Name: Mughees Ahmed
Section: Comparative Politics
Professional Email: drmughees@gcuf.edu.pk
Professional Status: Full Professor
Institution: Government College University, Faisalabad, Pakistan
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Paper Title:  Sit-In Politics In New Democracies. An Analytical Study With Reference To Pakistan
Abstract:
The study of Sit-In Politics in New Democracies is very important to understand the political system of any country and its process of democratization. Sit- in politics is a form of protest or direct action in which demands are presented forcefully to accept and they refuse to leave the place until their demands are not accepted by government. Violent activities in sit-in politics can destroy the system and sometimes strengthen the political system. People blocked the roads and streets until their demands are not considered or agreed by the competent authority. The participants protest government to ask for something forcefully. Basically, it is a form of civil disobedience. These protests are arranged by pressure groups, political or religious leadership to articulate their demands. Sit-in politics is an activity of interest articulation process in which people or groups express their views and demands to government. An Analytical Study with Reference to Pakistan will focus on 'DHARNA' (Sit-in) politics and its political and social impacts on political culture of Pakistan. This study will be completed under the Behavioural Approach as a main research methodology which will be helpful to understand the behaviour of the political leadership and its manifestos to gain political power and authority. This research will base on interviews with politician, voters and other stakeholders. there is not a lot of existing material in this regard but this research will be very useful for future research scholars of political science.

Name: Olawale Akinrinde
Section: Comparative Politics
Professional Email: olawale.akinrinde@uniosun.edu.ng
Professional Status: Graduate Student
Institution: Osun State University, Osogbo, Nigeria
Scheduling Preference: No Preference
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Paper Title:  Impact of Third Sector on the Anticorruption Fight in Nigeria: Challenges and Prospects
Abstract:
Poverty, bad leadership, violence and insecurity among others have been identified as threats to the continued corporate existence of the Nigerian state but none is as devastating as the corruption epidemic. It is a social and anti-societal vice that manifests across all levels and in all sectors; albeit, the first and second sectors which constitute the people and the government respectively. In a bid to nip this menace in its bud, the Nigerian government being the second sector, has instituted various anticorruption strategies, actions, rhetoric and policies all wrapped in the anticorruption crusade. These with many other giant efforts like the creation of anticorruption commission (The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and The Independent Corrupt Practices Commission) as well as the legal prosecution of high and low profile corruption cases have yielded little or no appreciable results. Findings have further shown that while the government being the second sector has not really lived up to expectation in this fight, the activities of the third sector like the NURTW have further limited the success chance of the collective efforts of all the sectors in the fight against corruption. Without exonerating both the first and second sectors (the people and the government) in the culpability of the failure of the anticorruption fight given its continued rise, the third sector has, through their corrupt activities and failed responsibilities, contributed more to the failure of the anticorruption fight. It is in the light of this challenge and problematic that this article aims to assess the degree of impacts the third sector with the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) as a civil society and as a case study, has had on Nigeria’s anticorruption fight. While relying primarily the qualitative methodology, the role of the third sector especially the NURTW in the anticorruption fight in Nigeria shall be evaluated and investigated with a view to unravelling its problems and prospects. This article however concludes that a change of attitude, approach and action in the third sector is more than necessary at this juncture if the anticorruption fight is to yield any meaningful result in Nigeria. Keywords: Anticorruption Fight, the Third Sector, NURTW, Challenges and Prospects, Nigeria.

Name: James Ankers
Section: Comparative Politics
Professional Email: james.ankers@mail.utoronto.ca
Professional Status: Graduate Student
Institution: University of Toronto
Scheduling Preference: No Preference
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Paper Title: Same Names, Different "Games": American and Canadian Living Wage Movements in Comparative Perspective
Abstract:
Living wage movements have emerged as one of the most vibrant forces resisting neoliberal trends in the last quarter century. Coupling moderate public policy demands with an intersectional social justice framework that has variously included faith communities, labour groups, students, career politicians, and more, the vibrancy of the movement suggests a new way of “doing” social movements and policy advocacy in this century. Of course, the vibrancy and nascency of the movement, paired with its decentralized nature, means that each local movement is unique. However, this variation is not random. Movements are informed by institutions, extant policies, available actors, and political culture. New research has noted that Canadian living wage movements have taken on distinct characteristics in transmission across the border: they are more smaller, less ambitious, and more uniformly comprised of third sector activists and experts (see: Albo, 2007; Evans, 2017; Evans, 2016; McBride & Muirhead, 2016). In this paper, I employ a comparative methodology to explore these differences systematically, applying various public policy theories to elucidate the causal factors that have caused Canadian movements to differ from their American forebears despite a common movement heritage. The paper relies on the relatively new but rapidly growing body of American research to define common characteristics and goals of the living wage movement as a whole (see esp.: Luce, 2004; 2005; 2009; Sonn & Luce, 2008; Ciscel, 2000; Martin, 2001). I then employ content analysis and process tracing methods to categorize and define commonalities among the largely unexplored Canadian movements, using public documentation, communications, and submissions from active living wage coalitions. I then take these Canadian commonalities and compare them against the American control group, using promising theories from the field of public policy such as the Narrative Policy Framework (NPF), the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF), Power Resource Theory, and corporatist accounts of policy formulation. I expect to find that “institutions matter”: differing available access points to governments and distributions of municipal power are expected to be the principal causal factors. In particular, the institutionalization of community advocacy by faith, student, racialized, and other groups in America, a history largely absent in Canada, will be the principal reason for differentiation of movements between countries Such comparative work has yet to be done in a systematic and rigorous manner. The conclusions reached in this essay will inform comparative assumptions about differences in American/Canadian social movements, advocacy coalitions, civil society, and municipal politics in the new millennium. Further, they will permit predictions about both countries’ respective living wage movements as they further disperse and contend with unfamiliar local institutions and policy environments. As income inequality rises and the shift to a low wage, service sector economy continues, such movements will only take on more significance with time.

