Kelly Morrison is a Ph.D. candidate in political science with specializations in international relations and comparative politics. Her research investigates two broad questions: (1) how do democratic institutions constrain and facilitate human rights violations and conflict; and (2) how can international organizations mitigate the threat of state repression? She use a variety of methods to answer these questions, including cross-national statistical analysis, survey experiments, and text analysis. Before joining Pitt's graduate program, Kelly graduated from Lee University with degrees in political science and Spanish.