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Khaldoun AbouAssi, Refugee Camps Governance
Khaldoun AbouAssi, Department of Public Administration and Policy
Description
With 20 people newly displaced every minute (that’s 30,000 displacements per day) and a projected 150-200 million individuals displaced by climate change by 2050, the problems and challenges of creating and coordinating effective multilateral humanitarian response programs for refugees will only grow. There are 6 million refugees living in camps worldwide in which decisions are made and services are provided by a complex, multi-organizational network of actors (governments, nonprofits, international organizations). Studying these arrangements are the bread and butter of Public Administration. However, the topic of refugee camp management is not explored. The purpose of my research is to study refugee camps management by applying public administration concepts and frameworks. At this stage, I need to develop a dataset of organizations operating in refugee camps around the world and code articles that have academic publications that mention the management of refugee camps.
How could an undergraduate research assistant contribute to this project?
Building on the work from previous year, the student will work on building database of organizations (public agencies, nonprofits, transnational NGOs or international organizations) serving or operating in refugee camps in different parts of the world (Asia, Middle East, Africa, and Europe). These organizations will be categorized based on their type and role and will then be contacted in a later stage of this research project to participate in a survey.
In addition, the student will work with me on coding articles that refer to refugee camp management (around 150). Coding texts in articles involves systematically analyzing and categorizing textual data to identify patterns, themes, or concepts within the content. We will use open coding (create categories as we read through the text). Using a spreadsheet, we will highlight or tag relevant text passages (or sentences). As we do that, we will look for patterns, repetitions, or variations within the coded data. We will then group related codes together to form broader patterns, analyze the patterns to identify overarching themes. The student will then write a comprehensive report that discusses the identified themes, providing examples from the coded texts to support the findings.
Irene Ahn, Local Reparations in the United States
Irene Ahn, Department of Justice, Law & Criminology
Description
This research project explores how local governments in the U.S. are addressing historical racial injustices through reparations programs designed to promote social justice and community healing. Through archival research and interviews, the project seeks to provide insights into how these programs can foster social cohesion and contribute to broader discussions on racial justice and reconciliation in the U.S.
How could an undergraduate research assistant contribute to this project?
As a research assistant, students will gain hands-on experience conducting research on documents related to reparations initiatives and community efforts. Additionally, Students will assist in designing interview questions, transcribing interviews, and performing qualitative data analysis to identify key themes. Additionally, students will conduct archival research, including reviewing historical records, legal cases, and news articles, to trace the development of these programs. Those with an interest in racial injustice, reparations, community reconciliation, and legal mobilization are especially encouraged to apply.
Sharan Grewal, People Power Data Project
Sharan Grewal, Department of Government
Description
Professor Sharan Grewal is seeking research assistants to help create the People Power Data Project, a dataset of every major protest movement aimed at overthrowing a dictator. Although people power campaigns have become a common strategy for trying to topple a dictator, only a minority of campaigns succeed in doing so. What tactics and strategies contribute to success?
This project will move beyond existing datasets by collecting new information on protester tactics, composition, and organization; on police and military responses; and on international reactions, among other variables. In recognition that security force defections typically precede success, the project will disaggregate the level of repression and defection within each security force, and the extent to which protesters attempt to fraternize with them. We will collect new data on protester composition across age, gender, identity, and ideology; on their geographic concentration or dispersion across the country; on their leadership and organization; and their leveraging of multiple tactics like strikes, roadblocks, music, and social media, among others. And to weigh in on long-running assumptions about the dangers of violence and property destruction, the project will offer new, disaggregated data on their frequency, target, location, and method, to explore variation in their effects. Overall, the project will provide a major public good allowing researchers to test a variety of new hypotheses on the causes of protester success.
More information about the People Power Data Project can be found here.
How could an undergraduate research assistant contribute to this project?
Research assistants will choose which people power movements to research over the course of the summer, in line with their regional interests and leveraging their language skills. They will write detailed, footnoted narratives about each uprising drawing on both English and foreign language sources. These narratives will be made public alongside the data, demonstrating to users of our dataset why we coded each variable the way we did.
At the end of the summer, research assistants will also write a blog post about what factors shaped the success or failure of the campaigns they researched. Conditional on their performance, research assistants will also be invited to continue with the project part-time during the academic year. Once we finish the dataset, research assistants will also help in analyzing the data, exploring what factors and tactics correlate with success.
