Jess is a political sociologist who studies the cross-national spread, contestation, and subversion of conventionally liberal norms. Combining global and transnational perspectives with advanced quantitative methods, she examines the ways in which global forces influence national policies, practices, and opinions relating to democracy, development, women’s rights, and climate skepticism. In her current project, Jess investigates the ways in which democracy INGOs and their various strategies advance democracy and/or contribute to democratic backsliding. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and appears in journals such as Sociology of Development, Politics and Gender, Socius, Sociological Science, and Human Rights Quarterly.
