NEWS AND ACHIEVEMENTS
Calendar Year 2006

Political Science Department
San Diego State University

ADDITIONS

Ahmet Kuru: joined the faculty as an Assistant Professor starting in Fall 2006. His Ph.D. is from the University of Washington, Seattle and his dissertation examined the varieties of secularism and its impact on religious politics cross-nationally. Born in Turkey, Dr. Kuru adds to the growing international character of the department. A specialist in comparative politics, he will also teach advanced classes on Middle East politics and the politics of religion.

Also joining the department, as part-time lecturers, are Yvonne Gastelum (Political Theory, Ph.D. Harvard); James Samstad (Latin American Politics, Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley), and J.T. Smith (American Politics, Ph.D. Nebraska).

SPECIAL RECOGNITION
The department announces with pride that one of its junior faculty members – Jonathan Graubart– was promoted to Associate Professor during 2005 and awarded tenure. This promotion is the consequence of outstanding contributions in teaching, research, and service, and was awarded after a full review by committees at the department, college, and university level.

The department is also pleased to announce that it has been ranked by the National Science Foundation as one of the top 100 political science departments in the United States. It is one of the few without a Ph.D. program to receive such recognition.

Under a grant from the Fred J. Hansen Foundation for World Peace, the department will host in July 2007 the first annual Hansen Summer Institute, bringing together thirty university students from San Diego and from developing nations/nations-in-conflict around the globe for a three-week course in the peaceful resolution of tensions. Under a grant from Charles W. Hostler and family, it continues to operate the Hostler Institute of World Affairs, which helps sponsor a widely-attended lecture series and associated undergraduate class.

With thanks to generous alumni and friends, the department has added two annual prizes -- the James Conniff Award, and the Woodrow Jones Award -- for outstanding undergraduate achievement. These will be presented at our graduation exercises in tribute to two of our former colleagues and their contributions to academic life at SDSU.

Political Science has now become the largest department in the College of Arts and Letters, with more than 700 undergraduate majors, plus nearly another 200 in the associated program in International Security and Conflict Resolution, and approximately 50 graduate students.

RECENT ACTIVITIES

Farid Abdel-Nour (Ph.D. Rutgers University 1999, Associate Professor). Specialization: Political Theory. On sabbatical leave in 2006, he was awarded a visiting research fellowship from the Tanner Humanities Center, University of Utah. Published a book review in Ethics and International Affairs and delivered a paper on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process at the annual meeting of the International Studies Association.

Brian Adams (Ph.D. University of California, Irvine 2003, Assistant Professor). Specialization: Urban Politics. Published two articles in 2006: “Asian Americans and Campaign Finance in Municipal Elections” (Social Science Journal), and “Suburban Money in Municipal Elections (Urban Affairs Review), and delivered papers at meetings of the American Political Science Association and the Western Political Science Association. His book, Citizen Lobbyists: Local Efforts to Influence Public Policy, is soon forthcoming from Temple University Press.

Mikhail Alexseev (Ph.D. University of Washington 1996, Associate Professor). Specialization: International Relations, Migration and Ethnic Conflict, Politics of the Former Soviet Union. His book, Immigration Phobia and the Security Dilemma: Russia, Europe, and the United States, was published in 2006 by Cambridge University Press. Also published two refereed journal articles: “Ballot-Box Vigilantism: Ethnic Population Shifts and Xenophobic Voting in Post-Soviet Russia” (Political Behavior), and “Russia, China, and the Immigration Security Dilemma” (Political Science Quarterly, with C. Richard Hofstetter); plus one book chapter, “Migration, Hostility, and Ethnopolitical Mobilization: Russia’s Anti-Chinese Legacies in Formation” (Rebounding Identities, Woodrow Wilson Center Press). Another article, “Vospriiatie masshtabov migratsii v Rossii: etnoregional’nye izmeneniia I psihologiia tsifr,” [Perceptions of Migration Scale in Russia: Ethnoregional Change and the Psychology of Numbers] was published in Monitoring Obshchestvennogo Mneniia [Public Opinion Monitor], the foremost Russian journal of public opinion. He gave invited lectures in Poland, Russia, and Switzerland, delivered papers at the American Political Science Association and the International Studies Association, and addressed the U.S. State Department on ethno-religious hostility in the Russian Federation. Professor Alexseev holds research grants from the National Council for Eurasian and East European Research, the National Science Foundation, and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

David Carruthers (Ph.D. University of Oregon 1995, Associate Professor). Specialization: Comparative Politics (Latin America) and Environmental Politics. Undergraduate Advisor for the Latin American Studies program. Presented a paper, “Environmental Justice and the Politics of Energy on the US-Mexico Border,” in Puerto Rico at a meeting of the Latin American Studies Association. His edited book, Environmental Justice in Latin America: Problems, Promise, and Practice, has been offered a contract by MIT Press for forthcoming publication.

