalyzing a 20-year period in which counterterrorism was the top priority for US national security. Yet, our understanding of US counterterrorism policy and the factors driving its evolution remains varied and unclear.In this dissertation, two dimensions of policy perspective and mode of thinking are integrated into a framework called the Policy Profile Code (PPC), a model that helps us understand the options policymakers have when confronted with crisis. Through the PPC, we metaphorically named the profiles of a policymaker: The Commander, The Prosecutor, The Negotiator, and The Doctor. When applying the PPC to each US presidential administration (Bush, Obama, and Trump) across the 20-year period following 9/11, we find overall change in US counterterrorism policy that included an evolution from The Commander, to The Prosecutor, to The Negotiator. We also find The Doctor policy profile was not adopted during this period. Show less
Between the American Revolution and the US Civil War, the geography of slavery and freedom in North America changed radically. In some respects, this was an age of emancipation. The northern US,... Show moreBetween the American Revolution and the US Civil War, the geography of slavery and freedom in North America changed radically. In some respects, this was an age of emancipation. The northern US, Canada, and Mexico all abolished slavery in this period, and the transatlantic slave trade itself was abolished in 1808. In the southern US, however, slavery underwent an enormous expansion—from the Atlantic seaboard to Texas—mainly as a result of the successful introduction of cotton in the newly acquired lands of the southern interior. In the age of the “second slavery,” southern slavery grew at an unprecedented rate and became characterized by a number of unique features, including a slave population that was almost entirely born in slavery; the development of a massive internal slave trade that wrought havoc on slave communities; the dominance of cotton plantation agriculture in the lives of most enslaved people; the adaptation of slavery to urban settings; the curtailment of manumissions; and the rise of a continent-wide refugee crisis, as freedom seekers fled to parts of the continent where slavery had been abolished. This chapter will explore the institution of slavery in one of its most well-known contexts. Show less
The contributions assembled in this volume present cutting-edge research that examines the network of Indo-American interconnections over a wider time frame. The case studies stretch into the... Show moreThe contributions assembled in this volume present cutting-edge research that examines the network of Indo-American interconnections over a wider time frame. The case studies stretch into the American republic’s early decades, hinting at a longer history of mutual influence and exchange, beyond the registers of the American century’ of globalization. By bringing together academics working across disciplines ranging from history to cultural and literary studies, comparative religion, political science and sociology, this volume thus foregrounds and historicizes the complex, multi-sited, polyvalent nature of the Indo-US encounter. At the same time, the book explores the possibilities of methodologically engaging with established categories—such as the nation, the imperial and Empire—and test alternative typologies to understand this encounter better. Taken together, our authors reconstruct the myriad ways in which Americans and Indians have engaged with each other through trade, diplomacy, intellectual comradeship, missionary evangelism and revolutionary fervor. Show less
Bureaucrats of Liberation narrates the history of the Southern Africa Project of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a civil rights organization founded in 1963 at the request of... Show moreBureaucrats of Liberation narrates the history of the Southern Africa Project of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a civil rights organization founded in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy. Between 1963 and 1994, the Southern Africa Project connected lawyers from Namibia, South Africa, and the United States. Within the Project’s network, activist lawyers exchanged funding resources, provided logistical support for political trials, and mediated new voting and governmental systems. Show less
