Alexis Y. Jang

I am a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Political Science at Washington University in St. Louis.

My research lies at the intersection of International Relations and Comparative Politics, with particular focus on gender and politics, political communication, and public opinion. My work examines how domestic crises and international security environments shape citizens’ preferences for political leadership. Specifically, I investigate whether war, terrorism, geopolitical rivalry, and democratic backsliding create opportunities for women in politics or reinforce barriers to their representation.

In pursuing my research, I use a multi-method approach that combines computational tools (text-as-data and large language models) with surveys and field experiments. I place particular emphasis on causal inference, using original experiments and quasi-experimental designs based on observational data.

My research is forthcoming in the Journal of Peace Research, and I am involved in several solo and collaborative projects, including work supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy. I also teach data analysis and data visualization through short courses at the Transdisciplinary Institute in Applied Data Sciences and undergraduate methods labs.

I am an affiliate at the Political Data Science Lab at Washington University in St. Louis. Before coming to WashU, I received my MA and BA in Political Science from Seoul National University.

You can reach me at alexis.jang@wustl.edu.