2008 Conference Program - Midwest Political Science Association

Thursday, April 3-12:45 pm
28-10 POLITICAL AMBITION AND THE SELECTION OF
FEMALE CANDIDATES
Room UEH 405 on the 4th Floor, Thur at 12:45 pm
Chair Christina Wolbrecht, University of Notre Dame
Wolbrecht.1@nd.edu
Paper Beyond the Candidate: The Roots of Political Ambition in
Women Legislators
Nineteen female Minnesota legislators are interviewed to uncover
the origins of their legislative candidacies. The findings consist of
personal narratives that complement existing theory on the lack of
political ambition in women.
Danielle M. Thomsen, Minnesota State University, Mankato
danielle.thomsen@mnsu.edu
Paper Contextualizing Gender Differences in Elite Recruitment and
Selection
Examining elite surveys, this paper explores gender differences
between parliamentarians in the scope of their recruitment and in
their channels of selection. Gender differences vary by differences
in parliamentarians’ political and social contexts.
Amy C. Alexander, University of California, Irvine
alexanda@uci.edu
Kristine Coulter, University of California, Irvine
kcoulter@uci.edu
Paper Gender Quotas and Political Ambition: Evidence From
Germany
I ask whether gender quotas have led to an increase in political
ambition among German women. I surveyed over 1000 members of
German political parties and found that a gendered gap in political
ambition persists despite the use of gender quotas.
Louise K. Davidson-Schmich, University of Miami
davidson@miami.edu
Disc. Christina Wolbrecht, University of Notre Dame
Wolbrecht.1@nd.edu
29-3 RACE AND PLACE
Room Salon 3 on the 3rd Floor, Thur at 12:45 pm
Chair Ramla Marie Bandele, Indiana University-Purdue University
Indianapolis
rbandele@iupui.edu
Paper Some Like it Hot: A Political Climate Model of the Race Gap in
Political Interest
Using pooled data from the 1960 - 2004 ANES, I apply
Danigelis' (1977) political climate theory to the study of racial
differences in political interest.
Ray Block, Florida State University
rblock@fsu.edu
Paper Racial Diversity and Public Policy in the States: Electoral
Constraint or Backlash
This paper examines the way in which minority group size and other
factors within the political environment influence public policy
outputs and outcomes at the state-level.
Tetsuya Matsubayashi, University of North Texas
tmatsubayashi@unt.edu
Rene R.. Rocha, University of Iowa
rene-rocha@uiowa.edu
Paper Multicultural Neighborhoods and Black and White Attitudes in
U.S. Cities
This study explores how the ethnic composition of neighborhoods,
specifically its black, white, Hispanic, and Asian American
population, affects the attitudes of blacks and whites toward each
other in U.S. cities.
Susan Welch, Pennsylvania State University
swelch@psu.edu
Lee Sigelman, George Washington University
lees@gwu.edu
Paper
Disc.
Kumbaya or Conflict The Impact of Demographic Shifts on
Perceptions of Race and Ethnic Relations
The authors examine a public opinion survey data from Los Angeles
together with neighborhood-level racial and ethnic demographic
shifts to examine the determinants of perceptions of race and ethnic
relations in one of America's most diverse cities.
Mara Alexandra Cohen-Marks, Loyola Marymount University
mmarks@lmu.edu
James Faught, Loyola Marymount University
jfaught@lmu.edu
Ramla Marie Bandele, Indiana University-Purdue University
Indianapolis
rbandele@iupui.edu
31-3 CIVIC FRIENDSHIP
Room Suite 15-250 on the 15th Floor, Thur at 12:45 pm
Chair Joseph Cobetto, University of Missouri, Columbia
jcxr6@mizzou.edu
Paper Rousseau on Friendship and Self-Love: Another Reply to
Augustine
This paper is a comparative analysis of Augustine and Rousseau
on friendship and self-love, focusing on both men's very different
confessions.
Joseph Anthony Harder, Macomb Community College
jah5y98_98@yahoo.com
Paper Aquinas, Finnis, and a Principled Distinction between Public
and Private
This paper considers recent reinterpretations of Thomas Aquinas
that advance a principled distinction between public and private
acts. Aquinas's divergence from Aristotle and compatibility with
modern political theory are considered.
Matthew Wright, University of California, Berkeley
beardedelephant@gmail.com
Paper The Civic Imperative and the Ambiguities of Democratic
Citizenship Today
Many today believe that democratic citizenship and civic life
can and should be revived. I raise considered doubts about these
assumptions, drawing on arguments about the difficulties of popular
rule made by our predecessors in the civic tradition.
Stephen T. Leonard, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
sleonard@email.unc.edu
Paper
Disc.
The Politics of Friendship from Montaigne to Locke
This paper brings into focus two rival notions of civic identity. My
first concern is to show the importance of the ideal of friendship for
early-modern republicans. Secondly, I argue that Montaigne and his
followers challenged this ideal.
Sami-Juhani Savonius-Wroth, University of Helsinki
sami-juhani.savonius@helsinki.fi
Gladden J. Pappin, Harvard University
pappin@fas.harvard.edu
32-3 LIMITS OF DEMOCRACY: SUBVERSION,
RESTRAINT, AUTHORITY, AND VIOLENCE
Room Suite 13-150 on the 13th Floor, Thur at 12:45 pm
Chair Timothy W. Luke, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University
twluke@vt.edu
Paper Democracy in Nonideal Theory: The Problem of Democratic
Toleration
Do democracies have the right not to tolerate those who seek to
subvert it My aim in this paper is to provide us with practical
guidance for this problem by laying the groundwork for a novel
account of nonideal theory.
Michael Kates, New York University
michaelkates@nyu.edu
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