Name: Muzammal Afzal
Section: Comparative Politics
Professional Email: muzammal.afzaal@gmail.com
Professional Status: Graduate Student
Institution: Applied Economics Research Centre, Karachi Pakistan
Scheduling Preference: No Preference
Proposal Type: Paper
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Paper Title: : Political Economy of Foreign Aid, Corruption and Economic Development: A case study of South Asian countries
Abstract:
Capital transfers when bypassed in absence of a transparency mechanism and accountability, become a source of exacerbating corruption in the recipient country which rather than contributing to a country’s economic growth, damages it. Historical and analytical analysis of foreign aid gives an important insight regarding usage of foreign aid politico-economic tool in diplomatic relations. As evident, the agenda based funding has several political and economic reasons behind it involving many powerful authorities in between, which becomes a source of degeneration for the economy of recipient country. In the light of previously conducted studies supporting or in disagreement with the following assumptions, this study examines the influence of foreign aid recipients in the presence of corruption in South Asia. Specifically, this study investigates the individual impact of foreign aid and corruption on economic growth in the South-Asian region. The study takes into account the fundamentals related to foreign aid allocation which are often neglected. The research employs panel data of four selected South Asian countries i.e. Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh from the time period 1984-2013. Study has estimated joint effect of foreign aid on corruption on economic growth. This study has estimated the magnitude of impact of foreign aid on corruption separately. Growth model and investment model has been employed to gauge the influence of foreign aid on economic growth . Impact of corruption of economic growth has been estimated through Corruption-Growth model. Based on the renowned Dickey-Fuller procedure the Im, Pesaran and Shin (IPS) has been employed for unit testing. Estimation results of corruption-foreign aid model suggest that there is positive and significant relation between foreign aid and corruption. Hausman test is also employed to select an appropriate method of estimation. Results indicate to an alarming situation of failure of capital transfers in improving human development in recipient country. Findings on the study suggest that, i) Foreign aid has a significant and positive relation with corruption in South Asian countries.. ii) Foreign aid has negatively influenced the economic development of the South Asian countries. The results of this study are in alignment with the non-extensionist school of thought and further affirms its claim that, the foreign aid propels a negative impact on the administration and development of the recipient country. These results are statistically significant and robust to various estimation techniques.i

Name: Yahaya Baba
Section: Comparative Politics
Professional Email: yahaya.baba@udusok.edu.ng
Professional Status: Assistant Professor
Institution: Usmanu DanfodiyoUniversity, Sokoto, Nigeria
Scheduling Preference: No Preference
Proposal Type: Paper
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Co-author info: Abubakar Mohammed, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, abumuhdxx@gamail.com
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Paper Title:  Legislative Institutionalization in Nigeria, 1999-2019
Abstract:
This study examines the trends and challenges of legislative institutionalisation in Nigeria from 1999 to 2019. Legislative institutionalisation is broadly assumed to be influenced by three major variables: legislative boundaries; internal complexity; and universal procedures of legislative decision making. Accordingly, the study is guided by three broad research questions: to what extent does boundedness influence legislative institutionalisation in Nigeria? to what extent does internal complexity affect legislative institutionalisation in Nigeria? to what extent does the Nigerian legislature adopt and implement universal legislative principles and procedures? These three broad questions formed the framework of analysis. The new institutionalism is adopted as the theoretical guide for the study. The blend of both formal and informal rules and practices explain the pattern of institutionalization of the Nigerian legislature. Methodologically, qualitative approach is adopted in the investigation with a case study design. Specifically, in-depth interviews and documentary evidence are the main instruments employed the purpose of data collection. The study is thus limited to the Nigeria’s National Assembly (NASS) (the two chambers of the House of Representatives and the Senate). Respondents are purposively selected for interviews. They include members of the two chambers of the National Assembly, legislative staff and aides, members of the Civil Society Organizations, Party Officials and experts. In the light of the preliminary analysis, the study found that the boundaries of NASS are porous. Other institutions and agencies directly and indirectly exercised tremendous influence on the legislature. The high membership and leadership turnover in both Houses of NASS indicates the extent of this porousness. This is caused largely by the lack of strong political parties, executive meddling, corruption and the formalisation of sharing and rotating political offices among the geo-political zones of the country. These factors also influenced the internal organisation of NASS, which undermines its internal complexity and makes the application of universal principle of legislative process difficult. Given these trends, the Nigerian legislature is unlikely to institutionalise along universal convention pattern. The greatest challenge therefore is the sharing and rotation of political offices, which is of course critical to the integration of the Nigerian state. Thus, the study contends that legislative institutionalisation could be achieved in Nigeria if corruption is curbed, political parties are strengthened and the extent to which legislative autonomy is guaranteed. The study concludes by identifying areas for further theoretical and empirical investigation. These include: comparative studies of state legislatures in northern and southern Nigeria and case studies of individual state legislatures in Nigeria. The homogeneity of states may reveal differing trends and challenges.

