2007 Conference Program - Midwest Political Science Association

Paper Durable Authoritarianism in Jordan and Kuwait: The Role of
External Actors
Sean L. Yom, Harvard University
Overview: This paper explains the durability of authoritarianism
in Jordan and Kuwait by investigating the role of international
powers in supporting the incumbent regime during periods of
domestic crisis.
Paper EU Leverage in the Implementation of Human Rights
Reforms in Turkey
Aziza Khatoon, University of Chicago
Overview: I will critically analyze Turkey’s human rights reforms
while simultaneously assess the role the European Union has
played in bringing about progressive change within Turkey’s
human rights policy.
Paper The Effect of Liberalization on Public Opinion Towards
Democracy in Algeria
Michael D. H. Robbins, University of Michigan
Mark Tessler, University of Michigan
Overview: We examine the effect of political liberalization on
beliefs and attitudes in society in Algeria using panel data from
2002-2006.
Paper Public Religion: Burden or Blessing for Democracy in the
Muslim World?
Mojtaba Mahdavi, University of Alberta
Overview: The relocation of religious institutions from state to
civil society is required for democracy but should not be
interpreted as the privatization of religion. A civil public religion
can contribute to democratization of religion and politics.
Disc. Matt Evans, Northwestern University
12-1 THE 2004 AND 2006 CANADIAN ELECTIONS
Room Parlor H, 6 th Floor, Thur at 12:45 pm
Chair Laura B. Stephenson, University of Western Ontario
Paper Competition, Campaign Finance, and Turnout
James W. Endersby, University of Missouri
Steven E. Galatas, Stephen F. Austin State University
Overview: This paper investigates the effects of campaign
expenditures on voter turnout in the 2004 and 2006 Canadian
federal elections. Constituency-level expenditures more closely
related to mobilization (canvassing) are more strongly related to
turnout.
Paper The Canadian Federal Election of 2006: The Agenda-Setting
Battle
Catherine Cote, University of Ottawa
Overview: We shall evaluate the Canadian federal election
campaign of 2006 using a three-dimensional approach based on
the three phases of communication. What message did the parties
want, how was this transmitted, and how was it perceived?
Paper Linguistic and Aboriginal Representation in Canada
David I. Lublin, American University
Antoine Yoshinaka, University of California, Riverside
Overview: In this paper we uncover the factors that lead to the
election of linguistic and aboriginal minority candidates in
Canada. We show that the socioeconomic and demographic
makeup of ridings affect the fortunes of minority candidates.
Paper Non-Results and a Few Results from Exit Polling in Canada,
January 2006
Tony L. Hill, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Overview: Exit polling is established in the U.S. but largely
unknown in Canada. This paper explores the limited results of an
exit poll in Canada in 2006 and the impediments that keep exit
polling from revealing much about Canadian electoral behavior.
Disc. Laura B. Stephenson, University of Western Ontario
13-301 POSTER SESSION: POST-COMMUNIST POLITICS
Room Exhibit Hall, 4 th Floor, Thur at 12:45 pm
Presenter Aid Distribution from the World Bank and EBRD to the
Postcommunist States
(Board 18)
Jennifer Romine, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Overview: My paper compares factors of aid distribution from the
World Bank and EBRD to the postcommunist states. The EBRD
distributes aid based on economic and international factors while
the World Bank distributes aid based on domestic political factors.
Presenter Religious Attachment and Political Participation in Post-
Communist Europe
(Board 19)
David O. Rossbach, Texas A&M University
Alexander Pacek, Texas A&M University
Overview: This paper examines the effects of religious
identification on political participation in Eastern Europe and
argues that the effects depend on the relationship of the Church to
the former regime and the role it played in the transition to
democracy.
Presenter Neo-Liberal Supra-Territoriality in Central and Eastern
Europe
(Board 20)
Petia Kostadinova, University of Florida
Overview: A study of the interactions between neo-liberal
economic policies and supra-territorial globalization in six postcommunist
countries, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary,
Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
14-13 POLITICAL ISSUES IN INTERNATIONAL
DEVELOPMENT
Room Sandburg 2, 7 th Floor, Thur at 12:45 pm
Chair Daniel L. Nielson, Brigham Young University
Paper Economic Development and Sectarian Violence in India
Krishna Manek, University of Cincinnati
Overview: One of the major challenges facing the economic
reforms and growth initiated in India is sectarian violence. This
paper will attempt to study the aspect of sectarian violence in
India and its probable impeding impact towards the economic
growth.
Paper Primary Commodities and State Extractive Capacity in Sub-
Saharan Africa
Cameron G. Thies, University of Missouri
Overview: I examine the effect of primary commodities on state
tax revenue extraction in ethnically fragmented societies. I find
evidence of both the resource curse and the stimulative effect of
resource-based internal challenges on state revenue extraction.
Paper Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative: Are Policy
Reforms Helpful?
Moye G. Bongyu, Jackson State University
Overview: Many developing countries have been suffocating
under the debt burden to the extent that they cannot satisfy the
basic needs of the citizens. Substantial efforts have been made to
disentangle these poor countries from the vicious debt-poverty
trap.
Paper Economic Inequality from Political Economy Perspective
Aticha Suebsawangkul, University of Missouri, St. Louis
Overview: The paper will answer what economic inequality is.
How and why is it important? What can be the evidence for and
against the proposition that it affects politics? What the
government should do and what kind of public policy should be
implemented?
Disc. Julia C. Gray, University of California, Los Angeles
15-2 DOMESTIC INSTITUTIONS AND HUMAN RIGHTS
Room Salon 5, 3 rd Floor, Thur at 12:45 pm
Chair Darren Hawkins, Brigham Young University
Paper Domestic Enforcement of Human Rights Treaties via
International Action
Emily H. Ritter, Emory University
Overview: When ratifying human rights treaties, a state signals to
the populations of other states that it respects human rights, which
uses this to support or oppose critical interaction in economic gain
or security with the ratifying state.
Paper Transnational Networks and National Human Rights
Institutional Changes
Dongwook Kim, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Overview: I seek to explain the global diffusion of national human
rights institutions from 1978 to 2005. What explains the process
and the timing of country adoption of government institutions that
are designed to protect and promote human rights in society?
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