Recent Dissertations
We are proud of our graduate students' research.
Graefe, Carl
"New Spaces: On Territoriality in an Expansive Era."
Advisor: Tanisha Fazal
Mcveigh, Hannah
"Who's Got the Power? Putting Individual and Institutional Power in Their Collective Place."
Advisor: Kathryn Pearson
Kim, Hannah
"Understanding Affective Polarization: The Impact of Political Engagement and Elite Polarization."
Advisor: Paul Goren
Oker, Ibrahim
"The Politics of Authoritarian Social Welfare Provision: Why Do Some Autocracies Develop Generous Welfare States?"
Advisor: Teri Caraway
Suwanpong, Pongsakorn "Peter"
"Dollar's Preeminence: The Political Economy of Exchange Rate Policy in the Twenty-First Century."
Advisor: Jane Sumner
Accorsi Amaral, Pedro
"A 'See You Soon' To Arms: A Study on Post-War Military Reforms"
Advisor: Tanisha Fazal
Eichinger, Aphisith
"Fact, Fiction, or Fragile: The Globalization and Populism Hypothesis"
Advisor: Ron Krebs
Jo, Seo Nyeong
"Gender Matters in the Judiciary: Adjudicating Sexual Assault in Korea"
Advisor: Lisa Hilbink
Mitamura, Emily
"Plots of Violence: Knowledge Production and the Cambodian Genocide"
Advisor: Robert Nichols
Sorensen, Ashley
"How Aspects of Social Class Influence Partisan Choice"
Advisor: Paul Goren
Wehyee, Yakasah
"The Fallen Whig: The Durability of Dominant Party Rule in Liberia"
Advisor: David Samuels
Wright, Ezekiel Luther
"The Alienated American"
Advisor: Howie Lavine
Armendariz Miranda, Paula
"Closed Personalities: The Psychological Roots of Autocratic Support"
Advisor: David Samuels
Blasenheim, Tracey P
"Rule of Law(yers): Legal Expertise in the United States Military and the Prosecution of Modern Warfare"
Advisor: Ron Krebs
Ghosh, Samarjit
"Of places and practices: Three essays on cities and security"
Advisor: Helen Kinsella
Houston, Rachael Belle
"Like, Share, and Comment #SCOTUS: Public Engagement with the U.S. Supreme Court on Facebook"
Advisor: Timothy Johnson
Juca, Ivan Chaves
"Explaining the Puzzle of Weak Parties with Strong Legislative Leaders in Brazil: Towards a Theory of Clientelistic Party Discipline"
Advisor: David Samuels
Li, Siyu
"External Constraints and Internal Norms on the U.S. Supreme Court"
Advisor: Timothy Johnson
Mendez Gutierrez, Maria J
"Violence as Work: Living and Producing in Central America's Gang Necroeconomies"
Advisor: Raymond Duvall
Nguyen, Oanh
"A State of Dependency: The Political Economy of Labor Migration in Malaysia"
Advisor: Teri Caraway
Potz-Nielsen, Carly Bianca
"Politics in the Third Age of Global Finance: Choosing Capital Controls"
Advisor: John Freeman
Sanchez, Maria
"Deference and Divergence in Regional Human Rights Courts"
Advisors: Tanisha Fazal and Cosette Creamer
Synder, Patrick
"Red Lines: Legitimation and Dissent in Contemporary Morocco"
Advisor: Kathleen Collins
Stundal, Logan Wayne
"The Epidemiology of Civil War"
Advisor: Tanisha Fazal
Tek, Farrah L
"Making Law Matter: The Legal Mobilization of Subaltern Actors in Cambodia"
Advisors: Teri Caraway and Lisa Hilbink
Heimark, Katrina
"The Irrationality of Contracting the Police: Crime Reporting in Contexts of Mistrust"
Advisors: David Samuels and Lisa Hilbink
Lunz Trujillo, Kristin
"A Case of Misunderstood Identity: The Role of Rural Identity in Contemporary American Mass Politics"
Advisor: Howard Lavine
Ralston, Robert
"Make Us Great Again: The Causes and Consequences of Declinism in Great Powers"
