Political Science Commons^™

Political Participation: Influences And Implications, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

From the understanding of topical issues to activism, education has been said to play a major role in promoting political participation. Past research has shown that the educated would display stronger tendencies to vote, join political parties and engage in civic activities. However, if education predicts political participation, why do some countries with lower education rates face higher chances of political unrest? For instance, the average schooling in East Asian countries exceeds the average for Latin American countries. Yet, Latin America experiences higher levels of political unrest.

Will The Obama Administration Change Tack On Protectionism Before Things Get Worse?, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

The new American government under President Barrack Obama is not the biggest cheerleader for free trade. With its own domestic economy entering this steep downturn, talks of protectionism in one form or another have been voiced every now and then. Catchy buzzwords like “Buy America” are gaining traction. The temptation to turn inwards, driven by the obligation to votes is growing stronger.

Calling Out The Persistence Of Racism, Sanford F. Schram

Political Science Faculty Research and Scholarship

In this issue New Political Science begins a new tradition, printing an extended review essay of the book that received the Michael Harrington Book Award at the most recent American Political Science Association Meeting. The Michael Harrington Award is given for an outstanding book that demonstrates how scholarships can be used in the struggle for a better world. In 2011, the award went to Michelle Alexander for her book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in an Age of Color-Blindness. Sanford Schram, a member of the award committee, has contributed the below review.

Ibn Khaldun And The Modern Social Sciences: A Comparative Theoretical Inquiry Into Society, The State, And Revolution, Douglas H. Garrison

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis represents a link in a long chain of recent Western scholarship that has attempted to bring the work of Ibn Khaldun, the late 14th century Tunisian jurist and historian, into the mainstream of historiographic, political, and sociological learning. Why Ibn Khaldun? What makes his work stand out among the classics of pre-modern and early-modern political and social theory? Why are his ideas still relevant to the study of politics and societies today? My thesis attempts to answer these questions through the lenses of comparative political theory and theoretical reinterpretation.

The study hinges on a thematic comparison of Ibn …

Rethinking Rosato: Understanding The Genesis Of European Integration, Andrew J. Brienzo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A balance-of-power argument that completely discounts the role played by the United States has been employed in a recent attempt to explain both the origins of European integration and the Continent's recent difficulties. This thesis sets out to rebut these notions through an examination of the historical record. Such an examination makes it clear that France and West Germany's reasons for pursuing the integration of Western Europe were grounded in these states' relationships with one another within the postwar context, not in their fear of Soviet aggression. France, after all, was seeking to rebuild itself and hold down the Germans …

Global Governance: The Ideological Kenosis Of The West, Steven A. Samson

Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

“Seeking Justice, Strategically”, Joel R. Pruce

Human Rights & Human Welfare

In his opinion piece, Ian Paisley takes to task the International Criminal Court (ICC) for, as he sees it, intervening in domestic processes of reconciliation at the expense of long-term prospects for peace. The "peace versus justice" paradox is not a new one and Paisley expresses a common criticism of justice mechanisms as disruptive of post-conflict, societal healing and the overwhelming hurdle of governing in the aftermath of violence. Missing from his analysis is a broader understanding of trends in international justice and accountability, of which the ICC is only one component. While the ICC is certainly not immune from …

“Slippery Slopes: On Why We Need The Icc”, Matthew S. Weinert

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Peace, reconciliation, and restorative justice: these are the albatrosses that international criminal law (ICL) must (unfairly) bear. Ian Paisley, MP from Northern Ireland and former United Nations and European Union peace envoy, echoes in a New York Times op-ed contribution the aspirations heaped onto the International Criminal Court (ICC). In March, the ICC convicted Thomas Lubanga for war crimes and the conscription of children as soldiers; justice has been done, Paisley claims. Yet the ICC was "intended as an instrument of peace," and "there is no peace" in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). On this ground he concludes, …

June Roundtable: International Criminal Court, Peace, And Justice, Introduction, Claudia Fuentes Julio

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

“Peace Must Not Be the Victim of International Justice” New York Times. March 16, 2012.

Unexpected Winners: The Significance Of An Open-List System On Women’S Representation In Poland, Sheri L. Kunovich

Sociology Research

Scholars have debated the impact of open-list systems on women's representation. While some argue that open lists provide a unique opportunity for voters to overcome parties' bias against women, others argue that they create additional barriers. I examine several mechanisms that impact women's representation within Poland's open-list system. Results suggest that 1) voters shift women's original list placements positively across all parties over three elections; 2) these shifts are more pronounced when women's overall presence on the list and list placement are lower, regardless of party; and 3) positive shifts often result in the election of substantially more women than …

Political Science Department Newsletter, V7n1, June 2012, University Of Northern Iowa. Department Of Political Science.

