Matthew Martin
My name is Matt Martin (he/him), and I am a postdoctoral researcher at the Comparative Constitutions Project. In Fall 2026, I will join the Department of Political Science at the University of South Carolina as an Assistant Professor. I received my PhD in Government from the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in public law and comparative politics.
My research examines constitution-making processes, focusing on mechanisms of public consultation. My dissertation analyzes how and why constitutional drafters engage public consultation—and what they do with the input they receive—through comparative case studies of Chile and Cuba. I combine large-N analyses and natural language processing with elite interviews and qualitative case research.
My work has appeared in Social Science Computer Review, Comparative Politics, Polity, Política, the Journal of Law and Courts, and PLOS ONE. My dissertation research was supported by a Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant from the American Political Science Association. I am also an affiliate of the Center for Law and Democracy at UT Austin.
Prior to graduate school, I worked as a legal assistant in immigration law. I remain committed to migrant justice through mutual aid work supporting trans and gender non-conforming asylum seekers. Outside of work, I play guitar and produce music—mostly lofi hip-hop.