About

I am an Associate Professor in the Political Science department at the University of Kentucky. I received my Ph.D. from Florida State University in 2014. Before joining the faculty at University of Kentucky, I held a postdoctoral position at Washington University in St. Louis from Fall 2014-Spring 2015.

My primary research interests fall broadly in the fields of international relations and comparative politics. More specifically, I am interested in human rights, international organizations, international law, domestic political institutions, and quantitative methodology. Existing work suggests that because international legal bodies lack formal enforcement authority, they exhibit little to no influence on state behavior. My work seeks to better illuminate the extent to which international law constrains state behavior. Specifically, I draw connections across international relations and comparative politics by investigating relationships among international and domestic political institutions.

I have published articles in Journal of Peace Research, Conflict Management and Peace Science, and International Studies Perspectives. My book, Regional Courts, Domestic Politics, and the Struggle for Human Rights, is forthcoming (July 2020) with Cambridge University Press.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time outdoors. Originally from Livingston MT, and now residing in Lexington KY, I enjoy hiking, camping, biking, and running. I’ve had the opportunity to hike many mountain peaks and lakes in Montana and enjoy exploring new trails in Kentucky. I’ve run over a dozen half and full marathons across the country, in beautiful places such as Florida, Missouri, Utah, Montana, Tennessee, and Kentucky, with my favorite being the Yellowstone National Park Half Marathon in Summer 2018.