Current Search: Creswell, Michael (x)
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Pages
- Title
- Petty Despots and Executive Officials: Civil Military Relations in the Early American Navy.
- Creator
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Sheppard, Thomas, Hadden, Sally, Creswell, Michael, Jones, James, Department of History, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
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As a new nation, the United States lacked the long naval traditions of the other powers of the time, particularly Great Britain. When Congress created a naval force in 1794, the country had to rely on its first officers to form the traditions of the service and lay the foundations of the American Navy. These first officers bequeathed to their country the naval force that would eventually challenge the mighty Royal Navy in the War of 1812. However, officers alone were not responsible for the...
Show moreAs a new nation, the United States lacked the long naval traditions of the other powers of the time, particularly Great Britain. When Congress created a naval force in 1794, the country had to rely on its first officers to form the traditions of the service and lay the foundations of the American Navy. These first officers bequeathed to their country the naval force that would eventually challenge the mighty Royal Navy in the War of 1812. However, officers alone were not responsible for the maturation of the Navy. Civilian officials, notably the Secretary of the Navy, also played a major role in the development of an American maritime force. These two components did not always interact harmoniously. Captains, used to the total autonomy that command at sea in an era of starkly limited communication created, often had difficulty subordinating themselves to their civilian superiors. During the first three decades of the Navy's existence, successive Secretaries of the Navy would gradually increase their authority over their officers, establishing the traditions of civilian control over the military that had long been a part of land warfare. This thesis explores the process whereby the question of ultimate authority over the Navy was settled, beginning with the creation of the navy and culminating in the creation of the Board of Naval Commissioners following the War of 1812.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2010
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-0312
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- Failing to Prepare or Preparing to Fail?: the Iraqi and American Armies Between 1991 and 2003.
- Creator
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Drury, John Jacob, Garretson, Peter, Creswell, Michael, Souva, Mark, Department of History, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
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The Iraqi and American armies made changes in the wake of the 1991 Gulf War, but they made those changes within the constraints imposed upon them by their political overseers and their own political cultures. Unlike other works regarding the conflicts between Iraq and the United States, which are often historical narratives of the wars themselves, this paper is a comparative analysis of the changes made and the effects they would eventually have on the two states' respective performances in...
Show moreThe Iraqi and American armies made changes in the wake of the 1991 Gulf War, but they made those changes within the constraints imposed upon them by their political overseers and their own political cultures. Unlike other works regarding the conflicts between Iraq and the United States, which are often historical narratives of the wars themselves, this paper is a comparative analysis of the changes made and the effects they would eventually have on the two states' respective performances in 2003. The Iraqi Army was badly hindered by Saddam Hussein's belief that they represented a threat to him. This suspicion caused the Iraqi dictator to form multiple rival services that competed with the Iraqi Army for men, equipment, and funding. Saddam also promoted on the basis of perceived loyalty, dismissing competent officers as threats to his power. Finally, the U.N.-imposed sanctions prevented Iraq from replacing destroyed or dilapidated weapons. The United States Army, in contrast, engaged in an expensive effort to correct perceived flaws in its force structure. At the same time, due to budget cuts, the United States Army had to find ways to perform the same duties with fewer resources. It did so using two paths. First, it attempted to modify its equipment and force structure in order to provide soldiers with firepower that would previously have been available only to larger units. Second, it made increased use of private contractors in an effort to free uniformed soldiers for combat duties. In the end, neither Iraq nor the United States was fully prepared for the war in 2003. Iraq's forces were designed with internal security in mind; repelling an external enemy as powerful as the United States proved to be beyond their capabilities. The United States Army was fully capable and prepared for the initial campaign against the Iraqi Army, but it found itself unable to control the subsequent outburst of civil strife.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2011
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-0657
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- Progressive Arab Nationalism: 1952-1958 the War of Position, Land Reform, Anti-Colonialism and the Arab "Effendiyya".
- Creator
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Zylberkan, Daniel, Garretson, Peter, Creswell, Michael, Souva, Mark, Program in International Affairs, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
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Progressive Arab nationalism was built upon a concept of emancipation. Emancipating states from imperialism, peasants from feudalism and creating truly independent and sovereign states. From 1952 to 1958, Arab nationalists aimed to free themselves from Western imperialism created by the presence of Western institutions, regimes and organizations in their lands that were used to project power and protect economic interests. The geographies and politics of Arab states were created as a method...
Show moreProgressive Arab nationalism was built upon a concept of emancipation. Emancipating states from imperialism, peasants from feudalism and creating truly independent and sovereign states. From 1952 to 1958, Arab nationalists aimed to free themselves from Western imperialism created by the presence of Western institutions, regimes and organizations in their lands that were used to project power and protect economic interests. The geographies and politics of Arab states were created as a method for Western powers to maintain their interests in the region. One such case was the concentration of ownership of land within a feudal class that served the world market. Progressive Arab nationalist institutions such as governments, political parties, newspa-pers, radio programs, schools and social movements were the motor of social change in the tradi-tional Arab monarchies. These institutions represented civil society the domain of the new Arab "effendiyya." Starting during the 1930s, Arab civil society fought a war of position against the hegemonic power of the traditional Arab monarchies and ultimately succeeded in establishing progressive Arab nationalist hegemony in Egypt, Jordan and Iraq
Show less - Date Issued
- 2012
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-5306
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- On War and the Winter War.
- Creator
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Karnisky, Robert, Grant, Jonathan, Creswell, Michael, Jones, James P., Department of History, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
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Renowned for its heroism, intrigue, pathos, and freezing cold, the compelling story of the Russo-Finnish War, in which "tiny" Finland repulsed a much larger Soviet invasion force, has been thoroughly studied and recorded. Less well-researched are the influences of military strategy on the generals in that war. The conflict provides many examples of the theories on warfare advanced by Carl Philipp Gottlieb von Clausewitz in his book, Vom Kriege, first published in 1832, making it an excellent...
Show moreRenowned for its heroism, intrigue, pathos, and freezing cold, the compelling story of the Russo-Finnish War, in which "tiny" Finland repulsed a much larger Soviet invasion force, has been thoroughly studied and recorded. Less well-researched are the influences of military strategy on the generals in that war. The conflict provides many examples of the theories on warfare advanced by Carl Philipp Gottlieb von Clausewitz in his book, Vom Kriege, first published in 1832, making it an excellent teaching tool for military scholars. Clausewitz proposed that any war could be understood according to his theories. While his book is regarded as a classic reference on war, few authors have actually applied his "trinitarian" analysis to a particular war, and none have examined the Russo-Finnish War in the scholarly fashion he recommends. The mistaken impression of unequal forces in the war is reconfigured as an asymmetry across his three interrelated categories: chance and probability, rational policy, and primordial violence. Closer investigation reveals that the so-called "Finnish Miracle" was no miracle at all, but an understandable outcome, clear enough to preclude any need to postulate miracles. Numerous subtopics continually resurface here. The degree to which Prusso-German military concepts, not only those of Clausewitz, affected the conduct of both sides in the war receives attention, as do Soviet leader Josef Stalin's ideologically-based attempts to purge their influence from the Red Army. The genius of the Finnish commander, Baron Field Marshal Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, and the courage of the Finns cannot be overlooked. Neither can the looming threat of Nazi Germany, nor the hesitancy of the overly cautious Western democracies to intervene. Using the trinitarian method to untangle this complex web of competing stratagems and policies, the author reveals why and how the war followed the course it did.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2007
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-3335
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- Glory Overshadowed: The Military Career of General Jean Boudet 1769-1809.
- Creator
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Fouché, Monica, Horward, Donald, Grant, Jonathan, Creswell, Michael, Department of History, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
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This thesis examines the military career of general of division Jean Boudet. Born in Bordeaux, France in February 1769, and he joined the French army in 1785. Boudet was released three years later. He volunteered for the army in 1792 and was sent to the Pyrenees to fight the Spanish. Just two years later, he was sent to the Caribbean to retake the French Antilles from the English. Boudet recaptured Guadeloupe from England in 1794 and by 1796 he had been promoted to general of division. Boudet...
Show moreThis thesis examines the military career of general of division Jean Boudet. Born in Bordeaux, France in February 1769, and he joined the French army in 1785. Boudet was released three years later. He volunteered for the army in 1792 and was sent to the Pyrenees to fight the Spanish. Just two years later, he was sent to the Caribbean to retake the French Antilles from the English. Boudet recaptured Guadeloupe from England in 1794 and by 1796 he had been promoted to general of division. Boudet returned to France in 1798 and was sent to Holland under Brune to fight a combined Russo-English force. Boudet found success at the battle of Castricum on 6 October 1799. He commanded a division in the Army of Reserve in 1800 and played a vital role in the French victory at Marengo on 14 June 1800. In early 1802, Boudet returned to the Caribbean as a part of the Leclerc expedition. He fought on both Saint-Domingue and returned briefly to Guadeloupe. By the end of 1802, he sailed back to France and avoided yellow fever that destroyed the majority of the expedition. Boudet was appointed to serve under Marmont in the invasion force against England. After its cancellation, Boudet was sent to Italy to create a new division that he would command. This division did not see action until 1807 in the siege of Colberg and the raising of Stralsund in July 1807. Early 1809, Boudet was sent to command a division in the observation corps of the Army of Germany. He defended Essling at the battle of Aspern-Essling on 21-22 May 1809. About six weeks later, he fought in his final battle at Wagram on 5-6 July 1809 where he lost his artillery to the numerical superiority of the Austrians on the second day. Boudet died on 14 September 1809 from gout. Boudet's military achievements have remained largely ignored. Most of the credit went to his superiors. This thesis strives not only to provide an accurate description of his life and battles, but to offer a new perspective into Boudet's talents as a general and the actions and roles that distinguished him.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2005
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-4414
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- Why the United States Must End the Second Cold War as It Begins.
- Creator
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Fernandez, Adam, Grant, Jonathan, Creswell, Michael, Upchurch, Charles, Program in International Affairs, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
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The Cold War ended with the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. Things were fine for a time, but in recent years tensions have begun to emerge between these two nations. Policy makers in both Washington and Moscow seem to be reverting to their old habits of a Cold War mentality, and some have even said that we are witnessing the beginnings of a Second Cold War. But Cold War is not a natural state. In the over one-hundred and fifty year history of relations between the United States...
Show moreThe Cold War ended with the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. Things were fine for a time, but in recent years tensions have begun to emerge between these two nations. Policy makers in both Washington and Moscow seem to be reverting to their old habits of a Cold War mentality, and some have even said that we are witnessing the beginnings of a Second Cold War. But Cold War is not a natural state. In the over one-hundred and fifty year history of relations between the United States and Russia, only forty of those years made up the Cold War. The majority of these years were characterized by peace, and there were even times when the two called each other allies. Now must be another of those times. The global threats of international terrorism, nuclear containment and proliferation, and plateauing energy supplies cannot be resolved by either the United States or Russia alone. Working for cross-purposes on these issues would lead to failure on both sides. However, due to the existing high tensions over American Anti-Ballistic Missile Diplomacy, NATO expansion into Eastern Europe, and Russia's invasion of Georgia, fruitful negotiations on these issues would be next to impossible at the present time. The solution must be a confidence building measure, but one as far from Eastern Europe and the Caucuses as possible; one excellent opportunity is in Japan. Near the end of World War II, the issue of Russian involvement in the war with Japan was one of the issues of contention which would lead to the Cold War. Because of America's role in Japan during the Cold War, Japan and the Soviet Union would never reach a peace agreement officially ending World War II. Since the end of the Cold War, low motivation and a minor border dispute have kept the two from reaching an official peace agreement. America's role in these negotiations will be to nudge the two towards peace, while at the same time signaling to Russia that the Cold War is officially over and that the United States is open to discussions on the true issues of contention. The United States needs Russia's help with its greatest challenges as it continues in the twenty-first century. The time to end the Second Cold War is now.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2008
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-4474
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- With One Hand on My Gun and the Other on My Heart: A Comparative Analysis of European Resistance Movements and Their Relation to Jewish Resistance and Survival in World War II Europe.
