PhD Students

For those looking the PhD program at Berkeley, I'm happy to work with any student admitted to our PhD program who wishes to work with me, but am not directly involved with the admissions process. You do not need to email me before you apply to our PhD program. Questions about graduate admissions can best be directed to psgradadvise@berkeley.edu, if they are not already answered on this website.

All of my current and former PhD students are listed below. They work on topics spanning IR, Comparative, and American Politcs. My former PhD students have gone on public policy jobs, the private sector, post-docs, and faculty positions after completing their degrees. I am very proud of all them! Working with PhD students to the best part of my job.

Current PhD Students

Dissertation Committee Co-Chair, University of California, Berkeley

Dissertation Essays on Police Reform



Dissertation Committee Member, University of California, Berkeley

Dissertation Citizen appeals and political participation in the Russian Federation



Dissertation Committee Chair, Tara Chandra, University of California, Berkeley

Dissertation Untangling Dynamics in Civil Conflict: Explaining Insurgent Behavior Toward Women



Daniel Balke

Dissertation Committee Member, University of California, Berkeley

Dissertation Peace, Prevention, and Global Public Goods: Exceptional Finance and Inducing Reform from Aid Recipients

Andrew Blinkinsop

Dissertation Committee Co-Chair, University of California, Berkeley

Dissertation The Limits of Elite Influence on Public Opinion of Foreign Policy

Oren Samet

Dissertation Committee Chair, University of California, Berkeley

Dissertation Challenging Autocrats Abroad: Opposition Parties on the International Stage


Dissertation Committee Chair, Lauren Barden-Hair, University of California, Berkeley

Dissertation Corporate Double Takes: When Firms Agree To Conduct Foreign Security Policy

Dissertation Committee Chair, University of California, Berkeley

Dissertation


Jennie Barker

Dissertation Committee Chair, University of California, Berkeley

Dissertation Standing Up for Democracy? Democracy Promotion under Emerging Multipolarity


Former PhD Students

Dissertation Committee Chair, Katherine Beall, University of California, Berkeley, completed Spring 2022

Dissertation Trading Sovereignty for Self-Determination: Regional Organizations, Authority, and Human Rights


Dissertation Committee Co-Chair, Completed Spring 2021, University of California, Berkeley.

Dissertation Managing Humanitarian Emergencies: How Host Governments Constrain International Intervention


Dissertation Committee Member, Torey McMurdo, Yale University, completed Spring 2022.

Dissertation No Angels: The Politics of U.S. Information Interventions in Cold War Elections


Dissertation Committee Member, Yale University, Completed Spring 2020.

Dissertation Money or Blood? Why States Allow Illicit Economies


Dissertation Committee Member, University of California, Berkeley, Completed Spring 2020.

Dissertation Wartime Experiences of Civic Leaders: Legacies of Civil War, Rebel Control, and Democratization in Post-Conflict Africa


Dissertation Committee Co-Chair, Completed Spring 2019, Yale University

Dissertation Citizenship Beyond Borders: Emigrant Enfranchisement in Africa


Dissertation Committee Member, Completed Fall 2018, Yale University.

Dissertation {Reply: All} An Experimental Study of Legislative Responsiveness.


Dissertation Committee Chair, Completed Spring 2016, Yale University.

Dissertation The Assault on Democracy Assistance: Explaining State Repression of NGOs.

Dissertation Committee Chair, Completed Spring 2016, Yale University.

Dissertation A Means of First Resort: Contested Sovereignty, Non-State Actors and Norms of Nonintervention

Dissertation Committee Co-Chair, Completed Spring 2016. Université Laval

Dissertation Foreign Electoral Assistance as a Strategy of Peace-Building in Post-Conflict Societies.


Dissertation Committee Member, Completed Spring 2015, Yale University.

Dissertation Security Cooperation and Access Politics: An Analysis of Access Rights among Distant, Proximate, and Local Powers


Dissertation Committee Member, Freie Universität Berlin, Competed 2015

Dissertation The Albatross of Post-9/11 US Foreign Policy in the Developing World: From Struggling Liberal Democracies to Illiberal National Security States in Southeast Asia,


Dissertation Committee Member, University of Wisconsin, Madison. Completed May 2014

Dissertation A Double-Edged Sword: The Effects of International Assistance on Election Violence


Dissertation Committee Member, Completed 2013, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Dissertation Bringing the Ballot Box to the People: Election Administration and the Origins of Inclusive Voting Practices.


Dr. Paul Lagunes

Dissertation Committee Member, Completed 2012, Yale University

Dissertation Monitoring as a Democratic Imperative: A Study on Corruption and Accountability in Mexico.


Dr. Karisa Cloward

Dissertation Committee Member, Completed in 2010, Yale University

Dissertation When Norms Collide: Micro-Level Responses to the Transnational Campaign Against Gender-Based Violence