Name: John Bukenya
Section: Comparative Politics
Professional Email: John_Bukenya@student.uml.edu
Professional Status: Graduate Student
Institution: University of Massachusetts Lowell
Scheduling Preference: No Preference
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Co-author info: Cecilia Idika Kalu PhD Global Studies Teaching Assistant University of Massachusetts Lowell
Co-presenter info: Cecilia Idika Kalu PhD Global Studies Teaching Assistant University of Massachusetts Lowell
Paper Title:  EFFECTIVENESS OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND GENDER EQUALITY AS TOOLS OF POLITICAL EMPOWERMENT IN AFRICA.
Abstract:
Many African governments have adopted policies recommended by international organizations like investment in IT and gender equality with the idea that apart from their social, economic and financial benefits, they will empower people to pressure governments for positive change. The 2015 UN Development Report, for example, shows that, “if internet access in developing countries were the same as in developed countries, an estimated $2.2 trillion in GDP could be generated, with more than 140 million new jobs, 44 million in Africa and 65 million in India. Long-term productivity in developing countries could be boosted by up to 25 percent, (UN Development Report, 2015). However, despite statistical evidence that there are have been great strides in implementing these two policies, a considerable number of people in Africa are still living under poor conditions. Countries like Rwanda and Burundi, for example, with strong global rankings in political empowerment of women are way behind in development indices. We theorize that the “entitlement attitude towards power” found in many African governments diminishes adherence to public pressure and creates an imbalance in the power dynamics between the people and the government. By “entitlement attitude” we mean the absence of obligation among leaders to serve the interests of the public. This absence of obligation is due to heavy reliance on the military or reliance on external funding other than local revenue which makes public pressure less effective. The objective of this paper is to show the prominence of good governance not only as a prerequisite for implementing public policies, but also for benefiting from successful policies.

Name: Marco Castillo
Section: Comparative Politics
Professional Email: MCastillo@citytech.cuny.edu
Professional Status: Associate Professor
Institution: NYC College of Technology - CUNY
Scheduling Preference: Friday Afternoon
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Paper Title:  Sumak Kawsay and Neoliberalism
Abstract:
In this paper, I utilize the Ecuadorean indigenous concept of sumak kawsay and its centrality to the most recent Ecuadorean constitution established in 2008 to aid in the understanding of neoliberalism's difficulties in facilitating and fostering human happiness and self-actualization, concepts that were once central objectives of Western governments but that have since been obfuscated by a neoliberal paradigm primarily concerned with facilitating the human pursuit of wealth and reconfiguring technical aspects of economic policy. I argue that the Ecuadorian concept of sumak kawsay is powerful as it challenges governments to reprioritize notions of human happiness and self-actualization, foundational principles that have been recently overlooked in the Western world as indicated by troubling markers of social decay such as crime, poverty, and drug addiction.

Name: Macy (Meseret) Demissie
Section: Comparative Politics
Professional Email: mdemissi@uottawa.ca
Professional Status: Assistant Professor
Institution: University of Ottawa
Scheduling Preference: Friday Afternoon
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Paper Title:  Managing Change in World Politics: Modeling & Implementing Global Security Strategies
Abstract:
This paper critically analyses the management of Change in World Politics since 1990. Through the theory of ‘change’ and taking the example of the United Nations’ and NATO’s security policy and activities, it surveys what and how did great powers do to manage change since the end of the Cold War. The Comparison between the actions made by great powers to manage changes that outgrowth from the end of three majors wars - the end of the Cold War (1990), WWI (1914-1939) and WWII (1945-1952) - will be studied to better grasp the new world order/disorder since 1990. Periodization will be crucial to understanding the success or failure of international system to deal with change. I use three levels of analysis to examine the actions and reaction of great powers since 1990. How and what did Great Power do to manage change since the end of the Cold War? I argue that great powers did below their capabilities to manage change since the end of the Cold War due to the following seven factors: 1.) Ideological: most great powers were trapped in “realism” which impaired their vision and actions that could be seen as idealistic; 2- ) Risk Aversion; managing change means taking responsibility to effectively lead and remodel the new world order; there was not willing great power to propose and assume this responsibility; 3- ) Resistance to change: maintaining the old system/NATO was seen the cheapest way to manage change rather than shaping an innovative and adapted system; 4-) Uncertainty; 5-) Leadership vacuum: among the winners of the Cold War there was no statesmen that took initiative to exert its leadership to propose new strategies and pave the way for the new world order ; and 6 -) Lack of enemy; 7.) Self-interest over global security interest: the period 1990-2017 witnessed a reversion in world politics; narrowly defined national security and national interest led to unilateralism; thus unilateralism prevailed over multilateralism, and the decline of international law gave way to invasion, sweeping violation of human rights including tortures. Each of these factors will be analysed to examine which factor was the most influential and which was not the most significant among all. Keywords: Change, Global Politics, Management, Security, NATO, Great Powers Politics, War

Name: Sabrina Diaz
Section: Comparative Politics
Professional Email: sd3175@nyu.edu
Professional Status: Graduate Student
Institution: New York University
Scheduling Preference: No Preference
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Paper Title: Religion, Land, and Social Movements: The emergence of Mara Salvatrucha and the Chinese Triads
Abstract:
The Chinese Triads and Mara Salvatrucha, also known as MS-13 are two of the most dangerous gangs or organized crime families in the world. The histories of both organizations are deeply rooted from a religious peasant experience, which focuses on their identity. Identity to labor and religion was all most peasants had, and once their identity was threatened, retaliation was needed. The social movements of the Christian Federation of Salvadoran Peasants and the White Lotus Society, just to mention the main ones, emerged in El Salvador and Traditional China. The two were the backbone to help MS-13 and the Triads to emerge nationwide, and worldwide. Religion is a huge social construct used in history and today. MS-13 and the Triads rooted from a heavily religious background which paved their way to power today in the criminal arena, but not following their religious pasts as they have before. They have followed the definition of a religion, which is generally; a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices usually with a following. These two groups have learned to become a religion of their own, rather than following a traditional religion as they once did. The formation of their own beliefs gave these groups the leverage to not only add common thoughts and ideas, but to also add laws and rules to gang life and criminal activity. They are both considered to be extremely violent, members of transnational crime and both have central concerns within the United States. Ironic, because the United States helped to facilitate both criminal organizations in their own countries. The purpose of this presentation is to show the histories of two historic criminal organizations and their contribution, not only to global crime, but into the global market. Their existence has brought a concern to human and national security. Especially since both groups have been silent, but deadly in recent times. There has been much literature on the histories of both groups, as well as recent information on their whereabouts and current positions in the globalized world. Data visuals will be used to easily show the groups growth from over the years, what areas they are concentrated in the most, and their following or members. This submission would contribute to the world of criminal organizations in foreign and domestic affairs. More people need to be aware and know the importance of these groups, and to implement further policies to reduce their positions in the world.

