Sean Rao is a recent doctoral graduate in government and politics at the University of Maryland. In his three-article dissertation, he proposes 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. The first article illustrates this relationship at the cross-national level with a novel dataset on self-determination organizations and shows that organizations in which individuals have visible commitments to each other are more likely to persist over time. The second article, using two survey experiments, shows that voters are more likely to completely believe a candidate's political promise when promises are based on religion. The third article shows whether religious rebel organizations return to war after a pause in fighting is influenced by whether they can continue to recruit from a religious network. His other research interests include the spread of religious commitment signals on social media, 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 in Israel.
Degrees
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Degree TypePh.D.Degree DetailsGovernment and Politics, University of Maryland, August 2024
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Degree TypeMADegree DetailsGovernment and Politics, University of Maryland, College Park, 2017
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Degree TypeMADegree DetailsPolitical Science, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2015
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Degree TypeBADegree DetailsInternational Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2011
Awards
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2021-05-01Fulbright One Semester Doctoral Study Award
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2022-01-01Humane Studies Fellowship
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2022-04-06UMD Graduate Research Appreciation Day (GRAD) (Graduate Student Government Interdisciplinary Conference), 3rd Place Presentation
Conferences
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"Exclusive and Inclusive Religious and National Values: The Case of American Views on Israel." Presented at the Midwest Political Science Association Conference.
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"Praying Together and Staying Together: Faction Survival in Self-Determination Movements." Presented at the Midwest Political Science Association Conference.
Research
- Praying Together and Staying Together: Faction Survival in Self-Determination Movements (Dissertation, First Article)
- Mechanisms of Religious Rhetoric and Political Mobilization (Dissertation, Second Article)
- True Believers in Politics: Ideational and Solidary Rewards among the Palestinian Arab Citizens of Israel (Dissertation, Third Article)
- Exclusive and Inclusive Religious and National Values: The Case of American Views on Israel (Stand-Alone Article)
- Rebel Group Origins and Civilian Victimization (Co-authored with Jessica Maves Braithwaite, Kathleen Gallagher Cunningham, and Margaret McWeeney)
Research Topics
- Comparative Politics
- International Relations
