My research examines how transnational norms shape international and domestic politics. I am particularly interested in “pariah states”—countries that face ostracism for norm violations like human rights abuses or developing weapons of mass destruction—and how they have attempted to mitigate the effects of pariahdom. I am also interested in how evolving norms can reshape understandings of what kinds of behavior can make a state into an international pariah. In this area, I have been fortunate to enjoy a long-term collaboration with Professor Leif-Eric Easley of Ewha Womans University, Korea. Together, we have written essays on how China and Russia have helped to insulate Myanmar and North Korea from international criticism. We have also compared Myanmar and North Korea’s relations with China and how their different international environments and domestic political situations indicate divergent paths toward reducing reliance on Beijing.

I have also explored the relationship between transnational norms and religious teachings. My book, The Catholic Church and Transnational Moral Norms in the Philippines: Contraception, Human Trafficking, and Religion (Routledge 2025), uses original field interviews in the Philippines to explore how the Catholic Church has attempted to shape transnational norms regarding access to contraception and the fight against human trafficking at the theological, intergovernmental, and domestic levels. I show how the Church defines identities, uses religious teachings to explain norms, and develops institutions and practices to build a more coherent and locally credible moral basis for transnational norms than international consensus alone—a process called “norm thickening”. While in some cases, this can strengthen transnational norms and facilitate cooperation between the Church and the government, in other cases it can instead harden opposition to those norms and facilitate polarization, with important consequences for Philippine society. My research helps to shed light on how religious ideas and institutions can significantly influence how transnational norms are adopted and changed at different levels of society.