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.
My primary research agenda examines how actors influence the likelihood of international or civil war by sharing or withholding information about their military capabilities. In a series of projects, I study how leaders temper domestic support for war without signaling weakness to foreign adversaries, why countries sometimes attempt to conceal rather than advertise their military strength to hostile rivals, how powerful countries motivate weaker proxies to cooperate on security policy, and how the threat of civil violence can deter governments from predating upon their citizens.
Other branches of my research explore how actors strategically share and frame information in order to sculpt public opinion. In one project I show that journalists adjust the tone and content of their questions in accordance with the gender and political affiliation of the person they interview. In another paper, I provide evidence that American 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 society members to abandon long-held social norms. Finally, before joining U.C. San Diego I worked as the debate coach in the Department of Rhetoric and Media Studies 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"
"The Secrecy Gambit: Clandestine Power Shifts and Preventive Conflict"
"Media Bias in Presidential Press Questions"
"Renaming and Credit Claiming in Federal Agencies"
"Unprogrammed Abandonment of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting"
"The Agency Dilemma in Crisis Decision Making"
"Monopolies of Violence? A Theory of Civil Conflict and Statebuilding"
Analyzing Politics
Applied Data Analysis for Political Science
Crisis Areas in World Politics (x2)
International Crisis Diplomacy
Introduction to American Politics
Mathematical and Statistical Foundations (graduate, x2)
Discussion Sections:
Research Advising:
East Asian Thought (x2)
Insurgency and Terrorism
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 341