As a research manager in the Public Affairs Division of Ipsos-Reid, Stephanie is involved in conducting quantitative and qualitative research for a range of public and private sector clients. With a considerable academic background in quantitative public opinion research, Stephanie is well versed in a wide variety of psychometric data analysis techniques, having studied research methods both at the University of Pittsburgh, and at the Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research at the University of Michigan.

Her research interests lie in quantitative political psychology, including all public opinion, voting behavior, policy attitudes, long-term public opinion trends, racial politics and democratic and governmental legitimacy. She has presented original research involving each of these topics at meetings of the American Political Science Association, the Midwestern Political Science Association, and the International Society of Political Psychology.

SPRING 2008

January 31
Democracy and Peace
Alynna Lyon, Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of New Hampshire

Churchill's observation that "Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time" has been widely quoted. Why were people so leery of democracy for so long and what turned the tide?

Alynna J. Lyon, (Ph.D., University of South Carolina, 1999) is originally from Santa Fe, New Mexico.  Her research focuses on conflict mobilization, peacekeeping and American Foreign Policy.  She has published several articles and book chapters on these topics and her recent publications include “American Humanitarian Intervention: Toward a Theory of Coevolution” in Foreign Policy Analysis and “Moral Motives and Policy Actions:  Dag Hammarskjöld at the United Nations” in Public Integrity. She is faculty advisor for the UNH Model United Nations and currently serves as Chair of Ethnicity, Nationalism and Migration section of the International Studies Association.

February 28
Financing Democratic Change
Dinorah Azpuru, Assistant Professor, Wichita State University

 

Prof. Azpuru assesses the impact international aid programs have on beginning and strengthening the process of democratization, particularly in the developing world.

International democracy assistance programs soared after the end of the Cold War (1990s), which coincided with the spread of democratic governments around the world. The main donors have been the United States and the European Union.

"Democracy assistance is only one of the factors that can influence democratic development, but it is certainly a very important one. Many countries lack the economic resources and especially the expertise to launch democracy. Therefore, outside support has been essential," Azpuru says.

Most countries that have become democratic -and have received democracy assistance- have remained democratic, such as countries in Latin American and Eastern Europe, according to Azpuru.

"In the past two years, we have seen some setbacks in certain countries, like the coup d'etat in Thailand, but for the most part, countries that became electoral democracies in the 1990s are still democratic," she says.

Read the complete press release
Official poster (PDF format)

March 27
Democracy and Poverty
Jon Hiskey, Associate Professor, Vanderbilt University

Can democracy lift people out of poverty? Prof. Hiskey examines the ability of democracy to address poverty and income inequality in the developing world.

Jonathan T. Hiskey, Associate Professor of Political Science, Vanderbilt University (Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh, 1999) --   Hiskey’s primary teaching and research interests concern the intersection of political, economic, and human development processes at the local level. Recent research has examined these processes in Mexico, specifically looking at how the country’s uneven democratization process has affected local economic development and citizens’ attitudes toward and involvement with their political system. Current research projects include a study of  the impact that high levels of emigration have had on Mexican communities’ political and economic development and a more comprehensive research program that focuses on the local development consequences of subnational political transitions across Latin America. Hiskey’s work has appeared in many of the top journals of political science, including the American Journal of Political Science, the British Journal of Political Science, Comparative Politics, and the Latin American Research Review.

April 17
Sanctioning Dictators and Celebrating Democrats
Audie Klotz, Associate Professor, Maxwell School of Syracuse University

Prof. Klotz explores the ability of the international community to press for democractic reform. She assesses the impact of sanctions against the apartheid regime in South Africa, as well as Mandela's ability to use international support to fight for democracy.

April 21, MUB 334, 4PM
And Justice for Some: Race, Crime, and Punishment in America
Jonathan Hurwitz, Professor of Political Science,
University of Pittsburgh

Democracy is weakened when all people do not have equal access to democracy.  In his talk, Jonathan Hurwitz explores the implications racial attitudes have towards the distribution of justice in the United States.  He examines Whites' and Blacks' perceptions of the justice system, identifying why members of some races perceive justice and its corresponding institutions in such very different terms.  He then identifies the impact of unequal justice on democracy in the United States.