IR & CP Workshop Series

The International Relations and Comparative Politics Workshop Series provides feedback that also gives the author (PhD students, faculty or visiting faculty) an opportunity to make a presentation and engage POIR PhD students and faculty. The workshops also facilitate publishable papers for PhD students and develop critique skills for discussants and attendees.

• Papers are drafts for prospective journal articles in international relations and/or comparative politics.

• Presenters are distributed equally each semester from PhD students, POIR faculty, and external guests.

• On days featuring external guests we encourage both students and faculty to take part in networking events, including 1-1 meetings, coffee with students, and dinner with faculty.

• Sessions begin with 15-minute presentations from the author followed by comments from a discussant (7–10 minutes); the floor then opens to questions that engage the presenter in a back and forth; the presenter ends the session with five-minute remarks.

• Presentations from externals might run 20–25 minutes.

• Discussants can consider using slides for their comments.

• Sessions last 75 minutes.

The workshops strive to build community among faculty and graduate students while fostering professional development through mentorship. 

All participants of the workshops (as well as affiliated practice sessions for job talks or conferences) are asked to abide by the norms and standards of collegial behavior. These include:

• Participants are expected to read the full article in advance of the workshop.

• Participants share responsibility in achieving the goals of the workshop:

• Presenters: State what feedback you most want.

• Participants: Keep critiques relevant and solution-focused.

• Whenever possible, the workshop moderator will seek questions from doctoral students first before calling on faculty for questions and comments.

• One finger from a participant indicates a new comment or question; two fingers indicates a comment on the current discussion item.

• All participants will show respect for the author’s work and for other participants and their viewpoints.

• Critique the work, never the person.

• Acknowledge strengths before suggesting improvements; aim for a balance of affirmation and challenge.

• Participants should strive to be concise and share speaking time; use professional, collegial language.

• POIR faculty and doctoral-student attendees should consider which of their feedback is most productive to provide to the author in the context of a public workshop, and which feedback is most constructive to provide privately.

• The moderator reserves the right to manage the flow and discussion at the workshop.

• Repeatedly harsh, personal, or demeaning feedback is not acceptable; concerns can be raised confidentially with the moderator, CIS director, or director of graduate studies.

The center supports rigorous scholarship with respect. The goals of the workshops are best achieved when feedback is challenging, constructive, and humane.

In all public programs, the center subscribes to USC’s Integrity and Accountability Code, including the commitment to respecting the rights and dignity of all persons. Adherence to these guidelines and principles not only ensures that authors and participants act with integrity; it also guarantees that center-affiliated scholars produce high-quality research with the support of an academic community.

April 23, 2025
Comparative Politics Workshop
“Ethnicity and Climate Dissensus in Africa”
Presenter: Evan Lieberman, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Coauthors: Devin Caughey; Preston Johnson
Discussant: Gaea Morales, POIR PhD Candidate

April 16, 2025
International Relations Workshop
Title: “The Need for De-securitization: Analyzing Taiwan’s Semiconductor Industry Development”
Presenter: Daphne Yang, POIR PhD Candidate
Co-author: Saori N. Katada, POIR Faculty
Discussant: Cindy Li, POIR PhD Student

April 9, 2025
Comparative Politics Workshop
Title “Contesting Repression in Divided Democracies: Can Counternarratives Reduce Support for Police Violence?”
Presenter: Yanilda Gonzalez, Harvard University
Co-author: Natán Skigin, Harvard University
Discussant: Shenali Pilapitiya, POIR PhD Student

April 2, 2025
International Relations Workshop
“Social Ties and The Political Participation of Firms: Evidence from a Multi-Country Survey”
Presenter: Benjamin Graham, POIR Faculty
Discussant: Claudia Salas Gimenez, POIR PhD Candidate

March 26, 2025
International Relations and Comparative Politics Workshop
Roundtable for First-Year Elevator Pitches
Presenters: Sandra Barcenas Fuerte, Dylan Caine, Seungjin Han, Damin Jung, Constantinos Kourtellas, Linton Lee, and Aaron Tucker
Moderator: Brian Palmer-Rubin, POIR Faculty

