Global Studies Capstone Projects: 2022-2023
Fall 2022
Global Studies Senior Thesis Titles and Abstracts
Iâm a Woman but Donât Call Me One: Omnipresent Genocide as a Driving Factor for the Development of Gender Discourse in Armenia â Noor Lima Boudakian
The central tension of this thesis is the way that womenâs roles in Armenia have both changed and remained stagnant as their involvement in the economy has grown and changed, with an emphasis on how the omnipresence of genocide has shaped this narrative. Women, collectively, have been taking on more outside of the home. I will discuss how there are many young people resisting the roles imposed on them by traditionâwhat others consider âproperâ Armeniannessâdrawing on a series of interviews I conducted in March 2022 with Armenian college students. Simultaneously, the continued attacks on Armenian sovereignty, including as recently as September 2022 create rifts in demographic stability in the country, which results in a pressure to reproduce as a means of ethnic survival. I use the case of government-sponsored IVF for women who have lost sons in a recent war to assess how cultural and state forces further the narrative of reproduction being a means for ethnic survival, and how this restricts autonomy. While looking into the Soviet era of Armenian culture and technology, I assess a second case: the tech sector, which has significant female involvement. I end by assessing how womenâs increasing economic self-reliance impacts the cultural pressures towards reproduction, and conclude by exploring where the narrative may shift in coming years.
ECON-D: Economie DĂ©brouillardise. Vol 1: Ecology & Environment â Francois Chargois
Settler Colonialism and Indigenous Feminisms â Serra Kook
Settler-colonialism refers to the implementation of a particular set of structures and frameworks that are formulated in order to deconstruct or eliminate pre-existing societies and epistemologies tied to land. The overarching theme of this work aims to address the ways in which settler colonialism has impacted Indigenous sovereignty through modes of political, physical and social violence in the context of The Americas and Canada. In addition to challenging orientations that center land and the construction of its borders, this paper will help conceptualize a major schema tied to colonialism; heteropatriarchy. While Indigenous women, girls and two-spirits have been at the forefront of Indigenous movements towards liberation and sovereignty, they are amongst some of the most disproportionately impacted of people of sexual, racial and gendered violence, globally.
As Indigenous women move towards liberation, they seek equality on two levels that do not concern their non-Indigenous counterparts; the individual and societal. (Shanley). Thus, I assert that in addition to violations of Indigenous sovereignty such as land displacement, settler-colonialism is too, responsible, for underscoring a dangerous paradigm of what feminism means in its basic form and practice. Evident by the ways in which its first waves were constructed and for whom, this work encourages the reader to dismantle the non-inclusive aspects of a white dominated feminist lens. Furthermore, it speculates that the term âfeminismâ can fall short in representing marginalized and non-white groups by centering a white agenda and through a solidification of eurocentric notions or gender binaries. This thesis both poses and heavily relies on the question, How might we refer to Indigenous epistemologies in order to restructure a Westernized or colonial construction of feminism and what it means?
Nikhil Shetty
The Virgin of Guadalupe: A Mexican National Symbol and her Multiple Perceptions and Representations in Culture â Andrea de la Vega
This thesis aims to examine how the Virgin of Guadalupe, a religious symbol, became such a widely accepted figure in Mexican culture by demonstrating the different roles she plays throughout history. She has been utilized for social, political, and cultural changes over the course of Mexican history and is, to this day, the most venerated Mexican symbol. The figure of the Virgin has been implemented as an emblem in revolutionary movements, been the face of liberation, a symbol of counter-military offensive, and has been present during times of crisis. The Mexican tradition around the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe has been studied insistently due to its importance in the emergence of nationalism. The significance of the Virgin in the daily life of Mexicans goes far beyond faith, it is a token of national identity. It is worth mentioning that nationalism, generally speaking, constitutes a specific type of political theory; it usually expresses a reaction to a foreign challenge, be it cultural, economic, or political which is felt to threaten native integrity and identity.Her many uses will aid the understanding and display ideas and feelings about the Mexican-ness as well as Mexican identity in contemporary society.