Claire Griggs, A Re-Entry Services Formula for the Second Look Generation: Advocating for a Risk Management Rather Than Risk Prediction Approach in Judicial Determinations.
Claire Griggs, Department of Justice, Law & Criminology
Description
Professor Claire Griggs of the Department of Justice, Law, & Criminology, and Destiny Fullwood-Singh of Solid Ground Law PLLC, seek to engage in research of IRAA and JRA populations in the District of Columbia and Maryland respectively. Predicated on the legal argument that in re-entry determinations, when assessing future dangerousness judges should stop looking at risk prediction and instead take into consideration risk management, this research project will focus on a population of roughly 300-400 individuals who fall under Second Look Legislation in DC and MD. It aims to evaluate the impact of specific services available to these individuals – in particular housing, employment, financial and/or welfare aid, and other social services.
The returning citizens who are the focus of this research are the “war on drugs and crime” generation. As their incarceration occurred between the ages of 16-25, anecdotally we see the insufficiency of support services for this demographic. Not only were they incarcerated during pivotal years for socialization, but the advancements in technology made while they were incarcerated pose an additional substantial hurdle during transition. While numerous different non-profits and organizations exist to assist individuals with discrete parts of the re-entry process, this research project will also look at to what extent does the lack of a standardized “through process” pose a legal burden on returning citizens. To what degree and under what formula should judges take these factors into consideration when assessing future dangerousness? What legal components are necessary in the crafting of optimal models and policies, and how can we best prepare communities for re-entry of Second Look offenders?
How could an undergraduate research assistant contribute to this project?
An undergraduate research assistant could contribute to the project in the following ways. The researchers and authors plan to seek IRB approval to conduct evidence-based research directly in the population that is the subject of the project. The use of surveys and interviews are anticipated. As such, a student researcher would help to conduct and transcribe interviews, as well as help with the qualitative methods of assessing the interviews and data entry. Additionally, the student researcher will help with the pre-emption check process and conduct comprehensive research on the landscape of social services that currently exist and serve the re-entry community.
Gul Gur, The Role of Trust in Contact Projects and the Cyprus Peace Process
Gul M. Gur, Washington Semester Program
Description
This research investigates the role of trust in intergroup contact projects within the Cyprus peace process, one of Europe's longest-standing and deadlocked ethnonational conflicts. A central barrier to peace in Cyprus is the deep-rooted distrust between Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities, despite numerous intercommunal projects aimed at bridging this divide. The study will focus on analyzing contact projects, including dialogue groups, educational exchanges, and joint business ventures, to understand how trust has been established, maintained, or eroded in these settings.
The project’s objectives are threefold. First, it will analyze the dynamics of trust in existing contact projects, examining how trust is conceptualized and experienced by participants. Second, it will identify the main factors influencing trust-building between these communities, looking at identity, historical narratives, power asymmetries, and political developments. Finally, it will develop a theoretical and practical framework for effective trust-building, offering recommendations for designing future contact initiatives with applicability to other divided societies.
Methodologically, this project employs a qualitative approach that includes case studies, semi-structured interviews with facilitators and participants, and content analysis of project reports and policy documents. Through thematic coding, the analysis will reveal patterns in trust dynamics and provide evidence-based insights for advancing intergroup trust in conflict contexts. The findings will contribute to the academic literature on conflict transformation and offer actionable recommendations for practitioners working on peacebuilding in Cyprus and similar conflict-affected areas. This research is particularly relevant to current peacebuilding efforts and has potential implications for improving the sustainability of reconciliation processes in divided societies globally.
How could an undergraduate research assistant contribute to this project?
The undergraduate research assistant will play an essential role in advancing this project. Initially, the assistant will conduct a literature review on trust-building in intergroup contact, identifying relevant theories and previous case studies. This review will provide foundational knowledge for understanding the Cyprus context and the factors influencing trust dynamics in conflict settings.
The assistant will also support data analysis, assisting with coding and categorizing qualitative data, including interviews with project facilitators and participants and analyses of policy documents. This work will involve thematic coding to help uncover patterns and insights central to the study’s objectives.
Additionally, the assistant will assist in preparing research briefs and the final project report. By summarizing findings and helping organize the results, the assistant will gain practical experience in qualitative research, with skills in data analysis, literature review, and conflict studies. This role offers the student hands-on research experience in peace and conflict studies, particularly in understanding the social psychology of intergroup trust, conflict resolution, and the design of effective peacebuilding initiatives. The project aims to give the student a strong foundation in qualitative research and peacebuilding in divided societies, with specific focus on trust-building strategies.
