Photo: January 1999 article from the archives of Kosovar newspaper Koha Ditore, describing ethnic Albanians' use of Nike's "JUST DO IT" slogan to call for NATO intervention in the Kosovo War
Welcome to my website!
I am a PhD candidate in the Department of Government at Cornell University. My research broadly falls into the fields of peacebuilding, peacekeeping, state-building, and post-conflict reconstruction. More specifically, I study the short- and long-term impacts that United Nations and regional missions have on societies undergoing post-conflict and post-communist transitions. I am furthermore interested in understanding the determinants of social and political trust in these contexts and the ways in which compounded legacies of repression and violence affect citizens' relationship with their government. I have conducted fieldwork 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 missions engage. The United Nations and established peacekeeping research assert that the effectiveness of peacekeeping missions in promoting 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. When and where do these discrepancies arise, what are their causes, and what are their effects on peace outcomes?
To answer these questions, I build and test a novel two-part theory about the role of international missions in post-conflict countries. The first part draws attention to the increasingly programmatic nature of contemporary international missions and argues for a new analytical framework for understanding their impact and effectiveness. The second part draws direct links between missions and citizens' trust in public institutions by examining the effects of the increasingly deep and long-term embedding 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 quantitative and qualitative archival research, public and elite interviews, and two original surveys in Kosovo.
I have been published in International Peacekeeping and Small Wars & Insurgencies, and I have written policy reports with American Councils and the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance. My research and training have been graciously supported by a host of institutes, centers, and initiatives, including:
I grew up in Cuyuna and Crosby, Minnesota, two former mining communities 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.
Twitter: @crmailhot
In my dissertation project, I examine the causes and effects of the variation in the peacebuilding activities in which international missions engage. The United Nations and established peacekeeping research assert that the effectiveness of peacekeeping missions in promoting 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. When and where do these discrepancies arise, what are their causes, and what are their effects on peace outcomes?
To answer these questions, I build and test a novel two-part theory about the role of international missions in post-conflict countries. The first part draws attention to the increasingly programmatic nature of contemporary international missions and argues for a new analytical framework for understanding their impact and effectiveness. The second part draws direct links between missions and citizens' trust in public institutions by examining the effects of the increasingly deep and long-term embedding 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 quantitative and qualitative archival research, public and elite interviews, and two original surveys in Kosovo.
I have been published in International Peacekeeping and Small Wars & Insurgencies, and I have written policy reports with American Councils and the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance. My research and training have been graciously supported by a host of institutes, centers, and initiatives, including:
- American Councils
- The American Institute for Southeast European Studies
- The Judith Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies
- The Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies
- The National Council for Eurasian and East European Research
- The Purdue Peace Project
- The Qualitative and Interpretive Research Institute
- The United States Department of State
- The United States Institute of Peace
I grew up in Cuyuna and Crosby, Minnesota, two former mining communities 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.
Twitter: @crmailhot