Spring 2023
Global Studies Senior Thesis Titles and Abstracts
âOur Homes are Not for Saleâ: Illegal Evictions and Housing Violence Targeting Black Homeowners in Brooklyn â Storey Barrineau
Illegal evictions and gentrification-related housing violence such as deed theft, fraud, and predatory lending are some of the greatest methods of displacement Black homeowners in Brooklyn experience today. This violent displacement is indicative of a greater phenomenon, the United Statesâ targeted war on Black wealth, which is historically accumulated by obtaining ownership to land, property, and homes. I will explore case studies in American history such as Oscarville, GA, Tulsa OK, and Seneca Village, NY which concretely illustrate the violence Black Americans have experienced for decades. In addition, I emphasize the undeniable connection between the displacement of Black homeowners in the past and the current displacement of Black homeowners through the process of illegal evictions, which fall into the larger process of gentrification related housing violence in Brooklyn. To further my argument I include my own firsthand experiences with illegal eviction defense in Brooklyn, specifically through my work with the organization Equality for Flatbush. Through volunteering with E4F, I learned the illegal eviction stories of two Black, first generation Caribbean immigrant families in Brooklyn, the Sandersons and the Fosters, whose home deeds were fraudulently stolen from them. I have the privilege of sharing their stories, my involvement, and E4Fâs plan for the future of eviction defense in this thesis.
A Colonial Legacy: The impact of slavery, servitude and indentureship on modern Trinidad and Tobago â Risse Bovell
This thesis is a comprehensive overview of Trinidad and Tobagoâs history of European colonialism and how it has impacted our countryâs elements of socio-economics, culture and race. My personal connection to this comes from my Trini heritage and love for my country. Spending the firstportion of my childhood in the United Kingdom then moving back home at the age of 9 to the island has given me a unique approach to this topic as I have had the âfirst worldâ experience and then returned home. I am passionate about addressing the issues that the global illness of colonialism has left on my country and in a broader sense the entire lesser Antilles of the Caribbean.
Still, Birth: Los Alamos National Laboratory as Condition and Consequence of Nuclear Colonialism â Bella Coles
Human Trafficking and the Charade of Reparations: A Closer Look at Anti-Trafficking Action and Legislation in Serbia â Nicole A. Davis
No one can put a price on what a survivor of human trafficking endures. Today, there are 29.4 million people who are trafficked each year in this 150 billion-dollar industry. Prior research on human trafficking from scholars addresses the problem of human trafficking worldwide and within the Balkan state of Serbia. They attest that there must be new legislation that supports victim protection instead of prosecution and arrest of the perpetrator. Additionally, scholars have supported that a more holistic framework must be implemented to provide better reparations to victims of human trafficking by the Serbian government apart from monetary compensation. There is an over-realization of legal action by the Serbian government that is theatrical in nature. What I mean by theatricality is the exaggeration of âsolvingâ the human trafficking problem instead of heeding international and scholarly advisement that promotes victim protection. Thus, what are more tangible reparations for the victims of human trafficking that are not performative? Can a restorative justice approach aid in creating reparations in anti-trafficking action and legislation that is not theatrical or performative? Solutions would include taking a grassroots approach toward reparations. This would be accomplished by providing psychological, social, medical, and legal services to survivors of human trafficking similar to NGOs who already provide these services. This thesis will highlight the theatricality of the Serbian court and the theatrics of political action or inaction in Serbia. Using a feminist
methodology and an ethnographic case study of the non-governmental organization, ASTRA â Anti Trafficking Action, I will illuminate how the Serbian government can perpetuate performative or theatrical reparations. Throughout my research evidence will support my argument that the Serbian government does not provide proper reparations for victims of human trafficking when solely allocating monetary compensation for their suffering. In asking such questions I will highlight how a nuanced discussion of anti-human trafficking action by the Serbian government and non-governmental agencies using performance discourse will help both entities improve legislation that protects and defends victims.
