Fellows in the University of Texas at Austin’s Embedded Scholars Program won an award for their research conducted in the spring Embedded Scholars class. Fellows Andreana Faucette and Paulina Licon won the 2024 Patman Center Research Award for Advancing Democracy, which recognizes “exceptional insight and dedication to advancing the cause of democracy.” Their research was conducted in the spring class taught by Ashley Moran on democratic constitutional design that prepares students for field work in democracy assistance.

Their research project, entitled Public Participation and Democracy: A Case Study of Latin America, explores public participation and the right to resistance as a counterbalance to political power. It examines forms of public participation and resistance, historical and current factors that shape such participation in policymaking, and government responses to public participation in Panama.

Faucette is a rising senior at UT, majoring in Psychology and Spanish and pursuing Liberal Arts Honors, with plans to attend law school after graduation. Licon is also a rising senior at UT, majoring in Social Work with a minor in Government and planning to pursue a Master’s in Social Work and a law degree.

Faucette and Licon are in Panama this summer conducting their Embedded Scholars fellowship at the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) continuing their research and supporting democracy assistance projects. When back at UT this fall, they will attend a Patman Center Leadership Symposium to speak about their research and receive a certificate honoring their contributions to democracy research.

UT’s Embedded Scholars program is a partnership between the UT Government Department and the Comparative Constitutions Project to train students to work in democratic and constitutional development.