PhD Students

Ruqaya Abdirahman
Ph.D. Student– International Relations

Simon Ballesteros
Ph.D. Student – Comparative Government

Yixin Bai
Ph.D. Student – Political Theory

Nicholas Barden
Ph.D. Student – Political Theory

Early Modern Political Thought, Sovereignty, Constitutionalism, Civil War

Ph.D. dissertation
Bridling the Prince: Reforming French Constitutional Thought, 1532-1586

Chris Bolz
Ph.D. Student – International Relations
BA United States Military Academy; MS Missouri University
Nuclear weapons (Weapons of Mass Destruction); Emerging technology and China

Niccolo Bonifai
Ph.D. Student – International Relations

Quinn Bornstein
Ph.D. Student – American Government
BA Brown University; MA Georgetown University
Representation; Gender, Race, Ethnicity, and Politics; Rural Public Opinion and Rural Development; Food and Agriculture Public Policy

Publications
Trust in Government and its Implications for Policy Attitudes; State Uses of COVID-19 Funding for Local and Regional Food Systems

Benjamin Burnley
Ph.D. Student – American Government
BA Florida State University; MS Middle Tennessee University
Technology; Political communication; Political knowledge; Tech policy; Public opinion

Justin Casey

Ph.D. Candidate – International Relations
BS Towson University; MA Georgetown University
Propaganda; Ideology; Power Politics; Subversion; Hegemony; the Far Right

Ph.D. dissertation
Enemy Voices: The Evolution of Anglo-American Propaganda
Daniel Nexon (Chair), David Edelstein, Abraham L. Newman

Publications
Ideological Topography in World Politics: A Guide to the End of the Unipolar-Homogeneous Moment (International Studies Quarterly)
With Friends Like These: The Disadvantages of Total Ideology (working) Alternate Universalities: The Sources, Conduct, and Outcomes of Ideological Bloc Conflicts(with Daniel Nexon, Working)

Joel Chavez
Ph.D. Student – Comparative Government
BA University of Texas at Austin; MPA Texas A&M
U.S. Energy Policy; Intergovernmental Relations; Oil and Gas Production Markets; Curbing the Natural Resource Curse

Joseph Dains
Ph.D. Student – Political Theory

Manon Fortemps
Ph.D. Student – International Relations
MA Sciences Po Paris
State fragility, state conflict, western foreign aid, political economy of international organizations

Andrew P. Gibson
PhD Candidate – Political Theory/International Relations
BA Michigan State University; MA The University of Chicago; MA Georgetown University
Machiavelli, Republicanism, Renaissance Political Thought, IR Realism

Ph.D. dissertation
The Transatlantic Machiavelli: Political Realism, Renaissance Republicanism, and Twentieth Century Power Politics (1915-1975)

Publications
A ‘Republican by Reason’: Friedrich Meinecke, the Reason of State, and the Problem of Machiavellism (working paper)

Christian Alejandro Gonzales
Ph.D. Student – Comparative Government
BA Columbia University
18th and 19th-century political thought; historiography and philosophy of history; moral philosophy; slavery and abolition; the French Revolution and the rise of modern democracy

Mikael Good
Ph.D. Student – Political Theory

Matthew David Hamilton
Ph.D. Student – Political Theory
BA Moody Bible Institute; MA Princeton Theological Seminary
Normative and International Relations Theory

Ph.D. dissertation
Whose Autonomy? Which Self-Determination?

Publications
“Opening the Thucydides Trap” “Laughing to Death”

Rashaud Hannah
Ph.D. Student – American Government

Tranae Hardy
Ph.D. Candidate – American Government
BS University of Pennsylvania; MA Georgetown University
Political parties; Congress; Scandal
Ph.D. dissertation
Managing the Brand: Party Responses to Scandal
Hans Noel (Chair), Jonathan Ladd, Michelle Swers

Sarah Hayes
Ph.D. Student – American Government
BA California State University; MA University of California
Race & Ethnic Politics, Gender Politics, Political Behavior, and Public Policy 

Jonas Heering
Ph.D. Student – International Relations
BA Texas Christian University; MA Georgetown University
Internet governance and International relations; Regulation of social media, disinformation, and digital authoritarianism 

Steven Huckleberry
Ph.D. Student – International Relations
BA Columbus State University; MA US Naval War College & Salve Regina University
International Security & Great Power Competition

Suna Jeong
Ph.D. Student – Comparative Government

Sebastian Kennelly
Ph.D. Student – Political Theory

Ahmed Khattab

Ph.D. Candidate – Comparative Government
BA American University in Cairo; BBA American University in Cairo; MA University of Toronto
Migration; Diaspora politics; Citizenship; Autocracy

Ph.D. dissertation
Crises and Emigrants: The Engineering of Domestic Politics Abroad
Abstract
How do political crises affect the relationship between home states and their emigrants? When offered political engagement opportunities, why do some emigrants choose to participate, refrain, or shift between these alternatives? What explains these variations? Through the lens of the Arab uprisings and antecedent politics, I examine how developing [sending] states in crisis engage with their extraterritorial citizens. My dissertation strives to account for the contentious politics of activating and deactivating diasporic communities during politically turbulent times. 

