Christina Cottiero

Christina Cottiero is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Utah, with affiliations at the UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC). Holding a PhD from UC San Diego (2021), her work focuses on regional intergovernmental organizations, international influences on democracy/autocracy, elite politics, and security cooperation in Africa.

• PhD, Political Science - University of California San Diego (2021)
• Postdoctoral Fellow & Dissertation Fellow - UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation
• Minerva Peace and Security Scholar - US Institute of Peace (2019-2020)

Her research examines how authoritarian regimes interact with international organizations, including mechanisms of autocratic consolidation, regional security cooperation through mutual protection dynamics, and the proliferation of low-quality election monitors. Current projects include a book manuscript on elite-driven regional cooperation in Africa (forthcoming, Cambridge University Press).

Recent publications in International Studies Quarterly and The Review of International Organizations analyze topics such as:

• Military reciprocity in African RIOs
• Authoritarian institutional effects on democratization
• Mask compliance strategies among White Evangelicals
• Information warfare in Russian media

Scientific Contributions:

• Co-organizer (with Stephan Haggard) of IGCC working paper series on illiberal regimes in IOs
• Recipient of UC San Diego's Social Science Dissertation of the Year Award (Honorable Mention, 2022)

Teaching portfolio includes graduate thesis research supervision and courses in international law, quantitative analysis, and political theory. She maintains an active research agenda analyzing authoritarian regional organizations and their geopolitical implications.