Elsa Voytas joins QSS as a post-doctoral fellow

The Program in Quantitative Social Science welcomes Elsa Voytas [a post-doctoral fellow for the 2021-22 academic year.  Elsa finished her doctorate at Princeton University in political science with a joint degree in social policy from the Princeton School of International Affairs.   Her dissertation was titled, "Confronting the past: transitional justice policies after violence," and it explores how justice policies in states with histories of violence can affect political behaviors.  One of Elsa's recent articles explores the extent to which exhibits in the Museum of Memory and Human Rights in Santiago, Chile, lead visitors to have increased support for democratic institutions.  

Elsa will be joining the School of Global and Public Affairs at IE University in Madrid, Spain, after she completes her QSS fellowship.  Also appointed at IE is DJ Flynn, who was a post-doctoral fellow in QSS during 2016-2018. DJ's research focuses on misinformation and public opinion, and at IE he teaches courses on political behavior and quantitative methods.

According to DJ, Elsa is a thrilling addition to IE's faculty because her work uses cutting edge methods to address pressing questions about transitional justice. She builds on IE's existing strength in quantitative methods and formal theory while adding an exciting research agenda looking at post-conflict policies and their political and psychological effects.

In Fall 2021, Elsa is teaching a QSS course, Quantitative Approaches to Peace and Justice (QSS 30.18). This class will introduce students to statistical techniques that can be used to study conflict resolution, transitional justice, and reconciliation.