Master of Arts (MA), Wright State University, 2020, International and Comparative Politics

This research develops a novel theory for domestic diversionary violence, contending that the main drivers for this type of conflict are the specific characteristics of state-targeted domestic minority groups. Seven new variables measuring minority group characteristics are identified through a case study of the Kurdish minority in the Turkish Republic, then applied to a quantitative analysis of domestic diversionary violence in a dataset of 284 observations across 117 countries during the years 2004-2005, utilizing data from the University of Maryland's Minorities at Risk Project, the University of Illinois Cline Center SPEED Database, and World Bank. A proportional odds logistic regression model shows that the minority group's recent grievances with the base population and its geographic concentration have statistically significant positive correlations to the likelihood of targeting for diversionary violence, while the protest level of the minority group achieves a statistically significant negative correlation.

Committee: Liam Anderson Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Vaughn Shannon Ph.D. (Committee Member); Carlos Costa Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: International Relations; Political Science