Name: Begum Daloglu
Section: Comparative Politics
Professional Email: bedaloglu@mix.wvu.edu
Professional Status: Graduate Student
Institution: West Virginia University
Scheduling Preference: Saturday Afternoon
Proposal Type: Paper
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Paper Title: The Legitimacy Puzzle: What Legitimizes the Laïque State?
Abstract:
ABSTRACT Drawing on literature which considers religion as a potential source of legitimacy in democratizing or newly democratized states, I reverse the direction of the question by asking “what can legitimize regimes characterized by a lack thereof?” In other words, I intend to discover in my paper what can potentially legitimize strictly secular regimes in the eyes of citizens when democratic principles are not deeply entrenched yet. By making the general point that secularization prior to democratization can be rather hazardous to a country’s experiment with liberal democracy and its path to political maturity, I mainly examine two countries, i.e. Mexico and Turkey which have both historically followed the French model of laicism. Laicism, compared to the American or Anglo-Saxon version of secularism that is linked to the idea of freedom of religion, or what some scholars call ‘liberal multiculturalism’, the concept of laicism is a rather stricter version of secularism that has come to being out of a clash of different interests between the hegemonic authority–the ancien régime– and claims of new revolutionary actors. In this sense, laicism is reactionary, restrictive, and ultimately fragile in states with little to no prior experience with liberal democracy and its values. I put forth two main hypotheses in this paper. Firstly, holding everything at constant, if citizens consider themselves religious, they are less likely to show support and justify the laïque regime, as they would have a harder time justifying the restrictions posed on their religious duties and activities. And secondly, in case they do not perceive themselves as religious, they will only justify and support the system if there are strong institutions to safeguard this principle. In the Turkish case this would be the army or the judiciary who have traditionally considered themselves to be the ‘upholder’ of the laïque principles. In the Mexican case, I suspect the constitution to fulfill a similar role. In this sense, unless there is already a strong democracy in place, the existence of such an outside protector is the only way a laïque regime is legitimized. In order to test my hypotheses, I perform statistical analyses using data on public opinion in Turkey and Mexico from the World Values Survey- Wave 6 (2010-2014). My dependent variable is confidence in parliament, which intends to measure citizens’ support for not just their governments but for the present regime. My preliminary findings appear to lend some support to my theory, yet with certain caveats. Although in the Turkish case, the seculars appear to show the least support for the regime, adding an additional variable which measures confidence in the army increases their likelihood of having confidence in the system. In the Mexican case, secular people also show the least amount of support for the system, however more religious people also appear to be the most suspicious of the system. Additional tests will need to be performed to determine causes.

Name: Feyzeddin Donmez
Section: Comparative Politics
Professional Email: fd854@nyu.edu
Professional Status: Graduate Student
Institution: New York University(NYU)
Scheduling Preference: Saturday Morning
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Paper Title:  BREXIT AND ITS POSSIBLE CONSEQUENCES
Abstract:
This paper first, is an attempt to inform the reader about what Brexit is, somehow touching its traditional roots and most importantly investigating and discussing the significant reasons, which have been found to be sovereignty, economic, and cultural issues, that pushed Britons to decide to exit from the European Union. After providing the reader this preliminary groundwork so as to assist him/her to make a sense of the next step, the paper with a critical eye intensively tried to contemplate on possible impacts of Brexit which was the main focus of this paper aiming to contribute to the infant literature growing on this issue of Brexit. While trying to identify and make discussion of probable impacts of Brexit, in order to be clear and specific, the paper has paid attention to three realms: Brexit effects on the European Union, on Britain Itself and, finally on the Globe.

