Recent Dissertations

We are proud of our graduate students' research.

Kim, Yoonsoo

"Cities' Engagement in Global Climate Change Politics."
Advisors: Tanisha Fazal and Cosette Creamer.

Salucka, Madeline

"Moving Beyond 'Women's Issues:' Gender and Legislative Activities in the States."
Advisor: Kathryn Pearson.

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.

Johnson, Garrett

"The Foundations of Exile: Transformation through Dissolution."
Advisor: Nancy Luxon.

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.

Peng, Liu

"The Political Imprints of Soviet Industrialization in the Long Run."
Advisor: Kathleen Collins.

Salas, Valentina

"Rights Consciousness and Legal Agency in Unequal Democracies: Insights from Chile."
Advisor: Lisa Hilbink.

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.

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 Party-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.