Suparna Chaudhry

Suparna Chaudhry

Assistant Professor of International Affairs

Welcome! In addition to being an Assistant Professor in the Department of International Affairs, I am also an Affiliated Scholar with the International Justice Lab at the College of William & Mary, and a Fellow at the Bridging the Gap Project, which promotes engagement between the scholarly, policy, and public spheres to inform debate and decision-making on U.S. foreign policy and evolving global challenges.

For more information and updates, please visit www.suparnachaudhry.com

Specialty

Human Rights, International Law, Non-Governmental Organizations and Transnational Advocacy Networks, Political Violence, South Asian Politics

Academic Credentials

PhD in Political Science, Yale University
MA in International Relations, University of Chicago
BA in History, St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University

Teaching

IA 100: Introduction to International Relations
IA 296: Human Rights in International Relations
IA 303: Resilience and Resistance in Civil Conflict
IA 333: International Law
IA 430: Senior Seminar (Thesis)

Research

Civil Societies, Uncivil States: Government Repression of NGOs (Book manuscript under contract with Cornell University Press, forthcoming 2025)

“The Assault on Civil Society: Explaining State Crackdown Against NGOs.” International Organization. 76.3 (2022): 549-590.

  • Winner of the 2022 Robert E. Keohane award for best article published by an untenured scholar in International Organization

“Pandemic Pass: Treaty Derogations and Human Rights Practices during Covid-19,” with Audrey Comstock and Andrew Heiss (Forthcoming at International Interactions)

“NGO Repression as Predictor of Worsening Human Rights Abuses,” with Andrew Heiss. Journal of Human Rights. 123-140 (2022).

“Dynamics of international giving: How heuristics shape individual donor preferences,” with Andrew Heiss. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 50.3 (2021): 481-505.

“Who Cares About Crackdowns? Exploring the Role of Trust in Individual Philanthropy,” with Marc Dotson and Andrew Heiss. Global Policy 12.S5 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1111/1758-5899.12984

“Bridging the Gap: The relationship between INGO activism and human rights indicators.” Journal of Human Rights 18.1 (2019): 111-133.

“How Rebellion Shapes Military Recruitment During Civil War,” with Sabrina Karim and Matt Scroggs. Journal of Peace Research. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0022343320959381

“Closing Space and the Restructuring of Global Activism: Causes and Consequences of the Global Crackdown on NGOs,” with Andrew Heiss in Beyond the Boomerang: New Patterns in Transcalar Advocacy, edited by Elizabeth Bloodgood and Christopher Pallas. 2022, Alabama University Press

In 2018, I received the American Political Science Association’s (APSA) Human Rights Section’s award for Best Dissertation, as well as the International Studies Association’s (ISA) Best Human Rights Paper Award.

Public Writing and Media Commentary

“India’s prime minister will visit the U.S. next week. What will he say about human rights in Kashmir?” The Washington Post, September 21, 2019.

“In India, Hindus, Muslims and police are fighting on the streets. Here’s what’s behind the violence.” The Washington Post, February 25, 2020.

“How India plans to put 1.3 billion people on a coronavirus lockdown.” (with Shubha Kamala Prasad). The Washington Post, March 30, 2020.

“India is hitting a record number of covid-19 cases. That’s not its only problem.” (with Shubha Kamala Prasad). The Washington Post, September 9, 2020.

“Donors grow more generous when they support nonprofits supporting hostile environments abroad” (with Andrew Heiss). The Conversation. December 7, 2020.

“India’s 1.6 million new coronavirus cases in the past week are breaking its health system.” (with Shubha Kamala Prasad). The Washington Post. April 21, 2021.

Podcast interview – Democratic Backsliding: The Insidious Erosion of Global Democracy. On GlobalPDX: Speaking Change, Season 2 Episode 1.