Lansdale, Sloan

Bio

I am a PhD candidate in Government and Politics at the University of Maryland, studying International Relations and Comparative Politics. My primary interests are in human rights and international organizations. My research examines how and why the United Nations Security Council responds to mass atrocity events, with particular attention to the political dynamics that shape when states choose to act and what “action” actually means in practice.

My dissertation examines Security Council behavior at stages prior to resolution passage. I distinguish between the agenda-setting, proposal, and passage stages of the process to fully examine not only what influences outcomes, but when these effects are strongest. This approach helps explain patterns that often appear as gridlock or inaction. What looks like institutional failure may instead reflect strategic behavior on the behalf of states, particularly states we might term “middle powers”.

Methodologically, my work combines quantitative and qualitative approaches. I draw on original and existing datasets on mass atrocities and Security Council activity to analyze responsiveness over time and complement this with qualitative evidence from interviews with United Nations officials and members of related NGOs.

More broadly, I am interested in how international institutions operate under political constraints, especially in high-stakes contexts such as mass atrocities, where moral urgency and strategic interests often collide.