March 12, 2025
Comparative Politics Workshop
“#NotAllMarxists: Transporting Ideology from the Book to the Battlefield”
Presenter: Sherry Zaks, POIR Faculty
Discussant: Henry Aoki, POIR PhD Candidate

February 26, 2025
International Relations Workshop
“Developing Recognition: Central American States’ Recognition of Two Chinas Evidence from El Salvador”
Presenter: Jose Urias, POIR PhD Candidate
Discussant: Yangran Gao, POIR PhD Student

February 19, 2025
Comparative Politics Workshop
“(Mis)reading the Room: The Case for Ontological Security, NATO and the MLF”
Presenter: Ivana Jordanovska, POIR PhD Candidate
Discussant: Chaerim Kim, POIR PhD Candidate

February 12, 2025
International Relations Workshop
“The Windfalls of Great Power Politics: Strategic Competition and the Agency of Africa’s Small States”
Presenter: Zenobia Chan, Georgetown University
Co-authors: Noel Foster; Jackie S.H. Wong
Discussant: Victoria Chonn-Ching, POIR Postdoctoral Fellow

January 29, 2025
International Relations Workshop
“Harmonizing Safety: The Politics of Occupational Exposure Limits in the EU”
Presenter: Rebecca Perlman, UC Berkeley
Co-author: Christina Toenshoff
Discussant: Laura Breen, POIR PhD Candidate

January 22, 2025
Comparative Politics Workshop
“Embedded Multinationals: When MNCs Choose Voice over Exit”
Presenter: Brian Palmer-Rubin, POIR Faculty
Co-author: Steven Samford, University of Michigan
Discussant: Federico Trudu, POIR PhD Candidate

November 13, 2024
International Relations Workshop
“The Revenge of Victor Orban? Central Europe Wobbles on Ukraine”
Presenters: Rob English, POIR Faculty
Discussant: Mietek Boduszyński, Pomona College

November 6, 2024
Comparative Politics Workshop
“Ideology and Online Self-Censorship: The Analysis of the Turkish Case”
Presenter: Sinan Kircova, POIR PhD Candidate
Discussant: Ivana Jordanovska, POIR PhD Candidate

October 30, 2024
International Relations Workshop
“Understanding Regime Complexity in Regional Governance”
Presenter: Yeiyoung Choo, POIR PhD Candidate
Discussant: Miguel Hijar-Chiapa, POIR PhD student

October 23, 2024
Comparative Politics Workshop
“The Anti-Left Legacy of the Pinochet Dictatorship”
Presenter: Pablo Argote, POIR Postdoctoral Fellow
Discussant: Jessica Walker, POIR PhD Candidate

October 16, 2024
International Relations Workshop
“Reconceiving the Role of Undergraduate Research Assistants: Intentional Integration of Mentorship, Technical Training, and Professional Pipelines”
Presenter: Alix Ziff, POIR Postdoctoral Fellow
Discussant: Megan Becker, POIR Faculty

October 2, 2024
International Relations Workshop
“Injustice as Debt: Managing the Growing Costs of Japan-South Korea Reconciliation”
Presenter: Tom Le, Pomona College
Discussant: Stephen Schick, POIR PhD Candidate

September 25, 2024
Comparative Politics Workshop
“Exporting the Tools of Dictatorship: The Politics of China’s Technology Transfers”
Presenter: Brett Carter, POIR Faculty
Co-author: Erin Baggott Carter, POIR Faculty
Discussant: Pablo Argote, POIR Postdoctoral Fellow

September 18, 2024
International Relations Workshop
“Descriptive to Substantive Representation of Ethnic Minorities in the UK Parliament”
Presenter: Stephanie Zonszein Strauss, UC Berkeley
Co-authors: Apurav Bhatiya, William Dinneen, Guy Grossman
Discussant: Ewon Baik, POIR PhD Candidate

September 11, 2024
Comparative Politics Workshop
“The Limits of Electoral Gender Quotas”
Presenter: Varun Karekurve-Ramachandra, POIR Faculty
Co-author: Gaurav Sood
Discussant: Erik Hanson, POIR Postdoctoral Fellow

April 24, 2024
Comparative Politics & International Relations Workshop
Year-End Gathering
A special year-end session of the workshop series, where we will share a special lunch and discuss highlights from the year, feedback, and ideas for next year.

