2007 Conference Program - Midwest Political Science Association

20-4 REASSESSING THE PROGRESS OF
NATIONALISM: A SECOND LOOK AT ETHNIC
IDENTITIES
Room Salon 7, 3 rd Floor, Fri at 9:50 am
Chair Danielle E. Resnick, Cornell University
Paper Examining State Failure in Chile: The Ethnic Dilemma in the
Mapuche Community
Gabriela Hoberman, Florida International University
Overview: This paper examines the impact of ethnic demands on
civil society and political institutions in Chile. It offers evidence
that processes of exclusion have been carried out by the state,
negatively affecting fair citizenship.
Paper Democratization and the Language of Nationalism
Takehiko Kojima, Florida International University
Overview: The paper examines the role of language in the genesis
of democracy. Building on Habermas’ theory of communicative
action, I will argue that the language of nationalism has been a
constitutive part of the modern constitutional democratic state.
Paper In Pursuit of Democracy: And the Dream of a Nation-State
Michelle Munroe, Florida International University
Overview: By carrying out a case study on nation building in
Jamaica after its independence in 1962, this paper claims that
ethnic ties have played a vital role in undermining the attempts of
the state to successfully create a homogenous national identity.
Paper Can Nationalism Benefit Democratization: Cases of Estonia
and Ukraine
Lena M. Surzhko-Harned, University of Pittsburgh
Overview: This study seeks to show that blanket statements about
nationalism’s impact on democratization are impossible.
Examining the transitions in Estonia and Ukraine it argues that
under the right conditions nationalism can benefit
democratization.
Paper The Ethnic Markers of Sámi Identity: Identifying What
Constitutes the Identity of the Sámi People in Sweden
Luca Zini, Florida International University
Overview: For centuries, the Sámis have been subjected to either
forced or “natural” assimilation, adapting into state languages and
religions while being subjected to structural or systemic forms
discrimination. This essay will attempt to explore the ethnic
marker
Disc. Stephen Bloom, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale
21-2 EMOTION AND VOTER BEHAVIOR
Room Parlor B, 6 th Floor, Fri at 9:50 am
Chair Ted Brader, University of Michigan
Paper Invoking Fear: How Does the Politics of Fear Influence Voter
Behavior?
Kyle Mattes, California Institute of Technology
R. Michael Alvarez, California Institute of Technology
Overview: We study the effects of emotion, particularly fear, on
vote choice in the 2004 Presidential election. Did fear of one or
both candidates inhibit economic retrospective voting?
Paper Remember the Feeling: How Affect Structures Voters’
Memories
Andrew J. W. Civettini, University of Iowa
David P. Redlawsk, University of Iowa
Overview: We examine the role of affect on memory about
candidates. We find subjects are more likely to remember
information for which they experienced affect and that anxiety
does little to increase the likelihood that an individual item is
remembered.
Paper Who Pushes Whom Around? A Study of Affective Versus
Semantic Priming
Dan Cassino, Fairleigh Dickinson University
Overview: An experiment in a survey of registered voters in New
Jersey was used to test the interaction of semantic and affective
priming. Results indicate that very strong affective reactions to the
prime can lead to outcomes opposite those normally expected.
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Paper Discriminating Emotions: The Differential Effects of Discrete
Emotions
Brad Verhulst, Stony Brook University
Charles Taber, Stony Brook University
Milton Lodge, Stony Brook University
Nancy Squires, Stony Brook University
Antonio Freitas, Stony Brook University
Overview: Political Scientists are interested in studying the effect
that emotions have on political behaviors, however discriminating
between the effects of specific emotions has lagged behind the
discrimination of the valence (positive/negative) of emotions.
Disc. Jennifer Wolak, University of Colorado
22-5 ELECTIONS AND WAR
Room Salon 8, 3 rd Floor, Fri at 9:50 am
Chair Scott Althaus, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Paper Wartime Presidents: Battle Casualties and Popular Support
Helmut Norpoth, Stony Brook University
Andrew H. Sidman, Stony Brook University
Overview: We examine presidential approval in wartime with
models that condition the effect of casualties on public
assessments of the war.
Paper War, Terrorism, and Trust: The Effects of National Issues on
Voting Behavior in the 2006 Midterm Elections
Gary C. Jacobson, University of California, San Diego
Overview: Analysis of a segment of the Cooperative
Congressional Election Study devoted to investigating the effects
of attitudes toward George Bush, the Iraq War, and the terrorism
issue on voting behavior in 2006.
Paper Elections During World War II
Adam Berinsky, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Overview: This paper examines the unusual nature of elections
during wartime, focusing on World War II.
Paper Breaking Bonds? Issue Ownership of National Defense and
the Iraq War
Hannah Goble, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Peter M. Holm, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Overview: This paper builds off the theory of issue ownership to
examine if and how the traditional Republican edge in national
defense has been diminished by public opinion on the Iraq War
and the impact of opinion on vote choice and presidential
approval.
Disc. Scott Althaus, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
23-5 CAMPAIGN TALK
Room PDR 5, 3 rd Floor, Fri at 9:50 am
Chair Joseph Giammo, University of Arkansas, Little Rock
Paper Incumbency in Political Campaign Discourse
William L. Benoit, University of Missouri
Overview: Compares incumbents and challengers in presidential
and non-presidential campaign messages on (1) positive versus
negative statements, (2) retrospective positive versus negative
statements and (3) policy versus character.
Paper The Partisan Content of Candidate Messages
Thomas M. Holbrook, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Scott McClurg, Southern Illinois University
Overview: One of the hottest debates in contemporary politics
focuses on the so-called culture war. While political scientists
have found strong evidence of partisan polarization at the elite
level, the evidence suggests that the public is not similarly
divided.
Paper The Use of Religious Cues in Political Campaign Advertising
Morgen S. Johansen, Texas A&M University
Overview: This study focuses on the use of religious cues in
political campaign ads and the effect these cues have on electoral
outcomes.