Biography

I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Oklahoma. In my research I focus on comparative constitutionalism, especially processes of rights diffusion and creation. I generally strive to engage comparative law with comparative politics methodology and research results. In this sense my other research interests include qualitative methods, modern democratic theory, and social movements/contentious politics. I have taught courses on the nation-state, comparative constitutional politics and comparative politics survey classes at the undergraduate and the doctoral student level.

I earned my doctorate in political science from the New School for Social Research (NSSR) in 2014. My dissertation, Making New Rights: Constitutional Agenda-Setting in the Transitions of Poland (1989-1997) and South Africa (1990-1994 (1996)), won the Hannah Arendt Dissertation Award in Politics. I also hold an MA in political science from NSSR and a Magister degree in Political Science, Public Law and Modern History from Dresden University (TU Dresden).