Mini-APSA 2010

Before the end of their fourth semester of study at Columbia, all students qualifying for the M.Phil. degree must present a completed research paper in an open departmental forum. The forum, which has come to be known as "Mini-APSA," takes place at the end of each spring semester. The 2010 Mini-APSA is scheduled for Friday, April 30.

Click the titles of highlighted papers for access to a pdf file.

Mini-APSA

Friday, April 30, 2010

Panel One: Issues of Democracy and Authoritarianism

Room 711 IAB

9:00 am - 11:00 am

Chair: Professor Alfred Stepan

Discussants: Professors Kimuli Kasara and Alfred Stepan

Sara Moller, "Backsliding into History: Regime Type and Democratic Reversals"
Mostafa Hefny, "Rituals of Democracy: Towards a Phenomenology of Electoral Authoritarianism in Algeria and Egypt"
Kuei-Min Chang, "Woman's Resistance? Contesting Second Birth in China"
Xian Huang, "The Politics of China's Urban Social Welfare Reforms since the 1980s"

Panel Two: Political Theory I

Room 707 IAB

9:00 am - 11:00 am

Chair: Professor Jean Cohen

Discussants: Professors Jean Cohen and Melissa Schwartzberg

Kevin Elliot, "Towards a Theory of the Modus Vivendi"
Luke Maclnnis, "The Law for Kant"
Brett Meyer, "What's the Point of Liberalism? A Kantian Conception of Liberty and Equality"

Panel Three: Security Studies

Room 711 IAB

11:00 am - 1:00 pm

Chair: Professor by Robert Jervis

Discussants: Professors Robert Jervis and Jack Snyder

David Kobayashi, "Men, Blood, and Victory: Force Levels, Insurgency, and Occupation in American History"
Erica Borghard, "Military Organizations and Military Innovations; Or, How the Armed Services Can Be the Vanguard of the Revolution (in Military Affairs)

Panel Four: Political Theory II

Room 707 IAB

11:00 am - 1:00 pm

Chair: Professor Melissa Schwartzberg

Discussants: Professors Jean Cohen and Melissa Schwartzberg

Andreas Avgousti, "The Search for Stability via a Marriage of Nature with Politics: An Understanding of Ciceronian Political Thought"
Maria Paula Saffon Sanin, "Legitimacy or Domination? Making Sense of Rousseau's Ideal Theory of the Social Contract"
Benjamin Schupmann, "Demystifying Schmitt"

Panel Five: Public Opinion and Voting in American Politics

Room 802 IAB

11:00 am - 1:00 pm

Chair: Professor Robert Shapiro

Discussants: Professors Fredrick Harris and Robert Shapiro

Steven White, "For Democracy and a Caste System? Civil Rights, World War II, and Public Opinion"
Tiffany Washburn, "What If Everyone Registered? Examining the Effects of Registration Law on Election Outcomes"

Panel Six: Civil War and Ethnic Conflict

Room 501A IAB

12:00 pm - 2:00 pm (Please note special time)

Chair: Professor Macartan Humphreys

Discussants: Professors David Epstein and Macartan Humprheys

Jordan Kyle, "The Political Spoils of War: The Impact of Conflict on Political Participation and Leadership in Aceh"
Jonathan Blake, "Monumental Battles: Disputed Memorials, Contentious Memory, and Ethnic Conflict in Divided Societies"
Costantino Pischedda, "Assessing the Effectiveness of Counterinsurgency Mass Killing: The Case of the North-South Sudan Civil War"

Panel Seven: International Policing of Crimes and Human Rights and Progress in International Relations Theory

Room 501A IAB

2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Chair: Professor Tonya Putnam

Discussants: Professors Yotam Margalit and Tonya Putnam

Michael Broache, "Amnesty and International Indictments: The Case of Northern Uganda"
Seung-Jee Shin, "What is the Status of Armed Merchant Vessels? Expanding Legal Interpretive Capacity in the International Enforcement of Human Rights"
Hiroaki Abe, "Beyond Lakatos: New Approaches to Appraising Progress in International Relations Theory"

Panel Eight: The Politics of Aid, Trade, and Development

Room 711 IAB

2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Chair: Professor Timothy Frye

Discussants: Professors Timothy Frye and Pablo Pinto

Michael Smith, "A Theory of the Origins of Trade Liberalization in Developing Autocracies"
Elizabeth Sperber, "Dividing to Dominate? Exploring the Impact of Colonial Ties on Bilateral Foreign Development Aid"
Elham Seyedsayamdost, "Resource Intervention: The Role of Foreign Interest in the Political Economy of Oil