Name: Eunice Erhagbe
Section: State and Local Politics
Professional Email: euniceerhagbe12@gmail.com
Professional Status: Associate Professor
Institution: UNIVERSITY OF BENIN, BENIN CITY, EDO STATE NIGERIA
Scheduling Preference: No Preference
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Paper Title:  COMBATING CLIMATE CHANGE IN NIGERIA: RENEWABLE ENERGY AS AN ALTERNATIVE SOURCE OF ENERGY, AND A CRITIQUE OF CURRENT POLICY/ ADMINISTRATIVE FRAMEWORK FOR ENERGY IN NIGERIA
Abstract:
COMBATING CLIMATE CHANGE IN NIGERIA: RENEWABLE ENERGY AS AN ALTERNATIVE SOURCE OF ENERGY, AND A CRITIQUE OF CURRENT POLICY/ ADMINISTRATIVE FRAMEWORK FOR ENERGY IN NIGERIA BY DR. EUNICE ODUFA ERHAGBE* ABSTRACT The use of fossil fuels in Nigeria is a major contributor to climate change that has several devastating effect on the environment. This paper appraised the effects of climate change on the Nigerian environment, and the efforts made by Nigeria, and the international community to combat climate change. This paper found, that the excessive use of non-renewable energy sources, industrialisation and the non- implementation of planning laws are responsible for climate change. Secondly, it found that climate change has negatively impacted the Nigerian environment in terms of flooding, desertification, and the destruction of the ecosystem. It also found that although there are laws at the national level aimed at combating climate change, they are not effectively enforced, while those at the international level are not legally binding. This paper will argue that the negative consequences of climate change are inimical to Nigeria’s sustainable development. The paper will advocate renewable energy as an alternative source of energy. Further, the paper will critique the current policy/Administrative Framework for energy in Nigeria, it will fault the sincerity of the policy, and assert that the leadership of the country owes a duty to both the present and future generations to fight the climate change menace. *Eunice Odufa Erhagbe, Ph.D., B.L., Lecturer, Department of Public Law, Faculty of Law, University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria. Email: euniceerhagbe12@gmail.com. Tel: 08023506796.

Name: Evrim Gormus
Section: Comparative Politics
Professional Email: gormuse@mef.edu.tr
Professional Status: Assistant Professor
Institution: MEF University
Scheduling Preference: No Preference
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Paper Title: One Belt One Road Initiative: The Chinese Spatial Fix
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One Belt One Road Initiative (OBOR) was introduced by the Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013 with the aim of invigorating the ancient Silk Route through the ambitious infrastructure projects. There is an extensive literature concerned with the implications of the OBOR for the global political and economic order. The bulk of these studies are located in the discipline of International Relations, and mainly focused on whether China seeks to preserve or revise global order through the OBOR project. This standard framework generally depicts the Chinese state as a static, coherent and unitary entity, and neglects the extensive disaggregation, decentralization and internationalization that the Chine state has undergone since the late 1970s. Rather than seeing the OBOR initiative as part of the ‘grand strategy’ of the Chinese state, my paper analyzes the OBOR initiative as a ‘spatial fix’ (Harvey, 2001:24)to the inner crisis in Chinese capitalism. My paper will hence first examine the transformation of the Chinese state following the gradual liberal opening from the late 1970s, which integrated China into the global division of labor and market competition. It will then inspect the factors that contribute to the crisis in Chinese capitalism following the three decades of economic growth, such as over-accumulation of capital, overproduction and excess capacity. My paper will finally uncover the unevenness and contradictions of the OBOR’s complex multilayer governance system composed of struggles between different interests in national and local levels.

Name: Kyong Mazzaro
Section: Comparative Politics
Professional Email: kmazzaro@gradcenter.cuny.edu
Professional Status: Graduate Student
Institution: The Graduate Center, CUNY
Scheduling Preference: No Preference
Proposal Type: Paper
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Paper Title:  The local politics of media freedom: Evidence from Mexico (2016-2018)
Abstract:
Recent studies draw a link between the presence of subnational authoritarian enclaves within democracies and increased threats and attacks against journalists. Case studies from Brazil to the Philippines, make the case that subnational authoritarian governments target media in an effort to stay in power, especially during electoral campaigns. However, although electoral incentives may explain why local incumbents target the media, variation in the timing and location of attacks within and outside enclaves suggests that the effect of local authoritarianism on media freedom depends on contextual factors. In this study, I explore the question of whether and how electoral incentives push government actors in subnational one-party enclaves to target journalists. Relying on original microdata from 2,443 Mexican municipalities on more than 1,600 events of government-led restrictions on media freedom from 2016 to 2018, I use a shared frailty Cox modeling approach to estimate the effect of degrees of electoral competition on the hazard of attacks against journalists. I find that municipalities within one-party enclaves are indeed more likely than other municipalities to experience restrictions, but only in certain electoral contexts. Specifically, being located in a one-party state only has a significant effect on the hazard of restrictions in highly competitive districts during local electoral campaigns where the survival of local incumbents is under threat.