Robert Johnson, Living with death sentences
Robert Johnson, Department of Justice, Law & Criminology
Description
For several years now, I have been collecting first-person accounts of arrest, trial, and imprisonment of persons facing capital murder charges. These materials are drawn from research interviews conducted on death row as well as from the writings of condemned prisoners. My goal is to produce a reasonably authentic picture of the experiences and understandings of those who must live with a death sentence until they are executed or commuted to a lesser sentence.
How could an undergraduate research assistant contribute to this project
I would value help from a student to (a) expand the pool of first-hand material and (b) develop classifications to help organize this material and prepare it for formal analysis.
David Lublin, Inclusion by Design
David Lublin, Department of Government
Description
This is a long-term major project on the inclusion of parties supported by ethnic minorities in governance across many different countries. The goal is to discover what type of institutional setup enables minority inclusion and democratic peace.
How could an undergraduate research assistant contribute to this project?
Undergraduates with data science skills would be especially useful. An ability to scrape data from the web or PDFs and to organize it would be helpful. For more advanced students, a graduate student can show you how to the statistical analysis needed in R. Sometimes, foreign language skills are helpful as well, though certainly not required.
Thomas Merrill, American Political Thought Intern
Thomas Merrill, Department of Government
Description
Professor Thomas Merrill is the Co-Editor of American Political Thought. American Political Thought is an interdisciplinary journal published by the University of Chicago Press and features articles and book reviews by political theorists, political scientists, historians, literary scholars, and others bearing on the American political tradition. The journal is published quarterly, and the editorial team meets bi-weekly to discuss the articles and publishing schedule.
How could an undergraduate research assistant contribute to this project?
The APT research assistant will work closely with the editorial team on the review process for new manuscripts. They will learn how to write “intake memos” assessing new submissions for journal editors and they will learn about all stages of the publication process from initial submission, external review, revision, and (possible) publication. Students should have a strong background in writing, political theory, and American Political Thought. Students applying should have great organization skills and dedication to learning the academic processes of a journal.
David Miller, Do Running Mates Matter?: The Electoral Effect of Lieutenant Governors on Gubernatorial Success
David Miller, Department of Government
Description
Every four years when presidential candidates select their running mates, politicians, pundits, and political observers discuss at length the ways in which those selections might affect electoral outcomes. However, little rigorous political science research exists on this topic in large part because we observe running mate selection and electoral outcomes so rarely; with only 60 presidential elections held in American history by the end of 2024, and those elections being held across dynamic political environments that are difficult to compare, we are hard-pressed to parse apart the effect of running mate selection on electoral outcomes from other political factors.
My coauthors and I seek to provide insight on whether running mate selection affects electoral outcomes by moving focus away from the federal level and to the state level. Approximately 1/3 of states have (or had in the recent past) systems whereby gubernatorial nominees selected their running mates. By collecting information about gubernatorial candidates and their running mates and ultimate electoral outcomes, we will be able to assess outstanding questions about the effect of running mates such as: 1) do running mates boost support for gubernatorial candidates in their localities of residence?; 2) do gubernatorial candidates benefit from selecting running mates who provide balance on descriptive characteristics?; and 3) do gubernatorial candidates benefit from selecting running mates who provide balance on policy preferences? We hope that this analysis can then provide insight on how running mate selection may inform electoral dynamics at the national level.
How could an undergraduate research assistant contribute to this project?
To facilitate this project, we need to collect biographical information about gubernatorial candidates and their running mates to match with our electoral data (1968-present). As no central repository for this information exists, an RA would be responsible for researching each gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial candidate and recording information such as their place of residence in the state at that time, gender, race, and age.
Ryan Moore, Experiments in Political Science and Public Policy
Ryan Moore, Department of Government
Description
Randomized field experiments represent the best way to infer causality in realistic political and policy environments. However, different experimental designs have different strengths and weaknesses. This project will examine 1 or 2 problems in experimental design (depending on time), when applied to real-world field experiments. One possibility will employ an "adaptive" design in an experiment communicating with social policy beneficiaries. Another will demonstrate how traditional experiments can fail to capture highly heterogeneous effects, for example, in campaign settings where emails do not appear to influence donations on average, but some emails greatly affect some potential donors, or, for example, in mental health settings where treatments do not appear effective on average, but greatly help some patients. The goal of the PAPL is to produce and submit a short paper about experimental methods for peer review.
How could an undergraduate research assistant contribute to this project?
