Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The paper reviews major changes in leading indicators of political culture in Mexico during the last half century. It uses data from Almond and Verba's seminal study in 1958, and from the 2001 and 2008 National Survey on Political Culture and Citizen Practices, which replicates several of Almond and Verba's original indicators. It discusses long-term trends in historical perspective, and looks at the short-term impact of changes in Mexico's political context on public attitudes.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The paper discusses several important literary congresses conducted by the American Society of African Culture in 1958 and 1959. Based on archival research, the paper discusses key AMSAC organizers and members and their relations with emerging literary and cultural powerbrokers. The paper features short explorations into the debates between Harold Cruse and Saunders Redding, and Richard Gibson, Julian Mayfield, James Baldwin and Leroi Jones.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This paper recovers Lewis F. Powell's observations of the Soviet Union during a 1958 trip sponsored by the American Bar Association. It shows how Powell was not only impressed by what he saw, but became concerned that the United States was falling dramatically behind the Soviety Bloc in terms of education, science, and international influence. The paper then documents the extensive campaign waged by Powell to improve education and raise awareness of communism at home, a campaign that bled into his Supreme Court jurisprudence.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: The French party system has experienced changes in its structures, from the hegemony of the Gaullist party in the 1960s to a far more fragmented though quasi-bipartisan structure today. However, the structure of party competition in legislative constituencies is primarily characterised by stability throughout the Fifth Republic. In about one constituency out of four, a dominant party exists in 1962 just as 2002. The impact of this limited case of local electoral dominance has nevertheless no straightforward consequences on the quality of the French democracy. If dominance is problematic because it contradicts the principle of the vulnerability of incumbents, it has no effect on the general level of turnout. Even if voters are sensitive to the structure of party competition, the impact of dominance on turnout is limited to the second round of the legislative elections.

Supporting Publications:
Supporting Document

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: When and why do nation states pass labour market non-discrimination legislation (NDL) for women? Using world society and social movement theory, this paper examines the effect of extra-national influences on domestic legislation via an event history analysis from 1958 to 2005. Special attention is paid to the conventions and declarations of the United Nation`s (UN) specialized agency for work, the International Labour Organization´s (ILO). The findings suggest strong mediated world society effects. World society mechanisms significantly influence ratification behavior, which in turn is a strong predictor of subsequent discrimination targeted legislative reform. An active domestic mobilization base and a permeable political opportunity structure provide further catalytic effects for passing national statutes improving the rights of women in the labor market. In developing these arguments, the research links the macro-sociological world society theory with micro-level social movement theory to illuminate the direct and mediated effects of treaty ratification.
To account for endogeneity effects between ratification and legislation, this paper also examines if countries boasting NDL are more likely to ratify the corresponding non-discrimination convention (NDC). The findings show a stronger world society effect on ratification than legislation suggesting that world societal leverage is more pronounced on externally than internally oriented outcomes providing insight on the scope of exogenous forces.