The Future of Democracy in Yerevan, Armenia

By Meera R Hatangadi, 2026 UT Graduate in International Relations, Global Studies, and Plan II Honors

I went to Armenia knowing (admittedly) barely anything about the nation. I left Armenia with reminiscences of fascinating work, warm colleagues, gorgeous landscapes, beautiful culture, and memories to last a lifetime.

As a part of the Embedded Scholars program, my fellow scholars and I were the first of our program to fellowship with the National Democratic Institute (NDI) in Armenia. We had the privilege of not only working alongside intelligence and dedicated NDI employees, but also being able to have unique interactions with democratic institutions in Armenia.

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Eating Tomatoes and Supporting Democracy in North Macedonia

By Ellie Alford, Undergraduate student at UT Government Department

I’ve never liked tomatoes. I tried them a few times when I was little, hated the taste, and have adamantly avoided them ever since. I could not envision myself eating one willingly, much less enjoying it. But, life has a funny way of surprising you.

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Witnessing History in Albania

By Trinity Elkins, graduate student at the LBJ School of Public Affairs

Përshëndetje!

My name is Trinity, and I am a second-year Master of Global Policy Studies student at the LBJ School of Public Affairs. This summer I had the incredible privilege of working with the National Democratic Institute in Tirana, Albania, a country with a deeply complex political history.

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Civic Education and Prospects for Democracy: Reflections from Albania

By Elizabeth Donaway, Ph.D. Student in Government at the University of Texas at Austin

This summer I had the opportunity to work with the National Democratic Institute in Albania, where I focused on the relationship between civic education, civic participation, and democratic institutions. Much of my work centered on the Albanian Parliament and its Parliamentary Institute, a nonpartisan institution that supports members of Parliament through research, library services, and civic education programming. Through this work, I came to appreciate that democracy assistance is not only about elections, parties, or formal institutional reform. It is also about helping citizens understand that democratic institutions belong to them and helping institutions create meaningful ways for citizens to participate.

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Finding Resilience in North Macedonia

By Siddharth (Sid) Dasari, UT International Relations and Global Studies major

I’m going where?

That was my reaction this past January, when I found out that I had been placed with the National Democratic Institute (NDI) in North Macedonia through UT’s Embedded Scholars Program. Six months later, and I can confidently say that this has been the most rewarding experience of my life.

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Where the Numbers Come From

By Juan Romero, Undergraduate Student at UT Government Department and Philosophy Department

One of my first observations on this adventure was that Panama City’s metro system does not cover the whole metropolitan area — something I initially saw as inconvenient. However, Panama’s metro reaches further into the periphery than any system I had seen before. Interestingly, these are not the corridors only for the upscale Bella Vista or the banking quarter; these are the places where daily commuters wake before sunrise, hauling produce onto buses and up and down escalators. I hadn’t expected this observation to become as significant over the next two months as it did. Every bit we learned helped form an understanding of how the system was built and what it is: a materialization of the very democratic values we were here to study.

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Collecting Public Opinion and Finding Home in Panama

By Hana Sawaf, Undergraduate student in the UT International Relations and Global Studies Department

When I boarded my flight to Panama almost a month ago, I knew I would be stepping outside of my comfort zone. I expected long workdays, lots of Spanish, and maybe a little homesickness. What I didn’t expect was just how quickly Panama would start to feel like home—or how my cohort would become a second family. I’m interning with CID Gallup, where I’ve had the opportunity to work alongside a talented team conducting public opinion research throughout Latin America. Coming into this internship, I had taken classes on research methods and survey design, but seeing those concepts applied in real life has been a completely different experience.

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Encuestas in Panama City

By Josie Mandrea, Undergraduate student in the UT School of Civic Leadership

I started work at CID Gallup in Panama City right at the beginning of June. Their office sits on the 18th floor of a massive building right in the center of the city. On day one, the staff welcomed us with a wonderful orientation where they explained the value of public opinion research and survey design. In the first few days, we acclimated to the office, getting to know the other employees and the beloved office cats, Simba and Estrellita.

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Evidence-based Data to Advance Policy in Latin America

By Bela Madrid, Undergraduate student at the UT Butler School of Music

Latin America has always felt like a destination that was somehow both far away and familiar at the same time. The opportunity to live and work here has always been enticing. Coming from a background studying music, I am used to exploring different cultures, histories, and political environments through emotion, storytelling, and poetry. Engaging in areas of social research and data science felt somewhat outside my scope of expertise, but I have come to realize it’s simply the other side of the same coin. As we round out week five, I have found myself reflecting on my experiences in Panama and feeling excited to see what month two has in store.

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National Security, Smuggling, and US-Panama Relations

By Veronica Martin, Graduate of the UT Government Department

My work at CID Gallup has been marked by a significant amount of creative autonomy, an abundance of meticulous political research, and an evolving adoration for democracy and national security. At once, we were split into two groups with the task of developing a research study on one of two topics: the aging Panamanian population or the “sandwich generation” of women caring for both children and aging parents. Given an impressive amount of autonomy with our studies, our group of four ventured out to crack open the pensions and retirement systems of Panama by analyzing demographic statistics, literature, and fiscal data. While the research was quite dense, I can now answer any question any skeptic may have about Panamanian retirement (when it comes up in normal everyday conversation, which is often).

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Civic Participation and the Sandwich Generation in Latin America

By Brittni Palkert, Graduate student at the UT LBJ School of Public Affairs

I spent the summer in Panama City, Panama, interning with CID Gallup, a leader in public opinion, social, market, and political surveys. This internship provided our intern team with the opportunity to both design our own research project and participate in ongoing research studies, while learning from experts in the field. My group’s research project centered on women in Latin America that are being “sandwiched” between caring for children and elderly parents which limits them from participating in the workforce, civic life, and elsewhere. It also impacts general well-being, including levels of happiness, stress, and burnout.

