Student spotlight: Danielle Obisie-Orlu

Danielle Obisie-Orlu is a doctoral student in government with a focus on international relations from Washington, D.C. and Johannesburg, South Africa. She earned her B.Phil. at the University of Pittsburgh and now studies how memory and migration shape international relations and affairs under the guidance of Oumar Ba at Cornell.

What is your area of research and why is it important?

I research two big “M”s shaping international relations and affairs: memory and migration. I research how states use narratives of past traumas to navigate their contemporary relations and address challenges within international politics. On the other hand, I study how international law and organizations can be instrumentalized in improving states’ governance and cooperation on contemporary migration-related challenges within and beyond Africa. We live in a time where state-driven narratives of the past – and present their implications – are contested and reinforced not only at the domestic level but also at the international level. Furthermore, states’ responses to migration as a security, human rights, or development issue continue to define the future of our generation and the generations to come.

Read the full interview on the Cornell University Graduate School website.