Research & Impact
Areas of Expertise
Our faculty conduct research and service projects in the following broad areas:
- cross-cultural conflict and intergroup relations
- democratic development
- environmental governance and sustainability
- gender studies
- global health
- international relations and political economy
- mediation and negotiation
- politics and governance in Africa, Middle East, Latin America, Europe and Asia
Affiliated Centers & Special Projects
- Center for Peace, Democracy, and Development
- Center for Governance and Sustainability
- John Joseph Moakley Chair of Peace and Reconciliation
- Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration
Sample Publications and Presentations
Professor J. Samuel Barkin: Follow on Google Scholar
- International Organization: Theories and Institutions, 3rd edition (Palgrave, 2023).
- The Sovereignty Cartel (Cambridge University Press, 2021)
- International Relations’ Last Synthesis? Decoupling Constructivisms and Critical Approaches, co-authored with Laura Sjoberg (Oxford University Press, 2019).
Professor Mehr Latif - Follow on Google Scholar
- Latif, Mehr, Pete Simi, Kathleen Blee, and Matthew DeMichele. 2023. “Intuitive Pathways to Racist Beliefs.” >Emotions and Society 5(3): 348-365.
- Latif, Mehr. 2022. “Negotiating the State: The Construction of Local-State Boundaries in Pakistan.” International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society 36(4): 527-550.
- Latif, Mehr. 2022. “Performances and Politics in Pakistan: A Case-Study of a Micro Public Sphere.” International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society 36: (99-117).
Professor Karen Ross: Visit Karen's Website
- Ross, K. & P. Li. (2024). “Beyond reflexivity: Centering recognition and relational dialogue in social inquiry.” Cultural Studies Critical Methodologies (published online ahead of print).
- Ross, K. (2024). “Building peace through dialogic teaching: The Civic Conversations teacher professional development program.” Journal of Peace Education (published online ahead of print).
- Ross, K., P. Li & M. Call-Cummings. (2023). “Solidarity as Methodological Praxis.” Qualitative Research 23(5): 1181-1202.
Professor Courtenay Sprague: Link to PubMed Articles
- Penner L, Sprague C. Vaccine Inequities and the Legacies of Colonialism: Speculative Fiction's Challenge to Medicine. J Med Humanit. 2023 Sep;44(3):395-399. doi: 10.1007/s10912-023-09782-5. Epub 2023 Feb 6. PubMed PMID: 36740657; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9899654.
- Sprague C. What Matters Most? The Power of Kafka's Metamorphosis to Advance Understandings of HIV Stigma and Inform Empathy in Medical Health Education. J Med Humanit. 2022 Dec;43(4):561-584. doi: 10.1007/s10912-022-09729-2. PubMed PMID: 35188615; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8858723.
- Brown S, Sprague C, Lindsay AC. Understanding perinatal mental illness as a governance concern in South Africa through health provider perspectives. Glob Public Health. 2022 Dec;17(12):3519-3532. doi: 10.1080/17441692.2022.2129727. PubMed PMID: 36735659.
Professor Catriona Standfield Link to Catriona's Website
- The Women, Peace, and Security Agenda and the Gendered Logics of United Nations Mediation. Forthcoming from Cambridge University Press in October 2024.
- Selected for the International Studies Association-Northeast Scholars’ Circle, 2020.
- Standfield, C. 2022. ‘Who Gets to be a Virtuoso? Diplomatic Competence through an Intersectional Lens’. Hague Journal of Diplomacy.
Professor Stacy VanDeveer Follow on Google Scholar
- Stability and Politicization in Climate Governance. Paul Tobin, Mat Paterson & Stacy D. VanDeveer, eds. (Cambridge University Press, Forthcoming 2025)
- Oxford Handbook of Comparative Environmental Politics, Jeannie Sowers, Stacy D. VanDeveer & Erika Weinthal, eds. Oxford University Press (2023).
- The Global Environment: Institutions, Law & Policy. 5th Edition. Regina S. Axelrod & Stacy D. VanDeveer, eds. (CQ Press/Sage, 2020)