Before the end of their fourth semester of study at Columbia, all students qualifying for the M.Phil. degree must present a completed research paper in an open departmental forum. The forum, which has come to be known as "Mini-APSA," takes place at the end of each spring semester. The 2012 Mini-APSA is scheduled for Friday, April 27.

You may click the titles of highlighted papers to access them as pdf files.

Mini-APSA

Friday, April 27, 2012

Session One: 10:00 am - 12:00 pm

Panel One

The Politics of Law

Location: 707 IAB

Chaired by Turku Isiksel

Commentators: Turku Isiksel and Andy Nathan

• Chris Kaoutzanis, "Which EU States Appoint Judges to the EU Courts? A Surprising Uniformity"

• Michelle Chun, "Reconciling John Locke's Essays with his Two Treatises"

• Justine Guichard, "Legal reform or continuity? Conciliating National Security and Democracy in the Constitutional Court of Korea's Decisions from 1988 to 2005"

Panel Two

Policies and the Distribution of Benefits

Location: 711 IAB

Chaired by Tim Frye

Commentators: Justin Phillips and Tim Frye

• Johannes Hemker, "Regulating the Skies: Interest Group Formation and the Development of Aircraft Legislation in the United States"

• Florence Larocque, "The Decommodification of Water Supply in Latin America and Western Europe: The Role of Welfare Policies, Inequality, Partisanship and Water Resources"

Panel Three

Understanding Conflict

Location: 1302 IAB

Chaired by Jack Snyder

Commentators: Jack Snyder and Page Fortna

• Grant Gordon, "I Spy a Genocide: An Experiment in Monitoring Conflict"

• Camille Strauss-Kahn, "Hunger Game: Unintended Consequences of Targeting Aid within Communities"

• Nora Keller, "Mobilizing Through Terror: The Problematic Relationship Between Terrorism and Ethnicity in Conflict Situations"

Lunch: 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Room 707 IAB

Session Two: 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Panel One

Attitudes and Actions in American Politics

Location: 711 IAB

Chaired by Jeff Lax

Commentators: Jeff Lax and Greg Wawro

• Albert Fang, "Job Loss and Individual-Level Attitudes toward Redistribution in the United States"

• Camillia Redding, "Conflicting Consciousness? How Race and Class Contribute to the Group Consciousnesses of African Americans"

• Michael Schwam-Baird, "The Preferences and Influence of Individual Donors to US Congressional Campaigns"

Panel Two

Domestic Interests and Foreign Policy

Location: 707 IAB

Chaired by Robert Jervis

Commentators: Robert Jervis and Johannes Urpelainen

• Hyun Seung  Cho, "Survival of the Weakest: Evolution of Financial Cooperation in East Asia and the Institutional Security Dilemma"

• Emily Holland, "Poisoned by Gas: Security of Demand and Russian Foreign Policy"

• Sung Eun Kim, "Domestic Constraints and International Bargaining: Leverage or Handicap?"

Panel Three

Institutions and Processes

Location: 1302 IAB

Chaired by Massimo Morelli

Commentators: Massimo Morelli and Michael Ting

• Lauren Young, "That's Mine! The Impact of Economic Development on Demand for Clientelism"

• Hadas Aron, "How Can a Small Group Become a Veto Player in a Democracy? The Story of the Settlers in Israel"

• Matias Mednik, "Pathologies of Confederations, Drawing from the Argentinean Case"