According to the CDC report in 2022, Indigenous women experience 58% of intimate partner violence cases, which is one of the primary causes of homicide. The Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) has been credited for expanding protections for Indigenous women. This included increasing the provision of crimes under Tribal Jurisdiction and creating a pilot program for Alaskan Natives to prosecute non-Native offenders in villages. However, this policy reveals a gap between written law and people's experiences. This study examines the effectiveness of VAWA strategically, what demands were left out, and what those gaps represent in demanding changes through intersectional advocacy. In this qualitative research, I created a codebook to analyze the VAWA Congressional hearings from 2009 to 2022 to track the evolution of policy reforms from Indigenous activists. Applying a high-level textualized analysis by gathering a literature review, I utilized the framework of intersectional advocacy, which identifies the extent to which laws and interventions can create meaningful linkages across issues experienced by multiple marginalized people. VAWA remains to be a product of limitations in representation and holistic change to advance the needs of Indigenous people. Expected findings suggest that future policy reforms move beyond analyzing the issue through the lens of individuals to a community-based perspective. Intersectional frameworks will become a cornerstone of future policy work by propelling conversations centered around restorative well-being and healing. Creating bridges between people's lived experiences and legal institutions is foundational to creating critical correspondence. 

What explains variations in how ports are acknowledging and responding to the challenges of climate mitigation and climate adaptation?  This research project examines the response of the top 100 global ports (in terms of tonnage) across the world to the growing challenges posed by climate change. Ports face challenges such as reducing emissions from ships and port operations, and adapting to changes like sea level rise, irregular water flows (crucial for ports on river estuaries), shifts in cargo composition, and changing water dynamics. I will explore whether these ports are acknowledging climate challenges and the extent to which they are establishing clear targets and addressing them in their operational strategies with clear timelines. Moreover, how they are preparing for the eventual decline in global fossil fuel trade. In particular, I will pay special attention to coal-exporting and importing ports, analyzing if they continue to make investments in coal infrastructure and whether they have initiated plans for diversifying their revenue streams to prepare for the eventual phase-out of coal. I have already started collecting data by closely examining the websites of these ports. I will create a database of whether these ports have developed climate statements that identify environmental issues, set clear targets with timelines, and outline strategies to mitigate and adapt to these challenges.  I will combine the scores on these dimensions to create a climate score for each port. In addition to my quantitative analysis based on a dataset created by website research, I will conduct interviews with port officials and union leaders at the Port of Seattle, Tacoma, Everette, and Bellingham.

Building on the literature of the importance of strategy, this paper explores the relationships between wealth, strategy, and battle related deaths to find out why we may see unexpected conflict outcomes like Ukraine being able to hold back Russian offensives. This paper argues that wealthy actors often use expensive strategies, like strategic air bombing, that are ultimately ineffective at helping win a war and only cause unnecessary casualties, and that less wealthy actors are forced to be more creative with their strategies and this leads to less casualties. To do this, I analyze the relationships between data on rebel contraband (proxy for non-state actor wealth), GDP, and strategies used in war and their effect on battle related deaths. The paper will also cover the ongoing conflicts in Myanmar and Ukraine as a theoretical supplement to this data. Examining these relationships is increasingly important because wars fought in the modern era often see different sides of varying wealth using different strategies. Implementing the discoveries of this paper may give us opportunities to minimize casualties in conflicts by looking at what strategies are the least lethal at what levels of wealth.

This project presents an analysis of climate litigation cases on a global level. I have created a unique database of over 969 cases in 74 countries with detailed accounts of the plaintiffs and defendants involved. The primary objective of this study is to assess the spread of environmental litigation cases and the when, where, who, and on what grounds these cases are being brought forth. My preliminary analysis shows that most climate litigation cases have been filed post-2020, with a majority, or 15.04% of cases being initially filed in 2021. Such data emphasizes the substantial growth of climate litigation on a global scale in recent years. Regarding jurisdiction, a majority, or 15.96%, of cases have been filed in Australia. The UK follows closely with 15.84% of climate litigation cases being filed within the country. Additionally, the majority, or 25.28%, of plaintiffs are NGOs with individuals making up the ensuing majority group with around 22.08% involved in bringing forward cases. On the other hand, 49.02%, of defendants are federal government agencies. Regarding the grounds under which these cases are filed, 62.95% of cases have been filed invoking statutory provisions in the relevant national legislation to hold varying actors responsible for climate inaction. I also find that around 36.22% of cases have utilized international law established by custom or treaties recognized by nations. Importantly, my data suggests a new, and growing, trend emerging in climate litigation as plaintiffs invoke human rights laws to seek stronger climate legislation with around 25.39% of cases having relied on this legal framework. Going forward, such a comprehensive climate litigation database will serve as a valuable resource for scholars, practitioners, and climate advocates seeking to navigate and understand the complex landscape of climate litigation. 

