Larry & Dulcie Kugelman Citizen Peacebuilding Research Fellowship Program
The Center for Citizen Peacebuilding regularly awards fellowship grants to UCIrvine students (graduate and undergraduate) and faculty interested in conducting creative research on conflict and conflict resolution initiatives regarding racial, ethnic, and political divisions, cultural divides, and the environmental crisis and climate change. Awardees may be from any of the School of Social Science's nine academic departments (e.g., Anthropology, Economics, Political Science, Sociology).
This fellowship is made possible through the generous support of Larry and Dulcie Kugelman and Coventry Healthcare, Inc.
Kugelman Fellowship Application
2024-25 Recipients
Angie Belen Monreal, Sociology
MacKenzie Bonner, Sociology
Angeles Rubi Castorena, Sociology
Gabriella Colello, Political Science
Nasim Fekrat, Anthropology
Hanna Dosenko, Anthropology
Amy Gilmore, Political Science
Udita Ghosh, Political Science
Muhammad Raqib, Anthropology
Mohammad Siddiqui, Political Science
Tenzing Wangdak, Anthropology
2023-24 Recipients
Nahreen Aref, Political Science
MacKenzie Bonner, Sociology
Sarah Burke, Political Science
Hanna Dosenko, Anthropology
Gvantsa Gasviani, Global Studies
Alexis Jenson, Political Science
Muhammad Raqib, Anthropology
Anibal Serrano, Political Science
2022-2023 Recipients
Kristen Aanstoos, Political Science
Semassa Boko, Sociology
MacKenzie Bonner, Sociology
Pascal Dafinis, Global Studies
Hanna Dosenko, Anthropology
Alexis Jenson, Political Science
Tauhid Bin Kashem, Political Science
Kaitlyn Rabach, Anthropology
Maria Liliana Ramirez, Anthropology
Muhammad Raqib, Anthropology
Anibal Serrano, Political Science
Tenzing Wandak, Anthropology
2021-2022 Recipients
Kristen Aanstoos, Political Science, “From Peace to Politics: How Local Women’s Participation in Peace Processes Shapes Women’s Political Participation in Post-Conflict States”
Colin Bernatzky, Sociology, “A New Sacred Canopy? How Vaccine Skepticism and Conspiratorial Claims Flourish in the Shade of Pluralism”
Tauhid Bin Kashem, Political Science, “Complex Refuge: International Regime Complexity and the Protection of Rohingya Refugees”
Vanessa Delgado, Sociology, “Brokering Inclusion: How Advocacy Organizations Facilitate Latinx Parental Involvement”
Jenilene Francisco, Political Science, “Where’s the Peace, Peacebuilding? The Merits of the “Linguistic Turn” for a Gendered-Just Peace”
Prince Paa-Kwesi Heto, Political Science, “Regional Peace and Armed Conflict: The Role of Global Value Chains”
Anna Kamanzi, Anthropology, “Indigenous Identity and Post-Genocide Peace-Building in Rwanda”
Neil Nory Kaplan-Kelly, Anthropology, “Legislating Peace in Northern Ireland”
Chit Wai John Mok, Sociology, “Between God and the State: The Religious and Ethical Lives of Catholics in Communist China”
Spencer Louis Potiker, Global Studies, “Contrasting Kurdish Independence Movements: An Historical-Comparative Analysis of Syrian and Iraqi Kurdistan”
Nathan Redman, Sociology, “'Prepping' for Disasters and Emergencies in Contexts of Uncertainty”
Nayla Rodriguez, Sociology, “Gang Members, Terrorists, or Peacebuilders?: A Cross-Case Comparison of Federal RICO Indictments on Gangs Designated as Terrorist Organizations in the US”
On February 7, 2020, during the Center's 20th anniversary symposium, "Building Sustainable Peace Movements in a Divided World," several former fellowship recipients gave reports from their research of peace movements in various conflict zones. The panel included:
Nevin Aiken, University of Wyoming, (Transitional justice and Northern Ireland)
Bruce Hemmer, U.S. Department of State, (Democratization and peacebuilding)
Arturo Jimenez, University of South Florida, (International relations, tension between security and human rights)
Dana Moss, University of Pittsburgh, (Yemen, Middle Eastern diasporic social movements, authoritarianism)
Johanna Solomon, Kent State University, (Israeli-Palestinian conflict, race and religious relations in the U.S.)