Name: Bailey Gerrits
Section: Comparative Politics
Professional Email: Bailey.Gerrits@queensu.ca
Professional Status: Graduate Student
Institution: Queen's University
Scheduling Preference: No Preference
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Paper Title:  The news arm of the law?
Abstract:
Local news coverage of crime often relies heavily on police information and this source-media relationship influences the discursive construction of crime, including gender-based crimes such as domestic violence. Previous research suggests that police-media relations often asymmetrically favour the police, while retaining a degree of healthy tension. The local media are still able to act as police watchdogs, while both police and journalists work cooperatively to fulfill their unique organizational needs. The relationship, and potentially the news coverage of domestic violence, may be shifting as local newspapers are shrinking in many Canadian markets while police external communications are professionalizing, growing, and increasing their capacity to produce their own content. The change may be even starker in small to medium cities as it is here where change seems rapid in both spheres. A pressing question for these media markets arises: has that healthy tension faded away in the shifting relative power of newspapers and police communicators? What are the specific implications of this shifting police-media relationship for news attention to domestic violence? Comparing two medium-sized city media landscapes, this paper explores the how police political communication try to influence the local newspaper and public broadcaster reporting on domestic violence, shifting police-media relations, and its influence on local journalism crime reporting practices. This paper interweaves content and discourse analysis of news reports in the local daily newspaper from 2014 to 2016 with semi-structured interviews with police communications officials, local news reporters and editors in two medium-sized city media landscapes. Bringing together perspectives about news content, journalism practice, and police communications, this paper explores how shifting police-media relations influence the coverage of domestic violence in medium-sized cities, its implications for the future of local anti-violence efforts, and the need to illuminate police communication as political communication.

Name: Lydia Heye
Section: Comparative Politics
Professional Email: heye19@up.edu
Professional Status: Undergraduate Student
Institution: University of Portland
Scheduling Preference: No Preference
Proposal Type: Paper
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Co-author info: Kelsie McKee, University of Portland, mckee19@up.edu Jeffrey Meiser, University of Portland, meiser@up.edu
Co-presenter info: Kelsie McKee, University of Portland, mckee19@up.edu
Paper Title:  From Anarchy to Civil War: The Escalation of Violence in Iraq, 2003-2006
Abstract:
The purpose of this essay is to develop a better understanding of the causes of the Iraqi civil war between 2003 and 2006—a period of time that saw the level of violence in Iraq transition from small scale violence to an intense sectarian civil war and full blown insurgency. The human and strategic costs of this escalation in violence were immense, but have not been fully explained. Most analysis has focused on the bombing al-Askariyya Mosque in 2006 as the cause of civil war without explaining the high level of violence throughout 2003-2006. Since civil wars are often the product of low-level political violence that escalates, rather than emerging ex nihilo from a peaceful society, it is important to focus on what caused the initial pattern of violence and why it escalated. This essay develops an analytical framework of violence escalation to identifies critical junctures where intervention may halt escalation. The framework is applied to the Iraq civil war with the goal of understanding what went wrong and why. More broadly this essay contributes to our knowledge about the causes of civil wars and what can be done to prevent their outbreak. Strategically important countries around the world are experiencing low-level violence that has the potential for escalatory internal violence. Therefore, it is vital to gain a clear understanding of what causes low-level violence to intensify to the level of civil war or mass killing.

Name: cecilia idika-kalu
Section: Comparative Politics
Professional Email: cecilia_idikakalu@student.uml.edu
Professional Status: Graduate Student
Institution: University of Massachusetts, Lowell
Scheduling Preference: No Preference
Proposal Type: Paper
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Co-author info: JOHN BUKENYA UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS, LOWELL john_bukenya@student.uml.edu
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Paper Title:  WIELDING WOMEN AS TROPHIES OF WAR IN RELIGIOUS AND ETHNIC CONFLICTS
Abstract:
This study analyses the relationship between sexual violence against women, conceptualized as rape and slavery, and armed conflict driven by religious as well as ethnic reasons. The gender and sex world view prevalent in Africa drives this abuse of women in war time. Gayle Rubin calls, the sex/gender system, that seems to favour men revolves around a hierarchy that advantages men over women, giving them higher status, wider opportunities. It also comprises a system of domination that entitles men to regulate women’s lives, in both large scale structures such as the economy and small scale ones such as the family. (Fionnuala D. Ní Aoláin. 2010). This is given expression by fighters in war time, especially in crimes against women. The rape therefore effectively served as a punishment, and a threat to adversaries to leave the area (Barkindo et al 2013: 23). We theorize that religious beliefs drive sexual violence against women during conflicts. Boko Haram in Nigeria is a case study here, because of their notoriety as a globally renowned terrorist group and their reputation for the kidnap and rape of women in numbers and over long periods of time. A common pattern in many conflicts globally is sexual violence against women, but why and how this is deployed as a strategy in religious conflict is the question. The variation in frequency between these attacks in religious conflict and ethnic conflicts is also studied in different countries. By understanding the ideology that informs strategy like militarized rape perpetrated by these groups, International intervention can be guided for prevention. It can hopefully be useful for policy framing, design and implementation in managing this human security issue globally. .

Name: Sayaf Iqbal
Section: Comparative Politics
Professional Email: sni223@nyu.edu
Professional Status: Graduate Student
Institution: New York University
Scheduling Preference: Saturday Afternoon
Proposal Type: Panel
Panel Title: Decentralization and Political Reform 
Panel Description: The panel includes papers on federalism, decentralization, governance and accountability. The chair/discussant will be Prof. Anthony Spanakos.
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Paper Title:  Decentralization and Federalism in Pakistan: A Rational choice perspective
Abstract:
Sayaf Iqbal Panel: Decentralization and Political Reform Decentralization and Federalism in Pakistan: A Rational choice perspective In political economy and public choice literature, Federalism and Decentralization have long been argued as an effective means to induce representative and accountable governance, improve public service delivery, and reduce corruption. In the past decade, Pakistan has undergone significant changes in terms of decentralization and federalism. This paper analyzes three major steps in this regard: 1) Fiscal decentralization through the National Finance Commission awards 2) Policy decentralization through the Local Governments Act 3) Increased federalism through the 18th constitutional amendment. The paper then tests the effects of these steps on a number of indicators for public service delivery, representativeness, and corruption in Pakistan. It concludes by discussing the research challenges in the study of decentralization through a public choice framework, and provides recommendations as to how these problems can be overcome to provide better insight into the issue.

