Myung Jung Kim

Welcome! I am a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Political Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and United States Institute of Peace (USIP) Minerva Peace and Security Scholar (2023-2024).

I specialize in International Relations, focusing on the intersection of armed conflicts and international law, particularly on the topic of justice during and after armed conflicts. 

In my dissertation, I examine the effects of the growing international anti-impunity legal regime on civil wars. My analysis concentrates on two key aspects: (1) under what conditions and how non-state armed actors face or evade legal prosecutions, and (2) the impact of the legal regime on the duration of wars, external sponsorship, and civilian casualties.

My broader research interests encompass topics such as foreign sponsorship of non-state armed actors, leader accountability, transborder crimes, and transitional justice.

Prior to my doctoral program, I was a research associate at the Korea Institute of National Unification. I hold an M.A. in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and a B.S. in Economics, with a minor in Statistics, from Purdue University.