Sign in

Audrey Comstock

@audreycomstock7.bsky.social
686 followers 484 following 102 posts

Associate Prof in Political Science @ASU researching international law, UN, human rights. PhD from @Cornell. Director ASU Global Human Rights Hub.. Momx3. Views are my own.

PostsRepliesMedia
Audrey Comstock @audreycomstock7.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
ICYMI: The UN High Seas Treaty entered into force on Jan. 17th, 120 days following the 60th ratification. This is a landmark treaty on environmental protection of the oceans and sustainability. Who committed? I was curious and thought others might be, too.
110
Audrey Comstock @audreycomstock7.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
New publication to share🥳Pleased that "Human rights treaty derogation& COVID-19: WHO guidance & state response" is out &Open Access thanks to ASU agreement with CUP! The takeaway: States seemed to listen to the WHO about COVID severity & derogated restricting assembly & movement to address risk
040
Audrey Comstock @audreycomstock7.bsky.social · 26/08/2025
The helpful and painful editing tool of Word Read Aloud strikes again
000
Audrey Comstock @audreycomstock7.bsky.social · 12/08/2025
Bit by bit our standards of human rights are implicitly and explicitly wearing away. "The State Department...drastically reduce(d) the types of government repression and abuse that the United States under President Trump deems worthy of criticism." www.npr.org/2025/08/12/n...
npr.org
State Department slashes its annual reports on human rights
Required by Congress, the reports no longer single out things like rigged elections or sexual violence against children as human rights violations.
000
Audrey Comstock @audreycomstock7.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
Proud of ASU's work on the UN SDGs! "For the sixth year ...ASU is the No. 1 institution in the US & in the top 10 globally for work toward the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, Times Higher Education announced today in its 2025 University Impact Ranking." news.asu.edu/20250617-uni...
news.asu.edu
ASU leads the US for impact with UN Sustainable Development Goals | ASU News
For the sixth year in a row — and bucking a downward trend among American universities — Arizona State University is the No. 1 institution in the U.S. and in the top 10 globally for work toward the Un...
021
Audrey Comstock @audreycomstock7.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
Digging back into email after traveling and glad to find an R&R waiting for me there
010
Audrey Comstock @audreycomstock7.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
How's everyone here feeling about APSA and ISA travel (and other major conferences) these days? I plan at this point to go to both but am in a privileged travel situation - though my uni has reduced travel approval and funding at least in some parts, so that will be a factor.
000
Audrey Comstock @audreycomstock7.bsky.social · 27/05/2025
International students belong. My employer (ASU) and grad school (Cornell) have great charter/mottos about the importance of inclusion at universities. #anypersonanystudy #includenotexclude
000
Audrey Comstock @audreycomstock7.bsky.social · 07/05/2025
Happy to share I am tenured& promoted at ASU. I feel very privileged as a human rights scholar, particularly in this current climate, to have my work recognized in this way at a university championing inclusive education. I'm grateful to do what I do where I do & looking forward to what lies ahead.
3111
Reposted by Audrey Comstock
Bridging The Gap @bridgingthegap.bsky.social · 01/05/2025
4 more days to apply for the 2025 New Era Workshop! NEW is an annual three-day training program for PhD students in international affairs and related disciplines, held September 25-27, 2025 at the University of Denver! Applications can be found on our website. Share with your networks!
bridgingthegapproject.org
NEW — Bridging the Gap
065
Audrey Comstock @audreycomstock7.bsky.social · 01/05/2025
University center/initiative/program/etc. directors, what social media (if any) are you finding effective for those accounts these days?
000
Audrey Comstock @audreycomstock7.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
An important thread to read and share
010
Audrey Comstock @audreycomstock7.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
"It is only the second time in the WHO's 75-year history that an international agreement of this type has been reached – the first being a tobacco control deal in 2003." Looking forward to reading more into the completed agreement today www.bbc.com/news/article...
bbc.com
World Health Organization agrees legally binding pandemic treaty
The agreement is designed to ensure more cooperation between nations in the event of another pandemic.