April 17, 2024
International Relations Workshop
Victoria Chonn Ching, POIR Postdoctoral Fellow
“One Region, Unifying and (De)Unifying Interests: The Many Chinas in Latin America and the Caribbean”
Discussant: Jose Urias Flores, POIR PhD Student

March 27, 2024
Comparative Politics Workshop
Jillian Schwedler, Professor at Hunter College
“Urban Planning and Political Protests”
Discussant: Jane Mary Sakr, POIR PhD Student

March 6, 2024
International Relations Workshop
Soo Yeon Kim, Associate Professor at National University of Singapore
“Membership and its Benefits: Vote Shares in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank” (co-authored with Jesslene Lee, University of Toronto)
Discussant: Pongkwan Sawasdipakdi, POIR PhD Candidate

February 28, 2024
Comparative Politics Workshop
Jessica Walker, POIR PhD Student
“Beyond Beliefs: Re-conceptualizing Rebel Group Ideology”
Discussant: Chloe Bernadaux, POIR PhD Candidate

February 21, 2024
International Relations Workshop
Joshua Leung, POIR PhD Candidate
“Face Culture and Asian International Relations”
Discussant: Kayeon Roh, POIR PhD Candidate

February 14, 2024
Comparative Politics Workshop
Saran Uthayakumar, POIR PhD Student
“Dreaming in the Diaspora: Situating the Cambodian American Diaspora in Post-Genocide Healing”
Discussant: Melissa Watanabe, POIR PhD Student

January 31, 2024
International Relations Workshop
Allison Hartnett, POIR Faculty
“After the Commons: Economic Opportunity and Colonial Legacies of Land Privatization”
Discussant: Pablo Argote, POIR Postdoctoral Fellow

January 24, 2024
International Relations Workshop
Miguel Hijar Chiapa, POIR PhD Student
“The Wretched of the Pantheon: Frantz Fanon and the Discipline of International Relations”
Discussant: Brian Rathbun, POIR Faculty

January 17, 2024
Comparative Politics Workshop
José Múzquiz, POIR PhD Candidate
“La Raza: Race and Legislator’s Responsivity in Mexico”
Discussant: Gerry Munck, POIR Faculty

November 8, 2023
International Relations Workshop
Dana El Kurd, Professor at University of Richmond
“Transnational Activism, Social Media, & Mobilization: The Case of the Pro-Palestine Movement”
Discussant: Chloe Bernadaux, POIR PhD Student

November 1, 2023
Comparative Politics Workshop
Brian Palmer-Rubin, POIR Faculty
(co-authored with Candelaria Garay and Mathias Poertner)
“Mass Politics 2.0: Organizations and Political Identity in Neoliberal Latin America”
Discussant: Sinan Kircova, POIR PhD Candidate

October 25, 2023
International Relations Workshop
Alison Dundes Renteln, POIR Faculty
& Cher Weixia Chen, George Mason University
Special Session – Book Discussion: “International Human Rights: A Survey” (Cambridge University Press, 2023)

October 18, 2023
Comparative Politics Workshop
Pablo Francisco Argote Tironi, POIR Postdoctoral Fellow)
(co-authored with Giancarlo Visconti)
“Ideological vs. Issue Voting:  Evidence from Chile”
Discussant: Ewon Baik, POIR PhD Student

October 4, 2023
Special Session: CIS Open House for PhD Students
We will discuss upcoming programming and funding opportunities and invite questions.

