Sean Rao
Researcher, analyst, and instructor of comparative politics and international relations
Dr. Sean Rao, Ph.D., is a recent graduate from the doctoral program in government and politics at the University of Maryland. His three-article dissertation studies religion and other strong ideologies as signals of political commitment, rather than signals only of identity or instrumental means of seeking power, at the organizational level and the individual level. His other research interests include American public opinion on foreign policy, particularly related to religious and national identity, and how social ties, often formed over religious activity, can condition the behavior of rebel organizations. He is a Fulbright alumnus who carried out fieldwork in summer 2021 to study the Arab parties of Israel. His research has involved the creation of survey experiments as well as novel data collection from archival sources.
CV
Works in Progress
Supernatural Ties: Religious Beliefs and Practices and Commitment and Cohesion on Politics
I propose a general mechanism of religion in politics which is not limited to the use of violent tactics or a particular religious background: religious belief and practice generate strong mutual commitment among individuals in a group and this commitment can, in turn, create political cohesion. This process gives a strong organizational resource to political actors who can successfully link political goals to religious commitment. I present evidence from an original cross-national dataset, two survey experiments, and analysis of existing data.
Exclusive and Inclusive Religious and National Values: The Case of American Views on Israel
Designed original survey questions on American identity and views of Israel
Rebel Group Origins and Civilian Victimization
Co-authored with Leo Bauer, Jessica Maves Braithwaite, Kathleen Gallagher Cunningham, and Margaret McWeeney, using the FORGE dataset to show that civilian victimization by rebel organizations depends on whether rebels have pre-existing social ties to those civilians