Introducing Our 2021-22 Pre and Postdoctoral Fellows
The Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) is pleased to welcome six pre- and postdoctoral fellows who will be joining us for the 2021-22 academic year. These scholars will spend the academic year focusing on the Center's four program areas of democracy, development, evaluating the efficacy of democracy promotion, and rule of law.
Stanford University’s Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) is proud to announce the incoming fellows who will be joining us in the 2021-2022 academic year to develop their research, engage with faculty and tap into our diverse scholarly community.
The pre- and postdoctoral program will provide fellows the time to focus on research and data analysis as they work to finalize and publish their dissertation research while connecting with resident faculty and research staff at CDDRL.
Fellows will present their research during our weekly research seminar series and an array of scholarly events and conferences.
Learn more about each of our fellows below.
Alejandra Aldridge
CDDRL Predoctoral Scholar, 2021-22
Hometown: Southington, CT
Academic Institution: Stanford University
Discipline and degree conferral date: PhD in Political Science, expected June 2022
Shortlist of Research Interests: Presidential influence, executive politics, public opinion, democratic norms, experimental methods
Dissertation Title: Presidential Influence on Democratic Norms
What attracted you to the CDDRL Pre/post-doctoral program? I admire the center's commitment to studying foundational ideas from a wide variety of perspectives, and I knew that my work could benefit greatly in that environment.
What do you hope to accomplish during your nine-month residency at the CDDRL? I look forward to finishing my dissertation that studies democratic norms in the United States, as well as developing the project further into a book project.
Fun fact: I am a CrossFitter and burpees are my favorite movement.
Aytuğ Şaşmaz
CDDRL Post-doctoral Fellow 2021-22
Hometown: Istanbul, Turkey
Academic Institution: Harvard University
Discipline and degree conferral date (or expected): Government, July 2021 (expected)
Shortlist of Research Interests: Political parties, social welfare policies, local governance
Dissertation Title: Explaining the Weakness of Secular Parties in the MENA Region: The Role of Political Selection and Organizational Cohesion
What attracted you to the CDDRL Pre/post-doctoral program? Certainly the people in and affiliated with the center. Looking forward to interacting with top minds on Arab democratization, Turkish politics, and political parties.
What do you hope to accomplish during your nine-month residency at the CDDRL? I am hoping to turn my dissertation chapters into two good journal publications, coming closer to turning it into a finished book manuscript, and taking the first steps into the new big project.
Fun fact: In the last 2-3 years I have become obsessed with volleyball! Both playing it and following the most important international competitions. If you see me tweeting in Turkish, I probably say something about the Turkish league (one of the best leagues in the world – especially the women's league).
Carlos Schmidt-Padilla
Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford Impact Labs (SIL), affiliated with PovGov at CDDRL, 2021-22
Hometown: San Salvador, El Salvador
Academic Institution: University of California, Berkeley
Discipline and degree conferral date: Political Science (Summer 2021)
Shortlist of Research Interests: crime, human capital, migration, policing
Dissertation Title: Essays on Gangs and Development
What attracted you to the CDDRL Pre/post-doctoral program? CDDRL’s interdisciplinary approach to the study of the challenges facing democratic governance and development.
What do you hope to accomplish during your nine-month residency at the CDDRL? I hope to conclude various projects on citizen security and policing in Central America and the Caribbean, as well as commence new field experiments on reducing gender-based violence in the region.
Hans Lueders
CDDRL Postdoctoral Scholar, 2021-22
Hometown: Tangermuende, Germany
Academic Institution: Stanford University
Discipline and degree conferral date: Political Science (June 2021)
Shortlist of Research Interests: Migration, political representation, authoritarian regimes, democratic backsliding, European politics
Dissertation Title: Political Representation in Democratic and Autocratic Regimes
What attracted you to the CDDRL Pre/post-doctoral program? The great community of scholars who work on some of the most pressing challenges that democratic governance is facing today.
What do you hope to accomplish during your nine-month residency at the CDDRL? I hope to work on a book manuscript on the political consequences of domestic migration. The book argues that domestic migration is a little-acknowledged cause of political polarization and inequality in representation. In addition, I hope to publish the three papers that are part of my dissertation.
Fun fact: I have run several half marathons in the past. One of my life goals is to run a full marathon soon.
Nicholas Kuipers
CDDRL Predoctoral Scholar, 2021-22
Hometown: Falls Church, VA
Academic Institution: University of California, Berkeley
Discipline and degree conferral date: Political Science, expected 2021-22
Shortlist of Research Interests: State-building, Nation-building, Ethnic politics, Bureaucracy, Meritocracy
Dissertation Title: Failing the Test: The Politics of Civil Service Recruitment in Asia
What attracted you to the CDDRL Pre/post-doctoral program? I was drawn to the CDDRL both for the group of scholars working on topics related to my research, and for the access to the broader community of researchers at Stanford. At the moment, I’m particularly interested in exploring the tensions that arise from governments’ efforts at state-building on the one hand and nation-building on the other. This is a topic on which I can envision lots of productive conversations and collaborations with folks in the broader CDDRL community.
What do you hope to accomplish during your nine-month residency at the CDDRL? I hope to finish writing my dissertation as a book manuscript and work on several related article-length projects.
Fun fact: I once coincidentally met someone in Jakarta, Indonesia who had lived in my parents’ house before they bought it.
Samantha Bradshaw
CDDRL Postdoctoral Fellow, 2021-22
Hometown: Kitchener, Canada
Academic Institution: Oxford
Discipline and degree conferral date (or expected): Degree completed September 2020
Shortlist of Research Interests: Disinformation, Social Media, Democracy
Dissertation Title: The Social Media Challenge for Democracy: Propaganda and Disinformation in a Platform Society
What attracted you to the CDDRL Pre/post-doctoral program? I am excited by the opportunity to work with the community of scholars at the CDDRL who are thinking through some of the most critical challenges facing contemporary democracies.
What do you hope to accomplish during your nine-month residency at the CDDRL? During my nine-month residency at CDDRL I will be working on a book project looking at digital suppression and disinformation targeting activists, journalists, and minority communities.
Fun fact: I am the proud owner of a newfie-poo puppy (aka a “newdle”) named Soba.