Annual Report
The School of Politics and Global Studies
A Message from the Director
As we reflect on the past year, I am delighted to share the significant milestones and achievements of the School of Politics and Global Studies at Arizona State University. True to ASU’s spirit, our School is big. It serves approximately 1,600 undergraduate students, 400 MA and doctoral students, supported by nearly 60 faculty and 17 dedicated staff, embodying the innovation and inclusive excellence of one of the nation’s largest public research universities.
A distinct source of pride of our School is the number of prestigious national and international scholarships won by our students. In the last decade, our students with diverse backgrounds have achieved remarkable success in securing such awards including 36 Fulbright Awards, 13 Gilman Scholarships, 6 Pickering Fellowships, 4 Boren Awards, as well as individual Udall Scholarships, Rangel Fellowships, and Rhodes Scholarships This impressive record is a testimony to the inclusive excellence drives our mission, the dedicated mentorship efforts our faculty and staff as well as the exceptional caliber of students. In an era where fundamental challenges facing our humanity demand effective diplomacy and cross-cultural understanding, our School continues to educate students who are ready to tackle these challenges.
A highlight of this year is the launch of our new International Relations undergraduate degrees, designed to prepare students for careers in diplomacy, security, international organizations and private enterprises. Our degrees equip them with analytical skills and knowledge to navigate the complexities of world affairs. A core goal is to inspire and motivate students to pursue public service careers and attain leadership positions, positively impacting the human condition in Arizona, across the nation, and globally, in alignment with the ASU Charter.
Our faculty continues to produce research on highly salient issues ranging from authoritarian governance to political violence, from international organizations to electoral campaigns. We publish in leading scholarly outlets, while securing highly competitive grants from public and private agencies. During the 2024 elections, our faculty has been a non-partisan, reliable, and informed source of information about Arizona politics for a wide range of local, national, and international media.
We bid farewell to Michael Hechter, an eminent sociologist renowned for his influential contributions to comparative-historical analysis, particularly in the study of nationalism, social order, and group solidarity. We are delighted to have two new Assistant Professors, Lindsey Carte and Matthew Libassi, join us. While Lindsey works on the dynamics of immigration and environmental change in Latin America, Matt’s research focuses on natural resource use, conflict, and governance in Southeast Asia. We have also welcomed two new Presidential Postdoctoral Fellows: Iris Acquarone, who studies representation of marginalized groups across Western democracies, and Keith Chew, who studies political institutions, corruption, and identities in Southeast Asia.
Please send me a note if you are curious about any aspect of our School or have ideas to share.
Güneş Murat Tezcür Director and Professor School of Politics and Global Studies
Expanding our impact
The School of Politics and Global Studies (SPGS) launched several new fields of study this year, including a new undergraduate degree in International Relations (IR). Through IR BA and BS majors, students can develop a greater understanding of international policy and prepare for a thriving career in global relations.
The School also launched an MA in Global Security, Irregular Warfare concentration, where students can gain the skills needed to navigate complex irregular warfare scenarios.
News from our community
Additions to the team include:
Faculty
Lindsey Carte, Assistant Professor
Matthew Libassi, Assistant Professor
Keith Chew, Presidential postdoctoral researcher
Iris Acquarone, Presidential postdoctoral researcher
Staff
Bridget Perez, Graduate Program Student Services
Support Coordinator
Ethan Meudt, Academic Success Advisor
Jim Orren, Business Operations Specialist
New year, new titles:
This year, Jennet Kirkpatrick and Valerie Hoekstra were promoted to full Professors while James Strickland was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure.
Faculty & Staff Highlights
University Professor Craig Calhoun contributed the foreword and a chapter titled “Herbert Marcuse and America’s Cultural Revolution” to the book, The Marcusean Mind. Routledge, 2024.
Assistant Professor Kenicia Wright received a National Science Foundation Supplement for High School Student Research Assistantships (in Social, Behavior, and Economic Sciences, with Güneş Murat Tezcür and Francisco Pedraza).
Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow Iris Acquarone published “Historically Marginalized Groups and Ideological Representation in Legislatures.” Legislative Studies Quarterly.
Senior Academic Success Advisor Floren Carter was awarded the Outstanding New Advisor Award from The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Academic Success Advisor Ethan Meudt was the winner of the NACADA New Advisor Annual Conference Scholarship and as a result was able to attend the 2024 NACADA Annual Conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in October 2024.
