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Soyoung Lee

@soyounglee.bsky.social
3.2K followers 482 following 33 posts

Assistant Professor @Yale || Studying International Relations with a focus on territorial conflicts, rivalries, and nationalism www.soyoungleeresearch.com

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Soyoung Lee @soyounglee.bsky.social · 1h
We hope this paper will of interest to those studying international rivalries, historical memory, East Asian international relations, and the effects of school education on political attitudes. Blog summary here: ajps.org/2026/10/09/t...
ajps.org
Teaching the past, informing the present? School history education and attitudes toward foreign countries
The forthcoming article “Teaching the past, informing the present? School history education and attitudes toward foreign countries” by Soyoung Lee and Jeongmin Park is summarized by the author(s) b…
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Soyoung Lee @soyounglee.bsky.social · 2h
🚨New @ajpseditor.bsky.social! How does school history education emphasizing past conflict affect students’ attitudes toward cooperation with the country today? Do students exposed to different historical narratives develop different attitudes? We examine Qs👇 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
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Mike Goldfien @mikegoldfien.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Excited that my article with @profmickeyj.bsky.social and #Roseanne_McManus, “The Domestic Sources of International Trust,” is now published as FirstView in @apsrjournal.bsky.social! Here is a brief summary.
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Erik Voeten @erikvoeten.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
And this article by @soyounglee.bsky.social in @iojournal.bsky.social "The presence of capitalintensive resources-such as oil or minerals-raises concerns about how the benefits of acquiring the territory would be distributed within the nation." www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
cambridge.org
Resources and Territorial Claims: Domestic Opposition to Resource-Rich Territory | International Organization | Cambridge Core
Resources and Territorial Claims: Domestic Opposition to Resource-Rich Territory - Volume 78 Issue 3
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Ken Schultz @kschultz.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
Apropos current events, I want to tout this paper by @soyounglee.bsky.social showing that discussion of economic benefits can reduce public support for military action. People are skeptical when they think specific groups (e.g., oil companies) will benefit. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Domestic Distributional Roots of National Interest
SOYOUNG LEE Yale University, United States, and Duke University, United States

