MI-SON KIM

230 ELABN
Department of Political Science
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Edinburg, TX 78539

Office: (956) 665-3808

Email: mison.kim@utrgv.edu
http://www.mison-kim.com/

ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS
Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley,
Edinburg, TX (Fall 2016 )
Lecturer I, Department of Political Science, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg,
TX (Fall 2015 Spring 2016)
Adjunct Lecturer, Department of Political Science, South Texas College, McAllen, TX (Spring
2016 Summer 2016)

EDUCATION
Ph.D., Political Science, University of Iowa (July 2015)
- Dissertation: Parties without Brand Names: The Causes and Consequences of Party Relabeling
- Committee: Tracy Osborn (Chair), Gerhard Loewenberg, William Reisinger, Frederick Solt, and JaeOn Kim (Department of Sociology)

M.A., Political Science and Diplomacy, Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea (2009)
B.A., Political Science and Diplomacy, Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea (2006)

RESEARCH AND TEACHING INTERESTS

Comparative Politics: Political Parties, Electoral Systems, Campaigns and Elections,
Legislative Politics, Voting Behavior, Public Opinion, Political Culture, East Asian Politics,
Korean, Taiwanese, Japanese, Democracy and Political Development, Comparative Political
Economy

American Politics: Introduction to American Politics, Texas Politics, U.S. Party Politics,
Congress/Legislative Politics, Voting Behavior, Campaigns and Elections, State Politics
Political Methodology: Introduction to Political Research, Survey Research

PUBLICATIONS
Kim, Mi-son and Frederick Solt. [forthcoming] The Dynamics of Party Relabeling: Why Do
Parties Change Names? Party Politics (2015): 1354068815603240.
(http://ppq.sagepub.com/content/early/2015/09/24/1354068815603240.full.pdf+html )
- Abstract: Contrary to longstanding arguments that equate parties with durable, information-rich brand
names, relabeling of parties is not rare, and in many countries it is not even very unusual. This paper
provides the first effort to document this neglected phenomenon. It finds that across European
democracies, roughly a third of all parties have relabeled themselves at least once since 1945, and a
similar proportion of elections include at least one party running under a new name. It then presents
analyses of why parties change names more frequently in some circumstances, finding support for three
explanations derived from the existing literature: parties with longer-standing brands are less likely to
shed them, but relabeling is more likely for parties that suffer electoral setbacks and for parties in
weaker party systems. Finally, it presents evidence that the end of Soviet communism made left parties
more likely to rename themselves.

Under Review:
Voting for Small Parties from Dierent Contexts: Electoral Systems, Social Cleavages, and
Federalism (with Dongkyu Kim)
- Abstract: Research finds that a proportional electoral system, a large number of social cleavages, and
de-centralized authority increase the likelihood of electoral success for small parties. However, the
individual-level mechanisms have yet to be fully explored. This paper examines how these contextual
factors work for individuals to vote for small parties by using cross-national and longitudinal survey
data provided by the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems. A multilevel logistic regression analysis
provides compelling results. First, there is strong evidence for the psychological mechanism of
Duvergers law. Individuals are systematically encouraged to vote for small parties under permissive
electoral rules. Second, neither social cleavages nor federalism has the expected effect of increasing
small party votes. Rather, their proposed mechanisms work via the permissiveness of electoral systems.
Lastly, when we control for the effects of electoral rules, social cleavages and federalism condition
negatively with each other, dampening individual political support for small parties.

Historical Legacies in the Formation of Political Systems in Postwar South Korea and Japan
- Abstract: After World War II, both South Korea and Japan experienced U.S. involvement in their state(re)building processes. While occupying them, the U.S. laid down the institutional foundations of
political, social, and economic systems. Despite receiving the same input of American influence,
however, South Korea and Japan took different trajectories of institutional development, the former
replicating the U.S. political model while the latter developed a divergent model. What caused such
different outputs despite receiving the same input during this critical state-building period? Drawing on
historical institutionalism, this article argues that the existing institutional context in these countries
during U.S. occupation is responsible for their diverging patterns of political institutional development.
In South Korea, the absence of preexisting institutions enabled the U.S. model to be transplanted
more easily than in Japan, where there were already well-developed institutions. In addition to this
argument about the (non-)existence of the usable proximate past, this article further contends that the
political cultural legacies that each nation inherited from its distant past laid the foundation for later
institutional developments. In addition, the interests of the U.S. as an exporter of institutions
contributed to the divergent patterns of institutional development within the two nations.

WORKS IN PROGRESS
Ideological Positions of Hispanic College Students in the Rio Grande Valley: Using a TwoDimensional Model to Account for Domestic Policy Preference (with William L. Greene)
The Electoral Consequences of Party Relabeling in Europe: Successful Rebranding or a Loss of
Reputation?
Parties without Brand Names: the Causes and Consequences of Party Relabeling
Social Capital and Voter Registration Laws in the United States (with Dongkyu Kim)
Revisiting the Veto Players Theory: the Influence of Public Opinion on a Legislative Process
Redistributional Preferences under Globalization-Welfare State Nexus: Power Resources and
Revisionist Theories (with Dongkyu Kim and Frederick Solt)

