Using the University of Washington and its ties to the fossil fuel and weapons manufacturing industries, this paper investigates how industry funding and other ties to colonial and neoliberal universities impact the knowledge and opinions of students. This study analyzes the nature and extent of these ties using archival data collected via public records requests, UW websites, and interviews with student protestors, and then it cross analyzes this information with data collected from an anonymous cross-sectional survey with nearly 900 UW student participants. This survey gauged student knowledge and opinions on the climate crisis, fossil fuels, and fossil fuel companies, as well as (US) militarism, warfare (especially in the case of “israel’s” genocide in Palestine), and weapons companies. The answers for each question had pre-determined rankings of beneficiality of the represented knowledge/opinions to the fossil fuel or weapons industries, based on industry disinformation campaigns and corporate strategies. My analysis shows that the knowledge and opinions of students in the UW college/school with the most ties to the fossil fuel and weapons industries (the College of Engineering) are more beneficial to the industries than those of other students, and the difference is statistically significant for many of the questions. The same held true when comparing departments within this college based on the extent of their ties to the given industries, and when holding constant other factors such as years completed at UW and courses taken related to the climate crisis. The correlation weakened, disappeared, or reversed when only considering students in their first year at the UW and/or who had not taken any classes related to the climate crisis, thus providing evidence that the relationship is causative, supporting the hypothesis that university-corporate ties cause students to develop knowledge and opinions that are beneficial to the industry. 

The findings of this study make sense in the context of, and may bolster, existing research on colonial harms of universities, the relationship between industry funding and research agendas and results, university-corporate ties, and student to industry pipelines. However, none of these specifically study the influence of university-corporate ties on student knowledge and opinions, so this study fills in this important gap in research. This contribution will be important to not only related research but to student movements across the country and their campaigns to urge their universities to cut ties with corporations, particularly those against the fossil fuel and weapons industries at the University of Washington.

Sex trafficking has been a focus of legal attention for decades and is addressed in laws aimed at protecting victims. However, these protections often fall short, leaving victims unable to escape cycles of abuse. Through investigation of federal and state law, scholarly articles, and interviews with legal professionals and victim community resource workers, I examine the question: How does the legal system succeed and fail in supporting victims of sex trafficking? My research investigates demographic patterns among victims, systemic legal barriers, community advocacy initiatives, and the impact of federal trafficking, prostitution, and digital privacy laws. My findings are organized into four sections: an overview of trafficking and demographics, the legal barriers facing victims, the emerging challenges of digital trafficking and victim-centered reform recommendations. Victims face legal obstacles in many aspects. The legal system's requirement for victim testimony, often in the presence of abusers, frequently leads to case dismissals due to non-cooperation. This combined with distrust of law enforcement among trafficking survivors, further deters trafficked persons from seeking state assistance. A comparative case study of Florida and Washington State law illustrates how varying approaches to prostitution law can lead to victim criminalization. The constant evolution of trafficking through social media and online forums heightens the need for systemic victim-centered reform. To effectively dismantle trafficking, the law must address the economic need that creates space for trafficking to thrive, and work to decrease the demand for trafficked sex. The legal system needs to embrace victim-centered reform that incorporates the testimonies of survivors in structuring policy to adequately support victims of sex trafficking.

Democratic backsliding has become a prominent and undeniable feature of contemporary world politics while greatly affecting international criminal law. This raises a question of what elements of the justice system and global politics have the most effect on incentivizing international cooperation in pursuit of global justice. This thesis answers this dilemma through analysing case studies of significant past international criminal tribunals, namely the International Military Tribunal and the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia. Through examining the nature and effect of complementarity, criminal procedure, and political motivations, on the level of international cooperation, this research provides policy and reform recommendations for the International Criminal Court to enhance its ability to serve justice with the stable and continuous support of the international community amid the many challenges that come with the global rise of authoritarianism.