Objective. I asses the increased Latino support for Donald Trump and the GOP since 2016, and how the Democratic party was less successful in 2024 with Latinos than in previous elections. Methods. By using a mixed-methods approach that includes an in-depth bilingual content analysis and polling data I can evaluate increased GOP support from Latino voters even under increased threat. Findings. In 2024, Trump demonstrated increased Latino outreach efforts but still failed to capture a majority of Latino voters due to his continued anti-Latino and anti-immigrant rhetoric. However, perceptions of GOP hostility decreased, likely due to rising economic concerns. In comparison, Harris' Latino outreach was much better, however, her policies failed to resonate with Latinos largely due too little to no discussion of comprehensive immigration reform - which typically heightens group identity and thus mobilizes Latino voters. Conclusion. While the media and the campaigns like to discuss the importance of the Latino vote, as they seek their support, the two-party system has left Latino voters behind, effectively ignoring their substantive political wants and needs, increasing the likelihood of a shift of Latinos to the right.

As social media makes it easy for politicians, journalists, pundits, and news broadcasting organizations to deliver information and news directly to the people, scholars have growing concerns regarding the increasing reliance on social media to advance political information and agendas. Social media algorithms have the power to tailor information to people's preferences, issuing content that tends to cover and promote one side of a political narrative. Individual motivations to discover political content on social media, often driven by political ideology, further impact one’s political knowledge and engagement (their level of political sophistication). Bridging social media influences could clarify whether consuming news on social media shapes perceptions of media bias, which may erode trust in media, drive individuals toward ideologically aligned sources, and contribute to increased polarization and shifts in democratic engagement. Expanding on previous research that highlights the role of social media algorithms in shaping partisan bias, this paper examines the interaction of social media consumption with party affiliation and political sophistication to shape perceptions of media bias. I utilize a secondary data set from the American National Election Studies (ANES) to examine this connection between social media consumption and media bias perceptions.

As wealth continues to consolidate among the top 10% of the United States population, investing in quality and accessible education is one of the most explicit ways to increase individuals' median income. However, legislator’s perspective on the best way to support education varies widely which has contributed to the patchwork of inequitable systems throughout the nation. My research aims to test whether legislators’ socioeconomic backgrounds predict their support for and their likelihood of supporting policy to promote access and quality of K-12 public education. A negative relationship between legislators’ socioeconomic status and their voting history could provide evidence to support my hypothesis that upper class legislators are perpetuating barriers to class mobility by inhibiting pro-education legislation throughout the United States. 

Does Universal Basic Income impact educational attainment? Theorists and prior researchers have drawn mixed conclusions on the effectiveness of UBI. While some argue that unconditional cash transfers increase personal goal seeking and human capital investment behavior, increasing educational attainment, others find that UBI negatively impacts educational attainment because it encourages individuals to neglect any investment in their human capital. Despite these arguments, prior research on this topic is extremely limited, which is why it is so important for this paper to investigate these claims. I expect UBI is associated with increased educational attainment because people could use the finances from UBI to support the additional financial and time commitment costs of education. To investigate this puzzle and test my theory, this paper uses Alaska as a case study, as it provides an opportunity to study the effects of UBI through the Permanent Fund Dividend. The Permanent Fund Dividend is a recurring annual payment given to nearly every Alaskan citizen, sourced from the State’s mineral revenue, thus presenting the best large-scale proxy of UBI available to study. This paper will estimate a counterfactual, or synthetic, Alaska without the PFD, which will allow us to infer the impact of PFD on education by comparing real educational attainments with the estimated levels.

This paper explores the significance of U.S. financial assistance to weak democracies and its impact on their political processes, particularly protest movements. In recent history, almost every nation has seen anti-state demonstrations, driven by factors such as war, elections, inflation, or social issues. Domestically, these international conflicts have sparked debate among politicians, scholars, and voters about how U.S. aid should be allocated. While U.S. aid is generally regarded as a stabilizing force that fosters economic growth and democratization, little is known about its influence on political mobilization. Protest as a concept remains underutilized as a mechanism for understanding political dynamics, especially in the context of ongoing global regime changes. This paper examines how U.S. aid shapes protest in weak and transitional democracies. It investigates two competing theories: increased aid either promotes economic stability, discouraging protests, or fosters democratization, which empowers civil society and encourages protests. Using data from transitioning democracies from 1990 to 2020, this research analyzes the frequency of anti-state protests in relation to U.S. economic and military aid allocations.