- Creator
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Mcbee, Jared, Grant, Jonathan, Jones, James, Creswell, Michael, Department of History, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
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This thesis examines the national resistance movements in Eastern and Western Europe during World War II and their relationship with Jewish resistors. The areas under consideration include the 1940 territory of the Soviet Union in the East as well as France, Belgium and the Netherlands in the West. It argues that there is a relationship between the national resistors and Jewish resistance, and the idea that Jews went meekly to their deaths in the Holocaust does not withstand investigation. In...
Show moreThis thesis examines the national resistance movements in Eastern and Western Europe during World War II and their relationship with Jewish resistors. The areas under consideration include the 1940 territory of the Soviet Union in the East as well as France, Belgium and the Netherlands in the West. It argues that there is a relationship between the national resistors and Jewish resistance, and the idea that Jews went meekly to their deaths in the Holocaust does not withstand investigation. In the East the Soviet partisans have been considered anti-Semitic and with good reason. However, the actions of Jewish-centric organizations and their members in the partisan war have been neglected. Resistance in Western Europe had a more integrated approach to membership and thus many Jews served in the national resistance. This helps to explain why Jews saw themselves more as Frenchmen, Dutch or Belgian citizens and less as Jews. This study departs from others in that the integration of Jewish resistance within national resistance movements has not been attempted on this scale. There are some micro-histories that deal with this combination in one country or one region but not a comparative analysis of multiple countries over two different regions. Placing primary emphasis on the Jewish struggle within the various resistance units allows historians a deeper understanding of the complexities of the partisan war. In addition, it counters the stubborn belief that the majority of Jews did not resist the Holocaust. This also aids in understanding the connection between Jewish and national resistance movements that were ongoing throughout the entirety of the Nazi occupation of Europe. This also means that Jewish resistance is much more complicated than the ghetto uprisings so frequently mentioned.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2012
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-6446
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- "Malta Is a Magnificent Story": Malta's Symbolic Role in the Second World War.
- Creator
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Debono, Megan, Jones, James P., Creswell, Michael, Koslow, Jennifer, Department of History, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
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This thesis examines Malta's symbolic role in the Second World War. Then a British-held colony, the archipelago fell under heavy Axis bombardment from mid 1940 ' early 1943. Incessant Italian and German air raids plagued the islands and the Maltese, making Malta the most heavily bombed area of the entire war. In June 1940, just weeks before the first attack, London's War Cabinet deemed the isles indefensible and withdrew their forces. Despite this initial abandonment, the British permanently...
Show moreThis thesis examines Malta's symbolic role in the Second World War. Then a British-held colony, the archipelago fell under heavy Axis bombardment from mid 1940 ' early 1943. Incessant Italian and German air raids plagued the islands and the Maltese, making Malta the most heavily bombed area of the entire war. In June 1940, just weeks before the first attack, London's War Cabinet deemed the isles indefensible and withdrew their forces. Despite this initial abandonment, the British permanently returned to their colony just a few months later and expended a considerable amount of manpower and materiel in its defense. Tactical reasons alone cannot explain this drastic reversal in British policy. The missing explanation lies with Malta's role in British propaganda. Whether by choice or ignorance, this crucial aspect of Malta's wartime purpose is absent from the historiography. Through an examination of official papers and popular periodicals, this thesis aims to correct this imbalance. To provide proper context, the work first analyzes Anglo-Maltese relations and the empire's position in the latter half of the 1930s. The subsequent chapters analyze the media's role in the War Cabinet's return, and how Prime Minister Winston Churchill used the gallant tale of Malta to bolster morale at home and elicit the cooperation of the United States. Paired with strategic objectives around the Mediterranean basin, these propagandistic concerns ensured Britain's continued defense of the archipelago. Through the war's end, Malta served as both a physical and ideological bastion for the British Empire.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2011
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-7124
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- "Malta Is a Magnificent Story": Malta's Symbolic Role in the Second World War.
- Creator
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Debono, Megan, Jones, James P., Creswell, Michael, Koslow, Jennifer, Department of History, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
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This thesis examines Malta's symbolic role in the Second World War. Then a Britishheld colony, the archipelago fell under heavy Axis bombardment from mid 1940 – early 1943. Incessant Italian and German air raids plagued the islands and the Maltese, making Malta the most heavily bombed area of the entire war. In June 1940, just weeks before the first attack, London's War Cabinet deemed the isles indefensible and withdrew their forces. Despite this initial abandonment, the British permanently...
Show moreThis thesis examines Malta's symbolic role in the Second World War. Then a Britishheld colony, the archipelago fell under heavy Axis bombardment from mid 1940 – early 1943. Incessant Italian and German air raids plagued the islands and the Maltese, making Malta the most heavily bombed area of the entire war. In June 1940, just weeks before the first attack, London's War Cabinet deemed the isles indefensible and withdrew their forces. Despite this initial abandonment, the British permanently returned to their colony just a few months later and expended a considerable amount of manpower and materiel in its defense. Tactical reasons alone cannot explain this drastic reversal in British policy. The missing explanation lies with Malta's role in British propaganda. Whether by choice or ignorance, this crucial aspect of Malta's wartime purpose is absent from the historiography. Through an examination of official papers and popular periodicals, this thesis aims to correct this imbalance. To provide proper context, the work first analyzes Anglo- Maltese relations and the empire's position in the latter half of the 1930s. The subsequent chapters analyze the media's role in the War Cabinet's return, and how Prime Minister Winston Churchill used the gallant tale of Malta to bolster morale at home and elicit the cooperation of the United States. Paired with strategic objectives around the Mediterranean basin, these propagandistic concerns ensured Britain's continued defense of the archipelago. Through the war's end, Malta served as both a physical and ideological bastion for the British Empire.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2011
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-4665
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- Art of the Cold War: How the United States and France Depended on Whistler's Mother, the Mona Lisa and Georgia O'Keeffe to Strengthen Relations.
- Creator
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Drewel, Amy Lynn, Creswell, Michael, Jumonville, Neil, Jones, James, Department of History, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
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Since the post-modernist turn in academic history, there has been an increasing interest in cultural diplomacy particularly in regards to the Cold War. Yet one area rarely explored by historians is the manner in which the United States and France used art exhibits for cultural diplomatic purposes. This study discusses three exhibits at length-- Advancing American Art, Mona Lisa, and Whistler's Mother. These exhibits illustrate the varied reasons that fine art became symbolic of the two...
Show moreSince the post-modernist turn in academic history, there has been an increasing interest in cultural diplomacy particularly in regards to the Cold War. Yet one area rarely explored by historians is the manner in which the United States and France used art exhibits for cultural diplomatic purposes. This study discusses three exhibits at length-- Advancing American Art, Mona Lisa, and Whistler's Mother. These exhibits illustrate the varied reasons that fine art became symbolic of the two countries' political dealings with one another. Of particular interest are the historic events surrounding these famous art exhibits. During these cultural exchanges, art almost literally took on a diplomatic role in relations between the American and the French governments.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-8548
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- From Tsars to Commissars: Continuities in Russian Modern Diplomatic History with Persia and Japan.
- Creator
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Hansford, Christopher, Grant, Jonathan, Creswell, Michael, Wynot, Edward, Department of History, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
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The recent resurgence of the Russian Federation into international politics has caused a great stir in the capitals of Western Europe, the Untied Stated, and those of the former Soviet Union. When looking to the behavior of the Russian state, it is critical to understand the historical and geopolitical perspective from which they are operating. With the collapse of Soviet communism, there must clearly be major policy differences between the quasi-capitalist Russian Federation and its...
Show moreThe recent resurgence of the Russian Federation into international politics has caused a great stir in the capitals of Western Europe, the Untied Stated, and those of the former Soviet Union. When looking to the behavior of the Russian state, it is critical to understand the historical and geopolitical perspective from which they are operating. With the collapse of Soviet communism, there must clearly be major policy differences between the quasi-capitalist Russian Federation and its monolithic Communist predecessor, yes? To relate to this contemporary context, it is best to understand the Russian position in the geo-political arena and how that position largely remained cemented from the Imperial Tsarist to the Bolshevik Soviet periods. In doing so, a look away from Europe, from those states whose own aggressive and dynamic behaviors would muddy the waters is perhaps the best answer. With long standing ties and contests between Russia, Persia/Iran, and Japan, these two "Eastern" nations will be the central focus of this study, along with how Russian policy objectives, behaviors, and decisions were or were not impacted by the Russian Revolution of 1917. With an understanding of Russia's place through such a violent and dynamic political shift, this study aims to contribute to the historiography while adding modern relevance and understanding to the patterns of Russian diplomatic behavior.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2014
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-8799
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- British Concentration Camps of the Second South African War (The Transvaal, 1900-1902).
- Creator
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Scott, John L., Upchurch, Charles, Betten, Neil, Creswell, Michael, Department of History, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
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The Second South African War of 1899-1902 was fought for multiple reasons, ranging from the recent discovery of gold in the Transvaal to British trade relationships with the Germans in West Africa. Central to the road to war was the preservation of the British Empire in South Africa and the upholding of the prestige of the British Army. The war was fought between about 450,000 British, Colonial and native soldiers against an Afrikaner (Boer) and native force numbering about 78,000 combatants,...
Show moreThe Second South African War of 1899-1902 was fought for multiple reasons, ranging from the recent discovery of gold in the Transvaal to British trade relationships with the Germans in West Africa. Central to the road to war was the preservation of the British Empire in South Africa and the upholding of the prestige of the British Army. The war was fought between about 450,000 British, Colonial and native soldiers against an Afrikaner (Boer) and native force numbering about 78,000 combatants, with thousands of native Africans pressed into service on both sides. Despite early losses in conventional battles to Boer forces, the British were able by mid-1900 to invade and occupy the Boer capitals, leading the Boers to resort to guerilla tactics. The British response was a three-pronged strategy: first, destroying the areas where the Boer mounted commandos operated and pursuing the Boers with mobile columns; secondly, building lines of blockhouses and concertina wire across the wide open plains (veldt) to limit Boer mobility; and third, forcibly removing the Boer and African noncombatants from their destroyed farms and kraals into concentration camps. This thesis examines the British concentration camps and seeks to establish who was responsible for them; what were the conditions were like inside of them, and why almost 50,000 noncombatants, both black and white, died in the camps during a period of about two years. These questions are explored through the use of official camp records, government reports and personal accounts from a wide range of involved individuals. Most studies of the camps have concentrated on the effects of camp conditions and diseases. This study not only examines these themes, but looks beyond them into the headquarters of Lord Roberts, the man who established the camps, and reviews the decisions of Lord Kitchener the general who was in charge of the camps when the horrendous deaths occurred. This study also exposes the complicity of the British government's civilian officials who turned deaf ears to the escalating tragedy and withheld the extent of the humanitarian crisis from the British population. It was Emily Hobhouse, a British subject, who courageously brought the plight of the Boers and natives to the attention of the British and world opinion, and caused changes to be made which undoubtedly saved thousands of lives. The findings of this study place the blame for the 50,000 camp deaths squarely on the British leadership. Generals gave orders to destroy Boer farms and native kraals on the veldt, and incarcerated destitute families in camps with poor medical and sanitary conditions and little food. Rations were used as a weapon, and withheld from those families whose husbands were still fighting. British decisions caused the deaths of thousands of innocent people, both black and white, with the majority of the victims being children. It was an arrogant and racially motivated approach to the treatment of the Boers and natives alike that spawned the Generals' indifference to the dying women, old men, and children. This study concludes it was the inept and uncaring senior leadership of the British Army, coupled with the "hands off" approach of the British government that led England to implement a program comparable to contemporary notions of ethnic cleansing, taking Britain at the dawn of the twentieth century, to the edge of the abyss of genocide.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2007
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-1977
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- Rearguard of the Confederacy: The Second Florida Infantry Regiment.