Labor Organizing in Restaurant Kitchens â Lolo Kaase
With recent movies like The Menu and shows like The Bear, Hollywood is painting the restaurant kitchen as a dangerous and high-stress environment, and they arenât wrong. Restaurant kitchens can be an intense place, but one area that is truly dangerous about them is how hard it is for employees to get living wages and safe working conditions. Recent studies have shown that despite rises in unions across American industries, the restaurant industry has consistently been below the national average in union members and wages. So if restaurants and kitchen employees arenât unionizing, what are they doing to organize and advocate for their labor rights in a cutthroat kitchen environment where high rates of workers of color, immigrant workers, small staffs, and strict hierarchies create barriers and biases that restrict the possibility of fair working conditions? When unionization isnât the best option chefs, cooks, and kitchen workers have to rely on legislation and informal form of advocacy to ensure they are able to sustain themselves while working in the industry. This thesis will look at recent moves towards more sustainable labor practices in the industry, as well as interviews with current kitchen employees, and analysis of legal policy both historically
and currently, to understand the kitchen employee as a labor activist, a position that is evolving, informal, and vastly different from kitchen to kitchen, and person to person.
Cultural Relativism and Universal Human Rights: The Clash Between Principles â Carma K. Maenhout
Universal human rights and cultural relativism have long been a clash of principles. After the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the claims that it reflected only Western cultural values, the term cultural relativism became popular as an excuse against non-Western countries incorporating universal human rights. But many of these governments hide behind this excuse in order to maintain power and control over their countries. They are able to get away with it because not only have they brainwashed their people into believing they do not need universal human rights, many Western nations are also too fearful to call them out on it due to fears of coming off as imperialistic. But the government is not always involved, as in the case of the cultural practice called âbreast ironingâ commonly found in Cameroon. But in the case of LGBT+ rights and the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, the Qatari government hides behind their Islamic culture for their treatment of LGBT+ individuals visiting for the cup. They hide behind the claims that homosexuality goes against Islam or that incorporating these rights would require them to change and lose parts of their culture, both of which are easily disproven. Even beyond that, there are possible solutions that would allow these cultures to begin incorporating universal human rights, and some are slowly getting there, but main remain victims to their government’s propaganda that tells them these rights are unnecessary and will provide no improvements in their lives.
Al-Razi Manuscripts and Printing in Europe â Maliya Malik
This thesis explores how different scientific ideas from the Islamic world spread to Europe. Particularly, I analyze how the printing press played in this exchange of knowledge. I explore printing and the exchange of knowledge through the case study of the Islamic scholar Abu Bakr Muhammad Ibn Zakariya Al Razi (865â925). Furthermore, I will trace and analyze the manuscripts that reference Al-Raziâs scholarly work and discuss his contributions to science, especially his work in alchemy through my archival work in the British Library.
âThe System is Working as Designedâ: The Case for Abolition of Americaâs Prison System â Emmeline Mattes
The U.S. criminal justice system is a modern instrument of social control. Not only is the prison system the dominant apparatus of suppression in the U.S., but also the privatization of prisons reveals a predatory, yet synergistic, relationship between capital and the carceral system. Through the penal system, countless individuals are exposed to brutal abuse on multiple levels, mainly minorities and marginalized groups. Furthermore, when other fundamental social institutions, such as the police and the education system, perpetuate inequitable power structures, the amount of bodies subjected to incarceration increases.The cycle continues, power is reinforced. This is materialization of a wider conversation surrounding history and race. How isolated can an institution be from its origins? What can we possibly do about this union? So, by
exploring the historical roots of the criminal justice system, and through examining the different
ways it has functioned throughout American history, we glean a deeper understanding of the countless racial disparities in which the system still houses today. I draw on abolitionist literature, exploring both the specific injustices the carceral system reeks with, but also potentialities for the future. When we pinpoint the issues embedded in the foundation, we can extract and mold them into what they should, and can, be. What I argue is that in order to achieve a more just future, we must topple the entire structure as we know it. The justice system can truly be just, not through reforming, but through abolition.
