[1] “How Emphasizing Women’s Wartime Victimization Shapes Perceptions of Their Leadership Potential” conditionally accepted at Journal of Peace Research
ABSTRACT: Does portraying women as wartime victims shape citizens’ perceptions of their leadership potential? Highlighting gendered victimization may bolster support for women's representation in peacebuilding and security roles by positioning them as uniquely attuned to gender-specific suffering in conflict. Yet this framing also risks reinforcing paternalistic protectionism that undercuts confidence in women's political leadership. This study examines these competing expectations through an original survey experiment conducted in the United States (N = 995). The results show that exposure to narratives of women’s victimhood increases public support for their leadership, particularly in peace-related decision-making areas such as conflict resolution and post-conflict negotiations. However, this increased support does not extend to militarized domains of national defense and warfare. Further exploratory analyses suggest that these narratives heighten both benevolent sexism and support for women’s descriptive and substantive representation, which helps explain why their positive impact remains limited in security roles traditionally associated with masculinity.
[2] "How Geopolitical Rivalries Undermine Women's Representation"
ABSTRACT: Women’s political representation has expanded across democracies in recent decades, yet progress often stalls when states face security threats. While previous research links acute shocks such as terrorism and militarized disputes to declines in women’s representation, less is known about the consequences of sustained interstate hostility. This article argues that prolonged geopolitical rivalries suppress women’s representation by fostering a political environment resembling a large-scale reservist system. Drawing on an event-study design and data from 82 democracies (1975–2020), I show that rivalry constrains women’s electoral pathways to power, with effects that persist for nearly a decade after rivalries end. Further analysis of the mechanism using individual-level longitudinal survey reveals that voter bias does not stem from heightened threat perception, as observed in responses to terrorism or militarized disputes. Instead, protracted rivalry cultivates respect for authority, willingness to fight, and trust in government, producing societies that are less threatened and more mobilized. The three dispositions collectively sustain a social belief system that entrenches bias against women's leadership.
[3] “Women on the Frontlines: Military Conscription and Perceptions of Female Political Leadership” with Carly Wayne
ABSTRACT: Does exposure to information about women’s military conscription influence attitudes toward women’s political leadership? On the one hand, women’s participation in military roles has the potential to enhance perceptions of their competence and leadership, as it demonstrates that state authorities acknowledge women’s capability to perform in extreme and demanding security circumstances—those that require individuals to kill or risk being killed. On the other hand, it may also heighten militarism, which has historically disadvantaged women leaders, or provoke public backlash due to concerns about institutional performance or discomfort with women occupying traditionally male-dominated spaces. To examine these competing dynamics, we conduct a multi-country survey experiment in Finland, Denmark, South Korea, and Taiwan—countries with diverse cultural and security contexts. By examining whether and how exposure to women’s conscription influences support for women leaders, this research has important implications for understanding pathways towards women’s more equitable political representation.
[4] “Trust Recovery and Gendered Leadership Preferences During Democratic Crisis” with Diana Z. O’Brien
ABSTRACT: Political trust is essential for democratic resilience. Yet during moments of democratic crisis, citizens’ confidence in institutions can collapse, threatening both compliance and legitimacy. This paper examines trust recovery following acute political turmoil. We use a four-wave panel survey conducted during South Korea’s 2024–2025 democratic crisis to examine who regains trust across institutions and over time. We find substantial variation in trust across political institutions at any given point in time. Trust in the presidency was especially low in the immediate aftermath of the crisis but rebounded rapidly once the offending politician and party were removed from office. Although trust can recover quickly, this process is uneven: the presidency, initially the most distrusted institution, experienced the steepest and fastest gains in confidence. We also consider who recovers trust. Individuals with higher baseline institutional trust exhibit greater initial confidence but not faster recovery, whereas women and younger citizens show significantly greater gains in trust over time despite their initial skepticism toward institutions. These results highlight the resilience of political trust: even when crises shake confidence across institutions, accountability and institutional renewal can rapidly restore public faith in democratic governance.
[5] “Women Protesters in Democratic Crisis and Public Support for Gender Equality Policies” with Dahjin Kim
ABSTRACT: How do protest events reshape perceptions of in-groups and out-groups? We examine whether mass mobilization can activate a shared superordinate identity that reduces social divisions. Building on theories of social identity and common in-group formation, we argue that when protests are framed around broad, cross-cutting identities, they can soften intergroup boundaries and increase perceived solidarity. We test this through a pre-registered survey experiment in South Korea (N = 1,675), conducted five months after nationwide pro-democracy protests sparked by the president’s declaration of martial law. Respondents were randomly assigned to vignettes highlighting the active protest participation of young generation, young women, or a neutral control. Framing the protests around young generation activated a shared democratic identity that increased support not only for young generation targeted social programs but also for policies benefitting other groups, including women. In contrast, emphasizing women’s participation within a context of intense gender polarization did not increase support for women targeted social programs and, for some, appeared to heighten resistance. These results show that protest events can reshape intergroup attitudes by appealing to shared identity, but the reach and limits of this effect depend on how subgroup boundaries are framed and how contested those identities are.
[6] “Can a Woman be Secretary of Defense? Public Perceptions of the Appointment of a Woman Defense Minister” with Tiffany D. Barnes, Bomi Lee, and Diana Z. O’Brien
ABSTRACT: In the U.S., the Department of Defense is the only cabinet ministry that remains male-dominated. Is public opinion part of the barrier to women’s access to power? How would citizens, both at home and abroad, respond to women’s appointment as Secretary of Defense? This paper explores the opinions of ordinary Americans and our allies towards women defense ministers. We examine attitudes towards the government and the military with the appointment of a woman as Secretary of Defense. While stereotypes towards women are eroding, defense remains an area in which citizens perceive men to be more competent than women. Our study allows us to assess whether public opinion is a barrier to women’s appointment to these positions. It also allows us to prepare for a future in which women gain access to this portfolio. Given that women are unlikely to remain indefinitely excluded from the post, it is important to assess how their appointment would affect public opinion at home as well as perceptions of the U.S. abroad.
[7] “Gaussian Process Regression and Post-Stratification for Grouped Data” with Yehu Chen, Jacob Montgomery, and Bryant J. Moy
[8] “Bridging the Digital Divide: A Randomized Control Trial on Home Internet Connections in South African Townships” with Anna M. Wilke, Georgiy Syunyaev, Benjamin Laughlin, and Kholekile Malindi