2026-2027 Enosinian Scholars
Anton Chung Frantisak
School: Columbian College of Arts and Sciences
Majors: German Language & Literature; Political Science
Project Description:
On one side, quantitative research that tests the effect of policies that weaken liberal democracy on the responses of voters in Germany relies on researchers’ assumptions to define those policies, leaving it unknown whether researchers' definitions correspond to voters' understandings.
On the other, qualitative research has examined how Germans define democracy, but there is insufficient literature about how they understand illiberal regimes, or regimes that undermine liberal democracy by weakening individual rights, free and fair elections, checks on government power, or the rule of law.
In order to address both gaps, my project asks two questions: (1) how do German voters understand illiberal regimes as a static concept? and (2) how do they believe a liberal democracy develops into an illiberal regime?
I selected German voters because German schools teach about the country’s transition from democracy to the Nazi dictatorship. I have interviewed them about democracy and dictatorship, how they believe a liberal democracy develops into an illiberal regime, the actors they believe influence that development, and their assessments of illiberal and liberal policy scenarios.
Through thematic analysis, I am not only (1) identifying the indicators that German voters use to recognize illiberalism and its development to fill the gap in the qualitative literature, but also (2) determining whether their understandings of illiberalism support or challenge the definitions that quantitative researchers have used to classify policies as illiberal in previous studies.
Arik Karim
School: Elliott School of International Affairs
Majors: International Affairs; Political Science
Project Description:
In November 2020, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) approved Kalshi as the first fully-regulated financial exchange of event contracts, opening the legal floodgates for a nascent industry now exceeding $100 billion in annualized trading volume. In the last five years, the CFTC has reversed course on its rules on prediction markets, signaling agency uncertainty. Moreover, courts have since split on whether prediction markets are commodity derivatives or illegal gambling, whether federal law preempts state regulation entirely or merely coexists with it, and whether the insider trading doctrines forged in securities law have any purchase in a commodities exchange. My thesis maps the judicial decisions, statutory frameworks, and agency actions governing event contracts with the aim of clarifying the unsettled legal questions that prediction markets increasingly raise.
Dewanga Mayarata
School: Columbian College of Arts and Sciences
Major: Neuroscience
Project Description:
The prostate is a male reproductive organ composed of epithelial and stromal cells. Within the prostate reside macrophages that contribute to immunity, homeostasis, and organogenesis. During early prostate growth, there is an increased presence of macrophages, suggesting their involvement in prostate development. Many prostatic diseases, such as prostate cancer, are associated with macrophage infiltration, which can promote inflammation, hyperplasia, and disease progression. We are interested in understanding the effects of early-life macrophage ablation on prostate tumor progression. I will use mouse models and perform histological stainings and analyses on prostate tissues to characterize cellular changes after early-life macrophage ablation. My research aims to elucidate the role macrophages play in prostate cancer.