Courts are often assumed to be neutral bodies far removed from the political sphere. International courts even more so given their distance from domestic politics and policymaking. Yet over the last sixty years, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has profoundly shaped law and policies across Europe and it is increasingly the site of political and legal mobilization by a wide array of interests. In this project, we examine how and why interest organizations have accessed the ECtHR and how this has affected the development of human rights in Europe. To study this dynamic, we utilize judgment data from the European Court of Human Rights database (ECHRdb) covering the time period 1960-2022. Utilizing the ECHRdb data and Court policy documents, we then created an original data set for a comparative case study of two areas of law: environmental protection and work/business. Conducting exploratory analyses using R, Python, and Tableau, we examined general trends in organization participation in the cases, as well as variation across the two policy areas. Historical case law analyses also enabled us to identify key judgments that have been critical to the development of European law. Through our analyses, we identified repeat players (organizations who strategically use the court over time), longitudinal change in the court’s policy impact cases and change in violation rates. Our findings highlight that the Court has a direct impact on domestic policy and serves as a forum for political mobilization. Our data also suggests that “learning” both by the Court and repeat interest organization players shapes the degree the Court expands the law and the success of organizations in important cases. These findings may also help answer larger questions on the impact of international courts in sensitive areas of domestic policy including climate change and worker’s rights.

How do state policies in abusive litigation cases within domestic violence law impact state-wide case outcomes? Through this research, I investigate how state legal protections affect case outcomes for defendants in abusive litigation cases within domestic violence law. Abusive litigation, a form of coercive control, allows abusers to exploit the legal system to intimidate and financially drain their victims, perpetuating harm even after separation. While domestic violence laws addressing physical and emotional abuse are well established, their impacts are well understood. In contrast, legal protections against abusive litigation are less common, and little systematic research has explored their effectiveness. In this study, I examine how varying state-level policies—such as vexatious litigant statutes, protective order-linked restrictions, and financial remedies—shape outcomes like dismissal rates, compliance with court orders, and survivor access to justice. By analyzing state-specific legal frameworks and state-wide case data, I aim to demonstrate that robust protections significantly enhance judicial efficiency and equity for defendants. My findings will provide critical insights into the intersection of domestic violence law and procedural justice, offering evidence-based recommendations for policy reform. 

In Washington State, voters have expressed conflicting perspectives on state-wide climate initiatives. In the recent 2024 elections, voters narrowly supported I-2066, which prohibited state and local governments from restricting access to natural gas, but rejected I-2117, which sought to overturn Washington’s cap and invest program under the Climate Commitment Act (CCA). Since its enactment, the CCA has generated over $1 billion in tax revenue every year which the state has invested in public goods such as the construction and maintenance of roads and bridges. While climate opponents have blamed the CCA for high gas prices, climate supporters have noted the important projects the CCA has funded. We hypothesize that CCA-funded projects have a positive association with the "No I-2117" vote share. Drawing in publicly available data, I have assembled an original database of over 1,000 projects funded by CCA revenue. Using county as the unit of analysis, we are examining if the number or value of these projects correlates with “No I-2117” vote share through an OLS regression analysis. We are controlling for confounding factors such as 2024 Trump vote share, 2024 Ferguson vote share, support for “Yes I-2066,” support for “Yes I-1631” (2018 state initiative that proposed a carbon tax), population share of different racial groups, per capita income, and share of agriculture in the county’s workforce. Our preliminary analysis suggests that the number or value of CCA-funded projects is not correlated with "No I-2117" vote share. However, "No I-2117" vote share has a statistically significant association with "No I-2066" as well as "Ferguson" vote share. These findings can inform the debate on whether framing pro-climate initiatives in terms of their local benefits can increase electoral support.

