CDDRL Pre and Postdoctoral Fellows
Hometown: Kitchener, Canada
Academic Institution: Oxford
Discipline and degree conferral date (or expected): Degree
completed September 2020
Short list 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.
Hometown: Istanbul, Turkey
Academic Institution: Harvard University
Discipline and degree conferral date (or expected): Government, July
2021 (expected)
Short list 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 to two good journal publications, coming closer to turning it into a finished
book manuscript, and taking first steps into the new big project.
Fun fact: In the last 2-3 years, I became 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 women's league).
Hometown: Tangermuende, Germany
Academic Institution: Stanford University
Discipline and degree conferral date: Political Science (June 2021)
Short list 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.
Hometown: San Salvador, El Salvador
Academic Institution: University of California, Berkeley
Discipline and degree conferral date: Political Science (Summer
2021)
Short list 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.
Hometown: Southington, CT
Academic Institution: Stanford University
Discipline and degree conferral date: PhD in Political
Science, expected June 2022
Short list 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.
Hometown: Falls Church, VA
Academic Institution: University of California, Berkeley
Discipline and degree conferral date: Political Science,
expected 2021-22
Short list 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 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.