Risa Kitagawa

Risa Kitagawa is an Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at Northeastern University's College of Social Sciences and Humanities (CSSH). She holds affiliations with the Global Resilience Institute and Global Asian Studies Program at Northeastern, as well as the Program on U.S.-Japan Relations at Harvard University's Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. Her research focuses on transitional justice, conflict legacies, and public opinion across East Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Central America. She employs diverse methods including survey experiments, text-as-data analysis, and qualitative fieldwork.

Kitagawa earned her Ph.D. in Political Science from Stanford University and a B.A. in International Relations and French from New York University. Her scholarship has appeared in top journals like *World Politics*, *The Journal of Politics*, and *Journal of Conflict Resolution*. She received Northeastern's CSSH Outstanding Teaching Award in 2020-2021 for her pedagogical excellence in courses on comparative politics, international affairs, and conflict studies.

Her research examines how transitional justice mechanisms like trials, apologies, and peace agreements shape societal trust, political attitudes, and state behavior. She investigates topics such as citizen reactions to war crimes trials, the impact of political apologies on public opinion, and the role of civil society in peace negotiations. Her work bridges theoretical insights with policy-relevant analysis in post-conflict reconstruction.

Kitagawa's current and past affiliations include a postdoctoral position at Columbia University's Political Science Department and active involvement in interdisciplinary research centers addressing global challenges. Her research and teaching emphasize methodological innovation, policy engagement, and cross-regional comparative perspectives.