17714
Audrey Comstock @audreycomstock7.bsky.social · 11/03/2025
just finished submitting my ISA reimbursement forms to my uni and got my APSA acceptance. Let's hope that there will be some better news for uni funding, reserach, etc. come APSA time for us all :)
020
Reposted by Audrey Comstock
Andrew Heiss @andrew.heiss.phd · 27/02/2025
Hey! Latest paper by @suparnac.bsky.social and @audreycomstock7.bsky.social and me is live at the Journal of Human Rights: "Derogations, democratic backsliding, and international human rights during the COVID-19 pandemic" doi.org/10.1080/1475... Preprint here: www.andrewheiss.com/research/art...
Derogations, democratic backsliding, and international human rights during the COVID-19 pandemic

Did states misuse international legal emergency provisions during the COVID-19 pandemic to justify human rights abuse, or did they follow international human rights law? Many governments restricted citizens’ freedom of movement, association, and assembly during the crisis, raising questions about states’ commitments to international human rights law. Some states used derogations to communicate temporary suspension of international legal provisions in a proportional and nondiscriminatory manner; others did not. We explored the dynamics of democratic backsliding and derogation use during the pandemic. We found that backsliding states were more likely to issue human rights treaty derogations. These derogations had mitigating effects once issued. Backsliding states that issued derogations were more likely to communicate restrictions and less likely to issue abusive and discriminatory policy during the pandemic. Derogations helped temper abuse in states not experiencing backsliding. However, derogations did not always protect against abuse and media transparency in backsliding states. These results lend support to the use of flexibility mechanisms in international law and find that most states did not use emergency derogations to heighten human rights violations. The study contributes to the understanding of how international legal measures may help mitigate elements of democratic backsliding during times of crisis.Stacked fuzzy bar charts showing the results of ordered logistic regression models across a range of human rights violations in backsliding and non-backsliding countries
1399
Audrey Comstock @audreycomstock7.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
"The vote against the Ukrainian and European-backed resolution saw the US at odds with its longtime European allies and instead aligned with the aggressor in the war on the three-year anniversary of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine." www.cnn.com/2025/02/24/p...
cnn.com
US joins Russia to vote against UN resolution condemning Russia’s war against Ukraine | CNN Politics
The United States joined Russia to vote against a UN General Assembly resolution condemning Russia’s war against Ukraine Monday in a stunning shift from years of US policy.
011
Audrey Comstock @audreycomstock7.bsky.social · 12/02/2025
Sick kiddo at home, midterm grading, and an ISA paper that. . .
020
Audrey Comstock @audreycomstock7.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
Finally booked my ISA trip, looking forward to seeing folks in Chicago!
000
Audrey Comstock @audreycomstock7.bsky.social · 03/02/2025
not sure if it is AI or just lack of attention, but students have incorrectly cited a chapter I wrote so far as by S. Comstock, M. Comstock, being a journal article in Law&Policy (& there were even made up page#s!), being published by Oxford Univ Press (was CUP),& being published in 2002 & 2006
100
Audrey Comstock @audreycomstock7.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
I never learn - working on my annual review submission on the last day. Turns out I prefer researching, teaching, and committee work to writing about my researching, teaching, and committee work and entering it into a clunky system
290
Audrey Comstock @audreycomstock7.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
Got univ approval to use a univ seed grant to travel to NYC in Feb for UN archive &interview research (abuse &accountability in peacekeeping).Looking forward to it & LMK if any tips, contacts, etc. come to mind. Might have time for coffee/ talk too if interest to you/your prog🙂
040
Audrey Comstock @audreycomstock7.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
For Grad IL/IO class this week the theme was why states work (and don't work) through IOs. Always relevant sometimes depressing
000
Audrey Comstock @audreycomstock7.bsky.social · 14/01/2025
with a lot going on the last week, just submitted my APSA proposal (still one day early!). LMK if you have any panel proposals needing a last min chair or discussant added in my general areas of HR, IL, peacekeeping, gender, etc. Glad to help
010
Reposted by Audrey Comstock
Andrew Heiss @andrew.heiss.phd · 11/12/2024
woohoo end of the year article acceptance 🎉 Forthcoming at the Journal of Human Rights w/ @audreycomstock7.bsky.social & @suparnac.bsky.social we look at pandemic-era democratic backsliding & treaty derogations Quarto site: stats.andrewheiss.com/lemon-lucife... OSF preprint: osf.io/preprints/so...