- Creator
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Turner, Shane M., Grant, Jonathan, Green, Elna, Creswell, Michael, Department of History, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
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Among the popular Confederate accounts of the America Civil War, the men who served in the Army of Northern Virginia occupy positions of special celebrity and admiration. In print, on stage, in song, and on screen, the experiences of leaders and ordinary men who served in that army have attained almost mythological status. So many books have been published telling the histories of the men and units of that army that one might be led to falsely conclude that all the stories that are worth...
Show moreAmong the popular Confederate accounts of the America Civil War, the men who served in the Army of Northern Virginia occupy positions of special celebrity and admiration. In print, on stage, in song, and on screen, the experiences of leaders and ordinary men who served in that army have attained almost mythological status. So many books have been published telling the histories of the men and units of that army that one might be led to falsely conclude that all the stories that are worth telling have already been told. Such is not the case. Both lay and professional historians have, in the more than 140 years since the end of the conflict, produced new interpretations and published yet-untold stories every year. Yet, much remains to tell. One such story is that of the Second Florida Infantry Regiment. From the spring of 1861, when the regiment was formed, until the spring of 1865, when it surrendered, the men of the regiment had endured four full years of military life. They underwent discipline and chaos, slumber and sleep deprivation, abundance and hunger, and living and dying together. The Second Florida took part in nearly every campaign and fought in nearly every major battle in which the Army of Northern Virginia was engaged. The blood of many a member touched the soils of Maryland and Pennsylvania, and was liberally sprinkled across the hills and fields of Virginia; such was the price of the glory they attained. Beyond the battlefield, the campaigning, and the marching, other than the active warfare, there are aspects of the Civil War, portions of a day, a night, and even whole months, that are not normally entered into the records of what happened to the men who fought in that great conflict. The members of the Second Florida, like all members of the Confederate Army, had many experiences apart from the active waging of war. There were months of encampment in winter quarters, and whole or parts of days, nights, and sometimes weekends at the beginning, end, and even during a campaign when they were inactive. These experiences are actually what filled the majority of the infantry soldier's life. The Civil War was not only about fighting and killing. It was also about hunger, boredom, cold, varying degrees of wetness, religion, and even love. This study tells the story of what the Second Florida Infantry Regiment did during the campaigns and battles in which the regiment took part, investigates the every-day experiences of the men of the unit, and explores the reasons the men had for staying with the regiment until the end of the conflict. There are several specific issues involving the lives of common soldiers during the Civil War about which historians have written little. Included in these topics are: how medical and sanitary conditions affected Civil War era armies; how the diet of soldiers affected a their health and unit morale; what the men did while not on the battlefield, and how they interacted with each other; and the role of religion in the lives of the men. In telling the military history of the regiment, this work includes several items that are absent from any other published history of the unit.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2005
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-1459
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- War Before History: A Critical Survey.
- Creator
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Myers, Darryl, Davis, Frederick, Creswell, Michael, Grant, Jonathan, Department of History, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
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War features prominently in history, that is, in the records of literate societies. This paper addresses the issue of prehistoric warfare, that is, whether human societies without writing fight wars, and if so how often, under what circumstances, what tactics and technology they use, and how their warfare differs from that of literate societies. As background, the paper reviews theoretical perspectives on prehistoric warfare and considers categories of data and problems with their...
Show moreWar features prominently in history, that is, in the records of literate societies. This paper addresses the issue of prehistoric warfare, that is, whether human societies without writing fight wars, and if so how often, under what circumstances, what tactics and technology they use, and how their warfare differs from that of literate societies. As background, the paper reviews theoretical perspectives on prehistoric warfare and considers categories of data and problems with their interpretation in the absence of primary documents. In particular, researchers continue to invoke the perspectives of the philosophers Thomas Hobbes and Jean-Jacques Rousseau as touchstones of their thoughts on the topic of prehistoric warfare. The author has no particular training or expertise in anthropology or archeology, but from reviewing the literature suggests that available data supports neither the Hobbesian nor the Rousseauian extreme. Societies without writing sometimes fight and sometimes do not, just as societies with writing do. Hobbes' war of all against all is as mythical as Rousseau's peaceful savage. The paper ends with a call for continuing more nuanced interdisciplinary research into the issue of prehistoric warfare and its implications.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2005
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-2153
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- Dropping Nuclear Bombs on Spain the Palomares Accident of 1966 and the U.S. Airborne Alert.
- Creator
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Megara, John, Friedman, Max Paul, Jumonville, Neil, Creswell, Michael, Department of History, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
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On January 17, 1966, a U.S. B-52 bomber collided with a KC-135 tanker plane while refueling, causing both planes and four unarmed hydrogen bombs to fall near the Spanish village of Palomares. The conventional explosives in two of the bombs detonated causing radioactive plutonium to be spread over the village, and one bomb was missing in the Mediterranean Sea for nearly eighty days. The accident strained the already controversial relations with Spanish dictator Francisco Franco's regime, and...
Show moreOn January 17, 1966, a U.S. B-52 bomber collided with a KC-135 tanker plane while refueling, causing both planes and four unarmed hydrogen bombs to fall near the Spanish village of Palomares. The conventional explosives in two of the bombs detonated causing radioactive plutonium to be spread over the village, and one bomb was missing in the Mediterranean Sea for nearly eighty days. The accident strained the already controversial relations with Spanish dictator Francisco Franco's regime, and renewed criticism both in the United States and Spain of the U.S. maintenance of military bases on Spanish territory. This thesis examines the reasoning of the U.S. government in continuing a program of flying nuclear armed bombers over its allies despite the serious foreign relations fallout that resulted from the Palomares accident.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2006
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-2502
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- Image Is Everything: The Centrality of Prestige in Russian and Austro-Hungarian Foreign Policy, 1904-1914.
- Creator
-
Nunn, William Weston, Grant, Jonathan, Garretson, Peter, Creswell, Michael, Department of History, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
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This thesis examines and analyzes Russian and Austro-Hungarian foreign policy and the rivalry between them between 1904-1914. It asserts the centrality of prestige-garnering as a motivator of their Balkan diplomacy, not only to project an image of strength to their European rivals, but to distract from each's volatile and parlous domestic situation. Both Russia and Austria-Hungary pursued a Balkan policy that emphasized form over substance in order to convince their subjects and rivals that...
Show moreThis thesis examines and analyzes Russian and Austro-Hungarian foreign policy and the rivalry between them between 1904-1914. It asserts the centrality of prestige-garnering as a motivator of their Balkan diplomacy, not only to project an image of strength to their European rivals, but to distract from each's volatile and parlous domestic situation. Both Russia and Austria-Hungary pursued a Balkan policy that emphasized form over substance in order to convince their subjects and rivals that their integrities were intact and unassailable. Instead of more tangible foreign policy goals like territory or economics, abstract notions of imperial dignity, honor, and Great Power status, ideas that became the primary reason for the Great War's outbreak, fueled the rivalry between the two eastern monarchies. The scope of this study is a departure from other accounts of European Great Power diplomacy because it concentrates on the decade before the war instead of a lengthy narrative since the defeat of Napoleon in 1815. In addition, instead of bringing into the discussion the entirety of the European Congress, this thesis focuses on the struggle between the Romanov and Habsburg states to be recognized as the mistress of southeastern Europe. By focusing on the prestige rivalry between St. Petersburg and Vienna, this study shifts the focus from the Anglo-Germany naval rivalry in the North Sea to the wrangling over the Balkan Peninsula, the region in which the war's first shots were fired. As a result, it challenges the notion that Germany is most responsible for the chaos, asserting instead that Austria-Hungary is the most to blame.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2009
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-2493
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- The U.S. Army's 2nd Ranger Battalion: Beyond D-Day.
- Creator
-
Quistorff, Alissa, Stoltzfus, Nathan, Grant, Jonathan, Creswell, Michael, Department of History, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
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This thesis is a micro-history of how the 2nd Ranger Battalion, during World War II evolved their military doctrine. This work focuses on their training for operation Pointe du Hoc and the ensuing battle. After the fight for Pointe du Hoc the Rangers were deployed in a variety of ways. Be examining the Brest campaign, the battles in the Hurtgen Forest, and the crossing of the Rhine River, the Ranger doctrine slowly begins to emerge.
- Date Issued
- 2005
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-2255
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- The Role of U.S. Women Diplomats Between 1945 and 2004.
- Creator
-
Beckett, Rachel Jane, Sinke, Suzanne, Upchurch, Charles, Creswell, Michael, Department of History, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
-
Though historical scholarship on gender and international relations has grown over the last few decades, there has been little work done on women in the Foreign Service. The main objective of this thesis is to examine the role of women diplomats within the Foreign Service since 1945 and to examine how gender differences related to the low numbers of women within the field during a time when women's representation in other male-dominated fields increased substantially. The study is divided...
Show moreThough historical scholarship on gender and international relations has grown over the last few decades, there has been little work done on women in the Foreign Service. The main objective of this thesis is to examine the role of women diplomats within the Foreign Service since 1945 and to examine how gender differences related to the low numbers of women within the field during a time when women's representation in other male-dominated fields increased substantially. The study is divided into three chapters that focus on determining how certain factors affected women's marginalization within the field. The first chapter examines the basic statistics of the women diplomats. Chapter two explores the policies of other countries towards accepting female diplomats, and the last chapter investigates how women conducted foreign policy and carried out the goals of the administration. The conclusion provides an analysis of the findings of all three areas and how they relate to women's access to fields both within and outside politics.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2009
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-1178
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- Popular Perceptions of the American Merchant Marine during World War II.
- Creator
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Waber, Andrew J., Koslow, Jennifer, Oldson, William, Creswell, Michael, Department of History, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
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The United States Merchant Marine played a pivotal role in the successful conclusion of the World War II and suffered the highest casualty rate of any branch of the Armed Forces. Often labeled as draft dodgers, profiteers, Communists, slackers, and anti-authority, the Merchant Marine's connections with the maritime unions attracted much criticism. The unions rather than the Merchant Marine were the intended targets of most negative press. Yet there was also a great deal of positive images of...
Show moreThe United States Merchant Marine played a pivotal role in the successful conclusion of the World War II and suffered the highest casualty rate of any branch of the Armed Forces. Often labeled as draft dodgers, profiteers, Communists, slackers, and anti-authority, the Merchant Marine's connections with the maritime unions attracted much criticism. The unions rather than the Merchant Marine were the intended targets of most negative press. Yet there was also a great deal of positive images of seamen. Primary sources such as government documents, newspapers, popular magazines, movies, and literature contain a wide variety of perceptions on the Merchant Marine. The purpose of this study is to explore both the accuracy and the origins of these perceptions.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2008
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-1434
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- The Evolution of German-Jewish Intermarriage Laws and Practices in Germany to 1900.
- Creator
-
Griffin, Christopher W., Stoltzfus, Nathan, Creswell, Michael, Sinke, Suzanne, Department of History, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
-
In 1875, citizens throughout the recently formed German nation were for the first time allowed to intermarry without conversion. Over the course of the next fifty years, German Jews marriages to German non-Jews increased to such a level that German-Jewish intermarriage became one of the central issues in German-Jewish relations. This thesis places intermarriage within the larger frameworks of German-Jewish relations and German-Jewish history. It develops a new interpretation of the evolution...
Show moreIn 1875, citizens throughout the recently formed German nation were for the first time allowed to intermarry without conversion. Over the course of the next fifty years, German Jews marriages to German non-Jews increased to such a level that German-Jewish intermarriage became one of the central issues in German-Jewish relations. This thesis places intermarriage within the larger frameworks of German-Jewish relations and German-Jewish history. It develops a new interpretation of the evolution and legalization of intermarriage. The legalization of intermarriage took place within the framework of the kulturkampf and civil marriage debates of the early 1870s. Though intermarriage between German Jews and German non-Jews would become far more frequent after the turn of the century, intermarriage during the late nineteenth century had far more important political, religious, and social implications than mere numbers would suggest.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2005
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-3962
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- Making of a Marshal: Bertrand Clauzel Takes Command of the Army of Portugal, 1812.
