Shalini Matharage

PhD Candidate in Political Science

Shalini is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Political Science at Northeastern University, specializing in international relations and comparative politics. She has a strong background and keen interest in international migration, refugee recognition, and disaster risk reduction. During the 2023–2024 academic cycle, Shalini gained valuable experience as a Research Assistant on the Forced Migration & Policy Responses in an Era of Global Change Tier I Project. She also works on a Japan Foundation grant focused on disaster-related social and green infrastructure in Japan. In addition, she has served as a Teaching Assistant for courses in International Relations, Globalization, and International Affairs, and she is the primary program assistant for The Twenty-First Century City: Tokyo and Kyoto Dialogue.

Related Schools & Departments

Political Science

Biography

Originally from Colombo, Sri Lanka, Shalini has lived in Japan for over five years. She holds a Bachelor of Law from Nagoya University in Japan and received a Master of Arts from the Department of Political Science at Northeastern University in May 2024 while completing her second year of doctoral studies.

Prior work

While studying law at Nagoya University, Shalini collaborated with Dr. David Green on the article “Everyday Nationalism and Immigration in an Aging Society: An Analysis of Immigrant Perceptions in Japan,” which is slated to appear in the book Nationality Struggles in the 21st Century and Its Social Costs in Asia. She played an integral role in the authorship of this work.

Research Interest

Shalini’s current research spans two primary areas within political science:

International Refugee Regime
Her primary focus is on the international refugee regime. In her PhD dissertation, she mainly examines the challenges of refugee protection and climate-induced displacement by analyzing state compliance, decentralized refugee models, and migration dynamics through integrated macro, meso, and micro-level approaches. Across three studies, it develops a compliance index for the international refugee framework, evaluates the effectiveness of community-driven refugee responses, and investigates climate-related migration patterns and the role of social capital. The research offers practical policy recommendations to improve enforcement, enhance local adaptability, and advocate for the legal recognition of climate-displaced populations, ultimately contributing to more equitable and resilient global responses.
Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)
Her secondary research interest lies in disaster risk reduction. In her most recently published journal article with Dr. Aldrich and Dr. Ishiwatari, she examined bottom-up approaches to DRR in the U.S. and Japan, where she found: (1) leveraging community-based DRR and addressing issues such as tokenism, power imbalance, and resource constraints; (2) prioritizing support networks; and (3) harmonizing top-down and bottom-up structures leads to more positive disaster resilience. She is currently working on a project funded by the Japan Foundation that examines disparities in public knowledge of social infrastructure (e.g., community facilities) and green infrastructure (e.g., green roofing) among Japanese adults. As part of the same grant, she also investigates public perceptions of distinct disaster measures provided by the state, market, and community levels.

Articles Published

Empowering Communities: A Bottom-Up Approach to Disaster Risk Reduction – currently under review at the Journal of Integrated Disaster Risk Management (IDRiM Journal).

Articles Under Review

Everyday Nationalism and Immigration in an Aging Society: An Analysis of Immigrant Perceptions in Japan – slated to appear in the book Nationality Struggles in the 21st Century and Its Social Costs in Asia.

Kōminkan, Kōen and Karaoke: Understanding Green and Social Infrastructure in Japan – currently under review at the International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction.

Research Interests:

International migration, refugee recognition, decentralization in refugee structures, disaster risk reduction, social and green infrastructure.

Contact info:
Renaissance Park, 9th Floor
1135 Tremont St
Boston, MA 02120
Email: matharage.s@northeastern.edu

More Student Paths

Charles T. Wallace-Thomas IV

Charles took "Sustainable Renewable Energy Development in the Global South" with Professor Shalanda Baker, which pushed him to further question systems as they exist, no matter their entrenched in society.
He did community service as part of the Ujima Global Leaders Program through the John D. O’Bryant African American Institute. He worked on the Timebank team, helping give back to local communities.
Charles split his time for his first co-op between the Center for Economic Democracy and the Boston Ujima Project, where he analyzed studies on community needs, including infrastructure and childcare.
He was one of the co-creators of the #BlackAtNU campaign and advocated for racial literacy courses and a restorative and transformative justice center on campus.
Charles made his own research project- a macroeconomic index to measure democratic participation in municipal economies, partnering with NU, the Columbus Foundation and the Center for Economic Democracy.
He worked at the Participatory Budgeting Project as a Program Associate, helping city systems and other organizations actively decide how to invest money across different spaces.
Charles graduated in 2022. ..

Casey Greenleaf

Casey took Global Markets and Local Cultures. After traveling, she better saw how the coursework mirrored real life, and knew her education was preparing her for the world.
She went on a DOC to Argentina and Uruguay, and become highly proficient while living in Buenos Aires and visiting the glaciers of the Patagonia region.
Casey completed her first co-op at the Museum of Fine Arts as a community arts program assistant. She gained valuable hands-on experience assisting in arts classes for local communities.
She joined the Sociology & Anthropology Student Association during her third year. It allowed her to get to know her fellow students and mirrored the small school experience she loved.
Casey studied abroad in Nepal for her capstone thesis. She lived alone for a month while she researched and wrote about the lived experience of climate change in the lower Himalayas.
She worked for the Environmental Data and Governance Initiative, founded by Professor Sarah Wylie. She produced promotional videos, developed a virtual research event, wrote event programming, and more.
Casey graduated in 2020. ..

Sunita Pfitzner

Sunita took Revolution, Civil War, and Insurrection, taught by Professor Risa Kitagawa. The course invited students to question the motives behind acts of violence against governments.
She traveled on a Dialogue of Civilizations to Jordan and Egypt; while there she grew interested in Middle East politics and the Arabic language.
Sunita worked at the Institute for Economics and Peace in Sydney, Australia, where she analyzed data on the corruption of police forces in Mexico.
Sunita was a member of the International Relations Council and traveled abroad with the club to compete in Model Arab League, Model NATO, and Model UN conferences.
Sunita conducted research with Berna Turam, developing a greater understanding of the Mediterranean migrant crisis. She also researched the feminist response to Covid-19 with Val Moghadam.
She graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2022.
..

Yasser Aponte

Yasser was in the Foundation Year program at Northeastern. The program was a rigorous deep dive into core subject classes that helped Yasser bridge the gap between his high school and college experiences.
He took Issues in Cities and Suburbs with Professor Erin Graves in Fall 2018. As someone deeply invested in urban life, he found the course was an enlightened look at the problems endemic to cities.
Yasser joined the Boston Beer Company as a Program Operations and Event Assistant for his first co-op. He worked on inventory, public relations, brewery events, and workspace organization.
He implemented community gardens all over Boston on deserted plots of land during his time as the Northeastern Campus Director for the campus’ United Nations Millennium Fellowship.
Yasser maintained a farm in Dorchester for The Food Project. He harvested crops, distributed produce through donations and food markets, and worked on overall logistics.
In 2020, Yasser won the Community Service Leadership award, given to students who show exemplary community engagement. He was recognized for his work at The Food Project, Northeastern Crossing, and more.
He graduated 2022 with his Bachelor’s in International Affairs and Religious Studies and his Master’s in Security and Resilience Studies, through Northeastern’s PlusOne program...