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2026 Embedded Scholars Head to Balkans, Eurasia, Latin America

The University of Texas at Austin’s Embedded Scholars program is sending its 2026 cohort to the Balkans, Eurasia, and Latin America this summer to support democracy and electoral assistance programs abroad this summer. In Latin America, the fellows will work in the CID Gallup headquarters in Panama, and in International IDEA’s Chile Country Office. In the Balkans and Eurasia, the fellows will work with the National Democratic Institute’s offices in Albania, Armenia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Ukraine.

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Transparency and Accountability in Bosnia and Herzegovina

By Ella Ponthier, Graduate of the UT LBJ School of Public Affairs

Zdravo! My name is Ella, and I am a May 2025 graduate of the LBJ School of Public Affairs. I received my master’s degree in Global Policy Studies with a focus on Central and Eastern European Studies. During my time at the LBJ School, I developed a strong interest in coursework on informal institutions and the state of democracy in post-communist states. Communism in this region ended, seemingly overnight, in the 1990s—but post-communist states did not automatically transform into consolidated democracies. Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of those countries.

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Mapping Migration, Sense of Belonging, and Birthright Citizenship Laws in the Americas

By P. Salomé Valdivieso Santillán, Graduate student at the UT Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies

Our research project began with the aim of studying how different birthright nationality laws shape migrant integration in four diverse settings: Panama, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and the United States. These countries differ not only in terms of language, policies, and economies, but also in the levels of inclusion towards migrants, which significantly impact how we conceptualize the south-north divide. The United States, for instance, grants citizenship to anyone born on its soil, while Colombia and the Dominican Republic impose stricter conditions that can leave children of migrants in legal limbo. Panama is a rare case, given the antecedents of the “Crisol de Razas” (melting pot) policies, where a melting pot ideology, similar to that of the United States, has been established as one of the primary identity markers of the country. 

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Fighting Corruption at the Local Level in North Macedonia 

By Alexander Dominiak, Graduate of the UT International Relations and Global Studies Department

This summer I had the privilege of working with the National Democratic Institute’s office in Skopje, North Macedonia, in a program that has spurred my professional and personal development. I was fortunate enough to be placed with the Integrity Driven Communities project, one of two long-term NDI projects (along with the Parliamentary Support Program), that aims to strengthen anti-corruption measures at the local level. As a recent graduate from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in International Relations and Global Studies, this experience has allowed me to witness firsthand how international collaboration in good governance procedures occurs at the ground level and how that collaboration has tangible effects on the lives of everyday citizens in the country. It’s inspiring to see the passion with which my colleagues and fellow interns work to strengthen democratic governance in the country. 

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Digital Violence, Women’s Leadership, and Democratic Participation in Latin America

By Leah Tharakan, Undergraduate student in UT’s Government Department, Sociology Department, and Economics Department

Just weeks before International IDEA marked its 30th anniversary, I walked into its Latin America and Caribbean Regional Office in Panama City’s Financial District—an office tucked above a busy thoroughfare of honking taxis and fondas, where regional democracy is studied in quiet persistence. It’s here, in the hushed office above the commotion, that I joined the Latin America and Caribbean team of International IDEA as an Embedded Scholar. I hadn’t arrived in the middle of a national election or political upheaval. Instead, my arrival came during a slower season, one marked by IDEA’s 30th anniversary and a moment to take stock of what three decades of democracy assistance has built.

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Democracy Internship Applications Due Nov. 1

The 2026 Embedded Scholars Application is now open for UT students to apply for Summer 2026 internships in democratic and constitutional development in the Balkans, Central Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Applications are due by November 1, 2025.

The Embedded Scholars program is an innovative fellowship that trains students at UT in the spring then places them in summer internships abroad focused on democracy assistance and research. By combining applied work and research, the fellowship aims to launch students’ work in the field while advancing democratic development.

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The Democratic Benefits of Public Opinion Research in Colombia and Panama

By Mitchel McCormick, Graduate student at the UT LBJ School of Public Affairs

The Embedded Scholars’ experience in Panama City, Panama, proved to be both challenging and rewarding. Challenging because being an intern after working full-time for six years is a significant adjustment. Doing all of this in a second language abroad makes it even more compelling. Rewarding because of the quality of the work I had the opportunity to witness, the skills of the CID Gallup staff, and the opportunity to work with a creative and sharp team both at CID Gallup and UT. At CID Gallup, I held several different roles, some uniquely tailored to the company and others involving collaboration with UT students on a research study related to the experience of migrants across Latin America. 

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Supporting Parliamentary Strengthening in North Macedonia

By Avin French, Undergraduate student in the UT Government Department

I cannot say that North Macedonia was the place I thought I would spend my summer last year, but after spending six weeks in this alluring place, engaging with the people, exposing myself to the culture, and studying the nation, I could not be more grateful for the opportunity Embedded Scholars has given me at the National Democratic Institute (NDI) in North Macedonia.

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From Canvassing to Designing My Own Climate Migration Survey

By Siyona Nayampally, Undergraduate student in the UT Economics Department and Plan II Program

The weeks leading up to my flight to Panama’s Tocumen Airport, I was filled with excitement and nerves. My travels in Latin America had been limited to short trips in Mexico and Costa Rica, and I wasn’t sure what to expect for life in Panama. What I have encountered during my time here has been so much more than I could have imagined. The culture was so welcoming and kind and within a couple of days, I felt right at home. Riding alongside locals to work on the metro every day, I got to see a different side to this new city than I was used to from my travels. We immersed ourselves in the working Panamanian experience, eating lunch at the fonda almost daily, and spending time with our coworkers on the weekends. 

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