September 27, 2023
Comparative Politics Workshop
Thomas Pepinsky, Cornell University
“A Political Economy of Social Categories”
Discussant: Stephen Schick, POIR PhD Student

September 20, 2023
International Relations Workshop
Julia Morse, UC Santa Barbara
(co-authored with Tyler Pratt, University of North Carolina)
“Fighting Facts or Fighting Norms: Norm Transgressions, Reputation Management, and International Organizations”
Discussant: Yeiyoung Choo, POIR PhD Student

September 13, 2023
Comparative Politics Workshop
Alden Young, UC Los Angeles
“Across the Red Sea: Diaspora, Revolution and Anti-Imperialism”
Discussant: Saran Uthayakumar, POIR PhD Student

September 6, 2023
International Relations Workshop
Brian Rathbun, POIR Faculty
“The Other Cheek: Costly Signaling, Moral Psychology, and the Effect of Nonviolence”
Discussant: Laura Breen, POIR PhD Student

April 5, 2023
International Relations Workshop
Amanda Kennard, Stanford University
Discussant: Donald Grasse, CIS Postdoctoral Fellow
Title: “Climate Change and Political (In)Stability”

March 29, 2023
Comparative Politics Workshop
Jefferey Sellers, POIR professor; Chloe Bernadaux, PhD student; and Ada Li Sarain, POIR PhD alumna
Discussant: Sinan Kircova, POIR PhD Student
Title: “Territorial Attachment, Globalization, and the City”

March 22, 2023
International Relations Workshop
Pongkwan Sawasdipakdi, POIR PhD Candidate
Discussant: Ewon Baik, POIR PhD Student
Title: “How Dare You Betray Me: Betrayal, Emotion, and Outrage in International Relations”

March 15, 2023
IR/CP workshop A [NO SESSION – SPRING BREAK; ISA CONFERENCE]

March 8, 2023
International Relations Workshop
Tyler Jost, Brown University
Discussant: Don Grasse, CIS Postdoctoral Fellow
Title: “The Roots of China’s Contemporary Arming Behavior”

March 1, 2023
Comparative Politics Workshop
Chloe Bernadaux and Stephen Schick, PhD Students
Discussant: Yeiyoung Choo, POIR PhD Student
Title: Economic Conditions and the Shaping of Subnational Propaganda under Autocracy

February 22, 2023
International Relations Workshop
Gaea Morales, POIR PhD Candidate
Discussant: Therese Franklin, POIR PhD Student
Title: “From Gatekeepers to Keys: The United Nations System and Local Authority Legitimacy”.

February 15, 2023
Comparative Politics Workshop
Agustina Paglayan, UC San Diego
Discussant: Tine Paulsen, POIR Faculty
Title: “Countering Disobedience: The Rise and Spread of Mass Education”

November 16, 2022
Comparative Politics Workshop
Courtenay Conrad, UC Merced
“Judicial Decisions, Police Officer Uncertainty, and the Escalation of Force
(co-authored with Sophia Hatz and Kristine Eck)
Discussant: Tolu Babalola, POIR PhD Candidate

November 9, 2022
International Relations Workshop
Donald Grasse, CIS Postdoctoral Fellow
“The Logic and Impacts of Rebel Public Services Provision: Evidence from Taliban Courts in Afghanistan”
(co-authored with Renard Sexton and Austin Wright)
Discussant: Chloe Bernadaux, POIR PhD Student

November 2, 2022
No session: Week of the conference of Peace Science

October 26, 2022
Comparative Politics Workshop
Tolu Babalola, POIR PhD Candidate
“In the Eye of the Beholder: The Relativity of Democracy and Redistributive Politics”
(co-authored with Allison Hartnett, POIR Faculty)
Discussant: Alya Khemakhem, POIR PhD Student

October 19, 2022
International Relations Workshop
Mariya Grinberg, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
“The Future of Economic Warfare (is Bleak)”
Discussant: Yeiyoung Choo, POIR PhD Student

October 12, 2022
Comparative Politics Workshop
Brett Carter, POIR Faculty
“The Kremlin and K Street: Vote-Buying in the U.S. Congress”
(co-authored with Erin Baggott Carter, POIR Faculty; and Eva Isakovic, formerly a POIR undergrad and now a Fulbright Scholar in Bosnia)
Discussant: Stephen Schick, POIR PhD Student

October 5, 2022
International Relations Workshop
Graeme Blair, UC Los Angeles
“Evidence-Based Decision-Making on Research Ethics in the Social Sciences”
(co-authored with Rebecca Wolfe, University of Chicago; Rebecca Littman, University of Chicago; and Sarah Ryan, University of California Berkeley)
Discussant: Donald Grasse, CIS Postdoctoral Fellow

