Jadie Minhas

Welcome to my site,

My name is Jadie Minhas (she/her/hers). My academic journey has led me to my current position as a third-year doctoral candidate in Political Science at Arizona State University’s School of Politics and Global Studies, and a graduate student affiliate at the Melikian Center: Russian, Eurasian, & East European Studies Critical Languages Institute. My focus areas are international relations, comparative politics, political theory, and quantitative methodology.

My research examines the underlying causes and consequences of Russia’s recent military aggression abroad. I am particularly interested in how soft power, such as nationalism, religion, and public opinion, serves as a legitimizing force for authoritarian leaders like President Putin.

My current work uses a multi-method approach, including text analysis and experimental survey methods, to explore how elite rhetoric shapes support for military action. One project analyzes President Putin’s political rhetoric throughout his presidency using both qualitative coding and natural language processing. Another investigates how the Russian state strategically instrumentalizes religion to justify violence and sustain domestic legitimacy.