Derogations, Democratic Backsliding, and International Human Rights During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Did states misuse international legal emergency provisions during the COVID-19 pandemic to justify human rights abuse or did they follow international human rights law? Many governments restricted citizens’ freedom of movement, association, and assembly during the crisis, raising questions about states’ commitments to international human rights law. Some states used derogations to communicate temporary suspension of international legal provisions in a proportional and non-discriminatory manner, while others did not. We explore the dynamics of democratic backsliding and derogation use during the pandemic. We find that backsliding states were more likely to issue human rights treaty derogations. These derogations had mitigating effects once issued. Backsliding states that issued derogations were more likely to communicate restrictions and were less likely to issue abusive and discriminatory policy during the pandemic. Derogations helped temper abuse in states not experiencing backsliding. However, derogations did not always protect against abuse and media transparency in backsliding states. These results lend support to the use of flexibility mechanisms in international law and find that most states did not use emergency derogations to heighten human rights violations. The study contributes to the understanding of how international legal measures may help mitigate elements of democratic backsliding during times of crisis.Predicted probabilities of violating human rights across states with low and high risks of democratic backsliding and derogation status, shown as stacked bar charts
2667
Audrey Comstock @audreycomstock7.bsky.social · 09/12/2024
What is your favorite final assignment type to assign? For my intro to human rights class, I've had them do reserach projects/posters for the last couple of years and I like that. Some one asked if they could submit a poem instead. I did not like that.
010
Audrey Comstock @audreycomstock7.bsky.social · 07/12/2024
ASU v Iowa State game on while entering some grades🏈
000
Audrey Comstock @audreycomstock7.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
Job Ap reminder: Assistant Teaching Prof in American Politics at ASU School of Social and Behavioral Sciences deadline 12/6 (This Friday!) apply.interfolio.com/158545
apply.interfolio.com
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
000
Audrey Comstock @audreycomstock7.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
Grading the first batch of final projects with Christmas jazz playing in the background 🎵
010
Reposted by Audrey Comstock
Audrey Comstock @audreycomstock7.bsky.social · 08/11/2024
weird time to advertise jobs I guess, but this just got approved to post: Assistant Teaching Prof in American Politics at ASU apply.interfolio.com/158545 LMK if you have any questions
apply.interfolio.com
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
011
Audrey Comstock @audreycomstock7.bsky.social · 20/11/2024
Is there ever a semester where one doesn't feel behind on everything? Asking for me.
000
Audrey Comstock @audreycomstock7.bsky.social · 15/11/2024
Bluesky academics, lets get to know each other! Quote this & tell me: 1) a project you are working on & 2) an odd idea/theory you aren’t working on but keep thinking about 1. punishment/accountability re: peacekeeper SEA 2. persistent objectors IL & peace/conflict around Olympic events
021
Audrey Comstock @audreycomstock7.bsky.social · 13/11/2024
every news update about nominees seems like a worse and worse joke
000
Audrey Comstock @audreycomstock7.bsky.social · 08/11/2024
weird time to advertise jobs I guess, but this just got approved to post: Assistant Teaching Prof in American Politics at ASU apply.interfolio.com/158545 LMK if you have any questions
apply.interfolio.com
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
011
Audrey Comstock @audreycomstock7.bsky.social · 30/09/2024
grading snacking grading snacking writing grading
000
Audrey Comstock @audreycomstock7.bsky.social · 29/09/2024
I came on here to see how @mpbroache.bsky.social is doing in NC with all going on and I see super fast runs, article acceptances, and drink pics 😀 Hope all continues to go well friend!
000
Audrey Comstock @audreycomstock7.bsky.social · 14/09/2024
Know you all can empathize - Just opening up my uni travel reimbursement system for APSA trip and already have 4 alerts that something is wrong (without even uploading receipts yet!)