Publications
Ahmed Khattab. “When Social Mobility is Not an Option: How the Kafala System Encourages Anti-Immigrant Sentiment”. (Under review).
Ahmed Khattab. “A Tale of Two Uprisings: Egyptians and the Military”. (R&R).
Ahmed Khattab. “Political Crises and Diaspora Enfranchisement: Egypt and Tunisia’s Emigrant-Citizens”. (Working paper).

Da Sul Kim
Ph.D. Student – Comparative Government
BA Chung-Ang University (South Korea)
Political economy of poverty; Characteristics of regimes(authoritarianism) and institutions; Foreign investment & redistribution policy

Min Ha Kim
Ph.D. Student – International Relations

Thijs Kleinpaste
Ph.D. Student – Political Theory

Nick Kodama
Ph.D. Candidate – International Relations
BA Brandeis University; MA Georgetown University
Nuclear deterrence; Non-proliferation; East Asian security; Japanese foreign policy.

Publications
Nick Kodama. (2021). “Threatening the Unthinkable: Strategic Stability and the Credibility of North Korea’s Nuclear Threats”. Journal of Global Security Studies 6 (1): 1-15.
Nick Kodama. (2019). “Dynamic Institutionalization: The Foundations of Japan’s Radioactive Problem”. The Nonproliferation Review 26 (1-2): 43-60.

Hashem Krayem
Ph.D. Student – International Relations

Theodore Lai
Ph.D. Student – Political Theory
BA Yale-NUS College(Singapore); MA University of Chicago
Rhetoric and Conceptual Change, Ancient Greek and Roman Civil Wars, American Civil War

Theodore Landsman
Ph.D. Student – American Government

Pedro Lara de Arruda
Ph.D. Student – Comparative Government

Cathy Lee
Ph.D. Student – International Relations

Claire Lee
Ph.D. Student – Comparative Government

Keeheon Lee
Ph.D. Student – Comparative Government
BA University of California, Los Angeles
Natural Resource and Environmental Politics of Developing Countries; Indonesian (and Southeast Asian) Politics; Political Institutions; Political Economy

Erin Lemons
Ph.D. Student – International Relations
BA Pennsylvania State University; MA Pennsylvania State University
Security; Diplomacy

Timothy Liptrot
Ph.D. Student – Comparative Government

Marcel Mejia Taveras
Ph.D. Student – Comparative Government

Kylie McGlothlin
Ph.D. Student – Political Theory
BA Indiana University
Early French liberal thought, the individual and society, Mme de Staël, literature and politics

Ph.D. dissertation
Literature and Liberal Thought: Theatre, the Novel, and Mme de Staēl

Patrick McSweeney
Ph.D. Student – American Government

Shea Minter
Ph.D. Student – International Relations

Ankushi Mitra
Ph.D. Student – Comparative Government
BS Georgetown University; MS Trinity College Dublin
Comparative citizenship, meaningful citizenship, and uneven development; Sustainable development

Jessica Norris
Ph.D. Student – Comparative Government
BA University of California, Santa Barbara
Energy and environmental policy design, specifically within the Chinese political context; Focuses on the origins and viability of China’s burgeoning cap and trade policy

Maria Pachon
Ph.D. Student – International Relations

Gabrielle Panzo
Ph.D. Student – American Government
BA University of Miami; MA University of Miami

Parushya
Ph.D. Student – Comparative Government

Anna Paula Pellegrino
Ph.D. Candidate – Comparative Government
BS PUC-Rio; MA PUC-Rio
Policy process in developing countries; Organized criminal violence; Brazil and Latin America

Federico Perico
Ph.D. Student – Political Theory

Kerney Perlik
Ph.D. Student – International Relations
BS United States Military Academy, West Point; MA Fletcher School at Tufts University
War Termination, Rapprochement Theory, Post-Conflict Interstate Relations, Conflict-Cooperation Spectrum

Ludovico Picciotto
Ph.D. Student – Political Theory
BS London School of Economics; Dual MA/MSc Columbia University & LSE
Early Modern Political Theory; History of Money and Finance

Rong Qin
Ph.D. Student – International Relations
BA William & Mary; MA Johns Hopkins SAIS
Interdependence; Disruptive Technologies; Technology Governance; Diplomacy; Trade and Investment

Benjamin Reese
Ph.D. Student – American Government
BA Hood College
Bureaucratic Politics; U.S. Presidency; Public Administration; Causal Inference; Data Science

Publications
Benjamin Reese. “Estimating Unknown Cut-points in Regression Discontinuity & Kink Designs.” Working Paper
Benjamin Reese. “Bottom-Up Patronage: How Civil Service Reform Increased Competition in Congressional Elections.” Working Paper.

