2006 Conference Program - Midwest Political Science Association

PaperDisc.chapter in Foucault's intellectual odyssey, one surrounded bycontroversy.Reading Foucault and the Iranian RevolutionMahnaz Yousefzadeh, New York UniversityOverview: This paper will look at various readings,misreading, connections and disconnections that runthroughout Afary and Anderson's Foucault and the IranianRevolution, which contains the correspondences, and theauthors commentary on these texts.Saoud El Mawla, Earlham CollegeKevin B. Anderson, Purdue UniversityJanet Afary, Purdue University29-3 CONFLICT, WAR, AND DEMOCRACYRoomChairPaperPaperPaperPaperPaperDisc.TBA, Fri 1:45 pmJames R. Muir, University of WinnipegRuminations of War: Thinking About Through WarLiteratureWayne S. LeCheminant, Loyola Marymount UniversityOverview: This paper presents a discussion about the ways inwhich war is thought about, discussed and framed in warliterature.Just War Theory and the International Community: A 21stCentury Standard?Steven P. Millies, University of South Carolina, AikenOverview: This paper explores the questions asked by historicjust war theory and seeks to discern how internationalinstitutions such as the United Nations or the Organization ofAmerican States serve to answer them today.Democracy and Disengagement: Israel's Debate over theGaza WithdrawalSteven V. Mazie, Bard High School Early CollegeOverview: I analyze an extraordinary public debate over thenature of democracy that erupted in the wake of Israel's decisionto withdraw from the Gaza Strip in August 2005.Not Out of Sight But Out of Mind: The Hidden Hazards ofOpen SecretsThomas C. Ellington, Wesleyan CollegeOverview: Official secrecy presents significant problems foraccountability, legitimacy and trust. Even if information ispublicly available, treating it as if it were secret tends forforeclose public debate and create an unjustifiable aura ofmystery.Individuals, Collective Agents, and Freedom from Povertyas a Human RightJennifer C. Rubenstein, Princeton UniversityOverview: Recent research suggests that it is more expensive tosave lives in war-zones than in more peaceful contexts. Underwhat conditions are agents justified in sacrificing costeffectivenessin order to aid victims of intentional, violent,harm?Troy A. Kozma, Wilfrid Laurier UniversityGerald Doppelt, University of California, San Diego30-9 FORMAL THEORIES OF ALTRUISM ANDFAIRNESSRoomChairPaperPaperTBA, Fri 1:45 pmScott E. Page, University of Michigan, Ann ArborFunctional Unpleasantness: The Evolutionary Logic of aRighteous ResentmentWilliam B. Heller, Binghamton UniversityKatri K. Sieberg, Binghamton UniversityOverview: Observed results of divide-the-dollar ultimatumgames, where participants turn down profitable but "unfair"divisions, do not jibe with accepted assumptions of rationality.Why We Care About Others: Deriving Social UtilityFunctionOleg Smirnov, University of MiamiOverview: According to the concept of a social utility function,an individual receives positive utility from payoffs to others. Icreate a formal evolutionary model, in which a formula forsocial utility function is not assumed but found endogeneously.PaperDisc.Altruism and VotingChris Dawes, University of California, DavisOverview: This paper tests the link between utilitarianpreferences and voting. We find that utilitarian preferences dosignificantly explain voting. We fail to find evidence of asignificant positive relationship between Rawlsian preferencesand turnout.Scott E. Page, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor31-4 ADVANCED MODELS OF VOTING (Cosponsoredwith Voting Behavior, see 19-20)RoomChairPaperPaperPaperPaperDisc.TBA, Fri 1:45 pmTBADetecting Attempted Election TheftWalter R. Mebane, Cornell UniversityOverview: I consider statistical methods to detect election fraudusing, alternately, precinct level data and ballot image data withinformation about the machine on which each ballot was cast. Iillustrate the methods using data from recent America electionsRegression Discontinuity in the Context of VoterMobilizationDavid Nickerson, University of Notre DameOverview: TBAExplaining (in)Complete Preference Rankings versusExplaining Stated Party Choice: The Role of ExpectationsSusumu Shikano, University of MannheimPaul Thurner, University of MannheimMichael Herrmann, University of MannheimOverview: We identify incongruities between stated partypreference and stated vote choice and show that they aresignificantly induced by expectations. We apply so-calledexploded logit models for the explanation of (in)completepreference rankings.Analysis of Voteshares Across Party SystemsJames Honaker, University of California, Los AngelesOverview: Three problems complicate the analysis ofvoteshares; the same parties do not contest elections 1) acrossdistricts, 2) across time, or 3) across countries. Adding a modelof the policy space to estimate substitution effects presents asolution.Jonathan Wand, Stanford University32-201 INFORMAL ROUNDTABLE: PARTIES ANDTHE WELFARE STATERoom TBA, Fri 1:45 pmPresenter Globalization, Party Positions, and the Welfare StateChad Haddal, Washington University, St. LouisOverview: I outline the mechanism by which activists and partyleaders will over time push party ideal points to reflect theinterests of abundant factor coalitions or scarce factors ofproduction in advanced industrial countries.32-202 INFORMAL ROUNDTABLE:INTELLECTUALS, IDEAS, AND PARTIES INAMERICAN POLITICSRoom TBA, Fri 1:45 pmPresenter The Coalition Merchants: How Ideologues Shape Parties inAmerican PoliticsHans Noel, Princeton UniversityOverview: This paper argues that ideologies are central inshaping party coalitions. I compare ideological measures ofpolitical thinkers and of legislators and show that intellectualsoften organize issues into a political dimension before partiesdo.166