Distinguished Guest Lecture Series

Michael Minta
Washington University, St. Louis.

"Legislative Oversight and the Substantive Representation of Black and Latino Interests in Congress."

Tuesday, May 13, Noon-1:30pm
Parrington Hall, Forum Room, in the
Evans School of Public Affairs

Michael Minta is Assitant Professor of Political Science at Washington University in St. Louis. In assessing whether legislators are representing their constituents' interests, Minta cautions that voting studies may overstate the role of strategic factors such as re-election goals and constitutent influence while understating the impact of descriptive characteristics. Minta argues that race and ethnicity matter in congressional oversight of bureaucratic policymaking. An examination of hearing transcripts from the 107th Congress shows that minorities are more likely than whites to participate in racial oversight hearings, but not more likely than whites to participate in social welfare hearings. The results show that descriptive representation contributes to substantive representation even if the costs of participating outweigh the electoral benefits.

Kelly M. Kadera

University of Iowa

"Competing Predators: Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland."

Friday, May 2, Noon-1:30pm

Forum Room: Evans School of Public Affairs

Kelly Kadera is Professor of Political Science at the University of Iowa. Kadera's research uses dynamic models to understand conflict processes in Northern Ireland. Using Francisco's (1996) data on coercion and protest in Northern Ireland from 1982 to 1993, Kadera reports strong evidence for conflict cycling and how coercion leads to protest. This work suggests strategies for ameliorating the longstanding hostility among Catholics, Protestants and government forces. Recommendations include slowing down reaction times and approaches that eliminate British participation in the dispute, such as the 1998 Good Friday Acord establishing a devolved legislature. Based on the model's success, Kadera also advocates generalized application of this type of model to other protest-coercion scenarios.

Caroline Tolbert

"Revisiting the Empowerment Hypothesis: Does Statewide Descriptive Representation Increase Minority Turnout?"

Tuesday March 4, 2008.

Allen Library, Petersen Room, Noon - 1:30pm

Caroline Tolbert is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Iowa. Tolbert is a nationally recognized authority on the initiative process and public policy formation. Her recent works on direct democracy includes Digital Citizenship: The Internet, Society and Participation, co-authored with K. Mossberger and R Mc Neal, and articles published in major political science journals including AJPS, BJPS, and JOP.

Scott S. Gartner

"Suicide and Fragging: Strategy and Military Dysfunction?"

Friday February 29, 12:00-1:30pm

Thomspon Hall, Room 317

Co-sponsored with University of Washington International Security Colloquium (UWISC). UWISC is sponsored by UW Institute for National Security Education, Center for Global Studies at the Jackson School of International Studies, The Marc Lindberg Center for Humanitarian Action, International Development and Global Citizenship (MLC), Henry M. Jackson Foundation, and the Department of Political Science.

Public Forum--free and open to UW and non-UW guests

WISER presents

"A Conversation on the War in Iraq"

Moderated by Chris Parker, Assistant Professor of Political Science at UW

Thursday February 28

Kane Hall 210, 7:00pm - 9pm

Panelists Include:

*Iraq War veterans

*Representative from the Washington Huskies Against Military Occupation in Iraq.

*Scott Gartner, Professor of Political Science, UC Davis, will speak on the relationship between domestic and foreign policy.

*Brenda Moore, Professor of Sociology, University of Buffalo, will speak on military sociology.