The Criminalization of Life Outside Societyâs Margin: Homelessness, Mental Health, and Addiction in New York City â Claire Emond Miller
Throughout the history of modern homelessness, there has been a consistent lack of structural social change and action from authorities compounded by negative biases towards the homeless, and people struggling with addiction and mental illness. The default tendency is to criminalize people living under these conditions. This thesis examines the evolution of the responses and language used by different New York City administrations regarding the related social issues of homelessness, mental health, and addiction. These have caused limitations of access for homeless individuals to mental health support, physical health care, rehabilitation treatments, social services, and basic shelter needs. There are many social, environment,
economic, and structural factors that contribute to the stigmatization of homelessness, especially
in relation to addiction and mental illness. To understand these structural factors I look at the language used in discussion on media platforms, negative attitude towards the crisis, and unconstructive purported solutions. There is a major focus on Mayor Eric Adamsâ approach to addressing the issues, to understand the impact of these changes. Driven by the attack of Michelle Go by a homeless individual suffering from mental illness, mayor Adams drastically increased the police involvement of mental health management in the city. Despite unproductive action from the City, organizations such as VOCAL-NYC, a grassroots organization who advocate for and provide community based services for the homeless, are working towards better conditions and treatment.
On Time Machines: The Fragmentation of living under colonial time â Vedika Modi
Prior to the invention of metric time, time was a cosmic conversation between people and the stars. It moved at the pace of nature itself, monitored by the waxing and waning of flowers, demarcated by the evening chatter of birds, and understood by the length of a shadow as it grew and shrunk to the rhythm of the sun.1 Time was ruled by the gods, shaped by myth and negotiated through elaborate rituals. Understandably, temporality was a local phenomenon, bound by people, place and culture.
However, this is not the time you and I know. Our time is a colonial artifact, boiled and brewed by the imperial desires of the British Empire. Through their clocks that would not change and railways that needed schedules, imperialists of the nineteenth and twentieth century fundamentally restructured how we move through moments. This unyielding time guided by exactitude was standardized and proliferated around the world with the help of the 1884 International Meridian conference that set in place a standard for time to be followed by everyone. Clocks, railroads and time zones are the machines we built to help us make time ultimately work to collapse time within the collective psyche.
âSi no sabeâ de dĂłnde soy, no me ronquenâ: ReggaetĂłn as an anti-colonial pillar of Puerto Rican Culture â Adrianna Oquendo
One of the biggest examples of colonialism by the United States is linguistic imperialism. Through the intention to impose English in Puerto Rico in the beginning of the 20th century, linguistic resistance started having broader implications of understanding Puerto Ricoâs status. ReggaetĂłn is a music genre that draws from Jamaica, PanamĂĄ, and New York City but settled its roots in the early 90s in marginalized communities in Puerto Rico by connecting feelings of belonging and identity. Acts of community building (janguiando y perreando), development of underground economies within disenfranchised communities, and the use of vernacular strongly citizen by the elite set reggaetĂłn to become a pillar in Puerto Rican culture despite
governmental efforts to censure it. As a more trap-based beat emerged in 2015, the connection to reggaetĂłn is seen using Puerto Rican slang and accent. The self-perception of Puerto Ricans changed as unwilling to succumb to USAian hegemony. Artistsâ increased engagement with political realities is not only conscientizing from within, but also worldwide. Bad Bunny and Villano Antillano are some examples of the push for provocative questions around cultural imperialism, national identity, marginalization, and coloniality. The genre continues to be the most listened to in the world. The combination of Puerto Rican vernacular, references to Puerto Rico-specific understandings of space, and efforts from artists to invest and mobilize when the state fails to do so proves how reggaetĂłn is a cultural anti-colonial signifier fueling an increased
support for pro-sovereignty movements in Puerto Rico.
