Tasnia Symoom, PhD

I am a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Kentucky’s Center for Research on Violence Against Women (CRVAW), where I also earned my Ph.D. in Political Science (2025). My core research priority is violence against women (VAW). My work is interdisciplinary, spanning comparative politics, sociology, gender studies, and international political economy, with a regional focus on South Asia and the broader Global South, alongside comparative work in the United States.

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Using experimental, observational, and interview-based methods, I develop two flagship frameworks—Selective Solidarity Theory (SST) and Autocratic PTSD—to explain how identity, authoritarian legacies, and global economic forces shape responses to VAW, institutional trust, and democratic trajectories.

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My research has appeared in The Social Science Journal and is supported by fellowships including the Charles E. Scheidt Faculty Fellowship (Binghamton University) and the Ashley T. Judd Distinguished Graduate Fellowship.

 

I teach courses ranging from Comparative Politics to International Politics and am dedicated to inclusive, student-centered learning.

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Feel free to reach out at tasnia.symoom@uky.edu. 

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