Charlotte Boucher

Email: cmgsmith@umich.edu

Dissertation Title: Negotiated Citizenship: Managed Relationship with a Violent State

Summary: Charlotte Boucher is a PhD candidate in Political Science at the University of Michigan whose research examines how ordinary people interact with the state and how these interactions shape political behavior, citizenship, and democratic participation. Her dissertation, Negotiated Citizenship: Managed Relationships with a Violent State, uses interpretive and ethnographic methods to explore how residents of highly policed communities in Chicago and the Paris suburbs navigate relationships with state institutions. Drawing on interviews and participant observation, the project shows how experiences with policing influence engagement with schools, welfare programs, healthcare systems, and other public services.

In addition to her dissertation research, Charlotte works on collaborative projects examining public attitudes toward policing and police violence, with a particular focus on class, race, and whiteness in the United States. She is also involved in research on criminal justice reform, including studies of prosecutorial decision-making and the relationships between police and prosecutors. Her broader interests include political behavior, state-society relations, qualitative methods, and democratic citizenship.

Personal Website: TBA