Congratulations to Jamie Shenk on the successful completion of her DPhil
Congratulations to Dr Jamie L. Shenk, who has been awarded her DPhil in Sociology.
Jamie's thesis, "Democratization from Below: Citizen Activated Participatory Democracy in Colombia's Extractive Industries", was completed under the supervision of Professor Leigh Payne. The study investigates the lingering effects of armed conflict on social mobilisation and participatory democracy, using Colombia as a case study.
By analysing both quantitative and qualitative data, Jamie examined the use of local referenda to contest large-scale mining and oil projects as an example of citizen-led participatory democracy in active and post-conflict contexts. Jamie's research has been published in the Journal of Comparative Politics, and will also be featured in the Journal of Peace Research.
Jamie will now undertake a two-year postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard Kennedy School's Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, with the aim of turning her thesis into a published book.
Jamie previously worked for the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars' Latin American Program, following the completion of her MSc in Latin American Studies at Oxford's Latin American Centre.
More information about Jamie's work can be found on her website and Twitter.
We wish Dr Shenk every success in her future career and look forward to following her accomplishments.
