Abstract: In the past two decades China has expanded its influence in the Middle East, working towards what I call “soft integration,” focused on building economic ties through trade and infrastructure development. In contrast, the United States has continued to prioritize what I call “hard integration,” focused on strategic alliances with security commitments, basing of military assets, and the integration of regional defense systems. An ongoing challenge is that the two integration processes are increasingly encountering points of conflict leading […]
Faculty Publications
Dr. Karl DeRouen “Are Non-Inclusive Peace Agreements Effective Counter-Insurgency Strategies” Journal Article
Author(s): Dr. Karl DeRouen (University of Alabama) and Dr. Marie Olson Lounsbery (East Carolina University)
Abstract: Civil wars are complex in ways that challenge effective resolution. Civil war actors tend to be dynamic in nature and often splinter then coalesce over time potentially evolving into multiple dyads pitted against their government. Previous work has demonstrated that when multiple rebel factions emerge, civil wars tend to be longer in duration as satisfying multiple factions tends to be more challenging. However, governments may choose to pursue dyadic agreements hoping to end the conflict either through subsequent dyadic […]
“US Military Strategy in the Middle East and the Challenge of Demilitarization” Book Chapter
Author(s): Dr. Waleed Hazbun
Abstract: With its troop withdrawals from Iraq in 2011 and Afghanistan in 2021, the US exhibits a much smaller military footprint in the Middle East than it did in the mid to late 2000s. US regional strategy, however, remains structured around the capacity to deploy military force as a means maintain regional influence, contain Iran, and compete against China and Russia. For many analysts, political leaders, and much of the US public, a reduced military posture in the Middle East […]
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“Revisiting the (lack of) association between objective and subjective measures of local fiscal condition” Journal Article
Author(s): Dr. Sungho Park (University of Alabama), et al.
Abstract: Recent fiscal condition literature has been attentive to the consistency between subjective measures of local fiscal condition based on public officials’ perceptions and their objective counterparts measured using financial data. Studies have found little evidence of a relationship between them, leading scholars to speculate flaws in measurement or intentional lack of association. This study reevaluates the issue by investigating intervening explanations for the absence of connection. Analyzing survey and audited financial data from 185 municipalities across 31 states, […]
“Join or Die: How Deontological Moral Intuitions Complicate Cooperation amid the Covid-19 Pandemic” Journal Article
Author(s): Dr. Alessandro Del Ponte
Abstract: Tackling COVID-19 requires universal collective action: everyone must play their part to reduce the spread of the virus and quell the pandemic. Yet, some people obstinately refuse to cooperate, irrespective of the consequences for themselves and others. In this note, I illustrate a key element of human psychology that hampers cooperation amid the pandemic: deontological moral intuitions. Deontological morality prescribes that moral taboos must be followed no matter the consequences. This means that people who consider Covid vaccines a […]
“Between Tragedy and Chaos: US Policy in a Turbulent Middle East under Obama and Trump” Book Chapter
Author(s): Dr. Waleed Hazbun
“Information about historical emissions drives the division of climate change mitigation costs” Journal Article
Author(s): Dr. Alessandro Del Ponte
Dr. Alessandro Del Ponte (University of Alabama), Aidas Masiliūnas (University of Sheffield), Noah Lim (National University of Singapore) Abstract: Despite worsening climate change, the international community still disagrees on how to divide the costs of mitigation between developing countries and developed countries, which emitted the bulk of historical carbon emissions. We study this issue using an economic experiment. Specifically, we test how information about historical emissions influences how much participants pay for climate change mitigation. In a four-player game, […]
“In the Shadow of No Future” Journal Article
Author(s): Dr. Daniel Levine
Abstract: Short pedagogy article on teaching the Israel-Palestine conflict; appeared as part of the “Justice” Issue of AJS Perspectives
“Partisanship in times of crisis: evidence from Italy” Journal Article
Author(s): Dr. Alessandro Del Ponte
Partisanship in times of crisis: evidence from Italy Dr. Alessandro Del Ponte (University of Alabama), Alexa Bankert, and Leonie Huddy Journal Article in Abstract: There is a continuing debate over the political importance and durability of partisan attachments in European multi-party systems. Drawing on a nationally representative five-wave panel, we provide a longitudinal test of the power of partisanship in Italy over the course of the tumultuous 2013 national elections. We find that a strong partisan affiliation measured as a […]
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“Community factors and local governments’ hazard mitigation efforts: Focusing on nonprofit organizations” Journal Article
Author(s): Dr. Hyunjung Ji (University of Alabama), et al.
Abstract: Even though the role of nonprofit organizations (NPOs) in a disaster management context has been well-studied, scholars have little understanding of NPOs’ engagement in a relationship with local governments, particularly during the hazard mitigation stage. Based on existing studies, we focus on the prominence of local nonprofit organizations in influencing local governments’ hazard mitigation efforts along with other community characteristics. By analyzing panel data on the U.S. counties that experienced presidentially declared disasters, we found that different types […]