Four Elon faculty and staff members present at 2021 ISA conference

The International Studies Association (ISA) is one of the oldest interdisciplinary academic organizations of its kind, but its 2021 annual convention, from April 6 to 9, was its first online conference ever, due to COVID-19

At this conference, typically attended by several thousand scholars from around the world, Elon University had impressive representation with four faculty and staff members presenting research, chairing sessions or serving as paper discussants.

Among those in attendance were Vanessa Bravo, associate professor of strategic communications; Baris Kesgin, associate professor of political science and policy studies; Sylvia Muñoz, associate director of the CREDE; and Joel T. Shelton, assistant professor of political science and policy studies. Their respective research papers were the following:

• “State-diaspora relations in El Salvador and Colombia from 2010 to 2020: Building legitimacy at home while trying to protect and “court” citizens abroad,” by Vanessa Bravo and Maria De Moya (DePaul University).

• “The Latinx factor in the “browning of America”: The higher education context,” by Vanessa Bravo and Sylvia Muñoz.

• “Pacific island countries’ leadership and global politics of climate change,” by Baris Kesgin, and,

• “Governing after COVID-19: Sadopopulism and the promise of statecraft,” by Scott Nelson (Virginia Tech) and Joel T. Shelton.

Additionally, Vanessa Bravo chaired the session “Branding and image building: The Public Relations-Public Diplomacy Connection” and Baris Kesgin served as paper discussant in the sessions “Methodological Innovations in Foreign Policy Analysis,” “Studies in Comparative Foreign Policy,” and “Personality and perceptions: How leaders influence international politics,” which he also chaired. This year, Baris Kesgin was also the program co-chair for the Foreign Policy Analysis Section of the ISA, the organization’s second largest section.

ISA is dedicated to the understanding of international, transnational and global issues. It focuses on a variety of disciplines, including political science, international relations, international communication, history, international law, public diplomacy and international education.

For more information about the annual ISA conference, visit www.isanet.org.