I ask 3 questions. Firstly, whether the EU PEACE 4 Programme design indicate a desire to engage young people in conflict transformation? Secondly, what conflict transformation related outcomes or processes result from PEACE 4 Programme youth programming? Thirdly, how does a young people priority/theme in the design and delivery of the PEACE 4 Programme contribute to the wider process of conflict transformation in the region? 

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Utilizing semi-structured interviews, this project will explore the interconnected nature of social and individual identity, voting behaviour, and political trends of this generation of young people.

My project is funded by a US Student Fulbright Grant.

I am from a small town in Indiana (USA), and my background is in communication studies. I studied abroad in Ireland during my undergraduate career and became fascinated in the history and culture of Northern Ireland. Communication studies often explores personal and social identity, and much of what I learned often brought Northern Ireland to mind. As the impacts of Brexit began to unravel in Northern Ireland, I became particularly curious about how young people viewed the issues and opportunities presented to them and how their identities impacted their voting behaviour. Queen's was the obvious choice for me given its academic standing and location in Northern Ireland, and receiving full funding through a Fulbright grant provided me with the incredible opportunity to conduct my research at QUB.

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2001 to 2007 was a critical time, not only for the Northern Ireland peace process but also internationally, with the aftermath of 9/11 and America’s response dominating events. It is within this context that I will examine the State Department’s organisational framework, determining how the sources and operations of decision-making authority affected NI and impacted wider geopolitical events. 

My research at undergraduate and MA level focused on women in Northern Ireland and concepts of identity and agency.  My PhD research however, includes an international perspective.  It takes as its case the agency of women from ‘caliphate’ territories governed by Daesh in Syria and Iraq (2013-2016).

In this context, my thesis aims to critically analyse the representations of women that are constructed through UK state and media discourse, as well as Daesh discourses.  As I discussed, it takes as its case the agency of women living in the ‘caliphate’ territories governed by Daesh in Syria and Iraq (2013-2016).  I work from the frame of feminist theorizations of war and security to examine the function and impact of these discourses.  Specifically, I aim to analyse their role in reproducing and legitimizing patriarchal constructions of social reality during periods of war and violent conflict.  Moreover, I employ narrative analysis to examine the ways in which women’s everyday lives and their perceptions, social attitudes and identities are impacted and informed by the discourses outlined.  My research questions are: How are women and their ‘roles’ portrayed in UK state and media discourse, as well as Daesh discourses?  How do these depictions influence social practices, attitudes, and power relations in relation to women?  What impact do such discourses have on women and how are they negotiated and challenged by women?

The research is guided by the critical hypothesis that the presence of machines, such as cameraphones and body-worn cameras, have agency that deeply affects human relationships. The project seeks to uncover how these relations ebb and flow through human assumptions about and usages of these technologies.

My project is funded by Leverhulme  Interdisciplinary Network on Cybersecurity and Society (LINCS) https://www.qub.ac.uk/Research/GRI/mitchell-institute/Study/LINCSDoctoralTrainingProgramme/

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This thesis will question if populism is a central component of democracy and what a ‘true democrat’ is.

M.A. Politics, Queen’s University, Belfast (2016)

B.A. History and Politics, Northumbria University (2014)

Awards:

Department for the Economy (DfE) Postgraduate Research Studentship

Taking Northern Ireland, the Philippines, and Colombia as comparative case studies, it will examine the nuanced relationships between state institutions/agencies and counterinsurgent paramilitaries (such as the Ulster Volunteer Force, Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Units, and Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia) and how and why these relationships vary between cases and over time.

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