Daniel Wehrenfennig, UC Irvine, (Middle East and Northern Ireland)
2020-2021 Recipients
Colin Bernatzky, Sociology, “Moving the Needle: Understanding Vaccine Skepticism and the Persistence of Belief”
Tauhid Bin Kashen, Anthropology, “Ending the Game of Refugee Ping-Pong: Why non-signatory countries protect refugees”
Jessica Cabrera, Sociology, “Campuses as Conflict Zones: How Field Actors Alter the Meaning of Compliance in Title IX Sexual Assault Regulation”
Misbah Hyder, Political Science, “The Pen is Mightier than the Sword: How Ahmadi Muslims Resist Through Peacebuilding”
Martin Jacinto, Sociology, “The 2008-2009 Global Economic Crisis and its Impact on the Global North-South Divide”
Kyrstin Mallon Andrews, Anthropology, “Climates of Risk: Navigating Changing Oceans, Human Health, and Poaching in the Caribbean”
Sebastian Rivera and Cristian Rodriguez, Political Science, “Fuel to the Fire? Attitudes Towards Political Violence in the Chilean October”
Nishtha Sharma, Economics, “Violent Conflict and Discrimination in Progressive Societies”
2019-2020 Recipients
Arman Azedi, Sociology
Tauhid Bin Kashen, Anthropology
Semasa Boko, Sociology
Jessica Cabrera, Sociology
Shauna N. Gillooly, Political Science
Prince Paa-Kwesi Heto, Political Science
Neil Nory Kaplan-Kelly, Anthropology
Wongdong Lee, Political Science
Alex Maresca, Sociology
Sara O’Conner, Urban Planning & Public Policy
Alexandra Raleigh, Political Science
Elizabeth Hanna Rubio, Anthropology
2018-2019 Recipients
Elizabeth Clark Rubio, Anthropology: Undocumented and Organized in Multiracial America: Racialization, Refusal and Solidarity in Korean American Immigrant Rights Activism
Tania DeCarmo, Sociology: Local Translation of International Human Trafficking Law Among Practitioners in Cambodia
Shauna N. Gillooly, Political Science: Transitional Justice, Peacebuilding, and Memory: Impunity versus Punish
E. Nory Kaplan-Kelly, Anthropology: Legislating Peace in Northern Ireland
Benjamin Leffel, Sociology: Human Survival Crises and the Bottom-Up Response: Lessons from Irvine’s Founding of ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability
Jason Mueller, Sociology: Trade Unions as Peace Builders: The Growing Significance of Organized Labor in Somalia
Alexandra Raleigh, Political Science: Legal Framing, Micromobilization, and the Pursuit of Retributive Justice in South Africa
2017-2018 Recipients
Benjamin Leffel, Sociology: Enmity of the Underling: Theorizing Sub-State Diplomacy in a World Society
Martin Jacinto, Sociology: Policing Democratic Development: State Repression During Democratic Transitioning in Latin America
Shauna Gillooly, Political Science: The End of a Conflict? Political Violence, Voting Behavior, and Issues of Peace in Colombia
Rodolfo Lopez, Sociology: We Mobilize as We Grow: the Influence of Protestantism on Protest Participation in Latin America
John McCollum, Sociology: Resistance and Accommodation: NGO and Union Strategy Within the Palm Oil Commodity Chain
Amy Magnus, Crime, Law and Society: Specializing Justice for Crossover Youth and Families
Kelsey Norman, Political Science: Ambivalence as Long-Term Policy: Refugee and Migrant Engagement in Jordan and Lebanon
Alexandra Raleigh, Political Science: Collective Catharsis, Transitional Justice & the Psychopolitics of Post-Conflict Transitions
2016-2017 Recipients
Lauren Anderson, Sociology: Their Footing with the White Men in the Future will be Equal: Settler Colonialism, Racial Boundaries and the Annexation of Hawaii
Megan Booker, Sociology: Iraq Veterans against the War in the Obama Era: How Political Allies Stimulate Organizational Decline
Pernilla Johansson, Political Science: How Emotions Shape Listening Practices in Peacebuilding Partnerships
Amy Magnus, Crime, Law & Society: Specializing Justice for Crossover Youth and Families
Kelsey Norman, Political Science: Reluctant Reception: Understanding Host State Migration and Refugee Policies in Egypt, Morocco & Turkey
Carrie Reiling, Political Science: Recentering the Policy Recipient: Women's Local Practices Overcoming International Discourses
Sana Sadiq, Anthropology: Modernity in Transit: Sexual Harassment, Public Transportation and Urban Mobility in Bandung, Indonesia
2015-2016 Recipients
Kelsey Norman, Political Science: Strategic Ambivalence: Migrant Engagement in Non-Traditional Receiving Countries