What international issues become national interests worth fighting for, and why? Contrary to conventional wisdom, I argue that issues without clear economic value, such as barren lands, are more likely to be perceived as national interests because they do not benefit any single domestic group. Since who benefits is unclear, politicians have an easier time framing such issues as benefiting the whole nation. I test this argument using survey experiments on the American public. The results show that first, issues providing diffuse benefits to citizens are more likely to be considered national interests than issues providing concentrated benefits to certain domestic groups. Second, issues with clearer economic value are harder to frame as having diffuse benefits because they are more easily associated with specific beneficiaries. This study proposes a new theory of national interest and offers a potential explanation for why people frequently support conflict over issues without obvious benefits.
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Minju Kim @minjulisettekim.bsky.social · 15/11/2025
How does transparency affect the behavior of international bureaucrats tasked with facilitating negotiations? In new work with Sojun Park in the Review of International Organizations (doi.org/10.1007/s115..., it’s open access!), we provide an answer in the context of the WTO.
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APSA @apsa.bsky.social · 04/04/2025
Domestic Distributional Roots of National Interest Domestic Distributional Roots of National Interest By Soyoung Lee, Yale University and Duke University. What international issues become national interests worth fighting for, and why? Contrary to conventional wisdom, I argue that issues without…
politicalsciencenow.com
Domestic Distributional Roots of National Interest
Domestic Distributional Roots of National Interest By Soyoung Lee, Yale University and Duke University. What international issues become national interests worth fighting for, and why? Contrary to conventional wisdom, I argue that issues without clear economic value, such as barren lands, are more likely to be perceived as national interests because they do not benefit any single domestic group.
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Daniel Mattingly @mattingly.bsky.social · 06/01/2025
Interested in a social science Ph.D.? Apply to be a full time Predoctoral Fellow at Yale doing research on China's domestic and foreign politics! Starts on July 1. Link: tobin.yale.edu/opportunitie...
tobin.yale.edu
CSAP Predoc: Domestic and Foreign Politics of China
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International Organization @iojournal.bsky.social · 31/12/2024
2. Soyoung Lee, Resources and Territorial Claims: Domestic Opposition to Resource-Rich Territory Congrats!
cambridge.org
Resources and Territorial Claims: Domestic Opposition to Resource-Rich Territory | International Organization | Cambridge Core
Resources and Territorial Claims: Domestic Opposition to Resource-Rich Territory - Volume 78 Issue 3
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Soyoung Lee @soyounglee.bsky.social · 31/12/2024
Thank you @dandrezner.bsky.social for the 2024 Albies shoutout! It's a great honor to be included alongside all the other amazing articles. And link to the paper for anyone interested: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
cambridge.org
Resources and Territorial Claims: Domestic Opposition to Resource-Rich Territory | International Organization | Cambridge Core
Resources and Territorial Claims: Domestic Opposition to Resource-Rich Territory - Volume 78 Issue 3
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Soyoung Lee @soyounglee.bsky.social · 07/12/2024
Thank you!
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Soyoung Lee @soyounglee.bsky.social · 07/12/2024
Now out with an official issue number!
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Soyoung Lee @soyounglee.bsky.social · 07/12/2024
So frustrating 😡
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Soyoung Lee @soyounglee.bsky.social · 10/11/2024
Thank you! 😊
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PUREKIMMINESS @purekimminess.bsky.social · 09/11/2024
Congratulations to @soyounglee.bsky.social for BEST dissertation award at Peace Science!
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Soyoung Lee @soyounglee.bsky.social · 30/08/2024
Thanks so much for the kind words, and hope you’re doing well!
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Soyoung Lee @soyounglee.bsky.social · 29/08/2024
🥳 My paper is out @iojournal.bsky.social! Two main empirical takeaways: 1. States often don't fight over lands with resources, even when they can claim it for historical reasons. 2. Historical boundaries matter in how states shape their territorial claims. For more, abstract and paper below!
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Soyoung Lee @soyounglee.bsky.social · 30/05/2024
Congratulations!! 🥳🥳
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Laura Seay @texasinafrica.bsky.social · 01/04/2024
Happy 8th anniversary to the best April Fool's joke @dadakim.bsky.social & I ever pulled off!
washingtonpost.com
Weary professors give up, concede that Africa is a country
As of April 1, we’re done.
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Soyoung Lee @soyounglee.bsky.social · 07/02/2024
Really interesting question! I'm wondering if there's some efficiency element baked into the distinction? As in, "successful coordination" is a subset of path-dependencies that are efficient/ optimal (Ex. meeting in the Central station is successful coordination but Qwerty is path-dependent? 🤷‍♀️)
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Soyoung Lee @soyounglee.bsky.social · 26/12/2023
Thanks, Eun A!
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Soyoung Lee @soyounglee.bsky.social · 21/12/2023
Thanks for the shoutout, and for your helpful comments that made the paper much better!
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Soyoung Lee @soyounglee.bsky.social · 21/12/2023
Thank you!
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Soyoung Lee @soyounglee.bsky.social · 20/12/2023
🥳Yay, this paper's now officially out! Available open access👇 cup.org/3GTQ99X #polisky, intsec, nationalisky
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Soyoung Lee @soyounglee.bsky.social · 17/12/2023
Oh wow. That sounds even more serious
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Soyoung Lee @soyounglee.bsky.social · 17/12/2023
Is it difficult as in the government won’t let you ask them or as in people won’t answer? If it’s the latter I feel like it’s happening in South Korea too 🙁
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Soyoung Lee @soyounglee.bsky.social · 25/10/2023
Congrats, Hakeem! Really love the paper!
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Soyoung Lee @soyounglee.bsky.social · 24/10/2023
Very cool!!
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Soyoung Lee @soyounglee.bsky.social · 24/10/2023
Thanks for making it happen! Wouldn’t have been possible without your work
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Soyoung Lee @soyounglee.bsky.social · 02/10/2023
Thanks for the shoutout! (Your book helped a lot with the project!)
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Soyoung Lee @soyounglee.bsky.social · 02/10/2023
Thanks, Hakeem. Missing our hallway chats!
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Soyoung Lee @soyounglee.bsky.social · 30/09/2023
I’d love to be added, thank you! @harrismylonas.bsky.social
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Cleo O'Brien-Udry @cobrienudry.bsky.social · 29/09/2023
so grateful for the opportunity to present my work on greening foreign aid at Villanova today! thank you to Christopher Kilby and the economics department for the warm welcome and excellent comments! check out the paper here if interested: cobrienudry.github.io/files/o'brien-udry_JMP.pdf
TV monitor with photo of Cleo and text "Villanova Department of Economics Seminar Series"
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Soyoung Lee @soyounglee.bsky.social · 30/09/2023
Thanks, Sumin!!
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Soyoung Lee @soyounglee.bsky.social · 30/09/2023
Thank you, Federica!
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Soyoung Lee @soyounglee.bsky.social · 29/09/2023
Thank you, Ariel, for your endorsement!
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Soyoung Lee @soyounglee.bsky.social · 29/09/2023
Also, if you're interested in a more observational & qualitative evidence of the theory (showing states are indeed less likely to claim resource-rich lands), take a look at a related working paper: drive.google.com/file/d/1DwaV... 5/4
drive.google.com
SLee_When_Economic_Value_Backfires.pdf
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Soyoung Lee @soyounglee.bsky.social · 29/09/2023
This paper builds on (and hopefully contributes!) to discussions of domestic/distributive politics & foreign policy, territorial conflicts, and nationalism. Paper: drive.google.com/file/d/1YNso... + Many thanks to everyone who's read the paper, including friends, reviewers & editors! 4/4
drive.google.com
Domestic_Distributional_Roots_of_National_Interest.pdf
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Soyoung Lee @soyounglee.bsky.social · 29/09/2023
In this paper, I argue that issues *without* specific benefits are easier to sell as national causes worth fighting for. Because such issues are less associated with specific domestic groups, politicians have an easier time framing them as serving broad, general interests. 3/4
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Soyoung Lee @soyounglee.bsky.social · 29/09/2023
..it's quite puzzling when we look at what states and their citizens actually wish to fight over. Often, they're willing to fight over things without clear value (ex. barren lands), while not fighting over issues with clearer value (ex. adjacent lands w/ resources) 2/4
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Soyoung Lee @soyounglee.bsky.social · 29/09/2023
🚨New paper alert🚨 #polisky #intsec My paper, "Domestic Distributional Roots of National Interest", has been cond. accepted at APSR! I ask: Why are some international issues perceived as national interests worth fighting for while others are not? While we may think the answer is obvious..1/4
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Soyoung Lee @soyounglee.bsky.social · 27/09/2023
Congratulations! So well deserved!
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Soyoung Lee @soyounglee.bsky.social · 09/09/2023
Thank you for the welcome and for the offer to share your materials. If you have things on interstate conflict that would be great!
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