I am an Assistant Professor of International Relations and the Founder and Director of the Law and Conflict (LAC) research lab at Purdue University's Department of Political Science.
I bring my expertise in the scientific study of law and conflict to understand the determinants and consequences of conflict resolution. To this end, I engage in theoretically driven data collection efforts and multi-method analyses. My main research project provides an in-depth and systematic analysis of the causes and consequences of rebel law: how it varies across rebel groups, aligns with state and international laws, and impacts conflict resolution. To date, this research has been generously funded by the National Science Foundation, Rice University's Social Sciences Research Institute, the University of Pennsylvania's Office of the Vice Provost for Research, Purdue University, and the Institute for Humane Studies at George Mason University. My co-authored work examines law, conflict, and governance, with particular emphasis on negotiations, arbitration, constitution-making, justice mechanisms, property rights, and rebel governance, and has been published in journals such as the International Studies Quarterly, Journal of Conflict Resolution, and Studies in Conflict and Terrorism.
At Purdue, I teach "International Law and Armed Conflict" and "Law, Justice, and Governance.'' Additionally, I direct the Law and Conflict (LAC) research lab. With LAC, I mentor undergraduate and graduate students interested in the scientific study of law and conflict. I train these students on various research processes: how to ask research questions, examine plausible answers with several methodological tools, engage in scientific data collection, and manage projects at different phases.
During the 2024-2025 AY, I was a Rosenwald Fellow with the John Sloan Dickey Center at Dartmouth College. Prior to Purdue, I was a University of Pennsylvania's Provost Postdoctoral Fellow and affiliated with the Department of Political Science and PDRI-Dev Lab. During 2021-2022, I was the Predoctoral Fellow at the University of Arizona's School of Government and Public Policy. Additionally, I was a 2017-2018 APSA Minority Fellow and a former Visiting Research Fellow at National Defense University.
I hold a Ph.D. in Political Science from Rice University, Master of Arts in Politics from New York University, and Master of Arts in Global Affairs and Juris Doctor from Florida International University. I also hold a certificate in Global Arbitration from the School of International Arbitration, Queen Mary University of London, and Mitchell Hamline School of Law. I have unique professional experiences that expand across industries: national security, intelligence and investigations, and law. I draw on the expertise I developed throughout these experiences, which include fieldwork in Latin America, when examining political phenomena.
TWITTER @LIANAEUSTACIA
BLUESKY @LIANAEUSTACIA.BSKY.SOCIAL
BLUESKY @LIANAEUSTACIA.BSKY.SOCIAL
LER01@PURDUE.EDU
PURDUE UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
100 NORHT UNIVERSITY STREET
WEST LAFAYETTE, INDIANA 47907