A Losing Game: Older Adult Care and Kinship in New York City â Pilar Ortiz-Diaz
The older adult population in the United States is growing exponentially, in 2019 it was recorded, âThe number of Americans ages 65 and older is projected to nearly double from 52 million in 2018 to 95 million by 2060, and the 65-and-older age groupâs share of the total population will rise from 16 percent to 23 percent.1â Older adult care in the United States is a broken system that is a gendered issue and a classed issue and a racialized issue. It is not ready to support this population increase. Older adult caregivers tend to be women, mostly immigrant women, who can work in precarious situations of documentation. Kinship systems are an important network of care for older adults, and the burden of care usually falls on women in
kinship care as well. This paper explores the broken system of older adult care and how it operates through capitalism, feminism, disability justice, and housing. I explore how older adult care takes formal and informal forms to supplement state services and that task tends to fall on women, women of color, and/or immigrant women. So I can help others understand how kinship systems shouldnât be the catch-all solution to the broken system of older adult care. Thereby my research question is: âHow does the welfare state intervene in supporting older adult care and how can the supplementary informal care systems formed be analyzed through kinship, capitalism, feminism, and the housing crisis in New York City?â Older adult conditions should not have to become extreme for them to qualify for state forms of care.
Where Global Capitalism Has Failed, Local Networks of Care Must Succeed â Camilla Ozeata
Transnational Islamism in Postcolonial States: A Poststructuralist Interrogation of the Islamic Stateâs Insurgency in the Congo â Sheela Rikhye
Since the tragic events of September 11, 2001 the United States has waged a self-decreed Global War on Terror with the sole objective of neutralizing militant Islamism. In response to the tightening noose on religious identity and autonomy many radical militant Islamic groups, like the Islamic State, have fought back and spread their campaigns further across the Global South as a symbolic act of defiance of neo-European hegemony and inherited colonial legacies that continue to marginalize and oppress postcolonial societies. In this thesis I explore how postcolonialism is to blame for the power vacuum, alleged corruption, and âfailureâ of the Democratic Republic of the Congo that allows for the growing threat of salafi jihadi movements to thrive and terrorize the indigenous population. This represents the stance and poses the
suggestion of reconstructing American diplomacy and defense as a method of achieving sustainable peace in the region through discoursing peace-focused American military strategists and deploying transnational feminist and poststructuralist frameworks to guide this reconstruction. This paper argues that a new approach of American strategy and diplomacy that involves better host-nation relationships, sponsoring more capacity building programs and empowering and subsidizing local industries that a more peaceful and prosperous Central Africa can thrive free of militant Islamism.
Nomadism Enclosed: Exploring the Impact of Property on Sedentarization and Nomadic Communities â Catherine Riordan
This thesis explores how nomadism is affected by property. Research has. established conceptions of nomadism through the analysis of movement patterns, land connection, culture, and economic sustenance. Additionally, research has continually reported on the social practices and government forces that have influenced these nomadic traditions, along with the so-called properties they conceptualized in their cultures. However, the way in which property regimes influence movement, culture, and relations, and play an integral role in sedentism, has lacked observation. In a world increasingly constrained around constructs of spatial division and exclusion through property allocation and relations, zoning legislation, and anti-trespass laws, it is imperative to examine nomadism from a property-forward perspective. In its analysis,
this thesis sees property as a tool of government to enclose, sedentarize, and regulate both space and social relations. Using the Mincéirs of Ireland and the United Kingdom as a case study, this thesis investigates how the nomadic practice of movement, culture, and identity are both harmed and cultivated through property schemes and exclusionary policies. As a result of these policies, a culture of both forced movement and adaptation is created, in a way that does not intend to continue on the tradition of a
mobile way of living and nomadic culture, yet does, or contrarily, settles the Mincéirs in which the practices become extinguished. This thesis, therefore, answers the questions of: how does nomadism interact with property in terms of space, legality, and social relations, to what extent does property aid in the sedentarization of nomads, and in what ways does property regulate nomadic movement, identity, and culture.