020
Audrey Comstock @audreycomstock7.bsky.social · 11/09/2024
HR folks (esp if IL, Gender, migration- focused). send me a message! ASU Global Human Rights Hub has different working groups and virtual talks throughout the year. Previously, I've used it as a way to highlight jr candidates on the market, but I'm open to thinking!
041
Audrey Comstock @audreycomstock7.bsky.social · 23/08/2024
Great first day of classes with Intro to Human Rights & Current Events in IR. That was fun. Meetings for 2 different committees I'm on - good. Then was appointed to chair a search committee (4th SC pre-tenure). Unexpected. But will share that line/advert whenever I can!
010
Audrey Comstock @audreycomstock7.bsky.social · 17/07/2024
planning a research trip to the UNHQ in October 🙂
020
Audrey Comstock @audreycomstock7.bsky.social · 16/07/2024
think it is a very good time to start spending more time over here instead
020
Audrey Comstock @audreycomstock7.bsky.social · 12/04/2024
what's a very mundane and/or nerdy thing you have unintentionally memorized. me: some UNTC treaty codes/subcodes and some COWcode countries/codes
000
Reposted by Audrey Comstock
Politics & Gender @politicsgenderj.bsky.social · 27/03/2024
📢New #PAG20 Critical Perspectives📢 @audreycomstock7.bsky.social & @andreavilan.bsky.social envision new paths of research on autocratic engagement with int'l women's rights treaties in "Looking beyond Ratification" polisky gendersky www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Critical perspectives article entitled "Looking beyond Ratification: Autocrats’ International Engagement with Women’s Rights" by Audrey L. Comstock and Andrea Vilán.
064
Audrey Comstock @audreycomstock7.bsky.social · 05/03/2024
Looking beyond Ratification: Autocrats’ International Engagement w Women’s Rights w @andreavilan.bsky.social has issue # at Politics&Gender! Part of a wonderful symposium Gender Equality&Authoritarian Regimes edited by @sarahbush.bsky.social & @parzetterberg.bsky.social doi.org/10.1017/S174...
doi.org
Looking beyond Ratification: Autocrats’ International Engagement with Women’s Rights | Politics & Gender | Cambridge Core
Looking beyond Ratification: Autocrats’ International Engagement with Women’s Rights - Volume 20 Issue 1
063
Audrey Comstock @audreycomstock7.bsky.social · 21/02/2024
hivemind: can anyone tell me when women started serving in UN peacekeeping? date and source would be amazing! mission also would be interesting. thank you :)
000
Audrey Comstock @audreycomstock7.bsky.social · 20/02/2024
Join us for a virtual event on "Human Rights&Conflict" organized by APSA's Human Rights Section. March 8th, 12pm-1:45pm EST. Speakers include: George Andreopoulos, Lyusyena Kirakosyan, Risa Kitagawa, Mneesha Gellman, and discussant Lydia Brashear Tiede. Register Here! forms.gle/AUihxmFXDk9t...
000
Audrey Comstock @audreycomstock7.bsky.social · 19/02/2024
Hand up if schools closed and uni open today 🙋‍♀️
130
Audrey Comstock @audreycomstock7.bsky.social · 05/02/2024
Stockholm in June sounds nice!
000
Audrey Comstock @audreycomstock7.bsky.social · 31/01/2024
Last day for my January to-do list. Important deadlines met. Articles at various stages advanced. Interesting collaborations moving forward. Most reviews returned. ISA paper writing will have to wait until Feb, but at least the data is analyzed :) Not too shabby.
110
Audrey Comstock @audreycomstock7.bsky.social · 23/01/2024
When what you think will be a straightforward data thing ends up taking 15 more steps that you anticipate 😂
020
Audrey Comstock @audreycomstock7.bsky.social · 28/12/2023
Hey folks! Sara Kahn Nisser&I are putting together a special issue proposal on human rights&democratic backsliding. Great papers with us so far! Looking to add a couple more to be considered part of our proposal. Reach out with title/abstract (and/or questions) by Jan 10!
146