Professor of Practice David Scheffer received the 2024 Eleanor Roosevelt Prize for Global Human Rights Advancement from the Center for Human Rights of the American Bar Association.
Assistant Director of Academic Services Katie Reese was awarded the SPGS Excellence in Service Award.
Director and Professor Güneş Murat Tezcür published a book exploring political violence titled Liminal Minorities: Religious Difference and Mass Viole nce in Muslim Societies. Cornell University Press. 2024.
Foundation Professor Kim Fridkin and Executive Vice Provost Pat Kenney published, “Choices in a Chaotic Campaign: Looking Forward to the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election,” in Fifteen Eighty Four Cambridge University Press.
Assistant Professor James Strickland won the Best Journal Article Award from the State Politics and Policy section of the American Political Science
Meet the new faculty
Association for his paper “The Contingent Value of Connections: Legislative Turnover and Revolving-Door Lobbyists,” published in the journal Business and Politics.
Associate Professor Henry Thompson published a new book titled, Watching the Watchers: Communist Elites, the Secret Police and Social Order in Cold War Europe. Cambridge University Press. 2024.
Gina Woodall, a triple ASU alumna and full-time faculty member at SPGS, received the 2024 Faculty Teaching Achievement Award from the ASU Alumni Association.
Instructor Charles Ripley received a $50,000 U.S. government grant to work with migrants in Latin America.
Professors of Practice Jan “Ken” Gleiman and Amos Fox is leading the FSI effort to host the Small Wars Journal (SWJ) at ASU.
Professor Okey C. Iheduru published “Africapitalist Foundations: The Political Economy of the Philanthropy of the Super-Rich in Neoliberal Africa,” Canadian Journal of Development Studies// Revue canadienne d’études du développement.
Assistant Professor Margaret Hanson and Political Science PhD student Gaukhar Baltabayeva published, “Exit as voice, for the economically mobile: Russian migration to Central Asia & the Caucasus.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies.
Assistant Teaching Professor Thomas Just published a new book titled, Combating Antisemitism in Germany and Poland: Strategies Since 1990. Lynne Rienner. 2024.
Matthew Libassi Assistant Professor
Lindsey Carte Assistant Professor
Leading informed conversations Researching voter sentiments
The Future Security Initiative (FSI) and the Center for Latina/os and American Politics Research (CLAPR) conduct cutting edge research and lead conversations on public issues like Latino representation in American politics and global conflict and security.
This year, FSI co-hosted a documentary screening of “War Game,” which follows a simulation of a future election-denying revolt, similar to that of Jan. 6th, 2021, with the added peril of extremist members of the armed forces threatening a military coup. The event is pictured.
The center also welcomed two new Professors of Practice: Amos Fox, PhD, a defense and security analyst, and David Kilcullen, PhD, a leading global thinker on conflict. The center also hosted its 10th Future Security Forum in collaboration with New America, a Washington, D.C. based think tank.
The Center for Latina/os and American Politics Research published its inaugural report on “The State of Latinos,” which takes a look at civic engagement within Latino communities and provides perspectives of community leaders, policymakers and academic experts.
The center also released it’s “Status of Arizona Voter Poll,” on the 2024 U.S. Elections, breaking down Latino voters’ concerns and preferences. A panel discussion on the findings, featuring Francisco Pedraza and Stella Rouse, is pictured.
Five students from universities across the country also received awards for their “Research on Latinx Politics and American Institutions.” The students will present their research at the upcoming PRIEC-ASU event in Jan. 2025.
Programs in Washington, D.C. and abroad
Gaining industry experience — all before graduation
The school offers a myriad of opportunities, internships and study abroad programs. Students participated in the highly competitive statewide Arizona Legislature and Government Program, where they received a front row seat to the legislative process. Pictured here is the 2024 class.
Taking on the nation’s capital
Through the Policy Design Studio and Internship Program and the Capital Scholars Program, students landed internships in Washington, D.C. and earned course credit. Students go through rigorous interview processes to secure internships in the nation’s capital.
Pictured is the 2024 Capital Scholars cohort on the U.S. Speaker of the House’s Balcony overlooking the National Mall.
Developing a deeper understanding of the world
Students also had the opportunity to explore the world this summer, traveling and studying in North Macedonia and Ireland.
Pictured is the group that went to Ireland in 2024. The group visited two capital cities: Dublin, capital of the Republic of Ireland, and Belfast, capital of Northern Ireland.
