2008 Conference Program - Midwest Political Science Association

Friday, April 4-2:45 pm
Paper
Paper
Paper
Disc.
Moroccan Islamists: The Price of Integration and the Peril of
Confrontation
Religion emerged as a political force in late 1970s and was used as
a political instrument to challenge the status quo, a centuries-old
monarchy, which draws its legitimacy from Islam.
Kassem Bahaji, Northern Illinois University
k_bahaji@yahoo.com
Causes of Islamic Fundamentalism: A Quantitative Analysis
My paper determines the causes of Islamic fundamentalism and
the necessary conditions found within Islamic nation-states that
facilitate the number of fundamentalist groups present.
D. Dustin Berna, Niagara University
dberna@niagara.edu
Changing Protest Behavior of the Egyptian Muslim
Brotherhood
The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood organized few protests
during the US led war in Iraq, while engaging in high levels of
mobilization during the 2005 regime led political opening. How can
we explain the spikes and lulls in the group’s protest activity
Neha Sahgal, University of Maryland
nsahgal@cidcm.umd.edu
Lisa Blaydes, Stanford University
blaydes@stanford.edu
13-8 CONSTRUCTION WITHOUT BLUEPRINTS:
STATE BUILDING IN COMMUNIST AND POST-
COMMUNIST COUNTRIES
Room UEH 407 on the 4th Floor, Fri at 2:45 pm
Chair Carol Skalnik Leff, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
leffc@uiuc.edu
Paper The Community Building Project and Neighborhood
Governance in Urban China
This paper examines the reform of neighborhood governance as
part of a larger strategy to build state capacity by seeking to create
a new, modernized, post communist citizen who accepts both the
authority of Party and the legitimacy of market
Kristen D. Parris, Western Washington University
Kristen.Parris@wwu.edu
Paper Institutional Dynamics in Poland and Romania
I reassess the applicability of Frye's institutional choice model in
two post-communist countries: Poland and Romania. I contend that
his model holds in the case of gradual transition to democracy but
not in the case of a ruptured transition.
Magda Mihaela Giurcanu, University of Florida
magiur@ufl.edu
Paper Politician’s Dilemma Revisited: Building State Capacity in Post-
Communism
This paper extends previous work on state reform in postcommunism.
I hypothesize and test the relationship between
political competition across regime types, positive inducements and
civil service reform across 28 countries over 15 transition years.
Cristina Corduneanu-Huci, Duke University
cc97@duke.edu
Paper Realism vs. Idealism in Ukrainian Politics and the 2007 Political
Crisis
Different patterns of decision-making adopted by opposing political
forces after the 2006 elections (idealism by the president and
realism by the governing coalition) have caused the 2007 crisis
contributing to political and legal nihilism in Ukraine.
Andrey A. Meleshevich, National University of Kyiv-Mohyla
Academy
aam4316@gmail.com
Bohdan Malnev, National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy
aam4316@gmail.com
Paper
Disc.
Do Civil Service Reforms Lead To Better Governance
Kazakhstan’s Experience
Governance and administrative reforms recently attracted much
attention. The paper illustrates failures of current scholarship on
civil service reforms by showing how the content and outcomes of
Kazakh administrative reforms undermine good governance.
Dinissa S. Duvanova, Princeton University
duvanova@princeton.edu
Carol Skalnik Leff, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
leffc@uiuc.edu
14-18 DIFFUSION, EMULATION AND COMPETITION
Room UEH 409 on the 4th Floor, Fri at 2:45 pm
Chair Gyung-Ho Jeong, Washington University, St. Louis
gjeong@artsci.wustl.edu
Paper Networks in Global Market and Policy Changes in Corporate
Taxation
This paper focuses on taxation policy interdependence induced by
network dynamics in international markets. It finds that competition
in portfolio investments and exports and the socialization
mechanism in IGO networks cause policy interdependence.
Xun Cao, Princeton University and University of Essex
xuncao@princeton.edu
Paper The Political Economies of Economic Liberalization: Veto
Players, Economics, and Diffusion in the Shift to Free Market
Economics
Our paper examines how veto players preferences and powers,
domestic and international economic constraints, and policy
diffusion affect various dimensions of economic liberalization in the
developed and the developing world.
Gregg B. Johnson, University at Buffalo, SUNY
gbj2@buffalo.edu
Jesse T. Wasson, University at Buffalo, SUNY
jtwasson@buffalo.edu
Paper Globalization, Political Regimes and International
Environmental Commitment
Based on a new panel dataset on the commitments of 180 countries
(1950-2005) to international environmental treaties we study
whether and how economic integration and political institutions
jointly affect international environmental commitments.
Thomas Bernauer, ETH, Zurich
thomas.bernauer@ir.gess.ethz.ch
Anna Kalbhenn, University of Zurich
kalbhenn@ir.gess.ethz.ch
Gabriele Stella Ruoff, University of Zurich
ruoff@ir.gess.ethz.ch
Paper Politics of International Standardization: The Case of
International Accounting Standards
We examine the harmonization process of international accounting
standards.
Hyeran Jo, Texas A&M University
hyeranjo@politics.tamu.edu
Inhee Kang, Texas A&M University
kanginhee@politics.tamu.edu
Disc. Gyung-Ho Jeong, Washington University, St. Louis
gjeong@artsci.wustl.edu
15-9 WAR ON TERROR
Room UEH 404 on the 4th Floor, Fri at 2:45 pm
Chair Zaryab Iqbal, Penn State University
zxi1@psu.edu
Paper The American-Islamic Alliance and the War on Terrorism:
Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Indonesia
Whereas the U.S. adopted global war on terror, these allies have
their own national war on terror. Their policies and rallying behind
the U.S. show that these allies look for further political gains.
Ribhi I. Salhi, Roosevelt University
rsalhi@roosevelt.edu
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