2013 APSA Africa Workshop Theme Selected: “Religion and Politics in Comparative Perspective”
After a competitive application process, the APSA Africa Project Steering Committee is pleased to announce that the 6th annual Africa Workshop will take place in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, hosted by the Institute for Governance and Development (IGD). The US-based workshop leaders are Leonardo Villalón and Kenneth Wald (both University of Florida). Their Africa-based colleagues are Einas Ahmed (Centre d'Études et Documentation Économiques, Juridiques et Sociales, Sudan), Augustin Loada (University of Ouagadougou and IGD, Burkina Faso), and Mahaman Tidjani-Alou (University of Abdou Moumouni, Niger). The theme of this year's workshop is “Religion and Politics in Comparative Perspective,” and will be held from July 1 to July 12 at the IGD's Center for Democratic Governance.
The call for participant applications was issued in late January. Following a competitive selection process, up to 26 qualified applicants (22 scholars from Africa and four North American doctoral students) will be invited to participate. During the workshop, discussion on the topic of “Religion and Politics in Comparative Perspective” will focus on four key themes: 1) the relationship between religion and the state; 2) the role of religion on individual political behavior; 3) the impact of religion on the politics of gender, sexuality, and family law; and 4) the politics of inter-religious relations. Within these discussions, participants will compare and contrast the experience of the United States (and more broadly of the West) with Africa, as well as the distinct roles of religion in the Anglophone and Francophone state traditions. The workshop will interrogate potential differences of political culture within specific religious traditions: notably Christianity and Islam, but also Judaism and traditional African religious. For the first time, the Africa Workshop will be held as a dual-language program, inviting scholars working in French and in English.
The APSA Africa Workshops are supported by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The inaugural workshop was held in Dakar, Senegal at the West African Research Center in 2008. Subsequent workshops have been held in cooperation with the University of Ghana, the University of Dar es Salaam, the University of Nairobi, and the University of Botswana. Focusing on early career scholars working in sub-Saharan Africa, the workshop program aims to enhance the capacities of African political scientists and build lasting networks between African scholars and their colleagues in North America. The project will run through 2014.
To learn more about the 2013 workshop or for information on previous workshops and the overall APSA Africa Workshop program, please visit the project website at http://www.apsanet.org/~africaworkshops/.
2013 APSA MENA Workshop Theme Selected: “Varieties of Democracy”
APSA recently announced the selection of leadership team and thematic focus for the inaugural MENA Workshop, which takes place at the American University in Cairo from September 8 to Septebmer 21, 2013. Funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the workshop program is a multiyear collaboration with early-career political science faculty in the Arab Middle East and North Africa (MENA) to enhance regional scholarly capacity and networks. The two-week program on “Varieties of Democracy” will be led by workshop leaders Michael Coppedge (University of Notre Dame, USA), Sameh Fawzy (Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Egypt), Hind Arroub (Institute Hypatie d'Alexandrie pour la Réflexion et les Études, Morocco), Megan Reif (University of Colorado Denver, USA), and Nadine Sika (Ameri-can University in Cairo, Egypt).
APSA is now seeking applications from scholars who are interested in attending the workshop. The workshop is targeted principally at university and college faculty in the social sciences residing in the Middle East and North African countries who have completed their PhD and are in the early stages of their academic career. Up to four advanced doctoral students from US and/or European universities will also be accepted. Application instructions and additional program information are located at the project website: www.apsanet.org/menaworkshops. Following a competitive selection process, approximately 26 qualified applicants will be invited to participate. The deadline for applications is May 3, 2013.
During the workshop, participants will study a series of interrelated theoretical and methodological concepts related to the workshop's theme “Varieties of Democracy.” At the outset of the workshop, participants will develop a shared intellectual foundation by exploring Western, Islamic, and non-Western contributions to theories of democracy and significant related empirical questions related to democratization and regime transitions, focusing on issues including good governance, post-authoritarian rule, and state-building. Afterwards, participants will discuss the relevant theories for understanding these empirical puzzles, concentrating on structural, institutional, community-based, and comparative theo-retical perspectives. In the last phase of the workshop, participants will think critically about the methodological challenges faced when attempting to build theoretically informed and empirically substantiated arguments. Themed discussions will emphasize the value of empirical research and research design for the success of their projects.
To learn more about the 2013 workshop or for information on the overall program, please visit www.apsanet.org/menaworkshops.
APSA International Membership
Total international membership as of February 25, 2013, is 2,322 members and 107 countries and is listed as follows:
Canada 394
United Kingdom 293
Germany 217
Japan 179
Switzerland 70
Australia 68
Mexico 54
Israel 54
Italy 52
Brazil 51
France 48
Korea, Rep 47
Sweden 45
Netherlands 44
Turkey 38
Belgium 38
Spain 35
Norway 34
Taiwan 28
Singapore 28
Ireland 28
Denmark 25
China 25
Hong Kong, China 20
Nigeria 19
Russia 18
Chile 18
Austria 17
Argentina 17
India 16
Hungary 16
New Zealand 15
South Africa 14
Finland 14
Czech Republic 12
Colombia 12
Venezuela 10
Thailand 10
Portugal 10
Greece 10
Romania 9
Ghana 9
Kenya 8
Poland 7
Slovenia 6
Saudi Arabia 6
Egypt 6
Cameroon 6
Botswana 6
Ukraine 5
Ethiopia 5
Cyprus 5
United Arab Emirates 4
Uganda 4
Tanzania 4
Peru 4
Malaysia 4
Indonesia 4
Uruguay 3
Sudan 3
Philippines 3
Malawi 3
Ecuador 3
Bangladesh 3
West Africa 2
Trinidad & Tobago 2
Seychelles 2
Scotland 2
Pakistan 2
Luxembourg 2
Lithuania 2
Kuwait 2
Kosovo 2
Kazakhstan 2
Jordan 2
Iraq 2
Dominican Republic 2
Bosnia-Herzegovina 2
Armenia 2
Zimbabwe 1
Zambia 1
Sri Lanka 1
Slovak Republic (Slovakia) 1
Qatar 1
Paraguay 1
Morocco 1
Montenegro 1
Mauritius 1
Macao 1
Latvia 1
Kyrgyzstan 1
Jamaica 1
Iran 1
Honduras 1
Guatemala 1
Greenland 1
Estonia 1
Croatia 1
Costa Rica 1
Burundi 1
Burma 1
Bulgaria 1
British Virgin Islands 1
Benin 1
Bahamas 1
Azerbaijan 1
Algeria 1
Afghanistan 1
Total International Membership 2,322
