I am data scientist and director of model risk who previously worked as a professor. My academic work focused on how countries and international organizations can influence global development, inequality, and political violence. I worked with the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.K.'s Department for International Development, the Institute on Global Conflict & Cooperation, the Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, and various other organizations.
I hold a Ph.D. in Political Science from UC San Diego and taught undergraduate, Masters, and Ph.D.-level courses in data science, economics, international relations, and public policy. Before joining the University of Arkansas as a Distinguished Professor, I served as a visiting faculty member at Georgia Tech, as a Henry Kissinger Fellow at Yale University, and as a Herb York Fellow at UC San Diego. Earlier in my career I also coached the competitive debate team at Lewis & Clark College; as such, some of my early research addressed argumentation theory and debate pedagogy.
If you wish to contact me, please email brandon.merrell@gmail.com.
Distinguished Professor, 2022-2025
Visiting Professor, 2021-2022
Henry A. Kissinger Fellow, 2019-2021
Herb York Fellow, 2017-2018
Ph.D., Political Science, UC San Diego, 2019
M.A., Political Science, UC San Diego, 2015
B.A., Economics & Political Science, Southern Illinois University, 2011
Undergraduate, Western Kentucky University, 2007-2009
"Unprogrammed Abandonment of Female Genital Mutilation / Cutting"
"Denmark, 1940-1945:
Armed Resistance and Agency Slippage in Germany's Model Protectorate"
"Debate across the Disciplines:
Structured Classroom Debates in Interdisciplinary Curricula"
"Back to its Roots: Accuracy as the Litmus Test for Topicality"
"Contrasting Structures, Conditional Strategies:
Designing Format-Specific Theories for Competitive Debate"
"The Intersection of Competitions and Classrooms in Forensics Pedagogy"
"Illegal Wildlife Trafficking: The Unseen Environmental Harms"
"The Gendered Legacies of Wartime Trauma:
Bombing, Domestic Abuse, and Political Participation in Cambodia"
"Education For All?
The Gender Literacy Gap and the Distributional Effects of World Bank Assistance"
"Why Do Leaders Fight Futile Wars?
Optimistic Constituents and Agency Dilemmas in Crisis Decision-Making"
"The Secrecy Gambit:
Clandestine Power Shifts and Preventive Conflict"
"Monopolies of Violence? How Insurgent Threats Can Motivate Accountable Governance"
"King Makers and Peace Breakers:
International Intervention and Post-War Violence"
"Are Reporters More Hostile Toward Female Officials?
Media Sentiment in White House Press Briefings"
"Renaming and Credit Claiming in Federal Agencies"
Applied Data Analysis for Political Science
Crisis Areas in World Politics
International Crisis Diplomacy
Introduction to American Politics
Introduction to Social Data Analytics
Mathematical and Statistical Foundations (graduate)
Government of the United States
Science, Technology & International Affairs II (graduate)
Statistical Analysis for Public Policy
Program Planning and Development (graduate)
Program Evaluation and Causal Inference (graduate)
Master's Capstone Supervisor (University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service)
Dissertation Committee Member for Michael Ceci (GT School of International Affairs)
Research Mentor: Frontiers of Political Science (UCSD Senior Honors Thesis Course)
Research Mentor: Policy Responses to Global Problems (UCSD Graduate Research Capstone)
Supervisor for Research Assistants in UCSD's Research Apprenticeship Program