University News

WIU Political Science Student Receives Best Paper Award at Conference

May 1, 2024

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MACOMB/MOLINE, IL - - Western Illinois University Political Science student and Teaching Assistant Seth Obiri has been selected as a winner of the Best Paper Award in the graduate category for the 31st Annual Illinois State University Conference for Students of Political Science.

"Obiri's project was named by several attending faculty at the conference as being among the best papers submitted by students this year and was selected by the awards committee to carry the designation," Political Science Professor Casey LaFrance said.

His paper investigates the intricate relationship between United States (US) foreign aid and states' compliance with constitutional human rights laws, considering various contextual factors. Drawing upon a comprehensive review of existing literature and empirical evidence, the study reveals that states deemed of significant strategic importance to the USA may exhibit diminished responsiveness to foreign aid pressures concerning human rights compliance. This observation suggests that geopolitical considerations can mitigate the effectiveness of aid conditionality in fostering constitutional adherence to international human rights norms.

Furthermore, a notable disparity in the impact of US foreign aid is observed across different political systems. Specifically, open systems such as parliamentary and mixed systems tend to demonstrate greater receptivity to aid conditionality, whereas autocratic systems may display heightened resistance or insulation from such external pressures. The study also highlights the pivotal role of constitutional design in shaping the effectiveness of US foreign aid in promoting constitutional compliance.

Constitutions equipped with mechanisms facilitating the dismissal of non-compliant actors are associated with higher levels of adherence to international human rights laws. Additionally, the absence of colonization experience emerges as a significant factor influencing constitutional compliance. States without a history of colonization demonstrate elevated levels of adherence to constitutional human rights laws, underscoring the influence of societal norms and indigenous legal frameworks.

The Illinois State University conference for students of political science is attended by student presenters from across the nation due to its affiliation with the American Political Science Association.

The peer-reviewed journal in which Obiri's work will appear is also recognized by the Illinois Political Science Association (IPSA) as a prestigious venue for student research.

Students interested in similar conference activities will have the opportunity soon as WIU Political Science and WIU JIDE are co-hosting the IPSA annual conference at WIU-Quad Cities on Monday, Nov. 9. Obiri and many other students from across campus departments will be invited to present their papers and will be eligible to submit their work to the Illinois Political Science Review.

For more information, contact WIU's Political Science program at 309-298-1055.

Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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