This paper analyzes Colorado cities’ Climate Action Plans (CAPs) to identify factors that strengthen municipal climate policies, focusing on mitigation and adaptation strategies. Climate change poses significant threats to local economies, infrastructures, and society, prompting cities to develop comprehensive plans that address climate mitigation—reducing greenhouse gas emissions—and adaptation—enhancing resilience to climate-related risks such as rising temperatures, wildfires, droughts, and floods. My research explores how population size, political affiliation, perceived climate risk, and past climate effects influence the relative strength of Colorado cities’ CAPs. Using mixed methods research and comparative analysis, I test four hypotheses: (1) Cities with higher perceived risks of wildfires and droughts create stronger adaptation plans; (2) Cities with a history of climate-related disasters develop stronger adaptation plans; (3) Democratic cities implement stronger mitigation and adaptation plans than Republican cities; and (4) Larger cities focus more on mitigation, while smaller cities create more targeted adaptation strategies. I am creating an original dataset of city Climate Action Plans by drawing on city websites, census reports, risk projection maps, and the political affiliation of city mayors. I am also creating an index to reflect the relative strength of cities’ mitigation and adaptation plans. With this, I am comparing each city’s scores and identifying common variables that may influence the strength of these plans. Preliminary findings suggest that political orientation plays a significant role in the existence and strength of mitigation and adaptation plans. Conversely, population size appears to play a less significant role than anticipated. This paper provides insights into how municipalities in Colorado, an economically, geographically, and politically diverse state, are addressing climate change. This work contributes to the ongoing climate conversation by highlighting the varied approaches cities take in planning for climate change and calls to attention what factors may be creating weaker climate preparedness.

Are human rights non-governmental organizations (HRNGOs) incorporating climate-based rhetoric and actions in their overall agenda, to what extent, and what is driving any shift in that direction? I focus on three main explanations. First, protectionary theory suggests that given the global democracy recession, NGOs have incentives to market themselves as environmental organizations to protect against the persecution faced by human rights groups. Second, financial theory suggests that NGOs could be motivated to incorporate the climate agenda to appeal to larger donor pools for funding. Third, need-based theory suggests that NGOs must solve quality of life challenges (of which climate change is an integral part) before human rights challenges. I hypothesize the transition over to climate rhetoric and action is negatively associated with NGOs’ revenue, and more likely among NGOs working in countries that restrict human rights work. To test my hypotheses, I utilize the Charity Navigator Data set to randomly select a sample of NGOs, both advocacy and service delivery, across four levels of revenue. I then create an original dataset where I code the mission and activities of these organizations as published on their websites using the Wayback Machine for 2010, 2015, 2020, and 2025.  Finally, I test whether this transition is more likely among NGOs working in poor countries with serious quality of life challenges. My preliminary findings provide some evidence in support of my hypotheses, with variation in climate rhetoric uptake based in part on organization size and region of action.

Senate Republicans are no longer supporting environmental policy, breaking a longstanding history of tacit support for such legislation. This occurrence is drastically highlighted in former President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022. While policy stance change is not an atypical occurrence in Congressional behavior, it usually coalesces with legislation that fails to advance a party’s given agenda. This stipulation was not present within the IRA; it championed the Republican Party’s desires for domestic American manufacturing and industry, while simultaneously investing in US-based technologies. Why are Republicans no longer supporting legislation that reflects their historical and modern values? This study will test whether the level of polarized messaging within official Republican Party Platforms impacts the frequency of Congressional opposition towards ecological policy. I theorize that Republican Senators downvoted the IRA bill of 2022 to demonstrate ideological compliance with the 2024 GOP Party Platform. As dictated by the platform, it is in these representative’s electoral interest to oppose any ‘liberal agenda’ (even while sacrificing advancement of Republican domestic manufacturing goals) due to the increase of anti-left rhetoric and blame purported by the Republican Party. I hypothesize that increased polarization rhetoric within such documents will produce increased levels of opposing votes towards ecological policy from Republican Senators. I will first conduct a sentiment analysis of GOP and Democratic Platforms spanning from 1988 through 2024 to establish a metric of polarization level per document. Then, the roll call votes of all Senators for the 63 relevant bills will be used to conduct a regression analysis, determining whether higher polarized party documents produced higher levels of opposing votes.

