Policy Research

Over the past few years, I have developed a huge passion for analyzing the role children play in peacebuilding and post-war reconstruction as well as the security, migration and development policy surrounding it. My regions of focus include: Latin America, the EU and South Asia.

In 2017, my paper The Children are Coming Home, which examined and analyzed the cyclical violence experienced by child soldiers in Colombia, was highly commended (top 10%) by the Undergraduate Awards and I had presented the paper at the Undergraduate Awards Global Summit in Dublin last November. 

Research Analysis + Process

This is an example of my research process. Not every project will include every part in each step but I will always follow this 4-step process in my analysis before making any conclusive analyses. 

Deconstruction

Issue analysis, evaluating actors involved, theoretical analysis, historical analysis

Discovery

Primary research, secondary research, data analysis, risk assessment, stakeholder research 

Development 

Reports, funding proposals, research paper 

Dissemination

Governance plans, creation of training guides, infographic presentation, regular content writing on issue 

Past Papers

Below you will find snippets of past papers I have written. Please feel free to request any of the papers below. 

The children are coming home 

This paper examines the cyclical violence experienced by child soldiers in Colombia and the repercussions it has to ensuring a long-lasting peace deal in the country. Written in April 2017. 

Highly Commended (Top 10%) by Undergraduate Awards and presented at Undergraduate Awards Global Summit November 2017. 

Set with the backdrop of a violent civil war for more than five decades, the signing of the peace agreement in November 2016 between the Colombian government and the country’s largest rebel group, the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), signified a calmer future ahead for Colombia. Often overlooked and unspoken of in the study of International Relations, one of the biggest reasons why the conflict was able to prolong for so long was through the recruitment of child soldiers by both paramilitary and rebel groups in the country. According to the United Nations, a child soldier refers to “individuals under the age of 18 associated with an armed group or an armed conflict.” With the end of the war, many armed groups in Colombia, including the FARC, have agreed to release child soldiers from their ranks as part of the demobilization process. While there has been an acknowledgement of the importance of effective reintegration of child soldiers back into Colombian society to ensure prolonged peace in the country, this paper argues that there currently are inadequate structures in place to facilitate this delicate yet important process given the extensive nature of the conflict.

Populist participatory democracy

Comparing right-wing and left-wing populism in Colombia and Venezuela respectively, this paper argues: While many of the participatory innovations have the potential to strengthen democracy in Latin America, with the already weak democracies in many parts of the region, the participatory innovations alone fail to strengthen democracy, and in many cases weaken it further, especially in the case of populist leaders like past President Álvaro Uribe (2002-2010) in Colombia and past President Hugo Chávez (1999 - 2013) in Venezuela.

Written April 2015.