Nayeli L. Riano
Ph.D. Student – Political Theory
BA University of Pennsylvania; MA University of St Andrews
History of political thought; 19th-20th century Latin American political thought; Hispanic and German intellectual influences; Spanish liberal philosophy; Theories of citizenship; Philosophy of History

Cecilia Ritacco
Ph.D. Student – American Government
BA Rutgers University
Gender, Identity Politics, Representation, Legislative Studies

Publications
Ritacco, Cecilia. 2022. “Virtual Realities: Intersectional and Online Violence Against Women in the 117th Congress.” Pi Sigma Alpha Undergraduate Journal of Politics.
“Trust in Government and its Implications for Policy Attitudes.” with Nadia E. Brown, Jamil S. Scott, India S. Lenear, Sarah V. Hayes, and Quinn Bornstein (working paper)
“Intersectionality and Violence Against Women in Politics: A Research Agenda.” with Nadia E. Brown, Paru Shah, Liza Mügge, and Myrte Van der Zwet (working paper)

Henry Saroyan
Ph.D. Student – Political Theory
BA The University of Chicago
History of republican thought; English Civil War; Ancient Greek political thought; International relations theory

John Severini
Ph.D. Student – International Relations
BA Ohio State University; MPA Columbia University
Military Effectiveness, Naval Warfare, Civil-Military Relations

Tomohiro Shibata
Ph.D. Candidate – International Relations
MA The University of Chicago
International relations theory

Daniel Solomon
Ph.D. Student – Comparative Government

Gabriela Schroer do Nascimento
Ph.D. Student – American Government
BA Clark University

Howard Tai
Ph.D. Candidate – Political Theory
BA Georgetown University
American liberalism; Immigration; Citizenship; Transnationalism

Mackenzie Taradalsky
Ph.D. Student – American Government

Kenton Thibaut
Ph.D. Student – International Relations
MA John Hopkins University SAIS
China domestic politics; Technology governance; Emerging technologies; Chinese foreign policies.

Brian Thorn
Ph.D. Candidate – Political Theory
BA University of New Hampshire; MA The University of Chicago
History of political economic thought.

Anushka Vishahan
Ph.D. Student – American Government
BA The College of New Jersey

LeRhonda Washington
Ph.D. Student – International Relations
BA Cornell University; MA Georgetown University
Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear(CBRN) Defense

Henry Watson
Student – American Government
BA American University; MPP American University
Urban politics, housing, interest groups, political institutions

Ph.D. dissertation
The Politics of Local Affordable Housing Policy in the United States

Publications
Forthcoming with co-authors Philip Garboden, Brian McCabe, and Eva Rosen: “Every Month Like Clockwork? Patterns and Prevalence of Serial Eviction Filing among Landlords”
Working Paper: “The Effects of Bureaucratic Capacity on State & Local Policymaking”

Elena C. Wicker
Ph.D. Candidate – International Relations
BA Cornell University; MA Georgetown University
Sociology and linguistics; Military history and strategy; Domains of war; Disruptive technology; Innovation.

Ph.D. dissertation
Andrew Bennett (Chair), Charles Kupchan, William Marcellino
Abstract
My interdisciplinary and multi-method research looks at how the U.S. military develops and adapts the language and concepts of military strategy to address technological innovations and name new domains of warfare. Using archival sources, interviews, and content analysis, I explore the conceptual history and semiotics of “security” and the “domains of war”, identify the sociological features of the military field that generate the roles and rituals of strategy formulation, trace historical strategic and technological innovations within each domain of warfare, and quantitatively test conceptual and linguistic adaptation across the introduction of the space and cyberspace domains and efforts to create a human domain of war.

Publications
Elena C. Wicker. “Napoleon in Cyberspace: How Theories and Concepts from Land Warfare Shape Strategies for Cyberspace”. (Working paper)
Elena C. Wicker. “A History of U.S. Approaches to Jointness and Multi-Domain Warfare from the American Revolutionary War to the Global War on Terrorism”. (Working paper)

Dain Yoo
Ph.D. Student – Comparative Government
BA Binghamton University; MA Seoul National University
Authoritarianism; Repression; Political rhetoric; Text-as data; Middle East politics