Undergraduate Theses

ABSTRACT: The aim of this paper is to understand if the Maras are a threat to sovereignty in the Northern Triangle countries of Central America and, if so, how they are threatening the state. In order to do this, the paper will firstly work to understand what sovereignty is through scholarly works defining and debating the concept. Then, by studying the historical and political context of the three countries, it will analyze what sovereignty looked like in the states before the Maras existed and what it is like now. Finally, once it is understood how much of a threat the Maras really are, the states’ responses will be identified in order to measure their success and see how their responses could be unproved. The theoretical chapter is divided into three sections: what sovereignty is, how states lose sovereignty, and how they can regain it. Definitions on fragile states and insurgencies will be taken from the CIA and the Fund for Peace in order to then use these definitions, as well as the theories from the literature review, to develop a conclusion on how much of a threat the Maras pose to sovereignty. The paper finds that the Maras, while they are not the underlying cause of state fragility in the Northern Triangle, are a growing threat to sovereignty. It will also conclude that the state responses have failed because they have not tackled the root cause of the issue and have not collaborated amongst themselves, and it will provide some policy recommendations based on to the conclusions made in previous chapters.

ABSTRACT: Populism as a guiding political force has been rapidly gaining global attention. In Europe, the balance of traditional politics has been disrupted by this phenomenon promoting an agenda of nationalism. This is well-demonstrated by Italy’s multiparty system, which has institutionalized three populist governments since 1994. In the recent 2013 Italian national elections, three of the four top-voted parties can be considered populist; Popolo della Libertà, Lega Nord, and MoVimento 5 Stelle. This research aims to understand how these three parties can coexist and compete for legislative representation and what factors of the Italian political context contribute to the growth and success of populism. An analysis of the relationships between parties and the Italian electorate will be achieved by examination of party rhetoric, propaganda, and manifestos following the Mudde and Kaltwasser (2013) framework of populism. The purpose of this analysis is to shed light on the Italian democratic situation lending itself to populist forces.

ABSTRACT: The idea of this thesis was born almost one year ago, when on January 2nd, 2017 when 56 inmates died1 as a result of rival factions inside at the Anísio Jobim Penitentiary Complex (Compaj) in Manaus. However, a significant number of prisoners not involved in the gang system has also been killed, either by prisoners themselves or by authorities with the intention to stop the uprising. One of the causes that influenced the ease of the uprising and the difficulty in controlling it is the overcrowding of the prison. In fact, according to the UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime), “after visiting Brazil in 2015, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture has recommended the adoption of immediate measures to reduce the overcrowding of prison units, which favors the spread of infectious diseases such as Tuberculosis and HIV, malnutrition and drug use among other human rights violations.”2 Unfortunately, Brazil is not the only country that encounters issues about the conditions of prisoners and their rights. In fact, according to the testimony of the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC), “in very diverse environments and over many years, the ICRC has witnessed first-hand the consequences of overcrowding on detainees and on the authorities. Indeed, overcrowding is an increasingly widespread problem in several countries and places of detention.”3 Since it is a worldwide issue, it is important to highlight the seriousness of overcrowding conditions and its consequences. This thesis will explore the Human Rights of prisoners. First, I would like to introduce this topic by analyzing the role of prison systems as a legal punishment within the society. In fact, it is important to remember that prisons are not separate from the society, they are actually part of it. Because of this, everything that is important within a society, it is also important inside of a prison system. For instance, healthcare and appropriate living conditions should be guaranteed to prisoners in the same level it is guaranteed in the rest of the society outside prisons. Moreover, it is common to link prison system with corruption and abuse of power by authorities. Because of this, I would like to understand better the relationship between prisoners and authorities, in order to have a clear explanation about the condition of prisoners in Italy. Precisely, I am interested on which kind of prevention measures an ideal prison system should take in order to guarantee prisoners’ health and safety. However, a key component of the prison system are prison guards. Because of this, I will take in consideration their condition of work and how it is important in order to have an effective and efficient prison system. Most of the time prison guards are underpaid and overworked. Unfortunately, inappropriate working conditions leads to destabilization. In fact, prison guards become more vulnerable to corruption in order to compensate for what they are not receiving from the State. Corruption have a key role in this kind of environment in which authorities are underpaid by the government and the prisoners obtain power through it. For instance, events such violent riots raised by prisoners is one of the most dangerous aftermaths; police officers are involved in prison escapes, allowing prisoners to run away, or to provide weapons and information to criminal groups. Throughout my thesis I would like to analyze the average human rights conditions in Italian prisons. More precisely, I will take the prison system of Regina Coeli in Rome as study case. It is the best-known prison in Rome, active since 1881 and it is allocated in the center of the city in the borough of Trastevere. It is curious and unusual at the same time to know that a prison system with currently 962 detainees is located in the center of Rome in one of the most visited boroughs of the city. I will analyze in depth how the prison system of Regina Coeli could be used as an example for other prisons in the Italian territory. The prison system has a hospital inside the building since 2013 with two surgery rooms. Moreover, a significant number of social activities are involved within the prison system of Regina Coli, such as a library, music therapy, language courses, and cultural and sportive activities are available for the prisoners. Because of this, I would like to analyze the positive outcomes of the administration of Regina Coeli, thanks to visits to the prison system with the support of educators and authorities of the prison institute.