Are nations holding true to their commitments to address climate change, and why or why not? On November 4th, 2016, the Paris Agreement (PA) went into force, creating a legally binding international treaty on climate change with the overall goal of limiting the increase of the global average temperature from 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. This agreement is unique from others in that countries can build their own goals, dubbed Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). These NDCs refer to national climate action plans that each country made for itself under the PA, outlining how it plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) to meet the 2 degrees Celsius goal. Many countries have created ambitious targets, and some have even been credible in following through on their commitments. However, there is great variation across countries in levels of ambition, and therefore in progress and implementation of NDCs. While 195 countries have signed the PA, we are still on track to surpass 2 degrees of warming early- to mid-century. It is thus crucial to investigate what drives environmental action and inaction, especially on a domestic level. In my work, I address the question “what domestic factors impede or bolster the implementation of climate action in regard to NDCs?” using regression analysis to systematically test the impact of domestic factors on nations’ progress towards meeting their self-imposed CO2 emission reduction goals.

Children of immigrants are uniquely situated in the United States. They share parts of both their American identity and upbringing, along with that of their parents’ and relatives’ homeland(s). Previous research has shown that because of these identities, children of immigrants are more civically engaged than any other group of young people. However, more research is needed to understand what is most effective for this population along with broader implications for these individuals. Utilizing the Youth-Parent Socialization Panel Study of 1965-1997 from the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research, I examine different civic engagement methods including civic education and community involvement and the effect on children of minority groups as opposed to their majority group counterparts. Furthermore I predict that these methods have a positive long term impact on measures of civic engagement, while also having a stronger effect on minority groups.

Democratic backsliding has become a prominent and undeniable feature of contemporary world politics while greatly affecting international criminal law. This raises a question of what elements of the justice system and global politics have the most effect on incentivizing international cooperation in pursuit of global justice. This thesis answers this dilemma through analysing case studies of significant past international criminal tribunals, namely the International Military Tribunal and the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia. Through examining the nature and effect of complementarity, criminal procedure, and political motivations, on the level of international cooperation, this research provides policy and reform recommendations for the International Criminal Court to enhance its ability to serve justice with the stable and continuous support of the international community amid the many challenges that come with the global rise of authoritarianism.

I conducted analyses of CDC mortality statistics and FBI homicide statistics from 2004 to 2020 in four-year increments (2004, 2008, 2012,etc.), as well as 2021 (Deaths: Final Causes for 2021 and FBI CDE data), 2022 (Deaths: Leading Causes for 2022 and FBI CDE data), and 2023-2024 (minimal CDC data, FBI CDE data) . I first analyzed the CDC's Deaths: Final Data series of reports, and pulled apart firearm mortality data into firearm homicide, firearm suicide, and accidental death by firearm, whereupon I calculated the aforementioned subcategories of firearm mortality as percentages of total deaths, homicides (for firearm-homicide), suicides (for firearm-suicide), accidental deaths (for accidental death by firearm), and total firearm deaths. These data were then compared with one another to show trends in firearm mortality over the studied period. I performed similar analyses on homicide data using the FBI's Crime Data Explorer, examining overall trends in weapons used in homicides over the studied period. This research project examines firearm mortality from the perspectives of both health and crime, so as to reflect firearm mortality's dual nature as an issue of both healthcare and law enforcement; this allows for a comprehensive understanding of firearm mortality in the United States. The ultimate purpose of this research project is to show that firearm mortality (as a whole, by weapon used, etc.) has remained stable, if not static, in proportion to total deaths over the course of the past twenty years, showing gentle fluctuations rather than violent turbulence in prevalence.

The 20th century in America was one marked and shaped by the United States’ relationship with the Soviet Union. As communist ideology grew globally after the Bolshevik Revolution, U.S. leaders like Woodrow Wilson responded in turn with hardline, restricting government action domestically that sought to uproot the same growth from within. The “Red Scare” would be a small preview of the much larger and greatly more draconic response to the growing global influence of the Soviet Union post-World War 2, which is now known as the Second Red Scare, spearheaded by former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and often attributed to Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy. However, it has been commonly acknowledged that this action often took the form of drastic government overreach, to the extent of damaging the rights of anyone involved with radical ideologies. The groups affected most by anti-communism were organizations of the working class. This research seeks to examine the way that workers were oppressed by anti-communism through a literature review of historical and legal analyses, and re-contextualize this history from a modern perspective to draw attention to its long-lasting effects. Research has discovered that labor movements were dramatically weakened due to the removal of critical support from radical groups, legislation restricting union actions under the guise of punishing unfair labor practices, and the assimilation of effective unions into larger state-sponsored unions that posed less of a threat to government and corporate interests. Despite the aforementioned wide acknowledgment of these issues and the way they have shaped labor history, the issue is largely not considered currently, and sufficient efforts have not been made to restore the power taken from workers in America. Further research will critically analyze modern labor events and establish connections to prior damage to labor movements.