Profile
Elaine Denny is a joint PhD candidate in Political Science and International Relations at the University of California, San Diego. Her research interests include micro-foundations of political mobilization and conflict, norms diffusion, human behavior, and human rights. For her dissertation, Elaine studies why vulnerable populations frequently are less likely to be politically active than their wealthier or more secure counterparts – and what strategies may mitigate these effects. Her research methods include lab, survey, and field experiments, geospatial analysis, and statistical modeling. Elaine’s professional background includes work at Amnesty International USA, as well as with NGOs in the U.S., Latin America, and Asia. She has consulted for UNICEF and is lead survey designer for a DFID evaluation of social norms diffusion in Nigeria. Elaine is a current fellow with the Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, and she has also been a Watson Fellow and Critical Language Scholar through the U.S. State Department. Elaine holds a MPP from the University of Michigan and a BA in chemistry from Williams College. She speaks Spanish, German, and Mandarin.
