People

Shawn Ling Ramirez is a College Fellow in the Department of Government.  Her research interests are in conflict, peace and security studies.   Her dissertation uses formal theory, statistical methods and field research to explore the effect of domestic accountability on war and peace.  Specifically, she asks: How is war affected by power-sharing among governing individuals within dictatorships and democracies?  Why do leaders choose alternative forms of diplomacy -- public bargains, secret bargaining, mediation and arbitration -- to manage crises?  What makes an unpopular agreement acceptable to the public? 

In addition, she is working on several research projects that examine the relationship between rebel and insurgent military strategy and post-conflict health, the effects of transnational networks on leader survival in office, and the impact of domestic politics on a leader's ability to learn about their international enemies.

 Her current book project "Diplomacy and the Domestic Legitimacy of International Agreements" is supported by the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs.  She published an article “Influence in Terrorist Networks: From Undirected to Directed Graphs” in Studies in Conflict and Terrorism in 2006.  She is the recipient of several awards including an Honored Graduate Student and Developing Researcher award in 2011 (University of Rochester), Honored Faculty award in 2011 (University of Rochester), Harrell Rodgers Graduate Student Scholarship in 2011 (Policy Studies Organization and Midwest Political Science Association), and a Political Science Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award in 2008 (University of Rochester).  She is receiving her doctorate from the University of Rochester, and received her B.A. from Boston University.