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
Ideological Positions of Hispanic College Students in the Rio Grande Valley: Using a TwoDimensional Model to Account for Domestic Policy Preference (with William L. Greene) Paper

presented at: 2016 National Association of Hispanic and Latino Studies International Research
Forum, South Padre Island, TX.
Voting for Small Parties from Different Contexts: Electoral System, Social Cleavage and
Federalism Paper presented at: 2016 Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, IL.
The Electoral Consequences of Party Relabeling: Successful Rebranding or Loss of
Reputation? Paper presented at: 2015 Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, IL.
The Dynamics of Party Relabeling: Weak Party-Voter Linkage, Charismatic Parties and
Informed Voters in High Political Centralization. Paper presented at: 2014 American Political
Science Association, Washington DC.
The Dynamics of Party Re-Labeling: Why Do Parties Change Names? Paper presented at:
2014 Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, IL.
Free Trade and Working Class Political Attitudes: A Micro-Analysis of Power Resources and
Revisionist Theories (with Dongkyu Kim). Paper presented at: 2014 Midwest Political Science
Association, Chicago, IL.
The Veto Players Theory Revisited from the Responsible Party Perspective. Paper presented at:
2013 American Political Science Association, Chicago, IL; 2013 Midwest Political Science
Association, Chicago, IL.

ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES

Teaching:
Fall 2016-

Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science

University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Spring 2016Summer2016

Adjunct Lecturer, Department of Political Science

South Texas College
- U.S. Federal Government (GOVT 2305)
- Texas Government (GOVT 2306)

Fall 2015Spring 2016

Lecturer I, Department of Political Science

University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
- Introduction to U.S. and Texas Government I (Political Behavior), Introduction

to U.S. and Texas Government II (Political Institution)

Fall 2014

Visiting Instructor, Department of Political Science and International Relations

Knox College
- Comparative Asian Democracies: Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan

2012-2013

Instructor, Department of Political Science

University of Iowa
- American State Politics (online course)

2010-2015

Teaching Assistant, Department of Political Science

University of Iowa
- Introduction to International Politics (Summer 2015)
- Introduction to Comparative Politics (Spring 2015)
- Latin American Politics (Spring 2015)
- Introduction to Sociology (Fall 2014), Department of Sociology
- The American Presidency (Spring 2014; Spring 2011; Fall 2010)
- Introduction to American Politics (Spring 2012; Fall 2011)

Research:
Spring 2014

Fieldwork, Seoul, South Korea

- Personal interviews with members of the National Assembly, staffers, party
officials, and journalists; archival research Comparative Asian Democracies:
Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan
- Funded by the Graduate Dissertation Grant from the Center for Asian and
Pacific Studies (CAPS), University of Iowa

2012-2013

Research Assistant, Department of Political Science

University of Iowa
- For Professors William Reisinger and Julianna Pacheco (Summer 2013)
Russian public opinion project; creating hierarchical datasets (multilevel
modeling) by merging census data and public opinion survey data.
- For Professor Julianna Pacheco (Summer 2012)
Policy diffusion across the US states (regarding clean air acts); data coding.

In Media:
April 12th,
2016

Quoted in the Wall Street Journal (http://www.wsj.com/articles/a-korean-politicalparty-by-any-other-name-is-probably-still-the-same-1460410892)

- A Korean Political Party by Any Other Name Is Probably Still the Same in
the section of World/Asia, the Wall Street Journal
- Interviewed by Alastair Gale, Korea Bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal in
January, 2016

Professional Experience:
2005-2006

Legislative Staff, The National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, Seoul,

South Korea
- Worked for Rep. Jae-Sung Choi (New Politics Alliance for DemocracyNamyangju City)
- Provided legislative research and administrative support; assisted as a KoreanEnglish translator

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

2016

Travel Grant, Department of Political Science, University of Texas Rio Grande

Valley

2013-2015

Small Research Grant, Department of Political Science, University of Iowa

2013-2014

Travel Grant, Department of Political Science, University of Iowa

2014

Travel Funding, Graduate Student Senate, University of Iowa

2013-2014

Graduate Dissertation Grant, Center for Asian and Pacific Studies, University of
Iowa

2011

Distinction on Ph.D. qualifying exam in comparative politics

2009-2010

Presidential Fellowship for Alumni Studying Abroad, Hanyang University,

South Korea

LANGUAGE AND STATISTICAL SKILLS

Fluent speaker of Korean (native) and English
STATA, R, Latex

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
American Political Science Association; Midwest Political Science Association

REFERENCES
Tracy Osborn, Associate Professor
Department of Political Science, 341 Schaeffer Hall, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242;
Email: tracy-osborn@uiowa.edu; Office: (319) 335-2337
William M. Reisinger, Professor
Department of Political Science, 341 Schaeffer Hall, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242;
Email: william-reisinger@uiowa.edu; Office: (319) 335-2351
Frederick Solt, Associate Professor
Department of Political Science, 341 Schaeffer Hall, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242;
Email: frederick-solt@uiowa.edu; Office: (319) 335-2340
Gerhard Loewenberg, Professor Emeritus
Department of Political Science, 341 Schaeffer Hall, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242;
Email: g-loewenberg@uiowa.edu; Office: (319) 335-2345
Jae-On Kim, Professor Emeritus
Department of Sociology, 140 Seashore Hall West, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242;
Email: jae-on-kim@uiowa.edu; Office: (319) 335-2484
Louisa Sue Hulett, Professor
Department of Political Science and International Relations, 2E South Street, Knox College,
Galesburg, IL 61401; Email: lhulett@knox.edu; Office: (309) 341-7475