August 31, 2001

SMU SCHOLARS TO PRESENT THEIR RESEARCH AT THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE AMERICAN POLITICAL SCIENCE ASSOCIATION

DALLAS (SMU) -- Five members of Southern Methodist University’s Department of Political Science in Dedman College will present the findings of their research at the 97th annual meeting of the American Political Science Association in San Francisco this week.

The APSA has more than 13,500 members and is the world’s largest professional organization for the study of politics. Political scientists from around the world will be gathering at the annual meeting from Aug. 30 to Sept. 2. Those presenting from SMU include:

• Rhonda Callaway, post-doctoral fellow in SMU’s John G. Tower Center for Political Studies in Dedman College, and Julie Harrelson-Stephens, SMU adjunct professor of political science and a Ph.D. student at the University of North Texas, are presenting a paper titled “The Bottom Line on Globalization: Examining the Relationship between Trade Openness, Regional Trade Agreements, and Subsistence Rights.” Callaway and Harrelson-Stephens looked at international rates of infant mortality, literacy and life expectancy -- what political scientists call “subsistence rights” -- and found, in general, evidence to support the idea that trade openness is positively related to the physical quality of life for citizens around the world. Callaway’s research interests include human rights, globalization, and U.S. foreign policy as it relates to trade and investment.
• Sujian Guo, assistant professor of political science, is presenting a paper titled “The Ownership Reform in China: What Direction and How Far?” Sujian’s research evaluated the extent to which China has transformed its post-Mao economy from a centrally planned system to a free market by looking at institutional changes in such areas as collectives, state-owned enterprises and land ownership. A former research fellow and policy analyst at the Party Central Committee in China, Sujian’s expertise is in comparative politics, Asian and Chinese politics, Communist and Post-Communist studies, and democratic transition. He has published more than 20 articles in American and Chinese journals and is the author of the book, Post-Mao China: From Totalitarianism to Authoritarianism?
• James Hollifield, Arnold Professor of International Political Economy, director of SMU’s International Studies program, and director of SMU’s John G. Tower Center for Political Studies, is participating in a roundtable on the rise of the extreme right in European politics. The panel, “Immigration, Citizenship, and the Far Right in Europe,” will look at how post-WWII immigration has impacted European citizenship and politics, especially with the development of new political movements. Hollifield has written several articles and books, including Searching for the New France, with co-author George Ross; Immigrants, Markets and States, and Controlling Immigration, with co-authors Wayne Cornelius and Philip Martin. He just completed his fifth book, Immigration et L'Etat-Nation (Immigration and the Nation-State). His most recent work looks at the rapidly evolving relationship between trade, migration and the nation-state. Hollifield is the co-editor along with SMU professor Calvin Jillson of Pathways to Democracy and The Political Economy of Democratic Transitions, and, with SMU professor Caroline B. Bretell, Migration Theory, Talking Across Disciplines. His teaching interests are primarily in the areas of international and comparative political economy.
• Matthew Wilson, SMU assistant professor of political science, will present a paper titled “The Clinton-Congress Budget Standoff and the Politics of Blame.” His research examines why some people blamed President Clinton for the 1995 government shutdown, while others blamed the Republican Congress. “In addition to obvious factors like party affiliation, I examined the role of political sophistication, personal dependence on government programs, and media exposure to explain differences in blame attribution,” Wilson says. His research interests include public opinion, campaigns and elections, race and politics, and religion and politics. Wilson currently is working on a book about the political attitudes and behaviors of American Catholics and a second manuscript, co-authored with a professor at the University of South Carolina, that focuses on how people assign credit or blame for social and political phenomena.