Steven Schaaf is a Ph.D. Candidate in Political Science at the George Washington University and an ACOR-CAORC fellow in fall 2017. His research focuses on the comparative analysis of administrative courts in Jordan, Palestine and Egypt. Why do some people choose to pursue their grievances through legal channels, while others do not? What is the role of the administrative judiciary in society? And how can we best understand the verdicts and jurisprudence of administrative judges in the MENA region? As an ACOR-CAORC Fellow, Steven combines quantitative and qualitative research methods to answer these questions.
Steven’s project in Jordan is: “The Courtroom is a Crucible: Explaining the Dynamics of Administrative Justice in the MENA.” Steven studied Arabic from 2011 to 2012 and again in 2015 through the Council On International Educational Exchange (CIEE) in Jordan. He received a Fulbright IIE Fellowship in 2013 to study the role of gender in the Jordanian judiciary. In addition to his research in Jordan, Steven has conducted fieldwork on administrative court systems in Egypt, Palestine and Qatar. Following his time as an ACOR-CAORC Fellow, Steven will continue his research in Jordan as a Boren Fellow.
Steven received his B.A. in International Relations from Drake University, and his M.A. in Political Science from the George Washington University. Following his dissertation research in Jordan, Steven expects to complete his Ph.D. at the George Washington University in 2020. Steven’s contact information is available through his webpage at GWU, https://politicalscience.columbian.gwu.edu/steven-schaaf.
