2005-06 Mershon Center Research Projects
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Item Mershon Network of International Historians 2006(2006) Gurney, Ursula; Fink, CaroleThe Mershon Network for International Historians (MNIH) is a unique online association for scholars engaged in the study of twentieth century European international relations. The network’s mission is to foster intellectual discussion, research, and teaching in the field of European diplomatic history. Located at www.mnih.org, the network’s primary purpose is to promote collaborative research by scholars in international history. MNIH does this by announcing upcoming conferences around the world, listing recent publications in the field, publishing calls for papers, and publicizing fellowship and grant opportunities.Item Passport: Newsletter of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations 2005-2006(2006) Lerner, Mitchell; Hahn, PeterSince 1969, the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations Newsletter has provided a forum for the discussion of issues related to the practice of American diplomacy, while also presenting historians of U.S. foreign policy with a reliable source of professional information. In 2003, the newsletter was renamed Passport, and editorship passed to Peter Hahn and Mitch Lerner, with support from the Mershon Center. Passport’s purpose is: To print essays on substantive issues related to the study of American diplomacy, particularly those focusing on newly opened archival materials. To host debates among scholars. To offer detailed information regarding new publications, scholarly competitions and awards, calls for papers and contributions, and other relevant resources.Item Dissent Repression Nexus project website(2006) Peterson, LindsayTo tackle the dissent/repression nexus, we come together as an interdisciplinary team of political scientists and sociologists with expertise in international relations and complementary theoretical and methodological skills to focus on dissent and repression in the Middle East. The project aims to: develop a database that incorporates data from both quantitative and qualitative sources, train students and professionals in the use of multiple methodologies related to understanding the repression/dissent nexus, maintain a webpage with frequent updates on the theoretical and methodological aspects of the project, develop a special journal issue on multi-method techniques and their applications to problems of dissent and repression, and, write a monograph on understanding repression and dissent in a globalized society.Item Dissent Repression Nexus in the Middle East 2006(2006) Meyer, Katherine; Jenkins, J. CraigThe Middle East is often said to be caught in a never-ending spiral of dissent and repression influencing almost all aspects of existence. This “dissent/repression nexus” is critical because the Middle East sits at the crossroads of three continents, contains vast reserves of natural resources, and its conflicts have spilled into other parts of the globe.Item Comparative National Elections Project 2006(2006) Gunther, RichardThe Comparative National Elections Project (CNEP) is a multi-year examination of democracies around the world. It began in the late 1980s as a survey to identify the ways that citizens receive information about politics, parties and candidates during election campaigns in four democracies. The survey was expanded in the 1990s to consider the nature of support for democracy and the consolidation of newly established or re-established democratic regimes in 13 countries.Item Living Jerusalem: Cultures and Communities in Contention(2006) Horowitz, AmyBegun by the Smithsonian Institution Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, Living Jerusalem brings together scholars, students, and community leaders from Israel, Palestine and the United States. The project addresses questions that arise at the intersection of international security and cultural identity in disputed territories.Item Terror's Fourth Wave(2006) Crenshaw, Edward; Jenkins, J. CraigIn “Terror’s Fourth Wave,” Crenshaw and Jenkins focused on ethno-Islamic terrorism by sampling only countries with a sizeable Muslim population -– either 70 nations with populations at least 10 percent Muslim, or 40 nations at least 50 percent Muslim. The ultimate goal was to determine the motivations for ethno-Islamic terrorism, and whether these motivations differ by target. Crenshaw and Jenkins found four triggering factors: a large secular government, greater rights for women, dependence on Western military support, and a sizeable but not dominant Muslim population.Item Reconstructing the Cold War(2006) Hopf, TheodoreIn Reconstructing the Cold War: Identities, Institutions and Interests in Moscow's Foreign Policy Since 1945, Theodore Hopf is undertaking an ambitious project: a social constructivist account of the Cold War.Item Economic Impact of Terrorist Incidents on the Hospitality Industry in Italy(2006) Greenbaum, Robert; Hultquist, AndyThis project examined the indirect