Research
1. Microfoundation of International Rivalry
Why do individuals resist peace with a foreign adversary? Despite repeated attempts at cooperation between rival states, many citizens continue to hold negative perceptions of adversaries and oppose conciliatory policies. My research under this theme examines the socio-psychological barriers that sustain such resistance to peace, which collectively forms the foundation of a broader book project on public opinion on reconciliation with international rivals.
Han, Jungmin (2025). “How Reciprocal Cooperation between International Rivals Shapes Threat Perceptions: Evidence from Inter-Korean Rapprochement in 2018.” Conflict Management and Peace Science, OnlineFirst.
Han, Jungmin, Xin Han, and Alexander Zhang (2026). “How China’s Multilateral Engagement Shapes Threat Perception Amid Rising Authoritarianism.” Journal of Contemporary China, 35 (159): 1582-99.
Han, Jungmin. “Interconnected Rivalries, Extra-Dyadic Cooperation, and Public Support for Peace.”
Han, Jungmin. “Polarization, Partisan Competence, and Public Support for Peace.”
Han, Jungmin and Thomas Chadefaux. “Patterns of Cooperation and Public Opinion on Rapprochement.”
2. Foreign Intervention in Civil War
My research interests in foreign policy and collaborative engagement with scholars of intrastate conflict have led me to study third-party interventions in civil wars. Under this research theme, I currently have three papers that examine the causes of foreign intervention or its consequences for rebel governance and civil war duration.
Han, Jungmin and Merve Keskin. “The Dynamics of Competitive Intervention: Multiplicity, Rivalry, and Civil War Duration.” R&R at Security Studies.
Han, Jungmin and Hyunjung Park. “Democratic Imprints from Abroad: How External Support from Democracies Promotes Rebel Election in Civil Wars.” R&R at International Interactions.
Han, Jungmin and Hyunjung Park. “State Atrocities, Rebel Governance, and Public Opinion on Humanitarian Intervention.” Under Review.
3. Domestic Politics of International Perception
My research examines how domestic actors construct and respond to the international world through the lens of identity, status, and community membership. Rather than treating publics and institutions as neutral receivers of international information, I show that prior beliefs about who ‘we’ are and where ‘we’ stand systematically shape what parts of the world media organizations cover and how citizens interpret the diplomatic signals their leaders send and receive.
Han, Jungmin and Minseon Ku. “Protocol Violations, Status Hierarchies, and Public Opinion in Summit Diplomacy.” Work in progress (Presentation at MPSA 2026).
da Silva, Lucas and Jungmin Han and Hyunjung Park. “Which World Gets Covered? Media Ideology and the Geography of Foreign News.” Work in progress (Presentations at PSA 2026, MPSA 2026, and EPSS 2026).
4. Online Violence during Electoral Campaign
Reflecting my broader interests in political behavior, democracy, and computational text analysis, I have led two projects that analyze millions of social media posts to demonstrate how digital platforms reproduce political violence during electoral campaigns. These projects connect the structural features of electoral institutions and partisan environments to the mechanisms through which political violence undermines equal participation and erodes democratic accountability.
Han, Jungmin, Müge Finkel, Steven Finkel, Fırat Duruşan, and Erdem Yörük. “Online Gendered Violence and Visibility in Electoral Autocracies: Evidence from Parliamentary and Local Elections in Türkiye.” R&R at European Journal of Political Research.
Han, Jungmin, Müge Finkel, Dhanaraj Thakur, Steven Finkel, Fırat Duruşan, and Erdem Yörük. “Asymmetries of Vulnerability: How Race and Party Shape Online Violence Targeting Women in the 2024 U.S. Election.”