Welcome!
I'm a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Political Science at the University of Pittsburgh. I specialize in international relations with a focus on civil war, rebel governance, and post-conflict peacebuilding. You can find my CV here.
My work explains how rebel governance and different types of governance affect the durability of peace after conflict. I use a variety of methods to explore these issues, including cross-national statistical analysis and case studies.
CV
You can find my CV here. (last updated January 2024)
Research
Dissertation Project
What explains a variation in the fates of post-conflict countries? Why do some societies emerge from civil wars and successfully establish peaceful and functioning states while others are mired in conflict traps? My dissertation focuses on war-time governance activities that rebel groups engage in to understand the variations in post-civil war trajectory. I argue that wartime rebel governance contributes to durable peace after war through rebel political participation. However, not all types of rebel governance are created equal. For example, there is significant variance in the extent to which rebel governance includes participatory political arrangements. Some rebel groups largely allow civilian participation in governance during the war while others exclude civilians. While rebel governance, in general, may increase the durability of post-war peace, its stabilizing effects vary depending on how much civilians participate in rebel governance. First, participatory rebel governance influences the capability of rebel groups to become viable political players after war. The implementation of participatory governance depends on voluntary and continuous cooperation with the civilian population. Rebels that secure voluntary support during the war can better mobilize electoral support after war, which can failitate post-conflict political particpation of rebel groups. Moreover, peace after civil wars is expected to be particularly durable when rebel groups develop participatory governance during the war by promoting civil political participation. Using a mixed-method approach by employing both quantitative and qualitative methods, my dissertation underscores rebel governance, especially participatory governance, in the post-conflict peace process.
Peer-Reviewed Paper
Hyunjung Park. "Participatory Rebel Governance and Durability of Peace." International Studies Quarterly. (forthcoming)
Seokwoo Kim and Hyunjung Park. 2016. "Domestic Source of ODA Policy: Domestic Welfare Policy and ODA Policy", Korean Political Science Review Vol.50 No.1, pp.133-154.
Working Papers
Hyunjung Park "Participatory Rebel Governance and Rebel Political Participation"
Hyunjung Park "Voting Amidst Civil War: Democratic Intervention and Rebel Elections" with Jungmin Han
Hyunjung Park. "Rebel Natural Resources Smuggling and Government Concessions in Civil Wars"
Teaching
Undergraduate Courses
Instructor, Research Methods in Political Science (PS0700), University of Pittsburgh
TA, International Relations (PS0500), University of Pittsburgh
TA, Research Methods in Political Science (PS0700), University of Pittsburgh