Jason Mueller, Sociology: Examining Pathways to Suicide Bombings: The Case of Somalia's al-Shabaab
Sahar Khan, Political Science: Legitimizing State-Sponsored Proxies: The Role of Civil Institutions in Pakistan
Dana Moss, Sociology: Diaspora Mobilization and the Arab Spring: A Comparative Study of Syrian, Libyan, and Yemeni Movements in Two Countries
Amy Magnus, Criminology, Law & Society: Crossover Youth Court: Meeting the Needs and Understanding the Experiences of Crossover Youth in Nevada
Sana Sadiq, Anthropology: Modernity in Transit: Female Safety and Public Transportation in Indonesia
Carrie Reiling, Political Science: Advocating for Themselves: Security and Rights through Women's Organizations in Cote d'Ivoire
Laura Zlotowski, Criminology, Law & Society: Transitional Justice in the United States: A Case Study of Ferguson, MO
2014-2015 Recipients
Sana Sadiq, Anthropology; Modernity in Transit: Female Safety and Public Transportation in Indonesia
Arturo Jimenez Bacardi, Political Science: Speaking Law to War International Law, Legal Advisers and Bureaucratic Contestation in U.S. Defense Policy
Rottem Sagi, Sociology: Threats, Resources and Coalitions in the American pro-Israel Movement
Ian Finn, Economics: Ties that Bind: The Political Economy of Coerced Labor
Eric Mosinger, Political Science: All the Armed Actors: Civilian Constituencies and Fragmented Rebellion
Alexander Raleigh, Political Science: Transitional Justice as a Complex Dynamic System
Carrie Reiling, Political Science: Advocating for Themselves: Security and Rights Through Women’s Peacebuilding Organizations in Cote d’lvoire
2013-2014 Recipients
Teishan Aaron Latner, History: Irresistible Revolution: Cuba and American Radicalism, 1968–1992
Eric Mosinger, Political Science: All the Armed Actors: Civilian Constituencies and Fragmented Rebellion
Dana Moss, Sociology: Repression's Reach: Dictatorships and Diaspora Communities
Patricia C. Rodda, Political Science: Cyprus and a New Model for Peace
Sana Zaidi, Anthropology: Modernity in Transit: Female Safety and Public Transportation
2012-2013 Recipients
Arturo Jimenez Bacardi, Political Science: The Power and Limits of International Law: Torture and Target Killings in U.S. Security Policy
Teishan Aaron Latner, History: Irresistible Revolution: Cuba and American Radicalism, 1968–1992
Eric Mosinger, Political Science: All the Armed Actors: Civilian Constituencies and Fragmented Rebellion
Dana Moss, Sociology: Repression's Reach: Dictatorships and Diaspora Communities
Eric Mosinger, Political Science: All the Armed Actors: Civilian Constituencies and Fragmented Rebellion
Kelsey Norman, Political Science: How Cairo’s Resettlement and Refugee Protection System Affects the Rights of Refugees and Migratory Persons
Patricia C. Rodda, Political Science: Cyprus and a New Model for Peace
Sana Zaidi, Anthropology: Modernity in Transit: Female Safety and Public Transportation
2011-2012 Recipients
Nina Smart, “Resisting World Polity Transmission: The Silence on the Glocalization of anti-FGM legislature in the Parliament of Sierra Leone”
Giorgio Gosti, “Community Driven Peacebuilding as an Alternative to Military Peacekeeping”
Heidi Haddad, “Access and Influence: Mapping Civil Society Networks at the International Criminal Court”
Kelsey Norman, “How Cairo’s Resettlement and Refugee Protection System Affects the Rights of Refugees and Migratory Persons”
Peter Owens, “No Further West: Conflict and Cooperation Between Indigenous Peoples and American Settlers in California, 1846-1873”
Tyson Patros, “The Role of the Tunisian and Egyptian Labor Movements in the Revolutionary Mobilization of 2010-2011”
David Wight, “The Petrodollar and the Foreign Relations of the U.S. and the Middle East and North Africa, 1969-Present”
Johanna Solomon, “Reconciliation through Jewish Muslim Inter-Group Dialogue”
Arturo Jimenez Bacardi, “The Power and Limits of International Law: Torture and Target Killings in U.S. Security Policy”
Eric Mosinger, “The Collective Defense of Democracy from Caracas to Cairo”
Anna Tan, “Humanitarian Mobilization during the Nanjung Massacre: Compassion, Opportunity and Threat”
2010-2011 Recipients
Arturo Jimenez Bacardi (Political Science Grad Student): “Assessing the U.N.’s Role in the Arab-Israeli Conflict” – $2000