costs of terrorism on the hospitality industry – thought most vulnerable to terrorist attacks – in Italy from 1994 to 1997.Item For Peace and Money: International Finance and the Triple Entente(2005) Siegel, JenniferIn For Peace and Money: International Finance and the Making and Unmaking of the Entente Cordiale, Jennifer Siegel examines French and British bank loans to Russia in the late imperial period, up to the Genoa Conference of 1922. The study will help explain the ways non-governmental players were able to influence policy both domestically and across national borders in the run-up to World War I.Item People in Motion: Politics of Migration Policy(2006) Nooruddin, IrfanThe project will create a cross-national database of immigration policy, coding policies on 90 variables that include restrictiveness, purpose, and enforcement. Funding will also support case studies on immigration policy in India and the United Arab Emirates.Item Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as Contract(2006) Verdier, DanielIn this project, Verdier set out to explain why the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty has been so successful. Using game theory, Verdier argues that the object is to maximize non-proliferation by promising to reward signatories and threatening to punish non-signatories and cheaters. He then makes predictions about which countries were likely to sign and when. Finally, he is testing those predictions on a panel of all countries from 1968-2002.Item International Organization Legitimation and the Use of Force(2005) Thompson, AlexanderIn this project, Thompson set out to explain why the endorsement of an international organization (IO) such as the United Nations plays such a key role in American foreign policy decisions to use force. Why did foreign leaders and publics care whether the United States got U.N. support for its actions? The answer to these questions rests on the notion of legitimation, or the process by which IOs transfer legitimacy onto the actions of states.Item Indonesian National Election Project(2005) Liddle, William; Mujani, SaifulAfter more than four decades years of authoritarian rule, Indonesia held democratic legislative elections in 1999. Elections were held again in 2004, including Indonesia’s first direct election of a president and vice-president. In both cases, a team led by Liddle and Mujani surveyed Indonesian voters to see why they made the choices they did. The surveys were designed to assess the relative impact on Indonesian voters' choices of six sociological and psychological factors.Item Turkey: Islam, Nationalism and Modernity(2006) Findley, CarterTurkey: Islam, Nationalism and Modernity examines Turkey’s transition from Ottoman empire to nation-state. From 1789 to the present, Findley argues, the Turks triangulated over time in relation to three reference points: Islam, nationalism, and modernity. Choices among these reference points led to the rise of two strategies for engaging with modernity: a radical, secular current of fast, disruptive change, and a conservative, Islamic current of slow, adaptive change. As the Turks negotiated their transition from a multinational, Islamic empire to a Turkish nation-state, the two currents interacted to shape modern Turkish society.Item Partisan Politics in Transition Economies(2006) Frye, TimothyPartisan Politics in Transition Economies seeks to explain the diversity of politics and economy in 25 post-Communist countries by examining the level of partisan politics. Where either neocommunists or liberals dominate, Frye argues, there is little polarization, and executives can push through pro-business or pro-state policies. Where neocommunists and liberals have roughly equal power, however, there is much more polarization. The book includes surveys of business elites and case studies of Bulgaria, Russia, Poland, and Uzbekistan.Item Evaluation of the Impact of USAID Democracy and Governance Programming(2006) Paxton, PamelaUntil recently, USAID aid to promote democracy and good governance had not been adequately evaluated. Two years ago, Paxton and Rumi Morishima undertook just such an evaluation. Previous studies had not found a link between foreign aid and democratization or human rights. They found that USAID support has a significant impact on democracy, over and above the normal dynamics of the country and controlling for selection bias.Item Economic Insecurity: Meaning and Measurement(2006) Mughan, AnthonyThis project consists of a series of focus groups to explore what economic insecurity means to ordinary people and how it affects them politically.Item Does Economic Integration Promote Cooperation Abroad(2006) Frye, TimothyThis project examines the support for economic integration and international cooperation among both business elites and the mass public in Russia.Item Demiurgic Politics: The Republic and Timaeus(2006) Silverman, AllanDemiurgic Politics is a book-length study of the political and ethical theory in Plato’s Republic and its influence on the contemporary neo-conservative movement.