- Creator
-
Graceffo, Jeffrey, Horward, Donald, Creswell, Michael, Grant, Jonathan, Department of History, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
-
Historians have studied Napoleon's Peninsular War for nearly 200 years, focusing in great detail on its military aspect. While many studies are devoted to the Duke of Wellington, Marshal Andre Massena, or other French marshals, there are some individuals who had a remarkable impact on the Peninsula that have been ignored. During the Battle of Salamanca in July 1812, French General Bertrand Clauzel became commander of the Army of Portugal. After the battle, he remained in command for several...
Show moreHistorians have studied Napoleon's Peninsular War for nearly 200 years, focusing in great detail on its military aspect. While many studies are devoted to the Duke of Wellington, Marshal Andre Massena, or other French marshals, there are some individuals who had a remarkable impact on the Peninsula that have been ignored. During the Battle of Salamanca in July 1812, French General Bertrand Clauzel became commander of the Army of Portugal. After the battle, he remained in command for several months. He dealt with an army that was in ruin. Their morale was extremely low, discipline was almost non-existent, and their logistics were in shambles. Nevertheless, he sought to restore the army as an effective fighting force. Throughout his efforts to restore the army, Clauzel faced Spanish guerrillas and the British Army in an exhausted country. Most references to Clauzel during this time period are extremely limited. Due to the recent archival availability of Clauzel's personal papers, this thesis will take an important step in analyzing Clauzel's role and contribution to the French cause in the Peninsular War.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2005
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-4080
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- The Agrarian Policy of the Social Revolutionary Party and Its Impact on the Development of the Russian Peasantry into a Politicized Social Class, 1870-1907.
- Creator
-
Howell, Jessica H., Grant, Jonathan, Launer, Michael K., Wynot, Edward, Creswell, Michael, Jones, Maxine, Department of History, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
-
In the Russian Empire, where so many of its inhabitants were of the peasant class in the 19th and 20th centuries, it is interesting that despite their large numbers, they did not engage themselves regularly in political matters. While some parties attempted to include the peasantry in the years 1902-1907, many were unable to effectively incorporate the peasants within the organizational structure of the party. Peasants, despite their discontent with their circumstances, were unwilling to join...
Show moreIn the Russian Empire, where so many of its inhabitants were of the peasant class in the 19th and 20th centuries, it is interesting that despite their large numbers, they did not engage themselves regularly in political matters. While some parties attempted to include the peasantry in the years 1902-1907, many were unable to effectively incorporate the peasants within the organizational structure of the party. Peasants, despite their discontent with their circumstances, were unwilling to join organized political parties in the revolutionary movement that was present in Russia during these years. Instead, the peasants demonstrated their ability to become a contender in the realm of politics apart from the Socialist Revolutionary Party (PSR), the one most active among the countryside. There is evidence that both the PSR and the peasants were striving to change the social and political scene in Russia. Although the PSR hoped that the peasants would unite in its efforts to bring forth a revolution to Russia, the peasants acted alone, seeking different concessions from the government. In the end, the peasants are often remembered for their uprisings and revolts directed at their landlords, but it is because of these actions that many parties, and the government, began to rethink the agrarian question. By 1902, the peasants were a political force, regardless of the ultimate outcome of their actions.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2009
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-7159
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- Witness to Glory: Lieutenant-Général Henri-Gatien Bertrand, 1791-1815.
- Creator
-
Delvaux, Steven Laurence, Horward, Donald D., Hargreaves, Alec, Oldson, William, Creswell, Michael, Grant, Jonathan A., Department of Art History, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
-
Henri-Gatien Bertrand is perhaps the least known of the generals who occupied a prestigious position near Napoleon during the years of the First French Empire. Born in 1773 to a family of the lesser nobility, Bertrand's life encompassed all of the great and momentous events that shook France and Europe during the ensuing fifty years. He played a direct role in many of these events. Commissioned into the French army as an engineer officer in 1793, Bertrand served as an engineer during the...
Show moreHenri-Gatien Bertrand is perhaps the least known of the generals who occupied a prestigious position near Napoleon during the years of the First French Empire. Born in 1773 to a family of the lesser nobility, Bertrand's life encompassed all of the great and momentous events that shook France and Europe during the ensuing fifty years. He played a direct role in many of these events. Commissioned into the French army as an engineer officer in 1793, Bertrand served as an engineer during the siege of Metz in 1794, in the Egyptian Campaign from 1798-1801, at the camp de Boulogne from 1802-04, and during the 1809 Campaign. He also served as an aide-de-camp to Napoleon during the 1805, 1806, 1807, and 1808 Campaigns. In 1811, the Emperor appointed him to serve as the Governor General of the Illyrian Provinces where he remained until being recalled to the army in 1813. He served in the ensuing 1813 Campaign as the commander of the 4th Corps, leading his corps in the battles of Lützen, Bautzen, Gross Beeren, Dennewitz, Wartemburg, Leipzig, and Hanau. At the end of that campaign, Napoleon elevated Bertrand to the position of Grand Marshal of the Palace. Bertrand retained that position during the 1814 and 1815 Campaigns and throughout the Emperor's exiles to Elba and St. Helena. He remained with Napoleon on St. Helena until the Emperor's death in 1821. Bertrand's service to France and Napoleon during these many years is singular for its length and the devoted manner in which he performed it. He possessed an unshakeable conviction in Napoleon's greatness and he conducted himself in both victory and adversity in a distinguished and dignified manner that speaks highly of his character and integrity. He garnered the admiration, respect, and esteem of many for his unimpeachable service to France and Napoleon during these momentous years.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2005
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-0772
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- The Torturer's Dilemma: Analyzing the Logic of Torture for Information.
- Creator
-
Armshaw, Patrick, Moore, William H., Creswell, Michael, Barrilleaux, Charles, Grosser, Jens, Souva, Mark, Department of Political Science, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
-
In the Aftermath of the September 11th attacks, the fear of apocalyptic terrorism has caused many Americans and academics worldwide to reexamine previously held beliefs on the morality and suitability of torture as a means of ensuring public safety. While much of the ensuing debate has focused on deontological versus teleological ethics (Kant vs. Bentham), torture can only properly be understood as an empirical system - a means of gathering information. By applying an analytical narrative...
Show moreIn the Aftermath of the September 11th attacks, the fear of apocalyptic terrorism has caused many Americans and academics worldwide to reexamine previously held beliefs on the morality and suitability of torture as a means of ensuring public safety. While much of the ensuing debate has focused on deontological versus teleological ethics (Kant vs. Bentham), torture can only properly be understood as an empirical system - a means of gathering information. By applying an analytical narrative framework to comparative case studies, I argue that torture must depend on certain conditions that are inherently difficult to satisfy - and that the attempts by various authorities to make use of torture have instead led them inexorably towards a deceptive cycle where bad information corrupts the system. The implication is that torture can paradoxically do more harm to the torturing state even than to the enemy it hopes to combat. The cases under examination include the Salem witch trials in 17th Century New England, the Algerian Revolution both from the standpoint of the French counterinsurgency and the FLN, and the United States during the War on Terror.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2011
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-0234
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- Filling the Void: Private Security Providers and Their Implications for United States Military Operations in Iraq and Beyond.
- Creator
-
Shores III, Howard Prentiss, Garretson, Peter, Souva, Mark, Creswell, Michael, Program in International Affairs, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
-
While the use of private contractors in United States military operations is not a new phenomenon, the expansive use of private security providers in Iraq is unprecedented in modern warfare. Over the course of the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq, these private companies have carried out more mission-critical operations than in any previous conflict, all without a comprehensive system in place to supervise and regulate their activities. During this time, these companies and their employees have...
Show moreWhile the use of private contractors in United States military operations is not a new phenomenon, the expansive use of private security providers in Iraq is unprecedented in modern warfare. Over the course of the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq, these private companies have carried out more mission-critical operations than in any previous conflict, all without a comprehensive system in place to supervise and regulate their activities. During this time, these companies and their employees have been involved in a number of well-publicized incidents, drawing a great deal of criticism from numerous observers in the United States and abroad. This thesis examines these companies and their activities in Iraq, as well as the concerns and criticisms that have arisen as a result of their utilization in occupation. Ultimately, this paper attempts to determine the implications of the continued use of these companies in Iraq, as well as in future U.S. military operations.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2008
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-0322
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- The Romanian Media in Transition.
- Creator
-
Georgiadis, Basil D., Grant, Jonathon, O'Sullivan, Patrick, Stoltzfus, Nathan, Creswell, Michael, Childs, Matt, Department of History, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
-
The Romanian media has progressed in only a decade and a half since the fall of Communism. Reporters discuss themes about political reform, the elections, corruption, and even political protest. They critically analyze stories asking the basic questions while frequently providing follow-up. The press has liberalized, reflecting pluralistic domestic and international information sources as opposed to the State-controlled media before 1990. The media, along with free elections, transparency of...
Show moreThe Romanian media has progressed in only a decade and a half since the fall of Communism. Reporters discuss themes about political reform, the elections, corruption, and even political protest. They critically analyze stories asking the basic questions while frequently providing follow-up. The press has liberalized, reflecting pluralistic domestic and international information sources as opposed to the State-controlled media before 1990. The media, along with free elections, transparency of law and government, and a civil society, are important benchmarks for a society that strives to compare favorably with the West, and for that reason deserves examination. Serious problems exist however. A weak economy makes the media susceptible to government manipulation. Legal challenges by the government and businessmen against journalists as defendants, impose hefty fines over libel and slander challenges. Control of state broadcast media by ex-Communist ruling Social Democrats prevents the mass media from contributing to the public dialogue. Social attitudes developed in the twentieth century, negatively shape the reporting of national minority groups which are substantial in Romania and the Balkans. Finally, an authoritarian tradition based on imperial, fascist, and communist rule, has manifested itself in violence towards journalists. The dissertation examines the media within the Communist tradition from 1945-1989 and followed with a survey of the post-Communist media. A brief history of the national minorities question provides perspective on present day attitudes in the media towards these groups. A survey of NGO's and other institutions examined progress towards a civil society. In the international context, a comparison of the situation in Romania with countries in Eastern Europe and Latin America revealed similar problems. The media has diversified greatly considering the short time frame of this study in post-Communist Romania. Election choices, international structures and non-governmental agencies will continue to influence and change the political and media culture while a weak economy and authoritarian mentality in the government and legal system offer challenges to a developing free press and young democracy in Romania.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2004
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-0139
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- Public Opinion, Security Threats, and Foreign Policy Formation: A Theoretical Framework and Comparative Analysis.
- Creator
-
Davis, William, Souva, Mark, Creswell, Michael, Hensel, Paul, Smith, Dale, Jackson, Robert, Department of Political Science, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
-
Does public opinion influence foreign policy? Much work, following the example of such scholars as Page and Shapiro (1983), has suggested that mass public opinion is stable, and is rational and that public policy outputs follow public opinion in advanced democratic countries. Using the case of Germany, I employ a process tracing analysis as well as time series and cross-national time-series regression analyses to test the generalizability of the hypothesis of an opinion-foreign policy nexus...
Show moreDoes public opinion influence foreign policy? Much work, following the example of such scholars as Page and Shapiro (1983), has suggested that mass public opinion is stable, and is rational and that public policy outputs follow public opinion in advanced democratic countries. Using the case of Germany, I employ a process tracing analysis as well as time series and cross-national time-series regression analyses to test the generalizability of the hypothesis of an opinion-foreign policy nexus in Europe between the years 1970-2002. Results here contradict literature on expected public opinion and policy outputs in the Cold War period yet are supported after. I find that the predicted effect of public opinion on foreign policy outputs to be confounded by such factors as security threats. I conclude that a divergence between the threat perception of leaders and of the public is likely to result in a lack of congruence between public opinion and a state's foreign policy outputs. Convergence between leaders and public opinion in post-Cold War Germany and more broadly in Europe may have necessitated a reassessment of the longstanding foreign policy relationship with the US.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2007
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-0814
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- A Rough, Wet Ride: The Civilian Genesis of the American Motor Torpedo Boat.