An undergraduate can contribute formatively to the idea development, analysis, and production of the paper. In particular, an undergraduate could co-author the paper and participate fully in its development. Potential collaborators should have completed GOVT-310 or equivalent.
Shee Ling Neo, Identities as Resources and Risks in the Public Sector
Shee Ling Neo, Department of Public Administration and Policy
Description
Public service professionals hold distinct identities, some of which “show up” to work while others remain hidden or intentionally suppressed. For decades, an uneasy “myth of separate worlds” has defined the identities relevant to work—such as managerial and occupational identities—and those that are seen as unrelated, like religious, national, gender, and family identities. However, factors like declining job stability, rising workforce diversity, the spread of communication technologies, increased politization of public work are now blurring the lines between work and nonwork life. As a result, many employees, organizations and occupations are now having to renegotiate how work and nonwork identities intersect.
Scholars of organizational behavior and diversity have argued that there are advantages to employees bringing their identities to work. Those with a strong organizational identity tend to engage in behaviors aligned with their social identity, prefer working for organizations that embrace these identities, and demonstrate greater cohesion and commitment.
But the nature of public work does not always allow for that. Public employees must satisfy many different stakeholders and navigate work conditions that may not support the integration of their identities. For example, while sharing a personal identity with clients can enhance connections, public employees are also often expected to maintain political neutrality, act rationally, and execute the directives of those in power within a legal framework. In other words, professional identity can overshadow the impact of personal identity and that there are perceived tradeoffs between expressing different identities. However, the mechanism by which these different identities function to influence motivation and behavior of public employees is still not well understood.
In this project, we will look at how non-work and work identities interact to influence performance, decision-making and motivation among public employees. We will use a mixed methodology approach to answer our research questions. These methods include interviews, qualitative and quantitative surveys.
How could an undergraduate research assistant contribute to this project?
Student assistants may be required to perform the following tasks:
- Conducting extensive literature review on the topics of identity processes, bureaucratic decision making and representative bureaucracy.
- Assisting in design of study by formulating research materials.
- Assisting in data collection by interviews or surveys.
- Students who have an interest in identity research and mixed methodology approaches are highly encouraged to apply.
Stacie St. Louis, Pretrial Justice Reform: Urgency, Challenges, and Pathways Forward
Stacie St. Louis, Department of Justice, Law & Criminology
Description
Pretrial justice systems across the United States are undergoing reform as counties and states seek to improve decision-making, enhance fairness and transparency, and protect due process and public safety. My ongoing research projects contribute to this larger discussion by assessing the effects of pretrial detention on case outcomes and public opinion regarding ongoing bail reforms.
While we know defendants detained pretrial are adjudicated and sentenced more severely than defendants released pretrial, there is more to learn about the factors that contribute to this relationship. For example, does the impact of detention on sentencing vary based on whether a defendant has a prior record? My ongoing research projects answer this question and others related to the main, indirect, and interactive effects of the pretrial process on case outcomes.
We have less knowledge of public opinion surrounding pretrial justice, but my previous research suggests pretrial justice might be a trans-partisan policy. In other words, while liberals and conservatives hold different views on the (dis)advantages of bail and pretrial detention, they share similar policy preferences regarding pretrial justice. My other ongoing research projects explore this hypothesis and similar questions about public opinion to contribute to long-lasting policy change.
The Public Affairs and Policy Lab project will build on my ongoing projects to underscore the urgent need for pretrial justice reform, identify challenges related to public consensus, and suggest pathways forward toward a more equitable and effective criminal legal system.
How could an undergraduate research assistant contribute to this project?
An undergraduate research assistant (RA) working on this project will gain hands-on experience conducting criminal justice research. Some responsibilities will include:
- Assisting with collecting data and coding variables in Excel and Stata. The RA may also assist in preliminary statistical analyses if they are interested in learning more about data analysis.
- Researching court decision-making within county and state legal systems, in addition to pretrial services agencies across the United States.
- Reviewing scholarly literature on the impacts of pretrial detention and supervised release alternatives, the impact of jurisdictional policies on pretrial populations, and related topics as needed.
- Helping with miscellaneous tasks, as needed, such as creating presentations, coding qualitative observational data, or researching relevant theoretical frameworks.
- Depending on the project's progress and the RA’s interest, reliability, and diligence, the RA might have the opportunity to co-author a peer-reviewed scholarly publication and continue involvement with the faculty member’s research team.