Name: Canberk Koçak
Section: Comparative Politics
Professional Email: canberk.kocak@ics.ulisboa.pt
Professional Status: Graduate Student
Institution: University of Lisbon
Scheduling Preference: No Preference
Proposal Type: Paper
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Co-author info: Ezgi Cengiz, University of Massachusetts Amherst, eaksar@umass.edu
Co-presenter info: Ezgi Cengiz, University of Massachusetts Amherst, eaksar@umass.edu
Paper Title:  The Working Class in the “New Turkey”: An Exploration
Abstract:
Turkey woke up on the morning of September 12, 1980 to a military coup and Turkish Armed Forces ruled the country until 1983. The hope was to clear the institutional setting for neoliberalism. Following the extensive implementations of the neoliberal order adopted by its predecessors AKP government received a country in 2002 whose working class is largely deprived from its pre-1980 achievements. Our goal herein is to document the condition of the working class in Turkey in the years of AKP governments, those of who furthered the laissez-faire policies prescribed by the so-called Washington Consensus of the 1980s. Using TURKSTAT and OECD data we explore several striking empirical regularities in the macroeconomic indicators of Turkey over time and compare the results to those of in the neighbor OECD countries. We find that the public consumption is managed in such a way that would widen the gap between the poor and the rich. While subcontracting and outsourcing become prevalent, AKP governments provide various incentives to confederations that are willing to form alliances with employer organizations. Increases in the unemployment rate, lower job security standards, repressions on unions, the pension reform, long working hours, depressed wages, and high within inequality levels suggest that the burden placed on the shoulders of the working class of Turkey is getting heavier under the economic and social policies implemented by the AKP administrations.

Name: Pierre Losson
Section: Comparative Politics
Professional Email: plosson@gradcenter.cuny.edu
Professional Status: Graduate Student
Institution: CUNY - The Graduate Center
Scheduling Preference: Saturday Morning
Proposal Type: Paper
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Paper Title: Recovering Machu Picchu and Tenochtitlan: Mexico and Peru's claims for the return of cultural heritage
Abstract:
My research explores the reasons why Latin American states claim the return of cultural heritage from holding institutions in the Western World, such as museums and universities. Political scientists have largely ignored this topic, which is the object of a vast literature that spans disciplines such as history, law, and anthropology. I use an instrumentalist approach to nationalism to argue that, by presenting these claims, central states seek to strengthen their position as the legitimate producers of national identity towards their domestic audience. Focusing on Mexico and Peru, I content that return claims promote the unifying vision of the nation promoted by the criollo state in Latin America since Independence, at a time when this vision is being challenged. Hence, return claims reveal the contemporary tensions about the definition of the nation in Latin America. On the one hand, return claims continue the indigenista cultural heritage policies developed since the early twentieth-century to promote an official vision of the nation with both Spanish and Indigenous roots. On the other hand, this unifying understanding of the nation has been challenged in recent decades by major socio-economic changes such as internal mass migrations to the cities, the insertion of these countries in the globalized economy, and the resurgence of ethnic identity claims at the local level.

Name: Itay Chay Machtei Samov
Section: Comparative Politics
Professional Email: machtei@nyu.edu
Professional Status: Graduate Student
Institution: New York University
Scheduling Preference: Saturday Afternoon
Proposal Type: Panel
Panel Title: Decentralization and Political Reform
Panel Description: The panel will explore cases of decentralization and political reform from different countries. Chair: Dr. Tony Spanakos.
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Paper Title: Shifting Institutional Structure and Decline of the Social-Democratic Left
Abstract:
The recent upsurge of populism in many developed economies marks yet another stage in the rapidly changing party systems in the age of advanced neoliberalism. It was preceded by two closely related social phenomena, the rise of inequality and the electoral or ideological demise of the traditional political left. Without a strong political proponent for social-democratic policies favoring redistribution, the global liberalization process has transformed the social landscape in many countries. Inspiring a far less egalitarian distribution of resources than that which existed prior to the 1980s. An important element capable of mitigating this effect is the institutional structure of the economy. The Varieties of Capitalism (VoC) literature demonstrates that two archetypical models of institutional structure have had a different effect on the rise of economic inequality. Whereas in liberal market economies (LME), which feature market oriented coordinations, decentralized wage negotiations, and lower levels of redistribution, inequality had risen significantly; in coordinated market economies (CME), which coordinate through institutional arrangements, feature centralized wage negotiations and higher levels redistribution, inequality has risen more moderately. Yet how these different institutional structures influence the main ideological proponents of redistribution; social-democratic parties, remains unclear. The purpose of this study is to understand how different institutional arrangements influence the social-democratic left. Using a longitudinal historical analysis, it will explore how the transformation of Israel’s highly corporatist (or CME) economic structure into a liberal market economy, has influenced its formerly dominant labor party. The almost simultaneous demise of the country’s political left, rapid market liberalization and rise in economic inequality, pose an excellent opportunity to learn more about how different institutional structures influence the decline of the traditional social-democratic left.

