Research & Writing
To gain a deep understanding of the complex issues surrounding the people I wish to advocate for, as well as to leverage the power of words as an activist, I undertook research and writing projects centered on marginalized individuals. In the process of writing these essays, I encountered facts and stories that have helpfully informed my advocacy work and have provided it with more depth.
Different Chains, Same Vulnerability: North Korean Women in North Korea and North Korean Women Defectors in China
Guardians Without Sovereignty: Indigenous Rights and the State-Centric Governance of the Arctic
This paper examines how the state-centric structure of international law systematically marginalizes Arctic Indigenous peoples, despite frameworks like UNDRIP that claim to protect their rights. It argues that combining a human rights–pluralist approach to consultation with the legal recognition of Indigenous peoples as guardians of their territories can help close the gap between procedural inclusion and meaningful decision-making power in Arctic governance. (Link)
Guardians Without Sovereignty: Indigenous Rights and the State-Centric Governance of the Arctic
Under the guidance of Rice University Professor Carly Thomsen, I authored a 5,400-word research paper analyzing the parallels between gender-based violence endured by women in North Korea and exploitation and abuse experienced by North Korean women defectors in China.