Andrea Vilan, Mobilizing to Shape International Law: Environmental Defenders v. Economic Interests in Latin America
Andrea Vilan, Department of Justice, Law and Criminology
Description
The main objective of this research project is to understand how domestic anti-environment interests act to obstruct international efforts to protect climate defenders and the rights of communities to access environmental information. We will study how domestic interest groups influence the decisions of Latin American countries to commit to the Escazú Agreement, the first treaty in the world to include provisions on the rights of environmental defenders. Protecting environmental defenders is crucial in Latin America since it has the world’s largest number of activists murdered per year. Despite this fact, not every country in Latin America and the Caribbean has committed to the Escazú Agreement: since 2018, 24 of 33 countries have signed it, and only 15 countries have ratified the treaty. We seek to explain this variation through a multilevel comparative qualitative analysis. We will look at how economic interest groups dependent on environmental degradation (e.g., agribusiness, mining, oil, logging) as well as subnational politicians (mainly governors) dependent on revenue from extractivist activities operated to block the treaty or weaken its reach and ambition at different stages of the policymaking process. First, we will examine how domestic interest groups shaped countries’ positions during the treaty negotiations. Second, we will explain how these interest groups work in congress and the executive branch to obstruct or delay the ratification of the agreement, introduce legal reservations to diminish the obligation of the state, and shape the implementation of international standards into domestic legislation.
How could an undergraduate research assistant contribute to this project?
An undergraduate research assistant would contribute to our data collection efforts. These could include compiling newspaper articles, merging existing datasets, assisting with the creation of variables that vary across time and space, and reviewing primary documents of the negotiations of the treaty. While no prior research experience is necessary, an interest in international law and/or Latin America would be ideal.
Tongtong Zhang, How Chinese Ambassadors Shape Public Diplomacy: Evidence from X/Twitter
Tongtong Zhang, Department of Government
Description
How does a rising power like China shape global public opinion? Existing research often emphasizes structural explanations (e.g., inter-state relations) for public diplomacy strategies. However, in practice, states rely on individual diplomats to engage directly with foreign audiences. This paper shifts the focus to ambassadors by exploring how their individual characteristics (e.g., education, work experience) influence their communication strategies with foreign publics. We do so by constructing two unique datasets related to China’s public diplomacy on X/Twitter.
To measure our dependent variable, public diplomacy strategy, we analyze all posts published by 145 Chinese embassies on X from 2014 to 2023, totaling 342,238 posts. These cover a variety of topics, including China’s domestic affairs, engagement with host countries, and U.S.-China relations. Using human annotation and machine learning, we assess 1) the types of news that individual embassies choose to promote and 2) the narratives and tones embassies use to articulate their messages to host-country publics.
For our independent variable, ambassador characteristics, we construct an original dataset of all Chinese ambassadors who led these 145 embassies. Developed with the support of research assistants, this dataset will include each ambassador’s socio-demographic background and political connections to senior Chinese Communist Party leaders. These individual attributes likely influence how an ambassador directs their embassy's portrayal and promotion of China on X.
This project aims to publish in a leading U.S. political science journal, offering both empirical and theoretical implications for understanding China’s public diplomacy. Empirically, China’s global influence campaigns—including its “Wolf Warrior” narratives—have become a prominent issue in understanding how China rebrands its global image. We provide fine-grained analysis of how these campaigns operate. Theoretically, examining ambassadors' impacts on government social media propaganda illuminates the microfoundations underpinning rising powers' public diplomacy in the digital age.
How could an undergraduate research assistant contribute to this project?
1-2 research assistants (RAs) will contribute to creating a unique, first-of-its-kind dataset detailing the biographies, career paths, and political connections of Chinese overseas ambassadors. This project requires RAs who are fluent in reading simplified Chinese characters. Specifically, RAs will:
1. Collect detailed biographical information for about 200 Chinese overseas ambassadors using search engines (e.g., Google, Baidu), government websites, and AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT). Data to be gathered includes individual ambassadors’ birthplace, age, gender, educational background, graduating institution, and all prior full-time work experiences (i.e., government agencies/firms/other institutions they were affiliated with before becoming ambassadors).
2. Identify and document the number of connections each Chinese ambassador has with members of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee (China’s top governing body). An ambassador is considered to have a connection with a Central Committee member if they:
- Share a birth city, or
- Graduated from the same college, or
- Worked at the same institution in the same city and year.
The faculty lead will provide RAs with biographies and work experience information for Central Committee members to support the second task.