- Creator
-
Wiser, Edward H., Jones, James P., Chanton, Jeffrey, Creswell, Michael C., Grant, Jonathan, Garretson, Peter, Department of History, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
-
Dwight Eisenhower once warned of an insidious collusion between industry and government that threatened to become master of United States domestic and foreign policy. His warning came too late, of course, for the threat had already become reality before he spoke. But there were and are positive elements to the merger of interests, and one of them was the infusion of civilian small craft expertise into the arena of national defense. This dissertation is an overview of the evolution of small...
Show moreDwight Eisenhower once warned of an insidious collusion between industry and government that threatened to become master of United States domestic and foreign policy. His warning came too late, of course, for the threat had already become reality before he spoke. But there were and are positive elements to the merger of interests, and one of them was the infusion of civilian small craft expertise into the arena of national defense. This dissertation is an overview of the evolution of small combatant craft in the United States Navy and demonstrates that the most successful of these boats have consistently come from the civilian sector. The history of this intercourse is traced from its origins in the American Revolution through its ultimate incarnation of the motor torpedo boat of World War Two. Experience in Vietnam and ongoing counter-terror and drug interception operations worldwide, demonstrates conclusively that rugged, efficient boats for security, patrol, and combat are still an essential factor in law enforcement, homeland defense, and power projection, and the services have come to rely increasingly upon the domestic small craft industry to supply them.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2009
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-0922
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- Stuck in Traffic: The Wehrmacht's Failure in Urban Russia.
- Creator
-
Sinisi, Scott T., Grant, Jonathan A., Williamson, George S., Creswell, Michael, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of History
- Abstract/Description
-
This paper traces an emergent pattern of critical delays imposed on the German method of warfare known as blitzkrieg by forced engagement in urban combat throughout the campaigns in Poland, France and the Low Countries, and finally the Soviet Union.
- Date Issued
- 2018
- Identifier
- 2019_Spring_Sinisi_fsu_0071N_14954
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- Playing It Safe: Audience Costs, Military Capabilities, and Alliance Reliability during War.
- Creator
-
Lee, John Nathaniel, Souva, Mark, Creswell, Michael, Jerit, Jennifer, Siegel, David, Moore, William H., Department of Political Science, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
-
What kinds of states make the best allies? This dissertation studies the determinants of defensive alliance reliability during war. I argue that strong democratic states constitute reliable allies. For these states, the miltiary costs of honoring an alliance agreement are sufficiently low, while potential electoral penalities are potentially large. For these reasons, strong democracies defend their allies during war more frequently. Support for this theory is found from a number of sources....
Show moreWhat kinds of states make the best allies? This dissertation studies the determinants of defensive alliance reliability during war. I argue that strong democratic states constitute reliable allies. For these states, the miltiary costs of honoring an alliance agreement are sufficiently low, while potential electoral penalities are potentially large. For these reasons, strong democracies defend their allies during war more frequently. Support for this theory is found from a number of sources. First, I present the first individual-level experimental data supporting audience costs in the realm of military alliances. Second, I present observational data showing that strong democratic countries consistently defend their alliance partners during war.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2012
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-5387
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- Veterans at War: The American Legion and Civilian Mobilization in World War II.
- Creator
-
Griffin, Christopher W. (Christopher Wayne), Grant, Jonathan, Souva, Mark, Jones, James P., Creswell, Michael, Department of History, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
-
This dissertation analyzes the role of the American Legion in the mobilization of World War II, focusing on its civilian defense and salvage programs. These programs demonstrate the contest between voluntary associations and the federal government to shape and control the development of federal programs as state responsibility expanded into new areas of American life. Though ultimately unsuccessful in its efforts to control the programs the American Legion exerted tremendous influence on them...
Show moreThis dissertation analyzes the role of the American Legion in the mobilization of World War II, focusing on its civilian defense and salvage programs. These programs demonstrate the contest between voluntary associations and the federal government to shape and control the development of federal programs as state responsibility expanded into new areas of American life. Though ultimately unsuccessful in its efforts to control the programs the American Legion exerted tremendous influence on them. Its size and presence in nearly every community ensured the American Legion positions and influence at every level of the federal civilian defense and salvage programs. Expertise gained through early civilian defense exercises and the exploratory Mission to England in 1941 positioned Legionnaires well to become leaders within civilian defense. The Legion's strong local and national structure made it one of the most successful organizers of salvage drives. Veterans experienced the Second World War in unique ways that were directly linked to their military experiences in previous wars. They had wartime memories of what life was like on the front lines and tried to use those experiences to better the lives of the new generation of soldiers and to improve home front support of military personnel. Animosities created during World War I toward war profiteers, "shirkers," and subversive forces, greatly influenced the Legion in World War II. Veteran studies, which have viewed veterans as post-war actors, would benefit from considering the activities of veterans in future wars.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2012
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-5357
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- Lasting Resonance: The National Vietnam Veterans Memorial's Influence on Two Northern Florida Veterans Memorials.
- Creator
-
Boyd, Jessamyn Daniel, Koslow, Jen, Creswell, Michael, Jones, James P., Department of History, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
-
When the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund adopted Maya Lin's design proposal in 1981, the veterans' non-profit organization and the young architect had no idea that the National Vietnam Veterans Memorial would ultimately change the perspective on traditional war memorials. From Lin's design, a new tradition would arise placing the focal point of these memorials on the individual's sacrifice and the names of the dead for proper commemoration. Today, when we reflect upon the National Vietnam...
Show moreWhen the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund adopted Maya Lin's design proposal in 1981, the veterans' non-profit organization and the young architect had no idea that the National Vietnam Veterans Memorial would ultimately change the perspective on traditional war memorials. From Lin's design, a new tradition would arise placing the focal point of these memorials on the individual's sacrifice and the names of the dead for proper commemoration. Today, when we reflect upon the National Vietnam Veterans Memorial, many of us embrace its unique and lasting response to personal tragedy during the Vietnam War. As states and local communities began to reflect upon war and propose monuments and memorials following the national memorial's dedication in 1982, their decisions were ultimately affected by this new approach to traditional remembrance. This work focuses on two cities in northern Florida, Tallahassee and Jacksonville. These two communities responded to Lin's new approach while maintaining their own unique points of view. The memorial to be placed in Tallahassee would represent the state's commemoration of its Vietnam War veterans, while the Jacksonville memorial would honor all the city's veterans of 20th century military conflicts. This work examines the political and cultural effects of the national memorial on the two cities. The impact of Lin's new focal point had parlayed itself from national, to state, to local levels. Thus, the Florida Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Wall were able to advance the idea of the traditional war memorial through the underlying influence of the National Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2007
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-3448
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- Danes, Orientalism and the Modern Middle East Perspectives from the Nordic Periphery.
- Creator
-
Kauffeldt, Jonas, Garretson, Peter P., Flanagan, Scott C., Singh, Bawa S., Stoltzfus, Nathan, Creswell, Michael, Department of History, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
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In 1978, Edward W. Said (1935-2003), Professor of Comparative Literature at Columbia University, published his now famous book, Orientalism. Intended as an indictment of the di-chotomization of East and West – the willful categorization of the Orient as distinct and ne-cessarily stunted in comparison to the Occident – Said argued that the perception, rooted in the murky centuries of medieval Europe, crystallized into a potent and pervasive discourse that once manufactured, combined...
Show moreIn 1978, Edward W. Said (1935-2003), Professor of Comparative Literature at Columbia University, published his now famous book, Orientalism. Intended as an indictment of the di-chotomization of East and West – the willful categorization of the Orient as distinct and ne-cessarily stunted in comparison to the Occident – Said argued that the perception, rooted in the murky centuries of medieval Europe, crystallized into a potent and pervasive discourse that once manufactured, combined establishment knowledge with political and economic power in the 19th century. Imperialism and direct occupation of the Middle East reinforced the belief in its re-gional subservience and weakness and forged a virtual ideology of Western superiority and entitlement. Yet how did societies and individuals at the margins of European and Western power fit into the framework put forth by Said? Was he correct to assert that the Orientalist discourse was all encompassing and colored every observer and scholar who studied the region? Or was it pos-sible for individuals, both from within the states that dominated the Middle East and even more readily those native to the lesser powers that did not, to assert an independent basis for judgment and interpretation? This dissertation explores a range of experiences that Danes, citizens of a small and relatively weak European state, garnered in their encounters with the Middle East. Their views and under-standings of events, as well as their perspectives on "the Other," served to influence the shaping of knowledge in Denmark about the East. Further, as their country was unentangled in the web of strategic and imperial intrigue that dominated the affairs of the larger powers, Danes were able to position themselves before the local populations as individuals untainted by affiliations that might present a danger of undue influence. Ever conscious of this advantage, they worked dili-gently to cultivate that perception and harness it as an advantage wherever possible. In short, a revelation and consideration of Danish perspectives adds to the diversity of sources encompassed by the study of Orientalism.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2006
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-3293
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- Command and Control in the Peninsula: The Role of the British Cavalry 1808-1814.
- Creator
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Gerges, Mark T., Horward, Donald D., Hargreaves, Alec, Oldson, William O., Creswell, Michael, Grant, Jonathan, Department of History, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
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The purpose of this dissertation is to evaluate the utilization and effectiveness of the British cavalry during the Peninsular War. The accomplishments and reputation of the mounted arm has been in dispute since the end of the Napoleonic era, and no systematic study has been undertaken to either refute or support the various claims. Numerous books and articles have been written on the British cavalry under Sir John Moore and the Duke of Wellington. They tend towards two schools. In the first,...
Show moreThe purpose of this dissertation is to evaluate the utilization and effectiveness of the British cavalry during the Peninsular War. The accomplishments and reputation of the mounted arm has been in dispute since the end of the Napoleonic era, and no systematic study has been undertaken to either refute or support the various claims. Numerous books and articles have been written on the British cavalry under Sir John Moore and the Duke of Wellington. They tend towards two schools. In the first, the cavalry could do no wrong-- gallantly charging against superior number, usually with the sun shining, reflecting off their sabers, and being successful everywhere is the core of this premise. The second tends towards examining the cavalry only during the major battles of the war, particularly the cavalry charges where the cavalry either had a spectacular success or failure. In this genre, the cavalry can often do nothing well, and the failure of the charge means the eternal condemnation of the branch. This dissertation attempts to fill in the gaps between these two extremes, examining the pre-war training, doctrine, officer education and selection as it pertains to the cavalry. With that base, systematically scrutinizing the organization and evaluating the effectiveness of the cavalry as an auxiliary arm will help to place their performance into the larger context of the operations of the British Army in the Peninsula. The charge, the quintessential aspect of cavalry, was but a small portion of the cavalryman's life. The cavalry, compared to the 18th century infantry, was more often on duty, facing a far-off enemy in lonely and monotonous outpost duty. This portion of the cavalryman's life, the daily vicissitudes of protecting the army and providing early warning of their opponent's action, has been too often missed in studies of the Peninsular War cavalry and yet forms the most important portion of their duties. The effectiveness of how the cavalry did this duty, as well as protecting the Anglo-Portuguese Army during advances and retreats, is the true essence of the role that cavalry provided to the army. The leadership of the cavalry also is normally painted in a broad brush of extremes—bravery and heroism; incompetence and stupidity. Officer education, duties expected of an officer, both field grade and general, are often ignored. The British Army of the Napoleonic Wars has been called the last of the Ancien Regime armies; patronage and purchase seemed more important than performance and study. However, the professionalism of the officer core that occurred during this period has rarely been applied to their operations in the field. When Great Britain deployed its small army to the Iberian Peninsula in 1808, it faced the most modern and effective army in Europe. That this small force was able to survive, grow, learn and finally contribute to the defeat of Napoleonic France is a testament to the officers and men who did take their profession seriously. The effectiveness of the British cavalry, and contribution it made should be placed into the context of the success of the Peninsular Army.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2005
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-4345
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- Law and Order, Accountability and Control: Napoléon's Project for the Military Code, 1805.
