Rebecca Sanders

Rebecca Sanders is a Professor of Political Science and Assistant Director at the School of Public & International Affairs (SPIA) at the University of Cincinnati. She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Toronto, an M.A. from McGill University, and a B.A. from McGill University. Her research focuses on the intersection of international human rights, security, and public health, particularly examining how emergencies influence rights tradeoffs and norm contestation.

• Education: Ph.D., M.A., and B.A. in Political Science.
• Research: Human rights in emergencies, anti-feminist backlash, pandemic policy, terrorism, and international law.
• Grants: National Science Foundation funding for pandemic-related civil rights research.
• Awards: Best Paper Award (2021) from the American Political Science Association’s Women, Gender, and Politics Research Section.
• Teaching: Courses on human rights, international law, terrorism, fascism, and ethics in warfare.

Her recent publications analyze transnational anti-feminism, gender rights erosion, and pandemic-driven civil liberties tradeoffs. She also contributes to community-engaged policy research and public discourse on SOGI rights and CEDAW.