Name: Guanjie Niu
Section: Comparative Politics
Professional Email: gn632@nyu.edu
Professional Status: Graduate Student
Institution: New York University
Scheduling Preference: Saturday Afternoon
Proposal Type: Paper
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Paper Title: Transporting Nationalism: Why Chinese Government can Provoke Nationalistic Sentiments in an Effective Way
Abstract:
During international disputes that involve China, if there is no existing nationalism foundation, such as historical grievances or previous conflicts, between the disputing nations, why the Chinese government can evoke a wide range of nationalistic sentiments among Chinese society in a short time? Setting up a framework on how nationalistic sentiment can be generated, I argue that instead of trying to transform the current dispute into a new collective memory full of nationalistic sentiments through a complicated and time-consuming procedure, the Chinese government manages to link the current situation with existing collective memories intentionally and transport nationalistic anger from these well-accepted national stories effectively. To test my hypothesis, I conducted a content analysis based on the Philippines vs. China (or the South China Sea Arbitration case) by using articles published on the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the People’s Daily. I show that in order to create an instant nationalistic fever towards the Philippines and the arbitration case among Chinese public, the CCP regime, on the one hand, suggested that the Philippines was actually a “puppet” of the longstanding “national enemies,” connecting the dispute with the manipulation of Japan and the United States; on the other hand, it contended that the current conflict could be regarded as another example of the “unfair international system,” for which Chinese people have suffered in the past one-and-a-half century.

Name: Oluwasolape Onafowora
Section: State and Local Politics
Professional Email: oluwasolape.onafowora@fuoye.edu.ng
Professional Status: Assistant Professor
Institution: Federal University Oye-Ekiti
Scheduling Preference: No Preference
Proposal Type: Paper
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Co-author info: ONAFOWORA OLUWASOLAPE 2348033655364 DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OYE-EKITI, NIGERIA P.O.BOX 1774, ADO-EKITI. NIGERIA oluwasolape.onafowora@fuoye.edu.ng solape.onafowora@gmail.com
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Paper Title:  FARMER-HERDER RELATIONS AND CONFLICT MANAGEMENT IN EKITI STATE
Abstract:
On the 18th of January 2018, some suspected Bororo Herdsmen attacked Orin Farm Settlement in Ekiti State and killed a pregnant woman with scores of others wounded. But this was not the first incidence of herdsmen attack on farmers in Ekiti State. The relations between farmers and herders have been violent long before the ascension of the incumbent Governor Ayo Fayose who, in 2016, passed the Ekiti State Anti-Grazing Law. The grazing law criminalises illegal grazing in some parts of the State; prohibit herders from grazing with weapons; and gave a maximum time limit of 7 a.m to 6 p.m for open grazing. This has had resounding impact on farmer-herder relations since 2016. This paper adopts historical research method to investigate the relationship between farmers and herders in Ekiti State and the impact of the Anti-Grazing Law approaches of conflict management between the two groups. Oral interview, newspaper reports and government records formed the primary sources of information generation. Also, journal articles and books were explored as secondary sources so as to complement the primary sources. Content analysis was used to analyse the data derived on farmer-herder relations in Ekiti State. The findings indicate that the relations between farmers and herder in Ekiti State are connected to environmental, religious, political and ethnic issues. The paper also established that the implementation of Anti-Grazing Law in Ekiti State has effectively mitigated against Fulani herdsmen attacks in the State even though there were reported incidences of herdsmen attacks on farmers.