Amy Grubb (Political Science Grad Student): “The Microdynamics of Violence and Order: Comparing Social Community Processes” – $2500
Eric Mosinger (Political Science Grad Student): “Civility in Civil War: Conflict Intensity as the Result of Strategic Retreat” – $2500
Dana Moss (Sociology Grad Student): “Variation in Protest Emergence and Outcomes in Jordan and Yemen: A Comparative Study” – $2500
Yang Su (Sociology Department Professor): “Event History Data Collection to Study Government-Protest Standoffs, 1950-2011” – $2500
Ather Zia (Anthropology Grad Student): “The Politics of Absence: Women Searching for the Disappeared in Kashmir” – $2000
Sharmaine Jackson (Sociology Grad Student): “The Unmaking of Gangbangers: The Role of Krump Dancing in Negotiating Nonviolence for Populations Vulnerable to Inner-City Violence.” – $2000
Johanna Soloman (Political Science Grad Student): “Communities in Conflict: Investigating and Improving Reconciliation Interventions in U.S. Based Inter-Diaspora Conflicts” – $2000
2009-2010 Recipients
Madeline Baer (Political Science): "Water for Profit: Water Privatization and Citizen Participation in Chile" - $2,500
Sharmaine Jackson (Sociology): "It Takes Two to Tango: Understanding the Role of the Subordinate in Reconciliation" - $3,000
Erin Moran (Anthropology): "Refugees, Asylum Seekers, and the End of Brithright Citizenship in Ireland" - $2,500
Johanna Solomon (Political Psychology): "Forgive but Never Forget: Possibilities for Reconciliation through Targeted Intervention" - $3,000
Ather Zia (Anthropology): "Spectacles of the Invisible: Women and the Quest for Human Rights in Kashmir" - $3,000
2009 Recipients
- Nevin Aiken (CGPACS) - $3,000
- Joanne Nucho (Anthropology) - $3,000
- Daniel Wehrenfennig (Political Science) - $3,000
2008 Recipients
Faculty Fellowships
- Alison Brysk (Political Science), “My Brother’s Keeper?: Inter-Ethnic and Transnational Solidarity and Contested Victimhood"
- Kristen Monroe (Political Science), “Cracking the Code: Creating a Scholarly Community to Combat Genocide” - $5000
Graduate Fellowships
- Nevin T. Aiken (Visiting Research Fellow, UBC, GPACS), “Learning to Live Together: Transitional Justice and Intercommunal Reconciliation in South Africa and Northern Ireland” - $3000
- Bruce Hemmer (Political Science), “Putting the ‘Up’ in Bottom-Up Peacebuilding…” - $3000
- Stefka Hristova (Visual Studies), “Whose War? Reading the Photographs of the Danube Theater of the Crimean War 1853-6” - $500
- Laurent Tambayong (Mathematical Behavioral Sciences), “City System Vulnerability and Resilience…” - $2446
- Daniel Wehrenfennig (Political Science), “The Missing Link: Citizen Dialogue and Second Track Diplomacy in Israel/Palestine and Northern Ireland” - $3000
2007 Recipients
Graduate Fellowships
- Nevin T. Aiken, Overcoming Intractability: Transitional Justice and Intercommunal Reconciliation in South Africa and Northern Ireland
- Chih-Chieh Chen, To Socialize a Rising Power: How Have International Norms Changed China and Vice Versa
- Bruce Hemmer, Putting the ‘Up’ in Bottom-Up Peacebuilding: Mobilizing Peace Constituencies in Democratizing Societies
- Morgan Kronberger, The Invisible Children Movement: The Domestic and International Impact of a Western NGO
- Katherine Mack, Fostering Rhetorical Reconciliation: Lessons from the Public Hearings of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission
- Saba Senses Ozyurt, Islamic Institutions in the West: Bridge Builders or Boundary Markers between Muslim Immigrants and their Host Societies
- Katherine Quick, Peacebuilding at the Frontier of Democratization in Indonesia
- Daniel Wehrenfennig, Dialogue Revisited: Learning from Northern Ireland and Israel/Palestine
- UCI History Project, Themes in World History Institute: Building Peace in the Modern World
Faculty Fellowships
- Raul Lejano and Helen Ingram, Spirit of '86: Analyzing People Power Movements for Peaceful Change in the Pacific Rim
- Richard Matthew, Microfinance, Human Security and Sustainable Development
2006 Recipients
- Daniel Wehrenfennig, The Malawi Project: Moments of Truth, A documentary film on peaceful political change in Malawi, 1992-1994 - $2200
- Jennifer Luchesi-Long, Circus Citizen Peacebuilders: An International Youth Exchange Project - $2000



