My research lies at the intersection of international political economy and international organizations. I study how international norms travel through the global economy, and why they sometimes fail.
In my dissertation, I examine the promotion and contestation of human rights through trade networks. I focus on the institutional conditions under which human rights–trade linkages become less effective, when trade agreements become vehicles for human rights commitments, and how bargaining among international institutions and domestic political pressures shape the strength, design, and credibility of those commitments. More broadly, I’m interested in how institutions, interests, and ideas interact to promote or contest liberal norms through economic integration.
Methodologically, I use a mixed-methods approach that combines original data collection (including hand-coded data, text data, and legal texts), quantitative analysis, survey and survey-experimental designs, and qualitative case studies. I also use computational methods, including text-as-data and large language model tools, to study political rhetoric and institutional behavior.
I also work on related projects on regionalism, the institutional determinants of embedded liberalism and political trust, illiberal rhetorical strategies in multilateral forums, and AI governance (including trade-offs between rights-based regulation and innovation).
Across projects, I focus on international trade, human rights, the institutional politics of norm contestation, and the European Union, using both mixed methods and computational approaches.
Before coming to UCSD, I completed my MPP at Seoul National University and earned my BA in Public Administration at Yonsei University in South Korea.