Lyndelle Fairlie (Ph.D. Indiana University 1973, Associate Professor). Specialization: Comparative Politics (Europe). Internship Coordinator.

Jonathan Graubart (Ph.D. University of Wisconsin 2002, Associates Professor). Specialization: International Relations and International Law. Presented a paper on NGOs and the UN Security Council at the annual meeting of the International Studies Association. His book, Legalizing Politics, Politicizing Law: Innovative Uses of Transnational Law and Social Activism to Give Life to NAFTA's Social Accords, is forthcoming from Penn State University Press.

Lei Guang (Ph.D. University of Minnesota 1999, Associate Professor). Specialization: Comparative Politics (China) and Development Studies. Undergraduate Studies Director. Published two co-edited books in 2006, Agriculture and Rural Connections in the Pacific: 1500-1900 (Ashgate Press), and The State of Rural China: Peasants, Agriculture and Rural Society in the Reform Era, (Tide Time Publishing, Hong Kong). Also published two book chapters in English: “Rural Guerrilla Workers and Home Renovation in Urban China” (Working In China, Routledge Press), and “Tales of a Migrant Renovator in Beijing” (Narratives of Reform in China, Mellon Press), plus two more in Chinese: “China vs. India: Comparing China's Divergent Responses to the Indian Challenge in 1962 and 1998” (International Review, Shanghai), and "What Has The City Got To Do With The Countryside? Chinese Debate on Rural Problems” (Hong Kong). He presented papers to the Association for Asian Studies and the Harvard Fairbanks Center for East Asian Studies, and received a research grant from the Ford Foundation for a book project on growing inequality in China.

Dipak Gupta (Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh 1977, Professor). Specialization: Ethnic Conflict, Public Policy Analysis. Distinguished Professor in Political Science and holder of the Hansen Chair of Peace Studies. Director of the SDSU program on International Security and Conflict Resolution. Organizer of the Hansen Distinguished Lecture Series. Published in 2006 one journal article and two book chapters on the subject of terrorism: “International Terrorism and the Costs of Overreaction” (Public Money and Management); “Toward An Integrated Theoretical Framework for Analyzing Terrorism: Individual Motivations to Group Dynamics” (Challenges and Prospects for Peace in the Muslim World: US Institute for Peace); and “Tyranny of Data in Terrorism Research” (Tangled Roots: Social and Psychological Factors in the Genesis of Terrorism : IOS Press, Amsterdam). He also published two chapters on decision theory: “Linear Programming: Choosing Optimal Mix of Alternatives” and “Queuing Theory and Management of Uncertainty” (both in Handbook of Decision Making: Taylor and Francis). Professor Gupta lectured on the theoretical understanding of terrorism to a conference in Italy sponsored by NATO, and he sits on the Terrorism Task Force of the American Political Science Association. His next book, Understanding Life Cycle of Terrorist Organization, is forthcoming from Routledge Press, and he is preparing the second edition of his text, Analyzing Public Policy, for Congressional Quarterly Press.

Edward Heck (Ph.D. Johns Hopkins University 1978, Professor). Specialization: Public Law and American Politics. Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Letters.

C. Richard Hofstetter (Ph.D. Indiana University 1967, Professor). Specialization: U.S. Politics and Mass Political Behavior. Published three co-authored articles in 2006: “Information, Misinformation, and Political Participation” (The American Review of Politics); “Russia, China, and the Immigration Security Dilemma” (Political Science Quarterly); and “Koreans’ Use of Medical Services in Seoul, Korea, and California” (Journal of Immigrant Health). He held research grants as Principal Investigator from the National Institute of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the National Cancer Institute. Professor Hofstetter was the winner for the College of Arts and Letters of the 2006 SDSU Alumni Association Award for Outstanding Faculty Contributions (commonly known as the Faculty Monty) in recognition for his superior contributions to scholarship, teaching and service.

