Hello. I am an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Richmond. I teach classes on international relations, global governance, anti-Americanism & world opinion, and human rights & modern day slavery.

My current book project, forthcoming with Cambridge University Press, focuses on the consequences of anti-Americanism.  Whereas most scholars focus on the sources of anti-Americanism (e.g., Chiozza 2009, Markovits 2007, Keohane and Katzenstein 2007), very little scholarship focuses on its impact for the United States. My research attempts to fill that gap. Using data from the Pew Global Attitudes Project and the National Archives, I examine the relationship between cross-national variation in favorable opinion toward the U.S. and: (1) voting alignment with the U.S. within the United Nations General Assembly from 1985 to 2007; (2) global consumption of iconic U.S. brand-name products, in addition to cross-national purchases of U.S. securities from 1995 to 2007; and (3) political, financial, and troop support for the 2003 U.S.-led war in Iraq. I also examine the extent to which the global popularity of Barack Obama, i.e., “Obamamania” influences how states interact with the U.S. The results of this study not only contribute to an ongoing debate between realists and liberals regarding the extent to which public opinion is a useful predictor for a given state’s foreign policy, but also provide substantial policy implications for the U.S. national interest.

I am also working on several projects about human trafficking and modern day slavery with Free the Slaves and Chab Dai. Another project examines the nature of the U.S.-European Transatlantic Gap. Another project looks at the sources and impact of world public opinion.

Please feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss any of the above topics.  I look forward to hearing your ideas.

Best,
Monti Datta
mdatta@richmond.edu