2014 MPSA Conference Papers

The 2014 MPSA (Midwest Political Science Association) conference was held Thursday, April 3 – 6, 2014, at the Historic Palmer House Hilton hotel in Chicago.The 2014 conference had several new elements, including the Empire Lecture Series, an Open Discussion session where people can meet and discuss a topic of common interest without pre-planned presentations, and a section with Professional and Career Development sessions.

Below are the papers presented by our faculty at the conference:

Latino Diasporans in the U.S.: Partisanship and the Connection to Ancestral Country

We analyze the relationship between U. S. Hispanics’ party identification and their transnational behavior: their level of interest in home country politics, and the frequency with which they sending remittances.

Nikola Mirilovic, Assistant Professor

Philip H. Pollock, Professor

Who Risks Commitment?

This paper reports the results of an experimental game where participants confronted a commitment problem. Individual differences influencing their choices to accept or reject the offer are reported.

Thomas Dolan, Assistant Professor

Building the New Economy: “NewSpace” and State Spaceports

Economic development has been a long standing concern of American states. Expectations are that states can foster significant economic development by providing launch services. A new effort is being built on “NewSpace,” a more free market approach.

Roger Handberg, Professor

 Global Citizens’ Perceptions of the U.S. Presidents and Foreign Policies

This study will examine global citizens’ perceptions of U.S. political leaders across twelve various countries by using surveys from Pew global attitude projects.

Myunghee Kim, Associate Professor

Jonathan Knuckey, Associate Professor

Candidates of immigrant origin on party lists: the case of parties of the Right in Belgium

We examine variation in the nomination of non-Western immigrant candidates across major political parties of the Right in the 2006 local elections in Belgium.

Barbara Sgouraki Kinsey, Associate Professor

Yuksel Alper Ecevit, Bahcesehir University

“A Bench That Looks Like America”: The Changing Demographics of Appellate Judges of the United States

Examines the demographic characteristics of Federal Appellate Judges beyond the traditional boundaries of race/ethnicity and gender.

Drew N. Lanier, Associate Professor

Mark S. Hurwitz, Western Michigan University

Declining Partisanship from Generational Turnover

I argue the recent decline of partisan identifiers is a result of younger, politically independent voters entering the electoral arena.

Andrea Vieux, Assistant Professor