References to 'balancing' and 'weighing' are ubiquitous in modern constitutional rights adjudication discourse in many Western legal systems. This thesis traces the rise of this form of language to... Show moreReferences to 'balancing' and 'weighing' are ubiquitous in modern constitutional rights adjudication discourse in many Western legal systems. This thesis traces the rise of this form of language to a series of decisions by the German Federal Constitutional Court and the U.S. Supreme Court of the late 1950s and early 1960s and to scholarly debates surrounding these decisions. Based on a detailed study of these historical origins, the thesis develops 'local meanings' of balancing that show striking differences as between jurisdictions. These local meanings are then compared on a conceptual grid derived from the common problematic of managing the relative formality of the legal order. Balancing in the U.S., in this model, is the expression of a skeptical pragmatism, whereas in German law. it is the centrepiece of an aspirational legalism. Understanding these differences is crucial to an evaluation of the legitimizing potential of balancing-based legal reasoning.So, while balancing in the U.S. is mostly seen as a pragmatic solution for when legal doctrinal models break down, German balancing is instead the expression of basic choices pertaining to the foundations of the constitutional legal order as a whole.The range of striking differences found between these meanings counters widely accepted claims as to the convergence of practices of constitutional rights adjudication on a 'balancing model' Show less
What shaped the defense transformation policies of NATO member-states? And what does it mean for the future of the alliance? This dissertation explores the impact of the strategic cultures of the... Show moreWhat shaped the defense transformation policies of NATO member-states? And what does it mean for the future of the alliance? This dissertation explores the impact of the strategic cultures of the United States, the Netherlands and Germany on their efforts to adapt their defense policies and armed forces in light of significant changes in the security environment. Transformation was the central concept around which the Alliance was believed to find renewed cohesion. Instead, transformation in an era of expeditionary operations unearthed divergent views regarding the use of the military instrument. Each state pursued transformation differently and confronted different problems. These difficulties reflected the unique characteristics of their strategic culture. On the basis of the research it can be concluded that effective transformation can only take place when the characteristics of a state's strategic culture are taken into account. For NATO, it means that, unless the security environment changes substantially, friction within the alliance will persist and instead it will be necessary to work with these differences, rather than ignore them at its peril. Show less
Tot twee keer toe geraakte de Nederlandse marinestrategie tussen 1912 en 1942 in de ban van een ideologie, het navalisme. Navalisme ziet maritieme expansie als noodzakelijk voor het voortbestaan... Show moreTot twee keer toe geraakte de Nederlandse marinestrategie tussen 1912 en 1942 in de ban van een ideologie, het navalisme. Navalisme ziet maritieme expansie als noodzakelijk voor het voortbestaan van een mogendheid. De eerste keer, vanaf 1912, vielen de gevolgen mee. De tweede keer, vanaf 1936, waren ze dramatisch: ze draaiden een onderzeebootstrategie met de meest efficiënte onderzeeboottactiek ter wereld de nek om. De successen van de Nederlandse onderzeeboten in de Tweede Wereldoorlog, hoe spectaculair ook, waren een schim van wat zij hadden kunnen zijn. Dit proefschrift schrijft een nieuwe geschiedenis van de Koninklijke Marine, die haar overzeese expansie wilde behouden via overambitieuze ‘risicostrategieën’, waarmee zij pretendeerde een sterkere zeemacht tot onmacht te kunnen verlammen. Die sterkere zeemacht was de reusachtige van Japan. De hoofdtaak van de Koninklijke Marine was namelijk de verdediging van het eilandenrijk Nederlands-Indië waarop Japan zijn zinnen kon zetten. Duidelijk wordt hoezeer het Nederlandse marinedenken van 1912-1942 parallel liep aan het Duitse èn dat de Duitsers niet de enigen waren die een ‘risicostrategie’ hanteerden (wat tot rivaliteit met Engeland leidde): de Amerikanen waren ze voor. Ook wordt duidelijk waarom de Amerikaanse strategie wel werkte en beide andere niet. Zo ontstaat ook nieuw inzicht in de Amerikaanse en Duitse marinestrategie Show less
This study offers a reassessment of Roy Wilkins who led the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the largest civil rights organization in the United States, during the most... Show moreThis study offers a reassessment of Roy Wilkins who led the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the largest civil rights organization in the United States, during the most turbulent years of the civil rights movement. Show less
The history of American slave family life has been circumscribed by two shortcomings. First, historians have long disagreed over the extent of slave agency in the development of slave families.... Show moreThe history of American slave family life has been circumscribed by two shortcomings. First, historians have long disagreed over the extent of slave agency in the development of slave families. Second, historians have tended to overemphasize the experiences of enslaved people in the cotton South, and rarely studied slave families from a comparative perspective. This study addresses both of these issues by examaning, from a comparative perspective, the boundaries and opportunities for slave family life in three distinct agricultural regions of the American South: Fairfax County, Virginia; Georgetown District, South Carolina; and St. James Parish, Louisiana. Show less
