Josh Counselman

Currently, I am a Consultant with ACA Group in Pittsburgh and a part-time instructor at the University of Pittsburgh. I received my Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Pittsburgh in 2021. I specialize in international relations and comparative politics, focusing on international trade, international institutions, and economic voting.

My research focuses on international political economy, particularly on how institutional rules (domestic and international) affect trade negotiations. My dissertation utilizes data collected from declassified General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade documents. Specifically, I examine how institutional rules dictate the sequencing of actions during negotiations. Some of my current projects analyze states’ debt compositions and domestic restrictions, the formation of perceptions within domestic economies, and the overlap between international and domestic rules during international trade negotiations.

As an instructor, I aim to inspire students to go beyond simply being consumers of information to critically challenging theories and ideas. I develop courses to encourage students to challenge and discuss various concepts and approaches to political science. My classroom sessions focus on applying topics from readings to current and historical events to provide tangible examples to clarify concepts.