Politics in Motion: A Personal History of Political Science

The American Political Science Review (APSR) centennial provided us an occasion for the examination of the political science profession as reflected from its pages. Employing a citation analysis of 220 major political scientists published in the APSR and probing deeper into the citation record of some of its prominent scholars, this paper charts the dynamics of political science history. Since its birth over a hundred years ago, the profession has been in a state of constant flux, where new movements surge as previous ones decline once their integration into the fund of professional knowledge was completed. The paper argues that the surge and decline pattern is not a “tragedy of political science,” but a sign of a healthy and vigorous profession.     

The Loyalty Trap: Regime Ethnic Exclusion,Commitment Problems,and Civil War Duration in Syria and Beyond

This article examines the impact of the ethnic exclusiveness of regimes on commitment problems and hence on civil conflict duration. It argues that members of privileged in-groups in highly exclusive regimes can be trapped into compliance with the regime. Ethnic exclusion helps to construct privileged-group members as regime loyalists. They therefore fear rebel reprisals even if they surrender or defect and consequently persist in fighting. The article finds in particular that, in ethnically exclusive regimes, privileged-group members mistrust even rebels who mobilize on a nonethnic agenda and regard rebel reassurances, including nonethnic aims, as suspect. Exclusion therefore induces privileged-group cohesion, an effect more resistant to rebel reassurances than previously recognized. A case study of the Syrian civil war shows this dynamic at a micro level, and a cross-national statistical analysis gives partial evidence that it lengthens civil conflicts on a larg`e scale.     

Can Developmental Changes in Inhibition and Peer Relationships Explain Why Depressive Symptoms Increase in Early Adolescence?

Why do depressive symptoms increase during adolescence? Because inhibition and poor peer relationships predict adolescents’ depressive symptoms concurrently, we hypothesized that adolescents who cope with the stresses of this period by becoming increasingly inhibited may experience increasing depressive symptoms both directly and due to increased difficulty with peers. Longitudinal data from 904 participants, (52% female; 87% Caucasian, 5% Hispanic, 4% African-American, 4.6% other) from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care were examined when youth were in sixth and ninth grades. Path analyses revealed a direct effect of inhibition: Youth who became more inhibited reported increasing depressive symptoms. Indirect effects showed that they also experienced declines in friendship quality and popularity, which in turn led to increases in depressive symptoms. Findings suggest that increasing inhibition as an adaptation to the stresses of adolescence, and particularly its impact on popularity, is a risk factor for increases in depressive symptoms.     

Civil Protection Cooperation in EU Law: Is There Room for Solidarity to Wriggle Past?

This article provides insight into the under‐researched area of civil protection cooperation and disaster response capacity in EU law. It discusses how the mechanisms set up by the EU have assisted Member States in supporting one another when faced with natural or man‐made disasters, including those perpetrated by terrorists. In particular, the article provides a critique of the Article 222 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) clause, which has introduced the principle of solidarity within the EU's security strategy. The author explores the broadened notion of ‘threat’ in Europe and assesses the significance of the Solidarity Clause vis‐à‐vis the level of commitment required by Member States for its coherent implementation. The article then contrasts Article 222 TFEU with the mutual defence clause of Article 42 (7) Treaty on European Union (TEU), and finally points into certain ‘grey areas’ that may have a diminution effect upon the political message concerning the EU as a community based on solidarity.     

Familiarity breeds contempt? Knowledge and understanding of democracy,support for democratization,and global city residence in Russia

Using Russian survey data from 2011 to 2012, this article examines public understanding of and support for democratization in a semi-authoritarian context. When knowledge of democracy is weak, and conceptual understanding of democracy is mixed—as in Russia—traditional measures of democratic support inadequately capture demand for democratization; that is, for more democracy than currently perceived. Contrary to conventional wisdom, Russians who adhere to “textbook” political definitions of democracy are more, not less, likely to advocate democratization. Residence in global cities increases support for democracy and democratization, while education fosters the latter but not the former. Other traditional indicators of middle-class status, such as income and urbanization, lack consistent effects. Based on these results we re-evaluate the mechanism linking modernization and support for democracy in developing, non-democratic societies. Rather than exert social-psychological or normative effects, modernization works primarily by raising exposure to global political discourses that define and promote democratic government.     

Good governance as a foundation for sustainable human development in sub-Saharan Africa

Data indicate that good governance and human development continue to be major issues throughout sub-Saharan Africa. The findings show a significant relationship between the measures of good governance and human development. The findings suggest that policies and efforts aimed at improving government effectiveness and political stability would have the most significant impact on human development and poverty reduction efforts. The findings lend support to the adoption of integrated policy approaches that take into consideration political development along with economic development to reduce poverty in sub-Saharan Africa.     

A note on the relative productivity drivers of economists: a probit/logit approach for six European countries

Economic Change and Restructuring - We examine the drivers of research performance of 1431 economists from six European countries. Data from the Scopus database are collected. We compare the...     

Measuring the impact of set-aside programs on the minority business sector

In addition to remedying discrimination, set-aside programs can play an important role in minority business development. While it is understood that set-aside programs have positive impacts on the minority business sector, the magnitude of these impacts has not been explored. This study is an econometric analysis of the economic impacts within the minority business sector that are attributable to City of Chicago spending with minority-owned firms. Where appropriate, and to better operate as business development tools, set-aside programs should target the emerging lines of minority enterprise, include Target Market Programs, and contain provisions for debundling large contracts.