Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Dynamics Of Informal Institutions And Counter-Hegemony: Introducing A Brics Convergence Index, Mihaela Papa, Zhen 'Arc' Han, Frank O'Donnell

Political Science & Global Affairs Faculty Publications

Informal institutions are important platforms for renegotiating global governance, but there is disagreement on how they operate and challenge the United States (US). Realists view some informal institutions like Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) as counter-hegemonic entities, while rational institutionalists focus on their structure and performance in specific areas. However, neither approach explains the internal dynamics that make these institutions robust and potentially counter-hegemonic. To fill this gap, we first develop a new convergence approach for analysing informal institutional dynamics, and then we apply this approach to examine BRICS robustness and BRICS–US relations. Our BRICS Convergence Index …

The Risk Of Climate Change And Extreme Weather, Steven Michels Ed.

Political Science & Global Affairs Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Leadership And Performance In Informal Institutions: The Internal Dynamics Of Brics, Zhen 'Arc' Han, Mihaela Papa

Political Science & Global Affairs Faculty Publications

How does leadership affect the performance of informal institutions? Leadership in BRICS is particularly puzzling: this informal institution rapidly grows despite the disparate interests of its members, some of which are in longstanding conflict. This article examines how three forms of leadership – intellectual, entrepreneurial, and structural – affect institutional performance using BRICS cooperation data. It demonstrates the importance of intellectual leadership, particularly in strategically framing the cooperation problem in a way that creates mutual gains, as essential for realising collective outcomes in informal institutions. Collective action is catalyzed through the interplay of the three leadership forms. However, the activating …

Brazilian Alliance Perspectives: Towards A Brics Development–Security Alliance?, Zhen 'Arc' Han, Mihaela Papa

Political Science & Global Affairs Faculty Publications

Scholars studying BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) have traditionally argued that it is a development-focused partnership and not a military/security-based alliance. Yet BRICS members have been deepening their security integration, and Russia and China have been creating an alliance in the background. Although BRICS middle powers have traditionally demonstrated an aversion towards alliances, Brazil actively deepened security cooperation among BRICS members during its BRICS presidency in 2019. How does Brazil view alliances in contemporary power competition? This study examines Brazil’s perceptions by introducing and analysing a new data set of Brazilian expert discourses on alliances since 1990 …

Electoral Competition In Connecticut's State House Races: The Trial Run Of The Citizens' Election Program, Lesley A. Denardis

Political Science & Global Affairs Faculty Publications

The Citizens Election Fund, Connecticut's version of a clean elections law, was established in 2005 in the wake of the corruption scandal during the administration of Governor John Rowland. Modeled after the public financing systems of Maine and Arizona, Connecticut's law has been touted as the most comprehensive in the nation. This paper will address whether the introduction of the Citizens' Election Program has increased the level of electoral competition by specifically focusing on state house seats in Connecticut during the 2008 and 2010 election cycles. Contestation for seats in the Connecticut General Assembly is a particularly salient issue due …

Putting Ideas To Work: A Practical Introduction To Political Thought (Book Review), Steven Michels

Political Science & Global Affairs Faculty Publications

Book review by Steven Michels.

Mattern, M. (2006). Putting ideas to work: A practical introduction to political thought. Rowman and Littlefield.

ISBN 9780742548893 (hardcover); 9780742548909 (pbk.)

Challenging Diversity: Rethinking Equality And The Value Of Difference (Book Review), Steven Michels

Political Science & Global Affairs Faculty Publications

Book review by Steven Michels. Cooper, Davina. Challenging Diversity: Rethinking Equality and the Value of Difference. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004.

ISBN 9780521831833

Religion, Rhetoric, And Running For Office: Public Reason On The Us Campaign Trail, Brian Stiltner, Steven Michels

Political Science & Global Affairs Faculty Publications

It is common, almost expected, for candidates for office in the United States to affirm their religious identity and to employ broad religious themes in support of their political agendas. It is the rare candidate, especially for the Senate or the presidency, who completely eschews religious language due to the pressure and scrutiny of church leaders and advocacy groups with religous and moral agendas.

Financial Performance In Connecticut’S Municipalities: A Comparison Of Manager, Mayor-Council And Selectman Forms Of Government, Lesley A. Denardis, A. E. Rodriguez

Political Science & Global Affairs Faculty Publications

This paper assesses the relative performance of the council-manager versus the two predominant political models of government in Connecticut: Mayor-Council and Selectman forms of government. All three will be assessed in terms of their capability to provide for greater efficiency in Connecticut’s municipalities.

Published in New England Journal of Political Science, Volume 2, Number 2, Spring 2007.

Confronting Globalization: Humanity, Justice, And The Renewal Of Politics (Book Review), Steven Michels

Political Science & Global Affairs Faculty Publications

Book review by Steven Michels:

Hayden, Patrick and Chamsy el-Ojeili. Confronting Globalization: Humanity, Justice, and the Renewal of Politics. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005.

ISBN: 9781403945556

The Presidential Nominating Process: A Place For Us? (Book Review), Gary L. Rose

Political Science & Global Affairs Faculty Publications

Book review by Gary Rose.

Cook, R. (2004). The presidential nominating process: A place for us?. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

ISBN 9780742525931; 9780742525948 (pbk.)

Democracy And Its Friendly Critics: Tocqueville And Political Life Today (Book Review), Steven Michels

Political Science & Global Affairs Faculty Publications

Book review by Steven Michels.

Lawler, Peter Augustine, ed. Democracy and Its Friendly Critics: Tocqueville and Political Life Today. Lanham, Md.: Lexington Books, 2004. ISBN 9780739107614; 9780739107621 (pbk.)

When Democracies Fight: Tocqueville On The Democratic Peace, Steven Michels

Political Science & Global Affairs Faculty Publications

Do democratic norms and political culture play a greater role than structural determinants in realizing a democratic peace? Alexis de Tocqueville, a hitherto unappreciated theorist of international politics, offered such a view 175 years ago. This article examines Tocqueville's perspective on civil-military relations and the connection between democracy and peace. Tocqueville concludes that the key to the pacifism of a democracy is the equality of conditions it enjoys and the education that its soldiers receive prior to entering the military. Thus, in Tocqueville's estimation, the democratic peace has little to do with the practice of democracy, and everything to do …

The Paradox Of Philosophical Education: Nietzsche New Nobility And The Eternal Recurrence In Beyond Good And Evil (Book Review), Steven Michels

Political Science & Global Affairs Faculty Publications

Book review by Steven Michels.

Lomax, J. Harvey. The Paradox of Philosophical Education: Nietzsche New Nobility and the Eternal Recurrence in Beyond Good and Evil. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2003. ISBN 9780739104767; 9780739104774 (pbk.)

The Attempted Assassination Of The Pope, Thomas Melady, John F. Kikoski

Political Science & Global Affairs Faculty Publications

Examines the attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II on 13 May 1981. Details the circumstances that led to the assassination attempt, the individuals and countries involved, and the various published reports about the assassination attempt, particularly the possible involvement of the Bulgarians and the Russians.