Research

I study how governments negotiate international cooperation under domestic and international political uncertainty. International agreements are often treated as discrete outcomes: states either cooperate or do not. Yet cooperation usually develops through a longer bargaining process in which governments identify potential partners, manage domestic pressures, respond to changing international conditions, and decide whether to continue pursuing a deal.

Not all negotiations result in agreements. Some conclude successfully, while others stall, are abandoned, or remain unresolved for years. Understanding international cooperation therefore requires attention not only to signed treaties, but also to the negotiations that precede them.

My primary research focuses on the politics of preferential trade agreement negotiations. My dissertation, Deals to Be Determined: Political Uncertainty in Trade Negotiations, examines how different forms of political uncertainty shape governments’ bargaining decisions and affect the formation of international trade agreements.

More broadly, my research asks:

• When and why do governments pursue trade cooperation with particular partners?

• Why do some negotiations produce agreements while others stall or fail?

• How do domestic politics and international uncertainty shape bargaining processes?

• How do trade negotiations intersect with issues beyond trade, including human rights and interstate relations?

To support this research, I have developed the Trade Bargaining Dataset (TBD), which tracks trade negotiations from early exploration and initiation through bargaining, signature, implementation, and alternative outcomes.

In addition to my research agenda, I have assisted in the collection and updates of two important datasets: 

One is Dr. Amanda Licht's Regular Turnover Details. Other than the data on when and whether leaders leave the office, this dataset provides more information on why and how leaders exit.  

I also work on the CIRIGHTS data project with Dr. David Cingranelli and Dr. Brendan Skip Mark. The data generates annual numerical scores measuring the human rights performance of all nations of the world and have been collected annually since 1981.