This question can most broadly summarize my research background: How do exclusionary agendas gain power and legitimacy?
My research primarily falls at the intersection of gender, extremism, and policy. My work has examined narratives of inclusion, exclusion, and violence, critically interrogating how these narratives gain legitimacy and mobilize social groups. I have analyzed how internationally recognized human rights language is utilized to advance exclusionary agendas, the co-optation of women’s rights and women’s protection narratives to justify targeted anti-immigration sentiment, and how ethnic and religious identity are weaponized in favor of nationalist projects and movements. While this research has largely centred on the United States as a country focus, my research has also spanned other locations, including Tunisia, Turkiye, and the United Kingdom. Despite the geographical diversity, there are clear parallels in how identity is mobilized and weaponized to serve exclusionary political agendas.
Master’s Dissertation
Power, Illusion, and Exclusion: Gender, Xenophobia, and Right-Wing Politics in the United States and United Kingdom from the 2010s to the Present
Abstract
The ongoing rise of anti-immigration sentiment in the Global North warrants further scrutiny regarding the rhetorical devices that give such movements power. This study examines the instrumentalization of women’s rights and safety language by the right-wing in the United Kingdom and the United States to justify anti-immigration sentiment and policy, also using this discourse as a means to further interrogate how women on the right-wing perceive their sense of agency. Employing narrative and discourse analysis, this dissertation will look at the rhetorical strategies of four prominent anti-immigrant women activists, two from each state, to analyse their use of gendered language in justifying their stances. This dissertation also looks at how the rhetorical strategies employed by these women are replicated or manipulated in higher-level political forums. In doing so, this dissertation argues that women’s rights and safety language are utilised to justify exclusionary immigration policy and practice, with this approach being effective as it co-opts genuine public emotion over tragedy and injustice to incite hatred. These findings further illustrate that women on the right wing have varying conceptions of power and agency. The findings from this research contribute to larger conversations about the role of gender in radicalisation and right-wing mobilisation.
Senior Undergraduate Thesis
Pro Deo et Patria: The Rise of Ethnoreligious Nationalism in the 21st Century
Abstract
The last two decades have seen the rise of ethno-religious nationalist ideology worldwide, contributing to increased geopolitical polarization and violence against minority populations. Scholars studying ethno-religious nationalist political parties and figures have identified several factors that contribute to the rise of this kind of ideology. These factors are multiculturalism, economic hardship, “revenge of the patriarchy,” the use of populism as a political framework, and the use of media to spread ideology. This study takes these factors a step further and explores their interconnections and how they all contribute to a metanarrative of fear and vulnerability among the ingroup. I use the case studies of Donald Trump and the Republican Party in the United States and Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi in coalition with the Nationalist Movement Party in Turkiye to illustrate these interconnections and the larger narrative of fear and vulnerability. This study contributes to the body of scholarship on nationalism by exploring why the aforementioned variables are the ones that lead to the rise of ethno-religious nationalist ideology.
Gerken Fellowship Summer Research
With funding from the Walter B. Gerken Fellowship for Public Policy, I spent the summer of 2023 with the Occidental College Summer Research Program examining the relationship between evangelical Christianity and US refugee policy in the post 9/11 era. Employing qualitative policy, narrative, and comparative analysis, I examined the rhetoric of high-profile evangelical figures towards immigrants from predominantly Muslim countries, political statements and policies from Presidents Bush Jr. and Trump, as well as prominent political allies, and explored the relationship between church and state during both administrations. The research included an intense examination of the Patriot Act as well as Executive Order 13769, more colloquially known as the Muslim Ban. Findings from this research demonstrated a more formalized relationship between church leaders and the White House during the Trump administration, especially through forums like the Council for National Policy, though President Bush was more likely to personally invoke biblical-style language of crusades against evil.
Tunisia Field Research
For the final five weeks of my stay in Tunis, I conducted an independent research project under the supervision of Dr. Raja Boussedra on women’s rights in the post-Revolution era. Throughout my time in Tunisia, I had the privilege of meeting and speaking with locals, from the academics and NGO leaders who came into our classes to speak with us to the owner of my favorite cafe in La Marsa. Many expressed dissatisfaction with life in the post-revolution era, including the rise of Political Islam. As such, I was inspired to take a closer look at the impact on how women in Tunis perceive the protection of their rights. This research involved a literature review examining sources in English and French about Tunisia’s Personal Status Code, implemented in 1956 by President Habib Bourguiba, the lead-up to the 2011 Jasmin Revolution, and the power vacuum that followed the exile of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali. I surveyed several women in Tunis, collecting responses in English and French about their views on life and their rights in the pre and post revolution periods, ensuring anonymity and proper academic practice in accordance with the research ethics course we took as part of the program.