The University of Central Arkansas will host a select group of political scientists and practicing politicians to discuss the topic of “The Impact of Political Parties, Interest Groups, and Civil Society Organizations upon American Federalism.”
The conference, called “A Global Dialogue on Federalism,” is scheduled for Nov. 6.
Those attending the conference will discuss the preparation of a report on how American federal institutions have shaped party and interest group politics and civil discourse in the United States. Scholars will also look at how American federal governance has been affected by those same parties, interests, and civil society. Participants in the conference include The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; George Mason University in Washington D.C.; the Forum of Federations, a nongovernmental organization in Ottawa, Canada; the University of Missouri at St. Louis; and the University of Texas at Dallas, the UCA’s Department of Political Science and other central Arkansas institutions of higher education.
Leaders in state and national politics and international diplomacy also will participate.
UCA political scientist Dr. Gary D. Wekkin was selected as the country coordinator of the United States national conference, which will be held at UCA. Dr. Wekkin will co-author a report on parties and federalism in the United States with UCA political scientist Dr. Joe Howard.
Dr. Wekkin said that the conference and UCA’s role in it was “unsolicited and unexpected, and a significant acknowledgement of the political science profession