Advisor: Ronald Krebs
Kaire De Francisco, Jose Eduardo
"Dictatorships and the Globalization of Repression"
Advisor: David Samuels
Ralston, Robert James
"Make Us Great Again: The Causes and Consequences of Declinism in Great Powers"
Advisor: Ron Krebs
Gambino, Elena
"'Presence in Our Own Land:' Second Wave Feminism and the Lesbian Body Politic"
Advisor: Nancy Luxon
Halen, Jennifer
"Algorithmic Interventions: The Power and Politics of Algorithmic Decision Systems"
Advisors: Benjamin Begozzi and Joanne Miller
Kalaycioglu, Elif
"Possibilities of Global Governance: World Heritage and the Politics of Universal Value and Expertise"
Advisor: Raymond Duvall
Montal, Florencia
"Rage Against the Regime: Policy Responses to International Investment Arbitration"
Advisors: Ronald Krebs and John Freeman
Munhazim, Qais
"'Queering Borders:' War, Diaspora, Gender and Sexuality among Afghans in the United States"
Advisors: Raymond Duvall and Richa Nagar
Munoz, Avram
"The Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the Coalitional Representation of Latinxs in the U.S. House of Representatives"
Advisor: Kathryn Pearson
Kindervater, Garnet
"Politics of the Highly Improbable: Anticipation, Catastrophe, Security"
Advisors: Raymond Duvall and Joan Tronto
Koren, Ore
"Hunger Games: Analyzing Relationships Between Food Insecurity and Violence"
Advisor: John Freeman
Motta, Matthew
"The Informative Power of Campaign Advertising"
Advisor: Joanne Miller
Nakayama, Bryan
"From Aerospace to Cyberspace: The Evolution of Domains of Warfare"
Advisor: Ron Krebs
Smith, Brianna
"It's All Under Control: The Conditional Effects of Threat on Political Behavior"
Advisor: Paul Goren
Spindel, Jennifer
"Beyond Military Power: The Symbolic Politics of Conventional Weapons Transfers"
Advisor: Ronald Krebs
Baer-Bositis, Emily
"Organizing for Reform: The Democratic Study Group and the Role of Party Factions in Driving Institutional Change in the House of Representatives"
Advisor: Kathryn Pearson
Farhart, Christina
"Look Who is Disaffected Now: Political Causes and Consequences of Learned Helplessness in the U.S."
Advisor: Joanne Miller
Hobbs-Morgan, Chase
"Greenhouse Democracy: A Political Theory for Climate Change"
Advisor: Joan Tronto
Lockhart, Lucas
"Guardians of Market Integrity: Political Institutions, Regulatory Independence, and Stock Market Development"
Advisors: Benjamin Ansell and Jane Gingrich
Olson, Adam
"Conflict, Consensus, and Opportunity: Congress and the Development of the American Welfare State"
Advisor: Andrew Karch
Snall, Paul
"Power and the Quest for Justice"
Advisor: Tim Johnson
Valverde, Sergio
"A Speculative Theory of Politics: Logic of the Pary-Form"
Advisors: Antonio Vazquez-Arroyo and Raymond Duvall
Asaadi, Robert R
"Colonies, Clients, and Rogues: Power and the Production of Order in International Politics"
Advisors: Raymond Duvall and Kathleen Collins
Binay, Sema
"Coloring the Lines through Culture? Race and Racialization in International Relations"
Advisor: Raymond Duvall
Callaghan, Timothy H
"Appealing Politics? Using the Bully Pulpit to Change Opinions and Influence Policy"
Advisor: Andrew Karch
English, Ashley
"Implementing Intersectionality: Creating Women’s Interests in the Rulemaking Process"
Advisors: Kathryn Pearson and Dara Strolovitch
Luttig, Matthew D
"The Rise of Partisan Rigidity: The Nature and Origins of Partisan Extremism in American Politics."
