I am a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Political Science at the University of California, San Diego, and the Herb York Fellow at the Institute for Global Conflict and Cooperation. I use game theory, large-n data, survey experiments, and historical case studies to study how actors share, withhold, and frame information in ways that affect the likelihood of war or violence.
During military crises, national leaders face complex strategic incentives that traditional signaling, deterrence, and crisis bargaining theories sometimes overlook. In a series of projects, I demonstrate that leaders struggle to temper domestic support for war without inadvertently signaling weakness to foreign adversaries, that countries sometimes attempt to conceal rather than advertise their military strength when bargaining with hostile rivals, that domestic opposition can prevent powerful states from coercing the compliance of weak proxies, and that the threat of civil insurgency can deter government predation.
Another branch of my research explores how actors strategically frame information on domestic issues. In one project I show that journalists adjust the tone and content of their questions in accordance with the gender and personal characteristics of the person they interview. In another paper, I provide evidence that politicians attempt to claim political credit by renaming rather than terminating unpopular federal agencies. A third project evaluates how the spread of information can motivate citizens to abandon long-held social norms. Finally, before joining U.C. San Diego I worked as the debate coach at Lewis & Clark College. As such, some of my early research relates to argumentation theory and communication pedagogy.
If you have questions or wish to contact me, please email bmerrell@ucsd.edu.
University of California, San Diego
Southern Illinois University
Western Kentucky University
Lewis & Clark College
"Debate across the Disciplines: Structured Classroom Debates in Interdisciplinary Curricula"
"Back to its Roots: Accuracy as the Litmus Test for Topicality"
"The Intersection of Competitions and Classrooms in Forensics Pedagogy"
"Denmark, 1940-1945: Armed Resistance and Agency Slippage in Germany's Model Protectorate"
"Illegal Wildlife Trafficking - The Unseen Environmental Harms"
"Vetoing the Peace: The Agency Dilemma in Crisis Decision-Making"
"The War Referendum: Hawkish Opinion and Support for War"
"The Secrecy Gambit: Clandestine Power Shifts and Preventive Conflict"
"Monopolies of Violence? Civil Insurgency and the Accountability Paradox"
"Media Bias in Presidential Press Questions"
"Renaming and Credit Claiming in Federal Agencies"
"Unprogrammed Abandonment of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting"
"Signaling for Spoils: War Termination Under Alignment"
"King Makers and Peace Breakers: The Politics of Intervention Failure"
Crisis Areas in World Politics (x2)
International Crisis Diplomacy
Introduction to American Politics
Mathematical and Statistical Foundations (graduate, x3)
Discussion Sections:
Research Mentor:
East Asian Thought (x2)
Insurgency and Terrorism
International Law
Politics and Warfare
Supreme Court & Constitution
United States Foreign Policy
War and Society (x2)
Weapons of Mass Destruction
Brandon Merrell
University of California, San Diego
Department of Political Science
Social Sciences Building 301
9500 Gilman Drive, 0521
La Jolla, CA 92093-0521
Email: bmerrell@ucsd.edu
Homepage: www.brandonmerrell.com
Office: Social Science Building 448