2007 Conference Program - Midwest Political Science Association

Paper The Peace Process and the Palestinian Political Landscape
Husam A. Mohamad, University of Central Oklahoma
Overview: This article examines forces that have influenced the
Palestinian political landscape, focusing on the failure of the peace
process and its effect on the changing relations among political
elites and trends in the Palestinian territories.
Disc. Ali R. Abootalebi, University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire
Muqtedar Khan, University of Delaware
12-3 CANADIAN IDENTITY AND ATTITUDES
Room Sandburg 2, 7 th Floor, Sat at 2:35 pm
Chair Jean Crete, Universite Laval
Paper The Catholic-Liberal Connection in Canada: A Modern
Appraisal
Laura B. Stephenson, University of Western Ontario
Overview: The tendency of Catholics to vote for the Liberal Party
of Canada has puzzled Canadian political scientists for decades.
This paper evaluates the tendency for Catholics to vote for the
Liberal Party.
Paper Attitudes about Federalism Among Quebec Youths
Andrea M. L. Perrella, Université de Montréal
Éric Bélanger, McGill University
Overview: Attitudes about federalism among Quebecers aged 18-
34 are explored. The paper will focus on why young francophone
sovereignists views are more varied, while young anglophone and
allophone sovereignists appear more cognitively constrained.
Paper Political Attitudes of Western Canadians Ages 18-34
Robert P. Roach, Canada West Foundation
Loleen Berdahl, Canada West Foundation
Overview: The Canada West Foundation’s Looking West 2006
Survey included a wide range of questions on public policy
priorities, political identity, and democratic participation and
attitudes.
Paper The Northern Enigma: American Images of Canada
Paul Gecelovsky, University of Lethbridge
Stephen Brooks, University of Michigan/University of Windsor
Overview: The paper will examine the emergence of two
contrasting images of Canada in the U.S. and argue that the
existence of these dual images has resulted, in part, in a U.S.
policy towards Canada that is as schizophrenic as the images.
Disc. John S. Matthews, Queen's University
13-1 LEGISLATIVE POLITICS IN THE POST
COMMUNIST REGION
Room Parlor H, 6 th Floor, Sat at 2:35 pm
Chair Krista E. Wiegand, Georgia Southern University
Paper Electoral Mandates and Presidential Support in the Russian
Duma, 1994-2003
Frank C. Thames, Texas Tech University
Overview: The literature on presidential systems suggests that
presidents find it easer to build coalitions with single-member
district legislators. This paper tests this assumption by examining
presidential support in the mixed-member Russian Duma.
Paper Veto Players or Agenda Setters? Legislative Organization in
the Czech Republic
Monika Anna Napela, Harvard University
Andrew Roberts, Northwestern University
Overview: The paper proposes a model explaining how Senatorial
amendments can be successfully accepted by the House even
though the majorities required for passing legislation and
overriding senatorial amendments are almost identical.
Paper Committee Roles in the Legislative Politics of a Developing
Legislature: The Case of the Ukrainian Parliament
Irina Knmelko, Georgia Southern University
Overview: The paper discusses the process of committee system
formation in a developing legislature. It addresses the effects of a
mixed electoral system and party politics on committee roles in
legislative process and oversight of the Ukrainian parliament.
Paper Women's Substantive Representation in Post-Soviet
Legislatures: Duma Roll-Call Vote Analysis
Raminta Stockute, University of Kansas
Overview: Research maintains that female politicians are more
likely to support issues of concern to women, for example, health
care or maternity benefits. The findings demonstrate that, first, for
the most part, being female has no independent effect on a deputy'
Disc. Scott Desposato, University of California, San Diego
Joel Ostrow, Benedictine University
14-10 IPE WITH AN ASIAN FOCUS
Room Salon 12, 3 rd Floor, Sat at 2:35 pm
Chair Susan C. Morris, University of Wisconsin, Platteville
Paper Global Finance, Neoliberal Economic Reform , and the State:
The Case of Japan
Takaaki Suzuki, Ohio University
Overview: This paper demonstrates how and why the rise of
global finance in Japan since the early 1980s has expanded, rather
than eroded, the role of the state in the issue area of fiscal and
financial policy.
Paper Global Shift: Emerging Economies and Globalization
Joseph J. St. Marie, University of Southern Mississippi
Shahdad Naghshpour, University of Southern Mississippi
Samuel S. Stanton, Jr., Grove City College
Overview: The Economist declared that emerging economies now
produce more than half the world’s GDP. Who are these countries,
and are their economies and politics significantly integrated and
globalized? We test this thesis in a large-N time-series model.
Paper Sequence of Regional Institution-Building in Asia and the
Pacific
Yasumasa Komori, University of Pittsburgh
Overview: This paper examines the temporal dimension of
regional institution-building by analyzing the impact of the
preceding regional institutions on the subsequent creation of
institutions in Asia and the Pacific.
Paper National Responses to a Regional Problem: The Asian
Financial Crisis of 1997-98 and Post-Crisis Reform Policies in
East Asia
Yongwook Ryu, Harvard University
Overview: This paper examines the impact of the Asian financial
crisis (1997-98) on the crisis-affected East Asian countries-- South
Korea, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. It first
surveys the different national reform policies.
Paper Democracy and Economic Inequality in South Asia: Any
Discernible Link?
Udaya R. Wagle, Western Michigan University
Overview: Examines political democracy and economic inequality
and finds that they may not be compatible in South Asia. While
this finding is not consistent with earlier findings, it offers
contextual explanations for the differences observed.
Disc. Susan C. Morris, University of Wisconsin, Platteville
15-13 INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS AND MILITARY
CONFLICT
Room Salon 5, 3 rd Floor, Sat at 2:35 pm
Chair David C. Johnson, University of California, Los Angeles
Paper The Economic Origins of International Conflict: An Agent-
Based Model
Brett L. Carter, University of Chicago
Overview: This paper presents an agent-based simulation that
suggests the incentives for and prevalence of international conflict
shift as the most salient factors of economic growth – land, labor,
physical capital, and human capital – change over time.
Paper Oil and Post-Cold War Great Power Politics in Central Asia
Akm K. Islam, Southern Illinois University
Overview: The purpose of the study is to show how competition
for natural resources can shape great power politics. In my study, I
will discuss strategies of three great powers such as the United
States, Russia, and China in gaining control over Central Asian
natural resources.
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