Atlis Journal 2006

Table of Contents

Volume 3, Spring 2006

atlantic international studies journal

Trained Cynics?

The importance of optimism in International Relations…………………………………..i

editorial

Nationalism

A compiled review……………………………………………………………………….iii

guy gautreau and laura young, compilers

Situating Micro-Finance on a Theoretical Spectrum:

The case of Bolivia………………………………………………………………………..1

emily shepard

Gender in Women’s Development Organizations:

from participation to empowerment……………………………………………………...10

betsy macdonald

Iraqi Kurdistan

…………………………………………………………………………24

mike freen

The Terrorist Threat:

its impact on American civil liberties and democracy…………………………………...34

lindsay gorman

Provincial Reconstruction Teams

……………………………………………………...47

shanley macarthur

The Environment and Conflict in the Rwandan Genocide

…………………………..58

stephen brosha

The Border of Dreams:

Burmese women working in Thailand’s sex industry…………….………...……………72

melanie mcdonald

Determining the Success of a Transnational Social Movement:

Evaluating the Global Call to Action Against Poverty Coalition………………………..86

allison sephton

Trained Cynics?The Importance of Optimism in International Relations

Editorial

e are discussing the consumptionand adoption of Southern culture bythe North, in a class entitled,“Geography of the Developing World.” The jaded international relations students have brought up tourism and its negativeramifications on indigenous culture; havediscussed property rights abuses in relation toindigenous healing; have put forward the oft-repeated view that the relationship betweenthe North and the South is exploitative.Someone raises her hand timidly and queries,“Maybe this interchance of cultures between the North and the South broadenshorizons and identities? Maybe it createsawareness amongst those of us who are solucky to live in the North? For humanity, thisis maybe a good thing?”My friend turns to me, mirroring mystunned look, and she says what I am sure weare all thinking: “We are so cynical! We seethe good side, but we only ever talk about thenegatives.”So often we are pessimistic about thefuture. We get caught up in being critical andoverlook the successes we have alreadyaccomplished – success captured in this year’s journal in the form of remarkably thoughtfuland thought-provoking contributions from people who are genuinely interested inmaking a difference to this world; people whodemonstrate each day their belief that it is possible to improve the lot of humanity as awhole.Students, I think, are particularlysusceptible to pessimism, as we areencouraged to think critically about eachargument presented to us, to search out flaws.We become excellent cynics. It is for thisreason (amongst many others) that this journalis so important, within the Atlantic region,certainly, but also as a sampling of theexciting new scholarship being created byundergraduate students everywhere.Hopefully, this years ATLIS journal willinspire and encourage further interest andinnovation in the arena of international politics.It has become a tiresome cliché to say thatwe live in a time of dramatic change, yet thissentiment should not be ignored simply because we hear it so frequently. We

do

livein a time of dramatic change. Whether you aremorally for or against globalization, there can be little doubt that perceptions of space andtime are collapsing thanks to technology suchas the internet. This year, I have had friendsgo to Poland, China, Sweden, Argentine, andKenya – a diverse range of countries andexperiences. I can talk to them all at the sametime, online (barring time change differences).To me, this is the epitome of globalization.The diversification of the InternationalRelations field reflects this broadening and

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iideepening of our understanding of the worldand the actors within it. Within this journalare pieces related to Gender Studies, History,to Political Science and to Geography. Eachof these papers further draws on other disciplines, pulling strands of thought fromthe sciences, the social sciences, and personalexperience to create a more encompassing,engaging, and realistically complex view of what is occurring in the world today. Gone arethe black and white (or red and white?)discussions of Cold War politics. Certainlythe theories that originated in that time stillinfluence today’s thought, but they are notlonger central. Today we worry about thehomogenization of culture, about gender inequality, about political economy – wefocus not solely on state security, but onhuman security. We focus on what we have incommon, rather than on our differences. Our focus has shifted to humanity. We focus onimproving the lost of millions of people whowere not lucky in their birthplace, and a large part of our willingness to engage in these actsof improvement have to do with theinterchange of culture between North andSouth. With the broadening and deepening of our awareness, here in the North, of thedisadvantages and daily struggles of those inthe South, so too is the international relationsdiscipline enlarged. Of course, we in the North can never understand these struggles ata personal level – but we have a willingness toengage in finding new means of problemsolving, and we have the skills to sift throughdevelopment precedents and come up with our own solutions. And while those solutions maynot solve the problems as we hope, they are atthe very least a step in a bumbling path thatwe can hope will only lead to good.That hope, that optimism and belief in theexistence of solutions, is the foundation of anyscholarship in this discipline, and despite thecritical analyses presented in the following pages, it sings through this journal, merely inthe fact of its existence, as well as in eachindividual contributor’s unique voice andexperience. This year’s ATLIS journal isdiverse, with no unifying theme other than itsvery diversity.Enjoy!