Political Science Newsletter

Contents:

---Greetings from the Department Head Donna R. Hoffman, Department of Political Science
---Vajpeyi Endowment Fund Becomes Vajpeyi Fellowship
---New Alumni Profile: Josh Wilson
---New Alumni Profile: Adam Beaves
---New Alumni Profile: Dylan Mulfinger
---New Alumni Profile: Esthella Kamara
---Alumni Profile: Elizabeth Pastrano
---Pi Sigma Alpha News
---Political Science Department Welcomes New Faculty Member Allison Martens
---News From Faculty
---Center for International Peace and Security Studies
---Department Activities
---Iowa Straw Poll Research
---Iowa Association of Political Scientists
---Iowa Politics Students Visit State Capitol
---Scholarships and Awards
---Student Research
---Congratulations Graduates! Fall 2011 and Spring 2012 Graduates
---Department of Political Science …

Review Of Mafias On The Move: How Organized Crime Conquers New Territories, By Federico Varese, H. Richard Friman

Political Science Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Litigating The "Public Interest" In The Gilded Age: Common Law Business Regulation By Nineteenth-Century State Attorneys General, Paul Nolette

Political Science Faculty Research and Publications

Heeding recent calls to explore the contributions of creative political actors other than federal judges to the process of American legal development, this article examines the role of state attorneys general (SAGs) during the period of rapid industrialization of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Consistent with recent revisionist accounts concerning the extent of government power during this era of supposed "laissez-faire," I find that SAGs during this period actively and creatively employed ancient common law legal theories in new ways to address the emerging corporate order during this time. Relying on a review of state court cases and …

Gaetano Salvemini: A Lesson In Thought And Action, Michael Christopher Diclemente

Graduate Masters Theses

Gaetano Salvemini was one of the earliest political exiles during Fascism. Before his exile Salvemini had the reputation of being a well-respected historian and political activist. He taught history at the University of Florence, among other universities. Salvemini was known for his intelligence, detailed research and analysis, and his unflinching ideals. After his exile Salvemini spent some time in England and France. During this time he traveled to the United States for a lecture tour and later settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts to teach at Harvard University. Salvemini's main objective in his writing and lectures was to debunk the myths of …

The Dimensionality Of Political Space: Epistemological And Methodological Considerations, Kenneth Benoit, Michael Laver

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Spatial characterizations of agents' preferences lie at the heart of many theories of political competition. These give rise to explicitly dimensional interpretations. Parties define and differentiate themselves in terms of substantive policy issues, and the configuration of such issues that is required for a good description of political competition affects how we think substantively about the underlying political space in which parties compete. For this reason a great deal of activity in political science consists of estimating such configurations in particular real settings. We focus on three main issues in this article. First, we discuss the nature of political differences …

Myanmar: The Beginning Of Reform And The End Of Sanctions, Marco Bünte, Clara Portela

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Since March 2011, Burma/Myanmar has witnessed a liberalization of the press, the release of political prisoners and the initiation of a political dialogue between the regime on the one hand and the opposition and ethnic groups on the other. The reforms culminated in by-elections on 1 April 2012, which in turn resulted in a landslide victory for Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD). Overall, political reforms in Burma/Myanmar are being initiated from “above.” They are elite-driven and stem from the president and progressive members of the military-dominated party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).

Shanghai’S Alternative Futures: The World Expo, Citizen Intellectuals, And China’S New Civil Society, William A. Callahan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Civil society seems to be a dead issue in China because its formal aspects of mobilization and institutionalization are so tightly regulated by the party-state. This article looks to activities in and around the Shanghai World Expo (2010) to rethink the meaning of civil society and political action in China. Through an analysis of the Expo’s national, theme, and corporate pavilions, it shows how Beijing is planning a harmonious future for China and the world. Yet alongside this unified future, it examines how Shanghai’s citizen intellectuals – filmmaker Jia Zhangke, artist Cai Guoqiang, and blogger Han Han – are creating …

China’S Futures And The World’S Future: An Introduction, William A. Callahan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

China’s growing economic, political, and cultural power is an important global issue; Chinese people are increasingly interested in thinking about their country’s future as a world power. This article introduces the special issue ‘China’s futures – and the world’s future’ by discussing how futurology works in China. It argues that Chinese futures studies exhibit two general trends: (1) a shift from locating the future outside China to see China itself as the future, and (2) a shift from officials centrally planning the future to many different people dreaming about many different futures. The battle for the future thus is not …

From Retribution To Reconciliation, From Spoiler To Peace Envoy, Christine Bell

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Is there a tension between justice and peace? That debate I leave to my co-panelists, because the most interesting and important thing about this month's centerpiece, without a doubt, is not its well-judged (if slightly ill-informed) take on the ICC, but the name of the author at its end.

Sanctions Dataset Codebook For Arasp (Autocratic Regimes And Sanctions Project), Clara Portela, Christian Von Soest

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This is the codebook containing definitions of terms used in the Sanction Dataset. The dataset is composed of the entire universe of sanctions regimes imposed by the UN, US and EU in the period from 1990 to 2010, including those sanctions regimes that were in place by 1990, targeting a country, its leadership and entities associated with it. Episodes which are still on-going are also recorded.