Name: Javiera Martinez
Section: Comparative Politics
Professional Email: jpm692@nyu.edu
Professional Status: Graduate Student
Institution: New York University
Scheduling Preference: No Preference
Proposal Type: Paper
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Paper Title: How does democratic consolidation and satisfaction affect the electoral participation of Latin American countries?
Abstract:
Since the last democratization wage, Latin America has consolidated democratic regime in most of its countries. In contrast to regime change theory, which has its building-blocks relatively assembled, democratic consolidation remains full of open questions. Although scholars have associated this phenomenon with several variables as economic growth, international order, among others, one important feature in this discussion is about the political engagement behind democratic consolidation. Specifically, a closer look on Latin American countries (LAC hereafter) shows us wide variance in their voter turnout. This variation exists not only “across years”, but also is observed across countries and within countries. Then, taking in consideration other factors which have been used to explain LAC turnout, this proposal relates the voter’s turnout with the age of democracy, seeking to understand under specific conditions the age of democracy matters. The first democratic elections are described by scholars as a moment of increased political party dynamism and an increased enthusiasm in the organized civil society. But, according O'Donnell and Schmitter, the enthusiasm does not last: “voter participation should be expected to decline in subsequent elections as the excitement of the transition wears off and voters learn that elections are not a panacea”. If the statement is true, why do people stop voting? Does the disaffection come from the lack of interest, from the political system disappointment or are citizens so comfortable that they don’t have incentives to vote? Kostadinova (2007) finds evidence to support the argument that electoral participation declines after the instauration of democracy. Although she does not state a causal mechanism, she explains the variation because of the dictatorship origin, nature, length, and mode of transition. In addition, low partisan mobilization could be explained in terms of electoral volatility and both are highly associated with weak party systems, where political parties arise and fall quickly. Political parties are crucial integrating diverse social forces within democratic institutions, regulating sociopolitical conflict and defining public policy alternatives. Then if political parties get weaker, democracy turns more vulnerable (Roberts & Wibbels, 1999). Therefore, the question is relevant because if democratic consolidation can lead to people’s political disaffection, it is worth to understand under which specific conditions this could happen. Then, governments, political parties and policy makers can narrow better policy proposals of institutional changes or incentives to avoid those consequences. An OLS analysis will be held to analyze the effect of the age of democracy and citizens’ democracy perception on electoral participation. All models will be controlled by institutions, contextual and socioeconomic factors. In addition, an alternative model involving country fixed effects also will be tested. The dependent variable will be the ratio between voters and register persons or the ratio between voters and the number of individuals eligible to vote in each election. Electoral data can be found in IDEA website, citizens’ perception on Latinobarometro survey and the rest of controls in World Bank Data and other related websites. Kostadinova, T. and Power, T.J. (2007) “Does Democratization Depress Participation? Voter Turnout in the Latin American and Eastern European Transitional Democracies,” Political Research Quarterly, 60(3) Roberts, K and Wibbels, E. "Party Systems and Electoral Volatility in Latin America: A Test of Economic, Institutional,and Structural Explanations" The American Political Science Review 93 (3) O’Donnell, G.,& Schmitter, P C. (1986). Transitions from authoritarian rule: Tentative conclusions about uncertain democracies. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Name: Matus Melus
Section: Comparative Politics
Professional Email: matus.melus@gmail.com
Professional Status: Graduate Student
Institution: Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava, Slovakia
Scheduling Preference: No Preference
Proposal Type: Paper
Panel Title:
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Co-author info: doc. PhDr. Peter Horváth, PhD. Dean of Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava, SlovakiaE-mail: phorvathtt@gmail.com
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Paper Title:  Comparison of the referendum institute in terms of selected European countries
Abstract:
In the vast majority of countries, modern political systems are based on representative democracy in which citizens delegate power to their elected representatives. Undoubtedly, the elements of direct democracy are its essential and necessary addition. Perhaps the most used and best known is the use of the referendum institute. In the past, the ideas of direct democracy have been interpreted as a tool to protect citizens from state interference. This interpretation was the result of the liberal ideas formation. Direct democracy is in pure form perceived as a state organization in which no elected representative bodies exist and the people themselves decide on all serious public affairs. In these circumstances, the citizen came into a specific position. He was invited to participate in the immediate decision-making process and he was also the subject to these decisions. However, this kind of direct democracy is quite impossible for complex state entities now. With the current number of citizens, their direct decision-making on every social issue is practically excluded. In our contribution we are dealing with comparison of referendum models in Slovakia and in other selected European countries - Denmark, Estonia, Ireland or France. Generally, we can say that the decision-making of citizens in the referendum has its meaning, but on the other hand, this meaning is also often missing. From a practical point of view, it depends on setting the conditions for its successful and unsuccessful result in a particular system. The pros and cons influencing this form of voting are consequently developed. Among the fundamental advantages we can include the control of citizens over their matters, the creation of political and civic society, the plurality of opinions, and so on. On the contrary, the negative issues are for example manipulation of the crowd, problematic level of responsibility of accepted decisions, the unclear measure of the lower limit of the necessary participation of voters etc. It is probable that the ideal model of a referendum democracy does not exist on this day. The best example for this establishment is Switzerland. Citizens decide on the important social and political issues quite often. There is even no exception for voting more times within one year or combining different issues into one vote. On the other hand, Slovakia declares similar principles as Switzerland. However, the reality is diametrically different – in our system was valid only one referendum. There are more reasons for this situation and we will also gradually address them in article. Generally, questionable themes occur across all European countries. We can mention the misuse of referendums for political purposes where the interests of political parties are more important than the interests of the state as a whole. In Slovakia, there is a major drawback in reducing the importance of local and regional referendums which is also reflected in participation of citizens in national voting. Questions may also raise the degree of commitment of results for legislative bodies or governments.

Name: Dalibor Mikus
Section: Comparative Politics
Professional Email: dalibor.mikus@ucm.sk
Professional Status: Assistant Professor
Institution: University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava, Faculty of Social Sciences
Scheduling Preference: No Preference
Proposal Type: Paper
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Co-author info: Ján Machyniak, University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava, Faculty of Social Sciences, jan.machyniak@ucm.sk
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Paper Title: A Comparative Analysis of the Impeachment Process in European Countries
Abstract:
The second half of the eighties represents a significant milestone in development of the European area. The disintegration of the socialist camp led by the Soviet Union started a process of democratisation in the whole geopolitical area. Depending on this fact, in the political science literature, we can find a wide range of publications addressing a process of transition, transformation or forming of a political and party system of individual countries. In our paper we are dealing with a specific issue of “impeachment” of a president, an issue not being given sufficient attention in professional circles. To a certain extent, it is caused by the fact that this act of constitutional charges comes from Anglo-American constitutional law. The actual impeachment has a long history in this area, as it was first used in the 14th century in England as a means of the parliament to state a motion of no confidence against officers of royal household. Subsequently, it has become an important element of constitutional system of the United States of America where the legislature has a power to bring charges against all civil officers. Impeachment of the president is an integral part of constitutional arrangement in the USA which is proved by the fact that historically, the Congress has commenced this process in 17 cases. However, in this context, we define a basic research question - in what way the element of impeachment of a president is defined in constitutional arrangements of former eastern bloc countries. Democratic system has started to be built only at the turn of the eighties and nineties, when western democratic systems have become a model for a new legal framework creation. The position of a president is different in each system resulting in specific legislation of impeachment process. Therefore, in our paper we are comparing individual systems showing specific signs. While in the Czech Republic and Slovakia the process of indictment of a president, precisely constitutionally defined, is tied to legislative and judiciary power, in Poland, process is not specifically constitutionally defined and is bound to a decision of the State Tribunal. An important question in the whole process is also a matter of completion of the process depending on necessity of referendum. We can find such process requirement e.g. in Romania. In the framework of democratic development of this country, the process of indictment of the president has already been initiated twice, in 2007 and 2012. Throughout the countries of this area, Lithuania is the first state having removed the president Rolandas Paksas by impeachment. In our article, we will thoroughly analyse this case, focusing not only on the process factor of the case but also on political aspects leading to implementation of this step. Therefore, the output of our article will be an analysis and comparison of impeachment in conditions of legal systems of former eastern bloc countries. We find approaches and solutions of this issue on a theoretical and practical level a significant contribution towards studying political systems and comparative politics.

