The Government Majors Committee and the Government Department are sponsoring a series of lunch talks beginning today! Professors will be presenting recent research, a great opportunity for students interested in majoring in government or for students interested in the topics.
All of the talks run from noon to 1:00 p.m.
Nov. 13 – Prof. Wiliarty – Cafe in Allbritton
Twenty Years after the Wall: The German Elections of 2009
It has been twenty years since the fall of the Berlin wall. This talk investigates the legacy of the incorporation of East Germany. The influence of the former East Germany is manifested in two ways in the elections of 2009. First, the continued presence of a new party representing eastern interests is making coalition building more complicated. Second, the incumbent Chancellor, Angela Merkel, is originally from East Germany. Her identity as a female candidate interacts with her identity as an eastern candidate in ways that both help and hinder her ability to win election.
Nov. 20 – Professor Douglas Foyle – Butterfield C Lounge
October Surprises and Wagging the Dog: Do Upcoming Elections Affect Foreign Policy Decision Making?
While it is often asserted that leaders use foreign policy to domestic advantage as elections approach, the scholarly findings on this subject defy simple characterization. My project examines the extent to which U.S. presidents adjust their foreign policies during an election run. I contend that while elections do affect foreign policy decisions, presidents do not seek political advantage from foreign policy and instead see foreign policy only as a potential threat to their political objectives.
Dec. 4 – Professor Erica Chenoweth – Cafe in Allbritton
The Politics of Terrorism: Non-State Actors and Political Violence in the 21st Century
Chenoweth’s research program involves three general questions: why do
non-state groups use political violence, what are the alternatives to political violence, and how can states best combat non-state political violence? Currently, Chenoweth is investigating the conditions under which nonviolent resistance methods are more effective than violent methods in achieving strategic goals such as regime change, expelling foreign occupiers, or achieving self-determination. She is also working on a project that assesses the efficacy of counterterrorism in the Middle East since in1980, and in another she is looking at how the tactical evolutions of nonviolent and violent insurgencies have affected their strategic outcomes.
Dec. 11 – Professor Anne Peters – Cafe in Allbritton
Shadow Governments: Parallel Institutions, Public Goods, and State Power in Iraq
The international system is increasingly characterized by neotrusteeship relations that link great powers to the periphery through formal and informal transfers of political authority and institutions. In contemporary Iraq, the United States has supplied a battery of “parallel institutions” that link American political authority and operational mandates to public goods provision in sectors such as security, infrastructure, and regulation. We know very little about the origins, efficiency, and implications of these institutions for state power. I argue that the US has employed parallel institutions in Iraq for the sake of short-term security and infrastructure, which would not be possible in the current political environment. However, parallel institutions are inefficient providers of public goods due to principal-agent problems , as well as their lack of accountability to local populations. Finally, parallel institutions will only weaken the Iraqi state after American withdrawal, as they provide disincentives for local political and administrative reforms that could undergird purely Iraqi public goods provision.
