Hire a Ph.D.
Hire a Ph.D.
Our scholars represent a wide range of specializations, from international relations and comparative politics to political theory, public policy, and American politics. Explore their profiles to learn more about their research interests, teaching experience, and the unique perspectives they bring to the study and practice of political science.
Spencer Whyte
Spencer Whyte is a doctoral candidate at the University of Delaware’s Department of Political Science and International Relations. His dissertation work integrates factors of foreign policy role change at all three levels of analysis, addressing questions of institutional and structural constraints on leadership agency. The project traces three cases of role change during British foreign policy crises. More broadly, his research interests center on foreign policy analysis, the decision-making process of foreign policy leaders, national identity, international relations theory, and European politics. He analyzes his research using a mixed-method approach, utilizing archival, process-tracing, survey, and text analysis methodologies. Spencer’s previous work has been published in a Routledge book series on international relations role theory. Whyte has extensive teaching experience, serving as Instructor of Record for Introduction to Comparative Politics and Politics & Social Justice courses, as well as a Teaching Assistant for a number of classes across the International Relations, American Politics, and Comparative Politics subfields.
Heon Lee
Hello. I am Heon Lee, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Delaware studying public opinion and political economy. My research broadly asks how the deep structures of the economy, institutions, and history shape the way individuals understand and experience democracy. In my dissertation, I examine how work precarity influences American workers’ democratic attitudes. Focusing on alternative work arrangements and undemocratic workplaces, my dissertation investigates how anti-establishment orientations (i.e., populist and conspiratorial views) can be developed in socio-economic contexts marked by the erosion of labor’s share and voice. In addition, I am working on a project on the democratic implications of memory politics in South Korea. By examining the divisive memories of the Gwangju Uprising, the project shows how recollections of past state violence and democratization shape whether citizens justify or resist democratic backsliding. Alongside my research, I have developed strong teaching expertise in political methodology and American politics.
