Reaching the Individual: EU Accession, NGOs, and Human Rights (article)

Can human rights institutions influence individual behavior?  This article examines discrimination against the Roma and the ground level effectiveness of two strategies that aim to eliminate it.  I find that the EU accession process may not substantially reduce individual discrimination, but that NGO action aimed at improving Roma/non-Roma relations might.  (appendix)

Is Sexism for White People? Gender Stereotypes, Race, and the 2016 Presidential Election (article) 
with Mackenzie Israel-Trummel and Allyson Shortle

Did sexism affect presidential vote choice in the 2016 general election?  We find that a politically defined measure of sexism—the belief that men are better suited emotionally for politics than women—predicts support for Trump in vote choice as well as favorability, particularly among White voters. 

For Better Science: The Benefits of Community Engagement in Research (article)

How can community engagement lead to better science?  Members of the researched community can correct dominant, but incorrect, interpretations; they can help us fine-tune a test to better fit the local context; and they can help us adjust the method of delivery to ensure comfortable participation.

Breaking the Exclusion Cycle: Contact, Discrimination, and Cooperation 
​(under contract with Oxford University Press)

In this book I argue that exclusion, in part, persists because discrimination by the majority and survival strategies by the minority feed into one another. I also argue that NGO-promoted intergroup contact strategies can help people break out of the vicious cycle. The empirics are based on a videogame I created to capture behaviors of the minority and the majority. 

Exit Polling: Field Research and Pedagogical Benefits of Community Engagement (article)
with Mackenzie Israel-Trummel and Allyson Shortle

​What can students learn in the field?  This article discusses the pedagogical benefits of involving students in research.   It is based on a 2016 Election exit poll we conducted in Oklahoma City, with 61 students from the University of Oklahoma.  For more, see OU CEEL.

​Discrimination in action: the value of experiments in human rights (post)
openDemocracy

In this blog post I discuss how experiments can help us capture discrimination in challenging settings.  I present the videogame I created to capture discrimination against the Roma and discuss how experiments help us gain insight into race and gender discrimination, human trafficking, and violence against women. 

Discrimination, cooperation, and building communities (post)
openDemocracy

What happens when people experience discrimination? I find that Roma who have experienced discrimination are less likely to contribute to a public good. Mistreatment can severely constrain community-building strategies of marginalized populations.

Exclusion and the European project: building trust with Roma communities (post) Politikon

In this blog post I write about hate crimes and open bigotry in the wake of Brexit.  I discuss how NGO-led promotion of intergroup contact and dialogue can help us build inclusive communities.
(trust game description here)​

To discredit victims, call them terrorists
openDemocracy
with Amanda Murdie 

​What happens when a repressive government attempts to discredit a prisoner of conscience? When a government labels a human rights activist imprisoned for his Tweets a terrorist, people are less likely to support a campaign to drop the charges against him.

How to reduce discrimination: Getting to know the Roma 
​Monkey Cage

How do we reduce discrimination against the Roma? In this post I note that the EU accession process, commonly considered a strong mechanism of rights change, does not appear to substantially reduce ground-level discrimination.  NGO-led efforts to promote contact and dialogue, however, might.

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bracic@msu.edu  
301 821 5887