Welcome to my website!
I am a PhD candidate in the Department of Government at Cornell University. My research focuses on peacebuilding, state-building, transitions, and the origins of post-conflict social and political trust. I have conducted research in Kosovo, Liberia, and Lithuania.
In my dissertation project, I examine the causes and effects of the variation in the peacebuilding activities in which international peacekeeping missions engage. The United Nations and established peacekeeping research assert that the effectiveness of peacekeeping missions in bringing about peace relies on their ability to enforce peace agreements in their entirety. However, missions only engage in a minority of the peacebuilding activities outlined in the peace agreements they are mandated to enforce. How do we explain this discrepancy, and what are its effects on peace outcomes?
To answer these questions, I build and test a novel two-part theory: the first part draws attention to the programmatic nature of contemporary peacekeeping missions and argues for a new analytical framework for understanding the effectiveness of contemporary peacekeeping missions; the second part draws direct links between peacekeeping missions and citizens' trust in public institutions by examining the increasing embeddedness of missions in post-conflict societies.
My dissertation research necessarily takes on a mixed-methods approach. I test my arguments by combining longitudinal analyses of original cross-national data with qualitative archival research, long-form interviews, and an original survey in post-conflict, post-independence Kosovo.
My research and training have been graciously supported by American Councils, the Judith Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies, the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies, Milt Lauenstein at the Purdue Peace Project, and the US Department of State (Title VIII).
I grew up in Crosby, Minnesota, a former mining community in the north of the state with a deep national history and strong international ties. I enjoy skiing, swimming, weight training, and baking in my free time, and I am endlessly in search of the best potato-based recipe.
@crmailhot
Photo: Graffiti in Pristina, Kosovo ( July 2019). Translation: "I vote || You vote || He/She votes || We vote || You vote || THEY PROFIT”
I am a PhD candidate in the Department of Government at Cornell University. My research focuses on peacebuilding, state-building, transitions, and the origins of post-conflict social and political trust. I have conducted research in Kosovo, Liberia, and Lithuania.
In my dissertation project, I examine the causes and effects of the variation in the peacebuilding activities in which international peacekeeping missions engage. The United Nations and established peacekeeping research assert that the effectiveness of peacekeeping missions in bringing about peace relies on their ability to enforce peace agreements in their entirety. However, missions only engage in a minority of the peacebuilding activities outlined in the peace agreements they are mandated to enforce. How do we explain this discrepancy, and what are its effects on peace outcomes?
To answer these questions, I build and test a novel two-part theory: the first part draws attention to the programmatic nature of contemporary peacekeeping missions and argues for a new analytical framework for understanding the effectiveness of contemporary peacekeeping missions; the second part draws direct links between peacekeeping missions and citizens' trust in public institutions by examining the increasing embeddedness of missions in post-conflict societies.
My dissertation research necessarily takes on a mixed-methods approach. I test my arguments by combining longitudinal analyses of original cross-national data with qualitative archival research, long-form interviews, and an original survey in post-conflict, post-independence Kosovo.
My research and training have been graciously supported by American Councils, the Judith Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies, the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies, Milt Lauenstein at the Purdue Peace Project, and the US Department of State (Title VIII).
I grew up in Crosby, Minnesota, a former mining community in the north of the state with a deep national history and strong international ties. I enjoy skiing, swimming, weight training, and baking in my free time, and I am endlessly in search of the best potato-based recipe.
@crmailhot
Photo: Graffiti in Pristina, Kosovo ( July 2019). Translation: "I vote || You vote || He/She votes || We vote || You vote || THEY PROFIT”
