UROP Project

Framing Threats to International Peace and Security: What Does the U.S. Say at the UNSC?

International Relations, United Nations, United States, Diplomacy, Text Analysis
Research Mentor: Prof. Olga Gasparyan,
Department, College, Affiliation: Department of Political Science, Social Sciences and Public Policy
Contact Email: og23a@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators: Ms. Huijie Xu
Faculty Collaborators Email: hx23a@fsu.edu
Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 4
Relevant Majors: Most applicable for: Political Science, International Affairs, Public Admin, Policy, but open to all.
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required:
Remote or In-person: Partially Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 5-10 hours a week, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
Not participating in the roundtable

Project Description

How does the U.S. frame threats to international peace and security? Maintaining international peace and security is the primary responsibility of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Relevant issues include but are not limited to interstate conflicts, civil wars, humanitarian crises, natural disasters, nuclear weapons, climate change, and public health. We are interested in how the UNSC’s most influential member - the U.S. - shapes these crucial international issues by strategically framing them at the UNSC. From the U.S. perspective, what are the important issues that require attention, who should take the responsibility, what actions should be taken to address the issues, and how does the U.S. argue with other countries about these issues? We collect all the U.S. speeches delivered at the UNSC public meetings and build an analysis framework with a corresponding codebook to systematically analyze American diplomatic discourse.

Research Tasks: Data collection: read through the U.S. speeches and classify items based on our codebook.
Data analysis: analyze coding results, identify systematic patterns, and interpret implications.

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Reading ability (required) and data analysis ability (recommended)

Mentoring Philosophy

We believe the strongest mentoring relationships emerge when mentees and mentors are united by shared intellectual interest. We seek mentees who share our passion for international relations, diplomacy, and text analysis. Our primary goal is to provide mentees with authentic, first-hand research experience that demystifies the academic process and shows what happens behind the curtain of UN everyday diplomacy. We prioritize creating an interactive environment where mentees are encouraged to ask “why” and “how” and work collaboratively with us to develop the project. Through hands-on involvement in data collection, coding, analysis, and interpretation, mentees gain practical skills while exploring their intellectual interests. We hope this experience not only contributes to mentees' immediate learning but also inspires them to pursue related questions in their future endeavors, whether in graduate school or their professional careers.

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