Austin Beacham
Ph.D. Candidate, UC San Diego

Thanks for visiting my website! I am a political science Ph.D. candidate at UC San Diego, and a 2023-2024 Dissertation Fellow with the UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation. 

I primarily study environmental politics and policy, international organization, and sustainability. My dissertation focuses on the politics of biodiversity conservation and protected areas, with a particular interest on how domestic and international politics interplay in determining protected area policy outcomes. Other work explores how transnational actors perform governance functions within states' territories both independently and in cooperation with the state, and I have a secondary research interest in the current global trend toward democratic backsliding.

A proud Georgian, I received BAs in Applied Language and Intercultural Studies and Business Administration from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2017. I then worked at The Coca-Cola Company for two years before turning to political science. In my free time, I enjoy playing music, skateboarding,  wildlife photography, attempting pottery, and trying to keep the dream of being a professional soccer player alive.