Research & Writing
International Relations student at Florida International University, writing on humanitarian policy, disability-inclusive humanitarian action, Sudanese and African politics, and democratic erosion.
I am an undergraduate studying International Relations at Florida International University. My work sits at the intersection of humanitarian policy, political analysis, and disability inclusion: how states fail their people, how informal systems fill the gaps, how the institutions meant to respond actually behave, and what happens to the people with disabilities who are most affected when they fail.
That last question is not an afterthought. People with disabilities face some of the highest risks in any crisis and are often the last consideration in its response. Making humanitarian action genuinely inclusive is a central thread of my work, reflected in my current certification track in disability-inclusive disaster risk reduction alongside core humanitarian standards.
Institutional details most people find boring are where political power actually lives — and someone should be paying attention to them.
I am also focused on Sudan, where informal economic networks sustained communities through a decade of crisis, and on democratic erosion, which I track through a structured indicator framework of my own design. I aim to work in humanitarian policy with international organizations.
An examination of how hawala remittance networks, sanduk savings associations, and suq markets functioned as parallel economic infrastructure during a decade of war, famine, and state contraction. The paper argues that these informal systems were not stopgaps but durable institutions, with direct implications for how humanitarian actors should engage local economies in protracted crises.
Request full textA quarterly monitoring project tracking democratic erosion across seven countries using five indicators scored on structured 0–4 rubrics. The framework covers electoral integrity, institutional independence, and information environment, with each score supported by written evidence justifications. Methodology notes available on request.
Request methodology notesPublished on Substack
chadlickfelt.substack.com
Analytical essays on democratic backsliding, humanitarian policy, and the politics of state institutions.
I publish analytical essays on Substack, where recent pieces have examined the rescission of ICE detainee death reporting requirements, impunity for the crime of aggression, and the dismantling of American foreign assistance infrastructure.
The throughline in my writing is a simple conviction: that institutional details most people find boring are where political power actually lives, and that someone should be paying attention to them.
The best way to reach me is by email. I am genuinely eager to discuss my work on Sudan, disability inclusion in crisis situations, or anything in the humanitarian sector.