Name: Binneh Minteh
Section: Comparative Politics
Professional Email: bminteh@scarletmail.rutgers.edu
Professional Status: Adjunct Professor
Institution: Rutgers University
Scheduling Preference: Saturday Afternoon
Proposal Type: Paper
Panel Title:  Comparative Politics
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Paper Title:   A Comparative Analysis of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Interventions in Mali, Guinea Bissau and The Gambia (2012-2017): Implications on Democracy and Governance
Abstract:
In the past decade, military establishments in West Africa have destabilized the state and undermined the peace and security of citizens in many respects. Legitimate governments were ousted from power and election results were overturned by defeated incumbent autocratic leaders. ECOWAS was forced to intervene militarily to restore constitutionality in Mali and Guinea Bissau in 2012, and The Gambia in 2017. This paper distinctively compares ECOWAS mandates authorizing interventions in Mali, Guinea Bissau and The Gambia to understand the evolution of regional peace keeping and enforcement initiatives. The findings suggest that ECOWAS intervention in Mali, Guinea Bissau and The Gambia is a new model of coercion in regional peace enforcement.

Name: Herish Mohammedamin
Section: Comparative Politics
Professional Email: herish.khalil@soran.edu.iq
Professional Status: Graduate Student
Institution: Near East University
Scheduling Preference: No Preference
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Paper Title:  Failure of Federalism in Iraq as a Pathway to Conflict Resolution for the Kurdish People in Iraq
Abstract:
Constitutionally, Iraq is a federal state but federalism has not been fully implemented. This incomplete political engineering contributed to diverse perceptions among Arabs and Kurds inside and outside Iraq. Since 2005, Kurdistan, to resolve the disputes and the problems with Iraq, has tried various approaches including autonomy, federalism and federation. It is obvious that almost all the solution has been ineffective and sometimes waste of time for Kurds. Since none of the approaches, institutional designs, have been able to accommodate Kurdistan’s aspiration in an ethnically divided Iraq, Kurdistan might resort to secession as an ultimate goal. The political developments in Iraqi Kurdistan affect the longer-term political and constitutional development of Iraq. The future of Iraqi Kurdistan also plays a significant role in the development of peace and political stability in the Middle East at large. At a macro level, this study contributes to an understanding of the potential paths to resolving questions of federalism, federacy and secession. More specifically, it attempts to discover which path is likely to be the most beneficial and feasible in addressing the issue of conflict resolution for the people of Iraqi Kurdistan. The study will concentrate on why federalism has not been working in Iraq; and are there any factors and reasons which contributed and/or led to the failure of federalism in Iraq. Thus, it will tackle the issue of Kurdistan region and the future of the Kurds inside Iraq. Therefore, based on conflict resolution and the mechanisms and the arrangements for accommodating the ethnic diversity in Iraq, the study focuses on the issues of Federalism and the expectations about the model in Iraq. It also discusses the issue of Federacy and theory of federacy as either pathway or a tool for accommodating the ethnic disputes as well as to maintain the integrity and unity of Iraqi polity. In addition, the study will discuss and elucidate the outcomes of the failure of federalism which may lead to secession of the Kurds unilaterally. After all the explanations and the discussions on federalism, the study proposes two pathways to solve the problem. Either an integrated and united Iraq with implementing the Federacy or as divided and split Iraq by the secession of the Kurds.

Name: Jayita Mukhopadhyay
Section: Comparative Politics
Professional Email: jayita_m@hotmail.com
Professional Status: Associate Professor
Institution: Women's Christian College, Affiliated to University of Calcutta, India
Scheduling Preference: Friday Afternoon
Proposal Type: Paper
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Paper Title: Interrogating Corrosion of Vital Institutions in India: Threat to Democracy
Abstract:
India has completed more than seven decades of being a democracy but a recent trend of systematically robbing its vital institutions like Parliament, Press, Universities and so on of their power, autonomy and vibrancy at the cost of promoting a hegemonic, person centric political order is to be viewed as a matter of grave concern. Institutions, which play significant roles in articulating different opinions and which ensure democratic exercise of power are increasingly undermined and are overshadowed by a majoritarian agenda of suppressing dissent and projecting the leader as a supreme being, intolerance for different cultures and mores and unabashed hero worship. This paper tries to probe the repercussions of these trends for the largest democracy of the world which carries on its shoulder, the weight of the rising expectations and urge for freedom of 125crore Indians. Attempt will be made to present some generalised reflections about the impact of decline of institutions on the health of democracy.

Name: Brenda O'Neill
Section: Comparative Politics
Professional Email: bloneill@ucalgary.ca
Professional Status: Associate Professor
Institution: University of Calgary
Scheduling Preference: Friday Afternoon
Proposal Type: Paper
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Co-author info: David Stewart, University of Calgary (Alberta, Canada), dstewart@ucalgary.ca
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Paper Title:  Gender and Party Leader Exits
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The number of women chosen to lead political parties at the provincial and federal level in Canada has increased in recent years. The improving trend in their selection does not, however, appear to be matched by the nature of their exits. In 2014 alone, three of five sitting premiers – Kathy Dunderdale, Alison Redford and Pauline Marois – resigned their posts after relatively brief tenures and particularly harsh treatment from their parties, the media and the general public. Using data on all party leaders selected between 1980 and 2017 at both levels of government, we examine the gendered nature of party leader exits. Are women party leaders in a more precarious position than men, and at greater risk of failure and criticism? Specifically, we seek to develop a typology of exit types that will allow for a comparative evaluation of how, when and why women and men party leaders exit their posts. Our findings suggest that the rules of the game differ for the women and men who lead political parties.

Name: Halil Ozen
Section: Comparative Politics
Professional Email: halilege.ozen@csi.cuny.edu
Professional Status: Assistant Professor
Institution: College of Staten Island, CUNY
Scheduling Preference: Saturday Morning
Proposal Type: Paper
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Co-author info: I. Efe Tokdemir, Ohio State University, tokdemir.1@osu.edu
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Paper Title:  Welcoming Outsiders: An Assessment of Public Attitudes Toward Refugees
Abstract:
Arab Spring came along with its negative externalities: spread of civil war into the region and more than five million people fled their home only in Syria. Majority of the research focuses on the negative effects of refugees in host countries; yet, the attitudes of the people in host countries have been overlooked so far in the literature. In this study, we aim to explore the sources of negative attitudes among natives in countries that are hosting Syrian refugees. We argue that the source of negative attitudes toward refugees, such as seeing them as a threat to the economy, security, and welfare are conditional on individuals’ social and political identity. By employing an original face-to-face survey among over 1,100 respondents in Turkey, we find that people, who identify themselves with groups who have been systematically discriminated and repressed by the state apparatuses, express significantly lower negative attitudes towards refugees, as they are more likely to develop empathy and acceptance toward outsider groups or communities. Overall, we suggest that, political and social identity of individuals hint them in developing their attitudes towards the refugees.

