2007 Conference Program - Midwest Political Science Association

9-5 FOREIGN POLICY IN THE PACIFIC REGION -
ISSUE AREAS
Room Sandburg 5, 7 th Floor, Fri at 9:50 am
Chair Timothy J. Haas, San Francisco State University
Paper Japan in Asia
Timothy J. Haas, San Francisco State University
Overview: Japan faces many new opportunities and challenges in
the 21st century, and if properly equipped, may take advantage of
its situation in order to emerge as a bastion of security and
economic stability in the region.
Paper Japan-Taiwan Relations: Unofficial in Name Only
Jing Sun, University of Denver
Overview: This article examines how diplomatic maneuvering at
the elite level and mutual penetration of popular cultures at the
mass level have jointly strengthened Japan-Taiwan relations to a
status that can termed as "unofficial in name only."
Paper Will The Future Taiwan Strait War Impede China’s
Development?
Jing Nie, University of Toledo
Overview: Taiwan might be the only place which can trigger
military confrontations between two major powers. Any
miscalculation among China, U.S. and Taiwan will lead to
conflict. This paper is a careful calculation of Beijing’s cost and
benefit.
Disc. Timothy J. Haas, San Francisco State University
13-12 PRE-POST-COMMUNISM?
Room Sandburg 4, 7 th Floor, Fri at 9:50 am
Chair Michele L. Crumley, Mercyhurst College
Paper Beyond Elections: Leadership and Mass-Elite Linkages in
Rural China
Wei Shan, Texas A&M University
Overview: Based on the literature of mass-elite linkage and
political leadership, this paper attempts to address the role of
leadership relation as an informal interpersonal influence process
in shaping citizen-elite agreement on policy issues.
Paper Cuba's Revolutionary Reform
Jennifer W. Howk, Harvard University
Overview: This paper presents a general framework for
understanding authoritarian legitimacy and regime change in weak
Leninist states by examining ideological and institutional
innovation in post-Soviet Cuba.
Paper Ossification and Renewal in the Cuban Political Elite
Salomon Berman, Georgetown University
Overview: This paper explores the generational transition in the
Cuban political elite. While it is impossible to predict whether
regime change is to occur in a post-Castro Cuba, it will not occur
because of an elite failure to rejuvenate.
Paper The Rentier Thesis in Central Asia: The Importance of
Development Strategy
Pascael Barclay, Emory University
Overview: The rentier literature says little about how resource
wealth translates into authoritarianism. This paper contributes to
the literature by examining how the intervening variable of
development strategy affects this relationship in Central Asia.
Paper Democratic Habits through Non-Democratic Means
Svitlana Chernykh, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Overview: This paper argues that non-competitive Soviet elections
had the power to socialize the citizenry into democratic practices
such as voting. The findings show that turnout patterns in post-
Soviet republics resemble established democracies.
Disc. Wei Shan, Texas A&M University
Khalil Dokhanchi, University of Wisconsin, Superior
14-14 TRADE LIBERALIZATION AND PROTECTION
Room Sandburg 2, 7 th Floor, Fri at 9:50 am
Chair Alexandra Guisinger, University of Notre Dame
Paper Currency Unions and the Demand for Protection
Lena Schaffer, ETH, Zurich
Overview: We theoretically develop and empirically test the
argument that currency unions can entail increased levels of
protection as import-competing producers lobby for artificial
barriers to trade to replace natural protection via currency risk.
Page | 146
Paper Trade Liberalization in Developing Countries
Su-Hyun Lee, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Overview: This paper analyzes the effects of political institutions
on trade liberalization of developing countries. While democracies
tend to lower trade barriers than autocracies, the effects of regime
types depend on the number of institutional veto points.
Paper The Fear of Litigation During Negotiations Over WTO
Disputes
Xiaowen Zhang, University of Southern California
Overview: This paper aims to enrich our understanding about
what factors influence countries' decisions about the timing of
settling WTO trade disputes.
Paper Trade Policy Index and Governance Variables—Crosscountry
Analysis
Joel L. Raveloharimisy, Western Michigan University
Overview: The purpose of this paper is to present a model that
explains the relationship between governance effectiveness and
trade policy. I hypothesize that higher quality governance should
lead to less protectionism.
Paper From NAFTA to China? Production Shifts and the Future of
Regionalization
Sara Jane McCaffrey, Massachusetts Institute of Technolgy
Marcos Ancelovici, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Overview: Contrary to predictions of three important trading
blocks in an increasingly regionalized world, a major shift of
production from NAFTA to Asia since 2000 suggests that the
presumed political and economic clout of regions may be inflated.
Disc. Daniel Y. Kono, University of California, Davis
14-16 IMF POLITICS
Room Parlor H, 6 th Floor, Fri at 9:50 am
Chair Jonathan R. Strand, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Paper Structural Adjustment and Its Impact on Economic Human
Rights, 1981-2003
Mohammed R. Abouharb, Louisiana State University
David L. Cingranelli, Binghamton University
Overview: World Bank and International Monetary Fund
structural adjustment policies promote rapid neo-liberal economic
liberalization as a tool for development. They negatively impact
respect for economic and social rights in developing countries
between 1981-2004
Paper Does Adjustment Lending Work? Policy Reforms in the Wake
of Program Lending
Daniel L. Nielson, Brigham Young University
Joshua D. Loud, Brigham Young University
Overview: Employing the Project-Level Aid (PLAID) dataset, this
paper tests the effects of adjustment programs from multi- and
bilateral sources on trade liberalization, stabilization, and budget
deficits.
Paper Explaining Multilateral Debt Forgiveness
Michael D. Schmidt, American University
Overview: This paper constructs a model to account for the
creation and development of the Highly Indebted Poor Countries
initiative, a program managed by the World Bank and IMF that
bargains governmental reforms for rescheduling and forgiveness
of debt.
Paper Developing Capacity: The Impact of IMF Lending on State
Capacity
Christine L. Harper, University of North Texas
Overview: The paper examines whether administrative capacity in
borrowing countries benefits from the governance-related
conditionality reforms mandated by the IMF since 1996, and
whether administrative capacity influences IMF lending patterns.
Disc. Mark Copelovitch, University of Wisconsin, Madison
15-6 ALLIANCES AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
THEORY
Room Salon 5, 3 rd Floor, Fri at 9:50 am
Chair Sarah E. Croco, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Paper Alliances amongst Terrorist Groups
Kanisha D. Bond, Pennsylvania State University
Overview: Identifies conditions under which terrorist groups form
security alliances, using two game-theoretic models of