I am an Assistant Professor in the School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas. I received my Ph.D in Political Science from the Department of Government,  University of Essex in 2017. My research is published or is forthcoming in International Studies Quarterly, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Journal of Peace Research, International Interactions, Journal of Human Rights and International Area Studies Review.

My research interests include state repression, political violence, human rights and measurement. I work on the Sub-national Analysis of Repression Project (SNARP) with Thorin M. Wright, Reed M. Wood, Christopher J. Fariss and K. Chad Clay - funded by the National Science Foundation. I use statistical and computational methods with a focus on machine learning, text analysis and spatial econometrics. I received the ISA Human Rights Section's Steven C. Poe Best Graduate Student Paper Award in 2018 for my article "Security-Civil Liberties Trade-offs: International Cooperation in Extraordinary Rendition".

I also work with Florian G. Kern and Kristian Skrede Gleditsch on the Traditional Actors and Federal State Authorities in Interaction: Explaining Patterns of Security and Conflict Across American Indian Reservations Project - funded by the Gerda Henkel Foundation.

International Cooperation in Extraordinary Rendition

Example of New Rendition Flight Circuits - Identified by the Matching Model in Cordell (2017)
Known rendition aircraft passes through Norway in September 2005 (red line) and Kazakhstan in October 2003 (blue line)
Central Rendition Transit Corridor - Spatial Variable Constructed in Cordell (2018)
The shortest flight path from Washington D.C. to Kabul (red line) and the airport within each country closest to the flight path (blue points)

Sub-national Analysis of Repression Project

1999, Nigeria by First Order Administrations: Physical Integrity Rights - Intensity variable (categorical)
2005, Nigeria by First Order Administrations: Physical Integrity Rights - Intensity variable (categorical)