This summer, Jackson School graduate students are engaging in critical research on global conflicts, cultural identities, and social justice movements. Their work spans diverse regions and time periods — from the complexities of Cold War geopolitics and religious narratives in Korea and Turkey to contemporary struggles for Indigenous rights and environmental justice in Latin America. Their work uncovers hidden histories and urgent struggles, revealing how global forces shape lives on the ground.
Faith, foreign policy, and the forgotten front of the Korean War
For Ph.D. candidate Lina Wang, the Korean War is more than just a historical flashpoint — it’s a lens into the foreign policy decisions, religious narratives, and lived experiences that shaped modern Turkey’s Cold War trajectory.
Her dissertation, “From Ankara to the Yalu: Turkey’s NATO Aspirations, Religious Mobilization, and the Experience of Turkish POWs in the Korean War,” explores three interconnected dimensions of Turkey’s involvement in the war. She examines the geopolitical reasoning behind troop deployment, the use of Islamic rhetoric to build domestic support, and the resistance of Turkish prisoners of war to Chinese ideological indoctrination.
Jackson School Ph.D. candidate Line Wang (right) with her husband and two daughters. Photo courtesy of Lina Wang
“I wanted to show how Turkey’s Cold War trajectory was shaped not only by strategic calculations in Ankara but also by narratives of faith, nationhood, and resistance on the ground,” she said.
This summer, Wang is focused on completing the third part of her dissertation, comparing Turkish prisoner of war (POW) experiences in Korea to those of Ottoman soldiers in World War I. Her work draws on archival sources from Turkey, the United States, and China, and has benefited from archival training at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
Wang — who is on track to graduate this summer — sees her work as part of a larger scholarly agenda that bridges international history with cultural and religious analysis. She hopes to eventually broaden her research into comparative studies on middle powers navigating global conflicts.
Fighting for Indigenous rights and environmental justice in Latin America
While Wang’s research traces the Cold War’s legacy, international studies master’s student Milan Hortencia Suárez is turning their attention to one of today’s most pressing global challenges: Indigenous rights and environmental justice. Suárez is investigating how megaprojects like the Tren Maya in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula are threatening Indigenous communities and their lands. It’s personal. It’s political. And it’s urgent.
Jackon School M.A. student Milan Hortencia Suárez. Courtesy of Milan Hortencia Suárez
Suárez’s work includes two major papers that tackle this theme from different angles. The first investigates resistance to Indigenous human rights abuses in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, a region known for violent conflicts between Indigenous communities and land developers. The second examines the Tren Maya, a controversial megaproject in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula that threatens local ecosystems and Indigenous ways of life.
“I am Mexican and have thought the case of the Tren Maya’s construction to be important to investigate due to its social and environmental factors,” Suárez said.
But Suárez’s journey into this field began long before their research. During their undergraduate years at the Jackson School, Suárez conducted interviews with Indigenous groups in Campo Grande, Brazil and witnessed firsthand the resilience of the Guaraní and Kadiwéu peoples. Their research was inspired by those experiences, leading them to focus on how Indigenous communities continue to fight back against systems that seek to erase their cultures.
This summer, Suárez is finalizing their papers and preparing to defend their research. Looking forward, they hope to leverage their expertise to support Indigenous rights and sustainable development through advocacy or working for a non-governmental organization.
