Tom O'Mealia studies the relationship between violence, security provision, and the evolution of the post-colonial state. In particular, He asks why civilians in contexts of acute insecurity choose to invest their trust in some security providers and not others, and how those decisions impact state building and political development. His research also explains how and why political elites use the state security apparatus to consolidate control at the local level.

O'Mealia answers these questions using field work and by analyzing original data collected in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, and South Africa.

Email political-economy-workshop@umich.edu for the meeting link.

PEW provides a unique forum for doctoral students and faculty members to share and develop interdisciplinary research in political economy. Political science and economics are intimately linked in both substance and methodology, and the field of political economy is among the most fertile and enduring areas for cross-disciplinary research in the social sciences. Currently, PEW is the sole interdisciplinary workshop at the University of Michigan wholly dedicated to the exploration of current research in political economy, and thus plays a valuable role in fostering connections among the university’s various departments and schools.