Carole Kennedy (Ph.D. University of California, Riverside 1998, Associate Professor). Specialization: U.S. Politics, including Women’s Politics and Electoral Politics. Elected member of University Senate. SDSU Representative to the California State University Social Science Research and Instructional Council.

Ronald King (Ph.D. University of Chicago 1981, Professor). Specialization: U.S. Politics and Public Policy. Chair of the Department. Elected member of University Senate. Published “Chaotic Citizenship” (Pavilion, issue to accompany the Bucharest Biennale, Romania). He delivered papers to meetings of the American Political Science Association and the Western Political Science Association, and taught an invited short-course for doctoral students in Denmark (Odense), sponsored by the Danish Political Science Research School. His edited book, Thomas Paine: Common Sense for the Modern Era, is forthcoming from San Diego State University Press.

Ahmet Kuru (Ph.D. University of Washington, Seattle 2005, Assistant Professor). Specialization: Comparative Politics, Politics of Religion. Published a short book and two articles in 2006 (one in Turkish, one in French, and one in English): Islam, Democracy, and Secularism in Europe: France, Germany, and the Netherlands (TESEV, Istanbul, with Ahmet Y¸kleyen); “Entre l’Ètat et les aires culturelles: la construction nationale au turkmÈnistan” (Outre-Terre: Revue franÁaise de gÈopolitique); “Reinterpretation of Secularism in Turkey: The Case of the Justice and Development Party” (The Emergence of a New Turkey: University of Utah Press). He presented a paper to the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, and gave invited lectures at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, John Carroll University, Brigham Young University, and the University of Arizona.

Brian Loveman (Ph.D. Indiana University 1973, Professor). Specialization: Comparative Politics (Latin America). Published an edited book in 2006: Addicted to Failure: U.S. Security Policy in Latin America and the Andean Region. (Rowman & Littlefield). Also published three articles co-authored with Elizabeth Lira: “Truth, Justice, Reconciliation, and Impunity as Historical Themes: Chile 1814-2006,” (Radical History Review); “Dilemes de la Reconciliació Política,” (L'Avenç: Revista de História i Cultura, in Catalan); "De la Réconciliation Politique et des Résistances de la Mémorie: Le Cas du Chili, 1814-2004," (Études et Chantires de Psycologie Politique, Paris, plus three book reviews. Professor Loveman holds a grant from the Ford Foundation for research on regional security policy.

Kristen Hill Maher (Ph.D. University of California, Irvine 1999, Associate Professor). Specialization: U.S. Immigration and Border Politics, Nationalism. Graduate Studies Director. Published in 2006 the journal article, “The Dual Discourse about Peruvian Domestic Workers in Santiago de Chile: Class, Race, and a Nationalist Project” (Latin American Politics and Society, with Silke Staab). She sits on the Executive Council of the Western Political Science Association.

Madhavi McCall (Ph.D. Washington University 1999, Associate Professor). Specialization: Public Law and Judicial Behavior. Pre-Law Adviser. Elected Member of University Senate. Published “Chief Justice William Rehnquist: His Law-And-Order Legacy and His Impact on Criminal Justice" (Akron Law Review, with Michael McCall). She was named “Most Influential Professor” for 2006 by the Interdisciplinary Studies Department, SDSU College of Education.

Ronnee Schreiber (Ph.D. Rutgers University 2000, Assistant Professor). Specialization: U.S. Political Institutions, Women and Politics. Presented a paper on the media treatment of women political organizations at the annual meeting of the Western Political Science Association and serves as Treasurer for the Women’s Caucus of the American Political Science Association. Her book manuscript, Righting Feminism: Conservative Women’s Organizations and the Representation of Political Interests, is forthcoming from Oxford University Press.

Emanuele Saccarelli (Ph.D. University of Minnesota 2005, Assistant Professor). Specialization: Political Theory. Presented a paper on gender relations in the philosophy of Rousseau at the annual meeting of the Western Political Science Association. His book manuscript, Gramsci and Trotsky in the Shadow of Stalinism: The Political Theory and Practice of Opposition, is forthcoming from Routledge Press.

Latha Varadarajan (Ph.D. University of Minnesota 2004, Assistant Professor). Specialization: International Relations and Conflict Resolution. Published a review essay, “Courtiers of the New Empire” (New Political Science) and a featured book review, “The Life and Times of Economic Nationalism” (International Studies Review).