Dark Chambers â Jordan Salyers
The psychic landscape of terror is a dark wood illuminated only by a flashlight; a motherâs distant voice calling out to you from somewhere in the blackâor so I argue in Dark Chambers. In presentation and methodology, this poetic work deliberately entangles past with future, history with fiction, and determinism with possibility so as to explore the tension of a reality increasingly mediated through the presence of technology. This semiotic confusion in the forest of signsâthe world turned upside downâis visually represented through camera obscura and digitally captured, complimented through the orated diary entries of my mother. This diegesis, edited by human hands, will become modulated, reanimated through AI-tools to embrace a shape of the uncanny. This co-creational methodology extends itself through time, space, language, and algorithm. The textual treatment formally explores the malleability of realityâs texture to the technological mold and the seemingly unavoidable, irrevocable transformation of our interior obscuras: those dark chambers of memory, dreams, and imagination. This mode of speculative telemetry geolocates a collectivized arrested psychologyâour hopes and fearsâas we become exponentially atomized amidst the bloom and blister of market logic in the uncanny wake of AIâs trajectory.
Brighton Beach Zastolâye: Post-Soviet Identity and Complex Sentiments of Belonging at the Russophone Dinner Table â Anna Scola
This thesis is an ethnographic exploration of Post-Soviet identity through the culture of food in Brighton Beach, a neighborhood in New York City with the largest Russophone population in the Western hemisphere. Nicknamed Little Odessa, it is a place where the streets echo with Soviet melodies and restaurants are marked by Cyrillic signage, evoking the Soviet immigrantsâ homeland that they left long ago. My research explores the immigrants’ Post-Soviet identity and sense of belonging in the diasporic space by examining encounters with food at home, in grocery stores, and in restaurants. I show how cooking and eating together across generations and ethnicities becomes a practice of diasporic placemaking. Within this culinary architecture political borders are transgressed and reimagined as fluid spaces of culinary culture. Food sites in Brighton Beach, I argue, constitute an anachronistic microcosm of the Soviet utopian vision of community that never came to be, locating contemporary sentiments of belonging between a bygone past and fraught present through what I call âbeing in longing.â This is not purely nostalgia, but rather an intimate way to reconcile cultural, ethnic, and political differences from a lost home, the state of
being within a former âenemyâ country, and in response to new challenges to their shifting identity
in the wake of Putinâs violent instigations in Ukraine, which has turned everyday food, such as borscht, into sites of contestation and resignification. By challenging Russian hegemony, Brighton Beach food culture shows how the grand ideological and historical project across eleven time zones developed into a distinctly shared Post-Soviet identity amongst the immigrant population, with all its contradictions and differences, to further complicate ideas of identity and belonging in a post-modern discourse on nationalism.
Mapping the Terrain: Investigating the Link Between Trauma and Chronic Health Conditions â Chandani Shrestha
Trauma is often viewed as a purely psychological issue, but research has shown that trauma may also have profound effects on our bodies. The purpose of this paper is to provide insight into the mechanisms through which trauma is collected by the body, with a focus on gastrointestinal disorders, chronic inflammation, and autoimmune illnesses. I aim to bridge the gap between trauma and the prevailing crisis of chronic illnesses that we currently face. Today, over half of the American population suffers from at least one chronic illness, with concerning disparities that fall along racial lines. I explore some of the research which highlights racial
disparities, and I also touch upon the relatively new field of epigenetics and what it teaches us about transgenerational trauma. Addressing these trends effectively, I believe, requires the awareness and collaboration of clinicians, legislators, educators, and communities. I hope by exploring the links between trauma and chronic illness, we can gain a deeper understanding of the complex ways in which our minds and bodies are interconnected and begin to develop new approaches to healing that take this relationship into account.
