2006 Conference Program - Midwest Political Science Association

PaperDisc.institutions, resulting in novel hypotheses and evidence aboutthe effects of leadership turnover on international conflict.The Politics of International RivalryDaniel S. Morey, University of IowaOverview: Drawn from a model of domestic politics andrivalries, the central hypothesis of this paper is that only verycostly wars will lead to rivalry termination. The cost from warmust be extreme to displace domestic factions favoring rivalrycontinuation.Stephen B. Long, Kansas State University16-6 THE INSTRUMENTS OF AMERICANFOREIGN POLICYRoomChairPaperPaperPaperPaperPaperDisc.TBA, Sat 10:30 amKaty Crossley-Frolick, DePaul UniversityBeyond Dependency: The Politics of Foreign Military BasesMonica M. Sickles, Miami UniversityJennifer Hamilton, Miami UniversityOverview: This paper examines the consequences of USpolicies to maintain military outposts across the globe. Movingbeyond traditional dependency arguments, we examine how thepresence of US bases may encourage the development ofmilitarized societies.An Analysis of US Sanctions Against International DrugTraffickingDavid Lektzian, University of New OrleansOverview: An empirical analysis of US coercive economicdiplomacy toward drug producing and trafficking countries.Instructing Soldiers for the StatesMartin J. Kifer, University of MinnesotaOverview: Through a combination of qualitative andquantitative methods, this project will explain allocationstrategies for U.S. military training aid to foreign militaries fromthe Cold War to the current era after September 11th.The Substitutability of SecurityPeter Rudloff, University of Illinois, Urbana-ChampaignOverview: Paper presents a model of security policy decisionmaking specifying the relative strategy costs and statecapabilities across a range of resource or cost types to explorethe conditions under which sets of security strategies aresubstitutable.Operationalizing "Soft" PowerPeter A. Furia, Wake Forest UniversityOverview: This paper utitlizes crossnational public opinion datato operationalize the concept of "soft power" in a rigoroussocial-scientific way. This allows for preliminary analysis of asyet untested claims about soft power's causes and consequences.Bijan Moeinian, Valencia College17-8 THE EFFECTIVENESS OFINTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTSAGREEMENTSRoomChairPaperPaperTBA, Sat 10:30 amNikolay Marinov, Yale UniversityDomestic Judicial Institutions, Treaty Adoption andComplianceJeffrey K. Staton, Florida State UniversityEmilia J. Powell, Florida State UniversityOverview: We develop and test theoretical model of treatyadoption and compliance that considers how features of thedomestic judicial system influence state choices to adopt andcomply with international human rights norms.Ratification of Human Rights Treaties and Regional PoliticsHeather M. Smith, University of California, San DiegoOverview: Why do states ratify human rights treaties? Statesengage in a competitive signaling game with their regional peersto attract foreign aid, particularly during regional politicalcrises. Empirical testing lends tentative support to this assertion.PaperPaperDisc.International Humanitarian Law and Civil War: CivilianTargeting, 1980-2004Jessica A. Stanton, Columbia UniversityOverview: This paper seeks to understand why somegovernments and rebel groups engage in deliberate attacks oncivilians during civil war, while other actors respect theprinciple of noncombatant immunity, largely complying withinternational humanitarian law.The Beijing Declaration Ten Years Later: A GlobalAssessment of Women's RightsD. Christopher Brooks, St. Olaf CollegeOverview: An empirical evaluation of the progress made toimplement the 1995 Beijing Declaration's provisions for theprotection of women's rights globally and regionally.Nikolay Marinov, Yale University18-10 PARTICIPATION AND POLITICAL ACTIONRoomChairPaperPaperPaperPaperPaperDisc.TBA, Sat 10:30 amKwang-Il Yoon, University of Michigan, Ann ArborWhat Motivates Political Participation: An ExperimentalTestJoanne M. Miller, University of MinnesotaOverview: Current models of political participation areinadequate insomuch as they do not adequately incorporatemotivation. To fill this gap, this project reports the results of anexperiment that tests a general theory of political motivation.Does Valuing Opinion Diversity Help Predict PoliticalParticipation?Eric A. Whitaker, University of Nebraska, LincolnOverview: Empirical investigations have neglected thetheoretical link between opinion diversity and politicalparticipation. In exploring this relationship, I find that valuingopinion diversity significantly predicts some types of politicalparticipation.Extreme Voices or Good Citizens Local Civic EngagementReconsideredChristopher F. Karpowitz, Princeton UniversityOverview: This paper reconsiders the argument that local publicmeetings are driven by the interests and perspectives ofextremists.Political Bullies: What Factors are Related to Recruitmentfor Exremist Activities in America?Eugenia K. Guilmartin, Command and General Staff College,US ArmyOverview: What factors are related to recruitment for extremistactivities? This paper analyzes responses to a survey of USArmy personnel (2001) to advance the profile of a "politicalbully."Why Are People Willing to Die for Their Country?Oleg Smirnov, University of MiamiJohn Orbell, University of OregonHolly Arrow, University of OregonDouglas Kennett, University of OregonOverview: We create a formal evolutionary model of "heroism,"altruistic violence against outsiders on behalf of one's group,and show that heroism can evolve via multi-level selectionindependent of other forms of altruism.Lori M. Weber, California State University, ChicoDavid C. Barker, University of Pittsburgh19-16 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONSRoomChairPaperTBA, Sat 10:30 amKelly D. Patterson, Brigham Young UniversityFiscal Policy: Implicit in the Trial-Heat and Time-For-Change Models?Alfred G. Cuzán, University of West FloridaCharles M. Bundrick, University of West FloridaOverview: Comparing the fiscal model of presidential electionswith Abramowitz's and Campbell's, we show that while all threemodels perform equally well at forecasting, the fiscal modeloffers greater understanding of voter behavior than the othertwo.207