2006 Conference Program - Midwest Political Science Association

PaperDisc.Protection of Human Rights During Economic DevelopmentDavid S. Yamanishi, Michigan State UniversityOverview: I explore the relationship between the protection ofdifferent classes of human rights (due process, civil, economic,social) and economic development, in an effort to improve uponthe vague "rule of law" measures prevalent in the literature.Andrew C. Mertha, Washington University, St. Louis13-14 ALLIANCES, INSTITUTIONS ANDINTERNATIONAL POLITICSRoomChairPaperPaperPaperPaperPaperDisc.TBA, Sun 10:30 amRandolph M. Siverson, University of California, DavisLatin America 1950-1979: Evidence of AutocraticEconomic Cooperation?Ana Carolina Garriga, University of PittsburghOverview: Do Latin American autocracies cooperate more inthe economic realm than democracies do? Preliminary resultsshow that autocracies have been more prone to cooperate thandemocracies. This propensity varies across different types ofeconomic agreementsExplaining the Adoption of International Human RightsTreatiesEmily R. Hencken, Emory UniversityOverview: This paper presents the hypothesis that the systemratification status of international human rights treatiesestablishes a normative concern, which makes socialmovements against the state more likely, regardless of the state'sratification status.Democratization and U.S. Alliances in AsiaDong Sun Lee, East-West CenterOverview: This paper investigates how democratization affectsalliance. I argue that democratization tends to destabilizeasymmetric alliances, but its effects are uneven becausetransition occurs in different threat environments and takesdivergent paths.Anarchy, Hierarchy, and Alliance Relations: Does RegimeType Matter?Neill Mohammad, University of Michigan, Ann ArborMichelle Allendoerfer, University of Michigan, Ann ArborOverview: We argue that choices about the rigidity of alliancesare related to domestic regimes. The risk of both economicdistortions and abandonment suggests that democratic dyadswill build anarchic alliances, and others will stress hierarchy.Realism, and Risk Acceptance: Arms Transfers BetweenRivalsMichael P. Jasinski, University of GeorgiaJeffrey Berejikian, University of GeorgiaOverview: The paper advances a prospect theory-basedtheoretical framework to explain cooperation among rivals insituations where relative gains concerns are acute, through astudy of arms transfers between Russia and China.Stephen Quackenbush, University of MissouriRandolph M. Siverson, University of California, Davis14-12 HUMAN SECURITYRoomChairPaperPaperTBA, Sun 10:30 amKhalil M. Marrar, Loyola University, ChicagoInternational Security and Immigration PolicyNikola Mirilovic, University of ChicagoOverview: I argue and show using econometrics that thecountries that face substantial security threats (e.g., war, intenseregional security competition) are more likely to adoptpermissive immigration policies than the countries that facefewer threats.Legal Barriers to Human Security in the Baltic StatesKathleen Claussen, Indiana University, BloomingtonJoshua Asher, Northwestern UniversityOverview: Ambiguities in international law lead to a newclassification of individual in the context of internationalsecurity. Russian nationals living in Estonia are at risk ofremaining "citizenshipless" with no institution to guaranteethem of any rights.PaperPaperDisc.The Paradoxical Effect of Shared Military Identity on StateSocializationCarol Atkinson, The Ohio State UniversityOverview: Statistical analyses are used to evaluate the extent towhich state socialization to more liberal practices (democraticinstitutions and human rights practices) is facilitated througheducational exchange programs and shared common identity.The Politics of Ethnic CleansingH. Zeynep Bulutgil, University of ChicagoOverview: The paper deals with the conditions under whichethnic cleansing occurs. I develop an argument and then test itby using data from Europe between 1900 and 1950 as well as byusing the results of my field research in Bosnia-Herzegovina.Khalil M. Marrar, Loyola University, Chicago15-12 METHODS, MODELS, AND WARRoomChairPaperPaperPaperPaperDisc.TBA, Sun 10:30 amStephen E. Gent, University of North Carolina, Chapel HillCheap Conflict: Picking Fights and Accepting CostsMichelle C. Anderson, Princeton UniversityOverview: A state's decision to fight depends on the expectedcosts and a willingness to accept them. Logit and durationanalyses suggest that the probability and duration ofinternational conflict are positively influenced by both.The Origins of Private Information and WarAdam H. Meirowitz, Princeton UniversityAnne E. Sartori, Princeton UniversityOverview: We show why states create informationalasymmetries that lead to war. In our model, two actors with noprivate information invest in military capacity; they often keepeach other guessing about their chosen capacity and create a riskof war.The Road to War: Choosing the Instrument of CoercionBranislav L. Slantchev, University of California, San DiegoOverview: We examine the choice between the military andeconomic instruments for strategic coercion in internationalcrises.Power Distributions and Patterns of Conflict among theMajor PowersKelly M. Kadera, University of IowaOverview: TBAStephen E. Gent, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill17-11 REGIONAL INTEGRATION BEYOND THEEURoomChairPaperPaperPaperDisc.TBA, Sun 10:30 amNathan D. Griffith, Belmont UniversityRegional Cooperation and Conflict Resolution in AfricaSebunya E. Kasule, Purdue UniversityOverview: This paper studies the East African Community tofind out whether African leaders use Regional EconomicOrganization to address regional conflicts, and if so whetherthey have been successful.Regional Integration, Domestic Institutions, and EconomicSecurityHuisheng Shou, University of Illnois, Urbana-ChampaignOverview: The paper aims to identify the domestic factors andunderstand the mechanisms that determine the variation ofpolicy choices of ASEAN member states in negotiatingmultilateral rules set for ASEAN Free Trade Area(AFTA).US-Mexico Relations and Why is NAFTA Not Enough forEither CountryAdrian S. Petrescu, University of Texas, BrownsvilleOverview: Using past cases of regional integration andassessing opportunities in US-Mexico relations, I look at thepolicy complexities in immigration, economic and educationpolicies in the US, and how do US-Mexico relations affect thesepolicy issue areas.Yoram Z. Haftel, The Ohio State University263