Undergraduate Student Highlights
Flannery Lindeman (pictured right) was awarded the Spring 2024 Dean’s Medal for the School of Politics and Global Studies, and Natalie Kerbel was awarded the Fall 2024 Dean’s Medal.
Rishab Chatty, a Spring 2024 graduate, was nominated for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace James C. Gaither Fellowship.
Ben Ash, a political science and history senior, received the Barrett Global Explorers Grant to support international research in the Summer 2024 semester. Ash traveled to London and Paris to develop his research on Gen Z nostalgia, nationalism and identity through street style, videotaped interviews.
Jesus Rendon-Silva, a political science senior, helped host a National Voter Registration event featuring a panel of Arizona public officials ahead of the 2024 United States general elections.
SPGS students Alina Bozhko, Anusha Rahman, James Driscoll, Jack Hinrichs, Erica Maglalang, Morgann Kelly, and Sultan Stipho, represented ASU in the 2024 Regents Cup and won both categories of the speech and debate competition.
The competition is presented by the Arizona Board of Regents and was held on ASU’s Downtown Phoenix campus in March 2024.
Amber Sheardown, Drake Holliday and Jonathan Duprat participated in the ASU World Innovators study abroad program, visiting Serbia, Kosovo, and Montenegro.
Isabel Haas, a 2024 global studies graduate, was awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Award. For the entirety of 2025, she will teach English in South Korea.
Global studies junior Sierra Jones (pictured below) was a recipient of the Voyager Scholarship, a prestigious award that provides financial aid and a travel stipend for college students preparing for careers in public service.
“I believe that meeting new people and experiencing things outside of your comfort zone is one of the most important steps in your education. It enables a person to find ways to be of service.”
— Sierra Jones Global Studies, B.A.
Meet the SPGS Student Ambassadors
The School established a Student Ambassador program this year, which included Andrew Cooper, Shey Desai, Iroda Makhamatjonova, Titiksha Kothakapu, Kaley Schmidt and Erica Maglalang!
The ambassadors are outstanding student leaders representing the School in the Sun Devil Community in and outside of the classroom. The group is pictured on the left with former Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake and his wife, Cheryl Flake
Graduate Student Highlights
Shirvin Zeinalzadeh, a PhD student won 1st prize from the Institute of Social Science Research at ASU, representing SPGS with his research project: “From Tweets to StreetsUnravelling the Power of Media Influence on Collective Action.”
David McGraw, a Political Psychology MA student, and Esteban Espinoza, a Global Security MA student, received the SPGS Director’s Scholarships for the Fall 2024 semester.
Political Science PhD student Kristin Cochran received the Stephen G. Walker Graduate Support Fellowship for the Fall 2024 semester.
Netty Herawaty, a Political Science PhD candidate, received the Graduate College Completion Fellowship for the Fall 2024 semester.
Jessica Lara, (pictured below) an International Affairs and Leadership Spring 2024 graduate, was selected for the Japanese Exchange and Teaching program, teaching in Tsugaru City.
PhD students Ryan Leavitt and Jess Earle participated in the McCain Institute’s Sedona Forum in May 2024.
Matthew Smoldt, a political science PhD candidate, co-published, with Valerie Mueller and Cameron Thies, an article titled “U.S. Enforcement Politics and Remittance Dynamics in Mexico” in Journal of Politics
Justin Zyla, a political science PhD student, had an article accepted for publication in American Politics Research, titled “Partisan bias in episodes of political violence.”
IAL Masters student Keith Eckert spent over six weeks, from Dec. 3rd, 2023 -Jan. 16th, 2024, rowing across the Atlantic Ocean in a small boat with eleven other crew members.
Because of the faculty and staff’s desire to tailor the program to each student’s individual goals, I was able to study abroad and solidify my interest in returning to Japan with the JET program.”
— Jessica Lara International Affairs and Leadership,
M.A.
Alumni in the Spotlight
Simon A. Lee (pictured left) is a three time Sun Devil alumnus, having graduated with an MA in International Affairs & Leadership in 2022, an MA in Global Security in 2020 and a BA in political science in 2019. He now works as a legislative aide in the U.S. Senate.
“The strong family of veterans at ASU is directly responsible for my success as a student veteran,” Lee says. “I truly look forward to supporting future, current, and alumni Sun Devils.”
