Natalie Chwalisz, PhD

Natalie Chwalisz (she/her) is an expert in human rights, migration and conflict. She’s a Visiting Assistant Professor of Political Science at Dickinson College. Her research focuses on human smuggling, mixed migration and forced displacement. Her work asks a simple question with far-reaching consequences: what do people do to stay safe when the state cannot, or will not, protect them? Through multi-method research across Africa, Europe, and the U.S., she highlights the informal systems that govern mobility and security in these fraught environments.

What makes someone choose a smuggler? What explains why migrants have such different experiences with them? Natalie’s research seeks to better understand the realities of undocumented and clandestine migration. In communities that are criminalized and forced into the shadows, where people hide, and often do not want to be identified, qualitative methods are crucial for documenting lived experiences and illuminating how people navigate danger. Her work shows how institutions, formal and informal alike, can foster cooperation or escalate violence, shaping the outcomes for both migrants and the actors around them.

Dr. Chwalisz’s interest in migration politics is shaped by her own family history. She grew up in Germany as the daughter of Polish migrants, with the Iron Curtain separating her from much of her extended family. This early experience made questions of mobility, borders, and rights deeply personal. Before entering academia, she worked with human rights organizations and supported civil-rights legislation in both the United States and Europe. She later consulted for the World Bank on security and development and served as the Africa Associate at the Center for International Policy. She was a Visiting Assistant Professor of Political Science at Middlebury College. Her goal is for her research to contribute to more humane and evidence-based migration policy.

She earned her PhD in Justice, Law, and Criminology from American University, where her fieldwork in West Africa was supported by the National Science Foundation. She examined the clandestine migration dynamics of smugglers, migrants, and policing. She also holds an MA in Conflict and Human Rights from Utrecht University and a BA in International Relations and Comparative Literature from Beloit College. She previously taught at Middlebury College.