Past Events
Online Event: Zoom link and links to papers sent to registrants.
Please register here.
Authoritarian World Orders: How China's Persuasive Use of Ideology Shapes Order in Cyberspace
Rachel Hulvey (Penn Political Science)
HOW DOES INTERNATIONAL ORDER DEVELOP in emerging frontiers of world politics? In the face of rising threats of cyber-attacks and ransomware, governments widely agree that multilateral collaboration is necessary, but contest the details of how to develop a rules-based order for cyberspace. Surprisingly, it is authoritarian states calling for the development of binding legal instruments and advocating for the increased delegation of authority in cyberspace to the United Nations and International Telecommunications Union, when we would expect these countries to operate in a zone of politics outside the law. RACHEL ANN HULVEY explains this surprising outcome through China’s persuasive use of ideology. By framing the benefits of international law in terms that all states treasure – sovereignty and security – China has convinced the group of states most resistant to stringent rules to support the centralization of order in cyberspace. As China elevates the rights and obligations of governments, preferences for international law become associated with ideology and regime type. Using statements and submissions from three prominent negotiations about international law for cybersecurity and cybercrime, Hulvey provides a glimpse of what an authoritarian world order looks like in practice, as China uses persuasion to mobilize an ideological coalition of authoritarian states. These findings hold promise for understanding China’s rise, its strategies for mobilizing support for a new world order, and the ways that new rules of the game, distinct from those of the liberal world order, are emerging.
Networked Hegemonic Shocks: A Hegemonic Transition and Post-Cold War Democratization
Woojeong Jang (Georgetown Dept. of International Relations)
THE RISE AND FALL OF GREAT POWERS PRODUCE A WAVE of regime changes. Why do some states take part in the wave but others do not? During the post-Cold War wave of democratization, for instance, why did some states become more democratic than others? Bridging hegemony studies and relational-network analysis, WOOJEONG JANG argues that the configuration of a state’s geopolitical ties determines its regime trajectory after a great power transition. States positioned between competing international orders, who occupy a brokerage position, are more likely to undergo regime change after a global power transition. However, remnants of a collapsing order do not go away; states deeply integrated in a collapsing order tend to resist regime changes. A combined contour of states’ position in new and old orders, as a function of brokerage and integration, conditions political developments after a hegemonic transition. Using a new dataset on former Soviet republics, Jangtests the effects of brokerage to the US-led order and integration in the Soviet system on post-Cold War democratization. Empirical analysis using parameterization, inferential statistics, and Bayesian updating finds evidence in support of the hypothesis. She provides additional qualitative evidence through a comparative study of Ukraine and Georgia. The finding illuminates how underlying global power structures frame domestic political contentions and bears on the debate concerning the wave of democratization as well as anti-democratic backsliding.
GRAD WORKSHOP - Contestation and Control: Making Sense of Hegemonic Shifts
Online Event: Zoom link and links to papers sent to registrants.
Please register here.
Authoritarian World Orders: How China's Persuasive Use of Ideology Shapes Order in Cyberspace
Rachel Hulvey (Penn Political Science)
HOW DOES INTERNATIONAL ORDER DEVELOP in emerging frontiers of world politics? In the face of rising threats of cyber-attacks and ransomware, governments widely agree that multilateral collaboration is necessary, but contest the details of how to develop a rules-based order for cyberspace. Surprisingly, it is authoritarian states calling for the development of binding legal instruments and advocating for the increased delegation of authority in cyberspace to the United Nations and International Telecommunications Union, when we would expect these countries to operate in a zone of politics outside the law. RACHEL ANN HULVEY explains this surprising outcome through China’s persuasive use of ideology. By framing the benefits of international law in terms that all states treasure – sovereignty and security – China has convinced the group of states most resistant to stringent rules to support the centralization of order in cyberspace. As China elevates the rights and obligations of governments, preferences for international law become associated with ideology and regime type. Using statements and submissions from three prominent negotiations about international law for cybersecurity and cybercrime, Hulvey provides a glimpse of what an authoritarian world order looks like in practice, as China uses persuasion to mobilize an ideological coalition of authoritarian states. These findings hold promise for understanding China’s rise, its strategies for mobilizing support for a new world order, and the ways that new rules of the game, distinct from those of the liberal world order, are emerging.