ABSTRACT: Gender inequality in Italy is a concept that has stirred the attention of the European community for a long time now. In terms of gender equality data, Italy is ranked among the lowest globally. Despite numerous models presented by human rights organizations as well as forums at the global level concerning the need for gender equality, Italy trails the list of nations that respect of women in all facets of the economy. This research paper takes the form of literature review so that it can document the milestones that have been taken to achieve gender equality in the contemporary Apulia. The paper aims to achieve this goal through a review of efforts of women to elevate their societal position and elaborates the gender inequality situation in the south Italy (Apulia is the region I come from) and gender equality policies, including the influence of religions on gender-based decisions in the country. While Chapter one will be focused on the political and historical background of the women of Apulia that have often been forced to face different discriminations and challenges compared to the rest of Italy, chapter 2 will review the historical relationship occurred between Italy and the Vatican -and the influence that the Catholic Church has often exercised on the life, customs, and behaviors of these ancient agricultural societies. Whereas chapter 3 will try to discuss the significance of religion on gender equality, especially in the south of Italy, the Fourth chapter will take us back to Apulia, to see how these historical factors have affected the socio-political conditions of the Women of Apulia today.

ABSTRACT: This paper illustrates the importance of humanitarian and internal security concerns in EU admission policy-making in times of a large influx of migrants and transnational terrorism. The paper does so, analyzing the European refugee crisis and EU response to it by focusing on two case studies, namely Hungary and Italy, which are two of the countries that have received the highest number of refugees and asylum seekers in the last two years. First, it examines the theoretical framework against and for open borders. Second, it gives a brief background on the history of migration to Europe since the 1970s to understand the new patterns of migration to Europe and introduce the refugee crisis and the EU response to it. Subsequently, it briefly explains the critical situation in EU to show the EU policies implemented to handle the crisis. Specifically, the paper uses the Hungarian and Italian case to understand if humanitarianism is still important in the European community, specifically in the response to the refugee crisis. Finally, it tries to draw some conclusions arguing that the refugee crisis and the EU response to it have raised questions on the importance of humanitarianism and on the future of the EU. The analysis will show how states are shifting to a dualist approach towards EU law, resulting in a lack of cooperation and cohesion among the member states.

ABSTRACT: This thesis outlines current United States foreign policy vis à vis the Syrian and Iraqi Kurds, which has heretofore been characterized by strategic ambiguity. By carrying out a thesis attempts to answer to the broader question of “what should U.S. foreign policy be vis à vis the Syrian and Iraqi Kurds?”. The U.S. is faced with three options: it can provide either a strong, mild, or no support to the Kurds. This thesis advocates for the U.S shift away from the current policy of strategic ambiguity towards a more robust – but not too strong – support of the Kurds. Indeed, a stronger support of the Kurds is essential for the U.S. to preserve its strategic national interest in the Middle East. However, such support should be moderate and functional to the creation of an area of containment where U.S. can monitor Iran, Russia, and the results of the fight against ISIS and terrorism more in general. In this way, the U.S. may help fulfilling the number one national objective, namely to preserve a secure homeland free from terrorism and promote and protect the interests of its allies worldwide. Chapter 1 of this thesis answers to the question “what is the current U.S. policy vis à vis the Middle East?”. It ranks and outlines current U.S. national interests, and identifies its allies and enemies in the Middle East. Chapter 2 answers to the question of “why are the Kurds relevant for the U.S. in the Middle East?”. This section will show how the Kurds contribute to the implementation of U.S. foreign policy goals in the Middle East. Chapter 3 of this report advocates for the shift from the U.S. strategic ambiguity towards the Kurds to a more effective support of those latter and will answer to the broader question of “what should the U.S. policy vis à vis the Kurds be?”.