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321. Things Fall Apart: Containing the Spillover from an Iraqi Civil War

Author:
James J. Wirtz
Publication Date:
03-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Political Science Quarterly
Institution:
Academy of Political Science
Abstract:
Although officers and officials might be forgiven for hoping for the best when it comes to military strategy and diplomacy, they must plan for the worst. Some policymakers, however, have forgotten this simple idea behind prudent planning. It might be defeatist to base one's strategy on the worst-case contingency, but military strategists and diplomats alike should be prepared for some setbacks by not assuming that all the “breaks” will fall their way. Leaders who deliberately choose war probably underestimate its costs and risks, but realists understand that optimistic political rhetoric will fade once battle is joined.
Topic:
War
Political Geography:
United States and Yugoslavia

322. When the Press Fails: Political Power and the News Media from Iraq to Katrina

Author:
Doris A. Graber
Publication Date:
03-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Political Science Quarterly
Institution:
Academy of Political Science
Abstract:
The analysis presented in this challenging book is based on the premise that a free press in a democratic society must “raise timely questions about debatable government policies” and must “report challenges to those policies when they fail” (p. x). Judged by these standards, as the authors apply them, the American press has failed repeatedly in major and tragic ways during the George W. Bush presidency.
Political Geography:
Iraq

323. The Racial Logic of Politics: Asian Americans and Party Competition

Author:
Claire Jean Kim
Publication Date:
03-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Political Science Quarterly
Institution:
Academy of Political Science
Abstract:
The scholarship that addresses Asian Americans in relation to electoral politics is still small, though growing. Thomas Kim's book is a welcome addition to this literature. Kim poses a question about election year 1996: Why did Asian American political elites who appeared poised to realize gains in political influence in the presidential election season find themselves not only marginalized but also vilified by both Democrats and Republicans as agents of Communist China? The short answer, according to Kim: Asian American political elites fundamentally misunderstood the possibilities for attaining political power in the two-party system. Using the campaign finance scandal of 1996 as his main example, Kim argues that the two-party system creates structural incentives, indeed imperatives, for both parties to exclude Asian Americans and to treat them as a racial bogeyman that must be kept at bay. With Asian Americans racialized as perpetual foreigners working as agents of foreign powers, party leaders engage in a rational calculation that tells them that the political costs of bringing Asian Americans into the party outweigh the benefits. Party leaders need not be racist or hold prejudiced attitudes, Kim emphasizes; they need only behave strategically for this dynamic to hold. Destined to remain at the gate looking in, Asian Americans should turn their attention, Kim avers, to community-level political work and give up on attaining power in the national electoral arena.
Political Geography:
America and Asia

324. Electing America's Governors: The Politics of Executive Elections

Author:
Thad Kousser
Publication Date:
03-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Political Science Quarterly
Institution:
Academy of Political Science
Abstract:
Governors occupy a peculiar and precarious position in American politics, David Leal's comprehensive new book on gubernatorial elections demonstrates. They are embedded in the national party system, and are often punished in open-seat elections if they are from the same party as the president. Yet they have some freedom to shape the local meaning of party labels, or even to run strongly as minor-party or independent candidates. While governors of states large and small are often mentioned as possible presidential contenders, they are twice as likely to be defeated in reelection contests as U.S. senators.
Political Geography:
United States

325. Islamic Movements and Democracy in Central Asia: Integration or Isolation?

Author:
Anthony Bowyer
Publication Date:
05-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Academy of Political Science
Abstract:
The Central Asian republics of the former Soviet Union have been independent for nearly seventeen years following seven long decades of communist rule in which their identities and traditions were altered through Sovietization and the Russification that preceded it. The region was divided into Khanates and Great Hordes, which had their first experience with Islam dating back to the 8th century, consolidated through successive invasions by Persians and Arabs from the fifteenth century onward, and formed the northernmost expanse of the Islamic world. The gradual encroachment of Imperial Russian influence, first eastward into Siberia, southward into the North Caucasus and later into the steppe of Central Asia and beyond, came about as a shock to the traditional lifestyles and power structures of the region. The establishment of Tsarist military outposts was accompanied by often brutal suppression of local populations including seizure of land and imposition of alien social values. No strangers to outside invasions, the people of Central Asia adapted as best they could under the circumstances, struggling to maintain their cultures and history but capitalizing on the positive elements that contact with the Russians brought, namely trade and infrastructure modernization. Acceptance of the Tsar's rule was not universal, and as of the late 19th century much of the region was not under the Tsar's control.
Topic:
Civil Society, Democratization, Government, Islam, and Politics
Political Geography:
Russia, Central Asia, Caucasus, and Soviet Union

326. Kenya Inquiry Commission Adopts IFES Recommendations

Author:
Moses Owuor, Dong Nguyen, and Anthony Kuria
Publication Date:
08-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Academy of Political Science
Abstract:
In this report, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), an international, nonpartisan democracy development organization, presents its review of the Kenyan electoral process and makes recommendations for reform. The intent of this report is to have its findings presented to the Independent Review Committee (IREC) to consider in its examination of the electoral process, and the development of its recommendations for comprehensive measures to be taken to improve the conduct of future elections.
Topic:
Civil Society, Democratization, Development, Government, and Politics
Political Geography:
Kenya and Africa

327. U.S. Electoral Assistance: Lessons Learned

Author:
Richard W. Soudriette
Publication Date:
11-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Academy of Political Science
Abstract:
As President-elect Obama prepares to assume office on January 20, 2009, it is important for the incoming Administration to consider keeping America's long standing bipartisan commitment to promoting democracy worldwide. President-elect Obama spoke eloquently about the need to engage America's allies and friends to address global challenges. To continue promoting democracy in the future, the United States must engage other democracies and tap multilateral resources such as the Community of Democracies.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, Democratization, and Politics
Political Geography:
United States

328. The Political and Economic Forces Shaping Concentrated Poverty

Author:
William J. Wilson
Publication Date:
12-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Political Science Quarterly
Institution:
Academy of Political Science
Abstract:
Through the second half of the 1990s and into the early years of the twenty-first century, public attention to the plight of poor black Americans seemed to wane. There was scant media attention to the problem of concentrated urban poverty (neighborhoods in which a high percentage of the residents fall beneath the federally designated poverty line), little or no discussion of inner-city challenges by mainstream political leaders, and even an apparent quiescence on the part of ghetto residents themselves. This was dramatically different from the 1960s, when the transition from legal segregation to a more racially open society was punctuated by social unrest that sometimes expressed itself in violent terms, as seen in the riots that followed the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Topic:
Economics
Political Geography:
America

329. Multilateral Military Interventions: Theory and Practice

Author:
Sarah E. Kreps
Publication Date:
12-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Political Science Quarterly
Institution:
Academy of Political Science
Abstract:
SARAH E. KREPS advances a two-level definition of multilateralism that incorporates both quantitative and qualitative attributes of cooperation. She argues that the relative decline in American power, rather than leading to more robust multilateralism, might instead make UN-authorized interventions less tenable and ad hoc "coalitions of the willing" a viable alternative.
Topic:
Security and United Nations
Political Geography:
America

330. George W. Bush and the Partisan Presidency

Author:
Richard M. Skinner
Publication Date:
12-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Political Science Quarterly
Institution:
Academy of Political Science
Abstract:
RICHARD M. SKINNER challenges notions that the strong presidency of the modern era has proved incompatible with powerful political parties. Instead, he argues that, since 1980, the United States has seen a dramatic growth in presidential partisanship across a range of areas.
Political Geography:
United States