Networked Hegemonic Shocks: A Hegemonic Transition and Post-Cold War Democratization
Woojeong Jang (Georgetown Dept. of International Relations)
THE RISE AND FALL OF GREAT POWERS PRODUCE A WAVE of regime changes. Why do some states take part in the wave but others do not? During the post-Cold War wave of democratization, for instance, why did some states become more democratic than others? Bridging hegemony studies and relational-network analysis, WOOJEONG JANG argues that the configuration of a state’s geopolitical ties determines its regime trajectory after a great power transition. States positioned between competing international orders, who occupy a brokerage position, are more likely to undergo regime change after a global power transition. However, remnants of a collapsing order do not go away; states deeply integrated in a collapsing order tend to resist regime changes. A combined contour of states’ position in new and old orders, as a function of brokerage and integration, conditions political developments after a hegemonic transition. Using a new dataset on former Soviet republics, Jangtests the effects of brokerage to the US-led order and integration in the Soviet system on post-Cold War democratization. Empirical analysis using parameterization, inferential statistics, and Bayesian updating finds evidence in support of the hypothesis. She provides additional qualitative evidence through a comparative study of Ukraine and Georgia. The finding illuminates how underlying global power structures frame domestic political contentions and bears on the debate concerning the wave of democratization as well as anti-democratic backsliding.
Hybrid in-person/online event.
Room 350, Perelman Center for Political Science and Economics (133 S. 36th Street)
Please register here. Zoom link and links to papers sent to registrants.
The Logistics of Race War in the Global Red Summers
Jacob Kripp (Johns Hopkins Political Science)
FROM THE END OF THE 19TH CENTURY THROUGH THE FIRST HALF OF THE 20TH, transnational white supremacy was brought together by the fantasy of an apocalyptic race war. These fantasies imagined a coming Pan-Asian or Pan-African unification that would overwhelm the white world and bring about its end. Race riots were central to accounts of racial Armageddon. In Wilmington (1898); Atlanta (1906); Bellingham and Vancouver (1907); East St. Louis (1917); and the global Red Summer (1919) race riots were seen as both preludes to a greater global racial conflict and necessary displays of white violence to keep Black and Asian people in their place. JACOB KRIPP theorizes these riots as transnational rituals, what W.E.B. Du Bois described as “Roman holiday[s] for the entertainment of vicious whites”. A transnational community of whiteness, a global vision of popular sovereignty that was premised on the violent maintenance of the global color line, was produced through these spectacular scenes of violence. Drawing on Frantz Fanon’s insights into the psychopolitics of violence, Kripp argues that these rituals (re)produced the fantasy of race war through collective racialized affect that projected white violence onto the Black and Asian people who armed in self-defense. Together these rituals of violence (including the January 6 attack on The Capitol) and their attendant anti-Asian and anti-Black fantasies sutured together a global demos of white supremacy.
GRAD WORKSHOP - Coming Together, Pulling Apart: Contrasting the Contours of Group Consciousness
Hybrid in-person/online event.
Room 350, Perelman Center for Political Science and Economics (133 S. 36th Street)
Please register here. Zoom link and links to papers sent to registrants.
The Logistics of Race War in the Global Red Summers
Jacob Kripp (Johns Hopkins Political Science)
FROM THE END OF THE 19TH CENTURY THROUGH THE FIRST HALF OF THE 20TH, transnational white supremacy was brought together by the fantasy of an apocalyptic race war. These fantasies imagined a coming Pan-Asian or Pan-African unification that would overwhelm the white world and bring about its end. Race riots were central to accounts of racial Armageddon. In Wilmington (1898); Atlanta (1906); Bellingham and Vancouver (1907); East St. Louis (1917); and the global Red Summer (1919) race riots were seen as both preludes to a greater global racial conflict and necessary displays of white violence to keep Black and Asian people in their place. JACOB KRIPP theorizes these riots as transnational rituals, what W.E.B. Du Bois described as “Roman holiday[s] for the entertainment of vicious whites”. A transnational community of whiteness, a global vision of popular sovereignty that was premised on the violent maintenance of the global color line, was produced through these spectacular scenes of violence. Drawing on Frantz Fanon’s insights into the psychopolitics of violence, Kripp argues that these rituals (re)produced the fantasy of race war through collective racialized affect that projected white violence onto the Black and Asian people who armed in self-defense. Together these rituals of violence (including the January 6 attack on The Capitol) and their attendant anti-Asian and anti-Black fantasies sutured together a global demos of white supremacy.
College Hall, Room 250. Please register here.
A lunch will be distributed to take following the event. First 15 registrants will receive complimentary copies of The Public Sector Pivot.
COME HEAR FROM PENN STUDENTS who have interned in the public sector. One of the panelists, KAITLYN RENTALA will introduce research from her recent book The Public Sector Pivot: How Gen Z Will Lead A Renaissance in Public Service. Students will share their personal experiences applying to, succeeding in, and learning from their internships. Resources will be shared for finding public sector internships. The panel will be moderated by the Director of the Penn in Washington program, Deirdre Martinez. Presented by the SNF Paideia Program.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
KAITLYN RENTALA is a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences studying Philosophy, Politics, Economics (PPE) with a globalization concentration. She is currently an Andrea Mitchell Center Undergraduate Research Fellow as well as a past Penn in Washington participant. Kaitlyn previously interned with the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement and New America. In addition, Kaitlyn is the author of The Public Sector Pivot: How Gen Z Will Lead a Renaissance in Public Service, a book about improving the public sector talent pipeline for college students.
