Professional Affiliation

Ph.D. Candidate, Georgetown University

Expert Bio

Devin Finn is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Government at Georgetown University. In her research she focuses on connections between comparative processes of political mobilization and violence, with an emphasis on Latin America and South Asia. Over the last two years Devin carried out field research in various sites in India and Peru. Other interests include the dynamics of violence in civil war; governance and corruption; state formation; qualitative methods; and epistemology. Devin has worked as a researcher at the U.S. Institute of Peace, the United Nations, and the Inter-American Dialogue. She completed a M.A. in International Studies and Human Rights at the Josef Korbel School of the University of Denver and a B.A. in Political Science from Duke University. She has studied and worked in Bangladesh, Peru, and Spain.

Wilson Center Project

"The Dynamics of Participation in Ethnic Cleansing"

Project Summary

Devin Finn studies ordinary people’s participation in violence and politics during civil conflicts, extending the scope of ongoing research on these dynamics in India and Peru to the East European context. In an effort to identify theoretical processes and practices of mobilization that may “travel across borders,” Devin is examining micro-level evidence of participation in local killings and ghetto resistance in Poland (1939-1945). Tracing the connections between civilians’ participation in social and political networks and support for violent groups, Devin aims to develop an understanding of how historical forms of mobilization and participation shape the range of political and social choices that ordinary people face in the context of civil conflict and mass killing.

Major Publications

"International Authority, Deliberative Legitimacy, and the Responsibilities of States." Global Governance 16(4). Autumn 2010