Overview
I am a Ph.D. student in the Government Department specializing in International relations. My areas of focus are memory, migration, and international law. I investigate states’ uses of collective memories of trauma in international politics. I am also pursuing a course of study in International Law and Migration, where I conduct research projects with faculty from Cornell Law School on xenophobia, regional migration governance in Africa and the European Union, and comparative constitutionalism.
Research Focus
I study the conversion of collective memories of trauma into political influence in international relations. I aim to understand how the recognition of specific historical experiences—apartheid, genocide, ethnic cleansing— informs how states with existing material capabilities respond to contemporary disputes across international legal and political venues. I aim to employ mixed-methods approaches, including computational text analysis and comparative case studies. I examine the extent to which international recognition, reproduction, and institutionalization of past narratives amplify states' existing bargaining positions in resolving contemporary disputes. This work contributes to broader research agendas on political authority, global governance, and the settlements of disputes.