2006 Conference Program - Midwest Political Science Association

PaperPaperPaperDisc.Overview: Although two organs with separate powers - theFederal Electoral Institute (IFE) and the Federal ElectoralTribunal (TRIFE) – oversee Mexican elections, analysts havebeen paying much more attention to the first than the second.While IFE has authorElection Management Bodies as Market Regulators:Alternative Models of Campaign Finance OversightAlejandro Poire, Harvard UniversityOverview: This paper evaluates the role played by ElectoralManagement Bodies (EMBs) and other agencies entrusted withenforcing political finance regulation.Voting to Manage Elections: A Comparative Examination ofFederal Election Institutes in Brazil and MexicoGuillermo Rosas, Washington University, St. LouisOverview: Recent scholarship has investigated the politicalconsequences of alternative electoral management bodies.Institutional similarities and differences between Mexico'sInstituto Federal Electoral (IFE) and Brazil's Tribunal FederalElectoralProductive Partisanship: How Ideological Conflict CreatesStrong Public InstitutionsJohn M. Ackerman, FLACSO, MexicoOverview: This paper looks to demonstrate the limits of theoriesabout the impact of veto players and divided government onpolicy making.Todd Eisenstadt, American University3-22 UNDERSTANDING DEMOCRATIZATION'SBACKSLIDERSRoomChairPaperPaperPaperPaperPaperDisc.TBA, Fri 10:30 amKathleen R. Barrett, Georgia State UniversityElite Fragmentation and Institutional Change: Costa Rica'sTroubled ModelLudovico Feoli, Tulane UniversityOverview: Despite its reputation for consolidated democracyand successful human development, over the past few yearsCosta Rica has been declining in numerous internationalrankings of governance and competitiveness. This decline stemsfrom the country'sThe Philppine Democracy After Marcos: Problems ofDemocratic ConsolidationAkm K. Islam, Southern Illinois University, CarbondaleOverview: Why the Philippines, like many other third wavedemocracies, face tremendous difficulty consolidating theirnewly established democracy? My research tries to address thisquestion.Explaining People's Evaluation of Democracy in LatinAmericaClemente Quinones, Vanderbilt UniversityAbby Cordova-Guillen, Vanderbilt UniversityOverview: The purpose of this paper is to explain people'sevaluation of democracy in Latin America. We use a crosssectional,cross country analysis, which includes Mexico,Central America, Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador, and theDominican Republic.Arab Constitutions: Seeds for DemocracyTimothy J. Schorn, University of South DakotaOverview: Arab constitutions contain the seeds necessary todevelop democratic governments. They also contain the abilityto thwart the transition to democracy.Security Conditions and Civil-Military Relations in SouthKorea and the PhilippinesJongseok Woo, University of Texas, AustinOverview: This research examines how international/internalsecurity threat conditions affect the military's domestic politicalrole in South Korea and the Philippines.Gretchen G. Casper, Pennsylvania State University4-11 PRIVATIZATION, MARKETS ANDDEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENTRoomChairPaperPaperPaperDisc.TBA, Fri 10:30 amJonathan C. Benjamin-Alvarado, University of Nebraska,OmahaCompeting Theories? Re-thinking the Use of ProxyVariables in the Privatization LiteratureJulie VanDusky, SUNY, BinghamtonOverview: In order to untangle the "competing" privatizationtheories, this paper re-structures the privatization argumentusing the logic of willingness and capability, allowing for amore clearly specified empirical model.The Cost of Liberalization: Public Spending andPrivatization in BrazilChristina Schatzman, Arizona State UniversityOverview: Does neoliberal economic reform permit states tomore efficiently allocate resources? This paper examines thisquestion by analyzing the effect of privatizing state enterpriseson state spending in Brazil from 1980 to 2000.Democratization's Effect on Development ThroughPrivatization: Evidence from China, Russia, and Post-Socialist EuropeAndrea E. Jones-Rooy, University of Michigan, Ann ArborOverview: I empirically evaluate the divergent democratizationtrajectories of China and post-Socialist Europe and Russia since1989 to identify how different stages of democratic evolutioninfluences the effectiveness of privatization on development.Jonathan C. Benjamin-Alvarado, University of Nebraska,Omaha4-102 ROUNDTABLE: THE MEXICAN 2006PANEL STUDY: A ROUNDTABLEDISCUSSIONRoomChairPanelistTBA, Fri 10:30 amJames A. McCann, Purdue UniversityChappell Lawson, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyAlejandro Moreno, Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo deMexicoKenneth F. Greene, University of Texas, AustinLuis Estrada, Central de Estrategias PoliticasOverview: As the presidential campaigns in Mexico enter theirfinal stages, the panelists in this Roundtable will discussfindings from the first two waves of the "Mexican 2006 PanelStudy”.5-8 EUROSKEPTICISM AND NATIONALISTATTITUDES IN THE EURoomChairPaperPaperPaperTBA, Fri 10:30 amBarbara S. Kinsey, University of Central FloridaSecond Order Elections and the Success of Euro-SkepticPartiesBryan S. Glass, University of Texas, AustinTerri Givens, University of Texas, AustinOverview: The European Parliament elections are the onlynational elections in Britain where you will not see strategicvoting. We will show that small Euro-Skeptic parties arestrategically deserted in national legislative elections.Consonant Federalism?: Exclusive Identities andEuroskepticismJennifer L. Miller, University of Michigan, Ann ArborOverview: This paper seeks to explain Euroskepticism in termsof national identity and how living in a federal arrangementconditions support for European integration.Taking Europe to its Extremes: Extremist Parties andPublic EuroskepticismCatherine E. Netjes, Free University, AmsterdamErica E. Edwards, University of North Carolina, Chapel HillOverview: In this paper, we revisit the age-old debate on elitemasslinkages in the European Union (EU). We examine theway in which political contexts shape individual differentiationin EU support by focusing on the cueing effects of extremistparties.143