Water and Sand: State Strategies of Weaponizing the Natural Environment Along Border Spaces of Migration â Rebecca Snyder
Today almost 80 million people worldwide are displaced, and of these, nearly 30 million have left their country of origin as refugees. This has created unprecedented pressure on destination countries, who have reacted with harsh efforts to control migration flows. This thesis examines how the natural environment on the borders of the two most desirable destination regionsâthe US and the EUâare being weaponized. This raises questions as to how policies connect and contribute to different ways of valuing life. What is the relationship between migration, policy, and the physical border as the natural environment? How has the state manipulated ânaturalâ spaces in order to construct them into weapons against migration? This thesis explores the changing relationship between humans and the environment through the ways that border
regimes have weaponized ânaturalâ spaces by making them serve a violent and political purpose in border policing. Research has shown how nature is weaponized against border crossers in isolated cases, yet leaves gaps in contributing to a larger conversation about how destination countries globally share tools in manipulating the environment against border crossers. I look at the work of scholars on the ground in the Sonoran Desert (US-Mexico border) and the Aegean Sea (EU-Turkey border) and policy statements in order to explore these border spaces. I have found that the state uses nature as a moral alibi, a âneutralâ force for which it can deflect blame for border deaths. The state sees nature through its geographical functionality as a space of exception and deterrent force. All of these elements make nature the ideal partner in border
policing but a space of death and extreme danger for border crossers.
Reimagining Homecoming: The Shift Towards Localized Aid for Returning Migrants in Rural Ethiopia â Claire Stevens
Since 2017, over 500,000 migrants have been recorded returning to Ethiopia, but many more are suspected to have returned without being recorded. This influx of returning migrants has caused a shortage of resources and strained the abilities of humanitarian aid organizations and the Ethiopian government, leaving the remaining support to fall on the local communities. This shift away from larger governmental and NGO-based aid is the process of localization. Countless NGOs have reported the information that they have been able to gather at borders as well as site visits in different parts of the country. With these recent developments, the Ethiopian government has partnered with these organizations to find the best solutions to empower communities to take on the migrants who are both returning to their homes, and fleeing
conflict and natural disasters. This thesis, then, begs the question: How is a shift toward localization affecting the practices of return migration in rural Ethiopia? I believe that these larger initiatives are just the
first steps towards supporting local communities and migrants in rural Ethiopia, but that there are things to be improved upon in the methodology in which these organizations are pulling support from rural regions.
Through both qualitative and quantitative research based on literature reviews, examinations of the current initiatives of NGOs, and interviews with humanitarian workers on the ground, I have identified both the benefits and drawbacks of larger humanitarian interventions pushing toward localization within Ethiopia. This study contributes to a better understanding of the complex interplay between localization, return migration, and rural development, and provides insights into how policies and programs can better support the needs and aspirations of returning migrants, as well as their communities, in a localized context.
Strangers in the Empire: Denmark and the Politics of Racializing and Policing Migration â Kiara S. Walker
In March 2018 the Danish government released a proposal called the âGhetto Planâ or âParallel Societiesâ in 2021. This initiative is a part of an ongoing series of migrant integration policies enacted by the Danish government since the inception of the Integration Act of 1999 and earlier in the 1970s. The plan classifies certain neighborhoods according to immigration status, ethnic background, employment status, age, income, criminal record, and educational backgrounds of residents as âvulnerable areasâ, âhard ghettosâ and âghetto areasâ according to criteria invented by the Danish government. In this thesis, I explore how the plan leads to expansion of family policing, punishment and surveillance from the state against so-called, ânon-western immigrantsâ and their âdescendantsâ and through this plan provides new ways for the state to categorize migrants. Although this plan is posited as equally affecting White Danes, it is refugees, and asylum seekers who are the most disproportionately put at risk for deportation and detention through subtle policies such as SUB-liste, and NĂŠrhed og tryghed which legalizes the increased âdouble punishmentâ for residents convicted of âcrimesâ living in ghetto areas. The Ghetto Plan is used as a lens through which I interrogate the colonial and imperial legacies of the Danish empire as an active participant in settler colonialism, Transatlantic Slavery, colonial exhibitions, and establishing charter companies during the 16th and 19th centuries, to show how this history has informed the construction of the Ethnic Migrant âOtherâ in opposition to the White Danish citizen. Finally, I weave in resistance driven mostly by the minoritized and
immigrant populations within and outside of Danish borders across time.