Mere days after his inauguration, President Donald Trump reinstated the Global Gag Rule (GGR). The GGR – also known as the Mexico City Policy – bans US federal funding for international NGOs...Show moreMere days after his inauguration, President Donald Trump reinstated the Global Gag Rule (GGR). The GGR – also known as the Mexico City Policy – bans US federal funding for international NGOs providing services for abortions. The GGR, originally implemented under the Reagan administration, was maintained under President George H. W. Bush, before being rescinded by President Bill Clinton, reinstated by President George W. Bush, and rescinded once more by President Barrack Obama. However, the embracement of the gag rule under the Trump administration amounted to more than a reinstatement. In contrast to practices maintained during the Reagan and Bush administrations, Trump’s GGR targets not only specific family planning services, but entire organisations that provide such services. Moreover, it applies not only to Federal agencies providing developmental aid, but all “global health assistance furnished by all departments or agencies.” As such, Trump’s variant of the GGR is wider in its scope and has broader implications for the administration of foreign aid and, say critics, for global public health and human rights. This thesis shows how the GGR is used to consolidate political power domestically while also diffusing conservative Christian ideology through developmental aid. In this way, the GGR is shown to be an instance of intermestic policy which is used to simultaneously consolidate political power domestically, while exporting conservative Christian ideology through foreign aid as American empire.Show less
After the surrender of Japan following WWII, the US occupied Japan for seven years until 1952 – while remaining in Okinawa until 1972. The aim of the occupation’s administration was to demilitarise...Show moreAfter the surrender of Japan following WWII, the US occupied Japan for seven years until 1952 – while remaining in Okinawa until 1972. The aim of the occupation’s administration was to demilitarise and democratise Japan. One of the goals to achieve this aim was the decartelisation of Japan and the dissolution of the Zaibatsu. However, while the decartelisation of Japan was an early goal of the administration, the dissolution of the Zaibatsu was never fully realised. The occupation’s administration was concerned with New Deal liberalist reforms at the onset of the occupation. However, after the first two years of the occupation, the US shifted its decartelisation policy from economic reform to economic recovery in what has been dubbed as Japan’s reverse course. The origin of the reverse course has often been explained as a Cold War phenomenon. However, through archival research, this thesis shows that domestic factors such as the US domestic economic situation and the Republican victory in the 80th Congress significantly changed the course of the Zaibatsu dissolution. As such, these “intermestic” issues influenced the shift away from economic reform to economic recovery and the result of this can be seen in the Japanese economy to this day.Show less