CISSR Thanks Outgoing Board Member Paul Poast |
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We extend our gratitude to Paul Poast for his contributions as a member of CISSR’s faculty board since 2018. Poast's research is characterized by the winning combination of quantitative analysis and diplomatic history to answer long-standing questions in international relations. Poast is currently advancing major projects that address: the political economy of international security, alliance politics, research methods for international relations, and the international politics of the American Civil War. Each reflects his commitment to advancing scholarly and public understandings of global issues in the spirit of CISSR’s mission: To advance social science research on questions of enduring global significance.
The faculty board shapes CISSR’s intellectual agenda and sets priorities for our signature programs -- matters of special importance during our first decade of existence. Thank you, Paul, for your investment in the CISSR community. Although your term on the board has come to an end, we know you will remain a friend of CISSR for years to come.
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June 5
CSRPC
12pm, Virtual
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Co-Prosperity, the Prison+Neighborhood Arts/Education Project, and the Center for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture’s Beyond Prisons Initiative
12-5pm, Co-Prosperity, 3219 S Morgan St. Chicago, IL
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June 6
Seminary Co-op Bookstore
6:00pm, Seminary Co-op
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June 10
Seminary Co-op
6pm, Seminary Co-op Bookstore
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Around Town and Down the Road |
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June 20
Chicago Public Library
Harold Washington Library Center, 6:00PM – 7:00PM
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June 14-16
ADIFF Chicago
Facets Cinema First Screening Friday 7pm- Closing Night Sunday 6pm
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An Innovative “Who Done It” on Coups by Bastian Herre |
Bastian Herre, 2020-21 CISSR Rudolph Fellow and Researcher at Our World in Data, offers a new way of thinking about coup leaders in an article published in European Political Science. The research analyzed 464 successful and unsuccessful coup attempts and looked at the differences between the roles and ranks of coup leaders. Herre diagnoses various problems with the existing literature such as its orientation to Anglophonic narratives, while most coups occur in geographies where English is not the first language. They also determined that the existing datasets do not differentiate between civilian and military coups and power hierarchies embedded within the design of the overthrow. Herre builds a new dataset that encompasses coups between 1950-2020 that account for these gaps in the literature, while attempting to correlate some of these distinguishers with coup success. They find that coups attempted by junior and mid-ranking military officials have declined since the late 80s and 90s, whereas attempts by a senior officials maintain a norm status and have the most chance of being successful. Civilian coups, although a phenomenon that recently appeared on the world stage, are rare. Herre and colleagues find that more militaristic and elitist attempts are successful as it becomes harder to legitimize a power grab worldwide.
The full article can be accessed here.
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Assistant Professor Amir Jina explores Long Term Weather Forecasting and Agriculture
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2021-22 CISSR Faculty Fellow and Assistant Professor at the Harris School of Public Policy, Amir Jina published the results of a field experiment on long-term weather forecasts and their impact on farmer behavior. Using a monsoon forecast that can predict the starting date of the rains as much as a month in advance, Jina measured how receiving information about the weather conditions modified farmer behavior. They first took farmers’ expectations on the start date of the monsoon in an agricultural area in India. Then, dividing farmers into three groups, they provided the first group with the long-term forecast, the second group with insurance for the crops, and had a control group. Results showed that the farmers valued the estimates and were willing to pay. The post-treatment interviews revealed that the forecast led the overly optimistic farmers who predicted a more extended season and an earlier starting date for the rains to cut back on their investments and narrow the area in which they plant, while the overly pessimistic farmers in the treatment group increased their investments and planting scope. The study found that insurance had no comparable behavior-altering impact on the farmers. Overall, the work shows that farmers value long-term weather forecasts as much as a yield-increasing tool or product, and the information positively contributed to the profit they generated in the season.
Read more about the field experiment here.
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People who speak Another Language are more Utilitarian, Flexible, and Less Risk-Averse, Research from Professor Boaz Keysar shows
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The phenomenon known as the “foreign language effect” refers to differences in thought and attitude that occur in people as they switch between their native languages and the other languages they speak. According to a series of studies conducted by Professor and 2018-19 CISSR faculty fellow Boaz Keysar, the “foreign language effect” plays a significant role in ethical and utilitarian decision-making. Keysar and his team conducted experiments using the well-known ethical dilemma, the trolley problem, presenting it to subjects in both their native and second languages. They found that individuals thinking in their second language were more likely to approach the dilemma with a utilitarian mindset. Keysar and his team attribute this to the increased care and consideration people exhibit when using a foreign language. This heightened attention leads to more rational and sound behavior, while the process of transitioning between languages fosters an expansion and flexibility of thought.
Read more about Professor Keysar’s research in The Guardian.
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ICYMI: Former CISSR Director Dan Slater discusses Asia's Rapid Economic Growth and Uneven Record of Democratization
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Dan Slater, inaugural Director of CISSR now a Professor of Political Science at the University of Michigan, recently gave a talk at BYU's Kennedy Center about his latest work. From Development to Democracy: The Transformation of Modern Asia, was coauthored by Joseph Wong, Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto.
The book explores the diverse record of democratization in Asia, challenging modernization theory and the commonly accepted global link between development and democracy. It compares 12 Asian states that were non-democratic at the end of World War II and experienced economic growth, investigating why some of Asia's authoritarian regimes have democratized as their economies have grown while others haven't.
Wong and Slater examined structural, historical, and political factors, discovering a key distinction between regimes based on the strength and confidence of their authoritarian governments. They found that when regimes with robust ruling parties and state institutions faced domestic or international challenges, their leaders were confident enough to pursue democratic reforms in a process they call "democracy through strength."
The talk includes a discussion of the work breaking down each chapter, as well as a Q&A session with BYU students.
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