Holly Dunn

Education

PhD (Political Science), University of Minnesota, 2018
MA (Political Science), Carleton University, 2013
BA (Political Science and Human Rights), Carleton University, 2010 

Bio

My two main areas of interest are: 1) law and justice in conflict-affected contexts, and 2) the intersection of research methods and ethics. Substantively, I focus on the rule of law, legal consciousness, and legal pluralism, especially in countries that have been affected by conflict or other forms of widespread violence. My fieldwork is in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo and considers how people conceptualize harms and disputes and how/where they seek justice for them in their daily lives. In particular, I focus on shifts in legal consciousness through legal reform activities and how these shifts are implicated in the construction of legality. In other words, how do changes in legal consciousness shape the terrain of legal pluralism? This research forms the basis of my recent book, Legal Consciousness and the Rule of Law in Post-Conflict Societies: Emergent Hybrid Legality in the Democratic Republic of Congo (2022, Routledge).

The second strand of my research interest is in the intersection of research methods and ethics. After experiencing varied ethical tensions––situations that required ethical reflection––during my fieldwork, I began to explore how research ethics are addressed in Political Science research and publications. I have published on this topic in Women’s Perspectives on Human Security: Violence, Environment, and Sustainability. My current book project explores this topic further.

Research

Post-conflict justice, rule of law, legal pluralism, legal politics, gender justice, qualitative and critical methodologies