- Creator
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Vovsi, Eman M., Blaufarb, Rafe, Creswell, Michael, McMahon, Darrin, Department of History, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
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Covering the period from the Ancien Régime through the turmoil of the Revolution, Consulate and early Napoleonic Empire 1804-1805, this work proposes to throw new light on the character, strength and weaknesses of the French armies leading up to Napoléon's non-promulgated Military Code. With chapters on army organization, the establishment of new regulations, decrees, legislative work, and the ministries of War and Military Administration, this dissertation's main intention is to examine and...
Show moreCovering the period from the Ancien Régime through the turmoil of the Revolution, Consulate and early Napoleonic Empire 1804-1805, this work proposes to throw new light on the character, strength and weaknesses of the French armies leading up to Napoléon's non-promulgated Military Code. With chapters on army organization, the establishment of new regulations, decrees, legislative work, and the ministries of War and Military Administration, this dissertation's main intention is to examine and analyze the historical evolution of the government's relationship with the armed forces in 1792-1799 (Republic) and 1800-1804 (Consulate), which culminated in the establishment of the Commission on the Military Code in the spring 1805. Sponsored by the Emperor Napoléon, draftsmen of this Commission, under the experienced military administrator, Pierre Daru, worked through spring – early summer 1805 on examining the laws inherited by the Napoleonic military administration. The result of these labors was produced and reflected in several books, which were supposed to regulate all aspects of the armed forces – recruitment and advancement, promotion, accounting and subsistence, military uniform, aspects of military justice and the like. Although, in theory, the start of the war of the Third Coalition prevented Daru and his collaborators from fully completing this project, it is questionable as to how far Napoléon really wished to proceed in implementing the Military Code. He suspected that a Code as a system might work at cross-purposes with his drive to create a hereditary monarchy. On the other hand, the work of the Commission on the Military Code provoked many useful administrative reforms, which helped create a professionally organized military force –Napoléon's Grande Armée.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2010
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-4629
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- Perceiving the Enemy: Indians, Africans, and American Policy during the Second Seminole War, 1835-1842.
- Creator
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Kite, Jared, Frank, Andrew K., Creswell, Michael, Doel, Ronald E., Department of History, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
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The Second Seminole War (1835-1842) has confounded recent scholars who have struggled to connect this history with the emerging recognition that the Seminole Indians had a complex relationship with African communities within Florida. This thesis addresses this issue by demonstrating how United States political and military leaders' strategies toward Indians and African maroons changed in accordance with their understanding of the African-Indian relationship. The thesis first argues that in...
Show moreThe Second Seminole War (1835-1842) has confounded recent scholars who have struggled to connect this history with the emerging recognition that the Seminole Indians had a complex relationship with African communities within Florida. This thesis addresses this issue by demonstrating how United States political and military leaders' strategies toward Indians and African maroons changed in accordance with their understanding of the African-Indian relationship. The thesis first argues that in the decades leading up to the war, the United States Government believed that it could convince the Florida Indians to remove peacefully. It also shows how the African populace in Florida (also referred to as Black Seminoles or "Indian Negroes") complicated and shaped the Government's desire and ability to remove the Seminoles west of the Mississippi River. Second, the thesis shows how American military and political leaders' attitudes evolved. Government leaders perceived the Seminoles and their African counterparts as one thing before the war, and as the war drew nearer, perceptions changed. Perceptions shaped government strategy and military tactics toward the two groups. Africans' importance to the Seminoles, and their dominant influence over the native Indians caused American leaders' perceptions to change. New attitudes resulted in a new strategy toward the Indians and Africans, one where the government put less emphasis on trying to convince Indians to remove and more on coercion. Indians, American officials proclaimed, needed to go west of the Mississippi River and Africans needed to be returned to their plantations. Third, this thesis explores the connections between American policy and the changing understanding of the Indian-African relationship during the war. Tensions that the Seminole-African relationship caused, and both groups' adamant desire to resist efforts to move them west or re-enslave them, ultimately caused the initiation of hostilities in Florida in December 1835. Seminoles and Africans maintained a relationship before and during the war that United States leaders could only break apart by continual war and negotiations that would favor each group individually. Although Africans and Seminoles worked together on and off the battlefield, they did not do so out of purely mutual reasons. This thesis shows how Indian and African participants based their actions on their own community's needs and desires, and it argues that the wartime cooperation fulfilled their own separate needs. American officials recognized these distinctions prior to the war, but they became more apparent when the war began as they shaped how they fought and negotiated during the war. This recognition led American leaders in 1837 to negotiate separately with influential African leaders, who, on a large scale, severed their ties with the Seminoles.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2010
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-4636
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- History of Eglin Field and Okaloosa County during World War Two.
- Creator
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Mcdaniel, William M., Creswell, Michael, Gussak, David, Jones, Maxine D., Wynot, Edward D., Department of History, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
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ABSTRACT In the mid-1930s the United States and the world were gripped in a great depression which caused industries to fail, families to struggle, and individuals to lose hope. The administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt responded by applying various measures in an effort to sustain the citizenry while mending the economic malady. Historical reflection on an event like the Great Depression, which eventually ended in recovery, has the potential to engender a comforting certainty...
Show moreABSTRACT In the mid-1930s the United States and the world were gripped in a great depression which caused industries to fail, families to struggle, and individuals to lose hope. The administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt responded by applying various measures in an effort to sustain the citizenry while mending the economic malady. Historical reflection on an event like the Great Depression, which eventually ended in recovery, has the potential to engender a comforting certainty regarding paths taken and decisions made, however, at the time correctness of the administrations policies was extremely uncertain. There was no assurance that the United States was on the right course for emerging soundly from the economic collapse. While policy makers sought to return the nation to a sound economic footing, American military leaders faced a different set of challenges. The global depression had helped to create an environment which nourished aggressive foreign policies in nations which were competitors and potential enemies of the United States. It was the job of the defense establishment to prepare for any aggression and to emerge victorious from any armed conflict which might arise. Japan, a nation destined to become a key member of the Axis powers, continued its overt aggression on the Asian mainland and in the Pacific region. As the Japanese leadership continued expansion behind the slogan "Asia for Asians" and eventually under the mantel of the Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere, decades-old concern for the security of Hawaii and American interests in Guam and the Philippines became increasingly intense. The initiation of warfare is almost always shocking, especially for the object of the attack, and it was apparent that the United States might have to contend with just such a reality in the Pacific. As Japan continued her aggressive actions in the Eastern Hemisphere, in Europe the United States faced the politically ironic cooperation (and eventual alliance) between a Communist Soviet Union and Fascist Germany as well as an increasingly belligerent Fascist Italy. Germany had significant economic control over a number of European client states, an eastern border eventually to be secured by bilateral agreement with the Soviet Union, a burgeoning yet competent military capability and an aggressive leadership bold enough to employ that capability. An increasingly oppressive, and ultimately murderous racial policy toward the Jewish people of Germany and Europe along with a foreign policy which led to military aggression in Europe, at its margins and along its lines of communication, created a setting parallel to that in the Pacific for involving the United States in open war. Faced with the possibility of warfare in either Europe or the Pacific or perhaps in both theaters simultaneously, the United States civilian leadership and the civilian and military leaders of the War Department, the Army and Navy were forced to prepare to achieve military success in any eventuality. One significant aspect of this preparation was the establishment and subsequent rapid development of military bases which lent themselves to technical training, operational preparation and initiation, logistics support and to the research and testing which would help to defeat a potential enemy. This dissertation examines how one such base, Eglin Field, an air base built along the panhandle of Florida during the 1930s, came into being, how it developed, and how it contributed to the defeat of the Axis nations during World War Two. Because the manner of the founding and the evolution of the base were directly related to the surrounding civilian community, Eglin Field and Okaloosa County, Florida, where the base is located, have a shared history. This dissertation explores that common thread in the period shortly before, during and at the conclusion of World War Two. It shows how Eglin and the surrounding community changed during the war. The county advanced in terms of population, prosperity and economic stability while Eglin Field evolved from a minor grass strip into a major military installation making significant contributions toward the nation's defense. Moving beyond the founding and development of Eglin Field and the effect on the surrounding community, this study covers the technical and operational preparations for war which took place at Eglin. In some cases, the preparations are important but mundane, while in others they are dynamic and cut right to the heart of successfully prosecuting the war against the Axis nations. One area to be discussed is the gunnery and bombing training which Eglin Field directly supported. Another is the testing of various armaments, some designed for use against very specific enemy targets. Ultimately, this study tells the story of Eglin Field's development into a key weapons testing facility that contributed significantly to the nation's war effort. In addition to technical training and weapons testing supported by Eglin Field, this study examines the preparation for certain operational missions which occurred at the base. In telling the story of these missions and in telling the overall history of Eglin Field, this author seeks to include the contributions of select individuals and units and the challenges which they faced and overcame.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2012
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-6447
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- Foreign Policy and Transnational Terrorism.
- Creator
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Milton, Daniel J. (Daniel James), Moore, Will H., Creswell, Michael, Souva, Mark, Siegel, David, Department of Political Science, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
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Transnational terrorism (TNT) is a process that, by definition, involves both international and domestic actors. A non-trivial portion of the literature that seeks to answer the question of why TNT occurs has focused on country-level characteristics (democracy, wealth/poverty, etc.). I argue that these country characteristics create opportunities for TNT, but not necessarily the motivation for actors to commit acts of TNT. A more complete explanation of TNT needs to include both opportunity...
Show moreTransnational terrorism (TNT) is a process that, by definition, involves both international and domestic actors. A non-trivial portion of the literature that seeks to answer the question of why TNT occurs has focused on country-level characteristics (democracy, wealth/poverty, etc.). I argue that these country characteristics create opportunities for TNT, but not necessarily the motivation for actors to commit acts of TNT. A more complete explanation of TNT needs to include both opportunity and motivation factors at both the domestic and international level. In addition to the need for consideration of both opportunities and motivations, I also argue that we need to look at both domestic and international processes to explain TNT, and that to do so we should explore the transnational consequences of a state's foreign policy. I argue that if a foreign policy creates a perception of threat towards the economic and physical freedom of the citizens in a country targeted by another country's foreign policy, the number of TNT attacks against the initiator of the policy will increase. If the policy's impact on their freedoms is positive, the number of TNT attacks will decrease. Using ITERATE data, I test this theory in different foreign policy scenarios. The results suggest that countries need to consider the possibility that some foreign policies create negative externalities (such as TNT) and prepare for these contingencies.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2012
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-5044
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- Waterloo in Myth and Memory: The Battles of Waterloo 1815-1915.
- Creator
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Fitzpatrick, Timothy, Blaufarb, Rafe, Boutin, Amiée, Jones, James P., Creswell, Michael, Grant, Jonathan, Department of History, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
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This work examines memory of the Battle of Waterloo. There have been hundreds of works on the Battle of Waterloo but what this work does is to examine how works in several genres change over time. The memory of Waterloo was not static but changed several times over and over again. The myth of Waterloo was created, challenged and renegotiated several times. What makes this project significant is that it is not a battle history of Waterloo but a history of the battle over the battle's...
