Rabhya comes to More in Common with a background in political theory and computer science. She has used both coding and qualitative methods to research democratic institutions. As a Mitchell Scholar in Ireland, she worked with computer scientists and political scientists to study citizens assemblies’ potential to accelerate climate mitigation. During her undergraduate studies, she spent a summer in Reykjavik through the Brady Johnson Program in Grand Strategy, researching Iceland’s 2010 constitutional reform process. She holds a BA in Computer Science and Political Science from Yale University and an MA in Political Communication from Dublin City University. After backpacking in Southeast Asia and living abroad in Ireland, Rabhya is excited to return back to the East Coast and focus on American democracy.
Favorite MiC Finding:
An overwhelming majority of Americans believe the state of the US-Mexico border is an emergency or major problem (70%) – but also believe that America is a nation of immigrants (73%) and reject family separation (65%).
Why: I grew up in – and recently moved to – a politically homogenous community. After a few months at More in Common, of my favorite aspects of the job is the opportunity to meaningfully study different beliefs from mine. One of the clearest lessons I have gained from this newfound exposure is that vote choice fails to capture the nuance and diversity of Americans’ political beliefs. Immigration is a clear example where voters across the aisle share a mix of both concerns and sympathies. I frankly wish all my peers knew about our research. I think it would make them a lot less judgmental.