Averell Schmidt is a PhD candidate in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. His research examines the politics of international law and organizations, with a particular focus on the consequences of states’ decisions to contest or violate international norms and institutions. His broader research interests include human rights, transitional justice, international security, political economy, and computational social science. Before beginning his doctoral studies, he served with the Peace Corps in Morocco, fought forest fires in the Sawtooth National Forest, and worked for public policy research organizations in Sri Lanka, Israel, Georgia, and Egypt. He holds an MPP from the Harvard Kennedy School and a BA from Lewis & Clark College.