35. Political Organizations and Parties

Seth Masket, University of Dallas, smasket@du.edu
Jennifer Nicol Victor, University of Pittsburgh, jnvictor@pitt.edu

The 2008 program co-chairs invite paper, panel and poster proposals that speak to the theme “Categories and the Politics of Global Inequalities.” The theme invites scholars to consider the role that political groups play in creating, sustaining, or dismantling inequalities that exist in society, whether those inequalities come in the form of race, class, gender, or social status stratifications. Scholars may address the normative value of inequalities, the conditions under which inequalities exist, or the consequences of inequalities for political behaviors and institutions.

The program co-chairs additionally encourage proposals that address pertinent questions regarding political organizations and parties using rigorous scientific methods. We will consider projects concerning the nature, history, and function of parties as organizations, within institutions, and in the electorate. We are interested in projects that address parties as they function at the national, international, and sub-national level, as well as those that examine how non-party groups seek to influence political processes. We seek to include a wide range of methodologies, topics, and perspectives in the 2008 program, but we will give preference to proposals that describe compelling questions, utilize innovative research designs, and have the potential to provoke thoughtful discussion.