Date of Award

Summer 8-2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Political Science & Geography

Program/Concentration

Graduate Program in International Studies

Committee Director

Matthew DiLorenzo

Committee Member

Georg Menz

Committee Member

Jesse Richman

Committee Member

Robert McNab

Abstract

This study examines the impact of liberalism on innovation, corruption, and, subsequently, state hard power in the international order. It hypothesizes that political, economic, and information freedoms facilitate the evolution of ideas and reduce corruption in society, resulting in a more efficient economy and greater wealth, income, and GDP per capita and, subsequently, greater state economic and military power. It employs four basic statistical models. The first two models examine the statistical relationship between domestic freedoms and innovation and corruption. They use a variety of metrics to measure the three key types of power that constitute the pillars of Western liberalism: political power (democracy), economic power (free markets), and information power (freedom of speech). These are assessed against metrics for innovation and corruption. The second set of models examine the impact of innovation and corruption on two key types of state hard power: economic and military power. Both models employ pattern and regression analysis of several years’ worth of data in order to assess the impact of power equality and innovation on state hard power more accurately. This study is useful for not only understanding the impact of Western liberalism on state power, but the key roles played by innovation and corruption in that process as well.

Rights

In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

DOI

10.25777/6ybx-jz71

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