Name: Songhyun Park
Section: State and Local Politics
Professional Email: songp@bu.edu
Professional Status: Graduate Student
Institution: Boston University
Scheduling Preference: Friday Afternoon
Proposal Type: Paper
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Paper Title:  Diversity within a Variety of Capitalism and ‘Color’ in It
Abstract:
For over two decades, the Varieties of Capitalism (VoC) literature has been firmly established in the field of political economy for its robust classifications of capitalist countries into two prominent models: Liberal Market Economies (LMEs) and Coordinated Market Economies (CMEs). Each model indeed presents its distinctive patterns of interactions among individuals and groups in complementary institutions in multiple spheres. However, the parsimonious VoC literature has been criticized not only for its identification of only two models but also for its lack of diversity within each national model in which some actors may defy path-dependency of their national model by fostering different patterns of interactions to meet their new and/or changing needs. In the examination of the United States in this paper, I argue that while its LME framework may still impose valid constraints, there exist subnational variations in which some states experience collective bargaining more or less than other states, challenging the VoC literature’s categorical claim of national coherence. Through network analysis and regression analysis, I find the effects of the CME model on numerous complementary institutions at the subnational level in varying degrees for different states, just as the VoC project holds at the national level, yet except for one area: vocational education. Explored in the last half of the paper, I maintain that the counterintuitive finding of the negative relationship between collective bargaining and vocational education is elucidated by the race element as a unique US experience. Enabled by societal forces of cultures, values, and history particular to the nation, this paper challenges the unconditional presumption of top-down, institutional influences, ultimately beginning to understand the diversity among nations even of the same variety of capitalism.

Name: Mishella Romo Rivas
Section: Comparative Politics
Professional Email: mrr538@nyu.edu
Professional Status: Graduate Student
Institution: New York University
Scheduling Preference: No Preference
Proposal Type: Paper
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Panel Description: Decentralization and Reform Panel chaired by Dr. Tony Spanakos
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Paper Title: The Puzzle of Public Trust and Judicial Power in Latin American Democracies: Evidence from Brazil and Mexico
Abstract:
The Politics of Horizontal Accountability: A view from Brazil Mishella Romo Rivas In relatively stable democracies, constitutional courts typically enjoy a considerable amount of judicial legitimacy and independence. And yet, during times of rising polarization, the intervention of constitutional courts in matters of horizontal accountability seems to have a negative impact on its public confidence. An evaluation of the recent shift in public attitudes vis a vis the Brazilian STF, one of the most powerful constitutional courts in Latin America will make this evident. Recent public opinion data has shown that public trust for the Court among voters within both the left and the right of the political spectrum has declined following a series of rulings involving horizontal accountability from 2014-2019 (LAPOP 2019). While theories of diffuse support and strategic interaction in judicial politics would subsequently prompt us to expect the STF to exercise self-restraint to avoid attacks on its power, the Court has continued to assume its protagonistic role in national politics. What accounts for these developments and to what extent does diffuse support concretely affect judicial independence? These inquiries warrant further examination on the effect polarization has on both public attitudes and judicial behavior. This is particularly so considering that the literature has described public or "diffuse" support as one of the sources of de facto power that enables judicial independence, a key factor preventing "democratic backsliding." First discussed by Easton (1965) and later by Gibson and Caldeira (1998), diffuse support is what creates incentives for executives and legislatures to engage in compliance of judicial decisions (Staton 2010) that may constrain overreaches by populist/illiberal leadership in contemporary democratic regimes

