Alexandra Chinchilla

Alexandra Chinchilla will receive her PhD in Political Science from the University of Chicago in August 2021. Her research examines how great powers use training and advising to directly shape the militaries of states and armed non-state actors. She also explores how this training and advising, in turn, affects political violence, democracy, human rights, and civil-military relations. Alexandra's research has been supported by external grants from the United States Institute of Peace, the Notre Dame International Security Center, and The Charles Koch Foundation, and grants from The Pearson Center for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts, the Division of the Social Sciences, and the Social Science Research Center at the University of Chicago. Her research has been published in the Journal of Peace Research and International Politics. Alexandra earned an MA in Political Science from the University of Chicago, and a BS in Foreign Service from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. She speaks Polish and some Russian and held internships or fellowships with The RAND Corporation, the Political-Economic section at the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw, and the U.S. House of Representatives Armed Services Committee.