Maddie Shorman is a PhD student in Public Policy at the University of Texas at Austin LBJ School of Public Affairs, where she studies the intersection of religion, politics, and U.S. foreign policy in Latin America. Her work draws from political theory, theology, and diplomatic history to ask big questions about power, legitimacy, and belief. At the heart of her research is one core idea: foreign policy doesn’t just happen in Washington—it is interpreted, resisted, and reshaped by those who live with its consequences. She is also a resident fellow at the Clements Center for National Security, where she contributes to conversations at the intersection of grand strategy and moral authority. Her research has taken her from dusty archives to high-level policy rooms, and from interviews with rural organizers to presentations at international conferences. Whether she's tracing Vatican diplomacy during the Cold War or analyzing sermons as strategic texts, her work stays grounded in a single goal: understanding how ideas move power.

She holds degrees in Political Science and International Studies from the University of Arkansas and a Master's in International Studies from the University of Oklahoma. When she’s not writing, Maddie can be found teaching undergraduates, exploring outside somewhere, or turning her kitchen into a one-day pop-up coffee shop