“The notion that you measure an environment not by who you exclude, but by who you include and how those within it succeed is one of the things that drew me to ASU. I aim to continue making it a part of my professional environment to the fullest extent.”
— Simon A. Lee International Affairs and Leadership, M.A Global Security, M.A. Political Science, B.A.
Hannah Johnson (pictured below) was featured on an episode of The College’s “Learning from Experience,” podcast. Johnson graduated in 2021 with two bachelor’s degrees, one in philosophy and the other in political science. She currently works as a policy advisor for the Office of the Arizona Governor.
“I did an assortment of paid and unpaid internships and that was amazing for me because I got to get hands on experience and realize what I did like — which was policy — and what I didn’t like — which was politics,” Johnson said.
“You’ve got to get into that room and you’ve got to understand who is in that room to be able to hire you.”
— Hannah Johnson Political Science, B.A. History, B.A.
Phil Martell, an MA in Global Security alumnus, is a school superintendent based in Pennsylvania. Martell is leveraging his online degree to integrate cybersecurity education into the K–12 curriculum within his school district.
Under Martell’s leadership, the district established the first comprehensive cybersecurity curriculum in a public school in the United States. This innovative curriculum, aligned with industry standards and frameworks, offers students a pathway to explore cybersecurity careers starting as early as sixth grade.
Çağla Kılıç, PhD accepted an Assistant Professor position at Bilkent University in Ankara. Bilkent is one of the leading and most prestigious universities in Turkey. Çağla has been mentored by Cameron Thies, Thorin Wright, and Timothy Peterson.
Chirasree Mukherjee, PhD started a new position as Assistant Professor at Eastern Michigan University.
A hub for global engagements
Our School prides itself on being the primary hub for the study of global affairs at ASU. We regularly host scholars and public figures from around the world, fostering intellectual dialogue and inspiring innovative research. Pictured below are Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the U.S. Hyundong Cho and U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea Philip S. Goldberg who discussed the importance of the U.S. and Korea Alliance with students in October.
Model UN Conference
SunMUN, ASU’s student-led Model UN organization, and SPGS teamed up to host a regional Model UN Conference for high school and college students in the southwest. Hundreds of students attended and practiced negotiation, research, and communication skills in an immersive setting focused on important global topics.
Election Countdown: Navigating Geopolitics in Eurasia
A roundtable of experts, including Budapest Metropolitan University Professors Victor Friedman and Péter Rada, SPGS Professor Thorin Wright and Postdoctoral Researcher Noelle Troutman, dove into topics like the NATO alliance, the Russia-Ukraine war, and U.S.-China relations ahead of the U.S. election.
Women’s rights advocate Jamila Afghani meets with students
Jamila Afghani, a women’s rights advocate, visited with students to talk about Afghanistan after the U.S. withdrawal and women’s rights and struggles in Afghanistan and Iran with Professor Shahla Talebi
Reflection on Truth and Reconciliation with Roelf Meyer
Former South African politician Roelf Meyer discussed creating peaceful and lasting solutions for conflict in relation to South Africa’s reconciliation efforts. Meyer is a former National Party Cabinetminister and was a key negotiator for the transition from apartheid to the first democratic elections in South Africa in 1994.
Building a community of belonging
SPGS devoted to supporting its diverse student population, ensuring top-tier offerings are accessible for all. That is why the school awards many scholarships each year to students based on academics, experience, personal stories and financial need.
See what our school offers below and get involved!
Our degree programs, research centers, internships and more:
Undergraduate degrees
Politics and the Economy (BS)
Political Science (BS)
Political Science (BA)
Global Studies (BA)
International Relations (BS)
International Relations (BA)
Graduate degrees
International Affairs and Leadership (MA)
Global Security (MA)
Global Security, Cybersecurity (MA)
Global Security, Irregular Warfare (MA)
Political Psychology (MA)
Political Science (MA)
Political Science (Ph.D.)
Minors
Global Studies
Political Science
Certificates
Civic Education
International Studies
Political Economy
Political Entrepreneurship through
Internships: Local to Global
Global Security and Competitive Statecraft (Graduate Certificate)
Our research units
Future Security Initiative (FSI)
Center for Latina/os and American Politics
Research (CLAPR)
Experimental Lab
Our student opportunities
Arizona Legislative and Government Internship Program
Capital Scholars Program
Policy Design Studio and Internship Program
For more information, visit:
