2006 Conference Program - Midwest Political Science Association

PaperDisc.South Korean Public Opinion on Foreign PolicyDavid G. Tully, Northwestern UniversityOverview: This paper examines how South Koreans think andfeel about three major themes using multivariate analysis of newdata: cooperation and trust of allies, economic fairness andtrade, and security and regional stability.Won K. Paik, Central Michigan University10-7 THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF LOCALGOVERNMENT CHANGE IN THEPEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINARoomChairPaperPaperPaperPaperPaperPaperDisc.TBA, Sat 8:30 amMatthew Hoddie, Texas A&M UniversityChina's Local State Diversity and Its Effect on PrivateSector DevelopmentYayoi Kato, University of Southern CaliforniaOverview: The paper examined the regional diversity of localgovernments' roles and influences on China's private sectordevelopment through the document analysis of provincial partypublications and the survey data analysis of private enterprises.Fiscal Crisis, Political Crisis?-- Financing LocalGovernment in ChinaWu Zhang, Cornell UniversityOverview: Based on more than 2 years of fieldwork in Hunan,this paper explains why townships and villages in central Chinahave been facing a fiscal crisis since 1994 and why the tax-forfeereform has deepened this crisis.From Symbiotic Clientelism to Principled ClientelismXiaoli Tian, University of ChicagoOverview: This research revisits the political patronage andclientelist networks in the development of Chinese privateenterprises. New game rules represented by principledclientelism has been developed between local officials and someentrepreneurs.Central Signaling and Local Reform in ChinaHaifeng Huang, Duke UniversityOverview: Why could China's local governments from time totime break through Beijing's policy restrictions, when thecountry's political system is highly centralized? Put simply,there is a signaling game going on, in which social expectationsmatter.Experimenting with Democracy in the ChineseNomenklatura SystemGang Guo, University of MississippiOverview: This paper analyzes the recent central and localexperiments of reforming the personnel control of localgovernment leaders in China, which are extremely limited andtightly controlled yet introduce some elements of downwardaccountability.Re-evaluating Market-Preserving Federalism: Soft BudgetConstraints of Local Governments in ChinaLynette Ong, Australian National UniversityOverview: Soft budget constraints of China's local governmentsoffer a lesson that without the effective mechanisms that exist infunctioning democracies to act as checks-and-balances, fiscaldecentralization could create unbridled power detrimental togrowth.Matthew Hoddie, Texas A&M University10-14 FORMER SOVIET CENTRAL ASIA IN THESPOTLIGHTRoomChairPaperTBA, Sat 8:30 amThomas J. Wood, IFES, Washington, D.C.Central Asia: Geopolitical Prisoners?Larisa Yun, University of OklahomaOverview: The present paper examines the foreign policy ofCentral Asia from the perspective of political geography. Itargues that the direction of Central Asian foreign policy islargely determined by its landlockedness and the nature of itsneighborhood.PaperPaperPaperPaperDisc.One Year On: The Kyrgyz Revolution RevisitedThomas J. Wood, IFES, Washington D.C.Overview: This paper argues that the "Revolution" of March2005 was symptomatic of the arrival of a new populism inKyrgyz politics. Perhaps not democratization, it does mark theend of the monopoly of Soviet-derived ideologies on power.Legitimacy in Post-Socialist Asia: The Importance of SocialWelfareJeffrey S. Payne, Indiana University, BloomingtonOverview: Post-socialist states may become more democraticbecause of liberalization's failures. In Asia, states reinventingtheir authority to match a privatizing economy hold onto powerbetter than those incapable or unwilling to do so.Defining Corruption in Kyrgyzstan: the Role of PublicPerceptions.Victoria N. Lavrova, American University (Central Asia)Overview: This research examines political corruption incontemporary Kyrgyz politics. The role of public perceptionswill demonstrate to what extent corruption in Kyrgyzstan ispublicly accepted, and can be regarded as a cultural issue.Islam in Central Asia: Authoritarian Rule and ReligiousExtremist GroupsDilshod Achilov, University of ArizonaOverview: This project evaluates the causal complexity ofreligious extremist groups emerging as a strong oppositionagainst authoritarian rule in Central Asia.Askat Dukenbaev, Kent State University11-8 NEW DIRECTIONS IN THE STUDY OFPOWER AND FORCERoomChairPaperPaperPaperPaperDisc.TBA, Sat 8:30 amNeda A. Zawahri, Cleveland State UniversityDivided Cores, Multiple Peripheries: Governance Nodes andState TerritoryFrank E. Williams, University of South CarolinaOverview: This paper suggests a map of the world based not onpolitical lines, but on the authority radiating from "nodes" ofgovernance.Conflict and Cooperation over International RiversNeda A. Zawahri, Cleveland State UniversityOverview: As states look to their international rivers to meetingincreasing demand for water, the likelihood for conflictincreases. Our understanding of these conflicts remains nascent.This paper analyzes and suggests ways of improving existingarguments.Fighting Fourth Generation Warfare With A ReserveDependent MilitaryEmilio A. Rodriguez, Mount St. Mary's UniversityJohn P. Rodriguez, Mount St. Mary's UniversityOverview: The US is fighting the war on terror using aprofessional military that relies on reserves. Decision-makersmust adapt to the political and military requirements ofprotracted conflict in order to develop a capacity for dealingeffectively with 4GW.Private Soldiers, Private Wars: Private Military Companiesand MobilizationJames A. Rydberg, University of IowaGail J. Buttorff, University of IowaOverview: Drawing upon past work on audience costs andmobilization, this paper evaluates the role of PMCs as analternative to traditional military mobilization.Olga Bogatyrenko, University of California, Davis12-8 INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTSRoomChairPaperTBA, Sat 8:30 amDavid S. Yamanishi, Michigan State UniversityCorruption, Illegal Trade and Compliance with theMontreal ProtocolKate Ivanova, University of Southern CaliforniaOverview: This paper develops a theory of illegal trade inozone-depleting substances, taking into account the level ofcorruption, law enforcement and environmental tariffs, and tests190