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KALAMAZOO—How U.S. political parties view democratization efforts abroad will be next up in the Sichel Lecture Series at É«É«À² Michigan University.

Dr. John Ishiyama, the University Distinguished Research Professor of Political Science at the University of North Texas, will speak on "Political Parties and Democratization in Developing Countries" at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 17, in 2028 Brown Hall. His presentation is free and open to the public.

Dr. John Ishiyama

In addition to his duties at UNT, Ishiyama is lead editor of the scholarly journal American Political Science Review. His research interests include democratization and political parties in post-communist Russian, European, Eurasian and African—particularly Ethiopian—politics; ethnic conflict and ethnic politics; and the scholarship of teaching and learning.

Ishiyama is the author or editor of six books, with his most recent, "Comparative Politics: Principles of Democracy and Democratization," published in 2011. He also is author or coauthor of more than 120 journal articles published in professional journals, such as American Political Science Review, as well as several book chapters. He also is a research fellow at the University of Kansas Center for Russian and East European Studies and a member of the executive board of Pi Sigma Alpha, the national political science honorary society.

Ishiyama serves on the executive council of the American Political Science Association and the Midwest Political Science Association and is a member of the advisory board of the Minorities Risk Project.

Ishiyama earned his doctoral degree at Michigan State University and received the Quincy Wright Distinguished Scholar Award from the International Studies Association in 2012. Before joining the UNT faculty in 2008, he served on the faculty of Truman State University in Kirksville, Mo., for 18 years. While at Truman State, he was selected as the 2004 Missouri Professor of the Year by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. He also was named a National Carnegie Foundation Scholar and received the 2003 Allen Fellowship for Faculty Excellence and 2003 Missouri Governor's Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Ishiyama's presentation is the second in the 2012-13 Sichel Lecture Series, which this year is structured around the theme "The Political Economy of Good Governance."

Sichel Lecture Series

The Sichel Lecture Series is organized by the É«É«À² Department of Economics and named in honor of longtime É«É«À² economics professor Dr. Werner Sichel, who retired in 2004. The series is annually cosponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences and W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.