Name: Deepika Padmanabhan
Section: Comparative Politics
Professional Email: dp2662@nyu.edu
Professional Status: Graduate Student
Institution: New York University
Scheduling Preference: Saturday Afternoon
Proposal Type: Paper
Panel Title:  Economic Voting in Western Europe and South Asia
Panel Description: This panels explores voting behaviour based on economic and class factors as well as identity politics in Western Europe and South Asia. Discussant: Tony Spanakos
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Co-presenter info: Catherine Semanie-Spangenberg (NYU): crs618@nyu.edu Shanze Fatima Rauf (NYU): sfr275@nyu.edu
Paper Title:  The BJP and Lower Caste Voters: Altering the Political Context of Ethnic Cleavages
Abstract:
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the political party currently in power in India, has been characterized as a right-wing party with a support base of upper caste Hindus. However, evidence from the 2014 general election shows that lower caste voters have increasingly supported the BJP. Political scientists have provided diverse arguments about the salience of cleavages in a crosscutting structure, with emphasis on factors such as size of ethnic groups, institutions and the strength of ethnic ties. This paper attempts to understand the roots of the shift in lower caste voting behavior from caste based voting to Hindu en bloc voting by identifying the changes in the political context, and the factors that drove the changes. It argues that as caste-based voting is detrimental to the BJP, it has worked to increase the salience of religion and class based cleavages so as to undermine the caste cleavage, with global and national political and economic trends cementing the altered political context. In doing so, the BJP has cultivated a pan-Hindu cross-caste image and has steered the resurgence of religion and class in India’s political culture. Thus, this paper studies the significance of the political context, its influencers and its influences on voting behavior by focusing on the recent trend of lower caste support for the BJP.

Name: Jeanne Zaino, Ph.D.
Section: Comparative Politics
Professional Email: jzaino@iona.edu
Professional Status: Full Professor
Institution: Iona College
Scheduling Preference: No Preference
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Paper Title:  Re-conceptualizing Banieen-e-Pakistan: A Case Study of the ‘Great Leader’ From the Land of the Five Rivers
Abstract:
Ask the common man or woman on the street who were the founders of the United States and more often than not they will point to George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, or perhaps James Madison and Alexander Hamilton. As historians can attest, however, the idea that the founding of the United States was the work of just these men is both ahistorical and misleading. And this tendency to narrow-cast one’s framers is not restricted to the U.S. alone; indeed it appears to be a global phenomenon. Many of the world’s nations have a short list of founders who are celebrated and others whose contributions are lost to history. One of the most intriguing examples of this phenomenon at work is visible in Pakistan where despite scholarly efforts to the contrary, the popular tendency is to attribute the nation’s founding to just one man - Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah. As important as he was, however, Jinnah was not alone and his legacy should not overshadow the important contributions made by his contemporaries. This paper applies lessons from research on the United States lost founders to the case of Pakistan. We begin by reconceptualizing what it means to be a founder, why some people make the list and others do not, and then consider some of the individuals who might be included on list, but who have for a variety of reasons been neglected. The paper concludes with a mini-case study of one of the most intriguing lost founders, former Prime Minister of the Punjab, Sir Sikander Hyat-Khan, otherwise known as the "Great Leader from the land of the Five Rivers".

Name: Nayma Qayum
Section: Comparative Politics
Professional Email: nayma.qayum@mville.edu
Professional Status: Assistant Professor
Institution: Manhattanville College
Scheduling Preference: No Preference
Proposal Type: Paper
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Paper Title:  Women, NGOs, and state-society relationships in rural Bangladesh
Abstract:
This paper explores how the political dynamics of rural societies can change because of female-led development programs. Feminists have critiqued the activities of development non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for the neoliberal approach towards rural women of the global South. I argue that NGOs – when stripped of their neoliberal components – can create avenues for women to challenge, and often displace, the traditional institutions that marginalize them. The paper draws on over 700 semi-structured group interviews with women of Polli Shomaj, a rural civil society program implemented by the development organization BRAC in Bangladesh. It finds that PS groups do not prescribe to the notion of neoliberal development, and that they create new spaces of negotiations between poor rural women and the state. PS members use these new spaces to pressure elected officials into overriding traditional practices. Sometimes, traditional informal practices are replaced with formal parchment rules. Elsewhere, new informal norms are negotiated.

Name: Anand Rao
Section: Comparative Politics
Professional Email: raoa@geneseo.edu
Professional Status: Assistant Professor
Institution: SUNY Geneseo
Scheduling Preference: No Preference
Proposal Type: Paper
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Paper Title: The Fourteenth Amendment at 150: Birthright Citizenship in an Era of Backlash
Abstract:
The year 2018 marks the 150th anniversary of the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Ratified in 1868, three years after the end of the Civil War, the 14th Amendment was originally designed to make clear once and for all that African-Americans born on sovereign U.S. territory were full citizens. But the 14th Amendment also invited large numbers of immigrants to make the U.S. their home. This short but brilliantly worded amendment revolutionized American society and helped turn the U.S. by 1900 into far and away the world's most populous settler country. But in the 21st century, birthright citizenship has been called into question as advanced industrialized capitalist democracies in particular have struggled to balance the merits of globalization against increasingly disgruntled voters at home who are feeling insecure and inclined to blame what they view as overly tolerant migration and citizenship policies for their woes. This paper will offer a comparative analysis of 3 countries that have taken different political approaches to birthright citizenship since the 1990s when the "era of globalization" commenced. The 3 countries to be analyzed will be Germany, Ireland, and the United States.