Advisor: Howard Lavine
Murib, Zein
"Brokering Identity: Exploring the Construction of the LGBT Political Identity and Interests in U.S. Politics, 1968-2001"
Advisor: Dara Strolovitch
Pryor, Thomas
"They Psychology of Legal Decision Making"
Advisor: Timothy Johnson
Sorenson, Maron W
"The Impact of Institutional Rules on the U.S. Supreme Court"
Advisor: Timothy Johnson
Temin, David
"Remapping the World: Vine Deloria, Jr. and the Ends of Settler Sovereignty"
Advisor: Joan Tronto
Beitman, Aaron L
"Distributional Consequences and Executive Regime Types: The Politics of Foreign Direct Investment Incentives."
Advisor: John Freeman
Binnet, Pelin Azer
"My Wife, My Choice: Reproductive Policymaking and Social Control in Turkey."
Advisors: Daniel Kelliher and Joe Soss
Chen, Philip G
"Taking Campaigns Personally: The Big Five Aspects and Political Behavior."
Advisor: Paul Goren
Coe, Brooke N
"Regional Identities and Dynamic Normative Orders in the Global South: A Comparative Study."
Advisor: Kathryn Sikkink
Donkova, Ralitsa H
"Regimes of International Giving: The Politics of Public and Private Foreign Assistance in the United States, Britain, and Sweden."
Advisor: Jane Gingrich
Edwards, Ross A
"Crisis of the Republic: Memory, History, and the Hermeneutics of Citizenship."
Advisors: Mary Dietz and Antonio Vazquez Arroyo
Goltz, Caleb T
"Becoming Responsible: Conceptual Change in the Emergence of Tort Law."
Advisor: Joan Tronto
Lucas, Kevin E
"Programmatic Political Competition in Latin America: Recognizing the Role Played by Political Parties in Determining the Nature of Party-Voter Linkages."
Advisor: David Samuels
Lucius, Andrew M
"Why Cities Fail: Local Political Institutions and the Fates of Metropolitan Economies."
Advisor: John Freeman
Reda, Molla
"The Wartime Basis of Postwar Political Development: Civil War Termination, Resource Mobilization, and State-Building."
Advisor: Ronald Krebs
Wade, Magic M
"Labor's Last Stand? The Great Recession and Public Sector Collective Bargaining Reform in the American States."
Advisor: Andrew Karch
Winham, Ilya P.
"After Totalitarianism: Hannah Arendt, Isaiah Berlin, and the Realization and Defeat of the Western Tradition."
Advisor: Mary Dietz
Anderson, Joshua R
"The Commonwealth of Social Science: The American Social Science Association and a Pragmatist Politics of Expertise"
Advisor: James Farr
Bryan, Amanda Clare
"Vox Populi Vox Curiae: Public Opinion and the U.S. Supreme Court"
Advisor: Timothy Russell Johnson
Dahl, Adam J
"Empire of the People: The Ideology of Democratic Empire in the Antebellum United States"
Advisors: Joan C Tronto and Joe Soss
Forrest, Michael David
"Dilemmas of Political Representation: Antipoverty Advocacy in the Post-Civil Rights Era"
Advisors: Dara Strolovitch and Joe Soss
Gregory, Charles
"Senatorial Deliberation and Supreme Court Nominations"
Advisor: Timothy Russell Johnson
McCracken, Darrah
"Trading Places to Care? Humanitarians and Migrants in World Politics"
Advisor: Joan C Tronto
Pahnke, Anthony R
"Social Movement Self-Governance: The Contentious Nature of the Alternative Service Provision by Brazil's Landless Workers Movement"
Advisor: David Julian Samuels
Thomson, Henry Roderick
"Food and Power: Authoritarian Regime Durability and Agricultural Policy"
Advisor: John Roy Freeman
Williams-Wyche, Shaun N
"Power of the President: Party Competition in Presidential Regimes"
Advisor: David Julian Samuels
Yaylaci, Ismail
"Performative Socialization in World Politics: Islamism, Secularism and Democracy in Turkey and Egypt"
Advisor: Raymond D Duvall