JAVION JOYNER is a senior from Spokane, WA studying Business Economics & Public Policy and Legal Studies & Business Ethics. He spent the past summer as a Fox Leadership Fellow at the National Urban League’s policy and advocacy arm, the Washington Bureau.
EMILY KANTER is a senior studying Political Science with minors in Statistics and Survey Research and Data Analytics. She interned on the Public Policy team at Girls Inc. through the Fox Fellowship this past summer. She is currently a PORES fellow and the Editor-At-Large of the Penn Political review.
KEVIN ZHOU is a sophomore in the School of Engineering and Applied Science studying computer science. Last summer, Kevin interned at the Miami Department of Innovation and Technology doing data science work as part of the Civic Innovation Corps, a program connecting young technologists to civic tech opportunities. On campus, Kevin is a board member of PIT@Penn, which is affiliated with the Public Interest Technology University Network (PIT-UN) and aims to bridge the gap between Penn students and the public interest technology sector.
OLIVER STERN is a Political Science and History major and is keenly interested in issues related to free speech and democracy. Through the opportunities afforded him as a SNF Paideia Fellow, Oliver aspires to investigate the international history of free speech movements and how the recent rise in polarization, both in America as well as other countries, has not been met with an equal call for open discourse. Oliver is a member of the Student Committee on Undergraduate Education as well as the University Honor Council. This semester, Oliver is studying with the Penn in Washington Program.
If you need a disability-related accommodation, please contact: Kaitlyn Hendrickson at info@snfpaideia.upenn.edu. Requests must be made one week prior to the event. If requests are made after this date, we will not be able to provide the requested service.
Co-sponsored by the Andrea Mitchell Center, Fox Leadership, the Penn Program on Opinion Research and Election Studies, Penn in Washington, and the PIT@Penn Student Group.
CO-SPONSORED - Gen Z and Public Service
College Hall, Room 250. Please register here.
A lunch will be distributed to take following the event. First 15 registrants will receive complimentary copies of The Public Sector Pivot.
COME HEAR FROM PENN STUDENTS who have interned in the public sector. One of the panelists, KAITLYN RENTALA will introduce research from her recent book The Public Sector Pivot: How Gen Z Will Lead A Renaissance in Public Service. Students will share their personal experiences applying to, succeeding in, and learning from their internships. Resources will be shared for finding public sector internships. The panel will be moderated by the Director of the Penn in Washington program, Deirdre Martinez. Presented by the SNF Paideia Program.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
KAITLYN RENTALA is a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences studying Philosophy, Politics, Economics (PPE) with a globalization concentration. She is currently an Andrea Mitchell Center Undergraduate Research Fellow as well as a past Penn in Washington participant. Kaitlyn previously interned with the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement and New America. In addition, Kaitlyn is the author of The Public Sector Pivot: How Gen Z Will Lead a Renaissance in Public Service, a book about improving the public sector talent pipeline for college students.
JAVION JOYNER is a senior from Spokane, WA studying Business Economics & Public Policy and Legal Studies & Business Ethics. He spent the past summer as a Fox Leadership Fellow at the National Urban League’s policy and advocacy arm, the Washington Bureau.
EMILY KANTER is a senior studying Political Science with minors in Statistics and Survey Research and Data Analytics. She interned on the Public Policy team at Girls Inc. through the Fox Fellowship this past summer. She is currently a PORES fellow and the Editor-At-Large of the Penn Political review.
KEVIN ZHOU is a sophomore in the School of Engineering and Applied Science studying computer science. Last summer, Kevin interned at the Miami Department of Innovation and Technology doing data science work as part of the Civic Innovation Corps, a program connecting young technologists to civic tech opportunities. On campus, Kevin is a board member of PIT@Penn, which is affiliated with the Public Interest Technology University Network (PIT-UN) and aims to bridge the gap between Penn students and the public interest technology sector.
OLIVER STERN is a Political Science and History major and is keenly interested in issues related to free speech and democracy. Through the opportunities afforded him as a SNF Paideia Fellow, Oliver aspires to investigate the international history of free speech movements and how the recent rise in polarization, both in America as well as other countries, has not been met with an equal call for open discourse. Oliver is a member of the Student Committee on Undergraduate Education as well as the University Honor Council. This semester, Oliver is studying with the Penn in Washington Program.
If you need a disability-related accommodation, please contact: Kaitlyn Hendrickson at info@snfpaideia.upenn.edu. Requests must be made one week prior to the event. If requests are made after this date, we will not be able to provide the requested service.
Co-sponsored by the Andrea Mitchell Center, Fox Leadership, the Penn Program on Opinion Research and Election Studies, Penn in Washington, and the PIT@Penn Student Group.
Magic Actions and Abolitionist Organizing: Politics after George Floyd
Online Event: Please register here.
Citizenship
Online Event