Name: Shanze Fatima Rauf
Section: Comparative Politics
Professional Email: sfr275@nyu.edu
Professional Status: Graduate Student
Institution: New York University
Scheduling Preference: Saturday Afternoon
Proposal Type: Panel
Panel Title:  Economic Voting in Western Europe and South Asia
Panel Description: The panel will talk about economic voting in Western Europe and South Asia with Professor Tony Spanakos as chair.
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Paper Title:  Economic Voting in Pakistan
Abstract:
According to the economic voting theory voting behavior changes as perceptions about the economic conditions change through two main channels. Firstly, due to ‘Pocketbook voters’ who change their voting behavior according to their own economic condition and secondly, due to ‘sociotropic’ voting i.e. when economic behavior changes due to changes in the economic condition of the country. Economic voting has primarily been studied in developed countries. This paper will attempt to analyze the impact of both ‘pocketbook’ and ‘sociotropic’ voting in the context of a developing country- Pakistan- by looking at the policies pursued by incumbents in 2008 and 2012, the election results of 2012 and by analyzing how the political campaigns, which are the main source of information about political parties focus on both long-term and short-term economic outcomes. The paper will argue that immediate gains to welfare trump long-term gains, as pocketbook voting is more significant than sociotropic voting in developing countries like Pakistan.

Name: Sofia Rivera Sojo
Section: Comparative Politics
Professional Email: sr3275@nyu.edu
Professional Status: Graduate Student
Institution: New York University (NYU)
Scheduling Preference: Saturday Afternoon
Proposal Type: Paper
Panel Title: Decentralization and Political Reform
Panel Description: Our panel will be on decentralization and political reform and will explore different country cases. Our chair/discussant would be Professor Anthony Spanakos.
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Paper Title:  Constitutional Ambiguity and the Crisis of Spain's Decentralization Model
Abstract:
Democratization scholars far and wide have praised Spain’s democratic transition for its peaceful character and its successful construction of state legitimacy and a widespread commitment to democracy. Moreover, renowned scholars like Juan Linz and Alfred Stepan attributed a great deal of this success to the 1977-1978 constitution-making process, which focused on dismantling the authoritarian institutions of the Franco regime as well as achieving broad consensus between a variety of social and political groups, including Catalan and Basque nationalists and the ex-Franquist right. However, this intense focus upon settling divisive issues like regional autonomy and decentralization in a consensual rather than majoritarian way resulted in a deeply ambiguous constitutional framework. Rather than adopting concrete guidelines for settling these thorny issues, Spain’s constitutional committee crafted a minimalist framework that ultimately deferred any concrete resolutions to the political arenas of future governments. Scholars like Hanna Lerner have praised the constitutional “incrementalist approach” followed by countries like Spain due to its capacity to overcome “conditions of deep internal disagreement” and produce a baseline level of consensus from which democratic legitimacy is derived. However, this paper will argue that although this constitution-making strategy ensured initial transitional stability, it did so at the detriment of Spain’s long-term democratic stability by forging a decentralization model that is deeply vulnerable to interpretative clashes and consequently lacks credibility. This long-term instability and its connection to a flawed decentralization edifice is captured by the Catalonia conflict and its recent escalation. Through a historical analysis of Spain’s trajectory since its democratic transition, I establish several ways in which the shortcomings of its decentralization model can be connected the ambiguity of its constitution. By examining the clash between Catalonia’s 2006 Statute of Autonomy and the 2010 ruling of Spain’s Constitutional Court, I establish how its inherent ambiguity has made the constitution profoundly open to interpretation. Consequently, two competing visions have continuously guided a single decentralization model: one rooted in the elevation of diversity and the other rooted in the preeminent principles of equality and national unity. I also analyze how certain instances of inefficiency and corruption within Spain’s decentralized framework are generated by the uncertainty produced by the constitution’s ambiguous framing. This is due to the fact that the lack of concrete guidelines has forged a decentralization model whose functioning ultimately depends on the sustained existence of trust between Spain’s subnational governments and its central government. Without such trust, which is difficult to ensure, the institutional uncertainty that characterizes the autonomy of these regions makes them very prone to engaging in strategic behavior in order to secure and elevate their position at the detriment of the overall system. By exploring these shortcomings and their relationship to Spain’s constitutional edifice, this paper brings into question the compatibility of decentralized governmental systems and constitutional ambiguity/flexibility.

Name: Mishella Romo
Section: Comparative Politics
Professional Email: MishellaRomo@gmail.com
Professional Status: Graduate Student
Institution: Montclair State University
Scheduling Preference: No Preference
Proposal Type: Panel
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Panel Description: Decentralization and Reform Panel chaired by Dr. Tony Spanakos
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Paper Title:   Judicialization of Politics and New Constitutionalism in Latin America
Abstract:
Constituent power is starkly different from the constituted power of a state (Colon-Rios 2011). Recent decisions of constitutional courts in Venezuela and Bolivia (the constituted power) have trumped results or calls for referendums (constituent power) tailored to limit to presidential tenures in hyper-presidential systems. This paper will offer a reflection of how this new trend speaks back to the relevant debate between Hans Kelsen and Carl Schmitt on who the more legitimately positioned agent to act as the guardian of the constitution is. Similarly, it will expand on what this new trend of judicialization means for the New constitutionalism wave that manifested through the late 20th century in Latin America.

Name: Ezel Sahinkaya
Section: Comparative Politics
Professional Email: es4288@nyu.edu
Professional Status: Graduate Student
Institution: New York University
Scheduling Preference: No Preference
Proposal Type: Paper
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Paper Title:  Social democracy in Turkey between despair and hope: An analysis of the Republican People's Party's perception of Syrian refugees
Abstract:
This paper aims to understand the perception and policy proposals of the Syrian refugees in Turkey by the Republican People's Party (CHP) in relation to its social democratic ideology. Despite its self-proclaimed social democratic identity and its membership of the Socialist International, the CHP proposes policies on the situation of Syrian refugees in Turkey which are almost similar to right-wing populist political parties in Europe. Broadly, criticizing the government’s policies on Syrian refugees and Turkish foreign policy, the party suggests that the government must secure the borders and must provide job opportunities to Turkish citizens rather than Syrian refugees. Furthermore, the party officials link Syrian refugees with the latest terror attacks in Turkey and identify them as a failure of the national security. In addition to these frames, the party’s understanding of secularism plays a significant role in its approach to Syrian refugees. Considering Syrian refugees who arrived in Turkey as a monolithic group with the Sunni belief constitutes the main axis of the approach by the CHP. Supplementing theoretical analysis on the political parties with deep qualitative and empirical research, this paper seeks to understand the social democratic approach of social cohesion in Turkey through a largely diversified body of resources, such as in-depth interviews party representatives and members of parliament from CHP which I conducted for my thesis fieldwork in the summer of 2017, reports released by the CHP, and a short survey of Turkish media.