Show moreThis work examines memory of the Battle of Waterloo. There have been hundreds of works on the Battle of Waterloo but what this work does is to examine how works in several genres change over time. The memory of Waterloo was not static but changed several times over and over again. The myth of Waterloo was created, challenged and renegotiated several times. What makes this project significant is that it is not a battle history of Waterloo but a history of the battle over the battle's significance in history. It combines several different approaches using biography, literary criticism, historiography, art and monuments to explore the history of the myths and memory of Waterloo. This interpretation combines those approaches in a new way to look at how cultural myths and legends about a battle can be made and challenged. It also examines the successes and failures of interpretations in making "the" History of a battle. It uses sources from the battlefield tourists and participants of different cultural events in addition to the primary historical figures involved. It is intentionally not a work of archival sources but of cultural ones. This project makes several points about the historical significance of the Battle of Waterloo. Wellington and Napoleon tried to shape the memory and history of the battle to their advantage. Others willingly helped Wellington and Napoleon make legends and myths of the battle like Henry Barker, Sir Walter Scott, Emmanuel Las Cases, and Gaspard Gourgaud. The memory of Waterloo was contested. Victor Hugo successfully challenged the myths and legends of the battle while Marshal Grouchy and William Siborne were not successful. Military theorist like Clausewitz and Jomini used the battle as a blueprint for future wars and a guide for understanding the essence of war in general. The myths and memories of the battle Waterloo were intertwined into the national identities of both Britain and France.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-8701
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- A Peaceful Conquest: Woodrow Wilson, the League of Nations, and the Great War of American Protestantism.
- Creator
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Burnidge, Cara L., Porterfield, Amanda, Creswell, Michael, Corrigan, John, Twiss, Sumner, Department of Religion, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
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While many histories of the long Progressive Era acknowledge that faith mattered to President Woodrow Wilson, few seriously consider the crucial role religion played in shaping his foreign policy specifically and twentieth-century U.S. foreign relations more broadly. As a result, this dissertation examines the life and legacy of the twenty-eighth President of the United States in order to better understand the religious context informing the expansion of America's global responsibilities....
Show moreWhile many histories of the long Progressive Era acknowledge that faith mattered to President Woodrow Wilson, few seriously consider the crucial role religion played in shaping his foreign policy specifically and twentieth-century U.S. foreign relations more broadly. As a result, this dissertation examines the life and legacy of the twenty-eighth President of the United States in order to better understand the religious context informing the expansion of America's global responsibilities. Contrary to conventional wisdom, which assumes that the "sacred" and the "secular" are always separate, I assert that religion played a consistent and significant role in U.S. foreign relations during the first half of the twentieth century. Beginning with Wilson's childhood and the development of his unique relationship to Presbyterianism and ending with the so-called "resurrection" of Wilson's ideals during World War II, this project provides a more robust treatment of the role of religion and American foreign policy in the early twentieth century. Although Wilson spoke of "church" and "state" as separate entities, his lived experience in the White House demonstrates that there was no functional difference between his "religious" and "political" life. Accordingly, when President Wilson introduced the Covenant of the League of Nations to the American public in 1919 he revealed a vision for a new world order informed by current global affairs and, I assert, by his longstanding commitment to liberal Protestantism. Not merely a biography, this dissertation moves from Wilson to his opponents who also crafted their foreign policy position according to their ideological commitments. On the Senate floor and at public forums around the country, Wilson opponents criticized the League of Nations according to theological justifications for God's order, national sovereignty, and American exceptionalism. Histories of American religion often describe the early twentieth century as a time of a "two-party" system divided between "modernists" and "fundamentalists." I expand this conversation by connecting the discord among American Protestants about being "in" the world but not "of" it to public debates that pitted isolationists against internationalists. This bitter Protestant division during the post-war and interwar period had consequences in American foreign policy that have been too long neglected. World War I revealed the intensity of the Protestant establishment's competing notions of God's order and American exceptionalism. This disunity reached its breaking point when President Wilson unveiled his Covenant of the League of Nations to Congress and the American public. As Wilson tried to put his liberal, social Christian values to practice at the Paris Peace Conference, conservative Protestants renewed their convictions that the United States should be a white, Protestant nation. The Ku Klux Klan and other nativist organizations gained members just as Wilson sought to actualize a "brotherhood of man" under the "fatherhood of God" and the League of Nations. Public support for a liberal Protestant internationalism shifted under Wilson's feet and the Senate, influenced by Fundamentalist discourse, failed to ratify his chief foreign policy initiative. In the wake of nativist resurgences, liberal Protestants, Catholics, and Jews focused their energies on re-narrating American democracy and American exceptionalism in the 1930s and 1940s. Political figures like Franklin Delano Roosevelt who served in the Wilson administration turned public discourse toward an Americanism that looked beyond the nation's borders and valued religion generally. Resurrected as "Wilsonianism," Wilson's internationalism received a makeover that reformulated Wilson's liberal Presbyterianism as "Judeo-Christian." This process causes diplomatic historians to characterize Wilson and his approach to foreign policy as generally "religious" or "moralistic," rather than connect Wilsonian internationalism to the distinctly liberal Protestant roots from which he developed his ideology. Sitting at the intersection of Religious Studies, American Studies, and International Relations, this dissertation engages in a cross disciplinary dialogue. With a more robust analysis of the role religion played in the Wilson administration, this dissertation connects changes in American religious life to public policy trends; corrects misperceptions about the nature of religion in the public sphere (especially those that assume a sharp separation between "the sacred" and "the secular") and contributes to the growing interest in religion and politics in the twentieth century by tracing the origins of popular Cold War trends. With a more sophisticated approach to "religion," this dissertation departs from diplomatic histories that evaluate personal religious sagas or religious lobbying only; in contrast, I narrate the ways in which several modes of religious thought and expression operate underneath the surface of "pragmatic" policy concerns to better understand the complexities that motivate power relations generally and U.S. international relations specifically.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-7735
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- Peering Through the Lens of Dinshwai: British Imperialism in Egypt 1882-1914.
- Creator
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Luke, Kimberly Alana, Creswell, Michael, Garretson, Peter P., Grant, Jonathan, Maier-Katkin, Birgit, Department of History, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
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As the largest empire in history, the British Empire has established relations with countries and peoples across the globe. Imperialism has formed the basis of many of these connections and shaped the ways in which areas under British influence developed. The Dinshwai incident serves as one representative example of British imperial relationships. Occurring in British-occupied Egypt in 1906, the Dinshwai incident resulted when Egyptian villagers attacked British soldiers on a pigeon hunting...
Show moreAs the largest empire in history, the British Empire has established relations with countries and peoples across the globe. Imperialism has formed the basis of many of these connections and shaped the ways in which areas under British influence developed. The Dinshwai incident serves as one representative example of British imperial relationships. Occurring in British-occupied Egypt in 1906, the Dinshwai incident resulted when Egyptian villagers attacked British soldiers on a pigeon hunting expedition. British officials in Egypt reacted severely to the Dinshwai incident by invoking an 1895 khedivial decree to hold a special tribunal to try the Dinshwai offenders. This tribunal allowed Britain to make examples of the Egyptian peasants in order to demonstrate the strength of the British presence in Egypt. The harshness of the punishments inflicted, which included executions, imprisonment, and flogging, brought British policy in Egypt to the attention of British public opinion and created a backlash of anti-British feeling in Egypt, stoking the flames of nascent Egyptian nationalism.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2010
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-7186
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- Creating France: The Pope, German Princes, Pèages, and Privilege, 1789-1791.
- Creator
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Best, Timothy, Blaufarb, Rafe, Boutin, Aimee, Garretson, Peter, Creswell, Michael, Williamson, George, Department of History, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
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Before 1789, France lacked a well-defined external boundary. At the same time, the kingdom was dissected by internal frontiers (customs lines, provincial borders, ecclesiastical jurisdictions, judicial districts, etc.) and pock-marked by French and foreign princely enclaves claiming sovereign authority. All of these divisions were manifestations of a system of provincial culture and privilege that fragmented the French state. This project focuses on the work undertaken by the French...
Show moreBefore 1789, France lacked a well-defined external boundary. At the same time, the kingdom was dissected by internal frontiers (customs lines, provincial borders, ecclesiastical jurisdictions, judicial districts, etc.) and pock-marked by French and foreign princely enclaves claiming sovereign authority. All of these divisions were manifestations of a system of provincial culture and privilege that fragmented the French state. This project focuses on the work undertaken by the French Constituent National Assembly during the first two years of the French Revolution. It examines the Assembly's attempts to create a homogenous space within which undivided sovereignty could be exercised uniformly. Territorial coherence served as the cornerstone to the Assembly's massive plan to create national sovereignty. Without territorial and administrative unity, the circumscriptions that fragmented the authority of the previous regime would have remained. The only way to fully suppress privilege and create legal and civic equality was to establish territorial and administrative uniformity throughout France. The revolutionaries' attempt to achieve territorial uniformity is the overarching problem that binds my dissertation together. This work examines four actions taken by the National Assembly to create a unitary polity. The second chapter examines the suppression of the Old Regime's provinces and the creation of revolutionary départements. The third chapter examines the suppression of the various internal customs lines [douanes interieures] that fragmented sovereignty within the kingdom. In addition, the third chapter explores the rationale behind the creation of the kingdom's first rigid external customs lines. With the removal of the internal trade barriers and the erection of semi-permeable tariff lines, the Assembly accomplished more than simply removing hindrances to trade and protecting French manufacturers. Without the numerous privileged economic circumscriptions, the Assembly was able to apply its sovereign authority more evenly and effectively. This action represented an attempt by the deputies to clearly demarcate the boundaries of the kingdom for the first time. The result was the physical and economic delineation of France from the rest of Europe. The economic and territorial reorganization of France allowed the revolutionaries to address the existence of numerous sovereign principalities that existed in France before the Revolution. Chapter four examines the Assembly's actions in the Papal state of the Comtat Venaissin (commonly referred to as Avignon). Avignon was, by far, the largest, most powerful and complex foreign sovereign territory that existed in France during the Old Regime. Its power, size, geographical position, and long-held privileges within the territorial boundaries of France made it impossible for the revolutionaries to create a territorially unified state without dealing with the Papal territories. Chapter five explores the Assembly's actions in Alsace. Alsace (particularly Lower Alsace) presented a number of problems for the deputies, especially after 4 August 1789. Alsace, because of its historic and close association with foreign sovereigns and its unique historical experience with semi-autonomous self-rule, mostly resisted assimilation into the French state. When taken as whole, this project represents the first attempt to examine how the revolutionaries transformed the early modern French monarchical state into a territorially unified entity. This great transformation took place through a series of discrete changes that fundamentally and permanently altered the nature of the French state. The creation of nationalized sovereignty and the permanent suppression of privilege would not have been possible without the territorial, economic, and administrative actions executed during the first two years of the French Revolution.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2014
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-8729
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- Nasser's Political and Security Dilemma: American-Egyptian Relations during the Yemeni Civil War, 1962-1967.
- Creator
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Shelby, Alexander Mahmoud, Creswell, Michael, Souva, Mark, Garretson, Peter, Grant, Jonathan, Hanley, Will, Liebeskind, Claudia, Department of History, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
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This dissertation examines American-Egyptian relations from 1962 to 1967 during the Yemeni civil war. The central question that is raised here is: how did Nasser's security and political dilemma cause a breakdown in American-Egyptian relations and contribute to the outbreak of the Six Day War in June 1967? Based on archival research in Israel, the West Bank in Palestine, the United States, and Great Britain, I argue that Gamal Abdul Nasser did not pursue a strategy of confrontation with the...
Show moreThis dissertation examines American-Egyptian relations from 1962 to 1967 during the Yemeni civil war. The central question that is raised here is: how did Nasser's security and political dilemma cause a breakdown in American-Egyptian relations and contribute to the outbreak of the Six Day War in June 1967? Based on archival research in Israel, the West Bank in Palestine, the United States, and Great Britain, I argue that Gamal Abdul Nasser did not pursue a strategy of confrontation with the United States in the 1960s, but was in fact responding to a security and a political threat or dilemma he faced in the Middle East and in Egypt. As he confronted this security dilemma, Nasser's solutions ran counter to America's strategic goals for the region. My research found that the collapse in relations took place at a crucial moment for Nasser. While he was dealing with the break in American-Egyptian relations, Nasser was also confronting his political enemies in Egypt. At the same time, he was challenged for the leadership of Arab nationalism by conservative Arab regimes (Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Libya) and by the Ba'athists. The implications for Egypt and the United States were disastrous for it led to a break in relations between them and eventually resulted in the May Crisis in 1967 that preceded the Six Day War.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2014
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-9092
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- Secret Armies and Revolutionary Federations: The Rise and Fall of Armenian Political Violence, 1973-1993.