September 28, 2022
Comparative Politics Workshop
Melissa Rogers, Claremont Graduate University
“Vote Your Region or Your Income? Decomposing Variance in Redistributive Voting”
Discussant: Gaea Morales, POIR PhD Student

September 14, 2022
No session: Week of the conference of the American Political Science Association

September 7, 2022
International Relations Workshop
Jacques C. Hymans, POIR Faculty
“Anti-War or Anti-Nuclear? The Gender Gap in Testimonials by Survivors of the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki”
(co-authored with Tomoko Matsumoto, Tokyo University of Science)
Discussant: Brian Rathbun, POIR Faculty

August 31, 2022
Comparative Politics Workshop
Tine Paulsen, POIR Faculty
“Mass Party Advantage under Party-Centered Local Governance”
Discussant: Allison Hartnett, POIR Faculty

April 13, 2022
International Relations Workshop
Victoria Chonn Ching, POIR Postdoctoral Fellow
“How Host Country Actors Can Shape BRI Projects: States, Elites, and Bureaucracies”
(co-authored with Alvin Camba, Korbel School)
Discussant: TBD

April 6, 2022
Comparative Politics Workshop
Presenter and Discussant TBD

March 23, 2022
International Relations Workshop
Eric Min, UC Los Angeles
“I Meant What I Said: The Sequencing of Diplomatic Signals”
(co-authored with Azusa Katagiri, Osaka University)
Discussant: Jackie S. H. Wong, POIR PhD Student

March 9, 2022
Comparative Politics Workshop
Miguel Pereira, POIR PhD Candidate
“What Drives Politicians to Act on Climate? A Cross-National Field Experiment”
(co-authored with Nathalie Giger, University of Geneva; Maria Domiguez Perez, University of Southern California; Kaya Axelsson, University of Oxford)
Discussant: Bijean Ghafouri, POIR PhD Student

March 2, 2022
International Relations Workshop
SPECIAL TIME: 12–1:30 pm
Delgerjargal Uvsh, CIS Postdoctoral Fellow
“Revenue Shocks and Policy Changes: When Do Resource-Rich Governments Invest in Economic Freedom?”
Discussant: Victoria Chonn Ching, POIR Postdoctoral Fellow

February 23, 2022
Comparative Politics Workshop
Brian Knafou, POIR PhD Candidate
“Religious Messaging in Authoritarian Regimes: Analyzing the publications of the Egyptian Dar al-Ifta”
Discussant: Alya Khemakhem, POIR PhD Student

February 16, 2022
International Relations Workshop
Kyle Rapp, POIR PhD Candidate
“On What Grounds? Legal References and Effective Argumentation at the ICC”
Discussant: Stefanie Neumeier, POIR PhD Candidate

February 9, 2022
Comparative Politics Workshop
Erin Baggott Carter, POIR Faculty, and Victor Shih, UC San Diego
“Terrifyingly Normal: How Bureaucratic Incentives Shape Repression in China”
(co-authored with Jonghyuk Lee)
Discussant: Stephen Schick, POIR PhD Student

February 2, 2022
Professional Development Session
“Attending Conferences 101: Participating, Presenting, and Discussing,” moderated by Saori N. Katada, with panelists Sherry Zaks, POIR Faculty, and Taylor Dalton, POIR PhD Candidate.

January 26, 2022
Comparative Politics Workshop
Yuen Yuen Ang, University of Michigan
“How Beijing Commands: An Automated Text Analysis of Central Directives, 1978–2017”
(co-authored with Simeng Zeng, PhD Student, University of Minnesota)
Discussant: Erin Baggott Carter, POIR Faculty

January 19, 2022
International Relations Workshop
Audrye Wong, POIR Faculty
“Divide to Conquer: How Authoritarian Regimes Use Wedge Narratives to Marginalize Diaspora Communities”(Co-authored with Patrick Chester of NYU)
Discussant: Laura Breen, POIR PhD Student