Asia Parker -

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Political Science & International Affairs

Asia is a PhD student in International Affairs with a focus on human rights and women’s rights. She is interested in how underrepresented groups– particularly women, indigenous groups, and ethnic minorities–experience social, political, and economic barriers to equality. She uses a critical feminist approach to examine gendered and social norms, and their potential to support political change. Her research agenda examines gender, political advocacy, foreign aid, and qualitative data.

Education

BA, History, Wake Forest University (2018)

More About

I work as a research assistant on the Human Rights Measurement Civil and Political Team at the GLOBIS Research Center. We provide comprehensive measures for the full range of human rights listed on the International Bill of Human Rights through an expert survey administered to human rights advocates and practitioners across the globe. I contribute to the qualitative section of the survey to support data analysis for the Rights Tracker website and publication. Additionally, I work closely with other faculty members and graduate students to examine a variety of topics including the media representation of polygamy in the minority Bedouin community in Israel, the effects of vertical and horizontal inequalities on labor rights and unions, and the effects of sectoral foreign aid on women’s education.

I graduated from Wake Forest University Class of 2018 with a major in History and a minor in Middle East & South Asian Studies. My undergraduate research focused on the historical narratives of underrepresented people and connected their struggles to present-day human rights issues. In 2017, I was awarded a Richter Scholarship from Wake Forest University to support an independent study on the representation of Aboriginal culture in Melbourne, Australia.

Research Interests

Human Rights, Gender Inequality, Critical Feminist Theory, Political Advocacy, Economic & Social Rights, Qualitative Methods, Middle East & Southeast Asia, Pacific

Selected Publications

“The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Human Rights Practices: Findings from the Human Rights Measurement Initiative’s 2021 Practitioner Survey.” K. Chad Clay, Mennah Abdelwahab, Stephen Bagwell, Morgan Barney, Eduard Burkle, Tori Hawley, Thalia Kehoe Rowden, Meridith LaVelle, Asia Parker, and Matthew Rains. The Journal of Human Rights, Volume 21, Issue 3: Studying Human Rights in a Post COVID World. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14754835.2022.2082244