Name: Alice Timken
Section: Comparative Politics
Professional Email: act490@nyu.edu
Professional Status: Graduate Student
Institution: New York University
Scheduling Preference: Saturday Morning
Proposal Type: Panel
Panel Title:  Comparative Analyses: Nationalism in Effect
Panel Description: This panel looks at civic and ethnic nationalist programs in strategy, means, and outcome ("effect") through comparative analysis, with emphasis on nationalism as a multi-level, rather than rhetorical, phenomenon.
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Co-presenter info: Rahul Thayil; rt2191@nyu.edu (separate paper, on panel)
Paper Title:  Nationalism in Social Democratic Projects in Sweden
Abstract:
Many of today’s western democracies, once thought to represent the “end of history,” are revealing a growing preference for less democratic leadership and ethnic nationalist sentiment. This contemporary phenomenon encourages us to look at success cases of the past, where a democracy faced with divisive circumstances and nondemocratic temptations managed these forces effectively. Sweden’s interwar social democracy is presented by comparative scholars to be one such case (Berman 2006, Müller 2015). However, while political scholars have emphasized the importance of unifying ideology and policy in the success of the SAP, Swedish social democratic projects have seldom been analyzed in direct conversation with studies on nationalism. By failing to evaluate SAP projects within the context of nationalist frameworks, the field is unable to make robust conclusions on the impact of civic nationalism in this potentially revelatory case. Using existing frameworks from nationalist studies (Hechter 2001, Wimmer 2013), this research separates nationalist elements of Swedish social democratic projects from structural elements to analyze the isolated impact of civic nationalist ideology during the interwar period. It then explores the effect of civic nationalism on ethnic inclusion by comparing interwar Swedish policy and rhetorical appeals with more recent examples, focusing on refugee social and political reception (Alinia 2004, Eliassi 2010). It seeks to answer two critical questions for nationalist scholars and European historical comparativists: Was civic nationalism a deciding factor in the success of Swedish social democracy over the radical right? What effect do Swedish civic nationalist appeals have on inclusionary practices? Moreover, it explores the contribution of this case study to the existing literature on nationalism and civic nationalism in particular. This research finds that civic nationalist projects played a decisive role in enabling the Swedish social democratic experiment to survive regional trends toward non-democratic ethnic nationalism but does not accept the Swedish case an example of inclusive nationalism. While civic nationalism was not the only factor in Sweden’s ability to expand social democratic programs – both civic nationalist strategies and structural factors aided in the cohesion and success of Sweden’s social democratic experiment – it is unlikely that Sweden would have achieved the above ends without civic nationalist ideology and policy. Moreover, a recent decline in civic nationalist policy and rhetoric is associated with inferior treatment of refugee populations in Sweden. This research, then, justifies the comparative tendency to describe the importance of ideology in the Swedish social democratic case but clarifies the role of ideology, in tandem with civic nationalism, in Swedish national cohesion and the regime’s ability to resist ethnic nationalist trends. However, though effective, Swedish civic nationalist appeals cannot be typified as inclusive, for, while they allowed room for ethnic minorities, they excluded populations that did not abide by cultural and participatory ideals of belonging (Sejersted 2011). In this way, the SAP engaged not only in civic nationalist appeals, but exclusionary nationalist appeals as well, suggesting that today’s ethnic nationalist appeals, while concerning, may not be of a fundamentally different kind.

Name: Sule Toktas
Section: Comparative Politics
Professional Email: sule@khas.edu.tr
Professional Status: Full Professor
Institution: Kadir Has University
Scheduling Preference: No Preference
Proposal Type: Paper
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Paper Title: NARRATIVES OF MIGRATION: A CASE STUDY ON TURKEY
Abstract:
Turkey, due to its changing status in international migratory movements in the past decades, has become both a country of transit for migration from the nearby geographies to Europe and a host country providing temporary protection for different immigrant groups. There are different types of migrants (irregular, illegal, student, refugee, etc.) and multi-layered push factors (economic, marriage/family unification, security, etc.). What’s more, a significant volume of foreign population has emerged in the country after the mass influx of asylum seekers and refugees since the Syrian Civil War. In due course of the diversification in migrants and migratory processes, there arose a multiplicity of discourses and narratives on and about international migration in the public sphere of Turkey. The migrants are represented as victims, criminals, threats to the national economy or opportunity for a higher hand in international negotiations. One might speak of free oscillation of discourse and narrative blocks related to migrants/asylum seekers/refugees which are at times complementary and generic but at other times decompositionary and straticulated. The presentation aims to portray the discourse and narrative blocks on and about international migration circulating in the public sphere of Turkey. In light of the relationship that the society builds with these discourse and narrative blocs, the presentation aims to discuss the sources and the contexts of the social and political ecosystem.

Name: Brian Williams
Section: Comparative Politics
Professional Email: brian.williams04@cortland.edu
Professional Status: Assistant Professor
Institution: State University of New York College at Cortland
Scheduling Preference: Friday Morning
Proposal Type: Paper
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Paper Title: Public Bills in the Canadian Senate: An Evaluation of Partisanship and Seniority
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This study focuses on passage of private member bills (“public bills”) originating in the Canadian Senate. As appointed legislators with guaranteed seats, the Canadian Senate is thought to have advantage of greater independence and experience than the Commons (a chamber of “sober second thought”). An analysis of data from the 37th–42nd parliaments provides empirical support for these arguments. First, more tenured senators introduce significantly more public bills than their less-experienced counterparts. Second, senator public bills are significantly more likely to be vetoed in an opposition-controlled Commons. Evidence of a similar partisan veto is not found in the Senate.

