Cartland Zhou

Cartland Zhou is a Ph.D. candidate in the political science department at the University of California, Los Angeles, specializing as an international relations scholar studying conflict dynamics through the lens of arms transfers. Drawing upon her background as a computational statistician, Cartland’s research seeks to build novel tools to better examine complex international relations dynamics.  Her dissertation is a book project examining mechanisms under which great powers leverage arms transfers for strategic gains and their implications for interstate disputes and conflicts. Given that a select few states produce and control the arms and technology required to sustain modern warfare, foreign arms transfers are increasingly crucial towards the instigation, sustainment, and persistence of armed conflicts today. Her book argues that initiating and sustaining wars are no longer independent decisions made by belligerents and their willingness to fight, but rather a complex series of strategic interactions between belligerents and suppliers within a set of logistical constraints. Beyond her book project, Cartland has also introduced a new dataset of foreign lobbying in the United States through developing computer vision techniques to parse archival Foreign Agents Registration Act forms. She received an M.A. in political science and a B.A. in international relations from New York University.