- Creator
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Gunn, Christopher, Grant, Jonathan, Souva, Mark, Creswell, Michael, Hanley, Will, Wynot, Edward, Department of History, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
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Between 1973 and 1988, ASALA and the ARF waged a campaign of violence against Turkey and its citizens. These terrorist organizations killed approximately 90 individuals and wounded hundreds more through a combination of attacks that spanned North America, Europe, the Middle East and the south Pacific and targeted ethnic Turks, assets of the Turkish government, and Turkish business interests. By the early1980s, these two organizations earned reputations as the most dangerous, savage and...
Show moreBetween 1973 and 1988, ASALA and the ARF waged a campaign of violence against Turkey and its citizens. These terrorist organizations killed approximately 90 individuals and wounded hundreds more through a combination of attacks that spanned North America, Europe, the Middle East and the south Pacific and targeted ethnic Turks, assets of the Turkish government, and Turkish business interests. By the early1980s, these two organizations earned reputations as the most dangerous, savage and mysterious terrorist group in existence. Armenian terrorism, however had virtually no chance of reaching its publicly stated goals. ASALA and the ARF demanded acknowledgement of the Armenian genocide; reparations for the families of the victims; and possession of eastern Anatolia. Contrary to their aims, the Turkish government was not going to revise their history, and the prospect of violating the territorial sovereignty of the Turkish Republic inconceivable. Yet, Armenian terrorism thrived for over a decade before abruptly fading away in the second half of the 1980s. Making use of the primary documents now available, this work will analyze the reasons why ASALA and the ARF took up arms in 1975, how they sustained themselves, and why they suddenly disappeared. It will argue that Armenian terrorist was the end result of a policy of aggressive nationalism based on anti-Turkishness that was introduced in 1959 used for short-term and local political gains. Recognizing the success of this new policy, the ARF continued to promote anti-Turkishness throughout 1960s and early 1970s. After witnessing the positive response to the increasing violence and the emergence of favorable international conditions, the ARF embraced violence as means to obtain their ultimate political goal: eastern Anatolia. At the very same time, three Armenian intellectuals and a young Armenian terrorist with experience in various Palestinian organizations were creating a new terrorist organization of their own, ASALA. ASALA and the ARF/JCAG operated for over a decade, and were able to sustain themselves because of the steadfast support of the Armenian diaspora for a terrorist campaign that killed Turks. The campaigns finally ended after the violence not only became an end in itself, but had turned the two groups against each other in an inter-group struggle that decimated their ranks.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2014
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-8996
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- Making Internationalism Personal: The Great Depression and America's Advocates for International Cooperation, 1929-1936.
- Creator
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Goodman, Joshua L., Creswell, Michael, Jones, James P., Upchurch, Charles, Department of History, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
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Between the world wars, Wilsonian activists called for the United States to use its power, money, and influence to help neutralize the volatile atmosphere in Europe and Asia and foster a cooperative global community to prevent war and settle international disputes rationally. These 'internationalists' were mostly intellectuals and publicists associated with universities, prominent foundations, and non-profit organizations such as the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Foreign...
Show moreBetween the world wars, Wilsonian activists called for the United States to use its power, money, and influence to help neutralize the volatile atmosphere in Europe and Asia and foster a cooperative global community to prevent war and settle international disputes rationally. These 'internationalists' were mostly intellectuals and publicists associated with universities, prominent foundations, and non-profit organizations such as the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Foreign Policy Association. While a number of historians either downplay the importance of this group in policymaking or label them as idealists detached from the mainstream beat of American public opinion in the interwar period, internationalists' activities during the Great Depression indicate that they were more alert to reality than some writers suggest. This thesis explores a three-part revolution in the internationalist movement in the United States, whereby Wilsonian activists confronted the economic downturn of the early 1930s as both a challenge and an opportunity. On the one hand, the hardships of the Great Depression turned most Americans toward nationalist solutions for the crisis designed to put 'America first,' at the expense of the internationalist worldview the Wilsonians were working to cultivate. Moreover, the organizations and individuals who supported this non-governmental movement were not immune from the Depression themselves, and over the course of the 1930s their funding began to wither. Despite these problems, internationalists also used the Depression as an opportunity to reform their movement to make it more relevant and palatable to a wider public. This revolution took place in three categories. First, Wilsonians dropped their traditional vague arguments in favor of international cooperation and substituted an unyielding attack on economic nationalism, which they believed had caused the Great Depression and could engulf the world in another general war if left unchecked. They also supplemented their existing tactics for educating public opinion with new initiatives designed to shine a spotlight on the problems of the Depression for the largest possible number of Americans. Whereas their earlier efforts had focused on university students and the elite, 1930s internationalists launched a real campaign to bring Wilsonianism to the everyday American. Finally, in light of the fiscal constraints of the economic downturn during this period, internationalists were forced to streamline their movement by prioritizing their work and pooling resources to support only the best and most promising avenues of action. What these intellectuals considered the most promising is indicative of the lessons the Depression taught them. Altogether, these changes demonstrate that Wilsonians are deserving of attention in the historiography of American foreign policy in the inter-war period, since they did make a concerted effort to shape popular opinion about America's place in a global community, and their activities confirm that they did far more than bat about ideas that had no connection to the dire realities of the Great Depression.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2010
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-7146
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- The Domino Theory in the Popular Geopolitics of the U.S. News Media, 1989-2009.
- Creator
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Whitaker, Christopher, O‘Sullivan, Patrick, Creswell, Michael, Stallins, Jon Anthony, Jordan, Lisa, Department of Geography, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
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This dissertation explores the way in which the U.S. news media employed the domino theory as a (or part of a) geopolitical discourse in its coverage of foreign policy challenges facing the United States in the post-Cold War era in a manner that operated to frame the tone and content of it reporting on these issues for American news audiences. This study relies on the use of thematic content analysis of newspaper articles using the domino theory in their reporting on three distinct sets of...
Show moreThis dissertation explores the way in which the U.S. news media employed the domino theory as a (or part of a) geopolitical discourse in its coverage of foreign policy challenges facing the United States in the post-Cold War era in a manner that operated to frame the tone and content of it reporting on these issues for American news audiences. This study relies on the use of thematic content analysis of newspaper articles using the domino theory in their reporting on three distinct sets of geopolitical affairs issues appearing in the Lexis-Nexis newspaper database from 1989 to 2009 using a grounded theory-based research approach. This methodology assesses, documents, and illustrates the way in which the media's representations relying on this well known geopolitical metaphor shaped the complexion of news coverage on the crises in Bosnia (from 1993-1995); Kosovo (1999); and Iraq (from 2003-2007). The results of this study advances our understanding of the domino theory's enduring role as a geopolitical discourse that promotes certain political agendas and the role of America's journalists in actively producing geopolitical knowledge about the world through their reporting. The analysis of the U.S. news media's discourse in these three case studies demonstrates that the domino theory was relied upon in the popular geopolitics produced by the American media on these three foreign affairs issues and revealed a series of patterns in the findings. The phrase most commonly originated from the country's journalists rather than the individuals or groups to whom it was attributed. The American news media often used the phrase as a (or part of a) oppositional discourse to re-interpret arguments for military intervention in these international crises in an overwhelmingly negative light. This finding directly contradicts the claims embedded in hundreds of news articles on these issues that the domino metaphor was being harnessed to rationalize and legitimize interventionist military policies by American officials and their political supporters. This study also assesses and documents themes in the representational strategies used by journalists' to condition their largely critical portrayals of these topics. The conclusions of this research should be of significance to those who are interested in exploring the news media's role as an institution site implicated in the active production and dissemination of popular geopolitical knowledge about world politics and the role of geopolitical metaphors like the domino theory in these processes.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2011
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-1106
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- Perspectives on Infantry: Quality and Cohesion- Comparison of American, British, and German Army Manpower Policies and Effects on the Infantry Small Unit during the Second World War, 1939-1945.
- Creator
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Lauer, George Stephen, Creswell, Michael, Souva, Mark, Grant, Jonathan, Jones, James P., Friedman, Max Paul, Department of History, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
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The outcomes of the military manpower policies of the major Western Powers of the Second World War, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States during the Second World War, form the basis for this study. Through an examination of the results achieved by these nations for the selection and assignment of infantry combat soldiers, the intent is to compare and contrast the manner and method by which these men were placed into small combat units and the effect on the development of unit...
Show moreThe outcomes of the military manpower policies of the major Western Powers of the Second World War, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States during the Second World War, form the basis for this study. Through an examination of the results achieved by these nations for the selection and assignment of infantry combat soldiers, the intent is to compare and contrast the manner and method by which these men were placed into small combat units and the effect on the development of unit cohesion as a result. The key comparison lies between the Anglo-American infantry and the German infantry, and sets out to illuminate the reasons for the German soldier's observed reputation for extraordinary tenacity in the face of overwhelming odds as the war progressed to its end. The conclusion reached here is that these observed German combat soldier traits were the result of the holistic application of a variety of organizational and manpower decisions. The most important of these was the quality of the conscripted individual assigned to a line infantry division for an infantry small unit. German focus on the quality of the combat soldier was the key contrast to the United States and British Army infantry. This was the basis for the German combat soldier's reputation for cohesive behavior and perseverance in combat in the experience of his primary adversaries.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2010
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-7179
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- Tajikistan: Turbulent Past, Future Uncertain.
- Creator
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Absher, Lennol, Heffron-Casserleigh, Audrey, Souva, Mark, Creswell, Michael, Interdisciplinary Program in Social Science, Florida State University
- Abstract/Description
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The first decade after Tajikistan became independent was characterized by a 5 year long civil war and a difficult peace process. Just as Tajikistan was beginning to recover, the US began the invasion of Afghanistan on Tajikistan's southern border. Periodically, insurgents from Afghanistan moved into Tajikistan upsetting security. At the same time Tajikistan became the number one transit country in Central Asia for drug trafficking from Afghanistan. The war and the narcotics trafficking...
Show moreThe first decade after Tajikistan became independent was characterized by a 5 year long civil war and a difficult peace process. Just as Tajikistan was beginning to recover, the US began the invasion of Afghanistan on Tajikistan's southern border. Periodically, insurgents from Afghanistan moved into Tajikistan upsetting security. At the same time Tajikistan became the number one transit country in Central Asia for drug trafficking from Afghanistan. The war and the narcotics trafficking brought international competition from Russia, China, Iran and the US into Tajikistan. In 2014 coalition forces are scheduled to withdraw from Afghanistan. This will change the balance of power in Tajikistan and could lead to conditions that could cause Tajikistan to experience increased internal conflict or war.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-7267
- Format
- Thesis
- Title
- Industrial Modernization and the American Civil War.
- Creator
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Gray, Corey Patrick, Creswell, Michael H., Doel, Ronald Edmund, Piehler, G. Kurt, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of History
- Abstract/Description
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What explains why and how America fought the civil war? This thesis argues that industrial modernization can be a useful analytical tool for understanding the causes of the American Civil War. The argument is developed by analyzing the social, political, and military events of the era through the lens of industrialization. This study will show that the American Industrial Revolution lay at the core of the social, political, and military events that shaped this great conflict. Understanding...
Show moreWhat explains why and how America fought the civil war? This thesis argues that industrial modernization can be a useful analytical tool for understanding the causes of the American Civil War. The argument is developed by analyzing the social, political, and military events of the era through the lens of industrialization. This study will show that the American Industrial Revolution lay at the core of the social, political, and military events that shaped this great conflict. Understanding the causes of human events is as critical as understanding their effects. By grasping the root causes of the war, we can better understand how and why it was fought. This analysis of American society, American politics, and the country's military establishment will provide the rich context needed to apprehend the reasons for the American Civil war beyond the dichotomy of slavery and economics.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2015
- Identifier
- FSU_migr_etd-9605
- Format
- Thesis