Name: Charmaine Willis
Section: Comparative Politics
Professional Email: cwillis@albany.edu
Professional Status: Graduate Student
Institution: University of Albany, SUNY
Scheduling Preference: Saturday Afternoon
Proposal Type: Paper
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Co-author info: Kimberly Turner, Southern Illinois University, turnerk@siu.edu
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Paper Title:  Repression by Proxy: State-Sanctioned Sexual Violence of Protesters in Sudan and Zimbabwe
Abstract:
The use of rape as a weapon of war by both governmental forces and insurgents is a wide-spread and age-old method of spreading terror and undermining support for the other side. For studies of regime-perpetuated sexual violence, the typical context is armed or violent civil unrest or sexual violence against individual activists while in regime custody. Journalistic reporting of systemic government-sanctioned rape policies as a preventative repression measure against peaceful protests has been less common, and less studied. This year in Zimbabwe and Sudan, top brass advocated rape against peaceful female protesters as a destabilizing maneuver against nascent nonviolent movements. The Sudanese policy of rape as a deterrence aimed to neutralize male protesters by visiting sexual violence upon female bodies. In doing so, this policy failed to account for the majoritarian role women played in these protests. We therefore ask the question: when do states resort to sexual violence to deter protests? In street protests where women are the dominant initiators, are governmental sexual violence policies effective? By examining the use of rape as a repression tactic in Sudan and Zimbabwe, this study contributes to our understanding about the strategic use of rape outside of civil unrest and the influence of protesters’ characteristics on states’ decisions to repress.

Name: Przemyslaw Zukiewicz
Section: Comparative Politics
Professional Email: przemyslaw.zukiewicz@uwr.edu.pl
Professional Status: Full Professor
Institution: University of Wroclaw (Poland)
Scheduling Preference: Saturday Afternoon
Proposal Type: Paper
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Paper Title:  Party switching and MP's replacements as a challenge for representative democracies in East-Central Europe
Abstract:
Studies concerning dynamics of party systems at the parliamentary level - expressed in changes of party affiliation between elections - prove the 'party-switching' approach to be too narrow. It takes into account only changes in party affiliation of MPs and does not include loss of their parliamentary mandates. The aim of my research project is to complement the current state of research on party systems with an analysis of its dynamic between the elections (during the term of parliaments) through conceptualization and measurement of the phenomenon of intraparliamentary volatility in some East-Central European parliaments. The term 'intraparliamentary volatility' is understood as the parliamentary configuration after the elections, resulting from two phenomena: a change of the party affiliation (party-switching) or a replacement of the deputy in the parliament by another one (replacement). In my comparative analysis of intraparliamentary volatility I am going to set together cases of 3 East-Central European parliaments: Lithuanian Seimas (terms of office: 2004-2008, 2008-2012, 2012-2016), Polish Sejm (terms of office: 2007-2011, 2011-2015, 2015-2019) and Czech Poslanecka snemovna (terms of office: 2006-2010, 2010-2013, 2013-2017). The paper should give answers to the following research questions (grouped in two sets): 1) What sociodemographic factors are correlated with party-switching or replacement phenomena? 2) How the dynamics of a political system between elections can additionally affect intraparliamentary volatility? In the light of questions 1-2 I am going to verify four research hypotheses: H1: The younger the MPs, the more often they change party affiliation (party-switching) or lose their mandates (replacement). H2: The shorter parliamentary experience of MPs, the more often they change party affiliation (party-switching) or lose their mandates (replacement). The hypotheses 1-2 are based on the assumption that along with the process of political socialization the level of a MP’s loyalty increase towards his/her own political party. In this case, other sociodemographic variables have smaller significance. It is proved by the Ceron’s research findings – he has observed that the age of a party influences the internalization of ties between MPs and the party (Ceron 2015). H3: The closer the next parliamentary elections, the more frequent the occurrence of intraparliamentary volatility in a given parliament. H4: The closer the local/presidential/European elections, the less frequent the occurrence of intraparliamentary volatility in a given parliament. The hypotheses 3-4 are based on the assumption that the most important factor determining dynamics of a political system are elections and predictions of their results based (predominantly) on surveys. Although while local, presidential and European elections favour parties’ cohesion, upcoming parliamentary elections intensify MPs’ actions aiming at maximization of their electoral results (including changes in party affiliation). The relations between MPs vote/office-seeking behaviour and party-switching was elaborated by Heller and Mershon (2005) and Pinto (2015).