Welcome to my research page, where I explore the intersections of public opinion, political behavior, and security through a gendered and intersectional lens. My work delves into how gender and intersecting identities, such as class and age, shape political attitudes and policy preferences. Central to my research is the examination of the "Guns Versus Butter" debate, particularly how these dynamics manifest across different cultural and political contexts. By utilizing both original survey data from Colombia and harmonized global public opinion datasets, my findings challenge traditional models of security, revealing the context-dependent nature of these preferences and highlighting the need for a more inclusive approach to understanding political behavior.
Dissertation Project: Beyond Guns vs. Butter: Gendered Dynamics in Security Policy Preferences
This research explores the "guns versus butter" model, a fundamental concept that highlights the trade-off between defense and welfare spending within state budgets. It delves into how public attitudes and preferences concerning security versus non-security expenditures are formed by demographic features (gender, age, and socio-economic status) within national contexts. While traditionally seen as a zero-sum game, public opinion and attitudes, especially outside the United States, demonstrate that the model is highly context-dependent. In the United States, surveys have consistently shown differences in attitudes, with women generally favoring social spending over defense spending. These variations in defense spending preferences influence voting behavior and reveal that public reactions to government policies are gendered. However, Colombia provides new survey evidence that challenges the traditional "guns versus butter" paradigm by revealing that women are more likely than men to prioritize security expenditures over non-security expenditures; indicating that a new framework is needed for the idea of Security within the defense-welfare model that applies in differing contexts. The research indicates that attitudes and preferences related to government spending are more nuanced and context-dependent than previously assumed. It calls for a broader examination of these preferences, taking into account specific national contexts, demographic features, and the categorization of security and non-security expenditures. Understanding individual-level preferences is crucial for predicting and explaining political behavior and budgetary decisions regarding the security dilemma. In democracies, it is these individual-level attitudes that ultimately shape government policies, making them essential to better grasp the complexities of the "guns versus butter" trade-off.
“The Biggest Problem Dataset: Utilizing Harmonized Public Opinion Data with HUMAN Surveys” (with Andrew Klassen and Nathan Fioritti)
I am currently involved in the development of a comprehensive dataset in collaboration with Andrew Klassen, Nathan Fioritti, and the HUMAN Surveys project. This "Biggest Problem" dataset harmonizes global public opinion surveys to identify the most pressing issues facing countries today. By integrating data from sources like AmericasBarometer and Latinobarómetro, this project enables cross-national comparisons and offers a nuanced understanding of how different populations prioritize various issues. The dataset is designed to provide valuable insights into mass public opinion and issue prioritization, with the goal of inspiring further research into the alignment between public priorities and political elites’ responses and policy decisions.
“Women’s Land Tenure and the Path to Economic Equity” (with Susan Hannah Allen and Stephen Bagwell)''
A key theme of my research is the concept that security is shaped by perspective. Women, for example, often conceptualize security in broader terms than traditional views focused on borders and sovereignty, extending to economic security. This perspective is central to a manuscript I am co-authoring with Susan Hannah Allen and Stephen Bagwell, which examines women's economic security through land ownership in developing countries, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. Our research investigates how women's control over land is recognized as a crucial element of their economic security, influencing their sense of stability and empowerment.